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Posts published in “U.S.”

Trayvon Martin’s Dad Tracy Martin Adds Voice to Help Black Men and Boys

By goodblacknews on July 24, 2013
Sybrina-Fulton-Tracy-Martin
 

WASHINGTON (AP) — Tracy Martin, the father of Trayvon Martin has joined an effort by members of Congress to focus more attention on issues disproportionately affecting black men and boys. Martin was appearing Wednesday before a forum convened by black lawmakers to discuss high unemployment, incarceration, racial profiling and other challenges faced by black men and boys.
Martin was scheduled to give opening remarks in an informal hearing before the Congressional Black Men and Boys Caucus. Congressional caucuses such as this one are made up of members of the House who share interest in a given issue and want to focus attention on it while suggesting possible legislative responses. Caucuses range from the party of the Democrats and Republicans to special group caucuses such as the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.  Martin’s appearance comes a few days after President Barack Obama made remarks identifying himself with the plight of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, the Florida teenager who was shot and killed last year during a confrontation with neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman.

Apple Acquires HopStop From Nigerian Entrepreneur Chinedu Echeruo

By goodblacknews on July 24, 2013

Chinedu EcheruoIn a bid to shore up its mobile and Web mapping infrastructure, Apple has confirmed a purchase of Nigerian entrepreneur Chinedu Echeruo‘s (pictured) HopStop.com application. With Google buying the Israel-based Waze map application for a reported $1.1 billion, it has been rumored that HopStop’s acquisition was worth a similar amount. But thus far, Apple has not revealed the terms of the deal.

As reported by the Wall Street Journal’s “All Things Digital” blog, HopStop empowers Apple’s map program by providing access to a portion of the mapping landscape it had yet to cover: mass transit directions. The move has been seen by many analysts as the tech-giant’s largest push to compete with the industry-leading Google Maps service. In fact, Google has been providing map data to Apple since 2007.
As an entrepreneur, Echeruo has founded both HopStop and Tripology, after stints working as an analyst for J.P. Morgan Chase. Echeruo also made his mark in the hedge fund world, working for AM Investment Partners for a time. Echeruo grew up in Eastern Nigeria and was a student at Kings College in Lagos. He later came to the States to attend Syracuse University and Harvard Business School before founding his businesses.

EBC Suspends Summer Tournament To Host Trayvon Martin Invitational

By goodblacknews on July 23, 2013

A Black ANd White Photo Of Trayvon Martin
On Friday, July 26th the Entertainers Basketball Classic (EBC) will suspend their summer tournament for one weekend to host the Trayvon Martin Invitational in memory of the slain Florida teen.  In conjunction with Vibe Magazine and NYC radio station Hot 97, the tournament will host New York’s elite streetball teams (within the tri-state area), top NBA players and celebrities who will come together at the legendary Rucker Park. There will be 2 games every night at 6pm & 8pm with the winning teams of each game advancing toward the Invitational Championship game which takes place on Monday, July 29 at 8pm. Bringing young and old together, the EBC in conjunction with activist Kevin Powell will host community leaders at the park to speak to the Harlem fans and attendees.
CEO and founder of EBC, Greg Marius states “This is an extremely difficult time for many people, I can not begin to express my sympathy with Trayvon Martin’s family but only show my support by joining together as a community to make a difference. If we do not make a stand for all the injustices now, who will?”

NAACP Bringing Convention To Las Vegas in 2014

By goodblacknews on July 22, 2013


LAS VEGAS (AP) — Las Vegas has been selected to host the NAACP national convention in July 2014.  The choice was announced by NAACP and Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority officials after the conclusion of the organization’s national convention in Orlando, Fla., last week.  NAACP Las Vegas branch president Frank Hawkins hailed the selection, saying local members are up to the challenge of hosting the gathering.  He says they realize they’ll need the help of the Las Vegas community to make it a successful event.  Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization.
article via CBS Las Vegas

President Barack Obama to Kick Off White House Economic Offensive | Marketplace.org

By goodblacknews on July 22, 2013

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/102116923″ params=”” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

Serena Williams Defeats Johanna Larsson to Win Swedish Open

By goodblacknews on July 22, 2013
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Serena Williams reacts during her victory over Johanna Larsson, 6-4, 6-1, in the final of the Swedish Open on Sunday.(Bjorn Larsson Rosvall / Getty Images / July 21, 2013)
Serena Williams won her 53rd WTA title by beating Johanna Larsson, 6-4, 6-1, in the final of the Swedish Open on Sunday at Bastad. The 24-year-old Swede broke to lead 3-1 in the first set before Williams fought back to 3-3. Larsson advanced to 4-3 before caving in to the American’s strong serve and losing the next three games.  Williams dominated the second set, breaking Larsson’s serve twice.  Williams also defeated 76th-ranked Larsson in their only previous match in the Fed Cup earlier this year.
article via latimes.com

Jay Z And Justin Timberlake Honor Trayvon Martin At Legends Of The Summer New York City Stop

By goodblacknews on July 21, 2013

Yahoo! Wireless Festival - Day 3

Jay Z and Justin Timberlake took a moment out of their recent show at New York City’s Yankee Stadium to honor the late teenager Travyon Martin. The duo was in New York City this weekend for the latest stops on their co-headlining Legends of the Summer Tour.
Jay Z and Timberlake closed their Friday show with a performance of Jay Z’s “Forever Young,” dedicating the song to the 17-year-old Martin who died last year.Take a look at the duo’s dedication below.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQqLhBGaV3o&w=560&h=315]
While in New York this weekend, Jay Z also attended a rally for Martin with his wife, Beyonce, joining a crowd speaking out against the recent ruling that aqcuited Florida man George Zimmerman in the case of the shooting death of Martin. Beyonce also recently made her own tribute to Martin, holding a moment of silence for the young man at her Nashville show after the ruling was announced.
Other celebrities who have spoken out on the case include singer Bruce Springsteen, who dedicated his song “American Skin (41 Shots)” to Martin at a show in Ireland, and Stevie Wonder, who announced that he will no longer perform in the state of Florida until it changes its Stand Your Ground laws.
article via huffingtonpost.com

African American Spending Power Projected to Reach $1.1 Trillion

By goodblacknews on July 21, 2013
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Black consumers are wielding power and influence in the marketplace like never before. All while spending their way to a major milestone.  The Nielsen Company, a global information and research firm, projects black spending power will reach $1.1 trillion by 2015. Despite this looming thirteen-figure impact, many black consumers do not understand the full extent of their power says Cheryl Pearson-McNeil, senior vice president of public affairs at Nielsen.
“Do I think we’re interested in learning more about it?  Absolutely.”  Some companies struggle to tap the real power of black consumers. The lack of understanding cultural nuances of African-Americans, Asian-Americans and Latino Americans results in a general market advertising approach Pearson-McNeil explains. “The African-American community isn’t a monolithic group.”
In 2011 advertising targeting black consumers across television, radio and magazines reached $2.1 billion, according to Nielsen. This was a modest increase from the year before and was just 2 percent of the $120 billion spent on advertising that year.

Dr. Christian Head Wins $4.5 Million Settlement In Racial Bias Lawsuit Against UCLA Medical School

By goodblacknews on July 20, 2013

christian-head-uclaDr. Christian Head, a surgeon at UCLA‘s medical school, will receive $4.5 million to settle a racial discrimination lawsuit against the UC Board of Regents, the university system announced Thursday.  The agreement settles the lawsuit, filed in April, that accused the university of failing to prevent discrimination, harassment and retaliation against Head. The head and neck surgeon alleged that he was retaliated against for filing complaints through normal channels and was denied teaching opportunities.

Head, 51, also alleged that he was routinely publicly humiliated and once was depicted as a gorilla being sodomized in a slide show presentation during a resident graduation event.  “The case presented difficult issues of alleged discrimination and retaliation that were strongly contested,” the university said in a statement. “…The matter was settled to the mutual satisfaction of the parties.”  The regents approved the settlement in a closed-session meeting in San Francisco on Thursday.
During a 2006 event for faculty, staff and graduating medical school residents, a slide show created by the residents — and typically reviewed by staff — included a photo in which Head’s face was superimposed on a gorilla that was being sodomized by a department chairman, according to the complaint.  Without admitting fault or liability, the university acknowledged that “an inappropriate slide was shown” and regrets the incident, the statement said.

Demonstrations Across the Country Commemorate Trayvon Martin

By goodblacknews on July 20, 2013
(Photo Credit: Monica Almeida/The New York Times)

Thousands of demonstrators gathered in dozens of cities today to mourn Trayvon Martin, the unarmed black teenager shot to death in a confrontation with a neighborhood watch volunteer early last year, and to add their voices to a debate on race that his death has set off. The gatherings began around noon EST at federal buildings across the country.  They came a week after George Zimmerman was acquitted by a court in Florida of Mr. Martin’s killing; days after angry protests erupted in the wake of that verdict; and hours after President Obama said, in a heartfelt address, that “Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago.”

Mr. Martin’s father, Tracy Martin, addressing dozens of people outside the federal courthouse in Miami, said, “I vowed to Trayvon when he was laying in his casket that I would use every ounce of energy in my body to seek justice for him.  

“I will continue to fight for Trayvon until the day I die,” he added. “Not only will I be fighting for Trayvon, I will be fighting for your child as well.”  At a rally in New York, over cries of “We’re all Trayvon Martin,” the Rev. Al Sharpton, one of the organizers of the gatherings, told a crowd of hundreds that Mr. Martin’s death should prompt a movement.  Mr. Sharpton said that he wanted to ensure an aggressive federal investigation of Mr. Zimmerman and fight against Florida’s broad self-defense laws. “Last Saturday we cried,” he said, “but this Saturday we march.”