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10 of the Greatest Black TV Nerds of All Time

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TV Blerds

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.

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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.

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12 Black Pioneers Whose Contributions Undoubtedly Changed Education in America

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Armand Lanusse (c. 1810-1867)

Lanusse was a poet and educator living in New Orleans.  In 1845, he edited 85 poems written in French by 18 Afro-Creole poets of Louisiana called Les Cenelles. Lanusse helped fight for the rights of Black people in the bayou. In 1852, he organized a school for Afro-Creoles in New Orleans.

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Daniel Payne (Feb. 24, 1811 – Nov. 2, 1893)

Payne was a pastor of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. He worked on helping freedman after slavery and recruiting more members into the congregation. He was also one of the founders of Wilberforce University in 1856. Payne also served as president of the school in 1863-77.

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4 Apps To Vastly Increase Your Child’s Black History Knowledge

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‘Black Inventors Match Game’

Available on: Android and iOS

This app, for younger children around ages 7-12, features the characters Myles and Ayesha as interactive teachers. They will help kids learn about Black inventors and their inventions, such as the doorknob, traffic light, lemon squeezer and many more. Then users can test their knowledge with a matching game. This app is only 99 cents.

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9 Awesome Comics Represented at the Black Comix Arts Festival To Add To Your Collection

Last month, The Afronauts launched by attending the inaugural Black Comix Arts Festival presented by the Northern California Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Foundation. The Black Comix Arts Festival’s mission is to celebrate the creativity and subjectivity of African-Americans in the comic arts and popular visual culture, and it included a grand exposition, kids’ activities, special guest artists’ presentations, film screenings, cosplay events and much more. The event was held at the San Francisco Public Library, the Children’s Creativity Museum and City View at METREON. The Afronauts were the only media visibly in attendance, and we were able to interview half of the 28 artists/writers in attendance.

Here are some of the comics we would like to highlight from the event:

‘Siba’:

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Siba is a young girl who is known for her huge appetite, kind heart and loyalty to her friends. Her two childhood best friends, Kevin and Jeff, are troublemakers. They always get into fights, stealing from shops and pulling pranks on people. Together they enjoy their childhood sharing the good times in the neighborhood.

Christopher Garner and Sebastian A. Jones:

‘Dusu’

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Hidden from his kin and sheltered from his future, Dusu is raised among the Galemren (Wild Elves) in the secret heart of the Ugoma Jungle, a world in which he does not belong. But Dusu is not entirely human either. He is on the path to something more. Dusu must focus his rage and become the savior of Ugoma before all he loves is destroyed.

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8 Incredible Google Projects You Might Not Know About

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Google Earth Flight Simulator

The Google Earth Flight Simulator is the latest version of Google Earth. It allows users to view 3-D models of natural landmarks, like mountains, and urban areas all through the lens of a virtual plane. The feature arrived last year, but many people are unaware of it. To activate the flight simulator, users must download Google Earth and press CTRL + Option + A to activate it.

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Space Elevator

Google’s research lab Google X has been developing a space elevator capable of transporting people above the Earth. The elevator will be made of the hardest substance on Earth in the form of carbon nanotubes. These would support the elevator. It is likely a project like this will not become a reality until around 2025.

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10 Brilliant Black Mathematicians Who Never Received the Praise They Deserved

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Euphemia Haynes (Sept. 11, 1890 – July 25, 1980)

Haynes  was a mathematician and educator and the first African-American woman to earn a doctorate in mathematics from the Catholic University of America in 1943. For roughly 47 years, Haynes was a devoted math teacher in Washington, D.C. She taught at local high schools and at universities. In 1930, she taught at Miner Teachers College. While there, she served as chair of the mathematics department and the Division of Mathematics and Business Education. In 1966, Haynes was the first woman to chair the District of Columbia School Board, and during her short period there, she was vital in the integration of the D.C. public schools. 

 

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Gloria Conyers Hewitt (born Oct. 26, 1935)

Hewitt earned her bachelor’s in secondary mathematics education at Fisk University in 1956. She attended the University of Washington and received her master’s and doctorate in mathematics in 1962. One of her major career highlights was in the 1990s, when she served as chair of the mathematics department at the University of Montana. Hewitt was also one of the first Black women to be awarded a mathematics reward of any kind. She was awarded the National Science Foundation postdoctoral Science Faculty Fellowship in the 1990s.

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10 of The Greatest Black Superheroes Of All Time

Growing up Black and watching Saturday morning cartoons, watching sci-fi and superhero movies was oftentimes frustrating due to the lack of identification with the characters. Often we did not see ourselves portrayed as the superhero. Image is very important to children, and by not seeing superheroes who look like them and always being portrayed as white men has an effect on a child’s self-esteem.

However, to me it seemed that comic books were always a little more progressive than mainstream media. In fact, you can trace the rise of modern Black superheroes to the civil rights movement. For example, the X-Men characters of Professor Xavier and Magneto have even been compared to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. While comics have not been a bastion of diversity, they have offered us some great superheroes to identify with as young Black children, which in turn helped to inspire the next generation of artists to create even more Black superheroes. Today, there are literally hundreds of Black superheroes and heroines across all mediums with the most iterations coming in the form of comics. Here is a list of my top 10 superheroes.

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10. Spawn (Al Simmons)

Spawn first appeared in 1992. A CIA agent devoted to black ops. Once there, he began to question the morality of what his agency was doing. Murdered by his partner in a blazing inferno, Simmons’ soul was sent to hell because he had knowingly killed innocents during his days in the CIA. Simmons made a deal to sell his soul in order to avenge his murder and see his wife. Spawn is ranked 60th on Wizard magazine’s list of the “Top 200 Comic Book Characters of All Time,” 50th on Empire magazine’s list of “The 50 Greatest Comic Book Characters” and 36th on IGN’s 2011 “Top 100 Comic Book Heroes.” Spawn was featured in an animated HBO series, a feature film and several video games.

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9. Spider-Man (Miles Morales)

He first appeared as Spider-Man in August 2011. The inspiration for the character was taken from both U.S. President Barack Obama and American actor Donald Glover. Following the death of Peter Parker, a teenager of Black Hispanic descent, Morales, is the second Spider-Man in the Ultimate Marvel Universe. However Morales isn’t the character used for the Disney XD show Ultimate Spider–Man. However, he does appear in a third season storyline in which Parker travels through various parallel universes and encounters those dimensions’ versions of Spider-Man, including Morales, who is voiced by rapper/actor Glover. “Spider-Man” writer Brian Michael Bendis has stated that he favors incorporating Morales into the Spider-Man feature films. Miles Morales appears as a playable character in Marvel Super Hero Squad Online, Spider-Man Unlimited and Lego Marvel Super Heroes.

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6 Things Companies Must Consider When Diversifying Their Workforce

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Team-Building and Inclusion

Before trying to diversify any workplace, make sure that your mostly homogeneous workforce will cooperate in the process. A person’s religion, sexuality, race or creed should not be an issue with co-workers when projects are to be done. The best way to break the ice and build trust and understanding is through team-building exercises. Find time to make team-building a priority for current and incoming staff.

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Create a Tolerant Workplace

One of the most important things an organization must do is ensure its culture and hiring practices will support the recruitment of diverse workers. Look at job descriptions and images on communication materials, and review the interviewing process that you currently have. These things will help carry the ideas of diversity, and they will make candidates feel confident that your company is committed to them.

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5 Things About Video Games Some Nerds Wish They Could Eliminate

As a gamer, I’ve spent a lot of time and money on games. I live and breathe these games. I’ll continue to support this market, but I want a few things in return:

This list was originally published by Anissa Hanley at Black Nerd Problems

Don’t Try to Fool Me With Your False Advertising

I get excited when I see a commercial or trailer for a new game. The first thing I critique is how clean the graphics are. Then how awesome the storyline is. Now, I get really pissed when I see a trailer that looks like this:

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And the game really looks like this:

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Ad agencies only seem to show the cutscenes from the game when advertising it and not the actual gameplay. Sometimes, they’ll portray a game in a way that has nothing to do with its aesthetic and falsely advertises it. This happens mostly with mobile games. Stop trying to fool us, WE’RE ON TO YOU!

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6 High-Paying Jobs for Introverted Black Nerds

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Astronomer

Salary: Up to $96,000+

Becoming an astronomer is a very long and arduous process. One must earn a doctorate degree and pay a lot of dues. Astronomers study the stars, planets, celestial bodies and how space operates as a whole. They monitor satellites and observe the night sky. Astronomy makes use of mathematics, chemistry, quantum mechanics and other science disciplines.

Supinfocom / Supinfogame / ISD / Groupe formation de la CCIV. Valenciennes

Digital Game Developer

Salary: Up to $200,000

These software developers spend long hours looking at a computer screen. They must know 3-D animation, math, science and computer science to have a career like this. They must also love long hours and video games.

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