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College Student Roland Gainer Helps his Uber Driver, 69 Year-Old Kenneth Broskey, Raise Money to Pay off Home

By goodblacknews on April 19, 2015
PHOTO: Kenneth Broskey, 69, and Roland Gainer, 22, are pictured here.
PHOTO: Kenneth Broskey, 69, and Roland Gainer, 22, are pictured here. (Roland Gainer)

A grandfather from Michigan who’s been battling cancer for almost two years now was told 10 days ago he has about two to 10 weeks to live.  Despite recommendations to look into hospice care, Kenneth Broskey, 69, is still working full-time as an Uber driver and real estate agent in the Detroit area.
Broskey, from Livonia, told ABC News today he’s trying to raise as much money as he can so his daughter, 46, and his two grandchildren, ages 13 and nine, have a place to live when he’s soon gone.
“Once I pass away, chances are my daughter, who’s a part-time waitress at a small restaurant in Livonia, will lose the house we live in because she won’t be able to afford it anymore,” Broskey said. “So I’m doing everything for her and my grandkids at this point. When you find out you’re dying, you realize your family and friends are so important.”
And thanks to a fateful Uber ride three weeks ago, Broskey is now over $22,000 closer to paying off his family’s $95,000 mortgage.
During that ride, Broskey met Roland Gainer, a 22-year-old student at Washtenaw Community College who needed a ride to downtown Ann Arbor to meet up with some friends. Gainer said he started chatting with Broskey and the casual conversation got deeper when he learned Broskey had terminal cancer — stage four oropharyngeal cancer with lung metastases.

PHOTO: Kenneth Broskey, 69, and Roland Gainer, 22, are pictured here.

“I was asking him if he liked Uber driving and then he explained how much he loved it because he got to meet new people, and it was also helping him earn extra money before dying because he had head, tongue and throat cancer,” Broskey told ABC News today. “I felt super-compelled to help him.”
Gainer and Broskey traded numbers, and Gainer turned to the owner of a popular eclectic barber shop in Detroit for ideas on how to help Broskey, he said.
Sebastian Jackson, owner of “The Social Club” barber shop, said he got Broskey connected with a communications expert named Karen Dumas in the area, and the three of them worked together to start a GoFundMe account for Broskey this past Monday.

“It’s so inspiring to see racial and generational gaps be broken for a good cause,” Jackson told ABC News today. “I wanted to help in any way I could.”

Davion Only's Quest for a Family Finally Ends When Connie Bell Going, His Case Worker, Adopts Him

By goodblacknews on April 18, 2015

In October of 2013, 16-year-old Davion Only stood in front of a church in St. Petersburg, Florida with one request— for someone to adopt him.

“My name is Davion and I’ve been in foster care since I was born. I know God hasn’t given up on me. So I’m not giving up either.”

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnU7b577Faw&w=560&h=315]
His request to find a family was picked up by a local news station and more than 10,000 people from around the country responded.  Unfortunately, after a brief stint at a home in Ohio with a potential adopter, he went back to Florida and was placed in four different homes over the next year.

(Image Credit: Instagram)

But that all changed last July when he called a woman he’d known since he was seven— his case worker, Connie Bell Going.
According to Yahoo! Parenting, Only would ask Going every year to adopt him, but she always believed there was a better family out there for him.
Something in her heart changed, though, when he made the request again last summer. She explained:

“In adoption there is a ‘claiming moment,’ when you know [someone is] your child. When he called me to ask, in that moment, I just knew.”

So after a successful test run with her family — she has two daughters and a son whom she adopted out of foster care — Going started the adoption proceedings for Only.

(Image Credit: Twitter)

On April 22, 2015, the adoption proceedings will be finalized and Only will officially have a forever family.

“Today, I am feeling blessed and honored by being chosen to be the parent to all my children,” she said. “I work every day on being the best parent I can to them, to be patient and creative so that I can meet all their needs.”

Only is over the moon about his new family, and always believed Going to be his mom. He told her:

“I guess I always thought of you as my mom. Only now I get to call you that for real, right?”

(Image Credit: Twitter)

And Going feels exactly the same way.

“When he asked me, my heart felt this ache and I just knew he was my son,” she said. 

After years of moving from place to place — never having anything to call his own — Only is finally home.

article by Amanda Ghessie via ijrreview.com

Writer/Producer John Ridley to Reinvent Marvel Superhero for New ABC Series

By goodblacknews on April 17, 2015
Academy Award-winning writer and “American Crime” creator John Ridley (Gabriel Olsen/Getty Images)

According to ew.com, Oscar-winning writer/producer John Ridley (12 Years a Slave) is teaming up with Marvel to develop a mysterious new TV series.  The deal reportedly involves reinventing an existing Marvel superhero character or property for ABC—but all sides are staying quiet on exactly which title Ridley is adapting.

Ridley is an executive producer of ABC’s acclaimed midseason drama American Crime, which has not yet received a second season renewal. Coming off winning best adapted screenplay for 12 Years a Slave, Ridley is also a writer/producer on the 2016 big-screen update of Ben Hur.

Marvel’s aggressive expansion into television now includes four current series (ABC’s SHIELD, Agent Carter—which is on the bubble for a pickup—and Netflix’s Daredevil), plus several confirmed upcoming titles (Netflix’s A.K.A. Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist, followed by the Netflix character mash-up The Defenders). Neither Marvel nor ABC would comment on the Ridley project.

article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (follow @lakinhutcherson)

Philadelphia Native Deesha Dyer Named White House Social Secretary

By goodblacknews on April 17, 2015

Deesha Dyer (Image: LinkedIn)

On April 16th, the White House announced that Deesha Dyer, 37, would become the Obama administration’s third social secretary, and second African-American woman in history to hold the esteemed position.
Dyer, who is a native of Philadelphia, first came to the White House in 2009 as an intern in the Office of Scheduling and Advance. She was hired full-time in 2010 for the role of associate director for Scheduling Correspondence and was later promoted to deputy director and hotel program director. In this role, Dyer traveled with the President and First Lady and worked on matters pertaining to press, lodging and site logistics. In 2013, she was promoted to her current role as director and deputy social secretary.
“Deesha shares our commitment to a White House that reflects America’s history, highlights our culture, and celebrates all Americans. Michelle and I look forward to working with her in this new role as we welcome visitors from across the country and around the world to the People’s House,” said President Obama in a statement.
Prior to starting her career at the White House, Dyer worked at Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust from 2001 to 2010. From 2003 to 2010, she also worked as a freelance journalist covering hip-hop for several different media outlets including The Philadelphia Citypaper. In addition to her years of work experience, the Philadelphia native has also served in several community advocacy roles including her work with young adults at the Youth Health Empowerment Project, her role as creator of a hip-hop AIDS program based in Philadelphia and as a CARE advocacy volunteer and board member at Action AIDS. Since moving to that nation’s capital, Dyer has also volunteered with the homeless community in Washington, D.C. and served as a mentor in the First Lady’s mentee program.
First Lady Michelle Obama congratulated Dyer on her new position and said in a statement that she has always been impressed by her work and is “thrilled that she has agreed to continue her service as [their] Social Secretary.”

R.I.P. "Just Got Paid" R&B Singer Johnny Kemp

By goodblacknews on April 17, 2015
R&B singer Johnny Kemp has passed away at the age of 55-years-old.  Born in the Bahamas, Kemp rose to fame after the release of his 1988 hit single Just Got Paid and his involvement in the New Jack Swing sound.  
Kemp was scheduled to be a part of the New Jack Swing performance with Teddy Riley on Tom Joyner’s annual cruise but it has been confirmed that he was not on the ship at the time of his death.
Reach Media Inc. released the following statement:

We have received confirmation that Johnny Kemp has passed away. We do not have any other details. We can confirm he was not on the ship for the Tom Joyner Foundation Fantastic Voyage Cruise.

To see video of Kemp performing his best-known song, click below:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jl1mQASHc48&w=420&h=315]
article via blackamericaweb.com

"Inspiring Beauty: 50 Years of Ebony Fashion Fair" Exhibit at Milwaukee Art Museum through May 3rd

By goodblacknews on April 17, 2015

background-image-1
For those who haven’t had a chance to catch this traveling show honoring 50 Years of the Ebony Fashion Fair, there is still time for anyone in or travelling to Milwaukee, WI between now and May 3 to do so at the Milwaukee Art Museum.  Originally displayed at the Chicago History Museum, “Inspiring Beauty” has been hosted by the Museum of Design in Atlanta as well.
According to Wikipedia, The Ebony Fashion Fair was founded in 1958 by Eunice Johnson and featured male and female models of mostly African-American descent modeling fashions from top European designers such as: Yves St Laurent, Oscar de la Renta, Pierre Cardin, Paco Rabanne, Givenchy, Jean Paul Gaultier, Valentino and Emanuel Ungaro. The show raised $55 million for African-American charities. The show ended after the 2009 fair due to the death of Eunice Johnson in January 2010.
To learn more about the show or buy tickets online, click here.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (follow @lakinhutcherson)
 

Political Strategist Donna Brazile to Deliver Spelman College Commencement Address on May 17

By goodblacknews on April 16, 2015
Political activist Donna Brazile (Photo: LOUIE FAVORITE)
Political activist Donna Brazile (Photo: LOUIE FAVORITE/ajc.com)

Donna Brazile, an academic, author, syndicated columnist, television political commentator, and political strategist, has been named Commencement speaker for the Spelman College Class of 2015. Brazile, who will receive an honorary degree, will address more than 475 graduates on Sunday, May 17, 2015, at 3 p.m. at the Georgia International Convention Center.
“Donna Brazile has been a trailblazer in the political arena and a staunch advocate for human and civil rights,” said President Beverly Daniel Tatum. “We are pleased she will have an opportunity to impart words of wisdom to Spelman graduates as they begin the next phase of life’s journey, and join the ranks of Spelman alumnae who have made a choice to change the world.”
With a lifelong passion for political progress, Brazile had worked with a candidate every presidential campaign from 1976 through 2000, when she became the first African American to manage a presidential campaign. Today, Brazile is founder and managing director of Brazile & Associates LLC, a general consulting, grassroots advocacy, and training firm based in Washington, D.C. She is also the vice chair of voter registration and participation at the Democratic National Committee and former interim national chair of the political organization.
Author of the best-selling memoir “Cooking with Grease: Stirring the Pots in American Politics,” Brazile is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University, a syndicated newspaper columnist for Universal Uclick, a columnist for Ms. Magazine, and O, The Oprah Magazine, and an on-air contributor to CNN and ABC, where she regularly appears on “This Week.”

R.I.P. Soul Singer and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Percy Sledge

By goodblacknews on April 15, 2015
Percy Sledge made “When a Man Loves a Woman” a timeless hit. (Photo Credit: James J. Kriegsmann)

Percy Sledge, the R&B singer whose soulful ballad of eternal love and rejection, “When a Man Loves a Woman,” topped the charts in 1966, died on Tuesday in Baton Rouge, La. He was 74.

His death was confirmed by Artists International Management, which represented him. Mr. Sledge had liver cancer, for which he underwent surgery in 2014, Mark Lyman, his agent and manager, said.  Mr. Sledge, sometimes called the King of Slow Soul, was a sentimental crooner and one of the South’s first soul stars, having risen to fame from jobs picking cotton and working as a hospital orderly while performing at clubs and colleges on the weekends.“I was singing every style of music: the Beatles, Elvis Presley, James Brown, Wilson Pickett, Motown, Sam Cooke, the Platters,” he once said. “When a Man Loves a Woman” was his first recording for Atlantic Records, after a patient at the hospital introduced him to the record producer Quin Ivy. It reached No. 1 on the pop charts in 1966 and sold more than a million copies, becoming the label’s first gold record. (The Recording Industry Association of America began certifying records as gold in 1958.) Raw and lovelorn, the song was a response to a woman who had left him for another man, Mr. Sledge said. He called its composition a “miracle.”

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYb84BDMbi0&w=420&h=315]
An album of the same name was released that year, and three more studio albums for Atlantic followed in the 1960s: “Warm and Tender Soul,” “The Percy Sledge Way” and “Take Time to Know Her.”
While Mr. Sledge never again reached the heights of his first hit, “When a Man Loves a Woman” had many lives: as an early highlight of the Muscle Shoals, Ala., music scene; as a movie soundtrack staple in the 1980s, heard in “The Big Chill” and “Platoon”; and in a 1991 cover version by Michael Bolton, which also topped the Billboard chart and earned Mr. Bolton a Grammy.

Although the song, which ranks 53rd on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 greatest of all time, is credited to two of Mr. Sledge’s early bandmates, the bassist Calvin Lewis and the organist Andrew Wright, who assisted with the arrangement, Mr. Sledge said of the melody, “I hummed it all my life, even when I was picking and chopping cotton in the fields.”

Chicago Police Torture Victims to Receive $5.5 Million in Reparations

By goodblacknews on April 15, 2015
In 2008, Aaron Cheney demonstrates outside the federal courthouse where former Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge was attending a hearing on charges he obstructed justice and committed perjury for lying while under oath during a 2003 civil trial about decades-old Chicago police torture allegations in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo: Scott Olson/Getty)
The city of Chicago yesterday agreed to a $5.5 million reparations fund for the mainly African-American male victims of police torture under former and disgraced police commander Jon Burge.  The proposed fund includes free city college tuition and counseling for at least 50 victims and their families, the Chicago Tribune reports. The long-sought reparations fund is widely being seen as the city’s effort to end the decades-long scandal that first came to light in the early 1990s.
Current inmates are filing lawsuits or alleging that their confessions had been elicited under torture. At least 20 additional cases, all alleging to have been Burge’s victims, have been identified.
Learn more about the proposed reparations plan in The Chicago Tribune.

John Legend Launches "Free America" Campaign To End Mass Incarceration

By goodblacknews on April 13, 2015

John Legend at Atlanta's Chastain Park Amphitheatre in 2014. (Photo by Robb D. Cohen/Invision/AP)
John Legend at Atlanta’s Chastain Park Amphitheatre in 2014. (Photo by Robb D. Cohen/Invision/AP)

Grammy and Academy Award-winning singer John Legend has launched a campaign to end mass incarceration by announcing today the multiyear initiative, FREE AMERICA.  He will visit and perform at a correctional facility on Thursday in Austin, Texas, where he also will be part of a press conference with state legislators to discuss Texas’ criminal justice system.
“We have a serious problem with incarceration in this country,” Legend said in an interview. “It’s destroying families, it’s destroying communities and we’re the most incarcerated country in the world, and when you look deeper and look at the reasons we got to this place, we as a society made some choices politically and legislatively, culturally to deal with poverty, deal with mental illness in a certain way and that way usually involves using incarceration.”
Legend, 36, will also visit a California state prison and co-host a criminal justice event with Politico in Washington, D.C., later this month. The campaign will include help from other artists — to be announced — and organizations committed to ending mass incarceration.
“I’m just trying to create some more awareness to this issue and trying to make some real change legislatively,” he said. “And we’re not the only ones. There are senators that are looking at this, like Rand Paul and Cory Booker, there are other nonprofits that are looking at this, and I just wanted to add my voice to that.”