Voices In Color

My Last Post (For A While)

Well folks, I have rejoined the world of full time employment and thus cannot remain as committed to Voices in Color as I would like, so today is my last blog. At least for a while.

I have thoroughly enjoyed this blog, mainly because its made me take a closer look at what's going on in our country. Not just from a political standpoint, but in general. From day to day what I've found, and then posted here, has made me hopefully, scared, excited, proud and at times sad. Without this blog I'm sure I would have remained ignorant of so many things, or just skimmed the surface, but writing and researching for Voices in Color made me dig much deeper. I've learned a lot in this past year of blogging, I hope I brought some new information your way too. Thank you for coming on this journey with me.

Peace,
Angel C.

Today's Black Fact

On this day in 1987, Mae C. Jemison, M.D. was chosen by NASA to begin training as a space shuttle astronaut.

African American Firsts

Now we can add Barak to this list!

GOVERNMENT

Local elected official: John Mercer Langston, 1855, town clerk of Brownhelm Township, Ohio

State elected official: Alexander Lucius Twilight, 1836, Vermont Legislature

Mayor of major city: Male: Carl Stokes, Cleveland, Ohio, 1967. Female: Sharon Pratt Dixon Kelly, Washington, D.C., 1991

Governor: L. Douglas Wilder, Virginia, 1990

U.S. representative: Male: Joseph Rainey, South Carolina, 1870. Female: Shirley Chisholm, New York, 1969

U.S. senator: Hiram Revels, Mississippi, 1870. Post-Reconstruction: Edward Brooke, Massachusetts, 1966. Carol Mosely Braun, Illinois, 1992

U.S. Cabinet member: Male: Robert Weaver, 1966-68, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Female: Patricia Harris, 1977, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development

U.S. secretary of state: Male: Gen. Colin Powell, 2001-04. Female: Condoleezza Rice, 2005-present

U.S. Supreme Court justice: Thurgood Marshall, 1967

ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND SPORTS

Pulitzer Prize: Charles Gordone, 1970, for his play "No Place to Be Somebody"

Nobel Prize for Literature: Toni Morrison, 1993

Poet laureate: Male: Robert Hayden, 1976-78. Female: Rita Dove, 1993-95

Grammy Award: Male: Count Basie, 1958. Female: Ella Fitzgerald, 1958

Oscar: Hattie McDaniel, 1940, supporting actress, "Gone with the Wind"

Oscar, best actor/actress: Sidney Poitier, 1963, "Lilies of the Field"; Halle Berry, 2001, "Monster's Ball"

Network television show host: Nat King Cole, 1956, Oprah Winfrey, 1986, "The Oprah Winfrey Show"

Star of a network television show: Bill Cosby, 1965, "I Spy"

Major League Baseball player (modern era): Jackie Robinson, 1947, Brooklyn Dodgers

Olympic gold medalist (Summer Games; individual): Male: DeHart Hubbard, 1924, for the long jump. Female: Alice Coachman, 1948, for the high jump

MILITARY

Combat pilot: Georgia-born Eugene Jacques Bullard, denied entry into the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1917 because of his race, served throughout World War I in the French Flying Corps. He received the Legion of Honor, France's highest honor, among many other decorations.

Congressional Medal of Honor winner: Sgt. William Carney for bravery during the Civil War. He received his congressional Medal of Honor in 1900.

General: Benjamin Davis Sr., 1940-48

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: Colin Powell, right, 1989-93

Source:  San Francisco Chronicle

TD Jakes: Obama Win Gives 'Goose Bumps'

Last night, I like most Americans of all stripes, watched with visible goose bumps as history was made. I sat with my 13-year-old son and looked from the screen to his eyes as Sen. Barack Obama became the first African American in history to lead a U.S. major-party ticket when he claimed the nomination for the Democratic Party for president of the United States.

I congratulate Sen. Obama on this historic accomplishment. I thank him for accepting the torch that was lit by our forefathers and proudly carrying it through the darkness of our struggles, trials and tribulations, bringing light and hope to a new generation, and for facing all those who said "No" and "You can't win," or "It will never happen," and firmly, proudly, defiantly saying, "Yes I can!"

However, what I really hope people take away from that night is that this is not just a victory for African Americans, it is a victory for democracy that proves that our country provides possibilities for all people. It is also a sign that a metamorphosis is in progress. Today we saw that Americans respect experience, but are interested in change. I hope that we can somehow merge the best ideas of our differences and emerge with a president who epitomizes our highest and best ideals. While it remains unclear where we are going, last night proves that we as a people have moved beyond business as usual.

Read more:  CNN.com

Beverly Johnson Is Giving Older Models A Shot

The average modeling career is launched at 16, but if TV Land has anything to do with it, 35 is the new 16.

The nostalgia channel is in the game of original programming, leading with the new show “She’s Got the Look,” which features beautiful women vying for a modeling crown. The twist is – all of the contenders are over 35 years of age.

“She’s Got the Look” premieres tonight with the auditions whittling down to the final contestants with the help of the judging trio of modeling masters being Wilhelmina Models, Inc. President Sean Patterson, celebrity stylist Robert Verdi, and over-35 beauty supermodel Beverly Johnson, who let EUR’s Lee Bailey in on details about the new show.

“We live in the US where most of us are going to be 50 years old and more, so there is a huge market for women over 35 that really hasn’t been addressed yet,” Johnson said of one of the reasons TV Land created the series. “But the show is not only going to be a platform to address that market, but also to embrace our maturity.”

Read more:  EURweb 

Today's Black Fact

On this day in 1973, Doris A. Davis of Compton, California becomes the first African American woman to govern a metropolitan city.

Clinton Ready To End Bid And Endorse Obama

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton will endorse Senator Barack Obama on Saturday, bringing a close to her 17-month campaign for the White House, aides said. Her decision came after Democrats urged her Wednesday to leave the race and allow the party to coalesce around Mr. Obama.

Howard Wolfson, one of Mrs. Clinton’s chief strategists, and other aides said she would express support for Mr. Obama and party unity at an event in Washington that day. One adviser said Mrs. Clinton would concede defeat, congratulate Mr. Obama and proclaim him the party’s nominee, while pledging to do what was needed to assure his victory in November.

Her decision came after a day of conversations with supporters on Capitol Hill about her future now that Mr. Obama had clinched the nomination. Mrs. Clinton had, in a speech after Tuesday night’s primaries, suggested she wanted to wait before deciding about her future, but in conversations Wednesday, her aides said, she was urged to step aside.

“We pledged to support her to the end,” Representative Charles B. Rangel, a New York Democrat who has been a patron of Mrs. Clinton since she first ran for the Senate, said in an interview. “Our problem is not being able to determine when the hell the end is.”

Read more: The New York Times

Obama's First Test: Handling Hillary

Barack Obama would like to remind you of something: He won and she didn’t. It’s about him now and not her. He has made history, and she is history.

Not that Hillary Clinton admitted to any of that in her nonconcession concession speech Tuesday night, after Obama attained the delegate votes he needs for the Democratic presidential nomination

For someone giving indications she would like to be Obama’s running mate, Clinton was surprisingly ungracious. In fact, if you had just awakened from a (blissful) 17-month sleep, you would have thought she had won.

“Because of you, we won together the swing states necessary to get to 270 electoral votes,” she told the crowd in New York City. “I want the nearly 18 million Americans who voted for me to be respected, to be heard and no longer to be invisible.”

But her fighting words only increased the need for Obama to show that he can be strong, tough and in charge. Clinton’s unwillingness to recognize Obama as the victor only increased the need for Obama to act like a president and not like a doormat. And denying her a vice presidential slot may be a way of doing that.

Read more: Yahoo! News

Apple Stores Across Country Holding Black Music Month Concerts

One of the things that sets Apple apart from other retailers is the in-house music events they hold at their stores, which include the iTunes Live concerts series. This month, in recognition of Black Music Month, Apple stores are hosting a variety of concerts around the country featuring various African American artists. The concerts are being held primarily in larger cities such as Atlanta, Miami, Chicago, San Francisco, New York, and Santa Monica. One smaller venue will be getting a single show: the Apple Store, Somerset, in Troy, Michigan. Apple's recently opened Boston shop, now the largest Apple Store in the world, is noticeably missing from the list of venues.

Read more: ars technica

Today's Black Fact

On this day in 1972, Angela Davis was acquitted by a white jury in San Jose, Calif., of charges stemming from a 1970 courtroom shoot-out.