Diahann Carroll & Cheryl Boone Isaacs Honored At 'House of Flowers' Dinner

Some of the top African-American women in entertainment, business and philanthropy attended a "House of Flowers" dinner honoring Diahann Carroll and Cheryl Boone Isaacs on Saturday at the home of  television producer Tracey Edmonds.
The dinner was also hosted by Tracey Edmonds and film and television producer Debra Martin Chase. The theme of the evening, "House of Flowers," was inspired by Truman Capote's Broadway play, in which Carroll made her acting debut in 1954. The dinner was meant to "celebrate female empowerment and to help open doors for future accomplishments," said Edmonds.

 "A lot of times there is so much superficial competition, because there are so few opportunities for women of color to succeed in the industry, so you've got to compete versus help each other. It was really beautiful that I got this opportunity to share this evening with Debra Chase, who is a fellow producer," said Edmonds.

Work To Begin on MLK Memorial

WASHINGTON (AP) - The National Park Service says it will begin work next week to remove a disputed inscription from the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial.

Contractors will start working on Monday to build scaffolding and get equipment in place. Then, on July 29, the sculptor of the memorial, Lei Yixin, will arrive. He will carve grooves over the lettering to match existing marks in the sculpture.

The inscription is a paraphrase from King's "Drum Major" speech. It reads, "I was a drum major for justice, peace and righteousness."

Critics including the poet Maya Angelou have argued that the quotation was taken out of context and makes King sound arrogant.

The park service says the quotation will be removed in time for the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington on Aug. 28.