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Bill Cosby Returns to NBC for Family Comedy

By goodblacknews on January 22, 2014
Bill Cosby
(Jemal Countess/Getty Images)

NBC is re-teaming with Bill Cosby and producer Tom Werner on a family comedy.  While there is no pilot order and no studio is attached, NBC has confirmed that they are hiring writers and Cosby would star “as a patriarch in a multigenerational family.”  The Cosby Show, which Werner produced through his production company with Marcy Carsey, ran from 1984 to 1992 on NBC. The sitcom Cosby, which the comedian developed with John Markus and also costarred actress Phylicia Rashad, ran from 1996 to 2000 on CBS.

Partnerships with 1980s and ’90s TV stars seems to be a theme at NBC, where The Michael J. Fox Show is fairing okay in ratings. (Tim Allen’s Last Man Standing on ABC is doing better). The Cosby news happened a day after NBC announced it was scrapping its Murder She Wrote reboot with Octavia Spencer.
article by Whitney Friedlander via Variety.com

Michelle Obama Gets Assist from Miami Heat Stars in "Let's Move" Promo, Dunks on LeBron James (VIDEO)

By goodblacknews on January 21, 2014

 [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEJJFIM1m44&w=560&h=315]

Michelle Obama

The stars of the Miami Heat and head coach Erik Spoelstra joined Michelle Obama at the White House to help promote her “Let’s Move” campaign.

LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade and Ray Allen were on hand to film a short video, encouraging viewers to eat healthy.  The group eats apples and drinks water throughout the promo, which is capped off with the first lady dunking a mini basketball into a hoop held by James.

article by Carrie Healey via thegrio.com

Beyoncé Advocates for Gender Equality in Shriver Report Essay

By goodblacknews on January 15, 2014

beyone-girls-run-press-617-409
Beyoncé may sing about girls running the world, but she’s under no delusion that it’s actually true. The superstar recently penned an article for The Shriver Report about the lack of equality between the sexes.
“We need to stop buying into the myth about gender equality,” Knowles-Carter writes, “It isn’t a reality yet.”
Beyoncé’s essay is a part of The Shriver Report: A Woman’s Nation Pushes Back from the Brink, a “multi-platform nonprofit media initiative led by Maria Shriver that seeks to modernize America’s relationship to women.” The report, which can be downloaded for free until January 15, features essays and photos by some of our nation’s preeminent thinkers, activists, entrepreneurs, and celebrities including Anne-Marie Slaughter, Howard Shultz, Sheryl Sandberg, Jada Pinkett Smith, Hillary Clinton, Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, LeBron James, and Tony Porter.
In her article, Beyoncé discusses the wage gap between the sexes and makes a passionate plea to men to step up to the plate and “demand that their wives, daughters, mothers, and sisters earn more.”
The essay marks yet another step in Beyoncé’s feminist journey. Recently, the singer made waves when she featured excerpts from Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TED talk, “We Should All Be Feminists,” on the song “Flawless,” causing many to wonder if Beyoncé was simply calling herself a feminist to sell records or if she was actually identifying as such.
Despite referring to herself as a “modern day feminist” in the past, this essay may silence her critics and perhaps lend some much-needed support to The Shriver Report, which attempts to tackle some of the most pressing issues that face women today.
Check out out Beyoncé’s essay, Gender Equality Is A Myth! below:

We need to stop buying into the myth about gender equality. It isn’t a reality yet. Today, women make up half of the U.S. workforce, but the average working woman earns only 77 percent of what the average working man makes. But unless women and men both say this is unacceptable, things will not change. Men have to demand that their wives, daughters, mothers, and sisters earn more—commensurate with their qualifications and not their gender. Equality will be achieved when men and women are granted equal pay and equal respect.
Humanity requires both men and women, and we are equally important and need one another. So why are we viewed as less than equal? These old attitudes are drilled into us from the very beginning. We have to teach our boys the rules of equality and respect, so that as they grow up, gender equality becomes a natural way of life. And we have to teach our girls that they can reach as high as humanly possible.
We have a lot of work to do, but we can get there if we work together. Women are more than 50 percent of the population and more than 50 percent of voters. We must demand that we all receive 100 percent of the opportunities.

Download The Shriver Report for free from January 12-15th here.
article by Britni Danielle via clutchmagonline.com

10 Tips for Managing Your Digital Photos

By goodblacknews on January 14, 2014
Digital cameras make it easy to take way too many photos during the holidays or on that wonderful trip to Costa Rica. How do you keep them from becoming a growing electronic pile on your hard drive? We asked photographers, professional organizers and others how they manage.
1. Make time. Carve out a regular time to download new photos — daily (during prime-time TV) or weekly (first thing on Saturdays). Just make it routine.
2. Clean as you go. “As you upload, take the time to delete any photos that you are sure you will not want to keep,” said Suzanne O’Donnell of My LA Organizer. It could save you grief and hard drive space in the long run.
3. Back up and store long term. “Transfer photos off your computer to an external hard drive, cloud or online gallery to save space,” said Ashley Stanfield of Creatively Neat. Again, a routine is key. “I recommend twice a year, or every daylight savings.”
4. Develop a labeling system and stick to it. “Part of the organization is knowing beforehand how you’d like to divide up your images,” said Joey Honsa of Brass Tacks Organization in Los Angeles. Develop a naming system for photo folders. Many professionals start folder names with the year, month and date, then subject. Examples: 2013-12-25-Christmas-Morning or 20131210-tokyo. Start with the year, so when folders are sorted alphabetically, they will appear in chronological order.
5. Consider software. Our experts recommended Adobe Lightroom. Price: $149. There are free alternatives, but they aren’t as flexible or sophisticated. Windows users can rename files in batches by highlighting all the photos in a folder (or simultaneously pressing Control and F4). Right click on the first file and select “Rename.” Type in your new file name and hit Enter. All the highlighted photos will be renamed sequentially, as in: 131210-11 tokyo (1), 131210-11 tokyo (2), and so on.

New Children's Biographies of Malcolm X, Josephine Baker Out This Month

By goodblacknews on January 13, 2014

Not Just For Kids: Biographies aimed at children include Abraham Lincoln, Malcolm X, Josephine Baker and Thomas JeffersonIlyasah Shabazz, Malcolm X’s daughter, has written Malcolm Little: The Boy Who Grew Up to Become Malcolm X (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, $17.99, ages 6-10), a sentimental book about his early life (sensitively illustrated by A.G. Ford).
Also available for elementary school readers is Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker (Chronicle Books, $17.99, ages 7-10), Patricia Hruby Powell’s scrupulously researched, high-spirited celebration of the color-line-crossing dancer, illustrated by Christian Robinson.

Writing in jazzy, syncopated free verse, Powell, a former dancer, finds the seeds of Baker’s passion in her hardscrabble St. Louis childhood. “I didn’t have any stockings … I danced to keep warm,” Baker explains. The author detects heat too in the frustration and fury fueled by racism, which she compares to hot lava, burning deep in the dancer’s soul and released like steam “in little poofs” when she performs.
Powell’s poetic voice details not only Baker’s rise to stardom, onstage triumphs and offstage heroism but also her disappointments, excesses and her descent into homelessness before a glorious return to the stage and funeral fit for a queen.
Robinson’s richly vibrant, sensually expressive illustrations also capture the dancer’s lithe power and passion. Robinson credits the work of Paul Colin, who created the La Revue Negre posters that propelled Baker to fame in France and beyond, as his primary inspiration. But his palette also evokes Jacob Lawrence’s “Migration Series,” adding emotional weight.
article via latimes.com

'She's My Champion': LeBron James Writes Tribute to his Single Mom

By goodblacknews on January 12, 2014

Maria Shriver will launch Monday on TODAY #DoingItAll, a series aimed at helping women overcome challenges described in “The Shriver Report: A Woman’s Nation Pushes Back from the Brink,” published in partnership with Center for American Progress. LeBron James wrote the following essay for The Shriver Report. 

LeBron James on America's Single Mother
Photo courtesy of LeBron James / The Shriver Report

Gloria James raised her only child and future NBA phenomenon alone after becoming pregnant at 16. LeBron says it is her love and devotion that made it possible for him to pursue his dreams.
I am honored to participate in a project that is trying to help single mothers who are struggling to make a living and raise their kids, because that perfectly describes my mother when I was growing up. You think LeBron James is a champion? Gloria James is a champion too. She’s my champion.
My mother really struggled. She had me, her only child, when she was just 16 years old. She was on her own, so we lived in her mom’s great big house in Akron, Ohio. But on Christmas Day when I was 3 years old, my grandmother suddenly died of a heart attack, and everything changed. With my mom being so young and lacking any support and the skills and education necessary to get ahead, it was really hard for us.
We lost the house. We moved around from place to place—a dozen times in three years. It was scary. It was catch as catch can, scraping to get by. My mom worked anywhere and everywhere, trying to make ends meet. But through all of that, I knew one thing for sure: I had my mother to blanket me and to give me security. She was my mother, my father, my everything. She put me first. I knew that no matter what happened, nothing and nobody was more important to her than I was. I went without a lot of things, but never for one second did I feel unimportant or unloved.

12 Year-Old Moziah Bridges Creates and Runs His Own Fashion Line – Mo's Bows

By goodblacknews on January 12, 2014

Moziah Bridges
Moziah Bridges

Always impeccably styled in a button down, creased slacks and dress shoes, Moziah Bridges pins patterns and sews stitches after school. As noted in a promotional descriptor, we can find his youthful fingers on a sewing machine for hours or at least until his mother tells him it’s time for bed.  He is young, gifted and Black.
While a fourth grader at Rozelle Elementary School in Downtown Memphis, Bridges started his career as a fashion designer at the age of 9 in June of 2011 with his exclusive line called Mo’s Bows.  His creations are aimed “at playground pals and adults alike.”  Moziah – “Mo” for short – delivered one of his ties to Fox 13’s bow-tie wearing weatherman Joey Sulipeck, who wore the gift on the air.  Since then, Bridges has been a guest on The Steve Harvey Show and has been featured in British GQ, O Magazine, and Forbes.
“Oprah is big,” said Mo. “Nobody is bigger than ‘O’. I thought, ‘this is really cool.’ What kind of kid gets to be in an Oprah magazine?”  Mo describes himself as a 12 year-old entrepreneur. Recalling his beginnings just three years ago, he says: “I couldn’t find fun and cool bow ties one day. So I decided to use my granny’s scrap fabric to make and sell my own.”
He adds that he likes to wear bow ties, “because they make me look good and feel good. Designing a colorful bow tie is part of my vision to make the world a fun and happier place.”  Tramica Morris, Mo’s mom, said that “Old School” trends as mirrored by his well-dressed dad and grandpa inspired his love for fashion and instilled in her son the importance of dressing for success.
A huge selection of Mo’s bow ties are from his grandmother’s vintage fabric, respective selections of which date back more than 50 years.  And it was, in fact, his grandmother who taught him to sew. Mo’s Bows is indeed strongly guided by his mother and grandmother. After stopping by his grandmother’s house to pick out fabric and patterns, he settles down with his mother and grandmother and starts stitching.
“He can sew a bow tie from start to finish,” says Morris in Sayle. “But there are some things he really doesn’t like to do, like the ironing. We’ll do some of that for him.”  Says Mo, “I just pick whatever I see. It has to speak to me. It has to be fun. It has to be preppy.”  Each bow design has its own name: “Night Magic,” “Beale Street,” “Paper Boy,” “Buster Brown,” and “Think Pink.”
Bridges has earned over $30,000 as of 2013 from his creations.  He sells on his own website-accessible Etsy page.  Mo’s Bows are also available in upscale boutiques in Tennessee, Alabama, Texas, Louisiana, South Carolina, and in Arkansas.

White House: Black Unemployment Decreases 5 Percent Since 2010

By goodblacknews on January 10, 2014

white house unemployment report
The White House has released a report discussing the most-recent unemployment numbers from theBureau Of Labor Statistics, and the African-American unemployment rate, is one of the groups to see a decrease.  Even though long-term unemployment remains elevated, it has somewhat subsided for historically marginalized groups, with the African-American rate reportedly decreasing .5 percent from November (12.4 percent) to December (11.9 percent). Below is the unemployment decrease African Americans experienced for the year 2013:

Unemployment rates…declined over the course of 2013 for women (1.3 percentage points), teenagers (3.8 percentage points), African-Americans (2.1 percentage points), and Hispanics (1.2 percentage points). Similarly, since the overall unemployment rate peaked at 10.0 percent in October 2009, these rates have all shown marked declines.

The White House also reported that unemployment fell 5 percentage points between March 2010, when it was at a shocking 16.9 percent, to now.  Included in the report are also five key points about the most-recent job market. The first one notes that America’s businesses have added jobs for 46 months in a row, with employment increasing by 8.2 million during that time frame.  Private employment has also risen by an average of 177,000 jobs per month over the last three months. Still, the report notes:

Policymakers should be doing everything they can to speed job creation. The Council of Economic Advisers estimates that extending the Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) program through 2014 would lead to an additional 240,000 jobs over the course of the year, because the benefits sustain the purchasing power of recipients who support local businesses and their suppliers.

Marissa Alexander Won’t Return To Jail; Judge Says Violations "Unwillful"

By goodblacknews on January 10, 2014

marissa alexanderA judge has ruled that Marissa Alexander can remain free on bond after the Florida State Attorney filed a motion claiming that the defendant violated her release conditions numerous times, The Florida Times-Union reports.  Circuit Court Judge James Daniel denied Assistant State Attorney Richard Mantei‘s request to revoke Alexander’s bail for “going out shopping for clothes, driving family members to the hair shop and airport, getting a new driver’s license, visiting the bank and seeing a sister-in-law.”
Mantei’s stated to the judge that Alexander, 33, was on home detention while performing her errands. The conditions of her detention prohibit her from leaving her residence except for court appearances, medical emergencies and to satisfy any requirements of her pretrial services program. She has been free on bond since Thanksgiving after getting a new trial in her aggravated assault case for firing a warning shot during an altercation with her husband, Rico Gray.
Alexander’s lawyer, Bruce Zimet, countered the state’s argument by saying that all of his client’s actions were approved by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, which angered Judge Daniel. Zimet said the court ordered Alexander to speak with Jacksonville authorities before making her trips, which they approved without checking with the judge. Since Alexander did not knowingly violate the bond, Judge Daniel saw fit to allow her to remain in home detention.
April Wilson, an 18-year veteran of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, was present for Friday’s hearing. Wilson approved all of Alexander’s trips, stating in her tearful testimony that her understanding of the court order would allow for these brief stops she made while under house arrest. After today’s hearing, however, it appears that both sides understand Judge Daniel’s orders and will move forward from there.  “I think it was handled how it needed to be handled. The judge is now aware and everybody else is now aware of what was going on. Things got brought out in the open that’s always a good thing,” said Mantei, as reported by Florida Times-Union.

78 Year-Old Vegan Male Bodybuilder, Jim Morris, Will Make You Reconsider Your Diet

By goodblacknews on January 9, 2014

77 year-old Vegan Bodybuilder Jim Morris
78 year-old Vegan Bodybuilder Jim Morris

If there’s ever been a greater advertisement for ditching meat and animal products in favor of a vegan lifestyle, we think we’ve found it.
Meet 78-year-old vegan male bodybuilder Jim Morris, who is PETA‘s most senior pin-up. And boy is he a picture of health.  Jim posed as iconic statue ‘The Thinker’ for PETA while aged 77, which forms part of his brand-new campaign that ‘Think Before You Eat’.
The ad, which can be seen below, goes on to encourage viewers to “muscle your way to better health” – and a reduced risk of obesity, heart disease, cancer, diabetes and strokes – by going vegan.  Jim says that his health greatly improved after he retired from competitive bodybuilding in 1985 – which is all down to his decision to become vegetarian and, later, vegan.
bodybuilder peta
“The protein in animal products is so laden with fats and chemicals and all sorts of stuff that’s harmful to you,” he told PETA in an interview.
“When I was competing and stuffing down all of that sort of stuff, I had lots of digestive problems. I was constipated and bloated and just miserable all the time. . . . I know as a fact I would not be here and I would not be in this condition now had I continued eating the way I was.”
After changing his dietary habits, he feels better than ever.
He encourages others to adopt the vegan lifestyle, so they can feel as good as he does.
“Milk is for babies”, he says. “Humans, as far as I know, are the only creatures that continue to drink milk once they’ve been weaned. … I think a lot of people don’t realise if they would stop drinking milk and [consuming] all of the milk products, they would say, ‘Wow, I didn’t realise I could feel this good’.”
PETA says: “People who go vegan don’t just help their own health – they also drastically reduce their carbon footprint and save animals from immense suffering on factory farms, in abattoirs and on the decks of fishing boats.”
article via huffingtonpost.co.uk