Oscar Taveras at spring training in Miami. (Photo Credit: MLB)
Mike Axisa of CBS Sports is reporting that St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Oscar Taveras and his girlfriend were killed in a car accident in the Dominican Republic on Sunday, the team and his agent Brian Mejia have confirmed.
The author highlighted the responses of Cardinals and MLB officials:
“We are all stunned and deeply saddened by the tragic loss of one of the youngest members of the Cardinals family,” said team chariman Bill DeWitt Jr. in a statement. “Oscar was an amazing talent with a bright future who was taken from us well before his time. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends tonight.”
Twitter is mourning the loss of Oscar Taveras.
“We are very saddened to learn of the news that a car accident has claimed the life of Oscar Taveras and his girlfriend in the Dominican Republic,” MLB Players Association chief Tony Clark said in a statement. “Oscar had a very promising future, on and off the field, and this news is heartbreaking on many levels. It’s never easy to lose a member of our fraternity, and to lose one so young is devastating news. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of both, as well as the St. Louis Cardinals organization and Oscar’s many fans in the United States and the Dominican Republic.”
“With heavy hearts, tonight we play Game Five of the 2014 World Series in the memory of these two young people,” added Selig. “On behalf of Major League Baseball, I extend my deepest condolences to the families and friends of both individuals, as well as to Oscar’s teammates and the entire Cardinals organization.”
Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff has been re-elected. (Photo Credit: Google Images)
The BBCis reporting that Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has been re-elected after securing more than 51% of votes in the closest election race in many years. An official count showed her rival, centrist candidate Aecio Neves, taking just over 48% of the vote. Her re-election for a second term extends the rule of her Workers Party (PT), which came to power in 2002 with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
In her victory speech, Ms Rousseff said she wanted to be “a much better president than I have been until now.”
The author writes:
“But the vote split Latin America’s biggest country almost evenly in two, along lines of social class and geography. Ms. Rousseff called on all Brazilians ‘to unite in favour of Brazil’s future’ and said she would seek political reform. ‘This president is open to dialogue. This is the top priority of my second mandate,’ she told a cheering crowd in the capital, Brasilia.”
Rousseff has faced protests over the World Cup and political corruption. In August, presidential contender Eduardo Campos died tragically in a plane crash. The charismatic and wildly popular politician was quite possibly the candidate most likely to unseat Rousseff. Rousseff declared three days of mourning after his passing.
Phillip Terrill and John Bailey of Burks & Bailey.
With your youth still ahead of you, best friend at your side, and access to many of the fashion industry’s elite, many would see it as a fine time to turn up. However, Phillip Terrill would say that it was time to turn in and get ready for the next day.
Terrill, co-founder and managing partner of men’s neckwear line Burks & Bailey, is literally the man behind the brand.
Well-spoken, well-dressed, and above all humble, Phillip is not too proud to step out of the spotlight. Instead, Phillip prefers being the man that does the work behind the scenes, which works well for he and his best friend/business partner John Bailey.
Realizing that partnerships, like friendships, take knowing each other’s strengths and talents has allowed Phillip to run Burks & Bailey as smoothly as possible. Terrill says:
“I’m involved in both the fashion side and the business side, but I would break it down into a 70 to 30 relationship. I would say I would be the 30 to the creative side because a true partner lets the strengths of the other partner come out. John’s strengths are the fashion, and the creativity, and the design aspect.” Terrill believes that business is in his blood. He adds, “To run a business and to make sure that the nuts and bolts are there, that’s my job. And that’s what I enjoy doing.”
In naming the brand, the two didn’t squabble over whose name would come first. In fact, Terrill opted out of including his name at all because he wanted to go with something more marketable and tied to another company he ran, The Burks, which had strong brand recognition. Terrill has ensured that the company and its products represent John and him, capturing their midwestern roots and southern influences. At a time when attitudes about race, class, gender and sexuality are in flux, one thing remains the same for Terrill – how you look, dress, and speak still plays a large role in how you are received.
“As far as being socially accepted, our brands whole basis was to live bolder, look a little bit different, and to really say why ‘knot,” says Terrill who is often the only African American in a room or event. “I’ve never felt like I’m not socially accepted. If I’m not, hey, that’s fine. I don’t mind going against the grain. At the end of the day business is business and the only color that I see is green,” the Tuskegee graduate states.
Burks & Bailey Knot: The Suzanne (Burks&Bailey.com)
Although Terrill is motivated by the color green in terms of business, he believes that we are all fundamentally the same. As a role model for young children of all races, Terrill wants to model his social beliefs as well as his business practices. He says, “We are not here to break any racial stereotypes. Our perspective is that everybody is the same. Everybody has goals and aspirations and we walk amongst each other every day. So, that boy or that girl should have the same mentality.”
Even though Terrill wants children to understand each other’s full humanity, he values social and cultural experiences that enhance one’s personal and professional life. His time at Tuskegee University was essential to his growth and development personally and professionally.
Terrill offers, “Attending a black college allows you to be with people that are like you, but it has also equipped me to work in nontraditional jobs, to go and work for Miller, to go out and speak to people who weren’t like me.”
With all that he has accomplished thus far and will accomplish in the future, Terrill wants his legacy to be like that of his parents legacy for him – to build something generational and sustainable.
“I don’t work all day and all night putting into Burks & Bailey just for me and John. I do it for the people that don’t exist — our children, their children. I hope that people will say I left a good mark, was nice to people and a humanitarian that built a brand with a best friend.”
This article was written by Reginald Calhoun, editorial assistant for The Burton Wire. He is a Journalism major at Clark-Atlanta University. Follow him on Twitter @IRMarsean.
Cuban doctors arrive in Sierra Leone to aid in the fight against Ebola. (Photo Credit: Digital Journal)
Monica Mark of The Guardian UK is reporting that out of all nations, Cuba has sent the largest medical force to West Africa in order to fight Ebola. The United Nations (UN) has issued a call for more countries to contribute to the humanitarian effort in the fight against the infectious disease, plaguing West Africa where reportedly more than 4,500 people have died. Mark writes:
“But big hitters such as China or Brazil, or former colonial powers such France and the UK, have not been stepping up to the plate. Instead, the single biggest medical force on the Ebola frontline has been a small island: Cuba.
That a nation of 11 million people, with a GDP of $6,051 per capita, is leading the effort says much of the international response. A brigade of 165 Cuban health workers arrived in Sierra Leone last week, the first batch of a total of 461. In sharp contrast, western governments have appeared more focused on stopping the epidemic at their borders than actually stemming it in west Africa. The international effort now struggling to keep ahead of the burgeoning cases might have nipped the outbreak in the bud had it come earlier.”
The Ebola epidemic has killed more than 4,500 people since it was detected in March, most of them in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Georgia teen Montré Merritt has filed a $12.5M lawsuit against Waycross, GA police. (Google Images)
News One is reporting that Georgia teen Montré Merritt has filed a $12.5 million lawsuit alleging police brutality and excessive force over a seatbelt violation. The author writes:
“Georgia teenager Montré Merritt has filed a $12.5 million lawsuit against the city of Waycross alleging that he was wrongfully arrested and brutalized at the hands of Waycross police officer Cory Gay. According to Merritt, earlier this year after pulling into his family’s driveway he was approached by Gay. At some point in the encounter Merritt ended up facedown on the ground with a gun to his head. When his mother came outside to see what was happening, she was told her son was being arrested for a seatbelt violation.”
“On Jan. 18, Merritt was pulling into his home driveway when Waycross Officer Cory Gay stopped him for the violation. Gay drew his service weapon on Merritt and forced him to the ground despite protests by his mother. Although Gay was found guilty of using excessive force, suspended five days without pay and forced to take a course on Use Of Force, the family felt that it wasn’t a strong enough punishment.”
At the time of the incident, Meritt was an honor athlete with a 3.5 gpa. Merritt’s lawyer, Reginald Greene, has filed the lawsuit based on accusations that Gay racially profiled his client, used excessive force and negligent supervision among other reasons.
Iconic fashion designer Oscar de la Renta dies at 82. (Google Images)
CNNis reporting that legendary Dominican American fashion designer Oscar de la Renta has died. Known as the “Sultan of Suave,” de la Rent passed away October 20 in his home in Kent, Connecticut due to complications caused by cancer. He was 82.
De la Renta was reported to have been diagnosed with cancer in 2006, but had announced at the Council of Fashion Designers of America last year that he was “totally clean” of cancer. The iconic fashion designer commented on his health at the same event saying:
“The only realities in life are that you are born, and that you die. We always think we are going to live forever. The dying aspect we will never accept. The one thing about having this kind of warning is how you appreciate every single day of life.”
Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of American Vogue, was a long time friend of de la Renta. Hearing of his passing, Wintour paid tribute to her old friend in a piece on Vogue.com. Wintour writes:
“There is much being said that his passing yesterday marks the end of an era. Not true. He was the most democratic man I knew and he would have lived happily and defined any era. He was happy dining with the rich and famous, for sure, but equally happy playing dominoes with his devoted staff. His designs reflected his extraordinary personality: optimistic, fun, sunny, romantic.
He told me he felt he had had the most amazing life and he was not afraid. This strength must have been with him in the hospital last week when he made the decision to turn off treatment; it was not the quality of life he wanted.”
Longtime friends Oscar de la Renta and American Vogue editor Anna Wintour. (Google Images)
Born Óscar Arístides Renta Fiallo, de la Renta was born July 22, 1932, in the Dominican Republic. Leaving his home at 18, de la Renta was carried by his talent and passion, working his way through the ranks of fashion designers. He was educated at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernand. De la Renta became the first Dominican to design for a French couture house when he designed the haute couture collection for the house of Balmain.
De la Renta has designed gowns for the U.S. Presidential First Ladies including Jacqueline Kennedy, Laura Bush, Nancy Reagan, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Michelle Obama who wore a de la Renta design as recently as two weeks ago at a cocktail party for the Fashion Education Workshop she hosted at the White House.
First lady Michelle Obama wears an Oscar de la Renta cocktail dress at the Fashion Education Workshop she hosted at the White House. (Google Images)
He has also styled many celebrities including Sarah Jessica Parker, Anne Hathaway, Jennifer Lawrence and Oprah Winfrey.
Oscar de la Renta and Oprah Winfrey at The Costume Institute Gala Benefit celebrating American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 3, 2010 in New York City. (Photo Credit: Google Images.)
De la Renta’s first wife, Francoise de Langlade, a former editor of French Vogue, died of bone cancer in 1983. They were married for 16 years. He is survived by his second wife Annette Engelhard Reed and a son, Moises de la Renta. R.I.P. Mr. de la Renta.
Paralympian Oscar Pistorius sentenced to five years in jail. (Photo Credit: Google Images)
Paralympian Oscar Pistorius sentenced to five years in jail. (Photo Credit: Google Images)
The BBC is reporting that Judge Thokozile Masipa has sentenced legendary paralympian Oscar Pistorius to serve five years in jail for the homicide of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. Judge Thokozile Masipa also gave him an additional three-year suspended sentence on a firearms charge.
The author writes:
“The parents of Reeva Steenkamp told the BBC they were happy with the sentence and relieved the case was over. The defense said it expected Pistorius to serve about 10 months in prison. Pistorius was convicted of culpable homicide but cleared of murder.
Prosecutors had called for a minimum 10-year term, and the defense had argued for community service and house arrest. Pistorius showed little reaction to the sentence other than to wipe his eyes before being led away.”
Steenkamp’s family says that justice has been served while others believe the sentence was too light relative to the crime.
Nnedi Okorafor’s World Fantasy Award next to her book “Who Fears Death.” (Photo Credit: Google Images.)
NPR.org is reporting that an award made to resemble famed speculative fiction author H.P. Lovecraft, who is also known for his highly racist ideology, is the center of much controversy.
The award caused some discomfort for Nnedi Okorafor, a Nigerian-American writer who won the World Fantasy Award for best novel in 2011 for her novel Who Fears Death. Okorafor expressed her unease with the award in a blog post after reading a racist poem that was written by Lovecraft. The poem that prompted Okorafor to take to her blog reads:
When, long ago, the gods created Earth
In Jove’s fair image Man was shaped at birth.
The beasts for lesser parts were next designed;
Yet were they too remote from humankind.
To fill the gap, and join the rest to Man,
Th’Olympian host conceiv’d a clever plan.
A beast they wrought, in semi-human figure,
Filled it with vice, and called the thing a Nigger.
The author writes:
“She [Nnendi Okorafor] saw it and became completely dismayed and hurt that this professional honor, which she’d been so proud to receive, was in the shape of the head of someone who would think these kinds of things about her.”
Following the controversy, a petition asking for the removal of Lovacraft’s bust and a bust featuring Octavia Butler as its replacement was created. Others that are in support of removing Lovecraft’s image from the bust ask that the award not be made in the shape of any specific person.
Supporters of Lovecraft are rising up in opposition to the petition. Lovecraft’s fans feel that their idol has been attacked and ask that the discussion ceases.
Despite their feelings, not even Lovecraft’s fans can deny that he was a racist. One supporter of Lovecraft said:
“Everyone was racist back then; Lovecraft’s racism was perfectly natural when you consider his upbringing; getting upset about Lovecraft’s racism serves no purpose.”
Lovecraft falls in line with a slew of other iconic figures, including Walt Disney and Babe Ruth, who are known to be racist.
This year, the WFA will still present the Lovecraft-shaped awards; however the WFA board of directors said they will have discussions about changing the bust at a series of meetings during this year’s World Fantasy Convention.
This post was written by Reginald Calhoun, editorial assistant for The Burton Wire. He is a junior Mass Media Arts major at Clark Atlanta University. Follow him on Twitter @IRMarsean.
Movie poster for Ike Jones' 'A Man Called Adam'. (Photo Credit: Google Images)
Movie poster for Ike Jones’ ‘A Man Called Adam’. (Photo Credit: Google Images)
David Colker of the Los Angeles Times is reporting that pioneering African-American filmmaker Ike Jones has died. Jones passed away October 11 in an assisted-living facility, where he lived after having suffered a stroke and congestive heart failure. Prior to his stroke, he was living in a rented room.
A Los Angeles native, Jones played high school football for Santa Monica High School and then UCLA. Colker’s piece didn’t mention the fact that in 1952, Jones became the first African-American graduate of UCLA’s prestigious film school. He was determined to be the first Negro to succeed on the production and executive side of the industry. Colker writes:
“He went to work for production companies that oversaw projects for Harry Belafonte and Burt Lancaster, and he headed Nat King Cole’s Kell-Cole Productions that produced the singer’s highly successful live shows. For the rest of his life, Jones kept a photo of himself and Cole at the White House with President Johnson.
In 1966 Jones was one of the producers of the film ‘A Man Called Adam.’ Sammy Davis Jr. headed a cast that included Louis Armstrong. Jones said on several occasions that the movie marked the first time a black person produced an A-list picture.”
Colker’s piece left out that ‘A Man Called Adam’ also starred Ossie Davis and Cicely Tyson, who would go on to star in Jones’ major achievement, the 1978 NBC four-hour mini-series ‘A Woman Called Moses’ starring Cicely Tyson as Harriet Tubman.
Jones’ life was filled with some controversy, particularly his marriage to actress Inger Stevens, a popular white actress whom he married in secret. Jones’ was also financially devastated after a series of bad investments. Sergio of Shadow and Actwrites:
“Except for a few close friends, they both kept the marriage a secret from the public, studio and TV execs, and casting people because they feared that if it was known that Stevens had been married to a black man it would have ruined her career.
Unfortunately the last years of Jones’ life were a sad ones. He found himself bankrupt after a series of bad investments and suffered from bad heath for years…”
Professor Sir Hilary Beckles chairs the 15-country task force seeking reparations. (Photo Credit: Google Images)
Professor Sir Hilary Beckles chairs the 15-country task force seeking reparations. (Photo Credit: Google Images)
Caribbean 360 is reporting that a two-day conference was held in St. Johns, Antigua to discuss “reparatory justice.” The author writes:
“Chairperson of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Reparations Commission, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, said the movement has been energized and the Commission is working towards mounting a region-wide rally.
‘We are going to organize, with the support of all of these national commissions, a regional rally in which we will move the reparations banner from the northern Caribbean, through to the center, to the south, all the way through to Brazil,’ Sir Hilary told reporters at the close of the Second Regional Conference on Reparations late Tuesday.
Beckles, the renowned historian and Principal of the Cave Hill campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI), said such an event would engage the talents of artists, musicians and youth, while bringing regional and global attention to the matter.”
The conference also discussed strategies on getting more youth involved in the movement, and working across the diaspora to gain reparations. The two day event was hosted by the Antiguan and Barbuda government and the Antigua and Barbuda Reparations Support Commission. Other goals include reconciliation between victims and beneficiaries.
The author adds:
“It also seeks to achieve the Caribbean Reparatory Justice Programme 10-Point Action Plan that tackles various social, educational and economic issues including debt cancelation, public health, illiteracy eradication and psychological rehabilitation.”
