A 16-year-old Georgia cheerleader has just broken a tumbling world record.Angel Rice completed ten double full twists in one minute while an official from the Guinness World Records counted the seconds of her tumbling routine.
“It took me until the next day to realize, wow! It’s real!” Angel told Fox5Atlanta. ” It didn’t feel real when it was happening. I had to actually think about it and look at the plaque.”
Tumbling coach Frank Riley said that he had taken notice of Angel the minute she arrived at his gym at just five years old.
Of course, now that Angel has broken the world record, everyone wants to know what she’ll do next. We’ll just have to wait and see.
“When she came it was like, ‘Wow! Who is this little girl?’” said Riley. “She was strong. She wasn’t one of the kids that come to the gym and they’re scared. Anything I asked her to do she would try,” he added.
President Barack Obama speaks at Macomb Community College, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2015, in Warren, Mich. Obama announces new steps to expand apprenticeships and a push to make community college free for responsible students. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
WARREN, Mich. (AP) — Unable to have his way with Congress, President Barack Obama reached back to his roots as a community organizer and sought Wednesday to spark a national movement in support of his idea for free community college.
Congress has shown next-to-no interest in Obama’s $60 billion community college proposal, so he’s taking his case to the people. “It’s an idea whose time has come,” Obama told an audience at Macomb Community College. “It’s an idea that makes sense.”
Obama said six states and communities have created programs similar to what he proposed during his State of the Union address earlier this year, including one announced by Milwaukee on Wednesday. Lawmakers in more than 10 other states have introduced legislation providing for free community college, he said.
Getting an education is the best investment anyone can make for their and the country’s future, Obama said. “Education has always been the secret sauce, the secret to America’s success,” he said.
Obama announced that a new, independent “college promise” advisory board will work with various organizations to build momentum for the idea by highlighting programs that already provide free community college, and recruiting more states and communities to do likewise. It will be headed by a woman who Obama said is his “favorite community college instructor,” Jill Biden, the wife of Vice President Joe Biden, and former Wyoming Gov. Jim Geringer, a Republican.
Biden, who teaches English at a community college near Washington, D.C., traveled to Michigan with the president. “It’s important that you give your friends, your families, your classmates, a heads-up to join the movement to make two years of community college free because education is the key to America’s future,” she said while introducing Obama.
Obama also announced $175 million in Labor Department grants to help create 34,000 apprenticeship slots around the country.
Sixteen-year-old actress (and more) Amandla Stenberg has launched a new comic book franchise titled “NIOBE: She is Life,” which she co-wrote with Sebastian A. Jones, and is illustrated by Ashley A. Woods, with a layout by Darrell May.
It’ll be published via Los Angeles-based Stranger Comics (founded by Jones) – a multi-platform company which seeks to produce and distribute narratives about the experiences of people of color, via different artistic mediums; comic books being one of them obviously.
May serves as the company’s art director.
Amandla Stenberg
The official synopsis for the “NIOBE: She is Life” describes it as a coming of age tale of love, betrayal, and ultimate sacrifice: “Niobe Ayutami is an orphaned wild elf teenager and also the would-be savior of the vast and volatile fantasy world of Asunda. She is running from a past where the Devil himself would see her damned… toward an epic future that patiently waits for her to bind nations against the hordes of hell. The weight of prophecy is heavy upon her shoulders and the wolf is close on her heels.”
“I was drawn to give voice to Niobe and co-write her story because her journey is my journey. I connect to her mixed racial background and quest to discover her innate powers and strengths, to learn who she truly is,” Stenberg told The Huffington Post.
Stenberg first became involved with the project when she met Stranger Comics founder Jones at the Mixed Remixed Festival – an annual celebration of people of mixed race heritage through the cultural arts.
Jones added: “It did not take long for me to know she was the person I needed to develop; she’s the most beloved character in a franchise I have been brewing for more than two decades – a hero that has the weight of the world on her winged shoulders, a woman who will bind nations.” RELATED POSTS:
Niobe first appeared in Jones’ series “The Untamed,” which follows the story’s protagonist, known as The Stranger, and his quest to seek vengeance for the deaths of his wife and daughter.
“She [Niobe] is on a path to a destiny that will test her faith and her will, something we can all relate to,” said Stenberg, “But there’s never been a character quite like her – one who shatters the traditional ideal of what a hero is. We need more badass girls!”
“NIOBE” is scheduled for release in November alongside “The Untamed” graphic novel.
By the way, it may just be a coincidence, but Niobe also happens to be the name of the character Jada Pinkett Smith played in “The Matrix Reloaded” and “The Matrix Revolutions,” and one of the protagonists of video game “Enter the Matrix.” And she certainly was a “badass girl,” to use Stenberg’s words. article by Tambay A. Benson via ShadowAndAct
In the wake of the Mike Brown shooting and Ferguson protests last year, many in the Black community called for Black celebrities to speak out against the injustices shown to their own people. Some Black celebrities rose to the occasion, using social media and TV news outlets like CNN to say their piece.
Others, like Nelly, preferred to move in relative silence and let their actions do the talking. Following the events in Ferguson, the St. Louis rapper came under fire for not visiting the city right away. He eventually visited Ferguson to speak with protesters and created a scholarship fund in Michael Brown’s name.
The scholarship was not merely a sentimental act to honor the slain college student but a part of a strategic plan to help bring change to the Ferguson community in the only effective way he believes he can.
“I try to do it through education because that’s the only way we’re going to get it. The only way we’re going to get this is to elevate,” Nelly explained in an interview with Hello Beautiful just after the Ferguson anniversary on August 9, 2015. “We have to get the kids to go out of these communities. Graduate. Get the knowledge. Come back to the community, and then they can run it because they understand the people and understand the severity of the situation.”
The Mike Brown scholarship isn’t the only act of altruism Nelly has taken in the area of education. He has sent two students to college on scholarships every year for the past 10 years. To critics who have rebuked him for his lack of vocal support for the events at Ferguson, the “Hot in Herre” rapper asserts that sometimes it’s better to do things quietly.
Nas is partnering up with General Assembly to sponsor scholarships for African-American and Latino students, according to reports.
General Assembly, a vocational school for engineering and programming in New York City, is opening the “Opportunity Fund” to help bring diversity into technology. Microsoft, Google and Hirepurpose will also provide monies for the project. Each company will sponsor different populations. While Nas will give scholarships to African-Americans and Latinos, Microsoft and Hirepurpose will provide funding for veterans and Google will give scholarships to women.“This is the start of what hopefully will be a contribution to what will be a more diverse and accessible community worldwide,” General Assembly CEO Jake Schwartz told the Observer.
This is not the first time Nas has had his name attached to an educational opportunity – in 2013 Harvard University created the Nasir Jones Fellowship in his honor. It’s wonderful that he is continuing to foster higher education, this time in his hometown.
original article by Tanay Hudson via allhiphop.com; additions by Lori Lakin Hutcherson
The Laval Police Department in Quebec with 17-year-old Malyk Bonnet, a restaurant cook, who rescued a woman who had been abducted by her dangerous ex-boyfriend. (photo via Laval Police Department)
A teenager has been hailed a hero after helping a kidnapped woman escape from the clutches of her ex-boyfriend. Police praised Malyk Bonnet, 17, after his quick thinking saved the woman’s life when he stayed with her until he could alert police.
Humble Bonnet initially laughed off the plaudits, but said: “Now I realize what I did and wow…it’s really awesome. I mean, I saved a life!”
On August 1, Bonnet was waiting for a bus home after finishing his shift as a cook at a restaurant in Montreal when he noticed the couple arguing, reported CBC News. The couple asked him for money to take the bus, and he agreed to get some change at a convenience store and give them some money.
Bonnet had a moment alone with the terrified woman and decided he had to help rescue her. “My plan was to keep them in a public place, where there’s a lot of people. I decided to make myself friendly with the man, so he would trust me. So I played my game,” Bonnet said.
Police were already looking for the woman and described the man as “very dangerous,” said Laval police Lt. Daniel Guérin. Guérin said the man had already been found guilty of assault and death threats against his ex-girlfriend last year, and he was under a court order to stay away from her.
Bonnet waiting for the right moment and took the couple for food in order to keep them in a public place. After his cellphone battery had died, he pretended to go to the washroom and borrowed a phone from someone in the restaurant to call police, who arrived within minutes.
Bonnet said the abducted woman was overcome with relief and added: “She was almost crying. She was so happy, so happy not to be with him.”
Police arrested the man on the spot and he appeared in court Monday on charges of kidnapping, forcible confinement and assault. Lt. Guérin said Laval police now intend to nominate Bonnet for a provincial award for bravery and added: “He managed the situation very well and took good decisions that probably saved the life of this woman.” article by Laurie Hanna via nydailynews.com
Rapper Kendrick Lamar’s words are reaching more than just the kids of his hometown of Compton, California.
Just a few months ago, High Tech High School, a North Bergen, New Jersey high school, lesson plan went viral when English teacher Brian Mooney decided to use Lamar’s recent studio album as curriculum and share it on his personal blog. Students used lyrics from Lamar’s sophomore album, To Pimp A Butterfly, to draw parallels between their assigned reading material of Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye.
News of what was going on reached Kendrick and he ended up visiting Mr. Mooney’s class: listening to the students poetry, giving a special performance, and participating in a classroom rap cypher.
That same school prompted Philadelphia-based organization Oogee Woogee to launch the “Be Alright” Scholarship, which will award one student at High Tech High with $1500 to go towards tuition and book fees. “We always wanted to create a hip-hop-inspired scholarship,” said Wilikine Brutus, content director of Oogee Woogee told Philly.com. “”Alright” came at the right time and the visit to the high school gave us a concrete idea of what we wanted.”
Students must create a 2-3 minute video using their talents to explain the positive aspects of hip-hop. Applicants submissions will then be posted on Oogee Woogee’s Facebook page, and the submission with the most “likes” or “shares” wins. The contest started Friday (Aug. 21) and ends on Tuesday, Aug. 25 at 9 a.m.
Oogee Woogee plans to bring the scholarship to Philadelphia and nationwide. Watch the promo video for High Tech’s scholarship below:
A week after protests took over Baltimore in response to the death of Freddie Gray, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake launched OneBaltimore, a nonprofit dedicated to rebuilding the city and its affected residents. While progress toward addressing systematic failures that impact not only Baltimore, but other major cities across the U.S., is no easy feat, Baltimore has since made gains in the right direction.
Since announcing the launch of OneBaltimore in May, the nonprofit, which is supported by private–public partnerships, teamed up with the city’s summer jobs program called Youth Works to create an additional 3,000 summer jobs for Baltimore youth. Usually, Youth Works offers positions to 5,000 young people between the ages of 14 and 21, but this year, with the help of OneBaltimore, the program responded to a record number of applications by offering a total of 8,000 positions.
“When businesses hire one or two youths during the summer they are providing jobs that will inspire young people by giving them a glimpse into their future as productive employees,” Donald C. Fry, the president and CEO of the Greater Baltimore Committee said in a statement.
Currently, it costs $1,500 to fund one young person in a Youth Works program. To help offset this cost, OneBaltimore partnered with other nonprofits, private businesses, and government agencies to meet the needs of the city’s youth and in total raised $15 million for future programs.
In addition to providing employment, Mayor Rawlings-Blake is working closely with Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Operation Hope to recruit volunteers to hold financial education seminars for the participants. She has also partnered with the Maryland Transit Administration to offer free public transportation passes for students to get to and from work. article by Courtney Connley via blackenterprise.com
Rev Run, Zo the Motivator and Tyrese (photo via Instagram)
Singer and actor Tyrese Gibson recently made headlines when he offered to pay a young man’s Morehouse College tuition; an act that was graciously accepted by 21-year-old Lorenzo Murphy, also known as the popular Instagram personality “Zo the Motivator.”
Gibson, who is coming off the heels of his own good news (his newest album is steadily climbing the charts) took to Instagram to explain the good deed, citing inspiration from famous radio host Tom Joyner’s foundation, which supports HBCU scholarships.
Black girl magic has just been further actualized with the new Marvel superhero Lunella Lafayette, who goes by Moon Girl. Lafayette is a new take on a 1978 Marvel comic Devil Dinosaur that involved the adventures of a red Tyrannosaurus Rex and a young caveman-like boy known as Moon Boy. Today, Lafayatte may take over the Moon-child role but there’s nothing cave-ish about her. The new Moon Girl is an African American pre-teen genius. Entertainment Weekly reports Moon Girl will be similar to an inspector gadget, but even more clever due to her “unpredictable alien DNA.” Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur were brought to life when Marvel’s team of creatives realized they did not have many books and characters that appealed to all age groups. The unlikely duo of dinosaur and girl genius will seek adventures across the concrete jungle of New York City.
“Generally, we’re skewing a little bit older with a lot of our titles and we wanted to create something that adults and kids could really love, like a Pixar feel. That’s where the tone jumped off for us,” said Emily Shaw, Marvel’s assistant editor.
However, it isn’t the age group we’re thrilled about – it’s the representation of a black girl superhero that has excitement over the new comic growing. Nancy Bustos, the artist behind the new superhero, spoke on her excitement of seeing the representation come to life.
“It’s great to be a part of the creation of something which can mean something special to so many people,” said Bustos who is Afro-Brazilian, Chilean, and Spanish.
Bustos can relate to growing up with a lack of characters that looked like her, “I myself have come up against this dilemma of finding few or no cultural references, especially in Spain,” she noted.
