BV Entertainment Newswire April 26

Un-caged Bird, Feted

The Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health will host Sportsball 2006, its 12th annual gala, on April 27 at Chelsea Piers in New York City. Poet Laureate Maya Angelou will be honored with the Courage to Care Award, and the Levi Strauss Foundation will receive the Corporate Responsibility Award. The Urban Medicine Award will go to Dr. Ray Austin.

Celebrating the distinguished legacy of the late tennis champion and humanitarian Arthur Ashe, the event gathers renowned guests representing sports, music, entertainment, and medicine. Hosted by local news anchor Dana Tyler and 'Today in New York' sports reporter Otis Livingston, Sportsball 2006 will feature a performance by jazz musician Dr. Billy Taylor. Lauryn Hill, Pras, Allan Houston, Meli'sa Morgan and 'America's Next Top Model' runner-up Nik are expected. The funds raised at Sportsball support the Institute’s innovative community health education programs and research initiatives.

Ashe founded the Institute in 1992, two months before his death from AIDS, in response to the disproportionate amount of illness and death in urban communities from preventable diseases. He believed many of these diseases, such as diabetes and hypertension, are the result of inadequate health care delivery, late detection, and insufficient health education.

"Today, we can all take pride in the Institute he started 13 years ago," the organization's CEO Dr. Ruth C. Browne told Black Voices. "Our unique programs provide the tools, the support and the educational resources necessary for people to make wise choices and lead healthy lives."

This event's official attire is "black tie and sneakers" and is considered the major fundraiser for the national organization, which is based in Brooklyn, New York.

"Arthur’s great personal dignity and vigilant conscience required no less of him," his widow Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe said. "He felt it was his personal duty and obligation, as one to whom much had been given, to meet and surpass all expectations of him and to fight injustice whenever he could. AAIUH is his unique source dedicated to preserving his legacy."

Kelly Rowland Gets 'Vibe'

Kelly Rowland is on board for the kick off of the Soft Sheen-Carson/Vixen Model Search contest in Atlanta on May 13. According to a spokesperson, the five-city competition is seeking women of color, 18-30 years old, with natural, color-treated or relaxed hair, and will hit cities such as Houston (May 20), Baltimore (June 17), Philadelphia (August 25) and Chicago (Sept. 2). Celebrity judges will select winners from each city to receive a gift basket. One grand-prize winner will receive a modeling contract to appear in Soft Sheen-Carson online ads and campaigns, a "Diva Day" of pampering and treatments, and a fashion photo shoot for 'Vibe Vixen.' Rowland, who is a Soft Sheen-Carson spokeswoman, appears on the cover of the magazine's summer edition, out May 16.

One World Deal For Turner

Best-selling author Nikki Turner has entered into an agreement with One World/Ballantine to launch a new line of street lit books, entitled ‘Nikki Turner Presents,’ to debut next year. The self-proclaimed "Queen of Hip Hop Fiction" authored previous titles 'A Hustler's Wife' and 'The Glamorous Life.' For the new line, Turner will select the best of urban street fiction by other authors, with an emphasis on original and authentic voices. Two to three books will be released per year. Publishing industry veteran Melody Guy, the Senior Editor of One World/Ballantine, has also acquired three more novels written by Turner. The first title will be published Spring 2007 and will be a sequel to 'Wife,' her Number One 'Essence' magazine bestselling debut, which sold more than 100,000 copies and has been optioned for film. "Nikki Turner has proven herself to be a star in the urban literary scene," said Guy, "and we are pleased to continue and build upon our relationship with her." Turner's latest novel 'Riding Dirty On I-95' hits shelves this month.

Smiley All Over

As 'The Tavis Smiley Show' celebrates its first anniversary on Public Radio International (PRI) this month, a weekly podcast of the show's political, health, finance, music and entertainment segments will make its debut April 28, via the website www.tavistalks.com, and on Apple iTunes. Since returning to public radio last April -- following a successful three-year run of his daily program on NPR-- Smiley's new weekend radio show is heard on 65 radio stations, including those in the top ten markets. "I had grown to love the stations and listeners of public radio - and believe me, I heard from a lot of people who were upset when I left NPR," said Smiley, who wrote the introduction to the 'New York Times' best-selling book 'The Covenant with Black America.' "I knew we had to continue the journey." Former Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have appeared on the show within the last year, as have entertainment personalities such as Spike Lee, Samuel L. Jackson, Forest Whittaker, Ruby Dee, Dionne Warwick, Smokey Robinson, B.B. King, and Queen Latifah. "With our new Friday podcasts we are responding to listeners who've asked for more ways to be enlightened, encouraged and empowered by the fascinating guests and topics we deliver each week."

Apollo 'Legend'

John Legend is the honorary chairman of 'Ailey at the Apollo,' a one-night-only event celebrating the legacy of the late dance icon Alvin Ailey at the Apollo Theater on May 11. Featuring performances by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Ailey II troupes, along with students from The Ailey School, the annual spring fundraiser will be led by Artistic Director Judith Jamison. Ailey Trustee, Debra L. Lee, Chairman and CEO of BET Networks, will be honored for her leadership and support. Proceeds from the gala will support programs such as the Ailey School Scholarship Program and the Arts in Education & Community Program.