Discovering Black America Author on WNBC-TV’s Positively Black
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grow! Lincoln Park Community Garden Opens Soon to Gardeners
Check out our progress in creating an organic, sustainable legacy garden in an urban park!! Volunteers from Habit for Humanity and community folks pitched in to make this garden a reality!!
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Discovering Black America: From the Age of Exploration to the Twenty-First Century
By Linda Tarrant-Reid
Publication Date: September 1, 2012
Ordering Info: Amazon.com or visit the link below:
http://www.abramsbooks.com/Books/Discovering_Black_America-9780810970984.html
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President Barack Obama Sings Al Green at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, January 19, 2012
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Happy Birthday Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., January 15, 2012 – Thank you Stevie Wonder for this Tribute!
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Lucasfilm’s Red Tails Will Take Flight on January 20, 2012
Twentieth Century Fox to Release Epic Action Story Inspired by the Heroic Tuskegee Airmen
Originally published July 29, 2011, Business Wire
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110729005172/en/Lucasfilm%E2%80%99s-Red-Tails-Flight-January-20-2012SAN FRANCISCO–A high-flying action epic inspired by the heroic exploits of the first all African-American aerial combat unit, the Lucasfilm Ltd. production of Red Tails will launch on January 20, 2012, released by Twentieth Century Fox. Produced by Rick McCallum and Charles Floyd Johnson, the gripping WWII actioner is directed by Anthony Hemingway (“Treme,” “The Wire,” “Battlestar Galactica”).
“I’ve wanted to do this film for a great many years”
“I am humbled and honored to direct the story of the Tuskegee Airmen – heroes who have paved the way so others could have the opportunity to pursue their dreams,” said Hemingway. “To be selected by George Lucas and Rick to direct this film was more than my wildest dreams come true. It’s been a blessing to work with them, along with the amazingly talented artists at Industrial Light & Magic. I’ve grown a lot on many levels from this experience. As director, I had the fortune to work with a highly skilled crew from the Czech Republic, U.K. and the U.S., along with a remarkably talented group of actors. The resonant beauty, strength and dedication of our heroes is reflected in the powerful ensemble cast.”
Red Tails stars Oscar® winner Cuba Gooding Jr. (Jerry Maguire), Oscar nominee Terrence Howard (Crash), Emmy® winner Bryan Cranston (“Breaking Bad”), Nate Parker (The Secret Life of Bees, The Great Debaters), David Oyelowo (The Last King of Scotland, Rise of the Planet of the Apes), Tristan Wilds (“90210”), Grammy® Award winner Cliff Smith aka Method Man (“The Wire”), Kevin Phillips (Pride), Rick Otto (“The Wire”), Lee Tergesen (Monster), Andre Royo (“Heroes”), Grammy-Award winner Ne-Yo (Stomp the Yard), Elijah Kelley (Hairspray), Marcus T. Paulk (Take the Lead), Leslie Odom Jr. (“Grey’s Anatomy”), Michael B. Jordan (“Friday Night Lights,” Chronicle) and Daniela Ruah (“NCIS”).
“I’ve wanted to do this film for a great many years,” said George Lucas, executive producer of Red Tails. “So it is especially gratifying to see it all come together. It has been a real pleasure to work with Anthony and the extraordinary cast on a project that we all passionately believe in. The Tuskegee Airmen were such superb pilots that it was essential for us to create visual effects that would live up to their heroism and put audiences in the cockpit with them. They were only in their early 20s when they performed these amazing feats,” Lucas added. “They became the best of the best—the top guns. It is an honor to bring to the screen a story inspired by their heroics.”
The official teaser trailer will be released on Yahoo.com at 9 am PDT Friday.
SYNOPSIS:
1944. As the war in Europe continues to take its toll on Allied forces, the Pentagon brass has no recourse but to consider unorthodox options – including the untried and untested African-American pilots of the experimental Tuskegee training program. Just as the young Tuskegee men are on the brink of being shut down and shipped back home, they are given the ultimate chance to show their courage. Against all the odds, with something to prove and everything to lose, these intrepid young airmen take to the skies to fight for their country – and the fate of the free world.
About Fox Filmed Entertainment
One of the world’s largest producers and distributors of motion pictures, Fox Filmed Entertainment produces, acquires and distributes motion pictures throughout the world. These motion pictures are produced or acquired by the following units of FFE: Twentieth Century Fox, Fox 2000 Pictures, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox Animation and Fox International Productions. Twentieth Century Fox International is a unit of Fox Filmed Entertainment, a segment of Fox Entertainment Group.
About Lucasfilm Ltd.
Lucasfilm Ltd. is one of the world’s leading film and entertainment companies. Founded by George Lucas in 1971, it is a privately held, fully integrated entertainment company. In addition to its motion-picture and television production operations, the company’s global activities include Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound, serving the digital needs of the entertainment industry for visual effects and audio post-production; LucasArts, a leading developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software worldwide; Lucas Licensing, which manages the global merchandising activities for Lucasfilm’s entertainment properties; and Lucasfilm Animation, which produces cutting-edge digital entertainment. Additionally, Lucas Online creates Internet-based content for Lucasfilm’s entertainment properties and businesses. Lucasfilm Ltd. is headquartered in northern California.
Lucasfilm, the Lucasfilm logo, Red Tails and related properties are trademarks and/or copyrights, in the United States and other countries, of Lucasfilm Ltd. and/or its affiliates. TM & © 2011 Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved. All other trademarks and trade names are properties of their respective owners.
View Red Tails HD Trailer at the link below:
http://www.youtube.com/user/RedTailsMovie?v=uQdUOWcsCrE&feature=pyv&ad=11879477583&kw=red%20tails
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MLK Memorial Dedication was rescheduled to October 16, 2011 on The Mall in Washington, DC. The event was attended by President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama
Aretha Franklin sang “Precious Lord.”
MLK Memorial Dedication – August 28th, 2011
The Dedication Ceremony has been postponed to a date in September or October due to Hurricane Irene.
The MLK Memorial is Open to the Public
The Mall, Washington, DC
Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Washington, DC
Share the dream…
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Frank Foster, 1928-2011
An incredibly bright light has dimmed. RIP Frank, we’ll miss you.
Source: All About Jazz – Rifftides by Doug Ramsey http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=84781
Frank Foster died today following a long period of ill health. He was 82.Foster was important to the Count Basie band as a tenor saxophonist, composer and arranger for more than a decade beginning in 1953. In the reed section, he and Frank Wess teamed up as one of the best-known tenor sax tandems in jazz. Foster later also distinguished himself as a bandleader in his own right and as an educator. He moved beyond his hard bop essence as a soloist into free territory opened for exploration by John Coltrane, but never abandoned his bebop beginnings or the blues heart of his style. His Loud Majority and Living Color big bands served as training and proving grounds for dozens of young musicians and outlets for established players who cherished the band environment. After Thad Jones’ death, Foster led the Basie band for nearly ten years in the 1980s and ’90s. For a thorough obituary of Foster, see Nate Chinen’s piece in today’s New York Times.
When I first heard Foster with Basie around 1955, he looked pretty much as he does in this photograph. Following a concert in downtown Seattle onenight, he, Wess, bassist Eddie Jones and other members of the band showed up at the old Birdland on East Madison Street (pictured). Aside from Foster’s powerful playing in a jam session that occupied several early morning hours, I remember that during breaks he charmed the best looking woman in the club and ultimately went out the door with her on his arm. That was years before he met Cecilia, the woman who became his wife.
Foster’s composition “Shiny Stockings,” recorded in Basie’s 1955 April in Paris album, became an instant staple in the Basie book, where it remains in today’s edition of the band. That hugely popular piece will be coming in for lots of attention in the aftermath of Frank’s death. Video of the Basie band playing it has been removed from the web by a record company copyright intervention, but we have the audio of “Shiny Stockings,” accompanied by a photo of Basie.
Check out Frank Foster and The Count Basie Orchestra:
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