J. Cole and fan Cierra Bosarge at her graduation (Photo via Instagram)
Rapper J. Cole took a break from his national tour in order to attend a fan’s high school graduation and follow up on a promise he made a full two years ago. Teen fan Cierra Bosarge says she reached out to J. Cole in 2013, writing him a letter (which she later summed up in a tweet) about how he had inspired her to persevere in school, despite having a hard time academically.
Cierra’s note prompted the hip hop artist to send her a direct message on Twitter and then follow up by phone. J. Cole agreed to attend the high schooler’s graduation to watch her accept her diploma, but only if she got admitted to a four-year school.
Two years later, they both followed through on the commitments they made — Cierra kept her grades up (sending updates via Twitter), and J. Cole’s manager sent Cierra a message confirming that the star would be there to watch her graduate. According to her Twitter account, when J. Cole showed up to the ceremony this week, he not only gave Cierra some of his “favorite books” as a grad gift, but also offered to help pay for her tuition. article by Carly Steyer via huffingtonpost.com
This photo provided by American Ballet Theater, Misty Copeland and James Whiteside appear in “Swan Lake” at the Metropolitan Opera House on June 24, 2015. It was Copeland’s New York debut in the lead role, a key moment for her fans who hope she’ll soon be named American Ballet Theater’s first black principal dancer. (Gene Schiavone/American Ballet Theater via AP)
NEW YORK (AP) — “Swan Lake” is always one of the most popular ballets for dance fans. But the whoops and cheers from a packed crowd at the Metropolitan Opera House signaled something more this time.
There was palpable emotion and a clear sense of history in the air as Misty Copeland made her New York debut Wednesday in the lead role, a key moment for the popular ballerina who many hope will soon become American Ballet Theater‘s first black principal dancer.
Copeland, 32, currently a soloist at the company, earned loud ovations after her every solo in the dual role of Odette/Odile — one of the most challenging roles in ballet and one considered an essential part of a star ballerina’s repertoire.
The dancer, who has become a leading voice for diversity in her art form and amassed a following inside the dance world and out, had performed the role with ABT on tour in Australia, and as a guest with the Washington Ballet. But Wednesday’s performance was considered huge because it was at ABT’s home, and signaled a clear step on the path to her stated goal: making history as a principal dancer. Misty Copeland and James Whiteside acknowledge the audience after appearing in “Swan Lake” at the Metropolitan Opera House on June 24, 2015. (Gene Schiavone/American Ballet Theater via AP)
The fact that this was no simple “Swan Lake” was clear at the curtain calls, with Copeland greeted onstage by two fellow black dancers who’ve made their own history.
First came Lauren Anderson, a retired dancer with Houston Ballet, who became the first black principal there in 1990. After Anderson, 50, had lifted Copeland off her feet in a hug, out came Raven Wilkinson, who danced with the famed touring company Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo in the 1950s and later joined the Dutch National Ballet. Wilkinson, 80, curtseyed to Copeland, who returned the gesture.
Wendy Perron, author and former editor of Dance Magazine, said she felt Copeland more than delivered under great pressure. “I was especially impressed by her Odette,” Perron said, referring to the delicate, frightened swan dressed in white who entrances the prince in the first act. “She completely inhabited the role. She was able to show that vulnerability.”
Damian Woetzel, director of the Vail International Dance Festival, called the performance “a long overdue milestone in ballet.”
“With elegance and seriousness, Misty made a historic breakthrough,” said Woetzel, a former principal at New York City Ballet. “It was an honor to be there.”
The Missouri-born Copeland’s recent rise to fame includes being named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People this year. The magazine put her on the cover and called her “ballet’s breakout star.” She also came out last year with a best-selling memoir, “Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina,” in which she recounted the challenges she faced on the road to her hard-won perch in ballet, and which has been optioned for a movie. She also was the subject of a documentary at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival.
She’s been featured in a popular ad for Under Armour sportswear that shows her leaping and spinning in a studio, while a narrator recounts some of the negative feedback she received as a youngster, when she was told she had the wrong body for ballet and had started too late (she was 13).
Copeland also has appeared as a guest host on the Fox show “So You Think You Can Dance” and was a presenter at this year’s Tony awards.
(Photo via Washington Post)
This morning, the United States Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, ruled that same-sex marriage must be allowed in all 50 states, as gay people must be afforded equal rights and protections under federal law. President Barack Obama hailed the decision, saying “Our nation was founded on a bedrock principle that we are all created equal,” Obama said. “The project of each generation is to bridge the meaning of those founding words with the realities of changing times. Progress on this journey often comes in small increments, sometimes two steps forward, one step back, propelled by the persistent effort of dedicated citizens,” he said. “And then sometimes, there are days like this when that slow, steady effort is rewarded with justice that arrives like a thunderbolt.”
To watch his entire statement, click below:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3uMTPsa_Dg&w=560&h=315] article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (follow @lakinhutcherson)
Nation of Islam Leader Louis Farrakan (photo via Associated Press)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan said Wednesday he plans to hold a Millions for Justice March in the nation’s capital this fall, 20 years after the Million Man March.
During a speech at Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in downtown Washington, Farrakhan said he intends to hold the rally Oct. 10 on the National Mall, scene of the 1995 march.
“This is the time our people must see our unity,” Farrakhan said. “Let’s make 10/10/15 a meeting place for those who want justice, for those who know what justice is.”
Organizers said they aim to stage a more diverse and inclusive event than the one in 1995, which was billed as a men-only event.
Former NAACP executive director Benjamin Chavis, who helped organize the original Million Man March, said he is optimistic that this year’s turnout will be “in excess of a million.” He said the event’s success would be measured more by the political and socioeconomical impact it has on communities.
“What ultimately will be a success is seeing improvements in the communities where these people are going to come from,” Chavis said. “We want to make sure our public policy demands are aligned with those challenges.”
Farrakhan said the rally is intended to galvanize a more strategic movement for equality as supporters unite under the social media hashtag #JusticeOrElse.
“Walk with the young people, the warriors of God, as we say to America, ‘You owe us,'” Farrakhan said.
The Million Man March was held in Washington on Oct. 16, 1995. Its goal, organizers said, was to encourage black men to make firmer commitments to family values and community uplift. It is among the largest political gatherings in American history, although there were disputes over the size of the heavily black and male crowd it drew. Crowd estimates ranged from 400,000 to nearly 1.1 million.
Farrakhan, 82, also used the march announcement to call for fair treatment and an end to injustice in the wake of the massacre of nine people at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, last week. “Yes, all lives matter, but the only reason you’re here is because black lives are being slaughtered,” Farrakhan said.
As for efforts to remove the Confederate flag in the wake of that tragedy, Farrakhan said the gesture does little to remove the stain of injustice.
“The media is (still) twisting the narrative of murderers,” Farrakhan added, referring to perceptions that the media tends to portray white perpetrators more humanely than those of other races or ethnicities. article by Glynn A. Hill via bigstory.ap.org
Deborah Ale Flint, new Executive Director of Los Angeles World Airports. (CITY OF LOS ANGELES)
The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday confirmed Oakland airport executive Deborah Ale Flint as the new Executive Director of Los Angeles World Airports.
Flint served as the director of aviation for the Port of Oakland.
In her new role, she will lead the city authority that oversees the Los Angeles International, Ontario International and Van Nuys airports.
In comments at the council meeting, Ale Flint talked about the “love story” of L.A.’s airports.
Ale Flint said her vision is “to make sure that we’re the most innovative, that we have the best passenger experiences, that we’re protectors and creators of great environment around the airport, that we have a world-class airport, and that we’re first-class neighbors.”
LAX is currently undergoing a multibillion-dollar overhaul.
“It’s an important economic development engine for the city and we know that ,with your leadership there, we will continue to grow and expand,” Councilman Curren Price Jr. said to Ale Flint.
The final vote was 13-0. article by KPPC staff; contributions by Brian Frank via scpr.org
Jurnee Smollett-Bell and Jussie Smollett (photo via eurweb.com)
“Empire” star Jussie Smollett will moonlight in a guest starring role on WGN’s “Underground,” joining his famous sister Jurnee Smollett-Bell, the network announced Wednesday. As previously reported, “Underground” follows a group of enslaved people in Georgia planning a 600-mile escape to freedom. Along the way, they are aided by a secret abolitionist couple running a station on the Underground Railroad as they attempt to evade the people charged with bringing them back, dead or alive.
Smollett will play Josey, a runaway who doesn’t trust anyone, not even those stationed along the way who would try to help him.
This marks the first on-screen reunion for Smollett and his sister in since both starred alongside their other siblings in the 1994 ABC sitcom “On Our Own.”
Smollett joins a cast that includes Christopher Meloni (Law & Order: SVU), Reed Diamond (Agents of SHIELD), Aldis Hodge (Rectify), Jessica De Gouw (Arrow) and Marc Blucas (Buffy the Vampire Slayer).
Creators Misha Green (Sons of Anarchy) and Joe Pokaski (Heroes) will executive produce the Sony Pictures Television and Tribune Studios entry with Weed Road Pictures’ Akiva Goldsman, Tory Tunnell and Joby Harold of Safehouse Pictures.
Production began in the spring for a 2016 premiere. article via eurweb.com
Workers remove the Confederate flags from outside the State Capitol building on Wednesday, June 24, 2015. (Photo: Shannon Heupel/Advertiser)
MERY, Ala. — With no fanfare, Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley ordered the removal of four Confederate flags from a memorial at the Alabama State Capitol on Wednesday amid a growing controversy over their official display in the wake of the killing of African Americans at a South Carolina church.
The first to be taken down was the so-called battle flag, followed by the First National Confederate flag, known as the “Stars and Bars,” the Second National Confederate Flag and the Third National Confederate Flag. All four had been removed by 10 a.m.
“The governor does not want the flag to be a distraction,” said Jennifer Ardis, a spokeswoman for Bentley. “There are a lot of other things we are focused on. We have a tremendous budget issue.”
Five workers, including two wearing yellow “landscape operations” tee-shirts, unceremoniously removed the flags by first lowering separate flag poles, then unsnapping and folding up the individual banners. As a handful of photographers recorded the scene, the men worked quickly, without comment, then left the enclosed area around the monument, locking the gate to the small fence behind them.
The flags were hung at the Alabama Confederate Memorial in 1994, a year after then-Gov. Jim Folsom Jr., ordered the removal of a battle flag that had flown over the state Capitol since 1963.
Meanwhile, Sen. Thad Cochran, Mississippi’s Republican senator, said Wednesday that it is his “personal hope” that the state would consider changing its flag, which depicts the Confederate battle flag in its upper left corner.
“The recent debate on the symbolism of our flag, which belongs to all of us, presents the people of our state a opportunity to consider a new banner that represents Mississippi,” he said in a statement. He added that he agrees with his fellow senator from Mississippi, Roger Wicker, also a Republican, that “we should look for unity and not divisiveness in the symbols of our state.
Today, yours truly had the honor of being a part of a community of filmmakers and journalist who helped HuffPost Live host Nancy Redd interview Academy Award-nominated director Liz Garbus about her upcoming documentary on legendary singer-songwriter and activist Nina Simone entitled “What Happened, Nina Simone?” This feature-length look at Simone’s private as well as professional life debuts on Netflix on June 26 and I, for one, can’t wait to see it. Check out the HuffPost Live interview below for more insight and information:
[wpvideo 2CbGRSAv] article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (follow @lakinhutcherson)
The medical examiner found that Freddie Gray’s “rough ride” was to blame for his death. (Photo via Colorlines.com)
According to a copy of the autopsy report obtained by The Baltimore Sun, Freddie Gray’s death was a homicide. The report—which was completed on April 30 but hadn’t yet been released to the public—found that Gray suffered a single “high-energy injury” to his neck and spine and concluded that it was likely caused by sudden deceleration in the police van where he was improperly restrained and shackled. The ME compared the injury to one obtained from diving in shallow water and wrote that the officers involved did not follow proper safety procedures “though acts of omission.”
In the report, assistant medical examiner Carol H. Allan wrote that it was “not an unforeseen event that a vulnerable individual was injured during operation of the vehicle, and that without prompt medical attention, the injury would prove fatal.” In addition to examining Gray’s body, the examiner used videos, witness statements and an inspection of the van to complete the report. She also found that there were no previous injuries to Gray’s spine, noting that he was not incapacitated by a neck hold or other type of physical restraint.
Twenty-five-year-old Gray was arrested in Baltimore on April 12 and died a week later due to a spinal injury inflicted while he was in custody. The six officers involved in his arrest and transport have all been charged with crimes ranging from second-degree depraved-heart murder to second-degree assault. Last week, each officer pleaded not guilty. Their trial date has been set for October 13, and a motions hearing is scheduled for September 2. article by Kenrya Rankin Naasel via colorlines.com
![](https://i0.wp.com/www.colorlines.com/sites/default/files/styles/article_lead_normal/public/images/2015/06/Freddie%20Gray%20death%20ruled%20homicide%206-24-15.png?resize=640%2C355 "The medical examiner found that Freddie Gray's "rough ride" was to blame for his death.")