The Official Ill Community Black Excellence Thread

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  • Maximus Rex
    Maximus Rex Members Posts: 6,354 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited July 2016
    Black-owned banks get rush of new depositors
    http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2016/07/15/black-owned-banks-credit-unions/87118624/
    Nathan Bomey, USA TODAY 12:57 p.m. EDT July 17, 2016


    636041925905735190-Citizens-Trust-Bank-Advisory-Board-90-1466172033MR.jpg
    (Photo: PRNewsFoto/Citizens Trust Bank)

    A black-owned Atlanta bank is experiencing a sudden surge of deposits, powered by a campaign aimed at bolstering black-owned financial institutions after multiple high-profile police killings raised awareness of institutional inequality.

    Citizens Trust Bank — anchored in metro Atlanta, Columbus, Ga., Birmingham, Ala., and Eutaw, Ala. — said it has received about 8,000 new applications for depositors in recent days.

    One of the catalysts: Rapper Killer Mike called in to a town hall meeting on MTV and BET on July 8 to implore the black community to deploy "a portion" of its financial resources to make a difference.

    He wants 1 million people to deposit $100 apiece in small black-owned banks or credit unions, believing that those financial institutions will be more likely than other banks to make loans to black citizens and businesses
    — and more likely to treat them fairly in general.

    "We cannot go out in the street and start bombing, shooting and killing," the rapper said during the town hall. "I encourage none of us to engage in acts of violence that will cause more peril to our community and others that look like us. I encourage us to take our warfare to financial institutions."

    Other supporters have posted similar remarks on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, urging people to consider shifting their money to black-owned institutions.

    The biggest beneficiary so far is 95-year-old Citizens Trust Bank, which Killer Mike has specifically promoted on social media, using the hashtag #BankBlackBankSmallBankLocal.

    Michael Grant, president of the Washington, D.C.-based National Bankers Association, which promotes minority-owned financial institutions, said that CEOs of black-owned banks have been calling him saying they're "getting volume that you would not believe" in recent days.

    "It's not just happening in one location — it's happening to banks around the country
    ," he said.

    Frederick Daniels Jr., executive vice president and chief credit officer of Citizens Trust Bank, told USA TODAY in an interview that the bank is at the center of a "true movement."

    "If we can bring together our economics collectively, we can help businesses grow, we can help people obtain home loans. That brings them closer to the American dream," he said. "We’re providing a tangible solution for those who want action."

    The U.S. had 23 black-owned banks, credit unions or savings and loan associations as of March 31, according to the Federal Reserve. The nation's 156 minority-owned banks collectively hold $131 billion in assets.

    Citizens Trust Bank had $328.8 million in deposits as of Dec. 31, down 3.5% from a year earlier, according to its annual report.

    There are scattered reports of other black-owned banks receiving a surge of deposits in recent days. For example, Unity National bank in Texas has gotten more than 350 new accounts in the last week, the Houston Chronicle reported.

    Moving assets to a black-owned bank is a concrete way that people can help reverse the tide of economic injustice, Grant said. Black-owned banks were hit particularly hard by the Great Recession as their customers suffered job losses and loan repayment rates fell, he noted.

    "What happens in any community that feels insulted is it turns inward and tries to do what it can to protect itself," Grant said. "I think the community is trying to figure out ways it can strengthen itself — and what better way to address issues facing black America than to start harnessing our dollars and building some wealth and creating jobs in our communities?"

    Among the people embracing the cause is singer Solange Knowles, who said Saturday on Instagram that it was "time to literally put my money where my mouth is" by shifting her money to a black-owned bank.

    There appears to be a budding grass-roots push, too. Daniels said Citizens Trust Bank had a committee of young professionals who have helped build buzz about the movement on social media.

    "They have been instrumental in creating additional momentum to help get the word out: You have an alternative," he said.

    Follow USA TODAY reporter Nathan Bomey on Twitter @NathanBomey.
  • Maximus Rex
    Maximus Rex Members Posts: 6,354 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Black Golfers Making History on LPGA Tour and No One Said a Word
    Four Black golfers compete in Cambia Portland Classic


    http://www.blackgirlsgolf.net/blackgolfersmakinghistory/


    IMG_5170-2.jpg?resize=593.6%2C594
    From left to right: ? Howard, Mariah Stackhouse, Sadena Parks, Robbi Howard, Cheyenne Woods. (Photo Credit: ? Howard)

    A 1st in 66 yr history of @LPGA 4 Black women on tour.

    For the first time in its sixty-six year history, the LPGA has four black women on tour. There hasn’t been this much black golf history since 1964 when Althea Gibson became the first Black woman to play on the LPGA Tour. Yet, no one said a word about it.

    There are several factors that contribute to why we don’t see more Black golfers, male or female, playing on the LPGA and PGA Tours. The culture of the sport contributes a great deal, but the other primary factors include cost, access, and awareness.

    Golf is not a sport that Black families have traditionally supported with their dollars. Little league basketball and football teams are usually the go-to for Black families. Although an athlete can play golf for lifetime, it is not a sport we have embraced – but it hasn’t really embraced us either. The industry as a whole holds on to the fact that golf is meritorious. If you can play, the opportunities are there. That’s only half-true. A young golfer doesn’t have to spend his lunch money or bus fare to practice basketball, or football. To get to the elite levels of this game, it is tremendously expensive. The cost of equipment, coaches, range time, rounds, tournament entry fees, lodging and travel can eat into a family’s budget. Without sponsor dollars, it is difficult for golfers to continue at the professional level. THAT is what makes having four Black women playing professionally so momentous for the game.

    However, the coverage on Golf Channel neglected to note the historical significance of having a cohort of four Black women on the tour. We won’t wait for them to say it, we’ll keep reminding everyone that the game should reflect the society in which we live.

    Even after an exceptional finish for a pair of the ladies, golf media refused to acknowledge this milestone for Black golf history and the history of the game in general..

    While I have several favorite female golfers playing on the tour, I pay special attention to those who look like me, and so will other black golfers. Both Cheyenne Woods and Mariah Stackhouse made the cut to compete during the final rounds. Cheyenne finished tied for sixth place, and Mariah Stackhouse made a great showing tied for 47th place.


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    Mariah Steakhouse @stackhouse_KPMG (Photo Credit LPGA.com)

    College standout and Stanford grad, Mariah Steakhouse, is making her professional debut at the Portland Classic this week. She recently signed with KPMG as a brand ambassador. Even though she’s just barely out of college, she’s already achieved so much in her golf career. In 2011, at the age of 17, she became the youngest Black woman to earn a spot in the field at the U.S. Open. In 2014, she became the first Black woman to make the Curtis Cup team, which the United States won that year. We are looking forward to many more firsts from Mariah.


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    Cheyenne Woods @Cheyenne_woods (Photo Credit LPGA.com)

    Cheyenne Woods is a familiar name in golf. She plays in the very large shadow of her famous uncle, Tiger Woods. However, Cheyenne is making a mark of her own. In 2009, she received a sponsor exemption to compete in an LPGA tournament where she missed the cut by four strokes. Fast forward three years where in 2012, after graduating from Wake Forest, Cheyenne went pro. That same year she qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open, where she made her professional debut at the LPGA Championship. In 2014, Woods had her second professional win (and first on a major tour) at the Volvik RACV Ladies Masters. Cheyenne Woods is the sixth Black woman to play on the LPGA Tour.


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    Sadena Parks @sadenaparks (Photo Credit LPGA.com)

    Sadden Parks is as strong as she is beautiful. You can see proof of that in her 2015 spread in ESPN’s Body issue. You may also recognize her from her appearance on the golf reality show Big Break Florida. Parks is only the fifth Black golfer to join the ranks of her white counterparts on the LPGA and the first African American woman to earn her LPGA Tour card through the Symetra Tour.


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    ? Howard @gingerthoward (Photo Credit LPGA.com)

    ? Howard made a name for herself when, at 17, she became the youngest Black golfer in the world to go pro. In 2012, she became the first Black golfer to earn a spot in the 2010 U.S Junior Ryder Cup. In 2016, ? earned her place on the LPGA Tour after completing Q school. She became the seventh Black woman to play on the LPGA Tour
  • Maximus Rex
    Maximus Rex Members Posts: 6,354 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited July 2016
    LPGA History Is Upon Us: Sadena Parks And Cheyenne Woods Have Arrived
    http://espn.go.com/espnw/news-commentary/article/12335119/sadena-parks-cheyenne-woods-arrived

    voepel_michelle_m.jpg&w=65&h=65&scale=crop
    By Mechelle Voepel | Feb 18, 2015
    espnW.com

    OCALA, Fla. -- Sadena Parks has the mind of an improvisational comedian, wit bubbling out of her like a natural stream.

    "Actually, I'm not sure I'm funny," Parks said, "but Cheyenne keeps laughing, so ..."

    Cheyenne Woods reassures her pal she is a hoot, and then they're off on another topic -- the pressing need both have for pedicures for the upcoming "gala" dinner prior to the LPGA's season-launching tournament in January.

    "I've got open-toed shoes," Parks said, resignedly. "And you can't have your feet looking like this.''

    Parks makes her best "monster face" while curling her hands up like claws. Woods cracks up again, and they resolve to try to get the pedicures together ASAP. Parks doesn't care for such things, but if Woods goes along with her, it won't be so bad.

    They're doing something a whole lot bigger than toe maintenance together, though. Both women have earned playing status to compete in 2015 on the LPGA Tour. They are just the fifth and sixth African-American women to be members of the tour, which was founded in 1950.

    "I think it's special that both Sadena and I were able to do it the same year," Woods said. "We've known each other since we were 14 or 15 years old. We grew up playing in the same golf organizations. It's kind of a long time coming.

    "And I do think it's significant because of the lack of African-American women in the LPGA. You can name all of them easily because there have been so few."

    The list starts with tennis legend Althea Gibson, who took up golf in her 30s and began playing on the LPGA Tour in 1964. It also includes Renee Powell (late 1960s to 1980), LaRee Sugg (1995-97 and 2000-01) and Shasta Averyhardt (conditional status in 2011 and '13).

    No African-American has won an LPGA title. Gibson came the closest when she tied for second after a playoff in 1970.

    Parks and Woods, both 24, want to be game-changers in inspiring more African-American girls to take up the sport. But they know they must have some level of success -- on a very competitive tour -- to gain needed visibility. And barriers that traditionally have kept various demographics away from golf also must be overcome. For many kids, golf is still not accessible geographically or financially.

    There's also the social aspect of how welcoming the sport truly is to minorities, even in 2015. Reflection after the recent death of African-American golfing pioneer Charlie Sifford painfully reminded everyone of the many decades when golf's main governing bodies kept their doors closed to black players.

    The emergence in the 1990s of Cheyenne's uncle, Tiger Woods, sparked an on-going national -- and international -- conversation about race and golf. But the LPGA seemed largely ignored in that discussion, as too often has been the case with most topics in golf. And while the LPGA of the past two decades has become far more representative of global golf, there still has been almost no African-American presence.

    "I'd like to help kids think golf is cool, and it's for everybody," Woods said. "But when you look at the LPGA, you don't have a big name of any African-American woman who kids can look up to, or put their poster on their wall, or tune in and watch them every week. I think that's something that the game has been lacking."
  • Maximus Rex
    Maximus Rex Members Posts: 6,354 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited July 2016
    espnw_e_woods_park2_jv_800x723.jpg&w=800
    Cheyenne Woods and Sadena Parks have taken a dues-paying road to get where they are, and they're still soaking it all in.

    LPGA History Is Upon Us: Sadena Parks And Cheyenne Woods Have Arrived, Pt. II

    Creating a strong bond


    Parks and Woods are doing a photo shoot in the Governor's Room at the Golden Ocala Golf and Equestrian Club. It's the typical dark-paneled, high-ceilinged, library-like space of country clubs, filled with heavy furniture in muted colors. It has that deliberately anachronistic feel of solemnity, except ...

    Check out the gold-framed paintings on the walls. Are those dogs in human clothes? A portrait of a stately dalmatian clad in a military jacket? A sad-eyed spaniel wearing an 1800s dress? This bit of unexpected whimsy in décor seems perfect for the occasion.

    "Awww, I really want a dog," Woods said. Parks understands but adds, "I just don't have time for one."

    Woods and Parks, both college graduates who have played on other tours professionally, have taken a dues-paying road to get this far. They first met about a decade ago at the Bill Dickey Invitational, a junior event for minority golfers. By that time, Woods' uncle was already one of the most famous athletes in the world, and she was proud of him. But she was, in her words, just an average middle-class kid who lived with her mother, Susan, after her parents had divorced. Cheyenne's father, Earl Woods Jr., is Tiger's half brother.

    Earl Woods Sr. saw Cheyenne swing a club at age 2 and predicted, with affectionate humor, that she had a pro future. It turned out she had real talent, not just the kind that hopeful grandparents see. She also danced and ran track. But golf was, indeed, her calling.

    "My mom searched out for a local minority golf association in Phoenix when I was 8 or 9," Woods said. "So then I could play golf with other kids who kind of looked similar. It really opened up my eyes to the fact that I wasn't the only one like me.


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    Sadena Parks was introduced to golf by her dad, Washington Parks, who took her to the driving range when he practiced.

    "My mom is white and my dad is black, and I grew up more on my mom's side of the family. So when I went to this golf group, I was around other kids who were mixed-race, African-American, Mexican. We all had something in common."

    Parks' parents also were divorced, and she grew up with her father, Washington Parks, in the Pacific Northwest. Her relationship with her mom was more distant, both geographically and emotionally, but Parks said it is something they're still working on.

    Parks and her father were exceptionally close, so when he went to the golf course, she accompanied him.

    "I didn't like leaving her behind in anything, so I bought her a starter set of clubs for $35," Washington Parks said. "I bought her clothes, did her hair, took her to basketball practice and T-ball and whatever else she did. Being a dad was what I feel like I was meant to do."

    Sadena, though, wasn't sure what was meant for her. She began to enter golf tournaments but had ability at other sports, too, such as track and basketball. She acknowledges that she struggled as a teenager with thoughts that it might be easier to focus on one of those sports, which were more popular with her friends.

    "I did feel out of place at times," Parks said.

    The thing was, golf just felt so natural for her, despite some tough moments. Sadena remembers one afternoon playing golf with her father, when someone in a car drove by and shouted a racial epithet at them, saying they should get off the course.

    Washington Parks told Sadena to ignore it and to refuse to let a hateful, pathetic idiot have any power over how she felt.

    "I told her, 'Sometimes, you will have to deal with ignorance,'" he recalled. "'But there are going to be a whole lot more people who are with you than against you.' And that's been the case."

    Washington's matter-of-fact, buoyant optimism has motivated him through life, and Sadena inherited that. It's helped carry her through doubts.

    "I knew I was talented and that I wanted a chance at the LPGA," Parks said. "It's mental. When you're over the ball, if you're thinking, 'Do I belong?' then you have to fight those thoughts. It's deeper than golf itself."

    She didn't have to explain that to Woods. They didn't even have to talk about it. Both just knew.

    "We would see each other here and there throughout the next few years," Woods said of Parks after their initial meeting. "And because there aren't many African-American golfers out there, you create such a strong bond."

    Their paths didn't cross during college, as they went to schools on opposite coasts -- Woods at Wake Forest in North Carolina and Parks at the University of Washington. Once they began pro golf and trying to make the rugged climb into the LPGA, their friendship deepened even though they still didn't see each other often.

    Parks won twice in 2014 on the Symetra Tour, and her top-10 finish on the money list for the LPGA's developmental circuit last year earned her membership to play in the "big leagues" in 2015.

    Woods also won last year, in a tournament co-sponsored by the Australia and European women's tours. Her entry into the LPGA Tour for this season, though, came through her 11th-place finish in qualifying school in December.

    "This tour is the highest you can get in women's golf,'' Parks said. "And we're both doing it at the same time. It happened exactly as it should."
  • Maximus Rex
    Maximus Rex Members Posts: 6,354 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited July 2016
    LPGA History Is Upon Us: Sadena Parks And Cheyenne Woods Have Arrived, Pt. III

    espnw_e_powell02jr_B_800x450.jpg&w=800
    Renee Powell began competing on the LPGA Tour in the late 1960s and felt the direct sting of segregation.
    It's been a long road here


    With any issue concerning race, there always will be those who ask why it should matter in 2015. The answer can be complex. Or is can be as simple as this: Children tend to seek role models they look like, or with whom they can especially identify. Girls have had few African-American female professional golfers from whom to draw inspiration.

    History explains a big part of the reason why, painful as it can be to explore that. The so-called "double whammy" of discrimination African-American women faced -- both racism and sexism -- often discouraged all but the most determined among them from playing golf.

    As journalist and author Pete McDaniel chronicled in his book, "Uneven Lies: The Heroic Story of African-Americans in Golf," black women had to be particularly resilient to carve out their place in a game that, at best, didn't welcome them and, at worst, outright excluded them.

    "These golf enthusiasts were not only thwarted by the same forces of racism outside their community that blocked all African-Americans' access to the game," McDaniel wrote, "but also by male chauvinism within it."

    However, just as the ? Leagues developed its own culture, heroes and legacy when African-Americans were banned from Major League Baseball, there were black golfers -- women among them -- who were very accomplished.

    The United Golfers Association (UGA) started in the 1920s to give African-Americans a more welcoming counterpart to other golf organizations. Paris Brown, a longtime UGA tournament director born just after the turn of the century, made contributions so vast that she was considered "the first lady of black golf."

    Ann Gregory, who took up the sport when she was in her 30s, became the first African-American woman to play in a United States Golf Association event, competing in the 1956 U.S. Women's Amateur at age 44.

    Woods sought out Renee Powell, in particular, to learn about her past. Powell started playing on the course her parents, William and Marcella Powell, built in Ohio, a place where she continues to work now at age 68.

    "I'm thankful to have a pretty good relationship with Renee Powell and to hear the stories of what she's gone through," Woods said. "It makes you appreciate where you are."

    Powell, like Althea Gibson, felt the direct sting of segregation when they competed in the 1960s. Sometimes, there were hotels where they couldn't stay and clubhouses where they couldn't change clothes.

    "I ran into everything," Powell said. "You're getting obscene phone calls in the middle of the night. Threatening letters on your life. Going in restaurants and they don't serve you, and hotels 'lose' your reservations.

    "Even though I was playing the same sport and competing each day, I was going through things my peers didn't have to go through."

    But Powell was thankful for the many women on tour, such as Hall of Famer Kathy Whitworth, who stood in solidarity with her. And Powell never considered giving up the sport.

    "No, because I came from a background where my parents were groundbreakers," Powell said. "I saw what others did, too, and they were a huge influence on me. You have to stay the course.

    "We can't put extra weight on Cheyenne and Sadena to succeed, just because they're African-American women that play on tour. But just by them being there, it does a lot."


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    LaRee Sugg had hoped to play until the next African-American came along, but that didn't quite happen.

    Encouraging younger generations


    LaRee Sugg learned the sport from her grandfather, Dr. James C. Nelson, a professor and golf coach at Virginia State University. By the time she was competing as a junior player in the 1980s, she said there were no overt displays of racial discrimination at golf courses. Things were more subtle.

    "Sometimes it was a look you'd get," Sugg said. "Or you'd play in a junior tournament and some people would accept you there for a week. But you knew they wouldn't want you joining the club."

    Still, Sugg said it didn't compare to what older people such as her grandfather had faced.

    "In fact, I faced more discrimination in golf as a female than I did as an African-American," Sugg said. "There were places you couldn't go -- not because you were black, but because you were a woman."

    Sugg, who won an NCAA team title with UCLA in 1991, had hoped by the time she stepped away from the LPGA in 2001, there would be a younger black woman on the tour, or perhaps even more than one.

    "I wanted to be a positive influence and a mentor for whoever would follow me," Sugg said. "I was trying to hang on until the next one came along. But that didn't quite happen."

    Now Sugg, an assistant athletic director at the University of Richmond, is among those cheering for Woods and Parks.
  • Maximus Rex
    Maximus Rex Members Posts: 6,354 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited July 2016
    Houston Rappers Unite to Open Accounts in State’s Only Black Bank, Host Private Meeting with Mayor to Discuss Local Violence

    http://atlantablackstar.com/2016/07/20/houston-rappers-unite-to-open-accounts-in-states-only-black-bank-host-private-meeting-with-mayor-to-discuss-local-violence/

    http://hiphopdx.com/news/id.39694/title.houston-rappers-unite-to-open-accounts-at-black-owned-unity-national-bank

    http://community.allhiphop.com/discussion/548721/killer-mike-houston-rappers-unite-to-open-accounts-at-black-owned-unity-national-bank/p1

    July 20, 2016 | Posted by Ricky Riley

    After rapper Killer Mike urged Black Atlanta residents to put their money in Black banks, earlier this week Houston, Texas based rappers decided to do the same.

    According to Houston’s ABC 13, rappers Slim Thug, Paul Wall, Willie D from the Geto Boys and more met with the mayor of Houston, Sylvester Turner, to create solutions to end police brutality and stop violence in communities.

    “We don’t have all the answers, we might not have any of the answers, but at least we are acknowledging there is a serious problem. We don’t want to wait until there’s riots in the streets,” rapper Paul Wall states.
    Black entertainers from around the nation have become outspoken about the conditions of Black people in wake of the Alton Sterling and Philando Castile shootings by police.

    “It’s not just people in the hood that need to be held accountable for their actions. It’s the people in law enforcement that needs to be held accountable for their actions,” hip-hop artist Willie D of the Geto Boys says in the news report. “It’s very important that people understand when we say Black Lives Matter, we’re not saying that blue lives do not matter.”

    After the meeting, many went to the Unity National Bank to open accounts because it is the only Black-owned bank in the state.
  • Maximus Rex
    Maximus Rex Members Posts: 6,354 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited July 2016
    Teen Pilot From Compton Returns to SoCal After Record-Setting Flight

    http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Teen-Pilot-Compton-Returns-SoCal-Record-Setting-Flight-387428791.html#ixzz4F0E1zM7K

    Isaiah Cooper, 16, is the youngest African American pilot to complete the cross-country flight

    By Staff and Wire Reports


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    A 16-year-old pilot from Compton has become the youngest African American to fly around the continental U.S. Michael Brownlee reports for the NBC4 News at 5 p.m. on Monday, July 18, 2016. (Published Monday, July 18, 2016)

    A teenage pilot from Compton arrived home in Southern California on Monday, capping a flight across the nation in preparation for what he hopes will be a record-setting around-the-world trip.

    Isaiah Cooper, 16, touched down at Compton airport after a roughly two-week flight around the country, becoming the youngest African American pilot to complete the cross-country flight. A flight instructor accompanied him.

    Cooper's 8,000-mile flight was not without difficulty. Bad weather forced him to make a hard landing that heavily damaged his original plane in Wyoming.

    "He was able to execute the emergency procedures flawlessly, got it on the road, landed, didn't damage the houses, the schools, the construction crew, nothing. I mean, he got out of that thing safely," said flight instructor Robin Petgrave.

    But Cooper has a much larger goal. He hopes next year to become the youngest black pilot to fly around the world solo. He will be 18 years old when he takes off on the planned flight. The Guinness World Record is held by Matt Guthmiller of South Dakota, who was 19 when he circumnavigated the globe on his own in 2014, ending his voyage at Gillespie Field in El Cajon.

    On a GoFundMe page, Cooper wrote that he began attending the youth
    aviation program at Tomorrow's Aeronautical Museum in Compton when he was 5, but he dropped out when he began spending time "with the wrong crowd" and doing "seriously self-destructive things."
    He said he hopes his attempt to break a world record will inspire other kids to turn their lives around and work to achieve their goals.

    "There's a higher power that's always there trying to have you focused so whatever you want to do, you can do it. Just put your mind to it," Cooper said.

    City News Service contributed to this report.
  • Maximus Rex
    Maximus Rex Members Posts: 6,354 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Nick Cannon Enrolls at Howard University: 'My First Day as a Freshman!'

    http://www.etonline.com/news/196330_nick_cannon_enrolls_howard_university_class_2020_first_college_degree/

    by Lynda Brendish 4:10 PM PDT, August 23, 2016


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    Photo: Getty Images

    Talk about a full semester. Nick Cannon is already a multi-hyphenate -- actor, singer, television host -- but now you can add student to the list. Yes, the America's Got Talent host is headed to college.

    Cannon, 35, posted a photo of himself next to a Howard University sign on Saturday and revealed that he was attending his first day as a freshman.

    WATCH: Nick Cannon Tells Amber Rose He's Still 'Broken' Over Mariah Carey Divorce

    "YOU KNOW!!!!! #HU2020 My First Day as a Freshman!!! Howard University Class of 2020," the actor wrote on Instagram.

    Cannon confirmed his enrollment in a statement to ET. "Nelson Mandela once said, 'Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world,' and with that said I have officially enrolled at Howard University," it read.

    "I am always seeking new challenges and continual growth and decided to obtain my first college degree from an institution that had a proven legacy of producing great minds. I have friends, mentors and colleagues who attended Howard University," he added. "I have heard about the famed Howard Homecoming since I was a kid growing up in California and knew that Howard would be the perfect place for me to further my education. I look forward to this new journey in my life and am excited about the possibilities ahead."

    President of the Washington, D.C., historically black university, Dr. Wayne A. I. Frederick, said he welcomed the Chi-raq actor to the school. "Howard University is honored to have Nick Cannon as a member of the class of 2020," he said in a statement. "Howard students embrace our motto of Truth and Service as they pursue their life's education through the University's rigorous and dynamic academic and community service programs. We welcome Mr. Cannon."

    Famous alumni of the prestigious university include actors Anthony Anderson, Chadwick Boseman, Ossie Davis, and Taraji P. Henson as well as Sean Combs and author Zora Neale Hurston.

    RELATED: 9 Brainy Celebrities Who Earned Advanced Degrees in College

    Cannon is continuing in his ninth season as host of America's Got Talent and -- at least for now -- it appears he will be splitting his time between hosting duties on the West Coast and classes on the East Coast. In a recent Instagram photo, Cannon referenced the airborne commute: "Turning these Airplanes into School Buses!"




  • Maximus Rex
    Maximus Rex Members Posts: 6,354 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited September 2016
    The Oldest Black-Owned Business in the U.S.

    http://blog.blackbusiness.org/2015/10/oldest-black-owned-business-in-the-united-states.html#.V8itoVsrLIU

    Monday, October 12, 2015


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    The U.S. Department of Commerce recently recognized a Columbus, Ohio business as being the oldest African-American owned business in the United States. This year, they celebrated 134 continuous years in business. Can you guess what company it is?

    The company that received this honor is the E.E. Ward Moving and Storage Company in Columbus, Ohio. The company was founded in 1881 by William S. Ward and his father, John. It was originally called Ward Transfer Line. The company is a recognized leader in the relocation and transportation business.

    How the company started

    Original owner John Ward became very interested in transportation by helping slaves escape to freedom in the 1840's through the Underground Railroad.
    The company first used horses and wagons to perform transportation jobs

    What is so unique about E.E. Ward Moving and Storage Company is that they are not just the oldest, but also the oldest continually operating African American owned business in the United States. This means they have STAYED in business since their beginning in 1881.

    Today, the company does residential moving, office and industrial moving, and corporate relocations. They are also an agent for North American Van Lines.

    Congratulations to E. E. Ward Moving and Storage for your tremendous success!

  • Maximus Rex
    Maximus Rex Members Posts: 6,354 ✭✭✭✭✭
    12-year-old Quantum Physics Boy Genius Said Studying Electromagnetism is ‘Pretty Simple’

    http://urbanintellectuals.com/2016/02/16/12-year-old-quantum-physics-boy-genius-said-studying-electromagnetism-pretty-simple/

    By Forest Parks - February 16, 2016 0 2182

    Back in 2013 at just 11 years old Carson Huey-You was admitted into Texas Christian University to study Quantum Physics. The boy genius who had scored 1770 on his SAT test was the youngest ever admitted to the university and the fact that he is studying Quantum Physics is just mind blowing.

    We reported earlier (read more here) that Huey-You was

    “By the age of 2 he was reading books, started attending high school classes by the age of 5, speaks Mandarin fluently, plays the piano, believed calculus was relaxing and even had his goals set higher for the University level.”

    In 2015, when he was 12 and at his Sophomore year of college tcu360.com revisited the story to see how he was getting along. It turns out, he was doing pretty damn well! They reported Huey-You as saying:

    “For now, I think that all my classes have been pretty simple,”

    And

    “Right now I am in Electromagnetism and Optics,” Huey-You said. “But later on I will have to do quantum physics and that may be challenging in the future.”

    Huey-You-12year.jpg?resize=696%2C364

    And speaking of the school he said:

    TCU has taught me how to be a much better student and at being more organized. It has also taught me to just have a schedule really.”

    Wow, just wow! We would love to know how he is doing now in 2016.
  • Maximus Rex
    Maximus Rex Members Posts: 6,354 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited September 2016
    Sgt. William H. Carney, First Black Recipient of the Medal of Honor

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Harvey_Carney

    William_Harvey_Carney.jpg

    William Harvey Carney (February 29, 1840 – December 9, 1908) was an African American soldier during the American Civil War. In 1900, he was awarded the Medal of Honor for his gallantry during the Battle of Fort Wagner in 1863. Because his actions preceded those of other medal honorees, he is considered to be the first African American to be granted the Medal of Honor.

    William H.Carney was born as a slave in Norfolk, Virginia, on February 29, 1840. How he made his way to freedom is not certain. According to most accounts, he escaped through the Underground Railroad, and joined his father in Massachusetts. Other members of their family were freed by purchase or by the death of their master.

    Carney joined the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry in March 1863 as a Sergeant. He took part in the July 18, 1863, assault on Fort Wagner in Charleston, South Carolina. (The attack on Fort Wagner is depicted in the film Glory.) It was in this attack that Carney's actions ultimately earned him the Medal of Honor. When the color guard was fatally wounded, Carney retrieved the American flag from his comrade and marched forward with it, despite suffering multiple serious wounds. When the Union troops were forced to retreat under fire, Carney struggled back across the battlefield. He eventually made his way back to his own lines and turned over the colors to another survivor of the 54th, modestly saying, "Boys, I only did my duty; the old flag never touched the ground!" Carney received an honorable discharge due to disability (as a result of his wounds) in June 1864.

    His citation reads,

    When the color sergeant was shot down, this soldier grasped the flag, led the way to the parapet, and planted the colors thereon. When the troops fell back he brought off the flag, under a fierce fire in which he was twice severely wounded.


  • Maximus Rex
    Maximus Rex Members Posts: 6,354 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited September 2016
    9-Year Old Entrepreneur Lands Million Dollar Contract with Whole Foods
    http://www.blackentrepreneur.com/9-year-old-entrepreneur-lands-million-dollar-contract-with-whole-foods/


    Bee-Sweet-Lemonade.png

    How did a 9-year old, Mikaila Ulmer of Sugar Land, TX, beat out the conglomerate giants such as Kraft, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Procter & Gamble to land coveted shelf space and a million dollar contract with Whole Foods?

    Her precocious response? “I don’t know? Do they make theirs with love?”

    Her company, Bee Sweet Lemonade, is the beginning of a Lemonade empire in which the idea came from when she was stung by bees when she was just 4 years old — twice in one week.

    “After that I would freak out about the bees — like overreact — and then my parents wanted me to do some research so I would be less afraid. And doing that research I found out how incredibly important pollinators they are, and that they were dying,” Mikaila said. “And I decided to create a product that helped save the bees.”

    She dug up an old lemonade recipe from her great-grandmother’s cookbook, and added honey — her way of calling attention to the plight of honeybees.

    Beekeepers have reported losing 42 percent of their colonies in the past year. That’s the second highest annual loss on record.

    Scientists suspect pesticides may be behind the decline, which could threaten our food supply, since bees pollinate crops.

    “The pesticides either get into their brain and they can’t find their way back to the hive, or they have the pollen with the pesticides and they feed it to the hive and then the whole hive dies,” Mikaila said.

    She and her family started brewing BeeSweet for local events, then bottling it for a pizza shop. Within a few years they had a company on their hands.

    “We donate a portion of the profits we make to organizations that help the bees,” Mikaila said.

    Some kids her age might not want to give any of their money away, but she’s okay with it.

    “It’s solving a problem in this world. That’s what keeps me motivated to do it,” she said.

    Whole Foods Market heard about her efforts to save the bees and is now selling her lemonade in 32 stores across four states.

    “She’s asking questions about logistics, what retail prices should be, or margins. She’s incredibly sharp,” Whole Foods’ Erin Harper said.

    Mikaila’s family helps her run the growing business that is now on track this year to sell nearly 140,000 bottles.

    Even with all this work, Mikaila’s parents try to give her time to be a 10-year-old.

    “Every weekend she does something that she enjoys. It may be rollerblading this weekend, sleepover this weekend. You create a balance because she is working as hard as she is playing,” her mom said.

    Mikaila said BeeSweet will debut two new flavors this summer.

    She said seeing so many people buying and enjoying her lemonade makes her want to grow her business even more. So her work continues, with hopes to create a little more buzz for the bees.

    Visit Mikaila’s site and show support: Bee Sweet Lemonade
  • Maximus Rex
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    Richest African-American Actors – Updated For 2016

    http://gazettereview.com/2016/03/richest-african-american-actors-list/

    Mar 18, 2016

    During the 2016 Academy Awards, not a single African-American actor was nominated for an award in any of the acting categories. This has led many people to assume Hollywood is racist and that they are unfair towards minorities – particularly African-Americans. While it’s true that Hollywood should be more diversified, you can’t help but wonder if there is some actual merit to people’s claims and if so what can we as a nation do to put an end to it? We’re here today to celebrate African-Americans in film in hopes to help spread the word about how being prejudged towards any race is wrong.


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    #10 – Eddie Murphy (Net Worth: $80 Million)

    Funny man Eddie Murphy was born in April in the year 1963. When Murphy was very young his father died in a tragic accident. During this time period his mother was unable to care for both him and his older brother due to illness so Murphy and his brother (Charlie) were sent to foster care. They would spend a little more than a year in foster care and Murphy would later on in life go back and describe his experience in foster care as the single most vital thing to his success as a stand-up comedian. After he and his brother left foster care they would join their mother and future step-father in Roosevelt, NY. During this time is when Murphy would really begin to hone his craft of becoming a comedian. He would often times sit in his room and watch other comedians like Richard Pryor on television and revolve his routines around their performances.

    Murphy would go on to headline Saturday Night Live (SNL) in the early ’80s, bringing the show out of a temporary slump that it had been going through. The show was declining for years but Murphy came along and brought the show back to life with his multiple comedic roles. With the success he received from SNL he was able to start an even more successful film career. He would go on to star in several very popular movies, including: 48 Hrs., Coming to America, Beverly Hills Cop and Trading Places. He also did vocal work for Disney’s Mulan and DreamWorks’ Shrek which would go on to have a few sequels. During the 2006 Golden Globes he was able to snag a Best Supporting Actor award for his performance in the motion picture version of the musical Dreamgirls but unfortunately didn’t win the Oscar.

    The vast wealth that Eddie Murphy has acquired can be attributed to his perfect comedic timing in his roles. These days his films aren’t as successful but when you’ve starred in so many successful films, you’re bound to have a few flops. Although he struggled in his early years, he managed to perceiver and has become one of Hollywood’s go-to comedic actors.


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    #9 – Jamie Foxx (Net Worth: $85 Million)

    Jamie Foxx is without a doubt one of the most influential African-American actors of our time. His birth name is Eric Marlon Bishop and he was born in December of 1967. As a child, he was primarily raised by his grandmother who he attributes as the reason he has become so successful. When he was in the third grade his teacher found him so humorous that if her class behaved she would allow young Foxx to perform jokes in front of the class. This was a way she could reward the class and it’s where Foxx got the hang of being such a well-endowed improv performer. As he continued his education he would end up being involved with musical arts which is where his passion for music began. At a young age he was able to learn piano by ear and went on to continue studying classical music at the United States International University.

    His career would finally break out in 1991 when he would land a role in the sketch comedy show In Living Color. With his success in the show he would be able to star in his own sitcom for five years called The Jamie Foxx Show. After that show ended his film career would start which is where he has been able to earn the majority of his wealth. He played a taxi driver opposite Tom Cruise in the 2004 crime thriller Collateral. Other films include Dreamgirls, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Jarhead, White House Down, The Kingdom, Django Unchained and the film Ray which won him an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role.

    On top of his hugely successful film career, Foxx also releases studio albums on the side. To date he’s released five albums, the most recent being Hollywood: A Story of a Dozen Roses. He’s also been featured in several rap songs alongside legends like Kanye West.


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    #8 – LL Cool J (Net Worth: $100 Million)

    James Todd Smith, also known as LL Cool J (Ladies Love Cool James) was born in 1968 in New York. He is credited as being one of the original Hip-Hop and Rap artists to mainstream that genre of music. By the time James was 9 years old he already knew he wanted to be a rap artist. With the help of his grandfather, who bought him musical equipment, James learned how to freestyle sick ass beats which would later earn him a recording contract with Def Jam Records which at the time was an independent record label. With the success of his musical career on the rise James was able to land a few appearances in television shows until he even starred in his own show in 1995 called In the House which starred James who played an ex-football player who rented part of his house out to a single mother of two children. The success of his show earned James a few roles in films. One of the first being the science fiction thriller Deep Blue Sea which is a movie about genetically enhanced sharks. He has also appeared in several other movies like Deliver Us from Eva, Last Holiday and S.W. A. T.

    Throughout his career as both a successful actor and Hip-Hop artist, James has gone on to release 13 music albums, star in several feature-length films and television shows and has even been able to host the Grammy’s a few times. James himself has won a Grammy before way back in the early ‘90s when his career was just getting started. Although he was primarily interested in music, James has taken a back seat to that career lately to focus on his acting roles. These days he plays a secret agent in the hugely popular NSIC franchise, working alongside Chris O’Donnell.


  • Maximus Rex
    Maximus Rex Members Posts: 6,354 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited September 2016
    The Richest African American Actors, con't

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    7 – Ice Cube (Net Worth: $100 Million)

    O’Shea Jackson who is better known by his stage name Ice Cube was born in June in the year 1969. His career began when he joined up with fellow rappers Dr. Dre and Eazy-E to form the rap group N.W. A. The group would see tremendous success on the West Coast as their genre of music (gangsta rap) was all but un-heard of. Ice Cube would leave the group after three years due to differences between he and the groups’ manager. He alleged the manager shorted him out of cash so Cube would go on to work on his own solo career instead. Cube began writing his own rap lyrics which are often declared as overly violent and brutally honest. He began touring at Lollapalooza which would broaden his fan base and continue making albums.

    After his successful career as a music artist took off, Cube would begin receiving parts to star in film alongside some very prominent Hollywood actors. His debut role would be playing the part of Doughboy in the teen hood movie Boyz n The Hood which went on to see a decent amount of success. He also went on to appear in movies like Torque, Ride Along, 21 Jump Street, Friday and Three Kings, which stars George Clooney and fellow rapper Mark Wahlberg. His most successful roles would be for the movies Barbershop and Are We There Yet? Those two films have gone on to not only receive sequels but with the help of Tyler Perry have gone on to become television sitcoms on the network TBS.

    Outside of his film and music career, Ice Cube endorses Coors Light and even has his own clothing line. He makes stylish hoodies which come equipped with headphones built-in the hood strings. While they’re a bit pricey, they are quite convenient.


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    #6 – Martin Lawrence (Net Worth: $110 Million)

    Martin Lawrence is a comedian who encountered fame in the early ‘90s when he appeared on the show Star Search. He made to the final round but ultimately did not win first place. He got into comedy after being inspired by fellow comedian Eddie Murphy, which I find funny considering Lawrence is now worth more than him. Surprisingly he was born in West Germany to two parents who were at the time serving in the United States military. After his stint on Star Search, Lawrence would land an acting role on the sitcom What’s Happening Now!! The show would soon be cancelled so Lawrence would go on to act in the film Do the Right Thing which ended up being his break out performance. After that movie he would land a deal to host Def Comedy Jam which helped give Lawrence even more mainstream comedy exposure.
  • Maximus Rex
    Maximus Rex Members Posts: 6,354 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited September 2016
    The Richest African American Actors, con't

    Lawrence would then go on to star in his own sitcom called Martin which actually saw tremendously high ratings and would go on to air for five seasons on the network Fox. From this point on, Lawrence was able to start starring in movies and raking in $10 million per role. His most successful movies are the likes of Bad Boys which co-stars Will Smith and Blue Streak which co-stars Luke Wilson. Bad Boys would become so famous in fact, that it would receive a sequel and recently it has been announced that both a third and fourth entry to the franchise is being worked on. Other films include Big Momma’s House, National Security, A Thin Line Between Love and Hate and Black Knight. Coincidentally I watched the movie Black Knight on television earlier today and while it was a box office bomb, it still is a highly entertaining comedy.

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    #5 – Denzel Washington (Net Worth: $140 Million)

    Denzel Washington is one of the most critically acclaimed actors of all time. Born in Mount Vernon, New York, Washington wouldn’t get into acting until he was already studying at Fordham University. When he was younger, Denzel had a tendency to hang with the wrong crowd. Luckily before he got into any serious trouble his parents sent him to Oakland Military Academy which he attributes to “saving his life”. During his time at Fordham University, Denzel had spent some time organizing a talent show for a group of youngsters at a local YMCA. He had so much fun as their creative director that he decided to give acting a shot. The Fall semester would start shortly after the camp ended so Denzel decided to take some acting classes. He went on to join his fellow classmates in the plays Othello and The Emperor Jones. His performances were so well received that he transferred to the American Conservatory Theater in California where he would begin his professional acting career.

    Denzel would go on to become one of Hollywood’s most beloved actors. He was able to land a few small roles for television but nothing too major. It wasn’t until 1982 when he would co-star in a television medical drama called St. Elsewhere that Denzel’s career would see a major break. From there he was able to see even more success and in 1989 he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the movie Glory. Since then he’s been in some of the most well-received movies of the past 20 years, including: Remember the Titans, Malcolm X, Courage Under Fire, Déjà Vu, John Q, Man on Fire, Unstoppable and Training Day which won him an Academy Award for Best Actor back in 2001. Denzel very much considers himself a man of ? and has donated millions of dollars to charitable causes and has publicly stated that if he wasn’t an actor he would be a preacher. The only thing he hasn’t done yet is star in his very own superhero movie. Come on Denzel, when is it going to happen!?


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    #4 – Morgan Freeman (Net Worth: $150 Million)

    If heaven is real and my soul gets transferred there when I die, I am going to be severely disappointed if ? isn’t Morgan Freeman. Born in 1937 in Memphis, Tennessee, Morgan was primarily raised by his grandparents and would enter the acting business at a very young age. When he was 12 he won a statewide drama competition and continued acting all throughout high school. The head of Jackson State University offered him a full scholarship to their school but Morgan turned it down in order to valiantly serve our country and joined the United States Air Force. After four years he would return state side and move to California where he would take up acting and dancing once more. His career primarily became focused on doing theater and he became so involved that he wound up moving to New York to appear in Broadway shows.

    His first on-screen performance technically occurred when he was child, when he was invited to appear on the PBS kids show The Electric Company although he discredits the show as being his break out performance due to how unhappy he was with the people involved. Morgan now considers his first appearance in front of the camera to be the film Street Smart which had Morgan teaming up with Superman himself, Christopher Reeves. The film reviewed well amongst critics and Morgan received a nomination for an Academy Award for Supporting Actor for his performance. Since then he has gone on to star in some of the greatest movies, including Se7en, Deep Impact (where he played the president), The Bucket List, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, The Shawshank Redemption, The Sum of All Fears, Gone Baby Gone and Lucy. He also played Lucius Fox in The Dark Knight trilogy and of course played ? in the film Bruce Almighty and its sequel, Evan Almighty.

    Morgan Freeman has been in a lot of great movies but what he is going to be remembered for is his deep, soothing voice. He has leant his vocal talent to movies like March of the Penguins and other Discovery Channel-related programs. It was also recently announced that you can now change your GPS’ voice to that of Morgan Freeman; although I would advise against it seeing as how his voice is so soothing that you may fall asleep on the wheel!
  • Maximus Rex
    Maximus Rex Members Posts: 6,354 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited September 2016
    The Richest African American Actors, con'd

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    #3 – Samuel L. Jackson (Net Worth: $150 Million)

    Not only is Samuel L. Jackson number 3 on this list, but he is also considered the number 2 most profitable actor of all time, as the total sum of all of his roles combined have reached over a staggering $7 billion. Jackson was born in Washington D.C. in the year 1948. As a child he fell in love with the ocean and its inhabitants and was all set to go to Morehouse College in Georgia to become a marine biologist (great choice!) but as time went on he decided to change majors to theater, after being involved in a local acting group. During his college years he became extremely involved with the Black Power movement. After Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, Jackson took to the streets and began joining protests. Jackson’s mother, who feared for his safety eventually convinced Jackson to pack his things and head out to Los Angeles.

    He would next start to appear in television shows and eventually gravitate towards movies. The first movie Jackson would be involved in was the 1972 independent film Together for Days. Other films in his early career include Do the Right Thing and Goodfellas. Around this time is when Jackson became addicted to heroin and ? . It became very severe and in fact he overdosed multiple times. Luckily he went to rehab and managed to kick the habit. Afterwards he would play a ? addict in the film Jungle Fever:

    “It was a funny kind of thing. By the time I was out of rehab, about a week or so later I was on set and we were ready to start shooting [Jungle Fever].”

    Jackson would go on to appear in other movies like Patriot Games and Jurassic Park. But it wasn’t until 1993 when he played Jules Winnfield in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction that Jackson became a household name. Critics praised his performance in the film and since then he has gone on to choose any role he wants. Some of his most popular roles include: Snakes on a Plane, Star Wars Episodes 1 – 3, Unbreakable, Django Unchained and The Hateful Eight.

    In 2008, Jackson was approached by Marvel Studios where they would get permission to base the Ultimate Universe version of Nick Fury on him. He agreed and went on to play the live version of him during the after credits scene in Iron Man. Since then he has continued playing Nick Fury in several more Marvel films, as he signed a contract to appear in nine total films for the studio.


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    #2 – Will Smith (Net Worth: $240 Million)

    I don’t think there is a single person on the planet who doesn’t know who Will Smith is. This legendary actor was born in 1968 to parents Willard and Caroline Smith. As he grew up, Will and his friend Jeffrey started a duo hip-hop group. Although Will received high SAT scores and easily could have gotten accepted to Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he chose to not attend college and instead focus on his rap group. During the late ‘80s he and Jeffrey would become very successful and go on to win the very first Grammy for the Rap category.

    Will’s success would continue as he went on to star in his own sitcom called The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. It was during this time that Will Smith would become a household name. When the show ended in 1996 he would go on to receive international fame with the start of his film career. He first appeared in the blockbusters Bad Boys and Independence Day. With the success of those movies he was offered the part of Neo in The Matrix but turned it down to instead appear alongside Kevin Kline in Wild Wild West. The movie would be a box office bomb but since then Will has gone on to appear in several other blockbusters, including: Hancock, Men in Black (and its sequels), Shark Tale, Hitch, Ali, I Robot and The Pursuit of Happyness.

    These days, Will is more interested in appearing in films alongside his children: Jaden and Willow Smith. He has appeared alongside them in films like After Earth and I Am Legend. Lately it seems he is also interested in appearing alongside Australian beauty Margot Robbie, as they’ve already shot one movie together called Focus and are working together alongside DC’s anti-hero drama Suicide Squad.


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    #1 – Tyler Perry (Net Worth: $400 Million)

    It should be a surprise to no one that Tyler Perry has topped the charts as the richest African-American actor as not only does he star in movies but he also directs, produces and writes the material for his films. It may seem like Tyler Perry has a great life but it hasn’t always been that way. Born in 1969 to parents Emmitt and Willie-Maxine Perry, Tyler would endure childhood trauma from his father beating him. As a way to cope with the beatings, his loving mother took him to church every week where Tyler would find solace in prayer. His upbringing would inspire him to create strong female characters that are based on his mother and sisters who also had to endure much pain.

    When Tyler was in his 20s he just happened to watch an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show and in that particular episode it dealt with writing and how therapeutic the process of coming up with storylines and characters can be. This inspired Tyler to write his very first play. For the first couple of years the play, which he titled I Know I’ve Been Changed, met with negative reviews. Rather than give up completely he continued to rewrite scenes until finally it started to see some success. Since then, Tyler Perry has gone on to write, direct and perform in some very high grossing films.

    In 2006, Tyler created the Madea character in the movie Madea’s Family Reunion. Since then the Madea franchise has gone on to receive seven sequels, one being an animated movie. Tyler has also created six shows which he occasionally makes appearances in: Tyler Perry’s House of Payne, Meet the Browns, Love Thy Neighbor, The Haves and the Have Nots, For Better or Worse and If Loving You Is Wrong.

    Outside of his own productions he has appeared in some other successful movies, namely: Star Trek (2009), Precious and Alex Cross. His next big-screen appearance will happen later this year alongside Megan Fox and Stephen Amell in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.

    And that’s a wrap up for the list of the richest African-American actors. Going through the list there isn’t really any surprises, as all of these gentlemen have earned their spot in the limelight. Many of these actors have gone on to inspire other people to get into the acting business which is all any great actor can do.
  • Maximus Rex
    Maximus Rex Members Posts: 6,354 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited October 2016
    Black-Owned Craft Beer Company Gets Premium Placement in Wal-Mart
    Celeste Beatty says she expects her Harlem Brewing Co.’s profits to rise more than 20 percent after going into the mega retailer. Plus, she’s all hopped up with plans for 2016.

    http://www.theroot.com/articles/news/2016/02/black_owned_micro_brewing_company_gets_premium_placement_in_wal_mart/
    http://community.allhiphop.com/discussion/542920/black-owned-craft-beer-company-gets-premium-placement-in-wal-mart


    ABH.Headshot.Black_-2-80x80.jpg
    BY: ANGELA BRONNER HELM
    Posted: February 23, 2016


    158b833ddd5ed3184e933df7415b0118.jpg
    The Harlem Brewing Co.’s Celeste Beatty
    HARLEM BREWING CO.


    Harlem has a special place in the American imagination when it comes to culture, art and music. But would you also imagine small-batch beer? Well.

    The Harlem Brewing Co. is a 15-year-old microbrewery founded in its namesake New York community. In March the company will be stocking its wares front and center in 39 Wal-Mart stores across the state.

    “I hope it turns into a Patti-pies situation,” Celeste Beatty, owner of Harlem Brewing, said, laughing, during a phone call with The Root.

    Beatty got onto Wal-Mart’s radar after an exec saw her on an MSNBC segment with Tamron Hall. She says that people were also calling the retailer and asking for the brand—which currently includes Sugar Hill Golden Ale, Harlem Renaissance Wit and Strawberry Hard Cider—by name. With the Wal-Mart deal, Beatty says she expects sales to increase by as much as 20 percent.

    “I didn’t really know that Wal-Mart was really a crafty retail place, but I’ve had a chance to talk to them, and I have noticed, not only with the beer, [that] a lot of their produce and other products come from local markets. So it was encouraging to see that, because … what I hear is so much of their stuff comes from China,” she says.

    Beatty’s yeast-fermented quest began a lifetime ago when she started brewing 5-gallon batches of craft beer around the corner from her Harlem apartment. These days, she is growing her own hops both in her backyard and on a farm in upstate New York. “I’m actually getting pretty deep into it,” she says, noting that after nine years, growing the annuals is like phoning it in.

    The Shaw University grad grew up in Winston-Salem, N.C., and admits that she used to be a “future farmer of America.” Be that as it may, she never imagined that she would be bringing her agricultural roots to Harlem. But in retrospect, it makes perfect sense.

    “It was instinctive to go into this whole craft beer culture. It’s so aligned with so many things I love, like cooking and gardening,” explains Beatty, who says on her website that craft beer is like her mother’s amazing homemade soups (almost).

    In an ad for her first beer, Sugar Hill Golden Ale, Beatty calls out a pantheon of the best and brightest in music—Dizzy, Duke, Lionel, Billie, Herbie, Winton, Tito and Ray, among others—and says “thanks for the recipe.”

    “It connects people around causes that I’m passionate about in communities like Harlem, Detroit and Atlanta,” she says. “They connect around this whole energy of music and history and our own experiences in the Diaspora, which is so much a part of American culture.”

    The New York Post reports that a Wal-Mart spokesperson said that craft beer is a growing category for the retail behemoth, and it is seeking brewers in the U.S. as part of a $250 billion investment over 10 years, supporting American manufacturing jobs.

    “They didn’t ask me to lower the price, which was nice,” Beatty says of Wal-Mart. “That was something I was surprised about, because everyone said I would take a hit. I’m selling to them for the same price I do any other retail.” Harlem Brewing Co. six-packs cost between $10 and $12.

    Beatty says she’s shooting to get floor-display space this year and hopes to move into Wal-Mart stores in other states. Currently, she is on retail shelves in New York, Atlanta, the Carolinas and Detroit.

    The glass is certainly full for 2016. Beatty will be teaching a “Brew U” class at the City College of New York next semester, “The Art of Brewing From Africa to America,” and she recently put in an offer on a space in West Harlem for a production brewery, which will include a tasting room.
  • Maximus Rex
    Maximus Rex Members Posts: 6,354 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited October 2016
    Black History Month: 12 Facts About Jerry Lawson, Creator Of The Video Game Cartridge
    23 February 2015, 5:08 pm EST By Kevin L. Clark Tech Times
    http://www.techtimes.com/articles/34649/20150223/jerry-lawson.htm


    this-day-in-black-tech-history-meet-jerry-lawson.png
    Thank Gerald "Jerry" Anderson Lawson for inventing the first home game console that took interchangeable cartridges. ( Museum Of Play | The Estate Of Jerry Lawson )

    An early computer hobbyist's club in Southern California has some pretty heady history behind it. You'd be hard pressed to match the geek cred of some of its members -- Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, for example -- and Jerry Lawson.

    The late Gerald Anderson Lawson, known as Jerry, along with Ron Jones, were the only two members of color of the Homebrew Computer Club in Silicon Valley.

    The club began in 1975 when hobbyists, most with an electronic engineering or computer programming background, met to talk about the Altair 8800 and to exchange schematics and programming tips.

    The Brooklyn, N.Y.-born electronic engineer, taught himself everything he knew about designing. His impressive creation of the Fairchild Channel F video game console separated him from his contemporaries such as Nolan Bushnell and Ralph Baer.

    The Fairchild Channel F console was released by Fairchild Semiconductor in November 1976 and was the first programmable ROM cartridge-based video game console, as well as the first console to use a microprocessor. Baer wrote the first video game played on a TV set, called Chase, and in 1972 Bushnell helped create the game Pong and later that year started Atari Computers.

    But it was Lawson's main distinction as the inventor of the video game cartridge, something that seems simple now, that set the standard for how video games were played for the next 30 years. The cartridges were sold separately, unlike previous games that were built into the hardware.

    "The whole reason I did games was because people said, 'You can't do it.' I'm one of the guys, if you tell me I can't do something, I'll turn around and do it," said Lawson to San Jose Mercury News reporters.

    As we continue to celebrate Black History Month, we are honored to introduce those who are unfamiliar with Lawson's work and history, and help highlight some significant moments during his career.

    1. Lawson Was A Self-Taught Engineer

    While growing up in the projects of Queens in New York City
    , Lawson got a start on his lifelong tinkering. His love for all things electronic and gadget-y compelled him toward the engineer side of things. As a youth, he operated his own ham radio and as a teenager he made money by repairing his neighbors' television sets.

    2. Lawson Founded And Ran His Own Company

    Videosoft, a video game development company, was created by Lawson, who used it to produce cartridges for the Atari 2600. When the 2600 came out, it effectively made the Channel F obsolete. Unfortunately, the company only released one, which was a technician's tool called Color Bar Generator.

    3. Lawson Was In A Group That Had Steve Jobs As A Member

    The Homebrew Computer Club, an early collective of computer hobbyists, would go on to produce such other legends as Apple founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Lawson and Jones were the only black members, Jones developed a way to reprogram inkjet printers to enable desktop computers to produce silk-screen quality printing, and later came up with the idea for transforming Nintendo's Game Boy into a portable music player in 1999.

    4. Lawson Was Honored By The International Game Developers Association

    On the eve of his eventual passing, in March 2011, Lawson was honored as an industry pioneer by the International Game Developers Association. His accomplishments as an engineer and inventor were appreciated by the IGDA. A month later he passed away from complications of diabetes.

    5. Lawson Produced One Of The Industry's Earliest Arcade Games

    Debuting in a southern California pizzeria only a few months after Allan Alcorn's Pong, Lawson's Demolition Derby marked one of the earliest arcade games in the industry. Lawson would go on to work with the Stanford University mentor program in an attempt to write a book on his career.


    atari-jpg.jpg?w=760
    (Photo : Kreg Steppe | Flickr) Atari 2600 game cartridges.

    6. Lawson Developed A Game Console That Utilized Interchangeable Cartridges

    The Fairchild Channel F, albeit not reaching the heights of popularity likes the Atari, Nintendo and Sega, did have one thing above its competition: an interchangeable game cartridge. Predating the Atari's video computer system by a year, the Channel F released 26 cartridges that ranged from sci-fi (Space War) to cards (Blackjack) to sports (Bowling). Game machines like the Atari and the Magnavox Odyssey (created by the late, great Ralph Baer) all had their games built into the hardware.
  • Maximus Rex
    Maximus Rex Members Posts: 6,354 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited October 2016
    Black History Month: 12 Facts About Jerry Lawson, Creator Of The Video Game Cartridge, con't

    7. Lawson Was The First Major African-American Figure In Video Games

    Few within the growing video games industry could believe that a microprocessor would work independently within a console. Lawson not only innovated the culture, he also diversified it with his impressive invention. The Channel F home gaming console was designed by Mr. Lawson using the Fairchild F8 CPU, which was the first public outing of said processor. The F8 was very complex in relation to the typical integrated circuits of the era, and it had more inputs and outputs than other contemporary chips. Back in that time, chip packaging was not available with enough pins, but the F8 was fabricated as a pair of chips that were used together to form a complete CPU.

    8. Lawson's Parents Encouraged His Growth In Gaming

    His father, a longshoreman, had a strong affinity for all things science. At a young age, Lawson was gifted interesting items like an Irish mail, which is a handcar typically used by railroad workers. His mother was so vested into his education that she made it so that Jerry attended a well-regarded elementary school. She eventually became the president of the PTA.

    9. Lawson Was Inspired By George Washington Carver

    "I had a picture of George Washington Carver on the wall next to my desk,"he told Vintage Computing in an interview. "And she [my first grade teacher] said, 'This could be you.' I mean, I can still remember that picture, still remember where it was."

    10. Lawson's Geek Cred Was Infallible

    From repairing his neighbor's television sets to running an amateur radio station out of his housing project, Lawson taught himself most of what he knew about engineering. He attended Queens College and the City College of New York before taking his talents to places like Grumman Electric and Federal Aircraft. He went from running an antenna out of his window with a radio license to being an influential part of Silicon Valley.

    11. Lawson's Invention Caught The Attention Of The FCC

    Nobody had ever done something like what Lawson was proposing. Interchangeable cartridges was a new concept.With that said, the FCC was interested in how Lawson beat them to the punch in creating his own microprocessor. Every cartridge that Lawson produced (26 to be exact) had to be approved by the FCC.

    12. Lawson Advocated For More African-Americans In STEM

    Standing at 6 feet, 6 inches tall, Lawson was a sight to behold in an industry mostly relegated to nerd culture. According to an interview he did with Vintage Computing, race affected his job prospects "as both a plus and a minus." If he did well, he would receive widespread notoriety. If he failed, it would be marked as an expected disappointment. Through it all, he encouraged other young black men and women to become invested in science and engineering careers.
  • Maximus Rex
    Maximus Rex Members Posts: 6,354 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited October 2016
    The First African-American Piano Manufacturer
    shaddwithpiano_custom-1b161c9f47db6af8e7caa4a6c4763937f11a873a-s400-c85.jpg

    http://www.npr.org/sections/ablogsupreme/2014/05/07/309881323/the-first-african-american-piano-manufacturer
    http://community.allhiphop.com/discussion/525268/black-excellence-the-first-african-american-piano-manufacturer

    May 7, 20144:21 PM ET
    WILLARD JENKINS

    Willard Jenkins May 07, 2014

    At the Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival in February, one couldn't help but notice the striking new grand piano on the main stage, emblazoned with the name SHADD. When the many accomplished pianists that wee­­kend sat down to strike those keys, it was equally easy to spot their delight in the instrument.

    That piano was the product of a trailblazer in his field. The Shadd in question is jazz drummer Warren Shadd, the first African-American piano manufacturer. That makes him the first large-scale commercial African-American instrument manufacturer, period.

    For Shadd, piano making is part of his birthright. His grandparents were musicians: His grandmother was a ragtime pianist in the South in the '30s, and his grandfather invented (and performed on) a collapsible drum set. (He never patented it, a lesson his grandson learned.) Shadd's father was himself a piano technician, restorer, builder and performer — as well as a trombonist. And Shadd's aunt was the NEA Jazz Master pianist and vocalist Shirley Horn. A child prodigy, young Warren made his own concert debut at age 4.

    Shadd Pianos are now in churches and concert venues across the U.S. — including the set of American Idol, where house keyboardist Wayne Linsey will play it on Wednesday night's episode. On a recent visit to Warren Shadd's home in a suburb of Washington, D.C. — a home that doubles as the Shadd Piano showroom — he spoke about his life and work.

    Willard Jenkins: What sparked your original interest in pianos?

    Warren Shadd:
    My father was the exclusive piano technician for the Howard Theatre, so I would go down there with him four times a week and see James Brown, Count Basie, [Duke] Ellington, Pearl Bailey, Peggy Lee, Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers ... rehearsing. I'd see this all day long, every day. From the time I woke up, there were band rehearsals. Shirley Horn rehearsing in my basement with Billy Hart and Marshall Hawkins ... We had pianos everywhere in my house, from the garage to the basement, sometimes even one of the upright pianos sitting in the kitchen, [Laughs.] And musicians would come over to our house after the gig and play all night: Dude Brown, Bernard Sweetney, Steve Novosel, Roberta Flack ...

    My father would have me do little repairs on the piano. When he went on these piano [repair] jobs, he would take me with him to see what the whole thing was about ... and I would never want to go. I just wanted to stay home and play the drums; just wanted to be Warren Shadd the drummer. Except when he said he was going to the Howard Theatre — I was in the car before he got there! I wanted to see all these cats rehearse, see the show ... I met Grady Tate when I was about 6 years old, playing with Jimmy Smith, then went full circle and played with Jimmy Smith myself.


    13yearoldshadd_custom-a2b9471810cdc16fd6ab603fbc75c2d38bf53841-s400-c85.jpg

    As I progressed and learned more about piano technology, I never aspired to; I just knew how to do it. I would say, 'Piano is what I know, drums is who I am.' As I went out there and toured with different acts, did a bunch of Broadway shows and got a little tired of the road, I learned how to tune, rebuild and restore pianos. I would take these pianos down to the nuts and bolts and build them back up just for fun, just for a hobby. I would take whole grand or upright pianos apart, build them back up with everything refinished — new strings, new soundboard, new keys, new ivories — for fun. And then my father would sell the piano. [Laughs.] I was about 12, 13 when I started doing this.

    The record player was always going, from Sonny Stitt's Low Flame album, to Count Basie, to Buddy Rich, to Miles, to Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, the James Gang, Iron Butterfly — I had a real potpourri and understanding of all genres of music. While I was doing this piano thing just for the heck of it, I was also performing with a bunch of folks. After I got through high school, I went to Howard University and was in the big band with Wallace Roney, Geri Allen, Gary Thomas, Noble Jolley Sr., Carroll Dashiell and Paul Carr.

    When my father passed in 1993, I took over the piano business full tilt, because he had all of these clients for tuning, rebuilding and restoring. He pretty much had Washington, D.C., totally sewn up with all the church pianos. So when I took it over, I already had a client base — it wasn't like I had to start over fresh. We had all these contracts with churches. Coming in as the second generation of this business was phenomenal for me. Secure from being a musician on tour, it was a built-in job.

    As the industry changed a bit, I found that rebuilding pianos was not so much what I really wanted to do financially. I would take these pianos and beautifully restore them ... and somebody would say 'OK, I'll give you $600 for it...' [Laughs.] I'm like, 'Dude, even the new strings I put on this cost four times that much!' So I kind of migrated out of that restoration business into doing tunings and repair work.

    I would also exchange parts. I'd take a soundboard out of a Steinway and put it in a Baldwin to see what kind of reaction it would give, understanding the engineering, understanding which side vibrates the most. I'd exchange strings, put on heavier strings, lighter strings, to achieve a certain type of sound. Being a musician, I have an advantage of understanding what musicians want and what they want to hear. If I can compare here — Mr. Steinway doesn't play piano, Yamaha no, Kawai no, Bosendorfer no, Fazioli a little bit ... They are engineers and businessmen; I'm a musician and an engineer and businessman. I have somewhat of a musical advantage. What I'm crafting is a musical instrument and all those different components that go into that, especially the musical parts.
  • Maximus Rex
    Maximus Rex Members Posts: 6,354 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited October 2016
    The First Black Piano Manufacturer, con't

    At what point did you decide to actually manufacture pianos?


    From churches and especially symphonic tunings, you understood that the piano had a disadvantage in terms of the pianists especially being able to hear themselves play, because in church you're in total competition with the Hammond B-3 ? or the pipe ? , the drums, the bass, the percussion, the choir and the congregation. They would put microphones in the piano, but they weren't placed right to give you the most opulent sound of the piano. You would have to totally jack up that sound for the pianist to feel really comfortable. In the symphony, there'd be a floor monitor, but you're totally surrounded by all these string instruments and you're still at a disadvantage ... and you just play the part.

    My first notion was enhancing the volume of the acoustic piano by itself, without any kind of electronics. Even if you add electronics, you'll have more sound, because the origin of the piano will have more sound, more volume to it without distorting it — which is important, too. There's a piano on the market that is somewhat loud, but as you play it louder, it has distortion. The soundboard is not made so well that it can take that kind of pounding. My pianos: You can stand on them and you will not get any kind of distortion.

    I studied and researched in the library and wrote a dissertation. I went back to some of those old pianos I restored, and I would experiment with the soundboard. I wrote this stuff on sheets of notebook paper and just put it away, didn't really think that much about it. One day, I was tuning a piano at this old man Mr. Tucker's house. As I'm tuning his old upright piano, he started whimpering. I said 'Mr. Tucker, what's going on?' He said, 'It's all right, Shadd, it's all right.' So I go on tuning the piano, then he really starts crying a lot. 'What's wrong, Mr. Tucker?' He said, 'Shadd, see that piano? See that name on the front of it? That should say Shadd, because you're the only one!' I said, 'OK, Mr. Tucker, I've got these ideas, I'm gonna go back and study.' He pretty much planted the seed.

    I went back and blew the dust off of these old ideas that had been sitting in a cabinet, and I started trying to engage some of these parts and put some of these old ideas I had together. And then I said, 'Why not try to do some of this stuff electronically?' So I built this prototype piano. It took me two summers and there it is [pointing to a high-tech grand piano in the adjoining room]. I put an audio system in the piano where speakers are right in front of the piano, so the sound would come right to the pianist and the pianist can hear themselves play. And I put speakers under the piano and a subwoofer so you can get the full gamut of the piano and control the volume and graphic equalize each section of the piano — bass, alto, tenor and treble — so you could go to each section of the piano and customize it just like that. I went another step and made it MIDI, so you could play all of your electronic synthesizer sounds on the piano.
  • Maximus Rex
    Maximus Rex Members Posts: 6,354 ✭✭✭✭✭
    The First Black Piano Manufacturer, fin.

    For educational purposes, I made this piano interactive. I put a computer under the piano and I built this 24" touchscreen on the front and a 13" screen on the left and encompassed video cams throughout the piano. So on the other side, interactively, your piano teacher can see you, you can see your piano teacher, they can see our face, torso, left hand, right hand, pedal movement, and teach intelligently anywhere in the world ... distance learning right there at the piano.

    From that point, you can also have your band on the other screen, so you can even cut tracks with your band live and in real time. You can teach and you can score on your touchscreen as you're watching that, so it's like a total workshop right in front of the piano. Now you can compete in a church environment, in a symphonic environment, because now you have the volume right in your face. But even taking it to another level ... I have a [piano] bench that has surround sound; it has a subwoofer in it. So now, you don't only just hear the music; you feel the music, so that every little nuance that you play on the piano down to the triple pianissimo ... you feel everything that you're playing.

    From there, I said, 'Let me go back to the acoustic piano and see how I can apply some of that stuff to these new pianos.' So I incorporated a lot of the soundboard technology that I invented — and I have patents on all of this technology, unlike my grandfather with the collapsible drum set. I assembled an A team of piano manufacturers around the world and sort of cherry-picked the best of the best. I said I want you to make this ... in accordance to my patents and designs.

    My first piano, I sold to the Setai Hotel in New York, now called the Langham Place Hotel, and they play jazz there on this piano — seven days a week. I was trying to get a particular piano company to build my pianos. When I called, they said, 'We'll build your pianos if you bring us 1,000 signatures of people who would buy your pianos.' A friend of mine suggested going to the Gospel Workshop of America, the big convention of all the ministers of music and trustees. It happens annually, and I'm thinking at that time all I had was paperwork: I had a provisional patent, but no prototype piano.

    How am I going to go there without a piano?

    Hammond ? , Yamaha are going to be there, and they're going to have instruments. So I'm just going to be there selling a piano without a piano? I had these big posters made to put on easels and put all this stuff into an SUV and traveled up to Detroit. I bought a corner booth because people were going to be coming to you on both sides as opposed to being in the middle of a straight line in the exhibit hall. I had these banners made that said, 'First African-American piano manufacturer.' I made a video of all the proposed technology. But I still didn't have a piano. [Laughs.]

    I've got a lot of family in Detroit, so I got a couple cousins with clipboards to stand outside of my booth to get these signatures — the name of their church, their minister of music's name, what kind of piano they had in their church, how many pianos would they replace if they were able, and how many would they replace with the Shadd Piano based on the technology you see [in his booth presentation]? I ended up with 864 signatures in four days. I got the rest of them from DC Public Schools.

    I had six people across and three deep the whole time. I had no idea there was going to be this much interest. This little church lady with a pillbox hat points up to the poster and says, "You mean, we've got a piano!" When she said that, it was like the whole place stopped — it went silent to me, I did not hear a word. At that moment, I knew that this wasn't about me; this was much bigger than me. I'm thinking I'm a conduit, being the first African-American piano manufacturer, and some would say the first African-American musical instrument maker — we don't make trumpets, trombones, tubas...


    shaddcsands-46ee27e846833cbaf2ce142f4f4de08db3293fb7-s400-c85.jpg

    What's been the reaction of the players to your piano?

    It was kind of tough initially to get cats to come out here and play the piano. One cat — after he came out and played the piano and was overwhelmed — said 'You know, I've got to apologize. I didn't come out at first because I didn't want to be disappointed!

    How are you going about connecting with piano players?

    One player at a time. I call folks, they come over, they play the piano, and they're wowed. Barry Harris was here three weeks ago and he's brought some attention to some other folks about this piano. Church musicians are in here all the time now. I do know there's a responsibility with this, to make the best piano — not one of the best — the best piano, period, in the world, and that's what I believe I've done. As a people, we can't be parallel; we've got to be three times as good. I'm a perfectionist, so every nuance that goes into this piano has to be the very best.
  • Maximus Rex
    Maximus Rex Members Posts: 6,354 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited October 2016
    FUTURE DOCTOR WHO WAS HOMESCHOOLED TRIPLE MAJORS AT MOREHOUSE

    http://blackdoctor.org/466583/future-doctor-who-was-homeschooled-triple-majors-at-morehouse/
    http://community.allhiphop.com/discussion/537265/good-news-for-the-day-black-17yo-graduates-morehouse-with-triple-major

    stephen-stafford-1.jpg?resize=1024%2C821

    In the Unites States the statistics for black males who are of school age are not that good to say the least:

    • Black males are twice as likely to be held back in elementary school as white males
    • Black males are three times as likely to be suspended from school
    • Only 50% of Black Males are likely to graduate from college.
    • But Stephen R. Stafford II has a very different statistics.

    Stafford, who is from Lithonia, Georgia, started his education playing school with his older sister when he was only two years old. Now 17, he is set to graduate college with a triple major and could complete medical school by the time he turns 22.

    Stafford’s mother was not about to take that chance and home-schooled him. By the time he was 11, his mother found that he was too smart for her to teach, even though she was quite intelligent. She had him audit Algebra II at Morehouse College in Atlanta. The next year he aced pre-calculus and Morehouse College allowed him to officially enroll.


    mh-1.png?w=370

    Though he will graduate this year with a triple major in pre-med, mathematics and computer science, he doesn’t see it as anything special. Even though he was named one of the “50 Smartest Teenagers” in the country.

    “I look back and see all the stuff I’ve done. I know, yes, I’ve done a lot,” Stafford says. “But I can do a whole lot more. I want to live up to my potential. Potential doesn’t have a limit. It’s like a rainbow. You can constantly keep chasing it and you will never get to it. And I know I don’t have any limits as long as I keep trying.”

    In 2010, he was quoted as saying, “I didn’t know what the big deal was about…I just knew it was the next step in my education–and I’m gonna do what my mother tells me to do.”

    After graduation, Stafford will attend Morehouse’s School of Medicine and one day specialize in obstetrics and fertility. The classically trained pianist says, “I’m just like any other kid. I just learn very, very quickly.”

    “I plan to go to the Morehouse School of Medicine, focus in obstetrics, specialize in infertility, and graduate when I’m 22. I want to help babies come into the world. I’d also like to develop my own computer operating system. At one point, I will live outside of the country for a few years. And when I come back, I am thinking about moving into the city. I just love the idea of the city, like downtown Atlanta. I went there for the first time the other week. We went to this building and it had a radio station. I was on two radio shows in the same building. And I just loved downtown.”


    stephenii-1.jpg?w=500
    Stephen R. Stafford as a 13 yr. old Sophomore at Morehouse College. He was photographed at Morehouse.

    8-Year Old Girl Becomes Youngest Person Ever to Receive a Scholarship to University of North Texas
    http://www.blacknews.com/news/8-year-old-girl-jordin-phipps-youngest-person-receive-scholarship-university-north-texas/#.V__Q-tIrLIU

    http://community.allhiphop.com/discussion/551939/8-year-old-girl-becomes-youngest-person-ever-to-receive-a-scholarship-to-university-of-north-texas


    jordan_phipps_8_year_old_scholarship_texas_university.jpg

    Garland, TX — The University of North Texas recently presented a $10,000 scholarship to an 8-year-old girl named Jordin Phipps after her adorable video went viral on social media. In the video, Jordin is seen wearing a University of North Texas t-shirt while she is reciting a motivational mantra that she learned at her local elementary school.

    In her mantra, she says, “I will start my day in a positive way! I will be respectful with the words that I say. I will pay attention and I will do my best and I will study hard for every test!”
    Phipps’ mother, Nichole Smith, shared the video clip on the university’s Facebook page, and it caught the attention of the school’s president, Neal Smatresk. Smatresk was so impressed that he decided to honor the 3rd-grader by giving her the President’s Award for Excellence in Leadership, and a $10,000 scholarship. He also guaranteed her admission to the college’s class of 2030, making her the youngest person in history to be accepted to the university.

    Representatives from the university surprised Jordin during a recent assembly at her elementary school. After making the announcement, she was presented with a giant check, and cheerleaders from the college performed and took pictures with her.

    Jordin says she doesn’t know yet, but she may want to major in engineering.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shwpmCZjfEA
    
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fh2kaJwkrJ8
    
    Genius Black Family (Bush): 18 year-olds with Masters Degrees and Counting
    http://community.allhiphop.com/discussion/549855/black-excellence-the-bush-family
  • SimplyKrys
    SimplyKrys Members Posts: 763 ✭✭✭✭
    Props to all these young AA's get accepted into college. B)
  • Maximus Rex
    Maximus Rex Members Posts: 6,354 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited October 2016
    Gavin Long: Who is Baton Rouge: Cop Killer?

    http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/18/us/who-is-gavin-long/


    150428160301-joshua-berlinger-profile-small-11.jpg

    By Joshua Berlinger, CNN
    Updated 6:56 AM ET, Thu August 4, 2016

    (CNN)Gavin Long shot six cops, killing three of them, on his 29th birthday.

    Investigators trying to figure out why a former Marine sergeant would eventually ? police in broad daylight will likely look to the writings and online footprint of Cosmo Setepenra, the name Long legally changed his name to.
    Setepenra wrote books about "esoteric health and nutritional practices" and "how to develop your higher-self."

    And in one video online he claims that victims of bullying need to resort to brute force: "100% have been successful through fighting back. Through bloodshed. Zero have been successful just over simply protesting. It has never worked, and it never will."

    Here's what we know about Long's background and the views and opinions he espoused under the Setepenra pseudonym.

    Long's time in Dallas

    In a video posted on YouTube July 10, Long, who was African-American, speaks at the camera eloquently about recent protests and officer-involved shootings, often employing the motifs of blood and money and revolution.

    He cites figures ranging from Nat Turner to Malcolm X and George Washington.
    That video, he says, was recorded from Dallas, where five police officers were recently killed by a sniper targeting cops.

    When police are shot, America is the target

    Long mentions the July Fourth holiday as a celebration of an uprising against oppressive forces, and without mentioning Micah Xavier Johnson -- the Dallas shooter -- by name, he questions why some violent actions are perceived as criminal while others are celebrated.
    A video posted two days earlier is a bit more cryptic, but makes more sense in the aftermath of his shooting rampage.

    "I just wanted to let y'all know, don't affiliate me with nothing," he says. He says he wanted people to know that his actions were his alone.

    He then goes on to list organizations that he says he has no affiliation with -- including the Nation of Islam, Floyd Mayweather's The Money Team (he's wearing their hat) and terror groups like ISIS.
    "I thought my own stuff; I made my own decisions; I'm the one who gotta listen to the judgment," Long added.


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4L5I13Nai_U
    

    Those who knew him

    Carl Woodley, Long's stepfather, said he was in "total shock" about the Baton Rouge shootings. He said he was sorry about what happened to the officers and about losing his stepson.

    Woodley said Long was about 7 when they met and he remembered Long as a good, quiet and intelligent boy. "I never had ... problems with him," he added. "He wasn't my biological son, but he was a son to me. ... We were real close."

    As an adult, Long, who was once overweight, often offered his stepfather nutritional advice. Woodley said he last spoke to Long in May, when his stepson gave him a book on nutrition, ordered vitamins for him online and Recommended a cleanse.

    Long never talked to him about anger toward the police or the way they treated blacks, said Woodley, who added that he did not follow his stepson on social media. Woodley said he never saw Long with a weapon. Woodley was with Long when the young man enrolled in the U.S. Marines in 2005. When Long was discharged in 2010, the military veteran was "more like a loner, stayed to himself," Woodley said.

    Long's stepsister, Brittany Woodley, on Facebook recalled fond memories of times when he babysat her. "He never was mean," she told CNN, adding that her recent contact with Long came on Facebook. "He was always kind, always humble. He was outspoken. Just a very good person." Cousin Kendall Fryer said via Facebook that Long "is nothing like he is portrayed to be" since the shootings, but declined further comment out of respect for the family. "Lord knows we wanna say something," Fryer said.

    The Washitaw Nation

    After he was killed, investigators found a card on Long's body suggesting he was a member of the Washitaw Nation, according to two law enforcement officials. The Southern Poverty Law Center describes the Washitaw Nation "as a sovereign tribe descended from pre-Columbian blacks who settled in North America." Long legally changed his name to Cosmo Ausar Setepenra in May 2015, claiming that he was "seeking to correct" his name, because he was part of the indigenous society, United Washitaw De Dugdahmoundvah Mu'er nation.

    The group is one of many fringe groups to which the gunman may have belonged. Long followed several conspiracy groups devoted to government surveillance and monitoring. An email address linked to him showed that he was a member of a support group in an organization called Freedom from Covert Harassment and Surveillance.

    Obama on Baton Rouge: We need to 'temper our words and open our hearts'The group's mission is to help those "marginalized and abused by ... remote brain experimentation, remote neural monitoring of an entire human's body."
    On that site he's identified as a "Buddy" representing other "targets" of government surveillance.

    The FBI is vetting the claim Long made on YouTube that he was a member of the Nation of Islam. An official said the belief is that Long identified as being associated with the black separatist movement in some capacity but there is no indication he was directed by it. The law enforcement official said the FBI has no indication any black separatist or other domestic terrorist groups are supporting or sending people to ? police officers.

    Marine service

    Long joined the Marines in 2005 and worked as a data network specialist, according to the U.S. military.
    He was deployed to Iraq and spent time in California and Japan before being discharged at the rank of sergeant in 2010.He received a handful of awards, including the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal.

    The shooting

    Two law enforcement sources told CNN that Long rented a car in Kansas City after the Dallas shootings and drove it to Baton Rouge. Since one of his YouTube videos was posted from Dallas on July 10, it's likely he made the trip to Baton Rouge from Dallas. He was not alone during his stay in Baton Rouge, a law enforcement source told CNN. But, it's unclear if his associates were actively involved in any plot.

    The shooting began Sunday when police received a call of a "suspicious person walking down Airline Highway with an assault rifle," a source with knowledge of the investigation told CNN. When police arrived, they were ambushed. Long was wielding an AR-15 style semi-automatic rifle, law enforcement sources told CNN.

    "There was no talking, just shooting," Baton Rouge police Cpl. L.J. McKneely said. Police officers who responded to Sunday's shootings killed Long in a minutes-long gunbattle. "He wasn't robbing a bank," an official told CNN. "He was armed to shoot it out with police."

    Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly described Long's comments about the Nation of Islam and Floyd Mayweather's The Money Team. Long said he had no affiliation with the groups. Mayweather's representative said he has no association with anyone who would advocate harm to law enforcement officers.