dies

Oct 11 2010

Grammy winning soul singer

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Grammy-winning soul singer Solomon Burke, known for the 1964 hit "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love,'' apparently suffered a heart attack and died on a flight from Los Angeles to Amsterdam on Sunday. He was 70.

Burke, who was due to perform Tuesday in Amsterdam, was declared dead when the plane landed at Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands, according to published reports.

Oct 7 2010

Physical injuries may have contributed to her death

INGLEWOOD, Calif.—A 2-year-old girl who had been staying with family members near Inglewood because her mother is behind bars may have died from physical injuries, the sheriff's department reported today.

Erica Johnson, who lived in the unincorporated Westmont area, "died under suspicious circumstances,'' according to the sheriff's department and coroner.

Deputies went to a home in the 10600 block of Cimarron Street on Wednesday on a call that a child was not breathing, said sheriff's Sgt. Diane Hecht of the Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau.

Cynthia E. Griffin-  |   OW Managing Editor
Sep 30 2010

Artist succumbs

What made the work of internationally known visual artist Varnette Patricia Honeywood so special was that she created images that connected African Americans with their roots.

So, if you saw the image of women in the kitchen hovering around the stove and pressing their hair, or two women whispering to one another sitting on a church pew, you immediately said “I remember that.”

Juliana D. Norwood  |   OW Staff Writer
Sep 30 2010

Black music loses an icon

Richard “Dick” Griffey, an iconic figure in the Black music who went from being a concert promoter to owning his own record label SOLAR (Sounds of Los Angeles Records)—credited for releasing hits such as “Fantastic Voyage” and “Rock Steady”—died Sept. 24, after complications from an earlier quadruple bypass surgery. He was 71.

SOLAR, founded in 1977, became the second largest African American-owned record company in the United States.

Sep 27 2010

Funeral services pending

LOS ANGELES - Funeral services were pending today for actress Gloria Stuart, famed for playing the elder version of Kate Winslet's character Rose in the blockbuster film "Titanic.''

Stuart died Sunday night at age 100 at her West Los Angeles home, her daughter Sylvia Thompson told the Washington Post.

The Santa Monica native was diagnosed five years ago with lung cancer, Thompson said.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.
 

Alabama
Freeman A. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will address the annual African American Business Council luncheon on June 28. Hrabowski, who is chairman of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Education Excellence for African Americans, has a national reputation for his work studying the performance of minority students in math and science. Hrabowski, named one of the 10 best college presidents in the country by Time magazine, was a child leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham in the 1960s.
 

Arkansas
The Liberty Counsel filed a motion and a brief in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas seeking to intervene on behalf of a Concepts of Life crisis pregnancy center to defend against a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The groups seek to impose a permanent injunction before the Human Heartbeat Protection Act goes into effect July 18. Liberty Counsel also filed a brief opposing the ACLU’s request for an injunction. The “Heartbeat” bill states that when a woman seeks an abortion at or after the 12th week, doctors must test for a fetal heartbeat before an abortion is performed and inform the pregnant mother that the child in her womb has a heartbeat. If a heartbeat is detected, a woman cannot have an abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, and if a mother’s life is in danger. “As we promised when the legislation was introduced, Liberty Counsel will defend this law without reservation for the people of Arkansas, born and pre-born,” said Matt Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “No right is more foundational than the right to life. Without life, all other rights are irrelevant,” concluded Staver.