Jordan said at a Tuesday press conference he has informed the league of his decision and is optimistic the NBA board of governors will approve the name change when they convene in July.

Charlotte will remain the Bobcats next season, but if all goes as planned Jordan anticipates his team will become the Hornets for the start of the 2014-15 season.

Jordan says the team listened to the fans and “the fans wanted the name back.”

NBA deputy commissioner and COO Adam Silver previously said it would take about 18 months for the Bobcats to change their name.

The Hornets resided in Charlotte from 1988-2002 before then-owner George Shinn relocated the team to New Orleans.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

A spokeswoman for the family said Shabazz was laid to rest near his grandparents at the Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale on Tuesday.

Authorities say Shabazz was beaten to death earlier this month in a dispute over a $1,200 bar bill in Mexico City. Two waiters have been arrested in the case.

The 28-year-old Shabazz had a troubled life, from setting a blaze in his grandmother’s apartment that resulted in the death of Malcolm X’s widow, Betty Shabazz, to stints in juvenile hall and prison.

At the time of his death, he seemed to be seeking redemption with plans to write a memoir and denouncing youth violence.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

A spokesman for the 71-year-old singer says Franklin will reschedule two shows and resume her touring schedule in July.

Publicist David Brokaw provided no other details Tuesday.

Franklin announced earlier this month that she would cancel scheduled performances in Chicago and Connecticut this week to undergo medical treatment. She did not specify what type of treatment she was receiving.

Franklin appeared on the season finale of “American Idol” last week via satellite, singing a medley of her hits with the show’s female finalists.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

A new study released Tuesday by Prudential finds African-Americans retire earlier than the general population on average, despite significantly lower retirement savings.

About 25 percent of African-Americans surveyed expect to retire before age 60, compared to 20 percent of the general population. Among current retirees, the average retirement age for African-Americans is 56, according to the study, three years younger than the general population.

Yet African-Americans are also retiring with a far more meager financial cushion than average. Even if they participate in 401(k)s and other retirement accounts, the Prudential study found African-Americans have a median savings of $9,000 in their employer-sponsored plans, compared to $20,000 among the general population.

“If you couple the fact that African-Americans are retiring earlier with smaller balances (in retirement savings), that really is a challenge for many families,” says Michael Davis, a senior vice president for Prudential Retirement.

Lower balances are the result of several factors, the study found, including taking loans or withdrawals from plans before retirement age for immediate needs. “The number one financial priority that African-Americans identified was paying down debt,” Davis says. “For the general population it was saving for retirement.”

Click here to read more.

It’s a practically invisible disease with a few subtle symptoms. And even after you’ve been diagnosed, it can seem pretty harmless and easy to ignore. But, if not properly cared for, its progressive effects can put you at risk for heart disease, stroke even kidney disease.

African-Americans develop high blood pressure more often, and at an earlier age, than whites and Mexican-Americans. More African-American women have high blood pressure than African-American men and they have higher rates of hospitalization.

What causes high blood pressure? Research shows that high salt and sodium intake plus low potassium intake – due to not eating enough fruits and vegetables – and excessive alcohol consumption can contribute to developing high blood pressure.

DASH to a better diet

For that reason, lifestyle changes such as those in the DASH eating plan have been shown to significantly help control high blood pressure. DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. In fact, the DASH eating plan is recognized as the diet of choice for preventing and managing high blood pressure in African-Americans. The diet is rich in fruits, vegetables, and low fat dairy products, and is low in fats and cholesterol.

Theoretically, DASH should be an easy fix. But according to researchers at Duke University Medical Center, DASH is easier said than done – at least for African Americans. In a recent study, Duke researchers were interested in determining what factors predicted who would adhere to the DASH eating plan. African-American participants in the study were less likely than white participants to follow the DASH eating plan.

Why? Because traditional African-American food choices and cooking methods weren’t taken into consideration. The good news is, if you can’t phantom the idea of giving up your traditional food there are still steps you can take to lower sodium in your diet.

How Salt Makes you Fat

Ditching the salt shaker is an obvious and great first step, however “contrary to popular belief, the salt shaker is the least of your worries,” says Marisa Moore, spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. In fact, “77 percent of sodium in the diet comes from packaged and restaurant foods,” she adds.

According to Tammy and Lyssie Lakatos, authors of The Secret to Skinny: How Salt Makes You Fat, processed meat, frozen pizza and Chinese food are the worst offenders when it comes to making your blood pressure go up. And that’s not all. “Salt makes you hungrier, thirstier and it increases cravings.

Plus, it seems that [salt] may cause your fat cells to hold more fat,” says the Lakatos, also known as the Nutrition Twins. Reducing sodium is as good for your waistline as it is for your blood pressure. So get started today!

The 8 Worst Foods

Processed meats: Any meat preserved by smoking, curing, salting or with the addition of chemical preservatives fit into this category, including ham, bacon, sausage, hot dogs and luncheon meats.

“In a three-ounce serving of most of these meats it’s easy to swallow 1,200 mg of sodium,” says The Nutrition Twins. And if you have high blood pressure you’ve already almost met your daily quota for sodium, which should be less than 1,500 milligrams per day.

Advice: Steer clear of these meats or at least opt for reduce sodium varieties.

Frozen Pizza:  “The combination of salty foods spells trouble for blood pressure.  The dough, tomato sauce, cheese and then processed meats added on top can cause an individual serving of frozen pizza to clock in at close to 2400 mg sodium,” says The Nutrition Twins.

Advice: Make your own with low fat cheese, lean meat and extra veggies.

Chinese Food:  The sauce in Chinese dishes is loaded with sodium. “ Something as innocent-sounding as Beef with Broccoli can have 3,752 mg sodium,” says The Nutrition Twins, and “that’s thanks to things used in the cooking like soy sauce and Teriyaki sauce that have about 1,000 mg of sodium in just a tablespoon.”

Nutrition Twin advice: Order your sauce on the side and use it sparingly.

Ready-to-eat boxed meals and side dishes: Along with the convenience comes a hefty dose of sodium. A 5-ounce frozen turkey and gravy dinner can have 787 milligrams of sodium. Half of a 16.5 ounce chicken pot pie can pack 800 milligrams of sodium.

Advice: Look for brands with less sodium.

Sugar-sweetened beverages: “We tend to associate excess sugar with higher blood sugar and diabetes” says Moore. “However, excess sugar intake has been linked to high blood pressure levels as well.”

Moore’s advice: Keep added sugars at a minimum. You can do this by avoiding sugary beverages like soft drinks, iced tea and fruit punch.

Canned and pickled vegetables and vegetable juice: While a great substitute when fresh is not available, canned and pickled vegetables are typically laden with preservatives or sauces and seasonings that add extra sodium. A cup of canned cream-style corn may contain 730 milligrams of sodium. Advice – read the nutrition facts panel. Look for descriptions such as “no salt added” and “reduced sodium.”

Bouillon, canned and instant soup: On average, a cup of canned chicken noodle soup contains as much as 760 milligrams of sodium. Eat the entire can — which makes two-and-a-half servings – and you’ll get 1,800 milligrams of sodium.

Advice: Look for brands with reduced-sodium or no salt added. For instant soup or oriental noodles, reduce the sodium by using half of the seasoning packet.

Canned Tomato Products and tomato juice: Canned tomato sauce and tomato juice are loaded with sodium. One cup of tomato juice contains 680 milligrams of sodium. One serving of spaghetti with meat sauce has over 1,300 milligrams of sodium.

Advice: Look for low or reduced sodium options.

May is National High Blood Pressure Education Month, click here to learn more about high blood pressure and ways you can reduce sodium in your diet.

Constance Brown-Riggs, MSEd, RD is an award winning registered dietitian, certified diabetes educator, and national spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. She is the author of The African American Guide To Living Well With Diabetes and Eating Soulfully and Healthfully with Diabetes. Follow Brown-Riggs on twitter @eatingsoulfully.

Even though rapper Eve hasn’t dropped an album in over 10 years, her presence in the genre is still felt by her fans.

Her latest album, Lip Lock is currently available and while she experiments with some pop and reggae elements lyrically, the pit bull in a skirt wanted to get back to spitting hard bars.

Eve on interracial dating: ‘Black men have been doing it for years’

“What was important for me for this album was that the people who fell in love with me on the first album with Ruff Ryder’s would still recognize me on this album,” Eve recalled.

Rapper Eve says she wants her biracial kids to be ‘colorblind’

During the late 90s, women emcees were plentiful in both numbers and quality. One of Eve’s more famous verses appeared on the Missy Elliott posse cut, “Hot Boyz (Remix)”, and it was one of her greatest hits.

The Philly rapper wishes the current crop of lady spitters would create more music together like their male counterparts.

“It’s annoying,” said Eve about the lack of unity between the women rappers. “We were able to kinda get along back then in 90′s. I don’t want to say everyone were best-best friends , but it wasn’t about that. It was about making good music. I think that’s what’s lost right now.”

Check out what else Eve had to say in the video and let us know what you think in the comments below.

You can check out more of Kyle’s music coverage on theGrio music page, and follow Kyle on Twitter at @HarveyWins.

Some question the motives of Ms. magazine and say that the mag only has the pop star on the cover to boost sales. Having Beyoncé on the cover of pretty much any magazine is a no-brainer for an editor. But beyond increased sales for the magazine, the Beyoncé cover story is sparking discussion about the intersection of race and gender and more specifically about the notion of “respectability politics” that seems to only apply to women of color.

That in itself is a worthy discussion and does not at all detract from Ms. magazine’s core mission of providing intelligent and hard-hitting feminist political analysis.

Who said you can’t be sexy and a feminist?

Ms. magazine’s Facebook page contains comments that are representative of the other reasons why Beyoncé is a controversial choice for a feminist magazine cover story. Many people, simply do not see Beyoncé as a feminist even though she has labeled herself as such.

“If she’s wearing stripper outfits, dancing like a stripper for men, and calling women “b*tches,” she’s not a feminist. Despite what the so-called “third wave feminists” are claiming, feminism is NOT whatever the hell you want it to be,” said one commenter.

Comments like that harken to the notion of respectability politics and the more general discussion of whether or not you can be overtly sexy and still be a feminist. For black women, whose portrayals in media over the years often toggled between asexual Mammy and hypersexual Sapphire, any and every famous black woman is automatically given the added responsibility of “representing” for her demographic.

Is it empowering to see a multi-millionaire strut around in six-inch heels and barely-there outfits while belting out the latest “you go girl” anthem or is Beyoncé a (literally) glittering, in-your-face example of how far away we are from attaining feminist ideals in this country?  Can a woman who says “girls” run the world in one song and tells bitches to bow down in another truly be considered a feminist?

Read the story before you comment

Another commenter on the Ms. Facebook page chimed in as a peacemaker. “The cover will provoke conversation and debate, which could be good, or it could just go down the endless cycle of name-calling: “Slut!” “Slut-shamer!” “Puppet to men’s domination!” “Uptight, close-minded jealous has-beens!”

Is it possible we can have this debate WITHOUT the vitriol?,” said the commenter.

Most of the commenters probably have not read the story. The typical Facebook page commenting pattern is to read a headline, don’t read the story and then make long-winded arguments about what is assumed to be in the story. For this piece in particular though, it’s worth actually reading it. Janell Hobson, the author of the cover story, penned a thoughtful, well-written, well-researched piece that brings in numerous opinions from academics and pop culture critics.

Additionally, a look at the Ms. magazine covers for the past decade or so, reveals that Beyoncé is very much a departure from Ms. magazine’s usual cover aesthetics and the typical cover story. The previous issue was an illustration of a wire hanger for an article about abortion.  Author Alice Walker, a former Ms. contributor who coined the term womanism, resigned from the magazine in the 1980s citing the publication’s lack of women of color on the covers.

Regardless of the personal opinions on whether or not Beyoncé in particular is a feminist or if Ms. magazine is somehow sullying its name by having a pop star on the cover, the fact remains that the story has started a conversation amongst a diverse set of interested parties and that is a good thing.

Follow Demetria Irwin on Twitter at @Love_Is_Dope.

Sergio Garcia’s ‘fried chicken’ jab at Tiger Woods is the latest exchange between the two golf pros that began nearly two weeks ago at The Players Championship in Ponte Vedra, Florida.

Garcia quickly apologized for the comments and called his remarks “silly.”

Woods isn’t laughing. He responded Wednesday morning via Twitter:

The comment that was made wasn’t silly. It was wrong, hurtful and clearly inappropriate…—
Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) May 22, 2013

I’m confident that there is real regret that the remark was made.—
Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) May 22, 2013

The Players ended nearly two weeks ago and it’s long past time to move on and talk about golf.—
Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) May 22, 2013

This is not the first time a fellow golf pro has associated Tiger Woods with fried chicken. Following Woods historic Masters victory in 1997, Fuzzy Zoeller joked that reporters should tell the 21-year-old not to serve fried chicken or collard greens at 1998′s Champions Dinner.

The dinner takes place each year during Tuesday night of Masters week and the previous year’s winner chooses the menu.

Zoeller offered a direct apology to the golf star, which Woods later accepted. Garcia’s initial apology was offered via a statement from the European Tour:

“I apologize for any offense that may have been caused by my comment on stage during the European Tour Players’ Awards dinner. I answered a question that was clearly made towards me as a joke with a silly remark, but in no way was the comment meant in a racist manner.”

Garcia later added to Sky Sports  that he regrets his comment and didn’t mean it in a bad way.

“Obviously, everyone knows I’m not racist at all. But I’d like to apologize to everybody that or whoever who felt offended by it. Like I said, I didn’t mean it in a bad way. I guess it just came out wrong.”

No mention of Woods, directly.

Sky Sports then asked Garcia if he was caught off guard by the question. Garcia said he was trying to be “spontaneous.”

“That’s the first thing I kind of thought of American food. That’s the first thing that came to my mind. It’s unfortunate but I understand that I was wrong and I have no problem admitting it.”

It’s important to note that Woods and Garcia are not rivals. Woods has won a staggering 14 majors and 78 PGA Tour events.

Garcia has not won a major and has earned eight PGA Tour wins.

Woods wants to put this spat with Garcia behind him and he will.

The other golfers have Garcia to thank for adding more fuel to Woods’ fire, but the world’s best golfer may not need racial insults to motivate him to win golf tournaments.

He already does.

But betting against Woods now is more foolish than it’s ever been.

Follow theGrio’s Todd Johnson on Twitter @rantoddj

CHICAGO—With just one day until the fate of school closings is known in the third-largest district in the nation, students have joined their parents and teachers in protest and raised their voices in opposition to the mass shutter.

Heralded as the future mayor of Chicago in the year 2025, 9-year-old Asean Johnson, has spoken at school board meetings and hearings, and fired up a crowd of hundreds in a protest against school closings Monday that concluded three days of marches on the city’s South and West sides.

“I wanted to be there to support my school and for the other schools that are closing, because really, I think that no school should be closing,” he told theGrio.

A billion dollar budget gap

In March, Chicago Public Schools chief executive officer Barbara Byrd-Bennett announced plans to close 53 elementary schools and one high school. Chicago public school officials have said the proposed closings are necessary to shutter underutilized schools and help the district close the gap of a $1 billion budget deficit.

Asean spoke about what many other protesters contend: that the school closures unfairly affect African-American and Hispanic communities, since many of them are in African-American and Hispanic neighborhoods.

“What Rahm Emanuel is doing is not fair, ‘cause you’re doing that to all the black schools in the neighborhood,” Asean said. “That’s just doing racism, just like the Civil Rights Movement. We shall not be moved!”

Asean’s school is slated for closure

Asean attends Marcus Garvey School on the South Side of Chicago, which is slated for closure. Should the school close, students will be sent to Mount Vernon Elementary, just a few blocks down the street. The two schools have historically been rivals and parents are concerned that the two groups of children won’t blend well in the same building.

Safety has risen as one of the main concerns if 54 schools close simultaneously. In many neighborhoods like Asean’s, kids will have to cross gang lines to attend their new school. He shared how afraid he was to walk the few extra blocks to attend Mount Vernon. “It’s a million things that can happen if you walk those extra blocks,” he said.

Parents, teachers and students have been confused at the Chicago Public Schools’ definition of “underutilized” and “lower-performing.” One test score comparison shows Chicago Public Schools’ classifies Mount Vernon, the “welcoming” school for Marcus Garvey students, as in good standing, a higher classification than Marcus Garvey. However, its student performance was further below average than Marcus Garvey’s, with less than 40 percent of students at or above the national Scantron average, according to district website reports.

“Mount Vernon was a school that they put in millions of dollars to re-do the school,” said Shoniece Reynolds, Asean’s mother. “So therefore, I feel that’s the reason why they are closing Marcus Garvey.” Reynolds started a petition on Change.org to save Marcus Garvey, a school which she says she chose to send her son to after being a private school parent.

‘Why we have to fight’

“Marcus Garvey Math and Science School is a neighborhood school with Magnet School expectations. Closing Marcus Garvey will hinder the stability of our children; affect them academically and place them in unnecessary danger,” the petition reads.

The system promises that displaced students will be sent to better-performing schools with better amenities like libraries, upgraded facilities and air conditioning. “We have what we need at Marcus Garvey,” Asean said describing new science labs, computer labs, air conditioning and other amenities.

Barely tall enough to reach the podium, the junior activist lead a chant that reverberated throughout downtown Chicago Monday, “Education is a right. That is why we have to fight.”

Asean sent a clear message to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel: “We are not toys. We are not going down without a fight.”

Renita D. Young is a multimedia journalist based in Chicago. Follow her on Twitter @RenitaDYoung.

Grand Central Publishing says the “Good Morning America” anchor will be writing the as-yet-untitled book for publication next April.

The publisher announced Wednesday that Roberts will write about her rare illness and her recovery, as well as the life lessons she continues to learn since her return to the “GMA” anchor desk.

The ABC News host underwent a bone marrow transplant in September to treat the blood and bone marrow disease. She was off work for five months before returning to the top-rated network morning show in February.

Her first book, “From the Heart: 7 Rules to Live By,” was a New York Times best-seller in 2007.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

And the Hispanic vote, the Asian vote, and the South Asian vote.

The 2012 election illustrated that people of color generally, are turned off by the vicious attacks on President Obama, including the “birther” nonsense, and any move to remove him from office by way of impeachment will kill the Republican party in a way that their attempts to impeach President Clinton did not.

The cheapening of impeachment

Clinton’s impeachment cheapened the meaning of the word.  Constitutionally, impeachment turns on the meaning of the phrase, “high crimes and misdemeanors,” and there has always been a debate over what exactly rises to the level of a high crime and misdemeanor to warrant impeachment and removal from office.  If Republicans really want to go down the impeachment road, they better be ready for a fight.

2013 is not 1998, and the public writ will be much less willing to go along with the forced evolution of an inconvenient story for the Obama administration into an impeachable offense.

The “scandal” fever in Washington right now is a result of a few factors. One, the GOP lost the White House in 2012, even after four years of birthers, racists, and even some well-meaning Obama critics screaming socialism at the top of their lungs.

After “death panels” and Obamacare going from a slur to a compliment of the president’s signature legislation, the president still won handily, even in this struggling economy.

Posturing doesn’t solve problems

The impeachment talk is premature and unserious.  Instead of disagreeing with the president on policy and introducing alternatives for debate, the GOP blocks debate, lies about the president’s plans, and smears his character on a daily basis.  The problems in this country are far too serious for the GOP to even entertain a Senate impeachment trial that will only suck all of the oxygen out of Washington, making certain nothing gets done to combat climate change, make the necessary repairs and improvements to the country’s infrastructure, or put Americans back to work.

During the Clinton impeachment, it was clear that his affair with Monica Lewinsky was a mistake and demonstrated poor judgment on the part of the president, but a high crime and misdemeanor it was not.

There is nothing known at this moment about any of the “scandals” the Obama administration is dealing with right now that rise to the level of a high crime and misdemeanor, and Republicans who want to be taken seriously should say so.

It’s entirely reasonable for Republicans, even the ones who oppose the president on everything, to challenge the administration for their handling of whistleblowers and to request more information via congressional hearings to ensure that the IRS is handling itself ethically and legally in a post Citizens United World.

If the GOP is prepared to impeach the first black president, they should be prepared to watch Democrats solidify the emerging majority of black and brown voters against the Republican party for a generation.

Follow Zerlina Maxwell on Twitter at @ZerlinaMaxwell.

They are the co-founders of BlackStartup.com, which is a crowdfunding platform for ideas, projects, and causes connected to the African-American community.

Crowdfunding sites, the most famous of which is Kickstarter, allow people to use the power of networks to raise money using online tools for almost any type of project imaginable. Empowering the black community to pool its resources can help African-Americans channel some of its nearly trillion-dollar yearly spending power into sustaining black businesses.

Creating access for black businesses

“Access to resources and capital have been traditional problems to the African-American entrepreneurial community,” Fleming told theGrio. “Crowdfunding is a new technology that democratizes and expands access to capital. We haven’t seen that tool leveraged in a way that creates a significant value proposition in the black community. BlackStartup is an idea to address what we like to call the ‘black entrepreneurial gap,’ which is the fact that black entrepreneurs start businesses at a higher rate than non-minority groups, but we lag behind in owning sustainable operational businesses. Lack of capital is a main reason behind this lag.”

Fleming continued, “BlackStartup also solves the problem of social networks and social interaction. There is a lack of interaction with individuals and institutions that can help fund our businesses. This includes high net worth individuals, angel investors, and venture funds. Furthermore, access to education are causal factors behind the black entrepreneurial gap. On BlackStartup, we will have a knowledge center and will also incorporate a mentorship aspect in the site.”

The potential social impact of solving the undercapitalization of black businesses is what drew Fleming, who has a public policy degree from Harvard and a law degree from University of California, Berkeley, to entrepreneurship.

From politics to social entrepreneurship

“I got into politics to use some of the educational resources that I was provided with to create opportunities for others,” Fleming, who sees himself as a public servant, further explained. He has served as a legislative assistant in D.C. government, and was a legal fellow for a House subcommittee related to capital markets.

Fleming is also an adjunct professor of law at the University of the District of Columbia.

“Politics is a field that can do that, but so is business. I went to Harvard Kennedy School [a graduate school for government], which has a very entrepreneurial bent to it. A number of business leaders are lawyers, and I also trained at Goldman Sachs while in college,” he said.

While this is certainly an unusual path to being a businessman, “It wasn’t that I didn’t view myself as an entrepreneur,” Fleming continued, ”it was about finding the right type of vehicle that had a sustainable social impact and ability for growth. BlackStartup is that type of opportunity for me.”

The BlackStartup team, which rivals the diversity of skills found in the Super Friends, is comprised of six Omega Psi Phi fraternity brothers who met at Morehouse College. Three hold master’s or law degrees from Ivy League institutions while the others have successfully risen in their chosen career paths.

“Morehouse taught us to lead in careers that have a social impact,” Fleming said, adding, ”the [varied capacities] of our team is one of our major competitive advantages.”

Already receiving support from biz community

BlackStartup has already received substantial institutional support — something most entrepreneurial ventures don’t encounter. The company recently won the Yale Entrepreneurship Institute Fellowship, which provides $20,000 in seed capital, excellent mentors, and a 10-week business bootcamp to start-ups. For Fleming, winning the competition “gave us a level of idea validation.”

Yet, he fully understands that these resources are not available to many black entrepreneurs starting businesses. What other hurdles do black entrepreneurs face?

Access to “technological capabilities are something that black businesses lack to follow up on their big ideas,” Fleming stated, a challenge even BlackStartup faces. “We went to liberal arts schools, therefore none of us has the technological know how to grow an Internet venture. If we did, we would be able to come to market with our product more rapidly.”

The long term vision for BlackStartup.com

While the development of BlackStartup is in its early stages, the team has a strong long term vision for the company.

“Ultimately, we are using technology to address the black entrepreneurial gap,” Fleming concluded. “We want to create more viable black economic [opportunities] within our community that [promote] jobs, wealth, and investment. [Life] is not all about your business and making a profit, it is also about social impact.”

Lawrence Watkins is the founder of Great Black Speakers, Great Pro Speakers, and co-founder of Ujamaa Deals, a daily deal site that promotes black-owned businesses. He graduated in 2006 from The University of Louisville with a B.S. in electrical engineering and earned his MBA from Cornell University in 2010. You can follow him on Twitter @lawrencewatkins. 

A 9-year-old girl who was “always smiling” is among the first of the Oklahoma tornado victims to be identified.

Third-grader Ja’Nae Hornsby was one of the students who perished when the twister demolished Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Okla. on Monday afternoon.

Members of her grieving family gathered Tuesday at a Baptist church in Oklahoma City to console each other after a night of anxious waiting ended with a hope-shattering call from the medical examiner’s office.

Her aunt, Angela Hornsby, said Ja’Nae had spent last weekend at her house, playing with her cousins and “doing what little girls do.”

Read the rest at NBCNews.com.

Garcia appeared on stage at the European Tour’s awards dinner in England on Tuesday and was asked in jest if he would invite Woods to dinner during the U.S. Open.

News reports said Garcia replied: “We will have him round every night. We will serve fried chicken.”

Fried chicken is a food typically associated with black Americans.

Garcia released a statement through the European Tour: “I apologise for any offence that may have been caused by my comment on stage during The European Tour Players’ Awards dinner. I answered a question that was clearly made towards me as a joke with a silly remark, but in no way was the comment meant in a racist manner.”

Garcia’s comments Tuesday were reminiscent of ones Fuzzy Zoeller took heat for after Woods’ won the Masters for the first time back in 1997.

The Masters winner is allowed to choose the champions’ dinner menu for the following year. Zoeller said: “You pat him on the back and say congratulations and enjoy it and tell him not serve fried chicken next year. Got it? Or collard greens or whatever the hell they serve.” Zoeller later apologized.

The rivalry between the two was reignited on May 11 during the third round of The Players Championship. It resumed this week on both sides of the Atlantic when Woods offered a one-word answer if he thought about contacting Garcia to put the matter to rest.

“No,” he replied with a tight smile.

Garcia fired back at a sponsor function outside London.

“He called me a whiner. That’s probably right,” he told reporters. “It’s also probably the first thing he’s told you guys that’s true in 15 years. I know what he is like. You guys are finding out.”

Garcia tried to tone down the barbs Tuesday at the BMW Championship when asked about the spat.

“I can’t like everybody and there’s people that you connect with and there’s people that you don’t,” Garcia said at Wentworth. “He doesn’t need me in his life, I don’t need him in mine and let’s move on and keep doing what we’re doing. There’s never really been a true connection I would have with maybe Luke (Donald) or Adam Scott or some of the other guys that I get along with well.

“We should kind of move on and forget — well, it will be difficult to forget — but kind of move on about what happened.”

Disputes among golfers are nothing new, though it’s rare for two high-profile players to go at each other through the media.

The animosity between them goes as far back as 2000, when Garcia beat Woods in the Monday night exhibition “Battle at Bighorn” and celebrated as if he had won something much more important. Two years later in the U.S. Open at Bethpage Black, where Woods won wire-to-wire, Garcia complained that the second round should have been halted because of rain and that “if Tiger Woods would have been out there, it would have been called.”

The latest chapter took place on the second fairway at the TPC Sawgrass in the third round, when Garcia had a one-shot lead. He was preparing to play his second shot on the par 5 from the fairway when he was disrupted by cheers from the gallery around Woods deep in the trees. Woods was about 50 yards away and couldn’t see the Spaniard. The crowd burst into cheers when Woods took a 5-wood from his bag to play a risky shot through a gap in the trees.

During a storm delay, Garcia suggested in a TV interview that Woods could have kept the crowd from cheering if he had been paying closer attention. Later that evening, Woods said he understood from marshals that Garcia had already hit.

“Not real surprising that he’s complaining about something,” Woods added, which only fired up the Spaniard.

Garcia said the next day to Sky Sports, “He’s not the nicest guy on tour.”

Woods wound up winning The Players Championship, improving his record to 6-0 when he plays with Garcia in the final group on the weekend.

Woods was at media day Monday for the AT&T National, where he is the defending champion, when he received the final question about Garcia and gave the one-word answer. Garcia offered a more detailed response when asked in England if he would ever call Woods.

“First of all, I don’t have his number,” Garcia said. “And secondly, I did nothing wrong and don’t have anything to say to him. And he wouldn’t pick up the phone, anyway.”

Garcia conceded their dislike for each other has been “going on for a long time.”

“The problem is, I’m one of the guys that has to say something,” Garcia said. “A lot of people think about it, but don’t want to say anything. He can and will beat me a lot of times, but is not going to step on me. I’m not afraid of him.”

Woods has competed against more than 50 players in match play since 1997, though he has never played Garcia. The Spaniard was asked he would like to face Woods in the Ryder Cup next year at Gleneagles.

“It’s great, and it is what it is, and it doesn’t mean I cannot play with him,” Garcia replied. “It’s just another player — obviously, a good player. It’s just when I’m playing with someone I enjoy, there’s a bit more talking going around, and you’re playing with someone that you don’t fancy as much, you’re just a little bit quiet.”

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

When Deanna Cook placed a frantic call to 9/11 last August 17th, her attacker — reportedly her ex-husband — could be heard in the background saying “I’m gonna kill you.” But 9 minutes into the call, despite Deanna’s shrieks, no police officer had come. In fact, it took nearly an hour for Dallas police to arrive at her home, after the officers reportedly stopped for water at a local 7-Eleven store on their way to the house.

Now, Cook’s family is taking legal action against the city of Dallas and its police department, which they say treats 9/11 calls from predominantly black neighborhoods differently than calls from affluent or predominantly white neighborhoods. And the Cook family decries what they call a lack of police urgency in cases of domestic violence. The Dallas mayor denies the family’s allegations, but there’s no denying the tragedy of the family’s loss.

Watch Part one of the NBC News Rock Center piece that aired on Friday above. And in Part two, below, Dateline’s Kate Snow talks to the 911 operator accused of a callous response to Deanna’s frantic call.

Part Two: the 911 operator speaks

Jackson, who won on the fourth ballot at the party’s convention, and will run alongside far right Virginia Attorney General Ken Cucinelli, is being compared to Herman Cain, the failed Republican presidential candidate known for his wacky pronouncements about foreign policy (remember “Uzbekibekibekistan?”) and his “9-9-9″ economic policy, which he never could actually explain.

In Jackson, who holds very strong anti-gay views, Virginia conservatives found someone who wouldn’t water down his — and their — beliefs. But the national GOP is cringing at the thought of Jackson turning off centrist voters in the increasingly purple state.

Following in the footsteps of other far-right firebrands like former Florida congressman Allen West (who will soon join Fox News as a contributor, and who made a name for himself saying he “can’t stand” president Obama, telling his tea party supporters to “gather their muskets” and march on the tyrannical White House, and calling 87 House Democrats “communists,” while claiming to be the Harriet Tubman who would lead black voters off the “Democratic plantation” — a mission he seems to have failed at, spectacularly…) Jackson is making news for his rhetoric. He has said President Obama harbors “Muslim sensibilities,” whatever that means, and has compared Planned Parenthood to the Ku Klux Klan. He also has said that there is basically no difference between homosexuality and pedophilia, and that gays’ secret agenda is to “sexualize our children at an early age.”

Not exactly fodder for winning over independents.

Broadening the tent, but at what cost?

It’s clear that the GOP, still reeling from Mitt Romney’s totally expected (though not by them) loss to Barack Obama in 2012, would like to broaden its tent. The party has been aggressive about promoting its non-white stars: from embattled South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, both of whom are Indian-American, to their Hispanic stars, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and fiery Texas Senator Ted Cruz. But why does the Republican Party seem to have such a hard time attracting mainstream black candidates?

Recently, the GOP has seized on potential African-American conservative stars like famed Johns Hopkins surgeon Dr. Ben Carson, only to have them go up in a ball of rhetorical flames. For Carson, like Jackson, it was his extreme views of gays, in an age when acceptance of same-sex marriage has reached majority status, that ended his meteoric rise in conservative media circles. Are Cain, and West and Carson and Jackson and … remember Alan Keyes (who tried to take the “birther” cause to the Supreme Court, only to be turned away by none other than Clarence Thomas?) … the best the party of Lincoln can do?

Former RNC chairman Michael Steele, now an MSNBC political analyst, says he doesn’t believe the Republican Party has a “black man” problem.

“There’s a difference between a convention of a few thousand people selecting the nominee for whatever office, and the entire Republican Party selecting a nominee through a primary process,” Steele says, referring to Jackson. “Keep in mind, this gentleman ran statewide for the Senate in 2012 and got less than five percent of the vote in the primary.”

Rhetoric backfires on Republicans

But Republican primaries have also produced less-than-viable Senate candidates, from Richard Mourdock in Indiana, who flamed out over comments about whether pregnancies resulting from rape are “God’s plan,” and Delaware Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell, who had to make a commercial insisting that she’s not a witch. Steele says that too is par for the course.

The small group that nominated Jackson is “a subset of the primary voter,” he says. “As we know, in both parties, Republican and Democrat, the primaries tend to bring out the partisans. So the Democratic primary voter is more left than the party as a whole, and the same is true for the GOP.” Steele insists that the people who chose Jackson are merely “a group of activists who are a subset of that group of primary voters, and probably not reflective of northern Virginia. They’re probably more reflective of the western and southern parts of the state. Their views are very conservative.”

Steele acknowledges that Jackson’s presence on the ticket “presents a challenge” for gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli, who despite his own association with the religious right, is “trying to steer away from the social issues and toward economic issues to win statewide.”

That will be tougher when Cuccinelli stands beside Jackson, although perhaps the fiery black preacher will make the former attorney general look more moderate by comparison.

A very different party

It didn’t used to be this way.

Republican Ed Brooke became the first black United States Senator since reconstruction when he won the Massachusetts statewide race in 1966. (The first two, Hiram Rhodes Revels and Blanche Bruce, both of Mississippi, were also Republicans, who served in the aftermath of the Civil War.)

And during the 1990s, Oklahoma’s first black congressman, J.C. Watts, was a mainstream figure who managed to ascend to the House leadership before leaving congress in 2002.

Brooke and Watts managed to achieve electoral success without totally burning the bridges between themselves and African-Americans. Perhaps they could do so because both men were part of a version of the Republican Party that was fundamentally different from today’s ultra-conservative GOP.

Brooke was so successful in his two terms in bridging the divide between the increasingly southern, Dixiecrat Republican Party and black Americans, that he was inducted into the New England NAACP’s Civil Rights Hall of Fame in 2008, alongside the liberal lion, Sen. Edward “Teddy” Kennedy. Brooke was, by today’s standards, a very liberal Republican. He battled with then-President Richard Nixon and supported legalized abortion. He lost his seat in 1978 to Democrat Paul Tsongas following a divorce scandal.

Watts became a star quarterback for the University of Oklahoma and an ordained minister before realizing his political ambitions in the “Republican revolution” of 1994. The former likely helped him win in a congressional district that was 90 percent white, and which hadn’t elected a Republican since 1922. The latter is a common route to political leadership for African-American men. When he was elected, Watts became the first black Republican elected to congress from the South, and he was one of just two black Republicans in the House (Connecticut congressman Gary Franks being the other).

Watts came into Congress at a time when the Republican Party was adopting a much more aggressively conservative tone. It was, after all, the congressional class that impeached President Clinton (something Watts voted for). But Watts never stood out for the kind of rhetorical fireworks that have become par for the course for nationally-prominent black Republicans today.

He also maintained some of the tropes of black leadership — so that while he ran on such issues as welfare reform and lowering capital gains taxes, Watts framed the former as better for black families and the latter as good for urban black businesses. He was active in the NAACP and eventually turned against legislative attempts to ban affirmative action, while expressing support for HBCUs. Watts did uphold a tradition not broken until Allen West was elected to congress in 2010 — neither he nor Franks joined the Congressional Black Caucus.

Only the extreme need apply?

With the current GOP firmly in the grip of the far right, it’s rare that a black Republican can rise very far without toeing the line — or even exceeding it.

West rose to fame within the tea party movement precisely because of his extreme rhetoric. Carson caught fire by “taking it to the president” and insulting the commander in chief, who is hated by the right, to his face. With the party base demanding that candidates hew to a solidly conservative line, it’s hard to imagine a more moderate Republican catching on, even if such a figure would help the Republican Party reach black, and suburban white, voters.

And because black leadership often comes from the Christian church, former George H.S. Bush adviser, Rev. Joe Watkins, says it shouldn’t be surprising that black evangelical candidates, often ordained ministers, rise to the top of the list when Republicans go looking for viable candidates. And they bring with them the ultra-orthodox views of the multiracial evangelical movement.

“Although the majority of African Americans vote Democrat, there is still a significant bent among people of color towards shared religious values and beliefs,” says Watkins, who pastors a church in Philadelphia. “As a result, it’s not unusual to see some candidates of color display more conservative church taught social leanings – especially if they closely identify with the church.”

But Watkins says the GOP “will need to broaden its tent by appealing to a wider range of voters if the party is to succeed in national elections in the coming election cycles. So those GOP candidates of color who may have a deep religious faith will need to draw on the Biblical mandate to love others – including those who may not agree with them on some issues – if they hope to be successful.”

Democratic strategist Jamal Simmons sees the Republican Party losing ground on attracting a more diverse base.

“I think they had a much stronger start a couple years ago, but they kind of lost their momentum on this front,” Simmons says, citing South Carolina Senator Tim Scott as an example of the kind of black Republican who emerged with the tea party wave in 2010, but who fits the model Republicans should build on.

“The leaders in the Senate like him, and see him as a rational human being they can work with,” Simmons said of Scott. But he said the other Republicans, black and white, who are most prominent in the party are a function of where the party is ideologically in the age of Barack Obama.

“I think it’s endemic to the party itself,” says Simmons. “It has to do with the control that the right wing has because of redistricting, and their kind of, overly emotional reaction to Barack Obama, that they are driving themselves further right.”

Simmons says the party’s fundamental conundrum is, “how do they get out of the box of being captive to their most extreme elements?”

“Scott got appointed to the Senate seat [in South Carolina], so we’ll see if he’s able to win the seat outright.”

Scott has not entirely escape the rhetorical clutches of the right. Even before he was tapped by another of the GOP’s diverse would-be stars, embattled South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, to fill out the United States Senate term of tea party firebrand Jim DeMint, who left congress to run the Heritage Foundation think tank, Scott had amassed a staunchly right wing record, suggesting President Obama should be impeached if he tried to raise the debt ceiling in 2011, and floating a bill that would kick entire families off of food stamps if one member participated in a labor strike. As a Senator, he has voted against gun purchase background checks, and for gargantuan subsidies to Big Oil.

Simmons says that may not be a complete picture of the quiet, conservative Senator. “My impression is that he is paying lip service to the right wing elements, but I think if you look at his substantive work, I know that he and [Massachusetts' appointed black Democratic Senator] Mo Cowan, they have a pretty good relationship in the Senate and Mo thinks highly of him. And I think there’s a chance to do business with Tim Scott that I never felt was there with Allen West and certainly not with someone like Alan Keyes.”

The GOP can only hope Rev. Jackson isn’t a also a birther.

Follow Joy Reid on Twitter at @thereidrepot.

Tyrese Gibson and Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges have teamed up for Fast & Furious 6, the latest installment of the Fast & Furious franchise.

The pair star alongside Vin Diesel, Dwanye Johnson, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster.

TheGrio got a change to catch up with Tyrese and Ludacris while they were in London promoting the film.

They both agreed that if they could, they would cast Oscar winner Halle Berry as their respective romantic interest in the film.

“We’re both fighting over Halle Berry being in the franchise and having sex scenes,” Ludacris admitted.  “Yes we need that.”

“She does these big franchise type movies,” Tyrese continued. “ We’ve seen Jordana pregnant, she’s pregnant right now. We could really make use of Halle Berry in this movie. Give me some of that Halle Berry bottom lip c’mon.”

Fast & Furious 6 hits theaters this Friday, just weeks after Iron Man 3 blew box office estimates away during the film’s opening weekend.

According to Tyrese, he and his fellow cast members don’t get caught up in the hype around box office numbers.

“I think the competitive [aspect]; how our box office numbers compared to everyone else is something that the Hollywood folks get caught up in,” he said.

“The competition is honestly within us, showing up every day to be the best version of us that we can be, and whatever the box office numbers are gonna be…That’s just what it is.”

However Tyrese did give the Iron Man franchise a shout out.

“Salute to Iron Man 3 for those numbers. It’s a beautiful thing. We love that. I hope they call me for Iron Man 4.”

Follow Chris Witherspoon on Twitter at @WitherspoonC

Police spokesman Timothy Fecht says officers arrested Cozart after responding to a call about illegal drug activity at the Le Méridien hotel just north of Atlanta Monday afternoon. Fecht says officers saw smoke and smelled marijuana wafting from a room.

It wasn’t immediately clear what Cozart was doing in Georgia. Representatives at his booking agency said they didn’t have contact info for an attorney for the 17-year-old Chicago native and didn’t know much about the incident.

Cozart was arrested in January and spent about two months in juvenile detention for violating probation on a weapons conviction. He had received probation for pointing a gun at police in 2012.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

“Let me tell you, if Elizabeth Taylor can be Cleopatra, I can be Nina — I’m sorry,” Saldana, 34, said unrepentantly. “It doesn’t matter how much backlash I will get for it. I will honor and respect my black community because that’s who I am.”

Who Saldana is may be clear to her, but her understanding of who Nina Simone was and from where the criticism stems appears to be minimal.

Saldana: Out of touch with African-American audiences?

Contrary to Saldana’s personal beliefs, the vast majority of observers who have weighed in on director Cynthia Mort’s decision to cast Saldana, from India.Arie to Nina Simone’s daughter, Simone Kelly, are black and view it as the ultimate show of disrespect. Not only because it is an aesthetically horrific choice that relies on blackface and prosthetics to pull off, but because Nina’s rich, dark skin, kinky hair and full lips shaped her life’s experiences, subsequently shaping her music.

Nina Simone would not have been able to conjure “Mississippi Goddam” and “Four Women” from the depths of her soul had she been born with more European features and straighter hair.

Further, it is both fitting and unsettling for Saldana to compare herself to Taylor. Cleopatra, whose black African heritage has been passionately argued for and against, has been described as both “tawny” by Shakespeare and a “negress” in some historical texts. For Saldana to claim that casting the extremely pale Elizabeth Taylor to play her somehow justifies her own misguided role as Nina Simone is a slap in the face of the black community she claims to represent.

Her history of ignoring racial history

And this is not Saldana’s first time brushing off criticism as inconsequential.

“What keeps me focused and what kept me from getting stressed from being hurt by the comments is I’m doing it for my sisters, I’m doing it for my brothers, and I don’t care who tells me I am not this and I am not that. I know who I am, and I know what Nina Simone means to me,” Saldana said in an interview with HipHollywood.com.

“I can only rely on that and maintain as much humility as possible, so that when I have to face the world and we have to then give the movie to the world to see, and share it with them, that if it comes back in . . . a negative fashion or positive, I’m gonna keep my chin up. And Nina was like that too. I did it all out of love for my people and my pride of being a black woman and a Latina woman and an American woman, and that’s my truth.”

Colorist privilege with questionable consequences 

That curious blend of arrogance and accessibility seems to be the root of criticism aimed at Saldana. She is not embracing her community; she is saying through her dismissiveness that how we feel doesn’t matter. By ignoring the hurt of Nina’s family and the pain of black women who have been deemed too dark, too heavy, too ugly to be portrayed on film as anything other than maids, slaves, and whores, Saldana becomes part of the problem.

Nina Simone was authenticity personified; she would absolutely not appreciate being portrayed by someone willfully complicit in the erasure of black women in film and using Hollywood’s history of racist casting decisions as justification. And if she means so much to Saldana, one would think that the actor understood this. Racism, a battle that scarred Nina, caused her to seek  artistic asylum in Europe where her talent would be appreciated and honored for the amazing gift that it was and remains today.

She didn’t get to use colorist privilege as a means to step in and out of blackness. She didn’t get to wear her complexion like a convenient accessory – nor did she want to. The fact that a black actress would assist Hollywood, in all of its white supremacist glory, to finally bend Nina’s image to its will — into something apparently more palatable for white masses — is far from an achievement.

In fact, it can easily be viewed as a failure.

Nina would not be happy

This is the reason why with every statement, pregnant with self-entitlement and self-congratulation, that Zoe Saldana makes, she alienates more fans and critics in the black community. Elizabeth Taylor  playing Cleopatra was not viewed as something to be proud of and neither is the white-washing of Nina Simone.

When speaking on being denied entrance into Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music to train as the world’s first black classical pianist because of the institutionalized racism that so defined the United States, Nina Simone said with tears in her eyes, “Yes, I regret it. I think I would have been happy. I’m not very happy now.”

Anyone with even a passing knowledge of “The High Priestess of Soul” must be aware that Zoe Saldana is disrespecting her legacy by placing belief in her own talent above the visual authenticity necessary to tell such a powerful story. And I can easily envision Nina saying those very same words in response to knowing that the Afro-Latina actor cast to portray her is flippantly using historical Hollywood racism to justify the racist erasure of black women through colorist casting:

“I think I would have been happy. I’m not very happy now.”

Lawyer Shawn Trell testified on Tuesday that AEG did not supervise or monitor former doctor Conrad Murray’s care of Jackson, who died in June 2009 of an overdose of the anesthetic propofol.

Murray was later convicted of involuntary manslaughter for administering the fatal dose to Jackson.

Jackson’s mother, Katherine, is suing AEG, saying it failed to properly investigate Murray before agreeing to pay him $150,000 to work as the singer’s tour physician.

AEG denies it hired Murray or bears responsibility for Jackson’s death.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

The deceased artists will take to the stage as “original virtual performances,” much like the dazzling Tupac Shakur hologram at 2012’s Coachella festival.

Indeed, Shakur’s surprise “resurrection” launched a frenzy surrounding what many saw as the start of a new trend in the music industry.

And many would say Rock the Bells’ decision to “resurrect” the rap icons is an attempt to capitalize on the Tupac outrage/hype, which in turn will translate to more ticket sales. In an interview with Radio.com, founder Chang Weisberg admitted he wants to use multimedia visual effects to blow people’s minds.

Big bucks raised by the dead

ODB, who died of an accidental overdose in 2004, will return to the stage with his old group Wu-Tang Clan, while Eazy-E, who died in 1995 from an AIDS-related illness, will reappear with Bone Thugs-n-Harmony.

Paul Porter, the founder of RapRehab.com, says he expects big stunts in the hip-hop industry to continue because it makes good business sense.

“There are less than a handful of hip-hop artists that can command major tours and sell-out at 14-20,000 seater stadiums,” said the former BET executive. “They need some extra hype and these holograms are bringing back icons that have survived the test of time.”

The most successful touring artists are veteran music stars, who are often white, says Porter. So for instance, established performers like Bon Jovi, Madonna and Bruce Springsteen are most able to draw the crowds.

In fact, a quick glance the latest Billboard list of highest-grossing concert tours confirms Porter’s analysis. Elton John tops the list and the majority of the top 100 are golden oldies and/or white artists. Only 5 of the 100 are black acts, which includes old-timers: Smokey Robinson, Johnny Mathis and Freddie Jackson.

Younger hip-hop artists tend to be limited to nightclubs as opposed to arenas or concert halls, adds Porter. “They are not as polished and don’t have a large body of work to draw from.”

Technological savior of an ailing industry

Artists like Jay-Z and Kanye West are an exception, says Porter. Even with his phenomenal success Jay-Z is smart enough to organize his forthcoming tour with Justin Timberlake, which will attract the “Suit & Tie” singer’s huge urban and white following.

Julia Beverly, Ozone magazine founder and producer of the Ozone hip-hop awards, says she applauds the technological innovation.

“If we don’t pursue technological advances we’ll never know how far we can take it. Creativity is the only way music can continue to grow, so I applaud their creativity,” says Beverly.

“It’s the idea in this life that we can be at any place, at any time, at any point in history, “says psychologist Dr. Jeff Gardere.”It opens up to a whole universe of people who never saw these rappers.”

What’s more, the hip-hop community has always been fascinated with conspiracy theories surrounding the untimely and sudden deaths of young rappers. Even today rumors persist that Tupac Shaker and Biggie Smalls faked their own deaths to step out of the limelight.

A wave of publicity

Beverly believes Tupac’s hologram had such a massive impact because it was a “surprise.” But she is less convinced by “virtual performances” being announced in advance amid a wave of publicity.

Whatever the publicity value, there are moral implications in projecting images of dead stars onto a stage in hologram form. Is it okay to recreate an artist’s likeness for your own financial gain?

According to a report from HipHopDX, Icelene Jones, Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s widow and administrator of his estate, says she is “disappointed” by Rock the Bells organizers because she was not contacted about ODB’s likeness being used in a digital performance.

However, Rock the Bells say they got permission from Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s mother, Cherry Jones. But ODB’s estate has issued a cease and desist order against Rock the Bells organizers.

Follow Kunbi Tinuoye on Twitter at @Kunbiti

“There’s a few chapters before we get to the last one. So it’s up to us to connect the dots first,” RNC chairman Reince Priebus told reporters when asked about impeachment ahead of a New Hampshire GOP fundraiser.

Some conservatives have compared recent IRS wrongdoing to the Watergate scandal, and Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., last week raised the prospect of impeachment.

“There isn’t a weekend that hasn’t gone by that someone says to me, ‘Michele, what in the world are you all waiting for in Congress? Why aren’t you impeaching the president? He’s been making unconstitutional actions since he came into office,’” Bachmann said during a Washington news conference with tea party leaders.

Paul, a tea party favorite who is considering a 2016 presidential bid, said such rhetoric is premature.

“We need to figure out the truth of what happened before we go anywhere else,” Paul said, standing at Priebus’ side.

The Internal Revenue Service has acknowledged inappropriate scrutiny of tea party groups applying for tax-exempt status ahead of the last election.

White House chief of staff Denis McDonough and other senior presidential advisers knew in late April that an upcoming report was likely to find that IRS employees had targeted conservative political groups. The White House said McDonough and the other advisers did not tell Obama about the impending report, leaving him to learn the results from news reports later.

The issue has given conservatives a new rallying cry following a disappointing 2012 election cycle. But some GOP leaders worry their criticism could backfire if it appears their attacks appear too politically motived.

While striking a moderate tone on impeachment, Paul said Monday that it “stretches credulity” to think no one else in the Obama administration knew about the misconduct.

“For goodness sake, somebody’s got to be fired, if not go to prison,” he said in an evening speech to roughly 500 New Hampshire Republicans gathered in the state capital.

Priebus blamed Obama for creating a culture of political “guerrilla warfare” that allowed politics to infiltrate the IRS.

“I think this is just the beginning. It’s certainly not the end,” Priebus said. “And I’m sure there’s going to be a lot more to it. We’ll see how far it goes. We’ll see how high it goes, too.”

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

View more videos at: http://nbcnewyork.com.

NBC New York - The mother of a 12-year-old boy who was shot and killed on a Jersey City street Friday night is pleading for justice in her son’s death.

“I need to find out who did this to my baby,” a tearful Fania Williams told NBC 4 New York.

Williams was mourning the loss of her son Gywan Levine Jr., who was playing basketball with his father, Gywan Sr.. outside his house on Rutgers Avenue when two men tried to rob the father. The robbers fired a gun, hitting Gywan Sr. in the leg and striking his son — who everyone called Elijah — in the chest.

“He just got caught up in the crossfire,” said the boy’s uncle, Jacob Levine. “Innocent. He had nothing to do with it.”

“It really is a shame that you can’t even let your kids play outside,” said Williams.

Elijah was a promising football player who also excelled in the classroom. His 5-year-old brother can’t comprehend that his big brother, who walked him to school every day, is gone.

“He’s asking about him since’s he’s been home and just wanting to sleep in his bed,” said Williams, crying. “It’s really hard.”

Family and friends have set up a memorial in Elijah’s memory near the sidewalk where he was murdered. His father is still in the hospital with a gunshot wound to his leg.

Click here to read more.

As with all embarrassing live TV moments, the Miguel accident became instant comedic material for social media.

Miguel’s crash landing was similar to the professional wrestling move called the “leg drop.” The leg drop is a finishing move commonly associated with pro wrestling legend Hulk Hogan, which he used to dispose of his enemies.

The WWE icon had to weighed in on the Miguel meme via Twitter:

MIGUELAMANIA at least he did it right brother. HH

— Hulk Hogan (@HulkHogan) May 20, 2013

Well said coming from a man who’s a 12-time heavyweight champ, but who had the better leg drop?

Check out Hulk Hogan’s version versus Miguel’s and let us know what you think in the comments below.

Hulk Hogan’s atomic leg drop

Miguel’s “Adorn” drop

For the latest music news, follow Kyle Harvey on Twitter at @HarveyWins.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel tapped the former White House social secretary to chair the board of Choose Chicago.

Rogers is currently the CEO of Ebony and Jet.

Choose Chicago is a marketing organization that works to lure businesses, tourists and conventions to the city.

Rogers takes over for Bruce Rauner, who is expected to run for Illinois governor on the Republican ticket.

Rogers and Emanuel worked together in the Obama White House during his time as chief of staff

Click here to read more.

At the rally, Dr. Reginald Hawkins warned city leaders that if something wasn’t done to end segregation, future marches might not be so peaceful

Nearly two weeks later, civil rights and white business leaders quietly joined forces to desegregate the city’s upscale restaurants and hotels. In a simple but powerful gesture, they ate lunch together in the restaurants, peacefully opening the door to integration.

The May 29, 1963, lunch was a turning point in Charlotte’s emergence as a leading New South city. It contrasted sharply with the massive resistance seen in other Southern cities, such as Birmingham, Alabama, where the police chief that same month turned fire hoses and police dogs on young civil rights protesters.

“The city’s leadership recognized that there was a need to make necessary changes, but they did not want the violence that happened in other communities to happen here,” said Willie Ratchford, executive director of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Community Relations Committee.

That lunch is being remembered this month with a series of events. On May 29, African-Americans and white civic leaders will discuss race relations at a Charlotte lunch event. The city’s community relations board is urging residents to invite someone of a different race to lunch the same day.

Ratchford said while race relations have improved, it’s important to honestly discuss the issue.

“Many of us think that the racism of the past is no longer here,” he said. “We think that way because we don’t see it. Back in those days, it was more overt. What we don’t realize is it still does happen — but not to the degree that it used to.”

____

Charlotte has long considered itself a major business community. In the years after the Civil War ended in 1865, the city’s banks provided capital to help the region’s then-flourishing textile industry expand. Today, Charlotte — with 760,000 people — is the largest city in North Carolina and one of the fastest growing in the U.S. The city is home to Bank of America Corp., the second largest U.S. bank by assets, and Duke Energy, the country’s largest energy company. In 2012, Charlotte hosted the Democratic National Convention.

But in the aftermath of the Civil War, Charlotte — like most Southern cities — was deeply segregated. African-Americans were forced to attend segregated schools. They were barred from mingling with whites in movie theaters, hotels and restaurants.

After World War II, African-Americans returning home from military service began challenging the status quo.

One of the leaders in Charlotte’s civil rights movement was Hawkins, a Korean War veteran, dentist and Presbyterian preacher. For years, he led successful sit-ins and protests.

He helped escort Dorothy Counts — the first African-American to integrate a Charlotte school — to Harding High in 1957. Scores of white teenagers and adults surrounded her as she walked into the school, spitting and yelling racial slurs.

The stories and photos made national news, and some leaders, including Mayor Stan Brookshire, believed it cast Charlotte in a negative light. They decided to work behind the scenes for change.

But change was slow, as it was throughout the South.

Many Southern communities were resisting desegregation. In the early 1960s, civil rights activists — many of them college students — began dramatic sit-ins against segregated lunch counters. They boycotted retail establishments that maintained segregated facilities.

Hawkins led many of those protests in Charlotte and was successful in ending segregated lunch counters.

But in early 1963, racial discrimination was still widespread for African-Americans in Charlotte, Hawkins’ son, Abdullah Salim Jr., an attorney, said Thursday.

And a showdown came in the spring of 1963.

____

A major international trade show was headed to Charlotte in April 1963, but Hawkins threatened a massive protest unless hotels and “white-tablecloth eateries” were desegregated.

Brookshire brokered the desegregation of key restaurants and hotels with business leaders, and Hawkins called off the protest. But when the trade show left, businesses reverted to segregation.

Hawkins wrote Brookshire to condemn the action.

“Unless we come to a full realization and act, we shall continue to have demonstrations led by me or someone else,” he wrote.

Hawkins then organized a march for May 20 – the same day North Carolina officials in 1775 signed the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence declaring freedom from England.

“The sole purpose of the march was to address the ills and conditions that were going on at the time,” Salim said. Hawkins ad-libbed a speech. “He declared independence from segregation,” Salim said.

In response, Brookshire called a meeting of Chamber of Commerce leaders and urged them to coordinate a voluntary desegregation of hotels and restaurants. The chamber approved a resolution asking that all businesses serving the general public be open to people of all races, creeds and color.

But some white restaurant operators were concerned that serving African-Americans might drive away white customers.

James “Slug” Claiborne, a 30-year-old cafeteria operator, suggested the chamber use sit-in tactics: Let every chamber director invite a black counterpart to lunch, disperse themselves across the city, and do it all on the same day. That would leave no place for offended whites to flee.

Claiborne’s proposal was adopted, and white and African American leaders lunched at hotels and restaurants throughout the city.

Jack Claiborne said his brother was a problem solver.

“He had some appreciation for what black people went through and sensitivity to them,” he said. “I don’t think he did this out of any ideological idea. He was just, ‘Let’s solve the problem.’”

The successful desegregation pushed Charlotte in the national spotlight.

“There was a lot of one-on-one personal lobbying behind the scenes to get restaurant owners to agree to this,” said Tom Hanchett, historian of the Levine Museum of the New South. “It was a success and made national headlines.”

But Hawkins — considered the public face of Charlotte’s civil rights movement, a man at the center of every protest — wasn’t invited to the “eat-in,” his son said.

“They considered him a troublemaker,” Salim said. “Here you have a man who has a master’s degree in divinity, and they considered him a troublemaker,” Salim said. “He never advocated violence in any way.”

Hanchett said Hawkins wasn’t invited because he believes white business owners wanted to avoid controversy — and the appearance that they were giving in to the civil rights leader.

___

Over the next few years, Hawkins and other local civil rights leaders continued to fight against racial discrimination. Most of the battles were peaceful.

But the calm was shattered Nov. 22, 1965, when the homes of four Charlotte civil rights leaders — including Hawkins’ — were bombed. No one was hurt, and no one was ever charged.

Salim said it didn’t stop his father, who ran for governor in 1968 and 1972. He said his father continued to fight for racial equality until his death in 2007.

“He battled his entire life for equality,” he said.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

The American Red Cross announced Tuesday that the gift from The Durant Family Foundation is meant to match other donations and be an incentive for more people to give.

Red Cross’ regional CEO Janienne Bella said the organization was thankful for Durant’s “generosity.”

The Red Cross is accepting $10 pledges from people who text “REDCROSS” to 90999. People can also donate at the organization’s website.

On Monday, Durant sent a message to his 4.1 million Twitter followers with Red Cross donation information.

___
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

Eight Mile Style filed a federal lawsuit in Detroit on Monday alleging that a 30-second Facebook ad broadcast online last month copied music from Eminem’s 2000 song “Under the Influence.”

The Detroit Free Press reports that the ad was featured in a webcast by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to announce Facebook Home, an interface for Android phones.

The complaint says Portland, Ore., ad agency Wieden+Kennedy copied Eminem’s music “in an effort to curry favor” with Facebook by catering to Zuckerberg’s personal likes and to “invoke the same irreverent theme” of the song.

Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes declined comment. A message seeking comment was left Tuesday with the ad agency.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

During a 10-week civil rights trial that ended Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Shira Schiendlin heard testimony from 12 witnesses, all minorities, who said they were stopped by New York City police chiefly because of their race. She also heard from police who made the stops and from policy experts.

About 5 million stops have been made in New York City in the past decade, with frisks occurring about half the time. In order to make a stop, police must have reasonable suspicion that a crime is about to occur or has occurred, a standard lower than the probable cause needed to justify an arrest. Only about 10 percent result in arrest or summonses and a weapon is recovered a fraction of the time.

The tactic has become a city flashpoint, with the mayor and police commissioner defending it as a necessary crime-fighting tool, and other city lawmakers calling for major changes.

During the trial, minority witnesses told of frightening encounters with callous officers they said were so bent on numbers that everyday New Yorkers were harassed. The toll has been massive, lawyers challenging the New York Police Department policy argued.

“They laid siege to black and Latino neighborhoods over the last eight years … making people of color afraid to leave their homes,” Gretchen Hoff Varner, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said Monday during summations.

She said that blacks and Latinos make up a little more than 50 percent of the city population, but 85 percent of the people stopped by police as part of the tactic are black and Hispanic.

In their testimony, many of the officers who stopped the dozen witnesses spoke of dangerous crime patterns, crime suspect descriptions and observations they made while on patrol that led them to use the tactic. City attorney Heidi Grossman said those clear explanations for many of the stops — none were solely based on race — prove officers were not profiling.

“They failed to show a single constitutional violation, much less a widespread pattern or practice,” she said of the plaintiffs, adding there was “no indication of racial motivation whatsoever.”

Grossman said the witnesses in the class-action case had faulty memories and were “woefully lacking” considering that lawyers had years to find the best examples of people who said they were stopped because of their race.

“The alleged complaints of racial profiling are more fiction than reality,” she said. “It is not the NYPD’s policy to target black and Hispanic youth to instill fear in them so they feel they can be stopped at any time.”

Scheindlin is not being asked to ban the tactic because it has already been found to be legal. She has been asked to order changes in how stop-and-frisk is implemented. She has already said the profiling accusations are troubling. She gave no time frame on when to expect her ruling.

On Monday, the judge played devil’s advocate, interrupting both sides to ask questions. She asked the plaintiffs, for example, if most of the crimes were committed by minorities, why would it be a surprise that those stopped were mostly minorities. She asked city lawyers whether the argument that crime suspects are mostly minorities then leads to profiling by police.

Early in the trial the judge heard a recording made secretly by a police officer of his superiors. The officer says the tapes prove illegal quotas were in place and said he felt pressure to make stops because he faced punishmentfor falling short. Another officer said the NYPD wanted “quantity not quality.”

Grossman argued the city did not link illegal quotas to any wrongful stops. More than 30 other officers, including former Chief of Department Joseph Esposito, testified there were no quotas, but motivating performance goals were necessary because some cops avoid engaging with the public.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs said the department was turning a blind eye to the issue.

“The police department has said over and over and over again that there’s no problem,” said plaintiffs’ attorney Jonathan Moore.

He said a court-appointed monitor was needed to shepherd changes in training, policy and supervision because the department could not be trusted to do it alone.

___

Associated Press Writer Larry Neumeister contributed to this report.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

According to the American Society of News Editors survey, minority newsroom positions dropped by 5.7%. MSNBC sat down with Chideya to further discuss the problems and glean some possible solutions.

How is news covered? If there are fewer people of color in newsrooms, does the nature of the news change? Chideya thinks the problem is more about the network news outlets’ intentions.

“What I see happening in media is not always caused by a lack of diversity, but rather a certain set of (flawed) assumptions, underlying business decisions that include not giving a whit about diversity. The media companies know they can make more, oftentimes, from catering to niche interest audiences: senior citizens and the near-senior Boomers are the bulk of network news audience. Rather than diversifying how they covered news, the networks began doubling down on issues like medical care, which are very popular with that demographic. There’s nothing wrong with covering medicine. But now network news is increasingly irrelevant to most people, including younger people and people of color. As a consequence of that type of thinking, reporters of color often find it hard to cover stories that are not as ‘mainstream.’”

However “irrelevant” network news may appear to vast swaths of the country, there is no denying its influence on cultural tones and trends. Journalists have clout and so it’s no surprise that the field is difficult for any aspiring news person to break through.

Given the current climate, is there a way to address the media’s racial imbalance?

Chideya emphasized the need for people of color to acquire technical skills.

“As far as individual journalists are concerned— multimedia skills will make you employable. Learn all you can about slideshows; video editing; audio editing; and simple coding…And don’t be afraid to leave and come back, or multitask. In addition to being a journalist I’ve worked in tech and currently teach as well.”

Click here to read more.

He was tragically gunned down by unknown assailants on March 9, 1997. Had he lived he would be 41 years old today.

While it’s hard to pick 15 of your favorite B.I.G. songs, we tried. As we remember the late legendary rapper on his birthday, check out theGrio’s 15 favorite Notorious B.I.G. songs.

Follow Kyle Harvey on Twitter at @HarveyWins

The pop star, who is currently on her Mrs. Carter World Tour, included a snippet of the song in her Pepsi ad released earlier this year.

The Timbaland-produced song features an upbeat tune while Beyoncé sings: “I’m a grown woman/ I can do whatever I want / I can be bad if I want/ I can say what I want/ I can look best if I want/ I can go slow all night long.”

According to reports, the song was scheduled to be released on April 8. However, neither Beyoncé’s nor her team have given statements with reasons for the delay.

Another one of the Grammy-winning artist’s tracks, “Standing in the Sun,” was also teased in a separate ad featuring Beyoncé’s H&M clothing.

Meanwhile, as “Grown Woman” hasn’t been listed on iTunes, fans can still hear the pop star in The-Dream’s latest song, “Turnt” — which also features 2 Chainz.

Listen to “Grown Woman” here:

Follow Lilly Workneh @Lilly_Works

The tornado was estimated to be at least a half-mile wide, and The National Weather Service issued initial findings that the tornado was an EF-4, the second most powerful type of twister.

The current confirmed death toll is at 24, reports NBC News.com.  Officials say the death toll may rise as cleanup begins.

The NBA stars tweeted and posted encouraging messages to their Instagram accounts.

Praying for the victims of the Tornadoes in OKC these last few days..Everybody stay safe!—
Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) May 20, 2013

Text “REDCROSS” to 90999 for $10 donation to help tornado victims in #OKC #okwx—
Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) May 21, 2013

Pray for Oklahoma.—
Royce Young (@dailythunder) May 20, 2013

Please come out tomorrow and donate at Anthony David Platinum by Quail Springs Mall 10am 5pm—
Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) May 21, 2013

Watching the news on @koconews and praying for all the people affected by the tornadoes and storms. I hope everyone stays safe #okwx—
Serge Ibaka (@sergeibaka9) May 20, 2013

Please pray for the people in OKC. A lot of families lives changed from the tornados aftermath. 🙏☝—
Ronnie Brewer (@RonnieBrewerJr) May 20, 2013

Oklahoma is strong and we'll come together and help those in need. I have great faith in my hometown and know we'll do anything to help….—
Daniel Orton (@D_Orton33) May 21, 2013

MY HEART GOES OUT TO EVERYONE THAT WAS AFFECTED BY THE TORNADOS. MAY GOD GIVE YOU STRENGTH. #OURCOMMUNITY #THUNDERUP—
Hasheem Thabeet (@HasheemTheDream) May 20, 2013

Pray for Okc—
Perry Jones III (@Perry_Jones1) May 20, 2013

🙏 Thoughts and Prayers to all affected by the tornado today.—
Thabo Sefolosha (@ThaboSefolosha) May 20, 2013

Follow Carrie Healey on Twitter @CarrieHeals. 

On Friday, the rapper premiered “New Slaves,” the first single off his new album Yeezus, as a video projected on the side of 66 buildings in six countries across the globe, announced via his Twitter page. He followed the spectacle with two dramatic musical performances on the season finale of Saturday Night Live, and a tweet that same day of what appeared to be lyrics for his new work.

Later, girlfriend Kim Kardashian posted an image of his presumed album cover on Instagram, and subsequently, a mysterious link to pre-order the record emerged (then un-emerged) on iTunes.

All together, the large-scale exhibition seemed extravagant even for West, placing his marketing and creative ingenuity in an echelon unsurpassed by almost any other musician in the game.

“Obviously it was very unexpected, and no one thought it would be done at the level he took it,” DJ E-Man, Assistant Program Director and Music Director at Power 106 FM in Los Angeles, tells theGrio. “For Kanye to go to 66 different buildings around the world, and put it out there to make that noise, it’s genius.”

Prodigal Son: West returns to the stage on his own terms

Not only did West herald his new work with loud and fervent vibrations, he completely broke from the predominate digital marketing strategies in rap music. Disregarding blogs, influencers, and web marketing stalwarts of the 21st century, Yeezy invented a system unlikely to be imitated or duplicated purely because of its scale.

Considering the album is not even due till June 18 (the sixth month of the year), there’s no telling what’s in store.

“When it comes to music, it’s usually done through social media where you’ll see a leak of a song, or something put out on YouTube,” E-Man explains. “This time, he literally took it to the streets in a sense, and let the world know.”

For fans of West, who’ve been anxiously awaiting his first solo album since 2010’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, the weekend’s surprises only added to the hype.

Over the past few years, the 35-year-old has remained present, yet reserved, in public. He started a fashion line no one really cared about, and released a collaboration album, Cruel Summer, with his collective, G.O.O.D Music. More prominent was his 2011 platinum-selling release with Jay-Z, Watch the Throne, and the world tour that followed. Around that time, West revealed he was having his first child with Kardashian on stage at a concert.

With the press tracking Kimye’s every move, West has predictably gone on a few trademark anti-media rants, most recently a week ago after he made headlines for walking into a street sign on his way to lunch. During a show at the Adult Swim upfront in New York, West claimed he was the worst kind of “celebrity,” and requested the paparazzi stop “throwing me off of my focus.”

The parable of Yeezy’s journey

Yet for all the attention West shuns, he commands a notice of his own invention.

“Regardless of what you think about his music, there’s no denying he’s doing something that is going to demand attention,” notes Eric Alper, a publicist with eOne Music PR and CTV Music Correspondent. “There are so many back stories you can talk about with the new album. On Friday, he released the new single in 66 locations around the world by broadcasting the video on the sides of buildings and landmarks. You can look at it, and say, ‘Wow there’s 66, that’s pretty amazing.’ But you can think about the 66 books of the Bible. There are a couple of tracks: one track is 3:02, and there’s another track that’s 3:01. Those could be passages from the Bible or just track-listings. The very fact people are talking about it as if there are hidden meanings and messages is something that not a lot of albums that are released get to have.”

Alper adds, “Even when David Bowie released his song out of nowhere on his birthday, there was no mystery behind it. The only mystery was, is there going to be more? Is he going to be touring? But that was more personal. With Kanye, because he’s smarter than most out there, there’s always going to be thinking behind it, and there’s always going to be such in-your-face marketing.”

While in scripture passage Jesus Christ rose after three days of mourning, Yeezus makes his resurrection following three years of evolution. His new tracks, including a song titled “Black Skinheads,” explore the dim shadow of humanity and hit a note perhaps more somber than some of the star’s previous work. Those who’ve accused West of associating with the devil-worshipping Illuminati society have already begun to make correlations to his recent activities.

On the other hand, West’s new music also suggests he’s attempting to bridge the gap between his younger, lesser known and struggling self, and his matured, all powerful, omnipresent being. Yeezus has indeed risen, and now he testifies to a distinctive sphere of entrapment controlled by consumerism, racism, and the politics of success.

New Babylon: West’s bleak sentiment may be hard for fans to digest

Will Yeezus prove darker than West’s twisted fantasy? The world will soon decide.

“He’s been around long enough that you’re going to appreciate who he is, and what he’s done,” Alper believes. “In 2006, when Kanye West posed as Jesus on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, that rubbed people the wrong way. If you took his words though, he never believes that he’s Jesus, but he does believe that he’s a little bit of a martyr for the people that might have come before him in black music, and in music in general.”

Like any good leader, West also challenge his apostles to interpret his lyrical sermons.

“No idea is really off limits,” says Alper. “Using Marilyn Manson’s sample of “The Beautiful People” for “Black Skinheads,” that might have been a great leap that he wanted to take, or it might be that this black skinhead he’s referring to is a beautiful person, and you just need to dig a little bit deeper.”

E-Man agrees, commenting that fans appreciate the mystery of West’s productions, and will not likely be scared by religious or Illumaniti allusions.

“Even though his music is in a different light, people are still going to be curious,” E-Man suggests. “He’s developed a character where people just know it comes from him. I don’t want to say he’s always right, but when it comes from him, they kind of expect it from him. His whole concept, in a sense, is just to speak his mind.”

Accepting the credibility of West’s prophecy

Not everyone is persuaded by West’s latest mantra, decrying a rich black man forced into slavery by flaunting his wealth in high-flatulent ways.

In an op-ed for the Chicago Sun-Times, writer Richard Roeper notes, “It’s hard not to call B.S. on Kanye and his “problems” and complaints. Sure, the paparazzi are leeches — but come on, buddy, you’re with Kim Kardashian, whose family practically sends out holiday cards to the jackals and hacks that “hound” them every moment… And who embraces the nouveau riche lifestyle more than West and his insanely superficial girlfriend? West reportedly purchased a $91,000 Hermes T-shirt, no joke.”

Journalist Latifah Muhammad analyzes the irony in West’s glorification of brand names as it contrasts to his anti-corporate diatribes.

“At a moment where the things he once rapped about having are now the very things he stands against, one can’t help but wonder if he’s being a hypocrite, or has finally become self-aware and recognizes the position he plays in the game of entertainment,” she writes on HipHopWired.com.

The jig with West, nevertheless, is that he’s never been a literal kind of guy, rather an allegorical raconteur of the life he’s been called to witness. Tracking West’s album history from his debut in 2004’s College Dropout to his anticipated June release, the rapper’s story illustrates a progressive rise to greatness, a belief in higher power, and a temptation to worship false idolatry as man advances from champion to monster to king.

Accordingly, West’s career has been one of the most unique and untouchable in the rap industry, and it shows no signs of faltering despite whatever bizarre press he attracts in his day-to-day encounters.

“He’s Kanye West, and yes his hip-hop is out there, but he can only do it his way,” says E-Man. “When he says something or he does something, it always creates noise. At the same time, I think it’s a statement…He’s doing him. That’s always been his thing from day one. He talks about certain things he feels, and I don’t think this is anything different, just the way it was presented.”

West’s undisputed ascension

A man who would be king, Alper believes the vantage point of an artist like West undoubtedly shifts as his eminence tips the clouds.

“When you’re first starting out, it’s really easy to talk about the culture around you and the people around you,” he observes. “When you get to this mega-stardom style, you can’t just walk out and observe the world around you anymore…I don’t think he believes that everyone should be following him like the second coming of Christ, but I think he truly does see a parallel between being a successful black artist and musician in the music industry.”

Additional clues to West’s forthcoming release can only be deduced by examining his vast catalog of music, and the ideas he’s posed since the beginning of his epoch.

In his own words, “They tell you read this, eat this, don’t look around, just peep this, preach us, teach us, Jesus.”

Amen.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama pledged urgent government help for Oklahoma Tuesday in the wake of “one of the most destructive” storms in the nation’s history.

“In an instant neighborhoods were destroyed, dozens of people lost their lives, many more were injured,” Obama said from the White House State Dining Room. “Among the victims were young children trying to take shelter in the safest place they knew — their school.”

The president added that the town of Moore, Okla., “needs to get everything it needs right away.”

Obama spoke following a meeting with his disaster response team, including Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and top White House officials. On Monday, he spoke with Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin and Republican Rep. Tom Cole, whose home is in the heavily damaged town of Moore, a suburb of Oklahoma City.

The president has also declared a major disaster in Oklahoma, ordering federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts. Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Craig Fugate was due in Oklahoma later Tuesday to ensure that federal resources are being properly deployed.

The state medical examiner’s office has revised the death toll from the tornado to 24 people, including seven children. Authorities had said initially that as many as 51 people were dead, including 20 children.

Teams are continuing to search the rubble in Moore, 10 miles south of Oklahoma City, after the Monday afternoon’s more than half-mile-wide twister.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

The sense of possibility that Mandela embodied is fading as a gulf between rich and poor widens. Many South Africans believe their leaders are out to help themselves and not the nation, which showed such promise when it broke the shackles of apartheid by holding the first all-race elections in 1994 and putting Mandela, who had been jailed for 27 years by the country’s racist leaders, into the presidency.

In a remarkable achievement, South Africa has held peaceful elections since the end of apartheid. But it is struggling on other fronts.

Last year, corruption deprived the country of nearly 1 billion rand ($111 million) in taxpayers’ money, according to a recent report. In one of the latest scandals to shake South Africans’ confidence in their government, authorities let a chartered plane carrying about 200 guests from India land at a South African air force base ahead of a lavish wedding hosted by a politically connected family.

South Africans, worried about graft, high unemployment and other problems, tend to compare their current leadership with the virtually unassailable record of Mandela as a freedom fighter and South Africa’s first black president. No small wonder, then, that politicians and even family members are moving to use that image for their own benefit.

Mandela no longer speaks publicly. He retired after a single term as president that ended in 1999 then worked for some years as an advocate for peace, awareness for HIV/AIDS and other causes. His last public appearance on a major stage was in 2010, when South Africa hosted the soccer World Cup.

Last month, President Jacob Zuma and other leaders of the ruling African National Congress party visited Mandela. After the encounter at Mandela’s home, Zuma cheerily said the 94-year-old was up and about, in good spirits and doing well. But the images carried by state TV showed Mandela sitting with a blanket covering his legs, silent and unmoving with his cheeks showing what appear to be marks from a recently removed oxygen mask. Mandela did not acknowledge Zuma, who sat right next to Mandela.

The footage unsettled some viewers who considered the visit to be a stunt to make Zuma look good. A cartoon in The Star newspaper depicted a leering Zuma holding a clothes hanger from which the once robust Mandela dangled limply, eyelids sagging. The ANC insisted it had no ulterior motive ahead of elections next year, and that it was only showing respect for a living national treasure.

For their part, ANC supporters said the opposition was crassly capitalizing on the Mandela name to get support when the Democratic Alliance party published a pamphlet showing an old photograph of Mandela embracing Helen Suzman, an anti-apartheid activist whose party was a forerunner of the DA.

Retired Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who like Mandela won the Nobel Peace Prize for being a leader in the struggle against apartheid, later clashed swords with the ANC when he spoke about Mandela’s eventual passing.

“The best memorial to Nelson Mandela would be a democracy that was really up and running; a democracy in which every single person in South Africa knew that they mattered, and where other people knew that each person mattered,” The Mail & Guardian, a South African newspaper, quoted Tutu as saying in a May 10 article.

Tutu said South Africa needs political change and that criticism of the ANC has so far been muted because South Africans felt it would be a “slap in the face to Mandela” who once headed the liberation movement-turned political party.

The ANC’s youth league disputed Tutu’s assertion that the ruling party had failed to deliver.

“Young people, who constitute a large voting bloc in the country, expect the Archbishop and other leaders to speak truth anchored by reality and facts and not anecdotal information based on creativity and imagination,” the league said in a statement.

The government, however, has said unemployment in the first quarter of this year was just over 25 percent, a figure that analysts say has been caused by weak economic growth and layoffs in the troubled mining sector and other industries. Also, protests against poor delivery of water, electricity and other government services periodically erupt in some South African communities.

Across South Africa, Mandela’s face is a familiar sight, beaming from T-shirts, drink coasters and new banknotes. South African bridges, hospitals and schools carry Mandela’s name. Statues of him abound, including a towering bronze one in Nelson Mandela Square in a posh shopping complex in the wealthy Johannesburg suburb of Sandton.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the Mandela name is also being used commercially by members of his family. There is a “House of Mandela” wine label and two granddaughters are starring in a U.S. television reality show titled “Being Mandela.”

Some family members are trying to oust several old allies of the former president from control of two companies. That dispute is headed for the courts, though the old Mandela associates, including human rights lawyer George Bizos, want the case to be dismissed.

Mandela’s stellar record can be easily mined in commercial branding, which is based on a “notion of perfection around a set of ideas,” said Michael J. Casey, author of “Che’s Afterlife: The Legacy of an Image.”

The book tells how the famous photograph of the bearded, Argentine-born revolutionary in a beret evolved into a global symbol and brand, seized upon by political activists, sales executives and all manner of other people for whom it resonated, or who wanted to make money from it.

“The narrative around Mandela is a man who stuck to his guns in terms of the struggle,” said Casey, who noted that some people bestow a “level of deity” on such transcendent figures.

“You want him to live for the man that he was,” Casey said. “It’s not to say that he’s not a great man, but nobody’s perfect.”

Already, that sort of personification by artists is turning, well, cartoonish.

For a music video, South African dance DJ Euphonik matched a beat with part of the recording of Mandela’s 1964 speech in the sabotage trial at which he was sentenced to life imprisonment.

“I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination,” a cartoon Mandela intones in the music video. Limber and white-haired, he busts a few moves on the dance floor.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

TODAY – Brandi Kline and her two sons, both students at Plaza Towers Elementary in Moore, Okla., which was directly hit by the tornado Monday afternoon, recount their experiences.

Damian Kline says his teacher threw her body over him and his classmates to shield them from the storm while they took cover in one of the school’s bathrooms.

“It sounded like a train coming by,” the fourth grader said, describing the sound of the tornado passing through his school.

Kline told Today that that his teacher threw her body over them in an effort to shield them.  ”She saved our lives,” he said.

He said it felt like it took “about five minutes” for the storm to pass through, and that after all he “saw was just a disaster.”

Chants of “Hey Rahm, lets face it, school closures are racist,” and “Brick by brick, wall by wall, no school closings. Save them all,” rang throughout City Hall’s main lobby Monday afternoon while workers and patrons weaved through protestors to make their way to their destinations in the building.

After a day of marching from the South and West sides of the city to Downtown Chicago, protestors who blocked off elevators on the main floor of City Hall were arrested, then cited for trespassing, according to Chicago Police officer Joshua Purkiss.

54 schools slated for closure

Ahead of a Wednesday vote by the Chicago Public Schools Board of Education, 54 schools have been slated for closure, which if approved, could be the largest mass school closing in the country.

“These school closures and all of these reforms in Chicago and in the nation are just budget cuts in disguise,” said Jeremy Peters, a teacher at Paul Roberson High School in Englewood.

As he took a lunch break, he said, ”They want to close down the most underutilized (schools) which is really a symptom of neighborhood health, rather than anything else, because these neighborhoods that they’re closing schools are suffering long-term issues from segregation, discrimination, home foreclosures.”

Fifty-three elementary schools and one high school, primarily in Hispanic and African-American neighborhoods, are planned for closure. Protesters contend it’s an attack on minorities and the most vulnerable neighborhoods in the city.

“This is a movement”

“We can all see what the consequences of their decisions are going to be and who will be affected by this. We already have a problem with excess of violence in these communities where schools are being closed,” said Michael Brunson, the newly re-elected recording secretary of Chicago Teachers Union. “One thing anyone can agree with is that this is an assault on vulnerable communities that they feel do not have enough political clout to stand up and defend themselves.”

Chicago public school officials have said the proposed closings are necessary to close underutilized schools and help the district close the gap of a $1 billion budget deficit. The system promises that displaced students will be sent to better-performing schools with better amenities like libraries, upgraded facilities and air conditioning.

Shortly after arrests Wednesday, Chicago Teachers Union president Karen Lewis lead a rally at Daley Plaza where an historic Picasso sculpture stands. “This is a movement and no matter what happens on Wednesday, it is not over,” she told supporters.

Among other concerns including safety and children having to cross gang lines to attend new schools, protestors are also calling for an elected school board. The Chicago public school system functions under the control of Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who selects the school board and the district’s chief executive officer.

Failing the kids

The union has sparred with Emanuel in the past over education issues and eight months ago held a seven-day strike for better conditions and pay. They also filed federal lawsuits last week to stop the school closings.

“We have a shared responsibility to do everything we can to ensure a bright future for every child.  And, yet these lawsuits demonstrate that union leadership is committed to a status quo that is failing too many of our kids,” Chicago Public Schools chief executive officer Barbara Byrd-Bennett said in a statement. “Thousands of children in underutilized schools are being cheated out of the resources they need to succeed. It’s time to give these children the opportunity to attend higher-performing welcoming schools and put them on a path to thrive.”

The Board will vote on the proposed school closings at Wednesday’s Board meeting and the Chicago Teachers Union are “planning on being in force,” according to vice president Jesse Sharkey.

Renita D. Young is a multimedia journalist based in Chicago. Follow her on Twitter @RenitaDYoung

It is, says a spokesperson from Myriad Genetics, Inc., the main company that tests for two genes associated with breast cancer — BRCA1 and BRCA2. Myriad is the only company that holds the patent for the two genes and it has tested more than one million women so far.

Is it affordable?

Myriad says more than 95 percent of eligible people are currently covered by their insurance plans, especially with the new provisions of the Affordable Care Act. Medicare and Medicaid also cover the test.

“Knowing your risk and taking action not only saves lives, but it’s an economic benefit to the healthcare system,” say the spokesperson.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina’s guidelines, for example, state that the insurance company will cover the testing if certain guidelines are met.

Dr. Bridget Oppong, breast surgeon and assistant professor of surgery at Georgetown University Medical Center, says cost can still be a deterrent.

“My last African-American patient was 32 years old. We encouraged testing, but she is someone who cannot afford to have testing,” Oppong says. “She has a job, but she has a significant copay [with her insurance plan].”

“If the test is $3,000 and you have to pay 20 percent, that’s still a decent amount of money for some women, so some choose not to get it,” she continues.

Myriad says that, despite the concept that this test is unattainable, most patients will have no out-of-pocket costs. For those without insurance, Myriad runs a patient assistance program that provides free tests or tests at a significantly reduced price. According to the website, it also assists those with insurance with copays in excess of $375.

Mastectomy for a woman who is BRCA-positive, on the other hand, is covered by insurance, Oppong says.

Getting tested

The testing cannot be done without a physician’s order. So, the first step is finding a physician who can decipher a woman’s risk. Myriad also has a quiz on their website to help patients identify their risk prior to meeting with their doctor.

According to the National Cancer Institute, the risk of having a harmful mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes increases with the number of family members who have had breast or ovarian cancer, especially at a young age. Jolie’s mother, for example, had ovarian cancer.

Using a cheek sample or blood sample, Myriad’s laboratory delivers a report to the person’s physician, outlining the person’s risk.

BRCA testing does not, however, detect breast cancer. It only identifies risk, and only 5 percent of all breast cancers and 10 percent of all ovarian cancers lead to positive BRCA tests. Most of the breast cancers that run in families are related to genes that have not yet been identified.

Women with BRCA1 are also more likely to have triple-negative breast cancer — a type of breast cancer that affects African-American women more and is more difficult to treat. Because it does not respond to the typical hormonal treatments, the options are limited.

After finding out

Most of the women Oppong sees with a positive BRCA test are older and the decision to have a mastectomy is difficult. She also finds that mastectomy is even more difficult for the younger women she treats. When they’re young, she starts screening aggressively with MRI imaging and mammograms but she says it doesn’t eliminate risk. There’s up to an 85 percent risk of breast cancer for women who test positive for the gene.

“It’s tough for women who are young,” Oppong says. “They may want to breast feed in the future. But, we want to be aggressive because we don’t want you to have breast cancer.” She points out that Jolie has already had children.

And while breast surgeons can offer breast reconstruction after mastectomy, body image remains a real concern.

“There’s nothing like your natural breasts,” says Oppong.

Still a risk of cancer

Even with a double mastectomy, a risk of breast cancer exists. It reduces it, but only by 90 percent.

“There’s no way to remove 100 percent of the breast tissue, which would include removing the skin, which you can’t do,” Oppong explains. Those women still need close follow-up and frequent exams of the breast tissue, including self-breast exams.

Often overlooked

“I think the overall breast care in minority community is concerning to me in many ways,” says Oppong about her experience thus far as a breast surgeon. “I see a lot of patients coming here who have had substandard care.”

She also stresses the importance of including minority women in breast cancer trials. “We were first taught that minority women do not carry the gene,” she says. “But, minority groups were not really included in these studies. So now we don’t look at race as a factor [in determining risk].”

“I worry about not just access to health care, but also lack of knowledge. Women of color typically don’t do their due diligence when they’re diagnosed,” Oppong says. She suggests that all women, especially women of color, come with a list of questions to ask their doctor, such as the one on the Susan G. Komen website.

Dr. Tyeese Gaines is a physician-journalist with over 10 years of print and broadcast experience, now serving as health editor for NBC’s theGrio.com. Dr. Ty is also a practicing emergency medicine physician in New Jersey. Follow her on twitter at @doctorty.

Note: The information included in this post is for educational purposes only. It is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice.

Virginia Republicans have selected a dyed-in-the-wool, black conservative minister and activist as their nominee for lieutenant governor.  And he has drawn particular criticism for his homophobic views.

E.W. Jackson won the nomination over six rivals, becoming the first black Republican nominee in 25 years.  “I am not an African-American, I am an American!” he proclaimed recently at the GOP’s Tea-Party-infused state convention in Richmond.  And he attributes his shift from the Democrats to the Republicans to his faith, which he apparently uses to justify his intolerant, anti-gay positions.

For example, Jackson called homosexuality a poison. “It poisons culture, it destroys families, it destroys societies; it brings the judgment of God unlike very few [sic] things that we can think of,” he said.  In addition, he has said gays are “frankly very sick people psychologically, mentally and emotionally and they see everything through the lens of homosexuality.”  Moreover, the candidate equated homosexuality with pedophilia, and said gays attempt to “sexualize” children “at the earliest possible age.”

A history of homophobic statements

The Harvard law graduate also believes that people in the LGBT community “want to destroy the very faith which established this nation, with gay marriage as their weapon, a sledgehammer used to shatter our Judeo-Christian culture.”

The repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was, in his opinion, “a disaster of historic proportions.”  Pro-gay rights liberals, Jackson asserts, “have done more to kill black folks whom they claim so much to love than the Ku Klux Klan, lynching and slavery and Jim Crow ever did…”  Homosexuality, in his view has killed black men “by the thousands” and gays are frustrating to black women as well because “so many of these guys are homosexuals.”

And when it comes to comparing the civil rights struggle of African-Americans to the gay rights movement, Jackson will have none of it, calling such a comparison an insult. “Homosexuals have no history of slavery, Jim Crow, lynching or being legally defined as 2/3 [sic] of a person,” he said. “I have known people who have been delivered from homosexuality. I have never known anyone to be delivered from being black. The Democrat Party’s commitment to abortion, homosexuality and moral relativism is an affront to the values of the black Christian community.”“Black Christians do not belong in a ‘coalition of the godless,’” Jackson added, “and should not vote for those who are.”

Black community betraying God?

Further, Jackson wants to ask black voters why they are “allowing the Tea Party to be made into your enemy and the radical homosexual rights people to be made into your friends and allies when they reject everything you believe and most of the Tea Party activists embrace everything you believe.” Jackson urged blacks to “come out of that indoctrination, what I call a liberal plantation of psychological bondage.”

But he doesn’t stop there.  Jackson has had some choice words for the Democrats as well, accusing them of “saturating the black community with ridiculous lies.”  He calls for an “exodus” from the so-called “Democrat” party as he and other conservatives usually call it.  Jackson also called President Obama evil, an atheist and a secret Muslim, which would appear contradictory.  He also referred to the Obamas as Communist sympathizers  who “don’t understand our country, I don’t think they even like it,” he added.   

“The black community will never prosper by betraying God and following leadership that curries the favor of the Democrat party,” Jackson says. “It is time for Christians to have the faith and courage to refuse to associate with a political party that has become anti-Christian, anti-church, anti-bible, anti-life, anti-family and anti-God.”

Playing the slavery card

And in the process, he has portrayed the Democrats as the dreaded institution of slavery. “They can say anything they want about me, but I do not intend to leave Christians in bondage to a party that is hostile to everything Christians hold dear,” Jackson said. “When a party disdains God and His word, as the Democrat Party clearly does, it is time to leave that party.”

Further, the firebrand candidate has compared Planned Parenthood to the Ku Klux Klan.  “The Democrat Party has created an unholy alliance between certain so-called civil rights leaders and Planned Parenthood, which has killed unborn black babies by the tens of millions. Planned Parenthood has been far more lethal to black lives than the KKK ever was,” Jackson said in a video attempting to sway African-American voters.  “And the Democrat Party and their black civil rights allies are partners in this genocide.”  As Right Wing Watch notes, Jackson regards civil rights groups such as the NAACP as “race baiters” who should agree with the Tea party if they truly worshiped God and the Bible.

All of this ugliness from Jackson poses a big problem for the top of the ticket, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli.  Cuccinelli—who has made a name for himself among the right-wing base for his attacks on Obamacare and abortion, not to mention his anti-gay, anti-tax and anti-environmental agenda—is now trying to position himself as a political moderate focusing on jobs and the economy rather than hot-button social issues, as the Washington Post reports.  Cuccinelli is in a tight race behind the Democratic opponent— former DNC head Terry McCauliffe.  McCauliffe needs the black vote to win in a state that was in the bag for Obama in 2008 and 2012. Meanwhile, off-year elections such as this tend to attract more white voters.

“We’re in a deep [expletive],” laments one Virginia Republican operative, while claiming the Democratic opponent will help the Republican ticket win in the general election.

But the gubernatorial candidate is in the unenviable and unrealistic position of attempting to distance himself from his running mate.  The nominee for lieutenant governor is chosen in a separate process from the up ticket pick.  Cuccinelli already has warned his party against divisive social issues.  Such a stance could help him with some moderate swing voters out there, but only by alienating the Tea Party base in the process.

A winning strategy…for the Tea Party

Meanwhile, here we have a black candidate who eschews his blackness, compares Democrats, supporters of women’s reproductive rights and other liberal allies to the Klan and godless perpetrators of genocide.  And he calls gays and lesbians every name but a child of God. 

Now perhaps that’s a winning strategy for the Tea Party, but ultimately that ship won’t sail in Virginia, once the most conservative Southern state now transitioning to blue territory.  And surely that will not win black votes.

When Adam Clayton Powell said, “Harvard has ruined more Negroes than bad whiskey,” he must have had E. J. Jackson in mind.  As a Harvard grad, I hope it isn’t true.  But seriously, one thing is for certain.  E. J. Jackson is the one who needs prayer.  His statements are offensive, shocking and beyond the pale.  And apparently he never got the memo that we live in the modern world, and homophobia is unacceptable.

Follow David A. Love on Twitter at @davidalove  

The storm laid waste to scores of buildings in Moore, south of the city. Block after block of the community lay in ruins. Homes were crushed into piles of broken wood. Cars and trucks were left crumpled on the roadside.

The National Weather Service issued an initial finding that the tornado was an EF-4 on the enhanced Fujita scale, the second most-powerful type of twister.

Authorities expected the death toll to rise as emergency crews moved deeper into the hardest-hit areas. At least 60 people were reported hurt, including more than a dozen children.

Rescuers mounted a desperate rescue effort at the school, pulling children from heaps of debris and carrying them to a triage center.

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin deployed 80 National Guard members to assist with search-and-rescue operations and activated extra highway patrol officers.

Fallin also spoke with President Barack Obama, who offered the nation’s help and gave Fallin a direct line to his office.

Many land lines to stricken areas were down and cellphone traffic was congested. The storm was so massive that it will take time to establish communications between rescuers and state officials, the governor said.

In video of the storm, the dark funnel cloud could be seen marching slowly across the green landscape. As it churned through the community, the twister scattered shards of wood, pieces of insulation, awnings, shingles and glass all over the streets.

Volunteers and first responders raced to search the debris for survivors.

At Plaza Towers Elementary School, the storm tore off the roof, knocked down walls and turned the playground into a mass of twisted plastic and metal.

Several children were pulled alive from the rubble. Rescue workers passed the survivors down a human chain to the triage center in the parking lot.

James Rushing, who lives across the street from the school, heard reports of the approaching tornado and ran to the school, where his 5-year-old foster son, Aiden, attends classes. Rushing believed he would be safer there.

“About two minutes after I got there, the school started coming apart,” he said.

The students were placed in the restroom.

Oklahoma City Police Capt. Dexter Nelson said downed power lines and open gas lines posed a risk in the aftermath of the system.

Monday’s powerful tornado loosely followed the path of a killer twister that slammed the region in May 1999.

The weather service estimated that the storm that Monday’s tornado was at least a half-mile wide. The 1999 storm had winds clocked at 300 mph.

Kelsey Angle, a weather service meteorologist in Kansas City, Mo., said it’s unusual for two such powerful tornadoes to track roughly the same path.

Monday’s devastation in Oklahoma came almost exactly two years after an enormous twister ripped through the city of Joplin, Mo., killing 158 people and injuring hundreds more.

That May 22, 2011, tornado was the deadliest in the United States since modern tornado record keeping began in 1950, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Before Joplin, the deadliest modern tornado was June 1953 in Flint, Mich., when 116 people died.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

During her commencement speech,  Mrs. Obama challenged students to continue to learn and encouraged them to always aspire to achieve more — after mentioning that “too many young people today can’t be bothered.”

“Instead of walking miles every day to school, they’re sitting on couches for hours playing video games, watching TV. Instead of dreaming of being a teacher or a lawyer or a business leader, they’re fantasizing about being a baller or a rapper,” she said.

“Please reject the slander that says a black child with a book is trying to act white,” Obama added. “In short, be an example of excellence for the next generation.”

Read the full transcript of Mrs. Obama’s speech here:

MRS. OBAMA:  Well, thank you.  (Applause.)  Oh, my goodness.  Thank you so much.  (Applause.)  Oh, my goodness.  It is such a — you all, rest yourselves.  You’ve got a long day ahead.  It is beyond a pleasure and an honor for me to be here with all of you today.

Of course, I want to start by thanking President Bernim for that very kind introduction, for this wonderful degree, and for his outstanding leadership here at Bowie State University.  I also want to recognize Chancellor Kirwan, Provost Jackson, Executive Vice President and General Counsel Karen Johnson Shaheed, Vice Chair Barry Gossett.  And of course, I want to thank the BSU Madrigal Singers — they did a great job — the university choir, and DeMarcus Franklin for their wonderful performances here today.  You all are amazing.  I just wish I could sing.  Can’t sing a lick.

I also want to recognize today’s Presidential Medal of Excellence recipient, Professor Freeman Hrabowski, who’s a for-real brother as well.  (Applause.)  And I want to thank him for his tremendous work as the Chair of the President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for African Americans.  He has done some magnificent work, but we have so much more work to do.

And let’s take another moment to thank all of the beautiful people sitting all around us today — the folks who have loved you and pushed you and put up with you every step of the way.  (Applause.)  Give another round of applause to all the family members who are here today.  (Applause.)  Yes, indeed.  This is your day, too.

But most of all, to the Bowie State University class of 2013, congratulations.  (Applause.)  Oh, congratulations.  You don’t know how proud we all are of you.  Just look at you.  We’re so proud of how hard you worked, all those long hours in the classroom, in the library.  Oh, yeah.  Amen.  (Laughter.)  All those jobs you worked to help pay your tuition.  Many of you are the first in your families to get a college degree.  (Applause.)  Some of you are balancing school with raising families of your own.  (Applause.)  So I know this journey hasn’t been easy.  I know you’ve had plenty of moments of doubt and frustration and just plain exhaustion.

But listen, you dug deep and you kept pushing forward to make it to this magnificent day.  (Applause.)  And in doing so, you didn’t just complete an important chapter in your own story, you also became part of the story of this great university — a story that began nearly 150 years ago, not far from where we all sit today.  As you all know, this school first opened its doors in January of 1865, in an African Baptist church in Baltimore.  And by 1866, just a year later, it began offering education courses to train a new generation of African American teachers.

Now, just think about this for a moment:  For generations, in many parts of this country, it was illegal for black people to get an education.  Slaves caught reading or writing could be beaten to within an inch of their lives.  Anyone — black or white — who dared to teach them could be fined or thrown into jail.  And yet, just two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, this school was founded not just to educate African Americans, but to teach them how to educate others.  It was in many ways an act of defiance, an eloquent rebuttal to the idea that black people couldn’t or shouldn’t be educated.  And since then, generations of students from all backgrounds have come to this school to be challenged, inspired and empowered.  And they have gone on to become leaders here in Maryland and across this country, running businesses, educating young people, leading the high-tech industries that will power our economy for decades to come.

That is the story of Bowie State University, the commitment to educating our next generation and building ladders of opportunity for anyone willing to work for it.  All of you are now part of that story.  And with that tremendous privilege comes an important set of responsibilities — responsibilities that you inherit the moment you leave this stadium with that diploma in your hand.

And that’s what I want to talk with you about today.  I want to talk about the obligations that come with a Bowie State education, and how you can fulfill those obligations by how you live your lives.

So let’s return, for a moment, to the time when the school and others like it were founded.  Many of these schools were little more than drafty log cabins with mud floors, leaky roofs and smoke-wood stoves in the corner.  Blackboards, maps, and even books were considered luxuries.  And both students and teachers faced constant threats from those who refuse to accept freedom for African Americans.

In one Eastern Shore town, a teacher reported to work one morning to find that someone had smashed the windows of her schoolhouse.  Other black schools across Maryland were burned to the ground.  Teachers received death threats.  One was even beaten by an angry mob.  But despite the risks, understand, students flocked to these schools in droves, often walking as many as eight to ten miles a day to get their education.  In fact, the educational association that founded Bowie State wrote in their 1864 report that — and this is a quote — “These people are coming in beyond our ability to receive them.”  Desperately poor communities held fundraisers for these schools, schools which they often built with their own hands.  And folks who were barely scraping by dug deep into their own pockets to donate money.

You see, for these folks, education was about more than just learning to read or write.  As the abolitionist Fredrick Douglas put it, “Education means emancipation,” he said.  He said, “It means light and liberty.  It means the uplifting of the soul of man into the glorious light of truth, the only light by which men can be free.”  You hear that?  The only light by which men can be free.  (Applause.)

So to the folks who showed up to your school on that January day back in 1865, education meant nothing less than freedom.  It meant economic independence, a chance to provide for their families.  It meant political empowerment, the chance to read the newspaper and articulate an informed opinion, and take their rightful place as full citizens of this nation.

So back then, people were hungry to learn.  Do you hear me?  Hungry to get what they needed to succeed in this country.  And that hunger did not fade over time.  If anything, it only grew stronger.  I mean, think about the century-long battle that so many folks waged to end the evil of segregation.  Think about civil rights icons like Thurgood Marshall, Dr. King, who argued groundbreaking school integration cases, led historic marches, protests, and boycotts.  As you know, Dr. King’s house was bombed.  A police chief pulled a gun on Thurgood Marshall.  They both received piles of hate mail and countless death threats, but they kept on fighting.

Think about those nine young men and women who faced down an angry mob just to attend school in Little Rock, Arkansas.  And that was just the first day.  For months afterwards, they were spat on, jeered at, punched, and tripped as they walked down the halls.  Their classmates threw food at them in the cafeteria and hurled ink at them during class.  But they kept on showing up.  They kept claiming their rightful place at that school.

And think about little Ruby Bridges, who was just six years old when she became one of the first black children in New Orleans to attend an all-white school.  Parents actually pulled their children out of that school in protest.  People retaliated against her family.  Her father lost his job.  And only one teacher at that entire school would agree to teach her.  But the Bridges family refused to back down.  So for an entire year, little Ruby sat all alone, a class of one, dutifully learning her lessons.

See, that is the sacrifice that those folks and so many others have made.  That is the hunger they felt.  For them and so many others, getting an education was literally a matter of life or death.

But today, more than 150 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, more than 50 years after the end of “separate but equal,” when it comes to getting an education, too many of our young people just can’t be bothered.  Today, instead of walking miles every day to school, they’re sitting on couches for hours playing video games, watching TV.  Instead of dreaming of being a teacher or a lawyer or a business leader, they’re fantasizing about being a baller or a rapper.  (Applause.)  Right now, one in three African American students are dropping out of high school.  Only one in five African Americans between the ages of 25 and 29 has gotten a college degree — one in five.

But let’s be very clear.  Today, getting an education is as important if not more important than it was back when this university was founded.  Just look at the statistics.  (Applause.)  People who earn a bachelor’s degree or higher make nearly three times more money than high school dropouts, and they’re far less likely to be unemployed.  A recent study even found that African American women with a college degree live an average of six and a half years longer than those without.  And for men, it’s nearly 10 years longer.  So yes, people who are more educated actually live longer.

So I think we can agree, and we need to start feeling that hunger again, you know what I mean?  (Applause.)  We need to once again fight to educate ourselves and our children like our lives depend on it, because they do.

We need to dig deep and find the same kind of grit and determination that drove those first students at this school and generations of students who came after them.  I am talking about the kind of grit and determination displayed by folks right here at Bowie State.  Folks like Ariel Williams-Edwards, one of today’s graduates.  (Applause.)  Yeah, Ariel!  Ariel’s mother struggled with substance abuse, and Ariel and her sister were removed from her care and sent to live with their grandmother.

But Ariel decided to draw inspiration from her struggle — she majored in Social Work so she could help families like hers.  (Applause.)  Yes!  She became a member of the Phi Alpha National Honor Society.  And she’s been accepted to graduate school to get her master’s degree in Social Work starting in September.  Yes, indeed.  (Applause.)

And then there’s Audrey Marie Lugmayer, another one of this year’s graduates.  Audrey is the daughter of a single father, and her dad has struggled with some serious health issues.  So after graduating from high school, Audrey worked full time for a year, because she couldn’t bear the thought of putting any more financial burdens on her father.  She kept on working here at Bowie State, even while juggling a full course load.  And today, she is graduating with a perfect 4.0 GPA.  (Applause.)  Yes.  God is very good.

It is that kind of unwavering determination — that relentless focus on getting an education in the face of obstacles — that’s what we need to reclaim, as a community and as a nation.  That was the idea at the very heart of the founding of this school.

It’s even in the words of your school song:  “Oh Bowie State, dear Bowie State, may you forever be the flame of faith, the torch of truth to guide the steps of youth.”  And that’s not just a lyric — it is a call to action.  Many of you will answer that call by carrying on the proud Bowie State tradition of serving as teachers, devoting your careers to guiding the steps of the next generation.

But for those of you who aren’t going into education, you’re not off the hook.  Oh, no.  Oh, no.  No matter what career you pursue, every single one of you has a role to play as educators for our young people.  So if you have friends or cousins or siblings who are not taking their education seriously, shake them up.  Go talk some sense into them.  Get them back on track.  (Applause.)

If the school in your neighborhood isn’t any good, don’t just accept it.  Get in there, fix it.  Talk to the parents.  Talk to the teachers.  Get business and community leaders involved as well, because we all have a stake in building schools worthy of our children’s promise.

And when it comes to your own kids, if you don’t like what they’re watching on TV, turn it off.  (Applause.)  If you don’t like the video games they’re playing, take them away.  (Applause.)  Take a stand against the media that elevates today’s celebrity gossip instead of the serious issues of our time.  Take a stand against the culture that glorifies instant gratification instead of hard work and lasting success.

And as my husband has said often, please stand up and reject the slander that says a black child with a book is trying to act white.  Reject that.  (Applause.)

In short, be an example of excellence for the next generation and do everything you can to help them understand the power and purpose of a good education.  See, that’s what my own parents did for me and my brother.

See, my parents didn’t go to college, but they were determined to give us that opportunity.  My dad was a pump operator at the city water plant, diagnosed with MS in his early thirties.  And every morning I watched him struggle to get out of bed and inch his way to his walker, and painstakingly button his uniform, but never once did I hear him complain.  Not once.  He just kept getting up, day after day, year after year, to do whatever he could to give our family a better shot at life.

So when it came time for my brother and I to go to college, most of our tuition came from student loans and grants.  But my dad still had to pay a small portion of that tuition each semester, and he was always determined to pay his share right on time — even taking out loans when he fell short, because he couldn’t bear the thought of us missing a registration deadline because his check was late.

And there is not a day that goes by when I don’t think about the sacrifices that my mom and dad made for me.  There is not a day that goes by when I don’t think about living up to the example they set, and how I must do everything in my power to make them proud of the daughter they raised.  (Applause.)

And today, I am thinking about all the mothers and fathers just like my parents, all the folks who dug into their pockets for that last dime, the folks who built those schools brick by brick, who faced down angry mobs just to reach those schoolhouse doors.  I am thinking about all the folks who worked that extra shift and took that extra job, and toiled and bled and prayed so that we could have something better.  (Applause.)

The folks who, as the poet Alice Walker once wrote, “Knew what we must know without knowing a page of it themselves.”  Their sacrifice is your legacy.  Do you hear me?  And now it is up to all of you to carry that legacy forward, to be that flame of fate, that torch of truth to guide our young people toward a better future for themselves and for this country.

And if you do that, and I know that you will, if you uphold that obligation, then I am confident we will build an even better future for the next generation of graduates from this fine school and for all of the children in this country because our lives depend on it.

I wish you Godspeed, good luck.  I love you all.  Do good things.  God bless.  (Applause.)

END
12:15 P.M. EDT

NBC News - The White House first learned of a draft report detailing abuses by IRS officials in targeting conservative groups in late April, though the top administration spokesman maintained on Monday that President Barack Obama was not notified of the emerging controversy at that time.

White House press secretary Jay Carney, in a bid to further the administration’s public response to revelations that the IRS had singled out conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status for additional scrutiny, disclosed at his daily press briefing that White House counsel Kathy Ruemmler was informed of the report on April 24. She, in turn, told senior White House staff — including chief of staff Denis McDonough — of the then-incomplete report, though Carney said those details were never conveyed to Obama.

“To be clear, we knew the subject of the investigation and we knew of the nature of some of the potential findings, but we did not have a copy of the draft report,” said Carney. “We did not know the details, the scope or the motivation surrounding the misconduct, and we did not know who was responsible.”

The new details first offered by Carney come amid growing Republican clamor for more information about who in the White House found out about the IRS investigation, and when. The GOP has sought to cast the administration as either less-than-forthcoming about its knowledge of the investigation, or inept in keeping tabs on such a high-profile investigation.

The press secretary sought to characterize the administration’s handling of the information as fairly routine. Carney said that the White House is typically notified of similar inspectors general drafts shortly before publication, and that the details of these reports can often change before publication. Moreover, Carney argued, the abuses at the IRS had ended about a year earlier, meaning that there was no way for the president to act to halt continued misconduct at the IRS.

Click here to read more.

On Mother’s Day, he paid a visit to his ex Josie Harris, who is mother to three of his four children. Harris has also appeared on the  reality show Starter Wives Confidential exposing her ongoing “relationship” with Mayweather, and on May 1 Harris gave an interview to Yahoo sports explaining that they’ve had “one intimate encounter” since he served time for assaulting her in front of their children.

This is also despite Mayweather’s engagement to another woman, Shantel Jackson, who lives with Mayweather. Anyway, Mayweather and Harris — recently it seems –  wound up in a bed together. As he slept, Harris snapped a picture of him that was posted to Instagram on Mother’s Day.

Mayweather’s fiancee allegedly strikes back

This, however, is not when things stop being crazy. Mayweather’s fiancee, who of course heard about the pictures, if not saw them, has not made a public statement about her fiancé being pictured in the bed with his ex. But she did offer a response, of sorts.

After Harris’s picture with Floyd surfaced, Jackson posted a mini-photo essay on Intsagram, documenting her life with Floyd. The images included a walk-in closet the size of a garage, a series of expensive designer bags displayed (and protected) like precious artifacts in a museum, and a vintage luxury vehicle. Media Takeout interpreted her images as a way of saying to Harris, “you may have his [penis], but I have his pockets.”

Who’s causing the baby mama drama?

Somehow, Mayweather and Jackson went pretty much unscathed in the court of public reaction on this matter. Most people didn’t notice it. The overwhelming take for those who cared seemed to be that Mayweather was just doing what men do, and that Jackson was somehow “winning” (cue Charlie Sheen) by having access to Mayweather’s money. Harris took the brunt of the blame for being sloppy and causing “baby mama drama” by posting the picture of herself sharing a bed with Floyd in the first place.

I took all that in and scratched my head, thinking, “huh?”

So-called “baby mamas” — I prefer “ex” or “mother of my children”— get a bad rap. In typical blame-the-woman fashion, they take the heat for whatever messy encounters that may come about with the fathers of their children. Some deserve it. Some don’t.

It’s everybody’s fault — including Mayweather

In this situation here, everyone’s at fault, including Jackson.

Let me explain: Harris and Mayweather share three children together, so they have to have some interaction. That’s fine. But there’s no excuse for him, a committed man, being laid up in a bed when she is present, and certainly not with her. He’s got enough money for when the “itis” hits to go get himself a room.

Harris, knowing that the father of her children is in another relationship, had no reason getting in the bed. And clearly her intent when posting the picture was to imply that she was having a very “happy” Mother’s Day, and to put Mayweather’s girlfriend on notice about the activities.

About that girlfriend: some said Jackson was “keeping it classy” by not engaging in a social media war of words with Harris about the photo. However, photos of acquisitions purchased by her philandering fiancee don’t really give the impression of class. What it does imply is that she’ll put up with anything for a paycheck. And if that’s the case, so be it. But there was no need to essentially “say” your pride is for sale on social media.

They should keep it confidential

Maybe all parties involved have an understanding that I just don’t, well, understand. If that’s the case, I’d wish they’d just keep it private instead of confusing the rest of us and making themselves look so messy in the process.

But here is at least one documented case in which a man with “baby mama drama” has to take some responsibility for doing it to himself.

Demetria L. Lucas is the author of “A Belle in Brooklyn: The Go-to Girl for Advice on Living Your Best Single Life” (Atria), in stores now. Follow her on Twitter @abelleinbk.

The news comes just days before Fox needs to have all four judges firmly in place, as they are scheduled to begin work on the new season on Tuesday, in Charleston, N.C.

Fox is not commenting.

Assuming the deals are finalized as expected, Rowland and Rubio will fill the seats left empty by Britney Spears and L.A. Reid. Simon Cowell and Demi Lovato will return for the coming season, airing this fall.

Sources tell us Fox is moving away from casting megastars like Britney Spears, Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey in favor of somewhat lesser-known artists who already have experience on similar series. Rowland served as a judge on the eighth season of the UK version of The X Factor, and Rubio served as a judge on La Voz…Mexico. She also has been tapped as a judge for Telemundo’s La Voz Kids.

Click here to read more.

The White House says the president and first lady Michelle Obama will leave on June 26, stopping in Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania. Obama will meet with government figures as well as leaders from the business, civil society and youth communities.

The administration says the visit highlights the importance of close U.S. ties to sub-Saharan Africa.

Obama visited the African nation of Ghana in July 2009, early into his first term. In March, he met with leaders from four Africa nations at the White House and discussed trade issues and ways to strengthen democracy in Africa. The White House is also concerned about threats from militant extremists in North Africa.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

A fan of vibrant and comfortable socks, Burress, 35, has spent the last two years designing a collection that reflects his taste in fashion and provides great-fitting socks to those who consider them hard to find.

“I’ve always been crazy about my socks, my socks have always been loud,” Burress told theGrio at his launch event on Friday.

“It’s all about comfort and style, I want to wear a sock that’s comfortable for me because I have a size 12 shoe, I put on a lot of these socks on and the heel box doesn’t even go over my heel,” he admits.

As a result, Burress took it upon himself to craft a line that provides these necessities for men – but he isn’t the only celeb to launch this venture.

Reality TV star Rob Kardashian has also recently entered the market for footwear and released his own line of designer socks, known as Arthur George. However, Burress says his collection “isn’t like anyone else’s, it’s a little different over here” and reassures that “it’s all about comfort and style.”

Many more surprises to come

According to The Plaxico Burress Collection website, the line “offers just the right combination of quality craftsmanship, unique designs, and a great fit.”

“The collection caters to the fashion conscious man. With colorful, Modern Art inspired designs, that can be mixed and matched in seemingly unlimited combinations.”

It has only been days since the former Giants receiver officially launched the release of his new line, and he says although he is kicking things off with his luxury sock line, fans can expect many more male accessories to come.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg!” the stylish star says. “I’m going to reach out and do bow ties, pocket squares, cufflinks, belts, I’m doing a whole accessories line. This is just open[ing] the door for the socks but it’s only the beginning of a whole project.  It’s a whole movement.”

The Spring/Summer 2013 collection range in price from $24 – $30. It is currently available online and will be in stores nationwide soon.

Follow Lilly Workneh @Lilly_Works

The Olympic all-around champion was to practice Monday afternoon after meeting with coach Liang Chow to discuss her comeback plan. The workout is in her old gym in West Des Moines, Iowa.

Chow won’t put a timeline on Douglas’ return, saying she has to get back in gymnastics shape before they can put a training plan together. But he says 2014 is an “excellent opportunity” for her to be back in competition.

Douglas has always said she’d like to keep going through the next Olympics. But she’s been in such demand since London that she hasn’t had time to train.

Her last nine months have been a whirlwind of appearances. She was part of 40-city tour last fall with fellow Fierce Five members Aly Raisman, Jordyn Wieber and McKayla Maroney.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

The R&B singer burst on the scene in the year 2000 at the tender age of 12 with two top 10 singles “I Like It” and “Crazy Things I Do For Love.” At 13, his album From The Bottom To The Top went gold.

Now 26, little Sammie is not so little anymore.  After a hiatus and a label switch, he’s all grown up and ready to step back into the limelight as an independent artist under his own label, Star Camp Ent.

In addition to working on an EP and an album, he’s adding songwriting for other artists to his repertoire. He most recently penned the Tank single “Next Breath,” nominated for an SESAC award, and is set to write songs for artists like Robin Thicke, Jacob Lattimore, and Christina Milian.

In light of the untimely death of Chris Kelly of Kris Kross, theGrio asked Sammie to share a bit of his advice to child stars. Sammie also opens up to us about what he’s been up to over the years, the impact of being a child star, and even some of the crazy things he’s done for love.

theGrio: Congratulations on the SESAC nomination, how does it feel?

Sammie: I’m excited for the opportunity. We wrote an amazing record last year for Tank and it did very well for him, so I’m just excited and ecstatic to be a part of it.

Have you been doing a lot of song writing lately?

Yea actually I am going to the studio this weekend to pen a few things for Jacob Latimore’s next project. I have the opportunity to write for Robin Thicke’s album currently and Christina Milian. Those are like my top priority lists currently. So I’m excited that I’m able to expand outside of just being an artist and performer into the song-writing avenue.

How long have you been writing for other artists now?

Tank last year was my first placement outside of myself. But I’ve written all of my material from my second album up until today. So when the Tank record took off that actually put me in a different mindset that I could actually tap into someone else’s world and convey the same emotions that they’re trying to.  This is actually me stepping out into something new. I always wanted to be multifaceted as far as being a songwriter and singer. I never wanted to be one-dimensional. I wanted to take my talents and expand them as far as I could.

What are you doing to rebuild and revamp your brand and career?

Unfortunately I feel like the music industry is on the decline right now. Specifically speaking in the R&B genre. So I signed myself to myself in 2009. Star Camp music is the entity. I’m not saying I’m opposed or wouldn’t go back to a major, but I just want to be in control and have my own sound and develop my own buzz going solo with me and my camp as opposed to signing to a major and them telling me who to be. I’ve been in the business long enough, I have a fan base and they love me and embrace me for who I am. That’s the sole reason and sole purpose for me starting my own foundation.

Currently working this record entitled Put It In featuring my homie Blake Kelly. We just shot the video in LA. [It’s going to be on] MTV Jams and BET next month, so I’m excited about that. This is all indie, so we’re moving major, and making major moves but it’s an indie situation. I love to be hands on with my business. I can take the blame for anything that goes good or bad, I can deal with that as opposed to it being somebody else’s fault.

You first became known at age of 12 with the top 10 single “I Like It” but after that you took a bit of a break. The question on everyone’s minds when they hear Sammie is ‘where has he been?’ Is it a struggle to step out from the shadows of your younger self?

It’s not tough at all. I think because of that reason, I haven’t been out consistently or frequently like most artists you see. So my first time out was the ages of 12 through 15, that’s “I Like It,” “Crazy Things I Do For Love” and “Hardball.” So that was from the years of ‘99 to 2001. My first “hiatus” was just to go back to school and have a sense of normalcy. My life changed substantially after I went platinum after the age of 13. I am 26 now and I never wanted to look back on my childhood just to realize I didn’t have a childhood. That was the reason I “disappeared” the first time.

Then after my sophomore project, “Kiss Me Through the Phone,” “You Should Be My Girl,” “Come With Me,” all successful mainstream records I went through a label change. I just felt, if I was going to be indie, then let me be indie and if I was going to be major then let me be major. That’s when I started my own company in ‘09, took time to build a camp, build a team, find myself, find my sound, like I said Insomnia is that first effort. I understand the disconnect and why people kind of relate and go back to little Sammie, but I am well beyond those years.

Did that break help or hurt your career?

I guess its pros and cons to both sides. Like you said, there’s a disconnect where I am 26 years young now and people still assume that Sammie is still this little kid, but I have grown man bills and grown man issues just like the next person. So I think that would be the negative of it but the positive is that it gave me time to really grow up. So the material that I sing and the content is believable because you didn’t watch me grow up.

I know a lot of artists around my age bracket that never left the public eye and it’s hard to take them seriously as the 25/26 year-olds that they are because you’ve watched them grow up. For me every time I pop back on television I’m this different dude, so it’s like you accept me for what you see opposed to you formulating your own opinion and keeping me in this cubicle. It has its negatives and positives but it’s more good than bad, if I would say so myself.

In the early 2000’s, it’s safe to say you were probably every girl’s first crush, so what was it really like for you in high school trying to be a normal kid?

High school was nuts, I won’t lie. My life in high school was bitter sweet. I had all these girls going crazy. I used to get escorted to class with high school security. I remember the first day of school the principal and the teachers didn’t know what was going on, so they pulled me in the office and they were like who are you? So I had to explain my situation. I didn’t go to a private school; I was going to a public school. And of course, with girls comes the haters and the guys didn’t like that I was taking the girls. So it was a little crazy.

By my junior year they got to understand I was just a student trying to get my education and create some of these relationships that’s everlasting until this day. The only time I experienced craziness after that is – I played basketball for two years, so when I would go to the opposing school campus it was like Michael Jordan was coming to town, and I wasn’t even a star basketball player that’s the crazy part.

I got to experience certain things my industry peers missed out on I was homecoming king, played basketball two years, I was in the choir. Those experiences and moments I will forever cherish. I am very grateful that I was able to have the best of worlds, the fame as well as some normalcy.

You’ve seen a lot of child stars sort of follow in your footsteps, after you it was the B2K and Bow Wow era, and now there’s a bunch of other new child stars like Mindless Behavior to give an example. What’s your advice to current child singers?

To start to define [right now] who they want to be for years to come. I mentioned at the end of this week I am going to write some records for Jacob Latimore’s project. He’s 17 but he’s been around since 13/14 and I got to watch him grow. So it’s pretty dope to be able to work with him because I can relate to what he’s trying to get to. Being a child star isn’t an easy accomplishment in itself but once you establish yourself as a child star the next thing you have to start thinking about is okay how am I going to get out of that.

It’s not easy to grow up in this industry. So you can do that with the content. You don’t have to force it. It’s just trying to get them to look past the now. So if you’re 12, 13 14, leave room for growth in your content and your music to do a project when you’re 17/18 and it still be interesting and keeping the people intrigued. It’s all about evolving. If you don’t evolve you will eventually evaporate. Don’t just do records for the now, think about the career and longevity.

Before you came on the scene, there wasn’t really another mainstream artist out that was as young as you were. Before you, the only other young people that come to mind is Kris Kross.  You live in Atlanta now too, so when the news came out about Kris Kross member Chris Kelly’s death – what was your reaction? Did you know him?

I [didn’t] know him personally but of course I know of him and his work and his mark that Kris Kross and the whole So So Def family made in that era. I was just thinking man another one. When I say another one I mean another artist, gone too soon, and if I’m not mistaken, if I have my facts straight, I want to say it was substance abuse. I just hate to see artists go out that way. A lot of people turn to those type of outlets to escape reality. That goes back to like I said a piece of mind and knowing God and knowing that beyond the fame and beyond the money, life is more important. You only get one. You can have all the money in the bank, if you die its gone. The millions will be just scattered out amongst family or friends or whoever you have in your will.

So when I saw the news I was just more so like ‘its another one that chose the wrong way, made one bad decision and it affected his life, literally.’ My condolences goes out to the fam, and the So So Def family and like I said Kris Kross to me are young legends. What they did was unheard of. My heart goes out to that whole situation.

For the latest on Sammie follow him on twitter at @PrinceSammie and check his latest music on princesammie.com.

Rhonesha Byng is a Brooklyn based writer. Follow her on twitter at @NeshasAgenda.

On February 27, McMillan’s naked body was found on a levee near the Mississippi River between the towns of Sherard and Rena Lara, Miss. — some 25 miles from Clarksdale. Autopsy reports released this month revealed that the 33-year-old had been strangled, beaten, set on fire and dragged.

Desperately seeking answers, McMillan’s parents, Amos and Patricia Unger, held a press conference at their home last week, hoping to uncover the events leading up to their son’s death and to determine if McMillian’s death should be classified as a hate crime because he was gay, or if his death was politically motivated because he was running for mayor.

“We are asking for the justice department to get involved in this investigation,” Daryl Parks, a partner in the law firm, said during the press conference. “It becomes clear that Marco McMillian was tortured by someone and we don’t believe this one person did it alone.”

Suspect in custody ‘confessed,’ police claim

The Coahoma County Sheriff’s Department said 22-year-old Shelby, Miss., native Lawrence Reed is in custody and that he allegedly confessed to the murder. Reed reportedly told friends sexual advances from the slain politician caused him — a heterosexual — to “snap.”

“There is no way we can accept the gentleman’s little explanation of, ‘Hey, I strangled him.’ Well, where are the choke marks on the neck? There’s a lot more to it,” Parks said.

Sharon Lettman-Hicks, Executive Director and CEO of the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC), the nation’s leading black lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender civil rights organization, is working with the family to publicize the case.

“There are no marks on the neck or the throat in the autopsy report,” she said. “And the autopsy report makes a particular statement that there are no marks on the neck or the throat. So somebody’s lying…[McMillian] was bruised over his body and he was suffocated. So how does that happen…by one person who is smaller than him…The facts that we know so far are not adding up. ”

According to the autopsy report, which was obtained by theGrio, McMilllan had blunt force trauma to the head, back and legs consistent with a beating. He also had hemorrhaging in his right eye which evidenced his cause of death as “asphyxia of undetermined etiology.”

The report further said it was unclear if the second and third degree burns found all over Marco’s body were inflicted before or after his death.

Scotty Meredith, the Coahoma County coroner, said he was so troubled by the report that he refused to sign the death certificate.

“There are inconsistencies in the autopsy report,” Meredith told theGrio. “His cause of death was asphyxiation — origin unknown, beating and burning. But on the one-page provisional report that was done right after the autopsy, it said the burns were perimortem which means after death, and that no cause of death was identifiable evidenced by non-lethal blunt trauma to the head, meaning it didn’t kill him. But in the second report it said he died from blunt force trauma to the head.”

Meredith, who pronounced McMillian dead at the scene, said McMillian was killed at another location and moved to where his body was found.

“He was dragged under a barbed wire fence which is consistent with what Reed said he did,” Meredith said. “He was dragged between 30 to 40 feet. And not by a vehicle which the community first misinterpreted when they heard dragging. But he was dragged by a person.”

Meredith, who delivered the death certificate to McMillian‘s family this week — signed by the State’s Chief Medical Examiner Mark LeVaughn — said the controversy surrounding McMillian‘s death is a ‘first‘ in his nearly 25 years as coroner.

“I don’t know why it’s this way,” he said. “This is the first time I’ve seen an autopsy report so complicated where I was not comfortable signing the death certificate. And it’s caused a lot of people to have a lot of questions. The family has a lot of questions.”

Next: political aspirations a factor?

According to his bio, McMillian was hailed by EBONY magazine as one of the nation’s 30 leaders who are 30 years old and under in 2004. A graduate of Jackson State University, McMillian was CEO of MWM & Associates, a professional consulting firm for nonprofit organizations. He’d also served as international executive director of the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity; executive assistant and chief of staff to the president of Alabama A&M University, and assistant to the vice president for institutional advancement at Jackson State University.

McMillian was living in Memphis before returning to Clarksdale with a strong desire to change his hometown. He announced his candidacy for mayor in January 2013.

“This race to City Hall is about Our Children. Our Citizens. Our Concern. Our CLARKSDALE,” McMillan posted on his Facebook page. “…We are the change we seek…I am going to truly need you[r] help to transform Clarksdale so all people will have a quality of life…Please keep me lifted in prayer.” In another post he said: “More than 40% of the people who live in Clarksdale, Mississippi live in poverty every day. We can eradicate poverty and substandard living for all if we stand to do what is right and just.”

Clarksdale is the county seat of Coahoma County and according to the 2011 Census, has a population of about 18,000.

Lettman-Hicks said she and McMillian’s family believe his political aspirations may have been a factor in his death.

“We’re looking into that…we don’t necessarily believe Reed may have acted alone, if was even the killer,” she said. “There is a lack of willingness in the general community to provide information…So it makes us have the assumption that there may be a political motive behind his death and not this fabricated relationship gone bad that seems to be the general norm of…speculation. Why aren’t they looking into whether the person who said he killed him actually killed him and he’s not being the scapegoat for someone else?”

The Clarksdale election was held on May 7.

“There are mixed feelings in the community. It’s been an ordeal for the community and for the family that‘s for sure,” Meredith said. “We have come so far in race relations in Clarksdale that we don’t need anything to set us back. Everything is good. God made all of us and that’s the way I see the whole community, with that same attitude. And that’s the only way we’re going to make it. We don’t need any trouble at all.”

Will Rooker, the public information officer for the Coahoma County Sheriff’s Department, said that investigators confirmed that Reed and McMillian knew each other and that the morning after he and McMillian were last seen together by witnesses, Reed had an accident in McMillian’s car. Reed was alone in the vehicle and injured.

The following morning, McMillan was found dead.

While colleagues said McMillan was “openly gay,” his mother told CNN that her son “did not announce in public that he was gay” when it came to his run for political office.  McMillan’s autopsy report showed the presence of semen on his body.

Friends of Reed, however, said he was straight.

“Gay panic” at issue

“If in fact, under the assumption of the friends and family of the suspect, that he panicked because unwanted advances were put on him…why aren’t they looking into this potentially as being a hate crime?” Lettman-Hicks said. “Gay panic is a hate crime. Women get unwanted advances from men all the time, but we don’t turn around and kill them. How did it escalate to a point that it turned into torture? It just doesn’t add up.”

“I think some are trying to relate this to a hate crime and I don’t see it as that,” Meredith said. “And that’s just my opinion. I see it as an argument. But that still don’t make [what happened] right.”

McMillan’s family has asked for a federal investigation because of frustration with the local investigation and also because, unlike federal law, Mississippi’s hate crime statute does not cover sexual orientation.

“Because of the level of hate that was involved in the level of torture that was found on Marco, we are not going to let this be relegated to some sort of self-defense case,” Lettman-Hicks said.

In a letter to Coahoma County’s Sheriff Charles Jones dated May 1, Patricia Unger cited several concerns in regard to how her son’s case was being handled. She noted a lack of professionalism and information, citing that Jones had only been to see her twice since her son was murdered, the improper removal of her son’s belongings and the manner in which she was made to identify her son’s body.

Next: “Where’s the decency?”

“They had to identify their son from a picture on a cell phone in a body bag zipped up to his face,” Lettman-Hicks said. “In a little tiny town like that, they didn’t have the decency to send the sheriff’s car over to pick up the family to bring them to the morgue to identify their only child. Once the body was turned over to the funeral home they were able to prepare it for burial. But in terms of identification to see what his original state was and to deal with the sanctity and respect to the family of finding their loved one who was reported missing, deceased, there was absolutely no compassion.”

Unger said McMillan’s vehicle was moved to a private location following the accident without her consent and notification. She had to retrieve the contents of the vehicle, including a set of keys to her home, from the tow service.

“Again, where is the decency?” Lettman-Hicks asked. “We black folks. We don’t operate like this especially in a little country town. This is a local community and this young man was running for mayor. This is a high-profile case. Where is just the human dignity? Where is the cardboard box? Or the Ziploc bag with his belongings being brought back to a grieving mother’s home, and the conversation, explanation or expression of grief and condolence and respect for a mother for her only child? Where’s the southern hospitality? I can’t even get beyond that. I mean, there isn’t anything illegal about that. But it is quite inhumane.”

Unger said in her letter that she had to ask the tow company for her son’s belongings. When asking about a certain item, one of the employees gave her a “surprised” look “and went in the office to retrieve the items.

“Was the tow company just helping themselves to his belongings?” Lettman-Hicks said. “If you’re going to return all my stuff, then give me my stuff. Don’t go in the back room and say, ‘Oh. Here it is.’ Why isn’t it together? Why isn’t it sealed up? Why isn’t it in an investigation bag? This is a murder scene. This is a crime scene. What if even Reed’s people want to defend him? Where’s the security of the evidence? Reed is the one that drove off in the car.”

The Coahoma County Justice Court confirmed Thursday that no attorney has been appointed for Reed.

Lettman-Hicks further said the Coahoma County Sheriff’s Department failed to disclose information to McMillan’s family for fear they would leak the information to the news media.

“Are you kidding me? They’re the victims just as much as their deceased son,” she said. “We just want a proper investigation and we feel there is not enough objectivity in how law enforcement is pursuing this as more than what some are calling a domestic violence case.”

Rooker claimed they were trying to preserve the integrity of the investigation.

“We are preparing everything we need to get this ready for trial,” Rooker said. “This has been a multi-agency task to put this [case] together and we have a man in custody and we have charged him with the murder of Mr. McMillian.”

Rooker said he would not comment as to the allegations of the Unger family.

Warren Strain, a spokesman for the Mississippi Bureau of Investigations (MBI), confirmed they were assisting the Coahoma County Sheriff’s Department, but would not comment on the case.

Why they want the Feds involved

Lettman-Hicks said McMillan’s parents have questioned the thoroughness of the investigation because they have yet to be interviewed by any law enforcement agency in regard to this case.

“Marco lived with his family,” she said. “They have never come to the house to investigate anything, his computer, nothing. What was he doing leading up to his death? What was the condition of his household? Where is the investigation? These are the questions that [Parks] and the family have in terms of the level of investigation that’s representative of a murder. To me, they’re trying to blame the victim and trying to find anything to cast aspersion on his character. Marco McMillian had a tox[icology] screen after his death. Is there a tox screen report on the person who is in jail? I don’t understand that the person who is living claims to be the killer and we can’t get any information from him. I don’t want to see another story on black on black crime and all of sudden one’s in jail and one’s dead. Who cares? This is just unacceptable.”

Although Parks and Crumps recently settled a million-dollar wrongful death lawsuit for Trayvon Martin’s parents, Lettman-Hicks said this is not why she approached them to assist in this case.

“I have a 20-year history with them and we wanted some attorneys that were aggressive enough…civil rights minded and social justice minded that they were going to move law enforcement and legal processes for the family to get some answers. Lawyers are for justice. Not only for a paycheck and that’s where we are right now — trying to get justice for Marco.”

Monica Land is a theGrio contributor and a reporter for Mississippilink.com.

NEW YORK (AP) — The federal civil rights challenge to the contentious New York Police Department tactic of stop, question and frisk is winding down after more than nine weeks of testimony from men who say they were wrongly stopped because of their race and police officials who believe the nation’s largest force operates with integrity.

City attorney Heidi Grossman said during summations Monday that there is “no indication of racial motivation whatsoever” in the practice.

U.S. District Court Judge Shira Scheindlin must eventually examine more than 7,000 pages of trial record and may order major changes to the policy, reforms that could have a nationwide impact on how police departments operate.

More than 5 million stops have been made in New York in the past decade, mostly of black and Hispanic men. Police must have reasonable suspicion to stop someone, a standard lower than probable cause needed to justify an arrest. Only about 10 percent result in arrests.

About a dozen black and Hispanic men told the judge of disturbing and uncomfortable encounters with police that left them feeling confused, angry and scared. One witness, 24-year-old Nicholas Peart from Harlem, wept on the stand as he described how he was handcuffed and put into the back of a squad car. A teenager told how he was stopped walking down the street. In each instance, the witnesses said they could find no basis for the stops other than they were minorities. But many of the officers who did the stopping also explained their legal reasoning.

Lawyers for the men who sued police say officers are making illegal stops in part because they felt pressure from superiors instituting illegal quotas. Some officers testified said they were punished for not making enough stops and were harassed by fellow officers upset they had blown the whistle. Yet others said no quotas existed and they never felt pressure to make a stop.

The trial has provided a rare window into the NYPD, with about a dozen officials testifying on how they do their jobs. Officers are told to stop the “the right people, at the right time in the right location,” a phrase first heard in the early days of the case on a secret recording made by one whistleblower officer during a heated exchange over his performance evaluation. Since then, it has been repeated by nearly every official who testified.

“It’s a tool that needs to be used properly, and as borough commanders you should have adequate checks and balances in place, and you should be looking at them with your staff,” said Deputy Chief James Hall, who is in charge of patrol. “There is a focus on when it is used … right time, right location, you know, right individual.”

Police have said the phrase means the location where crimes have been occurring, at the time they have been occurring, and an individual who matches the description of a crime suspect, or someone who appears about to commit a crime. Lawyers for the men who have sued say, though, that the phrase is code for targeting blacks and Hispanics in poor neighborhoods.

Plaintiffs say a court monitor must be appointed to facilitate changes in training, supervision and the documentation of street stops. An expert for the city testified that the department has already enough checks and balances already in place.

The tactic has become a city flashpoint, with the mayor and police commissioner defending it is a necessary crime-fighting tool, and other city lawmakers calling for major change.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

Interestingly enough, both the president’s detractors and his supporters will seize on the same soundbite from his address to the 2013 graduating class at Morehouse College.

In the speech, he basically makes two requests of the Morehouse graduating seniors – 1) In the Morehouse tradition, continue to expect more of yourself and 2) “inspire those who look up to you to expect more of themselves.”

Fair enough.  The soundbite that supporters and detractors of Obama have and will zero in on is: “We know that too many young men in our community continue to make bad choices. Growing up, I made a few myself. And I have to confess, sometimes I wrote off my own failings as just another example of the world trying to keep a black man down.”

I am fairly convinced now that President Obama can not speak to an all or mostly black audience without generating some variation of diametrically opposed reactions.

Excuses, excuses…

Some have said that this is Obama appeasing his (not present) white audience by once again chastising black men for not being boot-strappy enough; others will say that he is too willing to excuse structural and institutional racism and inequality even as he claims that “we’ve got no time for excuses.”

Supporters will claim that this is one of the most personal speeches that the president has ever given and they will laud his truth-telling and willingness to state the tough-love realities for black men.

I suspect the 2013 graduates of Morehouse College were mostly happy to have the POTUS as their commencement speaker – even if some of them align themselves with his critics.

NBC News: Obamas’ tough love, inspiration for black community

The president’s recitation of “excuses” seems to resonate beyond this particular speech and may be more aptly indicative of how some of Obama’s critics (on the left) now see his presidency – emptied of its promise and too often excused by black folks and many in the media for under-performing on politics and policy issues dear to progressives. As a part of his rhetorical strategy to situate himself as an insider (with respect to the Morehouse community), President Obama recited the following:

“Excuses are tools of the incompetent, used to build bridges to nowhere and monuments of nothingness.”

There are multiple variations of this “creed” that has become a staple in membership processes for many black fraternities and sororities, but Obama’s recitation of it was not levied at his audience in order to haze or chastise them.

He was in fact making the point that he (himself) had relied upon the excuse that “the world [tries] to keep a black man down,” and he was marking this occasion as one where his fellow Morehouse men had learned this lesson about the pitfalls of making excuses in life.

The overlooked language

We won’t hear this much in the reporting on the speech, but the president also acknowledges the facts that “the bitter legacies of slavery and segregation” still exist and that “racism and discrimination” is “still out there.”

We know these truths to be self-evident, but for many, these mentions do not amount to the kind of critical discourse required to unpack the challenges that Morehouse men have and will continue to face.

Maybe a commencement address is not the best place to hash out political inadequacies or the nuances of intra-racial relations between and amongst black folk and the first black president.

And to be fair, the president’s speech spends plenty of time (and words) commemorating the glorious tradition of Morehouse College graduates.  But more and more black folk are growing weary of the excuses made by and for this administration in the face of diminished resources, high unemployment, and limited access to economic opportunity in the black community.

Whether you love them or hate them, Mr. and Mrs. Obama’s speeches at HBCU’s this year certainly suggest that a longer, more sustained dialogue between the Obamas and black America is a few years overdue.

James Braxton Peterson is the Director of Africana Studies and Associate Professor of English at Lehigh University. He is also the founder of Hip Hop Scholars LLC, an association of hip-hop generation scholars dedicated to researching and developing the cultural and educational potential of hip-hop, urban and youth cultures. You can follow him on Twitter @DrJamesPeterson

View more videos at: http://nbcphiladelphia.com.

NBC Philadelphia - A Vietnam War veteran, confined to a wheelchair, was attacked by a group of armed masked men inside his home overnight and he is blaming himself for the incident.

“I thought nothing like that would happen,” said Larnell “Larry” Brown.

Brown wasn’t at fault. He was just thinking a neighbor was coming to check up on him when the men burst into the Marine Corps. vet’s town home on the 9400 block of Ashton Road in Northeast Philadelphia around midnight.

Brown, a 58-year-old vet who receives daily nursing care plus help from neighbors, opened the door – which has a “US Marines” sticker on it – thinking it was a neighbor who had helped him earlier. Instead, a group of masked men burst in and began to attack Brown in his bed.

“When he buzzed the person, it was five to six males who rushed him, punched him, struck him in the face several times, made him lie on his stomach and put a gun to his head,” said Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small.

Brown was treated for cuts and bruises. He told NBC10 that he blamed himself for allowing in the men.

The group of men took a television, money, medications and some jewelry before darting out of the home, according to police.

Police said it was unclear if the men fled on foot or if they had a getaway vehicle.

Brown said he thinks the men knew he was home alone.

Click here to read more.

Jones-Harvey is part of a small handful of black producers and is the only woman of color currently working as a leading producer on Broadway. This is a major deal — as are many of the productions which have come to life through her creative acumen.

Jones-Harvey’s critical and commercial hit: The Trip to Bountiful

Currently, Jones-Harvey and her partner Stephen C. Byrd are helming their well-received revival of Horton Foote’s The Trip to Bountiful, produced through their company, Front Row Productions, in partnership with Foxboro, Inc. This production has garnered Tony nominations for actresses Cicely Tyson and Condola Rashad (daughter of Phylicia Rashad), in addition to nominations for Best Sound Design of a Play, and Best Revival of a Play.

These nominations are especially significant for two reasons; for Cicely Tyson, one of our grande dames of stage and screen, this is her first Tony Award nomination, after many decades in show business, and a three-decade hiatus from the Great White Way. And, after critics have observed the lackluster recognition black productions have received from the Broadway community in recent years, these nominations for successful shows is especially welcome.

For Front Row Productions, it’s been quite a run! To borrow a line from another Broadway favorite, the musical Gypsy, it would seem that everything is coming up roses for Jones-Harvey. How did she get her start?

Going from the business world to Broadway

“It’s an interesting conversation about the angels that show up in your life and present themselves in different ways,” Jones-Harvey, who has a dual degree from Spelman and Georgia Tech, and an MBA from New York University, told theGrio. “I studied entertainment in business school and took several courses on the economics of entertainment, entertainment law, creating treatments, and so many other aspects of the industry.”

Although she has always had a love for the arts, she never saw the entertainment business as a career possibility. Jones-Harvey was discouraged by what was happening in the music industry when she got out of business school, and she had no interest in moving to Los Angeles to work in movies. At first did being a Broadway producer did not seem like an option.

“In my mind I wasn’t someone with substantial wealth to lean on, so I couldn’t see myself in that type of role,” said the Largo, Maryland native.

When she moved to New York for business school, a friend introduced her to Stephen C. Byrd (who also came from a business and finance background), as someone who could help her make the transition from consumer products to financial services. “I was at Proctor and Gamble in Cincinnati for many years before deciding to go back to school, and so when I moved to New York that was my goal, to go into finance.”

The makings of the all-black Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

In 1995, Byrd told her about his aspirations of trying to put up a production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with Angela Bassett, Laurence Fishburne, and James Earl Jones. “That didn’t happen for many reasons, but he kept the passion.”

Fast forward to 2006 — Byrd approached Jones-Harvey about working with him this time to bring the play to life.

She took a chance and said yes.

“It took two years to get Cat up: Learning the business, pulling the cast together, getting a theater, and of course securing investors, and the right company for the show.” When it all came together, the all-black cast version of Tennessee Williams’ classic, directed by Debbie Allen, and starring Terrence Howard, Phylicia Rashad, Anika Noni Rose and James Earl Jones was one of the most successful Broadway plays of 2008.

After making a huge mark by generating over $700,000 in ticket sales, the production then headed to London, where it scored an Olivier Award, London’s equivalent of a Tony.

Next: The super-success of A Streetcar Named Desire

The company then pulled off a successful 16-week run of Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire, in which Blair Underwood and Nicole Ari Parker sizzled in the first all-black cast to portray the iconic characters of this play on Broadway.

Being a Broadway producer is not for the faint of heart. In addition to raising a budget that’s anywhere between $2.5 and $4 million for a play (and “into the stratosphere for musicals, $6 or 7 million — and up to Spiderman budgets!” laughed Jones-Harvey), the other challenges are significant.

“You have to be able to balance both the creative and business sides, and being able to put together a commercially appealing show as well as high quality one,” she further explained. “Then you have to deal with all the different elements of the show: A director who has a certain vision that they are trying to fulfill, while you are trying to ensure that it can fit inside of your budget, the real budget, and convince investors that they have viable opportunity. And then you have to attract talent. One of the challenges is the pool of talent when we do a show with just African-American leads; the list of actors who have commercial draw and stage chops, plus the time and willingness to do a show, is not extensive.”

Convincing Broadway investors to go “all-black”

What types of obstacles did she and Byrd face when they presented the concept of an all-black cast to investors? “We heard things like, ‘oh these are gimmicks,’ or ‘is there an audience for this, and will people support this?’ But with Cat on a Hot Tin Roof we kind of dispelled that. It was the biggest grossing play in that season — we did better than several musicals — so we proved that there is an audience for it and an interest. In the beginning it skewed; initially it was more African-American than it was after the reviews, which was interesting. I feel like that spell has been broken because our current production, The Trip to Bountiful has had an extremely diverse audience from day one. Audiences are looking beyond a gimmick to great casting.”

And the larger drama community is recognizing Front Row’s achievements as well. “We are excited that Cicely is being recognized by the Drama desk, the Drama League, the Outer Critics Circle, and the Tony’s; it speaks to great casting and delivery,” James-Harvey said of her role in The Trip to Bountiful. “It doesn’t matter what color she is, she is excellent.”

James-Harvey is pleased to be bringing in a new audience for Broadway. “It has to do with people wanting to see themselves on stage and wanting to identify with the stars who are being cast in those roles. We cater to the traditional theatergoer in a certain sense because the titles we have chosen are classic works with strong themes that we all relate to, across different cultures. The casting is all about drawing in new generations, new audiences, who want to see their favorites; or people who are new to theater.”

Remembering black Broadway trailblazers of the past

While this lady is a trailblazer, the theater business isn’t totally bereft of people of color behind the scenes. A few prominent names come to mind you should know:

Playwright and director George C. Wolfe is highly notable for his work at New York City’s Public Theater.

Irene Gandy, renowned Broadway press agent, produced Sarafina! and the 2011 revival of Porgy and Bess.

Actress and producer Tamara Tunie produced the Tony Award-winning musical Spring Awakening and August Wilson’s final play, Radio Golf in recent seasons.

Of course, right now Berry Gordy is having a rousing success with Motown the Musical; but the percentage of African-Americans making business decisions and producing is small on the New York City theater scene. We are most certainly in the minority.

“The term producer now has a different meaning for different people,” Jones-Harvey said. ”I term myself a professional producer because I do it full time and that’s the difference between what Stephen and I do and what a lot of other producers do. There are investors, but they are not involved in the day-to-day of the production. So I’ve created the term ‘professional producer’ (laughs). We are the African-Americans doing that on Broadway now.”

And, as in any profession, role models are important. “I revere producers like Kenneth Harper, who is not talked about much these days, but he was the producer of The Wiz in the ’70s and I can only imagine the challenges he faced in bringing it to Broadway,” she added. “But the fact that show ran for five years, won seven Tonys, and was a blockbuster success is a testament to how wonderful it was.”

Expanding the roles of blacks on Broadway — behind the scenes

One of the mandates of Front Row is to educate more African-American investors about the opportunities for investing on Broadway, risks and all. “Broadway needs to be more inclusive because traditionally it has been a very small club,” she said. “The broader that we can extend the pool of potential investors, the more opportunity there is to see diversity in the shows we produce. Another important aspect are the backstage and behind the scenes positions. These are great union jobs with benefits, and we need to be out there.”

In keeping with the tradition of playing it forward, Jones-Harvey, who taught this past spring at City College, will repeat her Producing for Broadway course this fall. “Once again, the idea is that the more of us that are out there, the more great options there will be on Broadway.”

Being a black Broadway producer: 101

In addition to the right knowledge, she says that to get it all right, the stars really have to align. “You need the right theater, and it’s all about timing. I mean there are only about 40 buildings that you can go into, so it’s competitive. There are always 20 to 25 shows on the waiting list, so you are always vying for the size of the theater you want, and the location and time that you want it, so all of that being able to happen is miraculous!”

Not to mention having the right cast simultaneously contracted, requiring investors stepping up to the plate at the right time, with big money. She also stresses the importance of strong relationships.

“Building relationships is key. You are not going to get a theater unless you have those relationships, and the trust of the theater owners handing over their real estate to you. It’s the whole community,” she said. “I am hard pressed to find any job or any success now not completely based on good relationships.”

Up next: Black Orpheus, the musical

Next up for the dynamic Jones-Harvey and Byrd duo is a new musical version of Black Orpheus slated for Broadway. Many of us are familiar with Marcel Camus 1959 film, but this production will be based on the original play by Vinicius de Moraes which was presented in Rio in 1956.

“It was the first play on stage in Brazil to feature black actors and that in itself was a draw for us, that it has that history,” Jones-Harvey said.  ”It was an impactful piece and it has never been done as a musical here in the States. We are really excited to bring this tragic love story, set in Rio during Carnival, to Broadway.”

While they hope to have the show up in 2014, Jones-Harvey points out that they have only done revivals up to this point. “New musicals are a lot more work; we will nurture it until it’s ready.”

And we will wait, happily, until it makes the perfect addition to Front Row’s stellar track record.

Suzanne Rust is a writer, lifestyle expert, on-air talent, and a native New Yorker. Follow her on Twitter at @SuzanneRust.

But during testimony Monday, when she was asked why she nonetheless took Trump to court, Jacqueline Goldberg replied firmly that “Somebody had to stand up to him.”

Goldberg says “The Apprentice” star enticed her into buying two condos at Chicago’s Trump International Hotel & Tower with an offer to share profits of the entire building.

But she told jurors at the civil trial in Chicago that she felt “conned” when Trump withdrew the profit-sharing plan after she bought the condos.

Testifying last week, Trump denied the allegations. He also told reporters that Goldberg was in fact trying to rip him off.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

Eight times a week, Valisa LeKae leads a double life, starring as Diana Ross in Motown: The Musical.

The show, which has the largest ensemble of any show currently on Broadway (over 35 performers and nineteen musicians) opened weeks ago, and has since become the must-see musical of the year.

According to the New York Times, “Motown: The Musical is the biggest box office hit among the new productions of the 2012-13 season.” Since opening the show has consistently sold out, raking in over $1 million per week.

In April Motown: The Musical picked up 4 Tony nominations including a Best Actress nomination for LeKae.

“I’m very happy. It’s really a blessing to know that my hard work is playing off,” Lekae told theGrio’s Chris Witherspoon. “To be recognized in such an esteemed community of legendary actors and people who’ve  worked their craft all their lives, and to say ‘we notice you and we’re gonna honor you with a 2013 Tony nomination’ is really fantastic.”

Last month Motown debuted on Broadway to a star-studded crowd including Gladys Knight, Bono, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Berry Gordy and Diana Ross.

LeKae opened up about what it was like meeting Ross for the first time on-stage.

“Next thing I know there’s this women who looks like me, but I look like her, in the corner, with this hair, and I go, ‘she’s here already, she’s on stage,’” LeKae said.

LeKae will be honored by the National Action Network in October for her outstanding performance in Motown, and has received a 2013 Drama League nomination, and an Outer Critics Award nomination.

She is also the recipient of a 2013 Theatre World Award.

LeKae has no plans of slowing down, and hopes to take on TV and film roles in the near future. But for right now, she is enjoying every moment on the Motown stage.

“Every night I find joy in everything that I do. Even when I’m tired or not feeling well, I know that there’s one person out there that I can inspire. And that’s why I got into this business.”

Fans of LeKae can tune into the Tony Awards Sunday June 9 to see if she walks away with the prestigious award for Best Actress.

Follow Chris Witherspoon on Twitter at @WitherspoonC

Hot 97’s program director and on-air personality, Ebro Darden, said he emailed Jay-Z congratulating him about the alleged baby on the way, but the Brooklyn rapper emailed him back dismissing the news as another rumor.

“It’s not true. The news is worse than blogs,” Jay-Z said, according to Darden.

Beyoncé herself addressed the gossip in an Instagram post which was re-posted on sites like The Daily Mail.

“I can’t stop the rumors from starting, and I can’t really change peoples minds who believe them, all I can do is sit back and laugh at these low life people who have nothing better to do than talk about me,” the “Single Ladies” singer reportedly wrote.

She is currently in the midst of the European leg of her Mrs. Carter World Tour.

Click on the video link to Hot 97′s “The Realness” segment and let us know what you think in the comments below.

You can check out Kyle’s musical coverage on theGrio music page, and follow Kyle on Twitter at @HarveyWins.

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center announced a 5:30 p.m. rally on 13th Street, followed by a march to West Eighth Street and Sixth Avenue, where a 32-year-old man was shot and killed Friday after his alleged assailant hurled anti-gay slurs.

The NYPD said Monday that there have been 24 anti-gay crimes so far this year, compared with 14 during the same period in 2012.

Earlier this month, a gay couple was attacked on West 32nd Street and beaten so severely that one of the men needed eye surgery. And days before that, another gay couple was assaulted by a group of men in the same area near Madison Square Garden.

Click here to read more.

After being drafted by the Tulsa Shock, the University of Notre Dame graduate signed with Jay-Z’s new sports agency, Roc Nation Sports, according to their website.

Diggins was surprised with the brand-new white Mercedes and handwritten note from Jay-Z in the parking lot following graduation.

The former Notre Dame basketball player posted photos on Instagram and Twitter, even adding: “I got 99 problems, but a BENZ ain’t one.“

Follow Carrie Healey on Twitter @CarrieHeals. 

View more videos at: http://nbcmiami.com.

NBC South Florida - Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade granted a South Florida teen’s wish and showed up at her senior prom on Friday.

Nicole Muxo said that she was called up to the dance floor, where she was told that Wade was on the phone.

“So I talked to him on the phone, and as I was talking to him the doors opened and he walked out and I was completely shocked, I had no idea that he was going to even call,” said Muxo, who attends Archbishop Coleman Carroll High School in West Kendall. “So I was super-excited, everyone else was super-excited in there.”

Photos show Wade taking pics with the teen and others before the prom at the La Jolla Ballroom in Coral Gables. He also was snapped at the dance.

Muxo said Wade brought her flowers and then they danced.

Wade tweeted about the prom and shared photos on Twitter.

“I had a blast at Prom w @nicole_muxo… Never be 2 scared to ask.. They might just say… ” Wade Tweeted.

Muxo thanked the NBA player for coming by.

“It meant a lot to me. It made my dreams come true,” she said.

Initially Wade had said he wasn’t aware of the YouTube video, in which Muxo makes her pitch to the NBA superstar while wearing a No 3. Wade jersey. Kanye West’s “The Glory” plays in the background.

“My senior prom is coming up, and I have everything set for a perfect night except for one thing: a perfect date,” she says.

In the video she called Wade her favorite basketball player and used signs and “Prom?” written on basketballs to ask Wade to the big event.

Click here to read more.

A Broward County judge ordered Johnson jailed Monday until he posts a $1,000 bond. Another hearing was set for June 3. An arrest warrant was issued earlier this month when Johnson failed to meet his probation officer.

The six-time Pro Bowl player formerly known as Chad Ochocinco is serving a year of probation after Lozada said he head-butted her during an argument last August. She quickly filed for divorce. They had been married only since July 4.

Johnson was released by the Miami Dolphins after the incident. He also played for the Cincinnati Bengals and New England Patriots.

Lozada is on the “Basketball Wives” TV show.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

Maryland Lieutenant Gov. Anthony Brown announced earlier this month he will seek his state’s top post and enters the race with the backing of the state’s current governor, Martin O’Malley. Newark mayor Cory Booker is the favorite to win next year’s U.S. Senate race in New Jersey, and Republican Tim Scott of South Carolina, who was appointed to the Senate earlier this year, is expected to win a full six-year term.

If all three won, it would be a breakthrough in terms of black candidates. Two black candidates have never been elected senator in the same election year. Only eight African-Americans have ever been senators, and only four of those eight were elected. (Scott and Massachusetts Democrat Mo Cowan, a temporary appointee who will be in the Senate until June, are the first two African-Americans to serve in the Senate at the same time.) Brown would be the nation’s fifth-ever black governor, and the third who was elected.

Lack of diversity

Brown has the most difficult race, with a host of top Democrats expected to run in the primary there. Scott has a major advantage since he is already holding the seat, and Republican officials in South Carolina are likely to discourage a primary against him.

That only three victories would constitute a landmark year illustrates the lack of diversity at the top rungs of American politics. Being elected governor or senator is the traditional route to the presidency. (The last president who had not been a senator, governor or vice president was Dwight Eisenhower.) A record 20 women are now members of the Senate, a sign of progress but still well below the gender parity of the United States. Only six racial minorities are senators, while five are governors.

President Obama election changed the face of leadership in Washington. But his victory in some ways suggested the fall of barriers that still exist. Many black lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives and in state legislatures represent majority-black districts that are not ideal places from which to aspire for higher office, as many of those districts force the potential candidates into accumulating liberal records that may not be ideal for a statewide run and also have limited bases for fundraising.

What sets them apart

These three candidates have so far successfully navigated those challenges.

Being a minority in a party desperate for minority voices, Scott likely benefited from being black at times. He was effectively the only candidate considered when then-Sen. Jim DeMint resigned to head the Heritage Foundation.

Brown, a Harvard Law school graduate and Iraq War veteran, and Booker, a Rhodes Scholar who attended Yale Law School, both took the Obama route of emphasizing their elite credentials to non-black audiences (like campaign donors) while also appealing to African-Americans.

Follow Perry Bacon on Twitter at @perrybaconjr.

Starting Friday with a creative music campaign that saw new track, “New Slaves” premiering worldwide, to closing out Saturday Night Live‘s 38th season, it’s been widely reported that Kanye will be calling his new album Yeezus.

Kanye West’s eclectic performances on SNL: ‘Black Skinhead’, ‘New Slaves’

The origin for the title Yeezus is a play on Kanye’s well-known alias of “Yeezy” combined with the name of Jesus Christ and according to iTunes you can pre order the LP before it drops on June 18^th.

Kim Kardashian, the rapper’s girlfriend and soon-to-be mother of his child, posted a picture of the album artwork for Yeezus over the weekend in support of the project.

Will you be picking up Yeezus? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

You can check out Kyle’s musical coverage on theGrio music page, and follow Kyle on Twitter at @HarveyWins.

Taking place from Thursday July 4, through Sunday, July 7, this much-anticipated annual event will heat up New Orleans even further during this long summer weekend, attracting music stars from around the world, including superstar headliner Beyoncé.

Cable news channel MSNBC will be on hand with its stellar roster of on-air talent, who will broadcast live from the Essence Empowerment Experience, a central hub of the festival. MSNBC hosts and contributors including the Rev. Al Sharpton, Tamron Hall, Melissa Harris-Perry, Chris Matthews, Alex Wagner, Chris Hayes,  Ed Schultz and Joy-Ann Reid will be there to connect with viewers and festival goers to bring a heightened sense of community to both audiences.

Helping to empower audiences

This coverage, which will kick off on Friday, July 5 and run through the end of the festival, will share a venue with the Essence Empowerment Experience Stage, where festival participants and MSNBC viewers alike will be treated to intimate interactions with “icons, newsmakers, national leaders, activists, artists, entrepreneurs, celebrities, journalists, educators, and experts,” according to a release from Essence Communications and MSNBC.

“MSNBC’s live programming during the Essence Empowerment Experience, from the heart of the Essence Festival, underscores their commitment to broaden the national reach and impact of conversations with thought-leaders, politicians, authors, celebrities and artists who will address the critical issues facing our communities — especially those of people of color and women,” said Ebanks of the partnership.

History of the Essence Festival

The Essence Festival is America’s largest annual African-American music and culture event. Over the four days of the entertainment and empowerment gathering, in addition to Beyoncé, “Maxwell, Jill Scott, Brandy, LL Cool J, Trey Songz, New Edition, Janelle Monáe,” and many more will also perform, the release further states.

The Essence Festival began as a single event commemorating the 25th anniversary of Essence magazine in 1995. It has since grown into one of the country’s Top 10 Leading Brand events according to Advertising Age, garnering a crowd of over 400,000 each year.

Strengthening a commitment to community

Through collaborating on live coverage of the 2013 Essence Festival, Essence Communications and MSNBC hope to strengthen the mutual commitment of both entities to helping their audiences use information to improve their lives.

“MSNBC is committed to community and conversation — everything the Essence Festival represents,” said Griffin. “We’re proud to partner with Essence to highlight the ideas and issues of value to our audiences.”

TheGrio.com is a division of NBCUniversal, the parent company of MSNBC.

Follow Alexis Garrett Stodghill on Twitter at @lexisb.

The Mississippi NAACP had challenged the state’s 2011 state elections because the Legislature did not immediately use the 2010 census to draw new district lines in 2011. The state House and Senate instead argued for several weeks before ending their 2011 session without adopting new maps.

The NAACP had asked for that election to be set aside and special elections to be held under a court-ordered plan. It said that using the old maps violated the one-person, one-vote principle by diluting African-American voting strength.

Courts affirmed a ruling that allowed state lawmakers to run in their old districts that year.

The justices, without comment, upheld the lower court rulings.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

ATLANTA – President Obama delivered a fearless and passionate commencement address at Morehouse College on Sunday, which despite the steady rain, left the crowds captivated.

Peppering his speech with light-hearted humor, Obama emphasized the importance of not only academic success but a willingness to serve the powerless and give back to underserved communities.

“But I will say it betrays a poverty of ambition if all you think about is what goods you can buy instead of what good you can do,” said Obama in a speech that at times sounded like a motivational sermon.

A momentous day

Wearing academic robes in maroon and black, the president encouraged the 500 graduating men to be positive role models for “those who’ve been left behind, who haven’t had the same opportunities we have — they need to hear from you.”

Amid the pomp and ceremony of the college’s 129th commencement, there was an undeniable feeling that Obama’s very presence was a momentous historical day: the first African-American president addressing the nation’s premier institution of higher education exclusively for young black men.

Indeed, he did not shy away from highlighting the significance of the occasion: “laws and hearts and minds have been changed to the point where someone who looks just like you can somehow come to serve as President of these United States of America.”

He also made reference to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, who was “just 15 years old when he enrolled here at Morehouse” but his education “helped to forge the intellect, the discipline, the compassion, the soul force that would transform America.”

Obama gets personal

Linking the turbulent history of African-Americans to today’s opportunities for graduates, the president said “whatever you’ve gone through, it pales in comparison to the hardships previous generations endured — and they overcame them. And if they overcame them, you can overcome them, too.”

Speaking in strikingly personal terms the president also paid tribute to his “heroic single mom” but also talked about the challenges of being raised in a single-parent household. He said his father’s absence inspires him to be “a better father, a better husband, a better man.”

During the commencement President Obama was awarded an honorary law degree.

Despite the stormy weather, the rain-soaked crowds, mostly wearing plastic ponchos over their Sunday-best clothes, remained upbeat throughout the outdoor ceremony.

‘Proud and excited’

“I am happy, proud and excited and this is just one more blessing,” said Cherry Davis, of San Diego, California, whose middle son Byron Donovan, was graduating with a political science degree.

“I am very proud,” said Janie L Hendrix, the half sister of the legendary rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix, who resides in Seattle, Washington. She was there to see her son Claytin Hendrix Wright, 23, graduate with a bachelor’s degree in history.

“When my kids were little I read the story of Martin Luther King attending Morehouse College and that inspired them to attend here,” says Hendrix.”The lessons learned here are beyond academic. The instructors help these young men to become men of Morehouse.”

Hendrix is the mom of four sons and of these three have attended Morehouse College.

Other notable guests who attended included, Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed, Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), talk show host Steve Harvey, senior advisor to the president Valerie Jarrett and filmmaker Spike Lee, Spike Lee, who is an Atlanta native and a Morehouse man.

It was Obama’s second graduation speech in as many weeks. Last week, the president delivered the commencement address at Ohio State. His third and final speech of graduation season, at the U.S. Naval Academy, is scheduled for Friday.

Follow Kunbi Tinuoye on Twitter at @Kunbiti

TODAY - Singer Miguel literally kicked the 2013 Billboard Music Awards into high gear Sunday night when, during a soulful performance of his song “Adorn,” he decided to surf across the heads of audience members below.

Within minutes of the freak accident, the Internet was buzzing with GIFs and memes, many likening Miguel’s performance to an episode of WWE Smackdown.

Miguel quickly took to his Twitter account to address the accident.

got caught up in the moment, thank goodness Khyati is okay—
Miguel (@MiguelUnlimited) May 20, 2013

NEW YORK (AP) — If either her husband or daughter is calling, Audra McDonald knows without looking at her phone.

That’s because the five-time Tony Award winner has programed the ring tone for both to be The Carpenters’ hit version of “(They Long to Be) Close to You.”

“It’s cute, right?” the 42-year-old actress-singer asks.

It is indeed.

For more revealing things about McDonald look no further than her new CD and televised concert. Both pull back the curtain on one of the most decorated women on Broadway.

The 12-song disc called “Go Back Home” includes classics like Stephen Sondheim’s “The Glamorous Life,” Richard Rodgers-Oscar Hammerstein II’s “Edelweiss” and “First You Dream,” from the John Kander and Fred Ebb show “Steel Pier.”

It also highlights younger composers such as Zina Goldrich and Marcy Heisler (“Baltimore”), Adam Gwon (“I’ll Be Here”) and two songs by Michael John LaChiusa (“Virtue” and “Married Love”).

The CD’s title — taken from the stunning Kander and Ebb song from “The Scottsboro Boys” musical — is a hint that this is McDonald’s most personal album to date.

Since her last record — “Build a Bridge” in 2006 — McDonald lost her father in a plane crash, divorced and remarried, spent four seasons on TV’s “Private Practice” and won her fifth Tony Award for “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess.”

All those events have influenced her choice of songs. “If you were to write a musical about my life over the past seven years, this would be the soundtrack,” she says.

The song “First You Dream” makes her think of her 12-year-old daughter Zoe, “Edelweiss” of her late father and “Make Someone Happy” of her husband, fellow performer Will Swenson. The CDends on that optimistic note. “That’s what I’ve come to and where I am now,” she says.

McDonald, who is host of “Live From Lincoln Center,” has a line of concert dates until Christmas, has shot a pilot for CBS with Hope Davis and Sam Neill, and has three theater projects percolating. On Friday, her “Audra McDonald in Concert: Go Back Home” concert special airs on PBS.

The Associated Press recently sat down with the singer and longtime activist for marriage equality to find out about the new album — out Tuesday — and why she won’t be listening to it.

AP: Why so long between albums?

McDonald: Life happened. And I wasn’t quite ready to say anything. I was like, ‘I don’t want to force it. I don’t want to make an album simply to make an album. I need to have something to say.’

AP: Is there a story behind “Edelweiss”?

McDonald: That’s the first song I ever auditioned for anything with. I was 9 years old and my dad played it on the piano for me during my audition. It was for a dinner theater troupe in Fresno, Calif. I got in, and that started me on my theater journey. That song has always had this huge influence.

AP: Has your voice changed in these seven years?

McDonald: I think I understand my voice more than I did seven years ago. I’m much more comfortable with what my voice is than I was seven years ago. I’m not so anxious to sound like someone else. And that’s always been a goal of mine: be comfortable with your own voice, your own sound.

AP: You have five Tonys. Do you hope for a sixth?

McDonald: It’s still not even fathomable to me that I have one, let alone five. It does not compute. In my life, it really doesn’t. Last night, I was walking upstairs after having done three loads of laundry. I came upstairs and turned a corner to another pile of laundry. There’s just so much laundry in my life! Someone with five Tonys shouldn’t have this much laundry! So it doesn’t compute. My life is still my life.

AP: Are you surprised by how fast Americans have come around to embracing the concept of gay marriage?

McDonald: It’s like I describe my labor. I was in preterm labor for three months. So when people ask how long I was in labor, I say ‘Three months and six hours.’ It was the world’s longest labor, but when I actually went in to deliver, it happened like that. That’s what this feels like — it’s been this battle that’s been going on for a long time. And then, all of a sudden, we’re in the last six hours.

AP: Lots of people will hear this, but you won’t be one of them, right?

McDonald: I can’t. I can give notes during the mixing process and then after that I have to step away. I have people that I trust listen to it but I won’t be able to listen to the album for years. I get too close to it. When they sent me the final cut, if I listened to it at that point I would say, ‘Throw the whole thing into the trash. Let’s start over.’

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Officials say the leader of the reggae band Toots and the Maytals was injured when a 19-year-old man threw a bottle and hit the singer during a concert in Richmond.

Police said Sunday the man has been charged with aggravated assault. Authorities have not identified him.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that (http://bit.ly/17PhlkD ) Frederick ”Toots” Hibbert was treated at a hospital for a cut to his head and released.

Hibbert was hit by a glass bottle thrown from the crowd Saturday night as the band was performing at the Dominion Riverrock outdoor sports and music festival. The band stopped playing after he was hit.

Festival organizers say Hibbert was in good spirits despite the traumatic event and regretted that the concert had to be stopped early.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

Eighty-one days since the body of Marco McMillian, a black mayoral candidate, who was also gay, was found on the Mississippi River levee, unclothed.

After 82 days of utter apathy from our collective community—the black community, the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, our allies, and communities at the intersection—we are breaking the silence and calling out the paralyzing hypocrisy plaguing us.

Lives are at stake

On May 9th, in response to the autopsy results of the late Marco McMillian, the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC), Parks & Crump law firm, and the McMillian/Unger family demanded a federal investigation at a national press conference held at the family’s home in Clarksdale, Mississippi. It was on their front lawn, with an oversized portrait of Marco behind us, that we declared that we will stop at nothing until the Department of Justice takes over the investigation.

As I’ve previously noted, justice sluggishly shifts when the lives of our black boys and girls are at stake. The public outcry is even more hushed, if at all audible, when it is a life of a black LGBT person on the line.

On March 3rd, four days after McMillian’s lifeless body was found, his parents released a statement saying that he had been beaten, dragged and set afire. But the Coahoma County coroner, Scotty Meredith, said McMillian was found with “two little bitty burns” and that “there was no beating, although there may have been an altercation.”

Brutalized, tortured and left for dead

March 5th, NBJC, the nation’s leading black LGBT civil rights organization, submitted a letter to the Attorney General Eric Holder, calling for the Department of Justice to launch a federal investigation.

Seventy-five days after Marco was found, we received an autopsy report detailing injuries the family outlined in their statement two months ago. The same statement that the Coahoma County coroner challenged by saying, “I don’t know where that is coming from.” Contrary to the coroner’s attempt to minimize McMillian’s murder, the young superstar aspiring to be a public official was brutally murdered.

It was not a random act of violence. He was brutalized, tortured and left for dead.

The report states that the victim died from a lack of oxygen. It goes on to detail that blunt force trauma most likely contributed to the Clarksdale mayoral candidate’s death, but what exactly caused the asphyxiation remains unknown. The report also notes that there were abrasions and lacerations on McMillian’s head, back and legs and multiple “areas of second and third degree burns,” and that the manner of death was a homicide.

Where’s the outrage

While an arrest has been made in this disturbing case, after 75 days of silence and virtually no public outrage, we are left with more questions than answers.

Back in March, the Coahoma County Sheriff’s Office announced that a suspect, Lawrence Reed, faces a murder charge in the death. Reed, 22, was found in McMillian’s wrecked SUV. He later provided authorities with the location of the victim’s body. Some say the two were romantically involved while others are pleading the “gay panic” defense, insinuating that Marco McMillian made unwanted advances to the murder suspect, Lawrence Reed.

Not only was this defense dangerous, it was problematic. It reeked of victim-blaming and ignored the egregious acts of violence committed against LGBT people of color.

According to the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP), violence against LGBT people is on the rise, with people of color and transgender women as the most likely targets. Of the victims murdered in 2010, 70 percent were people of color. And those are just the cases we know about. Other findings indicate that identifying as gay, or offenders perceiving individuals to be gay, may increase hate violence murder risk.

Details don’t add up

The details just aren’t adding up. The McMillian/Unger family agrees.

In a heartfelt plea to the sheriff’s office on May 1, Patricia Unger, mother of McMillian, explained that she feels the investigation “has not been conducted in an ethical manner.”

“Please know that I am not questioning your expertise,” she wrote to the sheriff. “I am merely trying to find answers to questions that I have about the murder investigation of my only child.”

Unger pointed out that the sheriff refused to discuss the case with her husband because he didn’t want any leaks to the media.

No mother deserves to be held hostage by a lack of information around the death of her own son. No mother deserves to suffer in silence while being ignored by those who are entrusted with the justice system of government.

We can no longer be silent

The conflicting reports, the current racial and anti-LGBT climate in Mississippi and the lack of state protections for LGBT individuals are justification enough for a federal investigation. Again: Marco was brutalized, tortured and left for dead.

In the state of Mississippi, hate crime statutes do not include sexual orientation and gender identity, resulting in no state legislative protection for the LGBT community. According to a 2011 Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) report, there has been a spike in Mississippi anti-gay and racially-motivated hate crimes.

Sometimes silencing others—and the truth—makes people more comfortable. For 82 days, the silence around Marco McMillian’s murder has spoken volumes. We’re standing firmly, visibly, and loudly with his family so that their concerns do not go unaddressed.

Sharon J. Lettman-Hicks serves as the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC), which is a national civil rights organization dedicated to empowering black LGBT people. NBJC’s mission is to eradicate racism and homophobia. For more information about NBJC, visit www.nbjc.org.

During a trade mission to West Africa last week that included a stop in his father’s home country Nigeria, Umunna, a member of the British Parliament, dismissed the comparison to the United States president.

“Let’s not beat around the bush. The reason why people make the comparison is, frankly, there are not that many black people in Western politics,” said Umunna, who represents the London district of Streatham and is Labour’s shadow business secretary. “And I’d love to have a situation where you can be elected as a black politician without constantly having comparisons made.”

Umunna, 34, grew up in Streatham and worked as a lawyer before being elected to parliament in 2010. The son of an Irish mother and Nigerian father, he said he made seven or eight trips to Nigeria “for pretty long stays” during his childhood. But prior to last week’s visit, he hadn’t been to the country since his father’s funeral in 1992.

Umunna said that while West Africa’s high growth rate is well-known, he was struck by just how different Nigeria seemed today compared to his last visit, which occurred during a time of military rule.

“It didn’t have the feeling of a country that was going anywhere in 1992,” he said. But today Nigeria “does have the feeling of a country on the up. What you find physically and you see on the street matches up with a growth rate of 7 percent, which it is forecast to have this year.”

He had similar things to say about Ghana, where at a reception Thursday night hosted by the British High Commission in Accra he said Britain was eager to help develop infrastructure and remove other barriers to economic growth.

“We are acutely conscious that we come here with some humility,” he said in brief remarks. “This is clearly an economy that is taking off, and we know that between 2011 and 2015 Ghana is forecast to be the eighth-fastest growing economy in the world. And of course that is at the same time that our economy in the U.K. has been struggling to grow somewhat.”

In an interview with The Associated Press, Umunna acknowledged there was a feeling in its former colonies that Britain has been less engaged than other partners such as China, Brazil and India.

“I think it’s fair to say that there is a perception that we’ve been a bit complacent and because of our historical ties have felt somehow that we don’t need to put as much effort in,” he said. “I want to be very clear and send out a very strong message to policymakers and business communities in all of the West African countries that the U.K. wants to do business.”

Back home, Umunna said he was focused on helping put the Labour Party back into power in the 2015 elections under party leader Ed Miliband — something he said the party was in a good position to accomplish.

Umunna said he left the law for politics “to achieve massive positive change” and that he was frustrated being in the opposition.

Though widely regarded as an up and coming force in the Labour Party, Umunna has received some recent negative press related to his online footprint. Last month Britain’s Daily Mail reported that on an invitation-only social networking website, Umunna complained in 2006 that clubs in London’s West End “seem to be full of trash and C-list wannabes, while other places that should know better opt for the cheesy vibe.” The paper said the comments undercut the lawmaker’s “man of the people” image.

Umunna has also been criticized in the press for editing his own Wikipedia page to include references to “the U.K.’s Barack Obama,” something his office has said he has no recollection of doing. Prime Minister David Cameron made light of the story on May 8 in the House of Commons, saying, “Now he has been famously comparing himself to Barack Obama. As he would put it, can we change our Wikipedia entry? Yes we can.” In BBC footage of the remarks, Umunna rolls his eyes in response.

“With respect to the nightclub comment I’ve never claimed to be a saint,” Umunna told AP. “My generation, we’re probably the first generation to actually have grown up online and to have social media accounts . We all say stupid things in our younger years and I’m no different from anyone else, and I regret what I said and I can’t really say more than that.”

He declined to be specific when discussing his political ambitions. “I’m not particularly interested in positions and in my own personal position in as much as I am ambitious to actually do things and make a difference,” he said. “I’m ambitious in my politics and the kind of society I’d like us to build.”

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

Twenty-hours before, with far less celebrity fanfare but no less impact, civic leaders marking the end of a week-long fast in Homestead, Fla. spoke of the urgent need to end the ongoing detention and deportation raids carried out against immigrants.

On first glance, few might make any connection between the mass incarceration of black communities inflicted through the War on Drugs and the draconian law enforcement measures that are being carried out while Washington negotiates a new  immigration system. Yet the response to both issues has created a path to disenfranchisement and marginalization that threatens to undermine opportunity and mobility for all impacted communities.

A decades-long demonization

From the Reagan to George W., the government has increasingly looked to criminalize non-violent offenses as a matter of social and economic policy.  As Forrest Wilder of the Texas Observer recently pointed out, the trend in harsher immigration has been building since 2005, when the Bush administration decided to change its tactics on border enforcement. Instead of just releasing those who had attempted illegal entry back on the other side of the border, the federal government classified the non-violent act as a federal offense with potential jail time for repeat offenders.

A similar shift happened in the eighties in the re-classification of minor drug offenses. But the mass incarceration of mostly African-Americans for non-violent offenses has done more to tear apart the fabric of our neighborhoods than it has to provide security and lower overall incidences of violence. It has also provided a new institutional path to disenfranchisement.

In my state, Florida, more than 1.5 million people cannot participate in local, state and national elections because of their criminal records. Millions more face a life of limited economic and social opportunities even though they have served their time, a new form of double jeopardy that many acknowledge but few want to do anything about. Behind the scenes, it has created its own monster industry, the prison industry, which has developed it own veracious appetite for keeping jail cells filled, and keeping the construction of prisons as the public main expenditure.

History repeats itself…in the worst way

Why are we choosing to repeat the mistakes of a generation ago with a new set of aspiring Americans? It can’t be because the strategy is working. At the time of the Bush administration, it was touted that the stiffened penalties would serve a powerful deterrent to impressible crossings. However, the result has been anything but a slowdown in attempted illegal entries. Wilder says that in 2011, there were 71,000 people prosecuted for illegal entry, an increase of over 700 percent since 2001.

Certainly the money doesn’t hurt. While most first-time offenders are given probation, their processing and the attempted return of thousands now requires more funds to be devoted to detention and incarceration. Not surprisingly, this has meant a boom for the private prison industry that the Sentencing Project says grew 259 percent from 2002 to 2010.

According to the Columbia Journalism Review, “the nation’s two largest private prison operators have  more than doubled their revenues from the immigrant detention business since 2005, contributing to overall combined revenues that eclipsed $3 billion in 2011.” The prison industry has gotten so comfortable with its earnings that corporate builder GEO group had enough money to offer 6 million dollars to Florida Atlantic University for the corporate naming rights to their stadium this past February.

Corrupting the public trust

The Obama administration may think that they need to maintain the high rate of detentions to convince enough legislators on the right that the government can be efficient in securing our borders. But we cannot criminalize our way to a stronger community. Doing so ultimately corrupts public trust, fosters divisive fear and helps individual corporate interests more than it does the overall economy.

Immigrant or not, it’s hard to maintain a strong democracy if mobility and opportunity are being systematically crippled. At the end of the day, it’s hard to depend on your neighbor when you don’t know if you are going to see him or her from one day to the next.

ATLANTA (AP) — President Barack Obama, in a soaring commencement address on work, sacrifice and opportunity, on Sunday told graduates of historically black Morehouse College to seize the power of their example as black men graduating from college and use it to improve people’s lives.

Noting the Atlanta school’s mission to cultivate, not just educate, good men, Obama said graduates should not be so eager to join the chase for wealth and material things, but instead should remember where they came from and not “take your degree and get a fancy job and nice house and nice car and never look back.”

TheGrio: Full text of President Barack Obama’s address to Morehouse graduates

“So yes, go get that law degree. But if you do, ask yourself if the only option is to defend the rich and powerful, or if you can also find time to defend the powerless,” Obama said. “Sure, go get your MBA, or start that business, we need black businesses out there. But ask yourself what broader purpose your business might serve, in putting people to work, or transforming a neighborhood.”

“The most successful CEOs I know didn’t start out intent on making money, rather, they had a vision of how their product or service would change things, and the money followed,” he said.

For those headed to medical school, Obama said “make sure you heal folks in underserved communities who really need it, too.”

Before Obama arrived in Atlanta, thunderstorms drenched hundreds of people who gathered on the campus lawn for the outdoor ceremony, forcing many guests to wear clear plastic ponchos over what amounted to their Sunday-best clothes. Rain began falling again, accompanied by more thunder and lightning, minutes after Obama began to speak.

“I also have to say you all are going to get wet,” he said. “I would be out there with you if I could. But Secret Service gets nervous, so I’m going to have to stay here, dry. But know that I’m with you in spirit.”

Obama urged graduates to “inspire those who look up to you to expect more of themselves.”

Obama used the speech to once again share his personal story of growing up without a father, confessing that along the way he made unspecified bad personal choices “like too many men in our community.”

“Sometimes I wrote off my own failings as just another example of the world trying to keep a black man down,” he said. “I had a tendency to make excuses for me not doing the right thing. But one of the things that all of you have learned over the last four years is, there’s no longer any room for excuses.”

Speaking in personal terms as he often does when addressing predominantly black audiences, particularly of black males, the nation’s first black president also spoke intimately of his desire to be a better father to daughters Malia and Sasha than his absent father was to him, and to be a better husband to his wife, Michelle.

He told the graduates to pay attention to their families, saying success in every other aspect of life means nothing without success at home.

“I was raised by a heroic single mother and wonderful grandparents who made incredible sacrifices for me. And I know there are moms and grandparents here today who did the same thing for all of you,” he said. “But I still wish I had a father who was not only present, but involved. And so my whole life, I’ve tried to be for Michelle and my girls what my father wasn’t for my mother and me. I’ve tried to be a better husband, a better father, and a better man.

“It’s hard work that demands your constant attention, and frequent sacrifice. And Michelle will be the first to tell you that I’m not perfect,” he continued. “Even now, I’m still learning how to be the best husband and father I can be. Because success in everything else is unfulfilling if we fail at family.

“I know that when I’m on my deathbed someday, I won’t be thinking about any particular legislation I passed, or policy I promoted. I won’t be thinking about the speech I gave, or the Nobel Prize I received,” said Obama, 51. “I’ll be thinking about a walk I took with my daughters, a lazy afternoon with my wife, whether I did right by all of them.”

The speech was Obama’s second commencement address of the season, following remarks last Sunday at Ohio State University in Columbus. His third and final graduation address will come Friday at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.

About 500 students received undergraduate degrees on Sunday and became “Morehouse Men.”

After the speech, Obama joined about 100 people at a Democratic Senate fundraiser at the Arthur M. Blank Family Office in Atlanta. It was the first of six money events Obama has agreed to headline for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, officials said, as the party recruits candidates and strategizes to keep control of the Senate in midterm elections next year. Six long-serving Democratic senators have decided not to seek re-election. Democrats also will be defending more Senate seats than Republicans next year.

Donors paid anywhere from $10,000 to $32,400 per couple to attend the fundraiser.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

Authorities allege that former officer Richard DeCoatsworth left a party with two women  early Thursday and took them to another location, where they allege that he produced a handgun and “forced the two females to engage in the use of narcotics and sexual acts.”

A police spokeswoman said the two called police after he left, and 27-year-old DeCoatsworth was later arrested. According to court records, DeCoatsworth was arraigned Saturday night on charges including rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, trafficking of persons, false imprisonment and aggravated assault. His bail was set at $60 million.

DeCoatsworth was hailed as a hero after he was shot in the face during a traffic stop in September 2007 but still managed to chase after his attacker, who was later sentenced to 36 to 72 years in prison.

DeCoatsworth was invited by Vice President Joe Biden to attend the president’s televised February 2009 address to Congress and sat with first lady Michelle Obama. He said he didn’t know why he had been singled out, but being in the presence of the nation’s leaders was an honor “that I will keep with me for the rest of my life.”

WCAU-TV, which first reported his arrest, said DeCoatsworth retired from the department on disability in December 2011.

Police said no other information on the alleged attack would be released Saturday to protect the victims and the integrity of the ongoing investigation. Authorities declined to say give even general locations for the party and alleged crime scene and also wouldn’t say when DeCoatsworth was arrested.

A listed number for DeCoatsworth has been disconnected and it was unclear whether he had an attorney.

Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey told a Philadelphia Daily News columnist in February of last year that he believed he had made a mistake in granting the former officer’s request to go back to work too soon after he was shot.

“God bless him for still wanting to get out there and do police work, but did I act in his best interest? In hindsight, I would say probably not,” Ramsey told columnist Sty Bykofsky.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.