GENERAL DISCUSSION! - Centennial High Alumni Network
2024-03-28T11:07:36Z
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Happy Thanksgiving!!
tag:www.centennialhighalumni.com,2023-11-24:4977783:Topic:229098
2023-11-24T01:20:46.333Z
Wayne Ware c/o '75 (WebMaster)
http://www.centennialhighalumni.com/profile/WayneWare
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Anouncement
tag:www.centennialhighalumni.com,2016-11-14:4977783:Topic:119860
2016-11-14T23:27:00.973Z
lizzie kelso
http://www.centennialhighalumni.com/profile/lizziekelso
Leeve ann kelso class of 1971 pass away November 11 funeral arangments or pending
Leeve ann kelso class of 1971 pass away November 11 funeral arangments or pending
Grammy Award Winning Singer Natalie Cole Passes Away at Age 65 !!
tag:www.centennialhighalumni.com,2016-01-02:4977783:Topic:116622
2016-01-02T05:54:15.557Z
Phoebe Macon
http://www.centennialhighalumni.com/profile/PhoebeMacon
<p><strong><b>Grammy Award Winning Singer Natalie Cole Passes Away at Age 65 !! <br></br> <br></br> <br></br> Reuters <br></br> January 1, 2016 <br></br> By Bill Trott …<br></br> <br></br> <br></br> <strong><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656392840?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656392840?profile=original" width="570"></img></a></strong> <br></br> <br></br></b></strong></p>
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<p><strong><b>Grammy Award Winning Singer Natalie Cole Passes Away at Age 65 !! <br/> <br/> <br/> Reuters <br/> January 1, 2016 <br/> By Bill Trott <br/> <br/> <br/> <strong><a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656392840?profile=original"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656392840?profile=original" width="570"/></a></strong> <br/> <br/></b></strong></p>
<div class="canvas-body C(#26282a) Wow(bw) Cl(start) Fz(18px) Fz(16px)--sm Fz(20px)--lg Lh(1.6) Ff($ff-secondary)"><strong><strong><b><br/></b></strong></strong><p class="canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm canvas-atom" style="letter-spacing: .01em;"><strong>(Reuters) - Grammy-winning singer Natalie Cole, whose biggest hit came in a virtual duet with her late father, pop legend Nat King Cole, of his decades-old hit “Unforgettable” has died December 31, 2015 at the age of 65, her family said on Friday.</strong></p>
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<p class="canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm canvas-atom" style="letter-spacing: .01em;"><strong>The family’s statement said Cole died Thursday night at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles from “ongoing health issues.”</strong></p>
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<p class="canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm canvas-atom" style="letter-spacing: .01em;"><strong>Cole’s career spanned five decades in the R&B, soul, jazz and pop genres. In 2015 she had canceled appearances citing medical reasons.</strong></p>
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<p class="canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm canvas-atom" style="letter-spacing: .01em;"><strong>The TMZ celebrity news website said Cole, who had struggled in the past with drugs, died from congestive heart failure following complications from a kidney transplant and Hepatitis C, diagnosed in 2008.</strong></p>
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<p class="canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm canvas-atom" style="letter-spacing: .01em;"><strong>“It is with heavy hearts that we bring to you all the news of our Mother and sister’s passing,” the Cole family statement said. “Natalie fought a fierce, courageous battle, dying how she lived - with dignity, strength and honor. Our beloved Mother and sister will be greatly missed and remain UNFORGETTABLE in our hearts forever.”</strong></p>
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<p class="canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm canvas-atom" style="letter-spacing: .01em;"><strong>The statement was signed by Cole’s only child, Robert Yancey, and her twin sisters, Timolin and Casey Cole.</strong></p>
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<p class="canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm canvas-atom" style="letter-spacing: .01em;"><strong>Cole broke out in 1975 with the hit "This Will Be,” which won the Grammy for best R&B female performance and also earned her the Grammy for best new artist. Critics compared her to Diana Ross and Aretha Franklin but her career floundered in the 1980s when she ran into problems with heroin.</strong></p>
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<p class="canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm canvas-atom" style="letter-spacing: .01em;"><strong>She bounced back, and her career reached the superstar level in 1991 when she recorded “Unforgettable … With Love.” The album contained songs associated with her father, the silky-voiced singer who was one of the most popular performers of the 1940s and ‘50s but died before his daughter began her solo career.</strong></p>
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<p class="canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm canvas-atom" style="letter-spacing: .01em;"><strong>Using technology that was cutting edge at the time, studio engineers merged her voice with her father’s in the song “Unforgettable,” which had been a hit for Nat King Cole in 1951. The result was a moving, sentimental No. 1 hit 40 years later, that actually sounded as if the two were singing a duet.</strong></p>
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<p class="canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm canvas-atom" style="letter-spacing: .01em;"><strong>The song and the album it came from earned Cole three Grammy Awards.</strong></p>
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<p class="canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm canvas-atom" style="letter-spacing: .01em;"><strong>“I thank my dad for leaving me such a wonderful, wonderful heritage,” Cole said in accepting her awards.</strong></p>
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<p class="canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm canvas-atom" style="letter-spacing: .01em;"><strong>Cole’s other hits included “Everlasting,” “Sophisticated Lady,” “I’ve Got love on My Mind,” and “Good to Be Back.”</strong></p>
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<p class="canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm canvas-atom" style="letter-spacing: .01em;"><strong>In all, Cole won nine Grammys.</strong></p>
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<p class="canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm canvas-atom" style="letter-spacing: .01em;"><strong>The success of “Unforgettable” capped her comeback after a dark period of heroin addiction. In “Angel on My Shoulder,” her 2000 memoir, Cole said she turned to drugs because of unresolved issues in her life, including being molested as a child and her father’s death when she was 15.</strong></p>
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<p class="canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm canvas-atom" style="letter-spacing: .01em;"><strong>Cole was diagnosed with hepatitis in 2008 from sharing needles with drug addicts, and underwent kidney transplant surgery in 2009. This past fall, she canceled several concerts that had been scheduled for November and December, citing a recent medical procedure.</strong></p>
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<p class="canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm canvas-atom" style="letter-spacing: .01em;"><strong>Her 2008 album of pop standards, “Still Unforgettable,” included another duet with her father, “Walkin’ My Baby Back Home.” Her most recent work was 2013’s “Natalie Cole en Espanol.”</strong></p>
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<p class="canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm canvas-atom" style="letter-spacing: .01em;"><strong>Cole’s mother, Maria Cole, also had been a singer with the Duke Ellington and Count Basie bands.</strong></p>
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<p class="canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm canvas-atom" style="letter-spacing: .01em;"><strong>Cole portrayed herself in “Livin’ for Love: The Natalie Cole Story,” a 2000 television movie that depicted her drug addiction.</strong></p>
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<p class="canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm canvas-atom" style="letter-spacing: .01em;"><strong>“We’ve lost a wonderful, highly cherished artist and our heartfelt condolences go out to Natalie’s family, friends, her many collaborators, as well as to all who have been entertained by her exceptional talent,” Neil Portnow, president of the Recording Academy, said in a statement.</strong></p>
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<p class="canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm canvas-atom" style="letter-spacing: .01em;"><strong>“#NatalieCole, sister beloved & of substance and sound. May her soul rest in peace. #Inseperable,” the Rev. Jessie Jackson posted on Twitter.</strong></p>
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<p class="canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm canvas-atom" style="letter-spacing: .01em;"><strong>Cole was married three times.</strong></p>
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<p class="canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm canvas-atom" style="letter-spacing: .01em;"><br/> <br/> <br/> <strong>(Reporting by Sandra Maler and Bill Trott in Washington and Barbara Goldberg in New York; Writing by Bill Trott; Editing by David Gregorio)</strong></p>
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Racial Slur Against USC Student Leader Sparks Campus Debate
tag:www.centennialhighalumni.com,2015-09-24:4977783:Topic:115278
2015-09-24T08:40:42.167Z
Phoebe Macon
http://www.centennialhighalumni.com/profile/PhoebeMacon
<div class="trb_article_title"><h1 class="trb_article_title_text"><b>Racial Slur Against USC Student Leader Sparks Campus Debate…</b></h1>
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<div class="trb_article_title"><h1 class="trb_article_title_text"><b>Racial Slur Against USC Student Leader Sparks Campus Debate</b></h1>
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<div class="trb_embed_related"><br/><div class="trb_embed_related_credit_and_caption"><br/><p><b>Rini Sampath, USC's student body president who was recently taunted with a racial slur, said she hopes the incident will spark a national conversation about race relations on campus.</b></p>
<b><br/> (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) <br/> By Teresa Watanabe <a class="trb_bylines_contactLink" href="mailto:teresa.watanabe@latimes.com?subject=Regarding%20Racial%20slur%20against%20USC%20student%20leader%20sparks%20campus%20debate"><br/> <br/></a></b></div>
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<p><strong>Lola Fajinmi and Precious Nwaoha were both A students in high school. But once they got to USC, the African American women were repeatedly asked if they were athletes and told they probably got in because of affirmative action.</strong></p>
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<p><strong>So when they heard that a USC fraternity member had cursed the school’s student body president, Rini Sampath, with a racial slur and thrown a drink at her last weekend, they said they were appalled but not too surprised.</strong> <br/> <br/> <br/> <strong>“It's something that happens so often you kind of just tune it out,” Fajinmi said of racial bias, as she paused between classes on campus Wednesday. “I think it's a huge deal and would like the administration to do something about it. This is a hard topic, but we need to start talking about it.”</strong></p>
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<p><strong>That's exactly what Sampath said she hopes the incident will launch: candid conversations about campus race relations and a chance for students like Fajinmi and Nwaoha to share their experiences.</strong></p>
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<p><strong>“This story is really not about me,” Sampath, a 21-year-old senior of Indian descent, said in an interview Wednesday. “It's about what the greater community goes through on a daily basis. I hope this creates a national conversation about race relations on campus, because these kinds of things don't just happen at USC.”</strong></p>
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<p><strong>Since Sampath wrote about the incident on Facebook on Sunday, she said, she has received thousands of supportive messages from as far away as India and Denmark. Her post received 8,800 likes by Wednesday afternoon and had been shared by such luminaries as Pulitzer Prize-winning author and MIT professor Junot Diaz. But she said some have defended the slur as free speech, while others have argued the incident should have been handled quietly.</strong></p>
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<p><strong>There was plenty of buzz about the incident on campus, where students gathered at the outdoor campus center courtyard for lunch, perused produce at a farmer's market and lounged around the iconic Tommy Trojan statue. Nearly all students seemed to know about the incident because it burned up social media sites and prompted USC officials to distribute a campuswide letter late Tuesday expressing “sadness, anger and dismay.”</strong> <br/> <br/> <br/> <strong>The USC Interfraternity Council also issued a statement condemning the actions, standing “in solidarity with Rini” and other victims of bias and supporting the unnamed fraternity’s decision to suspend the offending student’s membership and eject him from the chapter house.</strong></p>
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<p><strong>Some students said they had never experienced racism and found USC to be a diverse and welcoming environment. Officials have worked to increase campus diversity over time; its 2014 student body was 33% white, 18% Asian, 12% Latino and 5% African American, with the rest international students or other ethnicities.</strong></p>
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<p><strong>Daniel Uhm, a 21-year-old senior of Korean descent and member of a multicultural Christian fraternity near Greek Row, said he regarded Sampath’s experience as an isolated incident of racism.</strong> <br/> <br/> <br/> <strong>“I've never experienced racism in my fraternity or outside,” Uhm said. “For the most part, this campus is welcoming of different races and cultures.”</strong></p>
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<p><strong>At the El Centro Chicano Center in the student union building, Latino students said they had witnessed or experienced “microaggression” — incidents that were not overtly hostile but still offensive. Juan Martinez, a 20-year-old civil engineering major of Mexican heritage, said he was told by a white acquaintance that his multicultural fraternity, Sigma Delta Alpha, was not a “real fraternity,” implying that diverse Greek organizations were inferior to those that are predominantly white.</strong></p>
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<p><strong>Kyron Richard, a 21-year-old economics major who is gay and African American, also said microaggression was more prevalent than overt racism at USC. He said some of his white friends have made racially insensitive remarks without realizing it, such as girls viewing black men as second-choice “consolation prizes” when rejected by whites.</strong></p>
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<p><strong>But Richard, like some of the other minority students interviewed, said he was often reluctant to share his feelings of discomfort with friends. “You don’t want to be the person who is constantly telling people what they should and should not say,” he said.</strong></p>
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<p><strong>Sampath said the weekend incident brought back “a flood of memories” of racism in her life. The daughter of immigrants who was raised in India, Singapore, Arizona and the Bay Area before moving to Irvine, Sampath said white girls would tell her she could not play with them because of her skin color. When she ran for USC student body president this year, she said, racist messages were posted on social media: “A vote for Rini is a vote for Al-Qaeda.”</strong></p>
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<p><strong>She said she hoped the incident would embolden students to speak out against racism and galvanize action from administrators to improve the campus climate. Some ideas, she said, include a staff member dedicated to diversity issues, more funding for ethnic student organizations and diversity training. She and other campus leaders plan to hold a forum on cultural diversity next week to give students a chance to share their ideas and experiences.</strong></p>
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<p><strong>“My intention of making this public plea is so we can move forward, come up with solutions and come together as a community,” she said.</strong></p>
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<p><strong><span class="trb_mainContent_copyright">Copyright © 2015, <a href="http://www.latimes.com">Los Angeles Times</a></span></strong></p>
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Emmy Award Win For Viola Davis the First Black Actress in a Female Lead Role
tag:www.centennialhighalumni.com,2015-09-22:4977783:Topic:115336
2015-09-22T19:11:52.036Z
Phoebe Macon
http://www.centennialhighalumni.com/profile/PhoebeMacon
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<p><b><font size="3">Emmy Award Win For Viola Davis the First Black Actress in a Female Lead Role…</font></b></p>
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<p><b><font size="3">Emmy Award Win For Viola Davis the First Black Actress in a Female Lead Role</font></b></p>
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<p><b>When <a href="http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/viola-davis/178437/">Viola Davis</a>' name was called as the recipient of the Best Actress in a Drama award at Sunday's Emmys, anyone watching the broadcast may have thought <a href="http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/taraji-p-henson/191266/">Taraji P. Henson</a> actually won. Henson leapt out of her seat and gave her fellow nominee a giant bear hug.</b></p>
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<p><strong>And, in a sense, Davis' victory was a shared one - she is the first black woman to ever win a Best Actress Emmy.</strong></p>
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<p><strong>In her speech, Davis thanked Taraji P. Henson, <a href="http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/kerry-washington/160537/">Kerry Washington</a>, <a href="http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/halle-berry/152937/">Halle Berry,</a> Nicole Beharie, Meagan Good and Gabrielle Union all actresses of color.</strong></p>
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<p><strong>"Thank you for taking us over that line," the <a href="http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/how-to-get-away-with-murder/641176/">How to Get Away with Murder</a> star said, in reference to a Harriet Tubman quote with which she began her speech.</strong></p>
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<p><strong>"The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity," Davis said. "You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there."</strong></p>
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<p><strong>Davis credited <a href="http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/shonda-rhimes/270394/">Shonda Rhimes</a> and How to Get Away With Murder showrunner <a href="http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/peter-nowalk/641626/">Peter Nowalk</a> with redefining "what it means to be beautiful, to be sexy, to be a leading woman, to be black."</strong></p>
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Crooked Outta Compton: Compton City Officials Illegally Pad Their Salaries
tag:www.centennialhighalumni.com,2015-08-23:4977783:Topic:114937
2015-08-23T07:43:43.273Z
Phoebe Macon
http://www.centennialhighalumni.com/profile/PhoebeMacon
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<h1 class="yiv7286816843" id="yiv7286816843yui_3_16_0_1_1440310754794_2493"><b>Crooked Outta Compton: Compton City Officials Illegally Pad Their Salaries…</b></h1>
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<h1 id="yiv7286816843yui_3_16_0_1_1440310754794_2493" class="yiv7286816843"><b>Crooked Outta Compton: Compton City Officials Illegally Pad Their Salaries</b></h1>
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<div id="yiv7286816843yui_3_16_0_1_1440310754794_2507" class="yiv7286816843"><span id="yiv7286816843yui_3_16_0_1_1440310754794_2508" class="yiv7286816843"><span id="yiv7286816843yui_3_16_0_1_1440310754794_2509" class="yiv7286816843">by William Bigelow 21 Aug 2015</span></span></div>
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<div id="yiv7286816843yui_3_16_0_1_1440310754794_2492" class="yiv7286816843"><br/><h2 id="yiv7286816843yui_3_16_0_1_1440310754794_2513" class="yiv7286816843">Compton mayor Aja Brown, along with council members Janna Zurita, Isaac Galvan, Yvonne Arceneaux, and Emma Sharif, have been padding their salaries, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office alleges, by remunerating themselves for commission meetings that last as little as one minute.</h2>
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<div id="yiv7286816843yui_3_16_0_1_1440310754794_2514" class="yiv7286816843"><strong>A July 17 Letter-to-Compton-City-Council-City-Attorney written by the district attorney’s office stated that officials were paid “whether or not the commission member attended the meeting.” The letter pointed out:</strong></div>
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<blockquote id="yiv7286816843yui_3_16_0_1_1440310754794_2516" class="yiv7286816843"><br/><div id="yiv7286816843yui_3_16_0_1_1440310754794_2517" class="yiv7286816843"><strong>Article 10, sections 1000 and 1001, allow the city council to create by ordinance advisory councils or commission that in its judgment are “required,” and to include in its annual budget “sufficient appropriation of funds for their efficient and proper function.” This does not include the payment of a salary to the mayor or any council member for being a member of any commission. Compton City Charter Article 5, <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/product/9781245521284-item.html" target="_blank" class="vglnk">Section 504</a> is controlling as to the compensation of these individuals. Consequently, “sufficient appropriation of funds for their efficient and proper function” of the commissions does not provide the legal justification of payment of a salary to the mayor and city council members for their membership on these commissions … California Penal Code Section 424 states that any officer of this state, or any county, city, town, or district of this state, and every other person charged with the receipt, safekeeping, transfer or disbursement of public moneys, who without authority of law, appropriates the same, or any p0rtion thereof, to his or her own use, or to the use of another, is guilty of a felony.</strong> <br/> <br/> <br/> <strong><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=los+angeles+times" target="_blank" class="vglnk">Los Angeles Times</a>, Brown received $4,000 a month in addition to her salary of $600 a month; the four council members received an extra $3,400 a month for their participation. The mayor makes $63,000 annually, derived from her monthly council stipend, her presence on four boards and commissions, and her auto allowance. The council members make $55,800 each year, with some receiving an extra $150 a month for the use of their cellphones.</strong></div>
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<div id="yiv7286816843yui_3_16_0_1_1440310754794_2520" class="yiv7286816843"><br/> <br/> <strong>The issue of city officials compensating themselves for such attendance dates back before Brown’s tenure; the Times reported in 2010 that Compton Mayor Eric Perrodin was paid for attending commission meetings, although he was “absent from board and commission meetings nearly two-thirds of the time…The meetings of the highest-paying Compton commissions often lasted the shortest period of time, according to city records. At least 41 commission meetings convened and adjourned in less than 10 minutes.”</strong></div>
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<div id="yiv7286816843yui_3_16_0_1_1440310754794_2523" class="yiv7286816843"><br/> <br/> <strong>A similar, albeit more extravagant, scandal in the nearby City of <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=bell+led" target="_blank" class="vglnk">Bell led</a> to convictions of several city officials.</strong></div>
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<div class="yiv7286816843"><div id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2567" class="yiv0043145027"><br/><div id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_3026" dir="ltr"><a rel="nofollow" id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2568" target="_blank" href="http://www.latimes.com/local/#navtype=breadcrumb" class="yiv0043145027" name="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2568">Los Angeles Times - LOCAL</a> <a rel="nofollow" id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2569" target="_blank" href="http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/#navtype=breadcrumb" class="yiv0043145027" name="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2569">L.A. Now</a></div>
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<strong><strong><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><br/> <br/></font></font></font></strong></strong>
<div id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2574" class="yiv0043145027"><br/><div id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2575" class="yiv0043145027"><b><font size="3">Compton Officials Have Been Illegally Inflating Their Pay, District Attorney Says</font></b> <b><br/></b></div>
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<div id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2577" class="yiv0043145027"><br/><div id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2579" class="yiv0043145027"><img id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2581" src="http://www.trbimg.com/img-55d67bf6/turbine/la-compton-mayor-20150820/575/575x422" alt="Compton mayor" class="yiv0043145027" title="Compton mayor" name="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2581"/> <br/><div id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2582" class="yiv0043145027"><br/><div id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2583" class="yiv0043145027"><br/><div id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2584" class="yiv0043145027"><strong>Compton Mayor Aja Brown in 2014 outside the Compton Civic Center.</strong></div>
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<div id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2982"><strong>(<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=allen+j" target="_blank" class="vglnk">Allen J</a>. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)</strong></div>
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<div id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2500" class="yiv0043145027"><br/><div id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2919"><strong><span id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2586" class="yiv0043145027"><span id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2587" class="yiv0043145027"><span id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2588" class="yiv0043145027">By</span> <a rel="nofollow" id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2500" class="yiv0043145027" target="_blank" href="http://www.latimes.com/la-bio-angel-jennings-staff.html#navtype=byline" name="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2500">Angel Jennings</a></span></span> <a rel="nofollow" id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2590" class="yiv0043145027" target="_blank" href="mailto:angel.jennings@latimes.com?subject=Regarding%20Compton%20officials%20have%20been%20illegally%20inflating%20their%20pay,%20district%20attorney%20says" name="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2590">contact the reporter</a></strong></div>
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<div id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2920"><strong><a rel="nofollow" id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2590" class="yiv0043145027" target="_blank" href="mailto:angel.jennings@latimes.com?subject=Regarding%20Compton%20officials%20have%20been%20illegally%20inflating%20their%20pay,%20district%20attorney%20says" name="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2590"> </a></strong></div>
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<div id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2596" class="yiv0043145027"><strong>Compton’s mayor and council members have been illegally boosting their salaries for years by paying themselves for commission meetings that sometimes lasted only about a minute, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said.</strong></div>
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<div id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2597" class="yiv0043145027"><strong>In some cases, officials were paid “whether or not the commission member attended the meeting,” the prosecutor’s office said in a July 17 letter to the Compton city attorney. The letter was obtained by The Times on Thursday.</strong></div>
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<div id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2599" class="yiv0043145027"><strong><span id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2600" class="yiv0043145027"></span><a rel="nofollow" id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2601" class="yiv0043145027" target="_blank" href="http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-0815-compton-image-20150815-story.html" name="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2601"><img id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2603" src="http://www.trbimg.com/img-55ce8028/turbine/la-me-0815-compton-image-20150815/300/300x169" alt="'Straight Outta' a different Compton: City says much has changed in 25 years" class="yiv0043145027" title="'Straight Outta' a different Compton: City says much has changed in 25 years" name="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2603"/></a></strong> <br/><div id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2604" class="yiv0043145027"><br/><div id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2852"><strong><a rel="nofollow" id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2605" class="yiv0043145027" target="_blank" href="http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-0815-compton-image-20150815-story.html" name="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2605"><span id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2606" class="yiv0043145027">'Straight Outta' a different Compton: City says much has changed in 25 years</span></a></strong></div>
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<div id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_3171"><strong><a rel="nofollow" id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2605" class="yiv0043145027" target="_blank" href="http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-0815-compton-image-20150815-story.html" name="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2605"><span id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2606" class="yiv0043145027"><br/> <br/></span></a></strong></div>
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<div class="yiv0043145027"><strong>Mayor Aja Brown was paid an additional $4,000 a month on top of her authorized salary of $600 a month and the four council members received $3,400 more a month, the district attorney said.</strong></div>
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<div id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2609" class="yiv0043145027"><strong id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2610" class="yiv0043145027">FOR THE RECORD</strong></div>
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<div id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2611" class="yiv0043145027"><strong>An earlier version of this post said Compton's mayor was paid $4,000 a year on top of her salary. She has been paid that amount monthly.</strong></div>
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<div id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2615" class="yiv0043145027"><strong>Including their monthly council stipend, pay for sitting on four boards and commissions, and their auto allowance, Compton council members collect $55,800 annually, and the mayor pulls in $63,000.</strong></div>
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<div id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2740" class="yiv0043145027"><strong>Additionally, some council members also receive $150 a month in a <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=cellphone" target="_blank" class="vglnk">cellphone</a> allowance.</strong></div>
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<div id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2616" class="yiv0043145027"><strong>The district attorney's letter is likely to evoke comparisons with the salary scandal in the city of Bell, although the amounts of money involved in Compton are much smaller. The practice of municipal officials' getting paid extra for briefly attending commission meetings, along with exorbitant salaries, was a central part of the successful criminal prosecution of four council members and two top-ranking Bell officials.</strong></div>
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<div id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2617" class="yiv0043145027"><strong>In the letter, the district attorney warned that Compton officials could be prosecuted if the high payments continue.</strong></div>
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<div id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2618" class="yiv0043145027"><strong>“There’s no authority of law for the City of Compton to pay public officials money from the public coffers outside the parameters of the city charter,” the letter said.</strong></div>
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<div id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2620" class="yiv0043145027"><strong><span id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2621" class="yiv0043145027"></span></strong> <br/><div id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2622" class="yiv0043145027"><strong><a rel="nofollow" id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2623" class="yiv0043145027" target="_blank" href="http://www.latimes.com/local/la-most-read-stories-this-hour-story.html" name="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2623"><span id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2624" class="yiv0043145027"> </span></a></strong></div>
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<div id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2625" class="yiv0043145027"><strong><a rel="nofollow" id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2626" class="yiv0043145027" target="_blank" href="http://articles.latimes.com/2010/sep/05/local/la-me-0905-perrodin-20100905" name="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2626">A 2010 investigation by The Times</a> found the meetings of the highest-paying Compton commissions often lasted the shortest time. The stipends ranged from $300 for the Urban Community Development Commission to $1,000 a month for the <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.walmart.com/ip/20687575" target="_blank" class="vglnk">Housing Development</a> and Gaming commissions. Council members also earn $1,100 a month for sitting on the Public Finance Authority, and the mayor is paid $1,700.</strong></div>
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<div id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2628" class="yiv0043145027"><strong><a rel="nofollow" id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2629" target="_blank" href="http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/a-me-ln-da-compton-illegal-pay-20150820-story.html#" class="yiv0043145027" name="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2629"><span id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2630" class="yiv0043145027"><br/> <br/></span></a> <span id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2637" class="yiv0043145027"></span><span id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2639" class="yiv0043145027"></span></strong></div>
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<div id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2644" class="yiv0043145027"><strong>At least 41 commission meetings lasted fewer than 10 minutes, the Times investigation found in 2010. The district attorney's letter revealed similar findings and said the Housing and Gaming commissions “serve no obvious purpose other than providing additional compensation to the commission members.”</strong></div>
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<div id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2645" class="yiv0043145027"><strong>The salary-padding practice predates the tenures of Brown and at least some of the current members of the <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=city+council" target="_blank" class="vglnk">City Council</a>. Former Mayor Eric Perrodin and some former council members benefitted from the practice, records show.</strong></div>
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<div id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2646" class="yiv0043145027"><strong>Jessica Levinson, a clinical law professor at <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/product/9785510827767-item.html" target="_blank" class="vglnk">Loyola Law School</a>, said the D.A.’s letter raises question about the meetings’ merit.</strong></div>
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<div id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2562" class="yiv0043145027"><strong>“It makes the advisory board meetings frankly sound like scam meetings,” Levinson said. “The D.A.’s office is saying they don’t pass the smell test.”</strong></div>
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<div id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2647" class="yiv0043145027"><strong>Last month, Brown proposed a ballot measure to cap council members’ compensation at the city’s median household income ($42,953 in 2013). But the council rejected her proposal.</strong></div>
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<div id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2648" class="yiv0043145027"><strong>“There are some <a rel="nofollow" href="http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?toolid=10029&campid=CAMPAIGNID&customid=CUSTOMID&catId=11232&type=2&ext=171877810715&item=171877810715" target="_blank" class="vglnk">city leaders</a> that are sadly vested in maintaining the status quo,” Brown said in a statement.</strong></div>
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<div id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2649" class="yiv0043145027"><strong>Compton City Atty. Craig Cornwell said he plans to meet with the district attorney's office this month to discuss the situation.</strong></div>
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<div id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2650" class="yiv0043145027"><strong>A local blog, 2UrbanGirls, first reported on the district attorney's letter.</strong></div>
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<div id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2655" class="yiv0043145027"><strong id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2656" class="yiv0043145027">MORE ON COMPTON:</strong></div>
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<div id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2657" class="yiv0043145027"><strong id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2658" class="yiv0043145027"><a rel="nofollow" id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2659" class="yiv0043145027" target="_blank" href="http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-compton-fire-20150724-story.html" name="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2659">County regulator calls for sweeping overhaul at Compton Fire Department</a></strong></div>
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<div id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2660" class="yiv0043145027"><strong id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2661" class="yiv0043145027"><a rel="nofollow" id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2662" class="yiv0043145027" target="_blank" href="http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-violent-straight-outta-compton-isn-t-the-real-compton-mayor-says-20150813-story.html" name="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2662">Compton worries 'Straight Outta Compton' could give people the wrong idea</a></strong></div>
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<div id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2663" class="yiv0043145027"><strong id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2664" class="yiv0043145027"><a rel="nofollow" id="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2665" class="yiv0043145027" target="_blank" href="http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-dre-compton-20150808-story.html" name="yiv0043145027yui_3_16_0_1_1440312283376_2665">Compton welcomes native rapper Dr. Dre's gift</a></strong></div>
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Compton Ready For It's Close-Up With The N.W.A. Movie
tag:www.centennialhighalumni.com,2015-07-29:4977783:Topic:114741
2015-07-29T22:01:00.722Z
Phoebe Macon
http://www.centennialhighalumni.com/profile/PhoebeMacon
<p><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><b><font size="3">Compton Ready For It's Close-Up With The N.W.A. Movie<b><font size="3"><br></br> <br></br> <br></br> <br></br> <b>By Anousha Sakoui and John Gittelsohn for Bloomberg Business <br></br> July 28, 2015 - 2:01 AM PDT…</b> <br></br></font></b></font></b></font></font></font></p>
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<p><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><b><font size="3">Compton Ready For It's Close-Up With The N.W.A. Movie<b><font size="3"><br/> <br/> <br/> <br/> <b>By Anousha Sakoui and John Gittelsohn for Bloomberg Business <br/> July 28, 2015 - 2:01 AM PDT</b> <br/></font></b> </font></b></font></font></font></p>
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<p style="text-align: center;"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"><b><br/> <br/></b></font></b></font></b></font></font></font></p>
<p><strong><a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656391898?profile=original"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656391898?profile=original" width="500"/></a></strong></p>
<p><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"><b><br/> <br/> <font size="3">It can be a letdown for <a href="http://www.lahoodlifetours.com/" target="_blank">LA Hood Life & Hip Hop Tours</a> customers, passing the Welcome to Compton sign and seeing an ice cream truck, tidy bungalows and the lot where the new Wal-Mart Supercenter’s going up. <br/></font></b></font></b></font></b></font></font></font></p>
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<p><span class="font-size-3"><strong>“The perception is that Compton is a very decadent, dangerous place where you got guys running around wearing red or blue, with guns and this or that. That’s what they kind of expect to see,” said Hodari Sababu, who runs the <a href="http://pitchfork.com/news/48892-watch-hood-life-a-pitchforktv-documentary-film-touring-hip-hop-landmarks-in-compton/" target="_blank">tour company</a>, selling $75 tickets from a Hollywood <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=boulevard" target="_blank" class="vglnk">Boulevard</a> kiosk. “It was like that at one time. Now it is a much kinder, gentler place. You can walk through without being accosted, mostly.”</strong></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"> </font></b></font></b></font></b></font></font></font></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><strong>The violent Los Angeles suburb the tourists pay to see mellowed in the decades after N.W.A put it on the map in 1988 as the birthplace of gangsta rap. Today Compton is rebranding itself as a center for commerce and affordable housing, and bracing for the Aug. 14 release of “Straight Outta Compton,” a <a href="https://mobile.twitter.com/comptonmovie" target="_blank">movie</a> about the rise of N.W.A and its seminal album, whose famous lyrical salvos include “f-ck tha police.”</strong></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"> </font></b></font></b></font></b></font></font></font></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><strong>Mayor Aja Brown’s attitude is, bring it on. “It’s a great opportunity to have a second look,” she said, predicting moviegoers will reconsider her 10 square miles and 100,000 constituents. The mayor, whose grandmother was murdered in Compton four decades ago, said it’s “almost never been safer.”</strong></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"> </font></b></font></b></font></b></font></font></font></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><strong>Stephanie Chavez, working behind thick glass at a KFC about a mile from the public skatepark a donation from Tony Hawk helped build, agreed. “A lot of people are scared of Compton, they hear Compton and freak out,” she said. But “it’s not even bad anymore.”</strong></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"> </font></b></font></b></font></b></font></font></font></span></p>
<h2><span class="font-size-3"><strong><br/> <br/> Tam’s Burgers</strong></span></h2>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"> </font></b></font></b></font></b></font></font></font></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><strong>For Sababu’s clients, it’s bygone Compton that sells, the days of warring between Bloods and Crips, the crack cocaine epidemic, the <a rel="nofollow" href="http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Rassenkonflikte-Die-Rodney-King-Riots/Fabian-Bruckschen/e/9783640625727" target="_blank" class="vglnk">Rodney King riots</a>. “Straight Outta Compton” chronicles that era, when N.W.A -- for Niggaz With Attitude -- popularized West Coast hip hop with lyrics some denounced as disrespectful to women and the police and exalting lawlessness.</strong></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"> </font></b></font></b></font></b></font></font></font></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><strong>Tour highlights include a drive-through funeral home, where gang members could bid speedy salutes to avoid ambushes, and Tam’s Burgers, a favorite of Grammy winner Kendrick Lamar. Death Row Records co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight allegedly ran over and killed a man outside Tam’s in January when the movie crew was shooting an ad. Knight has been <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-02/marion-suge-knight-charged-with-murder-in-fatal-hit-and-run">charged</a> with murder.</strong></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"> </font></b></font></b></font></b></font></font></font></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><strong>“Compton,” Sababu said, “still is Compton.”</strong></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"> </font></b></font></b></font></b></font></font></font></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><strong>N.W.A broke up in the early ’90s. Eazy-E died of AIDS, MC Ren continued as a rapper and <a rel="nofollow" href="http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?toolid=10029&campid=CAMPAIGNID&customid=CUSTOMID&catId=11450&type=2&ext=301696170427&item=301696170427" target="_blank" class="vglnk">DJ Yella</a>, after becoming a pornographic film director, is a music producer. Dr. Dre went on to a varied career capped by last year’s sale of Beats Music to Apple Inc. for $3 billion, and Ice Cube’s an actor whose films include “Ride Along” and “21 Jump Street.”</strong></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"> </font></b></font></b></font></b></font></font></font></span></p>
<h2><span class="font-size-3"><strong><br/> <br/> Murder-Rate Drop</strong></span></h2>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"> </font></b></font></b></font></b></font></font></font></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><strong>The two share producer credits on the movie, some of it shot in their old stomping grounds. Dr. Dre was born in Compton in 1965, the year of the Watts riots in L.A.; Ice Cube was born in L.A. in 1969, the year Compton elected its first black city councilman. The city’s now about two-thirds Latino.</strong></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"> </font></b></font></b></font></b></font></font></font></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><strong>The poverty <a href="http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06/0615044.html" target="_blank">rate</a> is around 26 percent, compared with the California average of 16 percent. Still, Compton’s been on an upswing. The murder rate <a href="http://shq.lasdnews.net/content/uoa/CPT/LASD_CRIME_STATS_2014.pdf" target="_blank">dropped</a> 46 percent between 2004 and 2014, and tax revenues have increased since the Gateway Towne Center shopping area opened in 2007. Trammell Crow Co. is about to break ground on 1 million square feet of <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Y3P04VS" target="_blank" class="vglnk">industrial space</a>.</strong></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"> </font></b></font></b></font></b></font></font></font></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><strong>A selling point is its location, just south of downtown L.A., east of <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.hotels.com/ho122314/wingate-by-wyndham-los-angeles-international-airport-lax-inglewood-united-states-of-america/?wapb1=topdeals&istCompanyId=3c93a0f3-9ba5-49b8-8b5e-1c49f5d79c86&istItemId=irplrpqwx&istBid=t" target="_blank" class="vglnk">Los Angeles International Airport</a> and north of the two biggest U.S. ports. Draw a circle around Compton, said Greg Ames, managing director of Trammell Crow’s local office, and “you can touch about 10 million people within a 45-minute to a one-hour drive.”</strong></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"> </font></b></font></b></font></b></font></font></font></span></p>
<h2><span class="font-size-3"><strong><br/> <br/> L.A.’s Brooklyn</strong></span></h2>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"> </font></b></font></b></font></b></font></font></font></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><strong>Housing’s relatively reasonable too, with 50 homes selling for a median $274,000 in May, compared with the Los Angeles County <a href="http://www.corelogic.com/downloadable-docs/dq-news/ca-home-sale-activity-by-city-may-2015.pdf" target="_blank">median</a> of $485,000. That’s part of the mayor’s pitch, framing Compton as the affordable alternative to Los Angeles that Brooklyn used to be to Manhattan.</strong></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"> </font></b></font></b></font></b></font></font></font></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><strong>“We have new companies investing in the city. We have new housing that’s under development,” said Brown, who grew up in Altadena, about 21 miles to the north. “It’s a much better place to live.”</strong></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"> </font></b></font></b></font></b></font></font></font></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><strong>For F. Gary Gray, the director of the <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.walmart.com/ip/43655174" target="_blank" class="vglnk">Universal Pictures</a> movie, there’s no question it’ll be a boost to the city.</strong></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"> </font></b></font></b></font></b></font></font></font></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><strong>“We don’t depict it in a negative manner. There are no murders, no shootings. We didn’t go there,” he said. “I think people will walk away feeling inspired.”</strong></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"> </font></b></font></b></font></b></font></font></font></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><strong>He called the time chronicled in the film “a great chapter in American history.” It still resonates, and Compton’s still famous. Big Boy, an L.A. hip-hop radio host with a syndicated show, was reminded when his Japanese business partners visited.</strong></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"> </font></b></font></b></font></b></font></font></font></span></p>
<h2><span class="font-size-3"><strong><br/> <br/> Mexican Rapper</strong></span></h2>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"> </font></b></font></b></font></b></font></font></font></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><strong>“I’ve had to get them all in my mini-coach and take them to Compton,” he said. “They never asked about Disneyland and the <a rel="nofollow" href="http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?toolid=10029&campid=CAMPAIGNID&customid=CUSTOMID&catId=1305&type=2&ext=291505432927&item=291505432927" target="_blank" class="vglnk">Hollywood Wax Museum</a>.”</strong></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"> </font></b></font></b></font></b></font></font></font></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><strong>Some locals complain that Dr. Dre and Ice Cube -- born Andre Young and O’Shea Jackson -- turned their backs on the city. They declined to be interviewed.</strong></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"> </font></b></font></b></font></b></font></font></font></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><strong>“What are these people that are millionaires doing other than getting more millions by using Compton as a prop?” said Benjamin Holifield, president of the Compton Business Chamber of Commerce. “They went straight out of Compton and didn’t do anything for us.”</strong></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"><b><font size="3"> </font></b></font></b></font></b></font></font></font></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-3"><strong>But Kiki Smooth, an extra in “Straight Outta Compton” who describes himself as the city’s first Mexican rapper, said the famous former N.W.A members should be credited for leaving behind a flourishing rap culture. “They created a person like me, a person like YG, a person like Kendrick, a person like The Game,” he said. “They weren’t there to save the world.”</strong></span></p>
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Whitney Houston's only child, Bobbi Kristina Brown dies
tag:www.centennialhighalumni.com,2015-07-27:4977783:Topic:114637
2015-07-27T08:40:08.415Z
Phoebe Macon
http://www.centennialhighalumni.com/profile/PhoebeMacon
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656391847?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656391847?profile=original" width="500"></img></a></p>
<p id="yui_3_18_1_1_1437983788696_2064"><strong>DULUTH, Ga. (AP) — The brief, chaotic life of Bobbi Kristina Brown was never really her own.</strong></p>
<p></p>
<p id="yui_3_18_1_1_1437983788696_955"><strong>Born and raised in the shadow of fame and litigation, shattered by the loss of her mother, Whitney Houston, Bobbi Kristina was overwhelmed by the achievements and…</strong></p>
<p><a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656391847?profile=original"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656391847?profile=original" width="500"/></a></p>
<p id="yui_3_18_1_1_1437983788696_2064"><strong>DULUTH, Ga. (AP) — The brief, chaotic life of Bobbi Kristina Brown was never really her own.</strong></p>
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<p id="yui_3_18_1_1_1437983788696_955"><strong>Born and raised in the shadow of fame and litigation, shattered by the loss of her mother, Whitney Houston, Bobbi Kristina was overwhelmed by the achievements and demons of others before she could begin to figure out who she was.</strong></p>
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<p><strong>Her demise was the most awful inheritance of all.</strong></p>
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<p id="yui_3_18_1_1_1437983788696_2062"><strong>Bobbi Kristina died on Sunday at Peachtree Christian Hospice in Duluth, Georgia, about six months after she was found face-down and unresponsive in a bathtub in the suburban Atlanta townhome she shared with Nick Gordon, the man she called her husband. She was 22-years-old.</strong></p>
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<p id="yui_3_18_1_1_1437983788696_1755"><strong>"Bobbi Kristina Brown passed away July, 26 2015, surrounded by her family. She is finally at peace in the arms of God. We want to again thank everyone for their tremendous amount of love and support during these last few months," Kristen Foster, a representative for the Houston family said Sunday.</strong></p>
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<p id="yui_3_18_1_1_1437983788696_1756"><strong>The Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed Bobbi Kristina's death Sunday night and will issue a news release on Monday.</strong></p>
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<p><strong>Police said she was found Jan. 31. A police report described it as a "drowning."</strong></p>
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<p id="yui_3_18_1_1_1437983788696_2078"><strong>Bobbi Kristina was the only child between Houston and Brown.</strong></p>
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<p id="yui_3_18_1_1_1437983788696_1758"><strong>She was hospitalized for months in Atlanta — eventually being placed in hospice care — after being found in a manner grimly similar to the way her megastar mother died three years earlier. Gordon said at the time it seemed Bobbi Kristina wasn't breathing and lacked a pulse before help arrived.</strong></p>
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<p id="yui_3_18_1_1_1437983788696_1760"><strong>Brown — the sole heir of her mother's estate — did have dreams.</strong></p>
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<p id="yui_3_18_1_1_1437983788696_1763"><strong>She identified herself on Twitter as "Daughter of Queen WH," ''Entertainer/Actress" with William Morris & Co., and "LAST of a dying breed." She told Oprah Winfrey shortly after her mother's death in 2012 that she wanted to carry on her mother's legacy by singing, acting and dancing. But her career never took off. Actor and producer Tyler Perry said she had a future as an actress after her debut on his TV show "For Better or Worse" in 2012, but she only appeared in one episode. Aside from two ill-fated reality TV shows and the occasional paparazzi video, her image mostly showed up in the "selfies" she posted online.</strong></p>
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<p id="yui_3_18_1_1_1437983788696_1765"><strong>She attended award shows and appeared on red carpets with her mother and father. She performed a duet with her mother in 2009, singing "My Love Is Your Love" in New York's Central Park. She became social media sensation, sending more than 11,000 tweets and attracting 164,000 followers.</strong></p>
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<p id="yui_3_18_1_1_1437983788696_2070"><strong>As the news of her death spread across social media, several celebrities tweeted their condolences.</strong></p>
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<p id="yui_3_18_1_1_1437983788696_1767"><strong>Grammy-winning performer Missy Elliot tweeted, "My heart is truly heavy. May u rest in peace with your mommy #BobbiKristina sending prayers 2 the Brown/Houston family."</strong></p>
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<p><strong>"Empire" star Taraji P. Henson tweeted, "Rest in heaven."</strong></p>
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<p id="yui_3_18_1_1_1437983788696_1769"><strong>"RIP #BobbiKristina My deepest sympathies 2 your father #BobbyBrown n your GrandMa #CissyHouston We will miss ya 4sho darling ;) Actress Vivica A. Fox said on Twitter.</strong></p>
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<div class="body-related-title photo-caption" style="width: 300px;"><a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656392610?profile=original"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656392610?profile=original" width="350"/></a><strong>FILE - In this Feb. 12, 2011, file photo, singer Whitney Houston, left, and daughter Bobbi Kristina</strong></div>
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<p id="yui_3_18_1_1_1437983788696_1771"><strong>And Winfrey tweeted, "Peace at Last!"</strong></p>
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<p id="yui_3_18_1_1_1437983788696_2076"><strong>Whitney Houston, known as "America's Sweetheart," was an impossible act to follow.</strong></p>
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<p id="yui_3_18_1_1_1437983788696_1773"><strong>The late singer sold more than 50 million records in the United States alone during her career. Her voice, an ideal blend of power, grace and beauty, made classics out of songs like "Saving All My Love For You," ''I Will Always Love You" and "The Greatest Love of All." She earned six Grammys and starred in the films "The Bodyguard" and "The Preacher's Wife."</strong></p>
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<p id="yui_3_18_1_1_1437983788696_1775"><strong>Bobby Brown, who had a bad-boy image, also became a huge star, selling platinum records with New Edition and going solo before drugs and legal woes derailed his career.</strong></p>
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<p id="yui_3_18_1_1_1437983788696_1777"><strong>Bobbi Kristina appeared alongside both parents in 2005 on the Bravo reality show "Being Bobby Brown," which captured her parents fighting, swearing and appearing in court. The Hollywood Reporter said it revealed that Brown was "even more vulgar than the tabloids suggest," and managed "to rob Houston of any last shreds of dignity."</strong></p>
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<p><strong>Years earlier, as Houston was preparing to give birth to Bobbi Kristina, she expressly left Bobby Brown out of her will, putting everything in a trust "for the benefit of her children and more remote descendants," according to the Houstons' 2012 petition.</strong></p>
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<p id="yui_3_18_1_1_1437983788696_2074"><strong>After their divorce in 2007, Houston kept custody of Bobbi Kristina and raised her alongside Gordon, an orphan three years older than her daughter. Houston brought Gordon into her family, and while she never formally adopted him or included him in the will, both teenagers called her "mom."</strong></p>
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<p id="yui_3_18_1_1_1437983788696_1779"><strong>The threesome's tight bond was shattered when Houston's assistant found the singer's lifeless body face-down in a foot of water in her bathtub at the Beverly Hilton just before the Grammy Awards in 2012. Authorities found prescription drugs in the suite, and evidence of heart disease and cocaine in her body, but determined her death was an accidental drowning.</strong></p>
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<p><strong>Bobbi Kristina, then 18, was at the hotel and became so hysterical she had to be hospitalized. "She wasn't only a mother, she was a best friend," she told Winfrey.</strong></p>
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<p id="yui_3_18_1_1_1437983788696_1781"><strong>She and Gordon then went public with their romance, posting defiant messages online after the tabloids accused them of incest.</strong></p>
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<p><strong>The Houstons tolerated their relationship, appearing with them on television that year in Lifetime's reality show "The Houstons: On Our Own."</strong></p>
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<p id="yui_3_18_1_1_1437983788696_1783"><strong>But in one telling episode, the late singer's relatives lectured the pair about drinking after they show up in an obviously altered state, and accused Gordon of failing to take care of the grieving girl.</strong></p>
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<p id="yui_3_18_1_1_1437983788696_1785"><strong>Relations between Gordon and some other relatives continued to sour over the past year after Bobbi Kristina was hospitalized. A protective order barred him from being within 200 feet of Pat Houston, Bobbi Kristina's aunt. A feud erupted over whether Gordon could visit Bobbi Kristina while she stayed in the hospital.</strong></p>
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<p id="yui_3_18_1_1_1437983788696_2071"><strong>On June 24, Bobbi Kristina's court-appointed representative sued Gordon, accusing him of misrepresenting his relationship with Bobbi Kristina. The complaint accused him of being violent toward her and taking more than $11,000 from her account while she was in a medically induced coma after the Jan. 31 tragedy.</strong></p>
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<p id="yui_3_18_1_1_1437983788696_1787"><strong>The lawsuit also accused Gordon of assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, unjust enrichment and conversion.</strong></p>
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<p><strong>Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard said he and his office are interested in reviewing the investigative file to determine whether any charges will be filed.</strong></p>
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<div class="body-related-title photo-caption" style="width: 300px;"><a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656393847?profile=original"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656393847?profile=original" width="350"/></a><strong>FILE - In this Aug. 16, 2012, file photo, Bobbi Kristina Brown attends the Los Angeles premiere of & Nick Gordon</strong></div>
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<p id="yui_3_18_1_1_1437983788696_1789"><strong>Also on June 24, Pat Houston said Bobbi Kristina had been placed in hospice care.</strong></p>
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<p id="yui_3_18_1_1_1437983788696_1791"><strong>Bobbi Kristina was fabulously wealthy for a teenager, but her money was in a spendthrift trust, designed to keep creditors and predators from taking advantage of people who can't manage their money. Bobbi Kristina's grandmother, Cissy Houston, and aunt, Pat Houston, eventually took over control of the trust and then took Bobbi Kristina to court to protect the estate.</strong></p>
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<p id="yui_3_18_1_1_1437983788696_1793"><strong>The Houstons called Bobbi Kristina "a highly visible target for those who would exercise undue influence over her inheritance and/or seek to benefit from (her) resources and celebrity," and urged a judge to delay how quickly she could control the money.</strong></p>
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<p><strong>Bobbi Kristina agreed to the delay, and the judge granted their request to seal the case.</strong></p>
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<p><strong>The size of Houston's estate is a privately held secret.</strong></p>
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<p id="yui_3_18_1_1_1437983788696_1797"><strong>In May, a judge appointed Bobby Brown and Pat Houston as co-guardians of Bobbi Kristina, giving them joint responsibility in decisions related to her care and medical needs. Lawyer Bedelia Hargrove was appointed conservator to oversee Bobbi Kristina's assets, including her rights and legal claims.</strong></p>
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<p id="yui_3_18_1_1_1437983788696_1795"><strong>Houston signed a $100 million record deal in 2001, but failed to deliver, and lost two homes to foreclosure toward the end of her life. But her untimely death revived a hunger for her music, and her name and likeness generated revenue that became part of Bobbi Kristina's inheritance.</strong></p>
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<p id="yui_3_18_1_1_1437983788696_1801"><strong>By January 2014, the young couple who grew up as brother and sister were sharing a townhome in Roswell, Georgia, and calling themselves husband and wife.</strong></p>
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<p id="yui_3_18_1_1_1437983788696_1799"><strong>They posted images of their hands wearing wedding rings, with the caption "#HappilyMarried. So #InLove. If you didn't get it the first time that is." They got identical "WH" tattoos with flying doves on their wrists, and Gordon added a large portrait of Houston's face on his arm.</strong></p>
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<p><strong>Their marriage announcement troubled Pat Houston, who obtained a restraining order against Gordon two months later.</strong></p>
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<p id="yui_3_18_1_1_1437983788696_1803"><strong>"Damn, lol, it's incredible how the world will judge you 4ANY&EVERYthing," Bobbi Kristina tweeted at the time.</strong></p>
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<p><strong>By last September, Pat Houston said she was "very proud of Krissy."</strong></p>
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<p id="yui_3_18_1_1_1437983788696_2060"><strong>"Young people today are up against so much with social media and everything else that presents itself to them," Pat Houston told The Associated Press. "We try to be there for her, just to try to guide and direct her."</strong></p>
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<p id="yui_3_18_1_1_1437983788696_1805"><strong>Judging from her postings online, Bobbi Kristina was focused on the approaching anniversary of her mother's death. In one of her last tweets, she said, "Littlelady&yourgrowing young man @nickdgordon miss you mommy ..:') SOmuch.. loving you more every sec. #Anniversary!"</strong></p>
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<p id="yui_3_18_1_1_1437983788696_1807"><strong>___</strong></p>
<p id="yui_3_18_1_1_1437983788696_1809"><strong>Contributors include Tamara Lush in St. Petersburg, Florida; Kathleen Foody in Atlanta and Mesfin Fekadu in New York.</strong></p>
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Why 'All Lives Matter' Misses The Point (Of The 'Black Lives Matter' Movement)!!
tag:www.centennialhighalumni.com,2015-07-23:4977783:Topic:114572
2015-07-23T08:31:25.230Z
Phoebe Macon
http://www.centennialhighalumni.com/profile/PhoebeMacon
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<p><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><b>Why 'All Lives Matter' Misses The Point (Of The 'Black Lives Matter' Movement)!!</b></font></font></font></p>
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<p><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><b>By Donna Brazile, CNN Political Correspondent <br></br> <br></br>Wed. July 22, 2015 …<br></br> <br></br> <br></br></b></font></font></font></p>
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<p><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><b>Why 'All Lives Matter' Misses The Point (Of The 'Black Lives Matter' Movement)!!</b></font></font></font></p>
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<p><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><b>By Donna Brazile, CNN Political Correspondent <br/> <br/>Wed. July 22, 2015 <br/> <br/> <br/></b></font></font></font></p>
<div class="el__leafmedia el__leafmedia--sourced-paragraph el__leafmedia--"><br/><p class="zn-body__paragraph"><cite class="el-editorial-source">(<strong>CNN)</strong></cite><strong><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/18/politics/bernie-sanders-netroots-nation-black-lives-matter/">They stood up, one by one</a>, shouting "<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=black+lives+matter" target="_blank" class="vglnk">Black lives matter</a>! Black lives matter!" First to former Maryland Gov. <a rel="nofollow" href="http://stat.dealtime.com/DealFrame/DealFrame.cmp?bm=843&BEFID=96477&acode=856&code=856&aon=&crawler_id=1912044&dealId=qgIswysPb_gGIqdTf-1zUg%3D%3D&searchID=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cafepress.com%2F%2B%2C1610582293%3Futm_content%3DChannelAdvisor_US_shopping%26utm_medium%3Dproductfeed%26utm_source%3DCSE&DealName=CafePress%20Martin%20O%27malley%20President%202016%20Bumper%20Sticker&MerchantID=329860&HasLink=yes&category=0&AR=-1&NG=1&GR=1&ND=1&PN=1&RR=-1&ST=&MN=msnFeed&FPT=SDCF&NDS=1&NMS=1&NDP=1&MRS=&PD=0&brnId=2455&lnkId=8070676&Issdt=150722050340&IsFtr=0&IsSmart=0&dlprc=3.99&SKU=1610582293_90" target="_blank" class="vglnk">Martin O'Malley</a> after he told the Netroots Conference in Phoenix that "Black lives matter. White lives matter. All lives matter."</strong></p>
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<p class="zn-body__paragraph"><strong>The cry went up again as Sen. Bernie Sanders prepared to give his stump speech. The participants must have worried whether anyone taking the stage would be allowed to speak without being shouted down.</strong></p>
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<p class="zn-body__paragraph"><strong>Following the outburst, one of my Democratic colleagues wrote: "I don't approve of shouting down speakers. A few chants are fine, to make a point. But I don't think the movement should be preventing folks from talking."</strong></p>
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<p class="zn-body__paragraph"><strong>It's a good point. But it's also essential that we remember that the <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=black+lives+matter" target="_blank" class="vglnk">"Black lives matter"</a> cry comes from the heart of a generation of young African-Americans who feel totally dismissed and unheard -- crushed between unlawful STREET violence and unjust <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.alibris.com/search/books/isbn/9780807050231" target="_blank" class="vglnk">POLICE violence</a>. Yes, civility is important. But it needs to take a backseat to more urgent needs -- needs it feels like we are reminded of every day.</strong></p>
<p><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><font face="verdana" size="2"><b><br/> <br/></b></font></font></font></p>
<p class="zn-body__paragraph"><a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656391643?profile=original"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656391643?profile=original" width="450"/></a><strong>Donna Brazile</strong></p>
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<p class="zn-body__paragraph"><strong>The slogan <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=black+lives+matter" target="_blank" class="vglnk">"Black lives matter"</a> was initiated two years ago around the hotly debated death of <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/18/justice/florida-teen-shooting-details/index.html" target="_blank">Trayvon Martin</a> in Florida. A year later, the death of <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/11/us/missouri-ferguson-michael-brown-what-we-know/" target="_blank">Michael Brown</a> in Ferguson, Missouri, led to renewed calls for politicians and others to address the issue of <a rel="nofollow" href="http://stat.dealtime.com/DealFrame/DealFrame.cmp?bm=843&BEFID=96477&acode=856&code=856&aon=&crawler_id=1912044&dealId=R6f9gyro_X9Nu1RB54M8Mg%3D%3D&searchID=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cafepress.com%2F%2B%2C1316923435%3Futm_content%3DChannelAdvisor_US_shopping%26utm_medium%3Dproductfeed%26utm_source%3DCSE&DealName=CafePress%20stop%20police%20brutality%20Bumper%20Sticker&MerchantID=329860&HasLink=yes&category=0&AR=-1&NG=1&GR=1&ND=1&PN=1&RR=-1&ST=&MN=msnFeed&FPT=SDCF&NDS=1&NMS=1&NDP=1&MRS=&PD=0&brnId=2455&lnkId=8070676&Issdt=150722050340&IsFtr=0&IsSmart=0&dlprc=3.99&SKU=1316923435_90" target="_blank" class="vglnk">police brutality</a>. But after the videos of <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/20/justice/ny-chokehold-death/index.html" target="_blank">Eric Garner</a>, John Crawford, <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/26/justice/cleveland-police-shooting/index.html" target="_blank">Tamir Rice</a>, and Walter Scott, there is no debate any more. Just this week, there's a new video surfacing on the arrest and mysterious circumstances of the <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/22/us/texas-sandra-bland-arrest/index.html">death of Sandra Bland in Texas</a>. And the story of the <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/21/us/cincinnati-police-shooting/index.html">fatal shooting of another black man</a>, apparently unarmed, by a <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=university+of+cincinnati" target="_blank" class="vglnk">University of Cincinnati</a> police officer.</strong></p>
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<p class="zn-body__paragraph"><strong>I am sure Gov. O'Malley did not mean any harm when he said "All lives matter." <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/18/politics/martin-omalley-all-lives-matter/">In fact he apologized</a>, saying, "I did not mean to be insensitive in any way or communicate that I did not understand the tremendous passion, commitment and feeling and depth of feeling that all of us should be attaching to this issue."</strong></p>
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<p class="zn-body__paragraph"><strong>But when someone says ALL lives matter, it can sound like that person is dismissing the specific pain behind the slogan. And that is something that the young people organizing in community after community cannot easily tolerate. They have been to too many funerals. They have seen too many of these horrific videos watching their friends die right in front of their own eyes.</strong></p>
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<p class="zn-body__paragraph"><strong>Of course ALL lives matter. But there is no serious question about the value of the life of a <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.walmart.com/ip/Government-Girl-Young-and-Female-in-the-White-House/11604254" target="_blank" class="vglnk">young white girl</a> or boy. Sadly, there is a serious question -- between gang violence and this <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.alibris.com/search/books/isbn/9780807050231" target="_blank" class="vglnk">police violence</a> -- about the value of the life of a young black girl or boy. So those who are experiencing the pain and trauma of the black experience in this country don't want their rallying cry to be watered down with a generic feel-good catchphrase.</strong></p>
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<p class="zn-body__paragraph"><strong>Imagine a series of sexual assaults by men against women on a campus. Someone says, "Men on this campus need to stop raping women!" And someone responds, "Well, everyone should just stop raping everyone." You can see why some women might feel this is missing the point.</strong></p>
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<p class="zn-body__paragraph"><strong>As CNN's <a rel="nofollow" href="http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?toolid=10029&campid=CAMPAIGNID&customid=CUSTOMID&catId=267&type=2&ext=231608380501&item=231608380501" target="_blank" class="vglnk">Van Jones</a> reminded me: "When you have a specific pain, you want a specific slogan."</strong></p>
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<p class="zn-body__paragraph"><strong>So where did this slogan come from? #BlackLivesMatter <a href="http://fortune.com/2015/07/19/blacklivesmatter-work-credit/?se=toc&so=cu">was started by three women</a>, Patrisse Cullors, Opal Tometi, and Alicia Garza. Activists like these are making the point that there is a moment in this country right now that our political leaders need to speak to what's happening and to come up with solutions that makes sense.</strong></p>
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<p class="zn-body__paragraph"><strong>Will they seize this moment?</strong></p>
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<p class="zn-body__paragraph"><strong>Well, for once there is some good news. Two months ago, Hillary Clinton gave a speech calling for body cameras and sentencing reform. In a recent Facebook chat, she stated: "<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=black+lives+matter" target="_blank" class="vglnk">Black lives matter</a>. Everyone in this country should stand firmly behind that. We need to acknowledge some hard truths about race and justice in this country, and one of those hard truths is that racial inequality is not merely a symptom of economic inequality. Black people across America still experience racism every day."</strong></p>
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<p class="zn-body__paragraph"><strong>President Barack Obama, meanwhile, recently visited a prison and pointed out to the whole world that the folks in there were not so different from him. "These are young people who made mistakes that aren't that different than the mistakes I made and the mistakes that a lot of you guys made," <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/07/16/remarks-president-after-visit-el-reno-federal-correctional-institution" target="_blank">President Obama told the press</a>. "We have a tendency sometimes to almost take for granted or think it's normal that so many young people end up in our criminal justice system. It's not normal. ... What is normal is teenagers doing stupid things."</strong></p>
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<p class="zn-body__paragraph"><strong>Maybe most encouraging of all is that Congress has <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/25/opinions/jones-criminal-justice-reform/">introduced a bipartisan bill, the SAFE ACT</a>, which would enact several criminal justice reform efforts including changes in sentencing for nonviolent drug offenders. The bill, whose official name is the Safe, Accountable, Fair, Effective Justice Reinvestment Act of 2015, would create a "presumption in favor of probation as opposed to stiffer penalty such as incarceration" for low-level, first-time and nonviolent crimes. It would also limit the use of mandatory minimums to organizers or leaders of <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/Drug-traffickers-Source-Wikipedia/1110880682?ean=9781157320159" target="_blank" class="vglnk">drug trafficking rings</a>.</strong></p>
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<p class="zn-body__paragraph"><strong>Of course this is just a start -- a first response to the cries from those who must be heard. The reality facing black Americans was reflected in the statement released following the Netroots conference by the leaders of the <a href="http://blacklivesmatter.com/" target="_blank">Black Lives Matter movement</a>: "We will keep fighting for Black lives because we are dying and being stripped of our dignity. This crisis is urgent and demands presidential action," they said. "Until there is evidence that Black lives matter, there can be no business as usual."</strong></p>
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<p class="zn-body__paragraph"><strong>Will any of the 2016 candidates truly step up to the challenge?</strong></p>
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At 90 Years Old, Acclaimed Actress Cicely Tyson Feels There's More Work To Do !!
tag:www.centennialhighalumni.com,2015-05-19:4977783:Topic:113509
2015-05-19T07:43:36.699Z
Phoebe Macon
http://www.centennialhighalumni.com/profile/PhoebeMacon
<h1 class="yiv7941125882" id="yiv7941125882article-aft-title-90-actress-cicely-tyson-feels-theres-more-114944043"><strong>At 90, actress Cicely Tyson feels there's more work to do…</strong></h1>
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<h1 class="yiv7941125882" id="yiv7941125882article-aft-title-90-actress-cicely-tyson-feels-theres-more-114944043"><strong>At 90, actress Cicely Tyson feels there's more work to do</strong></h1>
<div class="yiv7941125882" id="yiv7941125882article-aft-attribution-90-actress-cicely-tyson-feels-theres-more-114944043" style="max-width: 500px;"><div id="yiv7941125882yui_3_16_0_1_1431977588759_2586" class="yiv7941125882"><div id="yiv7941125882yui_3_16_0_1_1431977588759_2585" class="yiv7941125882"><div id="yiv7941125882yui_3_16_0_1_1431977588759_2584" class="yiv7941125882"><div id="yiv7941125882yui_3_16_0_1_1431977588759_2583" class="yiv7941125882"><a rel="nofollow" id="yiv7941125882yui_3_16_0_1_1431977588759_2728" class="yiv7941125882" target="_blank" href="http://www.ap.org/" name="yiv7941125882yui_3_16_0_1_1431977588759_2728"><img src="https://s.yimg.com/lo/api/res/1.2/T5ejn2uPqCLKGowHgRwf8w--/YXBwaWQ9bWFnYXppbmVzO2ZpPWZpdDt3PTE1MA--/https://s.yimg.com/os/152/2012/04/21/image001-png_162613.png" alt="Associated Press" class="yiv7941125882"/></a><div id="yiv7941125882yui_3_16_0_1_1431977588759_2582" class="yiv7941125882"><strong><a rel="nofollow" id="yiv7941125882yui_3_16_0_1_1431977588759_2729" target="_blank" href="http://www.ap.org/" class="yiv7941125882" name="yiv7941125882yui_3_16_0_1_1431977588759_2729">Associated Press</a></strong></div>
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<div class="yiv7941125882"><div class="yiv7941125882"><div class="yiv7941125882"><strong><cite class="yiv7941125882" style="padding-bottom: 15px;"><span class="yiv7941125882">SANDY COHEN</span><span class="yiv7941125882">May 18, 2015</span></cite></strong></div>
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<div id="yiv7941125882yui_3_15_0_1_1431976982758_679" class="yiv7941125882"><div class="yiv7941125882" id="yiv7941125882article-aft-text-body-90-actress-cicely-tyson-feels-theres-more-114944043" style="color: #222222; max-width: 500px;"><div id="yiv7941125882yui_3_15_0_1_1431976982758_678" class="yiv7941125882"><div id="yiv7941125882yui_3_16_0_1_1431977588759_2496" class="yiv7941125882" style="min-height: auto; margin-bottom: 1.5em;"><div class="yiv7941125882"></div>
<div id="yiv7941125882yui_3_16_0_1_1431977588759_2578" class="yiv7941125882"><a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656393058?profile=original"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656393058?profile=original" width="500"/></a><span id="yiv7941125882yui_3_16_0_1_1431977588759_2579" class="yiv7941125882" style="color: #777;">FILE - In this Wednesday, May 13, 2015 file photo, Cicely Tyson attends the The Paley Center Tribute to African-American Achievements in Television at Cipriani Wall Street in New York. Tyson is honored to accept a lifetime achievement award from the Alliance for Women in Media at its 40th annual Gracies Awards ceremony on Tuesday, May 19, 2015, in Beverly Hills. (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP, File)</span></div>
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<div id="yiv7941125882yui_3_16_0_1_1431977588759_2580" class="yiv7941125882"><strong>LOS ANGELES (AP) — She was married to Miles Davis and shared the screen with Elizabeth Taylor. She's won a Tony and an Emmy and has been nominated for an Academy Award. But even at 90, Cicely Tyson says her life's work isn't done.</strong></div>
<div class="yiv7941125882"><strong>Still, she's honored to accept a lifetime achievement award from the Alliance for Women in Media at its 40th annual Gracies Awards ceremony on Tuesday in Beverly Hills.</strong></div>
<div id="yiv7941125882yui_3_16_0_1_1431977588759_2572" class="yiv7941125882"><strong>"I actually feel like I have not really achieved that much," Tyson said. "So I look at it as just encouragement to keep going."</strong></div>
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<div id="yiv7941125882yui_3_16_0_1_1431977588759_2573" class="yiv7941125882"></div>
<div class="yiv7941125882"><a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656395074?profile=original"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656395074?profile=original" width="500"/></a><span id="yiv7941125882yui_3_16_0_1_1431977588759_2557" class="yiv7941125882" style="color: #777;">FILE - In this June 19, 2014 file photo, Cicely Tyson arrives at the Critics' Choice Television Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. <br/></span></div>
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<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1432020704270_2215" class="yiv7941125882"><span id="yiv7941125882yui_3_16_0_1_1431977588759_2557" class="yiv7941125882" style="color: #777;"> </span></div>
<div id="yiv7941125882yui_3_16_0_1_1431977588759_2555" class="yiv7941125882"><strong>The actress spoke with The Associated Press recently, reflecting on her 60-year career and sharing plans for what's next.</strong></div>
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<div class="yiv7941125882"><strong>AP: What keeps acting interesting for you?</strong></div>
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<div id="yiv7941125882yui_3_16_0_1_1431977588759_2552" class="yiv7941125882"><strong>Tyson: I look at every role as a person that I'm meeting for the first time, and that allows me — because of the curiosity that I've always had since I was a child, and thank God I still have it — to delve into the personality, to find out who they really are. And once I can do that, it gives me some assurance that I can honestly project the character of the person.</strong></div>
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<div id="yiv7941125882yui_3_16_0_1_1431977588759_2553" class="yiv7941125882"></div>
<div class="yiv7941125882"><a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656395371?profile=original"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656395371?profile=original" width="500"/></a><span class="yiv7941125882" style="color: #777;">FILE - In this June 9, 2013 file photo, Cicely Tyson poses with her award in the press room at the 67th Annual Tony Awards, in New York. <br/></span></div>
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<div id="yiv7941125882yui_3_16_0_1_1431977588759_2525" class="yiv7941125882"><strong>AP: Did you always want to be an entertainer?</strong></div>
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<div id="yiv7941125882yui_3_16_0_1_1431977588759_2493" class="yiv7941125882" style="overflow: hidden; max-height: 999999px; max-width: 500px;"><div id="yiv7941125882yui_3_16_0_1_1431977588759_2523" class="yiv7941125882"><strong>Tyson: As a child, my father taught the three of us — he had a boy and two girls — to sing. So we sang and were always performing in church. ..." I never thought of it as anything special. Except once when my sister and I were supposed to perform together. She didn't want to go because she didn't like the song that was chosen for us to sing. So I went by myself, and it ended up that they put me on a chair and they lifted the chair into the air and they marched all around the church with me on it. I couldn't wait to get home and tell my mother and my sister and my father. I never forgot that moment.</strong></div>
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<div class="yiv7941125882"><a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656395528?profile=original"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656395528?profile=original" width="500"/></a><span id="yiv7941125882yui_3_16_0_1_1431977588759_2503" class="yiv7941125882" style="color: #777;">FILE - In this Feb. 17, 2012 file photo, Cicely Tyson, front center, and from left, Harry Belafonte, Laurence Fishburne and Sidney Poitier pose in the audience at the 43rd NAACP Image Awards in Los Angeles. <br/></span></div>
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<div id="yiv7941125882yui_3_16_0_1_1431977588759_2501" class="yiv7941125882"><strong>AP: What attracts you to a role?</strong></div>
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<div id="yiv7941125882yui_3_16_0_1_1431977588759_2515" class="yiv7941125882"><strong>Tyson: Well, either my skin tingles or my stomach churns. I've said that from the beginning of my career. It happens when I read a script. When I read a script, either my skin tingles or my stomach churns. If my stomach churns, I know it's not for me. When my skin tingles, I can't wait. It's that simple with me.</strong></div>
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<div class="yiv7941125882"><strong>AP: Do you ever think about retirement?</strong></div>
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<div id="yiv7941125882yui_3_16_0_1_1431977588759_2492" class="yiv7941125882"><strong>Tyson: When I saw Geraldine (Page) do "Trip to Bountiful" ... I saw her name on the billboard and I've always been a fan of hers, so I went in and saw it. When I left the theater I went right to my agent's home and I said, "You get me my 'Trip to Bountiful' and I will retire." He looked at me and he laughed, OK? And every now and then I would run into him and say, "Where's my 'Trip to Bountiful?'" Well 26 years later — you know, I say it, and I don't really believe it, but it happened — 26 years later I received a call (for a meeting with) Hallie Foote, the daughter of (playwright) Horton Foote. ... She told me that she was thinking of doing one of her father's plays, "Trip to Bountiful," with a black cast, and that her father had so much respect for me and my work that she knew that I was the only person he felt would be able to play it. ... I literally fell off the chair.</strong></div>
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<div class="yiv7941125882"><strong>AP: You won the 2013 Tony Award for that performance. You got what you asked for, but are you retired?</strong></div>
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<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1432020704270_2216" class="yiv7941125882"><strong>Tyson: It was very rewarding, the whole experience, and, for me, very gratifying. I did not expect the "Trip to Bountiful." I was just asking for one more good role. So I've been so blessed. I said, "Just one more good role and I'll retire!" But you see where I am now? I'm getting ready to do "The Gin Game" (on Broadway) with James Earl Jones in the fall.</strong></div>
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<div id="yui_3_16_0_1_1432020704270_2218" class="yiv7941125882" dir="ltr"><strong>Follow AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen at <a rel="nofollow" class="yiv7941125882" target="_blank" href="http://www.twitter.com/APSandy" title="Linkification: http://www.twitter.com/APSandy">www.twitter.com/APSandy</a> .</strong></div>
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