Della Reese passes away at 86

Della Reese who enjoyed dual careers, first as a jazz and pop singer and later as a TV star on CBS' Touched By An Angel, has died at age 86.

Her representative, Lynda Bensky, confirmed her death to USA TODAY, noting, "We lost a magnificent woman who was a trailblazer in many ways."

In a statement sent to USA TODAY by CBS spokeswoman Diane Ekeblad, the network said they were "deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Della Reese, For nine years, we were privileged to have Della as part of the CBS family when she delivered encouragement and optimism to millions of viewers as Tess on Touched By An Angel. We will forever cherish her warm embraces and generosity of spirit...Another angel has gotten her wings."

Reese's singing career began in church, when she joined the junior gospel choir at the Olivet Baptist Church at the age of six in her hometown of Detroit. Soon she was singing at other churches, at civic events and on the radio.

When Mahalia Jackson, known as The Queen of Gospel Music, came to Detroit, she needed a singer to replace a member of her troupe. She turned to Reese, who was only 13.

Jackson was so impressed by the teenager's voice that she enlisted her for a summer tour, and Reese went on to tour with her for five summers.

The singer went on to form her own group, the Meditation Singers, in the late 1940s and signed a deal with Jubilee Records in 1953, with whom she released six albums largely composed of jazz standards.

In 1957, Reese earned national fame thanks to her song And That Reminds Me, followed by her signature hit, Don’t You Know?

Other hits included Not One Minute More, And Now, Someday (You’ll Want Me to Want You) and The Most Beautiful Words.

Reese is survived by her husband, Franklin Lett, and three children.

[SOURCE: CNN]

10 African American students chosen as Rhodes Scholars

One-third of the newest crop of Rhodes Scholars from the United States are African-Americans, the most ever elected in a U.S. Rhodes class.

Of the 100 Rhodes Scholars chosen worldwide for advanced study at Oxford in Britain each year, 32 come from the United States, and this time, 10 of those are African Americans.

The 10 African Americans in the class include Simone Askew, of Fairfax, Virginia, who made headlines in August when she became the first black woman to serve as first captain of the 4,400-member Corps of Cadets at the U.S. Military Academy—the highest position in the cadet chain of command at West Point. Askew, a senior, is majoring in international history, focused her undergraduate thesis on the use of rape as a tool of genocide and plans to study evidence-based social intervention at Oxford.

Several of the winners have devoted efforts to racial, social and economic justice.

Harvard College senior Tania N. Fabo, of Saugus, Massachusetts, created and codirected the first Black Health Matters Conference at the university. An immigrant who was born in Germany to Cameroonian parents, she plans to research oncology at Oxford.

"I'm still kind of in shock," Fabo said Sunday. "When they told me on Saturday I didn't really fully believe it."

Thamara V. Jean, of Brooklyn, New York, completed her senior thesis at Hunter College of the City University of New York on the Black Lives Matter movement. Jean is a child of Haitian immigrants, according to Debbie Raskin, a spokeswoman for Hunter College.

And JaVaughn T. "J.T." Flowers, who graduated this year from Yale University with a degree in political science, helped start an organization at Yale that provides mentors, tutors and summer stipends to make sure low-income students receive the same academic opportunities as others. Flowers has also examined gaps in Portland's sanctuary city policy. After graduating, he returned to Portland to work in the field office of Democratic U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, who said Flowers has worked on a variety of issues, including on how high costs of phone or video calls in prisons not only rip off the inmates, but make it harder for them to keep in touch with their families and thus to readjust to society when they're released.

"He's just an outstanding candidate for the Rhodes," Blumenauer said Sunday. "He's a very quick study, very good with people, an incisive listener who is able to translate that back to people who contact him and to the staff in our office. We're excited for him, and we're excited for what he's going to do when he's back."

Calvin Runnels, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is the second self-identified transgender Rhodes scholar from the U.S., following Pema McLaughlin, who was named a winner last year. A senior at the Georgia Institute of Technology, he has organized rallies in solidarity with the immigrant community and led efforts to increase the number of gender-neutral bathrooms on campus. Runnels will study biochemistry at Oxford. His research investigates the origin of the ribosome, which could provide insight into the origins of life, the Rhodes Trust said.

The scholarships, considered by many to be the most prestigious available to American students, cover all expenses for two or three years of study starting next October. In some cases, the scholarships may allow funding for four years. The winners came from a group of 866 applicants who were endorsed by 299 colleges and universities. Four of the institutions had winners for the first time: Hunter College at the City University of New York; Temple University in Philadelphia; the University of Alaska in Anchorage; and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

Congrats to all those students and to all 32 students selected for this prestigious honor. Below is a complete list of the 2018 Rhode Scholars from the United States:

Tania N. Fabo, Saugus, Massachusetts (Harvard University)

Samarth Gupta, Acton, Massachusetts (Harvard University)

Christopher J. D'Urso, Colts Neck, New Jersey (University of Pennsylvania)

Jordan D. Thomas, South Plainfield, New Jersey (Princeton University)

Thamara V. Jean, Brooklyn, New York (Hunter College, City University of New York)

Daniel H. Judt, New York (Yale University)

Hazim Hardeman, Philadelphia (Temple University; also Community College of Pennsylvania)

Alan Yang, Dresher, Pennsylvania (Harvard University)

Nathan R. Bermel, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts (U.S. Naval Academy)

Naomi T. Mburu, Ellicott City, Maryland (University of Maryland, Baltimore County)

Chelsea A. Jackson, Lithonia, Georgia (Emory University)

Calvin Runnels, Baton Rouge, Louisiana (Georgia Institute of Technology)

Matthew Rogers, Huntsville, Alabama (Auburn University)

Noah V. Barbieri, Beldin, Mississippi (Millsaps College)

Mary Clare Beytagh, Dallas (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Harold Xavier Gonzalez, Houston (Harvard University)

Simone M. Askew, Fairfax, Virginia (U.S. Military Academy)

Matthew Chun, Arlington, Virginia (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Thomas J. Dowling, Chicago, (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)

Camille A. Borders, Cincinnati (Washington University in St. Louis)

Nadine K. Jawad, Dearborn Heights, Michigan (University of Michigan)

Clara C. Lepard, East Lansing, Michigan (Michigan State University)

Jasmine Brown, Hillsborough, New Jersey (Washington University in St. Louis)

Jaspreet "Jesse" Singh, Oak Ridge, Tennessee (U.S. Air Force Academy)

Michael Z. Chen, Boulder, Colorado (Stanford University)

Joshua T. Arens, Yankton, South Dakota (University of South Dakota)

Samantha M. Mack, Anchorage, Alaska (University of Alaska, Anchorage)

JaVaughn T. "JT" Flowers, Portland, Oregon (Yale University)

Madeleine K. Chang, San Francisco (Stanford University)

Sean P. Reilly, San Jose, California (Santa Clara University)

Alexis L. Kallen, Ventura, California (Stanford University)

Gabrielle C. Stewart, San Dimas, California (Duke University)

[SOURCE]

LaToya Cantrell elected mayor of New Orleans

LaToya Cantrell was coasting to victory and into the history books on Saturday, becoming New Orleans’ first female mayor. With more than a third of the voters counted, she was on the way to a resounding win against her opponent, former Judge Desiree Charbonnet who, despite a substantial early fundraising edge, could not recover from political action committee attacks that largely did the political dirty work and allowed Cantrell to keep her hands clean.

With a sizable mandate, Cantrell will take over as New Orleans’ 51st mayor as the city marks the 300th anniversary of its founding.

"Almost 300 years, my friends, and New Orleans, we're still making history," Cantrell said to supporters at New Orleans Jazz Market in Central City.

Cantrell told the crowd she had spoken to Charbonnet over the phone and congratulated her on making history. "Our history was two women making that runoff, and we both deserve to be proud of that," Cantrell said.

Cantrell started the race as an against-the-odds candidate who struggled to raise money early in the race. She finally broke out of the fundraising slump once she topped Charbonnet by nine points in the Oct. 14 primary.

Read more: LaToya Cantrell elected New Orleans' first female mayor

Book of the week: The Origin of Others (The Charles Eliot Norton Lectures) by Toni Morrison

America’s foremost novelist reflects on the themes that preoccupy her work and increasingly dominate national and world politics: race, fear, borders, the mass movement of peoples, the desire for belonging. What is race and why does it matter? What motivates the human tendency to construct Others? Why does the presence of Others make us so afraid?

Drawing on her Norton Lectures, Toni Morrison takes up these and other vital questions bearing on identity in The Origin of Others. In her search for answers, the novelist considers her own memories as well as history, politics, and especially literature. Harriet Beecher Stowe, Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor, and Camara Laye are among the authors she examines. Readers of Morrison’s fiction will welcome her discussions of some of her most celebrated books―Beloved, Paradise, and A Mercy.

If we learn racism by example, then literature plays an important part in the history of race in America, both negatively and positively. Morrison writes about nineteenth-century literary efforts to romance slavery, contrasting them with the scientific racism of Samuel Cartwright and the banal diaries of the plantation overseer and slaveholder Thomas Thistlewood. She looks at configurations of blackness, notions of racial purity, and the ways in which literature employs skin color to reveal character or drive narrative. Expanding the scope of her concern, she also addresses globalization and the mass movement of peoples in this century. National Book Award winner Ta-Nehisi Coates provides a foreword to Morrison’s most personal work of nonfiction to date.

Check out the book.

HARDCOVER-------- KINDLE

‘Get Out’s Jordan Peele Responds To Golden Globes Category

The decision by Jordan Peele, Blumhouse and Universal to submit their film Get Out in the Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy category at the Golden Globes this year has created many questions from his fanbase. Here, Peele explains why the decision was made:

The most rewarding part of making “Get Out” is the conversations the film has inspired.

When I originally heard the idea of placing it in the comedy category it didn’t register to me as an issue. I missed it. There’s no category for social thriller. So what? I moved on.

I made this movie for the loyal black horror fans who have been underrepresented for years. When people began standing up for my voice, it meant a lot. “Get Out” doesn’t just belong to me any more, now it belongs to everyone.

The reason for the visceral response to this movie being called a comedy is that we are still living in a time in which African American cries for justice aren’t being taken seriously. It’s important to acknowledge that though there are funny moments, the systemic racism that the movie is about is very real. More than anything, it shows me that film can be a force for change. At the end of the day, call “Get Out” horror, comedy, drama, action or documentary, I don’t care. Whatever you call it, just know it’s our truth.

[SOURCE: DEADLINE]