Spiritual Living

May 7 2009

Author, widow of Harlem gangster Bumpy Johnson

Philadelphia, PA -- Mayme Hatcher Johnson, a native of North Carolina who spent most of her life in Harlem, died in Philadelphia on Friday, May 1, 2009 of respiratory failure.

Mrs. Johnson was born in 1914 in N.C., and moved to New York City in 1938, where she found work as a waitress in a club owned by singer/actress Ethel Waters. In 1948 she met and married Ellsworth “Bumpy” Johnson, the legendary Harlem gangster who was depicted in the movies “The Cotton Club,” “Hoodlum,” and “American Gangster.”

Apr 23 2009

LA Third Church celebrates Women’s Month

Los Angeles, CA -- The month of May is Women's Month at the Los Angeles Third Church of Religious Science. The theme, “Women on Higher Ground” was chosen by the chair and associate minister of LA Third, Reverend Lisa Meggs. Women's Month is traditionally dedicated to the support, education and service of women and female teens in our community.

Apr 16 2009

Gospel music patriarch will be missed

Nashville, TN - David “Pop” Winans, Sr., died in Nashville, TN at the age of 74. His family announced that he had been convalescing in a hospice since October after suffering a heart attack and stroke.

“Pop” Winans was nominated for a Grammy for his solo CD “Uncensored’. He and his wife, Dolores, were also nominated for their CD “Mom & Pop Winans.”

Apr 9 2009

April 17-18

 The Living Legends Festival (LLF) is scheduled Friday and Saturday, April 17-18 at California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH). The LLF concert will begin at 4 p.m. on Sunday, April 19, at Holman United Methodist Church, 3320 W. Adams Blvd., the Rev. Henry L. Masters, pastor.

Apr 2 2009

Baker featured in holiday pageant

Bradley Baker, a renowned vocalist and director, is being featured in “The Glory of Easter” at the Crystal Cathedral, 12141 Lewis St. in Garden Grove. Baker will appear as Simon of Cyrene, in this holiday pageant, a role he has performed for the past 13 years, April 2-12.

A talented baritone, Baker has an array of performance styles ranging from opera and musical theater to R&B and jazz. He has performed in concert halls and opera houses in more than 25 countries around the world.

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.