September 16, 2026

The New Citizens Press

News For, By and About People

Headlines

Rina Risper

Joyful Noise

Rina Risper04 mins

Studio: Warner Bros. (117 mins)
Plot: Two strong minded women clash over their choir group’s direction as they head into a national competition.
Cast: Queen Latifah, Dolly Parton,  Keke Palmer, Jesse L. Martin, Dexter Darden, Courtney B. Vance
Rating:  PG-13
Bottom Line: ***1/2
 
By Samantha Ofole-Prince
 
An exhilarating musical with rousing gospel numbers, “Joyful Noise” is a likable drama with a touch of humor that’s fairly engaging even when no one is singing.
 
The story circles around two strong-minded women played by Dana Owens (aka Queen Latifah) and Dolly Parton, who are forced to cooperate when a budget cut threatens to shut down their small-town choir. Despite being at odds, both Vi Rose (Latifah) and G.G. (Parton) have one thing in common: they love the choir.

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Mother Flippin’: One Funny Mother – To the Students of Penn State

Rina Risper07 mins

By Tashmica Torok
 
Dear Students of Penn State,
 
More specifically, those of you who are steadfast in your support of those involved in covering up the sexual abuse and victimization of Jerry Sandusky on several children.We do not know each other.  My name is Tashmica and I am a victim of early sexual abuse.
 
My father was a youth pastor.  He was known to his family as a good father.  He was a dedicated soldier in the ARMY.  He was funny and charming.  People who knew him, liked him.  They respected him.  He was no Joe Paterno and staff but he was loved in our circle.

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Original Art at affordable prices, is there such a thing?

Rina Risper013 mins

 Left:  Artist Edward Smith standing with his acrylic painting   “Aurora”. It was 
completed in 2000.
 
Below: An owl and girl sculpture created for a junk art competition, created by other Michigan artists.

 
 
 
                                                               
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
By Edward Smith
 
Back in October of last year, I was talking to a friend who had shown an interest in art.  At one point during our discussion she mentioned her hesitation to enter galleries and shops because she felt she could not afford the prices for original art.  I told her how I had
begun to write on this same subject some time ago, my belief is that original art should be made and made affordable.  

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Jacob Merritt Howard: American Abolitionist

Rina Risper04 mins

By Local History Librarian David Votta 
 
Michigan Attorney General Jacob Merritt Howard, who served our state from 1855-1861, is arguably one of the most influential people in the history of our nation’s constitution, apart from the Founding Fathers. 
 
Born in Vermont, Howard moved to Michigan in 1832 and settled in Detroit. There he was admitted to the bar, becoming City Attorney in 1834. It is said that he “took up arms” in defense of his adopted home state during the nearly bloodless Toledo War with Ohio. 

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ONLINE SHOPPING: A GOOD SELL?

Rina Risper05 mins

The age of online purchasing has revolutionized shopping. No longer are consumers resigned to the drudgery of commuting to the store, fighting off other shoppers to get that last product and waiting in long lines to get their purchases rung up. With the click of a mouse, you can do all your shopping from the privacy of your home at any hour. You can easily compare prices by opening new browser windows and pulling up competitor sites. You can apply coupons and gift cards at most major online vendors. It is especially convenient for buying items out of your location, or when the local store has just run out your desired item. 

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Do you have an opinion? 11-1

Rina Risper04 mins

Dear Rina,
 
I learned of a court settlement for living victims of the horrific forced sterilizations legally conducted in some Southern states; sterilizations conducted on people of  color, including pre-teens. Because people of color were stereotyped as being lazy, and in large part stigmatized because they were poor, sterilization was an answer to the prejudiced population’s hatred for the poor.  In turn, I submit, from my experience with being stereotyped as lazy or different because I have been extremely poor, I know firsthand that the appeal of the drug testing scenario for welfare recipients is a way to punish the poor and satisfy the inner demons of those who stereotype the poor.

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Excuse me, are you listening? 11-1

Rina Risper06 mins

Dear Readers,
 
I must be getting old.  I must be getting wiser.  Working with people in Lansing, I know I am getting smarter.
 
I am hoping that every single person that picks up the newspaper, will benefit from something that was read in it.
 
I love people.  Amazingly so not everyone does.  I did not say that I did not like the way some people are.  I said I love people.  I love them in all of their spaces.  While I may choose not to be around them, talk to them or do business with them, I still love them for just who they are.  I do not have a choice.

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Documentary on Slavery Spurs Racial Healing

Rina Risper013 mins

DeWolf family members and Ghanaian Beatrice Manu at a river ceremony in Ghana where captured Africans were brought for a last bath.
Credit:  Amishadai Sackitey

 
By Marjorie Valbrun
America’s Wire
 
WASHINGTON—Katrina Browne and her critically acclaimed documentary, “Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North,” are helping Americans talk more openly and honestly about race and race relations. The film is a well-researched account of her New England ancestors’ status as the largest slave-trading family in U.S. history. It is also a moving story about racial healing and redemption, the very issues she wants to help Americans embrace.
In the film, Browne and nine other descendants of the DeWolf family retrace the so-called “Triangle Trade,” the path from Rhode Island to slave forts in Ghana to sugar plantation ruins in Cuba, as “they uncover the vast extent of Northern complicity in slavery” and the key role played by their forebears.

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Ask Tamara: Out of the Closet!

Rina Risper05 mins

Dear Tamara:
 
During a recent family gathering, my youngest brother announced that he is gay. The entire family was shocked, including me. I never suspected that my brother was gay. Growing up he had plenty of girlfriends and didn’t show any signs of being gay. I haven’t spoken to him since his big announcement and am really unsure about what to say or how to handle the situation. 
 
On one hand I want to support my brother and let him know that I still love him, but on the other I am really worried about him. Our family grew up in the church and this is not the way we were raised. I don’t agree with my brother choosing to live a gay lifestyle, I think homosexuality is a sin and I don’t want him to suffer. What can I do about this?
 
My Brother’s Keeper

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Your Other 8 Hours: How to Cash in on Oprah Winfrey’s New Network

Rina Risper08 mins

By Robert Pagliarini,
Tribune Media Services
 
 
At last count, Oprah Winfrey was worth a little over $23.234 trillion. Okay, that’s a slight exaggeration, but there’s no doubt she’s done well for herself in doing well for others. Now it could be your turn. Oprah launched the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) at noon on January 1, 2011. It’s a massive undertaking that could transform cable TV. And if you’re willing, it could also transform you.

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