READ MORE: Black History, Fannie Lou Hamer, Film, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Hollywood, Ida B Wells, Marcus Garvey, Nat Turner, Paul Robeson, Robert Smalls, Sojourner Truth

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Fannie Lou Hamer (AP Photo)

The Academy Awards are airing this weekend, and with them will come the inevitable griping from film fans of color about the dearth of African-American nominees and black-themed films. Even though the stars of The Help are frontrunners for Oscar, many feel there are some more compelling true stories that would make ideal big screen adaptations. Why has there never been a big screen version of Harriet Tubman’s story? Wouldn’t a film about Marcus Garvey or Paul Robeson be endlessly entertaining and informative? Check out this slideshow below of black biopics we’d love to see.

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• Harriet Tubman‘s story has action, drama and plenty of intrigue. What a marvelous opportunity for an established or up-and-coming black actress. Tubman is an American hero with crossover appeal.

• Although Robert Smalls is no household name, his story is incredible. He escaped slavery to become a sea captain and politician. He freed himself and his family by commandeering a Confederate transport ship to freedom in Charleston. He also founded the Republican Party of South Carolina.

• The slave rebellion of Nat Turner would surely make for an incendiary, albeit slightly controversial film. It would be a great opportunity to set the record straight on a scandalous chapter in slavery’s history.

• Born to slaves, Ida B. Wells spent her life leading anti-lynching crusades and fighting for social equality for African-Americans. Using her skills as a writer and orator, she traveled as far as the UK during her career, which she began in the 1890s.

• Frederick Douglass escaped slavery, wrote books, became an advisor to presidents and was the voice of black America for decades. Why have we never seen his story on the big screen?

• Forget The Aviator, Bessie Coleman was the first-ever black female aviator and he stunt-filled airshows are the stuff of legend. This would be another great part for a rising black female movie star.

• Want some adventure? How about the story of the first men to explore the North Pole featuring Matthew Henson the intrepid explorer who has never truly gotten his due.

• Madam C. J. Walker was the brains behind a cosmetics empire, she was a philanthropist and the first black multi-millionaire. Yet her story is largely unknown to most Americans. A big budget movie could change that.

• Paul Robeson was a true renaissance man. An All-American college athlete, star of stage and screen, plus a political activist — he could be the subject of a top-notch biopic.

• Flamboyant and fiery, Marcus Garvey was one of the most exciting and powerful black figures of his time. Can’t you just see Treme‘s Wendell Pierce bringing him to life?

• The brave and irascible Sojourner Truth is an icon for both women’s rights and black history. Her escape from slavery and legal victory over her son’s captors would make for an enthralling movie.

• Perhaps Gabourey Sidibe could follow-up her Oscar-worthy role in Precious with a biopic of Fannie Lou Hamer? The civil rights activist was a passionate speaker and advocate for justice.

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Article source: http://www.thegrio.com/entertainment/hey-hollywood-adapt-these-black-stories-asap-slideshow.php

WASHINGTON (AP) — The president just couldn’t say no: Mick Jagger held out a microphone almost by way of command, and soon Barack Obama was belting out the blues with the best of them.

The East Room of the White House was transformed into an intimate blues club on Tuesday night for a concert featuring blues all-stars of the past, present and future — and the president himself.

The surprise performance by Obama came at the end of the playlist when the blues ensemble was singing “Sweet Home Chicago,” the blues anthem of Obama’s home town.

Buddy Guy prodded the president, saying he’d heard that the president sang part of an Al Green tune recently, and adding, “You gotta keep it up.”

Then Jagger handed over the mic, and Obama seemed compelled to comply.

“Come on, baby don’t you want to go,” the president sang out twice, handing off the mic to B.B. King momentarily, and then taking it back to tack on “Sweet Home Chicago” at the end.

WATCH THE PRESIDENT SING ‘SWEET HOME CHICAGO’ WITH B.B. KING:

That was how Obama ended the night.

This was how he began it: Obama said sometimes there are downsides to being the president. You can’t just go for a walk, for example.

And then there are the times that more than make up for all those frustrations, he said, like Tuesday night, when Jagger, King, Jeff Beck and other musical giants came by the house to sing the blues.

“I guess things even out a little bit,” Obama joked at the start of a rollicking East Room concert that was electrified by Jagger and the rest.

“This music speaks to something universal,” Obama declared. “No one goes through life without both joy and pain, triumph and sorrow. The blues gets all of that, sometimes with just one lyric or one note. “

King, 86, arrived in a wheelchair but rose tall to kick off the night with a raucous “Let the Good Times Roll,” quickly joined by other members of the ensemble. And he followed with “The Thrill is Gone.”

From there, Obama and his wife, Michelle, were swaying in their seats and singing along to an all-hits playlist including “St. James Infirmary” and “Let Me Love You.”

Beck slowed things down with an instrumental “Brush With the Blues,” as anticipation built for the arrival of Jagger, who did not disappoint.

The longtime Rolling Stones frontman delivered on “I Can’t Turn You Loose” and then teamed up with Beck on “Commit a Crime.” Jagger got the president and his wife up out of their seats, swaying and clapping to the music, and picked up the pace with “Miss You,” performed with Shemekia Copeland and Susan Tedeschi.

Obama was clearly savoring the moment, closing his eyes at times and nodding his head as he lip-synced the words.

The president rose at the end to introduce the ensemble as the “White House Blues All-Stars” for the final song of the night, “Sweet Home Chicago.”

“For Michelle and me,” the president said, “there’s no blues like the song our artists have chosen to close with — the blues from our hometown.”

With that, the ensemble wrapped up the evening with “Sweet Home Chicago.” And then Jagger handed off the mic to Obama for his presidential coda.

In advance of the concert, Grammy-winner Keb Mo had joked during a rehearsal break that Obama himself would perform, and there could even be a record in the works. He joked that Obama’s record would be called, “After the second term, now I can finally get my groove on.”

Maybe he wasn’t joking after all.

The lineup for Tuesday’s concert spanned multiple generations, from legends like King and Guy to young faces such as 26-year-old Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews and Gary Clark Jr., whose style blends hip hop, contemporary soul and indie rock. Also performing were Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks, with actress Taraji P. Henson as the program host and Booker T. Jones as music director and band leader.

The blues concert will be part of the “In Performance at the White House” series that airs on the Public Broadcasting Service. This one, designed to recognize Black History Month, will be broadcast on Monday on PBS stations and aired later on American Forces Network.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.

Article source: http://www.thegrio.com/politics/preisdent-obama-sings-sweet-home-chicago-with-bb-king-video.php

The Smithsonian Institution will break ground on the National Museum of African-American History and Culture (NMAAHC) today at a ceremony that President Obama and Laura Bush will attend.

The museum is to be completed in the fall of 2015, a dozen years after President George W. Bush signed legislation calling for the creation of the museum. NMAAHC will be the nation’s largest and most comprehensive cultural destination devoted exclusively to showcasing African-American life, art, history and culture. Numerous collaborations have occurred and will occur with other African-American museums nationwide.

Civil rights leaders, dignitaries, congressional representatives and prominent African-Americans from business, academia and the arts and entertainment will attend the ceremony, including Rep. John Lewis, D-GA, and actress Phylicia Rashad.

“More than anything, I want to make America better,” said Lonnie Bunch, the museum’s director, in a statement. “I want the museum to overcome race.”

The museum will be built on the National Mall, where Smithsonian museums attract tens of millions of visitors annually. It will stand on a 5-acre site adjacent to the Washington Monument and opposite the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.

“I’ve always wanted to tell the stories of the regular people, to give a voice to those who were anonymous,” said Bunch.

Article source: http://www.thegrio.com/politics/black-history-museum-growing-to-be-held-on-wednesday.php