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The New Yorker’s Tribute to the Schomburg Center for Research In Black Culture Is Everything

By goodblacknews on February 15, 2016

Newyorker
article via clutchmagonline.com
The New Yorker recently unveiled its latest illustrated cover, and it’s gorgeous.
Featuring Kadir Nelson’s stunning “Harlem On My Mind” painting, the Feb. 16 issue pays homage to the Schomburg Center for Research In Black Culture.
Nelson said he wanted his painting to be “a stylistic montage” that honors “the great Harlem Renaissance painters: Aaron Douglas, William H. Johnson, Norman Lewis, Jacob Lawrence, Elizabeth Catlett, Archibald Motley, and Palmer Hayden.”
Also included in the beautiful illustration are Black cultural giants Zora Neale Hurston, Malcolm X, James Baldwin, Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, and the Nicholas Brothers.

R.I.P. Singer, Actress and former Prince Protégé Denise Matthews aka Vanity

By goodblacknews on February 15, 2016
Vanity, best known as Prince's former protégé and member of Vanity 6, died at 57 after battling an inflammation of her small intestines. Vanity, whose real name was Denise Katrina Matthews, passed away in hospital in Fremont, California according to sources close to her family. During the 90s, the star suffered a cocaine overdose that left her kidneys so damaged she required regular dialysis.
Vanity (PAUL NATKIN/WIREIMAGE); Rolling Stone cover with Prince (RICHARD AVEDON)

article by Ethan Sacks via nydailynews.com

Denise Katrina Matthews, popularly known as Vanity, a protege of Prince who achieved stardom in the 1980s as the lead singer of the all-girl group Vanity 6, died Monday in a California hospital, the gossip site TMZ reported.  She was 57.

The Canadian-born pop singer and actress had been battling inflammation of her small intestines, the latest in a string of health problems.  Matthews had asked fans to help her pay for her treatments through a GoFundMe page as she fought a condition called sclerosing encapsulating peritonitis. In 1994, a crack cocaine overdose left her kidneys so damaged that she required regular dialysis.

“Boy, it is not fun suffering in this body of weak flesh… but Jesus is straightening out all my crooked places in my heart as I go through this time of pain,” the born-again Christian wrote on the GoFundMe page.
It’s an all-too-soon ending for an artist who showed so much promise with Vanity 6’s 1980s hits, “Nasty Girl,” “Drive Me Wild” and “He’s So Dull” produced by Prince.
Vanity 6 toured with the megastar before Vanity broke out on her own solo career, which yielded the hits “Pretty Mess,” “Mechanical Emotion” and “Under the Influence.”


The former model also acted in a steady string of movies, including “The Last Dragon” (1985), “52 Pick-up” (1986) and “Action Jackson” (1988).
After her 1994 overdose, Matthews left Hollywood and rededicated her life to her local church.
Sources told TMZ that she attended services as recently as Saturday night, when she told her fellow congregants that she was ready to go home.

Ten Museums in the U.S. Focused on African American History

By goodblacknews on February 14, 2016


article by JoAnna Niles via huffingtonpost.com
Black History Month is a celebration of African American history in the U.S.  Though most of it was done involuntarily, our blood, sweat, tears and lives literally built this country. Of course there is more to Blacks in America than slavery and Jim Crow; we’re inventors, writers, award winners, record breakers, politicians, medical professionals, entrepreneurs, artists, activists, musicians and so much more. I love learning about the history and culture through my travels, but there is nothing like learning something new about my own.
If you’re generally interested in history, want to know more about blacks in America or want to share more about black history with a child in your life, here are ten museums within the United States focused on African American History:

African American Museum in Philadelphia

The African American Museum in Philadelphia is the first institution built by a major United States city to showcase the life and work of African Americans. In addition to sharing stories on how African Americans contributed to America’s founding, it includes a hands-on exhibit for children to explore the daily lives of children in Philadelphia during the slavery and reconstruction era. Visit AAMPmuseum.org for more information.

National Civil Rights Museum

Located at the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, TN, the National Civil Rights Museum is built around the site of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s assassination. Permanent exhibits include topics on slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction, the rise of Jim Crow events during the Civil Rights movement that lead to change within America. Learn more at CivilRightsMuseum.org.

Negro Leagues Baseball Museum

Located in Kansas City, MO, The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum showcases story of the founding of the Negro Leagues Baseball during the times of segregation and features more than Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays, Satchel Paige and Hank Aaron. Take a tour to see artifacts, photos and statues of Negro League players dating from the late 1800s to the 1960s. Learn more at NLBM.com.
Negro Leagues Baseball Museum

The National Voting Rights Museum and Institute

The National Voting Rights Museum is located in Selma, AL, a pivotal site in Voting Rights Movement. Located at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, the museum includes exhibits that remind visitors, old and young the struggle people went through to obtain voting rights almost 100 years after the 15th Amendment, granting African American men the right to vote. For current visiting hours and costs, visit NVRMI.com.

New Orleans African American Museum

I really wish I knew about this when I visited New Orleans, but I guess it’s an excuse to go back. The New Orleans African American Museum of Art, Culture and History focuses on the cultural history of blacks within New Orleans, particularly in Tremé community. The museum is currently under construction, but you can visit NOAAM.org or their Facebook Page for updates on re-opening.

National Underground Railroad Freedom Center

The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center is located in Cincinnati, OH and focuses on accomplishments of the men, women and children involved in the assistance of freeing thousands of slaves. It also includes awareness of modern-day slavery and human trafficking within American. For more information about special and permanent exhibits, visit Freedomcenter.org

National Great Blacks In Wax Museum

Located in Baltimore, MD, the National Great Blacks in Wax Museum was the first wax museum of African American history in the United States. It displays exhibits we all know and learn of in school, but also includes little known facts, encouraging visitors to gain an interest in African American history. Learn more at Greatblacksinwax.org
National Great Blacks In Wax Museum

Northwest African American Museum

The Northwest African American Museum’s mission is to “…spread knowledge, understanding and enjoyment of the histories, arts and cultures of people of African descent for the enrichment of all.” Located in Seattle Washington, the museum features programs and exhibits of African Americans within the Northwest through the arts and writing. Learn more at NAAMNW.org

Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History

Located in midtown Detroit, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History is the world’s largest institution dedicated to the African American experience. The museum was founded a guide to educate visitors the achievements of African Americans throughout the years and overall celebration of black culture. For more information, visit TheWright.org
To read more, go to: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joanna-niles/10-museums-in-the-us-focused_b_9203258.html?utm_hp_ref=black-voices&ncid=tweetlnkushpmg00000051
 

The Ellen DeGeneres Show Donates Tons of Resources to Detroit Public School in Need

By goodblacknews on February 14, 2016
screen_shot_20160212_at_2.55.23_pm
The students and faculty members at the Spain Elementary-Middle School in Detroit (THE ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW AND SPAIN ELEMENTARY-MIDDLE SCHOOL)

article by Diana Ozemebhoya Eromosele via theroot.com

There’s a public school in Detroit that is falling apart, literally, and Ellen DeGeneres just threw a bunch of money and attention at the problem, the Detroit Free Press reports.

According to a clip from the show, the Spain Elementary-Middle School is chock-full of students from working-class families that are “poor or homeless,” DeGeneres explained.
The technology at the school doesn’t work or is nonexistent, “their entire roof is falling apart [and] their gym is completely shut down,” forcing students to take their physical education class in the hallways.
At times, students wear coats in the classroom because the heat doesn’t work. DeGeneres donated and pooled together tons of resources for the school, which she says is her show’s “most generous giveaway.”
Those giveaways include a $100 gift card from Lowe’s for each teacher and staff member at the school, $50,000 in technology from Lowe’s, $200,000 worth of materials and labor to go toward a new roof, and a $250,000 donation from Lowe’s. Plus, the show started a GoFundMe page for the school with a $5 million goal (the GoFundMe team has already pledged $15,000 toward that goal).
DeGeneres surprised the school’s students during a live telecast of her show, in which she video-conferenced into their assembly. Check out the surprise by clicking here.
To read more: http://www.theroot.com/blogs/the_grapevine/2016/02/watch_the_ellen_show_donates_tons_of_resources_to_detroit_public_school.html

Books by Black Authors to Look Forward to in 2016

By goodblacknews on February 14, 2016

2016_books
Black Deutschland, by Darryl Pinckney; Fuchsia, by Mahtem Shiferraw; Hunger, by Roxane Gay (MACMILLAN; NEBRASKA PRESS; HARPERCOLLINS)

article by Hope Wabuke via theroot.com
It is no secret that “African-American women are the largest group of readers in the country,” states Dawn Davis, head of Simon & Schuster’s 37 Ink imprint. It is also no secret that the publishing world is very, very white, with books by black authors published at an abysmal low, never rising above 10 percent of the industry’s output. Indeed, a recent survey by Lee & Low publishers found that “just under 80 percent of publishing staff and review journal staff are white,” with “Black/African Americans [at] 3.5 percent.”
But even with such conditions, key figures such as Chris Jackson, Dawn Davis and others have shepherded books by black authors through their fellow gatekeepers and to the public. Other organizations, like Cave Canem, the Kimbilio Center for African American Fiction and the African Poetry Book Fund, support black literature by offering writing retreats, workshops and small-press publishing opportunities. Here are some of the wonderful titles by black authors that readers of all tastes can look forward to in 2016.
In fiction, Darryl Pinckney offers Black Deutschland, the story of a gay African-American man who escapes his troubles in Chicago to seek refuge in 1980s Germany. The Castle Cross the Magnet Carter, from playwright and TV writer Kia Corthron, is an ambitious, brilliantly executed tale of race and family across generations. There is also the latest installment of Rachel Howzell Hall’s Los Angeles-based Elouise Norton mystery thriller series, Trail of Echoes, which comes out in May.
Literary legend Terry McMillan publishes a new book in June titled I Almost Forgot About You, the story of Dr. Georgia Young, who one day decides that there’s more to life than what she has been doing—and decides to go find it. There is also The Underground Railroad, a novel from acclaimed author Colson Whitehead, which will be published in September. And in April, Diane McKinney-Whetstone is giving us Lazaretto, her fictional account of race, lies and murder that rock the close-knit community of the island-based Lazaretto quarantine hospital. In May, from Afro-Caribbean British writer Yvette Edwards, comes the riveting novel The Mother, which explores how one mother copes with the murder of her son—and the courtroom drama of the trial that follows.
Six strong fiction debuts from black American women are a high point of 2016. In June, Los Angeles-based writer Natashia Deon gives us Grace, a tale of the love between a mother and daughter set against American slavery and emancipation. Desiree Cooper’s Know the Mother, out in March, explores race and motherhood in a series of interconnected vignettes. Jamaican-American writer Nicole Y. Dennis-Benn crafts a tale of unforgettable Jamaican women fighting for selfhood and independence in Here Comes the Sun, due out in July.
Cole Lavalais pens a tale of love, redemption and self-discovery on the campus of a historically black college in Summer of the Cicadas due in the spring. In We Love You, Charlie Freeman, out next month, Kaitlyn Greenidge has created an absurdist social commentary on race in the form of an African-American family paid to adopt a chimpanzee as a member of their family and be observed by a scientific research institute during the process. And Fabienne Josaphat’s novel, Dancing in the Baron’s Shadow, is the riveting tale of a man trying to save his brother from unjust imprisonment during the brutal regime of Haitian dictator François Duvalier in 1965.
Nonfiction is equally strong. Memoirs from literary powerhouses Roxane Gay and Kiese Laymon, both meditating on blackness and the body, arrive in June. In Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body, Gay discusses her relationship with food, body image and self-care, a memoir couched in her usual honesty, vulnerability and depth of observation that have endeared her to so many readers. Laymon’s memoir, titled Stank: A Fat Black Memoir, is replete with his trademark wit and astute analysis. Out now is All Jokes Aside, a memoir by Raymond Lambert and Chris Bournea, which explores the rise of the African-American comedy scene centered at Lambert’s club.
To read more, go to: http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2016/02/books_by_black_authors_to_look_forward_to_in_2016.html

Kendrick Lamar, the Pride of Compton, CA, Receives Key to the City

By goodblacknews on February 13, 2016
(image via eurweb.com)
(image via blackamericaweb.com)

article by Brittny Mejia via latimes.com

The city of Compton honored rapper Kendrick Lamar today by presenting him the key to the city.  The ceremony honoring the Grammy Award winner who grew up in the city took place at 10 a.m. at the Martin Luther King Monument at Civic Center Plaza.
“Kendrick Lamar is a phenomenal artist whose work has served as a catalyst to raise a new level of consciousness for this generation,” said Compton Mayor Aja Brown in a statement. “His message challenges the status quo and motivates listeners to rethink our society’s institutions.”
Last year, Lamar wrote a love letter to Compton through his music video “King Kunta,” featuring the rapper and his friends dancing through his hometown. The key to the city is Compton’s reply to that letter.
Lamar attended Centennial High School as a teenager, where he was a straight-A student, according to city officials. Last year, he served as the 63rd grand marshal of the Compton Christmas Parade.   The “Kunta” video was filled with scenes from the city, including the Compton Swap Meet, also known as the Compton Fashion Center.
“Kendrick Lamar is one of Compton’s greatest ambassadors,” said City Councilwoman Janna Zurita. “We in Compton are proud of him because he is a symbol of what our city really is — a place where dreams can come true.”
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRK7PVJFbS8&w=560&h=315]

"Creed" Director Ryan Coogler Named as Warner Bros. Creative Talent Ambassador in U.K.

By goodblacknews on February 13, 2016
'Creed' Director Ryan Coogler Named as
‘Creed’ Director Ryan Cooler (GREGORY PACE/BEI/SHUTTERSTOCK)

article by Leo Barraclough via Variety.com

Ryan Coogler, director and co-writer of “Creed,” has been named as the first Warner Bros. Creative Talent Ambassador in the U.K. The news comes as the studio’s Creative Talent program welcomed participants of its third season.
Coogler was supported early in his career by the Time Warner Foundation in partnership with Sundance Institute, which enabled him to develop his first feature film, “Fruitvale Station.” The film went on to win the Grand Jury Prize and the audience award at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.
Coogler said: “Having experienced firsthand the support and impact of programs similar to Warner Bros. Creative Talent, it is fantastic to know that passionate young people of all backgrounds are being given the chance to follow their dreams here in the U.K. This can be a tough industry, and so we need to do what we can to bring talented young people into it.”
Josh Berger, president and managing director, Warner Bros. U.K., Ireland and Spain, said: “I am thrilled that Ryan has become an ambassador for Warner Bros. Creative Talent, as he is the perfect example of the effect that a program like this can have on one’s life and career. We’re already seeing our talented young people taking strides into the industry, just a couple of years into the program, and I can’t wait to see what season three will go on to achieve.”
Warner Bros. Creative Talent participants will receive funding and training opportunities as part of a multilayered program that includes scholarships at some of the country’s top higher-education institutions. These include three Prince William scholars in film, television and games in partnership with BAFTA; apprenticeships at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden and Warner Bros. Television Production U.K.; trainee positions on every Warner Bros. film production in the U.K.; training-course places for young people at inclusive theater company Chickenshed; work-experience places for students at a school local to Warner Bros.’ London HQ; and work placements on the London West End musical “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”

Dr. Paula A. Johnson Becomes 1st African-American President of Wellesley College

By goodblacknews on February 13, 2016

New Wellesley President Paula A. Johnson (photo via wellesley.edu)
New Wellesley President Dr. Paula A. Johnson (photo via wellesley.edu)

article by Jeremy Fox via bostonglobe.com
Wellesley College announced Thursday it had appointed Dr. Paula A. Johnson, a Harvard Medical School professor and advocate for women’s health, as its president, making her the first African-American to lead the school.
Johnson will become the 14th president of the women’s liberal arts college in July. She replaces H. Kim Bottomly, who said in April she would step down after nine years.
Johnson, 56, said in an interview that she felt a special responsibility as the college’s first African-American leader and believes that student diversity is one of Wellesley’s strengths.
She said she would work “to not only strengthen and deepen that diversity, but also ensure that our residential experience is taking full advantage of that diversity, that our young women are really experiencing all the richness that that diversity brings on campus.”
Wellesley graduated its first African-American student in 1887. In 2014-2015, the most recent academic year for which data are available, the student population was 5 percent black, 9 percent Hispanic, 22 percent Asian, and 6 percent biracial or multiracial. Another 12 percent were international students.
On campus Thursday, the appointment resonated with sophomore Gabrielle Taylor.
“For someone who looks like me, a black woman, to become president of Wellesley College — it is so inspiring to me. She truly embodies black excellence,” said Taylor.
Johnson said that Wellesley has important work to do in preparing students for both the great expansion of leadership opportunities for women and the ongoing disparities in women’s employment and health care options.
“Wellesley could not be more relevant today in terms of its role in providing an outstanding liberal arts education, which we know is so critical to developing the next generation and to the future of our world,” she said.
A committee of students, alumnae, trustees, faculty, and staff unanimously recommended Johnson after an eight-month search.
“Even among a superb group of candidates, Dr. Johnson stood out through her record as a scholar and leader, together with her passion for women’s advancement, education, and well-being, the energy and insights she conveyed in our discussions, and her enthusiasm for Wellesley,” Debora de Hoyos, chairwoman of the search committee and a college trustee, said in a statement.
Johnson is the former chairwoman of the Boston Public Health Commission, a professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and a physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
She attended Harvard and Radcliffe colleges and trained in internal and cardiovascular medicine at Brigham and Women’s. She is the daughter-in-law of a Wellesley alumna and lives with her husband and two children in Brookline.
She currently serves as the chief of the Division of Women’s Health at Brigham and Women’s and is founder and executive director of the hospital’s Mary Horrigan Connors Center for Women’s Health & Gender Biology.
Johnson’s work has focused in part on biological differences between women and men, seeking to correct a longstanding imbalance in medical research that looked only at men, she said.
“Dr. Johnson has devoted her life to improving the lives of women,” said Charlotte Harris, a Wellesley senior who served on the search committee, in a statement. “She truly understands the issues of equity, inclusion, and well-being that are so important to Wellesley students.”
The women’s college west of Boston has about 2,400 students and counts former secretaries of state Hillary Clinton and Madeleine Albright among its graduates. Johnson said many Wellesley students support Clinton’s presidential campaign.
“There’s a tremendous excitement around the possibility of seeing a woman be next president,” she said. “It’s about leadership, and that leadership reflecting back at you and giving you a sense of pride and hope for what is possible.”
Wellesley made headlines last year when it announced it would begin accepting transgender women in the Class of 2020, following similar policy changes at women’s colleges such as Mount Holyoke in South Hadley and Simmons in Boston’s Fenway neighborhood.
Johnson said it was a policy change that students, alumni, and the college leadership had embraced.
“The mission of Wellesley is to educate women, and women who will make a difference in the world,” she said, “and I think that embracing transgender women is part of our mission.”
Dina Rudick of the Globe staff contributed to this report.

Russell Simmons Announces All Def Movie Awards

By goodblacknews on February 12, 2016

Russell Simmons
Russell Simmons (photo via eurweb.com)

article by Ny MaGee via eurweb.com
Def Jam co-founder Russell Simmons has announced that he’s launching his own movie awards show in response to #OscarsSoWhite, which is set to debut just four days before the Academy Awards.
As the A.V. Club reports, Simmons’ All Def Movie Awards “will see “Beasts of No Nation,” “Chi-Raq,” “Concussion,” “Creed,” “Dope,” and “Straight Outta Compton” compete for the best picture award.” Other awards will honor Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Director, as well as Best Bad Muh F**ka, Best Helpful White Person and Best Black Survivor in a Movie.
The awards will be recognized by members of the All Def Academy, and members of the public can vote online for two categories – Best Picture and Most Quoted Movie – through midnight on Feb. 23 by clicking here.
“The All Def Movie Awards are not the Black Oscars,” Simmons said in a statement, “But they could be. This will be a fun, entertaining and hopefully thought-provoking celebration of the uncelebrated.”
The ceremony is set for February 24 in Hollywood at the Mann’s Chinese theater. Tony Rock, (Chris Rock’s younger brother), will host the event, which will feature a Black Carpet for celebrity presenters, arrivals and VIP guests.

“If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself,” said Rock. “With that in mind I have teamed up — I guess I didn’t do it myself — with ADD to bring you the ‘all inclusive’ All Def Movie Awards. We’ll honor the entire movie-making process. Great acting, mediocre acting as well as horrible acting. Soundtracks. Wardrobes. Maybe even craft services — the best part of the set. This is the award show Hollywood has been waiting for.”
The All Def Movie Awards will be programmed as part of All Def Comedy Live, and admission to the show is by invitation only, with a select number of seats on reserved for fans by lottery.
“I don’t expect a 90 year-old Academy member to see ‘Straight Outta Compton’ or vote for it. I’m more concerned that in 2016 there continues to be a stunning lack of diversity in the studios, in the green light process, in the decisions of what films and television series get made, and what actors get chosen. This needs to be addressed institutionally,” said Russell Simmons.
According to The Wrap, the All Def Movie Awards will also feature a special live musical performance and a steady stream of “video content before, during and after the show on all of ADD’s social channels, including Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat and Periscope.”
Read more at http://www.eurweb.com/2016/02/russell-simmons-announces-def-movie-awards/#feSMvh5rzfEkCzBY.99

Damon Wayans to Star in "Lethal Weapon" TV Pilot at Fox

By goodblacknews on February 12, 2016
Damonwayans
article by Nellie Andreeva via deadline.com
After lengthy negotiations, Fox and Warner Bros. TV have closed a pilot-order deal for Lethal Weapon, an hourlong series based on the buddy cop action comedy movies that starred Mel Gibson as Martin Riggs and Danny Glover as Roger Murtaugh. In Living Color alum Damon Wayans is set to play Murtaugh in the remake, with Charlie’s Angels helmer McG set to direct the pilot for Warner Bros. TV. The Riggs role has not been cast yet.
Written by former Chuck executive producer and Forever creator Matt Miller, Lethal Weapon, like WBTV’s Rush Hour series for CBS, is a relatively straight remake featuring the movies’ central characters.
lethal_weaponThe feature franchise kicked off with Homicide Sgt. Murtaugh (Glover), who recently celebrated his 50th birthday, being partnered with the suicidal and highly volatile ex-U.S. Army Special Forces soldier-turned-LAPD Narcotics Sgt. Riggs (Gibson), who had been reassigned to homicide after a psychotic episode on the job as he deals with grief following the death of his wife.

In the series, when Texas cop and former Navy SEAL Riggs suffers the loss of his wife and baby, he moves to Los Angeles to start anew. There, he is partnered with LAPD detective Murtaugh (Wayans), who, having recently suffered a “minor” heart attack, must avoid stress in his life.

The original 1987 Lethal Weapon movie, written by Shane Black and directed by Richard Donner, was a breakout hit, grossing $120 million on a $12 million budget. It spawned a formidable franchise with three sequels and helped established the comedic action buddy cop genre, influencing such hit follow-up entries as Rush Hour and Bad Boys. 

To read more, go to: http://deadline.com/2016/02/lethal-weapon-pilot-damon-wayans-star-mcg-direct-fox-1201701545/