Kevin Krigger’s first-ever mount, as the legend is told, came at the tender age of five when he surreptitiously bolted from a backdoor in his family’s home in St. Croix, bounded onto a horse owned by one of his neighbors and took off down the street.
It didn’t take long for Krigger, the jockey of Santa Anita Derby winner Goldencents, to teach himself at a young age to mount a bareback horse by jumping off the roof of his parents’ car. Near his 10th birthday, Krigger’s grandmother bought him his first horse, a foal he used to win nearly 100 match races against his rivals in their mid-to-late teens on the sandy beaches of the U.S. Virgin Islands.
By then, the headstrong rider already had a singular goal cemented in his mind: It was “not I’m going to be the first African-American to win the Kentucky Derby in 100-something years. It was just, ‘I’m going to win the Kentucky Derby,” Krigger told reporters this week.
On Saturday, Krigger can make history by becoming the first African-American to win the Run for the Roses since Jimmy Winkfield captured the historic race in consecutive years in 1901 and 1902. Krigger, 29, is the first African-American jockey to ride in the Kentucky Derby since 2000 and just the third to be entered in the first leg of the Triple Crown since 1920. As Krigger has prepared the son of Into Mischief for the 139th renewal of the Derby this week, he has taped a photo of Winkfield to his locker at Churchill Downs for motivation.
“The look in his eyes,” Krigger told the Associated Press, “was telling me, ‘You’re going to do it.'”
In 1903, Winkfield nearly became the first and only jockey to win the Derby in three consecutive years, when his fortunes turned. While the young jockey reportedly became blacklisted for failing to honor a riding contract with an owner, mounts for African-American riders increasingly leveled off as Jim Crow laws proliferated in the segregated south.
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LeBron James is getting his fourth Most Valuable Player award — and the only mystery left is whether the vote was unanimous. The Miami Heat star will be introduced Sunday as the award winner, according to a person familiar with the results and who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the league has not publicly announced the result. James will become the fifth player with at least four MVP awards, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain.
No one has ever swept every first-place vote in the NBA’s MVP balloting. After the season he had, James could be the first. “I don’t know who else you’d vote for,” Heat forward Chris Bosh said Friday. “No offense to everybody else, but that’s just how good he has played this year.”
James averaged 26.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 7.3 assists this season, shooting a career-best 56 percent. It was absolutely no surprise that he won the award, and given the timetable for Miami’s next game — the Heat don’t open Eastern Conference semifinal play until Monday night against Brooklyn or Chicago — it had been widely assumed for several days that Sunday would be the day.
WASHINGTON – President Obama on Wednesday nominated Representative Melvin L. Watt, Democrat of North Carolina, to become the overseer of the government-backed mortgage financiers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. If approved by the Senate, Mr. Watt would replace Edward J. DeMarco, who has been acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency for more than three years.
Mr. Watt is a lawyer who has represented North Carolina in Congress for the last two decades. If he won Senate confirmation, he would become a powerful economic policy maker, as the housing market recovers and the White House contemplates the government’s future role in it. “Mel understands as well as anybody what caused the housing crisis,” Mr. Obama said in a ceremony in the State Dining Room of the White House. “He knows what it’s going to take to help responsible homeowners fully recover and he’s committed to helping folks just like his mom,” who attended the ceremony, and whom Mr.Obama characterized as “Americans who work really hard, play by the rules, day in and day out, to provide for their families.”
Cicely Tyson’s return to Broadway indeed proved “Bountiful,” as she is among the contenders for best actress in a play for her starring role in “The Trip to Bountiful.’’ The others in Tyson’s category are Laurie Metcalf for “The Other Place,’’ Amy Morton for “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,’’ Kristine Nielsen for “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike,’’ and Holland Taylor for “Ann.’’
The revival of “Pippin” “Motown: The Musical” each garnered several awards, among them nominations for their respective lead actresses, Patina Miller and Valisia LeKae. Courtney B. Vance also garnered a nomination for his supporting role in “Lucky Guy,” as did Tyson’s “Bountiful” co-star Condola Rashad for hers.
The full list of nominees is below:
Best play
“The Assembled Parties” by Richard Greenberg
“Lucky Guy” by Nora Ephron
“The Testament of Mary” by Colm Toibin
“Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” by Christopher Durang
Best musical
“Bring It On, The Musical”
“A Christmas Story, The Musical”
“Kinky Boots, The Musical”
“Matilda, The Musical”
Best book of a musical
“A Christmas Story, The Musical” Joseph Robinette
“Kinky Boots” Harvey Fierstein
“Matilda, The Musical” Dennis Kelly
Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella” Douglas Carter Beane
Best revival of a play
“Golden Boy” Producers: Lincoln Center Theater, André Bishop, Bernard Gersten
“Orphans”
“The Trip to Bountiful”
“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”
RELATED: 10 Tony nomination plot twists
Best revival of a musical
“Annie”
“The Mystery of Edwin Drood”
“Pippin”
“Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella”
Best original score (music and/or lyrics) written for the theatre
“A Christmas Story, The Musical” Music and Lyrics: Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
“Hands on a Hardbody” Music: Trey Anastasio and Amanda Green Lyrics: Amanda Green
“Kinky Boots” Music and Lyrics: Cyndi Lauper
“Matilda, The Musical” Music and Lyrics: Tim Minchin
Best performance by an actor in a leading role in a play
Tom Hanks, “Lucky Guy”
Nathan Lane, “The Nance”
Tracy Letts, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”
David Hyde Pierce, “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike”
Tom Sturridge, “Orphans”
Best performance by an actress in a leading role in a play
Laurie Metcalf, “The Other Place”
Amy Morton, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”
Kristine Nielsen, “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike”
Holland Taylor, “Ann”
Cicely Tyson, “The Trip to Bountiful”
Best performance by an actor in a leading role in a musical
Bertie Carvel, “Matilda, The Musical”
Santino Fontana, “Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella”
Rob McClure, “Chaplin”
Billy Porter, “Kinky Boots”
Stark Sands, “Kinky Boots”
PHOTOS: Hollywood stars on stage
Best performance by an actress in a leading role in a musical
Stephanie J. Block, “The Mystery of Edwin Drood”
Carolee Carmello, “Scandalous”
Valisia LeKae, “Motown, The Musical”
Patina Miller, “Pippin”
Laura Osnes, “Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella”
Best performance by an actor in a featured role in a play
Danny Burstein, “Golden Boy”
Richard Kind, “The Big Knife”
Billy Magnussen, “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike”
Tony Shalhoub, “Golden Boy”
Courtney B. Vance, “Lucky Guy”
Best performance by an actress in a featured role in a play
Carrie Coon, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”
Shalita Grant, “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike”
Judith Ivey, “The Heiress”
Judith Light, “The Assembled Parties”
Condola Rashad, “The Trip to Bountiful”
Best performance by an actor in a featured role in a musical
Charl Brown, “Motown, The Musical”
Keith Carradine, “Hands on a Hardbody”
Will Chase, “The Mystery of Edwin Drood”
Gabriel Ebert, “Matilda, The Musical”
Terrence Mann, “Pippin”
Best performance by an actress in a featured role in a musical
Annaleigh Ashford, “Kinky Boots”
Victoria Clark, “Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella”
Andrea Martin, “Pippin”
Keala Settle, “Hands on a Hardbody”
Lauren Ward, “Matilda, The Musical”
Best scenic design of a play
John Lee Beatty, “The Nance”
Santo Loquasto, “The Assembled Parties”
David Rockwell, “Lucky Guy”
Michael Yeargan, “Golden Boy”
PHOTOS: 2013 Tonys top nominees
Best scenic design of a musical
Rob Howell, “Matilda, The Musical”
Anna Louizos, “The Mystery of Edwin Drood”
Scott Pask, “Pippin”
David Rockwell, “Kinky Boots”
Best costume design of a play
Soutra Gilmour, “Cyrano de Bergerac”
Ann Roth, “The Nance”
Albert Wolsky, “The Heiress”
Catherine Zuber, “Golden Boy”
Best costume design of a musical
Gregg Barnes, “Kinky Boots”
Rob Howell, “Matilda, The Musical”
Dominique Lemieux, “Pippin”
William Ivey Long, “Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella”
Best lighting design of a play
Jules Fisher & Peggy Eisenhauer, “Lucky Guy”
Donald Holder, “Golden Boy”
Jennifer Tipton, “The Testament of Mary”
Japhy Weideman, “The Nance”
Best lighting design of a musical
Kenneth Posner, “Kinky Boots”
Kenneth Posner, “Pippin”
Kenneth Posner, “Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella”
Hugh Vanstone, “Matilda, The Musical”
RELATED: Tony nomination snubs
Best sound design of a play
John Gromada, “The Trip to Bountiful”
Mel Mercier, “The Testament of Mary”
Leon Rothenberg, “The Nance”
Peter John Still and Marc Salzberg, “Golden Boy”
FULL COVERAGE: 2013 Tony nominations
Best sound design of a musical
Jonathan Deans & Garth Helm, “Pippin”
Peter Hylenski, “Motown, The Musical”
John Shivers, “Kinky Boots”
Nevin Steinberg, “Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella”
Best direction of a play
Pam MacKinnon, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”
Nicholas Martin, “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike”
Bartlett Sher, “Golden Boy”
George C. Wolfe, “Lucky Guy”
Best direction of a musical
Scott Ellis, “The Mystery of Edwin Drood”
Jerry Mitchell, “Kinky Boots”
Diane Paulus, “Pippin”
Matthew Warchus, “Matilda, The Musical”
Best choreography
Andy Blankenbuehler, “Bring It On: The Musical”
Peter Darling, “Matilda, The Musical”
Jerry Mitchell, “Kinky Boots”
Chet Walker, “Pippin”
Best orchestrations
Chris Nightingale, “Matilda, The Musical”
Stephen Oremus, “Kinky Boots”
Ethan Popp & Bryan Crook, “Motown, The Musical”
Danny Troob, “Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella”
Recipients of awards and honors in non-competitive categories
Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre
Bernard Gersten
Paul Libin
Ming Cho Lee
Regional Theatre Award
Huntington Theatre Company, Boston
Isabelle Stevenson Award
Larry Kramer
Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre
Career Transition for Dancers
William Craver
Peter Lawrence
The Lost Colony
The four actresses who created the title role of “Matilda, The Musical” on Broadway – Sophia
Gennusa, Oona Laurence, Bailey Ryon and Milly Shapiro
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s blacks voted at a higher rate than other minority groups in 2012 and by most measures surpassed the white turnout for the first time, reflecting a deeply polarized presidential election in which blacks strongly supported Barack Obama while many whites stayed home.
Had people voted last November at the same rates they did in 2004, when black turnout was below its current historic levels, Republican Mitt Romney would have won narrowly, according to an analysis conducted for The Associated Press.
Census data and exit polling show that whites and blacks will remain the two largest racial groups of eligible voters for the next decade. Last year’s heavy black turnout came despite concerns about the effect of new voter-identification laws on minority voting, outweighed by the desire to re-elect the first black president.
NBA center Jason Collins has become the first athlete in a major American team sport to come out as gay during his playing career. In a personal essay set to publish in Sports Illustrated, Collins begins, “I’m a 34-year-old NBA center. I’m black. And I’m gay.
“I didn’t set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport,” he continues. “But since I am, I’m happy to start the conversation. I wish I wasn’t the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, ‘I’m different.’ If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I’m raising my hand.”
Previously, Collins wore No. 98 in honor of Matthew Shepard, a student at Wyoming who was tortured and murdered just outside of Laramie, Wyo., in October of 1998. During the trial, reports indicated that Sheppard was targeted because he was a gay man.
WASHINGTON President Barack Obama Monday will nominate mayor Anthony Foxx to be Secretary of Transportation, a White House official said Sunday on the condition of anonymity. The nomination of Foxx, who hosted last year’s Democratic National Convention, would make him the only African-American selected for a Cabinet opening in Obama’s second term.
As mayor of Charlotte, what it called one of America’s most vibrant cities, the White House said Foxx has the firsthand knowledge needed to create jobs and compete in a globe economy. The White House praised Foxx’s ability to integrate local, state and federal resources to meet transportation challenges.
Federal officials cited his work on the Charlotte streetcar project to bring a streetcar line through the center of the city, expanding Charlotte-Douglas International Airport and extending the city’s light rail system north to UNC Charlotte.
Some of Foxx’s accomplishments that the White House has praised have been questioned closer to home, however.
The mayor is fighting an effort to shift control of Charlotte-Douglas from the city to an independent authority – a move Foxx has been stridently against. Local business leaders and some legislators have said they are worried the city has been meddling in airport affairs, a charge Foxx has denied.
The streetcar project, which Foxx is launching with a $25 million federal grant, is in limbo. The mayor has been unable to convince City Council members to approve expanding the 1.5-mile line currently under construction, and the streetcar has been the cause of a nearly year-long impasse over the city passing a nearly $1 billion capital budget.
Foxx, who has called Obama a friend, was elected mayor in 2009. He was re-elected in November 2011 with nearly 70 percent of the vote. He also is a lawyer for Charlotte hybrid bus maker DesignLine.
Federal officials cited his work on the Charlotte streetcar project to bring a streetcar line through the center of the city, expanding Charlotte-Douglas International Airport and extending the city’s light rail system north to UNC Charlotte.
Some of Foxx’s accomplishments that the White House has praised have been questioned closer to home, however.
The mayor is fighting an effort to shift control of Charlotte-Douglas from the city to an independent authority – a move Foxx has been stridently against. Local business leaders and some legislators have said they are worried the city has been meddling in airport affairs, a charge Foxx has denied.
The streetcar project, which Foxx is launching with a $25 million federal grant, is in limbo. The mayor has been unable to convince City Council members to approve expanding the 1.5-mile line currently under construction, and the streetcar has been the cause of a nearly year-long impasse over the city passing a nearly $1 billion capital budget.
Foxx, who has called Obama a friend, was elected mayor in 2009. He was re-elected in November 2011 with nearly 70 percent of the vote. He also is a lawyer for Charlotte hybrid bus maker DesignLine.
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On Saturday night, President Obama took the White House Correspondents’ Dinner podium, Politico rounded up his best barbs, including his note of the Republicans’ attempt to attract more minorities. Their efforts, he joked, could start with him. Watch video above for more.
Anita Bonds a local Democratic activist for more than 30 years emerged from a crowded field to win a special election for the coveted At Large seat on the Washington D.C. Council. Bonds got 32 percent of the vote winning in predominantly African- American wards 4,5,7 and 8. Patrick Mara, a Republican was endorsed by the Washington Post, but lost badly, trailing second place finisher Elissa Silverman 28 to 23 percent.
Bonds at 68 says senior citizens, the poor and working poor will be her highest priority. Bond says her strong showing in those communities is because blacks are long standing DC residents and the ones most concerned about being able to afford the escalating costs of remaining in the District.
article via wusa9.com
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Film dated from 1919 shows employees of the Pebble Hill Plantation in Thomasville, Georgia, playing in a league against other teams. Archivists are still researching this 26 seconds of found footage, but it might just be the oldest footage of African-Americans playing baseball in the U.S.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson