Bernie Mac

Bernie Mac, born as Benard Jeffrey McCullough was born on October 5th 1957 in Chicago Illinois. Bernie Mac performed his first stand up routine at the age of eight. Mac lost his mother to cancer then soon after that his father, brother, and grandmother. Mac realized the power of laughter made him feel better. He began telling jokes in the Chicago Subway. He joined the comedy club in 1977. The Bernie Mac show made a debut on Fox in 2001. He co starred with Chris Rock and replace Bill Murray in Charlies Angels. Bernie Mac sadly passed away in pneumonia on August 9th, 2008. 

Russell Simmons

Born on October 4th 1957 in Queens, New York. He attended the city college of New York. Russel Simmons left school and founded Rush Management to promote rap. Russell Simmons managed under Def Jams many artists.

A fight for Civil Rights

Rosa Parks was born as Rosa Loiuse McCauley on February 4th, 1913 in Tuskegee Alabama. Rosa was a civil rights activist who refused to give up her seat on a public bus. She created a boycott citywide and helped put an end to segregation.  A contemporary of Rosa Parks were. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I choose to write about Rosa Parks because her standing up for herself helped everyone else worldwide and realize to stand up for themselves even to this day.  

Photo courtesy of: http://tinyurl.com/jcbmm7x

Haitian artist and humanitarian Wyclef Jean 

On this Day October 17, 1969, artist, songwriter, and guitarist Nel Ust Wyclef Jean was born in Croix-Des-Bouques, Haiti. Wyclef Jean joined a group in high school by the name of Exact Change who was later signed to Columbia Records in 1993. Two of Wyclef Jeans greatest songs are "Ready or Not" and "Killing me Softly." Wyclef Jean is a Grammy award winning artist. When Haiti had their big earthquake in 2010 Wyclef Jean created a charity to raise money for help. I choose this artist over the others because I am more comfortable and familiar with him.

"I have a Dream"

On January 15th 1929, Martin Luther King Jr was born in Atlanta Georgia. Dr. King was a minister and social activist who led the Civil rights movement from the late 1950's until his assassination on April 4th 1968. Dr. King had many known worthy accomplishments in his life. One included being awarded for the Nobel Peace Prize, one of the six prizes awarded for important work in the fields of literature, physics, chemistry, medicine, and economics. Martin Luther King was awarded his prize for his nonviolent resistance to the racial prejudice in America. Some of his contemporaries were Jesse Jackson and Roy Wilkins of the NAACP. Martin Luther King will be known for his legacy and for telling people to stand for their rights, and to know their place in this world. I choose Martin Luther King because he left his mark on this world not through music, but through action and speech. 

Toni Morrison

Toni Morrison born on February 18, 1931 in Lorain, Ohio. Morrison is a Nobel Prize and Pulilzer Prize novelist. In 1993 she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Morrison has won multiple book awards. A few novels she wrote are The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon, and Beloved. Toni Morrison taught English at Texas Southern University and was graduated from Lorain High School in 1949.

                                             Photo courtesy of:http://tinyurl.com/gm2j2uw

India Arie

India Arie was born on October 3, 1975 in Denver, Colorado born as India Arie Simpson. India is a songwriter, musician, and record producer. She obtained a passion for music in her early life. India Arie featured on Stevie Wonders album and was nominated for a Grammy in 2006. She also featured on the Tyra banks show in 2005 and performed "Just for the day".