An Atlanta mother got a late Mother’s Day gift that was surely worth the wait.
Former Atlanta Falcons running back Warrick Dunn gave Kimberly Kindel (pictured) and her three children their first home as part of his charity’s “Home for the Holidays” program on Tuesday, Fox 5 News Atlanta via All News 106.7 reports. In addition to the home being fully furnished, Dunn gave Kindel $5,000 to help with the down payment.
The ex-NFL player gave Kindel the home through his charity, Warrick Dunn Charities. He has been helping single parents get into their first home since 1997. Atlanta Habitat for Humanity and Aaron’s, Inc. partnered with Dunn to get Kindel and her children into the house. While it brings Dunn joy to give Kindel this wonderful Mother’s Day, the holiday evokes bad memories for the former NFL star. His mother, Betty Smothers, was a Baton Rouge, La., police officer when she was killed in the line of duty. Dunn was just 18-years-old at the time.
Giving mothers a new home is therapy for him, he says. “Losing my mom at that early age, I knew what her dream was, and to be able to share this moment with another single parent who’s providing, and putting her family in a position to be successful long-term for me is — I can’t truly describe the emotions,” Dunn said.
To see video on this story, click here.
article via newsone.com
Posts tagged as “Atlanta”
ATLANTA, Ga. — The founder of one of America’s first modeling agencies to represent women of color has placed her papers at Emory University.
Pioneering entrepreneur Ophelia DeVore Mitchell set up the New-York-based Grace Del Marco in 1946 at a time when it was almost unthinkable for black women to be recognized in the media for their beauty.
In its early days, the groundbreaking agency paved the way for African-Americans to pursue careers in the fashion and entertainment industries.
Agency launched black superstars
Indeed, the agency and modeling school helped launch the early careers of actresses Diahann Carroll and Cicely Tyson.
It also represented people such as Gail Fisher; Richard Roundtree; Trudy Haynes, one of the first black female TV reporters; and Helen Williams, one of the first African-American fashion models to break into the mainstream.
DeVore’s extensive collection consists of thousands of items, from photos to scrapbooks relating to her time at the helm of the agency, to lengthy correspondence from her other business ventures.
In an interview with theGrio, DeVore, who is surprisingly lucid for her 92 years, says when she co-founded Grace Del Marco, “people of color didn’t even count in the beauty industry, not just in America, but across the world.”
Her drive, she says, came from her own personal experiences working briefly as a model, mainly for Ebony Magazine, from the age of 16.
Though DeVore is of mixed-race origin, the South-Carolina-born beauty became acutely aware of how black people were depicted in the media and subsequently made it her mission to change these images.
Two years later, in 1948, Devore established the Ophelia DeVore School of Charm, where young black women learned etiquette, poise and posture, speech and ballet, and self-presentation.
The archives, which span from the 1940s to 1990s, document the changing attitudes and images of non-whites in the beauty industry, says DeVore’s son, James D. Carter, who took over the charm school for a number of years and later ran other aspects of the Devore businesses.
The road to one of this country’s leading historically Black colleges was not a walk in the park for the girls; they worked hard to maintain their high grade point averages in high school. According to Kirstie Bonner, who spoke with WSB-TV, “Before we came to college, we prayed that we would keep 4.0′s all the way through, but I don’t think we ever really expected it.”
But apparently there is strength in numbers, and as sisters who have traveled along the same path, sharing the same educational goals for success, the young women seemed to fuel each other, as evidenced by their noteworthy standing at Spelman, “You can have strength together,” Kristie points out.
When the young women arrived at the Atlanta college, they said they really pushed themselves to the limit to maintain excellent grades, even making themselves physically ill. Eventually, both Kirstie and Kristie learned from their mistakes, self-corrected, and managed their college workload in a way that would not negatively affect their health.
But apparently there is strength in numbers, and as sisters who have traveled along the same path, sharing the same educational goals for success, the young women seemed to fuel each other, as evidenced by their noteworthy standing at Spelman, “You can have strength together,” Kristie points out.
When the young women arrived at the Atlanta college, they said they really pushed themselves to the limit to maintain excellent grades, even making themselves physically ill. Eventually, both Kirstie and Kristie learned from their mistakes, self-corrected, and managed their college workload in a way that would not negatively affect their health.
According to the AP and ABC News, Chris “Mack Daddy” Kelly (pictured left) from the hip-hop duo Kris Kross, has reportedly died in Atlanta today. He was announced dead around 5 p.m. this evening at the Atlanta Medical Center. Kelly was only 34 years old.
Because it is so soon, authorities are unclear about the cause of his sudden death, and an autopsy will be performed. Kelly and Chris Smith had a huge amount of fame in the 90s, bringing us classic jams like “Jump,” “Warm It Up,” and “I Missed The Bus,” the anthem for habitually late students everywhere in the early ’90s. The duo was also known for wearing their clothes backwards, going with their name, Kriss Kross. They were discovered by Jermaine Dupri at a shopping mall in Atlanta, and the two even performed together again for the first time in years during the So So Def 20th Anniversary concert earlier in the year. There was talk of them possibly working on new music in the future.
Sadly, that won’t be happening. But we’ll always have their past work, especially Totally Krossed Out. As more information comes out about Kelly’s sudden passing, we’ll keep you updated, but keep his family in your prayers and play “Jump” at least once before you call it a night.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=010KyIQjkTk&w=420&h=315]
article by Clarke Gail Baines via madamenoire.com
Members of the Morehouse College 2002 graduating class sing their school song during commencement ceremonies May 19, 2002 in Atlanta. (Photo by Erik S. Lesser/Getty Images)
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — A White House official says President Barack Obama will deliver the commencement address at all-male Morehouse College in Atlanta this spring. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. is among the historically black institution’s alumni. Commencement is scheduled for May 19.
Obama typically speaks each spring at a handful of college and university commencement ceremonies, including at one of the military service academies. Last year, he spoke at commencement ceremonies at all-female Barnard College in New York.
The White House official declined to speak for the record because the schedule of Obama’s commencement speeches has not been released. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution first reported on Obama’s address at Morehouse.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press article by Darlene Superville via thegrio.com
At this time of year there are many different posts about Martin Luther King Jr. Here are eight facts that are not commonly discussed:
Fact 1: He was born Michael Luther King, Jr. January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Fact 2: His father, Michael King, Sr., changed their names to Martin Luther King Sr. and Jr. when Martin Jr. was about five.
Fact 3: King was the youngest person, at the time, to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
Fact 4: King authored six books published from 1958 through 1968, works on American race relations and collections of his sermons and lectures.
Fact 5: King stood behind President Lyndon B. Johnson as Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law.
Fact 6: Senate investigations revealed that the FBI illegally bugged King’s hotel rooms and home phone from 1962-1968.
Fact 7: An ongoing controversy over the inscription on the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial which says “I was a drum major for justice, peace and righteousness.”, is taken from a 1968 King sermon, “If you want to say I was a drum major, say I was a drum major for justice, say I was a drum major for peace, I was a drum major for righteousness and all the other shallow things will not matter.”, at issue is also the cost to repair, change or delete the inscription.
Fact 8: King met with President Dwight D. Eisenhower, along with Roy Wilkins, A. Philip Randolph, and Lester Grange on problems affecting black Americans. Making it an interesting fact that he actually met with two presidents about Civil Rights at different times.
article by Oretha Winston via theurbandaily.com
*The Trumpet Awards Foundation announced the 2013 Trumpet Awards honorees at a press conference in Atlanta.
The Trumpet Awards Ceremony is one of the most respected televised award shows saluting African American achievement in the world. The following Trumpet Award honorees will attend and receive their award at the ceremony on Saturday, January 26, 2013 at 4pm.
Chaka Khan – Legend Award
Debra Martin Chase – Entertainment Award
Michael McMillan – Community Service Award
Alonzo & Tracy Mourning – Humanitarian Award
Mayor Kasim Reed – Public Service Award
Charlie Wilson – Lifetime Achievement Award
Edward Welburn – Corporate Award
Rony Delgarde immigrated to the United States from Haiti with only $5 and a Bible. The first thing he saw when he landed at Miami International Airport were all the colorfully-painted buildings. “People paint their house yellow, white, red, blue and I said, ‘Wow, there’s so much paint in this country!'” Delgarde says.” I said, ‘When I get money in this country, I’m going to buy paint and take paint back home.'”
From that idea, Global Paint for Charity was born. Delgarde, who is 38 and works as a health care consultant, states the mission: “to recycle leftover paint from businesses and residents, processes it and then donate it to vulnerable families in developing countries all around the world.”
ATLANTA – A popular and influential collection of artwork featuring African leaders and rulers has returned for public viewing at Morehouse College in Atlanta. Valued at more than $1 million, “The Great Kings and Queens of Africa” collection of paintings was commissioned by Anheuser-Busch in 1975. Today, the company announced it has donated the entire collection to UNCF (United Negro College Fund), the country’s largest minority education organization, which will distribute pieces from the collection to six UNCF member colleges and universities: Morehouse College, Clark Atlanta University, Fisk University, Xavier University, Dillard University and Benedict College.
The Boxcar Grocer is a new addition to the Castleberry Hill section of Atlanta. Photo credit: Candace Y.A. Montague
By Candace Y.A. Montague via thegrio.com
Nestled in the Castleberry Hill section of Atlanta is a quaint neighborhood divided between yesteryear and today. Among the new additions to the area is a bright, modern corner store that sells all-natural produce and products for residents who seek organic alternatives. It’s called The Boxcar Grocer and on Peters Street SW, it is the only food store available.
Co-owners Alison and Alphonso Cross migrated from San Francisco to the Atlanta area to open this food store in a building owned by their father. The brother and sister team felt that fresh food was important enough to bring to the neighborhood and sacrificed almost everything to make it happen. The question was whether or not there was enough of a demand for fresh food options to sustain their business in an area that is making slow progress towards revitalization. The Crosses believed so, and they found a way to use local farmers to keep the business afloat.