The original glass-topped casket that held the battered body of Emmett Till, the 14-year-old African American boy brutally murdered in Mississippi in 1955, will be given to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The donation will be announced prior to a memorial service at the Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ, the site of the 1955 funeral, Friday, Aug. 28, the 54th anniversary of Till’s death.

LOS ANGELES, CA – After the Pan African Film Festival (PAFF), America’s largest and most prestigious Black film and arts festival, has extended its film submission deadline through November 15, 2009, for its 18th Annual signature event taking place February 10-15, 2010 in Los Angeles.

There’s a new Facebook application that has launched in celebration of the release of “Good Hair” that allows you to play with different hairstyles using an uploaded image of yourself. I’ve just added the application to my own Facebook page and it’s a lot of fun! To install it, go to http://apps.facebook.com/goodhair/.

AFI FEST 2009 presented by Audi takes place October 30th – November 5 in the heart of historic downtown Hollywood at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, the neighboring Mann 6 Theater (in the Hollywood and Highland Center) and the Roosevelt Hotel, then moves to Santa Monica for two days of screenings at AFM, the American Film Market.

The Black List Project is currently running a promotion where you can win a free copy of The Black List Vol. 2 on DVD via Facebook and Twitter. See below for details.

Atlanta, GA – October 20, 2009 – In 2007 alone, 21,755 Blacks tested positive for HIV in the United States. Over the past 10 years, almost 200,000 Blacks have tested positive for HIV in the United States. Given these alarming rates, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as the lead federal agency responsible for preventing diseases, continues to underdevelop and underfund HIV prevention in Black America.

Over the weekend, I was watching Don Lemmon on CNN talk on several occasions about the new dress code at Morehouse College. If you aren’t aware, Morehouse is an all male Historically Black College and University (HBCU) and considered to be an elite institution for black men. While there are 11 points addressed on the policy, the one about not wearing women’s attire is gaining the most attention.

I was overjoyed to run across an article on BlackNews.com about this new website SunkissedGirlz.com. Just launched on October 14, 2009 by founders Yanique Redwood, PhD, MPH; Alana Jones, and Aisha Penson who not only realized the lack of positive imagery for young African-Americans but took matters into their own hands by launching Sunkissed Girlz. African-Americans are so diverse and unfortunately sometimes divided when it comes to matters of skin tone, body shape, and hair texture.

You know when something is so funny because it’s rooted in truth? That was the SNL skit last night. The healthcare reform part was my favorite!

Macro Marketing & Promotions Group presents the 5th Annual Cavalcade of Authors in Chicago with your hosts: National best-selling author, Naleighna Kai, NAACP Image Award Nominee, J. L. Woodson, and best-selling inspirational author, Rev. Renee Sesvalah Cobb-Dishman.

Filmmaker Tyler Perry is featured in The Blacklist: Volume Two, along with a highly respected line-up of fellow artists, academics, athletes, activists, authors and more.
The Blacklist Project reveals the diverse experiences of being Black in America through interviews and portrait sessions with leading African-American figures. The project was conceived by photographer Timothy Greenfield-Sanders in collaboration [...]

Sprite Step Off is the largest national step competition EVER – with 30 events in over 20 cities, teams from all across the country can compete in Sprite Step Off for a share of $1.5 million prize pool. Competing teams will also donate over 1 million hours of community service over the course of the competition, working alongside the national Sprite Step Off Service Challenge.

PAVE (Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment) hosted a fundraising event on the evening of September 17, 2009 in downtown Los Angeles’s gorgeous performing arts complex at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion..The evening’s festivities included a silent auction, guest speaker Dave Pelzer, and performances by Catch Me Bird dancers and an assembled group of local LA talent who performed a dance about Removing the Mask alongside spoken word poet Steve Connell. Angela Rose, founder of PAVE, was in attendance and gave opening and closing remarks while Wanda Colon served as the mistress of ceremonies throughout the night.

I’m so sad for Derrion Albert and all the Derrion Alberts out there across America whose story didn’t make headlines. Absolutely barbaric behavior. The violence MUST stop!!!