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Good Black News

Film Activist Thomas Allen Harris Documents Role of Photography in Shaping African-American Identities

By goodblacknews on July 25, 2012
Thomas Allen Harris is a film activist, leveraging the platform of documentary filmmaking as a tool to empower, educate, and shed light on many under-the-radar stories within our combined histories. Harris is now on a new threshold of activist filmmaking, one that aims to validate a community as authors of their own image. Through A Lens Darkly: Black Photographers and the Emergence of a People is a feature-length PBS documentary, the first of its kind, exploring the role of photography, from the 1840s to present, in shaping the identity of African Americans.

Landra Johnson Offers Natural Hair Care Line For Children Of Color

By goodblacknews on July 25, 2012

Landra Johnson of Charlotte, N.C., lives an all-natural lifestyle. Not only is she a vegetarian but she also only uses products free of preservatives, artificial ingredients and toxins. When her first child, Davis, was born in 2006, Johnson was determined to keep him away from these as well. But, it wasn’t an easy task. Johnson set out on a quest to find products that would naturally soothe Davis’ skin and care for his hair’s curly kinks and coils.  She scoured the aisles of local hair care stores but all she found were products filled with petroleum, mineral oil and artificial concoctions.
“I wanted products that were genuinely chemical free and effective,” said Johnson, 38, a former broadcast journalist who now has two children. “The market at that time was really dominated by general products with nothing for the ethnic market.”  “When we couldn’t find it, we decided to make it,” said Johnson, adding that she and her sister, Kristi Booker, launched in 2009 a hair and skin care line for children of color called Cara B Naturally. With little prior knowledge of the beauty industry, Johnson spent three years researching and collaborating with chemists who work with natural ingredients. Her line of all natural shampoo, soap, leave-in conditioner and body lotion is now certified by the Natural Products Association, Johnson said, noting CVS and Target offer her products.

Whitney Houston's Memorabilia Set To Be Displayed At The Grammy Museum

By goodblacknews on July 25, 2012

Nearly six months after Whitney Houston’s untimely death, fans will have the opportunity to view the legendary singer’s vast collection of memorabilia at a special exhibit at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles.  The exhibit dubbed “Whitney! Celebrating the Musical Legacy of Whitney Houston,” will display items such as Houston’s bible, photographs and her famous white gown worn during the 1994 Grammy Awards will be among the many things.

Whitney Houston’s Memorabilia Set To Be Displayed At The Grammy Museum

By goodblacknews on July 25, 2012

Nearly six months after Whitney Houston’s untimely death, fans will have the opportunity to view the legendary singer’s vast collection of memorabilia at a special exhibit at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles.  The exhibit dubbed “Whitney! Celebrating the Musical Legacy of Whitney Houston,” will display items such as Houston’s bible, photographs and her famous white gown worn during the 1994 Grammy Awards will be among the many things.

R.I.P. Sherman Hemsley: "The Jeffersons" Star Dies at 74

By goodblacknews on July 24, 2012

Hemsley was discovered by producer Norman Lear on stage in New York. He first played George Jefferson on ‘All in the Family.’ ‘The Jeffersons’ ran for 11 seasons. Sherman Hemsley, who was rooted in the minds of millions of television viewers as Archie Bunker’s bombastic black neighbor, George Jefferson, in“All in the Family” and later as the star of his own long-running sitcom, “The Jeffersons,” has died. He was 74.

R.I.P. Sherman Hemsley: “The Jeffersons” Star Dies at 74

By goodblacknews on July 24, 2012

Hemsley was discovered by producer Norman Lear on stage in New York. He first played George Jefferson on ‘All in the Family.’ ‘The Jeffersons’ ran for 11 seasons. Sherman Hemsley, who was rooted in the minds of millions of television viewers as Archie Bunker’s bombastic black neighbor, George Jefferson, in“All in the Family” and later as the star of his own long-running sitcom, “The Jeffersons,” has died. He was 74.

GBN Quote Of The Day

By goodblacknews on July 24, 2012

 
“If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up.  Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.”
–Michael Jordan, Five-Time NBA MVP

Review of “The Longest Fight: In the Ring with Joe Gans, Boxing’s First African American Champion” by William Gildea

By goodblacknews on July 23, 2012

THE LONGEST FIGHT

In the Ring With Joe Gans, Boxing’s
First African American Champion
By William Gildea
Farrar Straus Giroux. 245 pp. $26

The boxer Joe Gans is largely forgotten today. Mild-mannered, he lacked the boisterous charisma of Jack Johnson or Muhammad Ali. But from 1902 to 1908, he was the world lightweight king, America’s first black boxing champion.  In 1906, in the 100-degree fug of the southern Nevada desert, he took on Oscar “Battling” Nelson in a legendary 42-round fight, two hours and 48 minutes, the longest bout of the 20th century. The match and Gans’s story are the subject of “The Longest Fight,” a gem of a book by former Washington Post sports columnist William Gildea.

GBN Quote Of The Day

By goodblacknews on July 23, 2012

“It’s better to look ahead and prepare than to look back and regret.”
— Jackie Joyner-Kersee, World-Class heptathlete, long-jumper and three-time Olympic Gold Medalist

Rapper Doug E. Fresh Uses Hip-Hop To Teach Healthy Habits To Black and Latino Youth With Hip Hop Public Health

By goodblacknews on July 23, 2012

Doug E. Fresh and CNN’s Wolf Blitzer during the 2011 Soul Train Awards at The Fox Theatre on November 17, 2011 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images)

When hip-hop icon Doug E Fresh first graced the mic, he simply wanted to entertain the masses by doing what he loved. After building his career and subsequent fame, he decided that it was best to use his success to educate and empower others. As a father of five, and vegetarian for nearly 25 years, the 45-year-old believes that good health is essential for a fulfilling life.
“Health has always been an important thing to me. I exercise and try to take care of myself, and drink a lot of water! And I push that to my kids so that they can carry on that same energy,” said Doug E.
So when he partnered with Dr. Olajide Williams, a neurologist from New York Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center, to join in the fight against childhood obesity, he merged two very important components of his life: hip-hop and health. The partnership produced Hip Hop Public Health, a program that uses hip hop as a way to educate African-American and Latino children about obesity and the resulting chronic and acute diseases. HHPH engages and informs students through music, videos, comic books and live shows that tour schools. As the program’s Vice President of Entertainment, Doug E. stated that he “felt like  it was necessary to take what people love, which is hip-hop, and use it as tool to get kids motivated.”
Read the rest of this story on Ebony.com.
via Doug E. Fresh uses hip-hop to teach healthy habits to black and Latino youth with Hip Hop Public Health | theGrio.