Ali, Holder, rapper Nas among 2015 DuBois Medal recipients
Boxing legend Muhammad Ali, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and rapper Nasir “Nas” Jones are among the 2015 recipients of Harvard’s W.E.B. DuBois Medal.
This year’s winners will gather Wednesday at Harvard University for an awards ceremony and panel discussion. Ali, who is battling Parkinson’s disease, will appear via a video link.
The medal honors those who have made significant contributions to African and African-American history and culture, intercultural understanding and human rights.
Other 2015 recipients include Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund; Mellody Hobson, president of Ariel Investments and chairman of the board of Ariel Investment Trust; Charlayne Hunter-Gault, the first black woman to enroll in the University of Georgia; and artist Carrie Mae Weems.
DuBois was an acclaimed author, historian and civil rights activist.
Lady Gaga named woman of the year
Lady Gaga is the woman of the year, according to Billboard magazine.
Billboard announced Tuesday that the pop star will be honored at its Dec. 11 Women in Music event in New York City. The decade-old event will be televised for the first time, on Lifetime on Dec. 18.
Gaga released the collaborative jazz album, “Cheek to Cheek,” with Tony Bennett last year. It won a Grammy Award, and the duo performed songs from the album on a 36-date tour.
Gaga also plans to release an album next year and will star in FX’s “American Horror Story: Hotel,” which premieres on Oct. 7.
The Women in Music event also honors the year’s 50 most powerful female executives in the music industry.
Ted Turner buys ‘Dances with Wolves’ ranch
Media mogul Ted Turner has bought a South Dakota ranch that was the setting for part of the Academy Award-winning movie “Dances with Wolves.”
Triple U Buffalo Ranch owner Kay Ingle confirmed the sale to the Capital Journal newspaper in Pierre, South Dakota, and KCCR radio, saying the family is selling the property to pay off debts.
The Capital Journal reported that the registered deed for the ranch shows it was sold to a limited liability partnership based at another South Dakota buffalo ranch that Turner owns.
Turner spokesman Phillip Evans told the newspaper that Turner does not comment on private business deals.
The price listed with the register of deeds is $32.4 million, or about $720 per acre. Turner is worth about $2.2 billion, according to Forbes Magazine. He owns three ranches in Argentina and 15 in seven U.S. states, according to the Ted Turner Enterprises website.
“Dances with Wolves” was a 1990 western epic about a Union Army soldier who befriends Lakota Indians. Kevin Costner, who co-produced, directed and starred in the movie, filmed much of it in central and western South Dakota. It won seven Academy Awards, including best picture and best director.