WASHINGTON (AP) — A program designed to foster a new generation of young African leaders will be renamed after former South African President Nelson Mandela.
President Barack Obama, who has said he was one of the untold millions of people around the world who were inspired by Mandela’s life, is set to announce the name change at a town hall-style event Monday in Washington with several hundred young leaders from across sub-Saharan Africa.
The youngsters are participating in the inaugural Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, part of the broader Young African Leaders Initiative that Obama launched in 2010 to support a new generation of leadership there. The fellowship is being renamed as a tribute to Mandela, who died last December at age 95.
Obama announced the fellowship during a stop in South Africa last summer. It connects young African leaders to leadership training opportunities at top U.S. universities.
In remarks at Monday’s event, Obama also was announcing new public-private partnerships to create more programs for young African leaders, including four regional leadership centers across Africa, online classes and other resources, the White House said.
Mandela spent 27 years in jail under apartheid, South Africa’s former system of white minority rule, before eventually leading his country through a difficult transition to democracy. In 1994, he became the first democratically elected leader of a post-apartheid South Africa.
This week’s events with the next generation of young African leaders are a lead-in to the inaugural U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, being held Aug. 4-6 in Washington. About 50 African leaders are expected to attend what the White House says will be the largest gathering any U.S. president has held with African heads of state and government.
article by Associated Press via newsone.com
Good Black News
The Lakers have officially hired former Laker Byron Scott as their next coach, ending a search of almost three months by choosing a familiar name to Lakers followers. Scott comes with a built-in advantage over the last two Lakers coaches because he didn’t replace Phil Jackson in 2011 and wasn’t chosen instead of Jackson in 2012.
He also has a solid relationship with Kobe Bryant and the Buss family, not to mention familiarity with Lakers fans who remember his role on three championship teams in the 1980s.
Scott, 53, has a four-year deal for $17 million, with a team option for the fourth year. The Lakers will formally introduce him as their coach at a news conference scheduled for 11 a.m. Tuesday.
“I am ecstatic to once again be a Laker and to have the opportunity to work alongside [Lakers General Manager] Mitch [Kupchak] and the Buss family,” Scott said in a statement released by the Lakers. “I know firsthand what it takes to bring a championship to this city, and as someone who both grew up in L.A. and played the majority of my career here, I know how passionate and dedicated our fans are. I will give everything I have to fulfill the championship expectations that our supporters have for us, and that we have for ourselves.”
Jade Goss, age 2, looks as if she just stepped out of the wildly popular “Doc McStuffins” cartoon. “She has the Doc McStuffins sheets. She has the Doc McStuffins doll. She has the Doc McStuffins purse. She has Doc McStuffins clothes,” said Jade’s mother, Melissa Woods, of Lynwood, Calif.
“I think what attracts her is, ‘Hey, I look like her, and she looks like me,’ ” Ms. Woods said of the character, an African-American child who acts as a doctor to her stuffed animals.
With about $500 million in sales last year, Doc McStuffins merchandise seems to be setting a record as the best-selling toy line based on an African-American character, industry experts say. Its blockbuster success reflects, in part, the country’s changing consumer demographics, experts say, with more children from minority backgrounds providing an expanding, less segregated marketplace for shoppers and toymakers.
But what also differentiates Doc — and Dora the Explorer, an exceptionally popular Latina character whose toy line has sold $12 billion worth of merchandise over the years, Nickelodeon executives say — is her crossover appeal. “The kids who are of color see her as an African-American girl, and that’s really big for them,” said Chris Nee, the creator of Doc McStuffins. “And I think a lot of other kids don’t see her color, and that’s wonderful as well.”
Nancy Kanter, general manager of Disney Junior Worldwide, which developed “Doc McStuffins” — and who suggested the character be African-American in the first place — said Doc’s wide-ranging fan base could be gleaned from a spreadsheet. “If you look at the numbers on the toy sales, it’s pretty obvious that this isn’t just African-American families buying these toys,” Ms. Kanter said. “It’s the broadest demographics possible.”
Daymond John helped revolutionize urban fashion in the 1990s as founder, president, and CEO of FUBU (“For Us, By Us”). He guided the iconic brand into a multimillion-dollar business, placing it at the same table with such designer sportswear labels as Donna Karan New York and Tommy Hilfiger.
These days, John is known for being a “shark” on the hit reality series “Shark Tank”. Every Friday night, some seven million viewers tune in to the ABC show that features a panel of investors, or “sharks,” that consider offers from aspiring entrepreneurs seeking capital. John, a member of the cast since the show’s premiere in 2009, along with four other prominent chief executives listens to business pitches (a contestant’s one-hour pitch is edited down to a 10-minute segment) from everyday people hoping to take their company or product to new heights. Using their own money, the sharks have invested more than $20 million, having completed more than 30 deals with an average valuation of $250,000. John is the show’s second leading investor.
Studies show that African American-owned firms are less likely to receive angel investment. In the first half of 2013, only 8.5% of startups pitching to angels were minority-owned; 16% were women-led, according to a report by the Center for Venture Research at the University of New Hampshire. Only 15% of those minority-owned businesses successfully got funded, while 24% of the female entrepreneurs received angel investments. Moreover, ethnic minorities account for less than 5% of the angel population.
More than a decade ago, when the young Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was struggling to get her first novel, “Purple Hibiscus,” published, an agent told her that things would be easier “if only you were Indian,” because Indian writers were in vogue. Another suggested changing the setting from Nigeria to America. Ms. Adichie didn’t take this as commentary on her work, she said, but on the timidity of the publishing world when it came to unknown writers and unfamiliar cultures, especially African ones.
These days she wouldn’t receive that kind of advice. Black literary writers with African roots (though some grew up elsewhere), mostly young cosmopolitans who write in English, are making a splash in the book world, especially in the United States. They are on best-seller lists, garner high profile reviews and win major awards, in America and in Britain. Ms. Adichie, 36, the author of “Americanah,” which won the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction this year, is a prominent member of an expanding group that includes Dinaw Mengestu, Helen Oyeyemi, NoViolet Bulawayo, Teju Cole, Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor and Taiye Selasi, among others.
There are reasons for the critical mass now, say writers, publishers and literature scholars. After years of political and social turmoil, positive changes in several African nations are helping to greatly expand the number of writers and readers. Newer awards like the Caine Prize for African Writing have helped, too, as have social media, the Internet and top M.F.A. programs. At the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, black writers with recent African roots will make up more than 10 percent of the fiction students come September. Moreover, the number of African immigrants in the United States has more than quadrupled in the past two decades, to almost 1.7 million.
And publishing follows trends: Women, Asian-American, Indian and Latino writers have all been “discovered” and had their moment in the sun — as have African-Americans, some of whom envy the attention given to writers with more recent links in Africa.
“People used to ask where the African writers were,” said Aminatta Forna, author of “The Hired Man” (2013, set in Croatia). “They were cleaning offices and working as clerks.”
Some writers and critics scoff at the idea of lumping together diverse writers with ties to a diverse continent. But others say that this wave represents something new in its sheer size, after a long fallow period. (There were some remarkable exceptions, like Wole Soyinka’s 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature and Ben Okri’s 1991 Booker Prize.) And it differs from the postcolonial wave, roughly beginning in the 1960s, which brought international acclaim to writers like Chinua Achebe and Nuruddin Farah, among others.
Basketball star Carmelo Anthony got his max contract from the New York Knicks, now he’s looking much further ahead.
ESPN is reporting that Anthony announced the creation of M7 Tech Partners, a venture capital firm whose partners are Anthony and the former CEO of Bertelsmann, Stuart Goldfarb, who heads the world’s largest direct marketer of music, video and books.
“M7″ reportedly stands for “‘Melo Seven,” Carmelo’s nickname and jersey number with the New York Knicks. The sports network also notes Anthony is intrigued with wearable and connected devices. A media statement says M7 will be an early-stage seed fund for digital media and consumer technology.
Anthony also tells them he’s been interested in tech devices “for as long as” he can remember and his firm will be on the lookout for ventures focused on leadership that resonates with clients.
Both Anthony and Goldfarb reportedly haven’t decided how much cash they will use to back ventures in the near future, however, news of the company’s creation came with another announcement; their firm is now an an equity partner with Hullabalu, an interactive children’s story company.
The Wall Street Journal says, “M7 will not have any limited partners or other outside investors, and does not plan to take a lead position in any future portfolio companies.” Hullabalu was founded by Suzanne Xie in 2012. Biz Journal reports the company raised a $1.8 million seed round last year.
Anthony agreed to a $124 million deal with the Knicks a little over a week ago.
article by Richard Spiropoulos via blackenterprise.com
What do you do when you become frustrated with Apple’s lack of diversity within their emojis? Well, Katrina Parrott, a former NASA employee, took it upon herself to create her own app filled with a variety of over 900 diverse emoticons.
According to Katrina, after her daughter noticed the lack of diversity within the system she knew it was time to take it into her own hands to do her best in launching her own system. This is when the birth of iDiversicons happened.
Katrina stated, “We wanted all people to be able to find an emoticon that looked like them.” Since Apple doesn’t seem to be in a major rush to implement the ethnicity update, we respect those who have taken it upon themselves to do their part in raising the bar to equality.
RELATED: African Company Oju Africa Beats Apple to Release First Black Emojis
It’s not JUST an emoji, but has evolved into a big part of our societies culture used by many of us from coast to coast. When I reached out to Apple previously they told me, “Our emoji characters are based on the Unicode standard, which is necessary for them to be displayed properly across many platforms. There needs to be more diversity in the emoji character set, and we have been working closely with the Unicode Consortium in an effort to update the standard.”
So then why are we still seeing the same emojis with no race update? We hear the rumor of the middle finger coming, or even a thermometer (WTF) emoji, but no diverse emojis! Come on, Apple, listen to the people and update this already!
Support Katrina’s mission by heading on over to iDiversicons to learn how to get started!
article via act.mtv.com
GARY, Ind. (AP) — Plans are in the works to name a school after Michael Jackson in the late pop star’s Indiana hometown.
The Gary Community School Board approved Tuesday a memorandum of understanding with Jackson’s mother, Katherine Jackson. The agreement that Jackson signed last month says the district “seeks to honor Michael Jackson and to inspire children to excel in the arts and education.”
District superintendent Cheryl Pruitt said she’s working with the Jackson family on which school to rename.
“A close relationship with the Jackson family to improve the quality of programs for the Gary Community School Corp. can mean tremendous gains for the school district and the city as a whole,” she told the Post-Tribune (http://bit.ly/1luhGfp ).
Michael Jackson spent the first 11 years of his life in Gary. His family moved to California after the Jackson 5 struck it big in 1969 with the release of their first album. Jackson, who died in 2009, last returned to Gary in 2003 and received an honorary diploma from Roosevelt High School near his childhood home.
Pruitt said renaming the school came up in a conversation with Katherine Jackson, who donated $10,000 during the Gary Promise scholarship event hosted by former NBA star Magic Johnson in April.
“She’s always wanted something left here,” Pruitt said.
The district has long struggled with high poverty levels, and the school board voted in June to close six of its 17 schools because of a $27 million deficit blamed in part on declining enrollment and the state’s property tax caps.
article via huffingtonpost.com
The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis is set to present the groundbreaking survey “Radical Presence: Black Performance in Contemporary Art.”
“Radical Presence” chronicles the development of Black performance in contemporary art beginning with fluxus and conceptual art in the 1960s and extending to the present. While this tradition has previously been contextualized from the perspective of theater and popular culture, its prevalence in visual art has gone largely unexamined until recently. Organized and first presented by the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, “Radical Presence” was co-presented in New York City by The Studio Museum in Harlem and New York University’s Grey Art Gallery. The final opportunity to view the exhibition will be at the Walker. The showing opens July 24 and runs through Jan. 4, 2015 in the Target and Friedman galleries.
The July 24 launch, a Target Free Thursday Night, with live performances at the Walker by contributing artists Senga Nengudi, Pope.L and Jacolby Satterwhite. Performances continue on Saturday, July 26 with Maren Hassinger and Jamal Cyrus, in addition to a panel discussion hosted by organizing curator Valerie Cassel Oliver from the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston and contributing artists Adam Pendleton, Satterwhite, and Xaviera Simmons that addresses the role of performance in their larger artistic practice.
A range of performances and events continue beyond the opening weekend and throughout the run of the exhibition. Beginning in September, the Walker and The Bindery Projects will host Theaster Gates’ “See, Sit, Sup, Sip, Sing: Holding Court” (2012), while additional performances include Benjamin Patterson’s “Activation of Pond” (1962), a performance lecture by Coco Fusco, and Trenton Doyle Hancock’s “Devotion” (2013).
Featuring more than 100 works by some 36 artists, “Radical Presence” includes video and photo documentation of performances, scores and installations, interactive works and artworks created as a result of performance actions, presenting a rich and complex look at this important facet of contemporary art.
‘”Radical Presence’ is a risk-taking exhibition that looks at the vitality of performance-based works by Black artists from the United States and the Caribbean over several decades and across generations,” said Olga Viso, executive director of the Walker. “Engaging works where the performer is often the medium and subject, the exhibition is both provocative and captivating, as it addresses the limits of representation of the Black body and elicits timely reflection on American culture and identity.”
“From seminal works by such highly influential artists as Coco Fusco, Lorraine O’Grady, Pope.L and David Hammons to essential new voices like Theaster Gates, Jacolby Satterwhite, and Xaviera Simmons, ‘Radical Presence’ brings together artists from across generations that push the boundaries of performance,” said Fionn Meade, the Walker’s senior curator of cross-disciplinary platforms. “Ranging from intimate acts done solely for the camera to participatory installations and the tracing of overtly public gestures of celebration and resistance, the Walker is thrilled to welcome such a dynamic and far-ranging exploration.”
Works on view in “Radical Presence” include “Hopes and Dreams: Gestures of Demonstration” (2006-2007), a photographic series by Carrie Mae Weems, “Pond” (1962), a performance score conceived and activated by Benjamin Patterson, documentation of Lorraine O’Grady’s performance, “Mlle, Bourgeoise Noire” (1980-1983), “Eating the Wall Street Journal” (2000) by Pope.L, a sculpture and video installation, “Say It Loud” (2004) by Satch Hoyt, a participatory sculpture meant to be activated by gallery visitors and documentation of Jamal Cyrus’ performance “Texas Fried Tenor” from the series “Learning to Work the Saxophone” (2012).
article via insightnews.com
We’ll be seeing a lot of Regina King during the next season, both in front of and behind the camera. King has joined the cast of John Ridley’s new ABC drama series, “American Crime,” and will return to CBS’ “The Big Bang Theory” to reprise her role.
“American Crime,” which Ridley is writing, directing and executive producing, follows a racially-charged murder case and the trial that follows, as audiences will experience the murder and trial through the eyes of several different people who are, in some way, connected to the events. It’ll frankly tackle matters of race, class and gender politics in the USA.
King will play the devoutly religious sister of one of the series’ key characters, who comes to Modesto in order to help her brother handle a judicial system that she believes is stacked against him. King will appear in 7 episodes of the new series, with an option for two additional.
As for her return to CBS’ “The Big Bang Theory”… The show is primarily centered on 5 characters living in Pasadena, California: roommates Leonard Hofstadter and Sheldon Cooper, both physicists; Penny, a waitress and aspiring actress who lives across the hall; and Leonard and Sheldon’s equally geeky and socially awkward friends and co-workers, mechanical engineer Howard Wolowitz and astrophysicist Raj Koothrappali.
King plays Mrs. Davis (a role she first played in 2013), who is the head of human resources where the physicists are employed, who previously was responsible for questioning Sheldon after he landed in hot water following an uncomfortable conversation with his sexy assistant, Alex (Margo Harshman).
Meanwhile, behind the camera, King will direct the 16th episode of ABC’s “Scandal” during its fourth season, which will air during the second half of the upcoming 4th season. This comes after the actress made her feature film directing debut with a TV adaptation of author ReShonda Tate Billingsley’s novel “Let the Church Say Amen” for BET.
article by Tambay A. Obenson via Shadow And Act