As a toddler, Michaela DePrince, was ranked “number 27” — the lowest, the worst of the children in her orphanage in Sierra Leone. “So, I got the least amount of food, the least amount of clothes and what not,” she explained to the Associated Press. DePrince lost both of her parents in the West African nation’s decades-long civil war which claimed the lives of an estimated 60,000 people. She was born with vitiligo, a skin disorder that causes uneven pigmentation, and was taunted by the other kids as “the devil’s child.” Fourteen years later, she is considered one of the most promising teenage ballet dancers in the United States. Recently graduated from the American Ballet Theatre’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, the 17-year-old debuts professionally on July 20, as a guest artist of the South African Ballet Theater and the South Africa Msanzi Ballet performing in ‘Le Corsaire.’
DePrince recalls her early childhood as a time of “terrible” hardship. The one thing that gave her hope was a picture of a ballerina from a magazine that blew over the orphanage walls, which she hid under her clothing. Though she had no context for the image, she says, “I remember she looked really, really happy,” and DePrince longed “to become this exact person.” She also imagined that all Americans walked on tip toes.
Watch: Ballet Theater of Harlem
After a year in the orphanage, DePrince had to flee barefoot when it was threatened with bomb attacks. She was only four-years-old. She ended up in a Ghanaian refugee camp, where she met an American volunteer, Elaine DePrince, who would become her adopted mother. “Michaela arrived with the worst case of tonsillitis, fever, mononucleosis, and joints that were swollen,” remembers Elaine. She was also suffering from trauma. “I have a lot of bad memories,” the young dancer told theGuardian UK in a recent interview. “I remember losing my family, I remember seeing a lot of rebels killing people that I knew. It was disgusting and just revolting.”
Although it took her years to fully recover, Michaela says, “Dance helped me a lot. I had a lot of nightmares.” However, DePrince had to overcome even more than physical and psychological damage to become a professional ballet dancer in the United States. Rehearsing for ‘The Nutcracker‘ when she was eight-years-old, a teacher told her “I’m sorry, you can’t do it. America’s not ready for a black girl as Marie.” She refused to let it hold her back. “If you enjoy my dancing, why should my skin color or body type bother you?” she told the NY Post. Dirk Badenhorst, CEO South Africa Mzansi Ballet, concurs: “Brilliance is colorblind and it really is proved by Michaela.”
DePrince hopes her story will inspire other young people to follow their dreams no matter how distant they seem. “I would like to change the way people see black dancers,” she says. “I just want to be a great role model for kids.”
article by Sarah B. Weir, Yahoo! blogger | Work + Money
Good Black News
“Without community service, we would not have a strong quality of life. It’s important to the person who serves as well as the recipient. It’s the way in which we grow and develop.”
— Dr. Dorothy Height, Former Head of The National Council Of Negro Women
WASHINGTON (AP) — Taking on a more prominent political role, first lady Michelle Obama is launching a nationwide effort to motivate every supporter of President Barack Obama to get more involved in his re-election campaign — and bring along somebody else, too.
The “It Takes One” program urges supporters to make a difference in this election, and to “start by taking one action that will help grow our campaign,” Mrs. Obama says. In a three-minute video message to supporters that was released Thursday, the first lady tells supporters that with a tighter election than 2008 likely this fall, “in the end, it could all come down to those last few thousand votes in a single state.”
“Every time you take action to move this country forward, we’re asking you to inspire one more person to join you as well,” she says. “That could be the difference between waking up on Nov. 7 and feeling the promise of four more years or asking yourself, ‘Could I have done more?’” The video opens with Mrs. Obama recalling her husband’s first campaign for the Illinois legislature, when the newly married couple would take friends along when they went out to collect petition signatures to get Obama on the ballot.
“Help one new voter get registered through GottaVote.org, recruit one more volunteer, or bring a friend to the next phone bank you attend,” Mrs. Obama says. “If we all commit to finding at least one way to make an impact, we can ensure that we’ll keep moving this country forward for another four years.” The Obama campaign said Mrs. Obama would lead the “It Takes One” effort, which will include digital media, advertising and grassroots organizing. Campaign officials said Mrs. Obama would be the face of the effort and personally participate in many “It Takes One” events as she travels the country, recruiting neighborhood team leaders, speaking to groups of women to ask them to volunteer and stopping by voter registration events.
That represents a significant increase in the first lady’s role in the campaign. Already, she has been traveling the country to raise money for the campaign and making appearances at rallies designed to energize volunteers and supporters. Mrs. Obama, whose high favorability ratings are a big asset to the campaign, was known during the 2008 presidential race as “the closer” for her ability to persuade undecided voters to come on board and her success at motivating supporters to get more involved.
The first lady planned to formally launch the “It Takes One” program during campaign stops Friday in Virginia, a battleground state in this fall’s election. The first lady will speak at a campaign event for women in Charlottesville and to grassroots supporters in Fredericksburg. Obama’s campaign also plans to launch local “It Takes One” efforts in battleground states to engage new volunteers.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
via First lady Michelle Obama to lead new campaign mobilizing effort: ‘It Takes One’ | theGrio.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Taking on a more prominent political role, first lady Michelle Obama is launching a nationwide effort to motivate every supporter of President Barack Obama to get more involved in his re-election campaign — and bring along somebody else, too.
The “It Takes One” program urges supporters to make a difference in this election, and to “start by taking one action that will help grow our campaign,” Mrs. Obama says. In a three-minute video message to supporters that was released Thursday, the first lady tells supporters that with a tighter election than 2008 likely this fall, “in the end, it could all come down to those last few thousand votes in a single state.”
“Every time you take action to move this country forward, we’re asking you to inspire one more person to join you as well,” she says. “That could be the difference between waking up on Nov. 7 and feeling the promise of four more years or asking yourself, ‘Could I have done more?’” The video opens with Mrs. Obama recalling her husband’s first campaign for the Illinois legislature, when the newly married couple would take friends along when they went out to collect petition signatures to get Obama on the ballot.
“Help one new voter get registered through GottaVote.org, recruit one more volunteer, or bring a friend to the next phone bank you attend,” Mrs. Obama says. “If we all commit to finding at least one way to make an impact, we can ensure that we’ll keep moving this country forward for another four years.” The Obama campaign said Mrs. Obama would lead the “It Takes One” effort, which will include digital media, advertising and grassroots organizing. Campaign officials said Mrs. Obama would be the face of the effort and personally participate in many “It Takes One” events as she travels the country, recruiting neighborhood team leaders, speaking to groups of women to ask them to volunteer and stopping by voter registration events.
That represents a significant increase in the first lady’s role in the campaign. Already, she has been traveling the country to raise money for the campaign and making appearances at rallies designed to energize volunteers and supporters. Mrs. Obama, whose high favorability ratings are a big asset to the campaign, was known during the 2008 presidential race as “the closer” for her ability to persuade undecided voters to come on board and her success at motivating supporters to get more involved.
The first lady planned to formally launch the “It Takes One” program during campaign stops Friday in Virginia, a battleground state in this fall’s election. The first lady will speak at a campaign event for women in Charlottesville and to grassroots supporters in Fredericksburg. Obama’s campaign also plans to launch local “It Takes One” efforts in battleground states to engage new volunteers.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
via First lady Michelle Obama to lead new campaign mobilizing effort: ‘It Takes One’ | theGrio.
“Humanism starts not with identity but with the ability to identify with others. It asks what we have in common with others while acknowledging the internal diversity among ourselves. It is about the priority of shared humanity.”
— Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Harvard University professor and director of the W.E.B. DuBois Institute for African and African American Research.
Congratulations to Idris Elba (“Luther”), Giancarlo Esposito (“Breaking Bad”), Loretta Devine (“Grey’s Anatomy”) and Maya Rudolph (“Saturday Night Live”) for their 2012 nominations by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences!
Elba was nominated in the Leading Actor in a Made for TV Movie/Miniseries category, Esposito for Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, Devine for Guest Actress in a Drama Series and Rudolph for Guest Actress in a Comedy Series. The Awards show will air live on ABC on Sunday, September 23 at 8 PM, EST.
“Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.
Ms. Melodie, ex-wife of KRS-ONE and a prominent member of the Boogie Down Productions crew, passed away today according to numerous news sources. Ms. Melodie, born Ramona Parker, was a member of the influential Boogie Down Productions crew and released her first album, Diva, in 1989 on Jive Records. She is best known for her hit video, “Live On Stage” and her hit single “Hype According to Ms. Melodie.” Her most memorable performance was on the 1989 single “Self Destruction” and she also has a cameo in Queen Latifah’s video “Ladies First.”
Ms. Melodie was a native of Brooklyn, NY and is survived by two sons. At this time, her cause of death is unknown.
via Ms. Melodie, Ramona Parker, Of Boogie Down Productions Is Dead (DETAILS) | Global Grind.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Actress and activist Jada Pinkett Smith urged Congress on Tuesday to step up the fight against human trafficking in the U.S. and abroad. The actress testified during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing that she plans to launch a campaign to raise awareness and spur action against human trafficking and slavery. She said the “old monster” of slavery “is still with us,” almost 150 years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation that freed slaves in the U.S.
“Fighting slavery doesn’t cost a lot of money. The costs of allowing it to exist in our nation and abroad are much higher,” the actress said. “It robs us of the thing we value most, our freedom.” She said the issue was brought to her attention by her daughter Willow, 11, who sat nearby with actor Will Smith, Pinkett Smith’s husband and Willow’s father. The Smiths all wore blazers over T-shirts that read, “Free Slaves.” The hearing room was filled mostly with young people, some trying to take photos of the famous family.
With her father’s arm around her, Willow remained attentive to her mother’s testimony and often whispered to her father. At least 30 minutes into the hearing, Will wrapped his gray blazer around Willow. The actress called for an extension of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, which provides funding to combat trafficking and help trafficking victims. The act also created a task force, chaired by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, which coordinates among federal agencies to implement policies against human trafficking.
Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., pledged to try to gather bipartisan congressional support to further fund the act.
The State Department estimates that at least 14,500 people are trafficked to the U.S. annually.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
Noah Stewart (pictured) grew up in Harlem dreaming of the day he would take center stage at Carnegie Hall in his hometown of New York and The Royal Opera House in London.
And while most of his musically-inclined childhood friends emulated Beyonce and D’Angelo, Stewart looked up to the legendary Black-American soprano Leontyne Price. If you have not heard of her, you are not alone. Blacks are not mainstay in the classical music world. But that fact never deterred Steward from pursuing his dream of being a world-famous opera singer. While studying at LaGuardia High School, the Harlemite honed his opera skills and worked side gigs singing backup to Mariah Carey and Hootie and the Blowfish. Though those fancy job assignments did not earn the respect of his peers because his penchant for opera made him something of anomaly.
“My friends at LaGuardia made fun of me,” says Stewart. “They used to call me ‘opera boy,’ because I was obsessed with opera. Everyone around me wanted to become a pop singer.”
With the help of a mentor, Steward attended The Julliard School in New York after graduating from LaGuardia. While there, he busted tables, worked retail and served as a receptionist at Carnegie Hall. Somehow, he thought working at that famed musical powerhouse would position him to be “discovered.”
It didn’t quite work out that way.
“That was the lowest point for me, because it felt like I was so close to music, but so far away,” he says. “I was learning a Russian piece and I was humming the melody, and my supervisor said, ‘Excuse me, Mr. Stewart? What is that noise? Were you just humming?’ I said yeah, and she said, ‘You can’t do that here. It’s very distracting. We can hear you all the way downstairs.’ And I just remember feeling like, ‘Wow. You can’t hum at the biggest musical institution in the world.’ “
His fortunes eventually turned for the better after attending a workshop for young artists at the San Francisco Opera three years ago. Stewart’s participation at the workshop lead to a steady stream of jobs that took him around the world, and eventually led to a contract withDecca Records. His album titled, “Noah,” topped the UK classical charts, the first for an Black artist!
via NewsOne.com