It is unfortunate to hear the untimely death of legend, Don Cornelius. Ironically, in our black history month series, our first document was mogul Don Cornelius.

Born in Chicago, Don Cornelius was an American TV host and producer who is best known for creating the hit television show ‘Soul Train’. Originally a journalist inspired by the civil rights movement, Cornelius created Soul Train which served as a platform for African American singers to get their voice heard. Don Cornelius was instrumental in offering exposure to black musicians like The O’Jay’s, Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson, James Brown, as well as creating opportunities for talented dancers.

Besides his smooth and deep voice, Cornelius is best known for the catchphrase that he used to close the show: “… and you can bet your last money, it’s all gonna be a stone gas, honey! I’m Don Cornelius, and as always in parting, we wish you love, peace and soul!”

Let us not dwell on the unfortunate tragedy, but celebrate the contributions Don Cornelius made.

RIP

The new season includes two new faces Kenya Bell, who was previously arrested for stabbing her husband and Kesha Nichols, whose fiance called off their engagement the day before the wedding.

The new episodes will go into many different topics, including Evelyn & Jennifer’s beef, Royce & Susie starting new chapters in their lives and Shaunie & Tami focusing on their businesses.

Check out the photos below. Season 4 of Basketball Wives premieres February 20th on VH1.

2011 marked the year of the deaths of many influential individuals. From the untimely death of Heavy D, to Wangari Maathai, the first African woman to win a noble peace prize. Check out our list of unforgettable people who died in year 2011. Hover over the “i” to read the description.

Long Branch, NJ – The community and kids of Long Branch, NJ enjoyed themselves at the “Day of Unity to Save Our Youth”. The event, sponsored by JJ Hoops and Long Branch Recreation, had activities, food, and speakers. Check out the photos below:

Red Bank, NJ - Hundreds of family, friends, and community members came together to march for unity and peace for stabbing victim Larry “Froggy” Yarbrough.

Yarbrough, along with another victim Manuel Rosas-Oceloti, 18, were stabbed during an altercation at a Bank Street home. Yarbrough died at Jersey Shore University Hospital. Rosas-Oceloti remains hospitalized.

Peace and unity was the clear message. The silent march called “A Time For Healing” began at the Pilgrim Baptist Church on Shrewsbury Avenue and ended in front of the home where the tragic event happened. Family and friends surrounded a tree right in front of the Bank street home where they memorialized to remember the great man they knew and loved.

Several people came forward to express their sorrow and pain over the tragic loss, and how to unify as a community.

His cousin, Romana Johnson, described him as a good person and never known him to bother anyone. She also expressed how safe she felt when he was around. “I don’t know what happened that night, but they took a good person”.

Some in the crowd wore a white t-shirt that said “Teacher”, RIP “B-Allah aka Froggy”. “Froggy” was Yarbrough’s childhood nickname, while “Be Allah” was his name within the Five Percent Nation. “Teacher” was another Five Percent Nation reference.

The march was organized by the Greater Red Bank NAACP, Pilgrim Baptist Church, and the Count the Children Movement.

Mayor Pasquale Menna of Red Bank expressed his condolences to the Yarbrough family and unity towards the family and this situation. He let the Yarbrough family know that they are surrounded by a community that is united with them. He said Larry was a child of God where everyone here has come to together in the spirit of love and unity.

“We have to request and focus on love here in Red Bank. We have to put violence aside and talk to one another”.

He assured the crowd that his office “will do everything humanly possible that the situation that arose that evening is taking care of and those who are guilty will suffer the consequences.”

He commended the Red Bank police department, who in his word, had done an extraordinary job that night for bringing those in for justice. The crowd applauded his response as the Mayor called “Larry not just our son but he was our brother!”

An arrest was made in connection to the murder. Two city residents Genarro Guerrero-Montes, 19, and Jose Francisco Olivares-Palma, 24, have been charged. As emotions may arise during this tragic time, Willi Poku a representative from the Greater Red Bank NAACP expressed not to take your emotions and think irrationally. If there is any injustice, the NAACP is there to serve. “Violence is not the answer, don’t retaliate”

The march brought a lot of people together starting a healing process. Here at Unheard Voices, we remember Larry “Froggy” Yarbrough for the great man described by his family and friends. It was a pleasure being amongst those who loved and cared about him. We send our sincere condolences to the family.

Stop the violence!

Yarbrough’s viewing will be at Pilgrim Baptist Monday at 9 a.m., followed by the funeral service at 11 a.m.

The National Night Out Against Crime will held its 28th Annual unique drug/crime prevention event today, Tuesday August 2, 2011.

The National Night Out Campaign involves citizens, communities, law enforcement agencies, civic groups, neighborhood organizations from over 15,000 communities from across the country.

People gathered in the township of Long Branch on National Night Out, to show unity within the community. There were plenty of vendors, food, games, and music. The police also gave a demonstration with the police dog, and how it is used in their daily routine while working on the job.

Last year, we had to the opportunity to visit Neptune’s National Out. This year, we stopped by the festivities in Long Branch, NJ.

Check out the photos and video from the event.

Long Branch, NJ - This past Saturday The Second Baptist Church of Long Branch held a gospel and evangelism festival at Jerry Morgan park. They were vendors, music, gospel groups, dancing, and children activities. Check out the photos from the event below.

Long Branch, NJ – In tribute to Phyllis Hyman, Solitude Jazz Trio band came out to perform at the Long Branch, NJ weekly summer concert series. The band bought a guest singer, Vanessa Farley, who is Phyllis Hyman’s first cousin. The band did a beautiful rendition of Phyllis Hyman’s songs. Check out the photos below. Jacob L. Jones, the community outreach director, coordinated the event. The summer series is every Tuesday in front of Brookdale Community College on the corner of Union Avenue and Third Ave.

Former Dallas Cowboy player, Michael Irvin, is on this month’s issue of Out Magazine speaking about his support for acceptance of women and men with alternative lifestyles. Out Magazine is a publication targeted toward gays and lesbians. In the issue, Irvin discusses dealing with his brother being a homosexual man, why he kept it a secret throughout most of his career, being afraid to be associated with a gay man and whether he believes that professional athletes can ‘live out loud’ without being scrutinized in this day and age.

On how he was affected by his brother’s sexuality
“We went back to [the day I first saw my brother in women's clothes] and through it all, we realized maybe some of the issues I’ve had with so many women-just bringing women around so everybody can see-maybe that’s residual of the fear I had that, if my brother is wearing ladies’ clothes, am I going to be doing that? Is it genetic? I’m certainly not making excuses for my bad decisions. But I had to dive inside of me to find out why I was making these decisions, and that came up.”

“I’m not gay, but I was afraid to even let anyone have that thought. I can only imagine the agony-being a prisoner in your own mind – for someone who wants to come out. If I’m not gay and I am afraid to mention it, I can only imagine what an athlete must be going through if he is gay. I believe, if a teammate had said he was gay, we would have integrated him and kept it moving because of the closeness. We had a bunch of characters on that team. Deion [Sanders] and Emmitt [Smith]. I believe that team would have handled it well.”

On whether a player should come out now that it’s more accepted or keep it private
“I think it’s his own preference, who he wants to share that with. But I would like to see players come forward and be happy with who they are. Hopefully, as we move forward, we’ll get to a place where there’s no way it’s even considered; it just is what it is and everybody can do what they do. That’s the ultimate goal.”

“If anyone comes out in those top four major sports, I will absolutely support him. That’s why I do my radio show every day. When these issues come out, I want to have a voice to speak about them. I think growth comes when we share. Until we do that, we’re going to be stuck in the Dark Ages about a lot of things. When a guy steps up and says, ‘This is who I am,’ I guarantee you I’ll give him 100% support. The last thing I want is to go to God and have him ask, ‘What did you do?’ And I talk about winning Super Bowls and national titles. I didn’t do anything to make it a better world before I left? That would be scary.”

On homophobia in the black community
“I don’t see how any African-American with any inkling of history can say that you don’t have the right to live your life how you want to live your life. No one should be telling you who you should love, no one should be telling you who you should be spending the rest of your life with. When we start talking about equality and everybody being treated equally, I don’t want to know an African-American who will say everybody doesn’t deserve equality.”

“I have to make sure we do things to bring people together. The Super Bowls will be the footnotes on my resume.”

Long Branch, NJ - A day at the beach and local park provides a relaxing day for city residents and tourist. Downtown Long Branch is still looking battered and undeveloped. A picture showing what it should look like has been a non reality for city of Long Branch under the current administration. It is a very sad to see that nothing has been down to improve the downtown area. The beach looks beautiful but it seems like the downtown and local residents have been left out, over looked, and ignored. It looks horrible in downtown Long Branch and it needs to be fix and with opportunity for people to bring new business in technology to the community. Asbury Park business area looks good, Red Bank business area looks good! Lets bring downtown Long Branch Back!

Neptune, NJ – Amidst concerns of the recent violence in Neptune, NJ at a township meeting, the community came together to shine on the positive in the community. MURC (Midtown Urban Renaissance Corp.) and Schoolhouse Square held a block party on Saturday bringing the community together and to show the new town home development. There were several agencies in attendance including State Farm Insurance, Dr. Bernard from Meridian, Monmouth University NAACP, and Advisors Mortgage Group LLC. Residents in the community were able to learn about the new townhouse development, take a tour, and received information on purchasing a home.

Asbury Park, NJ - 19 years ago, the body of 12-year-old Quiana Dees was found in a vacant lot, laying lifeless with a bullet in her head.

The next day she would die. Still no one charged with her murder.

Every year since Quiana’s murder, her mother Penny Dees organizes the march that begins at Asbury Park Middle School, stops at the lot at Washington Avenue and Fischer Avenue where the body was found, travels through West Lake Avenue, and ends at City Hall.