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Top 10 Favorite Songs by Whitney Houston

Leon Shepherd — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 04:00:11 +0000

Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American recording artist, actress, producer, and model. In 2009, the Guinness World Records cited her as the most-awarded female act of all-time. Houston was one of the world’s best-selling music artists, having sold over 170 million albums, singles and videos worldwide. She released seven studio albums and three movie soundtrack albums, all of which have diamond, multi-platinum, platinum or gold certification.

Houston was the most awarded female artist of all time, according to Guinness World Records, with two Emmy Awards, six Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among a total of 415 career awards as of 2010.

Below, you will find my “Top 10 Favorite Songs” by Whitney Houston.

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10. “I’m Your Baby Tonight” (1990)

“I’m Your Baby Tonight” is the lead single and title track from Whitney Houston’s third studio album of the same name. The song was written and produced by L.A. Reid and Babyface, and was Houston’s eighth number one hit on the pop charts.

Click on link to hear song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdSNyYxPAd4__________________________________________________

9. ”How Will I Know” (1985)

“How Will I Know” was originally written for Janet Jackson, who passed on it. The song helped demonstrate Whitney Houston’s cross format appeal becoming a major R&B, dance, and adult contemporary hit as well as pop. This was Houston’s second No. 1 pop hit spending two weeks at the top. Click on link to song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiJ_2zQYUFg

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8. “Exhale (Shoop Shoop)” (1995)

Exhale (Shoop Shoop)” is featured on the soundtrack for the film Waiting to Exhale. The song was written and produced by Babyface. A mid-tempo R&B ballad, composed in the key of C major, the song’s lyrics speaks about growing up and learning to let go. The song garnered mostly positive reviews from critics, many of whom noted Houston’s vocal maturity in the song. It was also Houston’s eleventh (and final) number one single. Click on link to hear song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrTuV4Szxzo

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7. “The Greatest Love of All” (1966)

“Greatest Love Of All” was originally recorded by George Benson for the soundtrack to the film The Greatest about Muhammad Ali. The song received critical acclaim and became a big hit, topping the charts in Australia, Canada and the US, while reaching the top 20 in most countries, including Italy, Sweden and UK. It remains her third biggest US hit, after “I Will Always Love You ” and “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)”. To hear song, click on link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYzlVDlE72w

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6. “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)” (1987)

The song won the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 30th Grammy Awards, and in later years received better reviews, being considered a 1980s gem. The single was a commercial success, topping the charts in 13 countries including Australia, Germany and the UK. In the US, it became her fourth consecutive number one single, selling over one million copies. To hear song, click on link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eH3giaIzONA

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5. So Emotional (1987)

This song became Whitney Houston’s sixth consecutive No. 1 hit tying her with the Beatles and Bee Gees. She later broke the record. The song would go on and finish as the sixth best selling song of the year and the fourth most played in clubs; it is her sixth biggest hit on the Hot 100 billboard chart. Cilck on link to hear song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YjSHbA6HQQ

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4. “You Give God Love” (1985)

The release of “You Give Good Love” was designed to give Houston a noticeable position within the black music market first. The song topped the Billboard Hot Black Singles chart, but it also made an unexpected crossover pop hit, peaking at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song won a Grammy award Favorite Soul/R&B Single. Click on link to hear song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gcIttOVTTk

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3. “The Star Spangled Banner” (1991)

Whitney Houston performed “The Star Spangled Banner” at Super Bowl XXV, in 1991. Being the national anthem of the United States, Whitney’s recording became a symbol of fund raising, donations, and American pride. The video of Houston shows her flawlessly performing the national anthem. After September 11, 2001, Houston’s recording of the anthem was re-released and reached number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. Click on link to hear song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wupsPg5H6aE&feature=related

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2. “Saving All My Love For You” (1985)

This song was originally recorded by Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. This song — which dealt with loving a married or taken man — was Houston’s first #1 hit in 1985 and won her a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal performance. Click on link to hear song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewxmv2tyeRs

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1. “I Will Always Love You” (1992)

“I Will Always Love You,” is one of the greatest vocal performances of a female in the history of recorded music. This song from “The Bodyguard” became one of the biggest pop hit singles of all time spending 14 weeks at the top of the chart and selling 12 million copies worldwide. It is also the most successful song of all time by a female. The song was written and originally recorded by country music star Dolly Parton. Houston’s remake not only won her a Grammy for Best Female Vocal, but also for Record of the Year and Album of the Year. Click on link to hear song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPHCThqqt0s&feature=related

Top 10 Black Magazines

Leon Shepherd — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 06:15:24 +0000

This list features my “Top 10 Favorite Black Magazines”. The list was compiled and ranked based on popularity, longevity, content, and the ability to reach its target audience. Some of the magazines listed will appeal more to males than females, and vice versa. However, all the magazines have a certain appeal to them. Whether its news, music, sports, entertainment, business, etc., these magazines are to be commended for their outstanding job of serving African Americans of all ages, gender, and lifestyles.

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10. Vibe

Vibe is a music and entertainment magazine founded by producer Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip-hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. The magazine’s target demographic is predominantly young, urban followers of hip-hop culture. To subscribe: www.vibe.com

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9. Sister 2 Sister

Sister 2 Sister is a black entertainment magazine that covers celebrity events, interviews with interesting people, and personal achievement features. The magazine also provides news on beauty products, fashion, and music reviews. To subscribe: www.s2smagazine.com

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8. Right On!

Right On! Magazine is the voice of the hip-hop generation. Each monthly issue delivers the best in black entertainment, fashion and beauty, plus the latest information on your favorite celebrities and the hottest interviews and profiles of today’s biggest stars. To subscribe: www.rightonmag.com

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7. Black Women

Today’s Black Women is a lifestyle magazine for African American Women that speaks to her unique lifestyle. Whether its love, sex, relationships, career, health, money, fashion and beauty or other timely information about her and her world, Today’s Black Woman is there! To subscribe: www.todaysblackwoman.com

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6. Black Men

Black Men Magazine is a publication for the African American male ranging from age 25 to 49. Each issue includes interesting profiles of leaders in the African-American community, features and editorials from the top African-American journalists and relevant articles about black society in general. This magazine also includes a mixture of sex and relationship articles, sports news, business & finance, grooming, community news, and trivia that combine to make Black Men Magazine all that it is. To susbcribe: www.blackmenpub.com

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5. Upscale

Upscale is a magazine for sophisticated and successful African-Americans. The magazine celebrates black culture while informing and entertaining its readers with compelling profiles and articles about travel, health and fitness, beauty and fashion, business, relationships, and more. To subscribe: www.upscalemagazine.com

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4. Essence

Essence Magazine delivers the latest information on fashion and beauty, career and educational opportunities, investing and money management, health and fitness, home decorating, parenting, food and travel as well as cultural reviews. Each issue is dedicated to delivering the inspiration and information a black woman needs to live a healthy and meaningful life. Essence is the magazine for today’s African American woman. To subscribe: www.essence.com

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3. Black Enterprise

Black Enterprise examines personal finance, as well as money and career management. This magazine serves to seek out, analyze and disseminate information that is helpful, and provides a forum for the ideas, ambitions and expressions of African American business people. Black Enterprise Magazine is a business publication for African-American professionals, entrepreneurs, and executives. To subscribe: www.blackenterprise.com

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2. Jet

Jet Magazine deals with news, sports, fashion, education, black history, entertainment, business, society, religion and African affairs. Founded in 1951 by John H. Johnson, Jet is notable for its role in chronicling the early days of the American Civil Rights movement from its earliest years including coverage of the Emmett Till murder, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and Martin Luther King, Jr. To subscribe: www.jetmag.com

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1. Ebony

Ebony Magazine reaches more black women, men, professionals, teenagers and consumers than any other magazine. Each issue includes topics on education, history, politics, business, art, literature, sports, civil rights, personalities, entertainment, music and social events. Some of the featured sections inside Ebony are fashion fair, date with a dish, speaking of people, sounding off, ebony book shelf, photo-editorial and house call. Ebony is the ultimate magazine for sophisticated black men and women. To subscribe: www.ebony.com

Top 10 Favorite Movie Villains

Leon Shepherd — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 07:56:37 +0000

This “Top 10 List” features my favorite movie villains/bad guys of all time. This list of fictitcious villains are played by several well-known actors as well as some lesser known actors. The list also includes clips of most of the actors in their memorable performances. So, without further ado, let the top 10 debate begin.

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10. “Deebo,” played by Tiny Lister – Movie: Friday

Click on link to view clip featuring Debo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFJThMDLYM4

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9. “Sho Nuff,” played by Julius Carey – Movie: The Last Dragon

Click on link to view clip featuring Sho-nuff: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylCvCwn9OG8

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8. “Big Red,” played by Hawthorne James – Movie: The Five Heartbeats

Clip unavailable

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7. “Clubber Lang,” played by Mr.T – Movie: Rocky lll

Click on link to view clip featuring Clubber Lang: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJnKm6ftPu0&feature=related

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6. “Mary,” played by Mo‘Nique – Movie: Precious

Click on link to view clip featuring Mary: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gp3oq9s4ar0&feature=related

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5. “Alonzo,” played by Denzel Washington – Movie: Training Day

Clip on link to view clip featuring Alonzo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGJ7Ct6LHs8

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4. ” Bishop,” played by Tupac Shukur – Movie: Juice

Click on link to view clip featuring Bishop: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RckImxcUQpI&feature=related

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3. ” O’ Dog,” played by Larenz Tate – Movie: Menace 2 Society

Clink on link to view clip featuring O’Dog: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vfzqzo31zag

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2. “Jules Winnfield,” played by Samuel L. Jackson – Movie: Pulp Fiction

Click on link to view clip featuring Jules Winnfield: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPHuE5pDlEs

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1. “Nino Brown,” played by Wesley Snipes – Movie: New Jack City

Click on link to view clip featuring Nino Brown: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6L7uowUEXc&NR=1

Top 10 Historical Moments in Black History

Leon Shepherd — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 01:34:52 +0000

As we celebrate Black History Month, I want to take some time to reflect on the great moments of our history. And what a history we have! There have been so many African Americans who risked and gave their lives in the fight for justice and equality that I felt obligated to give them the recognition they so rightly deserve. Some of these memorable moments were made individually, while some were made collectively. But they all had one goal, to fight for our civil rights and to make this world a better place to live. So, in honor of those who paved the way for a better life for us, as well as those who made ground-breaking history, here’s my list of the Top Ten Historical Moments in Black History.

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10.Emancipation Proclamation.

The Emancipation Proclamation consists of two executive orders issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War. The first one, issued September 22, 1862, declared the freedom of all slaves in any state of the Confederate States of America that did not return to Union control by January 1, 1863. The second order, issued January 1, 1863, named ten specific states where it would apply. Lincoln issued the Executive Order by his authority as “Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy” under Article II, section 2 of the United States Constitution. The Emancipation Proclamation was criticized at the time for freeing only the slaves over which the Union had no power. Although most slaves were not freed immediately, the Proclamation brought freedom to thousands of slaves the day it went into effect in parts of nine of the ten states to which it applied (Texas being the exception). Additionally, the Proclamation provided the legal framework for the emancipation of nearly all four million slaves as the Union armies advanced, and committed the Union to ending slavery, which was a controversial decision even in the North.

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9. The Voting Rights Act

The National Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawed discriminatory voting practices that had been responsible for the widespread disenfranchisement of African Americans in the United States. Echoing the language of the 15th Amendment, the Act prohibited states from imposing any “voting qualification or prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice, or procedure … to deny or abridge the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race or color.” Specifically, Congress intended the Act to outlaw the practice of requiring otherwise qualified voters to pass literacy tests in order to register to vote, a principal means by which Southern states had prevented African-Americans from exercising the franchise. The Act was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson, a Democrat, who had earlier signed the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law.

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8. Bloody Sunday.

The Selma to Montgomery marches were three marches in 1965 that marked the political and emotional peak of the American Civil Rights Movement. They were the culmination of the voting rights movement in Selma, Alabama, launched by Amelia Boynton and her husband. Boynton brought many prominent leaders of the American Civil Rights Movement to Selma, including James Bevel, who initiated and organized the march; Martin Luther King, Jr.; and Hosea Williams. The first march took place on March 8, 1965 — “Bloody Sunday” — when 600 civil rights marchers were attacked by state and local police with billy clubs and tear gas. The second march took place on March 9. Only the third march, which began on March 21 and lasted five days, made it to Montgomery, 54 miles (87 km) away. This day will forever be known as Bloody Sunday, as policed forced the peaceful marchers to turn around and head back to Selma, they used tear gas and clubs to harm these peace marchers. African Americans were in a struggle to get voting rights listed in the United States Constitution, in Alabama half of the population were African Americans and only one percent of them were registered voters. The route is memorialized as the Selma To Montgomery Voting Rights Trail, a U.S. National Historic Trail.

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7. Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a landmark piece of legislation in the United States that extended voting rights and outlawed racial segregation in schools, at the workplace and by facilities that served the general public (“public accommodations”). Once the Act was implemented, its effects were far reaching and had tremendous long-term impacts on the whole country. It prohibited discrimination in public facilities, in government, and in employment, invalidating the Jim Crow laws in the southern U.S. It became illegal to compel segregation of the races in schools, housing, or hiring. Powers given to enforce the act were initially weak, but were supplemented during later years. Congress asserted its authority to legislate under several different parts of the United States Constitution, principally its power to regulate interstate commerce under Article One (section 8), its duty to guarantee all citizens equal protection of the laws under the Fourteenth Amendment and its duty to protect voting rights under the Fifteenth Amendment.

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6. Montgomery Bus Boycott.

The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a political and social protest campaign started in 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, USA, intended to oppose the city’s policy of racial segregation on its public transit system. Many historically significant figures of the civil rights movement were involved in the boycott, including Martin Luther King, Jr., Ralph Abernathy, and others, as listed below. The boycott resulted in a crippling financial deficit for the Montgomery public transit system, because the city’s black population who were the drivers of the boycott were also the bulk of the system’s ridership. The ensuing struggle lasted from December 1, 1955, when Rosa Parks, an African American woman, was arrested for refusing to surrender her seat to a white person, to December 20, 1956 when a federal ruling took effect, and led to a United States Supreme Court decision that declared the Alabama and Montgomery laws requiring segregated buses to be unconstitutional.

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5. Brown v. Board of Education

Brown verses Board of Education of Topeka, (1954), was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students denied black children equal educational opportunities. The decision overturned earlier rulings going back to Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896. Handed down on May 17, 1954, the Warren Court’s unanimous (9–0) decision stated that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.” As a result, racial segregation was ruled a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. This victory paved the way for integration and the civil rights movement.

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4. Jesse Owens, 1936 Summer Olympics.

James Cleveland “Jesse” Owens (September 12, 1913 – March 31, 1980) was an American track and field athlete. In 1936, Owens arrived in Berlin to compete for the United States in the Summer Olympics. Adolf Hitler was using the games to show the world a resurgent Nazi Germany. He and other government officials had high hopes German athletes would dominate the games with victories. Meanwhile, Nazi propaganda promoted concepts of “Aryan racial superiority” and depicted ethnic Africans as inferior. Owens surprised many and showed the fallacies of racial supremacy by winning four gold medals and achieving international fame. On August 3, 1936 he won the 100m sprint, defeating Ralph Metcalfe; on August 4, the long jump; on August 5, the 200m sprint; and, after he was added to the 4 x 100 m relay team, his fourth on August 9. Just before the competitions Owens was visited in the Olympic village by Adi Dassler, the founder of Adidas. He persuaded Owens to use Adidas shoes and it was the first sponsorship for a male African-American athlete.

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3. Jackie Robinson, broke baseball’s color barrier.

Jack Roosevelt “Jackie” Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was the first African American Major League Baseball player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. As the first black man to openly play in the major leagues since the 1880s, he was instrumental in bringing an end to racial segregation in professional baseball, which had relegated African-Americans to the Negro leagues for six decades. The example of his character and unquestionable talent challenged the traditional basis of segregation, which then marked many other aspects of American life, and contributed significantly to the Civil Rights Movement. Apart from his cultural impact, Robinson had an exceptional baseball career. Over ten seasons, he played in six World Series and contributed to the Dodgers’ 1955 World Championship. He was selected for six consecutive All-Star Games from 1949 to 1954, was the recipient of the MLB Rookie of the Year Award in 1947, and won the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 1949 – the first black player so honored. Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962. In 1997, Major League Baseball retired his uniform number, 42, across all major league teams.

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2.March on Washington, 1963.

Martin Luther King, Jr., was among the leaders of the so-called “Big Six” civil rights organizations who were instrumental in the organization of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, which took place on August 28, 1963. The march originally was conceived as an event to dramatize the desperate condition of blacks in the southern United States and a very public opportunity to place organizers’ concerns and grievances squarely before the seat of power in the nation’s capital. Organizers intended to excoriate and then challenge the federal government for its failure to safeguard the civil rights and physical safety of civil rights workers and blacks, generally, in the South. However, the group acquiesced to presidential pressure and influence, and the event ultimately took on a far less strident tone. As a result, some civil rights activists felt it presented an inaccurate, sanitized pageant of racial harmony; Malcolm X called it the “Farce on Washington,” and members of the Nation of Islam were not permitted to attend the march. King is perhaps most famous for his “I Have a Dream” speech, given in front of the Lincoln Memorial during the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The march did, however, make specific demands: an end to racial segregation in public school; meaningful civil rights legislation, including a law prohibiting racial discrimination in employment; protection of civil rights workers from police brutality; a $2 minimum wage for all workers; and self-government for Washington, D.C., then governed by congressional committee. Despite tensions, the march was a resounding success. More than a quarter million people of diverse ethnicities attended the event, sprawling from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial onto the National Mall and around the reflecting pool. At the time, it was the largest gathering of protesters in Washington’s history. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech electrified the crowd. It is regarded as one of the finest speeches in the history of American oratory.

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1. Barak Obama, first African American President.

Barak Hussein Obama II ( born August 4, 1961) is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as the junior United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned after his election to the presidency in November 2008. Obama is a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he was the president of the Harvard Law Review. He was a community organizer in Chicago before earning his law degree. He worked as a civil rights attorney in Chicago and taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004. Obama served three terms in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004. Following an unsuccessful bid for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000, he ran for United States Senate in 2004. Several events brought him to national attention during the campaign, including his victory in the March 2004 Democratic primary election for the United States Senator from Illinois and his prime-time televised keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in July 2004. He won election to the U.S. Senate in November 2004. Obama’s presidential campaign began in February 2007, and after a close campaign in the 2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries against Hillary Rodham Clinton, he won his party’s nomination. In the 2008 general election, he defeated Republican nominee John McCain and was inaugurated as president on January 20, 2009. Obama is also the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

Top 10 Black Inventors

Leon Shepherd — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 05:50:24 +0000

Throughout history African American inventors have overcome incredible odds including racism, discrimination, and bigotry to make numerous contributions to our country. In honor of Black History Month, I’ve compiled a list of who I think are the greatest Black Inventors of all time. I look forward to your thoughts, opinions and comments.

10. Lonnie G. Johnson 1949 –

Invented: The Super Soaker
Lonnie G. Johnson was born in Mobile, Alabama on October 6, 1949. He is best known for the invention of the world famous water gun, the Super Soaker. The Super Soaker gun was the top-selling toy in the United States in 1991 and 1992 and has generated over 1 billion dollars in sales. Recently Johnson’s company came out with a Nerf ball toy gun.

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9. Madam C.J. Walker 1867 – 1919

Invented: Beauty & Hair products for black women
Madam C.J. Walker, born Sarah Breedlove, was an African American business woman, hair care entrepreneur and philanthropist. In 1906 she married Charles Joseph Walker, and changed her name from Sarah Breedlove to Madam C.J. Walker.
Her fortune was made by developing and marketing a hugely successful line of beauty and hair products for black women, under the company she founded Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company. By 1917 she had the largest business in the United States owned by a black person.
The Guinness Book of Records cites Walker as the first female who became a millionaire by her own achievements.

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8. Jan Ernst Matzeliger: 1852-1889

Invented: Shoe-making machine
Jan Ernst Matzeliger was an African American inventor in the shoe industry. Matzeliger was born in Paramaribo (then Dutch Guyana, now Suriname). His father was a Dutch engineer and his mother a black Surinamese slave. He had some interest in mechanics in his native country, but his efforts at inventing a shoe-lasting machine began in the United States after a life of working in a machinery shop. He settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at 19 after working as a sailor. By 1877 he spoke adequate English and had moved to Massachusetts. After five years of work he patented his invention in 1883. His machine would speed up the production of shoes considerably. Previously, working by hand, one could produce 50 pairs of shoes a day, but his machine could produce between 150 to 700 pairs of shoes a day. His shoe-lasting machine also cut the shoe prices across the nation in half. Because of his early death from tuberculosis, he never saw the full profit of his invention. In recognition of his accomplishment he was honored on a postage stamp on September 15, 1991.

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7. Dr. Patricia E. Bath 1949 –

Invented: A device designed to help remove cataracts
Patricia Era Bath is an ophthalmologist credited as the first African American woman doctor to receive a patent for a medical purpose. Bath received the patent in 1988 for an “Apparatus for ablating and removing cataract lenses”, a version of a device designed to help remove cataracts with a fiber-optic laser.
Bath graduated with a baccalaureate degree from Hunter College in 1964, then from Howard University School of Medicine in 1968. She was the first female ophthalmologist at UCLA’s prestigious Jules Stein Eye Institute and the first female African American surgeon at the UCLA Medical Center.
Bath was also instrumental in bringing ophthalmic surgical services to Harlem Hospital’s Eye Clinic, which did not perform eye surgery in 1968. She persuaded her professors at Columbia to operate on blind patients for free, and she volunteered as an assistant surgeon. The first major eye operation at Harlem Hospital was performed in 1970 as a result of her efforts.

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6. Lewis Latimore 1848-1928

Invented: Long life light bulb
Lewis Howard Latimer was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts in 1848. He was an African American inventor and draftsman. Even though Thomas Edison was the inventor of the light bulb, it was Lewis Latimer that took the light bulb to the next level. The original light bulb by Edison only lasted a few days. Latimer set out to improve the life of the bulb by encasing the filament within a cardboard envelop which prevented the carbon from breaking and thereby provided a much longer life to the bulb and hence made the bulbs less expensive and more efficient. This enabled electric lighting to be installed in homes and throughout streets. In addition to working with Thomas Edison, Latimer also worked with Alexander Graham Bell and drafted the necessary drawings required to receive a patent for Bell’s telephone.

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5. Garrett Morgan 1877 – 1963

Invented: The gas mask & the first traffic signal
Garrett Augustus Morgan, Sr. (March 4, 1877 – August 27, 1963) was an African American inventor who originated a respiratory protective hood (similar to the modern gas masks), invented a hair-straightening preparation, and patented a type of traffic signal. He is renowned for a heroic rescue in which he used his hood to save workers trapped in a tunnel system filled with fumes. He is also credited as the first African-American in Cleveland to own an automobile.

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4. Otis Boykin 1920 – 1982

Invented: Control unit for the pacemaker
Otis Frank Boykin (1920-1982) was an African American inventor and engineer. Boykin in his lifetime, ultimately invented more than 25 electronic devices. One of his early inventions was an improved electrical resistor for computers, radios, televisions and an assortment of other electronic devices. Other notable inventions include a variable resistor used in guided missiles and small component thick-film resistors for computers. Boykin’s most famous invention was likely a control unit for the artificial heart pacemaker. The device essentially uses electrical impulses to maintain a regular heartbeat. Boykin himself died of heart failure in 1982.

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3. Granville Woods 1856 – 1910

Invented: A train-to-station communicating system
Granville T. Woods was an African American inventor who developed several improvements to the railroad system, and was referred to by some as the “Black Edison”. In 1885, Woods patented an apparatus which was a combination of a telephone and a telegraph. The device, which he called “telegraphony”, would allow a telegraph station to send voice and telegraph messages over a single wire. The device was so successful, that he later sold the rights to this device to the American Bell Telephone Company. In 1887, Woods developed his most important invention to date – a device he called Synchronous Multiplex Railway Telegraph. A variation of the “induction telegraph,” it allowed for messages to be sent from moving trains and railway stations. By allowing dispatchers to know the location of each train, it provided for greater safety and a decrease in railway accidents. Over the course of his life time Granville Woods would obtain more than 50 patents for inventions including an automatic brake and an egg incubator and for improvements to other inventions such as safety circuits, telegraph, telephone, and phonograph.

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2. Elijah McCoy 1843 – 1929

Invented: Oil dripping cup for trains
Elijah J. McCoy was an African Canadian inventor and engineer, known for his many U.S. patents. In a home-based machine shop in Ypsilanti, Michigan, McCoy invented an automatic lubricator for oiling the steam engines of locomotives and boats. For this he obtained his first patent, “Improvement in Lubricators for Steam-Engines” on July 23, 1872. McCoy continued to refine his devices and design new ones, and after the turn of the century attracted notice among his African-American contemporaries. Booker T. Washington in Story of the Negro (1909) recognized him as having produced more patents than any other black inventor up to that time. This output ultimately propelled McCoy to a heroic status in the African American community which has persisted to this day. He continued to invent until late in life, obtaining as many as 57 patents mostly related to lubrication, but also including a folding ironing board and a lawn sprinkler. The saying the real McCoy, meaning the real thing, was accredited to Elijah’s invention. Other inventors tried to copy McCoy’s oil-dripping cup, but none of the other cups worked as well as his, so customers started asking for “the real McCoy”.

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1. George Washington Carver 1860 – 1943

Invented: Peanut butter & 400 plant products
George Washington Carver was an American scientist, botanist, educator and inventor. Much of Carver’s fame is based on his research and promotion of alternative crops to cotton, such as peanuts and sweet potatoes. He wanted poor farmers to grow alternative crops both as a source of their own food and as a source of other products to improve their quality of life. The most popular of his 44 discoveries for farmers contained 105 food recipes that used peanuts. He also created about 100 products made from peanuts that were useful for the house and farm, including cosmetics, dye, paints, plastics, gasoline, and nitroglycerin. In addition to his work on agricultural extension education for purposes of advocacy of sustainable agriculture and appreciation of plants and nature, Carver’s important accomplishments also included improvement of racial relations, mentoring children, poetry, painting, and religion. He served as an example of the importance of hard work, a positive attitude, and a good education. His humility, humanitarianism, good nature, frugality, and rejection of economic materialism also have been admired widely. In 1941, Time magazine dubbed him a “Black Leonardo”, a reference to the Renaissance Italian polymath Leonardo da Vinci.

Top 10 Quotes by Martin Luther King, Jr.

Leon Shepherd — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 05:00:05 +0000

Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American clergyman, activist and prominent leader in the African-American civil rights movement. His main legacy was to secure progress on civil rights in the United States, and he has become a human rights icon: King is recognized as a martyr by two Christian churches.[1] A Baptist minister, King became a civil rights activist early in his career.[2] He led the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott and helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957, serving as its first president. King’s efforts led to the 1963 March on Washington, where King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. There, he raised public consciousness of the civil rights movement and established himself as one of the greatest orators in U.S. history.
In 1964, King became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end racial segregation and racial discrimination through civil disobedience and other non-violent means. By the time of his death in 1968, he had refocused his efforts on ending poverty and opposing the Vietnam War, both from a religious perspective. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 and Congressional Gold Medal in 2004; Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was established as a U.S. national holiday in 1986.

10. “A man can’t ride your back unless it’s bent.”

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9. “ I submit to you that if a man hasn’t discovered something he will die for, he isn’t fit to live.”

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8. “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

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7. “Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”

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6. “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy”

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5. “Let no man pull you low enough to hate him.”

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4. “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”

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3. “Life’s most urgent question is: what are you doing for others?”

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2. “The quality, not the longevity, of one’s life is what is important.”

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1. “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”

Top Ten Black Male Solo Singers/Artists

Leon Shepherd — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 22:22:49 +0000

There are a number of qualifiers for this list. First, all listed must have had a significant career over the years. In my opinion, singers like Howard Hewitt, Maxwell, Tyrese and Usher, although extremely talented, don’t currently have the body of work to qualify for the list such as those listed.

Secondly, if a singer is known more for being a lead for a group such as David Ruffin, Levi Stubbs or Maurice White, they don’t qualify. They must be bonafide Solo Artists…

Lets see who agrees/disagrees with Shack’s Top Ten for this category, let the debate begin and enjoy.

intro & list written by Shack

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#10-Johnny Mathis

You could probably replace this guy with any of the honorable mentions (especially, Smokey, James B., Stevie) but his vocals and style are too impressive and somewhat similar to No 1.

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#9-Prince

Just as in No. 8, Prince’s greatness and contribution cannot be denied.

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#8-Michael Jackson

Some say he doesn’t belong in this group. I say different!

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#7-Ray Charles

-Greatest soul and blues singer of the 50’s and early 60’s. Very under rated. Only one of this group to have a movie made about his life/music.

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#6-Sam Cooke

Many may not remember his greatness but he probably would have been No. 1 or 2 had he not been killed – over a woman I believe!

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#5-Teddy Pendergrass

Same as No.4 except his was Philadelphia soul.

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#4 –Al Green

Consistent and great Memphis Soul/R&B and gospel singer.

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#3-Luther Vandross

Most melodious of all singers listed. In my opinion, his greatness was circumvented by health problems.

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#2-Marvin Gaye

Greatest Soul singer ever. Dominated 60’s, 70’s and early 80’s until his demise from drug use.

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#1-Nat King Cole

Simply the smoothest singer of any race in history. Don’t think his greatness can be disputed. Had to endure racism on his show when he did a duet with a White woman and sponsors pulled the plug. Had he lived longer (died at 45) who knows what greatness he would have achieved.

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Hon. Mention – Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Peabo Bryson, Freddie Jackson, Jeffrey Osborne, James Brown, Otis Redding, Barry White, Lou Rawls, Issac Hayes, Curtis Mayfield, B.B. King