On January 1, Rose Queen Madison Triplett will preside over Pasadena’s annual cavalcade of flowery floats. The Marshall Fundamental Secondary School senior first dreamed of becoming local royalty at age seven.
The competition for Rose Queen began in September with 700 hopefuls and consisted of four interview rounds. “In the Pasadena area it’s sort of a rite of passage to try out for the court,” she says.
“In the third round I was asked, ‘What’s something no one knows about you?’ I told them that sometimes I record myself singing and listen to it. They started laughing. I didn’t know whether or not that was a good thing.”
Tomorrow, Madison will wake up at 2:15 a.m. before being chauffeured to the Tournament House to begin prepping for the 126th Rose Parade. To wave like a pro, she will cup her fingers together, hold her arm at a 90-degree angle, and move only her forearm.
Madison, a varsity volleyball player who plans to study economics at Tulane University and one day start a nonprofit to educate minorities on financial literacy, is the 97th Rose Queen to reign at the Tournament of Roses Parade.
article by Marah Alindogan via lamag.com
Posts published in “Commemorations”
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — No one in the sports world had heard of the 2014 Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year until August.
That’s when 13-year-old Mo’ne Davis became an instant celebrity as she took the pitching mound in baseball’s Little League World Series and mowed down batter after batter, giving “throw like a girl” a whole new meaning.
She was the first girl to win a Little League World Series game, and her performance dazzled fans young and old. Her steely gaze and demeanor on the mound were intimidating, while off-the-field, she shined in interviews. She told admirers that if they thought she was good at baseball, they should see her play basketball. Only in eighth grade, Davis already plays for her school’s high school varsity basketball team.
Davis appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated, has her jersey displayed in baseball’s Hall of Fame and was named Sports Kid of the Year by Sports Illustrated Kids.
She met the Obamas at the White House, starred in a Spike Lee-directed car commercial (the NCAA said it wouldn’t hurt her eligibility), marched in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade along with her Taney Dragons teammates and presented Pharrell Williams with Soul Train’s “Song of the Year” award.
Increasingly a fashion icon as much as a musical one, Kanye West has been voted GQ’s Most Stylish Man of the Year, facing off against Idris Elba in the final bracket of a user-based poll for the site.
Earlier this year, West was featured on the magazine’s cover for a feature article about his status in the fashion industry and opened up about previous comments regarding the difficulty he’s encountered breaking in.
“Alexander Wang made sure that I was able to go to a Balenciaga show, and I was never allowed to do that before because I was a celebrity,” he said. “Listen to what I’m saying—me, as Kanye West: I guarantee you, I’m more than 50 percent responsible for every men’s shoe that [Balenciaga] sell. Me, the singular person. More than 50 percent responsible for every Balenciaga shoe they sell. And they would say, ‘You can’t come to the show, because you are a celebrity.’ But all honesty, no ego, I have a level of influence, and I have a level of respect for the designers. And we move product on that Barneys floor.”
While initial plans for West’s collaboration with adidas hinted at a fall drop-date for the next installment of his increasingly coveted Yeezy sneakers, the follow-up has yet to be released and looks to be slated for an early 2015 debut instead. Nonetheless, 2014 saw the last of his collaborations with Nike released in the form of an already legendary all-red color-way of his Yeezy 2’s. The rapper also released two collaborative lines with the high-end French fashion brand A.P.C., the latest of which included a $780 bomber jacket and a $90 plain white tee.
article by Jay Balfour via theurbandaily.com
Decades after hip hop music hit the streets of New York, and later, became an cultural phenomenon enjoyed by listeners around the world, it’s all coming back to the Big Apple, as a Hip Hop Hall of Fame Museum is set to open in 2017.
“This will be the home of hip hop history,” museum Chairman JT Thompson told the NY Daily News. “People need to understand the importance of hip hop, the elements, the DJs, the B-boys and B-girls and the graffiti writers.”
The museum will open to the public at its location on 125th Street in 2017 and exhibits will feature memorabilia such as jackets, turntables and posters donated by artists like Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmaster Flash, Run-DMC, Salt-N-Pepa, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Outkast, Young Jeezy, Common and Eminem. There is also a planned juice and coffee bar, TV studio, shops and a dedicated youth media program.
article via hiphopweekly.com
The White House issued the following statement from President Barack and first lady Michelle Obama on Friday:
“Michelle and I extend our warmest wishes to those celebrating Kwanzaa this holiday season. Today begins a celebration highlighting the rich African-American heritage and culture through the seven principles of Kwanzaa—unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith. During this season, families come together to reflect on blessings of the past year and look forward to the promises in the year ahead. As we remain committed to building a country that provides opportunity for all, this time of year reminds us that there is much to be thankful for.
As families around the world unite to light the Kinara today, our family extends our prayers and best wishes during this holiday season.”
Kwanzaa ends Thursday Jan. 1.
article by Tonya Jameson via newsone.com
The Rhodes Trust has announced the latest class of 32 American students who will study at the University of Oxford as Rhodes Scholars. Being named a Rhodes Scholar is considered among the highest honors that can be won by a U.S. college student.
The scholarships were created in 1902 by the will of Cecil Rhodes, an industrialist who made a vast fortune in colonial Africa. According to the will of Rhodes, applicants must have “high academic achievement, integrity of character, a spirit of unselfishness, respect for others, potential for leadership, and physical vigor.”
In 1907 Alain LeRoy Locke, later a major philosopher and literary figure of the Harlem Renaissance, was selected as a Rhodes Scholar to study at Oxford University. It is generally believed that at the time of the award the Rhodes committee did not know that Locke was Black until after he had been chosen. It would be more than 50 years later, in 1962, until another African American would be named a Rhodes Scholar.
That year, John Edgar Wideman, now a famed author as well as a professor at Brown University, was selected. Other African Americans who have won Rhodes Scholarships include Randall Kennedy of Harvard Law School, Kurt Schmoke, former mayor of Baltimore, and Franklin D. Raines, former director of the Office of Management and Budget and former CEO of Fannie Mae. In 1978, Karen Stevenson of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was the first African-American woman selected as a Rhodes Scholar.
This year’s class of Rhodes Scholars was chosen from a pool of 877 students who were endorsed by 305 different colleges and universities. There were 207 finalists from 86 colleges and universities that were selected in 16 different geographic districts. Two students from each district were chosen as Rhodes Scholars. Students can enter the competition in the district in which they reside or the district where they attended college.
Of this year’s 32 American Rhodes Scholars, it appears that five are African Americans.
Robert A. Fisher is a senior at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He is majoring in political science with minors in history and Africana studies. He previously won a Truman Scholarship. Fisher is the student body president at the university and has a perfect academic record. Fisher will study for a master’s degree in comparative social policy at Oxford.
Rachel V. Harmon is from Champaign, Illinois. She is a senior at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, where she is majoring in industrial and labor relations. Before starting her college career, Harmon was an AmeriCorps volunteer at a rural elementary school in the Mississippi Delta. She plans on studying for a master’s degree in evidence-based social policy at Oxford.
Ridwan Y. Hassen is a senior at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. Hassen is majoring in computer science with an emphasis on neuroscience. He began his college career at Emory University and transferred to Dartmouth after two years. He is the son of refugees from Somalia and Ethiopia. At Dartmouth, he is a member of the Endurance Racing Team. Hassen is planning to pursue a master’s degree in public policy at Oxford.
Tayo A. Sanders II is a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, where he is majoring in materials science. Sanders previously won a Goldwater Scholarship. Sanders has conducted research in the nanomaterials laboratory at the University of Strasbourg in France. Sanders is a triathlete. At Oxford, Sanders plans to earn a Ph.D. in materials science.
Sarah E. Yermina is a senior at Princeton University in New Jersey. She is majoring in sociology. During the summer of 2013, Yerima completed an intensive program in Portuguese in Rio de Janeiro. She will enroll in a two-year, master’s degree program in politics at Oxford. After studying at Oxford, Yermina plans to enter a joint J.D./Ph.D. and hopes to become a professor of law.
article via jbhe.com
ABC News has tapped chief national correspondent Byron Pitts to replace Dan Abrams as one of “Nightline’s” three co-anchors.
Abrams will remain the Alphabet’s chief legal analyst, but ABC News president James Goldston said in a memo issued Thursday that Abrams intends to return to full-time work on his Abrams Media Network digital business. Pitts has been chief national correspondent since 2013.
“Byron is a truly passionate storyteller and deep thinker about the critical issues of our time, as his work from Soweto to Ferguson makes clear,” Goldston wrote.
article by Cynthia Littleton via Variety.com
Abrams will remain the Alphabet’s chief legal analyst, but ABC News president James Goldston said in a memo issued Thursday that Abrams intends to return to full-time work on his Abrams Media Network digital business. Pitts has been chief national correspondent since 2013.
“Byron is a truly passionate storyteller and deep thinker about the critical issues of our time, as his work from Soweto to Ferguson makes clear,” Goldston wrote.
article by Cynthia Littleton via Variety.com
According to blackenterprise.com, Jahvaris Fulton, the older brother of slain Sanford, Florida teenager Trayvon Martin, recently graduated from Florida International University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Information Technology.
Fulton, 22, has made the best of his opportunities since losing his little brother to violence. Prior to graduating, Jahvaris served as a congressional intern for Florida Representative Frederica Wilson.
Wilson, a founder of 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project, also counts Fulton as a member who helped to encourage at-risk in Miami-Dade schools to stay in school.
Recently, Jahvaris and Trayvon’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, spoke on CNN’s Anderson Cooper show to highlight the wide breadth of miscommunication that exists between persons of color and white America. “It’s not happening to them, so they don’t quite get it,” she told Cooper in an interview that aired Friday. “They don’t quite understand. They think that it’s a small group of African Americans that’s complaining: ‘Oh, what are they complaining about now?’”
This week, however, was all about celebrating Jahvaris’ success in higher academia. The exciting news was confirmed via Twitter, with many attendees tweeting their congrats.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (follow @lakinhutcherson)
Shonda Rhimes is a visionary writer and producer whose successful shows — her creations Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal, and How to Get Away With Murder, which Rhimes executive produces — have changed the representation of women, LGBT people, and people of color on television. And on Wednesday, she accepted the Sherry Lansing Leadership Award at the annual Hollywood Reporter’s Women in Entertainment Breakfast.
The event was packed with powerful executives, actors, and previous honorees. Tony Goldwyn, who plays Fitz on Scandal, began Rhimes’ introduction — and gave way to a video message from first lady Michelle Obama, who called Rhimes “a friend.” (She also confessed to being a Scandal addict.)
Rhimes took the podium to a standing ovation and delivered a moving speech in which she paid tribute to the women who went before her and cleared the way for her to create groundbreaking television.
Here is her speech in full:
Rhimes took the podium to a standing ovation and delivered a moving speech in which she paid tribute to the women who went before her and cleared the way for her to create groundbreaking television.
Here is her speech in full:
“When my publicist called to tell me that I was receiving this honor, I screwed up my face and I said, ‘Are you sure? Me?’ And he said, ‘Yes.’ And I said, ‘Why?’ And then I said, ‘No really, WHY?’
And I made him call and ask for some written reason why I was getting this award. Because I really and truly was worried that there might have been some kind of mistake.
I want to pause for a beat here to say that I don’t say these things to be self- deprecating and humble. I am not a self-deprecating, humble person. I think I’m a pretty fantastic badass. But I also think that The Hollywood Reporter Sherry Lansing Award is extraordinary — as is Sherry Lansing herself. So… no, really, WHY?
They sent a written reason why I was getting this award. It said many nice things, but the main thing that it was said was that I was getting the award in recognition of my breaking through the industry’s glass ceiling as a woman and an African-American.
Well. I call my publicist back. Because I just don’t know about this. I mean, I’m concerned now.
University Department Chair and Artist Sonya Clark Uses Her Head to Win Top Prize in Art Competition
Sonya Clark, chair of the Department of Craft and Material studies at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, shared the first prize at ArtPrize, an international competition held annually in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She will split the $200,000 first place cash award.
Clark enlisted 12 hairstylists to craft her head into a work of art for the judges consideration.
Clark is a native of Washington, D.C. Both of her parents are from the Caribbean. She is a graduate of Amherst College in Massachusetts. She earned a bachelor of fine arts degree at the Art Institute of Chicago and a master of fine arts degree from the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Before joining the faculty at Virginia Commonwealth University, Clark was the Baldwin-Bascom Professor of Creative Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
article via jbhe.com