Alynetta Beck's Urban Faith Magazine

1st Annual MLK Oratory & Leadership Award Event Seeks Youth Participation

2012-01-26T07:11:00.000-08:00

Mahogany Ensemble Theatre will present the 1st Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Oratory Competition & Youth Leadership Award on Saturday, February 18, 2012. In commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of Dr. King's final visit to Shreveport, this inaugural event will be hosted by The City of Shreveport.

The purpose of this event is to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the rich Civil Rights heritage in Northwest Louisiana through the art of oratorical presentation, while showcasing the emerging leadership of talented youth in the region.

The 2012 MLK Oratory Competition is open to all students grades 3rd-5th (elementary division), 6th-8th (junior division); 9th-12th (senior division). To enter or for event details, click here. Applications also available on-line at http://www.mahoganyensembletheatre.org/ or at Shreve Memorial Library branches.

The Youth Leadership Award is open to young adults ages 16-21.
To nominate an outstanding young leader, click here.

Early Entry Deadline is Monday, January 30th.
Last Day to enter is Friday, February 3, 2012.

Must-See Film: RedTails

2012-01-25T15:02:00.000-08:00

Darrin Henson Shares "Intimate Thoughts" with Shreveport

2012-01-25T09:24:00.001-08:00

You may remember Darrin Dewitt Henson from his roles in Showtime’s Soul Food the Series or Stomp The Yard, but this choreographer, turned actor is forging a new title, Author.

Darrin Dewitt Henson has shed the skin of Lem Van Adams, the hustler-husband on the hit series “Soul Food.”

Since then, he’s added a few coveted movie roles under his belt, and gave memorable performances in The Express, Stomp the Yard and The Salon, among others.

Art imitates life as Henson portrays a writer in the horror flick, The Inheritance, a film that has been the shining star on the film festival circuit.

The book, Intimate Thoughts, is a collection of just that Intimate Thoughts. According to Darrin this semi-biographical collection, ”describes my life from a poetic perspective.” It’s a collection of poems outlining different points in his life. The purpose is to inspire change in the emotional patterns of people without a voice. It deals with family, political, social and world issues through poems. It’s inspired by people like Hill Harper and Muhammad Ali and others whom he has met along his career journey.

Darrin visted Shreveport recently to share his "Intimate Thoughts."

Darrin Henson at Shreve Memorial Library Atkins Branch

with Assistant Branch Manager Anika Parsons.

Photo by Sherry Hunter.

Darrin at Lane Chapel CME Church

Photo by Amarylis West

Read More about Darrin DeWitt Henson in the Winter Print Issue of Urban Faith Magazine.

Click below to purchase the book.

KOKA & Eddie Giles Wins Stellar Award Radio Station of the Year

2012-01-25T07:29:00.000-08:00

The Light 980 AM KOKA has been honored with a top gospel music award. KOKA, The Light, 980 AM, was named the 2012 Stellar Award Radio Station of the Year in the Small Market category. The 27th annual awards show was held on January 14 in Nashville, TN. KOKA is part of The Radio Group, which is a media partner of KSLA News 12.

The Stellar Awards is the first and only Gospel Music Awards show in the country, honoring Gospel Music Artists, writers, and industry professionals for their contributions to the Gospel Music Industry. The Radio Stations of the Year Ceremony has become an exciting addition to the Stellar Awards weekend, and has grown so popular, that over three hundred persons were turned away due to capacity. After many entries, recommendations and research from the panelists, four finalists were selected. This award was designed to honor those who play a major role in the delivery of Gospel music by helping to foster the steady increase in the demand for gospel music. Radio stations are awarded in categories according to population, Small Market, Medium Market, Large Market and Major Market. Based on KOKA’s Market Impact, we were nominated, and as a result of the votes of the Academy, have now received the title of ‘Best in the Industry.’ This was our fourth consecutive year to be nominated. Each year our program director/music director, Dr. W. Elbert ‘Eddie’ Giles has gone in anticipation of winning the coveted title. Finally this year, our station was dubbed the winner, and the amount of excitement was contagious. The community outreach was cited also as one of the defining attributes that set our station above the others vying for the title. Dr. Giles was also acknowledged for remaining with the same station and same call letters for thirty-nine years. Others nominated in the Small Market category were: WDJL AM, Huntsville, Al, WJNI FM, Charleston, SC and WIMG AM, Trenton, NJ. Hundreds of stations throughout the country long to be recognized by the Stellar Awards Academy, we count it a great blessing to have received this honor four times.

KOKA has remained the gospel leader in Arbitron ratings for twenty two years consecutively, and has on many reports been listed in the top four overall locally. We are grateful to our loyal listeners and our wonderful staff. Since we are streaming on the worldwide web at KOKA.am, we now have increased our listenership worldwide.

The Stellar Gospel Music Awards features all the best that Gospel music has to offer. The Stellar Awards ranks high in status as the only Gospel Music television awards program syndicated in over 140 markets nationwide. Chicago based production company Central City Productions Inc.(CCP) spearheaded by founder, chairman & CEO Don Jackson, has produced the show since its conception in 1985. Please stay tuned for announcements of when this year’s exciting show will air. We remain grateful for this wonderful honor.
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James Fortune to Release New CD

2012-01-14T18:44:00.000-08:00

Popular gospel frontman and artist James Fortune is gearing up for the release of his newest album, Identity, which hits stores on January 17, 2012.

With guest vocal appearances from incredible artists in gospel and mainstream music, including Kim Burrell, Fred Hammond, Monica, Le’Andria Johnson and more, Identity is already being hailed by critics as one of Fortune’s best album to date.

It is also the first album to be released on Fortune’s newly formed independent label, FIYA World Music, which signed a distribution/label services deal with eOne Entertainment/Light Records last year.

Follow James on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MrJamesFortune to stay up-to-date as his album release approaches. And check out this video footage of him in-studio singing “Never Again,” which Fortune is expected to perform live on the 2012 Stellar Awards!

Check out Urban Faith TV for videos from James Fortune.

First Lady Michelle Obama Tired of "Angry Black Woman" Stereotype

2012-01-12T06:39:00.001-08:00

First lady Michelle Obama is challenging assertions she’s forcefully imposed her will on White House aides, saying she’s tired of people portraying her as “some kind of angry black woman.”

Mrs. Obama tells CBS News she hasn’t read New York Times reporter Jodi Kantor’s new book that characterizes her as a behind-the-scenes force in the Executive Mansion, whose strong views often draw her into conflict with President Barack Obama’s top advisers.

“I never read these books,” she told CBS’s Gayle King in an interview broadcast Wednesday. “So I’ve just gotten in the habit of not reading other people’s impressions of people.”

In the book, Mrs. Obama is said to have occasionally bristled at some of the demands and constraints of life in the White House.

In the interview, Mrs. Obama said, “I love this job. It has been a privilege from day one.”

“Now there are challenges,” she added. “If there’s any anxiety that I feel, it’s because I want to make sure that my girls (Malia and Sasha) come out of this on the other end whole.”

The Kantor book portrays a White House where tensions developed between Mrs. Obama and former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel and former press secretary and presidential adviser Robert Gibbs. The book, titled “The Obamas,” describes Mrs. Obama as having gone through an evolution from struggle to fulfillment in her role at the White House, while labeling her an “unrecognized force” in pursuing the president’s goals. Neither the president nor his wife agreed to be interviewed for the book.

“I do care deeply about my husband,” Mrs. Obama said in the CBS appearance. “I am one of his biggest allies. I am one of his biggest confidants.” But she sought to put aside “this notion that I sit in meetings.”

“I guess it’s just more interesting to imagine this conflicted situation here,” she said. “That’s been an image people have tried to paint of me since the day Barack announced, that I’m some kind of angry black woman.”

“There will always be people who don’t like me,” Mrs. Obama added, and said she could live with that.

Mrs. Obama said that she’s “just trying to be me, and I just hope that over time, that people get to know me.”

Asked specifically about an assertion of dissension between herself and Emanuel, now the mayor of Chicago, the first lady said she has “never had a cross word” with him. The same, she said, applies to Gibbs, whom she described as “a good friend, and remains so.”

“I’m sure we could go day to day and find things people wished they didn’t say to each other,” Mrs., Obama said. “And that’s why I don’t read these books. â€¦ It’s a game, in so many ways, that doesn’t fit. Who can write about what I feel? What third person can tell me what I feel?”

Mrs. Obama said that when questions or conflicts arise involving her and the White House staff, her East Wing staff resolves the issue with her husband’s staff in the West Wing.

“If there’s communication that needs to happen, it’s between staffs,” she said. “I don’t have conversations with my husband’s staff.”

Soul Food's Darrin Henson in Shreveport

2012-01-11T17:50:00.000-08:00

January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month

2012-01-11T07:07:00.001-08:00

Throughout the month of October, Shreveport has a ton of events and promotions for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Everywhere one looks you see a pink ribbon symbolizing breast cancer. Now, it is January, the Cervical Cancer Awareness Month. Where are all the cancer advocates? What activities, fundraisers and promotions are being held to make people aware of cervical cancer?

Actually, the United States Congress has designated January as Cervical Health Awareness Month. Its focus is to highlight issues of cervical cancer, HPV disease, and the importance of early detection. It is a time to promote advancements and the ongoing research for prevention, detection and treatment of cervical cancer and HPV. Awareness programs in January help to educate the public to increase education, early detection as well as awareness of the emotional side to this illness.

It should be noted that within the United States approximately 12,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year. Unfortunately, about 4,000 of these women died of their disease. That's a whopping 33% death rate!

According to the National Cervical Cancer Coalition, cervical cancer is preventable. Cervical cancers are caused by specific types of Human Papillomavirus (HPV). It has been found that HPV is a common virus that many women experience if they are sexually active. Research has also lead to screening tests and a vaccination for this problem.

Prevention guidelines include:
Vaccinations, available for female and males, age 9 to 26.
PAP tests for women, beginnng by age 21.
HPV blood tests, given when recommended.

Obama Family Portrait

2012-01-04T13:05:00.001-08:00

President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle, and daughters Malia, 14, and Sasha, 10, sit for this Christmas portrait. They sat for a family portrait in the Oval Office on Dec. 11 after the family returned to the White House following church services.

Queen Latifah & Dolly Parton in 'Joyful Noise'

2012-01-04T12:48:00.000-08:00

Celebrity Health Watch: Nick Cannon Suffers Kidney Failure

2012-01-04T07:28:00.000-08:00

Our prayers go up for Nick Cannon, who has been hospitalized in Aspen, Colorado for mild kidney failure while he and his wife, singer Mariah Carey, were vacationing.

Carey posted a picture (below) on her website of a miserable-looking Cannon in a hospital bed as she lay beside him. She asked for prayers and said Cannon’s situation was “very painful.” She later called it a “serious moment that’s very tough on all of us.”

The pair became the parents of twins –a boy and a girl—last year.

Cannon is 31. His representative had no further information about his condition, but said he is still in the hospital.

Blacks & Kidney Disease

According to BlackDoctor.org, kidney disease results from damage to the nephrons, the tiny structures inside your kidneys that filter blood. Usually, the damage occurs very gradually over the years. It happens in both kidneys. There are no obvious symptoms, so you generally do not know it is happening.

Here are some interesting statistics:

Approximately 20 million Americans have kidney disease.

The number of people diagnosed with kidney disease has double each decade for the last two decades.

African Americans males ages 22-44 are 20 times morel likely to develop kidney failure due tohigh blood pressure than Caucasian males in the same age group.

Forty-five percent of African American men with kidney failure received late referrals to nephrologists. In some cases,many were not aware they had
a problem until they needed
dialysis.

The most common causes of kidney failure are diabetes and high blood pressure.

Diabetes and high blood pressure account for 70 percent of kidney failure in Blacks.

Early kidney disease has no symptoms, and can become kidney failure with little or no warning if left undetected.

Cannon is the host of "America's Got Talent." Howie Mandel, who is a judge on the show, sent Cannon well-wishes via Twitter, posting, "Get well soon buddy."

Fellow judge Sharon Osbourne spoke about Cannon on an episode of "The Talk" on Wednesday. "He is such a naughty, gorgeous boy. He's going to be fine. He's young and strong."

Cannon and Carey were married in April 2008. Their sons, Monroe and Moroccan Scott, were born in April 2011.