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R.I.P. ESPN Sportscenter Anchor Stuart Scott

By goodblacknews on January 4, 2015
ESPN Stuart Scott

Stuart Scott, one of ESPN’s best-known “SportsCenter” anchors, died Sunday at a hospital in the Hartford, Conn., area after a seven-year battle with cancer. He was 49.  Scott, who joined the sports giant in 1993 for the launch of ESPN2, was diagnosed with cancer in November 2007 and dealt with recurring bouts of the disease.

In addition to hosting “SportsCenter,” Scott covered numerous events and specials over his 21-year career with ESPN and ABC Sports. His most famous catchphrases — “Booyah!” and “As cool as the other side of the pillow” — have become part of pop culture; Scott was even parodied on “Saturday Night Live.”
“ESPN and everyone in the sports world have lost a true friend and a uniquely inspirational figure in Stuart Scott,” ESPN president John Skipper said in a statement. “Who engages in mixed martial arts training in the midst of chemotherapy treatments? Who leaves a hospital procedure to return to the set? His energetic and unwavering devotion to his family and to his work while fighting the battle of his life left us in awe, and he leaves a void that can never be replaced.”
At this year’s ESPY Awards in July, Scott was presented with the Jimmy V Perseverance Award, named after college basketball coach and ESPN sportscaster Jim Valvano (who died of cancer in 1993). In Scott’s acceptance speech, he said about his two daughters: “Taelor and Sydni, I love you guys more than I will ever be able to express. You two are my heartbeat. I am standing on this stage here tonight because of you.”
During his ESPYs speech, Scott explained how he approached his fight against cancer. “I said, I’m not losing. I’m still here. I’m fighting. I’m not losing,” he said. “But I’ve got to amend that. When you die, that does not mean that you lose to cancer. You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and the manner in which you live. So live. Live. Fight like hell.”

R.I.P. Edward Brooke, 1st Black Senator Elected by Popular Vote

By goodblacknews on January 3, 2015
Edward William Brooke III, the first African American elected to the U.S. Senate by popular vote and the first Republican senator to call for the resignation of President Nixon over the Watergate scandal, died Saturday at his home in Coral Gables, Fla. He was 95.
He died from natural causes, said his former legislative aid, Ralph Neas.
In 1966, Brooke ran for the Senate from Massachusetts and became the first black elected to serve in the upper chamber by popular vote, and the first to be sworn in as a senator since Hiram Revels and Blanche Kelso Bruce were sent to Washington during the post Civil War Reconstruction-era by a “carpetbag” Mississippi Legislature.
Upon his arrival in Washington, Brooke automatically achieved a number of social firsts, according to his memoirs, integrating both the Senate swimming pool and the Senate barber shop.
In winning election, Brooke joined a small band of liberal Republicans in the Senate during an era of moderation, when centrist voices like Jacob Javits of New York, Charles Percy of Illinois and Mark Hatfield of Oregon influenced political debate. Brooke supported housing and other anti-poverty programs, advocated for a stronger Social Security system and for an increased minimum wage, and promoted commuter rail and mass transit systems.
He also bedeviled the Nixon White House – criticizing the administration for adopting a cynical “Southern strategy” of wooing Southern whites by not enforcing civil rights laws, sponsoring a resolution calling for an end to U.S. involvement in Vietnam and opposing three of the president’s conservative nominees to the Supreme Court.
article by Johanna Neuman via latimes.com

Black Captain America Leading Comic Book Diversity

By goodblacknews on January 2, 2015

Diverse Superheroes

WASHINGTON (AP) — For decades, comic books have been in color, but now they truly reflect all the hues of American society.
The new Captain America is black. A Superman who is suspiciously similar to President Barack Obama recently headlined a comic book. Thor is a woman, Spider-Man is part-Puerto Rican and Ms. Marvel is Muslim.
Mainstream comic book superheroes — America’s modern mythology — have been redrawn from the stereotypical brown-haired, blue-eyed white male into a world of multicolored, multireligious and multigendered crusaders to reflect a greater diversity in their audience.

Society has changed, so superheroes have to as well, said Axel Alonso, editor in chief at Marvel Comics, who in November debuted Captain America No. 1 with Samuel Wilson, the first African American superhero taking over Captain America’s red, white and blue uniform and shield.

“Roles in society aren’t what they used to be. There’s far more diversity,” said Alonso, who has also shepherded a gay wedding in the X-Men, a gender change from male to female in Thor and the first mainstream female Muslim hero in Ms. Marvel.
The change to a black Captain America is already having an impact outside of comics.

Minimum Wage To Go Up in More Than 20 States in 2015

By goodblacknews on January 2, 2015

Protesting Minimum WagePerhaps due to months of protesting by fast food workers, the minimum wage in 21 states will increase in the year 2015 starting on January 1st. This is the first time ever that a majority of the states have higher minimum wages than the federal level.

According to the Economic Policy Institute, the increases will lift the hourly wages of more than two million workers by up to $1 to an average of $8 and a high of $9.15. And according to USA Today, another 1.9 million workers who make more than minimum wage are also expected to benefit from a higher pay scale.
Experts say the changes are partly due to the impact of a national movement in 2013 and 2014 to boost the earnings of low-paid workers.
Which States?
Last year, legislation was passed in the following states to increase minimum wage:
* Connecticut
* Hawaii
* Maryland
* Massachusetts
* New York
* Rhode Island
* Vermont
* West Virginia
* Alaska
* Arkansas
* Nebraska
* South Dakota
The following states, however, raised minimum wage as a result of automatic cost-of-living increases:
* Arizona
* Colorado
* Florida
* Missouri
* Montana
* New Jersey
* Ohio
* Oregon
* Delaware
* Minnesota
More Good News
The news gets even better! According to EPI and the National Employment Law Project, as soon as March, 29 states with 60% of the U.S. work force will have minimum wages higher than the federal government’s.
article via blog.lowincome.org

Black California Native Joan Williams, 82, Who Was Denied Spot on Rose Parade Float 56 Years Ago, Sits at Head of Parade this New Year’s Day

By goodblacknews on January 1, 2015
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The opportunity to ride on a city-sponsored float at the annual Rose Parade has been almost 60 years in the making for 82-year-old Pasadena, Calif., native Joan Williams. The honor was originally denied her in 1958 when officials found out that she was black, the Pasadena Star-News reports.

Williams was chosen as Miss Crown City in 1957—a title given to a City Hall employee, who would then be honored by riding on a city-sponsored float during the iconic New Year’s Day celebration and would represent the city at events before the parade, the news site notes.
“I was young and it was exciting,” recalled Williams, who was 27 and had two young children at the time.
Her excitement, however, was cut short months later once it was discovered that Williams, while light-skinned, was black. All of a sudden the city did not have a float to include in the parade because too many entrants had already been accepted, the city claimed. All of this was decided at the last minute, even though the city had already paid for a portrait of Williams decked out in a gown, corsage and tiara.
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Portrait of Joan Williams commissioned by the city in honor of her selection as Miss Crown City (ABC NEWS)

To add insult to injury, the mayor later refused to take a picture with her at a city employees’ picnic when requested by a Jet photographer.
“It was one of the first times, as an adult, I began to grow up and realize what racism is,” Williams said. “Somehow I wasn’t the person they wanted on that float anymore just because of my heritage. … You can imagine the slap in the face that is.”

Now, 56 years later, Williams is getting some retribution: She is once again being given the opportunity to ride in the parade. However, according to the Star News, Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard has acknowledged that officials have made no attempt at an apology. He did say that he contacted Williams and invited her to lunch after he heard about what happened to her.

“We didn’t dwell on what happened in the past,” he told the Star-News. “She’s a very nice person. I’m delighted to have come to know her and now consider her a friend.”
It was after their meeting that officials arranged for Williams to ride on the banner float, which will carry the parade’s theme, “Inspiring Stories,” at the top of the parade.

GBN Wishes You A Happy New Year!

By goodblacknews on January 1, 2015

happy new year 2015
Good Black News would like to thank our fans and followers, old and new, for making 2014 a grand year of growth and progress for us.  Please continue to read, share and spread the word as we continue to strive to find and share information with you about the best of everything in 2015 and beyond.  Happy New Year!
Lori Lakin Hutcherson, GBN Founder and Editor-In-Chief

17 Year-Old Madison Triplett to Reign as 2015 Rose Queen

By goodblacknews on December 31, 2014

Pasadena Rose Bowl Parade Queen, 17 Year-Old Madison Triplett
Pasadena Rose Bowl Parade Queen, 17 Year-Old Madison Triplett (Photo: Ramona Rosales)

On January 1, Rose Queen Madison Triplett will preside over Pasadena’s annual cavalcade of flowery floats. The Marshall Fundamental Secondary School senior first dreamed of becoming local royalty at age seven.
The competition for Rose Queen began in September with 700 hopefuls and consisted of four interview rounds. “In the Pasadena area it’s sort of a rite of passage to try out for the court,” she says.
“In the third round I was asked, ‘What’s something no one knows about you?’ I told them that sometimes I record myself singing and listen to it. They started laughing. I didn’t know whether or not that was a good thing.”
Tomorrow, Madison will wake up at 2:15 a.m. before being chauffeured to the Tournament House to begin prepping for the 126th Rose Parade.  To wave like a pro, she will cup her fingers together, hold her arm at a 90-degree angle, and move only her forearm.
Madison, a varsity volleyball player who plans to study economics at Tulane University and one day start a nonprofit to educate minorities on financial literacy, is the 97th Rose Queen to reign at the Tournament of Roses Parade.
article by Marah Alindogan via lamag.com

Little League Pitching Star Mo’ne Davis Wins AP Female Athlete of the Year Honors

By goodblacknews on December 30, 2014
Mo'ne Davis
Taney Dragons Pitcher Mo’ne Davis tips her hat as she is introduced and recognized before the game between the Washington Nationals and the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on August 27, 2014 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Brian Garfinkel/Getty Images)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — No one in the sports world had heard of the 2014 Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year until August.
That’s when 13-year-old Mo’ne Davis became an instant celebrity as she took the pitching mound in baseball’s Little League World Series and mowed down batter after batter, giving “throw like a girl” a whole new meaning.
She was the first girl to win a Little League World Series game, and her performance dazzled fans young and old. Her steely gaze and demeanor on the mound were intimidating, while off-the-field, she shined in interviews. She told admirers that if they thought she was good at baseball, they should see her play basketball. Only in eighth grade, Davis already plays for her school’s high school varsity basketball team.
Davis appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated, has her jersey displayed in baseball’s Hall of Fame and was named Sports Kid of the Year by Sports Illustrated Kids.
She met the Obamas at the White House, starred in a Spike Lee-directed car commercial (the NCAA said it wouldn’t hurt her eligibility), marched in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade along with her Taney Dragons teammates and presented Pharrell Williams with Soul Train’s “Song of the Year” award.

Gallup Poll Reveals President Obama, Hillary Clinton Are Most Admired Americans

By goodblacknews on December 29, 2014
POTUS and Hillary Clinton
President Barack Obama and then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the White House September 12, 2012 in Washington, D.C.
President Barack Obama is the man Americans say they admire most, while Hillary Clinton is the woman living anywhere in the world whom they admire most, according to Gallup poll results released Monday.
Obama, who recently completed two years into his second-term in office, has been the most admired man for each of the last seven years, beginning in 2008, the year he was first elected president. The renewed vote of confidence couldn’t come at a better time. The president has suffered a number of political setbacks this year, including stunning midterm election losses by Democrats across the country. The second most admired man is Pope Francis; Bill Clinton is third; the Rev. Billy Graham is fourth; and George W. Bush is fifth.
Hillary Clinton, who is believed to be gearing up to run again for president, has held the top women’s spot in each of the last 13 years and 17 of the last 18, with that streak interrupted only by first lady Laura Bush in 2001 after the 9/11 terror attacks, the report says. Clinton is in good company. Oprah Winfrey is ranked second; Malala Yousafzai, the activist for women’s education in Pakistan and the youngest- ever Nobel Prize laureate is third; Condoleezza Rice is fourth and first lady Michelle Obama is fifth.
The Gallup poll results are based on telephone interviews conducted Dec. 8-11, 2014, with a random sample of 805 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, the report says. For results based on the total sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error is plus or minus four percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level, according to the report.
article via theurbandaily.com

Kanye West Voted GQ’s Most Stylish Man Of The Year

By goodblacknews on December 29, 2014

kanye-west1
Increasingly a fashion icon as much as a musical one, Kanye West has been voted GQ’s Most Stylish Man of the Year, facing off against Idris Elba in the final bracket of a user-based poll for the site.
Earlier this year, West was featured on the magazine’s cover for a feature article about his status in the fashion industry and opened up about previous comments regarding the difficulty he’s encountered breaking in.
“Alexander Wang made sure that I was able to go to a Balenciaga show, and I was never allowed to do that before because I was a celebrity,” he said. “Listen to what I’m saying—me, as Kanye West: I guarantee you, I’m more than 50 percent responsible for every men’s shoe that [Balenciaga] sell. Me, the singular person. More than 50 percent responsible for every Balenciaga shoe they sell. And they would say, ‘You can’t come to the show, because you are a celebrity.’ But all honesty, no ego, I have a level of influence, and I have a level of respect for the designers. And we move product on that Barneys floor.”
While initial plans for West’s collaboration with adidas hinted at a fall drop-date for the next installment of his increasingly coveted Yeezy sneakers, the follow-up has yet to be released and looks to be slated for an early 2015 debut instead. Nonetheless, 2014 saw the last of his collaborations with Nike released in the form of an already legendary all-red color-way of his Yeezy 2’s. The rapper also released two collaborative lines with the high-end French fashion brand A.P.C., the latest of which included a $780 bomber jacket and a $90 plain white tee.
article by Jay Balfour via theurbandaily.com