Yolanda Ford elected first African American mayor of Missouri City

Missouri City (Texas) voters Saturday elected Yolanda Ford as their next mayor, the first woman and African American ever selected for the city's highest office.

Ford narrowly defeated incumbent Allen Owen, who has been Missouri City's mayor for nearly a quarter of a century. Ford captured about 52 percent of the vote to Owen's 48 percent in Saturday's run-off election.

"I am so proud that the residents of Missouri City have elected me as their mayor," Ford said in a statement. "After having served on the city council for the past five years, and as a lifelong resident, I am deeply invested in the well-being and growth of Missouri City, and I look forward to working with citizens, the city council and others toward its betterment."

Ford, an urban planning manager, will take the oath of office Dec. 17.

[SOURCE: Chron.Com]

Cast of 'Black Panther' announces $250,000 college scholarship

Who wouldn't want to get a college scholarship from Chadwick Boseman, Lupita Nyong'o and Danai Gurira?

During the Hollywood Reporter's 2018 Women in Entertainment gala on Wednesday, the three stars of the blockbuster — and now Golden Globe-nominated — film "Black Panther" took the stage to make an announcement sure to excite young fans across the country.

"In support of fostering young diverse voices in entertainment, The Walt Disney Studios is delighted to announce its own 'Black Panther Scholarship,'" said Gurira to a round of applause. "Because we all know, if we want to live in a world that looks more like Wakanda, the first step is invest in some girls and women."

The scholarship will provide a full ride, worth $250,000, for a lucky student to attend Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California. Boseman thanked Disney and Marvel executives as well as "Black Panther" director Ryan Coogler before opening a white envelope announcing this year's winner — Kalis Coleman.

Coleman, a 17-year-old student from Inglewood, California, was in attendance to receive the award.

When Coleman crossed the stage, Nyong'o crossed her arms over her chest, flashing the quintessential "Wakanda Forever" signal, before giving Coleman a congratulatory hug.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Coleman plans to become a pediatric dermatologist.

[SOURCE: CNBC]

Olivia Hooker first African American woman to serve in the U.S. Coast Guard laid to rest

The first African-American woman to serve in the U.S. Coast Guard and one of the last survivors of a race riot in Oklahoma has been laid to rest with military honors.

A funeral was held Wednesday in White Plains, New York, for Olivia Hooker. She was 103 years old when she died on Nov. 21.

The Coast Guard says Hooker enlisted in the Coast Guard Women's Reserve in 1945 and rose to the rank of yeoman second class before her discharge in 1946.

Hooker also survived one of the worst race riots in U.S. history. She was 6 years old in 1921 when the late-spring riot destroyed much of a Tulsa neighborhood that had been known as "Black Wall Street."

Hooker was a psychologist and a professor of psychology at Fordham University, where she retired at age 87 in 2002.

[SOURCE: NEWS ADVANCE]

100-year-old Tuskegee Airman, Wilfred Defour found dead in Harlem home

Wilfred DeFour, a member of the Tuskegee Airmen — an all-black squadron of World War II pilots that inspired African-Americans across the country — died in his Harlem home Saturday. He was 100.

DeFour was an aircraft technician for the famed squad, which got its name from the group’s training facility in Tuskegee, Ala.

During World War II, the pilots ran missions over North Africa, Sicily, and Italy. DeFour painted the tails of the aircraft from which the squadron drew its “Red Tails” nickname.

Just last month, DeFour was honored as a post office on Macombs Place in Harlem was renamed the Tuskegee Airmen Post Office Building.

DeFour worked as a postal employee for more than 30 years after his military service.

"We didn't know we were making history at the time,” DeFour, said during the renaming ceremony. “We were just doing our job."

Counting all pilots and support staff — from the mechanics to the cooks — roughly 20,000 men were part of what is considered the “Tuskegee experience.”

As of 2015, some 600 were still alive, according to the Tuskegee Airmen National History Museum in Detroit.

[SOURCE: NY DAILY NEWS]

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.