The world is mourning the loss of fame novelist Toni Morrison. According to her publisher, Morrison passed away on Monday night, she was 88 years old.
Morrison was best known for her best selling and critically acclaimed novel Beloved, which won the 1988 Pulitzer prize. Morrison also became the first African American woman to win a Nobel Prize in Literature.
Some of Morrison’s other works of literature includes Jazz (1992), Paradise (1997), Home (2012), and God Help the Child (2015). Toni Morrison broke barriers for many others to come along and she wrote through her toughest times.
As reported by Vulture, in 2010, she wrote about the death of her son “I stopped writing until I began to think, he would be really put out if he thought that he had caused me to stop.”
During the end of her Nobel Prize speech, Morrison ended with these words, “We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives.”
It has been a long and trying journey for Cyntoia Brown, but justice has finally been served! Yesterday, the governor of Tennessee granted Brown clemency. “Cyntoia Brown committed, by her own admission, a horrific crime at the age of 16”, Haslam said in a statement to the Tennessean. “Yet, imposing a life sentence on a juvenile that would require her to serve at least 51 years before even being eligible for parole consideration is too harsh, especially in the light of the extraordinary steps Ms. Brown has taken to rebuild her life.”Brown, 30, has been in jail since she was 16 years old, convicted of murder after killing her sex trafficker while he laid next to her.Brown is scheduled to be released on August 7th. She will also have to attend regular counseling sessions and perform 50 hours of community service. Brown will remain on parole for 10 years and is required to find a job.Brown also released a statement of her own. “I am thankful for all the support, prayers and encouragement I have received. We truly serve a God of second chance and new beginnings. With God’s help, I am committed to living the rest of my life helping others, especially young people. My hope is to help other young girls avoid ending up where I have been.”Congratulations to Cyntoia Brown!
Kishawna Faulkner wearing a yellow shirt, a blue and yellow skirt, holding flowers and a microphone.
Jonathan wearing red and white suit.
Young female wearing black and red shorts suit
The Kids wearing Heart of a Lion. Pic Cred|Tiana Palmer/Complex Visuals
Two female dancers wearing red and white stripe shirts and black pants
Yung Quinc wearing Black and Red Heart of a Lion Sweatsuit
Have you ever heard of the saying,”it’s better to give than to receive?”, well for Kishawna Faulkner, this more than a saying to her, it’s her mantra.Kishawna Faulkner, a Brooklyn native, states that she loves helping others in a positive way. Wanting to more than she does, she decided to brand herself as an entrepreneur and in doing so, she came up with the company, R.O.A.D.S.R.O.A.D.S, which stands for Reaching Our Aspirations Dreams and Success, is an organization that plans events for up and coming entrepreneurs.Since the start of this company in March 2018, Faulkner has put together pop-up shops, bar-be-ques, and baby showers. Her biggest event to date, took place this past Saturday, August 18th, 2018 in Bushwick at 100 Bogart Street. She put together a fashion show that featured only up and coming fashion designers.The show had a total of five designers, including Anisupe Clothing, RSC, and Heart of a Lion. It also showcased models from kids to teenagers to adults.The show also included a phenomenal dance break by the dance duo Olasheni Emonni Odey.There was also a musical performance by up and coming artist Yung Quinc.For many of the designers, this was their first fashion show and there was a mix of emotions running through their minds from beginning to end.”It was very eventful. At first, it was nervewracking, not knowing what to expect,” said Korey Browne, owner of Heart of A Lion. He continued ” I think after going through it the first time, I think that the other venues are just going to be better and better. Seeing the reception that they were so interested and wanting to know more about the line, it encouraged me to keep pushing forward.””I feel like it was a huge success. I plan on doing a lot more fashion shows, and pop-up shops and other events down the line because today was a success and it shows what I can do with my clothing brand”, said Robert Henry, founder, and president of Anisupe Clothing.Faulkner also shared how she felt about the show. “I feel like I can breathe. I can smile now, I can laugh with everyone, I’m relaxed everything went well. All of the stress, frustrations, and tears were all worth it”. She continued, “I learned that you always have to have a back up for your back up”.
