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Good Black News

Spelman Twins Kristie and Kirstie Bronner Make History As School’s First Co-Valedictorians

By goodblacknews on May 9, 2013
Twins
Kristie (pictured left) and Kirstie Bronner (pictured) are identical twins with identical grade point averages, so why shouldn’t they share the honor of being Spelman College‘s first-ever sister co-valedictorians, reports WSB-TV.
The road to one of this country’s leading historically Black colleges was not a walk in the park for the girls; they worked hard to maintain their high grade point averages in high school.  According to Kirstie Bonner, who spoke with WSB-TV, “Before we came to college, we prayed that we would keep 4.0′s all the way through, but I don’t think we ever really expected it.”
But apparently there is strength in numbers, and as sisters who have traveled along the same path, sharing the same educational goals for success, the young women seemed to fuel each other, as evidenced by their noteworthy standing at Spelman, “You can have strength together,” Kristie points out.
When the young women arrived at the Atlanta college, they said they really pushed themselves to the limit to maintain excellent grades, even making themselves physically ill.  Eventually, both Kirstie and Kristie learned from their mistakes, self-corrected, and managed their college workload in a way that would not negatively affect their health.

Tony-Award Nominated 'Trip to Bountiful’ Extends Broadway Run Through Summer

By goodblacknews on May 8, 2013

trip to bountiful full
The new Broadway production of Horton Foote’s “The Trip to Bountiful,” featuring Emmy-winning stage and screen star Cicely Tyson, has extended its run at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre.  The production, which officially opened April 23, had been scheduled for a 14-week limited engagement through July 7. It has now extended an additional eight weeks and will continue through Sept. 1.  “Bountiful” was recently nominated for four Tony Awards, including Best Actress in a Play (Tyson), Best Featured Actress in a Play (Condola Rashad), Best Sound Design for a Play (John Gromada) and Best Revival of a Play.
The cast also includes Academy Award winner Cuba Gooding Jr. (“Jerry Maguire,” “Red Tails”), Emmy Award nominee Vanessa Williams (“Ugly Betty,” “Desperate Housewives”), Rashad (Lifetime’s “Steel Magnolias,” Broadway’s Stick Fly), Tom Wopat, Devon Abner, Curtis Billings, Pat Bowie, Leon Addison Brown, Arthur French, Susan Heyward, Bill Kux, Linda Powell and Charles Turner.  Michael Wilson directs.
View some behind-the-scenes vignettes below:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1hZddQFHng&w=560&h=315]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FW4CyhIrVlo&w=560&h=315]
article via eurweb.com

Charles Ramsey, Rescuer of Amanda Berry, Recounts his Heroic Day to CNN's Anderson Cooper

By goodblacknews on May 8, 2013

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5elloa4kOc&w=560&h=315]
Charles Ramsey
On Monday, Charles Ramsey became a national hero.  Ramsey is the next door neighbor to the three Castro brothers, who allegedly held three women captive in a Cleveland home for more than a decade.  Ramsey says shortly after he’d returned home from McDonald’s on Monday, he heard “a girl going nuts” at the Castro house.

It was Amanda Berry. But Ramsey didn’t know who she was. He’d lived next door to the Castro brothers and barbequed with Ariel Castor in the back yard. But he’d never seen this young woman before.   “She said help me get out,” he says. “I figured it was a domestic violence dispute,” he told The Associated Press. The door would only open a crack, so he told her to kick out the screen.  “She comes out with a little girl and says ‘Call 911.’

Kerry Washington Graces the June Cover of Elle Magazine

By goodblacknews on May 7, 2013

kerry washington elle
Kerry Washington has landed the cover of Elle‘s June 2013 issue, making it the actress’ first major fashion mag cover. Washington poses in a sweet cardigan and plaid shorts by Marc Jacobs, with just a hint of a Carine Gilson Lingerie Couture bra peeking out.  It shouldn’t be too surprising that Kerry’s scored a major cover — not only is she a Best-Dressed List regular with enviable red carpet style, but she also stars in TV’s hottest show, Scandal, and was part of the massively successful Django Unchained.
Yet with all that success, Kerry had yet to pose for a fashion magazine cover up till now. Women’s Health, Ebony, Essence, Vibe — plenty of non-fashion glossies have chosen Kerry for their covers. She even shared the cover of Elle‘s “Women in Hollywood” issue in December 2012. But the likes of Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar eluded her. Until now.
article via huffingtonpost.com

Camden Sophisticated Sisters Drill Team Performs on "DWTS" (VIDEO)

By goodblacknews on May 7, 2013

Camden Sophisticated SistersIn case you missed it last week, here is the inspiring story and performance of Camden, New Jersey’s drill team, the Camden Sophisticated Sisters, formed twenty-six years ago by Camden native and CNN Hero Tawanda “Wa-Wa” Jones, on ABC’s “Dancing With The Stars”:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VARCjIF1zhY&w=560&h=315]If you’d like to help, donate or follow the Sophisticated Sisters, click here.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson

Obama Encourages Ohio State Graduates to ‘Dream Bigger’

By goodblacknews on May 6, 2013

resident Barack Obama gives the commencement address to the graduating class of The Ohio State University at Ohio Stadium on May 5, 2013 in Columbus, Ohio. Obama addressed the graduates a year from the day he kicked off his re-election campaign at the campus.The president was also given an honorary degree Doctor of Laws. (Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images)
President Barack Obama gives the commencement address to the graduating class of The Ohio State University at Ohio Stadium on May 5, 2013 in Columbus, Ohio. Obama addressed the graduates a year from the day he kicked off his re-election campaign at the campus.The president was also given an honorary degree Doctor of Laws. (Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images)

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A year to the day after kicking off his victorious re-election campaign on this college campus, President Barack Obama returned to Ohio State University and told graduates that only through vigorous participation in their democracy can they right a poorly functioning government and break through relentless cynicism about the nation’s future.
“I dare you, Class of 2013, to do better. I dare you to dream bigger,” Obama said.
In a sunbaked stadium filled with more than 57,000 students, friends and relatives, Obama lamented an American political system that gets consumed by “small things” and works for the benefit of society’s elite. He called graduates to duty to “accomplish great things,” like rebuilding a still-feeble economy and fighting poverty and climate change.
“Only you can ultimately break that cycle. Only you can make sure the democracy you inherit is as good as we know it can be,” Obama told more than 10,000 cap-and-gown-clad graduates gathered for the rite of passage. “But it requires your dedicated, informed and engaged citizenship.”
The visit to Ohio State — the first of three commencement addresses Obama will give this season — was a homecoming of sorts for Obama, who has visited the campus five times over little more than a year, starting with his first official campaign rally here last May. He made many more stops elsewhere in Ohio as he and Republican Mitt Romney dueled for the Midwestern state which was pivotal to Obama’s victories in both 2008 and 2012.

Bill Duke’s ‘Dark Girls’ Headed to OWN; More Films in the Making

By goodblacknews on May 6, 2013

ddark girlsBill Duke’s thought-provoking film, “Dark Girls” is headed to Oprah Winfrey’s OWN Network this June.
The documentary first emerged in 2011 at the Toronto International Film Festival and had great promise of becoming something bigger and better. But it never turned up as a national theater release and continued to tour across the country.
Duke announced in 2012 at the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles, that he was in the middle of developing two feature documentaries as follow ups to “Dark Girls.”
“Yellow Brick Road” will look at the ‘colorism’ issue from the perspective of light-skinned Black women. The other documentary, “What Is A Man?” will explore masculinity and manhood as it has transformed from the beginning of time to present day. Filming for the project has already begun and it turns out Duke has been interviewing people from all around the world.
Watch the trailer for “Dark Girls” below:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXG38QxXY-s&w=560&h=315]
article by Brittney M. Walker via eurweb.com

Professor Tricia Rose to Lead the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America at Brown

By goodblacknews on May 5, 2013

Brown Professor Tricia RoseTricia Rose, professor of Africana studies at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, was selected as the next director of the university’s Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America. The Center was established at Brown in 1986.
In accepting the appointment, Professor Rose stated, “My goal is to make the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America a vibrant, historically grounded, yet forward-looking campuswide, nationally recognized site for critical analysis and public engagement on the ways that race and ethnicity shape American culture, society, and policy.”
Professor Rose is the author of the award-winning book, Black Noise: Rap Music and Black Culture in Contemporary America (Wesleyan University Press, 1994). She is also the author of Longing to Tell: Black Women Talk About Sexuality and Intimacy (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003) and The Hip Hop Wars: What We Talk About When We Talk About Hip Hop — And Why It Matters (Basic Civitas, 2008).
Dr. Rose is a native of New York City. She is a graduate of Yale University and holds a Ph.D. in American studies from Brown University.
article via jbhe.com

Documentaries 'Girls of Daraja' & 'School of My Dreams' to Air on PBS May 9th

By goodblacknews on May 5, 2013

Educate GirlsTwo short documentaries directed and produced by Barbara Rick about Daraja Academy in Kenya air back-to-back on PBS on May 9th, “Girls of Daraja” followed by “Schools of My Dreams.”

Girls of Daraja:
A boarding secondary school for Kenyan girls with top academic scores and exceptional leadership skills but no means to continue their education. The academy provides shelter, food, healthcare and counseling services which allows students to focus on their academic and personal potential, without being hindered by the everyday barriers of poverty.
School of My Dreams:
An engaging portrait of students of Daraja Academy, a free Kenyan boarding school for exceptional girls living in poverty. In their own words and art, Daraja’s first graduating class demonstrates how education is expanding their vision and unlocking their dreams. They commit to transforming their communities and the world.  Watch the trailer below:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfHTRrk8FEc&w=560&h=315]Click here for more info about Daraja Academy and the films.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson

Labelmates Shirley Caesar, Bishop Paul S. Morton and James Fortune & FIYA Score Big On Gospel Charts

By goodblacknews on May 5, 2013

eoneLight Records artists James Fortune & FIYA, Shirley Caesar, and Bishop Paul S. Morton’s hit singles continue to inspire and be embraced by fans all over the country, with their stronghold on the latest Gospel charts in the Top 5 at #3, #4, and #5 respectively.  Uplifting and bringing encouragement to fans with the awesome strength and power of faith, the rousing and contemplative tracks continue to have a lasting impact, collectively spending over 90 weeks on the Gospel chart thus far between the three artists.  With award-winning melodies and dynamic Gospel, the empowering messages from James Fortune & FIYA’s Hold On (#3), Shirley Caesar’s God Will Make A Way (#4), and Bishop Paul S. Morton’s Your Best Days Yet (#5) remain a big hit with listeners, with their Top 5 impact on the latest Gospel radio chart (for May 11, 2013).