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The very highly anticipated, in-depth film, Pariah , will hit the theaters in select states tomorrow December 28, 2011. The buzz has been stirring around this award winning cinematic story. Pariah has an amazing cast, including Kim Wayans and new starlet Adepero Oduye, along with the heavy hitting crew such as Writer/ Director Dee Rees, Producer Nekisa Cooper, Cinematographer Bradford Young and Executive Producer Spike Lee .It is a riveting coming out story of freedom.  The Los Angeles Times released a review today stating "She makes all of her character's discomfort with life believable, from the pain of rejection to her fumbling, and sometimes funny, attempts at being "the guy."  Support OUR films. Check out the official trailer

Steady, Aim, Shoot – Students Challenged to Tell Their Stories with Photographs in The Art Institutes Storytellers Photography Competition

Fearless Icon Open Doors to Create Stars in the Community Grammy Nominated Hip Hop Legend, Yo Yo Continues to Pay it Forward with School for South L.A. Youth In the heart of one of L.A.'s cultural landmarks, Leimert Park, I walked into the  Fernando Pullum Community Arts Center  (former home of Lucy Florence Cultural Center) and gazed upon so many bright young faces along with their parents who were equally optimistic with pride. I felt the overwhelming positive energy in the room. I was soon approached by a star with the most amazing smile and awesome windows to the soul. She approached me with her arms wide open as she graciously spoke "Hi, are you here to sign up?" I could not believe that it was none other than West Coast Hip Hop Icon/ Business Woman Extraordinaire, Yolanda "Yo Yo" Whitaker . I observed as she smiled, greeted and embraced each parent and young person. You could feel her smile glow brighter as each new person stepped into the room

News Release from the Grammy Foundation THE GRAMMY FOUNDATION ® ANNOUNCES  2012 GRAMMY ®  SIGNATURE SCHOOLS SEMIFINALISTS U.S. High Schools in the Running for Grants for Music Excellence   Supported in part by Best Buy, Campbell's Labels For Education Program, the Ford Motor Company Fund, and Gibson Foundation   SANTA MONICA , Calif.  (Dec. 12, 2011) — The GRAMMY Foundation ® ( www.grammyfoundation.org ) today announced that 125 schools nationwide have been selected as GRAMMY ®  Signature Schools semifinalists ( www.grammyintheschools.com ) for 2012. Created in 1998, the GRAMMY Signature Schools program recognizes top U.S. public high schools that are making an outstanding commitment to music education during an academic school year. GRAMMY Signature Schools are made possible in part through the generous support of Best Buy, Campbell's Labels For Education program, the Ford Motor Company Fund, and Gibson Foundation.  Applications for the 2013 GRAMMY Signature Schools pr

O n December 3, 2011, in honor of World Aids Day,  B.L.A.C. Male Productions  presented a riveting play entitled "Can God's Love Reach You in the Dark." What better place to host such an experience but in the house of God at Grace United Methodist Church in Los Angeles, CA. If I could give it a grade it would definitely be an "E" for exceptional, engaging, exigent, enlightening and embracing. Can God's Love Reach You in Dark touched on very sensitive yet extremely significant topics that still remains suppressed specifically within the African American community. Exploring the connections of religion, family, sexuality, hate, acceptance and ignorance, writers Rodger Washington and Robert Howell brought forth awareness and insight with this unforgettable story of a family that is guided by faith but stricken by fear. In the end, it was God's unconditional love that led them to triumph.  The actors amazingly brought each and every character to l

Lady Gaga Honored With Google Inc. at 'Trevor Live' Presented by Audi of America and ING : www.flickr.com/photos/thetrevorproject/collections/72157628298007547/

Stand Up To Cancer and the Cast of

Over the past two weekends, something phenomenal has been taking place in local markets in South Los Angeles. Community Market Conversion (CMC), which is a program through the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles, has hosted a series of Health & Wellness Events.  On Saturday, November 19, 2011, I had the privilege of not only attending but volunteering at the event held at local store Money Saver's Meats. Money Saver's Meats is well known in the community for having the best Chicken links in South LA as well as having organic vegetables, fresh meat and herbs. It is owned by Los Angeles Native, Ozabe Banks. It is located at 3233 W. Florence Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90043. Filled with great food, music, face painting by the amazing Kai Sapp, nutritional information, resources, and vendors such as Youth Justice Coalition, this event was absolutely exceptional.  The wealth did  not  cease with that, there were also superb cooking demonstrations by local

SAN FRANCISCO -- Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today issued a consumer alert with tips on how Californians can protect their personal information from identity theft when shopping online during this holiday season. 1. Consider investing in antivirus and anti-spyware software. If you already have antivirus software, be sure to download the latest security updates, as there are new viruses and malicious programs every day. 2. Use a credit card instead of a debit card. A stolen debit card gives an identity thief a direct line to your bank account, whereas credit cards offer added protection from fraudulent transactions. To be safe, don't store your credit card numbers online, and review your credit card bills monthly for unauthorized charges. 3. Make purchases through websites that offer secure connections. When shopping online, choose websites or e-merchants that offer heightened SSL (Secure Socket Layer) security to protect your personal information. Before input

"VH1 Divas Celebrates Soul" Pays Tribute to the Great Cities of Soul Music Including Chicago, Detroit, London, Memphis and Philadelphia Special will air Monday, December 19 at 9 PM/8c on VH1 VH1's beloved, popular franchise,  "   VH1 Divas   , "  announced today additional performers to join this year's tribute to soul music .  Chaka Khan ,  Erykah Badu ,  Sharon Jones  & the Dap-Kings, Boyz II Men, Estelle,  Marsha Ambrosius   and   Travie McCoy   will join VH1's "divas" in paying homage to these cities and soul music's timeless classics at  New York City 's Hammerstein Ballroom.  "   VH1 Divas Celebrates Soul   " premieres  Monday, December 19  at  9 PM /8c on VH1 . "We are so excited to feature these diverse and multi-talented women and men joining our 'Divas' roster this year to showcase the global impact of soul music and how influential and inspirational the music is to today's chart-top

Interactive One and Songza Launch BlackPlanet Radio, the First Social Radio Website for the African-American Consumer Interactive One and Songza Launch BlackPlanet Radio, the First Social Radio Website for the African-American Consumer BlackPlanetRadio.com makes everyone a DJ with a platform that allows music lovers to curate, share and discover new music NEW YORK , Nov. 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Interactive One, the largest digital media company serving Black Americans and a subsidiary of Radio One, announced this week a partnership with Songza, a leading streaming music service, to launch BlackPlanet Radio, the digital industry's first social radio website targeted towards African Americans. BlackPlanetRadio.com 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. "BlackPlanet Radio makes creating music playlists more fun by allow