This Month Pledge to: Honor Your Ancestors! Learn Something New! Support Black Businesses ! Support Cultural Events! Celebrate Your Freedom! Connect with Your Family! Teach Someone About Your Heritage! Donate or Volunteer to Help Haiti!
This issue of The Crystal News is dedicated to: Louise Gordon and Larry Washington. Aunt Louise was the last of a small group of my grandmother's friends who hovered like angels to help my grandparents raise three of my siblings and me. The cat's meow, her great affection for felines was only surpassed by her kindness to humans... I remember peering across the street at those groovy, pastel suits Larry Washington and the other members of "The Brighter Side of Darkness" wore, posing on his front lawn for a photo session as half the neighborhood proudly watched. Last year Larry came to support a project I was directing. He was singing again and we talked about performing together one day... I am still inspired by the first real "star" I ever knew...
Stage Aurora Gets Colored...


Bronzeville Commemorates National Black HIV/AIDS Day w/ Free Testing & Stage Reading

"...Black people still need to communicate and learn more about the effects of this virus and disease." According to a 2008 report by the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, in Illinois alone, of the new reported AIDS cases approximately 49% were are African American. In Chicago, the result is a staggering 56% of new HIV/AIDS cases. The February 7 event is Free and Open to the Public. Sponsorship is still needed for this event and DONATIONS will be accepted. For more information, please call Keisha Nickole at (888) 228-7790. If you would like to VOLUNTEER please contact LaQuis Harkins n.l.harkins@gmail..com.
DTH Honors NYC Councilman Robert Jackson


Afri-Ware Holds Down the Cultural Fort
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Nommo - libations at Kwanzaa |
Mahalia Leads ART's 10th Season
Amun Ra Theatre (ART) will open their tenth season with Mahalia, A Gospel Musical, by Tom Stolz, from February 25th - March 13 at ART, this a tribute to the late, great gospel warrior who captivated the nation and audiences around the world with her distinctive soulful voice and effervescent delivery. This production will feature ART favorite Vera Warrick (The Colored Museum, Black Nativity) in the title role. ART's 10th Anniversary season also includes: The Old Settler by John Henry Redwood May 13th - May 29th; Jar The Floor by Cheryl West September 16th - October 2nd; and Ain't Misbehavin' by Fats Waller December 2nd - December 18th. This will be the last season to see adult actors domineering ART's stage. The theater plans to transition to one for young performers next year. For Season Passes, Click Here or call (615) 329-4228. Amun Ra Theatre, 2508 Clifton Avenue, Nashville, TN 37209
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Chicago Filmmakers in the Pan
The works of Chicago filmmakers Darryl Pitts and Mark Harris will be among the selections at and at the 19th Annual Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) in Los Angeles February 16-23, 2011. Pitts' Kiss and Tell, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbpEcTw48vM, which made it's West Coast Premiere at an International Service Project fundraiser hosted by the Century City Alumnae and Tau Delta chapters of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, is an uplifting documentary feature narrated by Sheryl Lee Ralph, that highlights the positive images of Black Love on the Big Screen and takes an insightful, poignant and sometimes humorous look at Black Cinema from the actors, directors and producers that have been responsible for their creation.
Harris' Black Butterfly, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKwp-UtCgJM, which premiered in Chicago, tells the story of Ariel Simms, a young woman who overcomes sexual molestation and other obstacles, to focus on her dream of trying out for the US Olympic swim team. Kiss and Tell screens on Mon, Feb 21@3:15pm; Wed, Feb 23@4:30pm. Black Butterfly screens on Tue, Feb 22 @8:40pm and Wed, Feb 23 @4:10pm. Culver Plaza Theaters, 9919 West Washington Blvd, Los Angeles 90232. Children of God starring Margaret Laurena Kemp will screen on Sun, Feb 20 and Mon, Feb 21 (not a Chicago filmmaker, but Ms. Kemp was a Chicagoan for a good while). For tickets to these or any PAFF film or other festival event, Click Here or call (310) 337-4737.
Habitat Salutes La Chanteuse


Television reporter Rochelle Ritchie of WPTV-TV in West Palm Beach, FL let her straightened hair go natural, allowing viewers to see her transformation process. "Making the decision to go natural was not an easy one, especially being a black female reporter," Ritchie said. But "The Big Chop," which she included in a story on women going natural, was both a personal and a ratings success. Speaking of Natural Woman / Natural Hair (we were?) to place a relevant ad in the new edition of the T'Keyah Crystal Keymah's book on natural hair (pictured above), email us.
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Kudos to:

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The Crystal News respectfully acknowledges the life and transition of: Theoni V. Aldredge, Bernadine Dennin, Anne Francis, W. Louise Gordon, Gwen Johnson Magwood, David Kato Kisule, Jack LaLanne, Dorothy Stanley, Gail Summerville, and Larry "Hound Dog" Washington. We are blessed to have known their warm hearts,
bright smiles and good works. We are inspired to follow their brave and noble examples.
Have you hugged someone you love today?
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