Outkast Greatest Mixes DVD (Trailer)

Today In Black History

On this date in 1966 The African nation of Botswana gained its independence. Botswana borders South Africa to the south and southeast, Namibia to the west and north, and Zimbabwe to the northeast.

Common – Universal Mind Control (Alternate Video)

The Roots – How I Got Over (Video)

30-Day Extension Of Ceasefire In Nigeria

Nigeria's armed group fighting for a greater share of oil wealth has decided to extend a two-month-old ceasefire in the Niger Delta by 30 days but warned that the government needs to give answers fast to keep the peace. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend), with an estimated 10,000-strong force, has been behind deadly attacks on oil installations in Nigeria that have disrupted production. The rebels have also been fighting to drive the army out of certain areas of the Niger Delta and allow displaced people to return to their homes. Numerous attacks by Mend on installations in the Niger Delta in recent years have seriously disrupted the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

Today In Black History

On this date in 1925 B.B. King was born Riley B. King in Itta Bena, Mississippi. King and his guitar have performed so great over the years that he is arguably the most respected, successful, and most recognized bluesman in the world.

Former President Carter Speaks On The Role Of Race In President Obama's Opposition

In a recent interview Former President Jimmy Carter that racial politics played a role in South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson's outburst during President Obama's speech to Congress last week and in some of the opposition the president has faced since taking office. Read the entire story here.

Liberia's Leslie Lumeh Opens The Country's First Art Gallery

Today In Black History - Muhammad Ali

On this date in 1978 Muhammad Ali beat Leon Spinks in the New Orleans Superdome and regained his WBA World Heavyweight Boxing Championship title. With that win Ali became the first three-time heavyweight champion. He also received the UN "Messenger of Peace Award" on this date in 1998.

Q-Tip On Giving Beats To Biggie & Jay-Z

Today In Black History - Bombing In Birmingham

On this date in 1963 Addie Mae Collins, Carol Robertson, Denise McNair, and Cynthia Wesley, were all killed at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL. A bomb which was thrown into the building which caused the structure to collapse and kill the four girls. Robert E. Chambliss, a white supremacist, was later convicted of the racist attack. Thomas E. Blanton and Bobby Frank Cherry were also charged in their deaths on May 17, 2000.

J. Period & K’Naan - The Messengers Episode 3: Bob Dylan

J.Period & K’NAAN are pleased to present the third and final installment of The Messengers tribute to Fela Kuti, Bob Marley & Bob Dylan. Episode #3 celebrates America’s reluctant Civil Rights song leader and poetic voice, Bob Dylan. Dylan’s own struggle with his status as a “Messenger” is well-documented: he shunned the tremendous expectations placed on him during the 60’s, preferring to see himself as a songwriter rather than a social leader. Nevertheless, the impact of his music is undeniable and, over 40 years since Dylan’s arrival, J.Period & K’NAAN set out to show his continued relevance, both socially and musically. On The Messengers #3: Bob Dylan, J.Period remixes and re-invents Dylan’s music for the hip hop generation, while K’NAAN channels Dylan’s poetic voice with heartfelt and compelling lyrics. The result is an unprecedented and truly unique mixtape offering.

Download: J. Period & K’Naan - The Messengers Episode 3: Bob Dylan

Today In Black History - Claude McKay

On this date in 1890 Claude McKay was born in Jamaica. The "Harlem Renaissance" novelist and poet would become the first Black to write a best seller in fiction with his book Home to Harlem in 1928.

Lebron James Interview about More Than A Game Movie & Music (Video)

Flooding In West Africa Is Affecting More Then 600,000 People

Rains and flooding that have been happening since June, are now affecting more than 600,000 people in up to 16 West African nations. The worst hit countries have been Burkina Faso, Senegal, Ghana and Niger. The UN is there but they have not been able to do much thus far. To read more on this story click here.

The Call & The Post Became One In Cleveland

On this date in 1928 The Call and The Post newspapers of Cleveland joined to create The Cleveland Call & Post. Before the merger each paper had been the news keepers for the black communities of Cleveland and its surrounding town since the early 1900's. One of the founding fathers of this paper was the great Garrett Morgan. This paper is the only African-American owned, general circulation newspaper in Cleveland that conforms to the Ohio Revised Code’s definition of a newspaper of general circulation.

Today In Black History - Henry Ossawa Tanner

On this date in 1973 Henry Ossawa Tanner the world-renowned artist, was commemorated on a U.S. postage stamp. Tanner who was born on June 21, 1859 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was an African American artist best known for his paintings of religious subjects, genre scenes, and portraits. He is widely considered the first African American painter to gain international fame and recognition for is outstanding pieces. His work had a great effect on the works of Norman Rockwell and William Edouard Scott. Tanner's most famous work is his painting entitled The Banjo Lesson.His painting Sand Dunes at Sunset, Atlantic City hangs in the Green Room at the White House. This piece was the first painting by an African-American artist to enter the permanent collection of the White House.

The Banjo Lesson- 1893

Sand Dunes at Sunset, Atlantic City - 1885

50 Cent at Howard University (Video)

Today In Black History - Georgia Douglas Johnson

On this date in 1880 Georgia Douglas Johnson was born in Atlanta, Georgia. Johnson was a great poet who is best known for her role during the Harlem Renaissance. Her poems often suggested a feminine sensibility and a feminist awareness, and took up challenges and aspirations of the African-American community. Her weekly "Saturday Salons", for friends and authors, including Langston Hughes, Jean Toomer, Anne Spencer, Richard Bruce Nugent, Alain Locke, Jessie Redmon Fauset,Mary P. Burrill, Countee Cullen, Angelina Weld Grimke and Eulalie Spence. At these open forums, these prominent writers of the Harlem Renaissance would introduce new material and get feed back from the other great writers.

I Want to Die While You Love Me

I WANT to die while you love me,
While yet you hold me fair,
While laughter lies upon my lips
And lights are in my hair.

I want to die while you love me,
And bear to that still bed,
Your kisses turbulent, unspent
To warm me when I’m dead.

I want to die while you love me
Oh, who would care to live
Till love has nothing more to ask
And nothing more to give!

I want to die while you love me
And never, never see
The glory of this perfect day
Grow dim or cease to be.

- Georgia Douglas Johnson

Guinea-Bissau Gets Free Of Portuguese Rule

On this date in 1974 Guinea-Bissau was finally recognized as an independent nation from Portugal after declaring to be one nearly and year earlier. Luís Cabral was appointed the first President of Guinea-Bissau.

Today In Black History - Mordecai Wyatt Johnson

On this date in 1976 Mordecai Johnson died at age 86. Johnson became the first Black president of Howard University when he took that position in 1926 and would hold that title until 1960. Before taking the position at Howard, Johnson served as Professor of Economics and History at Morehouse in Atlanta.

the Cornel West theory | Second Rome Album Release Show

The Cornel West theory will be having their Second Rome album release show September 25 in Washington, D.C., where the special guest will be none other then the group's namesake Dr. Cornel West.

Date: Friday, September 25, 2009
Time: 7:00 pm
Location: Liv - 2001 Eleventh Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001
(Next door to Bohemian Caverns)
Tickets: $10 Buy online

BET's 2009 Black College Tour

This is BET's 8th annual Black College Tour. BET tries to shed some light on HBCUs each year with this tour and have done a great job hitting HBCUs all over the country. This year they will be hitting 14 schools in 9 states. To see the entire list check here.

Luda's Car Give-A-Way In Atlanta

Over the holiday weekend Atlanta rapper Ludacris gave away 20 cars to needy Atlanta area residents as part of his LudaDay Car giveaway. The contest was created by his Ludacris Foundation, which encouraged people to write essays about how they were unable to buy or maintain their vehicles in order to find jobs and get to and from work.

President Obama's Speech To Virgina Students

The President spoke at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia to students on the importance of their education and how their knowledge will lead the country in the future.

Today In Black History... Paul Cuffe

On this date in 1817 Paul Cuffe, merchant, shipbuilder, and Black nationalist, died in Westport, MA. Born as a freed black in 1759 during the French and Indian War on Cuttyhunk Island, Massachusetts, Cuffe helped American Blacks settle in Sierra Leone in a "return to Africa" attempt. Cuffe's father was of the Ashanti tribes in Africa and mother was a Wampanoag, Native American. He also built the first school of Westport, Massachusetts, which was racially integrated.

J.Period & K’Naan - The Messengers ep.2: Bob Marley (Mixtape)

J & K’Naan first showed their love for Fela Kuti, the Nigerian great on episode 1. Now on episode 2 they pay tribute to Jamaica’s king, The Great Late Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley.

Listen/Download: J.Period & K’Naan - The Messengers ep.2: Bob Marley (Mixtape)

Still Sittin' On The Dock Of The Bay...

On this date in 1941 Otis Redding was born in Dawson, GA. He is still considered by many as the "King of Soul Music" and has a tremendous following even in death. His life was cut short at the age of 26 as he died in a plane crash one month before his biggest hit, "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay", was released.

Otis Redding

Carter G. Woodson & The Birth Of The (ASALH)

On this date in 1915 Carter Godwin Woodson, the "Father of Black History," founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History from a idea in a major meeting in Chicago, IL. The (ASALH) was formed on this date in Washington D.C., and happened partially in response to the release of D. W. Griffith's racist film, "The Birth of a Nation" that same year. The (ASALH) was dedicated to using education to fend off racist and erroneous ideas about African American life and history. It was through this organization that he began pressing for a Negro History Week, which eventually became Black History Month.

Its Always Love Like Tennis.

On this date in 1968 Arthur Ashe became the first Black U.S. Open Men's Singles Tennis Champion.

Today In Black History

On this date in 1957 President Dwight Eisenhower passed the first civil rights bill to pass Congress since reconstruction. This bill was primarily a voting right bill. The goal of the 1957 Civil Rights Act was to ensure that all African Americans could exercise their right to vote because as of 1957 only about 20% of all African Americans had registered to vote.

YEBies Birthday... Sonia Sanchez

On this date in 1934 Sonia Sanchez was born Wilsonia Benita Driver in Birmingham, Alabama. Sanchez is a poet most often associated with the Black Arts Movement. Her poems have always depicted the struggles between black people and white people, between men and women, and between cultures. She was innovative in her use of language and structure while sometimes using Black speech in her poetry.

The First To Admit Blacks Into College

Oberlin College was established on this date in 1833 by Presbyterian ministers, and is home to the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Oberlin College which is in Oberlin, Ohio has the distinction as the first college in the United States to regularly admit African-American students in1835.

Aug 30 - Sept 5 Is Proclaimed "National HBCU Week" By President Obama

Earlier this week President Barack Obama made a proclamation that the week of August 30th to September 5th would be national HBCU week. He called up all public officials, educators, and all the people of the United States to observe this week with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities that acknowledge the tremendous contributions these institutions and their graduates have made to our country. Read the entire story at Essence. Also see what the white house is doing for this inaugural week here.

Muhammad Ali Visits Ireland To Connect With Roots

The great Muhammad Ali made a visit to Ireland today to discover more about his Irish roots. While there Ali visited the hometown and house of his great-grandfather Abe Grady. Read the entire stroy here.

J.Period & K’Naan - The Messengers Episode 1: Fela Kuti (Mixtape)

This is the first part of J. Period and K’Naan’s tribute through mixtapes. This mixtapes showcases the great Fela Kuti out of Nigeria.

Download: J.Period & K’Naan - The Messengers Episode 1: Fela Kuti (Mixtape)