STAR!

Jude Demorest, Ryan Destiny and Brittany O'Grady star in Fox's STAR. The Lee Daniels drama is greenlight for eight episodes and it features Queen Latifah and Lenny Kravitz.

Fox greenlights a new Lee Daniels drama called Star. It features the newcomers Jude Demorest, Ryan Destiny and Brittany O'Grady as three young women who want to become singers no matter the price.

Lee Daniels and co-producer Tom Donaghy wrote this drama about a tale of the music business and how it's not all easy for the gifted.

Three newcomers who auditioned for the roles.

Star played by Demorest is a street smart woman who was brought up through the foster care system and decides to take control of her destiny. Star gets in touch with her sister Simone (played by O'Grady) and her best friend from social media Alexandra (played by Destiny) and they take a roadtrip to Atlanta to become superstars.

It also features rapper/singer/actress Queen Latifah as Carlotta Brown, the owner of an Atlanta beauty salon who becomes a surrogate mother to the three young women. She's highly religious and doesn't approve of their musical ambitions.

The series is a backdoor pilot from the hit musical drama Empire.

The series will air during the Empire break and if its a success, we'll see more of Star.

The official premiere will be on January 4th. Are you looking to be the next STAR?

The Wiz Live!

NBC is rolling out a big event for the holiday. The reboot of the famed Broadway show is coming back to the screens with an all-star African American cast. Produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, it will premiere on the network.

Will it be a hit or a flop?

The cast includes Shanice Williams, Ne-Yo, Amber Riley, Elijah Kelley, Common, Mary J. Blige, Queen Latifah, David Alan Grier and Uzo Aduba.

It will premiere on the network on December 3rd.

It's been 40 years since The Wiz. The 1975 Broadway production won seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The musical was an early example of Broadway's mainstream acceptance of works with an all-black cast.

The Broadway show is an urbanized retelling of L. Frank Baum's classic 1900 children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in the context of modern African-American culture.

Stephanie Mills, who once played Dorothy in The Wiz will make a guest star role as Aunt Em.

The musical inspired a motion picture film that featured Diana Ross, Nipsey Russell, Ted Ross, Lena Horne and Michael Jackson. It was viewed as a flop but remains a cult classic among the fans.

ENDA Passed The Senate! House Uncertain!

Congresswoman Krysten Sinema (D-Arizona) is bisexual.

Employment Non Discrimination Act has passed the U.S. Senate. The law will ban employers from discriminating against those who are gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender.

It's the first step in the president's second term agenda. He wanted to get gun control and immigration reform passed quickly. It turns out to be the longest road to victory. He can't even get things done with this inept Congress. His agenda has been stalled by the Republicans in the House of Representatives.

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) is legislation proposed in the United States Congress that would prohibit discrimination in hiring and employment on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity by employers with at least 15 employees.

ENDA has been introduced in every Congress since 1994 except the 109th. Similar legislation has been introduced without passage since 1974.

The bill gained its best chance at passing after the Democratic Party broke twelve years of Republican Congressional rule in the 2006 midterm elections. In 2007, gender identity protections were added to the legislation for the first time. Some sponsors believed that even with a Democratic majority, ENDA did not have enough votes to pass the House of Representatives with transgender inclusion and dropped it from the bill, which passed the House and then died in the Senate. President George W. Bush threatened to veto the measure. LGBT advocacy organizations and the LGBT community were divided over support of the modified bill.

Most Democrats and some Republicans senators endorsed the EDNA.

In 2009, following Democratic gains in the 2008 elections, and after the divisiveness of the 2007 debate, Rep. Barney Frank introduced a transgender-inclusive version of ENDA. He introduced it again in 2011, and Sen. Jeff Merkley introduced it in the Senate. President Barack Obama supports the bill's passage.

If the ENDA was signed to law, it would address cases where gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender employees have been discriminated against by their employers because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Currently, these employees are unable to find protection in the courts because sexual orientation is not considered to be a suspect class by the federal courts and by many U.S. states. Proponents argue that such a law is appropriate in light of the United States Constitution's guarantees of equal protection and due process to all. Advocates argue that homosexuality is not a "choice" but a personal identity, a claim supported by the American Psychology Association (APA), and that all working people have a right to be judged by the quality of their work performance and not by completely unrelated factors.

According to a study published in 2001 by the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law, reports of discrimination based on sexual orientation are roughly equal to those on race or gender.

The APA also states that there is significant discrimination against homosexuals in the workforce.

The Congressional Budget Office in 2002 estimated that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's complaint caseload would rise by 5 to 7% as a result of the proposed law. Assessments of the impact of comparable state policies also show a minimal impact on caseload.

Regarding constitutionality, the act incorporates language similar to that of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which has consistently been upheld by the courts.

Raven-Symoné: I'm Coming Out (For Gay Marriage)!

Entertainer Raven-Symoné acknowledges that she's gay!

The 27-year old actress/singer may have came out the closet!

"Straight out of the A"

ATLANTA, GEORGIA IS THE MECCA OF THE BLACK LGBT COMMUNITY! 

This news has smashed all hopes of every straight man in the country! For me, it's another wow moment!

She is very attractive woman and is the next in line of celebrity shockers.

Raven-Symoné is putting her business on the social networks telling the world that she's "coming out" for gay marriage.

The internet was buzzing about this stuff over the weekend. I happen to click on the news agitating blogs and found out about the former Cosby kid.

The actress was dogged with rumors about being married to an R & B singer, her weight and being pregnant some time ago.

I am certainly sure that she's either coming out as a lesbian or bisexual!

The actress has one child. That's confirmed.

Well wishes to Raven-Symoné and AzMarie Livingston.

I can finally get married! Yay government! So proud of you
— Raven-Symonè (@MissRavenSymone) August 2, 2013

When can humans realize a new and better humanity? #newdreams
— Raven-Symonè (@MissRavenSymone) July 22, 2013

My sexual orientation is mine, and the person I'm datings to know. I'm not one for a public display of my life.
— Raven-Symonè (@MissRavenSymone) May 18, 2012

Actress "comes out".

Raven-Symoné Christina Pearman, (born December 10, 1985), known professionally as Raven-Symoné (pronounced /ˈreɪ.vən sɪˈmoʊn/, as though unaccented), or simply Raven, is an American actress and singer. Raven-Symoné launched her career in 1989 after appearing in The Cosby Show as Olivia. She released her debut album, Here's to New Dreams in 1993; the single, "That's What Little Girls Are Made Of" charted number 68 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
The next album, Undeniable, was released on May 4, 1999.

Raven-Symoné appeared in several successful television series, such as The Cosby Show and Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, in the late 1980s and early 1990s. From 2003 to 2007, she starred in the Disney Channel series, That's So Raven in which she played Raven Baxter, a psychic teenager who tried her best to keep her psychic powers a secret.

During her time on That's So Raven, Raven-Symoné released her third studio album, This is My Time (2004) which was her best selling solo album to date, charting at number 51 on the Billboard 200.

After a year of the end of That's So Raven, she released her fourth studio album, Raven-Symoné (2008).

The album peaked at number 159 on the Billboard 200. During 2003 to 2006, she participated in four soundtracks from Disney, RIAA-certified double-platinum album, The Cheetah Girls (2003), RIAA-certified gold album, That's So Raven (2004), That's So Raven Too! (2006) and RIAA-certified platinum album, The Cheetah Girls 2 (2006).

The soundtracks sold a combined 4.1 million copies in the U.S. alone. As of April 2008, Raven-Symoné has sold 314,000 albums in the United States.

Raven-Symoné transitioned to a film career, starring in several films aimed at young audiences, including Dr. Dolittle (1998), Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001), College Road Trip (2008), and successful television films, including Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century (1999), The Cheetah Girls (2003), its sequel Cheetah Girls 2 (2006), For One Night (2006), Revenge of the Bridesmaids (2010).

Raven has also lent her voice to the animated series Kim Possible, for the character Monique and films such as Disney‘s Tinker Bell.

In 2011, Symoné starred in the short-lived ABC Family comedy series State of Georgia as Georgia Chamberlain, an aspiring actress with a huge ego who moves to New York City to try her hand at an acting career.

In 2012, Raven-Symoné ranked number eight on VH1's "100 Greatest Kid Stars Of All Time" list, and ranked number one on Loop21's "10 Richest Black Actresses Under 40" list.

According to Huffington Post, the rumors were spreading about the actress' sexual orientation.

Raven-Symoné and girlfriend AzMarie Livingston.

In 2012, she posted on Twitter: "My sexual orientation is mine, and the person I'm datings to know. I'm not one for a public display of my life!"

Rumors surrounding Symone's sexual orientation were first ignited by sources who told the National Enquirer that the former "Cosby Show" child star was shacking up with a female love interest -- openly gay "America's Next Top Model" contestant AzMarie Livingston -- in her New York City apartment.

“Raven has hidden being gay for a long time now,” a source told the National Enquirer. “But about a year ago, she was introduced by a friend to AzMarie, who is absolutely gorgeous. The two began seeing each other, and a few months ago, Raven finally got the nerve to ask her to move into her lavish Manhattan condo. When her family found out, they blew their stack and it’s created a gay scandal for Raven."

Despite the Enquirer story, Symone feels no obligation to respond with a definition of her sexual preferences.

"However that is my right as a HUMAN BEing whether straight or gay. To tell or not to tell. As long as I'm not harming anyone," Symone continued via the social networking site.

Raven-Symoné appears on Hollywood Records as a singer.

The Black And Missing Foundation Featured On Nightline!

Don't forget about us!

The talk about the three women who were held captive in Cleveland by Ariel Castro still leaves unanswered questions.

Why did it take so long for the junk food media to cover this?

Even though Gina DeJesus were mentioned by the local Cleveland media, her disappearance was overshadowed by the ongoing coverage of Natalee Holloway.

Michelle Knight and Amanda Berry were mentioned heavily by the local news. Even though Knight was a runaway, she didn't get the amount of coverage Berry gotten. It took over 10 years to find the young women being held in the house of a former bus driver and accused rapist.

Niqui McCowan still missing and the junk food media rarely covers her disappearance.

In my community, we barely get coverage of Niqui McCowan, a Richmond, Indiana woman who went missing after she went to a local laundromat. She was to get married and had family ties in my community.

There are limited leads to the case and people are not giving up hope for her safe return.

A few years back my local junk food media news programs were focused on a Xenia, Ohio woman named Tiffany Tehan, a new mom who was lasted seen in a Dayton, Ohio convenience store with a man. The man was named Tre Hutcherson, a divorce man who fell in love with her and told Tiffany to leave her husband. They've fled to Florida before they were caught by the U.S. Marshals. The woman had to pay a hefty sum for the coverage by local authorities. But to this day they've maintained their love for one another. Tehan divorced her husband and remarried Hutcherson.

Hutcheson and Tehan ended up have a child together. Tehan shares custody of her first child with the ex-husband.

Tiffany Tehan, a runaway married woman took off with her lover. The junk food media covered her disappearance and her marriage to her boyfriend Tre Hutcherson.

That managed to get national attention. And it turned out a happy ending in a negative way though. But still while I can remember the times they've covered Tifanny Tehan, there's times they've never said a word about Niqui McCowan.

Again, we here at Journal de la Reyna send our prayers to families of all missing people. We hope they've find their loved ones. We send our thoughts to the Cleveland women and Tiffany Tehan. We wish them well on their journey.

There a term that's often mentioned by Black journalists, myself and others. It's called Missing White Woman Syndrome. It's a phrase that was started after the junk food media stayed focused on Holloway while a pregnant woman by the name of LaToyia Figueroa got little to no coverage. Her disappearance was overshadowed. The media covered Natalee Holloway about the time Figueroa went missing.

Although I've not been on Wikipedia lately, I can claim credit in creating this page and Missing White Woman Syndrome. In 2005, I was really upset over Loserville ambulance chasers Greta and the Mustached Guy ongoing obsession with this story. They've made this a story more of a movie than an actual missing person case.

I was annoyed with Nancy Grace (Nancy Shrew) and Rita Cosby (Raspy Cosby) always rushing to judgment in this Aruba situation.

LaToyia Figueroa went misisng in 2005. She ended up being killed by her former boyfriend.

The article about LaToyia Figueroa took a life of it's own.

She went missing and was found dead. Her former boyfriend Stephen Poaches was arrested and put in the iron college. Police discovered Figueroa's remains in a grassy, partially wooded lot in Chester, Pennsylvania, located 13 miles south of Philadelphia. They arrested Stephen Poaches, the father of her unborn child, on August 20, more than a month after she was reported missing.

On October 17, 2006, Poaches was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Figueroa and her unborn child.

The disappearance of Figueroa sparked controversy about media coverage because cable news channels, such as CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News Channel, neglected to cover her story in favor of Natalee Holloway, a Caucasian teen missing on the island of Aruba.

Some observers protested that Figueroa's case was similar to the Laci Peterson case (which also covered the same timespan) and thus deserved greater attention, implying that race was a factor in the lack of coverage.

Missing White Woman Syndrome is a phrase coined by social scientists and media commentators to describe the "wall-to-wall coverage" given in media reporting, especially television, to missing person cases involving young, white, upper-middle class women or girls.

Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight in 2013.

The degree of coverage is usually compared with cases concerning a missing male, or missing females of other ethnicity, socioeconomic classes or perceived physical attractiveness.

The actual phrase comes from Sheri Parks, an associate professor at the University of Maryland, who used the term in a 2006 interview with CNN to describe this observed media trend.

On the ABC's Nightline, there's a story about Black & Missing, an organization devoted to finding missing people of color. They work everyday trying to find missing people. They work harder than the junk food media.

It has to be more like an unarmed teenager being shot and killed by a neighborhood watch volunteer to make the junk food media coverage.

Still with the celebration of the three missing Cleveland women and the agony of defeat in the George Zimmerman trial, we must keep an open mind to what happens in America.

The junk food media will always rile us into political action. This Trayvon Martin and Cleveland Three will spark a decision about race.

Hopeful that things will turn out for the better for all the missing people in the world. It's a shame that the media overlooks those people because of a ratings grabbing event.

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Michelle Malkin: Obama's The Party Animal And Chief!

It's funny they got the banter "unhinged" before the ticker. "That Guy Who Helped Obama Win" and the "Turd Flipper" are once again defending the indefensible and attacking the most ridiculous things. They're complaining about President Barack Obama hosting an event in which supporters Justin Timberlake, Al Green, Queen Latifah and Cyndi Lauper are the headliners.

Get some antacid, it's another edition of turd flipping with Michelle Malkin.

Got a new gripe about the president, head over to Fox News and watch "That Guy Who Helped Barack Obama Win" and the Turd Flipper go into this horrible rant about the president hosting an event at White House.

Queen Latifah, Justin Timberlake, Al Green, and Cyndi Lauper are going to be featured on a PBS program that pays tribute to Memphis soul.

Of course, that guy was whining on radio and television about the event and how the American people are locked out of the White House. Ignoring the protocols by the United States Secret Service, that guy claims that the president would rather party while the American people suffer.

The turd flipper had the nerve to call the president and Vice President Joe Biden, the "party animals in chief".

Last week, it was the Breitbart people trying to dig themselves out the hole. They were reporting on Malia and Sasha's spring break in the Bahamas. The conservative media broke tradition by going into the business of the president's children.

Nothing could satisfy the Republicans. Not even the smooth soul of Al Green. 

But since they had no respect for the president, it's expected.

Seriously, are we really worried about the president's vacations and guest at the White House?

Anyways, we're counting the days before we hear the official announcement that Rachel Maddow surpass that guy in ratings. I predict it's going to be in late 2013.

The president, some in his cabinet and a few Democratic senators volunteered to cut a portion of their pay.

Of course, that will not satisfy that guy or the turd flipper.

Also, that guy defended the Rutgers University basketball coach who yelled at his team with hateful rhetoric.

Are you getting tired of the bullhorn rhetoric?

Hip-Hop Singer Reveals Sexuality!

Frank Ocean has been a part of rap group Odd Future for some time. He is a member of Def Jam Records. The rapper/singer has collaborated with the likes of Jay-Z, Kanye West, Eminem and Nas, and also release a EP under the Def Jam imprint.

I guess since President Barack Obama endorsed the notion of gay marriage and embracing the LGBT community fully, it finally comes to head. A political expediency move, but a smart move for a base that was shaky on their support.

The rapper acknowledges his bisexuality on Tumblr and it was obtained through TMZ, a celebrity agitating website.On July 3, 2012, Ocean published an open letter on his Tumblr blog revealing that he had fallen in love with a 19-year-old man in the summer of 2006 (when Ocean was also 19), only to realize, upon confessing his love for him, that the other man was already in a relationship. He used the blog to thank the man for his influence, and also thanked his mother and other friends, saying "I don't know what happens now, and that's alrite (sic). I don't have any secrets I need kept anymore...I feel like a free man.


Tyler the Creator a fellow member of the rap group came under fire when he went after closeted rappers such as Queen Latifah and MC Lyte. The rapper has recanted his comments.

Hip-Hop music is a controversial art. Many figure that the entertainers promote violence, misogyny, reckless spending, and homophobia. 


Since the Black community is slowly warming up to the LGBT community, I guess this will be the first of many. Also, I posted that Queen Latifah "came out" at a pride festival in California. I guess the confirmation was shot down by Latifah herself. But the media already knows what's up with her!


Courtesy of YouTube.







ANDERSON COOPER COMES OUT


The CNN anchor for years hid his sexuality. The journalist went to The Daily Beast writer Andrew Sullivan to admit to the world that he's gay.

The Tyler Clementi incident in which the Rutgers University student committed suicide after his roommate Dharui Ravi videotaped the incident and embarrass the inspiring violinist brought great concern in the LGBT community. Many activists were frustrated with the relentless bullying from homophobic Americans.


In a email to Andrew Sullivan, Cooper acknowledges that he's open about his relationship and wants to be a motivating voice to those who are bullied based on sexuality.


Anderson Cooper being the host of a daytime talk show, contributor to CBS News and his own CNN program, was a well to do person. Being the stable of the CNN, Cooper host the Republican debates, traveled to struggling nations, and kept his word on helping the citizens of New Orleans. 


He and his rumor boyfriend adopted a Haitian child in 2010. His contributions came right after the devastating earthquake that killed 300,000 in the nation of Haiti.


Cooper comes out after Jim Parsons, actor on The Big Bang Theory revealed he was gay this year as well. 


This is a growing movement. Change is coming and we must adapt to it! I endorse the rights of the LGBT community.


Courtesy of CNN

Queen Latifah Comes Rapping Out The Closet!

                                       
After years of speculation, it was reported by SOHH.com, that the legendary female rapper/singer and actress is publicly gay.

Queen Latifah, born Dana Owens, 42 is out of the rap booth [closet].

At an GLBT event in Long Beach, California, the rapper performed to a large crowd of her supporters and stated her "love for her people!"

The news comes in play with President Barack Obama's endorsement of gay marriage. Another legendary rapper, Jay-Z supported the decision for the president to acknowledge equal rights for all Americans.

Actor Jim Parsons, best known for playing Sheldon off the hit comedy Big Bang Theory also acknowledged he was gay.

The sign is changing in the direction of the GLBT community. It's was also reported that Blacks slightly now endorse gay marriage.

Hey, it doesn't bother me that GLBT wants to marry. They want to live productive lives. So be it.

Courtesy of YouTube