Details coming soon….

WASHINGTON — When chunks of plaster began falling from the ceiling of the national cathedral of African Methodism last year, one of Washington’s oldest black congregations nearly had to abandon its sanctuary.

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Instead, the people of Metropolitan A.M.E. Church — where member Frederick Douglass gave his last speech in 1894 and where a pew bears his name — have begun emergency repairs. They brought in scaffolding to block falling debris, and now they worship under yellow construction lights.

On Wednesday, the church that also hosted Rosa Parks’ funeral was among the sites named America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places because it needs $11 million in critical but unaffordable repairs. Also, for the first time, one of the spots on the list was reserved for all state parks and state-owned historic places in the country, as a nod to the widespread budget cuts threatening such sites.

Metropolitan A.M.E., an 1886 red brick Victorian Gothic-style church, deteriorated over time. Once among the largest integrated meeting halls in the segregated nation’s capital, it suffered cracks and water damage as its residential neighborhood a few blocks from the White House was swallowed by downtown development.

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NEW YORK – Smokey Robinson, Ella Fitzgerald and James Brownwere among the music legends being honored on the Apollo Theater’s new Walk of Fame in New York City.

Workers on Monday began installing sidewalk plaques in front of the storied Harlem theater celebrating some of the artists who have performed there. Others include Little Richard, Patti LaBelle andGladys Knight and the Pips.

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“For me to have a plaque honoring me in front of the Apollo theater is one of the proudest achievements in my life,” Robinson said. “I started out at the Apollo and it will always be a home to me.”

Robinson said he first performed at the Apollo with the Miracles in 1959, and he’s been back countless times since.

He told The Associated Press, “I always say, if they tear down 125th Street and everything on it, please leave the Apollo standing.”

RELATED: VIDEO: Jamie Foxx, Prince & Mariah Carey Honor The Apollo

Singer Patti LaBelle said she was grateful to be in the company of legendary performers.

“My career began at the Apollo, so I’m humbled to be able to be a part of its rich and continued legacy,”LaBelle said.

The Apollo’s marquee on Monday also paid tribute to legendary jazz singer and actress Lena Horne, who died Sunday at age 92.

“You name it, Lena Horne had it all, and she will remain as a standard of class and excellency in all of our hearts, Rep. Charles Rangel said.

The Apollo, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary, has been a pioneer for aspiring black performers who were routinely turned away at other venues in the 1930s. Through its legendary Amateur Night, the Apollo is famous for propelling the careers of Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Stevie Wonder, James Brown and others.

RELATED: Smithsonian Brings Apollo To D.C.

Plaques honoring new Hall of Fame inductees Michael Jackson and Ella Fitzgerald will be installed after the Apollo’s annual Spring Gala in June.

Jackson and his brothers first performed at the Harlem theater in the late 1960s. The Jackson Five won its famed “Amateur Night,” which catapulted their career.

Among the outspoken African-American political and social figures that have criticized President Obama for not doing more for black Americans in these tough economic times, Al Sharpton has emerged as the voice of support for Obama’s presidential initiatives designed to help all Americans.

According to an article written for The Wall Street Journal, “President Barack Obama has turned to Mr. Sharpton in recent weeks to answer increasingly public criticism in the black community over his economic policy. Some black leaders are charging that the nation’s first African-American president has failed to help black communities hit hard by the downturn, leaving party strategists worried that black Democrats will become dispirited and skip November’s congressional elections.”

Sharpton used the platform of his national radio show to fire back stating that “The president does not need to get out there and do what we should be doing,” adding that if the President did just that, it would create just the right climate for conservatives and other Obama critics to defeat legislation that would actually assist blacks, rather than hurt them.

On one particular show, Al Sharpton and Tavis Smiley, prominent black talk show host, butted heads over this issue where Mr. Sharpton stated that “…it was a ‘double standard’ for Mr. Smiley and other critics to expect more from a black president than they would demand of a white Democratic president.”

Although during most of his campaign, President Obama steered clear of historically radical black civil rights leaders, Al Sharpton is now an unlikely ally in addressing the concerns of some black leaders and establishing solidarity for the president.

To read the entire article “Obama’s New Partner: Al Sharpton,” visit The Wall Street Journal online.

Listen to the big debate between Tavis Smiley and Al Sharpton:

The NAACP elected a health care executive as its youngest board chairman Saturday, continuing a youth movement for the nation’s oldest civil rights organization.  Roslyn M. Brock, 44, was chosen to succeed Julian Bond. She had been vice chairman since 2001 and a member of the NAACP for 25 years.

Brock works for Bon Secours Health Systems in Maryland as vice president for advocacy and government relations, and spent 10 years working on health issues for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. She joins Benjamin Todd Jealous, the 37-year-old CEO of the NAACP, as leader of the 500,000-member organization.

Brock said she plans to focus on pushing for policy changes to eliminate inequality, strengthening the relationship between the national and local NAACP branches and holding people accountable.

“It’s not always what someone is doing to us, but what we are doing for ourselves,” Brock said in an interview.

The departure of Bond, 70, after 10 years as board chairman marks a turning point for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored Pepole.

Bond came of age in the segregated South, helped found the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee and was on the front lines of the protests that led to the nation’s landmark civil rights laws. He is a symbol and icon of “the movement,” which was a defining experience for older generations.

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VIA:  ShaniDavis.Com

Shani Davis was born on Friday, August 13, 1982, in Chicago, Illinois. Raised by his mother on the city’s south side, he started roller-skating at local rinks at age two. By age three Shani was darting around the roller rink so fast that skate guards would chase him just to ask him to slow down. Seeming to become bored with roller-skating, at age six a coach suggested that Shani switch to ice skating. Shortly thereafter, his mother started working for an attorney, Fred Benjamin, whose son happened to be involved in speed skating at an elite level. It was at that time that Benjamin suggested that Shani give speed skating a try.

Shani joined the Evanston Speedskating Club at age six and within two months started competing locally. Though immediately taking to ice, at competitions Shani was generally more interested in running around with his competitors and playing video games than he was with competing. Nevertheless, by age 8 he was winning regional age-group competitions and began to hear about the Olympic ideal from his Northbrook competitors and friends. Shani’s mother encouraged him to participate and, in an effort to build his endurance, woke him most mornings to run a mile on a track close to their home. As there were — and still are — no speed skating clubs in inner city Chicago, at age 10 Shani and his mother moved to the far north side of the city to be closer to the Evanston rink.

Click here to read more on Shani Davis…

Watch Shani’s video blog dated 2/13/10:

2006 World Cup Interview:

VIA: TYLERPERRY.COM

Tyler Perry is by all means, a Renaissance man.  He’s an actor, director, screenwriter, producer and author.  He is a true American success story.

Tyler Perry’s inspirational journey from the hard streets of New Orleans to the heights of Hollywood’s A-list is the stuff of American legend.  Born into poverty and raised in a household scarred by abuse, Tyler fought from a young age to find the strength, faith and perseverance that would later form the foundations of his much-acclaimed plays, films, books and shows.It was a simple piece of advice from Oprah Winfrey that set Tyler’s career in motion.

Encouraged to keep a diary of his daily thoughts and experiences, Tyler began writing a series of soul-searching letters to himself-letters full of pain, forgiveness, and, in time, a healing catharsis.  The letters inspired a musical, I KNOW I’VE BEEN CHANGED, and in 1992 Tyler gathered his life’s savings and set off for Atlanta in hopes of staging it for sold out crowds.  He spent all the money but the people never came, and Tyler once again came face to face with the poverty that had plagued his youth.  He spent months sleeping in seedy motels and his car but his faith-in God and, in turn, himself-only got stronger.  He forged a powerful relationship with the church, and he kept writing.

In 1998 his perseverance paid off and a promoter booked I KNOW I’VE BEEN CHANGED for a limited run at a local church-turned-theatre.  This time the community came out in droves, and soon the musical moved to Atlanta’s prestigious Fox Theatre.  Tyler Perry never looked back.I KNOW I’VE BEEN CHANGED was a poignant story of failure and redemption, and it resounded with urban audiences who identified with its themes and exalted in its spirit.  In Tyler they’d found a voice for their longings, and an outlet for their entertainment, and so began an incredible run of eight plays in as many years, including WOMAN THOU ART LOOSED!, a celebrated collaboration with the prominent Dallas pastor T.D. Jakes.

But if audiences were buoyed by Tyler’s faith, they were bowled over by his humor.  No way around it: the man was plain funny.  Nowhere was this more in evidence than in 2000’s I CAN DO BAD ALL BY MYSELF, which marked the first appearance of the now-legendary Madea.  A God-fearing, gun-toting, pot-smoking, loud-mouthed grandmother, Madea was played by Perry himself.  Madea was such a resounding success, she soon spawned a series of plays-MADEA’S FAMILY REUNION (2002), MADEA’S CLASS REUNION (2003) and MADEA GOES TO JAIL (2005)- and set the stage for Tyler’s jump to the big screen.

In early 2005, Tyler’s first feature film, DIARY OF A MAD BLACK WOMAN, debuted at #1 nationwide.  By the end of its first weekend in theatres, two things had happened: the film had earned $22 million, and Tyler Perry-writer, actor, and producer-had become a superstar.  Tyler’s ensuing films, MADEA’S FAMILY REUNION, DADDY LITTLE GIRLS, WHY DID I GET MARRIED?, MEET THE BROWNS, and THE FAMILY THAT PREYS have all met with massive critical and commercial success, delighting audiences across America and around the world.  His most recent film, MADEA GOES TO JAIL, spent two weeks at the top of the box office and ultimately went on to gross more than $90 million.2006 saw the publication of Tyler’s first book, DON’T MAKE A BLACK WOMAN TAKE OFF HER EARRINGS: MADEA’S UNINHIBITED COMMENTARIES ON LIFE AND LOVE, which shot to the top of the New York Times nonfiction bestseller list and remained there for eight weeks.  It went on to claim Quill Book Awards for both “Humor” and “Book of the Year” (an unheard-of feat for a first-time author), and spread Tyler Perry’s unique brand of inspirational entertainment to a devoted new audience.   It is a brand that is quickly becoming an empire.

Read Tyler’s entire bio and more at TylerPerry.com.

Enjoy this interview with Tyler as he speaks with CBN about his rise to fame, relationships and marriage.

From SingersRoom.com

BET’s hit reality competition ‘Sunday Best’ is on its way back but, is in serious need of new contestants.

If you are talented and in need of a big break, three fresh audition dates are available to you within the next month.

According to organizers, auditions will begin February 20 in Detroit and conclude March 6 in Philadelphia.

‘Sunday Best’ season three U.S. auditions are open to contestants age 18 and older who have government issued forms of identification.

Doors to each venue will open at 8:00 a.m. and will close at 12 noon. In addition to the coveted title of SUNDAY BEST, the winner of season three will receive prizes from the Ford Motor Company, General Mills and Nationwide Insurance. Other brands integrated into the series include Walgreens, Design Essentials and Unilever’s Degree Brand.

See dates below and visit BET.com for more information.

Auditions:

DETROIT
When: February 20, 8 a.m. – noon
Where: COBO Center, 1 Washington Blvd., Detroit, MI 48226

NEW ORLEANS
When: February 27, 8 a.m. – noon
Where: Ernest M. Morial Convention Center, 900 Convention Center Boulevard
New Orleans, LA 70130-1799

PHILADELPHIA
When: March 6, 8 a.m. – noon
Where: Pennsylvania Convention Center One Convention Center Place
1101 Arch Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107

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