African-Americans at higher risk for clots
September 30, 2009
“One person dies every five to six minutes from a DVT or PE related event in America, and some groups such as African-Americans are at a significantly higher risk of developing these conditions,” said Dr. Graham, who lost his sister to PE. “Many of the causes of DVT are entirely preventable and easily treatable, so it’s crucial that people understand their level of risk and take action to reduce this. Improved awareness and access to treatment can save a great number of lives.”
New Era Cap and Spike Lee to Unveil Newest Addition to the ‘Spike Lee Joint’ Cap Collection
September 28, 2009
New Era Cap Co., Inc., the leading headwear designer and official on-field cap for Major League Baseball, along with legendary filmmaker and dedicated New York Sports fan Spike Lee, are set to unveil the latest addition to the “Spike Lee Joint” cap collection on September 25, 2009, at Yankee Stadium. The Yankee inspired cap, dubbed “Spike Lee Joint 2.0,” is the second cap in the “Spike Lee Joint” series, which launched in 2008, and the third cap Spike Lee has created for New Era.
As a life-long Yankee fan, Spike Lee drew his inspiration for the cap from the New York Yankees 26 World Series Championships. “When it came time to design another cap with New Era, it seemed fitting that it represent the most decorated franchise in professional sports — the New York Yankees,” said Spike Lee. “On the cap, I inscribed each year the Yankees won the championship. Now I’m just hoping we can add the year 2009 to that list come October!”
‘Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT’ Will Launch With More Than 25 Global Premieres Tuesday, October 27
September 28, 2009
Fans worldwide will have the opportunity to celebrate the global launch of Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT when Sony Pictures Entertainment hosts over 25 global premieres, with more than 15 of those coordinated simultaneously around the world, on Tuesday, October 27th. Three hours after the red carpet events begin, audiences will be able to see the highly anticipated film for the first time as the studio has added special advance screenings that evening throughout the world.
Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT will be available worldwide for a limited two-week engagement beginning, Wednesday October 28. Tickets for all shows, including the Tuesday night special advance screenings, are available for purchase beginning this coming Sunday, September 27. Moviegoers can purchase tickets by visiting all major motion picture ticketing websites as well as www.thisisit-movie.com.
Pepsi and Grammy Award-Winning Artist Will.i.am to Create the Ultimate Music Collaboration
September 28, 2009
Beginning today, Pepsi is inviting music fans across the country to join in their effort to create a unique music collaboration for the “Ultimate Refresh” of the new single “La La La” by electro hip-hop duo LMFAO. Will.i.am from the Black Eyed Peas is joining Pepsi and LMFAO to produce a user-generated video and music track that will be available to consumers in December 2009.
“It could be the sound of a bouncing basketball or a honking horn during rush hour traffic, everything I see and hear on a daily basis inspires the music I make,” said Will.i.am. “I can’t wait to get into the studio to produce this huge music collaboration and showcase the talents of people around the country.”
Tupac Shakur Writings and Papers for Scholarly Research in The Atlanta University Center
September 28, 2009
The Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation and Afeni Shakur-Davis, mother of platinum recording artist, actor and poet, Tupac Shakur, will partner with the Robert W. Woodruff Library of the Atlanta University Center to make available for scholarly research Shakur’s manuscript writings and other papers.
Born in East Harlem, New York, Shakur honed his acting and performing skills at the city’s 127th Street Repertory Ensemble and the Baltimore School of the Arts in Maryland. He first came to prominence in the early 1990s as a featured rapper for the vocal group Digital Underground and went on to become one of the most significant cultural icons of the hip hop generation. Prior to his untimely death at the age of 25, Shakur had released five record albums and appeared in four motion pictures to great success. Ten albums, numerous compilations and four feature films were all released posthumously, including Tupac, Resurrection, which received an Academy Award nomination for “Best Documentary (Feature).” Read more
VH1 Brought Hip Hop Royalty Together at the 6th Annual ‘VH1 Hip Hop Honors’
September 28, 2009
Taped at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) Howard Gilman Opera House on Wednesday, September 23rd in Brooklyn, New York and hosted by Tracy Morgan (“30 Rock”), talents from across all artistic genres came together to celebrate this significant milestone in American hip hop music. The show paid tribute to the architects of Def Jam Records including Bill Stephney, Chris Lighty, Julie Greenwald, Kevin Liles, L.A. Reid, Lyor Cohen, Michael Kyser, Rick Rubin, Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter and Russell Simmons. Performances by Ashanti, Chrisette Michele, DJ Chuck Chill Out, DJ Clinton Sparks, DMX, Eminem, EPMD, Fabolous, Foxy Brown, Gym Class Heroes, DJ Jaycee, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Ghostface, Ja Rule, Judacamp Choir, Kid Rock, KRS One, Ludacris, Mary J. Blige, Method Man, DJ Nonstop, Onyx, Public Enemy, Redman, The Roots, Rick Ross, DJ Sam Sneak, Scarface, DJ Scratch, The Street Sweeper Social Club, Trey Songz, Wale and Warren G brought down the house celebrating Def Jam Records. Read more
Women at black colleges targeted for business
September 28, 2009
Spelman College and Clark Atlanta University are among eight historically black colleges that will participate in an initiative aimed at training female students for careers in business and as entrepreneurs.
The United Negro College Fund announced the partnership with Goldman Sachs. The 10,000 Women Business Leadership Award Program will help four UNCF institutions – Spelman, Clark Atlanta, Bennett College and Dillard University – as well as Xavier University, Hampton University, Howard University and North Carolina A&T University, also historically black schools. The students will receive scholarships for the junior and senior years and a Goldman Sachs mentor. The program will award 31 scholarships over a 2-year period.
President Obama Addresses Clinton Global Initiative Meeting
September 28, 2009
U.S. President Barack Obama is calling on leaders from all sorts of backgrounds to come together to tackle worldwide problems. Mr. Obama says it is time for a new spirit of partnership.
The comments came in a rather philosophical address to the Clinton Global Initiative. It is a forum set up by former President Bill Clinton to encourage leaders from government, business, academia and other fields to join forces to deal with global challenges.
Pictured: U.S. President Barack Obama (L) and former President Bill Clinton acknowledge applause after Obama spoke at the Clinton Global Initiative at the Sheraton HotelSeptember 22, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by John Angelillo-Pool/Getty Images)
Obama Considers Strategy Shift in Afghan War
September 28, 2009
President Obama is exploring alternatives to a major troop increase in Afghanistan, including a plan advocated by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. to scale back American forces and focus more on rooting out Al Qaeda there and in Pakistan, officials said Tuesday.
The options under review are part of what administration officials described as a wholesale reconsideration of a strategy the president announced with fanfare just six months ago. Two new intelligence reports are being conducted to evaluate Afghanistan and Pakistan, officials said.
The sweeping reassessment has been prompted by deteriorating conditions on the ground, the messy and still unsettled outcome of the Afghan elections and a dire report by Mr. Obama’s new commander, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal. Aides said the president wanted to examine whether the strategy he unveiled in March was still the best approach and whether it could work with the extra combat forces General McChrystal wants.
Pictured: US President Barack Obama speaks during a rally at University of Maryland Comcast Center on September 17, 2009 in College Park, Maryland. President Obama is trying to gain support for his health care insurance reform plan. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
Increasing black enrollment starts with tuition costs
September 28, 2009
THERE’S A LOT of room for debate over what to do when black enrollment drops at the state’s flagship universities because academic standards are being ratcheted up and many black students can’t meet them: Higher standards make a college education worth more, but it might actually be worth more to our state to help make sure less-advantaged students (which many black students are) get a good education. So should the schools find a way to make exceptions for African-Americans? Should they push down the standards for everyone? Or should we focus our attention on K-12, which turned out the students who couldn’t make the grade?
But that’s not a debate we have to have right now – although of course we need to see to it that our public schools do a better job of preparing black students (and white students) for college – because there’s another reason black enrollment is dropping at USC, Clemson and even the College of Charleston, The Citadel and MUSC. And there’s no similar philosophical ambiguity about what needs to be done about it. As The State’s Wayne Washington recently reported, a growing number of qualified black students either don’t attend once accepted or else don’t bother applying at all because they know they can’t afford the big schools.
Minorities feel sharper recession pain – report
September 28, 2009
While the recession has affected the entire nation, members of minority groups have suffered more pain than their white counterparts, according to a report released Wednesday by a liberal think tank.
The report by the Center for American Progress says economic pain among non-whites is lasting longer than before and signaling structural problems such as labor market discrimination and credit market steering. Because little to no headway was made to improve the inequalities between the economic experiences of whites and minorities in previous economic cycles, “efforts to end economic decline will have to especially help minorities since they have been disproportionately impacted by it,” the report said.
CBC Spouses Honor Tyler Perry, Sam Gilliam
September 28, 2009
The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF) and the Congressional Black Caucus Spouses will recognize the contributions of two outstanding individuals in the visual and performing arts, as well as students pursuing careers and opportunities in those areas from 8:00 -10:00 p.m., during the 13th Annual Celebration of Leadership in the Fine Arts on September 23 at the National Museum of Women in the Arts.
This year’s honorees are Sam Gilliam, internationally celebrated as the leading contemporary African-American color field painter and lyrical abstractionist, and Tyler Perry, the American playwright, screenwriter, actor, director and producer of numerous successful films and stage plays.
“This Is It” gives an exclusive look into the final days of Michael Jackson’s life
September 28, 2009
Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT will offer Jackson fans and music lovers worldwide a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the performer as he developed, created and rehearsed for his sold-out concerts that would have taken place beginning this summer in London’s O2 Arena. Chronicling the months from April through June, 2009, the film is produced with the full support of the Estate of Michael Jackson and drawn from more than one hundred hours of behind-the-scenes footage, featuring Jackson rehearsing a number of his songs for the show. Audiences will be given a privileged and private look at Jackson up close and personal. In raw and candid detail, Michael Jackson’s THIS IS IT captures the singer, dancer, filmmaker, architect, creative genius and great artist at work as he creates and perfects his final show. Kenny Ortega, who was both Michael Jackson’s creative partner and the director of the stage show is also directing the film, which is being produced by Randy Phillips, Kenny Ortega and Paul Gongaware. Executive producers are John Branca and John McClain. The film will be distributed worldwide by Sony Pictures Releasing. Tickets for the limited two-week engagement of the film go on sale beginning September 27.
In Theaters: October 28, 2009
Obama gets personal on the “Late Show with David Letterman”
September 28, 2009
Reporting from New York – After breezing through a battery of TV interviews Sunday with hardly a revealing moment, President Obama finally let out some fresh information Monday night on the “Late Show with David Letterman.”
He let slip a few personal details about his daughters, an off-limits topic elsewhere. He disclosed the name of a movie he saw recently with his wife. And he managed to talk a little about healthcare and Afghanistan too.
Pictured: US President Barack Obama (L) jokes with David Letterman during a taping of the Late Show with David Letterman in New York on September 21, 2009. AFP PHOTO/Jim WATSON (Photo credit should read JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)
Jordin Sparks Urges Teens to Help Make a Difference in Themselves and the World
September 28, 2009
Jordin Sparks is on a mission to spark some change by inspiring teens to make a difference. Sparks and the National Milk Mustache “got milk?” Campaign have partnered with VH1 Save The Music Foundation to launch the ‘Drink Milk for a Change’ program. Sparks knows that drinking milk for a change can help make a difference in herself and her world. Drinking nutrient-rich lowfat milk helps teens look and feel their best – with strong bones, lean muscles and healthy hair and skin. And, studies suggest that teens that drink nutrient-rich milk instead of sugary sodas and sports drinks tend to be leaner than teens who drink little or no milk.
Sparks is helping to launch the new ‘Drink Milk for a Change’ campaign to show teens the simple steps they can take to help make a difference in themselves and the world. An easy way is to make a commitment to drink milk and encourage others to do the same by making a Milk Mustache ad at bodybymilk.com. For every Milk Mustache photo created, one dollar will go to support VH1 Save The Music Foundation*. The VH1 Save The Music Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to restoring instrumental music education in American public schools, and raising awareness about the importance of music as part of each child’s complete education. Read more
