Angela Samuels

Company: Voluptuous Clothing

Position: Founder/CEO

Industry: Fashion, Retail

Country: Canada

Angela Samuels is the Founder and CEO of the Toronto based retail chain Voluptuous Clothing, a store that caters to women sizes 14 to 24. The first Voluptuous was opened at North York Sheridan Mall in May 2001, followed by Dufferin Mall in May 2002, Scarborough Town Centre in June 2003 and the Vaughan Mills was launched on November 4, 2004.

Growing up as a minority and one of six children in the rough Toronto neighbourhood of Jane and Finch, Samuels felt acutely unsure about her chances of succeeding in life. But as a young woman, the drive to survive which had served her growing up kicked in. She would eventually use what she learned from her childhood challenges to improve both her life and the lives of many others.

Angela work as a plus-sized model for three years doing runway shows for designers such as Brian Bailey as well as catalogue and flyer work for stores such as Sears, Wal-Mart and Zellers.She then pursued her studies in the Child and Youth Care Worker program first at Centennial College and then George Brown College. Working with young offenders, Angela observed how, with women, much of their low self-esteem was tied to their appearance. If they couldn’t find ways to look good, she reasoned, then how could they feel better about themselves?

"I saw a lot of younger girls who were bigger and I realized that they grow up thinking they're different than everyone else, that they’re not a part of society because they're not a size three," Samuels says. "I thought that if I could empower them with the self-esteem they need, maybe they would look at life differently and have a better chance to become successful."

She said she chose the name Voluptuous for her company because, "I wanted something that said "positive," and something that said "sexy." And I figured, okay, there's a word for small, which is "petite." And it sounds proper. It sounds nice. And I thought, there has got to be some other word for "full-figured," "big." There’s got to be some other word. And I searched, and we came up with "voluptuous." It said all the things we wanted to say; furthermore, it implied that we are sexy. And that was important to me. And that became the name.

Voluptuous had sales of over $5 millions in 2004 and plans to expand across Canada over the next few years. Voluptuous will open a new store in a trendy upscale Mississauga shopping mall with an expected spring 2005 grand opening. Plans are also in the works for a location in Montreal later this year and the West Edmonton Mall in 2006.
Tags: Angela Samuels, Canada, Entrepreneur Female, Retail, Voluptuous Clothing

Adenike Ogunlesi

Company: Ruff 'n' Tumble

Position: Founder, CEO

Industry: Apparel

Country: Nigeria

Adenike Ogunlesi is the founder of Ruff 'n' Tumble, a childrens clothing line in Nigeria. From a tiny shop with her and her mother as the main staff, Adenike aka Nike turned Ruff 'n' Tumble into an instantly recognizable brand. She has built a reputation for being one of the best manufacturers of children's clothing in Nigeria.

"My kids ran out of pajamas. And I used to make clothing for women. So I decided that I'd just make some pajamas for my kids. "

In her second year as an undergraduate law student at the Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, Adenike opted out of school unsure of what to do with her life. She then reluctantly accepted her mother's invitation to work in her womens tailor shop. That experience helped her to discover who she was and what she wanted to do.

"I started in 1996, I was selling from the back of my car, I was selling at bazaars. Everywhere, there was a bazaar, I was there, my table and my suit case, my children and sometimes even my husband. So it all started then."

Today Ruff 'N' Tumble is a thriving business with 50 employees and distribution along the West African coast.

"We don't export now. Export to the West African coast, yes, all along the West African coast, yes, but to say, America or to England, I'm not interested in it at all. If 40 percent of the 120 million people in Nigeria are children, I have the potential of a huge market here."

Adenike was featured in the Africa Open for Business documentary and was recognized as the FATE Foundation Model Entrepreneur in 2005.
Tags: Adenike Ogunlesi, Apparel, Entrepreneur Female, Nigeria, Ruff 'n' Tumble

Tiger Woods

Net worth: $600 million
Source of wealth: Golf, endorsements
Residence: Orlando, Fla.
Age: 33

Eldrick (Tiger) Woods, now 35 years of age, has had an unprecedented career since becoming a professional golfer in the late summer of 1996. He has won 95 tournaments, 71 of those on the PGA Tour, including the 1997, 2001, 2002 and 2005 Masters Tournaments, 1999, 2000, 2006 and 2007 PGA Championships, 2000, 2002, and 2008 U.S. Open Championships, and 2000, 2005 and 2006 Open Championships. With his second Masters victory in 2001, Tiger became the first ever to hold all four professional major championships at the same time. He is the career victories leader among active players on the PGA Tour, and is the career money list leader.

In winning the 2000 British Open, Woods became the youngest to complete the career Grand Slam of professional major championships and only the fifth ever to do so, following Ben Hogan, Gene Sarazen, Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus. Tiger also was the youngest Masters champion ever, at the age of 21 years, three months and 14 days, and was the first major championship winner of African or Asian heritage.

Woods holds or shares the record for the low score in relation to par in each of the four major championships. His records are 270 (18-under par) in the 1997 Masters, 272 (12-under par) in the 2000 U.S. Open, 269 (19-under par) in the 2000 Open Championship, and he shares the record of 270 (18-under par) with Bob May in the 2000 PGA Championship, which Tiger won by one stroke in a three-hole playoff.

The U.S. Open and Masters victories came by record margins, 15 strokes and 12 strokes, respectively, and the U.S. Open triumph swept aside the 13-stroke major championship standard which had stood for 138 years, established by Old Tom Morris in the 1862 British Open. The record margin for the U.S. Open had been 11 strokes by Willie Smith in 1899. In The Masters, Woods broke the record margin of nine strokes set by Nicklaus in 1965. Tiger won the Open Championship by eight strokes, the largest margin since J. H. Taylor in 1913.

He is the career victories leader among active players on the PGA Tour and is the career money list leader. He is third in PGA Tour career victories, trailing only Sam Snead (82) and Jack Nicklaus (73).

Tiger increased his record total on the PGA Tour career money list to $94,157,304 through 2010, and had won $113,602,123 worldwide.

In addition to his playing exploits, Woods is busy off the course, too.

He answers questions and writes regularly for his website, TigerWoods.com.

Michael Jordan

Net worth: $525 million
Source of wealth: Basketball, Nike, endorsements
Residence: Chicago
Age: 46

Professional basketball player, Olympic athlete, businessperson, actor. Born on February 17, 1963, in Brooklyn, New York. Considered one of the best basketball players ever, Michael Jordan dominated the sport from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s. He led the Chicago Bulls to six national championships as well as earned the National Basketball Association's (NBA) Most Valuable Player Award five times.

Growing up in Wilmington, North Carolina, Jordan developed a competitive edge at an early age. He wanted to win every game he played. As his father James later noted, "What he does have is a competition problem. He was born with that...The person he tries to outdo most of the time is himself."

Jordan enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1981 and soon became an important member of the school's basketball team. His team won the NCAA Division I championships in 1982 with Jordan scoring the final basket needed to defeat Georgetown University. He was also singled out as the NCAA College Player of the Year in 1983 and in 1984. During the summer of 1984, Jordan made his first appearance in the Olympics as a member of the U.S. basketball team, which won the gold at the games held in Los Angeles. Later Jordan helped the United States bring home the gold at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain.

Jordan left college after his junior year to join the NBA. Drafted by the Chicago Bulls, he soon proved himself on the court. He helped the team make it to the playoffs and scored an average of 28.2 points per game that season. For his efforts, Jordan received the NBA Rookie of the Year Award and was selected for the All-Star Game.

In 1985, he finished his bachelor's degree in geography and continued to play basketball professionally. While his second season was marred by injury, Jordan was breaking new ground on the court during the 1986-1987 season. He became the first player since Wilt Chamberlin to score more than 3,000 points in a single season. The following season, Jordan received his first Most Valuable Player Award from NBA—an honor he would earn four more times in 1991, 1992, 1996, and 1998.

By the late 1980s, the Chicago Bulls was quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with, and Jordan was an instrumental part of the team's success. The Bulls made it to the Eastern Conference Finals in 1990 and won their first NBA championship the following year by defeating the Los Angeles Lakers. A rising NBA superstar, Jordan became known for his power and agility on the court as well as for his leadership abilities. He eventually landed several endorsement deals with such companies as Nike, which further pushed him into the spotlight.

In 1992, the Chicago Bulls beat the Portland Trail Blazers to win their second NBA championship title. The team took their third championship the following year, dominating in the basketball world. Jordan, however, had other things on his mind. He lost his father, James, to an act of violence after the end of the 1992-1993 season. Two teenagers shot James Jordan during an apparent robbery and were later convicted of the crime. In a move that shocked many, Michael Jordan decided to retire from basketball to pursue baseball. He played for a minor league team, the Birmingham Barons, as an outfielder for a year.

Earvin "Magic" Johnson

Net worth: $500 million
Source of wealth: Restaurants, real estate, investments
Residence: Beverly Hills, Calif.
Age: 49

Basketball player, businessman, author. Born Earvin Johnson, Jr. on August 14, 1959, in Lansing, Michigan. For 12 years, Earvin "Magic" Johnson dominated the court as one of America's best basketball players. He has since then built up a business empire, which includes real estate holdings, several Starbucks franchises, and movie theaters.

From a large family, Johnson grew up with nine brothers and sisters. Both of his parents worked—his father for the General Motors plant in town and his mother for as a school custodian. He had a passion for basketball, and would start practicing as early as 7:30 a.m. At Everett High School, Johnson earned his famous nickname, "Magic," after a sportswriter witnessed him score 36 points, 16 rebounds, and 16 assists in a single game.

Johnson continued to play in college for Michigan State University. Standing at 6 feet 9 inches tall, he made for an impressive point guard. Johnson excelled during his freshman year, helping his team, the Spartans, clinch the Big Ten Conference title. The following year, he played an important role in taking the Spartans all the way to the NCAA Finals. There they faced off against the Indiana State Sycamores. In one of the most famous match-ups in college basketball history, Johnson went head-to-head with Indiana's star forward, Larry Bird. The Spartans proved victorious, and the Johnson-Bird rivalry would follow the players to their days with the NBA.

Leaving college after two years, Johnson was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1979. He did well in his first season with the team, averaging 18 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 7.3 assists per game. Johnson won the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player award for his efforts in leading the Lakers to victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. The team also included such strong players as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jamaal Wilkes, and Norm Nixon.

During his third season with the team, the Lakers made the NBA finals again. This time they were defeated by the Philadelphia 76ers, but Johnson still performed well enough to earn his second NBA Finals MVP award. In the 1984 NBA finals, Johnson again encountered rival Larry Bird, who had signed with the Boston Celtics. This was the first of several match-ups between the two teams. The Celtics beat the Lakers in a tight competition—four games to three—for the 1984 championship. The Lakers, however, took down the Celtics the following year in the finals.

Johnson and his team continued to be one of the NBA's top teams through the rest of the 1980s. In the 1987 finals, they again defeated the Boston Celtics. Johnson received the NBA Finals MVP Award for the third time in his career. During this remarkable season, Johnson did his personal best in terms of average points per game, with a remarkable 23.9. He received his first NBA MVP award for his performance on the court—an honor he would receive again in 1989 and once more in 1990.

In November 1991, Johnson retired from the Lakers after revealing that he had the AIDS virus, which he believed he contracted through unprotected sexual activity. The AIDS diagnosis was especially hard for Johnson. At the time he learned he had the disease, his wife Cookie was pregnant with their first child. Both his wife and son, Earvin III, turned out to not have HIV.

Sheila Johnson

Net worth: $400 million
Source of wealth: BET, investments
Residence: The Plains, Va.
Age: 60

Doctor's daughter and violinist co-founded Black Entertainment Television with former husband Robert Johnson; couple met in college at University of Illinois. Duo sold network to Viacom for $3 billion in stock and assumed debt; split fortune in divorce in 2002 after 33-year marriage. Today she is chief executive of Salamander LLC, which controls a portfolio of luxury resorts. Through investment in Lincoln Holdings, owns stake in NHL's Washington Capitals, NBA's Washington Wizards, and WNBA's Washington Mystics. Johnson is the Mystics' president and managing partner.

Berry Gordy

Net worth: $325 million
Source of wealth: Motown, Jobete
Residence: Los Angeles
Age: 79

Music pioneer put away his boxing gloves for songwriting at age 20. Borrowed $800 from parents to build his own record label. Created Motown Records in Detroit. Wrote hit songs ("Lonely Teardrops," "I'll be Satisfied"), managed talent (Jackson 5, The Supremes, Smokey Robinson, Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder). Known for running Motown's record production like an assembly line, emulating Detroit's Big Three car companies; fought numerous lawsuits brought by recording artists and songwriters alleging unpaid royalties throughout career. Sold Motown Records in 1988 for $61 million; later sold Jobete Music Corp. in installments to EMI Music Publishing for more than $300 million combined. Hit movie Dreamgirls said to be loosely based on Motown; Paramount Pictures and Dreamworks issued an apology to Gordy in 2007 for any confusion the fictional story might have caused regarding Motown's legacy.

Don King

Net worth: $290 million
Source of wealth: Boxing promotion
Residence: Manalapan, Fla.
Age: 77

"Only in America." Loud-talking, flag-waving King ascended from a troubled past in Cleveland to become the biggest promoter in boxing. Accused of killing two men; 1954 case ruled a justifiable homicide, 1966 case ruled manslaughter. Spent nearly four years in prison. Entered boxing business while doing fundraising work in 1972 for a struggling Cleveland hospital. Asked Muhammad Ali to attend charity event. Later convinced Ali and George Foreman to let him promote their 1974 heavyweight championship bout. The "Rumble in the Jungle" in Zaire is remembered as one of the greatest fights of all time. Biggest success: boxing badboy Mike Tyson.
Don King was born in Cleveland, Ohio. After dropping out of Kent State University, he ran an illegal bookmaking operation, and was charged for killing two men in separate incidents 13 years apart. The first was determined to be justifiable homicide after it was found that King shot Hillary Brown in the back and killed him while he was attempting to rob one of King's gambling houses.^[1] King was convicted of second degree murder for the second killing in 1966 after he was found guilty of stomping to death an employee, Sam Garrett, who owed him $600.^[1] In an ex parte meeting with King's attorney, the judge reduced King's conviction to nonnegligent manslaughter for which King served just under four years in prison.^[2] King was later pardoned for the crime in 1983 by Ohio Governor Jim Rhodes, with letters from Jesse Jackson, Coretta Scott King, George Voinovich, Art Modell, and Gabe Paul, among others, being written in support of King.

Ulysses Bridgeman

Net worth: $200 million
Source of wealth: Restaurants
Residence: Louisville, Ky.

ULYSSES L. BRIDGEMAN, JR., 57, is the owner and president of B.F. Companies which operates a number of Wendy?s Old Fashioned Hamburger restaurants and Chili?s restaurants. Mr. Bridgeman is a director of Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc. Mr. Bridgeman brings entrepreneurial business knowledge and experience to the Board through his ownership and operation of a restaurant franchisee with 300 locations in 11 states. He also has intimate knowledge of the Company through his experience as a director of one of the Company?s banking affiliates in Louisville, Kentucky.

Former shooting guard for the Milwaukee Bucks turned his athletic grit into a sprawling fast food empire. Raised in East Chicago, Ind.; father was a steelworker. "Junior" was picked in first round of the 1975 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Lakers; promptly traded to the Bucks with three others for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Went on to rack up 11,517 career points, franchise record for most games played. Retired 1987. Bought five Wendy's franchises to generate income while planning his next career. Today controls 161 Wendy's and 118 Chili's restaurants. Total payroll: 11,000 managers, cashiers and cooks. Sales of holding company Manna Inc. in 2008: $530 million. Sits on board of PGA. Also owns small stake in Milwaukee soda bottler Black Bear Beverages.

Alphonse Fletcher, Jr.

Net worth: $150 million

Source of wealth: Investments

Residence: New York City

Age: 43

Father was a technician, mother was an elementary school principal. "Buddy" majored in applied math at Harvard University, enrolled in ROTC. Sought fortune on Wall Street while serving 10-year stint in Air Force reserves. Joined financial firm Kidder, Peabody. Personally generated $25 million in profits one year; firm allegedly refused to pay promised 25% trading commission. Left to start investment outfit Fletcher Asset Management in 1991. Average annual returns said to have topped 100% in first five years of operation. Owns hundreds of acres of land in Cornwall, Conn. In 2004 pledged $50 million with affiliates to fund programs and support individuals who promote racial equality.

A prominent black Wall Street money manager has filed a lawsuit against the Dakota, accusing the legendary New York apartment building of racial discrimination and defamation in preventing him from buying an apartment there.

Alphonse Fletcher Jr., 45, who has lived in the Dakota since 1992, filed the lawsuit after the board denied his application to buy an adjacent unit to accommodate his family. (Here is The New York Times article
and the complaint, which was filed on Tuesday in State Supreme Court in Manhattan.)

In a statement, the board of the Dakota said it had not yet reviewed the lawsuit, but that “Mr. Fletcher’s application to purchase an additional apartment in the Dakota was rejected based on financial materials he provided.”

“Any accusations of racial discrimination are untrue and outrageous,” the statement continued. “Mr. Fletcher is a longtime resident of the Dakota and served several terms on its board, recently as its president. The Dakota board is confident in the soundness of its decision.”

Internecine warfare among co-op boards is a matter best left for our colleagues in Metro or Real Estate. But let’s take a closer look at Mr. Fletcher.

He first made headlines on Wall Street 20 years ago.

Then a 25-year-old wunderkind trader fresh out of Harvard, Mr. Fletcher sued his employer, Kidder Peabody & Company, accusing the firm of paying him only half of the $5 million to $6.5 million in compensation that he said he was due.

The lawsuit (below) claimed that Kidder considered the amount “simply too much money to pay a young black man.” An arbitration panel eventually awarded Mr. Fletcher $1.3 million.

While fighting it out with Kidder, Mr. Fletcher hung up his own shingle, Fletcher Asset Management. He set up offices on the 48th floor of the General Motors Building on Fifth Avenue, among the more prestigious addresses for the hedge fund set. His specialty, according to a 1991 Wall Street Journal article, was dividend-related stock arbitrage, a strategy that uses options to accumulate large positions in companies poised to pay dividends.

Over the years Mr. Fletcher has generated headlines more for his philanthropic activity than his Wall Street pursuits. In 1994, he donated $4.5 million to Harvard to endow the Alphonse Fletcher Sr. Professorship, a position held by Henry Louis Gates Jr.

In 2004, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, Mr. Fletcher pledged $50 million to institutions and individuals working to improve race relations. (The Dakota board’s concern over his finances stemmed in part from questions over whether he had made good on his philanthropic commitments, according to the lawsuit. Apart from a few hundred thousand dollars a year Mr. Fletcher gives in charitable stipends, it is unknown how much more of the $50 million he has donated.)

Fletcher Asset Management has moved its offices several times over the years. After leaving the G.M. Building, Mr. Fletcher set up shop in a luxury townhouse at 22 East 67th, which in 2004 was sold to Phil Falcone, the hedge fund manager, for use as his personal residence. (Mr. Falcone later purchased a neighboring East 67th Street mansion from Bob Guccione, the publisher of Penthouse.) Today, Fletcher Asset Management operates from 48 Wall St. in the old Bank of New York Building.

As a privately held firm, it is not required to disclose its assets, but according to an investor presentation, Fletcher’s flagship “income arbitrage” hedge fund has generated an average net return of 8 percent a year since 1997.

Mr. Fletcher is married to Ellen Pao, a partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, a leading venture capital firm. They have a two-year-old daughter and spend much time in Northern California, where Kleiner Perkins is based. Before his marriage to Ms. Pao, Mr. Fletcher lived in the Dakota with Hobart V. Folkes Jr., his partner of more than 10 years, according to a New York Times article in 2004 on Mr. Fletcher’s philanthropy.

Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter

Born: December 4, 1969, Brooklyn, NY

Company: Roc Nation

Position: CEO

Industry: Media, Entertainment, Publishing, Fashion

Country: United States

Shawn Corey Carter aka Jay-Z has gone from a street hustler to a world famous entertainer and businessman. With a net worth estimated at $450 million.

Jay-Z is founder of Roc Nation, created out of a $150 million, 10-year, profit-sharing deal with concert giant Live Nation. He was previously CEO of Def Jam/Roc-a-fella records fro 2005 to 2007. He was a co-founders of the Roc-A-Fella empire, which includes Roc-A-Fella Records, Roc-La-Familia, Roc-A-Fella Films and Rocawear. He is also a part owner of the New Jersey Nets, paying a reported $4.5 million for his share. He is a co-own of The 40/40 Club, an upscale sports bar with locations in New York City, Atlantic City and Las Vegas. He also has ownership stakes in a Greenwich Village bistro, the Spotted Pig; creative and operational control of the Rocawear clothing line which he bought from his founding partners then sold in 2007 for $204 million; and the Carol's Daughter a beauty line he co-owns.

Jay is the youngest of four kids brought up by a single mother, in Brooklyn's notorious Marcy projects. "When I left the block, everyone was saying I was crazy, I was doing well for myself on the streets, and cats around me were like, These rappers are ho's. They just record, tour, and get separated from their families, while some white person takes all their money. I was determined to do it differently," he said in a New York Metro interview.

Jay Z topped the Forbes magazine first-ever list of hip-hop Cash Kings, the top money makers in hip-hop with an estimated $34 million in 2006 earning. In 2010 Forbes put him on the cover of it's 400 "Richest People in America" issue, even though at $450 million he was only "on his way" to cracking the list where a $1 billion network minimum was required. Microsoft put up about $1 million for the marketing of his first book, "Decoded," to be published Nov. 16, 2010.
Tags: Apparel, Celebrity Entrepreneurs, Entrepreneur Male, Famous Entrepreneur, Music, Roc Nation LLC, Rocawear, Shawn "Jay Z" Carter, United States

Kobe Bryant

Net worth: $140 million
Source of wealth: Basketball, endorsements
Residence: Newport Beach, Calif.
Age: 30

Son of former pro basketball player Joe "Jellybean" Bryant skipped college ball; jumped straight from high school to the NBA at age 17 in 1996. Drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers; parents had to co-sign contract. Now is one of the game's premier players; 11-time All-Star and league's 2008 MVP has won three world championships with the Lakers. Endorsement deals pad earnings. Nike launched Zoom Kobe IV earlier this year; company's "lightest basketball shoe ever."

It's the latest Bryant alleged meltdown, and it's the Lakers star at his essence, anger wreaking havoc with calm, intensity swallowing up innocence.

On Sunday at St. Therese of Carmel Church in San Diego's Carmel Valley, police say, Bryant became upset at a man who he thought was taking his picture. Police said Bryant grabbed the man's cellphone in an altercation that allegedly sprained the man's wrist. Police said Bryant found no photos on the phone, returned it to the man, then left church early.

An investigation is taking place, and I know what happens now. As soon as everyone stops joking, everyone will start condemning. It's the usual reaction to Bryant's absurd theater, and I'm usually leading that parade.

But this sounds different. This feels different. For once, instead of everyone screaming, I think we should all be pausing.

I'm not saying Bryant's alleged actions were justified. I'm just saying that maybe they are understandable.

When it comes to church, I adhere to the mandate shouted by the fictional Hunchback when he once stood at the doors of Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral.

"Sanctuary! Sanctuary!"

Church is where we escape from the world's perception of us into who we actually are. Church is the one place we should be able to feel naked in a crowd with nobody looking.

Public personas do not exist at church. During the height of the USC athletic department turmoil last year, I spent several consecutive Sundays sitting several pews in front of the much-maligned Mike Garrett, yet we never exchanged a word. Maybe he never saw me, but he acted as if I were invisible, and likewise, and later when friends asked me if that was uncomfortable, I was fortunate enough to be able to say, no, that's just Mass.

Professional standings do not exist at church. I spent several springs in Vero Beach, Fla., sitting a couple of pews in front of then-Dodgers catcher Mike Scioscia, often even close enough to shake hands during the Catholic sign of peace. Yet while we often talked in the clubhouse, we never spoke in that House, and it worked.

"The great thing about church is, you walk inside, and you are who you are," said Father Mike Gutierrez, pastor at St. John the Baptist in Baldwin Park and a priest for 18 years. "You're not a celebrity anymore. You're just you, and people need to give you space to be you."

Nobody has a right to grab a cellphone from anyone else. Nobody has a right to call attention to themselves in a place that represents something far bigger than him. If it turns out Bryant actually hurt this guy, then he should be forced to fill his collection basket.

Zane

I feel that if women are gonna have sex during their lifetime-- and the majority of women are-- then there's no reason that they should walk away from the experience any less satisfied than the man. I hope that by reading my books that women will realize that they're entitled to make demands or ask for certain things sexually, 'cause men do not hesitate. -- Zane

Kristina Laferne Roberts, born and raised in Washington, D.C., is the daughter of a retired elementary school teacher and a retired professor, education was important to her family. Instead of pursuing a career in English, Zane went on to study chemical engineering at Howard University.
It was only after her three children went to bed did she decide to start writing her erotic fiction novels, using the pseudonym Zane. In 1999, she started her own company, Strebor Books International LLC, which is now an imprint of ATRIA/Simon and Schuster. Under Strebor, Zane has over fifty authors publishing under her company name.

Among her long list of accomplishments, Zane is a New York Times bestselling author of nine titles including Shame On It All, Addicted, and The Sex Chronicles: Shattering the Myth. She is the only author to have three of the five bestselling titles for fiction from the magazine Essence and is a multiple winner of the Black Expressions Book of the Year. She is also the number one bestselling author ever of the Black Expressions Book. She is the winner of the NAACP 2006 Image Award for Outstanding Fiction and is currently on the Board of Directors for the Negro League Legend Hall of Fame.

William Rice

William Rice was one of the Tuskegee Airmen

the legendary group of all-black pilots who flew with distinction during World War II as the 332nd Fighter Group of the United States Air Corps.

Whoopi Goldberg

Whoopi Goldberg was born on November 13, 1955, in New York City. She is an American comedienne, actress, singer-songwriter and Emmy Award-winning talk show host.

Goldberg made her film debut in The Color Purple (1985) playing Celie, a mistreated black woman in the south. She received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress and won her first Golden Globe Award for her role in the film. In 1990, she starred as Oda Mae Brown, a psychic helping a slain man Patrick Swayze find his killer in the blockbuster film Ghost. This performance won her a second Golden Globe and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Notable later films include Sister Act (1992) and Sister Act 2 (1993), Made in America (1993), How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998), Girl, Interrupted (1999) and Rat Race (2001).

She is also acclaimed for her role as the bartender Guinan in Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Goldberg has been nominated for 13 Emmy Awards for her work in television. She was the co-producer and center square of the latest edition game show Hollywood Squares from 1998 to 2002. She has achieved success on Broadway and in the music industry, and is one of 10 people who have won Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony (EGOT) Awards. In addition, she has won a British Academy Film Award, four People's Choice Awards and has been honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Currently, Goldberg is moderator and co-host of The View, which earned her an Emmy in 2009. She is currently the producer of Head Games, a science themed game show.

Vernon Jordan

There is a definition of black America but no definition of white America. And we are just as mixed up in views, needs, and aspirations as any other group of people. It's never been monolithic. There's always been dissent. There's always been a difference of opinion, and a difference of approach. And that's healthy. -- Vernon Jordan

Vernon Eulion Jordan, Jr. was born August 15, 1935 in Atlanta, Georgia. Having grown up in America's Deep South, he enrolled in DePauw University where he studied political science. He later enrolled at Howard University's law school, and upon graduation, became involved with the nationwide effort to desegregate the country's colleges and universities.

In 1961, he was named field secretary for the Georgia chapter of National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. He stayed in that role until 1963. In 1964, he became the director of the Southern Regional Council for the Voter Education Project. President Johnson, among others, took note of his political influence, and became part of the President's civil

rights conference. In 1970, Jordan became the director of the United Negro College Fund and helped raise $10 million. He was the President of the National Urban League from 1972-1981, where he helped advance the progress of minority hiring.

After his tenure, he moved to Washington, D.C. to a private law practice. His most famous client was President Clinton, as he helped on his transition team when Clinton was first elected in 1992. Though he never took a presidential appointment, Jordan always remained one of Clinton's closest political advisors and friends. In 2001, the NAACP presented Jordan with the Spingarn Award, its highest honor.

Dr. Montgomery-Rice

Dr. Montgomery-Rice is currently the Principal Investigator in the Menstrual or Bone Density Study to determine if the female sex hormones are higher in Black women & determine the reasons for these differences. She is also Principal Investigator in the 2D/3D Ultrasound Hysterectomy Study to determine the sensitivity & specificity of 2D ultrasound examination of fibroids compared to the 3D ultrasound; and the Xanodyne-Heavy Menstrual Bleeding Study to examine the effects of tranexamic acid in reducing menstrual bleeding.

Dr. Montgomery-Rice was also the principle investigator on a Double-Blind Randomized Placebo and Active Control Safety and Efficacy study of Baxedoxifene/Conjugated Estrogen Combination and Post Menopausal Women. She serves as an investigator on a project with the NIH funded Center for Research in Reproduction Grant at Meharry Medical College. Other research endeavors include the Women’s Health, Osteoporosis, Progestin, and Estrogen (HOPE) Study, a multi-center clinical trial evaluating the efficacy of low dose hormone therapies.

Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice is Dean of the School of Medicine and Senior Vice President for Health Affairs at Meharry Medical College. She received her undergraduate degree from Georgia Institute of Technology in chemistry before attending Harvard Medical School.

Tyler Perry

Tyler Perry was born Emmitt R. Perry, Jr., in New Orleans, Louisiana on September 14, 1969. One of four children, he is an American playwright, screenwriter, actor, director and producer of films and stage plays. His best-known character is "Madea", who is a physically imposing and overbearing, but well-intentioned, woman who serves both as comic relief and as the loud voice of conscience for the protagonists of Perry's works.

Perry changed his first name to Tyler because of his troubled relationship with his father. His father, Emmitt, Sr., was a carpenter and construction worker, and his mother, Maxine, was a pre-school teacher who worked at the New Orleans Jewish Community Center for most of her life. His childhood in New Orleans was marked by poverty and sexual abuse from his father. Perry dropped out of school when he was 16, but later went back to school to obtain his GED.

One day in 1992, while he was watching The Oprah Winfrey Show, Perry took the advice that it can be cathartic to put feelings down on paper, which inspired him to write letters of his painful childhood. These letters eventually became his plays.

This was Perry's first foray into writing, when he began keeping a journal, in part to cope with the repercussions of abuse. He developed different characters to voice different ideas in the journal. This work eventually became the musical I Know I've Been Changed about adult survivors of child abuse.

As of March 2005, Perry's plays had grossed over $75 million in ticket and DVD sales. Perry stated in a January 2004 interview in Ebony magazine that his theater productions were designed to be a bridge between the traditional urban theater circuit—historically and pejoratively referred to as the "chitlin' circuit"—and a more traditional theater format.

After a successful pilot run of his TV show, Tyler Perry’s House of Payne, Perry signed a $200 million, 100-episode deal with TBS. On June 6, 2007, the first two episodes of Tyler Perry's House of Payne ran on TBS. Due to high ratings, House of Payne is now in syndication.

Toni Morrison

Almost all of the African-American writers that I know were very much uninterested in one particular area of the world, which is white men. That frees up a lot. It frees up the imagination, because you don't have that gaze. And when I say white men, I don't mean just the character, I mean the establishment, the reviewers, the publishers, the people who are in control. So once you erase that from your canvas, you can really play. -- Toni Morrison

Born Chloe Anthony Wofford in Ohio, Toni Morrison grew up reading the classics and listening to her father tell wonderful stories. These stories helped ignite a love of writing that led her to Howard University. After earning her B.A. in English, Toni went on to earn a Master of Arts degree in English from Cornell University.

In 1970, Morrison's first novel, The Bluest Eyes, was published. Four years later Song of Solomon, her third novel, won National Book Critics Circle Award. Her critically acclaimed Beloved earned her the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award in 1988. Ten years later Beloved was made into a movie starring Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover and Thandie

Newton.

Morrison received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993. Her citation read, "who in novels characterized by visionary force and poetic import, gives life to an essential aspect of American reality."

Oxford University awarded her an honorary Doctor of Letters degree in June 2005. The following year the Louvre Museum in Paris honored Morrison as the second guest curator in its "Grand Invite" for a month-long series of events across the arts on the theme of "The Foreigner's Home." She currently holds a place on the editorial board of The Nation magazine.

Thelma Golden

One of the funniest experiences I had when I began working the art world is that people always assumed I worked for Thelma Golden, not that I was Thelma Golden. The kind of dismissal that comes from just people's sense that they don't imagine you are who you are actually has been one of the most powerful and liberating things for me in my work. -- Thelma Golden

As a young child growing up in Queens, New York, Thelma Golden knew early in life she wanted to be a museum curator. She first learned of the role at age 12 when she read about the pioneering African-American woman curator, Lowery Sims, of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Golden had her first hands-on training as a senior in high school, training as a curatorial apprentice at the Metropolitan Museum.

In 1991, Thelma took a position at the Whitney Museum of American Art, one of the nation's premier art institutions. Golden used her position to open up the museum to previously under-represented artists including women and people of color. Her willingness to think outside the box and show artists that might not have been shown anywhere else helped put her on the national map.

Golden made her biggest splash in 1993 as one of four curators of the Whitney Biennial. The Biennial took a somewhat controversial look at America and tough social issues such as race, gender, sexuality, AIDS, and gay rights. The show caused a quite a commotion and it was no surprise that Golden caused another controversy just a few years later by staging Black Male: Representations of Masculinity in Contemporary American Art. 29 minority artists displayed works that illustrated the current conceptions of black masculinity.

Thelma remained at the Whitney until 1999, holding various positions throughout her tenure there. In 2000, she became the deputy director for exhibitions and programs and chief curator at the Studio Museum in Harlem. She was promoted to executive director and chief curator in 2005, the position she currently holds.