List Archives - Page 23 of 24

September 18, 2014September 23, 2014

High Achievers: 6 Black Celebrities Who Finished At The Top of Their Class

Michelle Obama

Class of 1981

Where: Whitney Young High School

This shouldn’t come as a surprise to many people, but the first lady definitely doesn’t play second fiddle to her husband. Michelle Obama has excelled as a lawyer, in college (Princeton and Harvard Law) and at Whitney Young High School in Chicago, where she was the cream of the crop.

Alicia Keys

Class of 1997

Where: Professional Performing Arts School

Singer Alicia Keys has always seemed destined to be a star. At the tender age of just 16, Keys rose to the top of her class and was named the 1997 valedictorian at the Professional Performing Arts School in New York City.

John Legend

Class of 1994

Where: North High School

John Legend has always been exceptional. People may think he’s just an entertainer, but the All of Me singer was somewhat of a child prodigy. He enrolled at North High School in Springfield, Ohio, early — at the age of 12. Four years later, not only did he graduate as salutatorian of his class, but he also got accepted to Harvard University and was offered scholarships to Morehouse College and Georgetown University. He ultimately ended up going to an Ivy League school: the University of Pennsylvania.

Pages: 1 2

September 17, 2014September 19, 2014

8 Books of Critical Analysis and Essays on Black Speculative, Science Fiction, Superheroes and Horror

Books of critical analysis and essays on Black speculative, science fiction, superheroes and horror:

1. Black Comics: Politics of Race and Representation edited by Sheena C. Howard and Ronald L. Jackson II (2013) is an analytic history of the diverse contributions of Black artists to the medium of comics. Covering comic books, superhero comics, graphic novels and cartoon strips from the early 20th century to the present, the book explores the ways in which Black comic artists have grappled with such themes as the Black experience, gender identity, politics and social media.

2. Black Space: Imagining Race in Science Fiction Film by Adilifu Nama (2008) is the first book-length study of African-American representation in science fiction film. Black Space demonstrates that science fiction cinema has become an important field of racial analysis, a site where definitions of race can be contested and post-civil rights race relations (re)imagined.

3. Race in American Science Fiction by Isiah Lavender III (2011) offers a systematic classification of ways that race appears and how it is silenced in science fiction, while developing a critical vocabulary designed to focus attention on often-overlooked racial implications. These focused readings of science fiction contextualize race within the genre’s better-known master narratives and agendas.

4. Horror Noire: Blacks in American Horror Films from 1890s to Present by Robin Means Coleman (2011) presents a unique social history of blacks in America through changing images in horror films. Throughout the text, the reader is encouraged to unpack the genre’s racialized imagery, as well as the narratives that make up popular culture’s commentary on race. Offering a comprehensive chronological survey of the genre, this book addresses a full range of black horror films, including mainstream Hollywood fare, as well as art-house films, Blaxploitation films, direct-to-DVD films, and the emerging U.S./hip-hop culture-inspired Nigerian “Nollywood” Black horror films.

Pages: 1 2

September 16, 2014September 17, 2014

5 African-Americans Making an Impact in The Video Game Industry

Morgan Gray

Morgan Gray is a veteran in the video game industry and has worked on many popular games, such as Tomb Raider, Star Wars and most recently The Bureau: XCOM Declassified. Although Gray has worked on many mainstream games, he’s very ready to see a change in gaming when it comes to race. According to an interview he did with mtv.com, Gray stated:

“I am sick of playing the average white dude character. And I’m sick of playing a black stereotype. … As a player I want to have more experiences other than the futuristic super soldier white guy to the unlikely hero white guy. There’s that line where you’re playing you, and you’re playing the character. It’s sort of like, are you behind the character pushing? Are you holding hands with the character in your mind? And for me, I’d like to get more of relating to this character.”

Karisma Williams

Senior Experience Developer/Designer for Xbox Kinect

As a senior experience developer/designer, Karisma Williams designs and develops the various onscreen interfaces, which include menus, interaction models and onscreen elements. In addition to her work at Microsoft, Williams also serves as creative director of Matimeo.com, an independent UX development company.

Gordon Bellamy

Gordon Bellamy has spent the past 19 years producing and marketing interactive content and developing strategic business partnerships with video game publishers, social media developers and technology partners.

He has worked with major companies like MTV, EA Sports and Spike TV. He was named EA’s “rookie of the year” for his work on marketing the NFL Madden series and was instrumental in creating Spike TV’s Video Game Awards show.

Pages: 1 2

September 16, 2014December 31, 2014

24 African-American Historical Sites You Must Visit

National Underground Railroad Freedom Center – Cincinnati, Ohio

Opened in August 2004, the center commemorates the history of the Underground Railroad, a secret network of routes and safe houses 19th century slaves used to escape to free states and Canada. It also is dedicated to the abolishment of human enslavement and the secure freedom of all people. The permanent exhibitions include Invisible Slavery, documenting human-trafficking and modern-day slavery, and an exhibition on Solomon Northup, a free man who was kidnapped and sold into slavery. The exhibit was created to provide historical context for the film 12 Years a Slave, based on Northup’s experience.

Birthplace of Martin Luther King Jr. — Atlanta, Georgia

King’s childhood home is part of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site. Reservations can be made to tour the home. Visitors also can tour the nearby Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, which includes the crypts of King and his wife, Coretta Scott King, and the Eternal Flame, symbolizing King’s continued dream.

Ebenezer Baptist Church – Atlanta, Georgia

Located near the birthplace of Martin Luther King Jr. and Freedom Hall, a nonviolence exhibition, Ebenezer Baptist Church is an important part of the King family legacy as his grandfather and father, Martin Luther King Sr., served as pastors before he took over in 1960.

Freedom Rides Museum – Montgomery, Alabama

The museum is located in Montgomery’s historic Greyhound bus station, the site of a violent attack during the 1961 Freedom Rides. The museum features Freedom Ride exhibits, inspired artwork and recorded speeches by the Freedom Riders.

Motown Historical Museum — Detroit, Michigan

Established on Jan. 12, 1959, Motown Records, nicknamed Hitsville U.S.A., was a highly successful Black-owned record label. The company had great success with performers such as The Jackson 5, Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye. The museum displays the history of Motown’s creation, exhibits featuring famed artists, costumes and photographs as well as the legendary Studio A, where classic hits, such as the Supremes’ Stop in the Name of Love, were recorded.

DuSable Museum of African American History – Chicago, Illinois

Named after Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, the first non-native settler to arrive in Chicago in the 1780s, the DuSable Museum is the first and oldest museum on African-American history and culture, featuring works from scholar W.E.B. Du Bois and an exhibition on anti-lynching activist Ida B. Wells.

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5

September 15, 2014September 16, 2014

10 Black Angel Investors You Should Know About as a Minority in Tech

Statistics show African-American-owned firms are less likely to receive angel investments, according to Black Enterprise. In the first half of 2013, only 8.5 percent of startups pitching to angel investors were minority-owned, 16 percent were women-led, according to a report by the Center for Venture Research at the University of New Hampshire. Only 15 percent of those minority-owned businesses successfully got funded, while 24 percent of the female entrepreneurs received angel investments. Moreover, ethnic minorities account for less than 5 percent of the angel population.

Troy Carter, Founder, Chairman and CEO, Atom Factory

Troy Carter is the founder, chairman and CEO of Atom Factory, an entertainment and music management company. He has managed artists such as Lady Gaga and John Mayer. Carter began his career in Philadelphia working for actor/rapper Will Smith and gaining industry traction. He is the founder of AF Square, an investor firm that discovers and develops companies whose business disrupts the status quo. The organization provides business expertise and counsel to help companies identify key partners, reach a diverse consumer base and achieve record-breaking results, according to its website. Carter announced the creation of a new fund between $75 million and $100 million to triple-down on tech investing activity.

Ken Coleman, Special Adviser, Andreessen Horowitz

Ken Coleman, a former captain in the U.S. Air Force, has served not only overseas but also in the trenches in the heart of Silicon Valley. He held several managerial positions at Hewlett-Packard, an information technology company, and joined Activision, a video game publisher as its vice president of product development. He was the founder of ITM Software, an information technology software company, and raised $20 million in venture capital funding. Coleman is currently involved with Andreesseen Horowitz, a venture capital firm founded in Menlo Park, California.

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5

September 12, 2014September 16, 2014

7 Minority-Led Investment Firms Every Black Tech Startup Should Know

645 Ventures

Location: New York, New York

Led By: Nnamdi Okike

Portfolio: Poshly, Admittedly, Keaton Row, AbbeyPost, Rifiniti and Hire an Esquire.

About: 645 Ventures is a seed and early-stage venture capital firm specializing in software and Internet companies. The firm invests in companies in the following sectors: SaaS software, application software, e-commerce, data analytics, online marketplaces and Internet-enabled services.

Base Ventures

Location: Berkeley Hills, California

Led By: Erik Moore

Companies Invested In: SocialCam, Swapbox, Virool and many more

About: Base Ventures, founded by Erik Moore, is a seed-stage fund investing in technology companies. Successful exits include Socialcam (acquired by Autodesk), and Appstores (acquired by InMobi).

Bronze Investments

Location: San Francisco, California

Led By: Stephen DeBerry

Portfolio: University Now, LendUp and Better Finance

About: Bronze Investments is a financial investment advisory firm headquartered in San Francisco, California. The firm manages 1 account totaling an estimated $25 million of assets under management.

EchoVC Partners

Location: San Francisco, California

Portfolio: Stipple, Dekko, GraphScience, Life360º and more

About: EchoVC Partners is a seed and early stage venture capital firm focused on financing and cross-pollinating leading technologies, teams, business models and knowledge across North America, Africa and southeast Asia. Average investment size ranges from $25,000 to several million dollars depending on the stage of opportunity and capital needs of the business.

Pages: 1 2

September 11, 2014September 11, 2014

5 Reasons Why Young Black Males Should Focus on Tech Fields Instead of Sports Dreams‏

Better Odds at Success

According to the NCAA, 11.6 percent of college baseball players make it to the pros, while 0.6 percent of high school players do. Young men who play baseball have much better odds at going professional than athletes who play basketball, football and soccer combined, which will send 1.2, 1.7 and 1.0 percent of college players to the pros respectively, and 0.03, 0.08 and 0.04 percent of high school players respectively.

When we look at the opportunity of running a successful business versus having a career in professional sports at all, the odds don’t even compare. The latest Census Bureau statistics show that 69 percent of new firms with employees survive at least two years. An independent analysis by the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that 49 percent of new businesses survive for five years or more.

The statistics show Black males should be more confident they will make it in business than in professional sports. This was consistent across all states and major industries, including tech.

Longer Career

Athletes can see their entire careers dashed by sustaining a single injury, getting burned out, or getting cut when better players takes their spots.

Recent studies have shown the average career length for the four major U.S. sports: National Football League — 3.5 years, National Basketball Association — 4.8 years, Major League Baseball — 5.6 years, and National Hockey League — 5.5 years.

On the other hand, government research into the success rate of startups showed that 34 percent of new businesses survive 10 years or more, and more than a quarter (26 percent) are still in business at least 15 years after being started.

Pages: 1 2

September 10, 2014November 1, 2014

12 Stunningly Beautiful Black Female Scientists

Angelique Johnson, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor – Business Owner

Institution: University of Louisville
Education: Ph.D.: Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan; B.S./B.A. in Computer Engineering/Mathematics from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

Trivia Frazier-Wiltz, Ph.D.

Chemistry Instructor

Institution: Delgado Community College
Education: Ph.D.: Biomedical Sciences from Tulane University School of Medicine; B.S.E: Biomedical Engineering from Tulane University; B.S.: Physics from Dillard University

Taeyjuana Curry, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Research Assistant

Institution: University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Education: Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Master’s degree in Physics from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Bachelor of Science degree from Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida.

Pages: 1 2 3 4

September 9, 2014

10 Most Notable Black Superheroes in Comics, Film and TV

Static

Static aka Virgil Hawkins was created by writers Dwayne McDuffie and Robert L. Washington III, and artist John Paul Leon in June 1993 for Milestone/DC Comics. He is one of the few Black characters created by Black creators.

Static is a teenager who is essentially an analog of Spider-Man. Static has the power to control electricity, electromagnetism, and he has the ability of flight with a metal saucer. He had his own TV show called Static Shock produced by Warner Bros. from 2000-2004.

The character has also appeared in Cartoon Network’s series Justice League in 2003 and Young Justice: Invasion in 2012.

Storm

Storm aka Ororo Munroe was created by Len Wein and Dave Cockrum in 1975 for Marvel Comics. She first appeared in Giant Sized X-Men #1. Storm’s parents come from different societies. Her mother is a weather priestess from a Kenyan tribe and her father is a white American photojournalist.

Storm has the power to control all forms of weather. She can also fly and control electricity. She was married to Black Panther and was Queen Consort of the kingdom of Wakanda. She currently appears in her own ongoing series.

Most notably, actress Halle Berry has portrayed her in the X-Men film franchise.

Cyborg

Cyborg aka Victor Stone was created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Pérez in October 1980. The superhero first appears in DC Comics Presents #26. During a freak accident in a lab, Vic Stone is critically injured. His parents, who happen to be scientists, used cybernetics to keep him alive. Cyborg has super strength, high IQ, cybernetic weapons, and tech know-how. From that moment on, he has been a member of Teen Titans.

Cyborg has been depicted on Cartoon Network’s Teen Titans (2003-2006) and current Teen Titans Go!

He has been portrayed by actor Shemar Moore in the animated movie, Justice League: War. Actor Lee Thompson Young played Cyborg in the television series, Smallville. Now Ray Fisher will play him in the 2016-2017 upcoming films, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League.

Luke Cage

Luke Cage aka Power Man was created by Archie Goodwin and John Romita Sr. in June 1972 for Marvel Comics. He first appears in Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #1. Luke Cage was wrongly convicted and imprisoned because of his involvement with gangs. He was altered in a failed prison experiment that gave him bulletproof skin and super strength. Cage is a self-taught hand-to-hand combatant. He is self-educated in the law and speaks several languages.

Spawn

Spawn was created by Todd McFarlane in May 1992 for Image Comics. He first appeared in Spawn # 1. Spawn’s real name is Al Simmons. He sold his soul to the demon Melebolgia and became one of hell’s soldiers.

Now he rebels against hell and fights heaven to rejoin his wife and seek vengeance for his death. Most notably, Spawn has had a feature film, Spawn, in 1997 where he was portrayed by Michael Jai White.

Pages: 1 2