Women’s History Month: Who was Constance Goode?
Willis, Heming celebrate 15-year wedding anniversary
Bruce Willis and his wife, Emma Heming Willis, are celebrating a milestone in their marriage amid his dementia diagnosis.
The couple celebrated 15 years of marriage on Thursday, with Heming, 45, sharing a photo of her husband on Instagram to mark the occasion.
“Today marks our 15th wedding anniversary! And today, I can make a choice. I can wallow in sorrow or I can celebrate it. I call this the ‘remarkable reframe,' ” she wrote in the caption, under a sweet photo of Willis, 69, and Heming about to share a kiss, with Heming looking at the camera and Willis looking away.
“What I know is there is so much to celebrate,” she continued. “Our union and connection is probably stronger than ever.”
The “Die Hard” star retired from acting in 2022 after he was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia. In February 2023, his family said the condition had “progressed.”
“We have two bright, fun and healthy daughters,” she wrote. “We have a family unit that is built on mutual respect and admiration. And simply, I just love and adore the man I married.”
Springsteen meets Flavor Flav in Las Vegas
Bruce Springsteen met Flavor Flav, member of the legendary hip-hop group Public Enemy, backstage in the T-Mobile Arena at the E Street Band's Las Vegas show Friday.
Flav, aka William Drayton Jr. of Roosevelt, New York, was brought in by E Street Band member Little Steven Van Zandt. Flav bowed to Springsteen and then the Boss bowed and saluted, according to a video shared on Flav's social media.
“Ahhhhh!” said Flav upon meeting Springsteen. “What's up Bruce! This is such an honor, man! This is such an honor, bro! Man, man, man, many, many, many good blessings to you, bro. Thank you for all of the years of good music, leadership.”
Flav shared a second video of him dancing at the show, and shaking Springsteen's hand while the Boss sang “Tenth Avenue Freeze-out.”
Both Flav and Springsteen are members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Flav and Springsteen also have a musical connection: auxiliary E Street Band guitarist Tom Morello is a member of the Prophets of Rage supergroup with Public Enemy frontman Chuck D.
Doherty applauds Princess Kate for ‘strength’ amid cancer battle
Shannen Doherty hopes Princess Kate's cancer diagnosis will be a wakeup call for the public following weeks of conspiracy theories about the British royal's health.
The “Beverly Hills, 90210” star, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, took to Instagram to react to Kate's announcement on Friday that she is battling cancer. The Princess of Wales, 42, stepped back from the public eye in January following planned abdominal surgery, which sparked many rumors about her health.
On Instagram, Doherty stressed the need for celebrities to have privacy while undergoing health challenges, writing that “being a public figure does not mean the public owns that person.”
Doherty added that she prays this will be a “learning moment for us all to respect privacy of others regardless of being in the public eye.” She also praised Princess Kate for her “strength” amid the “endless onslaught you've been under while going thru cancer.”
Doherty has been battling cancer since 2015. After going into remission in 2017, it returned in 2019. Last year, she shared that the cancer had spread to her brain.
In celebration and recognition of Women's History Month, the Rockford Register Star has partnered with Midway Village Museum to bring readers a local women's history fact of the day.
Visit rrstar.com or the Rockford Register Star newspaper each day throughout the month of March to read about the women who played significant roles in Rockford history.
Born in 1936 in Chicago, Constance Lee Boyd Goode moved to Rockford in 1962 and soon became a leader in the community as an educator, civil rights and voting rights activist, community leader, and musician.
She taught in Rockford Public Schools for 30 years, became active in the local NAACP, and organized election day transportation and childcare, knocking on doors to explain the importance of voting.
In 1982 she received a doctoral degree in continuing adult education from the University of WisconsinMadison.
Constance Goode
She also served as executive director of Rockford's Booker Washington Community Center urging students to obtain education first, and then act. "Remain calm; organize, act and vote!" was her charge.
Want to learn more about Constance Goode? Visit Midway Village Museum online at midwayvillage.com or in person at 6799 Guilford Road, Rockford.