In an effort to promote fatherhood, award-winning filmmaker Art Hooker and former director of President Barack Obama’s Office Of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships Joshua DuBois have teamed up to create the “This Is Fatherhood” challenge.
Launched on May 1st, the challenge targets young Fathers who may need encouragement and support to become better parents. Contestants can submit videos, songs, and essays about fatherhood through June 10th. The winners will receive cash prizes and a trip to Washington, D.C., for a ceremony on Father’s Day.
Miami Heat player Dwyane Wade (pictured) has signed on to promote the challenge. As a Father with primary custody of his two sons, Wade says he is honored by the opportunity. “When I was first [approached to become] involved with the initiative, I was humbled,” Wade said. He noted the President’s fatherhood speeches as further inspiration. “More than that, I was moved by the fact that one of the reasons President Obama was so passionate about this issue is that he grew up without his dad. He, too, has recognized that being a Father is his most-important role.”
Obama’s Chicago speech in February helped inspire the challenge. In it, the President noted how “there are entire neighborhoods where young people, they don’t see an example of somebody succeeding. And for a lot of young boys and young men, in particular, they don’t see an example of Fathers or grandfathers, uncles, who are in a position to support families and be held up and respected.”
Wade appears along with Obama and Jay-Z in a public service announcement promoting “This Is Fatherhood.” Eugene Schneeberg, current director of the Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, worked with predecessor DuBois to support Obama’s fatherhood program. He is also one of the challenge’s judges.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama’s top national security adviser Tom Donilon is resigning and will be replaced by Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. who has been a lightning rod for Republican criticism over faulty explanations for the attack that killed four Americans in Benghazi, Libya.
Donilon has been a key foreign policy adviser to President Barack Obama. But the 58-year-old had been expected to depart sometime this year, with Rice seen as the likely candidate to replace him. Her selection is sure to anger congressional Republicans, who have accused the administration of inconsistency and a cover-up in the Benghazi attacks.
Rice, a close Obama confidante, came under withering criticism from Republicans as part of the investigations into the deadly attack on a U.S. compound in Benghazi. Relying on talking points from the intelligence community, Rice said in television interviews that the attacks were likely spontaneous, which was later proven incorrect.
Obama considered nominating Rice as his second-term secretary of state, but she withdrew amid the GOP criticism, saying she didn’t want her confirmation fight to be a distraction for the White House. The president instead nominated John Kerry, who easily won confirmation from his former Senate colleagues.
LOS ANGELES — Musical. Romance. Epic history. Social drama. Christmas comedy. After years of complaint and self-criticism about the shortage of prominent movies by and about black Americans, film companies are poised to release an extraordinary cluster of them across an array of genres in the last five months of 2013.
At least 10 new films will be released, including several awards contenders, from both independent and major distributors, like the Weinstein Company, Fox Searchlight and Universal Pictures. Even some of those who made this year’s movies have been caught by surprise.
“You tell me!” said the director and screenwriter Lee Daniels, when asked how so many black-driven films had materialized at once. His historical drama “The Butler” — based on a real-life White House butler who served eight presidents — is to be released by Weinstein on Aug. 16. “I’m working in my own bubble, I come up for air, and there they are,” Mr. Daniels said.
Black filmmakers say the wave of 2013 releases was built in large part on the creativity that has flourished on the independent-film circuit, which has become a laboratory of sorts for more prominent African-American-themed productions. Writers and directors have been sharpening their skills on indie films the last several years while waiting for big distributors to regain interest.
CAMBRIDGE — On a recent Wednesday afternoon, 22-year-old Cortlan Wickliff walks into a pizzeria looking every bit the college student, with headphones, braces, and slightly overgrown hair. Finals are over, and there’s not much to do but have dinner with friends and watch movies, lots of movies, until graduation.
Oh, and start studying for the bar exam. When Wickliff dons his cap and gown, regalia his mother had to remind him to order, the Texas native will be one of the youngest African-Americans ever to graduate from Harvard Law School. Wickliff was 19 when he graduated from Houston’s Rice University with a degree in bioengineering in 2010. That fall he started law school, but said the age gap with his classmates, about five to six years, was not the biggest issue.
“Being at a school where there aren’t any right answers when you have been in engineering or sciences classes, that’s a bit of a change,” he said with a shrug. “School was different because of my engineering background, being from the South, being from Texas, rather than different because of my age.”
There is no age requirement for admission to Harvard Law; school administrators said the average age in the graduating Class of 2013 is 27. Students need strong test scores and grades. But more than anything, they must show an aptitude for advocating a point of view, something proven through work experience, extracurricular activities, volunteering, leadership positions.
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — The Haiti humanitarian group for Hollywood actor Sean Penn announced Friday that it will sponsor five Haitian runners so they can compete in the New York City Marathon in November. Penn’s J/P Haitian Relief Organization will accept the top three men and two women finishers in a rare half-marathon that will wind through the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince on Sunday.
Ron Baldwin, executive director of J/P HRO, said the decision to sponsor Haitian runners in the world’s largest marathon was inspired in part by an Associated Press story. The January report featured a Haitian distance runner named Astrel Clovis who faces numerous obstacles as he runs through the hilly streets of Port-au-Prince three years after the Jan. 12 earthquake devastated the capital.
“It’s an inspiring story,” Baldwin said of Clovis. “After the earthquake, he’s running. He’s self-training, and has no support. We decided ‘let’s give that guy a chance.’ And it grew from there to build a whole team.” Clovis has a good shot at making the cut for New York. He is a favorite among the more than 50 registered runners participating in Sunday’s government-organized race. He finished second in a marathon in neighboring Dominican Republic in December with a time of 2 hours and 42 minutes.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqnF3UicuQs&w=560&h=315]
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Monday called for a more robust national discussion on mental illness, saying the time had come to bring the issue “out of the shadows.”
Speaking at the opening session of a White House conference on mental health, the president said his goal was to let people affected by these issues know they should not suffer in silence.
“Struggling with a mental illness or caring for someone who does can be isolating,” Obama said. “It begins to feel as if, not only are you alone, but that you shouldn’t burden others with the challenge.”
The conference is part of Obama’s response to last year’s shooting massacre at a Connecticut elementary school. While the president emphasized that most people with mental health problems are not violent, he said untreated mental illness can lead to larger tragedies.
There’s been little publicly revealed about the mental health of Sandy Hook shooter Adam Lanza, although it’s been documented that other gunmen involved in mass shootings suffered from mental illness. Federal law bans certain mentally ill people from purchasing firearms, but the background check system is woefully incomplete and Obama is trying to get more mental health records included.
“We can do something about stories like this,” he said. “In many cases, treatment is available and effective.” Top administration officials, along with actors Bradley Cooper and Glenn Close, were among those participating in the White House conference.
The agenda includes discussion of insurance coverage for mental health care and substance abuse, recognizing the signs of mental illness in young people and improved access to services for veterans. The overall goal is reducing the stigma of mental health problems and encouraging those who are struggling to get help.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Larry Drew could have sulked during his last season in Atlanta, complained to anyone who would listen about being a lame duck despite a winning record and three straight playoff appearances. He never did. “When you stay in this game as long as I have, the most important thing is you don’t take a negative situation and keep it negative,” Drew said. “I thought I would get something positive of it.”
That came Monday, as Drew was introduced as the new coach of the Milwaukee Bucks six days after his awkward tenure with the Atlanta Hawks ended with the hiring of his replacement. Drew has a three-year deal with the Bucks, and the team has an option for a fourth season.
“I am very, very excited about being here, I really am,” Drew said. “I’m going to do everything in my power to put this group together as fast as possible, to making us competitive, to making sure these guys are in tune with each other. If I do that, chances are we’re going to be a pretty good basketball team.”
If not, he’ll have to answer to his uncle. Drew’s uncle, Norman Johnson, has lived in Milwaukee for 49 years, and he joined the coach, his wife and the couple’s two younger sons for Monday’s news conference. “I’ve been a Bucks fan ever since the Bucks have been here,” Johnson said. “I’m very proud of him,” Johnson added. “I hope he continues his good work. I think he will.”
Washington D.C.— Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wisconsin) released a statement Monday in celebration and recognition of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) pride month, which occurs annually in June.
Despite the fact the homosexuality is often a taboo topic in the black community, Moore has chosen to embrace members of the LGBT community and their accomplishments during this month.
“LGBT Pride Month is a time to celebrate the progress we have made towards achieving equality for all Americans regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity,” said Moore in her statement.
Moore has shown her support by participating in the NOH8 marriage and gender equality campaign, a charitable organization that advocates for the LGBT community and their rights, in addition to efforts to include LGBT members in her Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).
Also, in her statement Moore encouraged others to recognize the work that needs to be done to improve the opportunities for members of the LGBT community as well as appreciate the diversity that they offer our nation.
Moore takes pride in her LGBT friends and allies in politics stating, “I am also proud to celebrate my Wisconsin friends and LGBT Members of Congress – Senator Tammy Baldwin, the first openly gay United States Senator and Representative Mark Pocan, whose husband became the first LGBT partner to receive a Congressional spousal ID.”
article by Adrienne Green via thegrio.com
Ruth Simmons, the former president of Smith College and the former president of Brown University, received the French Legion of Honor. The award, the highest honor bestowed by the French government, is given to individuals who have contributed to the advancement of French arts and culture. The citation of the award stated that “she has continuously fought against inequality and discrimination, promoting and relentlessly teaching human rights and values that France has always honored and supported.”
Dr. Simmons continues to serve on the Brown University faculty as a professor of comparative literature and Africana studies. Fluent in French, she holds a Ph.D. in Romance languages and literature from Harvard University.
article via jbhe.com
Achille Messac was named dean of the James Worth Bagley College of Engineering at Mississippi State University. He will be the first African-American dean in the university’s history.
Dr. Messac has been serving as distinguished professor and chair of the department of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Syracuse University in New York. Previously, he taught at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, and Northeastern University in Boston.
Dr. Messac is a native of Haiti. He holds bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
article via jbhe.com