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From Samba to Carnival: Brazil’s Thriving African Culture

By goodblacknews on October 27, 2012
Brazil's thriving African cultureBrazil’s thriving African culture

Rio de Janeiro (CNN) — From samba and carnival to food, music and religion, African culture is everywhere in Brazil.  The cultural heritage stems from the estimated four million slaves who were brought to the country over a 300-year period, at least four times as many as to the United States.  Brazil was the last country to abolish the slave trade in 1888. More than half of Brazilians now identify themselves as black or of mixed race, according to the latest census.

Rio de Janeiro now has the most famous carnival in the world, attracting an estimated 1.1 million visitors to the city this year and with 5.3 million people taking part in street parties, according to the English language newspaper The Rio Times.

Italy Rescues Sixty-Nine African Migrants

By goodblacknews on October 27, 2012

ROME, (UPI) — Some 69 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa aboard a dinghy were rescued Friday in the Sicilian Channel, the Italian coast guard said.  The migrants, reported to be in good health, were taken to the island of Lampedusa, reported Italy’s ANSA news agency.  Recent good weather has spurred a rise in Africans crossing the Mediterranean for opportunities in Europe.  Fifteen minors who had earlier reached Italy have been transferred from the migrant reception center on Lampedusa to youth homes around Agrigento.

article via upi.com

David Adjaye Tops Britain’s PowerList 2013

By goodblacknews on October 27, 2012

David Adjaye is hailed as the UK's most inspirational black figure by the 2013 PowerList

David Adjaye is hailed as the UK’s most inspirational black figure by the 2013 PowerList. Photograph: Graeme Robertson for the Guardian

David Adjaye, the architect chosen to design Washington DC’s $500 million National Museum of African American History and Culture, has topped a list of Britain’s most influential black people, ahead of double Olympic gold medalist Mo Farah and “The Wire” star Idris Elba.

In the sixth edition of the annual PowerList, the top 100 people regarded as role models in their fields, the Tanzanian-born founder of Adjaye Associates is hailed as an inspirational figure who saw off financial crisis during the recession to become one of the country’s most high-profile architects.

UK Puts Haitian Art In The Picture With Major Exhibit

By goodblacknews on October 21, 2012

Kafou - Haiti, Art & Vodou exhibition

Paintings by Frantz Zephrin are showcased in the Kafou – Haiti, Art & Vodou exhibition at Nottingham Contemporary. Photograph: David Sillitoe for the Guardian
Haiti is often known for its grinding poverty, brutal oppression and natural disasters but the biggest exhibition of its art ever staged in the UK aims to provide more of a balance.  “When you walk in here, hopefully it is, on a simple level, visually eye-popping, astonishing,” said the director of Nottingham Contemporary, Alex Farquharson. “These images speak to a very rich culture. There is a lot of joy.”  Farquharson was speaking ahead of the opening of a major show of Haitian art inspired by Vodou, the religion which has been a central part of people’s lives since Haiti became the world’s first black republic in 1804.

South Africa’s Dlamini-Zuma Named First female African Union Chief

By goodblacknews on October 18, 2012
NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 29: South African minister of foreign affairs Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma addresses the UN General Assembly at the United Nations September 29, 2008 in New York. (Photo by Chris Hondros/Getty Images)

 South African minister of foreign affairs Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma addresses the UN General Assembly at the United Nations September 29, 2008 in New York. (Photo by Chris Hondros/Getty Images)

Forty-Eight Years Ago Today: Martin Luther King Jr. Wins Nobel Peace Prize

By goodblacknews on October 14, 2012
Martin Luther King Jr.
On Oct. 14, 1964, Martin Luther King Jr. received a Nobel Peace Prize for his work in the civil rights movement at age 35, making him the youngest person to receive the honor.  By the mid-’60s, King was known internationally for his work in advocating racial equality through nonviolent civil disobedience. King was influenced by Indian activist Mahatma Gandhi and appropriated many of his theories about nonviolence in his organization of peaceful protests that were often met with brutal violence by whites. 
Upon notification of his Nobel win, King announced that he would donate the $54,123 in prize money to further the civil rights movement.  King continued to work as an activist and an outspoken advocate of civil rights until he was assassinated on April 4, 1968, while standing on the balcony of his hotel room in Memphis, Tennessee.
article by Naeesa Aziz via bet.com (Photo: Keystone/Getty Images)

South Africa Crowns Its First Black “Idol”

By goodblacknews on October 10, 2012

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JtRl1UBESI&w=560&h=315]

Idols SA first launched in 2002, and eight seasons later, the South African television show, based on the popular British show Pop Idol (the inspiration for the U.S.’ American Idol), finally crowned its first black winner.

Khaya Mthethwa (pronounced KYE-yam-TET-wa), 25, went home with the top honors and a prize package of 1 million South African rand ($114,000 in U.S. dollars) and a recording contract with Universal Music South Africa.

South Africa Crowns Its First Black "Idol"

By goodblacknews on October 10, 2012

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JtRl1UBESI&w=560&h=315]
Idols SA first launched in 2002, and eight seasons later, the South African television show, based on the popular British show Pop Idol (the inspiration for the U.S.’ American Idol), finally crowned its first black winner.
Khaya Mthethwa (pronounced KYE-yam-TET-wa), 25, went home with the top honors and a prize package of 1 million South African rand ($114,000 in U.S. dollars) and a recording contract with Universal Music South Africa.

Bahamas To Get ‘Sidney Poitier’ Bridge

By goodblacknews on October 10, 2012
Sidney Poitier attends the 40th AFI Life Achievement Award honoring Shirley MacLaine held at Sony Pictures Studios on June 7, 2012 in Culver City, California. The AFI Life Achievement Award tribute to Shirley MacLaine will premiere on TV Land on Saturday, June 24 at 9PM ET/PST. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)Sidney Poitier attends the 40th AFI Life Achievement Award honoring Shirley MacLaine held at Sony Pictures Studios on June 7, 2012 in Culver City, California. The AFI Life Achievement Award tribute to Shirley MacLaine will premiere on TV Land on Saturday, June 24 at 9PM ET/PST. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) — A bridge in the Bahamas is being renamed to honor Sidney Poitier, who spent part of his childhood in the island chain east of Florida.  Prime Minister Perry Christie says the Paradise Island Bridge will be rechristened as part of next month’s 40th anniversary celebration of Bahamian independence. Christie says the 88-year-old film star is being honored because of his life story and diplomacy. Poitier has been Bahamian ambassador to Japan and UNESCO.

The Oscar-winning Poitier was born in the United States but spent much of his childhood on Cat Island, a sparsely populated island in the central Bahamas.  The Paradise Island Bridge is the largest in the Bahamas. It connects the capital to the Atlantis resort, one of the region’s top tourist destinations. The renaming was announced Tuesday.

story by The Associated Press via thegrio.com

Dylan Penningroth and Dinaw Mengestu Win 2012 MacArthur Fellowships

By lorilakinhutcherson on October 7, 2012

Dylan C. Pennigroth (left) and Dinaw Mengestu (right)

Penningroth received a B.A. (1993) from Yale University and an M.A. (1996) and a Ph.D. (2000) from Johns Hopkins University. He was affiliated with the University of Virginia (1999–2002) prior to his appointment as associate professor in the Department of History at Northwestern University in 2003. Since 2007, he has also been an American Bar Foundation research professor. Northwestern University Professor Dylan C. Penningroth and writer Dinaw Mengestu are among this year’s recipients of the prestigious MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, commonly known as the “genius grant.”  The MacArthur Fellowship is a “no strings attached” award bestowed annually to encourage people of outstanding talent to pursue their own creative, intellectual, and professional inclinations.