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*Queen Latifah will deliver the keynote address at this year’s Simmons School of Management leadership conference, to be held May 5 at the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston, MA. The 28th annual event will feature skill-building workshops and educational sessions. Other speakers will include CNN correspondent Christiane Amanpour, former First Lady of Mexico Marta Sahagún de Fox and Yue-Sai Kan, a noted entrepreneur, author, journalist and humanitarian. Former keynote speakers include Oprah Winfrey, Maya Angelou, Alfre Woodard, Whoopi Goldberg and Soledad O’Brien.
*MTV will help R&B superstar Chris Brown celebrate his 18th birthday in New York on Saturday, May 5th. The singer will host a celebrity basketball game from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at Riverbank State Park (679 Riverside Dr.) to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. From 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., Brown will attend his birthday bash, titled “Off the Wall,” at Jay-Z’s 40/40 Club (6 W. 25th St.).
*Celebrating his transition into the NFL, former USC wide receiver Dwayne Jarrett will host a star-studded event tonight at The Cabana Club in Los Angeles (1439 Ivar). Among the guests expected to attend are Snoop Dogg, De Ray, Gabrielle Union, Sanaa Lathan, Reggie Bush, Vince Young, Keyshawn Johnson and many more.
*Theater legends Ben Vereen and Della Reese will be honored in Los Angeles at “An Evening of Theater,” to be held at 6 p.m. Saturday, April 28; and the following day at the “Ninth Annual Celebrity Spring Toast/Roast,” to take place at 5 p.m. Sunday, April 29. Both events will be held at the Nate Holden Perfoming Arts Center (4718 West Washington Blvd. – 2 blocks east of LaBrea Ave.). Last year’s honorees, Ruby Dee and Nick LaTour, will return to pass the torch. “An Evening of Theater” will take place with scenes from some of the pair’s favorite on and off-Broadway plays and musicals. The “Toast/Roast” will see the two “toasted, roasted, and saluted with fond memories and laughter by a host of celebrities, friends.” For ticket information for both events, contact the Giving Back Corporation hotline at (310) 226-6198.
*Tonight (4/18), Patti LaBelle will become the first entertainer to receive the Thurgood Marshall College Fund Award of Excellence, which recognizes individuals who share in Justice Marshall's passion for civil rights and concern for justice. The award will be presented during a ceremony to be held in Philadelphia at 6 p.m. at the National Constitution Center (525 Arch St.). Others who will be honored include Dr. Walter P. Lomax, the Lomax Company; Nelson L. Diaz, ESQ, Blank Rome LLP; and Romona Riscoe Benson, President and CEO of the African American Museum of Philadelphia.