African-American News

Tyler Perry's brood dominated the early going Thursday night at the 39th NAACP Image Awards. Janet Jackson won for supporting actress in a motion picture for her turn as psychiatrist in Perry's adaptation of his own stage play, 'Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married?'

And LaVan Davis of 'Tyler Perry's House of Payne' won for actor in a comedy series.

Both directly addressed Perry, who sat in the audience, and thanked him for believing in them.

'Some said that I couldn't. You said that 'I want him,'' Davis said. 'NAACP, thank you for having an award ceremony that I can win.' Read more

*Chicago-based music retailer and industry veteran George Daniels has confirmed rumors that he and his wife, Regina Daniels, have severed all ties with 41-year-old entertainer R. Kelly because of a sexual relationship the singer had with their daughter, Maxine.

*Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama turned down an invitation from Tavis Smiley to attend his "State of the Black Union 2008" conference on Feb. 23 in New Orleans – and all hell has broken loose. The controversy was been played yesterday across black radio, with Smiley's regular appearance on "The Tom Joyner Morning Show" directly addressing the situation.

A diverse array of organizations and individuals attended a conference at Cleveland State University Feb. 1 and 2 to discuss the urgent problems facing the Black community in Cleveland and other cities. The conference was called by the Cleveland Link of the New Black Panther Party for Self Defense and co-sponsored by Black Lawyers for Justice and Cleveland State University Black Studies Program.

The program opened with a stirring rendition of the Black national anthem “Lift Every Voice and Sing” in four-part harmony. That was followed by youth performances from Marian Sterling Elementary School Drill Team and a pledge of allegiance to the red, black and green flag and drumming by the youth group, the Golden Ciphers.

How do you raise $10.5 million for brain tumor research? Call the women of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's "Brain Trust."

"Louis Armstrong adapted a mask that came out of the black minstrel tradition… It communicated to white audiences that Louis Armstrong would entertain them but not presume to be their equal. The relentlessly beaming smile, the handkerchief dabbing away the sweat, the reflexive bowing, the exaggerated humility and graciousness- all this signaled that he would not breach the manners of segregation, the propriety that required him to be both cheerful and less than fully human ... What is exceptional about Barack Obama is the same thing that was exceptional about Louis Armstrong.

*Formula One racing is launching an anti-racism campaign to deal with an incident earlier this month involving black British racer Lewis Hamilton at Spain's Circuit de Catalunya race track.

A recent poll conducted by Nielsen revealed that the majority of African Americans in Chicago are hopeful about their futures but lack the tools to ensure economic success.

Maintaining Chicago's future global competitiveness will rely heavily on the city's ability to improve education, entrepreneurship and employment opportunities for African Americans, according to a research study issued today by the Chicago Urban League at its first annual Economic Forum. The Forum was held at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and included a keynote address by Bennett J. Johnson III, Director of the Office of Budget and Management, City of Chicago.

*Aretha Franklin says she didn't appreciate Beyonce referring to Tina Turner as "the queen" before the duo's fiery performance at the Grammy's Sunday night.

*Actor Gary Coleman has announced that he is off the market, ladies. The 40-year-old star of "Diff'rent Strokes" exchanged vows with 22-year-old Shannon Price on Aug. 28 after the two crossed paths on the set of a movie called "Church Ball."

*Nas and his wife Kelis caused a few heads to turn on the Grammy red carpet Sunday when folks caught a glimpse of their t-shirts emblazoned with the word, "n**ger."

*Natalie Cole can't understand how the Recording Academy can award a leading five Grammys to Amy Winehouse when the troubled singer has spent years abusing drugs and alcohol and only recently entered rehab to address her addiction.

After denying that any text messages were ever exchanged between himself and his then-Chief-of-Staff Christine Beatty, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick released three documents confirming that text messages actually do exist. According to reports on WDIV Channel 4 and by the Detroit Free Press, other potentially explosive messages allegedly about illegal activity and damaging personal comments by Kilpatrick were blocked by an emergency appeal filed by Kilpatrick's attorneys this past Friday. The appeal challenges last Tuesday's ruling by Circuit Court Judge Robert Colombo that the messages are public documents, not personal, and all should be released to the public.

The text messages, now in the hands of the Michigan Court of Appeals, could be ordered released as early as today if the appeal fails.

*Compton, Calif. experienced a taste of British royalty Thursday when Prince Andrew arrived to mark the opening of a new grocery store owned by the British supermarket giant Tesco. "I'm delighted to be able to support Tesco as they expand here in the U.S.," said Prince Andrew, 47. "By locating stores in areas like Compton, Tesco's Fresh and Easy will help contribute to local job creation in neighborhoods that badly need it.

A report by MediaTakeOut.com (and a copycat report by articlesofinfo.com) said that Juanita Bynum and her estranged husband Bishop Thomas Weeks and decided to reconcile their marriage were almost simultaneously denied by the publicists of both Weeks and Bynum.

*Barack Obama's bid to get the nomination for the Democratic presidential candidate took a step closer to happening. The senator from Illinois scored a clean sweep Saturday night

“Needles are not the magic bullet”

Seeking bold action to stem the HIV/AIDS epidemic among black Americans, the NAACP, the National Urban League and other groups Thursday urged Congress to repeal a 20-year-old ban on federal funding for needle ... via Cleveland.com

“If she won now, we'll have another Republican in the White House. I think there are more sexists out there than racists”

Brenda Green leaves the voting machine after casting her ballot at Martin Luther King Charter School in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, on election day Saturday, Feb. via Sunherald.com

The 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project in Miami celebrated National Black Awareness Day on Thursday to increase participation and support for HIV prevention among African Americans.

Five hundred boys from neighboring schools were in attendance at Hialeah-Miami Lakes Senior High School at 797 West 12th Ave., and joined by community role models including County Court Judge Darrin Gayles.

Judge Gayles said, "I hope we save lives even it's just one kid. If we can prevent a young man being exposed to HIV, it's worth it." Read more

*A member of Louisiana's Jena Six was charged Wednesday with one count of assault causing bodily injury for fighting with a fellow student at his high school in Texas, his mother told the Shreveport Times.