One Good Thing: Special Olympian spreads message of love
(Gary Schottle via AP)Gary Schottle arrived in time to see the other kids in line hitting and jumping on his young son. Special Olympics changed everything. Special Olympics has since branched out to more than 170 countries, empowering more than 5 million athletes who had often been cast aside. In 20 years of Special Olympics competition, Tank's confidence has soared, his leadership spreading across playing fields, the Houston area and beyond. Once one of the bullied, he has become a living embodiment of the Special Olympics message.
Sundance Film Festival unveils slate for 1st virtual edition
The film will debut at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. (Sundance Film Festival via AP)Sundance Institute programs. Organizers on Tuesday unveiled a robust and diverse slate for the festival, which will be largely virtual due to the pandemic. Yutani said that the Sesame Street documentary, โStreet Gang: How We Got To Sesame Streetโ is likely to be a crowd favorite. โWe all are so excited about the possibility of encountering people whoโve never been to the festival," Jackson said.
'Empire' star Taraji P. Henson hailed for mental health work
โEmpireโ star Taraji P. Henson has enjoyed wealth, celebrity, a Golden Globe win and an Academy Award nomination. โItโs OK to not be OK," Henson, the latest recipient of the Morton E. Ruderman Award in Inclusion, told The Associated Press via email. In 2018, the Washington, D.C., native started the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation to stop those with mental illness from being stigmatized โ especially Blacks, who she says are less likely to seek treatment. This year, with the coronavirus pandemic complicating people's mental health struggles, Henson's foundation has been helping African Americans โ who've been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 โ access free online therapy. โWe need more people like Taraji to continue to eliminate the stigma around mental health across all our communities in America.โ___Follow AP New England editor Bill Kole on Twitter at http://twitter.com/billkole.