Ambassador Andrew Young talks to the Tom Joyner Morning Show reflects about his friend, the late Martin Luther King, Jr. How he’s celebrating King Day: ‘I’m at Michigan State which is one of…
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Chris Rock brought the powerful words of James Baldwin to life Monday during a tribute at the “MLK Now” event in Harlem honoring the late Martin Luther King, Jr.
The program, put together by the Campaign For Black Achievement and Blackout for Human Rights — organizations committed to social justice — took place at Harlem’s Riverside Church, where King delivered his riveting 1967 speech, “Beyond Vietnam: A Time To Break Silence.”
The event attracted a bevy of black Hollywood stars, who celebrated the legacy of King and other black historical icons. Some stars paid tribute through musical performances, like India.Arie, who praised Shirley Chisholm. Others, including Rock, gave powerful recitals.
Rock, who will host the Oscars next month, read the words to Baldwin’s widely praised 1963 letter, “My Dungeon Shook.” Watch Rock’s full performance (he takes the stage around the 1:44 mark) by clicking here.
“Creed” director Ryan Coogler, also the director and a founding member of Blackout for Human Rights, served as moderator for the event and introduced stars on the stage, including Harry Belafonte, Octavia Spencer, Jussie Smollett, Michael B. Jordan and India.Arie.
article by Lilly Workneh via huffingtonpost.com
Kendrick Lamar never forgets where he came from and is always giving props to Compton, California. Whether it’s through his community-service endeavors or always recognizing Compton in his songs, Lamar will remind you he’s Compton-proud every chance he gets. And now the city is showing how proud it is of him.
Compton Mayor Aja Brown announced on Twitter that Lamar will be given the key to the city. Brown expressed how the rapper inspires everyone in Compton and shared positive sentiments about him:
.@kendricklamar you inspire millions + rep #Compton w/ honor! Excited to give you the #keytothecity Feb13th! #VisionForCompton #ComptonUp
— Aja Brown (@AjaLBrown) January 14, 2016
.@kendricklamar you inspire millions + rep #Compton w/ honor! Excited to give you the #keytothecity Feb13th! #VisionForCompton #ComptonUp
— Aja Brown (@AjaLBrown) January 14, 2016
@AjaLBrown I appreciate that. HUBLUV.
— Kendrick Lamar (@kendricklamar) January 14, 2016
@kendricklamar ☺️🙌✌️
— Aja Brown (@AjaLBrown) January 14, 2016
Lamar will receive the key to the city just two days before the Grammys, where he garnered 11 nominations for “To Pimp A Butterfly.”
article by Yesha Callahan via theroot.com
article by Yesha Callahan via theroot.com
Frances Dancy Hooks, the civil rights activist and widow of Dr. Benjamin Hooks, died Thursday, reports WREG TV. The prominent educator and philanthropist was 88.
As co-founder of the Memphis Volunteer Placement Program, she helped draw Black students to some of the nation’s best private boarding schools, notes the report.
Dr. Hooks died in 2010. He was the first African-American commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission, and served as executive director of the NAACP from 1977-1992.
From The Commercial Appeal:
Mrs. Hooks, 88, leaves behind a legacy of activism devoted to improving education, race relations and women’s rights in Memphis and across the nation.
A graduate of Booker T. Washington High School, Mrs. Hooks earned a bachelor’s degree from Fisk University in Nashville and a master’s degree from Tennessee State University. Mrs. Hooks began her 24-year career as an educator in Memphis but later served as secretary and adviser to her husband Ben, whom she called “the Catch of Memphis.”
“So many people think of her husband, Dr. Ben Hooks, but she was such a person of incredible competence in her own right,” said Jean Varnell, a friend of nearly 50 years. “They were such a team together.”
In celebration of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, SiriusXM’s Urban View (channel 126) will air audio of Dr. King’s ‘Lost’ speech, first delivered at the National Press Club in 1962 more than 50 years ago.
Considered of significant historical value, Dr. King became the first African American to speak at the Club and delivered the captivating speech in front of a segregated establishment just days after being released from jail in Albany, Georgia. In it, he reiterates his vision for non-violent protest as the best way to achieve racial equality.
An audio recording was made of the speech and filed away in the Club’s Archives and later transferred to the Library of Congress. No television footage of the speech in its entirety exists. Excerpts of King’s speech were unveiled this past Tuesday at a National Press Club event moderated by SiriusXM host Joe Madison.
Press Club President John Hughes also unveiled a permanent Club memorial to Dr. King’s speech. “Martin Luther King’s 1962 speech was one of the most important events to ever happen at the National Press Club,” Hughes said. “I am honored this event at long last is getting proper recognition with such distinguished guests.”
SiriusXM Urban View will air full audio on Monday, January 18 at 6:00 am, 8:00 am, 8:00 pm and 10:00 pm. All times are ET.
Run-D.M.C. are among the artists who will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the GRAMMYs this year. The iconic rap group will be honored at a ceremony and concert to be held this spring. In addition to naming the Queens rappers, the Recording Academy also announced it will honor Ruth Brown, Celia Cruz, Earth, Wind & Fire, Earth, Wind & Fire, Jefferson Airplane and Linda Ronstadt with the award.
The trio – comprising Rev Run (given name Joseph Simmons), Darryl McDaniels (D.M.C.) and Jason Mizell, who performed as Jam Master Jay – blended their defining style of rap with hard rock elements and jazz touches, which gained them popularity both on the pop and R&B charts and paved the way for many rap groups to follow.
In 2002, following the group’s tour with Aerosmith and a year after the release of Crown Royal, Jam Master Jay was murdered during a studio session in Queens. In the wake of the tragedy, Run and DMC officially disbanded the group. The surviving members have since performed together, including for their reunion in 2012 at Fun Fun Fun Fest.
Though Run-D.M.C. have never previously won a GRAMMY, they were the first rap collective to be nominated for Best R&B Vocal Performance in 1986 before the rap category had been formed, according to FADER.
The 58th Annual GRAMMY Awards will air on CBS on February 15th at 8 p.m. ET.
article by Althea Legaspi via rollingstone.com
He grew up in a hardscrabble home with only one book — the Bible — and parents who worked blue-collar jobs and never advanced beyond ninth grade.
But Melvin L. Oliver rose to become an award-winning University of California professor, researcher, author and administrator noted for championing campus racial diversity. Now he will become the sixth president of Pitzer College — and the first African American to lead one of the five undergraduate Claremont Colleges, officials announced Wednesday.
Oliver, 65, will assume office July 1 at a time of national campus unrest over racial, ethnic and gender equity, including protests that forced out the dean of students at nearby Claremont McKenna College last year. Pitzer student activists have also asked for steps to increase campus diversity.
Oliver, who has tackled racial and economic inequality with both research and practical initiatives during three decades at UCLA and UC Santa Barbara, along with a stint at the Ford Foundation, said he would seek to address those concerns as one of his top priorities.
“I want to deepen the commitment of Pitzer to recruiting, supporting and graduating those students [of color] because I think it’s an exceptional education and I want it to be available to as many of them as possible,” he said in an interview.
Sidney Poitier will be honored by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) with the Fellowship at the EE British Academy Film Awards on Sunday, February 14. Awarded annually, the Fellowship is the highest accolade bestowed by BAFTA upon an individual in recognition of an outstanding and exceptional contribution to film, television or games.
Fellows previously honored for their work in film include Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg, Sean Connery, Elizabeth Taylor, Stanley Kubrick, Anthony Hopkins, Laurence Olivier, Judi Dench, Vanessa Redgrave, Christopher Lee, Martin Scorsese, Alan Parker and Helen Mirren. Mike Leigh received the Fellowship at last year’s Film Awards.
Sidney Poitier said: “I am extremely honored to have been chosen to receive the Fellowship and my deep appreciation to the British Academy for the recognition.”
Amanda Berry OBE, chief executive of BAFTA, said: “I’m absolutely thrilled that Sidney Poitier is to become a Fellow of BAFTA. Sidney is a luminary of film whose outstanding talent in front of the camera, and important work in other fields, has made him one of the most important figures of his generation. His determination to pursue his dreams is an inspirational story for young people starting out in the industry today. By recognizing Sidney with the Fellowship at the Film Awards on Sunday, February 14, BAFTA will be honoring one of cinema’s true greats.”
Sidney Poitier’s award-winning career features six BAFTA nominations, including one BAFTA win, and a British Academy Britannia Award for Lifetime Contribution to International Film.
Poitier began his acting career on Broadway in the 1940s before moving to film in 1950, receiving his first credit as Dr. Luther Brooks in No Way Out. He was the first African American to play a wide range of leading roles; he was BAFTA-nominated for his performances in Edge of the City, A Raisin in the Sun, Lilies of the Field (for which he was the first African American to win the Oscar for Best Actor in 1964), A Patch of Blue, In the Heat of the Night and The Defiant Ones, for which he won a BAFTA and Oscar in 1959. His other acting credits include Blackboard Jungle, To Sir With Love, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, Sneakers, The Jackal and Porgy and Bess.
Poitier was awarded an Honorary Oscar in 2002 “for his extraordinary performances and unique presence on the screen and for representing the industry with dignity, style and intelligence.” Poitier has also been nominated for seven Golden Globes, winning once, and was presented with the Cecil B DeMille Award in 1982.
Alongside his illustrious acting career, Poitier has directed nine feature films, including the Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder comedy Stir Crazy, as well as Buck and the Preacher, Uptown Saturday Night and Fast Forward.
In television, Poitier’s acting credits include Separate but Equal, Children of the Dust and, portaying Nelson Mandela, Mandela and de Klerk.
As well as pushing the boundaries of his craft on screen, Poitier played an active role in the American civil rights campaign and served as ambassador of the Bahamas to Japan and UNESCO from 1997 to 2007. In 1974, Queen Elizabeth II conferred a knighthood on Poitier, and in 2009 he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award of the USA, by President Obama.
The EE British Academy Film Awards take place on Sunday, February 14, at the Royal Opera House in London’s Covent Garden. Stephen Fry will be returning to host this year’s ceremony, which will be broadcast exclusively on BBC One in the UK and in all major territories around the world. On the night, www.bafta.org will feature red carpet highlights, photography and winners interviews, as well as dedicated coverage on its social networks including Facebook (/BAFTA), Twitter (@BAFTA / #EEBAFTAs), Tumblr and Instagram.
article via ebony.com
The Los Angeles Board of Education on Monday named Deputy Supt. Michelle King as superintendent, ending a high-stakes search to fill a challenging and hard-to-fill job at a seminal time in California’s largest school system.
King, 54, was considered a reliable choice because she came up through the system. But some district observers voiced surpise at her selection after the board sent a prominent head-hunting firm on a months-long nationwide quest to recruit potential leaders, including those outside the field of education.
King, formerly a respected high school principal, has cultivated a low profile as a senior administrator, keeping her views on where she would like to take Los Angeles Unified a mystery, as is protocol for leaders within the $7-billion bureaucracy.
But board members said that she impressed them in their long interviews behind closed doors. They said they appreciated her knowledge of L.A. Unified, which, they concluded, would allow her to tackle the school system’s problems without delay.
The board’s decision comes at the end of a five-month process spurred by the departure of Supt. Ramon C. Cortines, whose retirement took effect Jan. 2.
In recent years the district has suffered from inconsistent direction as political factions have battled for control in the nation’s most costly school board elections. These power shifts have contributed to turnover — eight superintendents over the last 20 years — and have made deft political skills an essential quality for the schools chief.
“The district needs a strong diplomat but also someone who will burrow into the classroom and regain the momentum on student achievement,” said Bruce Fuller, professor of education and public policy at UC Berkeley.
Denzel Washington was honored with the Golden Globe lifetime achievement award, the Cecil B. DeMille, on Sunday evening, with his “Philadelphia” co-star Tom Hanks introduced him as an actor with the “mysterious power not just to hold our attention, but demand it.”
Hanks recited a list of legendary actors — Marlon Brando, Robert De Niro and the like — that command the most respect in the industry. “The list is finite,” Hanks said. “The club is exclusive. But it includes the actor who is being given the Cecil B. DeMille Award tonight,” said Hanks.
Washington brought his family onstage for a speech that appeared to be cut short by a failure to bring his glasses with him. His wife reminded him twice that he needed them — and the second time, he agreed.
Washington has won Oscars for roles in “Glory” and “Training Day,” Golden Globes for “Glory” and “The Hurricane”, and has a long list of credits including “Malcolm X,” ”Flight,” ”The Manchurian Candidate” and “Remember the Titans.”
In his speech, he thanked his mother for convincing his father that the family needed light bulbs more powerful than 25 watts. “God bless you all,” he said.
Another big winner last night was “Empire’s” Taraji P. Henson, who was awarded the Golden Globe for best lead actress in a television drama. Henson, in honor of her breakout character, handed out cookies as she walked to the stage to accept her award. To see a full list of last night’s winners, click here. To watch Taraji and Denzel’s acceptance speeches, click below:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCbMRz_ZKPo&w=560&h=315]
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEJY7dmleE0&w=560&h=315]
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (follow @lakinhutcherson)