Mother Erma Johnson Needs Your VOTE!

VOTE Today 

MOTHER ERMA JOHNSON

to appear in an upcoming

Tyler Perry Film Production

We need your Help. No donations, offering, or tithing...just a click of the mouse VOTE for Mother Erma Johnson to appear in an upcoming Tyler Perry movie.

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Allow a few seconds to let the video load on the screen and VOTE away and as many times as possible before Friday June 29.

Love Yuur Sweetnuurs!

Arts.Advocacy+Wellness: "Happy Thanksgiving from Mother Erma""

Mother Erma Johnson's Thanksgiving Tip.

ENJOY THE HOLIDAY!!!!

Another "Jumping the Broom" Movie in theaters May 6th

TriStar Pictures film JUMPING THE BROOM, which features an all-star cast of Angela Bassett, Paula Patton, Laz Alonso, Loretta Devine and so many more in theatres May 6, 2011.

Produced by T.D. Jakes and Tracey Edmonds, JUMPING THE BROOM is a romantic comedy depicting the love and laughs that result when two families from different socioeconomic backgrounds meet for a weekend wedding in Martha’s Vineyard.

The Future Forward's Top 10 To Watch in 2011

As we celebrate the new year we decided to create a countdown, recognizing people we should look out in 2011. These individuals have been extremely recognizable in 2010. Because of their amazing success stories we can't wait to what they are going to bring to the table this year.

Here is The Future Forward's Top 10 to Watch in 2011.

For Colored Girls Movie Poster - November 5, 2010

Click here to watch them ALL

For Colored Girls Posters

Nina Simone, Leona Lewis, Ledisi, and Janelle Monae Featured on 'For Colored Girls' Soundtrack

Here's a look at the soundtrack cover for Tyler Perry's 'For Colored Girls,' which will be released by Atlantic Records on Nov. 2.

The soundtrack features all new and unreleased music from artists such as Nina Simone, Gladys Knight, Leona Lewis, Estelle, Laura Izibor, Macy Gray, Janelle Monae and Lalah Hathaway.

The soundtrack sets the many stories of struggle told within the film's chore poem to music that reflects women's ongoing battle with love, abandonment and self-awareness.

Official track listing

1 Main Title – By Loretta Devine, Kimberly Elise, Whoopi Goldberg, Janet Jackson, Thandie Newton, Phylicia Rashad, Anika Noni Rose, Tessa Thompson, Kerry Washington with Joshua Bell, Aaron Zigman & The Hollywood Studio

2 Longer & Stronger – By Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings

3 All Day Long (Blue Skies) – By Estelle

4 What More Can They Do – By Laura Izibor

5 Sun – By Lalah Hathaway

6 Ansomnia – By Zaki Ibrahim

7 Settle – By Gladys Knight

8 La Donna In Viola – By Karen Slack, Andrea Jones-Sojola & The Hollywood Studio Symphony Orchestra

9 Sechita (A Senhora em Amarelo) – By Anika Noni Rose & Carondelet Percussion Ensemble

10 Stand Up – By Macy Gray

11 Without A Fight – By Janelle Monàe

12 Four Women – By Nina Simone, Simone, Laura Izibor & Ledisi

13 I Know Who I Am – By Leona Lewis

Directed by Tyler Perry, the film is based on Ntozake Shange's 1975 Tony Award-winning play and stars Janet Jackson, Loretta Devine, Michael Ealy, Kimberly Elise, Omari Hardwick, Hill Harper, Thandie Newton, Phylicia Rashad, Anika Noni Rose, Tessa Thompson, Kerry Washington, Whoopi Goldberg, Macy Gray, Khalil Kain and Richard Lawson.

'For Colored Girls' hits theaters on Nov. 5.

Elle Magazine on Gabourey Sidibe's Cover: "What Controversy?"

By Marianne Garvey

If The Devil Wears Prada taught us anything, it's that you don't mess with an editrix.

Elle's editor-in-chief Robbie Myers isn't holding back about the so-called controversy surrounding her magazine and the rumors it purposely lightened Gabourey Sidibe's skin for its new cover, telling E! News that her skin was "absolutely not" changed and that she is "sad" over the accusations.

Sidibe is one of four stars featured on different covers for the magazine's 25th anniversary issue, along with Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried and Lauren Conrad, who are all featured in full-length shots. Plus-size Sidibe's cover photo was cropped mid-chest . But Myers calls the shot "incredible," saying she "loves" Gabourey and that's simply the way it works for studio shots.

"It's not a controversy," she told E! News today at the Oscar de la Renta runway show in New York. "What's so sad about it is that people have not looked at anything else but this. There's an incredible portfolio inside that Joe [Zee] and Carter [Smith] shot . They haven’t looked at it. People want to make something out of nothing. It's sad the legitimate news media picks up on this."

She adds that Gabourey was an incredible subject, saying "we love her."

"It sort of boils down to this," Myers explained. "At a photo shoot, in a studio, that is a fashion shoot, that's glamorous, the lighting is different. The photography is different than a red carpet shot from a paparazzi."

She emphasized, "We absolutely did not lighten her skin. Retouching is when we take a piece of hair and move it out of her eye, so you can't compare a picture on a press line from what you do in a studio, where your job is to make them look beautiful. This is their controversy. We've seen these things before. I am sad that no one has cracked the magazine and looked at it. We gave her a cover, and she loved it."

Zee, creative director of the glossy and star of MTV's The City, says he's "ecstatic" about the cover.

"What I loved about Gabby was that she walked in and was so jovial and ebullient and so happy and charming and she engaged the entire crew and everybody," he told us. "She was 180 degrees not the character of Precious."

"What we loved was her behind the camera laughing and telling jokes and laughing and chuckling and I thought, That's the girl people should know. She's not Precious at all, and that's what people should know. That's what we captured in the picture and for any flak to come out of that is ludicrous, because at the end of the day it's about her personality."

for Colored Girls Movie Trailer

By Kristopher Tapley

Ever since Lionsgate announced a November 5 release date for Tyler Perry’s “For Colored Girls,” talk has circulated around an expected Oscar campaign. A set of posters dropped recently that went a long way toward showcasing the female acting talent on display. But is it a contender? Could one of these ladies (or the film itself) slide into the race? Or should we expect the usual from Perry? Lionsgate did a fine job launching “Precious” on the same release date last year, but it also had a headwind coming out of the Sundance and Cannes film festivals. We’ll have to wait and see. The new trailer for Perry’s film, released today, is at the very least handsomely mounted.

Arts.Advocacy+Wellness: "GLO TV spotlights Cornelius Jones Jr."

GLO TV is Here

and spotlights Cornelius Jones Jr.

and his new GLO TV Network Show

LIVING LIFE

The wait is over! THE FUTURE OF TELEVISION IS HERE! GLO TV Network, the world’s only television network catering to the Urban LGBT community and it's allies, premieres Friday September 3rd 2010. To kick-off the event, GLO TV will host several events during Black Gay Pride in Atlanta, Ga., culminating in a sneak preview of network’s biggest shows including: The Debut of Maurice Jamal’s“Friends & Lovers,” “Dating Dwight,” “Christopher Street,” “Gayest Sh-t Ever.” “Sex:2010,” "Living Life," and "Being Legendary" among more than 12 programs that will debut over Labor Day weekend.

NEWS IN NINE

part of the GLO TV Network Series

NINE QUESTIONS / NINE ANSWERS

GLO TV will be bringing you a host of new programs, and new stars. We sat down to chat with one of those up and coming stars, Cornelius Jones, Jr. Host and Co-Producer of "Living Life."

So tell about your new show?

"Living Life" is a new show, in which I Host, and is Co-Produced by myself and GLO TV's President Maurice Jamal. It will premiere during the networks launch. The program provides a rare, balanced look at the lives of people who are doing more than surviving with HIV...they are thriving! It's frank, insightful, touching, and yes, surprisingly funny!

What made you decide to get involved in the project?

Having a background in theater and tv/film and also being an HIV/AIDS advocate and activist I felt this project was meant for me. Like the individuals I interviewed, I too am living with HIV, and I'm living beyond my diagnosis. I am very passionate about self-care and raising awareness around issues that affect our physical, emotional, and spiritual being. I am also passionate about eradicating stigma, especially the stigma that is associated with HIV/AIDS. This project is the perfect platform to help potentially erase the stigmas and fear that many people of color, and people in general, carry when we think about the condition. Television is a powerful platform to bring light to many issues and topics.

How has being positive impacted your life, personally, professionally, etc...

Personally being positive has strengthened my sense of self-worth/value and care. Initially, when I found out, I was devastated and felt my time in this world was nearing its end. However, being the driven and determined person I am, and seeking support in my situation, I was able to finally channel that energy into something positive (no pun..well pun intended!). Being positive has taught me a lot about acceptance of self and others and love of self and others and it has affirmed me in my being. I went through a lot of mental/emotional pain which resulted into me being hospitalized but I am grateful for those moments because they helped me to begin to see what is really important. And all this translates to the professional. While my professional life was still thriving before coming out with my HIV status, I still felt that my silence and internalized phobias was killing me slowly. For me, being out, is my therapy that allows me to move even more freely in my professional life. I also realized that there were many more layers to my internalized pain than being HIV positive...there was also my struggles with me being Gay, a black man, from the south, self-esteem, body image, and the list goes on. (Silence does equal death and stigma equals death as well. Metaphorically the silence and stigma is slowly killing us all mentally and physically. Free our minds from our mental purgatory and free ourselves and the people and community we love and care for)

How do you feel our community is doing as far as outreach, and destroying stereotypes surrounding HIV and AIDS?

I feel our community is finally listening and awakening to the stereotypes surrounding HIV/AIDS but there is still more work to be done. We need to continue to come forward with our stories, we need to continue to accept that it's a part of us, not all of who we are, but a part of us, and we need to begin to have a sense of normalcy around our conversations. Not treat the topics surrounding HIV/AIDS as a minor thing but it needs to be something that we can discuss at the dinner table, or at the bars/clubs, at family cookouts, in the workplace, etc. On a community based level I feel organizations such as The Black AIDS Institute, FACES, Harlem United, GMHC, FUSION(Houston, TX), to name a few are doing a great job with raising awareness and research and testing, however as a global community we can push the button by speaking more openly and honestly with our family, friends, and loved ones.

What got you involved in acting, theater, etc...?

Oh man, I was always bouncing off the walls in my living room at home in Richmond, VA. I had so much energy as a kid. My love for theater came from watching Broadway musicals on PBS and movies such as "A Chorus Line" and "Fast Forward" and I would say my love to be on Television came from watching a lot of Bill Cosby and "The Cosby Show" and "A Different World." Bill Cosby and Tom Hanks are two men whose work I respect a whole lot. Not only are they excellent on camera but they also excel in their personal lives through education and community activism.

I heard you just received a masters degree. Tell us about that and why u decided to do this at this point in your career?

I just recently received my MA from New York University. My focus was Dramatic Writing, Educational Theater, and Performance. I've always wanted to go back to school, however, I didn't want to pursue strictly another degree in acting. I wanted to use to school to work on my passion for writing and social activism through the arts. While one may say, I was already doing that, I felt I needed more information and the support from a community of educators and researchers and artists, like the community I found at NYU, to help bring this to fruition. My goal was to research how one can successfully use theater and writing as an educational tool for social change, social change around the issues I'm passionate about, which are HIV/AIDS, the black community (black men), LGBT issues, and the intersections of spirituality and sexuality... Ultimately how to combine these topics into art that is entertaining and informative. I was yearning for more information and more direction in where my life was headed. When I begin to approach 30 I noticed that my life begin to go through a transition artistically and professionally, I wanted more than just performing 8 shows a week on Broadway. I also wanted to tell my specific story on the stage, which is the story of many LGBT people of color, and a story that our allies can relate to. I want to build and/or assist in a platform for bringing more of our stories to the mainstream. Going back to school is where the search and transition began.

What do you feel about GLO TV and its overall mission?

I GLO every time I think or hear GLO TV. I think its such a huge and ambitious platform that will succeed in bringing a diverse perspective of programming and information to the Urban LGBT communities and our friends and allies. GLO TV is also a great platform for exposing the numerous LGBT artists of color who work so tirelessly into getting exposure in the mainstream industry. The network really connects the arts & entertainment with the humanitarian needs of the urban LGBT community from politics to economics to pop-culture to health & wellness to spirituality & sexuality to pure artistic entertainment from music to film. I'm GLO-ing right now! Are you?

How do you feel about gays playing straight roles and vice versus?

This is a complicated question because I think sometimes it is just about money and taking care of your home, family, and kids. Gays have always played straight roles from as long as I have been alive and there have been numerous straights playing gay roles (the late Patrick Swayze did a superb job in "Too Wong Fu!" Actually they all did...John Leguizamo and Wesley Snipes included). There are numerous gay celebrities who are not "out" per se who make a good living off of playing straight roles. And there are a number of ambiguously identified celebrities who are speculated to be "gay" but are not "out" who make a good living off of playing gay characters or impersonating the opposite gender. I appreciate the bravery and courage when I see out gay actors, mostly from the white community, who can play gay roles and straight roles...I respect the fact that they have some level of acceptance in the world. Sometimes I'm a little envious, but my hope is that in the communities of color, more specifically the black community, we can be just as bold and courageous and welcomed by the larger communities.

On another hand, ( I said this was a complicated question) I think it is interesting sometimes how we can laugh or accept a gay playing straight or straight playing gay but when it comes to the roles we play in our normal lives we sort of freeze up, become homo-phobic and/or hetero-phobic, all in fear of being judged or shamed in some way. We are human at the end of the day. Just live!

One last question - Tyler Perry? Go -

Hmmm...are you referring to the recent "Boondocks" situation? Well...I guess I vaguely or ambiguously touched upon that above. All I have to say is, Tyler is a great businessman and I respect the work he does and his comedic timing is spot on. I don't know him on a personal level or professional level, I've only observed this man from the media. I would love to play a long lost sister of Madea in one of his movies and use one of my characters from FlagBoy or the numerous southern female characters I have created in my solo-work. And yes the world will know that I am gay, poz, and I'm LIVING LIFE!

Check Cornelius at www.corneliusjonesjr.com.

We are so proud of Cornelius and all our other amazingly talented cast and crew at GLO. That is all we have for now. So set your timers get ready for the premiere you've been waiting for all your gay life.

And Subscribe now to: www.glotvnetwork.com