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Watch Inspiring Mash-Up of Janet Jackson's "Can't Be Stopped" with Jesse Williams' BET Awards Speech (VIDEO)

Watch Inspiring Mash-Up of Janet Jackson's "Can't Be Stopped" with Jesse Williams' BET Awards Speech (VIDEO)

By goodblacknews on July 11, 2016


My fellow GBN Editor Lesa Lakin just e-mailed me this mash-up of Janet Jackson‘s “Can’t Be Stopped” with #BlackLivesMatter footage and Jesse Williams‘ now-classic speech from the 2016 BET Awards .  Not sure who made it and posted it on Vimeo five days ago, but thank you – great message and inspiration!  Keep protesting, speaking out, being creative and rising up!
–Lori Lakin Hutcherson, GBN Editor-in-Chief

VH1 Taps Ashanti, Keke Palmer, Amber Rose & More for Salt-N-Pepa Tribute Tonight on "Hip Hop Honors"

By goodblacknews on July 11, 2016
Sandra ‘Pepa’ Denton, DJ Spinderella and Cheryl ‘Salt’ James of Salt-N-Pepa attend the 2016 MTV Movie Awards at Warner Bros. Studios on April 9, 2016 in Burbank, Calif. (CHRISTOPHER POLK/GETTY IMAGES FOR MTV)

article by Adelle Platon via billboard.com
VH1 is pushing out another stellar tribute for Salt-N-Pepa at this year’s Hip Hop Honors. The network announced on Friday (July 8) that Ashanti, Amber Rose, Keke Palmer and Dreezy will be paying homage to the first all-female rap crew, comprised of Cheryl “Salt” James, Sandy “Pepa” Denton and DJ Spinderella.
The ladies will be shaking their thang (SNP pun intended) alongside other surprise guests for the evening’s tributes to fellow honorees Missy Elliott, Queen Latifah and Lil’ Kim. As previously announced, Pharrell, Timbaland and Nelly Furtado among others will salute Elliot while Common, Da Brat, Naughty By Nature and more will be on-hand to hail Queen Latifah.
Pharrell, Timbaland, Nelly Furtado & More to Honor Missy Elliott at VH1 Hip Hop Honors
VH1 Hip Hop Honors will land at New York’s David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center tonight, July 11, making its comeback after six years.

Black Girls Code Gets New $2.8M Space Inside Google’s New York Headquarters

By goodblacknews on July 1, 2016

(Photo via blackgirlscode.com)
(Photo via blackgirlscode.com)

article by Tanisia Kenney via atlantablackstar.com
Black women in the tech industry are few and far between. It’s an even more daunting task to get young girls of color interested in STEM, let alone present them with the opportunity to learn skills like coding and computing.
Earlier this year, the National Association for Women & Information Technology reported that Black women comprised a measly 3 percent of the technology workforce in 2015. An even smaller percentage — .04 to be exact — of tech startups were led by African-American women, according to #ProjectDiane.
In an effort to bridge this longstanding race gap and foster diversity in the tech industry, search giant Google is providing space at its New York headquarters to house a blooming non-profit dedicated to teaching young girls of color how to code.
Google and Black Girls Code have teamed up to launch a sprawling 3,000-square-foot work space at the company’s Manhattan office, CNet reports. The tech giant purchased the building in 2010, which will now serve as the new home of Black Girls Code.
Valued at nearly $2.8 million, the new space will be used to introduce students of color to the world of technology, inspiring them to possibly pursue a career in tech. The non-profit also hopes to tap into Google’s mentorship and internship opportunities.
With Black Girls Code housed at its headquarters, the space also gives Google access to fresh talent.
“We need a tech sector that looks like the society it serves, and groups like Black Girls Code are ensuring that we can cultivate and access talent in communities of color,” said William Floyd, Google’s head of external affairs.
According to Kimberly Bryant, founder and CEO of Black Girls Code, Google has hosted a number of student workshops at its New York office in the past. Their new partnership will allow the non-profit to have a permanent work space at the company, CNet reports.
“They’re able to influence these girls that Google is a company they might want to come work for once they graduate,” Bryant said.
Being a computer programmer herself, Bryant launched Black Girls Code in 2011 with the hope of providing young and adolescent girls of color the opportunity to learn technology and computer programming skills.
“That, really, is the Black Girls Code mission: to introduce programming and technology to a new generation of coders, coders who will become builders of technological innovation and of their own futures,” the company’s website states.
Serving as the non-profit’s first New York office, the space will double as a classroom and an outpost for its East Coast programs, according to Fortune.
The great thing about the Google/Black Girls Code partnership is that it’s mutually beneficial: the non-profit will have access to Google’s resources, while the tech giant will have the opportunity to foster talent from a group of young Black women.
To read more, go to: http://atlantablackstar.com/2016/06/29/non-profit-black-girls-code-gets-new-home-googles-new-york-office/
 

ESPN To Air Muhammad Ali Funeral Live Tomorrow at 2PM EST

By goodblacknews on June 9, 2016
Muhammad Ali (photo via express.co.uk)
Muhammad Ali (photo via express.co.uk)

article by Patrick Hipes via deadline.com
ESPN will provide live coverage of Muhammad Ali’s memorial service Friday in his hometown of Louisville, KY. As a result, the network is shifting its coverage of the opening match of the European soccer championships between host France and Romania to ESPN2. Coverage for both events begin at 2 PM ET.
Ali died Friday in Arizona after suffering for years with Parkinson’s disease. The three-time heavyweight champ and worldwide sports icon was 74.
Former President Bill Clinton, Billy Crystal and Bryant Gumbel are among those scheduled to give eulogies at the service, to be held as the 22,000-seat KFC Yum! Center. That comes after a funeral procession travels along Muhammad Ali Boulevard and past his boyhood home on its way to Cave Hill Cemetery. The pallbearers include Will Smith, who played the champ in 2001’s Ali.
To read more, go to:  http://deadline.com/2016/06/muhammad-ali-funeral-tv-coverage-espn-1201769223/

Poet, Author and Professor Elizabeth Alexander Named to Pulitzer Prize Board

By goodblacknews on June 1, 2016

American poet Elizabeth Alexander speaks during an event in the State Dining Room at the White House on April 17, 2015, in Washington, D.C. First lady Michelle Obama hosted the event in celebration of National Poetry Month.
American poet Elizabeth Alexander (photo via Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

article by Stephen A. Crockett Jr. via theroot.com

Acclaimed poet, author and professor Elizabeth Alexander has been elected to the Pulitzer Prize board.

Alexander wrote and delivered her poem “Praise Song for the Day” for President Barack Obama’s first inauguration in 2009 and was a finalist for the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for her book of poetry American Sublime and a 2016 Pulitzer finalist for her memoir, The Light of the World, according to the announcement on the Pulitzer website.
Alexander has taught at several schools, including the University of Chicago, New York University and Smith College, and was part of the faculty at Yale University for 15 years; she also served as chair of Yale’s department of African-American studies. Alexander was recently named the Wun Tsun Tam Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University and is the director of creativity and free expression at the Ford Foundation.
As a member of the 19-person board, Alexander will help decide the winners of the Pulitzer Prizes in in journalism, books, drama and music each April. She will serve a three-year term on the Pulitzer Prize board, on which members serve a maximum of nine years.
Learn more about Alexander here.

Ta-Nehisi Coates' 'Black Panther' Is 2016's Best-Selling Comic So Far

By goodblacknews on May 18, 2016

Ta-Nehisi Coates (photo via colorlines.com)

article by Sameer Rao via colorlines.com
Add “Black Panther” to Ta-Nehisi Coates’ list of best-selling titles.
The culture critic and “The Atlantic” journalist’s first foray into comic books was not only the top-selling comic last month, but according to Vulture, it’s the top-selling comic of 2016 so far.
Less than a year after the success of his memoir, “Between the World and Me,” the first issue of Coates’ reboot of the classic Marvel character’s story tops the list with 253,259 orders from North American retailers. While that number doesn’t account for actual sales (or orders from oustide the continent), Vulture notes that it “is the only industry statistic available and it’s generally a good indicator of interest in a comic.” The closest runner-up, the inaugural issue of Marvel’s “Star Wars: Poe Dameron,” received just 175,322 orders.
Source: Ta-Nehisi Coates’ ‘Black Panther’ Is 2016’s Best-Selling Comic So Far

Ta-Nehisi Coates' 'Black Panther' Is 2016's Best-Selling Comic So Far

By goodblacknews on May 18, 2016

Ta-Nehisi Coates (photo via colorlines.com)

article by Sameer Rao via colorlines.com
Add “Black Panther” to Ta-Nehisi Coates’ list of best-selling titles.
The culture critic and “The Atlantic” journalist’s first foray into comic books was not only the top-selling comic last month, but according to Vulture, it’s the top-selling comic of 2016 so far.
Less than a year after the success of his memoir, “Between the World and Me,” the first issue of Coates’ reboot of the classic Marvel character’s story tops the list with 253,259 orders from North American retailers. While that number doesn’t account for actual sales (or orders from oustide the continent), Vulture notes that it “is the only industry statistic available and it’s generally a good indicator of interest in a comic.” The closest runner-up, the inaugural issue of Marvel’s “Star Wars: Poe Dameron,” received just 175,322 orders.
Source: Ta-Nehisi Coates’ ‘Black Panther’ Is 2016’s Best-Selling Comic So Far

Kanye West Becomes The 1st Artist to Reach No.1 On Billboard Albums Chart From Streaming Only

By goodblacknews on April 10, 2016
kanye-west-the-life-of-pablo-640x427
Kanye West (CREDIT: Getty Images)
article by Richy Rosario via vibe.com
Kanye West is reportedly the first artist in history to have an album at No. 1 solely on music streams from major outlets. His latest project The Life of Pablo, was distributed and consumed by the masses through some paid downloads from his personal G.O.O.D / Def Jam page, but most of the revenue (a nice 90k), came from music streaming services like Apple Music and Tidal, according to HITS Daily Double. 
Reports state that this strategy was created by Ye’s new management team: Scooter Braun, Steve Bartels and Def Jam. You can also catch Kanye at the top of the iTunes chart along with Drake in their collaboration on “Pop Style.”
This comes as no surprise to us as it was reported last month that TLOP was streamed over 250 million times since its release.

Little Girl Crying Over Obama’s Last Days in Office Gets to Meet the President

By goodblacknews on March 30, 2016

President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama with Kameria and her family (photo via FACEBOOK)

article by Yesha Callahan via theroot.com
Seven-year-old Kameria had an Easter she’ll never forget.
Imagine being a kid and a fan of President Barack Obama. Then you find out Obama’s term is ending later this year, all while your grandmother is filming you crying with her cellphone. Of course, that’s what viral videos are made of; but in the end, it was all worth it for 7-year-old Kameria. First-grader Kameria got the opportunity to meet the first family at this week’s Easter Egg Roll at the White House, and you can bet she’ll never forget that moment.
Source: Little Girl Crying Over President Obama’s Last Days in Office Met the President – The Root

Comcast and HUD to Provide Internet Access to Public Housing in More Cities

By goodblacknews on March 28, 2016

(photo via baltimoretimesonline.com)
(photo via baltimoretimes-online.com)

article by Samara Lynn via blackenterprise.com
Comcast and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced a joint effort to deliver Internet access to public housing in Florida’s Miami-Dade County and the cities of Nashville, Philadelphia, and Seattle.
The program is called Internet Essentials. It includes high-speed Internet service with download speeds up to 10 Mbps, a free Wi-Fi router, access to free digital literacy training, and the option to purchase a computer for less than $150.
The initiative is part of the President Obama and HUD ConnectHome program to extend affordable broadband access to families living in HUD-assisted housing.Today’s announcement marks the eighth time in five years Comcast has expanded eligibility for the program in the company’s efforts to aid in closing the digital divide.
Initially, Internet Essentials was offered to families with children in the National School Lunch Program. It was then expanded to those with children in the reduced price school lunch program.  Since, Comcast has expanded the program to include families with children in parochial, private, charter, and cyber schools, as well as students who are home-schooled.
Last year, Comcast created a pilot program to offers the service to low-income seniors and low-income community college students.
Source: Comcast and HUD to Provide Internet Access to Public Housing