charlotteobserver.com Steven Spielberg will make MLK Jr. movie
May 19, 2009
charlotteobserver.com — DreamWorks has, well, a dream, and that dream is coming true. The studio has been granted rights to the works of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., according to Variety.
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Twitter Me This: Injustice – Is it a Black thang?
May 19, 2009
At post time, its about 12 mins to deadline. As many of you open your email looking for today’s buzz behidn the buzz, let me tell you I’m stumped. There are three brothers in the buzz today:
At the same time, Black Enterprise convention for entrepreneurs is taking place in Detroit. Our assignment tonight is to cover the Georgia rally for Troy Davis who sits on Georgia’s death row. So I feel some kind of way about where we are in seeking justice in this country and what we consider citizenship. More importantly where we place our priorities on what we seek, beg for and gravitate towards.
Right now I need to hit save. In the mean time, twitter me this “Injustice, is it a Black thang?”
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Update: A couple of weeks ago was reading a commentary written about Michelle Obama. In it the writer said Michelle obama had “no sense of secondary citizenships?” Again, much much more to ponder.
Update: RT @callingallcrows: LIVE WEBCAST at 8:30pm EST – Troy Davis Vigil w/Chad Stokes of State Radio – http://callingallcrows.org – PLEASE RT!
2009 Social Fresh Southeast August 24, 2009 Charlotte, NC- Slice Through the Noise
May 18, 2009
What is it?
Social Fresh is your opportunity to learn how to make the social web work for real business. Social networking and online word-of-mouth tools are getting faster and providing more access to the customer every day. To remain competitive, every company needs to discover how to make social media work for their bottom line.
Online today, cultivating a 2 way conversation with customers is no longer an exception, but the rule. Most companies realize now that they need to join the conversation, but it is about more than that. Yes, you should be listening, yes you should be empowering your customers, but what does it take to really allow your company to excel on the Social Web?
Social Fresh 2009 brings together the experts needed to answer that very question – as well as the innovators of tomorrow’s internet to speak on what is next. Leading web app developers will comment on where they see social media and big business moving in the coming years.
Come meet the people that are making the social web work. Share in candid discussions and see real examples of where your brand needs to be going online.
Speakers representing Fortune 500, e-commerce, advertising and marketing, major media and more. Our goal is to bring tangible social media examples and lessons for those searching to improve their marketing efforts on the social web. Social Fresh content is focused on two things, strong example of successful social media marketing strategy
Click To Learn More and Register
Early Bird Registration (ends May 31)
Mocha Sisters Organization 3rd National Conference August 6-9, 2009 Dallas, TX– Celebrating 5 Years in Service
May 18, 2009
Awards Recognize Outstanding Contributions in Areas of Leadership, Volunteerism, Mentoring, Community Service, and Organizational Development.
Plans are well underway for the Mocha Sisters Organization 3rd National Conference. This year’s theme is, “Embracing the Vision.” The Conference will take place at the Marriott Suites Dallas Market Center, 2493 North Stemmons Freeway, Dallas, TX 75207 from August 6-9, 2009. Our ultimate goal is to have informative and thought provoking presentations and educational programs for our attendees. This year’s programs will offer even greater opportunities to learn about sisterhood, health and fitness, personal and business finances!
The keynote speaker at the luncheon will be national bestselling author Dr. Monica “Moe” Anderson, a motivational speaker, publisher, and Doctor of Dental Surgery. Her highly anticipated new release is I Stand Accused. Her debut novel, When A Sistah’s Fed Up, was a national bestseller in 2006. We will have well organized workshops, which will take place on Saturday, August 8. Bring your friends to the Empowerment Areas and learn about building wealth, starting your own business and maintaining good health. There will be plenty of opportunities to network, shop and take tours during this event.
For budgeting and travel arrangements, please consider arriving at Dallas Love Field Airport, which is about ten minutes from the hotel. The conference registration will be $50 ($55 after 3/31).
The committee continues to work to ensure that this will be an exciting and educational program for you and your friends. We are still seeking Vendors and Sponsors! Complete details about conference costs, discounts, and sponsorship packages are available.
Bookmark this page for updates or follow the buzz.
Book Buzz:
Cleo Manago “Crips & Bloods: Made in America makes successful attempt at contextualizing Black male struggle.”
May 18, 2009
“Crips & Bloods: Made in America” : Black Men Killing Each Other was Safer than Confronting Their Enemy
by Cleo Manago
Cleo Manago founder/CEO of AmASSI Wellness and Cultural Centers
Throughout the long history of non-fiction, documentary film making, few examples have surfaced that deeply illuminate the struggle among Black males in America, since slavery, to retrieve some semblance of manhood and respect. A new documentary called ‘Crips & Bloods: Made in America’ makes a successful attempt at contextualizing a disturbing, west coast version of this nation-wide, intergenerational, Black male struggle.
Produced by Cash Warren and Los Angeles NBA star Baron Davis,
“Crips & Bloods” features the voices and violent histories of former and current members of gangs, and the relevant history of Black (and White) Los Angeles. It also features mothers and other loved ones left in the wake of the often deadly consequences of a self-hate directed war between dejected Black males, lost in a patriarchal (and racist) reality, in a country and [Black] community they believe does not see them as human or as men.
Through interviews, vintage footage and documented facts, the 40 year genesis of how legions of Black males in Los Angeles wound up going from baby-boys on their mother’s laps to the confines of a gang, a prison, or a cemetery is uncovered. Stacy Peralta, the film’s director, sharply depicts how, historically, regardless of economic status, Black Angelenos faced brutal and cruel forms of racism which affected where they could live, how long many did live and the quality of their lives.
With pictorial examples, actual news coverage and a gripping narrative “Crips & Bloods” addresses how so-called gangs began as black youth who were not allowed to be in the [White] boy scouts, or to safely leave their communities for leisure. Exposed is that up until very recently, the where abouts of Black people in South Los Angeles were patrolled by legally sanctioned and often deadly White police brutality. It becomes clear that these are the seeds of how the frustrations of violently oppressed Black youth festered into a mutually implicit impulse to turn on each other, preconditioned to believe that the actual source of their pain was not practical or safe to directly confront.
Powerfully (and hopefully Blacks will learn from this), “Crips & Bloods” also illustrates how cooperative with each other, responsible, industrious and even prosperous a number of Blacks were before the systemic disruption of the community. Upon close examination, it becomes apparent how the power of ingrained notions had by many Blacks – that their still not being White – ate at the integrity of simply enjoying, valuing and protecting being an independent, successful [Black] community.
Unlike the so-called blacks-ploitation films of the 70′s and 80′s, e.g. “The Mack,” “Superfly” and “Shaft,” or the more recent gangsta or thug culture that romanticizes Black male disorientation, contrived bravado and displaced rage, “Crips & Bloods” actually explains the origins of how this madness came to be. The film actually acknowledges how racist, deadly and corrupt law enforcement, along with the murder or compromise of iconic Black men like Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., Fred Hampton and Huey Newton of the Black Panthers trickled down into a legacy of terror and confusion among Black males. In addition, the typically unspoken psychological consequences of this period manifesting as serial fatherlessness, criminalization, joblessness, drug abuse and repressed Black male grief is acknowledged in “Crips & Bloods.”
Witnessing “Crips & Bloods: Made in America” for this writer was not just a visual field trip, but a revisiting of where I was raised (Watts and Compton) and what I personally observed growing up. This revolutionary documentary may act as a buffer or a wakeup call to finally put into context what so many Black males silently contend with. It may even help to inform health educators, law enforcement and mental health systems to recognize what they must know toward applying solutions to health disparities disproportionately had by Black males. These would include: HIV/AIDS, substance abuse, incarceration, homicide, depression and suicide.
While the election of Barack Obama, America’s first president on record to have a Black father, who also brought the country its first Black First Lady, is symbolically powerful, a film like “Crips & Bloods: Made in America” may help us to acknowledge and resolve realities that still need attending too.
Next steps or a next film could explicitly engage solutions to what “Crips & Bloods: Made in America” explores. Maybe the film will spark local discussion on funding and building programs to help produce more healthy Black males. This would be fundamental to developing a healthier Black community, and healthier Black fathers, husbands, sons and the productive partners of Black people.
To learn more about the film, visit the “Crips & Bloods: Made in America” companion website, http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/cripsandbloods/ , which features detailed information on the film, including an interview with the filmmakers and links and resources pertaining to the film’s subject matter. The site also features a Talkback section for viewers to share their ideas and opinions, preview clips of the film, and more.
Cleo Manago is a behavioral health specialist and cultural expert, journalist and founder/CEO of AmASSI Wellness and Cultural Centers
Video Alert: DryerBuzz Headed to DC for Historic Rally at the White House Ellipse
May 15, 2009
DryerBuzz.com has been invited to trek to DC with the National Action Network by @Freed2Travel. We’ll be joining thousands leaving from Georgia to join Al Sharpton’s National Action Network for the education march this weekend in Washington DC. At post time, time is of the Essence so we must prepare to hit the road.
If all goes well and where ever we can connect, we’ll stream live aboard the bus and send back video from the march via our 12seconds.tv. stream visible in the side bar. Spread the Buzz
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Video Buzz: Visit Show Page
dryerbuzz on 12seconds.tv
TV One Unsung Returns for Black Music Month Profiling Florence Ballard, Minnie Riperton, Melba Moore and Shalamar
May 15, 2009
Narrated by actor Gary Anthony Williams, Unsung will chronicle the careers of:
- Minnie Riperton – Best known for mega-hits Back Down Memory Lane and Lovin’ You, this sultry siren’s career and life were cut short after a three- year battle with breast cancer in the 1970s when she was only 31 years old. Classically trained in opera at Chicago’s Lincoln Center, she had a vocal range of nearly six octaves and before her mega-hit had forged a successful career singing and composing with the ground breaking ‘60s pop group Rotary Connection. After her cancer diagnosis, she went public instead of retreating, serving as the first African American spokesperson for the American Cancer Society. Premieres Sunday, June 7 at 8 PM ET, repeating at 11 PM, as well as Thursday, June 11 at 10 PM and Friday, June 12 at noon and midnight.
- Melba Moore – A tremendously versatile talent, she was a Tony Award-winning actress in her 20s, and a Grammy-nominated R&B recording artist in her 30s, and it seemed her career ascent was limitless until a series of devastating personal and financial setbacks knocked her out of the spotlight in the late 1980s. But Moore fought her way back and now devotes her talent to recording as a gospel artist, and even turned the dramatic details of her life into a successful one person show. Premieres Sunday, June 14 at 8 PM ET, repeating at 11 PM, as well as Thursday, June 18 at 10 PM, and Friday, June 19 at noon and midnight.
- Shalamar – This trio was originally a disco-driven vehicle created by Soul Train booking agent Dick Griffey. With hits like The Second Time Around and A Night to Remember, this group, most famous with vocalists Jody Watley, Jeffrey Daniel and Howard Hewett, was destined for long-term success, but constant member changes and the hugely successful launch of solo careers for two of the group’s members took its toll on the group’s long-term viability. Premieres Sunday, June 21 at 8 PM ET, repeating at 11 PM, as well as Thursday, June 25 at 10 PM, and Friday, June 26 at noon and midnight.
- Florence Ballard – The co-founder and shared lead singer of the Supremes was replaced as lead singer by Diana Ross when Berry Gordy decided that Ross’ voice could help the group cross over and appeal to white audiences. She never recovered from that decision, and Gordy dismissed her from the group in 1967. It took years before she recovered emotionally, and she spent much of her last years in poverty, dying a tragic death from a coronary thrombosis at age 32. Although the award-winning theater presentation of Dreamgirls and the critically acclaimed film are reportedly based on the life of Florence Ballard, Unsung finally tells her real story through the recollections of family and friends. Premieres Sunday, June 28 at 8 PM, repeating at 11 PM, as well as Thursday, July 2 at 10 PM and Friday, July 3 at noon and midnight.
The episodes are executive-produced by Arthur Smith, Kent Weed and Frank Sinton of A. Smith & Co. Productions. Mark Rowland is Co-Executive Producer. Executive in charge of production for TV One is Jubba Seyyid.
Don’t miss it: follow TV One | follow the tweets | follow DryerBuzz
Sunset: Wayman Tisdale former Oklahoma star and NBA player
May 15, 2009
Legacy.com — Former Oklahoma star and NBA player Wayman Tisdale has died at 44 after fighting cancer the past two years. St. John Medical Center in Tulsa says he died Friday morning.
Obituary | Memorial Guest Book
How To Create A Buzz in Four Steps with One Source – Distributions by Sistributions
May 14, 2009
Click cover for printable copy available online. Distributions by Sistributions.
PowerNetworking Preview Call: Dwight Miller, David Bullock, and Brent Leary on Barack 2.0
May 14, 2009
PowerNetworking Preview Call — It is not a secret that President Barack Obama utilized the Web and Social Media to raise record amounts of campaign contributions and generate interest for record voter registration.
Using this media helped to put President Obama in the White House. The President still uses this media to educate and generate interest in the issues that he is putting before the American people.
Thursday (05.14) on the PowerNetworking Preview Call George Fraser and Veronica Conway will discuss the impact of this new phenomenon with Dwight Miller & David Bullock the co-authors of ‘Barack 2.0′ and Brent Leary, Co-founder and Partner CRM Essentials LLC.
If you want to know how to take Your Business, Your Career, & Your Life to the next Level using The Web, New Media & Social Networking…
Don’t Miss This Call!!!!
On this call you will learn low-cost and FREE ways to produce Gigantic Results
–and much, much, much more!
The weekly calls are packed with people from all over the world.
So hurry and reserve your spot: Click Here for Call Details
BookBuzz:
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