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Set Apart as Sacred

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ANSWER: RNOCSAETCDE

Now this is how you want to return to your alma mater: On stage, as commencement speaker, at the moment your red-hot career has just catapulted you to superstar status, thousands of young fans cheering and calling your name.

Kerry Washington at George Washington University commencement on Sunday. (William Atkins / The George Washington University)

Actually, Kerry Washington could have asked for better weather, too — it was cool and drizzly Sunday morning on the Mall as she took the podium to address George Washington University’s class of 2013. But otherwise, just about everything you could ask for by the time of your 15-year college reunion.

The “Scandal” star and 1998 GWU grad sweetly attempted the usual rite of self-deprecation expected of all commencement speakers: “Year after year, GW sends its graduates into the world on the wings of advice from esteemed leaders and thinkers. And this year — you got me.”

(Jessica McConnell Burt / The George Washington University)

She added: “I know what some of you are thinking. You’re thinking, ‘We’re celebrating our academic and intellectual achievement with that lady who’s having an affair with the president on that TV show?’”

Aw, no one seemed to be thinking that. “Ker-REEE!!!” they shrieked. “We love you, Kerry!!!”

Showbiz personalities are sought-after speakers at graduation time. At the University of Virginia’s pre-commencement valedictory exercises, Stephen Colbert brought the house down on Saturday, teasing millennials about their reputation for egotism: “That’s very upsetting to us Baby Boomers, because self-absorption is sort of our thing.”

But with Washington, GWU could boast a Hollywood star who was one of their own, a credential she bolstered with knowing references to favorite professors, prominent alumni (including Colin Powell, who she revealed is a cousin), the stage at the Marvin Center, and Foggy Bottom pub Lindy’s (“although we called it the Red Lion back then”). She had clearly done her research, mockingly praising the class for “your heroic victory over Georgetown in the 2010 Snowmageddon snowball fight.”

It wasn’t her first time back at GWU. Washington, 36, did a stint on the university’s board of trustees and received a “distinguished alumni” award in 2008 after her role in “The Last King of Scotland.” But after a long career in supporting roles, she broke out last year as the star of ABC’s “Scandal” — a show that has not only won a massive audience but lofty NAACP Image awards for casting an African-American woman in the lead role as a powerful Beltway crisis-management fixer. Last summer, Washington also scored a prime speaking gig at the Democratic National Convention.

Her message to grads struck the usual themes of seizing one’s dreams and facing one’s fears. As an undergrad studying anthropology and psychology, she said she became fascinated by the ritual of storytelling and the mythical archetype of the hero’s journey. Her own quirky version of the hero’s journey involved the college audition she didn’t want to go on — but had to, in order to keep an arts scholarship — for a role she found terrifying, as an amphibian in a musical called “Croak: The Last Frog.”

Provost Steve Lerman and Arielle Katcher hood Kerry Washington after receiving her honorary degree. (William Atkins / The George Washington University)

But “I pushed past my comfort zone,” she said, and won the lead role, which challenged her more than any previous acting job. “It became a role that transformed my way of thinking about how I use my body to do what I do every single day.” All graduates, she said, have faced similar challenges in their past and must draw on them in the future to become “heroes of our own lives.”

“You and you alone are the only person who can live the life that can write the story that you were meant to tell,” Washington said in closing. “Don’t be surprised if you get a call from me wanting to option the really good [stories] and turn them into movies, because I’m sooo Hollywood now.”

Founder May 20, 2013 0

Founder May 20, 2013 

A Bishop T.D. Jakes presented-movie about Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, the former wife of Nelson Mandela who was a leading anti-apartheid figure in South Africa, has been acquired in the U.S. by movie production and distribution company Image Entertainment.

“This movie offers American audiences a rare opportunity to visit the amazing beauty of South Africa from a theater seat,” said Jakes of Dallas-based The Potter’s House, who is the executive producer of the film.

“But even more, it is an epic look at love and liberty and the great expense incurred to attain and maintain either. It is our honor to inspire a wider audience to sample the drama of a love life painted on the canvas of Apartheid. Image Entertainment and RLJ, we applaud you for having the courage to unveil this compelling story on screen.”

The movie stars Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson as Winnie Mandela, while Nelson Mandela is played by Academy Award nominee Terrence Howard. An initial version of the film debuted at the Toronto Film Festival in 2011, but the $15 million drama has now been granted a U.S. release in the fall.

“Both Jennifer Hudson (as Winnie) and Terrence Howard (as Nelson Mandela) deliver exceptional, solid performances,” said Bill Bromiley, Chief Acquisitions Officer for Image Entertainment, according to Deadline.com. “We are honored to distribute the film and give audiences the opportunity to see Winnie Mandela’s powerful story.”

Winnie Mandela, who was married to former South Africa president Nelson Mandela from 1957 to 1996, stands as a complicated figure in the African country’s history. She was a vocal activist against the white minority rule government while her husband was imprisoned, and served 18 months in solitary confinement at Pretoria Central Prison in 1969.

She has been celebrated for her anti-Apartheid efforts, but in 2003 was convicted of 43 counts of fraud and 25 of theft and sentenced to five years in prison after being found guilty by the court of abusing her power as head of the African National Congress’ women’s league and defrauding a bank and dozens of people.

Deadline summarizes: “The film tells the compelling story of one woman’s journey as she fights for the freedom of the man she loves and for the freedom of her people during the Apartheid era. Winnie Mandela depicts the struggle to keep the Mandela dream alive amidst her husband’s life imprisonment, her own time in solitary confinement, and her battle to overcome controversies that followed her through the years.”

Director Darrell J. Roodt called the film “a labor of love,” and said that the purpose was to uphold “the prestige of the Mandela name” and tell the story in an accurate, yet respectful manner.

“We took great pride and responsibility in creating this movie, and we are proud to release the never-before-seen dramatic love story this fall,” Roodt added.

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, however, has criticized the film, saying that she was not consulted by the makers on a movie based on her life.

“I was not consulted,” she told CNN in 2011. “I am still alive, and I think that it is a total disrespect to come to South Africa, make a movie about my struggle, and call that movie some translation of a romantic life of Winnie Mandela.”

Founder May 20, 2013 

Pastor Donnie McClurkin is in this hour soliciting prays from the saints plus his many fans/followers. Pastor Donnie stated today on his Facebook page that the doctors found a cyst on his left vocal cord which had burst causing damage to the cord. He said his singing is strained and hoarse and he’s concerned but trusting in God!

Our prayers are with you Donnie.

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Photo Courtesy: JOY105