“If you cannot find peace within yourself, you will never find it anywhere else.”
–Marvin Gaye, singer/songwriter, musician & Motown legend
Good Black News
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is joining NBA legend Michael Jordan and an array of basketball stars to raise money for his re-election campaign later this month.
The Obama campaign is planning a fundraising “shoot-around” and dinner in New York on Aug. 22 featuring several NBA stars, including Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks, Rajon Rondo of the Boston Celtics, John Wall of the Washington Wizards and others. Jordan, who played for the Chicago Bulls, Obama’s favorite NBA team, and NBA Commissioner David Stern are co-hosting a $20,000-per person fundraising dinner with the president later in the day.
via Michael Jordan, NBA players to raise money for Obama | theGrio.
Forbes magazine has named the hip-hop power couple at the top of their 2012 ‘Highest-Paid Celebrity Couples’ list.
The duo have earned a total of $78 million in the past year. Beyoncé took in $40 million with endorsements, album sales, and royalties, while Jay-Z took in $38 million with his Watch the Throne album sales and tour with Kanye West. The “Crazy in Love” duo managed to accumulate so much and still took time off for the birth of their first child, daughter Blue Ivy.
Jay-Z and Beyoncé replaced last year’s highest earning couple, NFL quarterback Tom Brady and supermodel wife Gisele Bundchen, who amassed a total of $72 million this year. Third on the Forbes list are soccer player David Beckham and wife fashion designer Victoria Beckham, who earned $54 million. Brad Pitt and Angelia Jolie are placed at fourth earning $45 million, and rounding out the list of five are Will and Jada Pinkett Smith with $40 million.
via Forbes: Jay-Z and Beyoncé world’s highest paid celebrity couple | theGrio.
Pioneering sculptor Isaac Scott Hathaway (pictured) was chosen as the first African American to design a U.S. Mint coin on this day 66 years ago. Then-President Harry S. Truman authorized a commission for the Mint to jump
start the design of a new 50-cent piece. Hathaway received the clearance to design the coin, which featured educator and author Booker T. Washington (pictured right) who was chosen as the coin’s face because Truman wanted “to commemorate the life and perpetuate the ideas and teachings of Booker T. Washington.”
Joshua Smith, a 9-year-old boy from Detroit, Mich., has made national headlines over his ambitious efforts to help his hometown rise out of its ever-sinking debt.
He started off with a goal of selling $1000 worth of popcorn and lemonade and delivering a check of the said amount to Detroit Mayor Dave Bing’s office.
“People always say that I didn’t give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn’t true. I was not tired physically, or no more tired than I usually was at the end of a working day. I was not old, although some people have an image of me as being old then. I was forty-two. No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.”
–Rosa Parks, seamstress, writer and civil rights activist
BET founder and chairman of the RLJ companies, Robert Johnson, is developing a faith-friendly channel on YouTube. ALRIGHT TV will produce entertainment, comedy, reality, self-help, music, talk programs and hopes to provide inspirational content to viewers of all ages.
“Don’t let your dreams be dreams.”
— Jack Johnson, the world’s first African-American heavyweight boxing champion
“Find the good. It’s all around you. Find it, showcase it, and you’ll start believing in it.”
— Jesse Owens, four-time Olympic gold medal winner