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Oscar Winner Mo’Nique Returns To Screen In Independent Film "Blackbird"

By goodblacknews on January 7, 2014

Mo'Nique 2009 OscarsIn her first screen starring turn since the ferocious portrayal as an abusive mother in 2009′s Precious won her the Best Supporting Actress Oscar, Mo’Nique has joined Isaiah Washington in the Patrik-Ian Polk-directed Blackbird, an adaptation of the novel by Larry Duplechan. Washington took the lead in this indie last fall off his starring role as the DC sniper in Blue Caprice earned him a Gotham Award nomination. The film just shot in Hattiesburg, MS.
is__130909161142Mo’Nique is also executive producer with her husband, Sidney Hicks, through Hicks Media. Newcomer Julian Walker plays the star singer in the church choir who feels like a misfit in his high school and struggles with his sexual awakening and the realization he is gay, something that doesn’t land well in a religiously conservative small Mississippi town. This coincides with his younger sister going missing and his parents splitting up. Mo’Nique plays another character who’s not going to win mother of the year awards: the youth’s heartbroken mom, who blames her son’s lifestyle revelation for his sister going missing. Washington plays his supportive father trying his best to help his son’s transition to manhood.
“Blackbird is a film about the choices people are forced to make as they struggle to figure out how to be themselves,” Hicks said. “And why should just being who you are be a struggle? Since Mo’Nique won the Oscar, we have received a flood of scripts, but nothing captured our attention until Isaiah — who we have a high level of respect for — sent us Blackbird. We became instant fans of Patrik-Ian Polk and knew we had to get behind this important film.”
Polk is producing through Tall Skinny Black Boy Productions, Keith Brown through Kbiz Entertainment, Washington through his Coalhouse Productions, and Carol Ann Shine. Terrell Tilford, Gary L. Gray, Kevin Allesee, Torrey Laamar, Nikki Jane and D. Woods round out the cast. Worldwide sales for the film are being handled by Hicks Media and attorney Ricky Anderson of Anderson & Smith.
article by Mike Fleming Jr. via Deadline.com

"12 Years A Slave" Director Steve McQueen Nominated for Director's Guild Award

By goodblacknews on January 7, 2014

steve mcqueenAccording to the Los Angeles Times, Steve McQueen, the 44-year-old British director, garnered his first Director’s Guild of American Award nomination for 12 Years a Slave, an unflinching look at slavery in the U.S.  McQueen is only the second black director to have received a DGA nomination in this category.  Lee Daniels was the first to earn a DGA nomination for feature film for 2009’s Precious. McQueen received best director honors from the New York Film Critics Circle and is nominated for Golden Globe and Independent Spirit awards.

Other nominees include Martin Scorsese, who earned his ninth DGA nomination for The Wolf of Wall Street, his controversial dark comedy starring Leonardo DiCaprio about a hedonistic stockbroker.  Scorsese, 71, received his first DGA feature nomination for 1976’s Taxi Driver, and won the honor for his 2006 crime film The Departed, which also starred DiCaprio.
Alfonso Cuaron, like McQueen, is also a first-time nominee, for his lost-in-space blockbuster Gravity. Cuaron, 52, was named best director by the Los Angeles Film Critics Assn. for the thriller and is nominated for a Golden Globe Award.  British filmmaker Paul Greengrass, 58, was nominated for Captain Phillips, a fact-based thriller about a container ship hijacked by Somali pirates. Greengrass is also nominated for a Golden Globe for his direction of the film.  Rounding out the DGA feature nominees is David O. Russell for his Abscam-influenced con-comedy American Hustle. Russell, 55, was nominated in this category for 2010’s The Fighter.  He is also nominated for a Golden Globe.
The winner will be announced at the 66th awards dinner on Jan. 25 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson

 

Top 10 Scholarships For African-American Students With Deadlines In January 2014

By goodblacknews on January 6, 2014

Scholarships For African American Students

The new year is here, and it’s time for students to get back to work. This year, more than $50 billion dollars will be given away in scholarships, and many of these programs have deadlines that are fast-approaching.
Scholarships are free monetary gifts that can be used to pay for college tuition, books, and boarding. Most scholarship programs require students to excel in academics, sports, or in an essay competition.
Here they are top 10 scholarships with upcoming deadlines in January 2014:
#1 – The Tom Joyner Foundation “Full Ride” Scholarship awards a full scholarship to one student to attend a Historically Black College and University (HBCU).  Learn more at www.scholarshipsonline.org/2013/12/tom-joyner-foundation-full-ride.html
#2 – The Burger King Scholars program is designed to help high-school seniors who are looking to start college next year. Annually, the program awards more than $1.4 million in scholarships to more than 1,000 students.  Learn more at www.scholarshipsonline.org/2012/03/burger-king-scholars-program.html
#3 – The Gates Millennium Scholars Program (also known as the Bill Gates Scholarship) awards scholarships each year to African American students who plan to enroll full-time in a two-year or four-year college or university program.  Learn more at www.scholarshipsonline.org/2012/08/the-gates-millennium-scholars-program.html
#4 – The Ron Brown Scholar Program provides scholarship awards to African-American high school seniors who are excelling in their academics, exhibiting exceptional leadership potential, and actively serving in community service activities.  Learn more at www.scholarshipsonline.org/2012/04/ron-brown-scholar-program.html
#5 – The Discover Card Tribute Award Scholarship Program is sponsored by Discover Financial Services. The program recognizes students in their junior year of high school who have demonstrated outstanding achievements in their communities.  Learn more atwww.scholarshipsonline.org/2012/07/discover-card-tribute-award-scholarship.html
#6 – The National Black Law Student Association (NBLSA) provides four scholarships each year to African-American students currently in law school. Each applicant will be required to complete an essay on a topic that is related to the specific scholarship for which they are applying.  Learn more atwww.scholarshipsonline.org/2013/02/nblsa-national-black-law-student-association-scholarships.html
#7 – Ronald McDonald House Charities Scholarships (RMHC) for African American Future Achievers are awarded to eligible high school students with high academic performance and community service as well as financial need.  Learn more at www.scholarshipsonline.org/2012/07/ronald-mcdonald-house-charities.html
#8 – The Talbots Scholarship Program awards one-time scholarships to women who want to go back to school to earn their undergraduate degree after graduating from high school or receiving their GED at least ten years ago. Applicants must demonstrate financial need.  Learn more atwww.scholarshipsonline.org/2012/11/the-talbots-scholarship-program.html
#9 – The Ronald Reagan College Leaders Scholarship Program awards scholarships to college juniors and seniors who demonstrate leadership qualities in support of freedom, American values and constitutional principles.  Learn more at www.scholarshipsonline.org/2012/08/ronald-reagan-college-leaders.html
#10 – The NASA Aeronautics Scholarship Program is open to both undergraduate and graduate students pursuing a career in the field of aeronautics. It is a renewable scholarship for U.S. citizens and nationals. Learn more at www.scholarshipsonline.org/2012/09/nasa-aeronautics-scholarship-program.html
To search hundreds of other 2014 scholarships, visit www.ScholarshipsOnline.org.
article via dallasweekly.com

NBC Orders Craig Robinson Comedy to Series

By goodblacknews on January 6, 2014

Craig Robertson
Craig Robinson (Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

NBC has handed a series order to a half-hour comedy from The Office co-star Craig Robinson.  Mr. Robinson centers on a journeyman musician who gets a job as a music teacher at a middle school. While teaching the kids everything from rock to the blues, he simultaneously learns how to put the school’s rules to the test. NBC has given the project a six-episode order.
Robinson will star in the comedy, which was initially ordered to pilot in early 2013. The Office showrunner Greg Daniels was attached to the laffer last year but has since departed Mr. Robinson.  Universal TV and 3 Arts Entertainment will produce Mr. Robinson, with Mark Cullen, Rob Cullen, Howard Klein and Mark Schulman executive producing.

article by AJ Marechal via Variety.com

‘SNL’ Adds Sasheer Zamata, First Black Female Cast Member in Years

By goodblacknews on January 6, 2014
sasheer zamata
According to Variety.com, Sasheer Zamata will be the latest young comedian to join NBC’s Saturday Night Live,  Zamata will make her debut as an SNL featured player on Jan. 18, the late-night program’s first live show of this new year. Zamata is a University of Virginia alumna and trained at the Upright Citizens Brigade.
Zamata will be SNL’s first black female cast member since the departure of Maya Rudolph in 2007. SNL and its producer Lorne Michaels came under fire in late 2013 over the cast’s lack of diversity, and the series poked fun at its own controversy during its opening segment when Kerry Washington hosted SNL in November 2013.  News broke at the end of the year that SNL was holding auditions specifically to find black female cast members to join the program in 2014.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson

At Detroit's Downtown Boxing Gym, Kids Find Athletic and Academic Success

By goodblacknews on January 5, 2014

Detroit Downtown Boxing

DETROIT, Mich. — On a cold December day in East Detroit, a dozen kids form a human assembly line stretching across the parking lot of the Downtown Boxing Gym.  With strong arms, the kids grab and push boxes of food from the delivery truck.  “The kids don’t go without a meal,” Coach Khali Sweeney told NBC News. “Forgotten Harvest, the local food bank, they’ll bring food here for ’em, so we have food for the kids to eat healthy.”
According to a 2010 report, more than half of the city’s households with children under 18 receive food assistance from the state.  But that food is just one of the reasons the kids depend on this gym, which is the only building left standing on its city block.
To learn more about the Downtown Boxing Gym, please click here to visit their website. 
It is surrounded by a handful of vacant lots and remnants of abandoned buildings, where the kids sometimes run laps at night.  “It’s not, like, really safe for us to go out there and train,” 19-year-old boxer Anthony Flagg Jr. said.  “But we do it anyway. They say boxing, you’re risking your life.”
For these kids, there are risks both in and out of the ring.  Across train tracks, less than a mile away from the gym, there’s a scene of a different kind: a new Whole Foods grocery– a sign of new life for the struggling city.  “I appreciate and applaud all the efforts goin’ into […] buildin’ the city,” Sweeney said. “But the residents themselves, they’re not gonna see that for a long time, and they’re still suffering. So places like this is a good place for kids to go. ”

Amazing Black Artists to Watch in 2014

By goodblacknews on January 5, 2014

No, not every deserving artist gets their first taste of attention through one of the art world’s largest platforms such as the legendary Art Basel show, or the Frieze Art Fair. In particular, African-American artists and other artists of color are still working towards greater visibility in the highest spheres of the rarified art community. Thus, there can never be too many lists bringing attention to the abundance of talented creators on the cusp of discovery who are ready to emerge.
Here are the fresh faces and more established visionaries still gaining ground that you need to know in 2014. The African diasporan artists compiled in the photo gallery above carry forth the traditions set in motion by visual artists from significant eras such as the Harlem Renaissance and Black Arts Movement, yet speak with new images and forms that lead us into the future.
With their various approaches to creativity, visual communication, and craft, these artists each examine critical issues of the past, present and future that reflect our shared experiences across the intersecting lines of race, class, gender, sexuality and politics. Through their works, the experiences of those of the African diaspora — and beyond — are critiqued, celebrated and preserved.
Visibility is essential to supporting the continued success of these artists, and ensuring that black artists — who are increasingly gaining recognition — continue to render our images in refined and thoughtful forms from the art world’s center stage. Regardless of whether these artists ever appear at Art Basel, or already have, please keep your eyes to the wall (and in some cases the floor, ceiling, and sidewalks), because you will want to follow these folks, who are the latest provocateurs, innovators and dreamers.
These selections are not ranked in any order to acknowledge equally the importance of each artist’s style — with the awareness that there are likely more great visual “voices” out there who deserve recognition.  Click here to see more inspiring art.
article by Souleo via thegrio.com

Top 10 HBCUs by Starting Average Salary

By goodblacknews on January 3, 2014
Graduate Frederick Anderson stands in the pouring rain as President Barack Obama acknowledges him during his Morehouse College 129th Commencement ceremony address Sunday, May 19, 2013, in Atlanta. After a difficult childhood Shelton graduating Phi Beta Kappa and is on his way to Harvard Law School. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Graduate Frederick Anderson stands in the pouring rain as President Barack Obama acknowledges him during his Morehouse College 129th Commencement ceremony address Sunday, May 19, 2013, in Atlanta. After a difficult childhood Shelton graduating Phi Beta Kappa and is on his way to Harvard Law School. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

A college education is viewed one of the essential stepping stones to a fulfilling career – but its cost traditionally does not come cheap.  In particular, the tuition of some of the nation’s many historically black colleges and universities range across the board but the rewards of a college degree often outweigh the costs.  While tuition costs and school population sizes are strong determining factors when considering which school to attend, one website, HBCU Lifestyle, has listed which HBCU graduates would earn the most in salary after earning college degrees.

Here are the top 10 HBCU’s by starting average salary:

Rank College Name Average Salary Tuition Location
1 Prairie View A&M University $49,300 $4,062 Prairie View, TX
2 Bowie State University $46,400 $4,547 Bowie, MD
3 Hampton University $46,300 $16,888 Hampton, VA
4 Tuskegee University $44,700 $17,070 Tuskegee, AL
5 Morehouse College $44,200 $21,616 Atlanta, GA
6 Xavier University of Louisiana $42,300 $16,900 New Orleans, LA
7 University of Maryland Eastern Shore $41,900 $4,362 Princess Anne, MD
8 Howard University $41,700 $19,150 Washington, DC
9 Morgan State University $41,500 $4,540 Baltimore, MD
10 Southern University and A&M College $41,400 $5,074 Baton Rouge, LA

Visit HBCU Lifestyle to learn more.
article by Lilly Workneh via thegrio.com

South Carolina Native Sergio Hudson wins Rihanna's "Styled To Rock" Design Competition

By goodblacknews on January 3, 2014

Sergio

After ten weeks of cutting, sewing and styling, South Carolina native Sergio Hudson came out on top as the winner of Rihanna’s Styled To Rock design competition.  The pop star, along with judges/mentors Mel Ottenberg, Erin Wasson, and Pharrell Williams, chose the father of three over runner up Laura Petrielli-Pulice from Chicago, for his envelope-pushing aesthetic and strong structuring skills. Hudson walks away with a $100,000 cash prize, a fashion feature in Glamour magazine and a spot on Rihanna’s official design team.

Airing on Bravo, the music-meets-fashion competition series followed 12 up-and-coming coming designers, hand-picked by the pop-star, to create unique fashion pieces for some of the biggest names in entertainment. With celebrity guests such as Miley Cyrus and Kelly Osbourne, the designers experienced demanding real-life challenges, made to push their creative boundaries. Each week, with only a limited time frame, they were asked to create an innovative outfit and complete look based on the celebrities’ detailed brief.  In the final challenge, the final two designers had to create two editorial looks specifically for Rihanna. Sergio’s denim ball gown and high-cut denim shorts were the stand out pieces.

President Barack Obama Named Most Admired Man Of 2013

By goodblacknews on January 2, 2014

barack obama most admired man

Despite having earned dismal approval ratings for his presidency at the end of last year, President Barack Obama (pictured) was still named the nation’s most admired man of 2013, according to a recent Gallup Poll. The Commander-in-Chief has won the honor for the 57th time, over a six-year period, since Gallup began asking Americans the question for the past 6 years, reports Gallup Politics.  The Gallup organization polled people ages 18 and older via telephone from December 5th to December 8th across the United States to respond to a question about the person they admired the most on the planet. Sixteen percent of Americans named Obama as the individual they most look up to, and he was followed by former President George W. Bush and Pope Francis, who both shared the No. 2 spot as far as admired males with 4 percent each.

The former United States Secretary of State, U.S. Senator, and First Lady Hillary Clinton took poll honors as the most-admired female on the globe with a 15 percent rating. Clinton was followed by talk show maven Oprah Winfrey, who garnered 6 percent of the vote.  Coming in behind Winfrey and sharing their highly coveted spotlight is First Lady Michelle Obama and former Alaska governor Sarah Palin with each receiving 5 percent of the poll votes.
article by Ruth Manuel-Logan via newsone.com