Idris Elba at Spirit Awards, Los Angeles, Feb 2016 (Photo by Andrew Walker/Variety/REX/Shutterstock) article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)
According to Variety.com, last night at the 2016 Spirit Awards, which celebrate and honor independent films, “Beasts of No Nation” actors Idris Elba and Abraham Attah both won in their respective supporting and leading actor categories. Mya Taylor at 2016 Spirit Awards (photo via vulture.com)
For the Ghanian Attah, playing the child soldier trained by Elba was his first acting role. Elba, though not nominated for an Academy Award this year, won the Screen Actors Guild award for his part in “Beasts of No Nation” as well.
Additionally, “Tangerine”‘s Mya Taylor took home the supporting actress award for her performance as a transgender sex worker. “I came from almost nothing,” a beaming Taylor said from the stage following a standing ovation. “My life did a total 360.” “Tangerine” was shot entirely on an iPhone by director Sean Baker.
A full list of winners (in bold) and nominees follows below: Best Feature
Anomalisa
Beasts of No Nation
Carol Spotlight — WINNER
Tangerine
American athletes Tommie Smith (middle) and John Carlos (right) at the Award Ceremony for the 200m race at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, October 16, 1968. (Photo: DPA/LANDOV)
The image above is a powerful one. This black power salute is embedded in our history. In 1968 Olympics athletes Tommie Smith (gold) and John Carlos (bronze) made history during the Olympic games in Mexico City. With the world watching the sprinters stood on the medal podium and raised their black-gloved fists in the air in silent protest for human rights and for black Americans to stand in solidarity.
It’s that powerful image that was the inspiration for Puma’s capsule collection honoring Tommie Smith and Black History Month. What I didn’t realize is that gold medalist Tommie Smith removed his suede Pumas right before he stepped onto the podium shoeless in black socks, to represent poverty and slavery. After that subtle statement, he then raised his fist. With that unmistakable gesture, Tommie Smith altered the course of history and dedicated his life to change. Emblazoned with Tommie Smith’s silhouette, with fist raised, the Black History Month Pack honors a legacy on the track and off. I must applaud Puma for honoring this hero. Yara Shalhidi and Tommie Smith at the Puma and Sheikh Shoes Launch Celebration at Mastro’s Beverly Hills (Photo credit: Charles Jim-George)
Bryan Stevenson at Google headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., Feb. 26, 2016. (photo via theroot.com)
article by Angela Bronner Helm via theroot.com
Tech giant Google announced on Friday that its philanthropic arm would be donating $1 million to Bryan Stevenson’s Alabama-based non-profit, Equal Justice Initiative.
The Harvard-educated Stevenson is a lawyer who has for decades fought the good fight—winning major legal challenges eliminating excessive and unfair sentencing, exonerating innocent prisoners on death row, confronting abuse of the incarcerated and the mentally ill and aiding children prosecuted as adults in a deeply flawed American criminal justice system.
Justin Steele, a principal with Google.org and the Bay Area and racial justice giving lead told USA Today, “I think what’s exciting about what EJI is doing is that at a national level it is really trying to tell the untold history around race in this country and help people develop a deeper understanding for the narrative around race and how we have gotten to where we are.”
Google.org made the announcement during a Black History Month celebration at its Mountain View, Calif., headquarters where Stevenson gave a speech on how the Google grant will help further his work.
USA Today reports that the racial justice grants were born out of a growing consensus inside Google that it must respond to the police slayings of African Americans and the fatal shooting of nine black citizens inside a Charleston, S.C., church last summer.
In November, Google.org made its first racial justice grants, giving $2.35 million to community organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area. This week, Google.org made four more grants, totaling $3 million.
Keeping in line with the activist mantra of organizing locally and thinking globally, the Equal Justice Initiative grant was the only grant gifted to a national non-profit—all other money was given to local organizations in the Bay Area working to eliminate racial disparities in education.
To see video of Bryan Stevenson’s Google talk, click here.
In an unusually public flare-up, one of MSNBC’s television personalities clashed with the network on Friday in a dispute about airtime and editorial freedom and said she was refusing to host the show that bears her name this weekend.
The host, Melissa Harris-Perry, wrote in an email to co-workers this week that her show had effectively been taken away from her and that she felt “worthless” in the eyes of NBC News executives, who are restructuring MSNBC.
“Here is the reality: Our show was taken — without comment or discussion or notice — in the midst of an election season,” she wrote in the email, which became public on Friday. “After four years of building an audience, developing a brand and developing trust with our viewers, we were effectively and utterly silenced.”
In a phone interview, Ms. Harris-Perry confirmed she would not appear on the show this weekend. She said she had received no word about whether her show, which runs from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays and Sundays, had been canceled, but said she was frustrated that her time slot had faced pre-emptions for coverage of the presidential election. She said she had not appeared on the network at all “for weeks” and that she was mostly sidelined during recent election coverage in South Carolina and New Hampshire. (She was asked to return this weekend.)
In her email, Ms. Harris-Perry wrote that she was not sure if the NBC News chairman, Andrew Lack, or Phil Griffin, the MSNBC president, were involved in the way her show was handled recently, but she directed blame toward both.
“I will not be used as a tool for their purposes,” she wrote. “I am not a token, mammy or little brown bobble head. I am not owned by Lack, Griffin or MSNBC. I love our show. I want it back.”
Honoree Debbie Allen and family (photo via blackamericaweb.com) article by Sandy Cohen, AP via blackamericaweb.com
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — Oscar host Chris Rock, producer Reginald Hudlin and film academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs took an afternoon off from Academy Awards preparations to celebrate black women in Hollywood.
Rock, Hudlin and Boone Isaacs were among the guests at Essence magazine’s ninth annual awards luncheon Thursday at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. Rock and Boone Isaacs didn’t speak publicly; Hudlin took the stage to present an award to legendary entertainer Debbie Allen.
The annual Essence event celebrates the achievements of black women in entertainment. Actress Tracee Ellis Ross, entertainment attorney Nina Shaw and filmmaker Thais Francis were also recognized.
Francis thanked the magazine “for creating a platform of visibility.”
“A lot of us in this audience know the importance of visibility, especially during a time, in a society, in a world, in an industry that’s telling us that we’re invisible,” she said. Shonda Rhimes, who introduced Allen as the new producing director of “Grey’s Anatomy,” called the writer-director-choreographer-performer “a force of nature.” Shonda Rhimes (photo via blackamericaweb.com)
“Debbie blows through an environment and changes the landscape forever,” Rhimes said.
As Allen accepted the Legend Award, she said she felt like she was in church, preaching to her sisters.
“The only plate I’m going to pass is the plate of purpose,” she said, urging the women in the audience to make real connections with each other — not just to meet up for drinks, but to work on ways of changing the world.
Shaw gave similar advice as she accepted the Power Award. The attorney for such entertainers as Laurence Fishburne, Lupita Nyong’o and Ava DuVernay was introduced by Nick Cannon and Channing Dungey, who became the first African-American to head a broadcast network when she was named president of ABC Entertainment last week.
“If you are a woman who wants to be empowered, then empower other women,” Shaw said.
“Black-ish” star Ross, accompanied by her father and older sister, Rhonda, accepted the Fierce and Fearless award. Ross said she had been sick for the past week and worried she wouldn’t be able to attend the luncheon.
“I got dressed in the car,” she said. “I’m unclear if what I’m wearing is see-through. If it is, I’m sorry.” She said the recognition from Essence “is truly one of the proudest moments I’ve experienced.” Oprah Winfrey opened the program, which will air Saturday on OWN. To read more, go to: http://blackamericaweb.com/2016/02/26/oprah-winfrey-shonda-rhimes-join-essence-to-celebrate-black-women-in-hollywood-honor-debbie-allen/
(image via rrisd.net) article by Nigel Roberts vianewsone.com
The Obama administration wants to correct racial and ethnic disparities in how school districts determine which students to place in special education programs.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Educationproposed (PDF) standardizing the system, Education Week reports.
Each state currently uses its own method of determining “significant disproportionality” in special education. Federal education officials believe the rule change would likely cause more states to fall under that category, according to Education Week.
That’s significant because the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, requires school districts to set aside 15 percent of their federal funds for special education students.
The site points out that a 2013 Government Accountability Office report (PDF) says just 2 percent of school districts nationwide were identified as having minorities represented disproportionately in special education. “This figure fails to represent the true scope and breadth of significant disparities we currently see in special education,” says the report. “The data we’ve seen makes it very clear that we, as a country, are not living up to the intent of the law,” said acting Education Secretary John B. King Jr., according to Education Week.
Federal education officials also suspect that minority students with learning disabilities are disproportionately disciplined at schools nationwide.
(photo via venturesafrica.com) article by Cynthia Okoroafor via venturesafrica.com
As the Ministerial Conference on Immunisation in Africa commences today in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, vaccine experts and officials representing 26 African countries from the ‘meningitis belt’ celebrate the introduction of MenAfriVac® and its achievements in the continent’s public health system. In five years, MenAfriVac, which is designed, developed and produced for use in Africa, has nearly eliminated serogroup Ameningococcal disease from the meningitis belt countries and is now being integrated into routine national immunisation programs.
Since the vaccine was first introduced in Burkina Faso back in 2010, the World Health Organisation (WHO) reports that 16 of the 26 countries in the African meningitis belt, between Senegal and Ethiopia, have conducted initial mass vaccination campaigns to protect their citizens. As a result of this, more than 235 million children and young adults, between the ages of 1 and 29 years old, have been immunised, eliminating meningitis A disease in those areas. Manuel Fontaine, the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund’s (UNICEF) Regional Director for West and Central Africa stated that “It’s clear that the rollout of the meningitis A vaccine has been a great success story in sub-Saharan Africa. At UNICEF, we’ll continue to work with national authorities, health workers and traditional and religious leaders so that vaccines remain well accepted and reach every community across the meningitis belt.”
The officials at the conference thereby plan a transition from mass campaigns to vaccine use in childhood immunisation programs to prevent the resurgence of deadly epidemics. Cases of meningitis A reduced from over 250,000 during an outbreak in 1996 to just 80 confirmed cases in 2015 and those were in countries that had not yet conducted mass immunisation campaigns.
Speaking ahead of the conference yesterday, Prof. Awa Marie Coll-Seck, the Minister of Health and Social Services of Senegal, encouraged African countries to reflect on the common goals and aspirations made in 2012 regarding achieving Universal Access to Immunisation by 2020 and improving healthcare for children.
“Thanks to immunisations, there has been a 55 percent reduction in child deaths in the past 25 years…Vaccines are a cost-effective proven investment that spur national development. Studies show that every dollar spent on immunization programs can provide economic returns up to sixteen times for a given country. Treating vaccine-preventable diseases places an enormous strain on public health systems by redirecting limited human and economic resources towards treatment instead of prevention.”
Furthermore, she stated it is essential to prioritise health for every child in every part of Africa to support the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. According to her, the Ministerial Conference on Immunization in Africa represents a key moment for African nations to catalyse support and accountability to ensure that universal immunization is made a reality. To read full article, go to: http://venturesafrica.com/how-a-vaccine-is-improving-the-african-childs-health/
(L to R) Ryan Cooler, Destin Daniel Cretton, Charles King, Chinaka Hodge (photo via Variety.com)
article by Laura Prudom via Variety.com
“Creed” director Ryan Coogler, “Short Term 12” helmer Destin Daniel Cretton and production company Macro (founded by Charles King) are teaming to develop a new TV series, “Minors,” Variety has learned.
Created by Coogler, Cretton and writer Chinaka Hodge, “Minors” will tackle institutionalization in a unique and fresh way by exploring juvenile facilities and the kids that grow up in the system. The drama will be specifically structured to show how the facilities shape the kids over a one-year time period. The project is based on Cretton’s experience working in residential foster care, Coogler’s East Bay area upbringing and time working in a juvenile detention facility, and Hodge’s experience teaching underserved youth in Bay Area continuation schools and her 15 years of working with local youth.
The series will be exec produced by Coogler, Cretton, Hodge, King, Macro’s president of production Kim Roth, and Macro’s SVP of production Poppy Hanks. “Short Term 12” producer Asher Goldstein will serve as co-executive producer. Coogler and Cretton will direct the series, with Hodge penning the scripts. It remains to be seen where the project will land, but given the auspices, the show is likely to attract interest from both traditional and streaming networks.
Following the success of “Creed,” which scored Sylvester Stallone an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor, Coogler will next direct Marvel’s “Black Panther.” Hodge previously served as an associate producer of HBO’s “Brave New Voices,” and appeared in the premium cabler’s “Poetry.” She is a founding member of Blackout for Human Rights. To read more, go to: http://variety.com/2016/tv/news/minors-series-ryan-coogler-destin-cretton-charles-king-1201714996/
A protester holds up Garner’s photo while walking on the West Side Highway December 3, 2014 in New York. (Photo by Yana Paskova/Getty Images) article by D.L. Chandler via newsone.com
The family of slain Staten Island man Eric Garnerreceived a $1 million settlement from the area hospital that dispatched paramedics to the scene of his fatal encounter with police. In court documents obtained by the Associated Press, the details of the settlement were initially confidential and not part of an earlier settlement the family was awarded last July, reports the news agency.
From the AP: The settlement with Richmond University Medical Center is confidential and wasn’t part of the $5.9 million agreement announced by the city in July. But the figure was disclosed in court documents filed in Surrogate’s Court on Staten Island that outline how the money will be dispersed to his family. Garner left no will. The figure is the maximum claim allowed under the hospital center’s liability insurance policy, according to court papers. The hospital center had no comment on the settlement, according to spokesman William Smith. Garner’s lawyers didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
The court documents highlight that the paramedics did not properly assist Garner after Officer Daniel Pantaleo used a chokehold maneuver to bring the larger man down in the July 2014 incident.
Two paramedics and two emergency medical technicians were suspended without pay but eventually were reinstated and reassigned to jobs that did not involve patient care.
Garner’s widow, Esaw Garner, will get $2.4 million of the total settlement funds according to the court documents. Garner’s children will get monies ranging from $195,000 to $996,000. To read more, go to: http://newsone.com/3359172/family-of-eric-garner-gets-1-million-settlement-from-staten-island-hospital/
According to whitehouse.gov, President Barack Obama has nominated Dr. Carla D. Hayden as the 14th Librarian of Congress— which would make her the first woman and African-American to hold this prestigious position in the library’s 214-year history.
Among her many accomplishments, Dr. Hayden became the first African-American to receive Library Journal’s Librarian of the Year Award, and also holds an M.A. and a Ph.D from the Graduate Library School of the University of Chicago.
Obama’s own praise for Dr. Hayden and an accompanying video follow:
Today, I’m nominating someone to be our new Librarian of Congress — the leader of one of our nation’s oldest federal institutions — and I want to introduce you to her. Meet Dr. Carla Hayden.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnlZjccjNqE&w=560&h=315] Michelle and I have known Dr. Hayden for a long time since her days working at the Chicago Public Library, and her dedication to learning and education is unparalleled. More recently, she’s devoted her career to modernizing libraries so that everyone can participate in today’s digital culture. She’s been hard at work revitalizing Baltimore’s library system as the CEO of Enoch Pratt Free Library, updating its technology and raising money to fund essential improvements. Under her leadership, the Pratt library has become the largest provider of public-access computers in Maryland. As Librarian of Congress, she’ll work in close partnership with Congress, support the copyright office that serves our nation’s creative communities, and explore new ways to share the information housed within our library through innovative technologies. And I know she’ll be a good steward for the important role that libraries play in our communities. Last year, during the unrest in Baltimore, Dr. Hayden and the library’s staff kept the doors of the Pratt open as a beacon for the community. Finally, she’d be the first woman and the first African American to hold the position – both of which are long overdue. So I hope you’ll take a couple minutes to watch this video and meet Carla for yourself. I have no doubt she’ll make a fantastic Librarian of Congress. President Barack Obama
