by A.man.I

Presidential hopeful Barack Obama says the government must work to help the global economy. AFP

Could there be a golden age for Black news? Courtland Milloy writes about it in the Washington Post.

The AP is reporting that 45,000 people are dying a month in the Congo. An estimated 5.7 million died between 1998 and 2007 from food shortages and diseases related to the fighting.

by A.man.I

It’s Lorenzo’s first bday party today. This is our first meeting.

by A.man.I

I didn’t get a chance to see the family during the holidays, so I’m making up for it now. I’ll be touching down in the Bay Area tonight.

I’ll be hanging out with Poppa Channel, my brother, sister, and checking my little nephew who turns one.

My brother wrote a little song about the home soils, East Palo Alto. I sometimes wonder if seeing my city on the news all of the time had something to do with my decision to become a journalist. The spot was hot back in the early 90s.

Watch below.

by A.man.I

REMEMBERING KING’S DREAM
Morehouse College has a number of events scheduled to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Tuesday, January 15: Martin Luther King Jr. Candlelight Prayer Vigil
Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel Plaza
6 p.m.

Thursday, January 17: “A King Celebration” with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
Featuring the Morehouse/Spelman Glee Clubs
Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel
8 p.m.
Tickets are $25 for adults (buy one – get one free) and $10 for students
and may be purchased through the ASO website at
www.atlantasymphonyorchestra.org. Tickets may be purchased at King Chapel Ticket Office after 4 p.m. on the day of the event.
Sponsored by Target.

Saturday, January 19: King Campus-Wide Day of Service
“Serving in the Beloved Community”
Martin Luther King Jr. Chapel Plaza
8:30 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Sunday, January 20: Martin Luther King Jr. Worship Service
Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel
Preacher – The Reverend Dr. T. DeWitt Smith Jr.
Pastor, Trinity Baptist Church of Metro Atlanta and President, Progressive National Baptist Convention
11 a.m.

The MLK March Committee presents:
The Martin Luther King Jr. Gospel Concert
Featuring: Dorothy Norwood, Canton Jones ’00 and Damita Hadden
Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel
7 p.m.
Tickets – $10 per person

Thursday, January 24: Martin Luther King Jr. Crown Forum
Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel
Speaker – Dr. Walter Earl Fluker, Executive Director of the Leadership Center at Morehouse College and Interim Director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Collection
11 a.m.
(Open to Morehouse College students, faculty, staff and alumni)

Tuesday, January 29: African American Lives 2 – A journey into the past with Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. interviewing radio and TV personality Tom Joyner
Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel
6:45 p.m.
(Free and open to the public)
Sponsored by The Coca Cola Company in conjunction with The Leadership Center at Morehouse College

PROUD VOTER CAMPAIGN
The Afrophere Action Coalition has begun a Proud Black Voter Movement to encourage people of African descent to vote in 2008.

The ProudBlackVoter blog has been launched with the purpose of informing people about the importance of voting, facilitating voter registration, and encouraging voter participation.

The Afrosphere Action Coalition asks all blogs and websites operated by people of African descent to participate by prominently displaying one of the six Proud Black Voter buttons on their blog or website. The HTML widget reads ‘Proud Black Voter. Join Me Now, Register to Vote’ and can be placed on anyone’s blog or webpage with a link back to the Proud Black Voter blog to obtain information on voter registration, voter rights, and other voting issues.

The Afrophere Action Coalition is a group of Afrosphere bloggers who first rallied around the Jena 6 issue and have since taken actions via the net to bring awareness or to call people to action on various issues.

MICROCHIPS AND ONE WORLD GOV’T

My brother and I were just talking about this the other day.

by A.man.I

If you pick up the January 21 issue of People Magazine, check out page 114 141. Atlanta’s Orrin Hudson has been named “A Hero Among Us.”

Hudson founded BeSomeone Inc., a non-profit that teaches youth life skills through the game of chess. He travels across the country teaching workshops, and has helped thousands of kids.

Hudson told My Urban Report, “It’s an honor to be recogizned by People Magazine.” He said, “Some wait a lifetime for an article like this. I am living my dream.”

The issue of People that features Hudson will be in stores for just a few more days.

by A.man.I

I played photojournalist on the red carpet of the 2008 Trumpet Awards.

Just about everyone was there except Halle Berry who was honored at the event. Word on the red carpet was that her doctor grounded her… but that’s what “they” were saying.

Enjoy the pics.