During an interview with Variety‘s “PopPolitics” on SiriusXM, Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), who helped lead the 1965 voting rights march in Selma, Ala., that became known as “Bloody Sunday,” said Ava DuVernay’s new movie “Selma” is “long overdue.” He als talks abut other aspects of the movie as well as watching himself being portrayed on film. Listen to the full interview below:
Michelle and I extend our warmest wishes to those celebrating Kwanzaa this holiday season. Today begins a celebration highlighting the rich African American heritage and culture through the seven principles of Kwanzaa—unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith. During this season, families come together to reflect on blessings of the past year and look forward to the promises in the year ahead. As we remain committed to building a country that provides opportunity for all, this time of year reminds us that there is much to be thankful for.
As families around the world unite to light the Kinara today, our family extends our prayers and best wishes during this holiday season.
Believe it or not the just released film Selma is the first feature film about the American icon. Also even more unbelievable is that the movie can not use the great speeches by Martin Luther King Jr. You read right, due to legal restrictions prevented “Selma,” the first feature film to be made about Martin Luther King Jr., from using his magnificent speeches.
The speeches delivered by Dr. King are property of his family’s estate, which licensed them in 2009 to DreamWorks and Warner Bros. for a biopic that Steven Spielberg hopes to eventually produce.
[SOURCE] Every year the Rhodes Trust awards exceptional postgraduate students with a scholarship to pursue studies in all fields at the prestigious University of Oxford, the oldest university in the English-speaking world. The competition for the coveted honor is tough, but this year, five of the 32 scholarships awarded to Americans went to African-Americans.
The five talented students are:
Robert A. Fisher (pictured far left): A senior at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga majoring in political science, Fisher, who is also his school’s student body president, has managed to maintain a perfect academic record. He plans on pursuing a Master’s in comparative social policy.
Rachel Harmon (pictured second from left): The Champaign, Ill., resident attends Cornell University and is in her senior year. Majoring in industrial and labor relations, Harmon plans on getting her Master’s in social policy.
Ridwan Y. Hassen (pictured third from left): In his last year at Dartmouth College majoring in computer science with an emphasis on neuroscience, Hassen’s parents are Somalian and Ethiopian refugees. The young member of his school’s Endurance Racing Team plans on furthering his studies by obtaining a Master’s in public policy.
Tayo A. Sanders (pictured second from right): Sanders, who is a University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire senior who is majoring in Materials Science, is no stranger to scholarships. He is the recipient of the prestigious Goldwater Scholarship and has already done research at the University of Strasbourg in France. Sanders wants to obtain a Ph.D. also on materials science at Oxford.
Sarah E. Yermina (pictured far right): As a Princeton University senior majoring in sociology, Yermina wants to enter the two-year Master’s program in politics at Oxford then pursue a J.D./Ph.D. to become a law professor.
A Berkeley police officer fatally shot a suspect who pointed a gun at him late Tuesday, St. Louis County police said early today.
Police did not identify the person killed but Toni Martin, who was at the scene, said he was her 18-year-old son, Antonio Martin.
Several protesters also arrived at the scene shortly after the shooting. Many stayed overnight.
St. Louis County police said the incident started about 11:15 p.m. Tuesday as the Berkeley officer "was conducting a routine business check" at the Mobil gas station at 6800 North Hanley Road.
The officer saw two people outside the station, got out of his vehicle and approached them. One of the suspects pulled out a handgun and fired at the officer.
"Fearing for his life, the Berkeley Officer fired several shots, striking the subject, fatally wounding him," the release from the county police said. "The second subject fled the scene."
Berkeley police requested that the county department's Crimes Against Persons Unit handle the investigation of the shooting. Detectives "recovered the deceased subject's handgun at the scene," the release from county police said.
Read more: Berkeley officer fatally shoots teenager
