October 31, 2026
Mellody Hobson, president of Ariel Investments, LLC, a Chicago-based investment firm managing over $3 billion in assets, and one of the largest African American-owned money management and mutual fund companies in the United States, has been named DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. Chairman of the Board. Roger Enrico, who served as Chairman since 2004, has resigned, effective immediately.
DreamWorks Animation creates high-quality entertainment, including CG animated feature films, television specials and series and live entertainment properties, meant for audiences around the world. DreamWorks Animation has been named one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” by FORTUNE® Magazine for four consecutive years. In 2012, DreamWorks Animation ranks #14 on the list. All of DreamWorks Animation’s feature films are now being produced in 3D.
The Company has theatrically released a total of 24 animated feature films, including the franchise properties of “Shrek,” “Madagascar,” “Kung Fu Panda” and “How to Train Your Dragon.” The Company’s theatrical releases for the current year are “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted” on June 8, 2012 and “Rise of the Guardians” on November 21, 2012.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
Saying that “I think we ought to keep on the track that we are on” and that fellow Republican Mitt Romney has not “thought through these issues as thoroughly as he should have,” former secretary of state and retired Gen. Colin Powell this morning endorsed President Obama’s re-election bid. Powell made the announcement on CBS This Morning. The show has been tweeting his comments and has posted video here. Then-Sen. Barack Obama also got Powell’s endorsement in 2008. Powell also told CBS that “I’m a Republican of a more moderate mold … dying breed.”
article by Mark Memmott via npr.org
For those who may not be familiar, Danai Gurira, who made her Broadway debut in 2010 in Joe Turner’s Come and Gone by August Wilson, is an accomplished playwright in her own right. She co-wrote In the Continuum with Nikkole Salter which received the Obie Award and Outer Critics Circle Award for writing. Gurira also received a Helen Hayes Award for her performance in In The Contiuum. Other work written by Gurira includes Eclipsed and The Convert.
Another woman of color honored was Sharifa Rhodes-Pitt a non-fiction writer. She graduated from Harvard and was a Fulbright Scholar.
“The act of registering to vote… gives one a sense of being. The black man who goes to register is saying to the white man, ‘No.'”
–Stokely Carmichael aka Kwame Ture, former leader of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee and honorary prime minister of the Black Panther Party
Tiger Woods has broken ground on his first-ever designed golf course in Mexico. The news was first reported by GOLF.com.
The course, named El Cardonal after the former ranch where it will rest, is a $12 million layout in an exclusive resort community in posh Cabo San Lucas, the report said.
“I want to make it an enjoyable and memorable experience for all players, regardless of skill level,” Woods said in an email to GOLF.com. “I’ve played in enough pro-ams to know that not every golfer is a scratch player. Creating wide landing areas and avoiding forced carries whenever possible allow all golfers, even beginners, to keep the ball in play and have more fun.”
Tiger Woods Design had failed projects in Dubai, North Carolina and another in Mexico. The global economic crisis is commonly cited as the root cause of the scrapped plans in each locale.
Woods is playing in Malaysia this week. View a map of Woods’ course design projects here. Also read GOLF.com’s exclusive story.
article by Darren Sands via blackenterprise.com
According to reports, the legendary singing icon and Detroit native Aretha Franklin will sing the National Anthem at Game 5 on Monday, Oct. 29, at Detroit’s Comerica Park.
The Tigers will face the San Francisco Giants in the World Series, which begins today (tonight), Wednesday, Oct. 24.
Franklin will sing the national anthem before the start of Game 5 of the 2012 World Series Monday night (Fox, 8:07 p.m. ET), as the Detroit Tigers host the San Francisco Giants at Comerica Park.
Last year, the Queen of Soul opened Game 3 of the American League Championship Series with a soaring rendition of the song as the Tigers hosted the Texas Rangers. The home team won that game 5-2.
Also singing the anthem before games in this series are American Idol winner Phillip Phillips before Wednesday’s Game 1 in San Francisco and gospel star Marvin Winans before Saturday’s Game 3 in Detroit.
HBO and Oprah Winfrey are teaming up to produce an original drama series that will center on “a wealthy academic who has become the first black president of a prestigious liberal arts college. He and his family are thrust into national headlines, forcing them to present an idyllic public façade, all while engaging in agonizing personal battles and struggling with dark obsessions,” says THR. The series will be penned by playwright Thomas Bradshaw, who will also co-executive produce with Winfrey and Harpo Studios’ Kate Forte. This is part of a long-term deal Harpo has with HBO to develop miniseries, films, documentaries and scripted series for the network.
article by Tambay A. Obenson via blogs.indiewire.com
“One of the guiding philosophies of music is to find your own voice.”
— Thelonious Monk, jazz pianist, “‘Round Midnight” composer, known as the “Founding Father of Modern Jazz”