Black Panther, Blackkklansman, and If Beale Street Could Talk nominated for Golden Globe best picture award

By George L. Cook II AfricanAmericanReports.Com

Nominations for the 76th annual Golden Globe Awards were announced on Thursday morning show live from the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

Three films with black directors and predominantly black cast were nominated in the Golden Globes Best Picture-Drama category. Those three films are Black Panther (directed by Ryan Coogler) , Blackkklansman (directed by Spike Lee), and If Beale Street Could Talk (directed by Barry Jenkins).

Blackkklansman received three other nominations. The film was also nominated for best director (Spike Lee) best actor (John David Washington) and best-supporting actor (Adam Driver).

If Beale Street Could Talk also had Regina King nominated in the Best Actress in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture and Barry Jenkins for Best Screenplay-Motion Picture (“If Beale Street Could Talk”)

Marvel's Black Panther was nominated in the Best Original Score category (Ludwig Goransson), Best Original Song-Motion Picture for the Kendrick Lamar and SZA song "All the Stars."

Although Green Book was not directed by a black director its worth noting that Mahershala Ali was nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting in Any Movie.

Cummings: Kemp should testify about voter suppression allegation

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), who's expected to become the next chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said he wants Georgia Gov.-elect Brian Kemp (R) to testify before Congress about allegations that he suppressed minority voters during his tenure as Georgia's secretary of state.

“I want to be able to bring people in, like the new governor-to-be of Georgia, to explain ... why is it fair for wanting to be secretary of state and be running [for governor],” Cummings told HuffPost in an article published Monday.

A news report a few months before Election Day found that a disproportionate number of the state's thousands of stalled voter applications were from black residents.

Cummings told HuffPost that he hopes to address the issue of voter suppression when Democrats are the majority in the 116th Congress.

“One of the things about my committee, you know, it’s called Oversight and Government Reform," he told HuffPost. “Oversight, you know, you gotta research and find out what the hell is going on and then, if it is appropriate, to do those things to reform the system.”

Cummings said he also wants to call on election officials from Kansas and North Carolina accused of suppressing Latino and African-American votes.

[SOURCE: THE HILL]

Frank Scott Jr: First African American elected mayor of Little Rock Arkansas

Frank Scott Jr. has been elected mayor of Little Rock.

Scott is the first African-American elected mayor by popular vote in the city's history. Little Rock has had two black mayors, but they were city directors chosen for the job by fellow board members.

He defeated Baker Kurrus in the nonpartisan runoff election Tuesday after the two received most votes of the five candidates in the general election Nov. 6.

Kurrus conceded to Scott about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday after early voting and absentee ballot numbers showed Scott had a sizable lead.

Scott succeeds Mayor Mark Stodola, who announced this year that he would not seek re-election after 12 years in office because of a family medical issue.

With all precincts reporting, unofficial results were:

Scott: 22,622 - 58 percent

Kurrus: 16,282 - 42 percent

Scott, a 35-year-old Little Rock native, is a banker and associate pastor. He was a deputy police director and director of intergovernmental affairs under former governor Mike Beebe. He has also served on the state highway commission and the board of directors for the Little Rock Port Authority and Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Central Arkansas. Scott is graduate of the University of Arkansas. He holds a master's degree in business administration from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

[SOURCE: KATV]

Gwen Collins-Greenup in runoff to become Louisiana Secretary of State

A runoff to become Louisiana's next Secretary of State is set for Saturday, December 8.

It's between Democratic candidate Gwen Collins-Greenup, and Republican candidate Kyle Ardoin, who's currently serving as the interim Secretary of State.

If Collins-Greenup wins, she would be the first African-American woman to be elected to statewide office in Louisiana. Watch an interview with her below:

Alcorn State and North Carolina A&T to meet in Celebration Bowl to decide HBCU Champion!

The Alcorn State Braves (9-3) defeated the Southern Jaguars on the SWAC Championship Game to advance to the Celebration Bowl to face MEAC champion North Carolina A&T (9-2) for the HBCU national championship. The game will take place Saturday, Dec. 15, at noon ET from Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta and aired live on ABC.

Entering its fourth year, the Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl has established itself as a premier bowl game and celebrates the heritage, legacy, pageantry, and tradition of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). It is a championship-style game between the MEAC and SWAC champions. ESPN Events collaborates with 100 Black Men of Atlanta to organize the game’s ancillary events which include a youth symposium, robotics showcase, gospel night, fan experience and more. The MEAC leads the overall Celebration Bowl series 2-1 after three years. North Carolina A&T defeated Alcorn State 41-34 in the inaugural game in 2015. In 2016, Grambling State defeated North Carolina Central 10-9. As in previous years, last year’s Celebration Bowl was a tight battle with North Carolina A&T beating Grambling State 21-14.

Fans can purchase tickets to the Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl online at thecelebrationbowl.com or ticketmaster.com, or by calling Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000. Prices range from $15 to $155 including taxes and fees. A full list of events surrounding the game are available on the event’s website.