Monthly Archives: February 2014
Black History Icon: Muhammed Ali
Muhammad Ali
Fifty years ago today, Muhammad Ali (known at the time as Cassius Clay) became heavyweight champion of the world for the first time when he defeated Sonny Liston in Miami.
The 22-year-old entered the ring as a 7-1 shot, but a shock occurred in the seventh round when Liston threw in the towel.
It was a result that acted as the springboard for a glittering career, which Ali further enhanced with a host of famous quotes.
Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr.; January 17, 1942) is an American former professional boxer, generally considered among the greatest heavyweights in the sport’s history. A controversial and polarizing figure during his early career, Ali is today widely regarded for not only the skills he displayed in the ring but also the values he exemplified outside of it: religious freedom, racial justice and the triumph of principle over expedience.[2][3] He is one of the most recognized sports figures of the past 100 years, crowned “Sportsman of the Century” by Sports Illustrated and “Sports Personality of the Century” by the BBC.[4][5]
Born Cassius Clay, at the age of 22 he won the world heavyweight championship in 1964 from Sonny Liston in a stunning upset. Shortly after that bout, Ali joined the Nation of Islam and changed his name. He subsequently converted to Sunni Islam in 1975.
In 1967, three years after winning the heavyweight title, Ali refused to be conscripted into the U.S. military, citing his religious beliefs and opposition to the Vietnam War. The United States Government declined to recognize him as a conscientious objector, however, because Ali declared that he would fight in a war if directed to do so by Allah or his messenger (Elijah Muhammad). He was eventually arrested and found guilty on draft evasion charges and stripped of his boxing title. He did not fight again for nearly four years—losing a time of peak performance in an athlete’s career. Ali’s appeal worked its way up to the U.S. Supreme Court, where in 1971 his conviction was overturned on a technicality. The Supreme Court held that, since the appeal board gave no reason for the denial of a conscientious objector exemption to petitioner, it was impossible to determine on which of the three grounds offered in the Justice Department’s letter that board had relied.[6] Ali’s actions as a conscientious objector to the war made him an icon for the larger counterculture generation.[7][8]
Ali: The Boxer
Ali remains the only three-time lineal World Heavyweight Champion; he won the title in 1964, 1974, and 1978.
Nicknamed “The Greatest”, Ali was involved in several historic boxing matches.[9] Notable among these were the first Liston fight, three with rival Joe Frazier, and one with George Foreman, where he regained titles he had been stripped of seven years earlier.
Ali revolutionized the sport of boxing by sheer power and magnetism of his personality [10] At a time when most fighters let their managers do the talking, Ali thrived in — and indeed craved — the spotlight, where he was sometimes provocative, frequently outlandish and almost always entertaining.[11][12][13] He controlled most press conferences and interviews, and spoke freely about issues unrelated to boxing.[14][15] He transformed the role and image of the African American athlete in America by his embrace of racial pride and his willingness to antagonize the white establishment in doing so.[16][17][18] In the words of writer Joyce Carol Oates, he was one of the few athletes in any sport to completely “define the terms of his public reputation.”[19]
| Muhammad Ali | |
|---|---|
Muhammad Ali in 1967
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| Statistics | |
| Nickname(s) | The Greatest The People’s Champion The Louisville Lip |
| Rated at | Heavyweight |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)[1] |
| Reach | 80 in (203 cm) |
| Born | (1942-01-17) January 17, 1942 (age 72) Louisville, Kentucky, USA |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 61 |
| Wins | 56 |
| Wins by KO | 37 |
| Losses | 5 |
| Draws | 0 |
| No contests | 0 |
Black Twitter Uses Social Media To Power 21st Century Civil Rights Movement
America never loved us!
That’s how the young activists of the civil rights group The Dream Defenders felt moments after a jury failed to convict Michael Dunn of first degree murder in the death of Jordan Davis. That Dunn will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars for shooting at Davis’ friends meant very little to the Florida-based group — Dunn was not convicted of killing Davis. It was as if the 19-year-old’s life had no value at all.
Because the group has no official office and all volunteers work from home, most members were communicating via cellphone and email over how to respond. Sandra Khalifa, co-communications director of Dream Defenders, was in her Tallahassee apartment coordinating a Twitter strategy, and within an hour, she and a few other staff members created graphics capturing the team’s emotions and tweeted them. #NeverLovedUs was trending a few…
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Motivational Monday 2/24
Live. Leap. Be Fearless.
Stay Focused on Your Goals
In a race, when your focus shifts from the finish line to anything else, it slows you down. It’s impossible to maintain speed and momentum, if you’re constantly looking back. You’ve got to keep your goals, objectives and plans in the forefront of your mind. This will not only reinforce where you’re going, it’ll keep you energized and looking for ways to get there faster.
Be Honest About What You Want or Feel
Once you’ve taken your leap, be on the lookout for signs of trouble: stagnation, frustration, lack of desire and commitment, despair and feeling like you’ve settled for less than you deserve. These are all symptoms of a greater issue: lack of honesty. To truly take a leap successfully, you have to be honest about what you want or feel. If you really hate it or don’t want it, admit it!! This frees you to identify your true desires and preps you to take steps to see them actualized.
Believe in Yourself
Don’t sentence yourself to failure by continually reminding yourself of your flaws, shortcomings, past failures, and lack of perceived accomplishments. You’re stunting your progress before you even have a chance to take a step. Stop it, now! The past is just that, passed. You ARE smart enough, strong enough and courageous enough to cross the finish line. YOU ARE! Start acting like it.
Keep focused, be honest and believe in you!
Entertainment News….
Grammy Award-winning gospel singing duo Mary Mary are the cover girls for JET magazine’s latest issue.
Inside, the ladies talk about their career, their reality television show and, of course, touch on the aftermath of Tina’s recent revelation about her husband’s marital affair.
Tina on her interview with EBONY and what she has learned:
“It almost broke me,” admits the 39-year-old of the backlash received from the feature. “If I knew my real truth when I talked to EBONY I would’ve never told it. I found out what it was while I was taping.”
I still believe in God and love. I will not live in the horrible space of ‘I’m going to fix him’ or ‘I hate men and marriage.’ You do that for a moment and realize it doesn’t undo anything.
Her sister Erica talked more so about their upcoming season of the reality series and what we can expect to see this time around:
“You see our faith shine, but it was not easy at all– and it won’t look easy watching it,” said Erica about the series. “A lot of people will see themselves. There was so much damage and yet still so much work to be done. I learned that every wound doesn’t have to leave a scar that remains for the rest of your life.”
The brand new season of Mary Mary’s self-titled reality show airs on Thursday, February 27th on WeTV.
( PHOTOS: JET MAG )
Entertainment News….
If there’s one actor who has been featured in 2 or more films in one year, it’s definitely funny man Kevin Hart!
Following the Valentine’s Day premiere of About Last Night starring Hart, Michael Ealy, Regina Hall and Joy Bryant, the romantic comedy took on the No. 2 spot on the weekend box office, raking in over $27 million.
Although it was a runner-up to animated The LEGO Movie, About Last Night was forecasted to hold that top spot throughout the holiday weekend and it did exactly that!
Hart’s other film Ride Along with rapper turned actor Ice Cube also made the No. 6 spot with $8.8 million after a 5-weekend run. Congrats to Hart and the cast!
Entertainment News: Meagan Goode/Kelis
TV NEWS: MEAGAN GOOD LANDS NEW ROLE ON NBC SERIES / KELIS TO PREMIERE NEW SHOW ON THE COOKING CHANNEL
Actress Meagan Good is going back to her television acting roots.
This time around the 32 year-old is taking on the role of in NBC’s upcoming zombie drama, Babylon Fields.
She’ll be playing Janine Beltran, a local doctor with an “edge,” who works in the town and eventually takes on these zombies:
In the drama, set in a place called Babylon, NY, the dead are coming back to life, as their bodies regenerate, and they grow stronger than the living, leading to the scary suggestions that they just might be the next step in human evolution. [Source]
Gerald Cuesta and Michael Atkinson will be writing and executive producing with former Dexter director Michael Cuesta for the resurrected series. No word on whether the pilot has been filmed.
Gerald Cuesta and Michael Atkinson will be writing and executive producing with former Dexter director Michael Cuesta for the resurrected series. No word on whether the pilot has been filmed.
– – – – -With her cuisine-themed album, Food, Kelis and her television show are making their way to the Food Network. According to reports:
After years of clever culinary analogies, the R&B singer will finally put her real taste buds to the test on her very own cooking show. Awesomely titled Saucy and Sweet, the new series will highlight her dishes and recipes, and give “an inside look at how she composes food with attitude”. [Source]
Saucy and Sweet is set to premiere on Wednesday, February 26th at 8:30pm ET on the Cooking Channel. As for her anticipated album, Food drops in Spring 2014 on Tuesday, April 21nd via an independent label, Ninja Tune. Check out the promo clip on CookingChannelTV.com!
Music Mixx…..DONDRIA
NEW MUSIC: DONDRIA NICOLE – “COAT TAIL”
From Youtube sensation to So So Def recording artist, singer Dondria Nicole (formerly known as Dondria) is switching up her look and stepping up her sound with her latest effort “Coat Tail.”
Produced by LT-mOE, you’ll find this up-tempo cut on her forthcoming and untitled EP, which drops in Summer 2014. Check it out down below
Music Mixx…Kelly Roland ft Joe
MUSIC VIDEO: JOE ft. KELLY ROWLAND – “LOVE & SEX (PART 2)”
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Joe & Kelly commit to love in new video
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Joe is so classic! Check out his latest video for the single, “Love & Sex (Part 2)” featuring the beautiful Kelly Rowland. The clip was directed by veteran video director Billie Woodruff and is featured on Joe’s 10th studio album, Doubleback: Evolution of R&B. Nice video!
The Evolution! 