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Jennifer Hudson, Octavia Spencer To Star In New Lifetime 'Five Film'

By goodblacknews on March 22, 2013

Jennifer Hudson, Octavia Spencer

Jennifer Hudson and Octavia Spencer (“The Help”) have been tapped to star in the soon to premiere Lifetime movie event “Call Me Crazy: A Five Film.”  Following the success of the first “Five’ feature (Alicia Keys), “Call Me Crazy” brings together an all-star ensemble cast with five interwoven stories about how everlasting bonds of love and family can overcome life’s most challenging hurdles.
Jennifer Hudson will star in the short “Maggie,” which focuses on a female veteran (Hudson) that returns home from war to her son and father (Ernie Hudson), only to have her life shattered by the onset of posttraumatic stress disorder, through which her lawyer, “Lucy,” helps her.
“Through the five shorts named after each title character — Lucy, Eddie, Allison, Grace and Maggie – powerful relationships built on hope and triumph raise a new understanding of what happens when a loved one struggles with mental illness,” reports Lifetime.

Los Angeles Sheriff Seeks to Replace Men's Central Jail Cells With Classrooms

By goodblacknews on March 22, 2013
Screen Shot 2013-03-21 at 7.10.22 PM
Sheriff Lee Baca Addresses Inmates

NBC Southern California – The gutting of Men’s Central Jail cells to be replaced with inmate classrooms is one element of a dramatic re-envisioning of the Los Angeles County jail system as proposed by Sheriff Lee Baca.

During his tenure, Baca has expanded educational opportunities for county inmates. Gutting the old central jail to make room for inmate classrooms would take the program to a new level.

Inmates who obtain their high school graduate equivalent degrees (GEDs) are more likely to find work when released into society, and less likely to re-offend, Baca is convinced.

The response to the county’s inmate educational program is “like nothing I’ve seen in my 47 years in law enforcement,” Baca told reporters Tuesday outside the County Hall of Administration.  “It’s a good idea,” said one man following his release from Men’s Central Jail after serving a week for a drug violation. “Not everyone, but a lot of the men want to change.”

“Education can help,” said the former inmate, who declined to give his name. Other aspects of his plan include building a new central jail, repurposing Lancaster’s Mira Loma detention center, and transferring women inmates out of the Century Regional Detention Facility, either to Mira Loma or to the Pitchess Detention Center in Castaic.

United Nations Joins Soccer Leaders to Rid Sport of Racism

By goodblacknews on March 22, 2013
AC Milan midfielder Kevin Prince Boateng, of Ghana, celebrates at the end of the Champions League round of 16, first leg soccer match against Barcelona, at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013. AC Milan won 2-0. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

AC Milan midfielder Kevin Prince Boateng, of Ghana, celebrates at the end of the Champions League round of 16, first leg soccer match against Barcelona, at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013. AC Milan won 2-0. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
GENEVA (AP) — The ugly side of the beautiful game was exposed Thursday as the U.N.’s top human rights official joined football officials and players in calling for an end to the “crime” of racism in sport.  U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said the world is a long way from achieving that as evidence by a series of incidents including racist insults and chants, Nazi salutes, petitions against players and denial of hiring that are based on color or ethnicity and have no place in football or any other game.
“Sport, at its best, is inclusive, generous-hearted, and fundamentally multicultural, based on values such as teamwork, loyalty, merit and self-control,” Pillay told a crowded forum at the U.N.’s European headquarters in Geneva, where she was flanked by AC Milan player Kevin-Prince Boateng, former France captain Patrick Viera and several FIFA and European football officials.
Several officials said they were taking real action, not just paying lip service to the problem, through actions such a FIFA anti-racism task force.

Spelman College Graduate to Become President of York College in Pennsylvania

By goodblacknews on March 22, 2013

Pamela Gunter-SmithPamela Gunter-Smith has been selected to become the fourth president of York College in York, Pennsylvania. She will begin her new role on July 1. York College enrolls about 5,800 students in undergraduate and graduate programs. African Americans make up about 4 percent of the undergraduate student body.
Since 2006, Dr. Gunter-Smith has been provost and academic vice president at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey. Previously, she was the Porter Professor of Physiology at Spelman College in Atlanta. At Spelman, she chaired the biology department for 10 years and was the program director of the Center for Biomedical and Behavioral Research.
Dr. Gunter-Smith is a graduate of Spelman College. She earned a Ph.D. in physiology at Emory University in Atlanta and did postdoctoral research at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston.
article via Spelman College Graduate to Become President of York College in Pennsylvania : The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education.

Education Policy Advisor David J. Johns Named New Director of White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans

By goodblacknews on March 22, 2013

David J. JohnsDavid J. Johns has been appointed as the executive director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans. As executive director Johns will be asked to identify evidence-based best practices to improve African American student achievement from cradle to career. The goal of the initiative is to work with federal, state, and local agencies as well as community groups to produce a more effective continuum of education programs for African-American students.
Johns has been serving as a senior education policy advisor to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. He is a former elementary school teacher in New York City.
Johns is a graduate of Columbia University where he triple majored in English, creative writing, and African-American studies. He earned a master’s degree in sociology and education policy at Teachers College of Columbia University.
article via The New Director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans : The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education.

Patrick Robinson Named Creative Director of Armani Exchange

By goodblacknews on March 22, 2013

Patrick Robinson
According to Fashionista.com, Patrick Robinson, former Gap Creative Director who recently launched sportswear line Paskho via Kickstarter, will join Armani Exchange as its Creative Director.  
His responsibilities will “range from product development to providing creative direction in marketing areas.”
Robinson formerly held the position of Design Director at Giorgio Armani in the 1990s, and in his four years there he made the company’s “Collezioni” line profitable.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson, with contributions from Lesa Lakin via Breaking: Patrick Robinson Is Now the Creative Director of Armani Exchange | Fashionista.

First Lady Michelle Obama Delivers Easter Gifts to Military Families

By goodblacknews on March 21, 2013
First lady Michelle Obama smiles during a reception for Ireland's prime minister in the East Room of the White House on March 19, 2013 in Washington, DC. President Obama met with Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny prior to the annual St. Patrick's Day lunch hosted at the Capitol. (Photo by Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images)

First lady Michelle Obama smiles during a reception for Ireland’s prime minister in the East Room of the White House on March 19, 2013 in Washington, DC. President Obama met with Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny prior to the annual St. Patrick’s Day lunch hosted at the Capitol. (Photo by Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images)

BETHESDA, Md. (AP) — Michelle Obama marked the first day of spring with an early Easter celebration as she delivered holiday treats to military families and children.  The first lady stopped by the Fisher House at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., on Wednesday as families decorated Easter cards.
She asked the children if they were ready “to show me how to make some stuff.”  Mrs. Obama, accompanied by first dog Bo, carried a basket full of cookies made by the White House pastry chefs in the shape of the Portuguese water dog.  She also brought tickets for the families to attend the White House Egg Roll on April 1.  The Fisher House program provides temporary housing for military families while their loved ones receive medical care.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press by Stacy A. Anderson via thegrio.com
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Angela Bassett Delights in Collaboration with "Olympus Has Fallen" Co-Star Morgan Freeman and Director Antoine Fuqua

By goodblacknews on March 21, 2013
Angela Bassett at Sardi's restaurant in New York. Bassett co-stars in the action flick, “Olympus Has Fallen.” (AP Photo/Carlo Allegri, file)

Angela Bassett at Sardi’s restaurant in New York. Bassett co-stars in the action flick, “Olympus Has Fallen.” (AP Photo/Carlo Allegri, file)

That all changed once they started working together on a set outside Shreveport, La., where they recreated parts of Washington, D.C., including the White House.  “He was nothing but professional and kind and warm and fun, and you know, a treat,” Bassett recalled.
The actress plays Secret Service Director Lynn Jacobs alongside Freeman’s Speaker of the House Trumbull, who assumes presidential power when the president and vice president are incapacitated after a terrorist attack on the White House.  “He’s been in so many great roles and he works all the time, you know? Who am I going to be in a world with him? His right hand! And he was at my left. So it was great,” Bassett said.

Baylor Sensation Brittney Griner Earns More Blocked Shots than any other Man or Woman in NCAA

By goodblacknews on March 21, 2013
Baylor's Brittney Griner (42) celebrates after breaking the NCAA women's career record for blocks (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)

Baylor’s Brittney Griner (42) celebrates after breaking the NCAA women’s career record for blocks (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)
WACO, Texas (AP) — Brittney Griner arrived at Baylor known as the girl who could dunk.  The 6-foot-8 Griner has obliged over the years with some rim-rattling highlights. Even in her last regular-season home game, she made a quick spin move around a Kansas State defender on the baseline for a one-handed slam.  While the 14 career dunks are impressive — fun, too — Griner always wanted to be known for more than just slamming the ball. Add in all the blocks, points and championships, and she has indeed proven to be so much more in four seasons with the Lady Bears.
“A lot of people come up to me all the time and just tell me, just compliment me on my game, other than the dunks and the scoring,” she said. “Just how I find my teammates and just everything, how I move on the court. That let me know right there that, hey, I’m kind of getting away from the YouTube dunker girl.”  Going into her final NCAA tournament, the defending national champion Lady Bears (32-1) are again the No. 1 overall seed. They have a nation’s-best 55-game winning streak at home, where they play their tourney opener Sunday night against SWAC champion Prairie View (17-14).
Griner is the Big 12 career scoring leader with 3,203 points, 190 short of the NCAA record with no more than six games left. She has a nearly 7 1/2-foot wingspan that contributes greatly to the record she really cherishes: 736 blocked shots, more than any other man or woman ever in the NCAA.

Jackie Robinson Film Screenings to Help Kansas City Negro Leagues Museum

By goodblacknews on March 21, 2013

42

Chadwick Boseman as Jackie Robinson in a scene from “42.” (Warner Bros. Pictures)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City was announced Wednesday as the host site for the only advance public screenings of a film chronicling the rise of Jackie Robinson, a nod to the city where the baseball great made his professional debut two years before breaking the major league color barrier.  Harrison Ford stars as former Brooklyn Dodgers General Manager Branch Rickey in the film, “42,” which details Robinson’s Rookie of the Year season in 1947 while combating unabashed racism on and off the diamond.
Ford and fellow cast member Andre Holland planned to attend the screenings on April 11 at a movie theater on the city’s north side. Proceeds will benefit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, museum president Bob Kendrick said.  Although the story of Robinson in Brooklyn is well known, Kendrick said Kansas City also played a prominent role in his early career. Robinson played for the Kansas City Monarchs, a member of the Negro Leagues, in 1945, batting .387 while hitting five home runs and stole 13 bases in 47 games. After a year in the minor leagues, he joined the Dodgers in 1947 and won the inaugural Rookie of the Year award.