By Karu F. Daniels, AOL Black Voices
Hip-pop music wunderkind Kanye West, NFL star Curtis Martin and gospel music sensation Kirk Franklin are among the few good men being honored by One Hundred Black Men, Inc. at tonight's 27th Annual Benefit Gala a the New York Hilton in New York City.
'Recognizing Our Past, Redefining Our Future' is the theme for the event, which will also honor U.S. congressman Charles B. Rangel, business executive Ian Moore, Newark, New Jersey Mayor Cory Booker, and revered clergyman Calvin O. Butts.
"The organization is proud to have such a distinguished group of honorees this year, each with such unique social, political and artistic contributions," One Hundred Black Men President Phil Banks, Jr. told The BV Newswire. "We at One Hundred Black Men are continuously dedicated to recognizing our past and redefining our future. During Black History Month, while we tend to acknowledge the former, we often fail to attribute proper credit to the latter."
"[These men] have been the inspiration for what's to come," he continued. "We are thrilled to bestow this honor upon all seven men, who have exhibited the utmost strength, courage and camaraderie in their professional endeavors. We cannot think of a more appropriate group of individuals to salute for their ability to uphold the ideals of our organization and exemplify the future of our community."
Recognized as a national, non-profit, 501c(3) philanthropic organization, One Hundred Black Men, Inc. is was founded in 1963 with a mission dedicated to the development of underprivileged youth.
Hosted by New York City media personalities Lori Stokes and Maurice Dubois, the black tie affair will feature entertainment by renowned R&B vocalist Howard Hewett.
Comments: (14)
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By: HThomas on 2/23/2007 2:45AM
Well, the 100 Black Men are truly digging from the bottom of the barrel when it comes to Kanye and Kirk. Sad when this is the best we have to offer.
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By: Robbie Rob on 2/23/2007 11:12AM
Though Kanye's media attention the last year or so has focused on his temper tantrums and self-absorption, he's also brought a higher level of awareness to important issues like the sacrifices made in extracting diamonds in Africa, and Kirk's desire to reveal himself not only as a musician but also as a real person w/real issues to the gospel community, I'm proud to have men w/this type of integrity representing us as a people w/a conscious.
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By: GERARD MARSH on 2/23/2007 5:28PM
YOU KNOW WHEN WILL ALL THE YOUNG BLACK ARTIST COME TO THE CONCLUSION'' HEY THIS THING ''BLING $ ECT''ECT'' IS WAY WAY OVER MY HEAD !LET ME SPEAK TO THE OLDER GUYS LIKE SIDNEY POITIER'HARRY BELEFONTE' AND SO MANY OTHERS, ( THAT CAN HELP YOU TO KEEP FOCUSED'' TO BE A BETTER PERSON
TO UNDERSTAND , IT COULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED IF IT WAS'NT FOR THE VERY GUYS IVE MENTIONED'' AND THEIR MISTAKS AND ALL !!
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By: Kissandra Burnett on 2/24/2007 9:10AM
WHY is it when people are honored and recognized for their contributions, THERE IS ALWAYS SOME who will point out the faults and negative things about those chosen? No one is perfect, we all have sinned and fallen short in one area or another. Yes, they may have done or said wrong at one time or another, but lets applaud and focus on the good things they've contributed. Maybe there were others out there who could have been selected to rep. but this isn't the 1st or the last gala. Have you gone back to research all the former 26 years of honorees? How do we know the ones you Haters think deserve it, haven't previously been chosen. Let's calm down the emotions and fault finding and give honor where honor is due.
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By: J-Ray on 2/24/2007 10:10AM
Kanye, you;re kidding right? Kanye? Wow!! Kanye huh this is it, this is the best of the best. Wow it is a sad say in mudville when Kanye is the best you got, let's see Obama Barack, Tiger Woods, countless others. But this racist piece of crap who always has that obligatory (I am mad at the world) scowl on his ugly mug is who you got.
"The organization is proud to have such a distinguished group of honorees this year, each with such unique social, political and artistic contributions. He's kidding with this quote right? What a joke.
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By: Jmoney on 2/24/2007 11:01AM
Y'all need ro stop hating. These men might not be your choice but they are the associations choice and y'al;l just mad because nobody's recognizing you. You may only no the bad or the political thing about these people, but believe me you don't know them how you think you do. Get over it and do something with lives.
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By: MHDukes on 2/24/2007 11:29AM
Come on people. Go with the flow. You can't change their decision. It's done, it's written, it's photographed. These nice black gentlemen have done good and bad like all of us. Judge not.....just praise.
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By: abdul way on 2/24/2007 2:39PM
Kanye is a good man for the nomination, kirk franklin is human and curtis martin is well CURTIS MARTIN i'm a cowboys fan but i'm a fan of his work outside of football. will someone please remove the ignorance of the people they let comment on blogs!!!! kanye is the first person i've seen to not only comment but write a whole song about jesus, and the first with enough balls to speak the truth about the presidents racism during "katrina". the man is deserving wether or not the haters ( most likely white people who don't like opinionated/empowered young black MEN ). Kirk is a REAL person who has REAL issues. it's like the world wants to follow whitewash. i would rather my preacher tell me about his bad side so i can reflect with him, not to hide his background or current misdoings and look down at me like he is better!!! curtis again is curtis i dont think anyone is against that nomination!! in the end it isn't about who you are or what the media portrays you to be, it's about what you've done and apparently they've done enough to get the vote. and again QUIT LETTING WHITE PEOPLE COMMENT ON THE BLOGS IN BLACK VOICES they have their own culture and don't understand anything but "public image" which they've painted themselves anyways!!! congrats finalists!!!!
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By: abdul way on 2/24/2007 2:40PM
*honorees*
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By: Angela Mitchell on 2/24/2007 3:45PM
I guess the decisions to honor Kanye was already made prior to him making the horrific statements he made on the Michael Basden Show. This man actually got on a nationally syndicated show and said things like "Black men prefer white women or a black woman that looks almost white with very long hair." He went on to say "that's why you don't see many dark women in the videos because in the industry they are looked at as MUTTS." The saddest thing of all is this mans mother is not all that light and would be considered dark ESPECIALLY IN THE INDUSTRY! This saddened me not only because I'm a woman of dark hue but Kanye will still be at the top of the charts making a ton of money off of people without a clue. The truth is I've always known that the "industry" felt that way because I never see any women that look like me. Kanye was just the first to go public with his opinion and the opinion of alot of men just like him. Next time 100 Black Men should wait a little longer to see if any of the honorees stick their foot in their mouths.
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