The issue of children and television viewing has been debated for many years, including whether they should be allowed to watch at all. As the mother of two young girls myself, I understand the challenge of determining at what age they can be first exposed to TV, as well as what types of programming can provide the most benefit to them.
While some may regard television simply as an electronic babysitter, I think it’s important to understand that as with many other activities, television can actually be used as an important tool to enhance the development of our kids. It starts with parents doing research on what is available, and seeking out the kinds of shows that are designed by developmental experts.
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 95% of American babies watch television, so from my practical perspective, the question isn’t “should children watch TV,” but rather, “what are they watching, how much and under what conditions?” Content is absolutely key. If it’s appropriate, educational and non-violent, children can learn and have a very positive experience.
It’s also important to vary the types of programs your kids watch. The younger the child (especially babies), the greater will be their natural tendency to gravitate toward their favorites. Be sure to continually refresh the content you select, offering your child exposure to new and exciting things. In the long-term, this will help keep their interest, while nurturing their development.
Of course, just because a TV show is educational, it is essential that limits be set on the amount of time that children are allowed to watch. As with all aspects of parenting, a healthy balance should be maintained, with plenty of time allocated for reading, creative play and spending time outdoors.
Ideally, parents should watch television together with their children. Not only does this foster bonding, it also allows you to become an interactive part of the viewing experience. Concepts that are introduced during viewing can be reinforced and built upon by moms and dads. An easy way to do this is by exercising their memory skills after a program has concluded. Ask your child about what they saw and heard, such as the names of favorite characters, noises the animals made and songs they enjoyed the most.
Moreover, watching together provides an excellent opportunity for emotional bonding. Providing immediate positive reinforcement to a child, especially when they may be too young to communicate verbally, can be critically important to their emotional growth.
Ultimately, each child and family’s experience with television will be different. In my own experience, I’ve found that my daughters have learned a great deal from age-appropriate educational TV. They even learned sign language!
The company I co-founded, BabyFirst, decided to produce a television series called, I Can Sign, that helps parents communicate with their very young children before they’re able to speak. I found it to be an amazing way to interact and connect with my girls, and it really fostered a bond with them long before they had learned to talk. That was a few years ago, but we still use it as a “secret language” between us.
There is constant debate as to the “right way” to raise a child, and most parents ask a lot of questions and experiment quite a bit before they find what works best. Because television viewing is a reality in today’s homes, parents can take advantage of it as very versatile tool that can introduce their children to a wide variety of new ideas, while helping to reinforce early education.
About Sharon Rechter
Co-Founder, BabyFirst
Sharon Rechter, along with business partner, Guy Oranim, conceptualized and co-founded BabyFirst (www.babyfirsttv.com), which is a global TV channel for tots. In her role as executive vice president, she leads the business development and marketing activities for the company – with a clear passion to bring quality, new educational programming to families of babies and toddlers.
Rechter has a broad background in television programming and recently served as the vice president and head of operations for The Israeli Network (the Israeli television channel in the U.S.). She was responsible for the general management of the network, and focused on areas including business development, advertising and subscriptions. Before entering the television broadcast industry, Rechter headed the strategic planning department at GNS Advertising in Israel where she was responsible for developing strategic plans for a variety of lifestyle brands.
Some of America’s favorite couples are gay men in relationships: Cam and Mitchell on Modern Familyand Kurt and Blaine on Glee. And this TV season brings more that the networks hope you’ll love: Brian and David on the heavily advertised The New Normal, and Louis and Wyatt on Partners. But something is missing: there are no African-American gay male couples at all on mainstream TV. Gay couples on TV allow gay men to see themselves reflected in the larger culture, and normalize them to others. Where are the role models for African American gay male couples on TV?
In five separate studies, Professor Edward Schiappa and his University of Minnesota colleagues have found that the presence of gay characters on television programs decreases prejudices among viewers, providing a forum for the general public to observe and interact with the lives of gay men. Exposure to these images normalizes gay couples, so much so that Ann Romney reports being a fan of Modern Family (although apparently not a fan of gay marriage).
A media revolution in the portrayal of gay men and women has occurred over the past 15 years. We have evolved from a time when being gay was unmentionable on TV, to the inclusion of gay characters as stock comic stereotypes, and are now seeing gay males and females as central characters in TV programming. For a long time they could be gay; they just couldn’t show daily tribulations and mainstream issues of same -ex couples. Now they can, but apparently they can’t be a black gay couple (though I’m focusing on men, the small screen isn’t exactly packed with African-American lesbians either).
True, cable channels have featured gay African-American males in and out of stable relationships. The unforgettable and violent Omar Little on HBO’s The Wire was gay in an extremely homophobic milieu but he wasn’t celibate: he had three partners over the series’ run. Logo’s Noah’s Arc gave us the lives and loves of four gay black men and included a married couple. But these shows were featured on channels that are not accessible to a large proportion of the population, and in the case of Logo, catered to a largely gay audience that doesn’t need persuading of the existence of same sex couples of color. These characters would never have seen the light of day if planned for the coveted Thursday night slot on NBC.
According to the CDC, between 2006 and 2009, HIV infection among African-American men who have sex with men between 13-29 years old increased by 48 %. The reasons for this dramatic increase are not easy to parse out but certainly the double whammy of racism within the gay community and homophobia within the African-American community play a part. The secrecy and shame around homosexuality contributes to invisibility. An invisible man believes that he has no need for health care or safer sex, or doesn’t imagine he can form forming a healthy relationship .What if these young men saw images of guys like them — or older — living and loving safely and productively? As we have seen, over time, that could be a key part of inspiring different behavior and eliminating bias. Seeing oneself reflected in the larger culture is a crucial part of self-acceptance as well as acceptance by others.
I’m not suggesting that giving Mitchell and Cam an African-American gay male couple as neighbors will end AIDS. But just as The Mary Tyler Moore Show helped make the world more comfortable for single, urban women, and The Cosby Show introduced us to an upper middle class African-American family, showing black gay male couples on TV will change minds — and over time, it could help save lives.
Acclaimed black actor carried hit urban films and an Oscar-nominated picture
Michael Clarke Duncan, the unmistakable screen and voice actor in many hit urban and mainstream films, including an Oscar-nominated performance in “The Green Mile,” died Monday morning in Los Angeles, his fiancé, reality TV star Rev. Omarosa Manigault, said in a statement released by their publicist. Duncan, 54, suffered a fatal heart attack. The actor was hospitalized for another heart attack in mid-July and never fully recovered, according the statement. Duncan was best known to African American and wider audiences for his roles in “The Players Club,” “Planet of the Apes,” and “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.” Before turning to acting full-time, the muscular 6-foot-4 Duncan worked as a bodyguard for rapper Notorious B.I.G. and actors Will Smith and Jamie Foxx.
As a kid, I booked a date with NBC each Thursday night, like millions of other African Americans, to watch “The Cosby Show.”
In my house, watching the show with my mother and brother was a family event all its own. At about five minutes to 8 p.m., my mother would yell “Cosby Show!” and my brother and I would abandon our homework, Barbie dolls and GI Joes to catch the opening of the show and scat the jazz theme song. Our eyes would light up to see such beautiful, accomplished brown people dancing tastefully, giving loving glances at each other and smiling contentedly.
Phylicia Rashad and Bill Cosby starred as Clair and Heathcliff “Cliff” Huxtable on “The Cosby Show” for eight seasons. (NBCU Photo Bank – NBCU PHOTO BANK)
I was reminded of this family ritual when I read Reniqua Allen‘s July 13 Outlook article “Why isn’t the Cosby Show for a new generation on network TV?” She argues for network TV — not cable — to bring forth a show that portrays the joys and annoyances of black family life in the new millenium. I second her suggestion.
Being a child of the ‘80s, I had no idea how major it was to be able to see people who resembled my parents on prime time TV each week. Though my mother and father were not doctors or lawyers, they had achieved a degree of success — my dad was a brilliant engineer, and my mother a business analyst for the government. Oh, and both of my parents — like Bill Cosby and his Heathcliff Huxtable character — loved jazz.
But aside from the “Cosby Show” and its HBCU-centered offshoot “A Different World,” most of the television that I consumed was mostly populated by non-brown people. My one magazine subscription — Seventeen — was also overrun with girls who looked nothing like me. I remember thinking as early as age 11 how odd that was.
Fast forward 20 years and I find myself the mother of two smart brown boys who, like their mother before them, dine on a steady diet of images that overwhelmingly do not resemble them. Instinctively, when my kids were brand new, I would search the Disney Channel, Nick, Jr. and Sprout for cartoons that showcased people of color because I know how critical it is to see yourself reflected in the media that you consume. My husband and I were absolutely excited when we came across a cartoon show called “Little Bill”. Created by none other than Bill Cosby, I thought, “This is what my little boys need to see — a black family living together, working together and loving each other.”
The show was beautifully done, scored with original jazz and brought to life by gorgeous full-color animation. But there was just one problem. Whenever I saw Little Bill was coming on, I would get excited but the kids wouldn’t. To my dismay, they, to put it honestly, just weren’t feeling Little Bill. They preferred “Go Diego Go.” My husband and I decided that it wasn’t because Bill was black, but more because he was so pitiful — always getting defeated and feeling sorry for himself. In short, Little Bill was a victim. My kids preferred the take-charge nature of Diego, the adventurous little Hispanic animal rescuer, or his cousin Dora the Explorer.
The search for positive and affirming media images continues.
While I am not holding my breath for another Cosby Show, I am making sure that my kids see real-life examples of positive African-Americans in the other media they consume. I search for coloring books that feature black characters (which are impossible to find). I routinely seek out children’s books that feature black characters. One of my early standards was the classic “The Snowy Day” by Ezra Jack Keats. And I’m always on the hunt for more recent titles like journalist Jabari Asim’s “Whose Toes Are Those” which produced this uber cute dramatic “reading” from my then 3-year-old Logan. But I also strategically place copies of Essence, Ebony and Black Enterprise Magazines around the house so that they just might stumble upon a copy, tear through and see people who look like them. I honestly try to limit the amount of mainstream television they watch so they don’t hear those subliminal messages that can seep in when you’re a racial minority and you don’t see yourself reflected and affirmed in the majority media: “This isn’t your world. You don’t belong here. You’re not one of the beautiful ones.”
Because I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are the beautiful ones. And for now at least, I think they still believe that they are, too.
How do you make sure your kids are exposed to positive portrayals of African Americans in media? What books do you recommend for your young black children?
Amanda Miller Littlejohn is a writer, mother of two and owner of the public relations and branding consultancy Mopwater Social PR.
–Schedule will Feature an Entertaining and Inspiring Mix of Original and Groundbreaking Programming –Oscar® Nominee Laurence Fishburne, Comedian Jonathan Slocumb, Actor Omari Hardwick and Grammy® Winner Esperanza Spalding Join the Lineup as Programming Hosts
ATLANTA, June 27, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — ASPiRE, the new television network from Magic Johnson Enterprises, debuts today, Wednesday, June 27 at 8:00 pm EDT with a unique mix of original and groundbreaking programming aimed at African-American viewers. The network will launch with inaugural distribution partners Comcast and Time Warner Cable. At launch, ASPiRE will be available in approximately seven million homes and in 16 of the top 25 African-American markets including New York City, Atlanta, Chicago and Washington, DC. ASPiRE also will launch on FAVE TV and with five charter brand partners: The Chrysler Group, L’Oreal USA, Nationwide Insurance, Coca-Cola and Walmart. ASPiRE will celebrate its historic kickoff tonight with a private, star-studded event at Cipriani Dolci in New York City.
Joining the network as hosts of its primetime programming blocks are award-winning actor Laurence Fishburne (Boyz ‘n the Hood, The Matrix, School Daze, “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”), who will host “Groundbreaking Movies”; actor and comedian Jonathan Slocumb (Meet the Browns, “The Steve Harvey Show”), host of “Groundbreaking Comedies”; Actor Omari Hardwick (Sparkle, I Will Follow), host of ASPiRE’s first original series, “ABFF Independent”; and Grammy Award®-winning musician Esperanza Spalding, host of “Groundbreaking Music.”
ASPiRE’s mission is to entertain, enlighten and inspire. It will shine a light on the positive contributions African-Americans have made to American culture and be a window through which we can experience the next generation of ground breakers and game changers.
ASPiRE will offer a diverse slate of programming spanning five categories: movies (including features, documentaries and short films); music; comedy; visual and performing arts; and faith and inspirational shows. The network’s initial schedule will feature the following programming blocks:
Groundbreaking Movies (Thursdays, 8 p.m.) – Renowned actor Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix, Boyz ‘n the Hood) will guide viewers through the background, cultural relevance and historical significance of each night’s selection. Currently scheduled films include Shaft, Rosewood, Bird, Sarafina!, Bustin’ Loose, The Defiant Ones and Lilies of the Field.
Groundbreaking Comedies (Tuesdays, 2 p.m., 8 p.m. & 11 pm) – Hosted by actor and comedian Jonathan Slocumb (Meet the Browns, “The Steve Harvey Show”), ASPiRE’s Groundbreaking Comedies will celebrate trailblazing Black funnymen and women with iconic TV series including “The Bill Cosby Show” (Chet Kincaid), “The Flip Wilson Show” and more. Slocumb will share with audiences the known and not-so-known facts about the shows, their stars, and their enduring influence on popular culture. Groundbreaking and original standup comedy performances will also be featured.
Groundbreaking Music and Performance Specials (Fridays, 8 p.m.) -Hosted by one of the biggest breakout stars of 2011, Grammy Award®-winning jazz bassist and singer Esperanza Spalding (Chamber Music Society, Radio Music Society), this unique night of programming will present musical performances by pioneering and influential artists from every generation and genre. ASPiRE will also present examples of African-American theater, dance and visual arts, offering viewers a chance to enjoy the wide spectrum of talent in the African-American creative community. Programming will include “Jazz Giants of the 20th Century,” “Make It Funky!” and “Earth, Wind & Fire in Concert” to name a few.
“ABFF Independent” (Mondays, 8 p.m.) – This weekly two-hour original show, hosted by actor Omari Hardwick (Sparkle, I Will Follow), will present the best shorts and feature films from emerging African-American writers, producers and directors, selected from the American Black Film Festival (ABFF).
Groundbreaking Documentaries (Wednesdays, 8 p.m.) – Fascinating films chronicling the real-life events, people and places that shaped the course of African-American history and culture, currently scheduled documentaries include Academy Award® winner When We Were Kings, Rising from the Rails: The Story of the Pullman Porter and Oscar’s Black Odyssey: From Hattie to Halle, among others.
“I ASPiRE” Featurettes – These 30- and 60-second shorts offer intimate profiles of and by the next generation of groundbreakers and game changers across African-American culture. The short films feature a dynamic selection of creative talent including concert pianist Jade Simmons from Houston, painter Matthew Thomas from Memphis and surfer Marcos Chatman from Los Angeles.
“It has been a long-held dream of mine to launch a television network that offers viewers inspiring and positive portrayals of African-American lifestyles, accomplishments and talent, while also creating opportunities for the next generation of artists and storytellers,” said ASPiRE Chairman and CEO Earvin “Magic” Johnson. “My vision for ASPiRE could only become a reality with a group of visionaries and bold charter brand partners, The Chrysler Group, L’Oreal USA, Nationwide Insurance, Coca-Cola and Walmart. I am thrilled to have GMC TV as my partner along with our affiliate partners Comcast, Time Warner Cable and FAVE TV to help make this dream come true.”
Added ASPiRE General Manager Paul Butler: “It’s tremendously exciting to be part of a new venture that we all believe is poised for great success. I look forward to implementing Earvin’s vision and to making ASPiRE a top viewing choice for African-American households, as well as the next big platform for the African-American creative community.”
ASPiRE was selected by Comcast from among over 100 candidates as one of four new minority-owned independent networks to be distributed to millions of households on Comcast’s digital basic tier.
GMC will provide operational support for ASPiRE, including affiliate and advertising sales, marketing, programming, production and technical operations. Charles Humbard, GMC President and CEO, said: “We are delighted to be partnered with Earvin Johnson in the creation of this new network. Between his inspired leadership and our day-to-day operational experience in programming for, and marketing to, African-American audiences, our two brands are a perfect fit.”
ASPiRE expects to be available in over 12 million homes by the end of 2012 and in 20 to 30 million homes by the end of 2013.
About Laurence FishburneOscar nominee Laurence Fishburne is a critically acclaimed star of movies, television and theater as well as a playwright, producer and director. His numerous film roles include What’s Love Got to Do with It, The Matrix, Boyz ‘n the Hood, Searching for Bobby Fischer, Mystic River, Akeelah and the Bee, Othello and Higher Learning. On television, his credits include “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” The Tuskegee Airmen and Miss Evers’ Boys, as well as an Emmy-winning guest performance on “Tribeca.” On stage, Fishburne won a Tony Award® for his performance in “Two Trains Running.”
About Jonathan SlocumbRenowned for his ability to crack up even the most jaded audiences with his squeaky-clean humor, Slocumb is best known to fans of the “The Steve Harvey Show” as Steve’s band-mate Clyde, a role he played for five years. He has hosted numerous awards shows, appeared on “Jamie Foxx Presents Laffapalooza” for Comedy Central and played the part of the pastor in the Tyler Perry comedy Meet the Browns. Slocumb is also the creator, host and producer of GMC TV’s original comedy series “Ha! Standing Up for Clean Comedy.” As a stage actor, he just completed a national tour with the play “Cheaper to Keep Her,” starring Brian McKnight and Vivica A. Fox.
About Esperanza SpaldingIn 2005, at the age of 20, jazz bassist and singer Esperanza Spalding became the youngest faculty member in the history of the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. Her first solo album, “Esperanza” (2008), was the year’s best-selling album by a new jazz artist internationally and stayed atop the Billboard Contemporary Jazz chart for over 70 weeks. In 2011, Esperanza released her ground-breaking internationally critically acclaimed Chamber Music Society and received the Grammy® for Best New Artist. She has performed at the White House (twice), been featured in a Banana Republic ad campaign and received the Jazz Journalists Association’s 2009 Jazz Award for Up and Coming Artist of the Year. Esperanza has just released Radio Music Society, her follow up to Chamber Music Society, a kaleidoscopic collection celebrating the power of song. The 12 songs are accompanied by conceptual short musical films, which further express Esperanza’s inspiration and story behind each track. The videos were shot in various locations including New York City; Barcelona, Spain; and Portland, Oregon.
About Omari Hardwick Hardwick’s numerous film credits include Sparkle, I Will Follow, For Colored Girls, Kick-Ass, The A-Team, The Guardian, Beauty Shop and Gridiron Gang. Also known for his television roles, he played Ty Curtis on TNT’s “Dark Blue,” opposite Dylan McDermott, and was John “Sack” Hallon on the 2006 TNT series “Saved,” opposite Tom Everett Scott. The multi-talented Hardwick was a football star at the University of Georgia, where he minored in theater, and has written over 4,000 poems.
About ASPiRESpearheaded by entrepreneur and NBA Hall of Famer Earvin “Magic” Johnson, in partnership with GMC TV, ASPiRE delivers enlightening, entertaining and positive programming to African-American families that includes movies, documentaries, short films, music, comedy, visual and performing arts, and faith and inspirational programs. ASPiRE celebrates African-American heritage and groundbreaking cultural achievements and will create new opportunities for the next generation of African-American visionaries. For more information, visit http://www.aspire.tv .
About Magic Johnson EnterprisesMagic Johnson Enterprises acts as a catalyst for driving unparalleled business results for its partners and fosters community/economic empowerment by making available high-quality entertainment, products and services that answer the demands of ethnically diverse urban communities. For more information, visit http://magicjohnson.com/enterprises .
About GMC TVGMC ( http://www.watchGMCtv.com ) is America’s favorite television channel for uplifting music and family entertainment. The Parents Television Council(TM) has twice awarded its Entertainment Seal of Approval(TM) to GMC for being “an authentic family-friendly cable network.” GMC is the only television network brand to be so honored. GMC has been the fastest growing entertainment network in television in the key demographics of W18-49 and W25-54.
GMC can be seen in more than 51 million homes on various cable systems around the country, as well as DISH Network on channel 188, DIRECTV on channel 338 and Verizon FiOS on channel 224. Follow GMC TV on Facebook and Twitter at http://facebook.com/gmctv and http://twitter.com/gmctv .
SOURCE ASPiRE
Copyright (C) 2012 PR Newswire. All rights reserved
Interactive One, the largest digital media company serving Black Americans [and the parent company of NewsOne], announced today the launch of BlackPlanet Next, the next evolution of the iconic BlackPlanet.com social networking website. BlackPlanet Next is a social curation engine targeted towards the African-American consumer that makes connecting with friends and discovering new information easier, more fun and more culturally relevant.
In 1999, before MySpace, Friendster and Facebook, BlackPlanet.com launched as the first social networking site targeting African Americans. The site has since grown to serve 2 million users worldwide, making the BlackPlanet name an industry mainstay and a significant communication tool within the Black community.
“Many websites have been created to target African Americans, but very few digital products exist specifically for those who see the world through a Black lens,” said Navarrow Wright, Chief Technology Officer, Interactive One. “BlackPlanet Next will not only connect millions of people online, but also it will serve as a reminder of the importance of diversity of professionals and products in the technology industry.”
Local, Social, Mobile
BlackPlanet Next connects people with locally relevant information through their friends and other BlackPlanet Next users who share their interests. Each member can add his or her favorite places such as restaurants, clothing stores and live art venues to the site, post comments and tips about the location, and check in whenever they visit. BlackPlanet Next will suggest other places he or she might like based on the reviews and suggestions of the BlackPlanet Next community.
Keeping in touch with family and friends, and sharing life’s moments is easier with BlackPlanet Next. Users can post photos and short updates that appear on their connections’ activity stream. The activity stream can also be viewed by category including photos, videos, link and updates with a quick keystroke.
Connecting through music is a cultural tradition among African Americans and an important feature of the new BlackPlanet Next. BlackPlanet Radio, the digital industry’s first social radio website targeted towards African Americans, was launched in November 2011 and allows users to discover new music in a variety of ways, as well as create playlists from a library of more than 14.5 million songs to share with their social network communities. By streaming straight from BlackPlanet Next, users can share their personally curated musical tastes with their online community.
BlackPlanet Next also serves as an aggregator, bringing together content from Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and more into a space curated by each user. By adding their favorite social networks to their BlackPlanet Next profiles, users’ followers can access all of their online content in one place. All of the features of BlackPlanet Next are available on a variety of mobile devices.
A Brand Connection
“BlackPlanet Next is the only sure way for brands to reach Black audiences in a social environment,” said Keith Bowen, Chief Revenue Officer at Interactive One. “There will be more opportunity to create custom branded experiences authentiacally connecting brands with their consumer. Brand Pages and traditional media opportunities are available as well. We look forward to working with our advertising partners on creative ways to connect with their target audiences.”
Interactive One has more than 15 million members and reaches millions of Black Americans each month. With approximately 3 billion annual page views on its suite of sites, the company has become the definitive social network for Black America through BlackPlanet (www.BlackPlanet.com), as well as a number of leading content sites. These sites include: NewsOne (www.NewsOne.com), which provides up to the minute, comprehensive coverage of newsworthy events relevant to Black Americans across the country and the world; TheUrbanDaily (www.TheUrbanDaily.com), the eyes and ears for Black Americans looking for what’s hot online, on the airwaves, in theaters, and on the street; HelloBeautiful (www.HelloBeautiful.com), the definitive lifestyle resource for today’s Black woman; Elev8 (www.Elev8.com) a site devoted to elevating the mind, body and spirit; and introducing BlackPlanet Radio (www.BlackPlanetRadio.com) the digital industry’s first social radio website created for African American community.
Interactive One was launched by Radio One in 2008 to complement Radio One’s existing portfolio of media companies targeting the African-American community. Since its launch, Interactive One has quickly become the #1 online platform for the African-American community. Interactive One is powered by the mission to create an online community that engages and positively impacts the lives of African Americans.
*Is Black Radio in threat of disappearing? In April, New York’s KISS-FM radio station was merged into WBLS. “Open Line” a popular talk show was kept, but the Michael Baison Show, also popular, was not, thus the merge did not include all of the KISS-FM programming. Now there is fear that WBLS itself is about to be bought by YMF Partners. This has prompted former WWRL “Night Talk” Show host, Bob Law, to file a petition along with Councilman Charles Barron, Michael North and Betty Dopson of the Committee to Eliminate Media Offensive to African People, asking the FCC to delay the sale of WBLS to YMF since YMF cannot purchase the station without FCC approval.
A community activist, Bob Law is the founder of the National Respect Yourself Youth Organization, which established a national network of Respect Yourself Saturdays involving academia. The respect organization has operated a baseball little league, a summer entrepreneur program which helps young people start their own summer business. He is also the organizer of the New York Peacekeepers campaign which encourages non-violence.
A filmmaker, Law is involved in film projects with the Black Spectrum Theatre in Queens, where he is chairman of the board. His play, “The Magic Clown,” a play for children, is being performed in NYC Public schools. He is also the author of “Voice for the Future.” Mr. Law is the owner of “Namaskar,” Bob’s Health and Wellness store, and Bob Law’s Seafood Cafe, located in Brooklyn.
In 1949, WLIB was purchased by the New Broadcasting Company headed by Morris and Harry Novik. Although White-owned, the Novik Brothers served ethnic audiences, targeting the Jewish and African American communities. The station eventually became the voice of the Black community, with the Noviks developing a press room and a Community Affairs department that allowed the Black community to utilize the station for their own public affairs announcements. By the 1950s, disc jockeys such as the late Hal Jackson were part of the on-air staff. The staff also included actor William Marshall and Victor Bozeman. By the 1960s, WLIB was one of several commercial jazz stations in New York featuring radio jocks such as WLIB’s Billy Taylor, Del Shields and Ed Williams who built up a large listening audience and worked together to establish a radio music format that is used to this day.
In the 1970s, there was a political outcry by African Americans for a black-owned radio station. Due to political pressure and after years in radio, the Novik brothers were ready to retire. Therefore, the Noviks looked for someone to buy the station that would meet with the approval of the Black Community. Therefore, when Percy Sutton, backed by several black investors came along, the Novik brothers felt Sutton met with the approval of the Black Community so chose Sutton just as much as he chose them. Sutton and his backers bought the station and formed Inner City Broadcasting. Eventually Inner City fell into bankruptcy and now their stations are under threat of being bought by YMF Partners once YMF obtains FCC approval. It is the contention of Messrs. Law, North, Barron and Ms. Dopson, that it was predatory lending and the Arbitron ratings system that helped to reduce advertising revenue (which is oftentimes doled out disportionately to black Media), that brought about the bankruptcy. They are also concerned that once YMF gets the approval from FCC to purchase WBLS, YMF will simply turn around and sell it to a mega corporation that will eliminate the black format for their own format. Thereby effectively wiping out black talk media and thus eliminating the black voice which reflects Black culture in NY.
“I am not sure it’s coincidental that there is an effort to silence Black voices and dismantle Black radio,” remarked Law. “This agenda is set to go full steam in this election year. The Million Man March was supported by black radio since there was no popular political support, Black or white, who supported the march. Black Radio told the people to go when the politicos said not to go. Did the people go? So then who had more clout and influence?” stated Bob Law. “As I see it, this may have brought attention to the powers-to-be concerning how influential Black radio is, thus the desire to silence it” stated the community leader.
“So what happened next is, Black radio was made unprofitable. This happened via a consistent and deliberate under counting of black listeners in NYC and perhaps across the nation. Arbitron (the ratings company) has been accused of giving out information to the ad industry that under counts black listeners so the radio station cannot get paid for the audiences they actually deliver. No matter how well these stations perform, their performance is being under counted. When Andrew Cuomo was attorney general, he brought a lawsuit against Arbitron here in NY. The language in Cuomo’s indictment said “Arbitron was willingly and knowingly giving out incorrect information to their clients, both ad agencies and radio stations, and they were doing so to the detriment of black radio stations.” Cuomo’s findings said “…that Arbitron’s numbers is so far off and black radio is being so underpaid, that it is actually causing the financial demise of black radio.” In February 2012, the Attorney General in Los Angeles, California, also brought a suit against Arbitron stating nearly the same thing Cuomo said in his litigation. Arbitron settled out of Court, although I have yet to see they corrected what they were doing,” remarked Mr. Law.
“There is a thing they do in ad agencies called “Minority Set Aside,” wherein X amount of dollars are set aside for minorities. But all the minorities dip into this same “minority set aside” pot, no matter if one minority station is doing better than the Hispanic or Asian stations, or vice versa. Therefore, those whose market numbers may surpass the others, still cannot get the money they earned since the amount of money is fixed. This is part of the process of how these minority radio stations are kept poor in spite of their performance,” claimed the former “Night Talk” host.
Bob went on to say this is not just a Republican agenda since some Democrats are also involved.
“Bill Clinton when he was president authored and pushed through a telecommunications bill which took the limit off of how many stations someone can own and removed all the protections the general public had in how the airwaves were used. Clinton’s legislation said that anyone can have as many stations as they want as long as they can afford to buy them. Who can afford as many stations as they want? Disney can, MS Clear Channel can, CBS can, Fortress can, and all those mega companies can. But the little stand alone stations cannot afford to compete with these huge corporations. I believe Bill Clinton knew that full well when he authored his bill. I think it was a conscious and deliberate decision on Bill Clinton’s part when he orchestrated this bill. Of course, these smaller stations want to own more radio stations. This puts the smaller stations in the position of having to purchase a cluster of stations in order to attract the advertisers who advertise with the bigger corporations. Since the bigger corporations can approach the advertiser and say advertise with us because we can run your product ads in our “multiple” stations while the smaller station can only run your product in their “one” station. So where do you think the advertiser is going to advertise? Therefore, in order to stay in business, the minority stations and the black owned stations were forced to buy other stations. And, that is when the predatory lenders came along. The predator lenders gave loans insisting that black stations had to allow the lenders veto power in their stations, power to vote on policy, and be involved in the stations’ operation. These bad deals were made because the stations could not get loans from the banks. Therefore,could only hope to pay these predators off as soon as possible. The Black owners found out that they had made a deal with the devil and their loan became a loan to own scheme. The fact that the lenders had insinuated themselves into the daily operations of the station, making policy for the station, made it virtually impossible for the stations to pay the money back. Then of course the predatory lenders began to demand their money and thus forced the stations into foreclosure and into bankruptcy so these lenders could seize the stations. So now what we are looking at — is the loss of black voices from the airwaves, not just in NYC but across the nation,” continued the community activist and author.
“Advertisers looked at the Arbitron figures and told Black stations that “Black” doesn’t sell. Yet, advertisers make huge profits from the Black communities even though they do not ask black folks for their money. White advertisers as a whole do not advertise in black newspapers, radio stations, newspapers or businesses. Yet, black folks spend their money with these white advertisers freely. Our FCC petition, we understand, (and we do not stand alone in this petition), may not be granted. We will see. But we think that the FCC will more than likely rule against the people and opt to go with the big money, ignoring our petition no matter how strong our argument is and/or how credible,” said Bob, of what he expects will happen in terms of the petition he and others filed to stop the sale of the last black radio station in NY.
Bob discussed what he thinks the Black community must do — not only to keep their radio stations but to secure their position as a culture within the rapidly changing American society. According to Law, Black people are not paying attention. He is concerned that all minorities need to pay attention to the political climate around them that has an impact on them whether they think it does or not. It impacts them via educating their children and surviving economically and culturally.
“The Black community as consumers will have to come together. We have been intimidated and embarrassed and made to feel that to mention black is being racist. Some black folks feel that way because others have convinced them that nothing black has any merit. And because they have that mindset, everything is being taken away from Black folks — from our dollars to our vote. It’s time to step up and not be silenced or sidelined. We need to learn critical spending. Begin to spend our money wisely. We do not have to march in the streets, we simply need to go to our pantry and ask ourselves can I do without these products. Look around your homes and determine what you really need and what you can do without. Do you need that pizza, that coke, that beer? You don’t even have to sacrifice that long, just long enough to get the advertisers attention. Tell these advertisers since they are not paying attention to the people or believe that black people for example, are a huge consumer market base, show them you are. Just stop buying and see how long it takes before these mega-corporations start missing your dollars?” concluded the playwright, activist, author and entrepreneur.
Take back your consumer power because that is a viable power. One that will not be ignored once you show the powers-to-be you know how to cleverly use your consumer power.
Our UK-based comrades at Brothers With No Game have stepped their game up and turned their blog into a web series. With great video and sound quality, and already more than 7K views, I’d say they’re off to a good start. To learn more about the fellas across the pond, check out their website here. Otherwise, peep the first edition of their new series below.
Opening Night at the San Francisco Black Film Festival will kick off at the historic Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, 450 Post St., Union Square, Friday, June 15, with a 6 p.m. VIP Red Carpet Reception, 7 p.m. screening of Robert Townsend’s “In The Hive,” starring Loretta Devine, Michael Clarke Duncan, Vivica A. Fox and featuring newcomer Jonathan McDaniel, “a young Denzel,” along with a panel discussion and VIP Red Carpet Afterparty.
“Hollywood Renaissance Man” Robert Townsend, actor, comedian, producer, director, television executive, writer and humanitarian, takes director’s credit for “In The Hive.”
“In the Hive” director Robert Townsend is coming a day early, on Thursday, to promote his film, which opens the festival. Based on a true story, its universal theme is one person making a difference in the lives of many. Michael Clarke Duncan, Loretta Devine, Vivica A. Fox and newcomer Jonathan McDaniel headline the film that tells the story of how a cook in rural North Carolina changed the hopeless lives of young men discarded by society.
“We’re pleased to have Robert Townsend’s film that was produced in collaboration with One Economy as part of the our 14th festival,” said festival director Kali Oray. “It is a signature piece that leads what I am seeing as a redemptive theme, considering films like the international ‘Fambul Tok’ of Sierra Leone, which demonstrates forgiveness in its highest form, and Kevin Epps’ ‘FAM BAM,’ JR Valrey’s ‘Block Reportin’ 101’ and Jacquie Taliaferro’s ‘10-10 Gotta Win’ and other films. The San Francisco Black Film Festival, in alignment with our mission, provides a platform for established and emerging filmmakers,” added Oray.
“The San Francisco Black Film Festival organizers and volunteers see the festival as more than just entertainment,” said Rey Ramsey, co-founder and chairman of the board for One Economy, which has brought broadband access to over 300,000 low income Americans and is located on four continents. “We’re beginning a relationship that will launch on-going educational opportunities that include screenings and panel discussions beyond opening night. Most important is the message of the movie: ‘In the Hive’ is about real people and represents what’s happening every day around the country. Stay tuned for the additional educational programs in the upcoming months.”
SFBFF films
Some festival highlights include “In The Hive,” directed by Robert Townsend, a universal story of the triumph of the underdog when just one person decides there is a better way and that the weakest among us is noble and has great worth. Former De Young Museum Fellow Kevin Epps’ “FAM BAM” examines the Black family structure and its resilience. Jacquie Taliaferro’s “10-10 Gotta Win” showcases the importance of voting, and JR Valrey’s “Block Reportin’ 101” gives the 411 on the Block Report brand of journalism and how it serves people and communities that are often denied outlets elsewhere.
Actress Loretta Devine, right, portrays the real life heroic figure of “In the Hive,” Vivian Saunders, left.
“Fambul Tok” (“Family Talk”) by Sara Terry chronicles Sierra Leoneans drawing on ancient traditions of addressing issues within the safety of the family circle to make their communities whole again. “Elza” by Marriette Monpierre is the dramatic tale of a young Parisian woman of Caribbean descent who returns to her native island of Guadeloupe looking for the father she has never known.
The list of celebrities grows as the festival nears. Jonathan McDaniel of “In the Hive,” Bill Cosby’s legendary cartoonist Leo Sullivan, who created “Fat Albert and the Kids,” Morrie Turner, creator of syndicated comic strip “Wee Pals,” James Weston II, seen most recently in “Red Tails and Transformers,” Welterweight Champion of the World Karim “Hard Hitta” Mayfield, Romancing the Bass’ Tony Saunders, playing at the Hansberry June 22, Larry Batiste, pre-Grammy Awards music director, KMEL’s Lady Ray, Charleston Pierce, who’s lighting up the airwaves for Cadillac, Samm Styles, Warner Bros. director for “Black August,” Y’Anad Burrell, founder and creative director of “Fashion on the Square,” author Alonzo Tucker, Dr. Maxine Hickman, president of the San Francisco National Coalition of 100 Black Women are among those attending the Red Carpet VIP Reception and other events.
The late Ave Montague, founder of the San Francisco Black Film Festival. – Photo: SF Chronicle
Invited guests include Robert Townsend, Loretta Devine, Vivica A. Fox, Michael Clarke Duncan, Danny Glover, Carl Lumbly, Delroy Lindo, Jordin Sparks, Mike Epps, Shabaka Henley, Ted Lange, Michael Lange, Jerri Lange, Belva Davis, Barbara Rodgers, Clifford Brown Jr., Nikki Thomas, Steven Anthony Jones, Brenda Payton, San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
The San Francisco Black Film Festival is a platform for established and emerging artists that was founded by the late arts impresario Ave Montague. SFBFF continues since her death in 2009 under the leadership of her son, Kali Oray, and his wife, Katerra Crossley, with a team of volunteers and well-wishers who understand the arts are more than entertainment.
What about the San Francisco Black Film Festival?
We thank you for catching the vision to support the growing brand of the San Francisco Black Film Festival that is about more than entertainment. It’s about providing a cultural platform for exchange of ideas. It’s about commerce as people come into San Francisco for dinner before or after a film, use cabs, BART, Muni and stay in hotels.
Newcomer Jonathan McDaniel lights up the screen of “In the Hive” like a “young Denzel.”
It’s about creating synergy for volunteerism, job training and job development around the film industry and tangential industries. It’s about building on the legacy of founder Ave Montague for future generations. It’s about collaboration, as the San Francisco Black Film Festival partners with the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, Calvary Community Church, Wells Fargo Bank, PG&E, California Tobacco Free Project, Recology, Urban Game Suite, Rainbow Grocery Co-op, San Francisco Bay View newspaper, the Jazz Heritage Center, KPFA, KPOO, LaHitz Media, Bay Area Black Journalists Association, African American Arts and Culture Complex, Academy of Art University, One Economy Corp. and more. It’s about multiculturalism and it’s about you!
A pig-tailed girl whose favorite accessory is a pink stethoscope has become a symbol of pride and hope for black women in medicine and the daughters they want to inspire.
Doc McStuffins, the African-American title character of an animated TV series for children, dreams of becoming an M.D. and, for now, runs a cheerful home clinic for stuffed animals and dolls.
“I haven’t lost a toy yet!’’ Doc exclaims as she hugs a blue dinosaur in need of attention.
For Dr. Myiesha Taylor, who watches Disney Channel’s “Doc McStuffins’’ with her 4-year-old, Hana, the show sends a much-needed message to minority girls about how big their ambitions can be.
“It’s so nice to see this child of color in a starring role, not just in the supporting cast. It’s all about her,’’ Taylor said. “And she’s an aspiring intellectual professional, not a singer or dancer or athlete.’’
So Taylor sent a message back, creating an online collage featuring an image of the buoyant Doc encircled by photos of 131 black women who are Doc’s real life-counterparts, most garbed in their scrubs or doctor’s coats.
“We are trailblazers,’’ Taylor proclaimed on her website. “We are women of color. We are physicians. We ARE role-models. We are Doc McStuffins all grown up!’’
For black women whose own wish to practice medicine came true, the show is welcome affirmation. The doctors shown in the collage are graduates of schools including Harvard, Yale and Stanford and work in a range of specialties such as neurosurgery, orthopedic surgery and psychiatry. Taylor is a board-certified emergency room physician.
According to the American Medical Association’s “Physician Characteristics and Distribution in the U.S., 2012 Edition,’’ there were 18,533 black female physicians in 2010, or less than 2 percent of a total of 985,375 U.S. doctors, including nearly 300,000 female physicians. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, blacks make up 12.3 percent of the population at about 40 million, with more than half of them women.
“When we made her an African-American girl, we hoped it would be a positive role model that wasn’t really out there and would be great for little girls,’’ said series creator Chris Nee, who said she was encouraged by Disney from the start to create Doc as a minority character. “What has been surprising is the strength of the reaction and that it’s from adults.’’
She hopes the series resonates with all the girls who watch it, she added, citing worrisome studies that females start to develop negative attitudes about science at a young age.
(AllHipHop News) Just when you thought Jay-Z had done it all, the rap mogul is taking his entrepreneurism to another level.
In an unprecedented venture for rappers, athletes, and celebrity endorsers alike, Jay-Z is linking up with Duracell and Powermat to act as a spokesperson for “Wireless Power Nation,” a phone charging system that will be installed on tables and bars in coffeeshops, restaurants, clubs, gyms, and public venues across the country.
Currently, Jay-Z has the service available in his 40/40 Club in New York City.
The revolutionary technology allows patrons to charge their phones by simply placing their cell phone or wireless device on the table.
Duracell and GM have already used the technology on the Chevy Volt as well, so it is likely that consumers will see this technology in more and more cars in the near future as the technology becomes less expensive and demand increases for the convenience.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! No, not Christmas, it’s Black Music Month! Since its establishment in 1979, television channels, corporations, and consumers have acknowledged the contributions of African-Americans to the cultural landscape of this country through song.
There are any numbers of books that provide rich histories of music genres, as well as books that serve as great autobiographies of musical artists. This month, as AllHipHop.com celebrates Black Music Month, we want to share with you some of our Black Music book picks:
The Music of Black Americans (A History) by Eileen Southern
Nearing its 15th anniversary, and in its third printing, The Music of Black Americans (A History), weaves a fascinating narrative of intense musical activity. Singers, players, and composers, Black American musicians are fully chronicled in this landmark book. Beginning with the arrival of the first Africans in the English colonies, the author added a wealth of material covering the latest developments in gospel, blues, jazz, classical, crossover, Broadway, and rap as they relate to African American music.
Motown: Music, Money, Sex, and Power by Gerald Posner
Set against the Civil Rights movement, the decay of America’s Northern industrial cities, and the social upheaval of the 1960s,Motown is a tale of the incredible entrepreneurship of Berry Gordy. But it also features the moving stories of kids from Detroit’s inner-city projects who achieved remarkable success and then, in many cases, found themselves fighting the demons that so often come with stardom—drugs, jealousy, sexual indulgence, greed, and uncontrollable ambition. Motown features an extraordinary cast of characters, including Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, and Stevie Wonder. They are presented as they lived and worked: a clan of friends, lovers, competitors, and sometimes vicious foes.
Jazz by Gary Giddins and Scott Deveaux
Emphasizing its African American roots, Jazz traces the history of the music over the last hundred years. They explain what jazz is, where it came from, and who created it and why, all within the broader context of American life and culture. Jazz describes the travails and triumphs of musical innovators struggling for work, respect, and cultural acceptance set against the backdrop of American history, commerce, and politics.
The History of the Blues: The Roots, The Music, The People by Francis Davis
A groundbreaking rethinking of the blues, The History of the Bluesfearlessly examines how race relations have altered perceptions of the music. Tracing its origins from the Mississippi Delta to its amplification in Chicago right after World War II, Davis argues for an examination of the blues in its own right, not just as a precursor to jazz and rock ‘n roll.
Memoirs of a Super Freak by Rick James
There are autobiographies, and then there are books about a person that totally transform how you see them and builds the respect you have for them. Memoirs of a Super Freak is the latter. Written while James was incarcerated, this autobiography is a trip inside his creative and amusingly twisted mind. The book chronicles James early life, his musical career and achievements, his eventual unraveling, and his return to popularity shortly before his death.
Room Full of Mirrors: A Biography of Jimi Hendrix by Charles Cross
There are many books on this iconic guitar player – this is considered one of the best unlocking the mystery of who Hendrix was. From his difficult childhood and adolescence in Seattle, through his incredible rise to celebrity in London’s swinging ’60s, it is the story of an outrageous life – with legendary tales of sex, drugs, and excess, while it also reveals a man who struggled to accept his role as idol and who privately craved the kind of normal family life he never had. The book showcases never-before-seen documents and private letters, and is based on hundreds of interviews with those who knew Hendrix – many of whom had never before agreed to be interviewed.
Songs in the Key of My Life: A Memoir by Ferentz LaFargue Songs in the Key of My Life is the book that we all would want to write, but LaFargue definitely beat us to it. Chronicling life experiences and interpreting them through some of his favorite songs, this book, andThe Message by Felicia Pride are books that remind us how significant music can be in one’s life. LaFargue invites readers into his life via his playlist, and the trip is a good one.
A new African American-oriented television network has posted a video previewof its plans for an unprecedented five hours of daily news programming, which the network’s primary creator, Edwin Avent, said he hopes to have on the air on Labor Day weekend.
Avent, former publisher of Heart & Soul magazine, told Journal-isms on Friday that as of this week, Soul of the South will be in 25 markets and that he hopes to reach 55 markets by year’s end. The largest markets include Chicago, Philadelphia and Atlanta. The network will be broadcast-based, but will also be picked up by some cable networks.
The only journalist named in the video is Roy Hobbs, a veteran journalist and a former weekend television anchor in Birmingham, Ala., but the news director is said to be Tom Jacobs, a veteran broadcaster based in Cleveland. Matthew L. Mixon, a Los Angeles-based producer who has a background in sales, programming and production, is said to have a programming role.
The video promises a daily hourlong evening newscast, a two-hour morning news show, “Morning Call,” and “Capital Eye,” a nightly half-hour program “from each of our Southern capitals,” based at WHUT-TV at Howard University.
Hobbs’ involvement with the network represents a personal milestone. He was busted on drug charges in April 2010. Although he was never convicted, his name was splashed across local news media. “I was trying to commit suicide,” Hobbs told Journal-isms later. Hobbs entered a recovery program and hoped he would not be blacklisted in the television industry.
“I haven’t worked in two years,” Hobbs said by telephone Friday. “I was mopping floors for $8 an hour with no benefits, just so I could buy food and keep the lights on. But my faith is strong, and I know that if I keep doing the right thing, the universe has a way of balancing things out.
“The great thing is, finally we can look out for ourselves,” Hobbs said of the new network. “There’s so much I can do for communities across the country because I have been there,” he said. “I can give back.
“I’m thrilled that somebody looks at the needs of our community besides just entertainment. The local news doesn’t do it. The national news doesn’t. The cable news doesn’t. The numbers of black reporters has shrunk. . . . It’s sad that we haven’t had the opportunities that other groups have had,” mentioning networks that broadcast news to immigrants.
“When we look at the news director that we have, Tom Jacobs, we will put on a product that we not only can be proud of, but will show ourselves in a way that will help educate us, provide information for us. He will do what hasn’t been done before.”
Summer’s here again, which means a plethora of opportunities to get out and get into something good. Whether you live in a major hub or a small town, when the weather breaks, there’s something for everyone to do. In case you need a few ideas, here’s a look at five upcoming summer festivals to whet your appetite for travel, music, books, and film.
1. Essence Music Festival
The most popular black music festival will return to New Orleans on the weekend of July 6-8. This year’s guests include Aretha Franklin, D’angelo, Marsha Ambrosious, Goapele, Fantasia, Eve, Estelle, The Robert Gl asper Experiment, and SWV. This is just a sampling of the action-packed weekend’s entertainment. Awkward Black Girl’s Issa Rae will be speaking. Super-fine actor DB Woodside will be in attendance. And gospel acts include Mary Mary, Fred Hammond, and Israel Houghton. Tickets are still available.
2. Montreal Jazz Festival
This Canadian festival has long provided a home for soul and jazz acts of note. This year’s talent includes Janelle Monae, Esperanza Spalding, Seal, and Norah Jones. In addition to an introduction to a host of new international music acts, you’d also get to experience the breathtaking sights in Montreal. The festival runs from June 28 to July 7. It combines free outdoor shows with ticketed concerts.
3. New York Summerstage
This is a bit of cheat; it isn’t a festival. It’s a summer concert series–one of the best in the country. This year, it will reunite Amel Larrieux and Bryce Wilson, who will perform as Groove Theory for the first time since the early aughts. Other performers include Tamia, the Res-Talib Kweli-fronted band Idle Warship, Robert Glasper Experiment, Bobby Womack, Goapele, and Eric Roberson. Check dates and times at the website above.
4. The Harlem Book Fair
This one -day event, which brings together some of the biggest names in black books, gets bigger and better ever year. Its panels are annually televised on C-SPAN. Its vendors are friendly and often provide you an audience with the writers of your favorite books. A mix of urban and contemporary lit, the Harlem Book Fair combines outdoor performances and sellers, with indoor workshops and speakers. This year’s event takes place on Saturday, July 21.
5. The American Black Film Festival
Looking for an excuse to jaunt off to Miami Beach this summer? Here’s one. The American Black Film Festival will be there during the weekend of June 20-23. Each year, it boasts the world premieres of many African American and world films. This year’s list of films includes Matthew Cherry’s buzz-w orthy feature, The Last Fall, Russ Parr’s church-set drama, The Undershepherd, starring Isaiah Washington, and The Dark Party, co-written and directed by Kadeem Hardison. For those interested in learning more about filmmaking, the festival offers crash courses in various movie-making processes.
Whatever your interests, start researching and planning now, and you’re sure to spend your summer months partying the nights away. Do you have plans to attend any of these events? Are you headed to another fun function you’d like others to know about?
Muta’Ali Muhammad, grandson of Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis, is developing a documentary film based on their lives, their art, their activism, and their love for each other. Since this legendary couple is held in such great esteem in the black community, a film like this, produced by their grandson, would be an amazing treasure for us all.
The project, titled Life’s Essentials with Ruby Dee, is in need of funding, and Muhammad has launched a Kickstarter page to raise the $50,000 necessary to complete the project. The video trailer accompanying the page is pretty amazing. Any contribution made to help this film reach fruition would be a sound investment. At the time of this writing, there were only 22 backers and $1,573 raised. Muhammad has just 38 remaining days to reach his goal. Visit the Kickstarter page to help.
The Inaugural Diversity Employment And Business Opportunity Trade Fair To be held at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place in Chicago on July 24th
Major League Baseball and the Chicago White Sox will co-host the first-ever “MLB Diversity Business Summit,” which will provide attendees with unprecedented access to Human Resource and Procurement executives from MLB’s Central Office, all 30 MLB Clubs, MLB Network, MLB Advanced Media and Minor League Baseball Clubs. This inaugural event will be held at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place in Chicago on Tuesday, July 24th. Event information and early registration are currently available at MLB.com/diversitysummit.
“Major League Baseball is pleased to co-host the MLB Diversity Business Summit, giving our game another opportunity to connect with a diverse pool of individuals and businesses,” said Baseball Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig. “I thank the Chicago White Sox for their support and hospitality, and we hope that everyone involved will benefit from the direct interaction afforded by this inaugural event.”
This sports diversity employment and business opportunity trade fair will provide job seekers and entrepreneurs with a unique opportunity to network directly with club and sponsorship decision-makers for employment and business opportunities. The agenda for the event will include league-wide networking, exhibit floor access, special presenters, workshops and executive roundtable discussions. Deadline for early registration is June 1st.
“It is an honor to join with Major League Baseball and co-host the MLB Diversity Business Summit this summer in Chicago,” said White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf. “Diversity is critical to success in business and in baseball. From purchasing the best products available to acquiring and developing the very best talent in the front office, the White Sox are committed to diversity throughout our business operations and throughout our ballpark.”
“The diversity of Major League Baseball is important to Commissioner Selig on-field as well as throughout our entire business,” said Wendy Lewis, Senior Vice President, Diversity & Strategic Alliances.
“The MLB Diversity Business Summit will connect a diverse and inclusive group of individuals with Human Resource, Procurement and other executives throughout the industry. We are looking forward to welcoming the many talented students, professionals and business owners who will participate in this groundbreaking event.”
*Herb Reed, founder of the 1950s vocal group the Platters who sang on hits like “Only You” and “The Great Pretender,” has died at the age of 83.
The last surviving original member of died Monday in a Boston area hospice after a period of declining health that included chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, manager Fred Balboni told the Associated Press.
Reed, a Kansas City, Mo., native, founded the Platters in Los Angeles in 1953. The group started out as a quartet, winning amateur talent shows and performed nights and weekends up and down the California coast while the members worked days at a car wash and at other odd jobs.
Reed came up with the group’s name, inspired by ’50s disc jockeys who called their records platters.
The group underwent several lineup changes, even adding a woman singer to become a quintet, before signing their first major recording contract in 1955.
Herb Reed (far left) with The Platters
Reed sang bass on the group’s four No. 1 hits, including “The Great Pretender,” ”My Prayer,” ”Twilight Time” and “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes.”
The Platters were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1998. Their recordings are in the Grammy Hall of Fame.
The group’s popularity reached across racial lines and genres, “achieving success in a crooning, middle-of-the-road style that put a soulful coat of uptown polish on pop-oriented, harmony-rich material,” according to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s website.
Reed had homes in Atlanta and Miami but had called the Boston area home since the 1970s “because the people were always so nice to me,” he told a biographer.
Reed was the only member of the group to appear on all of their nearly 400 recordings. He continued touring, performing up to 200 shows per year, until last year, often performing with younger singers under the name Herb Reed and the Platters or Herb Reed’s Platters.
Reed is survived by a son and three grandsons. Funeral arrangements are pending.
Photo credit: 2009 Mermaid Parade at Coney Island (Getty Images)
It’s been anything but a brutal lead-up to summer, but we’re still thrilled that the warmest season is on the horizon – and not just for the weather. With concerts, festivals, theater and outdoor films, we’re banking on this being a busy – and awesome – summer.
Here are some ideas on how to fill the dog days.
JUNE
June 5
Shakespeare in the Park
The Public Theater presents “As You Like It” (through June 30) and the non-Shakespearean (but still excellent) Sondheim/Lapine musical “Into the Woods” (July 23-Aug. 25) starring Donna Murphy as The Witch. You know the drill: All performances take place at Central Park’s Delacorte Theater and are free, but it’s first-come, first-served; publictheater.org
June 9
Big Apple Block Party
Everyone’s favorite annual eat-a-thon returns with barbecue grub fixed by some of the world’s top pitmasters. Apart from the world-class ‘cue, stop by for seminars, book signings and booze tastings. Madison Square Park; bigapplebbq.org
June 10
‘Jews and Booze: Becoming American in the Age of Prohibition’
Author Marni Davis talks about her book, which explores the anti-Semitic undercurrents that existed within the temperance movement. Post-discussion tasting by Hudson Whiskey.Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Pl., 2:20 p.m., $10, $5 members; mjhnyc.org
June 10
Tony Awards
Neil Patrick Harris returns to host Broadway’s biggest night, the 66th annual Tony Awards. Not into hanging around the Beacon Theatre? Watch it on CBS at 8 p.m.
June 11
Foster the People at Central Park SummerStage
The “Pumped Up Kicks” rockers will be joined by Tokyo Police Club and Kimbra. 6 p.m., $40.75-$45; bowerypresents.com
June 12
Dave Matthews Band
Party like it’s 1998 with these semi-still-relevant rockers. Nikon at Jones Beach Theater, 8 p.m., $75; ticketmaster.com
June 14
‘Harvey’ opening night
“The Big Bang Theory” star Jim Parsons heads to Broadway in this Roundabout revival, playing a lovable man with an unwavering friendship with an invisible 6-foot-tall white rabbit named Harvey. Studio 54; broadway.com
June 18
Bryant Park Summer Film Series
In celebration of the free festival’s 20th anniversary, the lineup is a throwback to the hits screened in past summers. It kicks off with “Psycho” and ends on Aug. 20 with “Raiders Of The Lost Ark.” For full schedule, visit bryantpark.org.
June 23
Coney Island Mermaid Parade
This annual over-the-top ocean-themed extravaganza returns with what’s sure to be a cavalcade of sparkly, skimpy and seriously spectacular costumes. W. 21st Street and Surf Avenue, Coney Island, 2 p.m., FREE, coneyisland.com
June 24
NYC Pride March
More than a million revelers pack the streets in what’s undoubtedly among city’s most jubilant events. Plus, one of this year’s grand marshals is Cyndi Lauper! Starts at 36th Street & 5th Avenue, ends at Christopher & Greenwich Streets. Noon, NYCPride.org
June 26
The Kravis Prize Concert: Yo-Yo Ma Plays Dutilleux
The inaugural honoree of the Marie-Josée Kravis Prize for New Music is French composer Henri Dutilleux, and the award includes a concert of his music performed by acclaimed cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Avery Fisher Hall, 7:30 p.m.; $35-$95; nyphil.org
JULY
July 4
Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest
Watch the pros wolf down hot dogs at this all-American competition. Corner of Stillwell and Surf avenues, Coney Island, 3 p.m.; nathansfamous.com
July 7
MoMA PS1′s Warm Up Parties
MoMA’s revered dance-music-art parties return to Long Island City for the 15th year and continue every Saturday through Sept. 8. Lineup TBA. $15, free for members and LIC residents; ps1.org
July 9
Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival
Busta Rhymes headlines this yearly tribute to all things hip-hop in the borough that helped define it. Expect concerts, panels and block parties. Through July 14. Prices and locations vary, visit bkhiphopfestival.com
July 15
Summer soccer
Watch our own Red Bulls go head-to-head with the Seattle Sounders in a Sunday clash at Red Bull Arena.4 p.m., $20-$70; newyorkredbulls.com
July 20
Hot Chelle Rae
The Nashville band – best known for their ubiquitous pop hit “Tonight Tonight” – will perform as part of the “Today” show Summer Concert Series. Rockefeller Center Plaza;today.com
July 27
2012 Summer Olympic Games begin in London
Get ready for the world’s most elite athletes to descend on the U.K. to compete across a variety of sports. Through Aug. 12.
July 25
Lincoln Center Out of Doors Festival
This annual summer highlight – one of the country’s longest-running, free, outdoor festivals, features more than 100 concerts and events across the plazas of Lincoln Center through Aug. 12; lcoutofdoors.org
July 26-29
Atlantic City Wine & Food Festival
The fourth annual festival, which will take place across all four Caesars casinos and resorts, will feature some of the culinary world’s biggest names, including Tom Colicchio and Anne Burrell. Tickets at acfoodandwine.com or ticketmaster.com
AUGUST
Aug. 10
New York International Fringe Festival
For two weeks, nearly 200 shows will be part of this gigantic theater festival that runs through Aug. 26. While a handful of Fringe shows have gone on to commercial success, it’s mainly an outlet for low-budget theater that can’t get produced elsewhere. Various venues, $15 per show; fringenyc.com
Aug. 15
Dannijo x Matt Bernson
Jewelry brand Dannijo has teamed up with comfy-chic shoe designer Matt Bernson to launch a luxe five-piece shoe collection smack in the middle of August. Prices start at $238. Matt Bernson, 20 Harrison St., 212-941-7634
Aug. 19
Last chance to check out “Impossible Conversations”
The Met’s Spring 2012 Costume Institute exhibition, “Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations,” is slated to close Aug. 19. The exhibit explores the striking affinities between Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada, two Italian designers from different eras.Metropolitan Museum of Art; metmuseum.org
Aug. 18-19
Jazz Age Lawn Party
Channel your inner Jay Gatsby and head to Governors Island for the second installment of this retro summer fete, where cocktails, dancing and sweet treats abound. Costumes, of course, are strongly suggested. 11-5 p.m.; dreamlandorchestra.com
Aug. 27
U.S. Open
The eyes of the tennis world will be on NYC for two weeks, as superstars like Rafael Nadal (below) compete in the Grand Slam finale in Queens. Added bonus: Plenty of big-name celebs try to go incognito in the stands. USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center;usopen.org
Aug. 31
Jason Mraz and special guest Christina Perri
“Mr. A to Z” caps off the “Today” show Summer Concert Series, along with “Jar of Hearts” songstress Perri. Rockefeller Center Plaza; today.com
Filmmaker Jean Pierre Bekolo and reporter Jackie Wright are pictured in the lobby of Dallas’ Adolphus Hotel, site of the 38th African Literature Association Conference.
In the midst of the Dallas Film Society’s International Film Festival in April, Southern Methodist University hosted the 38th African Literature Association Conference that feted celebrated international film director Jean Pierre Bekolo. Inspired by Spike Lee, Bekolo says Lee “gave me the vision that I could do this thing, that I could film from the perspective of Africa.”The 20th anniversary of Bekolo’s groundbreaking “Quartier Mozart,” observed during the conference at the historic Aldolphus Hotel in Dallas, included a screening of the film at the Hughes-Triggs Theater at the Southern Methodist University campus.
Bekolo was headlined along with the highly respected Ama Ata Aidoo, a prolific writer from Ghana. The conference was also the occasion of Aidoo’s 70th birthday and her new book, “Diplomatic Pounds and Other Stories,” was launched.
Professor Dayna Oscherwitz and Professor Herve Tchumkam convened the ALA conference. Other speakers included Fabien Eboussi Boulaga, Charles Cantalupo, Pius Adesanmi, Zaynab Alkali and Mshai Mwangola. African Heritage Press, the African Books Collective and Africa World Press sponsored the conference.
As I interviewed Bekolo over lunch at La Fiorentina near the SMU campus, he immediately began talking about the creative process and the need to “write from a place and not for an audience.” “If you write from a place, you are more likely to speak truth than if you write for an audience because you can be easily manipulated by the expectations of the audience,” he said eloquently with a French accent.
There we were tête-à-tête and his interest in truth and speaking truth to power pulled from me several revelations. It was as if I had walked into the confession chamber of a priest who looked at me soul to soul, eye to eye. I was interviewing him for LaHitz Media’s Jacquie Taliaferro, a Cannes International Film Festival comrade he’s known since his film was honored there in 1992; but the director in him was calling to the latent, long-buried University of Georgia Drama Department-trained actor in me.
As Africa via Europe loomed heavy in the conversation, I finally confessed to someone. I confessed to the African director, priest of sorts, that for years I had no interest in visiting Africa. I would tense up and try not to roll my eyes when the converted would swoon about going to the Motherland. To keep from having “knockdown-drag out” fights, I would keep my lips sealed ever so tightly.
“Over the past few years, my heart has been softening because I understand why I had this deep-seated disdain for kissing the holy Motherland ground no matter how many epiphanies returning people shared. Bekolo, this is it for me: No one goes and takes what is precious to you without a fight. Africans helped the ‘White Man’ take my people from Africa, number one, and, number two, no one came after us,” I said with cold intellectual composure looking him straight in the eyes.
Inside, I wanted to “hollah” as in “throw up both my hands,” but it was not the time nor place; I didn’t care how probing yet compassionate this African priest’s eyes were. So the silence sat in the air and then he spoke with an idea for resolution, if not restitution.
“You know, I have a friend in Cameroon who is giving away land to African Americans and will be performing a naming rite ceremony in December,” he replied directly as if to say, “Here, Jackie, now feel better, no? Yes!”
“Interesting,” was my response, not wanting to be too eager to accept the psychological olive branch and trying to resist yet another stone from being chiseled from my “I’m-not-interested-in-going-to-Africa wall.”
“You should come to Cameroon,” he said fervently!
“Why should anyone come to Cameroon?” I am asking as a journalist, not being flippant. “Why should anyone come to Cameroon,” I strongly replied.
“Everything began in Cameroon,” he laughs. “At least that is our myth.” “Even Obama.” “Obama is a Cameroonian name. Cameroonians migrated to Kenya and the name comes from our country. I will show you. Look at my passport, you will see my name, he exclaimed. There it was on his passport “Bekolo Obama.”
“Ok, what else,” I asked.
“Take a look at the film I made for the Cameroon Department of Tourism.” In a series of video clips, “A Continent Called Cameroon,” Bekolo uses the a cappella voice of a singer calling to would-be visitors as the visual elements of earth, wind, sky and water join in chorus to give the message: “Cameroon, All Africa in a Country.” The imagery is in harmony with the words from the Cameroon National Anthem: “Land of promise, land of glory, thou of life and joy, our only store!”
“You were here in Dallas for the 20th anniversary of your film, what are you working on now?”
“I am doing more writing now. Films are so expensive to make and I am feeling the urgency to make changes now through the power of art. I just wrote a piece about President Paul Biya and it is causing quite a stir.”
“Don’t tell me I should be afraid that your country’s secret service is going break up this lunch and take us away,” I said, laughing, scanning the room, yet still thinking in this not-so-free world, in this post-Patriot-Act-in-America world, in a world where it was acceptable for the first Black president of the free world to have a subordinate governor wag a disrespecting chiding finger in his face, my levity could have easily turned into a point of true concern. Will Smith and Regina King in “Enemy of the State” came to mind.
After my laughter, in answer to my real question, he responded: “Yes, you can read it. It is on the Internet. I said what some would consider some very hard words, but I framed my concerns from the perspective of a marriage. Our president was betrothed to Cameroon with great love and passion, yet over the years the fire has died. He spends more time in Switzerland than in Cameroon. What is he – too good for us now?”
“So your political essay has President Biya in the role of the adulterous husband who took the best years of his young wife but now is enthralled with a younger woman; is that your point?” I responded.
“Yes, you understand. It takes us forever to greet each other and say goodbye to give you a picture of our culture. And with all the time expended with these niceties we extend to each other, foreigners are coming in and taking away our resources, and our government is helping give away the country. So, given our culture, my words expressed in this metaphor – and that I believe should be stronger – have offended some people.”
The core of the creative process came full circle in our conversation. “Although you don’t write for an audience – you write from a place – you have to take into consideration whether you can be understood and received,” Bekolo instructed.
“Like Jesus said, ‘You can’t put new wine in old wine skins,’” I responded. “You have to have a thing or vehicle people understand, and you communicate from that point. Is that what you are saying?”
“Yes, that is why I used the metaphor of a marriage, so people could absorb the idea to grapple with the fact that this man, who is in his 80s, has been wrong for Cameroon for too many years. It is time for change,” Bekolo strongly expressed with a surge of vocal enthusiasm as I looked around the restaurant for the Cameroonian government agents.
When Bekolo described the vestiges of colonialism that still remain – how, as an example, the Free Masons were sold as an organization that up and coming men had to join, yet at the top of the pyramid in Cameroon sits a White man who has no power but what was given to him by the Cameroonians – and how subservient Cameroonians are the ones who are chosen for positions of power to keep the masses under control while White men overtly or covertly rule, I thought of my conversations with filmmaking comrade Taliaferro. His description of Cameroon could be the flip side of a dime for Blacks in America on so many levels, from nonprofits to government to corporate America. There are glimpses of the mirage of Black Power while major control is still in the hands of White America.
So what’s the solution? Morality and truth through media, he said in so many words. We must create our films and our media from our worldview and stop trying to fit into the European paradigm to be accepted by them or approved by them, he passionately stated. Bekolo reminded me of the Book of Daniel.
Daniel, when encompassed by an alien culture, having been stolen from his homeland and forced to accept the ways of the oppressing culture, he stayed true to his beliefs. Daniel refused the food and trinkets of the Babylonian culture, yet rose to great stature and leadership – and he shared that leadership with Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.
Most recognize his “true to our native land” comrades as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Daniel, although first to gain recognition and power, did not succumb to the temptation of remaining the “first and only.” He made a way for others, a trait that raises a people and opposes the ease and comfort of the “first and only” philosophy that keeps an oppressed people oppressed.
Bekolo, who spoke of returning the “old ways” of Cameroon, said he is looking for opportunities to join with other like-minded people to establish a new paradigm for Africa that is based on morality and truth. He ended our conversation with a call for freedom and unity in carving a brave new world through all media for humanitarian purposes without regard to race and class.
Conversation with Bekolo was stimulated in part by the environment in which we found ourselves. Chosen by chance as I drove in Dallas, a town we both had no familiarity with, in a quick glance we chose to stop in, of all places, La Fiorentina, a Tuscan style restaurant that I now find, days after recapping our talk, is located in an iconic church that dates back to the 1800s.
Jackie Wright is the president of Wright Enterprises, a full service public relations firm serving the corporate, non-profit and government sectors. A seasoned media and public relations professional, Wright has 20 years of media experience, including more than a decade of award-winning journalism experience in radio, television and print communications, and holds degrees in both journalism and drama from the University of Georgia. She can be reached at jackiewright@wrightnow.biz or twitter.com/wrightenternow.
How well do you know the best-selling book of all time? A new show on the Game Show Network (GSN) called The American Bible Challengestops in Dallas on June 2 to find people who know the Good Book enough to be quizzed about it on national TV.
A casting call in Texas was a no-brainer for the network. “We have a big Southern skew, we have a big African American audience, and we want to go to where our audience is,” said David Schiff, senior vice president of programming and development for GSN. “There’s a big faith-based community [in Dallas] as well, and we like what Dallas represents.” Casting calls also take place in Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Chicago, though Dallas’ is the biggest.
Before you think you could become a millionaire off your knowledge of Jesus Christ, each team of three will be required to play for a “worthy” organization, though not necessarily a faith-based one, Schiff said. The amounts of money that each team could win haven’t been decided yet.
The American Bible Challenge, or TABC for short
The issue of making the Bible into a game is potentially controversial, but it won’t draw near the controversy that the Christian-themed show GCBbrought to Dallas. “The Bible is the most popular book of all time. Period, end of sentence. There’s no denying that it has an incredibly continuing relevance in hundreds of millions of lives. That is perfectly acceptable for us to take that material and those facts and turn it into a game,” Schiff said. “We’re excited about this, and we have the ultimate confidence that this is going to be a really well-received series.”
Here’s how it works: 18 teams play in the first six episodes. The six winning teams go on, and in the ninth and final episode, one winning team will be announced. Contestants will answer fact-based questions about the Bible, like filling in keywords in important Scripture or putting the 10 plagues in the correct order. They won’t be interpreting what’s in the Bible. (Thank God.)
You won’t want to audition on June 2 at Vista Ridge Mall in Lewisville unless you’re familiar with the Bible; the tagline for the show is, “If you don’t know the Bible, you haven’t got a prayer.” Schiff says you also don’t have to be a Biblical scholar, however. Here’s some advice if you’re called to try out: “Be honest, be enthusiastic, and come and be prepared to tell why the Bible is important to your life,” Schiff said.
Oh yes, and Jeff Foxworthy, the comedian who hosts Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader, will host The American Bible Challenge. He’s a Christian who Schiff says isn’t afraid to have fun with the material.
The one-hour episodes will begin airing in August 2012.
Radio pioneer Hal Jackson (pictured right) has died, WBLS reports.
He was 96.
Jackson’s exact cause of death is not known. WBLS’s website reports that he died from “illness”
The radio and television legend achieved many “firsts” during his 70-year career. He was the first to host a jazz show on ABC network. And he was also the first Black announcer in network radio. In the arena of sports, Jackson was the first play-by-play radio announcer, according to WBLS.
Here are a list of other “firsts” Jackson achieved during his long career:
the first Black to host an interracial network television show on NBC-TV; the first person to broadcast from a theater live; organized and owned the first Black team to win the World’s Basketball championship; the first Black host of an international network television presentation; was instrumental in acquiring the first radio station owned and operated by Blacks in New York City; the first to broadcast live from New York into Japan; the first New York City radio personality to broadcast three daily shows on three different stations in the same day; the first to broadcast live via satellite from Jamaica into New York and currently hosts a radio program which has been rated #1 by Arbitron continuously in its time slot for over 11 years on 107.5 WBLS in New York.
One of Jackson’s most notable professional achievements was his production of “Talented Teens International” that highlights the talents of young, black women between the ages of 13-17. The competition, which has lasted for more than 40 years, gives young women the opportunity to compete for college scholarships, trips abroad and the chance to network with other young women from around the world. Past winners and participants are Tammi Townsend, Vanessa Williams and Jada Pinkett Smith, according to WBLS. Watch Jackson discuss the competition with Don Cornelius below.
Don Cornelius Interviews Hal Jackson On “Soul Train”
In October of 1995, Jackson was the first Black to be inducted into the Radio Hall Of Fame. WBLS says his career can, perhaps, be summarized by the theme he choose for his radio programs: “It is nice to be important, but it is more important to be nice.”
The ‘Good Burger’ star is adding writing and directing to his menu
Last year, you may have noticed, Nickelodeon (specifically Teen Nick) started re-airing a lot of their popular programming from the 1990s. Among ‘90s favorites like “Hey Arnold!” and “Ren & Stimpy,” shows like “All That” and “Kenan & Kel” also made the rotation. Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell were some of the network’s biggest stars, which earned them the spinoff movie, “Good Burger,” based on the popular sketch from “All That.”
While we know what Thompson has been up to with his starring role on “Saturday Night Live” and his recent portrayal of Fat Albert on film, little did we know that Kel Mitchell has been working just as hard. (Did you know he was the voice for T-Bone on PBS’ “Clifford the Big Red Dog” and Ant on the Cartoon Network’s “Pink Panther and Pals”?).
Mitchell recently hooked up with Nickelodeon once again for the new animated series “Wild Grinders” on NickToons along with another animated series on DisneyXD called “Motorcity.” In addition, the film that he wrote and starred in last year, “Dance Fu” (directed by Cedric the Entertainer), just hit Netflix last month.
Loop 21 caught up with Mitchell to talk about the new animated shows, “Dance Fu,” his upcoming film about bullying and if there’s a possibility of a reunion project with Thompson in the near future (“Good Burger: The Ownerz?”).
Loop 21: So what is “Wild Grinders” about?
Mitchell: Rob Drydek is an amazing guy and he came up with this amazing idea for a show about skateboarders. He had the toys out already, which I like to collect toys anyway and I already had some, and it was really cool when they asked me to be on the show. It’s a cool world, it’s like the world of skating and I play a character named Jay Jay. He’s a germaphobe and he’s also a skater. So that’s really crazy for him because he’s skating all around the neighborhood and there are all kinds of germs outside. But he keeps clean, calm and collective. But it’s definitely a fun show, it’s been a lot of fun. There’s a lot of skating, if you love skateboarding, if you love comedy, “Wild Grinders” is definitely for you.
Loop 21: Do you skateboard in real life or ever tried to get your Lil Wayne on?
Mitchell: Yeah man, I used to skateboard when I was younger. I loved Tony Hawk and Christian Hosoi, also a big fan of Rob as well. I loved to skate, still now, even, I jump on a skateboard every now and then. I actually went up to the Fantasy Factory with Rob and hung out over there and got on the skateboards.
Loop 21: Is this your first project with Nickelodeon since the “All That” and “Kenan & Kel” days?
Mitchell: Yeah, actually it is! And it’s really cool to be back home with those guys, I mean, they really understand kid entertainment and it’s fun to be back there. It’s like a family over there. They know what they’re doing and they got a winner with “Wild Grinders.”
Loop 21: One thing I noticed about you is that you embrace your early work as a child actor with Nickelodeon while a lot of other actors like to shun their really early work. Why is that important to you?
Mitchell: For me man, I love the fact that people grew up on it. I go somewhere now and people are like, “Hey, it’s the Good Burger guy! Can you say, ‘Welcome to Good Burger’?” And I like to do it for them. If it adds a little nostalgia for them or if they grew up on it and it’s fun for them to see me do it, I’ll do it. I don’t want to be a letdown and be like “Nah! I don’t wanna do that!” So I go ahead and do it for them and have fun. You know, I enjoyed playing those characters, and I enjoy that people still love those characters and when they see me they like me to do it. So it’s very humbling to me, so I have no problem with it. I don’t know why some actors hate doing stuff from their past. But it’s cool. It’s something that you’re known for.
Loop 21: Will there ever be a project or reunion with Kenan Thompson?
Mitchell: We have to talk about it but I think it could definitely happen. With Nickelodeon bringing the shows back with “The 90’s Are All That” and how successful it’s been, that’s like been the number one question. I have no problem with it; I just have to talk to Kenan about it. I think that’d be awesome. He’s in New York and I’m in L.A. so I haven’t seen him in a while but his mother came to my wedding in January. So our mothers keep in contact more than we do, actually.
Loop 21: When you’re out on the street, who do people confuse you with?
Mitchell: On the streets? Not too many. I mean, I get people who won’t call me by my real name. Like sometimes they’ll say, “There go Ed!, Yo, Ed!” Or “Hey, the Burger guy!” Like one time, I ran into Mike Tyson and he actually punched me in the arm and he said “Hey, Burger boy!” So people come up with their own little nicknames for me.
Loop 21: You also have another show, “Motorcity” on DisneyXD, what’s that one about?
Mitchell: Yeah, it’s kind of like “Terminator” and “Fast & Furious” in Detroit in the year 3000. So it’s all that craziness in there with great cars and action. It’s another action-packed cartoon. I think that’s my new thing, I love watching cartoons, me and my wife love watching them and I love action. So “Wild Grinders” and “Motorcity” are great action shows. Plus the message. I think that’s what’s fun too because it has a message for kids, especially for “WildGrinders,” it has a message for kids at the end of every show.
Loop 21: You wrote and starred in “Dance Fu,” directed by Cedric the Entertainer, last year. How was that experience?
Mitchell: Yeah, I wrote the film, it was a blast! Me, Tommy Davidson, Affion Crockett and Katerina Graham from “Vampire Diaries.” It was fun, I was sitting there thinking I love kung-fu movies and then I love dance movies. So I was like “Hey, wouldn’t it be cool to put those two things together?” So I came up with “Dance Fu,” a story about a guy who can only fight when music is playing. It turned out really great; we had a blast filming it. Cedric was great, it was his directorial debut, but it was a lot of fun and has a lot of action as well. So it’s action-packed and the action scenes are really cool, I really wanted to learn the kung-fu moves so I was actually doing real kung-fu moves with my stunt man. It was cool.
Loop 21: People, in general, don’t realize how tough writing comedy is. How was it for you writing a comedy feature film?
Mitchell: Well, me being in the business for most of my life doing comedy, it came naturally. It was cool, it was a blessing. I was coming up with great jokes and then getting on the set with Cedric, it just made it funnier with the jokes he had. I think we were just really free about it and coming up with great ideas and it ultimately came out authentic.
Loop 21: I saw recently that you are also writing and now directing a new film this summer. What’s the story with that?
Mitchell: Yeah! I have a short film called “She Is Not My Sister.” It’s a really, really cool film and I’m excited about it. It’s a dramedy about bullying and forgiveness. There’s a lot of bullying going around with teens and I wanted to put a message out there that it’s wrong. It’s also a faith-based film as well. “She Is Not My Sister” is the story of how a high school senior’s life takes a turn for the worse when her father returns home from a business trip married to the mother of her high school arch enemy. So imagine that there’s this kid that you can’t stand and bullies you all the time and now that bully’s mom is married to your dad! So it’s really, really, cool story with a great cast. We have Lana Giacose, Tristin Mays (Private, Gullah Gullah Island) Hector Luis Bustamante (Little Girl Lost, Hostage), Melissa De Sousa (Reed Between The Lines, The Best Man and Miss Congeniality) Avery Wadell (Road Trip, The New Guy) and screen newcomer Lloren Ziegler. We’re really excited about this one; I think people are really going to enjoy it.
Loop 21: On your YouTube videos, you do a pretty funny job impersonating celebrities. You ever hear back from any of them?
Mitchell: I know I impersonated Usher awhile back and it was funny. He actually used one of my dance moves at his concerts. He thought it was hilarious. But people like it. My main thing is I always like to have fun when I impersonate people so I don’t like to make it degrading or upset them. I think about them laughing along with it. I’ve been too busy to do one lately, but I’ll definitely do another one.
Loop 21: You’re pretty open about your Christian faith. Did you grow up in the church or is this a recent conversion?
Mitchell: It’s definitely been a part of my life as far as like I’ve always known of Christ, now I have more of a relationship with Christ. It’s a beautiful thing. I’m willing and obedient, praying in the spirit and I let everyone know that that’s a good thing to do. It’s a good way to get through life; I give him all the praise. So that’s what it’s about for me.
Loop 21: What is your ministry Save a Life about?
Mitchell: I speak at a lot of different churches, colleges, high schools and different youth groups. I work closely with my pastor at my church Spirit Food Christian Center with the youth as well. “Save a life” is a link on my website that introduces everyone who visits my page to the love of Christ. Check it out on my website www.KelMitchell.net. My faith in the word of God is what I apply to everything I do now. So with my film “She is Not My Sister,” you’ll see a message in there about following Christ and how that can help you with giving up bullying and learning to forgive others, because Jesus always shows forgiveness, you know what I mean? We have to be just like him. You’ll get the message about Christ and you’ll get to be entertained at the same time.
*When Arsenio Hall made it onto “Celebrity Apprentice,” many young viewers of the show didn’t even know who he was.
Many older viewers wonder what happened to him since his late night talk show.
A lot of us wanted to know what happened in between “Apprentice” and his old, popular late night show. Many of us also wanted to learn more about Hall.
Below is a list we compiled of things you probably didn’t know about the “Celebrity Apprentice” winner. Check it out:
1. Late Night History
Arsenio Hall was the first African American host of a late night talk show with the “Arsenio Hall Show” which ran from 1989 to 1994.
2. Rappers and Hip-Hop artists
He was the first late night talk show to bring on rappers and hip-hop artists as performers.
3. Why was Arsenio’s show cancelled?
After a few years of high success and ratings, the show began to struggle due to Letterman coming on at CBS. Additionally, the last straw for Paramount, the parent company of the show, was when he allowed Minister Louis Farakkhan to come on the show and speak for an hour. Paramount then had enough and ended the show in 1994 after being on the air for 5 years.
4. Where was he born?
He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on February 12, 1956, to Fred, a preacher, and Anne, who had separated by the time Hall was six.
5. College Graduate
He attended Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, majoring in communications, though he transferred, and graduated from, Kent State University in Kent, Ohio.
6. From Advertising to Stand Up Comedy
Arsenio started his career out in the field of advertising and immediately moved into stand-up comedy which was one of his dreams.
7. Arsenio the Party Kid
At age seven he became interested in magic and also performed at everything from birthday parties to bar mitzvah singing and dancing.
*Now dubbed as ‘The International Revival’, the Midnight Oil Summit 2012 will return to the Bethel Convention Center on August 3rd & 4th.
Attendees will enjoy the ministries of MOBO Nominee/International Worship Leader Noel Robinson, World-Renowned Motivational Speaker Bishop Wayne Malcolm, UK ‘Holy Hip-Hop’ Artist Husky, MOBO Award Winner Guvna B, and #1 Selling US Gospel Artist Kierra ‘KiKi Sheard.
Kierra is the daughter of Karen Clark-Sheard, and niece to the ‘Clark Sisters’. She released her very first live album ’FREE’ in October 2011, produced by her brother J. Drew Sheard II, under new family label ‘Karew Records’. ‘FREE’ has been described as her ‘best project yet’, and she is certain to garner similar reviews from her performance at the Midnight Oil Summit this year.
Not only will this be a 1st for Midnight Oil (hosting an international guest artist), but it will also be a 1st for Kierra, as this will be her first time visiting to the UK as a solo performer unaccompanied by her mother.
Other Incredible guests such as Joseph Perry, Husky, Al Gordon, Donna Akodu, Volney Morgan, David Shosanya, Doug Williams, Child of Zion, MTC Indian Dhol Band, Marcia Walder-Thomas, Leroy & Sonia Hogg will also feature on this year’s conference schedule.
Tickets for the Midnight Summit 2012 are available from all major Christian/online outlet. Registration is £20 and covers the whole weekend.
With plays like “Streetcar,” Stephen C. Byrd aims to bring more black actors, and audiences, to the theater.
By Howard Shapiro
Inquirer Staff Writer
TERRENCE JENNINGS / PictureGroup
Stephen Byrd has become Broadway’s only African American lead producer.
It was Peter Pan who long ago captured a little guy in Overbrook named Stephen C. Byrd and goaded him, during the next several decades, to Neverland. His grandma was an accessory to this – she took him to see the play at a theater in Philadelphia.
Byrd thought about it a lot over the years: Not just the sprite who wouldn’t grow up but all the rest, the plays he saw with his grandmother after Peter Pan, the theater he later saw on his own. And eventually it struck him that Neverland – hereinafter called Broadway – was not so great at attracting people like him, black people.
The young audience member who went on to Overbrook High School (where his mother taught history), an economics degree at Temple, a master’s in finance from Wharton at Penn, and high-stakes international jobs in finance, finally has made it to Neverland/Broadway.
With a distinction.
Stephen Byrd, 55, has become Broadway’s only African American lead producer – the person chiefly responsible for raising money, overseeing the business side of a show, choosing the director, and settling with the director on a cast and creative team. His company, Front Row Productions, is dedicated to bringing A-list African American performers to the stage in roles almost never available to them.
Byrd runs Front Row with Alia M. Jones, whom he mentored when she was a business student at New York University with a background in engineering and math. Jones is also increasingly visible in the inner core of producers who move and shake shows onto Broadway’s 40 stages.
The Philadelphia native went to Broadway in 2008 with the all-black cast of Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, which had a limited run of 152 performances before heading to London’s West End. It began profiting on its $14 million investment in just nine weeks and was the year’s highest-grossing Broadway straight play. Cat featured James Earl Jones in the iconic Big Daddy role (“I always wanted to play that cracker,” Byrd says Jones told him), plus Phylicia Rashad, Terrence Howard, and Anika Noni Rose.
“There’s no reason all communities can’t identify with Tennessee Williams, but it’s just not presented to them as Stephen has been able to do,” says Jones, who dug deep into the character of Big Daddy, the dying patriarch of a wealthy Mississippi family – a “very evil, wicked man. Acting is acting, and you have to love the evil men you play, too. I got it off my chest, anyway.”
Byrd is fond of saying there’s an audience somewhere in between Tyler Perry, the Atlanta-based producer-artist of populist black morality plays, and the late August Wilson, the black man from Pittsburgh and among America’s greatest playwrights. To that end, he’s now back on Broadway with a mostly African American version of Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire. Blair Underwood (TV’sThe Event, L.A. Law, and others, plus Perry’s Madea’s Family Reunion, Homework, and other films) is the equally iconic Stanley, joined by Nicole Ari Parker, Daphne Rubin-Vega, and Wood Harris.
While other shows kept pace with their box-office sales, Variety pointed out Monday that Streetcar- with a Tony nomination only for its costumes – posted a big bump the previous week, up 24 percent for a weekly gross of $446,000 plus change. The next day Byrd extended its limited run, originally to end July 22, through Aug. 19. In this case, Streetcar‘s word of mouth apparently trumps the Tony nominators, who also had snubbed Cat; in London, Cat subsequently won the best-revival Olivier Award, Britain’s Tony equivalent.
Cat‘s Broadway audience was 90 percent African American when it opened, and about 70 percent at the run’s end, while Streetcar started off in an even split. The split for Cat was even in London, too – and a survey found that a whopping 78 percent of the audience had never been to a play on the West End.
Byrd has identified “a very strong audience with a huge appetite,” says Debbie Allen, the versatile theater artist (and Rashad’s sister) who currently appears on TV’s Grey’s Anatomy and who directed Cat for Byrd. “It speaks to the level of the work,” she says of Cat‘s popularity. “If the work is really powerful, it has to be able to transcend race. It has to be relevant. Cat on a Hot Tin Roofwas revived with a new burst of energy and life when we did it.”
Says Byrd: “My passion and belief in what I was doing has been validated.”
He cuts a sharp image in a stylish suit, speaks with the authority of one who’s learned from trial by fire, and flashes a warm smile that renders him cherubic. Unlike many producers, he spends a lot of time at his shows after they open, primarily watching people watch the show.
“I’m so elated to be on Broadway and having that experience. I don’t want to miss a moment of it.”
Fifteen years ago, when he was still in finance, Byrd began seriously considering classics with black casts. After Wharton, he had joined Goldman, Sachs & Co. as an investment banker in mergers and acquisitions. “All I knew,” he says, “is that I wanted to travel and make lots of money legally.”
He did both, in the Paris office, where he picked up French at the Alliance Francais, and in Hong Kong, where as one of a very few African Americans and a managing director “I was on Cloud Nine, because I never experienced anything like racism at that level.”
Tired of “living on airplanes – and I had no real friends,” he retired in 1992 and eventually went into private-equity work, and settled for a few years in Hollywood. “I saw blaxploitation pictures, and I have never seen one that lost money.”
Bryd wanted to make black-cast cowboy pictures – there are, indeed, such real characters, including rodeo stars – but never got much off the ground. “You could die of hope out there,” he says. “These guys could never say no and never say yes. I spent a fortune on developing projects. I had scripts up the wazoo and nowhere to go. I learned the hard way.”
Byrd figured, why reinvent the wheel? Why not reinvent the classics instead, with A-list casts of black performers? He got the rights from Williams’ estate to make a nontraditional film version ofCat. But Hollywood green-lighting was too slow for him, so he decided – on the advice of Jones and others – to aim for Broadway. ” ‘No’ is a complete sentence on Broadway, as opposed to Hollywood,” he says. “When they take you seriously, they embrace you.”
He still had the rights to Cat, but though he’d learned a lot about Hollywood, he had no knowledge of stage producing. So he purchased a book by theatrical attorney Donald C. Farber, pored through it, then called Farber, who helped him get Cat on stage.
Byrd, who makes his home near the U.N. Building and describes himself as “single, solvent, and straight,” says he’s aiming next for a musical, and he’s selling Streetcar the same way he sold Cat - to megachurches and through other avenues directly to the black community. His marketing to white theatergoers is more traditional.
“Stephen had a dream years before he actually did what we call Black Cat, and we first met about 12 years before he did it,” says Nelle Nugent, a white veteran producer with a longtime passion for diversifying audiences. This season she presented Stick Fly, about a black family on Martha’s Vineyard, on Broadway.
“Stephen came in with a bold idea,” Nugent said. “And initially, there were naysayers. He’s got wonderful taste. . . . He sets the bar high. Stephen is doing something very, very important – he’s bringing a new audience into the theater, and my hope is that what he and I and others are doing will lead the audience to say: ‘Oh, well, maybe I ought to try something else. I had a pretty good time at that one.’ “
at 215-854-5727 or hshapiro@phillynews.com, or #philastage on Twitter. Read his recent work at go.philly.com/howardshapiro. Hear his reviews at the Classical Network, www.wwfm.org.
*Acclaimed artist Regina Belle is getting ready to release her ninth album and second gospel project, “Higher.”Available in stores on June 5, the album is now accessible online at various Internet stores for only $9.99.
“Higher,” which has already reached the Top 20 on the gospel radio charts, is a project that pulls on the heartstrings of listeners, sending them into a place of praise, joy, and thankfulness.
In 2009, following the release of her last album, “Love Forever Shines,” Belle was diagnosed with a brain tumor, which not only threatened her career, but her life. However, she made a full recovery and attributes this to God’s love and mercy, as well as her faith, which she had to remember to hold steadfastly to.
Appearances on the album include Pastor Shirley Caesar, Kathy Taylor, and Lowell Pye.
Belle hopes to convey a simple but powerful message. “I pray that each listener has an experience. My whole objective in doing this record is to bring people into the presence of God,” she says.
*Tré Thomas is on a roll and doesn’t plan to slow it down any time soon.
The gospel singer is going to blow audiences away this Sunday (May 20) for a first class Gospel Brunch event at The Hamilton in Washington, D.C.
There, he will perform songs from his latest project, “Finally,” released in March. The 10-track album showcases the smooth-voiced crooner at a new level of maturity, building on the sounds and content of his 2008 debut, “A Natural Contrast.” The revealing sophomore album demonstrates Thomas’ desire to establish a deeper connection with his fans, and also to carry out his ongoing mission – spreading the message of love.
“The new album means the world to me,” Thomas said. “I’m able to be transparent to the point where people see another side of me—the vulnerable side. It’s an opportunity to share my heart and actually connect with my listeners. Hopefully they will hear my heart, and want to know and experience the kind of love that I’m singing about.”
Since becoming a breakout artist on “Bobby Jones Gospel” in 2011, Thomas has earned respect in the Gospel industry and won the hearts of thousands. He’s been given opportunities to explore and expand his music career and he’s thankful.
“I hope that my fans will begin to learn that yes, I have a talent to share with the world, but I also want to use that same platform to pour back into my community and affect change,” Thomas said. “I hope my fans understand that my heart is focused on communicating the idea of love–whether it’s through my music, my radio show or my community efforts. It’s all about love.”
By the way, the brunch at the Hamilton will consist of an all-you-can-eat buffet, complete with breakfast options and fine southern dishes. For ticket information, contact 202.787.1000 or visit www.thehamiltondc.com. For artist information, visit www.trethomas.com.
*Atlanta based television network, Bounce TV is ready to premiere its first original series.
After debuting as “the nation’s first-ever over-the-air broadcast television network for African Americans,” the channel is making history again with a new show entitled “Family Time.”
The situation comedy series, created by Bentley Kyle Evans, is based on the life and times of the Stallworths, an average working family that hits it big with a scratch lottery ticket. Overnight they upgrade from low-class to middle class.
This family-next-door consists of two loving parents: Anthony (Omar Gooding) and Lisa (Angell Conwell) Stallworth and their children Ebony (Jayla Calhoun) and Devin (Bentley Kyle Evans, Jr.) The Stallworths move to a middle class community in sunny southern California and both Anthony and Lisa bring baggage and other family members into their relationship that makes for great comedy – and occasional drama.
“Family Time is the perfect way to launch Bounce TV’s originals, as Bentley Kyle Evans and Trenten Gumbs boast an amazing track record producing successful series for Fox,” said Bounce TV Chief Operating Officer Jonathan Katz. “The WB and others and they’ve developed an irreverent sitcom in Family Time that addresses contemporary issues in a way that all parents can relate.”
by drowley@washingtoninformer.com (WI Web Staff Report)
Chuck Brown, the legendary musician and pioneer of Go-Go, has died at the age of 75. His passing was confirmed late Wednesday by his daughter, KK Brown.
Brown, who was widely revered as D.C.’s “Godfather of Go-Go,” had been hospitalized in recent weeks with pneumonia, and because of his failing health numerous shows had been cancelled — including a performance in April that celebrated the re-opening of the District’s historic Howard Theatre.
“I’m devastated. That’s a serious loss. All of D.C. will be mourning,” said Charles Stephenson, author of The Beat: Go-Go Music from Washington, D.C. “Chuck was the Godfather of Go-Go, but he was a also the godfather of all of us. He steered several generations straight and tried to be role model to all of us. He brought the best out of a lot of local artists.”
In addressing rumors a week ago of her father’s two-month absence from public performances, KK Brown said he was in the hospital recovering. At the time she asked that his fans keep him in their prayers. Sources close to his family have said that Brown initially was treated for arthritis and a removed blood clot, the latter resulting in his bout with pneumonia.
Brown was credited with creating Go-Go more than two decades years ago — a music genre which had become known as Washington’s own brand of funk. In creating the Go-Go sound, Brown combined Latin beats, African call and response chants and American Jazz, throwing in a touch of soul with a continuous drumbeat. This non-stop dance music is, and has been, a trademark of original creative music from the nation’s capital, and has gained Chuck Brown worldwide fans.
But Brown burst onto the musical scene in 1971 with his first hit “We The People.” That success was followed by the gold album “Bustin’ Loose” and the No. 1 hit single of the same title on MCA/Source Records. Years later song was sampled in the 2002 Nelly hit, “Hot in Herre.”
Born in Gaston, N.C., Brown moved to D.C. with his family when he was a toddler.
According to his biography, he started playing guitar, inspired by the gospel music of his youth, and by jazz guitarist Charlie Christian. In the early ’60s Brown joined the group Jerry Butler and His Earls of Rhythm. A few years later, Brown joined Los Latinos, a popular dance band that was helping spread the mambo craze around the mid-Atlantic. Brown’s notions of rhythmic complexity took shape while playing in this band, particular his desire to bring congas and cowbells into R&B.
Some of the high points of his career include having been chosen to represent Washington D.C, at the 2002 Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Brown has also received the Mayor’s Arts Award and dozens other awards for his musical contributions.
Upon learning of his death, thousands of Brown’s Facebook fans began posting messages expressing the impact of his passing on their lives.
Wayne Bruce wrote, “Today Heaven has gotten so much funkier!!!!…As a guitarist you could not be more funkier than the Godfather, as a human you couldn’t been kinder, and as an Innovator it speaks for itself. ‘Go-Go’ since its inception has influenced every popular form of recent music…R.I.P. Chuck Brown …I Love the man and his music!!!..”Wind me up Chuck”!!!!”
Michael Allen wrote: “Chuck u influenced alot of bands now and bands to come. U have graced many stages and played in many venues..anyone from DC/MD understands wut im talkin bout…thx for all the parties, the music and last but not least the memories..we love you and will always love you…R.I.P.
And, Cyprian Bowlding wrote, “D.C. and the music world has lost an icon. The Godfather of Go-Go, Chuck Brown is no longer with us. I had the honor of working camera for his half-time show at Fed Ex Field a few years ago. It was one of many highlights in my career. My prayers and condolences to the Go-Go community and the family of Chuck Brown. He may be gone but his music will live forever.”
*If it seems like Gregory D. Gadson, who is making his acting debut in “Battleship,” seems like he knows what he’s doing it’s because he does.
Gadson is an active-duty soldier with nearly 24 years of military service. A United States Military Academy (West Point) graduate, Gadson served in every major global conflict of the past two decades, including Operation Desert Shield/Storm (Kuwait), Operation Joint Forge (Bosnia-Herzegovina), Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (Iraq).
A decorated officer, Gadson was commander of the 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery in Iraq when on the evening of May 7, 2007, he was severely wounded by an improvised explosive device and lost both legs above the knee. He remains on active-duty service in the military and currently serves as the director of the Army Wounded Warrior Program (wtc.army.mil/aw2).
Suffice to say, who better to ask if the portrayal of men in arms is a realistic depiction than the honored (three Bronze Stars, Purple Heart Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal) veteran himself. Speaking on Skye from Hawaii, after a special screening at the Nite Hawk Cinema in Brooklyn, New York, he was very engaging.
“I think it does. One of the aspects that I’m really impressed with is how they included actual service members from three or four different generations going back to I think those that fought in World War II or even Korea. So it really did fuse the brotherhood of those that serve in arms together.”
It was no accident that “Battleship” is Gadson’s first film, he recalls.
“Peter Berg called me up at my house one day, and asked if I wanted to be in his movie. You know, Pete is a big Giants fan, and he had been following my relationship with the New York Giants, especially during the 2007-2008-football season. Also, I was part of an article on advancements and technologies related to prosthetics, and there was a photo of me in the January 2010 “National Geographic” that Pete had also seen and I think that’s what gave him the idea.”
Although well versed in the area of combat and disabilities Gadson, who plays Lieutenant Colonel Mick Canales (an Army combat veteran and double amputee) and in the midst of recovery just as the aliens attack, he did find some hurdles in pulling off the role. “Really trying to pull out my emotions or let my emotions truly come out as I was acting was a significant challenge for me.
I would say that I can make myself pretty vulnerable having to expose myself. I wasn’t sure I was willing to do that in this kind of a forum, and that was a challenge. I think as a career Army officer, we’re often trained to hide our emotions or manage our emotions. And so, I wasn’t used to exposing myself, and that wasn’t something I anticipated. But I took it on and we’re here.”
One of the physical obstacles that Gadson faced was the turf.
“The physical challenges really were working here in Hawaii. I honestly hadn’t walked in a lot of off-road terrain prior to coming and working here in Hawaii. So I literally had to devote a lot of my mental energy to making sure I didn’t fall too much.”
Life lessons are something that Gadson is great at giving even if he admits to not always being at the apex of his emotions.
“I try to be positive. I wish I could say I’m always positive, but I’m human and, you know, I have my days. But I do try to take a positive approach to life. I think as I was going through my recovery having to kind of figure out how to get my life back to a positive direction, I really didn’t know what was on the horizon. There are not too many scenarios where you envision something like this happening to yourself. So you don’t really have a road map to where you want to go or what you’re going to do.
“It doesn’t have to be someone that is wounded. I mean many of the wounds that service members face are unseen, and those are challenges too. It can be as simple as raising and taking care of your family. And so, sometimes I guess mentally having the courage to be able to go in a direction that is not clear, that’s unknown, and having the faith that everything is going to come out all right is important, especially after something devastating has happened to you. Life is forward and I try not to spend a lot of time looking backwards or complaining about something that’ has already happened because there is very little you can do about it. So just to look forward and just continue to fight and get the most you can out of life.”
Syndicated columnist Marie Moore reports on film and TV from her New York City base. Contact her atthefilmstrip@gmail.com
Loop 21: So what is “Wild Grinders” about?
