Artists United for Haiti

Gospel Artists
Unite For Haiti


Gospel music artists gathered in Nashville, Tennessee to celebrate the biggest and brightest at the 25th Stellar Awards. They also came together for a higher purpose. With the recent tragic earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Kirk Franklin assembled numerous award-winning gospel music artists in Nashville’s Quad Studios to lend their voices to “Are You Listening,” a song they all hope will inspire those devastated as well as raise much needed funds for Haiti. All proceeds from the record will be donated to charities involved in relief efforts.

For More Information, Visit:

http://www.kirkfranklin.com/?utm_medium=zomba-email&utm_source=kirkfranklin&utm_campaign=zomba-email|kirkfranklin|20100125

SAVE THE DATE - March 29, 2010 - "An Evening With Condoleezza Rice"

"An Evening with the Honorable Condoleezza Rice"

This event will benefit Underserved Women with Breast Cancer.

"Dr. Condoleezza Rice in conversation with KQED-TV
journalist Belva Davis: Dr. Rice talks about her
successful career, how growing up in Birmingham,
Alabama, led to her becoming the first African
American female Secretary of State and about her
own mother’s battle with breast cancer."

Presented by Friends of Faith, Inc.

Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco
Monday, March 29, 2010
6:00 - 9:00 p.m.

For more information, contact:
Friends of Faith, Inc. 510-834-4142

www.faithfancher.org

TICKETS: $250 VIP (includes reception and Photo Op with Professor Rice)

$100 and $50 General Admission

For VIP tickets, call (510) 834-4142 for more information. VIP tickets will be held at the door.
All other tickets are available through:
City Box Office
(415) 392-4400
www.cityboxoffice.com
Visa or Mastercard only

A Food Gangsta's Paradise - "Cookin' With Coolio"

This was my absolute favorite Kwanzaa gift this year!

In case you were wondering what happened to Coolio, well, he's alive and well and 'Pimpin' The Poultry.' That's just one of the segments in his new cookbook, "Coolie, The Ghetto Gourmet."


With recipes like "Bro-ghetti" which call for among other things,
"1 dime bag salt," and "SuperFRY Chicken," not only will you find some new menu items, you'll laugh out loud reading this book.

Seriously, Coolio can cook!

Check it out.*

Published by Simon and Schuster and available at

http://www.amazon.com/Cookin-Coolio-Star-Meals-Price/dp/1439117616

and bookstores everywhere.

* Warning - Strong language - definitely not suitable for children!

"American Violet" - Now on DVD

Where was I when this movie came out in the theaters?

Thank God for Twitter. . .which is where I first heard about this powerful film based on a true-life story.

It's the story of a single mother falsely accused of distributing drugs in a school zone. Nicole Beharie gives an amazing performance as the woman whose convictions would not let her accept a plea deal from the racist DA. She decides to sue for discrimination and. . .well, if you want to know what happens, you'll have to rent it or better yet - buy it.

Also starring Alfre Woodard, Malcolm Barrett Charles Dutton and Xzibit.

Happy Birthday, Dr. Martin Luther King - The Dream Lives

Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968)

"BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU PRAY FOR" - Kimberla Lawson Roby's Latest Novel

Just when you think you've seen it all from the family of Reverend Curtis Black, New York Times Bestselling Author, Kimberla Lawson Roby brings us more DRAMA - and I mean that in a good way.

Alicia, Reverend Curtis Black's daughter is sure that this time, she has everything she could wish for. . .but does she really?

I'm never disappointed with Ms. Lawson-Roby's books, and I could devour them in one sitting - just like a box of chocolates. She has a style that is all her own. I love the way her language incorporates the King's English with urban jargon and southern dialect. It's so realistic because that's how Black folks talk!

On sale in bookstores everywhere on January 19, 2010.

Thanks for another great read.

www.kimroby.com

"Don't Let Another Woman Cook In Your Kitchen" - Mary J "Stronger With Each Tear"

Just purchased the new Mary J. Blige CD, "Stronger With Each Tear."

Check it out:

http://www.amazon.com/Stronger-Each-Tear-Mary-Blige/dp/B002UZ5G7U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1263323864&sr=1-1

My personal favorite - "Kitchen." Reminds me of that old-school R&B like Betty Wright and Millie Jackson.

Go, Mary!

Eunice Johnson - In Memoriam

Eunice Johnson, the widow of Ebony magazine founder John Johnson died at her Chicago home on January 3, 2010.

Her "Ebony Fashion Fair" was a household name with African Americans everywhere - long before we were called African Americans and even before we were called Black Americans. In fact, when Ms. Johnson started the fashion show, we were still being referred to as Negroes.

The year was 1961. And this high energy fashion show featured black designers and models in almost 200 cities each year.

I was 18 when I attended my first Fashion Fair and I remember thinking, "I too can be a model." I had always seen models who looked nothing like me in "Seventeen" and "Glamour" magazine and to see these caramel, tan and chestnut sisters (and brothers) walk the runway, made me so proud - and hopeful. Just like reading Ebony and Jet magazine. I could relate. I can still feel the excitement at the Paramount Theater in Oakland when those shows came around every year. It was "the" ticket to "the" event of the year.

She also developed, along with her late husband, Fashion Fair Cosmetics (my first makeup) which was designed specifically for women of color. It had pretty pink packaging and lipstick colors like Mahogany.

She was a secretary-treasurer of Johnson Publishing, which produces JET and Ebony, two of the longest-running black-oriented magazines in the country.

Those left to mourn her passing and celebrate her amazing legacy, include her daughter, Linda Johnson Rice.