1. The Soul Man Scores Big With Premiere
Does TV Land have a hit in Cedric the Entertainer?

Last week’s premiere of the network’s comedy series The Soul Man, starring Cedric, drew in 1.9 million viewers (one million viewers in the adults 25-54 demographic). The ratings made the show TV Land’s second highest-rated original series debut, following only behind the June 2010 season premiere of Hot in Cleveland. [MORE]

2. The Root’s Healthy Cities: Atlanta
(The Root) — Forget the tomfoolery commonly associated with Atlanta nowadays — reality-TV catfights, hair pulling, unsupervised egomaniacs and poseurs looking to be idolized. The city with more Peachtree streets than visitors can remember is very supportive of individuals who want a healthier and more serene quality of life. [MORE]

3. A Black Female Astronaut’s Mission
(The Root) – Mae C. Jemison, the first Black woman ever admitted to NASA’s astronaut training program, made history when she went into orbit on the space shuttle Endeavour in 1987, using her training as a medical doctor to conduct scientific experiments in space. Decades later, her missions back on Earth include heading up a company that researches and develops advanced technologies, and promoting science literacy — which she says means “figuring out how science impacts your world every day” — among young people and those who educate them. [MORE]

4. Can Freedom of Press Happen in Ethiopia?
(Special to The Root) — After a reunion a few weeks ago in New York with Serkalem Fasil, an Ethiopian journalist and former publisher whose husband Eskinder Nega, also a journalist, is in prison on terrorism charges, I vowed to go to Ethiopia and plead with the government for his release, along with that of several other journalists imprisoned with him. Despite the Ethiopian government’s claim that Nega and the other seven journalists are “spies for foreign forces,” a wide array of human rights organizations and freedom of the press advocacy groups believe otherwise. [MORE]

TAGS: Atlanta, Cedric “The Entertainer”, Endeavour, ethiopia, freedom of press, healthy cities, Hot in Cleveland, Mae C. Jemison, NASA, ratings, Serkalem Fasil, The Root, The Soul Man, TV LAND