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Debbie Allen Champions Arts Education for Youth, Kicks Off National Tour of "Brothers of the Knight"

Debbie Allen Champions Arts Education for Youth, Kicks Off National Tour of "Brothers of the Knight"

By goodblacknews on June 20, 2014

DEBBIE_ALLEN_HEADSHOT_tOscar, Emmy and Tony Award-winning choreographer and director Debbie Allen premiered her new theatrical production Brothers of the Knight at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills last night, kicking off a five-city summer tour.  Turning out to support Allen and her passion for training today’s youth in the arts were actors Jenifer Lewis, Clifton Powell, “Grey’s Anatomy” star Ellen Pompeo, Darrin Hewitt Henson, New Kids on the Block singer Joey McIntyre and WNBA All-Star Lisa Leslie, among others. (Click here to see GBN’s Instagram photos from the event.)
Grammy-winning musician James Ingram wrote the music to this modern adaptation of the classic Brothers Grimm tale, The Twelve Dancing Princesses, where twelve brothers steal away to a magical ballroom and dance every night away unbeknownst to their strict preacher father.
Allen, who produced the show with husband and former NBA All-Star Norm Nixon, went on a five-city tour to find the best young talent possible, then trained and worked closely with them to bring the production to life.
“I opened this audition to kids who are not just in dance schools,” Allen said, but “to people who simply love to dance.”
1391112260644Allen is passionate about arts education for youth and mounts productions like this every year to shed light on its importance as more and more public schools drop arts, music and theatre programs.
“It’s a battle right now. Arts education is disappearing without a trace from the public schools. If you don’t have arts as part of the core of your curriculum, you are not going to be well educated,” Allen recently told WGBH in Boston.
Allen has been fighting to keep dance and the arts available for youth for quite some time.  In 2001, Allen opened the Debbie Allen Dance Academy (DADA), a non-profit organization which offers classes in various dance disciplines for youth and teens.
Brothers of the Knight runs until June 22 in Los Angeles, then moves to Boston from June 27-29, Philadelphia July 3-6, Washington DC July 10-13 and Charlotte July 17-20.  To order tickets, go to brothersoftheknight.com.  To sponsor or donate to this show, click here.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (follow @lakinhutcherson)

Thomas Wilkins Named Principal Conductor of Hollywood Bowl Orchestra

By goodblacknews on June 20, 2014
Conductor Thomas Wilkins has been a familiar face to classical music fans in Los Angeles since at least 2008, when he was appointed principal guest conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra.
On Thursday, Wilkins officially took on a new title with the orchestra — principal conductor — signaling a more permanent role in the institution. Wilkins made his Bowl debut in 2007 and has held a series of two-year appointments in his role as principal guest conductor.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic, which made the announcement on Thursday, said that Wilkins has led the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra at 50 concerts during his periods as principal guest conductor.
The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra was led for many years by conductor John Mauceri, who stepped down in 2006.

5 Exonerated in Central Park Jogger Case Agree to Settle Suit for $40 Million

By goodblacknews on June 20, 2014

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Lawyers, in foreground, and the five defendants in the Central Park rape case of a female jogger waiting for the ruling in February 1990 in State Supreme Court in Manhattan. (JAMES ESTRIN / THE NEW YORK TIMES)

The five men whose convictions in the brutal 1989 beating and rape of a female jogger in Central Park were later overturned have agreed to a settlement of about $40 million from New York City to resolve a bitterly fought civil rights lawsuit over their arrests and imprisonment in the sensational crime.
The agreement, reached between the city’s Law Department and the five plaintiffs, would bring to an end an extraordinary legal battle over a crime that came to symbolize a sense of lawlessness in New York, amid reports of “wilding” youths and a marauding “wolf pack” that set its sights on a 28-year-old investment banker who ran in the park many evenings after work.
The confidential deal, disclosed by a person who is not a party in the lawsuit but was told about the proposed settlement, must still be approved by the city comptroller and then by a federal judge.
The initial story of the crime, as told by the police and prosecutors, was that a band of young people, part of a larger gang that rampaged through Central Park, had mercilessly beaten and sexually assaulted the jogger. The story quickly exploded into the public psyche, fanned by politicians and sensational news reports that served to inflame racial tensions.
The five black and Hispanic men, ages 14 to 16 at the time of their arrests, claimed that incriminating statements they had given had been coerced by the authorities. The statements were ruled admissible, and the men were convicted in two separate trials in 1990.
In December 2002, an investigation by the Manhattan district attorney, Robert M. Morgenthau, found DNA and other evidence that the woman had been raped and beaten not by the five teenagers but by another man, Matias Reyes, a convicted rapist and murderer who had confessed to acting alone in the attack. Concluding that the new evidence could have changed the original verdict, Mr. Morgenthau’s office joined a defense motion asking that the convictions be vacated.
If approved, the settlement would fulfill a pledge by Mayor Bill de Blasio to meet a “moral obligation to right this injustice.”

Lupita Nyong'o Lands July Cover of Vogue

By goodblacknews on June 19, 2014

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If anyone was still wondering if breakout actress and Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o was having the best year ever, Vogue just solidified it.  The 12 Years a Slave star, 31, made her first appearance on the most coveted of fashion magazines, covering Vogue’s July issue.
This isn’t Nyong’o’s first cover. In April, she took the title of People’s “Most Beautiful Woman in the World.” She was also recently named a Lancome beauty ambassador and has joined the cast of the upcoming “Star Wars” feature directed by J.J. Abrams.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

Gritty Crime Drama "Across 110th Street" Coming To Remastered Blu-Ray this September

By goodblacknews on June 18, 2014

Across 110th Street
According to Shadow and Act, Kino Lorber, which for years has specialized exclusively in silent, foreign and independent films, has made a deal with MGM/Fox to release older United Artists titles from the 50’s to the 70’s in new Blu-ray remastered discs, starting in late summer. In September, Kino will be releasing the 1972 heist drama “Across 110th Street” starring Yaphet Kotto, Anthony Franciosa and Anthony Quinn.
Considered one of the best films of the famed “blaxploitation” movie era, “Across 110th Street” has influenced filmmakers such as “American Gangster” director Ridley Scott, and Quentin Tarantino, who included the title track from this movie in his homage to this era of filmmaking, “Jackie Brown.”  To learn more about the movie, click here.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson  (follow @lakinhutcherson)
 

Physician Darrell Gray Works to Use Telecommunications to Extend Care to Underserved Neighborhoods

By goodblacknews on June 18, 2014

Darrell M. Gray, II MD
Darrell M. Gray, II MD

The man came into the emergency room of St. Louis’ Barnes-Jewish Hospital complaining of abdominal pain. Having no insurance, he had avoided medical care as long as he could, but the pain had finally become too intense.
The gastroenterologist called in to consult that day was Darrell Gray, a young physician from Baltimore doing a fellowship at the hospital, which is affiliated with Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.  The patient, in his late 40s or early 50s, had blood in his stool and a mass in his stomach.
“It didn’t take much more diagnostic work to understand that, feeling the mass and seeing that his history of passing blood, this was likely a cancer,” Gray recalls. “Here’s a young guy who comes in with what was later found to be metastatic cancer. At that point I really couldn’t do much for him.”
That experience, and others like it, prompted Gray to continue his already extensive training, which included the fellowship, a residency at Duke, and medical school at Howard University. To top that off, he spent the last year at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH).
Gray got a taste of public health work during his fellowship. While in St. Louis, he designed a bridge program to connect disadvantaged populations with the health care system. His target population was African-American men, who have a higher incidence of colorectal cancers than the general population, a reality that, in poorer neighborhoods, is compounded by other barriers to health care, such as a lack of insurance, a lack of knowledge about preventive measures, and chronic unemployment.
To reach these men, Gray contacted area churches, gave short educational presentations during the community announcement portion of Sunday services, and followed up with those who contacted him, connecting them with screening services and primary-care physicians. The experience was satisfying, but also made him realize how much he didn’t know.
“I realized from that program that there were some areas I needed strengthening in: health policy, public health, population health,” Gray said. “While I enjoy seeing a patient in the office, I want to be able to impact populations.”
Gray, who graduates this spring with a master’s in public health, said he has benefited greatly from his year at HSPH. In addition to his academic work, he shook hands with the prime minister of Namibia, met with the former health minister of Kenya, met senior White House adviser Valerie Jarrett, and met with Jonathan Woodson, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs.
“I had high expectations coming in, but it has exceeded my expectations,” said Gray, who is at HSPH on a Mongan Commonwealth Fund Fellowship in Minority Health Policy.

Washington Redskins Trademark Canceled by US Patent Office

By goodblacknews on June 18, 2014

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A Washington Redskins football helmet lies on the field during NFL football minicamp, Wednesday, June 18, 2014, in Ashburn, Va. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Patent Office ruled Wednesday that the Washington Redskins nickname is “disparaging of Native Americans” and that the team’s federal trademarks for the name must be canceled.
The 2-1 ruling comes after a campaign to change the name gained momentum over the past year. The team doesn’t immediately lose trademark protection and is allowed to retain it during an appeal, which is likely.
Redskins owner Dan Snyder has refused to change the team’s name, citing tradition, but there has been growing pressure including statements in recent months from President Barack Obama, lawmakers of both parties and civil rights groups.
The decision means that the team can continue to use the Redskins name, but it would lose a significant portion of its ability to protect the financial interests connected to its use. If others printed the name on sweatshirts, apparel, or other team material, it becomes more difficult to go after groups who use it without permission.
The case involves six registered trademarks that involve the use of the word Redskins, but it does not apply to the team’s logo.

Miami’s Darrin Gayles Becomes 1st Openly Gay Black Male Judge on Federal Bench

By goodblacknews on June 18, 2014

Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Darrin P. Gayles reached an American milestone Tuesday when the U.S. Senate confirmed him as a federal judge, making Gayles the first openly gay black male jurist to sit on the bench.
The noon vote was 98-0.
Gayles has served on the Florida circuit court since 2011 and before on the Miami-Dade county court, beginning in 2004. He graduated from George Washington University School of Law.
In February, President Barack Obama nominated Gayles and White House officials noted that he would be the first openly gay male African-American federal judge.
Click here for updates.

article by Jay Weaver via miamiherald.typepad.com  

New List Celebrates the Beauty and Brains of Black Female Scientists

By goodblacknews on June 17, 2014

(Photo Credit: KylaMcMullen.com)

With her list of 73 sexy Black female scientists, Kyla McMullen is dismantling multiple destructive stereotypes about Black women. Not only are we beautiful and intelligent, but Black women are pursuing the highest levels of education in the much discussed STEM fields.
Kyla explains, “The face of Science needs an extreme makeover. If the current generation is going to be engaged in scientific careers, we need to dispel the stereotypical image of a scientist as being a white, glasses wearing, socially-inept nerd.”
Representation matters, and it’s important to show the world, not to mention the little girls who might want to enter these fields, that Black women are in these fields and their education does not strip them of their desirability. The list features a wide array of women who’ve pursued a host of different fields.
View the full list here.
article via theculture.forharriet.com

Oprah Winfrey to Play Civil Rights Protester Annie Lee Cooper in Ava Duvernay's ‘Selma’

By goodblacknews on June 17, 2014

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Photo Credit: ANTHONY HARVEY/GETTY IMAGES

Oprah Winfrey has joined the cast of Ava DuVernay’s “Selma.” She is also producing the film.  Winfrey will play Annie Lee Cooper, an elderly woman who tried to register to vote and was unfairly denied by Sheriff Clark. She was a visible leader amongst the civil rights protesters in Selma.  The drama follows MLK’s landmark 1965 voting rights campaign, which is regarded as the peak of the civil rights movement.
The film stars Oprah’s ‘Butler’ co-star David Oyelowo as Martin Luther King Jr.; Carmen Ejogo as Coretta Scott King; Tom Wilkinson as Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson; Cuba Gooding Jr. as Fred Gray; Common as James Bevel; Wendell Pierce as Rev. Hosea Williams; Stephan James as John Lewis; and Nigel Thatch as Malcolm X.
Winfrey earned an Oscar nomination for her performance in Steven Spielberg’s “The Color Purple.” She most recently played Oyelowo’s mother in “Lee Daniels’ The Butler.” In addition to “Selma,” Winfrey is a producer on DreamWorks’ “The Hundred-Foot Journey,” which hits theaters in August. She’s represented by WME.
article via theculture.forharriet.com