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Celebrating Phylicia Rashad and Debbie Allen on #NationalSiblingsDay (LISTEN)

Celebrating Phylicia Rashad and Debbie Allen on #NationalSiblingsDay (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on April 10, 2022

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

On #NationalSiblingsDay, we celebrate Tony and Emmy award-winning sisters Phylicia Rashad and Debbie Allen in today’s GBN Daily Drop podcast.

To read about them, read on. To hear about them, press PLAY:

[You can follow or subscribe to the Good Black News Daily Drop Podcast through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, rss.com or create your own RSS Feed. Or just check it out every day here on the main website. Full transcript below]:

Hey, this Lori Lakin Hutcherson, founder and editor in chief of goodblacknews.org, here to share with you a daily drop of Good Black News for Sunday, April 10, 2022, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar” published by Workman Publishing, also known as Palm Sunday and in the United States as National Siblings Day.

As the daughters of poet Vivian Ayers Allen (who was featured in April 8th’s Daily Drop), sisters Phylicia Rashad and Debbie Allen likely grew up believing the sky was the limit. Both are Howard University graduates and award-winning stars of stage and screen.

Phylicia won the Tony Award for Lead Actress in a Play for the 2004 revival of A Raisin in the Sun, and Debbie won Emmys in 1982, 1983 and 1991 for her choreography on Fame and Motown 30: What’s Goin’ On!

https://youtu.be/ObGtzzLLjlA

In 2001 Allen opened the Debbie Allen Dance Academy in Los Angeles, and in 2008 she directed the all-African American Broadway production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof starring big sis Rashad as Big Mama.

In 2020, Debbie Allen became a Kennedy Center Honoree and in 2021, they kept the sister love going with Phylicia’s guest appearance in a Debbie-directed episode of Grey’s Anatomy.

That same year, Rashad was appointed Dean of Howard University’s Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts.

And just this week in 2022, Allen was honored by the Dance Theater of Harlem with the Arthur Mitchell Vision Award.

To learn more about these talented sisters, check out the siblings’ conversation from 2020 where they share stories, their history together and life lessons on IG live, posted on the True Exclusives channel on YouTube and check out the links to more sources provided in today’s show notes and the episode’s full transcript posted on goodblacknews.org.

This has been a daily drop of Good Black News, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar for 2022,” published by Workman Publishing.

Beats provided by freebeats.io and produced by White Hot.

If you like these Daily Drops, please consider following us on Apple, Google Podcasts, RSS.com, Amazon, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a rating or review, share links to your favorite episodes, or go old school and tell a friend.

For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

Sources:

Good Black News Wishes You and Yours Happy Mother’s Day 2021

Good Black News Wishes You and Yours Happy Mother’s Day 2021

By goodblacknews on May 9, 2021

Good Black News wants to take a moment on this day to honor and remember the women who gave us life, who nurtured and raised us, and also offered us solace, counsel, wisdom, humility and humor.

We are excited to acknowledge that because of progress with vaccinations in the U.S., many of us can be with our mothers or mother figures this year when we could not in 2020.

For those of us who still aren’t able to be with our mothers or mother figures in person, we are with you in voice, online and always – in spirit!

And to all the mothers out there – be they Aunties, Grandmothers, Cousins or Friends – thank you for all you do!

Happy Mother’s Day!

Rapper and Activist Meek Mill Donates Gifts and Money to Families in Philadelphia Impacted by Criminal Justice System

Rapper and Activist Meek Mill Donates Gifts and Money to Families in Philadelphia Impacted by Criminal Justice System

By goodblacknews on December 24, 2020

[Photo: Meek Mill via facebook.com]

Yesterday hip hop artist and activist Meek Mill along with his Dream Chasers record label delivered toys, clothes, and new Xbox consoles to 35 families in Philadelphia impacted by the criminal justice system.

In partnership with the REFORM Alliance, Puma, GoPuff, and DocuVault, the rapper helped arrange the deliveries, and saw the families receive everything from MacBook Air laptops or iPads, to baby clothes and Xbox Series X consoles.

To quote from complex.com:

“It’s been a tough year for all of us, but through all the ups and downs, I’ll always do my part to support and give back to the Philly community that raised me,” said Meek. “I remember not having much growing up, so it’s important to use my platform to give back, especially to the families trying to provide for their kids while also dealing with the criminal justice system.” Among the recipients was Anthony Morse, who fosters five kids as well as raising his own children.

Conducted with social distancing protocols, Meek personally FaceTimed some of the families to hear their stories as the deliveres were conducted. He also announced that he has donated $30,000 to the Philadelphia chapter of volunteer organization Twelve Days of Christmas, which aims to help families make it through the holiday season. His contribution will go towards 30 families across North Philadelphia, include those who went to his old school, James G. Blaine Elementary School.

Robert Rihmeek Williams aka Meek Mill was born and raised in Philadelphia and was executive producer and subject of the 2019 Free Meek documentary on Prime Video detailing his own personal battles with the criminal justice system.

To read more: https://theurbandaily.com/3609086/meek-mill-gifted-toys-clothes-electronics-to-philly-families-hurt-by-the-criminal-justice-system/

Good Black News Wishes You and Yours a Happy Father’s Day 2020

Good Black News Wishes You and Yours a Happy Father’s Day 2020

By goodblacknews on June 21, 2020

Good Black News joins in the honoring and remembrance of the men who gave us life, nurtured and raised us, and also offered us solace, counsel and wisdom.

Many of us can’t be with the fathers or father figures in our lives today in person due to the global COVID-19 crisis, but we are with you in voice, online and always – in spirit!

To all the dads out there – be they Uncles, Grandfathers, Cousins or Friends – thank you for all you do!

Happy Father’s Day!

Good Black News Wishes You and Yours a Happy Mother’s Day in 2020

By goodblacknews on May 10, 2020

Good Black News joins in the honoring and remembrance of the women who gave us life, nurtured and raised us, and also offered us solace, counsel and wisdom.

Many of us can’t be with the mothers or mother figures in our lives today in person due to the global COVID-19 crisis, but we are with you in voice, online and always – in spirit!

To all the mothers out there – be they Aunties, Grandmothers, Cousins or Friends – thank you for all you do!

Happy Mother’s Day!

Author Nancy Redd’s New Children’s Book “Bedtime Bonnet” Celebrates Black Nighttime Hair Rituals

Author Nancy Redd’s New Children’s Book “Bedtime Bonnet” Celebrates Black Nighttime Hair Rituals

By goodblacknews on April 7, 2020

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

Nancy Redd, author of Body Drama: Real Girls, Real Bodies, Real Issues, Real Answers, dedicated herself to boosting the self-esteem of much younger girls in her latest book, Bedtime Bonnet.

Written by Harvard graduate Redd and illustrated by TV animation character designer Nneka Myers, Bedtime Bonnet, published by Random House Kids, is the first-ever children’s picture book that honors the time-honored practice of Black women protecting their hair with satin bonnets.

The idea for Bedtime Bonnet came from her daughter’s reaction to being told she needed to wear one at 3 years old.

“She was like, ‘I don’t want to wear a bonnet, bonnets are for old people,’” Redd recalled to Essence.

To quote the Essence article further:

“Because when you’re 3 or 4, you are not going to sleepovers, you know what I mean? And we moved far away from our extended family. So it’s not like I was hanging out with the cousins and she was able to see other people her age,” said Redd. “She only saw me and grandma in a bonnet.”

She continued, “I just didn’t know how to explain it to her because of the cartoon characters she would watch. Even the Black ones, they don’t wear anything to bed on their head, which now is a huge plot hole that causes me stress. Like when little children are going to bed, they are just laying their head on top of that cotton pillowcase and it stresses me out.”

Redd merged her annoyance with her talents to write Bedtime Bonnet. The quick read features the full lips, brown skin, glorious locs, buoyant curls, and soft caresses that have made up the nightly routine of Black families for generations. Du-rags, silk scarves, wave caps, and doobie wraps are all represented in its pages. Redd wanted to transfer her love of the self-care ritual onto her little girl and children around the world.

To order Bedtime Bonnet via Amazon, click here.

To read more via Essence, click here.

Detroit Math Teacher Voncile Campbell Reads Bedtime Stories Online to Soothe Students During School Shutdown

By goodblacknews on April 5, 2020
Detroit teacher Voncile Campbell (photo via Chalkbeat.org)

According to Chalkbeat.org, Voncile Campbell, a math teacher at Bow Elementary-Middle School in Detroit, MI transforms into a new fantasy character on the regular. A little boy hunting for treasure with pirates. An owl playing with a fox. A teddy bear king who can’t fall asleep.

Ever since Campbell’s school shut down in March due to the coronavirus pandemic, she’s created a new role for herself as a bedtime storyteller.

To quote the article by Eleanore Catolico:

By posting videos on the school’s Facebook page at 8 p.m. nightly, Campbell is staying connected to her students and letting them know they’re still with her in spirit during the closure.

“I thought about how we have a low return of homework and students who say that there’s nobody reading to them at home,” she said. “And I really just wanted to do something to connect with my students by reading to them at night because I wanted to show them that I personally am still thinking about them.”

The novel coronavirus pandemic has disrupted students’ routines. They’re disconnected from the classmates and teachers they’re accustomed to seeing every day. For Campbell, telling bedtime stories creates stability and calm during a time of uncertainty.

She begins every video with the same phrase: “Good evening, scholars and friends. It’s time for tonight’s bedtime story.” She recites each line softly and calmly, modifying her vocal level as she embodies each character.

Campbell’s videos are quickly gaining popularity through word of mouth. They’ve collected thousands of views and been shared multiple times in the last week. She’s received a lot of positive feedback and continues to refine her approach by adding colorful images from the storybooks. A picture from the story pops up on the screen while she reads. She also started dividing the stories into episodes, asking students to email her predictions on what will happen next.

To read more: https://chalkbeat.org/posts/detroit/2020/03/25/detroit-math-teachers-bedtime-stories-soothe-students-during-the-school-shutdown/

Russell Wilson and Ciara Pledge to Donate One Million Meals to Food Lifeline and Feeding America in Wake of Pandemic

By goodblacknews on March 19, 2020
NFL Quarterback Russell Wilson and Musical Artist Ciara (photo via flickr.com)

According to NBCSports.com, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and singer Ciara have pledged 1 million meals to Food Lifeline and Feeding America in an effort to help keep Americans in need fed in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.

To quote the article:

“Obviously this worldwide pandemic, coronavirus, is changing the world, second-by-second, minute-by minute. People are losing loved ones, the elderly and the young, people in between. … So what we’ve decided to do is partner with our local food bank in Seattle, Seattle Food Lifeline, and we’re going to donate a million meals and hopefully make a difference,” Wilson said in a video message.

Wilson and Ciara mentioned people losing jobs in the wake of increasing shut down initiatives in an effort to keep the spread of the virus from proliferating an exponential rates. They’ve already seen friends in the area that work for companies such as Alaska Airlines, the Seattle Sounders – where the pair are part owners – and Seattle Children’s Hospital hit with the effects of the virus.

“We want to encourage every out there to join us in whatever way that you can, big or small,” Ciara said. “Everything makes a difference. Everything that we do together makes a difference and together we will conquer this tough time that we’re going through.”

The Feeding America network of food banks “distributes 4.3 billion meals each year through food pantries and meal programs throughout the United States and leads the nation to engage in the fight against hunger.”

Good Black News Wishes Blessings for You and Yours on this Very Merry Christmas

Good Black News Wishes Blessings for You and Yours on this Very Merry Christmas

By goodblacknews on December 25, 2019

On a day when so many family members, friends and loved ones come together to celebrate, GBN wishes you a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, a blessed and bountiful Kwanzaa and Hopeful Holidays all around.

As we give to each other, let us always strive to remember what a gift we have in life, and to cherish that spirit always for ourselves as well as others all year long.

Love and Peace,

The Good Black News Team

Frederick Joseph, #BlackPantherChallenge Founder, Raises $35,000 For Children With #SantaClausChallenge

By goodblacknews on December 18, 2019

New York author and creator of the #BlackPantherChallenge, Frederick Joseph, launches the #SantaClausChallenge after learning the Operation Cover Chicago 2019 toy drive was short 9,000 toys. With only four days until the toy drive, Joseph called on others to join the challenge by donating or buying a gift for kids in Chicago.

Another Chance Church, launched Operation Cover Chicago 2019 with the aim to make it a Christmas to remember for 10,000 families who otherwise couldn’t afford to buy toys. Statistics show that the Chicagoland community is comprised of 9% of students who are homeless and 45% of adults who are unemployed or under-employed.

Frederick Joseph kicked off the #SantaClausChallenge with a $500 donation to their GoFundMe, which aims to raise $35,000 to purchase toys for children ages three to 15. Inspired by his generosity, GoFundMe made a donation of $5,000. “All children deserve to feel like they matter, especially during the Holidays,” said Frederick Joseph. “This is an opportunity to show them that the community cares and is standing behind all families. I’m calling on others to take action and donate to help more kids experience the joy of Christmas.”

As of December 17th, the challenge met its goal by raising $35,000 to service 10,000 families.

Joseph successfully created the #BlackPantherChallenge, an international movement that raised over $950,000 to send over 73,000 children to see the Black Panther film for free in 2018. He’s been rallying behind community based GoFundMes ever since, having raised over $1.25 million to date for good causes.

Operation Cover Chicago 2019 will be giving away the toys to 10,000 families on December 20, 2019 at 9550 S. Harvard Chicago IL, 60628 at 7pm. To make a donation, visit:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/operation-cover-chicago-2019