"The Help" wins three Critics' Choice Awards 2012

The Help, a movie about African-American servants in 1963 Jackson, Mississippi, was nominated for 8 Critics' Choice Awards and won three at the 17th annual ceremony held January 12, 2012.

Viola Davis won Best Actress for her performance Aibileen Clark, and Octavia Spencer won Best Supporting Actress for her work as Minny Jackson. The Help also won for Best Acting Ensemble.

The Help was nominated for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Costume Design, and Best Song.  Jessica Chastain was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Celia Rae Foote.

Celebrating Black History Month: Dr. Yvonne Cagle, NASA astronaut

Yvonne Cagle, born April 24, 1959 in West Point, New York, is a NASA astronaut and a retired US Air Force Colonel.  She is one of six African-American female astronauts. 

She graduated from Novato High School in California and received her BS in biochemistry from San Francisco State University.  She completed her doctor of medicine degree from University of Washington in 1985. 

While in the Air Force, she served as Air Force Medical Liaison Officer for the STS-30 mission. NASA selected her for astronaut training in 1996. In 2013, she served as part of the reserve crew for Hawai'i Space Exploration and Analog Simulation, part of a study to determine the best way to keep astronauts well nourished during extended missions to Mars or the moon.

She never flew on a mission but still employed at NASA but is not eligible for spaceflights.  In 2017, she wheeled Katherine Johnson onto the stage during the 89th Academy Awards, where Johnson received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, presented by Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monae, stars of Hidden Figures.