Tag Archives: Taraji P. Henson

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Tune Into the 2021 Inaugural Gospel Celebration: An Evening of Inspiration and Unity Tomorrow at 8 p.m.

Hello World,

The need for unity in this country is more necessary now than ever before. The National Baptist Convention has aligned with producers, Terk Entertainment Group and OCTET Productions, to produce “The 2021 Inaugural Gospel Celebration: An Evening of Inspiration and Unity.” The two-hour virtual event features performances from inspirational music artists to celebrate the January 2021 Inauguration of President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris, who are special invited guests of course. The celebration lends a voice of hope, unity and healing to the world.

Throughout the event, a number of the nation’s top gospel artists such as Shirley Caesar, Fred Hammond, Marvin Sapp, Tasha Cobbs Leonard, Dietrick Haddon, Jonathan McReynolds, Leandria Johnson, Tye Tribbett, Koryn Hawthorne, Bryan Popin, Jokia, JJ Hairston, Todd Dulaney, Titus Showers, and Spencer Taylor and the Highway QCs in addition to notable celebrities such as Anthony Anderson, Taraji P. Henson, Morris Chestnut and Lamman Rucker (formerly Jacob Greenleaf!) will join together for a cohesive, COVID-compliant celebration to give viewers a semblance of healing and optimism during this time of crisis.

This necessary celebration will be shown domestically and internationally. This event will also serve as a fundraising effort, benefiting The National Baptist Convention, “I’m In”, a strategic initiative aimed at narrowing the disparity in healthcare in the African American community that has been highlighted during the current pandemic. For more information about the organization, go to https://nbcimin.com. In this new season, we are clear that progress must be made. By standing united together, we’re stronger!

To buy tickets, click HERE.

Also, click HERE to learn more about the Rev. Dr. Silvester S. Beaman, pastor of Bethel AME Church in Wilmington, Delaware, who will be delivering the the inauguration benediction.

Any thoughts?

 

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The Top 10 Blog Posts and or Articles for Black Christian Women in September 2015

movies

Hello World,

I’m a media junkie with no apologies. My desire for media is completely insatiable so I’ve decided to start compiling monthly lists for me and you to help stay abreast of the media constantly being generated. Throughout the month of September, I kept a file of interesting blog posts and or articles that crossed my path as a black Christian woman. Let me know if you like my list! Enjoy…

1. “God Battles ‘Straight Outta Compton’ for African-Americans’ Souls” by Naomi Schaefer Riley

Excerpt: How did we go from “Straight Outta Compton” to the “War Room”? In one weekend, the top movie at the box office went from one that glorifies sex and violence to one that glorifies traditional marriage and God. These movies — the one that tells the history of the rap group NWA and the other that tells the story of the religious journey of a woman to save her marriage — surely represent the ideals competing for the hearts and minds of Americans. Particularly African-Americans. See more at: nypost.com.

2. “Matthews wins Senate District 45 runoff” by Sarita Chourey

Excerpt: The special election is being held to select a replacement for Sen. Clementa Pinckney, who was a reverend and married father of two. Pinckney was among the nine gunned down in June during Bible study at the historic black Emanuel AME Church. Dylann Roof, a 21-year-old who expressed white supremacist views and posed with the Confederate flag, could face the death penalty for the massacre, if convicted. “Most importantly, I want to thank the family of Senator Clementa Pinckney,” said Matthews after the votes were counted Tuesday. See more at: jaspersuntimes.com.

3. “103-Year-Old Ga. Woman Banned From Church for Criticizing Pastor’s Preaching Style” by Breanna Edwards

Excerpt: A 103-year-old Georgia woman has been kicked out of her church for disagreeing with her pastor’s preaching style, with members even calling the police on the woman, who has been a part of the congregation for some 90 years. See more at: theroot.com.

4. “Ferguson Mirrors Birmingham 1963? Minister on Ferguson Report Returns Home to Speak” by Greg Garrison

Excerpt: The Rev. Traci Blackmon grew up in Birmingham, Ala., in the 1960s and has been on the front lines of protests in Ferguson, Mo., in 2014 and 2015. “What happened to Birmingham with Bull Connor is what happened to Ferguson,” said Blackmon, a registered nurse and ordained minister who is returning home to Alabama this weekend to speak at Covenant Community Church in Center Point on Friday at 7 p.m. and at Sixth Avenue Baptist Church in Birmingham on Sunday in the 8:30 and 11 a.m. services. See more at: al.com.

 5. “Neighbors in Religion: Catholic nun celebrates 75 years of service to church, community” by Bea Hines

Excerpt: Sister Clementina is a member of the Oblate Sisters of Providence, the country’s first black order of nuns. Her celebration was spread over two weeks, in two states: Maryland, her home state; and Florida, where she has worked for many years. The first celebration was in August and 17 of her former students and parents from Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Liberty City traveled with her to Baltimore for the festivities. See more at: miamiherald.com.

6. “Black Sisterhood Was the Emmys’ Biggest Winner” by Tracey Michae’l Lewis-Giggetts
Excerpt: The demonstration of love and support among Hollywood’s women of color—e.g., Taraji P. Henson, Viola Davis, Uzo Aduba—was more extraordinary than any of the awards won. The tears kept rolling like rivers down my face. I couldn’t stop crying. I didn’t want to stop crying. Her words were like a salve on my soul. An “I see you, Sis” from 3,000 miles away. I don’t know her. Not sure if I’ll ever meet her. But that brilliant, richly dark woman, with her glorious crown of natural hair, shined brighter than any star on my screen in that moment. See more at: damemagazine.com.
empire

7. “‘Empire’ Actress Can’t Even Escape Fans at Church” by Richard Johnson

Excerpt: Ta’Rhonda Jones, who plays sassy assistant Porsha on the soapy Fox TV drama, confesses the show has made it difficult for her to attend church in her hometown of Chicago. See more at: pagesix.com.

8. “Domestic violence in the church: Former wife of an abusive senior pastor speaks out”

Excerpt: Gifted, beautiful and God-fearing, Janeen Michael would have never imagined in her wildest dreams that she would become the victim of domestic violence. And yet, for 15 years, she stayed in a marriage to a senior pastor who was brutalizing her behind closed doors. So why did she stay so long? “Pride, fear and shame were the bars of my prison,” the Journey to Love author and worship leader explains of what she calls the “toxic relationship.” See more at: buzz.eew.magazine.com.

9. “Mississippi Christian Living: Peggie Gillom-Granders, Journey of a Champion”

Excerpt: When she graduated from high school in 1976, she was the first African American female to be awarded an athletic scholarship to Ole Miss. Peggie is quick to say, “Yes, but you know I never thought of myself as any different from anybody, and none of my teammates treated me like I was any different. We were teammates and friends.” The “friends” part is past and present! She keeps up with most of her teammates even now, forty years later. See more at: hottytoddy.com.

10. “Sierra Leone: ‘Power to Women’ Campaign Targets 10,000 Students” by Ibrahim Tarawallie

Excerpt: A campaign to promote the participation of women in political governance and propel them into leadership positions has commenced in Kailahun district, targeting over 10,000 students, 12 women councillors and 46 junior secondary schools. See more at: allafrica.com.

 

Any thoughts?

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Why ‘Empire’ is Causing Me to Have a Midlife Crisis: Season 2 Starts Tonight at 9 pm!!!

Editor’s Note: Since my favorite television show is back tonight I thought I would repost this blog entry from earlier this year! Enjoy 🙂

Hello World,  empire

I don’t know if this is a delayed reaction to turning 40 years old almost two years ago as this September, but I am just now starting to feel like I’ve hit middle age…And I’m not sure what to do about that…

It started when I binge watched the first four episodes of “Empire” at a friend’s house…I had heard about the show which is a modern and hip hop version of the Shakespeare tragedy “King Lear.” But instead of King Lear struggling to divide his estate between his three daughters, Lucious Lyon, a music mogul, is struggling to hand over his empire to one of his three sons: Andre, Jamal and Hakeem. Complicating the struggle is the return of Lucious’ ex-wife Cookie, who went to jail for 17 years for dealing drugs. However, the drug money was used to start Lucious’ career in the rap industry and fund the construction of his music label Empire Entertainment and Cookie holds that detail over her ex-husband’s head once she is released from prison…

So although I had heard about the show, I wasn’t anxious to add the hip-hop soap opera to my already full TV watching schedule (RHOA, The Walking Dead, Y&R, Being Mary Jane, Scandal, How to Get Away with Murder, etc. ). But at a friend’s house where I was along with other friends, I decided to watch at least one episode with them…I promise you I did not move from my spot on my friend’s chair for several hours, long after the rest of my friends fell asleep. I almost had to be told to leave…I.was.hooked…But I was also troubled…Cookie, who is portrayed Taraji P. Henson, has three sons…The oldest one, Andre, is a college graduate and her youngest son, Hakeem, is 17 years old! How can Yvette (also portrayed by from Taraji P. Henson) from  “Baby Boy” be old enough to have three sons?! I mentioned that my friends while we were watching “Empire,” and one of my friends replied, “We old, girl.” And remember when Terrance Howard, who portrays Lucious Lyon, was the tenderoni Brendan King that Max on “Living Single” was ashamed she was dating? When he did get old enough to sire three boys?

That was my first inkling that maaaybe I’m not as young as I feel on the inside or look (don’t act! fingers snapped)…

Then three new radio stations, referred to as classic hip hop stations, debuted in metro Atlanta…While I’m loving the music, I don’t know about you but any music genre that is preceded by the word “classic” is really just another way of saying old folk’s music…And when you think about it, hip hop, which was once this new pulsating street phenomenon, has been around for at least 20 years at this point…20 years ago, “Empire” couldn’t have plausible because there were no hip hop moguls 20 years ago…But now, we have Diddy, Jay Z, Dr. Dre and Suge Knight (God bless him…smh…) and others who have amassed a fortune in hip hop and built their own empires…

The fact that I’m old enough to have amassed a fortune (but haven’t) was my second indication time is moving for real for for real….

A few weeks ago, I saw Will Smith on Jimmy Kimmel promoting his latest movie “Focus.” During the interview, Will Smith said his youngest son, 16-year-old Jaden, is now driving…I remember when it was announced that Jada was pregnant with him…And then Will was asked to rap…He was still good, but it was like watching your uncle try to “bust a move.” That lean and hungry look that most young rappers have at their prime had been replaced by the ease and comfort that wealth and a few good meals will bring. Don’t get me wrong…Will Smith looks fit, but he also looks older…And if the Fresh Prince has gotten older, where does that leave me? (Yes, ’80 babies, Will Smith was a rapper before he was a actor…)

And this is the moment when the drip drop of a leaky faucet finally gave way to the flood of realization that I’ve hit middle age…

And now that I’m thinking out it, there have been other clues, but I’ve ignored them until now…

In no particular order…

  • Lauryn Hill daughter’s Selah is 16 years old…We’re not event talking about Zion, her oldest child…
  • Lil Kim had a baby…Yes, Lil Kim had a baby…I still can’t believe she is someone’s mother
  • Erick Sermon had a heart attack…Rappers are old enough to have heart attacks now…
  • Eminem’s daughter Hailie is 19 years old!!!
  • Yo Yo married a mayor!!!
  • Diddy’s son Justin is in college…
  • Snoop Dog’s son, who is a football star, is heading to college

Maybe if I have had children by now, all of this wouldn’t have taken me by surprise…but now I know why nephew shakes his head and averts his eyes when I try to dance in the front seat of my car when I hear my jam, I’m old…old lady

Any thoughts?