History – Danii Gold

Fact 13: First Black owned Television show

February 13, 2019April 3, 2019Danii Gold

The first black owned television station was WGPR-TV Detroit. It was founded by William Venoid Banks and it meant programming targeted to the black audience. Banks was a minister, attorney, and member of The International Free and Accepted Modern Masons (IFAMM), in which he founded. He also controlled Detroit’s first black owned radio station, called WGPR-FM.

photo credit: dbusiness.com

It all got started when Banks sat down with President Richard Nixon, and they started conversing about blacks involvement in the broadcasting field. Nixon told him that he needed to obtain a Federal Communications Commission License. With that license you are required to have enough fund to run the station for a whole year.Since Banks was the founder of the IFAMM, he used that money from member’s monthly subscriptions to start his radio station (WGPR-FM), but with purchasing the television station, he sold 100 acres of the Mason’s land in the…

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Women’s Month Appreciation: Michelle Obama

March 27, 2018March 20, 2019Danii Gold

Update: March 20, 2019.

Michelle Obama released her book Becoming on November 13, 2018 and sold 3 million copies within a month!! She’s started her book tour and it’s been very successful. GO AUNTIE MICHELLE!!

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2BD0CCF0-A071-4954-890F-79E56BAD779C — Elle.com

WOMEN’S MONTH ISN’T OVER!!

Today’s Women’s month appreciation post goes to the FIRST Black First Lady of the United States—MICHELLE OBAMA!

You want to know why she’s so amazingly dope? I’ll tell ya.

Michelle graduated from one of the top 10 ivy league schools in 1985—Princeton University. She graduated from another ivy league school with her law degree in 1988–Harvard Law. She met the love of her life, Mr. Prez Barack Obama in 1989 and they married in 1992.

Image result for michelle obama and barack 1992 — credit: chron.com

Image result for michelle obama and barack 2008 — credit: time.com

After her hubby became the First Black President in America, she she started getting involved in the community as soon as Barack was inaugurated. She started volunteering at homeless shelters and soup kitchens in 2009. She created three initiatives: one being Let’s Move movement in 2010, that helped reduce obesity in kids and strive for healthier foods in school and at home. Another initiate was the Joining Forces movement she started in 2010, that helps support services members, veterans and their families. The third initiative being the Reach Higher movement. This mission was to help young people continue their education past high school and helping them understand the importance of higher education and helping the kids with resources.

Michelle has done more of her fair share of work as a first lady, as well as being a wife, a mother of two now teenagers and a leader throughout the world. She’s shown us that Black is Beautiful, Stay Healthy, Stay Educated, Be Determined, Focused and Hopeful; and more importantly “You don’t have to be somebody different to be important. You’re important in your own right.”

Let’s show Michelle some love!!!

Image result for michelle obama — credit: theverge.com

featured imaged credit: etonline.com

Women’s Appreciation Month: Oprah Winfrey

March 12, 2018Danii Gold

featured image: variety.com

Today’s Women Month fact goes to Oprah Winfrey. EVERYONE knows who Oprah is, BUT if you don’t, here’s some of her history.

She started her news career in 1976 in Maryland Baltimore when she hosted a talk show chat and eventually moved on to the morning show. After working for the station for 8 years, she was recruited to Chicago, Illinois to host her own morning show, A.M Chicago. Her show wasn’t the typical women topics but instead controversial and debatable topics. Her high ratings and popularity got her the role in the movie The Color Purple.

After filming the movie, her show A.M Chicago was renamed The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1985. By 1986, Oprah’s show was nationally syndicated. Her award-winning show became the go-to show to watch, no matter what your age is. Oprah got more into the business aspect of entertainment when she co-founded the Oxygen network in 1998 and then starting her O Magazine In 2008, Oprah partnered with the Discover Health Channel and eventually the name was switched to OWN, Oprah Winfrey Network in 2011. In that same year of the name change, Oprah ended her show the Oprah Winfrey Show and focused primarily on OWN.

Oprah has made many contributions, including opening a $40 million school for disadvantaged girls in South Africa and she’s produced several shows on her network including Greenleaf. In 2013, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama.

More recently, she received the Cecil B DeMille at the 2018 Golden Globes this year. EVEN MORE RECENT, her film A Wrinkle In Time, debuted this past Friday March 9th.

Image result for oprah winfrey — credit: usatoday.com

Oprah was named the richest woman of the 20th century and has be an influential woman to everyone! She’s done it all from acting, producing and creating and her hard work, dedication and determination has shown through her work. She will forever be THE ONE that people want to be like or, at least, close to it. Her grind doesn’t start.

She is considered to be a mogul, leader and most importantly, a Queen. We love you Oprah!

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sources: biography.com; achievement.org; notablebiographies.com

Women’s Month Appreciation: Maya Angelou

March 8, 2018March 9, 2018Danii Gold

Featured image credit: goodreads.com

The first Women’s Month appreciation fact goes to the late Maya Angelou. She was most known for being a poet, writing her New York Best Seller memoir I Know Why The Caged Bird Sing. That book stayed on the Best Seller’s list for two years, and which is the longest run in history. She became the first Black Woman to write a nonfiction book that stayed on the list that long!

Before Maya was an author, she was the first black woman to drive a cable car conductor, also known as a modern day trolley, in San Francisco ,California. During the 1950’s she starred in Broadway and off-Broadway productions, perfecting her craft in acting. She won a Tony for one of her roles in 1973 and an Emmy for a role she played in the self-proclaimed series Roots in 1977.

Maya spent some time in Africa, specifically Egypt and Ghana. While on her journey there, she got involved with pan-African-ism and when she came back to America, she teamed up with human rights activist Malcolm X and helped him an organization. She also became close friends with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr up until his death in 1968, which took a toll on since he was killed on her birthday.

Maya read a poem at Clinton’s Inauguration in 1993 titled On The Pulse of Morning, which she won a Grammy for, for best spoken word album. Other famous work by her are Woman Work, Still I Rise, Touched By An Angel and many more.

She will forever be recognized for her poetic words , being a author, actress, activist and a PHENOMENAL Woman.

Image result for maya angelou — credit: essence.com

Black History Fact: Eartha Kitt

February 5, 2018February 4, 2018Danii Gold

Todays Black History Fact is about Eartha Kitt. She was the original singer of the Christmas hit “Santa Baby” and was the first Black Catwoman in the Batman and Robin series in the 1960s.

Eartha also played in Boomerang as Lady Eloise, Madame Zeroni in Holes and the voice of Yzma in The Emperor’s New Groove which won her an Annie Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting by a Female Performer in an Animated Feature Production. She’s been on television and in movies since the late 1940s (uncredited).

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Eartha acted in films up until a year before she passed in 2008 from colon cancer.

May her recognition live on and may she Rest In Peace.

Credit: zimbio.com

Black History Fact: Rosa Parks

February 4, 2018April 3, 2019Danii Gold

Since today is Rosa Parks Birthday, it’s only right to dedicate the first Black History Fact to her.

Rosa Parks was first recognized when she refused to give her seat up on a Montgomery bus to a white man. Back in the 1950s, Black People had to sit in the back of the bus and since there weren’t any available seats, Rosa sat in the white section. She had just got off work, and did not want to stand because she was tired of giving in to all the inequality. After she refused, she was kicked off the bus and that sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott and drew attention to the Civil Rights Movement.

The case got the attention of the NAACP chairman and the case was taken to the District Courts in Alabama. The judge ruled that “racial segregation laws are unconstitutional.”

Rosa will forever be recognized for her courage, activism and her fight for equality for Black People. She fought for change in the world alongside with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr; even though the world isn’t perfect, we’ve came a long way with her courage and dignity.

Happu Birthday to Ms. Parks, who passed away in 2005 but would’ve been 105 today.

❤️