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Senegal Names 2nd Female Prime Minister, Human Rights Activist Aminata Touré

By goodblacknews on September 9, 2013
Feminist and human rights activist Aminata Touré is making history in Senegal.  According to reports, the 51-year-old former justice minister was named Prime Minister last Sunday, only the second woman in the country’s history. (Mame Madior Boye served between 2001 and 2002)
Known as Senegal’s Iron Lady, Touré named her cabinet, which includes four other women, just one day of the announcement.

Ms. Touré earned much respect in Senegal in her role as justice minister. It was during her tenure that the judicial process against former Chad dictator Hissène Habré saw great progress, leading up to his arrest in Senegal earlier this year. Also under her leadership, the fight against corruption and illegally-acquired wealth was intensified, seeing millions of francs held by corrupt officials in foreign banks repatriated.

As for her plans in office? Touré says she will “speed up the pace of our public development programs and reforms to enable every person in Senegal to feel the change in their daily livelihood.”
The new Prime Minster holds a Masters in economics and a PhD in international financial management.
article by Myeisha Essex via blackamericaweb.com

Floyd Mayweather Jr. to Earn Record-Breaking $41 Million For Next Boxing Match

By goodblacknews on September 5, 2013
Mayweather and Canelo face to face
Superstar boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. is breaking the record for being the highest-paid boxer for one fight. He will reportedly net more than $41 million for facing Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.  
Mayweather’s Money Team signed a very lucrative contract with Showtime Networks earlier this year. The network will broadcast six of his fights over 30 months and they are set to pay him a whopping $200 million. Mayweather’s fight against Alvarez is the second fight of the agreement. Mayweather’s $41 million payday breaks the record he set when he fought Miguel Cotto and Robert Guerrero in May of 2012 and May of this year respectively. Each of those fights added $32 million to Mayweather’s bank accounts.
While $41 million is a hefty sum of money, Floyd Mayweather could possibly earn more through pay-per-view. According to reports by ESPN.com, people do expect the Mayweather-Alvarez bout to match or surpass the record of 2.44 million purchases. 2.44 million people generated about $130 million for the 2007 match between Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya. It’s very likely This fight will be more successful than the bout between De La Hoya and Mayweather because Golden Boy boxing promoter Richard Schaefer says the fight has already broken the all-time record for ticket sales for an MGM Grand boxing match.
The Mayweather-Alvarez fight will take place on September 14.
article by Johnathan Hailey via theurbandaily.com

Maya Angelou to Receive Honorary Book Award

By goodblacknews on September 5, 2013

Dr. Maya Angelou poses at the the Special Recognition Event for Dr. Maya Angelou � The Michael Jackson Tribute Portrait at Dr. Angelou's home June 21, 2010 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. (Photo by Ken Charnock/Getty Images)
Dr. Maya Angelou poses at the the Special Recognition Event for Dr. Maya Angelou The Michael Jackson Tribute Portrait at Dr. Angelou’s home June 21, 2010 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. (Photo by Ken Charnock/Getty Images)

The book world is finally honoring Maya Angelou.

The poet and author of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings will be this year’s recipient of the Literarian Award, an honorary National Book Award for contributions to the literary community, the National Book Foundation announced today. It is the first major literary prize for the 85-year-old Angelou, who has been celebrated everywhere from the Grammy Awards to the White House. She has received three Grammys for best spoken word album, a National Medal of Arts and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country’s highest civilian honor.

Speaking by telephone with The Associated Press, Angelou said she couldn’t wait to be in the same room as “some very big names in the literary world” and that the Literarian prize made her feel that she was “picking in high cotton.”

“Dr. Angelou’s body of work transcends the words on the page,” the book foundation’s executive director, Harold Augenbraum, said in a statement. “She has been on the front lines of history and the fight for social justice and decade after decade remains a symbol of the redemptive power of literature in the contemporary world.”

MUST WATCH: President Barack Obama's March on Washington Speech Today (VIDEO)

By goodblacknews on August 28, 2013

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOBSeN205pI&w=560&h=315]
29obama-articleLargeOn the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, President Barack Obama honored the legacy and spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with his own inspired speech this afternoon, echoing the call to freedom and justice that King’s own “I Have A Dream” speech did 50 years ago today.  Obama’s speech was the culmination of a full day of celebration of the March on Washington’s golden anniversary.  Watch his entire address above.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson

Fifty Years Ago Today: Martin Luther King Jr. Leads March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom

By goodblacknews on August 28, 2013

martin-luther-king
The 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom turns 50 today.  A new PBS documentary reveals the details of what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. described would be considered the “greatest demonstration for freedom” in American history.  Narrated by Oscar-winning actor Denzel Washington, The March dedicates the majority of the 55 minute running time to the build-up of the momentous event (see clip below).
Some 250,000 people gathered in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963, to raise awareness of the poor economic realities of African-Americans and to demand the passage of strong civil rights legislation.  Clayborne Carson, a professor of history at Stanford University, was just 19 when he attended the march.  “Every time I think back, I draw different meanings from it because of my subsequent experiences,” Carson told theGrio.com. “At the time I would not have fully understood the significance of what Dr. King’s ‘I Have A Dream’ speech.” 
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZQ35wzQ2ns&w=420&h=315]
Carson, whose commentary is featured in The March, is also the director of Stanford’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute. He says America does not have a good track record when it comes to understanding what King stood for.  “The main thing we’ve gotten right is that he deserves a national holiday,” Carson said. “He was the most prominent figure in one of the most important movements in American history.”

Merrill Lynch Agrees to Settle Racial Bias Suit Filed By Black Brokers for $160 million

By goodblacknews on August 28, 2013
Merrill Lynch, a unit of Bank of America, has settled a long-running racial bias suit for a princely sum that may be the largest even distributed to p...
Merrill Lynch, a unit of Bank of America, has settled a long-running racial bias suit for a princely sum that may be the largest even distributed to plaintiffs in a bias suit against an American employer.

Bank of America Corp’s Merrill Lynch unit agreed to pay $160 million to settle a racial bias lawsuit that went through two appeals at the United States Supreme Court, the New York Times reported, citing the plaintiff’s lawyer. 

Longtime Merrill broker George McReynolds filed the lawsuit in 2005 accusing the brokerage of steering blacks into clerical positions and diverting lucrative accounts to white brokers, resulting in lower pay and fewer career growth opportunities. 
The payout in the suit, which was filed on behalf of 700 black brokers who worked for Merrill, would be the largest sum ever distributed to plaintiffs in a racial discrimination suit against an American employer, according to the New York Times. 
The preliminary settlement was confirmed to the newspaper by a spokesman for Merrill Lynch and Linda Friedman, a Chicago lawyer who represents the brokers. (http://link.reuters.com/wes62v)  “We are working toward a very positive resolution of a lawsuit filed in 2005 and enhancing opportunities for African-American financial advisers,” Bill Halldin, a spokesman for Merrill Lynch, told the paper. 
Merrill Lynch and Stowell & Friedman, the law firm representing McReynolds, could not immediately be reached for comment by Reuters outside of regular U.S. business hours.
article by Seth Wenig, AP via nbcnews.com

"Lee Daniels' The Butler" No. 1 for 2nd Weekend in a Row with $17 Million in Box Office

By goodblacknews on August 25, 2013

the-butler-3
According to variety.com, three new wide releases, led by Sony-Screen Gems’ Y/A adaptation The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, with an estimated $14.1 million in five days,  were no match for Lee Daniels’ The Butler, which only fell 31% in its second weekend, for a projected $17 million through Sunday. The Weinstein Co.-distributed movie has earned north of $52 million so far.
The holdover success of Lee Daniels’ The Butler can be largely attributed to its broadening audience: Last weekend, the film earned 76% of its gross from audiences over 35, while in its second weekend, that share shrunk to 63%. Moreover, African-Americans contributed a weighty 39% of the film’s opening; just 33% of its total this weekend came from black viewers.  The film’s playability mirrors the stronghold that The Help had on the box office this time two years ago.

President Obama Backs Cory Booker for Senate Seat

By goodblacknews on August 23, 2013

images-1Newark Mayor Cory Booker received the presidential stamp of approval yesterday in his campaign for a US Senate seat.

Citing Booker’s “passion” and life’s work “building hope,” President Obama officially endorsed Booker by saying he “will be an important partner in our efforts to reduce gun violence, give every American a fair shot in a global economy, and make our country stronger.”
The endorsement came a day after GOP Gov. Chris Christie, who has worked closely with Booker, endorsed his opponent, Republican Steve Lonegan. The endorsement was awkward given that Christie ran against Lonegan in the 2009 GOP gubernatorial primary.
Obama’s backing was expected, given Booker’s close relationship with the president, which survived the mayor’s criticism last year of the president’s campaign for attacking Mitt Romney’s record at Bain Capital.
Obama is betting on what looks like a sure thing. Booker has a double-digit lead over Lonegan, the former mayor of Bogota, NJ, in the Oct. 16 election.  Booker has been seen as a rising star in national politics since nearly the day he took office as mayor. But he has ruled out a 2016 run for the White House.
Related Stories: 

article by Beth Defalco via nypost.com

Black Excellence: Victor J. Glover Makes NASA’s 2013 Astronaut Candidate Class

By goodblacknews on August 23, 2013

Victor Glover becomes NASA astronaut candidate
U.S. Navy Lt. Commander Victor J. Glover just got the opportunity of a lifetime. The California Polytechnic State University grad was selected from a pool of over 6,000 applicants to become one of NASA’s eight new astronaut candidates.  The astronaut trainee program will prepare the candidates for possible missions to low-Earth orbit, an asteroid and Mars by sending them through two years of rigorous technical training at space centers around the globe.
Lt. Commander Glover, who is the only African American in this year’s class, set himself apart from the other applicants by penning a clever limerick.
NASAAstronautCandidates
He explained in a press conference:
“There was a lot of writing involved. The one that stands out the most is, we were asked to compose a tweet, a limerick, or a haiku. I believe I did a limerick, and it goes:
‘Eyes fixed, gazing off into space
My mind in awe of the human race
This is all dizzying to me
Because I gave so much blood and pee
Happy to be here, vice the colonoscopy place.”
In addition to being one of NASA’s perspective astronauts and a F/A-18 pilot, Lt. Commander Glover and his wife Dionna have four daughters–Genesis, 10, Maya, 8, Joia, 6, and Corinne, 5. He is also a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.
article by Britni Danielle via clutchmagonline.com

Chris Paul Elected President of NBA Players Union

By goodblacknews on August 22, 2013
NBA player Chris Paul attends Movie Premiere 'Let Me Explain' with Kevin Hart during the 2013 BET Experience at Regal Cinemas L.A. Live on June 27, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for BET)
NBA player Chris Paul attends Movie Premiere ‘Let Me Explain’ with Kevin Hart during the 2013 BET Experience at Regal Cinemas L.A. Live on June 27, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for BET)

The vote by NBA player representatives came six months after the union fired Billy Hunter as executive director, a position that remains vacant and follows about 18 months of in-fighting and drama that occurred during the negotiations for the latest collective bargaining agreement. Hunter countered with a wrongful-termination lawsuit in May, accusing Fisher of conspiring with NBA officials during the 2011 lockout.
“It’s not about me as president or the first vice president, it’s about the players as a whole,” Paul said in a conference call Wednesday night.  One of Paul’s greatest gifts on the court is an ability to get everyone involved and make his teammates better. Now he’ll try to do the same thing with the union. After the lockout ended and the lawsuits started to take hold, there was a feeling among many players and observers that putting a big name in the big chair would help galvanize the group and get star players interested in participating again.