Quit yer’ belly-aching and do something with your life like this kid!

Homeless Atlanta Teenager Graduates High School

Frederick Dukes may be a teenager, but he is wise beyond his years.

“A lot of people talk about doing things, but you can’t talk about it. You can’t think about it. You can only just go and do it,” said Dukes, a senior at Washington Senior Academy.

For the last two years Dukes has been homeless and often hungry.

“I’m still a high school student. Even though I am dealing with the hardships of adults, I am still a young man and teenager at the moment in time,” Dukes said.

When Duke’s stepmom moved back to North Carolina, he decided to stay in Atlanta.

He said that meant living the life of a nomad.

Friends and later faculty have helped, but it hasn’t always been enough.

“My lowest moment over the last two years was this Christmas break when it was cold and I didn’t have anywhere to stay,” said Dukes.

Despite all the hardships, Dukes will graduate from one of the top schools in the state.

“I knew if I didn’t stay on myself, nobody would. If I didn’t care, nobody else would care. If I didn’t help myself, nobody else would help me,” said Dukes.

“It’s pretty amazing when students go back and reflect and pretty much talk about who inspires them, but students like Frederick Dukes inspire me,” said Tiauna Crooms, the principal of Washington Senior Academy.

“Your environment is not what makes you. Who you are is what you do and the decisions you make is what makes you who you are,” Dukes said.

*Wipes away tears* Sweet baby Jesus…

Image via CBS Atlanta

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Congratulations Shawna Machado!!

Homeless Florida Woman Graduates College

Shawna Machado has slept in parking lots and studied in coffee shops.

“I park at Walmart; that’s 24 hours,” she said. “I park at Starbucks; that’s 24 hours.”

For two years, Machado, 40, has been homeless after losing a well-paying job at a doctor’s office. She was let go shortly after the economy tanked. She didn’t have a degree to fall back on.

“I was not sleeping,” she said. “I would go days without sleeping, days without eating, because I wasn’t getting a call about a job. I wasn’t even getting calls for an interview.”

Machado decided to go to college at USF Sarasota-Manatee with only a computer and a car.

“I’m definitely more fortunate than a lot of people who are homeless, because I have a car,” she said.

Machado keeps all of her belongings in her Hyundai. She’s been able to afford to keep a vehicle by dog walking or house-sitting on the side. For two years, she has stayed in her car or with friends when possible. She’s taken showers in her school’s bathroom and caught sleep any chance she could.

“I don’t sleep more than three or four hours at a time, and most of the time three or four hours a day,” she said.

She says she would find a nice spot to sleep, such as a beach, when she could.

“Throw out a lawn chair, read a book, fall asleep,” she said. “Nobody questions it.”

Shawna kept her living situation to herself for the past two years to avoid from getting “the look”

Many of her professors didn’t even know about her situation. They found out this past weekend when she was named “Most Outstanding Graduate” in her class.

Her Spanish professor, Michael Fehily, is extremely proud.

“Shawna is the student I want every semester sitting in the front row,” he said. “That’s how good she’s been under trying circumstances. She’s achieved way beyond expectations.”

Machado didn’t want other teachers or students to feel sorry for her.

“Knowing my situation and not telling anybody was huge,” she said. “I don’t want to feel like a burden.”

She still needs a job, but she knows she’s taking a step in the right direction by getting her bachelor’s degree in psychology.

She’s revamped her resume and she’s sending it out in hopes of landing a job in social work.

“We’re given things in life, and we’re given a different walk of life, and I think we have to take that and challenge ourselves to inspire others,” she said.

Now, get off your lazy a$$ and stop making excuses!!!

Isn’t she lovelyyyyyyyyy?!

A Down Syndrome Student At Texas High School Voted Prom Queen

Carolann Nunez is a Special Olympics gold medalist. She has also won second place in a national Glamor Shots contest. But the one thing Nunez really wanted to accomplish was being crowned prom queen at Americas High School.

Her friends and family came together to make last Saturday’s prom a truly memorable moment for Nunez.
They made posters, tweeted to encourage voters and even spread the word on Facebook to help boost her numbers.

“Carolann has dreamed of being prom queen for years and years. She’s watched Disney movies with prom queens getting crowned. For years and years she’s always wanted to be prom queen,” said her father, Michael Nunez.

Carolann Nunez has Down Syndrome. But that hasn’t stopped her from achieving what many high school girls see as the epitome of high school accolades, something she says she couldn’t have done without her friends and family.

“So proud of them. My parents helped me make a dream come true,” said Nunez.

All of Carolann’s classmates seem legitimately happy for her.

“She’s the happiest person in the world. She’s so energetic and full of life. She’s the sweetest person on earth,” said Americas senior Gabrielle Roper.

“Every day when I see her, she’s always really happy. She says hi to everybody. She’s really friendly,” said prom king Brian Contreras.

Nunez picked out a pink sparkly dress for the big occasion, and her father went as her date.

After she was crowned, the screams and cheers that followed after she was crowned showed just how much her fellow students cared.

After the prom king and queen dance, she ran up to one of her biggest supporters.

“She said, ‘Daddy, I did it!’ and gave me a great big hug,” said her father.

Awwwwwww, congrats Carolann!

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Chris Brown Launches A Line Of Limited Edition Toys

Are all these new business ventures delaying CB’s new album???

Chris Brown can’t seem to sit still. In addition to finishing up his fifth studio album Fortune (July 3) and selling two-month-old pit bull puppies, the singer/songwriter has announced a new collectibles series in collaboration with artist Ron English. Called Dum English, the pair’s exclusive line of limited-edition collectible toys and unique art sculptures will launch in Los Angeles on May 2.

Working in tandem with sculpture manufacturers Garageworks Industries and vinyl toy production house Made by Monsters, Brown and English’s new venture is an offshoot of the singer’s MechanicalDummy.com blog/lifestyle site that also houses his own street art and that of other budding artists. Among Dum English’s inaugural offerings: A toy necklace chain ($75) and a 10″vinyl figure ($140), both from Made by Monsters, and a four-foot life-size fiberglass sculpture ($20,000) by Garageworks Industries.

Launching with only 1000 pieces in this limited-edition toy series and 20 pieces for the fiberglass sculpture, Brown and English will showcase their work at the Corey Helford Gallery in CulverCity (L.A.) on May 2 from 6-8 p.m. Proceeds from sales at the combination VIP art exhibit/media event will benefit Brown’s Symphonic Love foundation, which provides support and funding for arts programs dedicated to women and the artistic development of children. Brown and English will also paint together on a life-size Dum English astronaut sculpture in front of guests. Earlier that day (2-4 p.m.), the pair will appear at TAG for an in-store consumer signing.

In a statement, Brown notes, “Ron has to be the most creative, ‘out there’ artist. His works is so precise but at the same time so unorthodox.”

Sounds like a good cause, but we’re pretty sure that #TeamBreezy would much rather have the album.

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You GO girl! *Martin Lawrence voice*

Pennsylvania First Grader Born With No Hands Wins Penmanship Award

A Pittsburgh-area girl who was born without hands has won a penmanship award — and $1,000 — from a company that publishes language arts and reading textbooks.

Zaner-Bloser Inc. recognized 7-year-old Annie Clark at Wilson Christian Academy in West Mifflin on Wednesday.

After the ceremony, Clark demonstrated her ability to write by manipulating a pencil between her forearms.
The girl’s parents, Tom and Mary Ellen Clark, have nine children — three biological and six adopted from China, including Annie. They say the girl uses a similar method to feed and dress herself and to paint her toenails.

Clark is the first winner of an award named for Nicholas Maxim. Nicholas was a Maine fifth-grader born without hands or lower arms who entered the company’s penmanship contest last year.

Talk about inspiration for that a$$, you feel kind of silly complaining about stuff after you read this huh?

Image via Larry Roberts/Pittsburg Post-Gazette

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Go ‘head Clifford! Handle ya business!

T.I.’s Probation Officer Reports He Is A Model Citizen

According to TMZ reports:

T.I.’s probation officer submitted the request to extend the rapper’s out-of-state travel allowance from 7 to 12 days — and yesterday, a judge signed off on it.

According to the probation officer’s letter, T.I. has been a model probationer — staying on his best behavior the last few months … even completing his required drug/alcohol counseling program.

T.I. has approximately five months left of supervised release — after spending several months behind bars for a probation violation last year, stemming from his 2009 gun conviction.

Only 5 months left, keep ya nose clean shawty.

Image via Prince Williams/ATLPics/Splashnews

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Noah Stewart Becomes First Black Singer To Top UK Classical Charts In 25 Years

A tenor singer from Harlem, New York, who used to be a receptionist at the city’s famous Carnegie Hall, has become the first black singer to top the UK classical album chart in its 25-year history, his record company has said.

Noah Stewart, 31, who completed his debut run at London’s Royal Opera House in Judith Weir’s Miss Fortune last week, went straight to the No 1 slot with his debut album Noah.

The 31-year-old, who was supported financially as a young singer by the actor and producer Bill Cosby, said: “I’m very proud to be the first black musician to top the classical charts. It’s both an honour and privilege.”

Legendary singers, including American sopranos Leontyne Price and Jessye Norman – plus Willard White, the Jamaican-born baritone – helped establish black artists in the classical music field.

Martin Talbot, managing director of the Official Charts Company, said there had been no other black artist at No 1 since the classical album chart launched in the late 1980s.

One of the highlights of Stewart’s career so far has been appearing in Mozart’s Requiem at Carnegie Hall where earlier, as a struggling singer working an assortment of jobs, he answered phones on reception.

His musical development began in Harlem, where he studied classical music at the Harlem School of the Arts.

At the age of 12, his choir teacher encouraged him to pursue a music career; he began doing voiceovers for Sesame Street and TV school specials and won first place in the New England music competition in Boston, before gaining a full scholarship to the Juilliard School in New York.

This is one talented brotha, clap for ‘em!

Image via Katherine Rose for the Observer

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Going to Wrestlemania with your favorite wrestler? A kids dream come true.

David Otunga Takes Haiti Refugee Kid To Wrestlemania

According to TMZ reports:

WWE star (and Harvard Law grad) David Otunga was so touched by the story of a young Haiti refugee … he decided to give the kid the greatest present ever — an in-person meet-and-greet with all of the boy’s wrestling heroes.

Otunga was in Florida on Friday to give an anti-bullying talk at a John F. Kennedy Middle School — and as part of the event … the school raffled off a ticket to Wrestlemania 28 this weekend in Miami Gardens, where The Rock will face off against John Cena.

The kid who won the raffle turned out to be a refugee from Haiti’s massive 2010 earthquake — and now lives with foster parents in the US. Two weeks ago, the boy’s biological mother died in Haiti.

Otunga caught wind of the boy’s story — and was so moved he decided a simple Wrestlemania ticket wasn’t enough … so he personally set up a meet-and-greet for the kid backstage … with ALL the wrestlers at the event.

Punk loves the kids!

Image via WENN

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The first African-American lady of sports journalism chops it up with your favorite entertainment site!

Many of you may wake up in the morning and tune in to the local news, or music videos, but for those of you who tune into ESPN First Take, you are very familiar with Jemele Hill.

She can be seen on several of ESPN’s top shows in addition to First Take like Jim Rome Is Burning, Outside The Lines, and she was the first woman to appear on Around The Horn in 2009.

Please don’t confuse Miss Hill with being just another pretty face used to fill a quota, she knows EXACTLY what she’s talking about and would probably embarrass most men when it comes to her sports acumen.

She was gracious enough to indulge us with some of her time recently and after the flip you can read our interview in it’s entirety.

Image via ESPN

Two very successful and focused Black men, doin’ in good in Hollywood and the ‘hood.

Some of you may be familiar with Vernon Davis, the star tight end for the San Francisco 49ers. He is a beast on the field, strong and fast with a great knack for finding the end zone once the ball hits his hands.

You may not be as familiar with Antone Barnes, but that will soon change. Antone, a former record executive, has worked with the likes of Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, and Nelly, helping them to bring their musical visions to fruition.

These two brothas have joined their creative minds to form an interior design company called Modern Class Design. Additionally, Vernon and his Miami Dolphin brother Vontae, have put their resources together to establish the Vernon and Vontae Davis Family Foundation. Both of these businesses are focused on leadership and community both in the the business and social arenas.

Bossip was afforded the pleasure of speaking to the unlikely tag-team to get their take on what it means to be at the forefront of their field and what MCD and VVFF really stands for.

Flip the page to read the interview.