Volume XVII Issue I - Circulation..... Plenty!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

In 2010 Pledge to: Be Daring! Dance!

Dream! Be Connected! Find Love!

Create Purpose! Live Abundantly!

KEYMÁH SUPPORTS JEAN

IN SUPPORT OF HAITI

T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh is among the people rallying to support earthquake torn Haiti. You can make a donation through performer Wclef Jean’s www.yele.org - Won’t you help?

T'KEYAH GOES GREEN... GREENTOWN (USA)

T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh joins Blackonomics author James E. Clingman on the advisory board of Greentown-USA Independent Educational System, brainchild of Dr. Donald R. Evans, Sr., Co-Founder of the National Association of Brothers and Sisters In & Out (NABSIO). Plans for the alternative educational complex for troubled Black youth who would otherwise be entangled in the juvenile court system include computer and science labs, dormitories, professional recording studio, and more. Board members include Gail Blackwell, Co-Founder / President of Selah Women’s Ministries, Joyce Ann Brown of Mothers (and Fathers) for the Advancement of Social Systems, Inc. (MASS, Inc.), NABSIO Co-Founder and Executive Director Nathaniel Perkins-Ali and Bishop Luke Edwards who is also donating acres of land in Sumter County, Alabama where the facility will be housed. To fund the project, Evans will launch a national fundraising drive, and ask church leaders to urge their members to donate $1 each quarter. Keymáh recalls Dr. Evans saying, “Sister when I wake up, I ask myself what I can do for my people today?” It looks like Greentown-USA is his latest answer to that question. Contact Dr. Donald R. Evans, Sr. @ 213 247-4189 or Joyce Ann Brown @ 214 -421-0303, Nathaniel Perkins-Ali @ 323 920-7299 or visit www.greentown-usa.org.

BOOKSHELF

One Week Gig by Rufus Curry, Jr. - Chapman Sweet, Jr. works to untangle the mess his life is in. Surrounded by a smorgasbord of feminine opportunities and advisors, the leader of the Chapman Sweet Bank stands in the middle of the crossroads between Heaven and Hell. Three beautiful women tarry in the hall of his desires, waiting for his decision. Desperate measures rise as the sole option, in the quest for one-week gig... Unsigned Hype by Booker T. Mattison - 15-year-old Tory Tyson knows exactly what he wants out of life - a successful music career. So when school lets out next month, he's decided he's going to spend his summer spinning records with his DJ partner at block parties on the weekends in his neighborhood as he starts laying down his own beats and working to launch his career. He knows that New York's Power 97 Unsigned Hype music contest is the perfect place to start - but will he be able to handle the fame and fortune he seeks?

Elder Rose - Kemp - The Lennixes

KUDOS KUDOS KUDOS

KUDOS KUDOS KUDOS

Congratulations to: Elder Amina Fola Rose on her Awakening the D.I.V.A.S. prayer circle; my nephew Jason Walker upon graduation from the University of Montgomery at Auburn, my cousin Arlene Williams from Bellevue University and her son Brandon Williams from Millard H.S.; my cousins Ron ‘Jabar’ and Linda Carter, and my friends Harry and Djena Lennix on their marriages; Dance Theater of Harlem co-founder Arthur Mitchell on his 75^th birthday celebration; Keisha Nickole on her new Monday night open mic poetry jam session (7PM, at BCC House, 3847 S. Giles in Chicago), Verses; Lynora Miller on her return to T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh, Inc.; Jeff Stetson on his new show starring Cynda Williams; and my sister Karen Walker on her first anniversary as Chief Financial Officer of the Chicago Transit Authority - go on girl woman!

IN BLACK WORLD...

The d'Zert Club and The African Genesis Institute are sponsoring a free, all expense paid, trip to Egypt, North Africa for 1000 students nationwide and 500 adult group leaders. The d'Zert Club is a Philadelphia-based, non-profit travel organization specializing in national and international educational field trips for African Americans. The African Genesis Institute is a proactive, 3 semester, educational and cultural program for African American youth between the ages of 7 and 14 focused on developing an understanding and awareness of the African experience in America. Over the 27-month period, students are exposed to ancient African history through bi-monthly classes, seminars and field trips. At the end of the program, the students and group leaders sojourn to Egypt for the Teen Summit 1000 where they examine the land of their ancestors and share their culture and lifestyle with African youth. The trip to Egypt is the graduation reward for those who complete the program, but there is a registration fee. To register, call 1-888-257-5991, email dzertclub@aol.comor visit www.africangenesis.org. (Pictured: sponsors Helen and Ali Sulahuddin)

NATURAL HAIR SPOTLIGHT

Robin Washington, a Chicago auditor, wife and mother details her natural hair transition in a recent edition of the Black Girl With Long Hair Blog http://bglhonline.com/2009/11/now-and-then-robin/. Washington is among the new generation of young women who have said goodbye and good riddance to perms and hot combs and embraced their natural beauty. She is the niece of actress and Natural Woman / Natural Hair author T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh.

KING DAY FILM PREMIER FUNDS CHARITIES

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, The Guest at the Central Park West by Levy Lee Simon premieres on Monday, January 18, 2010 at the Writers Guild Theatre, 135 S. Doheny Dr., Beverly Hills, CA 90211, as a fundraiser for the Multicultural Motion Picture Association educational scholarship fund and the Mastering The Audition Scholarship Fund. Slated to walk the red carpet from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. are: John Marshall Jones (pictured), his The Troop co-stars, Nick Purcell and David Del Rio, Maiara Walsh (Desperate Housewives), Christian Serratos (Twilight), Russell Hornsby, Andre Royo (The Wire, Super), MMPA President Jarvee Hutcherson, Producer Tom Lynch, Harry Lennix, Richard Brooks, Marlon Wayans, George Lazenby, Sally Kirkland, T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh, and Louis Gossett Jr., Press inquiries please email Sondra Litz of Stars For The Stars at asklitz@aol.com or call 323-942-2519. Press check-in at 5:30.

Out and About...

At Verses and the Checkerboard Lounge

The Crystal News respectfully acknowledges the life and transition of: Ben Ali, Betty Allen, Helen Anglin, Bea Arthur, Gertrude Baines, Ernie Barnes, Gloria Bennett, Brother Blue, my cousin Wilma Boudreaux, Anne Brown, Randy Cain, Johnnie Carter, Carole Cole, Hank Crawford, Altovise Davis, Roy Decaravas, Dom DeLuise, my cousin Marjel Doby, Farrah Faucett, John Hope Franklin, E. Lynn Harris, Alaina Reed Hall, Isaac Hayes, Valerie Mims Hernandez, Jessie Hollins, Reverend Ike, Michael Jackson, Eunice W. Johnson, Willie Kings, James Liberty, Eddie Logan, Huey Long, Bernie Mac, Frankie Manning, Judi Ann Mason, Steve McNair, Buddy Montgomery, David “Fathead” Newman, Fayette Pinkney, Andree Layton Roaf, Michael Scott, Gay Iris Parker, my cousin Natalie Puryear, Les Paul, Natasha Richardson, Ave Montague, Soupy Sales, Naomi Sims, Wilbert Tatum, Wayman Tisdale, Mary Travers, Dempsey Travis, Exodus Tyson, Norm Van Lier, Elsie B. Washington, David “Pop” Winans, and Timothy Wright. 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?

Stay tuned... February: T'Keyah goes to FAMU for master classes and a show... March: It’s off to Chicago for a command performance of Orbert Davis’ Hope in Action concert and her own Actors Workshops...