28 Days of Black History Makers

The soul powerhouse never knew love like this before—when she met the late Michael Jackson in New York City in the ‘70s, that is. “I thought I was gonna marry Michael. I was so in love with Michael,” Stephanie tells The Mutha Knows Show host Mutha of her one-time Valentine. “Michael was really, really shy. But back then, I was aggressive. When he had his place on Sutton Place, I would spend the night and I would do his laundry… And I even cooked for him—even though I couldn’t cook. But you know what? Even as bad as it was, Michael was such a gentleman. He still ate it.”

The head of the Marsalis family dynasty—which includes trumpeter Wynton and saxophonist Brandford—reflects on his hometown’s tradition of breeding great artists. “New Orleans is such a musical city. If you are predisposed to becoming a performer, and born in New Orleans, there’s music all around you,” he tells Jazzin Em Up host Cres O’Neal. “So it's a matter of developing a level of discipline that it takes for you to evolve into a quality player.”

The first African American woman to call the White House home offers words of support to hundreds of thousands of unsung heroes on Military Spouse Appreciation Day. “We have to invest in our military, their families, and our veterans in a real meaningful way,” she tells Department of Defense New Media host Liz Murray. “I just saw the results of a recent survey done by Blue Star Families that shows that 94 percent of military families feel as if the country doesn’t understand their challenges. That’s a pretty powerful statement… In terms of our spouses, the administration is investing $80 million just for career development and training for spouses, which is critical.”

The Olympic gold medal winner, who was the first boxer to earn more than $100 million in purses, reflects on his philanthropic efforts. “I’ve done a lot of work in conjunction with various charities, just trying to give service, lend a hand, use whatever celebrity I have to make that awareness,” he tells Bottom Line Sports Show hosts Gerald Brown and Jonathan Foy. “I just kicked off my foundation, in Santa Monica, here in California. It benefits Juvenile Diabetes research, trying to find not just a patch or a band-aid, but a cure to this disease… It’s just a great thing to give back and make a difference.”

The Grammy-winning diva recalls her three-year marriage to slain rapper Biggie Smalls. “It was such a short-lived relationship. Everything happened in such a short period of time,” she tells The Mutha Knows Show host Mutha. “But because we had so much fun, it ultimately overshadowed a lot of the not-so-fun parts. I’m certainly glad that I was able to be part of his life, to know him period. Because everybody that got to know him has nothing but good things to say, good thoughts.”

The improv virtuoso reveals that he wipes his mind clean after his Las Vegas stage shows, so that each performance will be fresh. On the other hand, as he tells Somewhere in Vegas host Marq with a Q, “Every blue moon, something really ridiculous will happen. Like I remember Johnathan, my partner, and I were doing a mermaid scene and we both dumped ourselves in water and stripped down to our underwear. That’s one of the things that I don’t have to forget, because I know it’ll never happen again. Hopefully.”

The Olympic gold medalist, who holds the American record for fastest time in the 4 x 400 metres race, recalls how she talked her way into her first professional competition. “I got in contact with Fred Thompson because I was watching TV when I was 12. And at the time, I saw Meredith Rainey, and she was at the Colgate Women’s Games,” she tells Get Up Show host Chris LaMonica. “So I went down and I asked who was the best track coach. And I saw this guy with Gucci loafers, no socks, an Izod shirt. I walked over to him, I said, ‘Hi, my name’s Diane Dixon.’ And Fred said, ‘I have enough runners.’ And I said, ‘Yea, but you don’t have me!’”

Oprah Winfrey’s significant other of more than 20 years opens up about how the power couple has managed to keep their relationship strong. “Both of us have our own identity. We’re able to operate autonomously and we’re able to operate together sometimes,” he tells World Talk Live host Brett Cohen. “We’re able to share things together. But also, we have our own space. I do what I do… I speak about 100 times a year around the world. I’ve written a number of books. I have clients I work with. And she has her show. She has her magazine. She has all the things she’s involved in. That’s what she does and that’s what I do. So there’s no conflict. In fact, it’s very complementary.”

The Touched by an Angel star recounts how, at age 13, she came to be hired to sing with Mahalia Jackson’s gospel group. “Mahalia came to our church, and she had a group of singers with her. And one of the singers was pregnant. But nobody knew she was pregnant,” she tells Reel Ladies on the Spot host Nikki Love. “And at that time we had no air conditioning in the church, and the lady fainted. Well, Mahalia was on her way to the South and the pregnant singer’s husband would not allow her to go to the South because, at that time, it was difficult for a black person to get service in a hospital. And he didn’t want to risk the lives of his wife and his child. So the pastors of the church asked my mother if I could go with Mahalia to replace this woman.”

Despite growing up poor—and not meeting his dad until the age of 21—the only boxer to win the World Heavyweight title four times says he was never bitter. “I did have a mother. And my mother instilled in me that you have to forgive,” he tells Dr. Blogstein host David Brown. "When you forgive, then you can set yourself free. People who don’t forgive, they always using a part of they mind by thinkin’ about ‘this.’ They always talkin’ about, ‘Aw, this happened to me.’ I never said I didn’t make it because I came from the ghetto, I was black, I was this and that. That’s no excuse, when there’s forgiveness.”

The Hollywood powerhouse, who famously makes in home in Brooklyn, N.Y., reveals how he felt that the New York Knicks failed to sign NBA superstar LeBron James. “I was not disappointed. Because, if somebody doesn’t want to be here, then you don’t want’em,” he tells The Knicks Blog host Anthony Donahue. “But I will go to my grave thinking they concocted this thing two years ago. This thing was rigged, and they made it work. So I have to give them credit. But my grandmother, who put me through film school—she lived to be 100 years old—she used to say to me, ‘Spikey, be careful what you wish for.’ And I don’t think there’s a more appropriate saying when you look at Miami now.”

The R&B diva reflects on her unlikely persona in the mega-selling girl group TLC. “It’s funny that I was labeled the sexy one, because I’m really uncomfortable that way. I’m so silly,” she tells The Mutha Knows Show host Mutha. “On Crazy Sexy Cool, there’s this interlude where I’m talkin’ to Puffy. And I’m trying my best to talk sexy, which is not my thing, and that’s how I ended up laughing at the end.”

Basketball’s Clown Prince, who spent 25 years as a Harlem Globetrotter, recalls schooling himself in the sport. “I came along during a time when we had no television. If you had a television, you were very wealthy—and in my neighborhood, wasn’t nobody wealthy,” he tells Conservative Moms host Mary Baker. “But one Saturday morning, I got my vision. And my vision was watching the Globetrotters on a newsreel at the Ritz movie theater in Wilmington, North Carolina… And I said to myself, ‘This is my dream… But when I got home, I realized I had no place to play. So I made my own basket out of an old coat hanger and an onion sack.”

Throughout the month of February, we’re honoring African American figures who’ve helped shape the face of our nation, with encore presentations of their most compelling interviews. BET host Mo’Nique, who won an Oscar for her performance in 2009’s Precious, kicks off the series. During the funnylady’s appearance, she reflects on her most memorable complement surrounding that critically-acclaimed film. “The night of the permiere of Precious, I saw Sidney Poitier from my car,” she tells The Breakdown Show’s Audley Stephenson and Dave Mendonca. “He was already on the red carpet. And I said to my husband, ‘Oh my God. There’s Sydney Poitier! I would love to meet him.’”