Ava DuVernay recalls being tipped $100 a week by Little Richard when she was an LA waitress

By Pete Hammond

By Denise Petski

A year after the release of her Emmy-winning Netflix series When They See Us, filmmaker Ava DuVernay is continuing to share the story of the Exonerated Fivewhile also furthering the conversation around social justice. In a new online education initiative called ARRAY 101, launched by DuVernay's multiplatform media company and arts collective ARRAY, learning guides will be created for the company's films and television series.

By Anita Bennett

Rock ‘n’ roll pioneer Little Richard will be buried at Oakwood University, a historically black university in Huntsville, Alabama.Gerald Kibble, director of Oakwood Memorial Gardens, said the private funeral will be held Wednesday (May 20) and will not be open to the public.Little Richard’s close friend Pastor Bill Minson said the singer was an alumnus of the university.

The late rock star would eat at the restaurant she worked at as a student every Sunday

The early history of rock 'n' roll is a story of segregation -- and Little Richard, who died of bone cancer at 87 on May 9, was a key player in the fight to destroy it.Because of Jim Crow laws, and racism in general, African-American musicians from Louis Armstrong to Charlie Parker to Motown revues traveling through the South spent much of the 20th century relegated to black hotels and black restaurants, denied entrance even to hotels where they were headlining.

Mick Jagger, Elton John, and Bob Dylan are among the plethora of musicians who paid tribute to the late Little Richard who passed away from bone cancer on Saturday.

The rock n' roll pioneer died this week aged 87

Sir Paul McCartney said he owes “a lot” to rock ‘n’ roll pioneer Little Richard as he paid tribute to the late singer.

Little Richard, the pioneering artist who set the template for rock and roll, has died aged 87, Rolling Stone reports. 

Little Richard never won a Grammy in competition, but he provided one of the most memorable moments at the 30th annual Grammy Awards, held on March 2, 1988 at Radio City Music Hall in New York.That was a strong Grammy show to begin with.

There wasn’t much else like “Tutti Frutti” when Little Richard premiered the song in 1955.The risqué song about sex and dancing, helped Richard land performing slots in clubs, and later established him as a certified hitmaker. The track also earned him his first career Billboard chart entry in 1955, debuting at No.

By Anita Bennett

The world is mourning the loss of Little Richard, who sadly passed away on Saturday, May 9. The legendary musician — born Richard Wayne Penniman — shot to superstardom more than six decades ago with his debut hit “Tutti Frutti”, and has left a lasting impact on the music industry.

By Jem Aswad