Arts, Culture, Entertainment

Gil Noble, producer and host of the public affairs program “Like It Is,” has interviewed famous African Americans like Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., Fannie Lou Hamer and Paul Robeson is retiring.

Gil Noble

Born on February 22, 1932 in New York, NY
Journalist, TV Producer, Host, Documentarian

LOS ANGELES — Michael Jackson was so heavily drugged in the hours before his death that he would have been incapable of self-administering the massive dose of propofol that killed him, a medical expert testified Thursday at the trial of Jackson’s doctor.
Dr. Steven Shafer, who presented a number of possible scenarios for Jackson’s overdose, said one posed by Dr. Conrad Murray’s defense — that the star gave himself the powerful anesthetic — is “crazy.”

Laurence Fishburne is the narrator for an upcoming PBS documentary on black workers in the post-slavery South.

The film, titled "Slavery by Another Name," is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book by Douglas A. Blackmon.

PBS on Thursday announced Fishburne's role as narrator of the documentary that will debut Feb. 13, 2012, on public TV stations nationwide.

"Slavery by Another Name" examines the labor practices and laws "that effectively created new forms of slavery" after emancipation, subjecting blacks to brutal forced work, according to the filmmakers.

Washington: The dedication of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Monument symbolized the “Dream Lives On”. On Saturday and Sunday, thousands marched, sung, and cried as the dedication of a monument for one so great took its place once again on the eternal stage of legacy and brotherhood. The towering granite monument is a symbolic reminder that the civil rights leader's dream of social and economic justice is a perpetual consciousness that unfolds, enlightens, and enables humanity to love, empathize, and trust one another.

Jennifer Hudson attends the Givenchy Ready to Wear Spring / Summer 2012 show during Paris Fashion Week on October 2, 2011 in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)
by Risa Dixon
Clutch Magazine

Jennifer Hudson and David Otunga have been engaged for three years and have a beautiful son. So what's the hold up with the wedding? According to Media Takeout, J-Hud's fiance is refusing to sign a pre-nup.

MLK Memorial plans have been dogged by controversy over links to China. The MLK Memorial was built by a Chinese sculptor from Chinese granite. But backers are pleased with the result.

The stern, bulky visage of Martin Luther King Jr. now gracing the National Mall has brought forth tears of joy and redemption from onlookers. But for some Americans, the massive monument will forever be marred by where it was made: China.

At the VMAs, Beyonce officially revealed a baby bump, cupping her growing belly for photographers as she arrived and rubbing her tummy when she performed. Her pregnant performance at the MTV Video Music Awards sparked a Twitter record. When she performed, there were 8,868 tweets per second. Twitter said that rate was a record for the service. It turned into a huge Trending Topic and many fans changed their Twitter profile pic to photos of the songstress.

Nick Ashford, one-half of the legendary Motown songwriting duo Ashford & Simpson that penned elegant, soulful classics for the likes of Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye and funk hits for Chaka Khan and others, has died at age 70.

Ashford, who along with wife Valerie Simpson wrote some of Motown's biggest hits, died in a New York City hospital. His wife reports that he had been suffering from throat cancer and had recently undergone radiation treatment

Associated Press

Editor’s. Note: The dedication events for the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial scheduled for Sunday, August 28, 2011, have been postponed until a date to be announced in September or October.
On August 25, a concert inspired by music of the U.S. civil rights era rocked the Washington Convention Center. Celebrating the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, the musical evening included emotionally charged performances by singer Patti LaBelle, The O’Jays’ Eddie Levert and The Impressions.

Scores of letters written by John Lennon have been sold at auction over the years

More than 250 letters and cards sent by John Lennon to his family and friends are to be published for the first time.

Author Hunter Davies, who wrote the only official biography of The Beatles in the 1960s, is trying to track down every missive written by the singer.

"I've found a lot of letters that nobody's ever seen," he said.
Davies, whose book comes out next year, said it was the first time Lennon's widow Yoko Ono had given permission for his private letters to be published.