Black Demographics

Hat Tip To Forrest for sharing this great webpage:  http://blackdemographics.com

Here's a sample of what it has to offer.

African American Population by State

          SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau 2013 Estimate. 

      (Black only and Black in combination with one or more races)

Click on the state name for more details about each state

		Black Population	Percent Black
1	New York	3,720,403	19%
2	Texas	3,489,003	13%
3	Florida	3,473,698	18%
4	Georgia	3,246,309	32%
5	California	2,930,846	8%
6	North Carolina	2,287,143	23%
7	Illinois	2,010,132	16%
8	Maryland	1,878,083	32%
9	Virginia	1,738,181	21%
10	Pennsylvania	1,614,965	13%
11	Ohio	1,596,723	14%
12	Louisiana	1,538,402	33%
13	Michigan	1,524,126	15%
14	New Jersey	1,410,324	16%
15	South Carolina	1,378,016	29%
16	Alabama	1,318,916	27%
17	Tennessee	1,164,579	18%
18	Mississippi	1,139,361	38%
19	Missouri	770,576	13%
20	Indiana	694,047	11%
21	Massachusetts	616,601	9%
22	Arkansas	483,411	16%
23	Connecticut	454,117	13%
24	Wisconsin	425,755	7%
25	Kentucky	402,129	9%
26	Washington	374,029	5%
27	Arizona	373,979	6%
28	Minnesota	368,583	7%
29	Oklahoma	353,195	9%
30	District of Columbia	329,875	51%
31	Nevada	289,946	10%
32	Colorado	285,072	5%
33	Delaware	220,106	24%
34	Kansas	217,769	8%
35	Iowa	128,813	4%
36	Oregon	112,916	3%
37	Nebraska	108,592	6%
38	Rhode Island	94,825	9%
39	West Virginia	82,322	4%
40	New Mexico	67,277	3%
41	Utah	54,856	2%
42	Hawaii	51,454	4%
43	Alaska	39,339	5%
44	New Hampshire	26,883	2%
45	Maine	24,737	2%
46	South Dakota	21,119	2%
47	Idaho	20,244	1%
48	North Dakota	17,127	2%
49	Wyoming	13,306	2%
50	Vermont	10,919	2%
51	Montana	10,536	1%

Did You Know It's a Crime . . .

From Atlas Obscura - (Bold is mine)

In advance of Independence Day festivities, here is a strange-but-true American fact: It is a crime to be in possession of eagles and eagle parts other than for the purposes of Native American tribal ritual, down to a feather.

But, you may be asking, what if I just happen to come across a dead eagle in the wild?
Good question! This is where the National Eagle Repository, the federal government’s official dead eagle processing center, comes in.

Part of the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge near Denver, Colorado, the National Eagle Repository is the one place in the nation where deceased symbols of American freedom are sent, as well as the place you can look to for all your legal eagle part needs.

First created in the 1970s, the office as it exists today was established in 1995 as a result of a presidential mandate designed to create a legally regulated method for Native American tribes to obtain eagle parts for use in various cultural pastimes. The fierce protection of bald eagles in America made the procurement of eagle parts a thorny issue for many Native American tribes who them, especially the feathers, as components of their legally protected cultural rites. With the repository in place, obtaining eagle parts is now a perfectly legal process that both helps to protect the animal and the rights of the people who use them.

That's some good wing. (Photo: FWS on Wikipedia)

The late eagles themselves can flow to the Repository from a number of avenues. According to Coleen Schaefer, the Supervisory Wildlife Repository Specialist, eagle corpses usually come from state and federal wildlife officers who find the dead birds in the wild, as well as eagle rehabilitators who end up with birds that just couldn’t pull through. However zoos and even private citizens could (and, technically, are legally obligated to) send eagles to the facility. While the website calls for all eagle parts, regardless of condition to be sent to the repository, Schaefer says they mainly get whole eagles. The Repository is refreshingly non-discriminatory in its desire for dead eagle parts, although as their website also makes very clear, they should not be sent eagles who have died from the West Nile Virus. Which, surprisingly and tragically, is a real problem.

Birds who have been poisoned are also problematic as the Repository will only accept them after an necropsy has been performed, just like if it was a human murder victim.

Schaefer says that in addition to the more standard cases where the bird died of disease or some other natural cause, they also get birds that were killed in illegal shootings. Once the investigation is over, the “victim” is shipped out to the Repository to be used for parts, then necropsied. Sometimes they even come in still carrying their last meal. “We have received eagles where prey are still gripped in their talons, e.g. fish, ducks, etc., and that's always interesting,” says Schaefer.

In eagle poker, this is a winning hand. (Photo: FWS on Wikipedia)

The National Eagle Repository may not be picky about what birds come to them, they are incredibly fastidious about the parts they send out to others. When the eagles come to the Repository, they are assessed for their usability to the Native American population, as damaged parts are not acceptable for many of their uses. Schaefer estimates that 30-40 eagles a day are evaluated. “If the bird is best suited to be used for feathers, we hand pluck the feathers from the wings and tail to provide to the applicant,” she says. (Usable or no, that is a staggering amount of dead eagles and there are only three staff members working on the eagles full-time.)

If you happen to come across a dead eagle, you should contact a wildlife officer. But in case you decide to take care of that national treasure corpse yourself, the Repository suggests that you wear gloves to protect yourself from disease, place the bird in a sturdy plastic bag to prevent “leakage,” and get it into a freezer as soon as possible. All good rules for handling any dead thing, really.

They also suggest that you transport the carcass in a separate area from yourself in a vehicle. Specifically, the back of a pick-up. During both handling and packaging the eagle, it’s important to remember to be extra careful with the feathers, because if they are damaged, turning in your grimly-patriotic find will all have been for naught.

http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/how-to-make-your-dead-eagle-a-legal-eagle?utm_source=Atlas+Obscura&utm_campaign=9a0b8878fb-Newsletter_07_03_157_2_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_62ba9246c0-9a0b8878fb-59905913&ct=t(Newsletter_07_03_157_2_2015)&mc_cid=9a0b8878fb&mc_eid=866176a63f

And the Winner Is . . .

From The Root - 

Dustin Brown Stuns Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon

Trained in Jamaica, ranked 102nd in the world, Brown pulled off a major upset of the two-time champion Nadal.

BY: THE ROOT STAFF

Posted: July 3 2015 8:06 AM

 

Germany’s Dustin Brown celebrates beating Spain’s Rafael Nadal during their men’s singles second-round match on day 4 of the 2015 Wimbledon Championships in London July 2, 2015. Brown won 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.   GLYN KIRK/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

He was trained in his father’s home country of Jamaica, but now plays for his mother’s native Germany, according to The Independent. Today, Dustin Brown, ranked 102nd in the world, is celebrating a stunner in the tennis world, knocking out two-time Wimbledon champ Rafael Nadal in four sets: 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. It's the first time in years that Nadal has been sent home in the first week of the tournament.

Dustin Brown serves against Rafael Nadal during their men’s singles second-round match at Wimbledon July 2, 2015. GLYN KIRK/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

The 30-year-old Brown, who is reported to have spent three years living out of a camper while traveling around Europe, had to play a near perfect game, frustrating Nadal with some spectacular shots.

http://www.theroot.com/articles/news/2015/07/dustin_brown_stuns_rafael_nadal_at_wimbledon.html?wpisrc=newsletter_jcr%3Acontent%26

A Clown . . . Personified

Star Trek’s George Takei on Clarence Thomas: ‘He Is a Clown in Blackface Sitting on the Supreme Court’  

The actor isn’t a fan of Thomas, at all. 

BY: YESHA CALLAHAN

Posted: July 2 2015 1:00 PM

 

George Takei (right) and husband, Brad Takei, arrive for the state dinner at the White House April 28, 2015, in honor of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and wife, Akie Abe. OLIVIER DOULIERY/GETTY IMAGES

George Takei is one of the most beloved Star Trek actors who utilize their social media presence in the most awesome ways. Takei also doesn’t believe in biting his tongue, especially when it comes to civil rights.

During a recent interview with a Fox Phoenix affiliate, Takei took issue with Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ dissent in the Supreme Court’s gay-marriage ruling, which made it legal for gay people to marry throughout the United States.

“He is a clown in blackface sitting on the Supreme Court,” said Takei, who is gay.  “He gets me that angry. He doesn’t belong there.”

In Thomas’ dissent, he also seemed to take an apologetic approach toward slavery, and Takei definitely didn’t agree.

“And for him to say, slaves have dignity, I mean, doesn’t he know that slaves were in chains? That they were whipped on the back? If he saw the movie 12 Years as a Slave [sic], you know, they were raped,” Takei stated.

“My parents lost everything that they worked for, in the middle of their lives, in their 30s. His business, my father’s business, our home, our freedom and we’re supposed to call that dignified? Marched out of our homes at gunpoint. I mean, this man does not belong on the Supreme Court. He is an embarrassment. He is a disgrace to America,” Takei continued.

Takei’s sentiments echo the same feelings many other Americans have about Uncle Thomas. 

http://www.theroot.com/blogs/the_grapevine/2015/07/star_trek_s_george_takei_on_clarence_thomas_he_is_a_clown_in_blackface_sitting.html?wpisrc=newsletter_jcr%3Acontent%26

Paid Protesters

From The New York Times - 

Jewish Group, With Hired Protesters, Opposes the Parade

Paid protesters, some of them from Mexico, held up signs on behalf of a Jewish group that opposes same-sex marriage.

Credit

James Estrin/The New York Times

Some of the most curious costumes worn along the parade route belonged to protesters.

Behind a barricade, a group of men wore the fringed Jewish prayer garment known as the tzitzit and held up anti-gay signs bearing the logo of a group calling itself the Jewish Political Action Committee.

“Judaism prohibits homosexuality,” one sign read.

But the men were not Jewish. They were Mexican laborers, protesting because they were paid to protest, said one of the men, who would not give his name.

Heshie Freed, a member of the political action committee, an Orthodox Jewish group based in Brooklyn, said that the men were supplementary troops, filling in for the Jewish students who would normally be called upon to demonstrate. 

“The rabbis said that the yeshiva boys shouldn’t come out for this because of what they would see at the parade,” Mr. Freed said.

The group was fenced off from the parade, at Fifth Avenue and 15th Street, by the police. Parade-goers tossed open water bottles at the protesters and kissed defiantly in front of them.

“It’s been a lot of confrontation,” Mr. Freed said. “Whenever you have emotions, you have a situation.”

Late in the afternoon, a fight broke out. Bystanders said the gates separating the Jewish group opened and parade-goers swarmed in.

Jasmine Brob, 19, said an Orthodox Jewish man from the committee swung at her friend, and Ms. Brob punched the man in the eye. 

“I ducked and then I swung at him,” she said. 

The man, whose skin around his eye was red with a small cut, held his sign high. The group left shortly after.

http://www.nytimes.com/live/gay-pride-parade-updates/jewish-group-with-hired-protesters-opposes-the-parade

Growing Up So Fast!

How time flies!

It seems like just yesterday that Zadie was a wee one like her sister Theia.  Now she's a big girl finishing up with preschool.

Yeah Zadie Faye!

Zadie Faye Sharpe - 4 years old

Greek Crisis Simplified

A Thank You Letter to Donald

From The Huffington Post - 

Dear Donald,

You've said some pretty offensive things about Latino immigrants recently, and I think they're worth addressing. Because, you know, this is the United States of America, where I have a right to speak up even if I'm not a billionaire. Isn't that awesome?

Anyway, I heard what you said about the kind of people you think Latino immigrants are -- people with problems, who bring drugs, crime and rape to America. While your comments are incredibly ignorant and racist, I don't want to spend my time chastising you. I'll leave that to your business partners like Univision and NBC, who have the power to scold you where it hurts. Instead, I'm writing to say thank you!

You see, what you just did with your straight talk was send more Latino voters to the polls than several registration rallies combined! Thank you for that. Here we are pounding the pavement to get American Latinos to the polls, while your tactic proves most effective. Remarks like yours will serve brilliantly to energize Latino voters and increase turnout on election day against you and any other candidate who runs on a platform of hateful rhetoric.

Do you know why that's such a big deal, Donald? Because Latinos are the largest, youngest and fastest-growing constituency in the United States of America. That's right! You are running for President in a country where the Latino population grew by over 49 percent from 2000-2012, while the rest of the country grew by 5.8 percent. What's more, we are the future. The median age of the average Latino is 27 years old, compared to 42 years old for white Americans. In case you need a translation, that means there are a whole lot of Americans who are Latino and have the right to vote. And, we're not going anywhere.

This is the America we are actually living in. I hope by now you understand that without the Latino vote, there is no chance of you ever winning this election. If you don't believe me, you could ask President Bush or you could even ask President Obama.

You, Mr. Trump, are living in an outdated fantasy of a bigoted America. Last week, America celebrated some amazing milestones -- marriage equality, universal healthcare, removing of the confederate flag -- making it clear in which direction the country is moving. That is why racist remarks that play to extremists won't change the tide, no matter how hard you try. They will only serve to rally more Latino voters to the polls. Your negativity and your poorly thought out speech ignited a fire in our community. Thank you, Mr. Trump!

Thank you for reminding us that there remains an antiquated and endangered species of bigots in this country that we must continue to combat. Thank you for reminding us to not sit complacently at home on election day, but to run to the polls and proclaim that there is no place for your brand of racial politicking in our government. Thank you for sending out the rallying cry.

You have made your thoughts on the Latino community clear and you continue to stand by them. And in return, we will do more than tweet about our indignation and beat piñatas of your likeness. We will silence you at the polls. We will vote and use our growing position in U.S. politics. Our fellow Americans who understand and value our contributions will join us. We know there is nothing that scares you more.

The truth is, Mr. Trump, that your comments mean that you fail to see that immigrants are what have made this nation. They are at the core of our ideals, and they are the foundation that keeps us afloat. No, Mr. Trump, you may not reduce us to drug dealers and rapists. We are moms and dads, sons and daughters. We are valedictorians and honor students. We are college graduates, bankers, police officers, entertainers, teachers, journalists, politicians and we are the future of America.

Thank you for helping us in our work to energize the Latino vote and to usher in our shared future! Keep it up!

Sincerely,

America

       ~~~~~~~~~~

Of Honduran decent, America was born and raised in Los Angeles and received a degree in International Relations from USC. An award winning actress, she is best known for her starring role in the ABC hit Ugly Betty. America is saluted by Congress for raising the profile of Latinos in popular culture, serving as a role model for young Latinas, and working to empower the Latino community.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/america-ferrera/thank-you-donald-trump_b_7709126.html

Great News!

From The Huffington Post -

Black Women-Owned Businesses Skyrocket By 322 Percent In Less Than 20 Years

The Huffington Post   |  By Lilly Workneh

Posted: 07/02/2015 10:38 am EDT  Updated: 12 minutes ago 

African-American women are the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs in America, a new study reveals.

The 2015 State of Women-Owned Businesses Report released this week found that the number of women-owned businesses grew by 74 percent between 1997 and 2015. That’s 1.5 times the national average of business growth to be exact.

Meanwhile, the growth in the number of businesses specifically owned by black women is outpacing that of all women-owned firms, the report says. The number of black women-owned businesses has grown by a whopping 322 percent since 1997. Today, black women own roughly 14 percent of all businesses in the country owned by women, which tallies to around 1.3 million businesses, according to the report.

“While nationally African American women comprise 14% of all women-owned firms, African American women comprise a greater than average share of all women-owned firms in Georgia (35%), Maryland (33%), and Illinois (22%),” the report says.

Statistics show that throughout these 1.3 million companies, nearly 300,000 workers are employed and the businesses generate an estimated $52.6 billion in revenue. When digging into the number of black-owned businesses overall, 49 percent are owned by women.

Businesses owned by black women also top the charts in revenue growth when compared to other minority women-owned firms proving that their economic clout is ever-growing. 

The call from the black community to support black-owned business is one that has been made clearly and consistently. Now, amid a national neglect of black women from conversations around race and diversity, this news is particularly significant.

But in the end, we all know what this really means: #BlackGirlsAreMagic.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/07/02/black-women-fastest-growi_n_7711078.html

What a Cutie Pie!

Deja Vu

From The Root - 

Mom Takes Action After Catholic School Dismisses Kindergarten Son for Haircut

Mariana Broussard says Immaculate Heart of Mary School in Belmont, Calif., is discriminatory and culturally unaware.

BY: NIGEL ROBERTS

Posted: July 2 2015 7:49 AM

Jalyn Broussard  ABC 7 SCREENSHOT

Jalyn Broussard went to kindergarten one day proudly sporting a new hairstyle. But his modern fade quickly raised eyebrows among administrators at his Belmont, Calif., Catholic school. Officials called the 5-year-old’s mother to pick him up because his haircut violated the school’s standards. She was outraged.

The school and Jalyn’s family reached a stalemate. According to the San Jose Mercury News, the family filed a complaint, with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, last week accusing Immaculate Heart of Mary School of discriminating against their African-American child.

Mariana Broussard, Jalyn’s mother, said in the complaint that the principal, Teri Grosey, told her that Jalyn’s haircut was distracting and violates the school’s hairstyle policy, according to the Mercury News.

Broussard said Jalyn felt embarrassed and unfairly singled out. “He knew exactly what it was about—because of how his hair as an African-American looked,” she added, according to the newspaper.

In her discussions with school officials, Broussard said she showed the principal a photo of former NFL star and talk show host Michael Strahan, who has same haircut. She also noted the difference between a “modern fade” and the “faux hawk” cut that the school bans. Furthermore, Broussard said she pointed out students of other ethnicities at the school wearing the same hairstyle as Jalyn does.

Grosey did not respond to phone calls from the Mercury News. And the Archdiocese of San Francisco declined to comment because it had not read the complaint. However, a spokesman told the newspaper, “School policy on hairstyles is very explicit and clear. Parents acknowledge and accept that policy.”

Broussard seeks about $16,000 for tuition reimbursement for Jalyn and his brother, who was a second-grader at the school. She also wants the staff and administrators to have cultural and sensitivity training. Her sons now attend public school, where she says there’s more cultural awareness, the Mercury News reports.

http://www.theroot.com/articles/news/2015/07/mom_takes_action_after_catholic_school_dismisses_kindergarten_son_for_haircut.html?wpisrc=newsletter_jcr%3Acontent%26

A Better Way To Board An Airplane

From Now I Know -

Why It Takes So Long to Board and Airplane (And How to Fix It)

Air travel can be fun -- and it can be maddening, too. One of the more frustrating aspects is the boarding process, as everyone tries to stow away their carry-on bags and get their bodies into their seats, seemingly all that the same time. The aisles become a mess of errant elbows, teetering bags and the “this space isn’t wide enough for two people” side-shuffle, leaving attendants and passengers alike aggravated. 

There may be a better way.

Most airlines follow a passenger boarding pattern, according to TripAdvisor’s SeatGuru site, which matches the following. First class (and business class, etc.) passengers board first, often followed by families with small children. Then the rest of the passengers board, back-to-front -- the idea being that passengers in the rear should board before those in the front, to prevent the latter from clogging the aisle. That’s the process used by 12 of the 17 airlines surveyed, to varying degrees. 

The problem, though? All 12 of those airlines load passengers in waves. The rear-most wave of flyers, for example, may be a group of thirty or more people, all with seat assignments in roughly the same area. You and your in-flight neighbor board at the same time and, as a result, find yourselves bumping into each other as you put both t your stuff down, sit down, and wait for takeoff. The fact that you’re after these goals simultaneously and in a cramped space, though, makes that impossible, turning the boarding process into a sadistic version of the hokey pokey. Airlines are sophisticated businesses, though -- solving this problem should be doable. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist, right?

Well, maybe it does. Enter Jason Steffen, an astrophysicist at the Fermilab Center for Astrophysicsoutside of Chicago. Steffen, in his own words, “had been thinking about this problem for two or three years and decided that [he] needed to either satisfy [his] curiosity or forget about it.” He opted for the former. Through his mental field trips, he deduced that the “people standing in the aisle of the airplane are just standing in line” and that “loading back to front just moves the line inside the plane” instead of shuffling the bodies into seats more quickly. By loading the planes the way airlines were, nothing was being accomplished -- everyone was still getting in everyone else’s way.

Steffen developed a simulation to try and find a way around this. Wired explains:

He started experimenting with rearranging the line by seat number. He ran his simulation ran over and over, and each time it switched the boarding order of two random passengers: If the plane boarded faster, it kept the switch. If the plane boarded more slowly, it switched them back. Then, the program ran again, switching another random pair. And again. And again. Each time, it moved closer to the optimal boarding order.

Eventually, a pattern emerged -- one which loads passengers into the plane back to front, but in a zipper-style formation, as seen in his diagram, below.

By leaving space around each person as he or she boards, there is less competition for the aisle space and for the overhead bins. And by loading people window-to-aisle, there's less chance of an already seated person being in the way.  

Does it work? Yes -- at least in a controlled environment. In 2013, the TV show “This vs. That” took a look at five alternative methods to board a plane, including the Steffen Method. As seen in the video here, the Steffen Method performed very well, beating the competition easily. While the back-to-front method takes about 6 minutes or more to get everyone on board, the Steffen Method takes about half that.

Dr. Steffen believes this time savings could lead to a significant cost savings, but unfortunately, none of the commercial airlines seem to want to adopt it. As Inc. noted, Steffen's model "may be a little too theoretical for reality" -- it requires a strict ordering of each of the passengers (and, during boarding, the temporary separation of groups), something that many travelers may not take kindly to. So for now, be prepared to be frustrated as you make your way to your seating assignment.

Too Little, Too Late

Trump: 'I love the Mexican people'

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/07/02/donald-trump-campaign/29599835/

Just Two Words

From The Huffington Post - 

This Man's Brilliant Obituary Is Just 2 Words Long

North Dakota newspaper The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead ran what is certainly one of the shortest obituaries ever published. 

Accompanying a photograph and name of local resident Douglas Legler, the obit, which ran Wednesday, had just two simple words: 

“Doug died.” 

Legler’s daughter, Janet Stoll, says that her father had long insisted on a short and sweet death notice.

“He said over and over, when I die I want my obituary to just say 'Doug Died,’” Stoll told the Forum. ”[Other people's obituaries] would say 'he was the president of this, a director of this' and Dad would say, 'What, couldn't they hold down a job?'"

Stoll added that her dad, who died on Jun. 27 at the age of 85, was “very lighthearted and had a great sense of humor.” 

According to the Forum, Legler worked for many years as a driver for the Nash Finch Company. He is said to have been a car enthusiast and an avid singer who loved country music.

In 2014, a similarly concise obituary made the news. The Local reported last April that a Swedish man named Stig Kernell had given strict instructions as to what his obituary would say. 

Upon his death, a local newspaper ran the obit. “I am dead,” it said.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/07/01/obituary-two-words-doug-died_n_7710444.html