Gail Choice

Gail Choice  |   OW Contributor
Feb 21 2013

Hollywood by Choice

With all this talk about slavery and “Django: Unchained” we bring into focus writer Alex Haley, the man who dared to write a groundbreaking novel about his ancestors entitled “Roots.”

“Roots,” which originally aired in 1977 on the ABC Network, literally captured the heart and imagination of America and the world. Never before had anything focusing on the subject of slavery ever graced the airwaves with such power and authority as this mini-series.

Gail Choice  |   OW Contributor
Jan 31 2013

Hollywood by Choice

It’s that time of the year again when African American heritage is front and center.

Black History Month is my favorite time of the year. And now Lifetime is apparently making it one of their favorite times of the year, too. Lifetime Network will be presenting three world premiere movies featuring some of Hollywood’s top performers. You’re guaranteed to be entertained, and enlightened.

Gail Choice  |   OW Contributor
Jan 24 2013

Hollywood by Choice

Score one for the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network, and Najee Ali, director of Project Islamic Hope, for their very emotional outcry about the so-called “Django Unchained” slave dolls. On Friday, Jan. 18, the Weinstein Co. announced that it has asked toy maker NECA to discontinue the “Django Unchained” action figure dolls after receiving complaints that the dolls were offensive and trivialized the horrors of slavery.

Gail Choice  |   OW Contributor
Jan 17 2013

Hollywood by Choice

This year’s awards season is upon us, and the sole Black actress nominated is 9-year-old newcomer Quvenzhane Wallis in the Academy Awards Best Actress category for “Beasts of the Southern Wild.” Denzel Washington is nominated Best Actor for his incredible performance in “Flight.”

And on the little screen, Don Cheadle walked away with the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in Showtime’s “House of Lies.”

Gail Choice  |   OW Contributor
Nov 1 2012

Hollywood by Choice

Denzel Washington’s “Flight” lands on the silver screen this weekend and I predict Washington will deliver an Oscar-winning performance in a movie that’s going to have you gripping your armrests, it’s so tense. This is the stuff dreams are truly made of, the kind of role that gets under your skin and you watch every nuance and flicker of the eyelid to see how this brother is going to handle being glorified only to be vilified by the powers that be.

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.