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‘Black Panther’ Becomes 1st Film to Premiere in Saudi Arabia Since 35-Year Cinema Ban

By goodblacknews on April 5, 2018
'Black Panther' Seoul Premiere - Red Carpet
CREDIT: Getty Images
by Camille Augustin via vibe.com
The cultural impact of Black Panther has continued to increase in magnitude since its Feb. 16 release. Shattering records with each tick of the clock, the Marvel film gained historic steam with praise from moviegoers and positive reviews. Now, while the superhero reel plans to surpass the Titanic, it aims to break yet another record, this time in Saudi Arabia.
According to Variety, Black Panther will premiere on April 18 in the Middle Eastern country, dissolving its 35-year ban on movie theaters. The debut will be accompanied by a gala and take place in the newly-constructed AMC theater, based in Riyadh.
A plan to cease the cinema ban occurred in Dec. 2017, CNN reports. The Saudi Ministry of Culture gave AMC the green light to begin rolling out 30 theaters across the country, possibly projecting a $1 billion revenue stream for Saudi Arabia’s economy.
The billion-dollar movie currently holds the title as the highest-grossing superhero motion picture. Upon its release, director Ryan Coogler wrote an open letter thanking fans for their insurmountable support. “For the people who bought out theaters, who posted on social about how lit the film would be, bragged about our awesome cast, picked out outfits to wear, and who stood in line in theaters all over the world,” he wrote, “all before even seeing the film.”
Source: https://www.vibe.com/2018/04/black-panther-becomes-first-film-to-premiere-in-saudi-arabia-since-35-year-movie-theater-ban/

March in Memphis to Honor Martin Luther King Jr. on 50th Anniversary of his Death

By goodblacknews on April 4, 2018

People hold signs resembling the signs carried by striking sanitation workers in 1968 as they join in events commemorating the 50th anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. (photo via eurweb.com)

by Errin Haines Whack, Adrian Sainz & Kate Brumback, Associated Press via blackamericaweb.com
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The daughter of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. remembered him as “the apostle of nonviolence” as admirers marked the 50th anniversary of his assassination Wednesday with marches, speeches and quiet reflection.
The Rev. Bernice A. King recalled her father as a civil rights leader and great orator whose message of peaceful protest was still vital decades later. “We decided to start this day remembering the apostle of nonviolence,” she said during a ceremony to award the Martin Luther King Jr. Nonviolent Peace Prize held at the King Center in Atlanta.
In Memphis, where King died, hundreds of people bundled in hats and coats gathered early in for a march led by the same sanitation workers union whose low pay King had come to protest when he was shot.
Dixie Spencer, president of the Bolivar Hardeman County, Tennessee, branch of the NAACP, said remembrances of King’s death should be a call to action. “We know what he worked hard for, we know what he died for, so we just want to keep the dream going,” Spencer said. “We just want to make sure that we don’t lose the gains that we have made.”
The Memphis events were scheduled to feature King’s contemporaries, including the Rev. Jesse Jackson, the Rev. Al Sharpton and U.S. Rep. John Lewis, along with celebrities such as the rapper Common. In the evening, the Atlanta events culminate with a bell-ringing and wreath-laying at his crypt to mark the moment when he was gunned down on the balcony of the old Lorraine Motel on April 4, 1968. He was 39.
Wednesday’s events followed a rousing celebration the night before of King’s “I’ve Been To the Mountaintop” speech at Memphis’ Mason Temple Church of God in Christ. He delivered this speech the night before he was assassinated.

Inside the church, Bernice King called her older brother, Martin Luther King III, to join her in the pulpit, and she discussed the difficulty of publicly mourning their father — a man hated during his lifetime, now beloved around the world.
“It’s important to see two of the children who lost their daddy 50 years ago to an assassin’s bullet,” said Bernice King, now 55. “But we kept going. Keep all of us in prayer as we continue the grieving process for a parent that we’ve had yet to bury.”
A gospel singer led a rousing rendition of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” and the gathering took on the air of a mass meeting.
Lee Saunders, a national labor leader, recounted how on that night in 1968, King made an unplanned appearance to deliver the famous speech without notes after his aides saw how passionate the crowd was: “There was one man they wanted to hear from.”
But Saunders stressed that the purpose of the week’s commemorations was not just to look to the past.
“Dr. King’s work — our work — isn’t done. We must still struggle; we must still sacrifice. We must still educate and organize and mobilize. That’s why we’re here in Memphis. Not just to honor our history, but to seize our future,” he said.
Some of the sanitation workers who participated with King in a 1968 strike sat in the front row and were treated like celebrities, with audience members stopping to take photos with them before the event started.
To read more: https://blackamericaweb.com/2018/04/04/many-march-in-honor-of-martin-luther-king-jr-s-death/

Matt Barnes Launches Scholarship Fund For Stephon Clark’s Sons

By goodblacknews on April 3, 2018
Matt Barnes (image via huffingtonpost.com)

by Jenna Amatulli via huffingtonpost.com
Ex-NBA player Matt Barnes announced that he will be launching a scholarship fund for Stephon Clark’s two sons to ensure that they can afford to go to college.
Barnes, whose lengthy basketball career included stints with the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors, made an impassioned speech at a rally in Sacramento on Saturday while holding one of Clark’s children. He spoke about the fraught relationship between police officers and black America, and the need for reform.
“We fear what we don’t know. We don’t know these cops, so we fear them. They don’t know us, so they fear us,” Barnes said. “When you get out and know someone on a first-name basis, when you are called to the situation, next time you may be able to defuse the situation.”
Clark, 22, was killed on March 18 when Sacramento police officers shot him eight times in his grandparents’ backyard. The two officers, responding to reports of car break-ins in the neighborhood, said they believed Clark to be armed, though he was found with only his cellphone in hand.
Since Clark’s death, protests have roiled Sacramento and led to yet another uprising by a community imploring the government to do more in investigating deadly police shootings and prevent them.
Saturday’s march was organized by the Sacramento Black Lives Matter chapter. Barnes was involved in the rally because he heard of Clark’s death from one of his two 9-year-old sons. The child apparently asked his father if police were “bad” for what they did to Clark.

“I had to pause for a second because the emotion of me wanted to say yes, but at the same time cops aren’t bad, one cop doesn’t make every one bad,” Barnes said.

“But one black man doesn’t make everybody guilty. It’s more than color. It comes down to wrong and right.”
Barnes said of his sones, “I fear for them. I fear for the streets and now I’ve got to fear for the cops. How do we explain to our kids that because of the color of your skin people aren’t going to like you? That’s not fair, but that’s what we have to explain to our kids every day.”
He added: “This isn’t a Sacramento problem, this is a nationwide problem.”
Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/matt-barnes-launches-scholarship-fund-for-stephon-clarks-sons_us_5ac23676e4b0a47437ac86ea

Spotify to Host Sound Up Bootcamp for Aspiring Female Broadcasters of Color

By goodblacknews on April 2, 2018
(Image: Shutterstock)
by Sequoia Blodgett via blackenterprise.com
With successful podcasts going mainstream like 2 Dope Queens, a show that was recently picked up by HBO, Spotify sees a clear market opportunity when it comes to this new space for content creation. Even with the success of the show, a recent study showed that only 22% of podcasts are hosted by women, and the number’s even smaller when it comes to women of color. Spotify wants to change that.
The company is hosting Sound Up Bootcamp, a weeklong intensive program for aspiring female podcasters of color. The event will take place June 25–29, 2018, at Spotify’s New York City offices and Spotify is hand-selecting 10 attendees who will learn about the art of podcast creation, from initial ideation to editing, producing, and marketing from experts in the field.
Spotify is covering all expenses from the five-day workshop, which will include panels, and activities around podcasting, led by experts and professionals. Travel to New York City, six nights of hotel, and breakfast and lunch each day are all included.
According to a recent release, attendees will have the chance to pitch their podcast ideas to a panel of experts and professionals on the final day and the top three pitches will have the pilot process funded, up to $10,000. All expenses for the week will be paid by Spotify.

Training for the week will be led by radio and podcast veterans Rekha Murthy and Graham Griffith. According to Spotify, the two hold combined experience of decades working with the industry’s top shows in both radio and podcasting. They want to help discover new voices, and aid podcasters in reaching new, large, and loyal fan bases.

Spotify is specifically targeting anyone who self-identifies as a woman of color, is passionate about podcasting, and has a great idea. They do not require prior experience, in fact, they are leaning toward first-time and amateur podcasters. “We’re looking for the best ideas,” they said in a statement. Attendees are required to participate in all five full days of programming, as well as after-hours events on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, including mixers and dinners.

All applications are due by 11:59 p.m. EST on April 10, 2018.

The post Spotify is Looking for New Female Podcasters of Color appeared first on Black Enterprise.

GBN Wishes You and Yours a Very Happy Easter!

By goodblacknews on April 1, 2018


Enjoy the day with friends, loved ones and/or in reflection!
Love and Peace,
The Good Black News Staff

Malachi Jones, 17, Wins Prestigious $10,000 Scholastic Art & Writing Award for 2018

By goodblacknews on March 31, 2018
Teen Wins Prestigious Writing Award That Stephen King, Capote, and Other Famous Writers Won
Malachi Jones (Charleston County School of the Arts Middle & High School)

by  via blackenterprise.com

Malachi Jones, the 17-year-old wunderkind who is heading to Columbia University this fall, has been awarded a Gold Medal Portfolio, the highest honor of the 2018 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards presented by the nonprofit Alliance for Young Artists & Writers.
The high school senior, who attends the Charleston County School of the Arts in Charleston, South Carolina, says he greeted the news, which he received by phone, with a “loud silence.”
“I felt like a siren was going off inside my head, but I was speechless,” Malachi is quoted as saying in a Charleston Chronicle article. “I had been submitting work to Scholastic since 7th grade, so it is insane to me to think an audience outside my family and peers wants to read and appreciate my work.”
The honor includes a scholarship of $10,000.
Malachi has joined a prestigious group of former youth winners, now all household names, including Truman Capote, Sylvia Plath, Joyce Carol Oates, and Stephen King, according to the Post and Courier website.
None of them, however, have grappled in their writing with the constraints of race in the arresting way Malachi has. According to the Post and Courier, Malachi has rejected the trope of the stereotypical black man and instead chosen to forge his own way of being black in the world.
The article states, “Jones’s award-winning work—a collection of lyric essays and free-verse poems—revolves around his experience as a black teenager struggling with and finally coming to terms with his identity.
“In a poem titled ‘Pantoum for my Mother,’ Jones writes, ‘Stripped of my blackness, / uprooted by judgement. / I was never dark enough for you / or for the ones who called me whitewashed.’
“It’s about the questions and judgment he endures from both his white and black peers for not fitting the stereotypical ‘formula of a black male.’”
According to the Poetry Foundation, a pantoum is a Malaysian verse form.
To read more: http://www.blackenterprise.com/17-year-old-wins-prestigious-writing-honor-10k-scholarship/

Sacramento Kings Teaming Up with BLM and Local Group in Response to Stephon Clark Tragedy

By goodblacknews on March 30, 2018
(photo via washingtonexaminer.com)

by Jazzi Johnson via thegrio.com

A week after pledging to be a vocal player in awareness efforts surrounding the police shooting death of Stephon Clark, the Sacramento Kings announced they are teaming upwith Black Lives Matter and local activist organization Build. Black. Coalition to respond to activist demand for support for the community and the grass roots.
The new initiative aims “to support the education of young people and to provide the workforce preparation and economic development efforts” according to a statement from the Kings. The multi-year project is intended at spurring “deep investment” into the Sacramento community, beginning with an education fund for Clark’s children.
Sacramento mayor Darrell Steinberg praised the team’s efforts in a statement: “It is clear to me and I know the Kings that there remains a huge gulf between the exciting Sacramento renaissance and the daily struggles experienced by so many in our communities, especially communities of color.
“The Kings actions are a real step towards addressing those underlying issues and connecting the excitement and vitality in downtown to our neighborhoods, which is exactly what motivated me to run for mayor,” Steinberg said.
The Kings will also co-sponsor a forum to hear community voices on the shooting incident Friday night called “Kings and Queens Rise: A Youth Voice Forum for Healing.”

Response from owner

Last week, Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé made a public statement about Stephon Clark’s death following protests that blocked game attendees from entering their Golden 1 Center stadium space.

He vowed that the NBA franchise would not be acting as if business is usual and “are going to work really hard to bring everybody together to make the world a better place, starting with our own community,” he said. “[We’re] going to work really hard to prevent this kind of a tragedy from happening again.” 

Just three days later, the Kings’ themselves, sported T-shirts on the court that called for “accountability” by the police department and memorialized Clark’s name. Additionally, players from the Kings and their opponents that day, the Boston Celtics, joined together in a PSA about the tragedies of police violence.

READ MORE: Sacramento BLM activist vows to fight back for Stephon Clark

 “These tragedies have to stop,” “There must be accountability,” “We will not stick to sports,” and “We will not shut up and dribble,” were a few of the sentiments expressed.

Flames fanned

Tensions in Sacramento continue to rise as protests for justice in the death of Stephon Clark increase citywide and nationally. California’s Department of Justice is conducting an independent investigation, and civil rights attorney Ben Crump is now representing the family, but the frustrations of African Americans in the city continue to simmer.

On Tuesday, Stephon’s brother Stevante Clark appeared at the specially-convened City Council meeting and loudly voiced his love for his brother and fellow protesters, as well as his criticism of to the mayor — whom he boldly faced within an inch of separation — and the media’s coverage.

A funeral for Clark was held Thursday. Clark, a Muslim, was set to be honored with a ghusl or Islamic ritual washing by revered Imam Omar Suleiman, but clerics were not able to perform the task because of the way the 20 bullets wounds he received mangled his body. 

Imam Omar Suleiman expressed frustration over the inability to perform the ritual on Twitter.

Meanwhile, California attorney general Xavier Becerra announced Tuesday that he was joining the investigation into Clark’s death. His office will oversee the probe and review the Sacramento Police Department’s policies and use of force training, according to the San Jose Mercury News.

Source: https://thegrio.com/2018/03/30/sacramento-kings-stephon-clark-community/

Former Goldman Sachs Partner Edith Cooper Joins Board of Directors of Etsy

By goodblacknews on March 28, 2018
Edith Cooper (photo via business insider.com)

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)
According to etsy.com, Edith Cooper, the former Partner and Global Head of Human Capital for Goldman Sachs, has been appointed to Etsy, Inc.’s Board of Directors, effective April 5, 2018.  Etsy, Inc. (Nasdaq: ETSY), is known as an online leader in the global marketplace for unique and creative goods.
“With Edith joining the board, we gain significant talent-management expertise, based on years of experience at leading global financial institutions. We are also honored that a person who called Brooklyn her home for many years is now working hand-in-hand with us to make our tech company even more successful,” said Josh Silverman, Etsy, Inc. CEO. “We are looking forward to Edith bringing her wealth of knowledge to Etsy, providing guidance as we continue driving growth and empowering the 1.9 million creative entrepreneurs who rely on our marketplace.”
Throughout her career, Ms. Cooper has used her broad experience in finance and focus on human capital to unlock innovation and collaboration in the workplace. At Goldman Sachs, she pioneered the use of data, analytics, and technology to maximize investments in people and leverage talent across the enterprise. She spearheaded Goldman Sachs’ groundbreaking company-wide conversation series on diversity and inclusion, designed to tie business goals to equity and social issues in order to empower all of the talent of the firm.  Cooper was also responsible for the recruitment, development, promotion, and well-being of the firm’s 35,000 people around the world. She has held various leadership roles as well at Morgan Stanley and Bankers Trust.  Cooper also is a member of the Board of Directors of Slack, the Museum of Modern Art and Mt. Sinai Hospital.
“Etsy’s mission to ‘Keep Commerce Human’ and its culture is revolutionary in the tech space. I have long admired Etsy’s drive to create value by investing in its people and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace,” said Edith.  “I am honored to join the Board as Etsy continues to connect creative entrepreneurs with buyers around the world.”
With Edith’s appointment, Etsy’s Board has expanded, while retaining gender parity. She is also joining the Compensation Committee of the Board. Etsy was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Brooklyn, New York.

Virgil Abloh is Named New Men’s Wear Designer at Louis Vuitton – The New York Times

By goodblacknews on March 28, 2018

The designer Virgil Abloh at the Off-White show at Paris Fashion Week earlier this month. (Credit Francois Durand/Getty Images)

by VANESSA FRIEDMAN and ELIZABETH PATON via nytimes.com
Virgil Abloh, the founder of the haute street wear label Off-White and a longtime creative director for Kanye West, will be the next artistic director of men’s wear at Louis Vuitton, one of the oldest and most powerful European houses in the luxury business. He becomes Louis Vuitton’s first African-American artistic director, and one of the few black designers at the top of a French heritage house. Olivier Rousteing is the creative director of Balmain, and Ozwald Boateng, from Britain, was the designer for Givenchy men’s wear from 2003 to 2007.
“I feel elated,” Mr. Abloh said via phone on Sunday, adding that he planned to relocate his family to Paris to take the job at the largest brand in the stable of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the world’s largest luxury group. “This opportunity to think through what the next chapter of design and luxury will mean at a brand that represents the pinnacle of luxury was always a goal in my wildest dreams. And to show a younger generation that there is no one way anyone in this kind of position has to look is a fantastically modern spirit in which to start.”

The appointment, widely rumored in recent months, is part of a shake-up on the men’s wear side of LVMH, which began in January with the departure of Kim Jones, Mr. Abloh’s predecessor at Louis Vuitton. Last week, it was announced that Mr. Jones would become the men’s wear designer at LVMH stablemate Christian Dior, replacing Kris van Assche.

Mr. Abloh’s appointment is also a reflection of the increasing consumer-driven intermingling of the luxury and street wear sectors, which helped boost global sales of luxury personal goods by 5 percent last year to an estimated 263 billion euros (about $325 billion in today’s dollars), according to a recent study by the global consulting firm Bain & Company. And it is an acknowledgment on the part of the luxury industry that it must respond to contemporary culture in new ways.

Source: Louis Vuitton Names Virgil Abloh as Its New Men’s Wear Designer – The New York Times

Jacqueline Woodson Wins $608,000 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, World's Largest Children's Literature Prize

By goodblacknews on March 27, 2018

Author Jacqueline Woodson (Juna F. Nagle / HarperCollins)

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)
According to latimes.com, acclaimed author Jacqueline Woodson, who won a National Book Award for “Brown Girl Dreaming,” just won the 2018 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award on Tuesday. The award comes with a prize of $608,000, which is funded by the government of Sweden. Publishers Weekly reports that Woodson is the 18th person or organization to win the prize, which is considered one of the most prestigious children’s literary awards in the world.
The Lindgren Award, named after the Swedish creator of “Pippi Longstocking,” caps a list of many honors Woodson has won over her career. In addition to her National Book Award, the author has won the Coretta Scott King Award twice and a Newbery Award four times.
In January, the Library of Congress named Woodson the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. Although Woodson has written two adult novels, “Autobiography of a Family Photo” and “Another Brooklyn,” most of her published work has been for middle-grade readers and young adults.