( Photo of late actor Michael Clarke Duncan by Ethan Miller for WireImage ) Since his emergence during the 1980s and 1990s as a master of horror and suspense, author Stephen King has enjoyed popularity among a racially diverse reading audience. His popularity among African Africans likely ticked up a notch when his novel The Green Mile was made into a movie in 1999 and the late Michael Clarke Duncan brilliantly brought King’s character, John Coffey, to awe-inspiring life. Duncan, who died September 3, 2012, at the age of 54 from complications following a heart attack suffered in July, received an Academy Award nomination for the role. Moreover, he actually won the Saturn Award, Black Reel Award, Broadcast Film Critics Association Critics’ Choice Award, and Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for his performance. The accolades that rained upon Duncan and the fact that he earned himself a spot among Hollywood A-listers di

Image from WoMen in Africa photography exhibition by Ludovico Maria Gilberti . Although it was mostly disregarded by mainstream media throughout 2011, the United Nations’ observance of the International Year for People of African Descent launched on Human Rights Day, December 10, 2010, just over a week before the event that would spark the Arab Spring occurred and months before the Occupy Movement got underway. It proceeded in different countries with a variety of programs, initiatives, and publications to commemorate the occasion over the months that followed, and has now been winding down to an official close since December 6, 2011. Read the entire story by Aberjhani by clicking this link : Countdown of 10 amazing moments from 2011: No. 3 Afro-descendants worldwide - National African-American Art | Examiner.com

Cover of National Urban League's "State of Black America." Just as the previous two annual countdowns from the National African American Art Examiner contained people and events some found debatable, this one for the year 2011 is likely to do the same. The point, however, remains unchanged: to highlight known as well as largely ignored moments that have added significantly to contemporary ongoing African-American culture and history, and thereby adding the same to current American and world history in general. At one end of the continuum known as history are first-time events that have generated notable measures of public recognition due to either a positive or negative impact. At the other end of the spectrum are individuals, organizations, and occurrences which have earned acknowledgment due to their enduring longevity and lasting influence upon humanity. This countdown list includes both and will be presented in ten separate posts starting Wednesday, December 14. Abou