‘Two Dollars and a Dream’ tells true story of Madam C.J. Walker

For folks who want to get the real story about Madam C.J. Walker while quarantining, Stanley Nelson‘s Two Dollars and a Dream is a worthy watch.

When Netflix premiered Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker, tons of people were intrigued by the subject of the first woman self-made millionaire. While the series prompted tons of praise for its entertainment value, many of the details were admittedly imagined.

Two Dollars and a Dream, the 1989 film, is launching on the WORLD Channel’s YouTube channel today. It kicks off its new initiative bringing original content to the platform. The channel will be dedicated to telling stories reflecting the mosaic of America and the global community.

READ MORE: Netflix’s Madam C.J. Walker series isn’t a bad story — just widely inaccurate

Produced and directed by Nelson (Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool) the biography chronicles the life of Walker. She was the child of slaves freed by the Civil War, and is recorded as America’s first self-made millionaire.

By interweaving social, economic and political history, it also offers a view of black America from 1867 to the 1930’s. Mrs. Walker’s fortune was built on skin and hair care products. She parlayed a homemade beauty formula into a prosperous business, marketing her products from coast to coast. Her daughter, A’Leilia Walker, was an important patron of the Harlem Renaissance.

The two women lived in royal style, complete with a mansion and chauffeured limousines. This little-known story is both entertaining and informative. It combines interviews, historical stills and unique film footage including scenes from Harlem’s famous Cotton Club. The film is punctuated with the music of Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway and other masters of that era.

Nelson’s film follows Walker’s life from her birth in Louisiana in 1867 to her death at the age of 51 in 1919. The story is told within the context of the larger history of African American people emerging from the institution of slavery and trying to secure a place in the country.

Check out the trailer:

Nelson is the grandson of the late Freeman B. Ransom, the General Manager and attorney of Walker’s hair-product company and had access to company records and former employees, allowing him to provide an intimate look at Walker’s rise to success.

READ MORE: Madam C. J. Walker’s great-great-granddaughter on carrying the family torch

Nelson went on from this film to become one of the country’s leading documentarians focused on chronicling the African American experience. Some of his films include Freedom Riders (2010, winner of three Primetime Emmy Awards), Freedom Summer (2014, Peabody Award winner), and The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution (2016, NAACP Image Award winner).

In addition to honors for his individual films, Nelson has received a Peabody Award, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Television Arts Sciences and received the National Medal in the Humanities from President Barack Obama.

 

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NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio Threatens To Permanently Close Places of Worship That Don’t Comply With Social Distancing Guidelines

With the rise in coronavirus cases in the New York area, measures have been put in place to slow the spread of it, including suggestions of social distancing for all groups. On Friday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio warned that places of worship would be permanently shut down if they don’t comply with the guidelines, according to Fox 5 NY.

“So, I want to say to all those who are preparing the potential of religious services this weekend — if you go to your synagogue, if you go to your church and attempt to hold services after having been told so often not to, our enforcement agents will have no choice but to shut down those services,” de Blasio told reporters in a press conference streamed online. “I don’t say that with any joy. It’s the last thing I would like to do because I understand how important people’s faiths are to them, and we need our faiths in this time of crisis, but we do not need gatherings that will endanger people.”

“No faith tradition endorses anything that endangers the members of that faith,” de Blasio continued. “So, the NYPD, Fire Department, Buildings Department, and everyone has been instructed that if they see worship services going on, they will go to the officials of that congregation, they’ll inform them they need to stop the services and disperse.”

“If that does not happen, they will take additional action up to the point of fines and potentially closing the building permanently,” de Blasio concluded. “Again, that will begin this weekend. Again, I’m sorry I have to tell you this, but anyone who’s hearing this, take it seriously. You’ve been warned, you need to stop services, help people practice their faith in different ways, but not in groups, not in gatherings that could endanger people.”

The mayor has also stated that New York City residents who break social distancing rules will be subject to fines up to $500 as the cases of coronavirus are still climbing due to the outbreak.

“You’ve been warned and warned and warned again,” the mayor said during a Sunday press conference.

“They’re going to give people every chance to listen, and if anyone doesn’t listen, then they deserve a fine at this point,” de Blasio said as reported by Politico. “I don’t want to fine people when so many folks are going through economic distress, but if they haven’t gotten the message by now, and they don’t get the message when an enforcement officer’s staring them in the face … that person then deserves the fine, so we’re going to proceed with that.”

Click here to watch Mayor de Blasio’s press conference. His warning to religious buildings starts around the 26:00 mark.

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NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio Threatens To Permanently Close Places of Worship That Don’t Comply With Social Distancing Guidelines

With the rise in coronavirus cases in the New York area, measures have been put in place to slow the spread of it, including suggestions of social distancing for all groups. On Friday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio warned that places of worship would be permanently shut down if they don’t comply with the guidelines, according to Fox 5 NY.

“So, I want to say to all those who are preparing the potential of religious services this weekend — if you go to your synagogue, if you go to your church and attempt to hold services after having been told so often not to, our enforcement agents will have no choice but to shut down those services,” de Blasio told reporters in a press conference streamed online. “I don’t say that with any joy. It’s the last thing I would like to do because I understand how important people’s faiths are to them, and we need our faiths in this time of crisis, but we do not need gatherings that will endanger people.”

“No faith tradition endorses anything that endangers the members of that faith,” de Blasio continued. “So, the NYPD, Fire Department, Buildings Department, and everyone has been instructed that if they see worship services going on, they will go to the officials of that congregation, they’ll inform them they need to stop the services and disperse.”

“If that does not happen, they will take additional action up to the point of fines and potentially closing the building permanently,” de Blasio concluded. “Again, that will begin this weekend. Again, I’m sorry I have to tell you this, but anyone who’s hearing this, take it seriously. You’ve been warned, you need to stop services, help people practice their faith in different ways, but not in groups, not in gatherings that could endanger people.”

The mayor has also stated that New York City residents who break social distancing rules will be subject to fines up to $500 as the cases of coronavirus are still climbing due to the outbreak.

“You’ve been warned and warned and warned again,” the mayor said during a Sunday press conference.

“They’re going to give people every chance to listen, and if anyone doesn’t listen, then they deserve a fine at this point,” de Blasio said as reported by Politico. “I don’t want to fine people when so many folks are going through economic distress, but if they haven’t gotten the message by now, and they don’t get the message when an enforcement officer’s staring them in the face … that person then deserves the fine, so we’re going to proceed with that.”

Click here to watch Mayor de Blasio’s press conference. His warning to religious buildings starts around the 26:00 mark.

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Ex-NFL player trades in helmet for scrubs to combat COVID-19

Dr. Myron Rolle, the former NFL defensive back, is now a medical doctor helping to treat patients suffering from the coronavirus.

Rolle, 33, is a Rhodes Scholar and former college standout with the Florida Seminoles before he was drafted in 2010 by the Tennessee Titans. But after three years in the NFL, Rolle hung up his helmet and left his jersey for Florida State University’s College of Medicine, reported Blacknews.com. He is now a doctor at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, saving lives amid the coronavirus pandemic.

READ MORE: Surgeon general calls on Kylie Jenner to help combat coronavirus outbreak

Rolle works today as a third-year resident in neurosurgery at Massachusetts General, known as one of Boston’s busiest hospitals. He told ESPN he still brings his game strategy to the operating room.

“I think of the operating room like a game, like it’s showtime, let’s perform. I gotta do what I gotta do because people are counting on us right now. This is our time to help very sick people. So that motivation continues to drive me every single day,” Rolle said.

Rolle added that he has been spending a lot of time working on “individuals with respiratory distress and respiratory compromise, and the numbers are staggering.” He went on: “…Our bed space, our operating rooms may even be turned into ICUs because there are so many people that are either positive with COVID-19 or suspected of having it.”

“It is hectic, that’s for sure,” Rolle added to ESPN.

READ MORE: Marc Lamont Hill looks for support as bookstore closes amid COVID-19

Rolle told ESPN that medical personnel must wear masks while in the hospital but warns that the numbers could dwindle moving forward.

Supplies are “pretty limited right now, and dwindling,” he says in the video. He opened up a cabinet to illustrate his point.

Rolle was picked in the 6th round of the 2010 NFL draft. He never played in a regular season game.

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Halle Berry Isn't Concerned if You Were Unhappy With Her Son Wearing Heels

With all the general feelings of frustration that come with the COVID-19 chatter, people are doing everything they can in order to keep their anxiety about the situation at bay. In Halle Berry’s household, she and her children are combatting fear with laughs—yet their attempt at entertainment brought out the worst in…

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