The film 127 Hours starring James Franco has Oscar nomination written all over it for the lead actor Franco plays Aron Ralston in a fact-based story about an avid hiker who must make a life-altering decision or risk certain death

You know a star when you see them Raw talent mixed with dedication, perseverance and passion is what leads to stardom in the entertainment industry and ShaWanna Renee Rivon has all of those attributes and more

What makes someone marriage material Is it their bank account

Academy Award winner Hilary Swank (Million Dollar Baby) has done it again The new Conviction movie is set in the town Ayers, Mass

Allegations that Bishop Eddie Long, pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in suburban Atlanta, coerced four males into sexual relationships are riveting the nation Some have even said if the allegations facing Bishop Eddie Long are true it will rock the entire Black church with catastrophic consequences

I was always told if you do not have something positive to say about someone or something you should not say it at all However, that rule does not apply to journalists, as we are paid to say things, no matter how positive or negative they may sound

The history books that we read as schoolchildren would have had us to believe that icons like Dr Martin Luther King, Jr

Many Americans can vividly recall where they were when they first saw or heard of the terrorist attacks on Sept 11

Anyone who meets superstar rapper-actor TI

When one thinks of cookies, losing weight usually is not the next thought that comes to mind But that is exactly what is happening to patients of Dr

Very seldom are we blessed to see the blossoming of a true icon before our very eyes Tip “T

America is constantly inundated with negative news concerning inner-city schools From excessive violence, to teen pregnancy and a dropout problem, mainstream media would have one believe that all urban educational institutions are a battleground in which our soldiers cannot prevail

I am constantly amazed at our celebrity obsession in America When we recognize talent in someone we build them up and put them on a pedestal before they have even achieved any level of greatness in their respective arena in life and wonder why that attention can turn egotistical and narcissistic before our very eyes

Over the past few years, John C Reilly (Step Brothers) and Jonah Hill (Get Him to the Greek) have immortalized themselves as comedic giants

Since the early days of the film industry, moviegoers have been captivated by tales of organized crimes and the “glamorous” lives of gangsters However, very few films tell the story of how life’s desperation can lead to a life of crime, not just the desire to live that glamorous life

After a string of successful comedies, the producers behind Superbad and Knocked Up offer a new film, Get Him to the Greek that follows the same mold as their past hits The film starring Jonah Hill, Russell Brand and Sean Combs, however, simply does not live up to the genius of their previous movies

Imagine being kidnapped from your native land; taken away from your family permanently and sold into a life of servitude Such was the fortune of millions of Africans sold in the slave trade as a cheap labor force, which actually fueled the early economy in the American colonies, becoming the origin of Black history in this country

If you talk to any school teacher, the stress that comes from educating our nation’s youth can often lead to one’s breaking point On top of that, the fact that teachers cannot adequately discipline students or even defend themselves makes reaching them and encouraging educational growth virtually impossible

At first glance, “Just Wright” can be seen through advertisements as something of a mixture between a sports flick and a “chick” flick Rapper-turned-actress Queen Latifah stars as Leslie Wright, a struggling physical therapist, who after a chance meeting at a New Jersey gas station meets NBA star Scott McKnight played by rapper Common

Before moviegoers became mesmerized by the stunning beauty of Halle Berry, Laura London and Paula Patton, the legendary Lena Horne graced the silver screen despite facing racism of epidemic proportions Although she never achieved the critical and commercial acclaim that she deserved, Lena Horne is the pioneer of all African American female performers, without whom Academy Award winners Whoopi Goldberg, Berry, Jennifer Hudson and Mo’Nique would have been forever absent from Black history

In the hit movie “Remember the Titans” starring Denzel Washington, a recently integrated football team riding an improbable winning streak cruised the Alexandria, Va streets celebrating a huge victory

On April 23, Arizona Gov Jan Brewer reignited a fire that had slowed to a simmer over the last couple of years, signing perhaps one of the strictest laws on immigration this country has seen

Most young adults can remember their parents criticizing their taste in music during their childhood If you grew up during the hip-hop explosion of the 1980s and 1990s, rappers and some sexually provocative R&B singers were blamed for the “lack of morals” amongst the younger generation

Very few people are blessed to meet people who drastically change their lives for the better I’ve had the good fortune to work for many Black publishers in Houston, but none that loomed larger than Lenora “Doll” Carter of the Houston Forward Times, who passed away on April 10, of an apparent heart attack at 69

The tragic fall from grace of Tiger Woods can be summed up in one word, arrogance The iconic golfer admitted this long before the Masters golf tournament this week

In the summer of 2003, Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant was America’s public enemy number one He had been accused of a raping a 19-year-old hotel worker in Eagle, Colo

The Jackson Five epitomized Black History Their meteoric rise from humble beginnings to the top of the pop charts inspired countless Black youth to dream and to put in the work to make those dreams of reality

At the dawn of this new decade, I asked readers of Regal Magazine to make New Year’s resolutions to have a positive impact on the lives of others, and not focus on selfish desires in 2010 Shortly after the publication of that editorial, the town of Port-au-Prince, Haiti was struck with an earthquake and aftershock of catastrophic proportions, killing hundreds of thousands of Haitians, orphaning children and practically forcing an entire city into homelessness

From the historic 1965 election of Carl Stokes as mayor of Cleveland to the momentous joy felt throughout Black America after President Barack Obama’s election in 2008, the history of Black politics has been filled with highs that still cause many in the community to be filled with jubilation years later

As we begin a New Year and a new decade, people across the world have begun or unfortunately already ended their New Year’s resolution Whether it is losing weight, saving money or finishing up that degree that you postponed, many enter each New Year with aspirations of improving their personal lives

Since the first African slaves arrived on the shores of America, Black empowerment has always depended on the strength of Black Americans to succeed despite the obstacles they were forced to overcome When many Black politicians gained political power during Reconstruction, organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan emerged to thwart any dreams of Black empowerment that the recently freed slaves envisioned

The numbers are staggering According to Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc

Tiger Woods once had it all He was a transcendent pioneer in the sport of golf and his endorsement deals made him a billionaire at the age of 33

Any diehard college football fan knows that the season does not get started until late October or early November, when the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) controversy takes center stage, and fans throughout the country debate who the best teams are in the NCAA Fans of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) will argue that they have the best conference and therefore should almost be guaranteed a representative in the BCS championship game

They put their lives in harm’s way everyday to protect our freedom They show bravery in the midst of battle overseas, that we cannot even possibly imagine

Imagine if you witnessed someone you knew murder your entire family The tragedy of witnessing something this horrific was beginning to subside, until the murderer is released early and sent back to the same community in which you lived

What’s important in life Is it the material things, like the fancy house and swimming pools that makes one happy

Shawn Marion knows exactly what it feels like to struggle The 10-year NBA veteran knows how it feels to spend days hungry while his mother, Elaine, worked her fingers to the bone so she could raise four children as a single mother

Over the last few years, and especially in the last few months, I have read countless editorials that have asked the question “Is the church on the wrong side of the same sex marriage debate” Many critics of the Christian church have used history to state that the stance of many congregations on the same sex marriage debate is wrong, comparing it to the stance of many churches of previous generations that used “biblical teachings” to uphold the institutions of slavery and segregation

What does it mean to be Black This question has been asked throughout the African American community for generations

The date November 4, 2008 will live in the history books forever Somewhere in this great nation, a young boy or girl is sitting in a classroom dreaming that they can achieve greatness in their life because of Barack Obama’s presidency and what it represents for our country

The numbers are sometimes dismal The African American achievement gap that almost disappeared in the 1970s and 1980s has widened again between White students and people of color

The breaking news was a total surprise Football fans who had tuned in to ESPN to see a preseason game between last year’s two Super Bowl teams, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals, were immediately transfixed with the news that Michael Vick was the newest Philadelphia Eagle

It was inevitable The honeymoon that President Barack Obama, and all other presidents, experienced has officially given way to criticism of his policies on the economy and health care to false rumors that he may not be a natural-born U

On March 9, 1892 in Memphis, Tenn three successful African American businessmen were brutally lynched and accused of raping White women, when their actual “crime” was the competition they represented to their White counterparts

In the same year that we celebrated the historic inauguration of the nation’s first African American president and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) celebrated its 100th anniversary, the dream of racial equality in America seemed to have come true However, as many debate the relevance of groups such as the NAACP, instances that prove true racial equality is still a dream deferred are constantly grabbing headlines across the country

The recent deaths of former NFL co-MVP Steve McNair and pop icon Michael Jackson has been overshadowed in mainstream media by the apparent flaws and mistakes the two made throughout their lives Instead of celebrating the lives of these two great men and the contributions they made to society, media outlets such as CNN and ESPN have ridiculed their mistakes and criticized their lifestyles as if the wrong they did outweighs the good

Chris Brown had it all The award-winning singer and blossoming actor seemed to be on top of the world

After the historic elections last year, the Republican Party seemed to be in a free fall The failed policies of President George W

Tyler Perry films and television shows have revolutionized Black entertainment Characters like the gun-toting granny Madea, played by Perry, and the fun-loving Mr