Morgan Freeman is an actor, director and narrator who was born in Memphis, Tennessee in 1937. He was the youngest of five children and grew up in Chicago and Greenwood, Mississippi. He grew up looking up to such actors as Gary Cooper, Spencer Tracy and Sidney Poitier. Freeman’s interest in acting was the result of being forced to participate in his junior high school’s drama competition after pulling a chair…
Dorothy Height was an educator and administrator who was also a well known civil rights and women’s rights activist. She was born in Richmond, Virginia and moved to Rankin, Pennsylvania as a child. Despite being admitted to Barnard College in 1929, she was not allowed to attend because the school had an unwritten policy about only allowing two black students per year to attend the school. She instead attended New…
A mentally ill inmate at Rikers passed away in an overheated cell just one day after officials at the prison had requested repairs for the heating problem. The Associated Press reports that two requests for repairs were made on February 14 but delayed due to a holiday weekend. Since the following Monday was President’s Day, the request for the repairs wasn’t received until the following Tuesday. Former Marine Jerome Murdough,…
By Lechette Walker The White House had a “Women of Soul Concert” that was hosted by Michelle Obama on Thursday. The concert that was in honor of the history of great “foremothers” in music is the reason for this entertaining celebration. Aretha Franklin, Patti LaBelle, MelissaEtheridge, Tessanne Chin, Janelle Monae. Jill Scott and Ariana Grane is the streaming line of talent that will inspire the stage with this momentous engagement. …
By Dr. Sinclair Grey III Russell Simmons has teamed up with Jennifer Hudson in an effort to save dolphins from being slaughtered in the fishing town of Taiji in Japan. Simmons and Hudson along with other activists are asking President Obama not to sign an international trade agreement until Japan stops their dolphin killing. Other celebrities have joined the cause such as Sean Penn, Cher, Ellen DeGeneres, and William Shatner,…
By Lillian Armstead East African nations will strategically move in on the hostile leader of South Sudanese, Riek Machar if the rebellious leader does not accept their offer to end the attacks which could prove detrimental to large numbers of people, said the president of Uganda. Shortly after President Yoweri Museveni made a broadcast to cease fire, hostilities broke out with the “White Army” and other agitators started fighting with…
By Brandon Simmons With all of the seriousness the President has faced this year, the Obamas received a little holiday laughs to finish their year. Recently comedian Kevin Hart visited the White House with and shared the experience with his Instagram followers. Hart, accompanied by girlfriend Eniko Parrish, visited the over 200-year-old residence that has housed 44 Presidents of the United States. A place full of history, the “Laugh at…
By: Britt L The world is still mourning the death of South African leader and philanthropist Nelson Mandela, who died Thursday at the age of 95. Memories, photographs, and the outpouring of love hasn’t stopped since the reports of the Nobel Peace Prize winner’s death. Nelson Mandela will be buried in a state funeral on Sunday, December 15. President Jacob Zuma confirmed Friday that Mandela will be laid to rest…
By Lillian Armstead – Prince will celebrate with thousands of others at the ESSENCE Festivals 20th Anniversary next year. The Anniversary is scheduled for the weekend of July 4th, 2014. ESSENCE is a favorite brand for individuals from all walks of life – marketing to both men and women. The festival which is held in New Orleans has been a hit for close to two decades. Boasting of crowds surpassing…
by Barry Burch Jr. The acme of clownery, the interrupter of class, and now the self-proclaimed genius, Kanye West, has finished another attempt at relevancy by disrespecting the President of the United States. West says thinking about the president would lower his “priority of thinking.” And what is that level of thinking, again? Anyway, West said in an interview on Monday that he feels “used” by President Barack Obama. He…
Remember Herman Cain? He was the guy who thought he might be President of the United States, but got in trouble because he couldn’t keep his urges in his pants. Well, Cain is back and still fighting for his damaged reputation. The former Godfather’s Pizza CEO says that he doesn’t want the rest of his career to be covered in a cloud of suspicion after a younger woman named Ginger…
The rapper J. Cole is one of the biggest artists in the hip-hop music industry. He also appears to be one of the most thoughtful, digging into issues that go outside of liquor, weed and women. The issue that he brought to the fore recently is the open question of whether or not he’d be as successful as he is right now if he’d had dark skin instead of light….
Morehouse College was lucky to have President Barack Obama speak at the 129th Commencement ceremony yesterday. During his speech the President made it a point to address all black men. Sunday President Obama told the graduating class at Morehouse College, the country’s pre-eminent historically black college, there is “no time for excuses” for this generation of African-American men reports USA TODAY. The President continued by let the young men know that…
The new History Channel series “The Bible” has gotten over 10 million viewers attention. The topic of relegion can typically be controversal, but this series is receiving backlash for or more specific reason. Glenn Beck, conservative commentator, was among the first to point the resemblance on Twitter between the transformed actor Mohamen Mehdi Ouzaani’s character- The Devil, and President…
Another Chicago student shot and killed just hours after President Obama’s speech on gun violence, a speech her sister attended. 18-year-old Janay McFarlane was gunned down in suburban North Chicago, reports CBS-2′S Mike Puccinelli. “The next thing I knew I got a call and they said my baby was dead. And she was shot in the head,” said Angela Blakely, the victim’s mother. That was last night, and Angela Blakely’s…