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Posts tagged as “African American”

Ninety-Seven Years Ago Today: Xavier University Was Founded

Xavier University of Louisiana is founded(Photo: Xavier University of Louisiana)

Xavier University of Louisiana began its mission to educate Native American and Black students when St. Katharine Drexel and the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament opened its doors in New Orleans on Nov. 11, 1915. After seeing the lack of Catholic schools for higher education that catered to Blacks in the South, Drexel used her inheritance to open the institution. It started as a small high school, and later became known as Xavier Prep A. Normal School. The school taught the few career fields open to Blacks at the time and grew into an institution that taught 47 major areas on the undergraduate, graduate and professional degree levels. The co-ed liberal arts college remains the only historically black Roman Catholic college in the country. 

article by Dorkys Ramos via bet.com

 

 

Tops In Tech: African-American Innovators To Be Honored

Dr. Danny Harris, Dept. of Education CIO, receives 50 Most award from Deputy Education Secretary Anthony Miller, also trained as an engineer.

There are the Oscars. The BET Awards. The MTV Awards. But did you know there was an awards ceremony for the top African Americans in technology? People who are working to make our lives better through new innovations?
Black Money just released the names of 2012′s “50 Most Important African-Americans in Technology,” who will be honored on  January 15, 2013 in Washington, DC at the Innovation & Equity Symposium. The theme for this year is “Keeping America First in Technology: Public Innovation and Supplier Diversity.”

Study Finds Black Graduates Feel More Financially Responsible Than Past Generations

Young African American college graduates say they are more responsibly committed to reaching financial goals than previous generations, according to a study released Tuesday by Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance.  Seventy percent of African Americans age 18 to 34 said they were either “disciplined” or “highly disciplined” when it came to finances, compared to just 47 percent of those 35 and older. However, 40 percent of those 55 and older reported having financially prepared to live to age 95, as opposed to just nine percent for the 18 to 34 set.

Austin’s Rich African-American History On Display

The Austin History Center has a story tell you — it’s tales of the African-American community during Travis County’s first 100 years.  It’s called “Building a Community: The First Century of African-American Life in Travis County.”  The exhibit begins in 1839 when the county was found, followed by the end of slavery in 1865, and follows all the way through 1940. Many freed slaves opened up businesses around town.

Report: African-American Consumer Influence Still Vital And Growing In U.S.

As the largest racial minority group in the United States, the influence of African-Americans on the nation’s culture is pervasive‬. With a collective buying power estimated to reach $1.1 trillion by 2015, Black consumers remain at the forefront of social trends and media consumption, according to the new African-Americans: Still Vital, Still Growing 2012 Report—the second installment to The State of the African-American Consumer Report released last year, a collaboration with Nielsen and the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA).
Nielsen has identified several factors that make the African-American consumer segment so uniquely diverse. Dynamic influencing factors–such as technology, social media and online connectivity– enable the Black consumer segment to leverage its collective power and influence. This segment, with its tremendous potential, holds a wealth of opportunities for businesses and advertisers, which makes understanding the Black consumer a critical need.

Reflections in Black: Celebrating African Americans in Photography


Augustus Washington (1820–1875)
Unidentified woman, probably a member of the Urias McGill family, daguerreotype, sixth plate, 1855, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress, LZ-USZC4-3937.
article via blog.charlesguice.com
Twelve years ago, Reflections in Black became the largest exhibition ever conceived to explore the breadth and history of work by black photographers.
It is unlikely that many people would be familiar with the name Jules Lion. A free man of color, Lion established the first daguerrean studio in New Orleans and, in doing so, became somewhat of a local celebrity. Alone, his accomplishments might have been of little interest. But the fact that he did this in the early spring of 1840, soon after the announcement of the daguerreotype process, is worthy of special attention. Moreover, there is evidence that Lion may have immigrated from France with knowledge of the process. For historian Deborah Willis, Lion’s achievements mark not only the beginning of photography in the U.S., but the pioneering involvement of blacks in the medium. As a result, Lion is included in the landmark exhibition,Reflections in Black: Smithsonian African American Photography.