Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Don Cornelius | 1936 - 2012


"Soul Train" creator Don Cornelius died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, the Los Angeles County coroner's office said on Tuesday.

The coroner is officially ruling Cornelius' death a suicide but said additional toxicology test were pending.



 In 1970, Cornelius, a former Chicago disc jockey and radio reporter, launched Soul Train, an R&B-themed dance show on WCIU and moved it to syndication the next year with stations in several cities picking it up. The show later moved to Los Angeles and became an instant hit. The show ran in syndication for 25 years before it went off the air in 2006.

According to The Times' Hollywood Walk of Fame database, Cornelius’ “Soul Train” became the longest-running, first-run nationally syndicated show in television history, bringing African American music and style to the world .


Don Cornelius 1936-2012 | Soul Train


 Cornelius also went through personal drama due to bitter divorce proceedings in 2009. The consequence was that Cornelius suffered "significant health issues" and wanted to "finalize this divorce before I die." In 2008, Cornelius was arrested beating up his wife. He pled no contest to misdemeanor domestic violence and was placed on three years probation. His probation just terminated and the divorce was granted in 2010.


A relative of Cornelius found him at his Mulholland Drive home last week. He was rushed to Cedars Sinai Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, according to law enforcement sources.

Rest in Peace, Love, And Soul.

Sidenote: This tragedy has special meaning in the African-American community, which has long nourished a dangerous myth that black people don't commit suicide.


It is a point of mythical ethnic pride that our ancestors found ways to persevere despite centuries of slavery, struggle and hardship. Black people created the blues, it is often said, because we didn't have psychotherapists.

Besides, as an old joke goes, we black people don't kill ourselves because you can't kill yourself by jumping out of a basement window. We can only wish that were true. Although whites and Native Americans have the highest suicide rates, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the black suicide rate has been high enough in recent years to claim one African-American every 4.5 hours.

No group is immune. By gender, non-Hispanic white and Native American men have the highest suicide rates, of about 25 lives per 100,000. That's more than four times the rate of women in each racial group. It also is more than twice the rate of black and Hispanic men, whose suicide rate of about 11 per 100,000 is five times the rate of black and Hispanic women. Asian-American men have a rate of about 9 per 100,000, slightly more than twice the rate of Asian-American women.

Yet the black suicide myth persists. "As a mental-health advocate, over the years I've heard variations of the 'black people don't commit suicide' meme," wrote Bassey Ikpi on the black-oriented The Root website after Cornelius' death. "Yesterday the chorus was deafening. People went so far as to create elaborate conspiracy theories rather than accept what could be a simple truth — that Cornelius had taken his own life."

"Happiness is a private club that will not let me enter"
Generic suicide note.

It is not hard, although it is not pain-free either, for me to imagine that Don Cornelius could have written the same message. Suicides inflict a terrible cruelty on the survivors. Everyone asks "why" and there are no easy answers.

"People feel guilty if they failed to get help for their lost loved one," a counselor told me, and they feel guilty if they did get help and the loved one killed him or herself anyway. It is best to seek help. Whether you believe it or not, you have too much to lose.


Clarence Page is a member of the Tribune's editorial board and blogs at chicagotribune.com/pagespage. He became an advocate on suicide because of a personal tragedy, back in May 1984, when suicide ended the life and career of his ex-wife Leanita McClain, an award-winning Chicago Tribune columnist and ghetto-to-Gold-Coast success story

Follow Him on Twitter: @cptime

Via The Chicago Tribune








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Moziah Bridges-Young Mogul in the Making: Talks Inspiration, Fashion, & Men Advancing Their Swagger

Photography by Nubia Creative Images

Meet Mo (Moziah Bridges), a 10 year old mogual in the making. His grandmother, Helen Galloway, showed him how to make bow ties from scrap material using hand sewing and a machine. He began to make them for himself, but when they drew compliments and recognition, he sensed a market that is "Mo's Bows".


Moziah Bridges at Harlem's Fashion Row, A Fashion Art Exhibition: Memphis, TN

At this tender age Moziah is a business entrepreneur of “Mo’s Bows”, a bow tie company. He attends Rozelle Elementary Creative and Performing Arts School.



Moziah, when did you start making bow ties?

In June of 2011, so just a couple of months.

What inspired you to start making bow ties at such a young age?

I just really like to dress up and I wanted to make original ties so I could wear them.

Did you ever think that you were going to start making bow ties for other people? Or did you just only intend to make them initially for yourself?

I kind of knew I was eventually going to start making them for other people because they turned out really good.


What are some of the names you’ve come up with to brand your bow ties?

Um, let’s see here, I have Buster Brown, Cha-Cha-Cha-Cheetah, Picnic In The Park, Pumpkin Plaid, Fancy Nancy, Dinner With Mom, Teacher’s Pet and some other names I can’t think of right now.

Due to your recent popularity and getting worldwide press, how has it been doing everyday things like going to school or grocery shopping?

People are like—WOW, I can’t believe you are ten! and HEY, that’s the Mo’s Bows kid!



Do you have any advice you want to give men to help them advance their swagger?

Get your own business because, it’s just great! Be yourself and like I always say, “I want to look good and I want to feel good”, so the same for you, if you want to look good and feel good, do that! So get Mo’s Bows and pick the one(s) that fit your personality the best.

Lastly, do you have any advice to give other children who aspire to do other things just to encourage them?

Figure out what you like doing and figure out how you can make money doing it! Also, you want to make money while sleeping right? So figure out how you can do that and make your money work for you! “If it’s going to be, it’s up to me”, and that’s a quote by Fredrick Douglass.


There’s nothing like a kid who knows his fashion! Moziah has a great upbringing and is an inspiration to many who meet and read his story. He is wise beyond his years. This past December Moziah had his first trunk show where he was able to meet his existing clientele and gain potential customers. There he showcased his massive collection of original bow ties and took custom orders. To date he has also been interviewed by WREG Live at 9 Channel 3 News, Fox 13 News, ABC News, The Memphis Flyer, The Memphis Business Journal, The Commercial Appeal, and Atlanta’s Fox News segment which has already run in Atlanta and Detroit and is set to run in Memphis this February. Outside of press interviews Moziah has also been doing a lot of public and motivational speaking. Last year he was the keynote speaker for the graduating class of Economic Empowerment at the New Olivet Baptist Church in Memphis , TN and he has quite a few speaking engagements scheduled for this year including speaking to a youth minor league team of his peers.

Please support this young man! He is on the verge of greatness. You can visit his online shop: MosBowsMemphis and also view his Facebook Page  wall  for updates.

Read more of the interview to find out what Mo's plans are for the future, upcoming projects, and what fabrics he covets the most over at