News
Marvel Announces Black Captain America
from Racialicious
"The Falcon is going to be the new Captain America! Great! But then what? Oh, you expected this to stick? History says otherwise. But there’s a potential problem ahead."
Image Credit: Donnelly/Library of Congress
Princess Of 'Fresh Prince' Brings History To Children
from NPR
"Hey, remember Hilary Banks from Fresh Prince of Bel-Air?
She's back, but in a different light. Actress Karyn Parsons has started a new organization — Sweet Blackberry — that makes short, animated films about influential, yet lesser-known African-Americans."
8th grade metal band lands $1.7 million record contract with Sony
from Consequence of Sound
"As the metal band Unlocking the Truth, the trio of Brooklyn 8th graders got their start doing some serious busking around Times Square. Now, Sony has picked up the hardcore teens (and tween) for a guaranteed two-album deal with the option for four more"
Image Credit: Associated Press
Alice Coachman, 90, Dies; First Black Woman to Win Olympic Gold
from New York Times
"Alice Coachman, who became the first black woman to win an Olympic gold medal when she captured the high jump for the United States at the 1948 London Games, died on Monday in Albany, Ga. She was 90."
Yoga & Black People - Maybe Some Just Aren't Interested
from Clutch Mag Online
"There’s been a lot of talk about the lack of diversity in yoga classes. White faces seem to flock to yoga classes, even those in gentrified neighborhoods. We can scream at the top of our lungs that yes, some of us black people enjoy yoga."
Americans Have Never Loved Poetry More—But They Call It Rap
from The Daily Beast
"Poetry is no longer something we curl up to with a cup of tea. Instead, we take it in through earbuds. And America has never loved it more. One hears a certain baleful cry regularly in writerly circles that Americans don’t care about poetry anymore. "
Remembering the One and Only Satchmo
from Atlanta Blackstar
Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong (Aug. 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971) is considered by many to be the first important soloist to emerge in jazz, and he went on to become one of the most influential musicians in jazz’s history. The American jazz trumpeter and singer born in New Orleans was described as a young prodigy and received formal music training while confined to the Colored Waif’s Home for Boys.
Image Credit: Kumar Singh/AP
'Columbusing': The Art Of Discovering Something That Is Not New
from NPR
Columbusing is when you "discover" something that's existed forever. Just that it's existed outside your own culture, nationality, race or even, say, your neighborhood. Bonus points if you tell all your friends about it.
All The Groceries In Your Supermarket Come From 10 Companies
from News One
Ever thought about who makes all the food we purchase? Here’s a graphic to help show you where your money is going when you fill up your grocery cart.
Black Stars Dominate Forbes Most Powerful List
from Clutch Mag Online
"At the top of the Forbes Most Powerful list, which ranks the entertainment industry’s most rich and famous figures, you’ll recognize more than a few faces. Beyoncé lands the #1 spot with $115 million on account of her surprise self-titled album, her “Mrs. Carter Show” which grossed about $2.4 million per show, her big brand endorsement deals, fragrances and clothing line."
Image Credit: Taryn Finley/ The Root; Courtesy Of Maya Penn; Courtesy of Waren Cassell Jr.
Meet 3 Young Entrepreneurs Who Put Wall Street to Shame
from The Root
"Summer plans for teens normally involve spending days at amusement parks, binging on video games or the occasional part-time job to earn a little cash. But normal isn’t an option for three teens this summer. These teens have business to handle. Real business."
Image Credit: Peter D. Lawlors/U.S. Navy
Navy Gets First Four-Star Female Admiral
from Stars and Stripes
"Adm. Michelle Janine Howard became the highest-ranking female officer in the history of the U.S. Navy on Tuesday, when she was given a fourth star and assumed the role of Vice Chief of Naval Operations."
Entertaining And Enlightening:"(H)Afrocentric" Brings Consciousness To Comic Books
from Afropunk
"Inspired by her personal interactions with her community college students in San Francisco, Juliana “Jewels” Smith decided that she wanted to reach today’s youth through words and illustrations rather than mere lecture...Cleverly bringing to light issues such as gentrification, gender equality and race relations, Smith’s comic books are great for activists of all ages."
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Octavia Butler Fans Psyched Over 2 New Science Fiction Tales
from The Root
"For many years, one of the few African Americans publishing in fantasy and science fiction, and the first genre writer to be awarded a MacArthur “genius” grant, was Octavia E. Butler, a widely popular and highly acclaimed writer who died unexpectedly in 2006. This week, two of her unpublished stories are available in e-book form as Unexpected Stories"
Image Credit: Meninas/Facebook
Black Power in Brazil Means Natural Hair
from The Root
"Black power is big in Brazil. In the United States, black power is most associated with raised fists, social revolution and political demands. When Americans think “black power,” they generally think about the movement named and popularized in the 1960s by Southern Christian Leadership Conference founder and Black Panther Stokely Carmichael."
Quixote Graphic Novel
from Afropunk
"Quixote, a comic book/graphic novel by author Deron Bennett, art by Dan Mora and cover by Khary Randolph.It chronicles the adventures of Quixote – a young man in search of clues to uncover the secrets of his past. He and his companion, Sam, set out on a quest that will pit them against pirates, giants, war machines, and a maniacal king who will stop at nothing to get what he wants."
'Strange Fruit' Graphic Novel Celebrates A Different Narrative From Black History
from Afropunk
"How about a comic book/graphic novel about uncelebrated narratives from Black History? Check out Strange Fruit by Joel Gill with a foreword by Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Fulcrum Publishing tells us: "This groundbreaking graphic novel is a collection of stories from African American history that exemplifies success in the face of great adversity."
Image Credit: Jamie McDonald/Getty Images
15 Fun World Cup Facts About Team USA
from The Root
"It is impossible to deny soccer’s growing popularity among U.S. fans. An ESPN Sports Poll Annual Report revealed that Major League Soccer is now as popular with American children as Major League Baseball. And according to FIFA, U.S. fans are second to Brazil in the purchase of tickets to this year’s World Cup."
L.A. Barbers To Use $8.5 Million Grant To Screen Black Men For Hypertension
from News One
"Barbershops are central to the narrative of Black manhood in the United States. It is where jokes are cracked, friends are made, issues debated, and, soon, where blood pressure will be tested."
Kara Walker’s Sugar Sphinx Evokes Call From Black Women: ‘We Are Here.’
from Colorlines
Kara Walker, the black artist who is known, loved and sometimes begrudged for making slavery-inspired silhouettes, hasn’t said an awful lot in public about about her latest work, “A Subtlety: Or the Marvelous Sugar Baby.”