Source: IGN
Is 3-D-Printed Food Really the Way of the Future?
10 Extraordinary Black Pioneers Who Have Received a Nobel Prize
Sir William Arthur Lewis (Jan. 23, 1915 – June 15, 1991)
Lewis is the only Black person to have won the Nobel Prize in Economics. He is known for his Lewis model and the theory of economic growth. Lewis was awarded the prize in 1979.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (Jan. 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968)
King became the youngest person to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his leadership during the Civil Rights Movement. King is remembered for many things, including the March on Washington, Selma marches and Montgomery bus boycott. He was an advocate of nonviolence and civil disobedience. In October 1964, he was awarded the prize.
10 Exceptional Black Women Who Are Changing the Face of Tech
Window Snyder
She is the security and privacy product manager of Apple. Snyder’s parents worked as programmers and taught her the program BASIC at 5 years old. Snyder is an expert on cryptography and has worked at Mozilla, where the Web browser Firefox was developed, and Microsoft.
Ory Okolloh
The Kenyan native was originally a Harvard-educated lawyer before turning to tech. Her company Ushahidi is a revolutionary crowd-sourcing platform that allows citizen journalists and eyewitnesses all over the world to report incidences of violence through the Web, mobile E-mail, SMS and Twitter. She currently serves as Google’s policy manager for Africa.
6 Ways To Create A Better Environment For Your Kids To Thrive
Since discovering the Black Girl Nerds community, I have learned that many of us have the same story. Growing up, my interests differed from other girls in the Southern, all-Black neighborhood where I grew up. I liked science, rock music and ’80s movies. I read “Sweet Valley High” books and watched professional wrestling. I felt different. As I got older, I lived with a deep sense of not belonging. In my “advanced” and AP classes, sometimes I was “the only” Black girl, which carries its own weight. All in all, I didn’t know where I fit or if I fit anywhere. But I survived those difficult years.
I am a parent now, and I often think about my parenting style. I wonder if I am creating a space where my little one can thrive and grow into the girl she really is — nerd or not. As I pondered this, it became really clear that she will have a fundamentally different childhood than I had. Some of the reasons are a result of more resources; others are differences in my own views on parenting that differ from my family of origin.
There are many ways that my daughter’s experiences and mine are different, but here are six ways our childhoods are worlds apart:
Access to Technology
When I think back to my own childhood, I used my first computer in sixth grade. It was an Apple with a black screen and green typeset. I didn’t even own my first computer until graduate school. The fact that I can get online at any time is mind-boggling. Now, my little one will grow up surrounded by technology in our home, which will positively influence her learning experience.
Diverse TV Programming
I limit TV options to diverse characters whenever possible. Options for kids are more diverse than those from my childhood, although there is significant room for improvement. In our home, we like Doc McStuffins, Mickey Mouse and Dora the Explorer. These are good characters, but I believe my childhood favorites were more interesting, more engaging. I watched “The Smurfs,” “Thundercats,” “Hall of Justice,” “GI Joe” and “Jem and the Holograms.” Almost no diversity, but I remember being intrigued by the characters.
Nigeria’s Largest E-Commerce Startups Show Signs of an Imminent Digital Boom in the Country
Recently, tech startups in Nigeria have been piquing the interest of tech giants, investors and venture capitalists all across the globe. As these startups continue their climb to success, it seems like the economic landscape in the African country is starting to show signs of a highly anticipated digital boom.
A number of tech entrepreneurs have pointed to Nigeria as the go-to country for a tech business hoping to lay roots in Africa.
The success of the rapidly growing e-commerce startups Mall for Africa, Jumia and Konga is a clear sign as to why Nigeria is seen as a tech hot spot that’s on the brink of igniting a continental digital firestorm.
Mall for Africa was launched back in 2011 by two Nigerian brothers Chris and Tope Folayan. The e-commerce site focuses on selling American goods to middle- and upper-class consumers in Nigeria. In 2014 alone, Mall for Africa brought in $17 million in sales and teamed up with major retailers like Barneys, Bloomingdale’s and Best Buy.
Jumia and Konga concentrate more on the general consumer market in Nigeria rather than the niche audience Mall of Africa is going after.
Together, both of the online retailers have obtained more than $300 million in VC (venture capital) funding.
This trend was driven partially by the growing amount of spending power in Africa, especially in Nigeria.
A report by the McKinsey Global Institute said that consumer spending in Africa is expected to exceed $1 trillion in the next five years. Nigeria is already seeing an impressive $400 billion in consumer spending.
McKinsey estimates that tapping into that growing market could lead to more than $75 billion being generated in e-commerce revenue alone by 2025.
Konga CEO Sim Shagaya says that the market has always shown an interest in more technology and e-commerce but simply didn’t have the infrastructure to back it.
“The energy is already out there,” Shagaya told Fortune. “Africa does not lack an abundance of people to buy things, sell things or move them around. What Africa lacks is a 21st century operating system to make it all work.”
With more investors, major tech companies and venture capitalists seeking opportunities in the Nigerian market, however, an Internet boom seems imminent.
Konga and Jumia, while competitors in the market, are both leading the way for Nigeria to unlock its full economic potential in cyberspace because they are proving just how profitable Nigeria and the rest of the African continent can be.
They are also showing tech giants that it is possible to overcome the country’s unique obstacles.
A series of events have had some entrepreneurs wary of tapping into Nigeria’s market.
The country’s president recently fired the central bank governor, Lamido Sanusi, because he blew the whistle on $20 billion in missing state oil revenue.
Not too long after that, news of the Boko Haram kidnapping shocked the globe, and the country’s presidential election was delayed for six weeks.
In summary, Shagaya says, the problem is corruption.
“In ways, the country’s challenges create the opportunities,” Shagaya said. “But there are some problems you can’t get away from, like $20 billion missing and hundreds of girls kidnapped. The common denominator in all this is corruption.”
Either way, the entrepreneurs behind these incredibly successful e-commerce startups are focusing on the country’s incredible amount of untapped potential.
“We know it has more potential than where it is now,” Shagaya noted. “Creating jobs and successful 21st century ventures will serve that. We will make money, but in doing so, we will also fix problems.”
10 of the Greatest Black TV Nerds of All Time
Steve Urkel
Steve Urkel, played by Jaleel White, was one of TV’s most popular Black nerds and a surprising crowd favorite from the ABC/CBS sitcom Family Matters. While Urkel was only supposed to make an occasional appearance on the show, audiences fell in love with the lovable nerd, and producers were inclined to make him the new staple of the show. Urkel was one of TV’s first Black nerds to figure out how to use science to turn himself into a ladies’ man. The young nerd built a successful “transformation chamber” that turned him into the charming Stefan Urquelle. In another episode, he even used the chamber to transform himself into a martial arts master with the help of Bruce Lee’s DNA.
Lt. Geordi La Forge
The Star Trek: The Next Generation engineering genius played by LeVar Burton is one of the most praised TV Blerds there has ever been. It helps that he was a main character on the very show that most nerds consider sacred, but his ingenuity and sheer intelligence on the show earned him admiration from a wide spectrum of fans. Media critic Eric Deggans of the Tampa Bay Times even deemed him the “saint of Blerds” and pointed out the fact that he was “chasing warp core breaches before Urkel slapped on his first pair of rainbow-colored suspenders.” While his dating life wasn’t explored much throughout the series, his few romantic encounters proved he was yet another nerdy guy who seemed inept around women.
Coolest Astronaut in Cyberspace: Viral Sensation Leland Melvin Lists Embracing Failure and Erasing Boundaries as the Keys to Success
Leland Melvin spent many years as a NASA astronaut, and he has recently added viral sensation to his already lengthy list of accomplishments, but the road wasn’t easy for the lovable space explorer and host of Lifetime’s new Child Genius competition. As his official NASA photo featuring two face-licking, squirrel-chasing and undeniably loyal members of his family continues to circulate the Web, Melvin has also been sure to share a message about the true keys to success.
The 50-year-old space explorer captured the hearts and retweets of many when one reporter shared his official NASA portrait toward the end of January.
The photo not only shows Melvin sporting what he has deemed a “big cheeseburger smile,” but it also features his two rescue dogs happily jumping into his lap.
Adam Aton, the reporter who discovered the photo while researching the Challenger explosion, posted the image on Twitter and said he was in “awe.”
The picture was enough to solidify Melvin as one of the coolest astronauts in the world. His Twitter handle, however, is what sealed the deal for Aton.
“Also, his handle is @Astro_Flow,” Aton wrote under the picture.
The image garnered thousands of retweets in a matter of minutes, but for Melvin the photo didn’t seem that out of the ordinary.
“When you take your picture, you take your family,” he told The Huffington Post.
Melvin explained that since he wasn’t married and his family lived all the way in Virginia, his two canine pals came along instead.
After years with NASA and exploring uncharted territories that doctors believed he would never be able to see, Melvin eventually retired just in time to accept his new gig with Lifetime.
His chipper spirit is apparent and that “cheeseburger smile” is hard to deny, but for a man who exudes joy, his journey was filled with major obstacles.
In fact, there was a time when doctors warned him that it was time to turn his back on any dreams of going into space.
After being drafted by the Dallas Cowboys back in 1986, a hamstring injury caused Melvin to switch his focus to his education and eventually working for NASA.
His sports dreams faltered, but his aspirations in the STEM field lived on as he underwent years of intensive training.
Unfortunately, history seemed to repeat itself when Melvin was critically injured during his final days of training.
At NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, which is a giant pool used to train the astronauts for space walking, one of the technicians forgot to place a pad in Melvin’s helmet.
This pad was essential to letting him clear his ears after he was submerged in the water.
“When I came out of the water, I was completely deaf,” Melvin said. “Blood was coming out of one ear; the doctor was talking to me, and I couldn’t hear anything.”
He eventually started to get his hearing back after spending three weeks in the hospital, but the doctors told him he’d never fly in space.
So Melvin decided to go to Washington, D.C., to work in NASA’s education programs, but that’s when tragedy struck again in 2003.
“That when we lost the space shuttle Columbia and all my friends,” Melvin said.
It also proved to be a turning point for Melvin, who would receive special recognition for his work inspiring the youth.
“As we went around the country for the different memorial services, the chief flight surgeon said, ‘I’m watching you clear your ears, and I see the good work you’re doing for this country trying to inspire kids and teachers,’ ” Melvin said.
It inspired the doctor so much that he decided to sign a waiver for Melvin to fly into space, The Huffington Post reported.
“You have to have grit,” Melvin said. “What was that thing that got you over the edge? Grit comes from failure.”
It’s one of the many messages Melvin reminds people of now that he has a major platform to reach the masses.
The key to success is to turn those struggles into passion.
Another key, he says, is to erase all barriers. Not just the barriers to enter a field or personal barriers, he says, but to lose the idea that there are barriers between people.
Melvin recalled his experience looking back on the Earth from outer space and said it changed his perspective on things.
“Then I looked back on the planet from the space station — there are no borders,” he told The Huffington Post. “It’s one blue marble spinning below you. And here I am working with people from around the world we used to fight against: the Russians, the Germans. We were breaking bread and working in harmony at 17,500 miles per hour.”
Melvin believes that sharing that perspective of the world as a borderless, blue marble could “shift” the way people see others and make people “want to do more good to save our civilization.”
During his interview, he also opened up about the importance of art even in the midst of STEM careers and how he, like many others in the STEM field, was inspired by Star Trek.
Tech Guru in Ghana Conquers Cerebral Palsy to Become One of the Most Influential African Women in STEM
As a Black woman, Farida Bedwei already had some serious challenges ahead if she wanted to launch a successful career in the tech space. Being diagnosed with cerebral palsy meant she had yet another obstacle to navigate on her road to becoming a software engineer — but she didn’t necessarily see it that way.
Bedwei was only 1 year old when she was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, an incurable neurological disorder that impacts muscle coordination and body movement.
Bedwei assured herself that her disorder would never get in the way of the things she hoped to accomplish, and her impressive success in the technology field today is proof that she lived up to her word.
After conquering tech’s high barriers to entry for Black people and women, Bedwei is now the co-founder and chief technical officer of Logiciel. She was also deemed the most influential woman in business and government in Africa for the financial sector by South Africa’s CEO Magazine.
She has accomplished things that many aspiring tech entrepreneurs would only dream about, including developing a cloud platform that is currently being used by more than 100 micro-finance companies, CNN reported.
It would be hard to find anyone who would refer to Bedwei as a woman with a disability before they identified her as a tech guru, influential businesswoman and a software engineering mastermind.
Her journey to tech stardom began when she was only 12 years old.
She had been home-schooled all her life until that age. At that point, Bedwei was enrolled at a government school so that she could begin socializing with other children.
When her family realized she had a serious interest in computers, they decided that she would skip out on her senior year of high school and enroll in a computer course at the St. Michael information technology center instead.
“I’m sure most of my classmates were wondering what I was doing with them,” Bedwei said as she reflected on being the youngest of her class, according to CNN. “And that is how I started my career as a software engineer because through that course I realized what aspect of IT I was going to specialize in. I loved the idea of solving problems and creating things.”
From that point forward, Bedwei was always setting new goals for herself and working tirelessly to make sure she was able to achieve every one of them.
After she graduated from the information technology center, she decided that Soft, a premier software company in Ghana, was the best company for her.
She didn’t exactly check off all the boxes for the ideal candidate, but that didn’t stop her.
“I went and saw the head of the technical division and I told him, ‘I want a job here, I don’t have any experience, but I’m inspired to learn. … If you give me the chance, I promise you that you’ll never regret it,’ “ Bedwei continued.
Her plan worked and he offered Bedwei the opportunity to come on board the team.
Throughout the years, she worked at several different companies and spent nine years with Rancard Solutions.
By this time, she had already earned two diplomas and was on her way to earning a degree as well.
In 2010, she joined the team at G-Life Financial Services and began building her own cloud software program called gKudi with her colleague Derrick Dankyi.
Bedwei would be an incredible inspiration for anyone, but she has been an exceptionally stellar role model for young children who refuse to be limited by their own disabilities.
“I am a role model for a lot of children with disabilities, and it’s very important for me to showcase to the world that … Yes … You can have a disabled child, and it’s not the end of the world,” she said. “There is so much that that child can end up doing given the right resources.”
The Importance of Knowing How and Why Black History Matters
Before this year, I didn’t like celebrating Black History Month. While I was grateful for the contributions of the Black people who came before me, I didn’t like celebrating Black History Month because I felt like Black history didn’t matter today.
This dislike for Black History Month didn’t come overnight. It started in high school, where I kept hearing and seeing the same old faces being taught. In high school, we had Black History Month assemblies in the gym each year. At first, these were entertaining. By my junior year, I had gotten bored by them. During my senior year, I didn’t go at all.
Another reason I came to dislike Black History Month is because I didn’t see the past contributions of Black people being reflected anywhere in the mainstream media. In fall 2010, I was doing research on the history of rock music for a college paper and was surprised to discover that Black musicians like Chuck Berry and Little Richard had pioneered rock ‘n’ roll.
When I discovered this, I had mixed emotions. On one hand, I was excited to hear Chuck Berry’s music and see old live performances clips on YouTube. On the other hand, I was upset that I hadn’t learned about Black people inventing rock ‘n’ roll in grade school. I was also disappointed because I thought that there weren’t any Black rock musicians today.
Last year, I realized that there were current Black musicians in rock as well as every other genre besides hip-hop, pop, and R&B. Using the site Afropunk to do further research, I discovered hundreds of bands and musicians like Skunk Anansie, Gary Clark Jr., Marian Mereba and more. All these musicians were either independent musicians or not widely known.
At the same time, I was digging deeper into the past and discovering other musicians not in any school textbook. Some examples included Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Nina Simone and Betty Davis. Soon I was able to make connections about who influenced who today and gain an immense appreciation for Black musicians in almost every genre.
In addition to the music, I also discovered Black speculative fiction, a literary genre that comprises Black authors of fantasy, sci-fi, and horror. According to an I09 article, Black speculative fiction has been around since the 19th century. Some current Black speculative fiction authors I have read include Balogun Ojetade, Tananarive Due and N.K. Jemisin.
Read more by Latonya Pennington at Black Girl Nerds
Young Black Entrepreneur Launches New Site to Help Atlanta Job Seekers Find the Positions They Desire
One budding Black tech entrepreneur is going digital with his efforts to help both Atlanta residents find work and Atlanta businesses find new talent in the area.
Both Atlanta natives and recent transplants to the growing metro area might be surprised to hear that the Georgia city is ranked as one of the top cities for finding jobs.
According to Forbes, Atlanta is ranked the third best city to find a job despite the fact that unemployment in the city has remained relatively stagnant.
There are many factors that contributed to this trend, including the fact that just as many jobs were laying people off as there were companies bringing on new hires.
Another factor, however, could very well be the fact that people are struggling to find the jobs they want. That’s where CareersofAtlanta.com could grow to be a saving grace for both employees and employers.
A young Black entrepreneur, McVincent Strothers, recently launched the mobile-friendly website in an effort to address the current hurdles in the job-hunting and employee-seeking processes.
“I saw a need for a mobile friendly regional job site and I decided to put together a site that was modern and reasonable for employers to post jobs and find qualified candidates,” Strothers said in a press release.
What makes CareersofAtlanta.com such a valuable site is not only the fact that it tailors to a particular location, but it also caters to the fast-paced lifestyle of today’s professionals.
Its HTML 5 responsive design makes the site compatible with any screen size, thus enabling job seekers to scroll through listings on their phone or allowing employers to post new positions from a tablet.
All that digital convenience comes with a price, however.
The service will cost employers anywhere from about $30 for a month to $500 a year.
For now, Strothers is offering a special deal for employers as a part of an aggressive marketing campaign.
For the price of two unlimited year subscriptions, employers could get a lifetime subscription for $1,000.
This would allow them to post as many jobs as they wanted, as frequently as they wanted while also giving them a special half-off rate for a booth at certain job fairs.