Roland S. Martin's Blog, page 168

Nation Pays Tribute To President Kennedy On 50th Anniversary Of Assassination

Source: Daniel Arkin / NBC News Few tragedies loom as large in the American psyche as the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, who was gunned down in Dallas a half-century ago today. Now, we pause to remember that dark day in the country’s history — recalling a shared trauma that can feel both political and [...]

In Miami Gardens, Store Video Catches Cops In The Act

Source: Julie K. Brown / Miami Herald Miami Gardens police have arrested Earl Sampson 62 times for one offense: trespassing. Almost every citation was issued at the same place: the 207 Quickstop, a convenience store on 207th Street in Miami Gardens. But Sampson isn’t loitering. He works as a clerk at the Quickstop. WATCH the surveillance [...]

U.S. Senate Goes ‘Nuclear,’ Changes Filibuster Rules

Source:  Susan Davis and Richard Wolf /  USA Today WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., pushed through a controversial change to Senate rules Thursday that will make it easier to approve President Obama’s nominees but threatens to further divide an already polarized Congress. Fifty-two Senate Democrats and independents voted to weaken the power of [...]

Keith Olbermann: What A-Rod Was Really Saying (VIDEO)

With A-Rod throwing a tirade and walking out of his arbitration hearing today, Keith reveals what his comments really meant, then articulates why going on the radio and proclaiming his innocence may have been a very foolish legal move.

MEDIAITE: Roland Martin Interrogates White Candidate Who Won Texas Race by Pretending to Be Black

Source: Noah Rothman / Mediaite On Tuesday, NewsOne host Roland Martin invited Dave Wilson, a white candidate who won in a race for Houston Community College Board of Trustees in a heavily African-American Texas district by strongly implying in his campaign literature that he was black, on his program to clarify the thinking behind his successful, if dishonest, [...]

Michelle Obama Kicks Off New Education Initiative

Source: AP / New York Daily News Edging into a broader policy role, Michelle Obama is joining President Barack Obama’s efforts to get the United States on track to have the highest percentage of college graduates by 2020. Mrs. Obama spoke to students Tuesday at Bell Multicultural High School just a few miles from the White House. [...]

Who Is Ron Wade? Meet The Man Who Spent Four Years And $200,000 Building A Replica Of The Oval Office In His Home (PHOTOS)

Source: Andrew Berry / International Business Times A Texan has spent more than four years and $200,000 building a replica of the Oval Office in his home. Ron Wade of Longview also owns the world’s largest collection of presidential memorabilia. “When I told people I was going to build the Oval Office, I don’t think they realized [...]

Spike Lee On George Zimmerman Tweets He’s Being Sued Over: ‘I Did A Stupid Thing’ (VIDEO)

Source: Greg Gilman / TheWrap The filmmaker tells Oprah Winfrey he did the right thing by reaching a financial settlement with the elderly couple whose address he falsely identified as Zimmerman’s, but now they are suing for more money Spike Lee only has one word to describe the George Zimmerman tweets that have landed him [...]

Nelson Mandela’s Daughter: ‘I’d Call Idris Elba ‘Big Daddy’ Anytime’

Source: Mikey Glazer / TheWrap Quincy Jones introduces Hollywood to Nelson Mandela’s daughter Zindzi at “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom” premiere Nelson Mandela’s daughter Zindzi paid a fine compliment to “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom” star Idris Elba, who plays her father, as she took the microphone to open the Los Angeles premiere of the biopic on [...]

HBO To Explore Black Hollywood With Docu-Style Comedy From Salim Akil

Source: Nellie Andreeva /  Deadline.com EXCLUSIVE: HBO has teamed with film and TV director and showrunner Salim Akil for Mr. Director, a single-camera comedy project Akil is set to write, produce and direct. Mr. Director, now in development, is envisioned as being in the vein of Larry David’s documentary-style HBO comedy series Curb Your Enthusiasm but with the backdrop of Black Hollywood. Like David, [...]