Michelle Alexander (born c. 1968^[1]) is an associate professor of law at Ohio State University, a civil rights advocate and a writer.

Education and career[link]

Alexander is a graduate of Stanford Law School and Vanderbilt University. She served for several years as director of the Racial Justice Project at the ACLU of Northern California, which spearheaded a national campaign against racial profiling by law enforcement. Alexander directed the Civil Rights Clinic at Stanford Law School and was a law clerk for Justice Harry Blackmun at the U. S. Supreme Court and for Chief Judge Abner Mikva on the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. As an associate at Saperstein, Goldstein, Demchak & Baller, she specialized in plaintiff-side class action suits alleging race and gender discrimination.^[2]

Alexander now holds a joint appointment at the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity and the Moritz College of Law at Ohio State.^[2]

Alexander has litigated numerous class action discrimination cases and worked on criminal justice reform issues. She is a recipient of a 2005 Soros Justice Fellowship of the Open Society Institute.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Book: The New Jim Crow

Alexander published the book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness (2010). In it, she argues that systemic racial discrimination in the United States has resumed following the Civil Rights Movement's gains; the resumption is embedded in the US War on Drugs and other governmental policies and is having devastating social consequences. She considers the scope and impact of this current law enforcement, legal and penal activity to be comparable with that of the Jim Crow laws of the 19th and 20th centuries. Her book concentrates on the mass incarceration of African-American men.^[3]

In The New Jim Crow, Alexander argues that mass incarceration in America functions as a system of racial control in a similar way to how Jim Crow once operated. Alexander’s work draws attention to the racial disparity that exists in the criminal justice system. Alexander notes, “Race plays a major role-indeed, a defining role – in the current system, but not because of what is commonly understood as old-fashioned, hostile bigotry. This system of control depends far more on racial indifference (defined as a lack of compassion and caring about race and racial groups) than racial hostility – a feature it actually shares with its predecessors.”^[4]

In a 2012 interview, Alexander told the story of the origin of the book. Working on "Driving While Black" DWB racial profiling in Oakland with the ACLU, a young African-American man came in with a well-documented case of most of a year of repeated stops by police with dates and names. Listening to his story, Alexander increasingly felt she had the test case for which she was looking. Then the man said in passing he had a drug-felony conviction on his record and Alexander had to backtrack completely and finally: The conviction was an insurmountable obstacle to a test case in front of a jury for her at that time. In turn, the man then built a strong anger toward her, saying in effect "I'm innocent ...; it was just a plea bargain"; and that she "was no better than the police" and "You're crazy if you think you're going to find anyone here to challenge the police who is not already 'in the system'?"; he ended by stalking out, tearing up his notes as he went. The experience stuck with Alexander and eventually grew, prompted in part by more observations of events in Oakland, into the book. She has tried to find the young man again, in part to dedicate the book to him, but has so far been unable to.^[5]

The New Jim Crow was re-released in paperback in early 2012 and has since become the subject of increased scrutiny and criticism.^[6][7][8]

Personal[link]

Alexander is a daughter of Sandra Alexander, formerly of Ashland, Oregon, and the late John Alexander, originally from Evanston, Illinois. Her mother was the senior vice president of the ComNet Marketing Group in Medford, Oregon, which solicits donations for nonprofit organizations. Michelle Alexander married Carter Mitchell Stewart, a senior associate at McCutchen, Doyle, Brown & Enersen, a San Francisco law firm, in 2002.^[1]

Carter Stewart serves as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio.^[9] He does not share Michelle Alexander's views about the criminal justice system. ^[10]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Tomgram: Michelle Alexander

John "Mr. Magic" Rivas, (March 15, 1956 – October 2, 2009)^[1] was a prominent hip hop radio DJ.

Mr. Magic debuted in 1981 on WHBI-FM in New York City with the first exclusive rap radio show to be aired on a major station. Billing itself as Rap Attack, Magic's show featured Marley Marl as the DJ and Tyrone "Fly Ty" Williams as the show's co-producer. Magic moved to WBLS-FM in July 1982. Magic's reign on the New York City airwaves lasted six years and was instrumental in broadening the scope and validity of hip-hop music.^[2] Mr. Magic recorded one 12" single as an artist "Magic's Message (There's A Better Way)",^[3] produced by Spyder D for Posse Records in 1984.

During the mid-80s there was a rivalry between Mr. Magic and Kool DJ Red Alert, who hosted a weekly show on WRKS-FM. The feud also played out between proxy rap groups, the Juice Crew and Boogie Down Productions (see The Bridge Wars). The Juice Crew - headed by Mr. Magic's on-air assistant, DJ Marley Marl - was named after one of Magic's aliases, "Sir Juice."^[4] In April 2000, Mr. Magic began to take on a new role, with new faces; Kdabra, and Mah Gambino (aspiring rap artists). Mr. Magic first met Kdabra then was introduced to Mah Gambino, and soon discovered their lyrical capabilities. He then took them under his wing as their manager and offered them positions to become interns at Hot 97 FM on his then show "The Classic Showcase" with Fly Ty, and DJ Mr. Cee.

In 2002 Magic lent his voice to Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, as himself, a DJ on one of the in-game radio stations.

As confirmed by DJ Premier, Mr. Magic died on the morning of October 2, 2009 from a heart attack.^[5]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Excerpt about Mr. Magic from "The Big Payback: The History of the Business of Hip-Hop," (New American Library/Penguin, 2010
• Biography on Allmusic
• Vice City biography on IGN

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (February 2011)

Ky-mani (born February 26, 1976)^[1] is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall artist whose East African name means Adventurous Traveler. The only child of table tennis champion Anita Belnavis and reggae icon Bob Marley, Ky-mani Marley was born in Falmouth, Jamaica. At the age of nine he relocated to the inner-city of Miami.

In beginning, Ky-Mani was unaware of his musical abilities, sports being his first love, but with his mother's direction, he took piano and guitar lessons and played trumpet in his high school band. In addition to tapping into his musical talents Ky-Mani was a serious jock, competing in soccer and football. As a teenager Ky-Mani started rapping and deejaying; his first single was "Unnecessary Badness". He became inspired as a singer after being asked to sing a hook to a song during a recording session at a studio in Miami. The decision to actually get into the entertainment world loomed over him because of his father's legacy. Ky-Mani soon began experimenting with laying tracks, at times with his brothers, Stephen, Julian and Damian.

Ky-Mani signed to Shang Records where he recorded his debut album in 1996 titled Like Father Like Son and several singles: "Judge Not" with Patra, followed by "Dear Dad" (which topped the British reggae charts),^[1] "Who The Cap Fit (remix)", and "Sensimelia", all of which added to his growing reputation as a master in the new generation of reggae musicians. In 1997, Ky-Mani joined forces with Praswell (Fugees) on a hit cover of Eddy Grant's "Electric Avenue". The extent of his star power became abundantly clear when Ky-Mani took the stage at Midem (international music showcase), when it was held in Miami for the first time. Catering to an international audience in the filled to capacity Cameo Theatre, Ky-Mani delivered an explosive set which aired live by CANA (Caribbean News Agency) to 36 countries.

Ky-Mani immediately became the subject of an intense label bidding war. He signed with Gee Street/V2 Records in 1997 where he completed a collaboration with label mate P.M. Dawn on the single "Gotta Be Movin' On Up" (Senseless Soundtrack, which went Gold in Africa). Both collaborations helped to establish Ky-Mani outside his tight knit reggae community.

Ky-Mani's willingness to embrace all genres of music is also evident in the 2000 release, The Journey. From the Spanish guitar which introduces "RudeBoy", to the lover rock flow of "Fell In Love", the deeply spiritual "Lord Is My Shepherd" or the rock steady tribute "Dear Dad", Ky-mani brings songs of universal themes laced with a personal insight and passion. In 2001 he released his third studio album Many More Roads. He then went on tour and in 2004 released his fourth studio album Milestone. He then in 2007 released his fifth studio album Radio.

Fulfilling his name adventurous traveler branching out from his music, Ky-mani Marley has also made a name for himself as an actor playing the lead role in the number one underground movie coming out of Jamaica, Shottas directed by Cess Silvera, co-starring Spragga Benz and Paul Campbell. Displaying his diversification and talent playing the role of a bad man in Shottas, Ky-mani Marley then went on to play the lead Kassa with co-star Cherine Anderson in One Love, a romantic comedy infused with the music and culture of Jamaica.

Ky-mani Marley is now working on his sixth studio album showcasing his growth as an individual and illustrating the duality of his personality: Ky-mani and Maestro. The result is an urban sound deeply rooted in the reggae and hip hop cultures. The album promises to be a refreshing departure from the typical synthetic pop associated with the genre, and will instead be a representation of authentic urban hip-hop and reggae fusion. His newest single is called " New Heights" released March 3, 2011.

Discography[link]

• Like Father Like Son (1996)
• The Journey (2000)
• Many More Roads (2001)
• Milestone (2004)
• Radio (2007)
• New Heights (2012)

Filmography[link]

• Shottas (2002)
• One Love (2003)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Ky-Mani Marley at the Internet Movie Database

Lisa Ray
Ray being interviewed on The Hour
Born	Lisa Ray (1972-04-04) 4 April 1972 (age 40) Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Occupation	Actress, model
Years active	2001 – present
Website
http://lisaraniray.com/

Lisa Ray, born 4 April 1972,^[1] is a Canadian actress, model, host, philanthropist and social activist.

Early life[link]

Lisa Ray was born in Toronto to a Hindu Bengali Indian father and a Polish mother and grew up in the suburb of Etobicoke.^[2] She excelled academically, doing five years of high school in four, while attending three different high schools: Etobicoke Collegiate Institute, Richview Collegiate Institute and Silverthorn Collegiate Institute.^[3]

She spoke Polish to her maternal grandmother and watched movies of Federico Fellini and Satyajit Ray with her cinephile dad.^[2] Ray was spotted by an agent in a crowd during a family vacation in India when she was 16, when she began modelling.

Career[link]

1987-2000[link]

Lisa Ray came to public attention when she appeared in an advertisement for Bombay Dyeing wearing a high-cut black swimsuit, ^[4] opposite Karan Kapoor.^[5] Subsequently, she returned to Canada to attend university to study journalism, but a car injury which injured her mother derailed those plans. Instead, she returned to India where she appeared on the cover of Glad Rags wearing a red [Baywatch]]-style swimsuit. The sensation that caused led to more magazine covers, spokesperson deals and a job as host of her own show-business program. A Times of India poll named her the "ninth most beautiful woman of the millennium," the only model in the top ten^[3]. She also anchored a TV show Star Biz on Star Movies with actor/model Kelly Dorji.

Ray made her cinematic debut in 1994 in the Tamil film Nethaji opposite actor Sarath Kumar where she appeared in a brief role. Later she acted in a Telugu film Takkari Donga opposite Mahesh Babu.

In 1996, Ray appeared in the famous song "Afreen Afreen" by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and appeared in the song "Har Taraf Tera Jalwa" by Daler Mehndi in 1998.

Ray became the enduring brand ambassador for Rado Watches in India.

2001-2009[link]

After turning down a number of roles^[6], Ray made her Bollywood debut with the film Kasoor in 2001 opposite Aftab Shivdasani^[5] where her voice was dubbed by Divya Dutta as she could not speak Hindi.^[7]. Her work in that film caught the eye of Deepa Mehta who cast Ray in the romantic Indian-Canadian romp, Bollywood/Hollywood in 2002. ^[2]

In 2005, Ray worked again with Mehta in the Oscar-nominated film, Water where she spoke her lines in Hindi although her voice was dubbed in the final cut^[7]. Since then Ray has worked in productions from Canada, Europe and the United States. Past roles include a farm girl in All Hat, a school teacher in A Stone's Throw a housewife in 1950s apartheid South Africa in The World Unseen and a Christian-Arab lesbian in the humorously titled I Can't Think Straight directed by Shamim Sarif.

In 2007, Ray completed filming for Kill Kill Faster Faster, which is a contemporary film noir inspired by the critically acclaimed novel of the same name by Joel Rose. She appeared in a few uninhibited sex scenes, "something unheard of for an artist from India." ^[8]

In 2009, Ray was named ‘Trailblazer’ at the Reelworld Film Festival and featured as one of the ’50 Most Beautiful People’ of the country in the Canadian edition of Hello Magazine May 2009 issue.

Ray guest starred in USA Network series Psych, which was directed by Jay Chandrasekhar, which aired on 30 November 2009 and also appeared in a guest role of a reporter, Dominique Ball, in the recent Woody Harrelson movie Defendor.

Ray attended the Toronto International Film Festival in support of her work in Cooking with Stella. In thi s event, Ray revealed she had incurable cancer and shared diagnosis of Multiple Myeloma with media and the public. At the same time, Ray started an acclaimed blog, The Yellow Diaries, chronicling her cancer experience.

"I believe it can be cured," Ray wrote on her blog. "That's the Dirty Realist in me... I'm getting better. My prognosis, given my 'junior' status and stage of disease, is very good. I'm aiming for full remission."

Ray went on to help raise funds for the establishment of the first research chair for Multiple Myeloma at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto and took part in Plan Canada’s Because I Am A Girl campaign, a global movement that fights for the rights of girls around the world who face discrimination because of their gender and age.

On Christmas of 2009, Ray embraced her stem cell transplant to treat her rare cancer.

2010-present[link]

In April 2010, Ray announced she was cancer-free following a stem cell transplant. Ray gave a candid interview on her personal cancer trauma and surviving it, appearing on the cover of the 2010 anniversary issue of the Indian men's luxury magazine The Man.

Ray was seen in UniGlobe Entertainment's cancer docu-drama titled 1 a Minute scheduled for release in 2010^[9]. The documentary was made by Namrata Singh Gujral and also featured cancer survivors Olivia Newton-John, Diahann Carroll, Melissa Etheridge, Mumtaz and Jaclyn Smith as well as William Baldwin, Daniel Baldwin and Priya Dutt, whose lives have been touched by cancer. The feature was narrated by Kelly McGillis. It also stared Bárbara Mori, Deepak Chopra and Morgan Brittany.

On November 16 2010, TLC India announced to film a 5-part new series, Oh My Gold (OMG), with Lisa Ray and premiered in 2011. The series Oh My Gold was set against the cultural yet contemporary backdrop of India. Uncovering the beauty of various cities, Ray played both a host and a travel guide.

Ray has since become an outspoken advocate for stem cell technology, recording a PSA for the McEwan Centre for Regenerative Medicine and completed a national media tour in Canada for Multiple Myeloma called Making Myeloma Matter in early 2011 to raise public awareness.

In 2011, Ray act in acclaimed stage play, Taj opposite Kabir Bedi in Luminato^[10] and was at Taj Mahal and Estee Lauder Breast Cancer event to spread awareness about breast cancer.

On July 5 2011, Ray was honored to be a host of the informal lunch for Queen Elizabeth 's visit to Toronto. Ray also host the 2011 International Indian Film Academy IIFA Rocks fashion and music event, as well as a presenter at the IIFA Awards and 2011 Giller Prize.

On November 15 2011, Ray announced that she had been named to host season two of Top Chef Canada^[11] which is Food Network Canada’s top-rated series and the show is premiered in March 2012.

Ray has one TV series Endgame and one film Patch Town released in 2011, Also guest starred in Canadian drama television series Murdoch Mysteries, which aired on Apr. 12, 2011.

On 18 May 2012, Craig Goodwill announced that Lisa Ray are starring in his Boy Toy^[12], a fantasy drama based on Goodwill’s short film Patch Town. Boy Toy begins shooting in Toronto in November 2012.

Personal life[link]

She was diagnosed with multiple myeloma on 23 June 2009, a cancer of the white blood cells known as plasma cells, which produce antibodies. It is a rare disease.^[7][13] In April 2010, she announced she was cancer-free following a stem cell transplant.^[14] In February 2012 she announced her engagement to management consultant Jason Dehni.^[15]

Awards[link]

• Voted Star of the Future at the 2002 Toronto International Film Festival,^[16]
• Top Ten most Beautiful Indian Woman of the Millenium by the Times of India
• Won the Best Actress in a Canadian film for Water by the Vancouver Critics Circle^[17]
• Won 'Voice Achievers Award for 2009' for outstanding contribution in fields of film, trade, literature and sports^[18]
• Named one of Canada's 50 Most Beautiful Stars in Hello Canada's May 2009 issue.^[19]
• Honored with Fortis Lisa Ray Award for Conquering Cancer in 2010^[20]
• Honored with a Special Achievement Award at Miss India-Canada 2011^[21]
• Named one of Canada's 50 Most Beautiful Stars in Hello Canada's May 2012 issue.^[22]
• Light of India awards 2012, nominated in arts and entertainment.^[23]
  

Philanthropy[link]

• 2009 : 5K Your Way Walk/Run, MMWalk for the Cure
• 2009 : Plan Canada’s ‘Because I Am A Girl’ campaign
• 2010 : Plan Canada’s ‘Because I Am A Girl’ campaign
• 2010 : "1 a Minute" , to inspire women and give them hope
• 2010 : Estee Lauder Breast Cancer Awareness^[24]
• 2011 : ‘Make Myeloma Matter’ media campaign^[25]
• 2011 : Artbound , in support of Free The Children
• 2011 : GIRL 20 SUMMIT
• 2012 : BE FAIR 2 RARE
• 2012 : Wellspring Cancer 'Graduate' Fashion show
• 2012 : “Rhythm and Soul”-THE SPARK GALA 2012, to Ignite A Child's Potential^[26]
  

Filmography[link]

Film & TV series[link]

All are English language films unless otherwise noted.

TV Show[link]

Theatre[link]

Magazine cover photo[link]

MV[link]

Ambassador[link]

• Brand ambassador of Rado (watches) in India
  
  

See also[link]

• List of Canadian actors
• List of Indian film actresses
  
  

References[link]

External links[link]

• Lisa Ray at the Internet Movie Database
• GlamSham article
• Lisa Ray back with a bang