What do you do when you become frustrated with Apple’s lack of diversity within their emojis? Well, Katrina Parrott, a former NASA employee, took it upon herself to create her own app filled with a variety of over 900 diverse emoticons.
According to Katrina, after her daughter noticed the lack of diversity within the system she knew it was time to take it into her own hands to do her best in launching her own system. This is when the birth of iDiversicons happened.
Katrina stated, “We wanted all people to be able to find an emoticon that looked like them.” Since Apple doesn’t seem to be in a major rush to implement the ethnicity update, we respect those who have taken it upon themselves to do their part in raising the bar to equality.
RELATED: African Company Oju Africa Beats Apple to Release First Black Emojis
It’s not JUST an emoji, but has evolved into a big part of our societies culture used by many of us from coast to coast. When I reached out to Apple previously they told me, “Our emoji characters are based on the Unicode standard, which is necessary for them to be displayed properly across many platforms. There needs to be more diversity in the emoji character set, and we have been working closely with the Unicode Consortium in an effort to update the standard.”
So then why are we still seeing the same emojis with no race update? We hear the rumor of the middle finger coming, or even a thermometer (WTF) emoji, but no diverse emojis! Come on, Apple, listen to the people and update this already!
Support Katrina’s mission by heading on over to iDiversicons to learn how to get started!
article via act.mtv.com
Posts published in “Media/Internet”
Marvel Entertainment has announced that a new Captain America will be African-American. In an online article the character Sam Wilson, also known as The Falcon, was named as the replacement for Steve Rogers. The move follows what is described as “a dire encounter with the Iron Nail” which left Rogers unable to carry on.
The post reads: “Robbed of his superior strength and vitality, Steve Rogers must surrender his blues for a sturdy cane.”
The change of character is only set to affect the Captain America comic book series. Chris Evans, who has played him in The Avengers film, will also play the role in Avengers: Age of Ultron which is set for release in 2015.
Anthony Mackie played The Falcon, Sam Wilson, in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but there are no plans for his character to become the Captain on the big screen.
Captain America writer Rick Remender wrote: “I think that different characters across the Marvel Universe are going to respond to Sam’s appointment in different ways.
“But he’s not a novice in his long history as the Falcon, he’s earned a reputation for integrity and honesty and backbone that most of the super hero community have a respect for.”
Captain America first appeared in Marvel Comics in 1941.
The news about Captain America comes a day after Marvel announced that Thor, the God of Thunder, would now be portrayed as a woman in that comic book series.
Talking about the alterations, Marvel comic editor Tom Brevoort said: “We’re not anywhere near finished.
“Change is one of the watchwords of the Marvel Universe, so there are even more startling surprises to come.”
article via bbc.co.uk
“Orange Is the New Black” actress Laverne Cox knows her Emmy history. The self-described awards-show junkie even went online last night, checking out her Emmy chances on a predictions website, and went to bed thinking she didn’t have much of a chance of landing a nomination.
“I went to sleep and I let it go,” says Cox, a transgender actress who plays transgender inmate Sophia Burset on the Netflix show. “I said, ‘OK, God, I think the show’s going to be nominated. And that’s amazing.’ And I closed my eyes and let it go.”
Eight hours later, Cox woke up to discover she’d become the first openly transgender woman nominated for an Emmy award. Cox herself makes the distinction “openly trans,” as she says she knows of another transgender woman who won an Emmy years ago, but was not out. That minor qualification aside, she’s “over the moon, effervescent and every cliche that’s related to super-happy” about her “game-changing” Emmy nomination in the guest actress comedy category.
“Oh, my god, it’s going to take me awhile to get used to saying ‘Emmy-nominated actress,'” Cox said in a phone call from New York, where “Orange” is in production for its third season. “I only quit my restaurant job a year ago, so let me tell you, this is pretty good.”
Rhonda A. Lee (pictured), the woman who was fired from her meteorologist job in Shreveport, La. after defending her natural hair on the station’s Facebook page, has just accepted a job with a national weather channel in Colorado.
Lee announced on her Twitter and Facebook pages that she has accepted a meteorology position with WeatherNation in Denver. “By all accounts, it is my dream job and I am thrilled to be a part of the WeatherNation family,” she said Thursday night on Facebook. Lee told NewsOne that she accepted the position a week ago but wanted to fine tune some particulars before making an announcement.
The offer came soon after the veteran weather woman had lost hope of ever working in television again.
“A month ago, I told my husband that I’m pretty sure I would never work in weather again,” she said. “I had completely lost faith, but in a matter of a week or so, all of a sudden, three people showed interest in me. It was an awakening is what it was. I really had given up.”
Lee had several offers in other markets, including a chief meteorologist position, but went with WeatherNation because it’s a national network that reaches millions of homes. Lee doesn’t know when she will be on-air, but says she will be on Channel 361 on DIRECTV. She, her husband, and their 10-month-old son will be moving to Denver in a few weeks.
More than a year and a half has past since Lee was fired from KTBS 3 News, an ABC affiliate in Shreveport, after she responded to users on Facebook who complained about her natural hairstyle. The station said Lee was fired for violating its social media policy. She has filed an EEOC complaint against the station and is in mediation to resolve her dismissal. Lee said she has no regrets about defending her natural hair and says her dispute with the Shreveport station hasn’t been an issue with her new employer.
Celebrated actor Don Cheadle has always had a fascination with legendary trumpeter Miles Davis. Thanks to a fundraising campaign on Indiegogo, Cheadle will be able to make his directorial debut about the life of one of his favorite artists.
The film titled “Miles Ahead” will focus on Davis’ return to music after a five year absence many call his “silent period.” Miles Davis’ marriage to his first wife Frances Taylor Davis will also be examined in the film.
Cheadle gave fans a first look of the film through an exclusive with Entertainment Weekly Magazine. The photo is of Cheadle in costume as Davis.
article by Jonathan Hailey via theurbandaily.com
The African-American community collectively mourned when Johnson Publishing announced earlier this year that it would no longer print “JET Magazine”. Black Twitter exploded with grief over popular magazine features like the “Beauty of the Week” and “JET Weddings” when readers every where believed they’d never see their faces printed in the book. But no so fast! In a daring and exciting move forward, the JET Magazine Digital App is available right now for free download (in-app purchases and subscriptions available).
Chicago’s own Keke Palmer graces the cover of the new digital APP announcing her new talk show, “Just Keke,” airing on BET. The trusted pocket-sized mag is better than ever in a downloadable interactive app that features 360 degree views of your “JET Beauty of the Week”, audible playlists of the top songs of the week, and JET weddings lives on in the “Love” section, dedicated to both celebrity and real people love stories. The new interactive mag features long form investigations, celebrity features and interactive fashion features for the stylish person on the go.
Digital Editorial Director Kyra Kyles shares her hope for the future. “I am so very excited about this app launch, as I feel it will allow us to stretch the boundaries of storytelling and offer readers a very dynamic platform that reflects their interests. I’m honored to be part of carrying the JET legacy and trusted brand into the future of media.”
Ebony and JET Magazine have anchored the Black community for decades and their forward movement into the digital space shows the power of Black media in the ever changing digital landscape.
Download it here:https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/jet-digital/id883558819?ls=1&mt=8
article by Leigh Davenport via newsone.com
“Star Trek” actor and “Reading Rainbow” host LeVar Burton has created a supremely successful Kickstarter campaign to make a web version of his award-winning PBS show that’s on track to raise $5 million when it ends.
A little “Reading Rainbow” has gone a very long way.
The Kickstarter campaign to create a web version of the award-winning PBS show has broken a record on the crowd fund-raising site for most individual contributors, Entrepreneur magazine reports.
With just one day to go, the effort, created by the show’s executive producer and host LeVar Burton, has amassed more than 97,000 contributors and nearly $5 million.
“Bring Reading Rainbow Back for Every Child, Everywhere” was created at the end of May. In a matter of hours, the campaign surpassed its initial goal of $1 million.
Soon after, “Family Guy” creator Seth McFarlane pledged to match donations to the literary project up to $1 million, Burton announced June 28.
As the “Reading Rainbow” effort quickly became the fifth-most funded campaign on Kickstarter, in an unprecedented move the four bigger campaigns — including the “Veronica Mars” movie project — have all donated rewards to it.
article by Chiderah Monde via nydailynews.com
Lupita Nyong’o is stunning — and her new ad for Lancôme proves this yet again. The beauty brand’s first ad featuring their newest spokesperson released this week, and Nyong’o looks radiant with her glowing, chocolate-colored complexion.
The Oscar-winning actress became endorsed by the beauty brand in April — and her first ad highlights Lancôme’s Teint Idole Ultra 24H foundation, a smooth blemish-free product which is “available in 28 shades for all skintones.”
The foundation is being touted as one of the brand’s more diverse products, which provides “endless perfection” for women of almost every complexion.
And with the current Vogue magazine cover girl promoting their product, Lancôme seems to be sending a message of appreciation for diversity and consumers of color.
article by Lilly Workneh via thegrio.com
What a treat and honor to receive a tweet from @newsone today, letting us know GBN made it onto NewsOne’s list of the 15 Most Share-Worthy Black Blogs and Sites of 2014! Not only do we support and admire newsone.com but we are thrilled with the level of company we are keeping on their list – favorites such as For Harriet, Shadow and Act, Black and Married with Kids, and Color Lines. We are also jazzed to learn about sites we can’t wait to follow such as Very Smart Brothas, Crew of 42, The Shadow League and The Frugal Feminista, among others.
Please click here to see NewsOne’s list in full, and thank you for your readership and continuous support. Onward and upward!
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (follow @lakinhutcherson)