Month: December 2019

By Maiysha Kai,

I don’t know about you, but when I think of Sasha Obama, the immediate image that springs to mind is always a grinning seven-year-old, waving onstage at Chicago’s Grant Park after her daddy was announced President of the United States in November of 2008. And yes, as a country, we’ve obviously watched her grow in the 11 years since, but it was nonetheless stunning—figuratively and literally—to see our baby girl heading to prom this yearlooking gorgeous and grown; a moment mother Michelle revisited in a Thanksgiving Instagram post.

On Tuesday, our forever first lady revisited another landmark moment in Sasha’s maturation, as the Obamas’ youngest daughter started college this August at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor, with her parents and sister Malia on hand to see her off. Taking time out to speak with former first daughter Jenna Bush Hager on the Today show as she advocated for girls education in Vietnam, Mrs. Obama talked about the restraint the family exercised when dropping Sasha off at school (h/t USA Today).

“Were there tears?” asked Bush Hager.

“There were. We were really good about it—we didn’t want to embarrass her because, you know, she had roommates,” Mrs. Obama answered, adding, “When we got into a car…and then Sasha drove off on her own and said that last goodbye, that’s when we were like…” as she mimicked crying noises.

“We were really good about it. You know, we didn’t want to embarrass her because she had roommates.” @MichelleObama talks about the emotional moment of dropping off her youngest daughter, Sasha, at college pic.twitter.com/20Nhm7Pg7l

— TODAY (@TODAYshow) December 10, 2019

The always pragmatic Mrs. Obama admitted that watching her daughters mature, while inevitable, is bittersweet: “I’m excited for my girls to grow up and become independent, but you feel a little melancholy that they will never be the little ones that sit on your lap and listen to your every word and look at you adoringly. Those days are over,” she said.

As for Mrs. Obama’s trip to Vietnam, Today reports she considers her efforts to promote education for the girls there “a continuation of what I consider my life’s work.”

“I was you—just like you,” she told female students on Monday when she visited Cần Giuộc High School, an hour’s drive outside Ho Chi Minh City. Mrs. Obama was accompanied by Bush Hager, Julia Roberts, YouTube influencer Liza Koshy and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before star Lana Condor as part of her Girls Opportunity Alliance. People reports Obama and Roberts will continue on to Malaysia for a joint appearance on Thursday, yet another stop in the former first lady’s mission “to keep traveling the world to show what happens when we give a girl an education.”

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Meet some of the amazing women who shared their stories with me today in Vietnam! @girlsopportunityAlliance

A post shared by Michelle Obama (@michelleobama) on Dec 9, 2019 at 12:59pm PST

Original article was published here.

By Wilson Morales,

Lifetime TV has released the trailer for the biopic of The Clark Sisters: The First Ladies of Gospel that will air on Lifetime. Aunjanue Ellis stars as the sisters’ iconic mother, Mattie Moss Clark . The sisters are: Christina Bell as Twinkie, Kierra Sheard as Karen, Sheléa Frazier as Dorinda, Raven Goodwin as Denise and Angela Birchett as Jacky.

Queen Latifah, Missy Elliott & Mary J. Blige have signed on to be executive producers. The movie will detail their humble beginnings, struggles to find their place, to later becoming the best-selling Gospel group in the music world. It will tell the story of the five Clark sisters and their mother Mattie Moss Clark.

The movie will feature re-recordings of some of The Clark Sisters biggest hits like “You Brought The Sunshine”. Loretha Jones exec produces with Holly Carter for Revele Entertainment and Shakim Compere for Flavor Unit. Casting the film is Tracy “Twinkie” Byrd. Christine Swanson (Chicago P.D.) directs based on a script written by Sylvia L Jones.

“Bringing untold stories of phenomenal women to life has been a core tenant of Lifetime,” said Tanya Lopez, EVP of Movies, Limited Series & Original Movie Acquisitions, Lifetime and LMN. “We are thrilled to partner with Cheryl, Sandra, Queen Latifah, Mary, Missy and The Clark Sisters for the new projects that will showcase these iconic women in music to new audiences.”

According to Wikipedia, the sisters are credited for helping to bring gospel music to the mainstream and are considered as pioneers of contemporary gospel. Their biggest crossover hits include: “Is My Living in Vain?”, “Hallelujah”, “He Gave Me Nothing to Lose”, “Endow Me”, their hit song “Jesus Is A Love Song”, “Pure Gold”, “Expect a Miracle”, and their largest mainstream crossover gold certified, “You Brought the Sunshine”. The Clark Sisters have won three Grammy Awards. With 16 albums to their credit and millions in sales, the Clark Sisters are the highest-selling female gospel group in history.

Original article was published here.

By Maiysha Kai,

“To the Most High. I Give Thee,” wrote Lauren London in an Instagram post published on Tuesday afternoon, as she introduced her collaboration with Puma. The title of the campaign? “Forever Stronger,” presumably describing how London has emerged after the murder of the love of her life, California rapper, entrepreneur and activist Nipsey Hussle, last March.

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To the Most High. I Give Thee.

A post shared by Lauren London (@laurenlondon) on Dec 10, 2019 at 12:39pm PST

“The pain is a light. Pain is insight,” she says in voiceover, reciting a poem written by Hussle’s younger sister, Samantha Smith. Beneath it, lay a three-and-a-half-minute montage of London, friends, and locals in various locations around Hussle’s beloved South Central Los Angeles, directed by Danny Williams and scored by Rance 1500 Or Nothin. 

The shared pain of these two women, combined with moving imagery and the indelible impact Hussle made upon his community in his too-brief 33 years, create a poignant, yet powerful statement about loss, healing and legacy.

While Lauren London x Puma may seem to be a new collaboration, it—like the famed marathon—is actually a continuation. As USA Today notes, the PUMA x TMC Collection, which Hussle designed with the brand prior to his death, was released in September, with all proceeds donated to his Neighborhood “Nip” Foundation.

“Lauren London is proud to join forces with Puma to support her on this next chapter of her journey,” reads the caption beneath the “Forever Stronger”video on YouTube. “This piece was a creative vision Lauren wanted to bring to life to signify the continuation of her marathon alongside Puma. Forever Stronger.”

The poem reads, in full:

There is nothing to hide here; no way to pretend. We relate, we disagree, we disengage. We are running into each other. We are the song that writes itself. The melody replays in the key of elevated living. We forget the words; we never forget the feeling. Glory and divinity conduct our symphony.

We are infinite affinity. Wrapped in sacred epiphany, we are meant for ‘we.’ We are flowing, we are growing, we are open like the Red Sea. We walk through with confident uncertainty. We kneel here, we heal here, we open our hearts to the heavens. We use our tears to cleanse our canvas. The fear floods us; the fear is electric.

Self-inflicted pain, we dance in the rain until the fear is drained. ‘Cause pain is the light. Pain is insight. The body hurts, but the spirit grows. The flesh is starving while wisdom overflows. I got a question only Lord knows: Does life birth us twice?

While a release date for Lauren London x Puma is still pending, what we do know is that this holiday season is the first London and Hussle’s family is spending without him. But in love and in loss, as London promised at Hussle’s memorial: The Marathon Continues.

Original article was published here.

The 12-year-old Newark, New Jersey, native uses his organization Beaux and Paws to donate self-made bow ties to shelters so animals look spiffy for adoption. Darius Brown is the pre-teen CEO of Beaux and Paws, an organisation which formed after the New Jersey resident received numerous compliments and questions about his range of jazzy bow ties.

Despite his young age, Darius Brown has taken an initiative to help our furry friends get adopted much faster. He creates handmade stylish bow ties for four-legged companions (cats and dogs) and donates them to animal shelters to attract the attention of future owners.

Darius Brown has an inspiring story of fighting against all odds himself which has definitely influenced his incredibly big heart and determination. At the young age of 2, Darius Brown was diagnosed with speech, comprehension, and fine motor skills delay but none of the challenges stopped him from setting and reaching his goal. At the age of 8, he started helping his older sister cut fabric for bows which also helped to develop his fine motor skills. This is when his amazing talent shone through and he didn’t think twice to use the skills and creativity for positive changes in the world.

Speaking to Today, Darius’s mum and sister explained how, when he was eight years old, Darius began to cut fabrics and learned to sew to help his sister, Dazhai, make hair ribbons.

Dazhai said:

With his fine motor skills, he wasn’t able to really use his hands well — tying a shoe was challenging. My mother and I came up with the idea that if he helped us with things like prepping the ribbon or cutting it, and sewing fabric together, it would help him. And it did — it worked!

Darius began to make his own bow ties and wore one nearly every day, with strangers often stopping him on the street to ask where he’d got them from.

It wasn’t long before he combined his love of fashion with his love of animals and Beaux and Paws was born. The creative boy started by donating bow ties to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals after hearing about the displaced dogs and cats flooding shelters following the devastation wreaked by hurricanes Harvey and Irma.

Darius has since donated hundreds of bow ties to animal shelters across the country and let me tell you, these animals have never looked so dapper.

Original article was published here.

Fifteen-year-old Essynce Moore is the only African American teen writer to compose three books for several school district curricula : Hillside, NJ School District; Brooklyn, NY Charter School(s); and Orange, NJ School District. Her novels were part of a series she created called The Chronicles of the Middle School. When the first book of Essynce (6th Grade Middle School Chronicles) was published in 2015, it became a winner for Amazon Top Global.

Her second book (Chronicles of the 7th grade middle school) was published in 2016 and her third book (Chronicles of the 8th grade middle school) was released in April 2017. The third book concludes the series, and Amazon.com will buy each of the novels. Although several school districts are already using them, Essynce hopes to have her Middle School Chronicles book series as mandatory reading and part of their education in more schools around the world.

The books can be used to educate middle school students, to aid improve self-esteem, to navigate other problems with teachers / friends, to encourage young people to pursue their goals today, and so much more. The youthful protegé and trendsetter, in addition to writing novels, is a fantastic presenter who enjoys encouraging and inspiring people at colleges, conventions, seminars, etc.

She traveled throughout the nation to encourage and empower kids, tweens, teenagers, students in school, and adults. It is modesty to be called a “role model!” Ssynce claims she’d love to meet Madonna, Tyler Perry, Ellen DeGeneres, George, Steve Harvey, Zendaya, Rihanna, Michelle Obama, Ian Somerhalder, and many more.

She also wants to visit schools across the country and explore entrepreneurship development programs and other resources centered on teens, tweens and teenagers. Essynce is a 15-year-old female entrepreneur, girls, tweens and teenagers stylist / fashion designer, model, motivational speaker, spa and salon manager, and writer from Hillside, New Jersey.

She won proclamations from New Jersey State, Passaic County, and Hillside Borough. For numerous fashion shows, pageants, and karate competitions, she has also participated. She was introduced at NY Fashion Week and Atlanta Kids Fashion Week, appeared in multiple interviews with newspapers, radio, media, press, conventions, and is a member of the New York Youth Chamber of Commerce.

Original article was published here.

By Kendall Trammell (CNN),

For the first time, top beauty pageants — Miss USA, Miss Teen USA, Miss America and now, Miss Universe — have crowned black women as their winners at the same time. And that’s a big deal if you know pageant history.

Beauty pageants early in their histories, some dating back to the 1920s, barred women of color from participating. Even after organizations began changing their rules to accept women of all races, there was still a lingering frustration and opposition to join. 

Only in the last 50 years have black women become more prevalent in these competitions. Janelle Commissiong was the first black Miss Universe in 1977, Vanessa Williams was the first black Miss America in 1983, and Carole Anne-Marie Gist, the first black Miss USA contestant, was crowned in 1990. The following year Janel Bishop became the first black Miss Teen USA.

When Zozibini Tunzi of South Africa was named Miss Universe on Sunday, she joined a historic group of black women, along with 2019 Miss USA Cheslie Kryst, 2019 Miss Teen USA Kaliegh Garris and 2019 Miss America Nia Franklin.Here’s what you should know about these four women:

Miss Universe fights against gender-based violence

Tunzi hails from the town of Tsolo in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Along with English, the 26-year-old speaks Xhosa and has launched a social media campaign against gender-based violence.

In a recent Instagram post, she called on her fellow South Africans to write love letters pledging support for women in her country. “It is my hope that these pledges will start, and continue a conversation around gender-based violence,” Tunzi wrote. “We have to start the narration where right-thinking people act as role models for those who think it’s okay to mistreat women.”

At the Miss Universe pageant, Tunzi spoke about how conventional beauty standards haven’t typically included skin and hair like hers, encouraging women to embrace themselves and love who they are.

“I grew up in a world where a woman who looks like me — with my kind of skin and my kind of hair — was never considered to be beautiful,” she said in her last response before she was crowned. “I think it is time that that stops today. I want children to look at me and see my face and I want them to see their faces reflected in mine.”

Miss USA works on behalf of prisoners

Receiving three degrees from two universities, Kryst is a 28-year-old attorney with a mission to help reform America’s justice system. Hailing from North Carolina, Kryst practices civil litigation for a law firm and has a passion for helping prisoners who may have been sentenced unjustly get reduced punishments, free of charge.

Kryst, who is licensed to practice in two states, earned both her law degree and MBA from Wake Forest University and completed her undergraduate work at the University of South Carolina.

In a video played during this week’s competition, Kryst told a story about how a judge at a legal competition suggested she wear a skirt instead of pants because judges prefer skirts. “Glass ceilings can be broken wearing either a skirt or pants,” she said. “Don’t tell females to wear different clothes while you give the men substantive feedback on their legal arguments.”

Since then, she’s built a blog for women’s workwear fashion and volunteered for Dress for Success.

Miss Teen USA defies pageant beauty norms

When Garris took the Miss Teen USA stage Sunday, she did it with confidence as she wore her natural hair.

“I know what I look like with straight hair, with extensions, and with my curly hair, and I feel more confident and comfortable with my natural hair,” the 18-year-old from Connecticut told Refinery29.

When she began competing in pageants, Garris said she had to fight against beauty standards suggesting that straight hair was better than her natural curls.

There were people who told her how they thought she should style her hair, she said. But she ignored their criticism and went on to win the title of Miss Connecticut Teen USA with her natural hair and then Miss Teen USA.

Miss America says music helped her find herself

Franklin remembers what music did for her. Now she tries to inspire children in the same way.An opera singer, Franklin discovered her identity through music, she explained during the Miss America competition in September.

“I grew up at a predominately Caucasian school, and there was only 5% minority, and I felt out of place so much because of the color of my skin,” the 23-year-old North Carolina native said. “But growing up, I found my love of arts, and through music that helped me to feel positive about myself and about who I was.”

Representing New York, Franklin showed her passion for music when she sang “Quando m’en vo'” from Puccini’s “La Bohème.” Wowing the judges, she was crowned the 2019 Miss America.

This past year, she has been an advocate for the arts. She works with Sing for Hope, a nonprofit focused on helping people, including children and artists, through the power of music.This story was originally published in May 2019 and has been updated to reflect the results of the Miss Universe pageant.

Original article was published here.

We have got a full galaxy of stars in the Hollywood that shine in the sky of the film industry of the country day and night. Some of them are very popular and famous while some are not so popular and famous. These starts are not only popular that because they are film stars and have done great work in the films but they are famous as they have worked beyond the filmdom in their lives for the sake of humanity.

They have worked in the field of charity and have done such deeds that they have carved their names in our hearts and have etched themselves in our memories. We respect them and we honor them for what they have done for the needful. Whenever there is a natural calamity, these stars have come forward and represented the poor and the affected people in the different regions of the country and have done selfless service towards the nation and the citizens.

Whether it is a flood situation or a cyclone famous area or it is a famine or a draught famous area there Samaritans have always been in the front line and have helped in funding the relief operations throughout the country and sometimes throughout the world in the need of the hour. Today we are going top talk about the act of help done by two major stars from the industry.

These two stars are the famous Nas and the most popular of all the stars Will Smith. Both these stars have invested in an app that will help the teens of the world to learn financial literacy. This app is going to be a big help for the kids to program their finances according to their needs. Even now in the beginning stages this app has gained a lot  of popularity among the teens and is in very big demand from now itself.

Original article was published here.

The Congressional Gold medals, the largest civil decoration in the US, will be given to 4 African American girls recognized as “Hidden Figures” of NASA. The awards were conferred on NASA during the Space Race by engineers Christine Darden and Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Dorothy Vaughan, a computer programmer. The honors were posthumous to Harriet and Elizabeth.

A third gold medal will be awarded to all women who worked at the NASA Langley Research Center in Virginia from the 1930’s to the 1970s, as individual robots, mathematicians and technicians. The Smithsonian Institution will receive this award.

These women played the key part by sending the first man to the Moon and by sending the Voyager probes into the solar system during the American domination in the Space Race in supersonic flight research. They made room travel possible in essence. The first black women scientist for NASA was Mary Jackson.

21 years before she was the first Program Manager of the Federal Women, she worked as an engineer and was dedicated to “improving the opportunities for women mathematicians, engineers and scientists of NASA.” In 2005 she lose one’s life. For many missions, including the Apollo Missions, Kathrine Johnson provided the Space Agency with space flight path calculations.

The engineer was also the first to be recognized as an “author of the report from the Flight Research Division.” In 1949, Dorothy Vaughan was Nasa’s first Black director in the National Aeronautics Advisory Committee (NACA). 

She headed the West Area Computing Group as an experienced computer programmer. In 2008, she disappeared. Such people influenced and paved the way for colored women to make history of research, mathematics and engineering.

Original article was published here.

In our daily life we come across many examples of great human beings who do such deeds that make them famous and decorated for their deeds. One such example is the Mother Teresa , who spent her whole life for the uplift and care for the down trodden and for the people who suffered from leprosy. She was even recommended to be given the status of a saint, but due to some governmental complications the motion was declined.

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A Moment of Complete Gratefulness❣️I received an Honorary Doctrine from Global International Alliance.. This Doctrine acknowledges my Humanitarian Efforts & that means a tremendous amount to me especially since establishing @thebehumanfoundation … Thank you for thinking of & acknowledging me!

A post shared by Monica 🖤 (@monicadenise) on Oct 13, 2019 at 10:55am PDT

She is a motherly figure years after her demise and is known for the service of humanity. What a great humanitarian she was. Then we have persons like Mahatama Gandhi and the great Nelson Mandela. These are the people whom the history cannot forget and these people will be in the hearts of people even after centuries of their existence. Today we are going to discuss a personality who is conferred an honorary degree for her humanitarianism. Meet Monica Brown, who has been awarded an honorary degree.

She is the one who has worked tirelessly for the sake of humanity and we will not forget her work for years to come. Her name will go in gold letters in the annals of the history of the country and we will remember for centuries to come. Her name will be taken along with the great men in this world who have worked for the sake of humanity and the upbringing of the human beings in this world. We are proud of Monica Brown and wish her all the best and also good luck for her future ventures and may God bless her with good health and happy long life. Amen.

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If I’m a reflection of you, I can always be proud of what I see!! Momma , I Love You!! Thank you for standing for me❣️My Mom believed that because I loved children & I constantly signed my name that I would be a pediatrician!! This is as close as I’ve come to being Dr.Monica LOL…. I’m happy it was for the good I’ve done outside of music that I received this honor… ❣️Photos: @cyndiibee_

A post shared by Monica 🖤 (@monicadenise) on Oct 13, 2019 at 12:49pm PDT

Original article was published here.

Crying doesn’t make you weak. It doesn’t make you strong with a smile. In a minute, I’m going to let that sink. Because I am sentimental, I have always been called a weak link to my life. If I’m sad, I carry, if I’m sorry I weep, if I’m mad I cry, if I’m hungry occasionally, sometimes I sob and I don’t offer some skeleton as to how anyone thinks and I know that I can do it when I don’t. I blast all over and above me, like a shook flask of my beloved carbonated beverage, and I realize I am not alone in this experience.

I believe that people who don’t cry are stressed out TF and Jada Pinkett Smith has revealed that she can relate absolutely to striving in the latest episode of Red Table Talk. We, as children, know that big girls neither weep nor grow-up women, quite frankly. Although it sounds good in theory, this mantra is unrealistic and problem-sensitive AF. He said Jada came to this realization just after a close meeting with her daughter in what is one of the most important episodes of RTT history.

The 48-year-old mother said that, because she thought her child should have a good first mother’s instruction, after a long time, she formed a dysfunctional avoidance pattern which ended her long term relationship with her daughter. Jada used the chance to forgive her mother for her mistakes in an family moment. Self consciousness is an excellent power that can help you manage even the most separate relations in your life, and Jada agrees that this statement is great facts.

While in the past Jada viewed the tears of her daughter as “offensive,” she now admits they were needed. It was a moment when her emotions were so rough and insulting to me. I was like, ‘ We can’t afford to take this over here. ‘ I didn’t know,’ here you can enable. You’re no longer in Baltimore, all right? Here you can absolutely afford this.

Original article was published here.