Beyonce

Apr 14 2011

Looking at the modern ‘British invasion’

Someone asked me last week if I thought American R&B was dead. Record sales have been declining for American artists who categorize themselves as the music genre’s front-runners. In fact, few major mainstream R&B artists, with the exception of Beyonce, Alicia Keys and Usher, are seeing an increase in album sales as their careers expand. For most of the American Soul family, there is a fight to stay relevant, charting and modern enough for our generation.

Mar 31 2011

The entertainer’s aggression rears its ugly head…again

As Chris Brown took the stage at Good Morning America last week, I held my breath. I was rooting for him, waiting to see him return to grace and reignite the magical flame that had previously put him in the tradition of great R&B artists.

Brown’s up-and-down behavior has been at the forefront of a media circus which developed after pictures of Rihanna appeared on the Internet the night before the 2009 Grammy Awards, displaying eyelids which had been swollen shut, a fat lip, and bruises all over her face.

David L. Horne, Ph.D.  |   OW Contributing Columnist
Mar 10 2011

Practical Politics

Bill Cosby, our funnyman turned jeremiad—our fire bell in the night—has lately been very quiet.

No more bombshells dropped recently, like saying the problem of the Black community gets out every weekday by 3 or 3:30 p.m., vulgarizing and disrespecting everything that moves, sometimes with deadly consequences. Currently, Cosby has been replaced by another renowned elder, Minister Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.
 

Alabama
Freeman A. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will address the annual African American Business Council luncheon on June 28. Hrabowski, who is chairman of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Education Excellence for African Americans, has a national reputation for his work studying the performance of minority students in math and science. Hrabowski, named one of the 10 best college presidents in the country by Time magazine, was a child leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham in the 1960s.
 

Arkansas
The Liberty Counsel filed a motion and a brief in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas seeking to intervene on behalf of a Concepts of Life crisis pregnancy center to defend against a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The groups seek to impose a permanent injunction before the Human Heartbeat Protection Act goes into effect July 18. Liberty Counsel also filed a brief opposing the ACLU’s request for an injunction. The “Heartbeat” bill states that when a woman seeks an abortion at or after the 12th week, doctors must test for a fetal heartbeat before an abortion is performed and inform the pregnant mother that the child in her womb has a heartbeat. If a heartbeat is detected, a woman cannot have an abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, and if a mother’s life is in danger. “As we promised when the legislation was introduced, Liberty Counsel will defend this law without reservation for the people of Arkansas, born and pre-born,” said Matt Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “No right is more foundational than the right to life. Without life, all other rights are irrelevant,” concluded Staver.