Hey Everyone! As you all know we just launched our special YBS Presents feature to the website which has interactions and exclusive Star interviews for you to enjoy. Our first interview is with our Spotlight Star Justin Martin, who told us why he is so proud of his heritage. You can check out Justin’s interview HERE.

We just posted our second interview with the talented India Scandrick! India tells us how she feels to have made history and what she’s up to at the moment. You can read India’s interview HERE. We also want to hear what Black History Month means to you! Let us know by visiting and leaving comments at the YBS Presents project main page HERE!

Hey everyone! You can find a snippet of a radio interview that our boy Justin Martin did in Atlanta with Kenny Leon by going to the Audio page HERE! He talks about his role in A Raisin in the Sun and his message to the younger generation. He sounds excited about the movie! I’m sure we all can learn something from watching it.

Don’t forget to watch A Raisin in the Sun which will premiere February 25th, at 8/7c on ABC! I’ve read a short version of the play and loved it so I’m sure the movie will be loved as well!

Thanks to Mrs. Martin for the clip!

We have already mentioned a few nominations, but now that all of the Young Artist Award nominees have been announced, we can tell you which of our starz have been nominated. So, please join me in congratulating: Jamia Simone Nash, Keke Palmer, Willow Smith, Car’ynn Sims, Noah Gray-Cabey, Kyle Massey, Tyler James Williams, Rhyon Nicole Brown, Khamani Griffin, Justin Martin, Jordan Calloway, Christopher Massey, Alana Etheridge and Jasmine Robinson.

To see what they were each nominated for and who they are up against, click read more for the full list.

WELL DONE to everyone and good luck!!

By Matt Roush
The network TV-movie is only dead until the next group of dedicated art-ists comes along to breathe life into it. And life abounds—in all of its frus-trations and hopes, fears and joys—in ABC’s intimate and powerfully mov-ing remake of Lorraine Hansberry’s stage classic “A Raisin in the Sun,” reuniting the main cast of the 2004 Broadway revival. (See page 26.) This means everyone will now get to witness Phylicia Rashad’s magnif-icent Tony-winning performance as Lena Younger, the widowed matriarch and backbone of a family of conflicted dreamers, trapped in a cramped Chicago tenement that be-comes a tinderbox of explosive emotions. An instant front-runner for every major TV-acting prize, Rashad radiates warmth, but also the sort of proud fire that’s neces-sary to keep her family in line as they impatiently await a $10,000 insurance check that could change their lives. The superstar-marquee draw of the revival was Sean Combs as Lena’s ambitious son, Walter Lee, and his work plays better in close-up than it did on stage, where his sulkiness often got lost. On screen, it registers as heavy disappointment and restless resentment at the setbacks he’s faced in his yearning for security and respect. You may never believe this Walter Lee is a “volcano” the way Sidney Poitier was in the original, but Combs is more convincing as a weak man and poor loser—albeit one who will never truly be lost, so long as the women in his life have a say. As they always do. The women are the main event here, including the wonder-ful Audra McDonald (also a Tony winner) as Walter Lee’s long-suffering wife and Sanaa Lathan as his spunky sister. It would take a hard heart not to root for this family, to cry with them or to rejoice when they finally get their moment in the sun. Phylicia Rashad is a front-runner for every major tv-acting prize, radiating both warmth and fire A Raisin in the Sun Is a Jewel in ABC’s Crown. Money makes all thedifference—or does it? A Raisin in the Sun monday, 2/25, 8/7c

Happy Valentines day everyone! I have some exciting news! Our YBS Star Justin Martin has been nominated for a Young Artist Award, in the category of Best Actor in a Guest Star role in a Series! He was nominated for his performance in Cold Case! I’ve also added an advance copy of Matt Roush’s TV Guide review of A Raisin in the Sun, which will appear in the issue dated 2/25. You can check out the ‘latest articles’ panel for the review. Congratulations to Justin and good luck!

I’d also like to add that we have something special coming up very soon!

Thanks to his mother, Mrs. Martin for sharing the news!