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Good Black News

NBC Orders Craig Robinson Comedy to Series

By goodblacknews on January 6, 2014

Craig Robertson
Craig Robinson (Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

NBC has handed a series order to a half-hour comedy from The Office co-star Craig Robinson.  Mr. Robinson centers on a journeyman musician who gets a job as a music teacher at a middle school. While teaching the kids everything from rock to the blues, he simultaneously learns how to put the school’s rules to the test. NBC has given the project a six-episode order.
Robinson will star in the comedy, which was initially ordered to pilot in early 2013. The Office showrunner Greg Daniels was attached to the laffer last year but has since departed Mr. Robinson.  Universal TV and 3 Arts Entertainment will produce Mr. Robinson, with Mark Cullen, Rob Cullen, Howard Klein and Mark Schulman executive producing.

article by AJ Marechal via Variety.com

‘SNL’ Adds Sasheer Zamata, First Black Female Cast Member in Years

By goodblacknews on January 6, 2014
sasheer zamata
According to Variety.com, Sasheer Zamata will be the latest young comedian to join NBC’s Saturday Night Live,  Zamata will make her debut as an SNL featured player on Jan. 18, the late-night program’s first live show of this new year. Zamata is a University of Virginia alumna and trained at the Upright Citizens Brigade.
Zamata will be SNL’s first black female cast member since the departure of Maya Rudolph in 2007. SNL and its producer Lorne Michaels came under fire in late 2013 over the cast’s lack of diversity, and the series poked fun at its own controversy during its opening segment when Kerry Washington hosted SNL in November 2013.  News broke at the end of the year that SNL was holding auditions specifically to find black female cast members to join the program in 2014.
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson

At Detroit's Downtown Boxing Gym, Kids Find Athletic and Academic Success

By goodblacknews on January 5, 2014

Detroit Downtown Boxing

DETROIT, Mich. — On a cold December day in East Detroit, a dozen kids form a human assembly line stretching across the parking lot of the Downtown Boxing Gym.  With strong arms, the kids grab and push boxes of food from the delivery truck.  “The kids don’t go without a meal,” Coach Khali Sweeney told NBC News. “Forgotten Harvest, the local food bank, they’ll bring food here for ’em, so we have food for the kids to eat healthy.”
According to a 2010 report, more than half of the city’s households with children under 18 receive food assistance from the state.  But that food is just one of the reasons the kids depend on this gym, which is the only building left standing on its city block.
To learn more about the Downtown Boxing Gym, please click here to visit their website. 
It is surrounded by a handful of vacant lots and remnants of abandoned buildings, where the kids sometimes run laps at night.  “It’s not, like, really safe for us to go out there and train,” 19-year-old boxer Anthony Flagg Jr. said.  “But we do it anyway. They say boxing, you’re risking your life.”
For these kids, there are risks both in and out of the ring.  Across train tracks, less than a mile away from the gym, there’s a scene of a different kind: a new Whole Foods grocery– a sign of new life for the struggling city.  “I appreciate and applaud all the efforts goin’ into […] buildin’ the city,” Sweeney said. “But the residents themselves, they’re not gonna see that for a long time, and they’re still suffering. So places like this is a good place for kids to go. ”

Amazing Black Artists to Watch in 2014

By goodblacknews on January 5, 2014

No, not every deserving artist gets their first taste of attention through one of the art world’s largest platforms such as the legendary Art Basel show, or the Frieze Art Fair. In particular, African-American artists and other artists of color are still working towards greater visibility in the highest spheres of the rarified art community. Thus, there can never be too many lists bringing attention to the abundance of talented creators on the cusp of discovery who are ready to emerge.
Here are the fresh faces and more established visionaries still gaining ground that you need to know in 2014. The African diasporan artists compiled in the photo gallery above carry forth the traditions set in motion by visual artists from significant eras such as the Harlem Renaissance and Black Arts Movement, yet speak with new images and forms that lead us into the future.
With their various approaches to creativity, visual communication, and craft, these artists each examine critical issues of the past, present and future that reflect our shared experiences across the intersecting lines of race, class, gender, sexuality and politics. Through their works, the experiences of those of the African diaspora — and beyond — are critiqued, celebrated and preserved.
Visibility is essential to supporting the continued success of these artists, and ensuring that black artists — who are increasingly gaining recognition — continue to render our images in refined and thoughtful forms from the art world’s center stage. Regardless of whether these artists ever appear at Art Basel, or already have, please keep your eyes to the wall (and in some cases the floor, ceiling, and sidewalks), because you will want to follow these folks, who are the latest provocateurs, innovators and dreamers.
These selections are not ranked in any order to acknowledge equally the importance of each artist’s style — with the awareness that there are likely more great visual “voices” out there who deserve recognition.  Click here to see more inspiring art.
article by Souleo via thegrio.com

Top 10 HBCUs by Starting Average Salary

By goodblacknews on January 3, 2014
Graduate Frederick Anderson stands in the pouring rain as President Barack Obama acknowledges him during his Morehouse College 129th Commencement ceremony address Sunday, May 19, 2013, in Atlanta. After a difficult childhood Shelton graduating Phi Beta Kappa and is on his way to Harvard Law School. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Graduate Frederick Anderson stands in the pouring rain as President Barack Obama acknowledges him during his Morehouse College 129th Commencement ceremony address Sunday, May 19, 2013, in Atlanta. After a difficult childhood Shelton graduating Phi Beta Kappa and is on his way to Harvard Law School. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

A college education is viewed one of the essential stepping stones to a fulfilling career – but its cost traditionally does not come cheap.  In particular, the tuition of some of the nation’s many historically black colleges and universities range across the board but the rewards of a college degree often outweigh the costs.  While tuition costs and school population sizes are strong determining factors when considering which school to attend, one website, HBCU Lifestyle, has listed which HBCU graduates would earn the most in salary after earning college degrees.

Here are the top 10 HBCU’s by starting average salary:

Rank College Name Average Salary Tuition Location
1 Prairie View A&M University $49,300 $4,062 Prairie View, TX
2 Bowie State University $46,400 $4,547 Bowie, MD
3 Hampton University $46,300 $16,888 Hampton, VA
4 Tuskegee University $44,700 $17,070 Tuskegee, AL
5 Morehouse College $44,200 $21,616 Atlanta, GA
6 Xavier University of Louisiana $42,300 $16,900 New Orleans, LA
7 University of Maryland Eastern Shore $41,900 $4,362 Princess Anne, MD
8 Howard University $41,700 $19,150 Washington, DC
9 Morgan State University $41,500 $4,540 Baltimore, MD
10 Southern University and A&M College $41,400 $5,074 Baton Rouge, LA

Visit HBCU Lifestyle to learn more.
article by Lilly Workneh via thegrio.com

South Carolina Native Sergio Hudson wins Rihanna's "Styled To Rock" Design Competition

By goodblacknews on January 3, 2014

Sergio

After ten weeks of cutting, sewing and styling, South Carolina native Sergio Hudson came out on top as the winner of Rihanna’s Styled To Rock design competition.  The pop star, along with judges/mentors Mel Ottenberg, Erin Wasson, and Pharrell Williams, chose the father of three over runner up Laura Petrielli-Pulice from Chicago, for his envelope-pushing aesthetic and strong structuring skills. Hudson walks away with a $100,000 cash prize, a fashion feature in Glamour magazine and a spot on Rihanna’s official design team.

Airing on Bravo, the music-meets-fashion competition series followed 12 up-and-coming coming designers, hand-picked by the pop-star, to create unique fashion pieces for some of the biggest names in entertainment. With celebrity guests such as Miley Cyrus and Kelly Osbourne, the designers experienced demanding real-life challenges, made to push their creative boundaries. Each week, with only a limited time frame, they were asked to create an innovative outfit and complete look based on the celebrities’ detailed brief.  In the final challenge, the final two designers had to create two editorial looks specifically for Rihanna. Sergio’s denim ball gown and high-cut denim shorts were the stand out pieces.

President Barack Obama Named Most Admired Man Of 2013

By goodblacknews on January 2, 2014

barack obama most admired man

Despite having earned dismal approval ratings for his presidency at the end of last year, President Barack Obama (pictured) was still named the nation’s most admired man of 2013, according to a recent Gallup Poll. The Commander-in-Chief has won the honor for the 57th time, over a six-year period, since Gallup began asking Americans the question for the past 6 years, reports Gallup Politics.  The Gallup organization polled people ages 18 and older via telephone from December 5th to December 8th across the United States to respond to a question about the person they admired the most on the planet. Sixteen percent of Americans named Obama as the individual they most look up to, and he was followed by former President George W. Bush and Pope Francis, who both shared the No. 2 spot as far as admired males with 4 percent each.

The former United States Secretary of State, U.S. Senator, and First Lady Hillary Clinton took poll honors as the most-admired female on the globe with a 15 percent rating. Clinton was followed by talk show maven Oprah Winfrey, who garnered 6 percent of the vote.  Coming in behind Winfrey and sharing their highly coveted spotlight is First Lady Michelle Obama and former Alaska governor Sarah Palin with each receiving 5 percent of the poll votes.
article by Ruth Manuel-Logan via newsone.com

California Restaurant Chain Tender Greens Exposes At-Risk Foster Youth to Culinary Skills

By goodblacknews on January 1, 2014

Erik Oberholtzer, CEO and co-founder of California restaurant chain Tender Greens, had been trying for years to figure out how to help young people. Last year, Oberholtzer’s company started a charitable program dubbed the “Sustainable Life Project.” The three-month program targets young people ages 18 to 24 who are transitioning out of foster care, who may be at-risk of becoming homeless or ending up in prison, reports CNN.

The Sustainable Life Project partners with local organizations to recruit young adults transitioning out of the foster care system to participate in a 12-week culinary arts and agriculture internship program. Youth transitioning out of foster care face unique challenges that make them especially vulnerable. Distrust, abuse, neglect and general lack of access to resources and guidance often make navigating adulthood difficult, according to the Tender Greens website. Without primary needs like housing, vocational training and legal support, these youth frequently don’t have the luxury of dreaming beyond finding a home and employment.
The young people visit artisan food makers, urban farmers and food-processing facilities to learn about the sources of their food. They get culinary arts training from restaurant chefs, and they receive a paid internship inside one of the company’s 12 restaurants. The restaurant chain then conducts interviews and takes up to eight students every three months.
Some 15 youths have graduated from the Sustainable Life Project since it started, and 10 who have landed restaurant jobs, CNN reports. Tender Greens pays students an hourly wage for their internship and covers transportation costs for farm visits. Oberholtzer started the program at a time when many CEOs were focused on surviving the recession. But Tender Greens was in the midst of a rapid expansion. The company grew from $7.3 million and 115 employees in 2009 to $28 million in revenues and 450 employees in 2013.

Africa-America Institute Launching Speaker Series for Global Leaders

By goodblacknews on January 1, 2014

(Image: ThinkStock)

The Africa-America Institute is launching a yearlong Speaker Series to provide a platform for domestic and global thought leaders to bring perspectives and expertise on issues relevant to U.S. policy toward Africa and African domestic policies.
This series, which will run from January through November 2014 in New York City and Washington, D.C., will be “a forum for innovative and visionary thought leaders to engage in dialogue on important issues of mutual concern to the African continent and United States to help inform and shape public policy and foster socio-economic development in Africa,” said Amini Kajunju, president and CEO of The Africa-America Institute.
The first event will kick off Jan. 30 with a panel discussion exploring the challenges and economic potential of President Barack Obama’s “Power Africa” Initiative. Kamran Khan, vice president of the Department of Compact Operations, Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) will moderate, and will be joined by participants Shari Berenbach, president & CEO, The U.S. African Development Foundation; Tony von der Muhll of Shift Into Green Energy ECUA; Ambassador Tuvako Manongi, permanent representative of Tanzania to the United Nations; and George Monyemangene, consul general of South Africa.
For more information, visit AAIOnline.org.
article by Janell Hazelwood via blackenterprise.com

Legal Recreational Pot Industry Opens in Colorado

By goodblacknews on January 1, 2014
ptionEmployees help customers at the crowded sales counter inside Medicine Man marijuana retail store, which opened as a legal recreational retail outlet in Denver on Wednesday Jan. 1, 2014. Colorado began retail marijuana sales on Jan. 1, a day some are calling "Green Wednesday." (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)
Employees help customers at the crowded sales counter inside Medicine Man marijuana retail store, which opened as a legal recreational retail outlet in Denver on Wednesday Jan. 1, 2014. Colorado began retail marijuana sales on Jan. 1, a day some are calling “Green Wednesday.” (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)
DENVER (AP) — Crowds were serenaded by live music as they waited for the nation’s first legal recreational pot shops to open. They ate doughnuts and funnel cakes as a glass-blower made smoking pipes. Some tourists even rode around in a limo, eager to try weed but not so eager to be seen buying it.  And when the sales began, those who bought the drug emerged from the stores, receipt held high and carrying sealed shopping bags, to cheers.
“I’m going to frame the receipt when I go home, to remind myself of what might be possible: Legal everywhere,” musician James Aaron Ramsey, 28, who did some time in jail for pot possession in Missouri and played folk tunes with his guitar for those in line.  Activists hope he’s right, and that the experiment in Colorado will prove to be a better alternative to the costly American-led drug war, produce the kind of revenue that state officials hope and save the government costs in locking up drug offenders.
Just on the first day, prices had already risen to more than $500 an ounce, but it’s too soon to say whether that will hold.  Washington state will open its pot industry later this year. Both states programs will be watched closely not just by officials in other states, but by activists and governments in other countries because the industries will be the first to regulate the production and sale of the drug.