List Archives - Page 21 of 24

October 24, 2014October 24, 2014

8 Black Superheroes You Didn’t Know Were African

Black superheroes, though not often seen in the movies, are alive and well on the pages of DC and Marvel comics. Here are eight Black superheroes you should know, as cited by Comic Vine and Buzzfeed.

Vixen (Mari Jiwe McCabe)

Vixen, also known as Mari Jiwe McCabe, is an African superhero from DC Comics. She’s from the Zambesi tribe. After she came to America, she became a successful supermodel and went on to study psychiatry. She used her beauty and education to travel the world and became the superhero we know as Vixen. She could mimic any animal in the wild. Her power was channeled from the god Anansi. She used her abilities to fight poachers and became a member of the Justice League.

Nubia

Nubia is an Amazonian warrior from DC Universe who kicks butt — using her strength and intellect. She’s immortal and has superhuman strength, stamina and agility. She’s also considered to be Wonder Woman’s twin and the only one with the power to destroy her.

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October 21, 2014October 21, 2014

11 Black Child Entrepreneurs You Should Know

Umar Brimah

At the age of 12, Umar Brimah, now 18, started his very own anime store called Yumazu (his name in Japanese). He opened the new shop in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Turning his hobby into a business, his mother put up $ 10,000 as an investment opening. Considering the Internet is one of the only places you can find anime, some products can end up costing twice the price, plus shipping charges, as reported by the Black Money Watch website.

Chental-Song Bembry

Chental-Song Bembry is the 17-year-old writer and illustrator behind The Honey Bunch Kids. Her mother helps her daughter run the literary business out of their home in Monmouth Junction, N.J. Ultimately, the duo hope to “launch a dominant brand that would include the images of [Bembry’s] characters being sold on personal items, from bed sheets to book bags,” according to the Black Enterprise website.

She was named youth ambassador for two literacy organizations, LiteracyNation and Mission EduCare. In 2011, she was brought into the funding-and-mentoring program of 100 Urban Entrepreneurs, the nonprofit foundation that offers $10,000 in startup grants and eight weeks of mentoring to talented young businesspeople nationwide.

Leanna Archer

Leanna Archer was just 9 years old she began using her Haitian great-grandmother’s recipe to sell homemade hair care products, as reported by NPR.org. Today, at age 18, she’s the CEO of a six-figure business. She handles more than 350 online orders a week and generates more than $100,000 in revenue every year. She has also founded the Leanna Archer Education Foundation for underprivileged children in Haiti.

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October 19, 2014October 20, 2014

9 Best US Cities for Black Tech Entrepreneurs to Thrive

As tech entrepreneurship thrives, it is increasingly important for Black people to be represented in this group of successful entrepreneurs. According to Bauce Magazine’s 7 Cities for Young Black Professionals and Black Enterprise’s 10 Best Cities to Start a Business, these are the best cities for Black tech entrepreneurs due to their social, cultural and professional opportunities.

Washington D.C.

Washington, D.C., is considered by many to be one of the best places for African-Americans to live. Ranking as one of the best-paying and millennial-friendly cities, D.C. is responsible for more Black internships than any other city in the U.S. Plus, Washington, D.C., is the place to be if you want to rub elbows with some of America’s most-influential people. Many of the city’s startups have ties to the federal government because the founders once worked for Uncle Sam, have a potential solution for a big government problem, or both, as reported by Entrepreneur.com.

New York

The Big Apple is arguably one of the country’s most-opportune cities. It’s a hub for virtually every industry. Fast-paced and ever-changing, New York City is perfect for those who love to constantly be on the move and in the mix of things. New York’s Silicon Alley has emerged as a heavy-hitting startup ecosystem, with a strong foundation of entrepreneurial and tech talent, venture capital, accelerator and incubation programs, marketing/public relations and ad agencies, nongovernmental organizations and government programs, according to Forbes. The city is also the global capital for diverse and female tech entrepreneurs.

Los Angeles

As the intersection of technology and entertainment emerge, tech entrepreneurs find great momentum through the networking and schmoozing of the Los Angeles scene. For example, Hollywood heavyweight Troy Carter, whose clients have included singers Lady Gaga and John Mayer, has recently launched his tech venture AF Square, a venture investment division investing in startups that “disrupt the status quo,” according to the AF Square website. L.A. startups are 58 percent more likely to have consumers as their primary paying customers versus business-to-business. Flourishing communities in L.A. are contributing to its appeal as a startup hub.

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October 13, 2014October 14, 2014

9 Contemporary Black Academics You Should Know

Ali Mazrui

Ali Mazrui, who passed away this past weekend, was a Kenyan academic, professor and political writer on African and Islamic studies and North-South relations. He was an Albert Schweitzer professor in the humanities and the director of the Institute of Global Cultural Studies at Binghamton University in Binghamton, New York. Mazrui obtained his bachelor of arts with distinction from Manchester University, his master’s degree from Columbia University and his doctorate of philosophy from Oxford University. He previously taught at the University of Michigan, Binghamton University and the State University of New York.

Mazrui’s research interests included African politics, international political culture, political Islam and North-South relations. He is author or co-author of more than 20 books. Mazrui was widely consulted by heads of states and governments, international media and research institutions for political strategies and alternative thoughts.

Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr.

Henry Louis Gates Jr. is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, literary scholar, journalist, cultural critic and institution builder. He is an Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University. Gates has authored 17 books and created 14 documentary films. His TV show Finding Your Roots, now in its second season on PBS, has featured several celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey and Chris Rock, tracing back their ancestral lineage. He is also the co-founder and editor-in-chief of the online daily, The Root.

Dr. Michael Eric Dyson

Michael Eric Dyson is an academic, author and radio host. He is a professor of sociology at Georgetown University. Dyson received his bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, from Carson–Newman College in 1985. He obtained his master’s and Ph.D. in religion from Princeton University. He hosted The Michael Eric Dyson Show from 2009 to 2011. He’s currently a political analyst for MSNBC and has published 17 books about subjects that run the gamut from hip-hop to Hurricane Katrina.

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October 10, 2014October 10, 2014

9 Black People Who Made an Impact in Physics

As the focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) grows and Black people are more encouraged to take on STEM studies and careers, this article pays homage to Black men and women who were pioneers in the realm of physics, according to Physics Buzz and Buffalo University’s Physicists of the African Diaspora.

Edward Bouchet was the first African-American to receive a Ph.D. from a university in the United States. He received his doctorate in 1876 from Yale after studying optics, but he had trouble finding a teaching position afterwards because of his race. He took a position teaching physics and chemistry at the Institute of Colored Youth in Pennsylvania for 26 years, then moved around to several different colleges and high schools at the end of his career.

Elmer Imes was the second African-American to receive a physics doctorate, and the first to publish research. His work, published in 1920, on molecular infrared spectroscopy provided one of the earliest tests of quantum theory. Despite his scientific achievements, he also had trouble finding employment at a university or college and spent the next 10 years of his life at different industrial labs. In 1930, he became the chairman of the physics department at Fisk University.

Willie Hobbs Moore was the first African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. in physics at the University of Michigan in 1972 on vibrational analysis of secondary chlorides. While at Michigan, Moore worked for Datamax. She also held engineering positions at Bendix Aerospace Systems, Barnes Engineering and Sensor Dynamics, where she was responsible for the theoretical analysis.

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October 8, 2014January 9, 2015

7 Black Innovators and Inventors in STEM Fields Who Blerds Should Know

Black innovators, scientists and inventors have made significant contributions in the science, technology, engineering and math fields. Each has added something special and unique to the STEM world and, for that reason, is worthy of recognition.

Here are seven scientist Blerds you should know about.

Name: Dr. Shaundra B. Daily

Expertise: Educational Technologist

Contribution to Science: The MIT graduate was part of the team of researchers who developed Galvanic Skin Response bracelets, also referred to as GSR. The bracelets allow researchers to measure variations in emotional reactions. Humans tend to sweat when experiencing certain emotions and the GSR bracelets measure how much the wearer perspires.

Daily has always had an interest in understanding how people emote because she says for a long time she didn’t get emotions. On a segment of the Secret Life of Scientists and Engineers, Daily shares that when she was a little girl her mother threw her a surprise party and she didn’t emote. Her reaction was a simple, “Thank you.” “My mother described my temperament as flatline,” Daily says. This interest influenced Daily to understand how emotions can positively or negatively affect how a child learns.

Daily created Girls Involved In Real Life Sharing (G.I.R.L.S.), creative and engaging software that helps measure emotion for young girls. The aim is to help them explore their emotions and then learn how to deal with them accordingly.

Not only is Daily a renowned educational technologist, but she is a dancer who has performed for Florida State University and BET.

Name: Dr. Agnes Day

Expertise: Microbiology

Contribution to Science: The Howard University professor’s love of science began when she was a young girl exploring the wooded landscape of her hometown with her older brother.

After discovering plant life, insects and animals, they would head to the library to learn more about their findings. This love of natural science followed her throughout her life.

According to the Grio, while pursuing a graduate degree, Day secured a grant that amounted to $2.5 million. The grant was intended “to fund research that focused on mechanisms of drug resistance in fungi, the development of animal models of breast cancer, and molecular characterization of the aggressive phenotype of breast cancer in African-American women.”

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October 3, 2014October 3, 2014

Five Things To Consider Before Pursuing a Degree As a Computer Programmer

Determine what kind of programming you are interested in. Decide whether you want to develop software for the Web, mobile devices or the desktop. You can do a wide range of programming from application or system to game programming.

Learn the fundamentals of programming. You must learn how to program and you must learn how to use programming language through consistent practice and dedication. The way to be an expert is by doing the things you know how to do over and over. Work on free and open source projects. Build your own stuff for fun.

Choose a programming language. There are many computer programming languages such as C++, C#, Delphi, Java and Python. Take your time and explore some of these languages and determine if you like one more than the others. Solve a problem using one of these languages.

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