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Sunday, July 18, 2021

Black-Owned Ice Cream Makers

An excerpt from NewsOne - 

Black-Owned Ice Cream Makers You Should Support

There is no better time than now to support Black-owned businesses.

By NewsOne Staff 

What better way to counter the rising temperatures than with some freezing cold ice cream? That’s a trick question because while the obvious answer is to go grab some ice cream — which people can find anywhere — the better answer is to figure out where to get your ice cream from.

Baskin Robbins shops are easy enough to find, but that mega-business has been around for nearly 80 years. What about some of the local mom-and-pop ice cream shops? I’ll do you one better: What about those even fewer Black-owned ice cream shops — why not shop there?

Now, arguably more than ever, Black-owned businesses need our patronage. And what better time to start than on a sweltering National Ice Cream Day?




 

 https://newsone.com/4174315/black-owned-ice-cream-makers/

Saturday, July 17, 2021

Carl Sagan Predicted The Mess 2021 Would Be 25 years Ago

Black Jeopardy with Tom Hanks - SNL

What a Wonderful World | Fingerstyle

Impossible Tour 2021 Promo

She Created Her Own Tequila Brand

An excerpt from Essence -

She Wanted A Healthier Spirit, Now She’s The First Black Woman To Lead A Tequila Brand

AFTER STARTING OUT AS AN OCCASIONAL TEQUILA DRINKER, NAYANA BECAME AN ENTHUSIAST DUE TO THE LOW-SUGAR CONTENT OF TEQUILA. NOW SHE'S AN ENTREPRENEUR SUCCESSFULLY SELLING THE SPIRIT. 

By VICTORIA UWUMAROGIE

MADDI IBANEZ

Nayana Ferguson was only an occasional tequila drinker when she met her husband, Don, in 2014. He loved the drink, and taught her about the different expressions, or types, including Blanco, Reposado and Anejo, and they came across some amazing, sip-worthy tastes.  It didn’t take long for her to become a tequila enthusiast.  

“We started tasting different tequilas and started learning more about the history of this amazing agave spirit,” she tells ESSENCE. “It takes the agave plant around seven to eight years to grow to maturity, just to get to the point where the tequila-making process begins. It is unlike any other spirit in the world, which is why tequila has become so popular now.”

In addition to being impressed with the story behind the spirit and admiring the flavors, Nayana, a pancreatic cancer survivor, found that since tequila is a drink naturally low in sugar, it was a superior option for her as she prioritizes keeping her sugar intake low. 

~~~~~~~~~~

As her appreciation for it grew, she was soon inspired to find ways to bring flavorful, but still healthy versions of the spirit to the masses. So she decided to develop a premium tequila with Don. That’s how Anteel Tequilla, named with the Antillean Crested Hummingbird in mind that the couple encountered during a trip to the Dominican Republic, came to be. During that trip, he proposed to her. It was also the first time they broached the topic of creating their own tequila brand, a discussion that was delightfully interrupted by the hummingbird that would be the brand’s logo and the inspiration for its name. 

                                                                        ~~~~~~~~~~

The tequilas, which are already attracting serious clientele by generating nearly a quarter of a million in sales and receiving rave reviews (they have won gold at the SIP Awards, as well as silver and bronze at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition) can currently be found in eight states. (Michigan, California, Georgia, Texas, Florida, the New York metro area and Colorado). The brand has plans to expand to more states in 2022. It can also be purchased on the Anteel Tequila website, which ships nationally.

https://www.essence.com/lifestyle/anteel-tequila-nayana-ferguson/

Many American High School Students are Heading to Europe for College

An excerpt from the Observer - 

Why American High School Students Are Flocking to European Colleges

By Arick Wierson 

For many high school seniors and their families, it boils down to simple economics. Even after factoring in the higher costs of travel, the all-in cost of studying at most European universities pales in comparison to the costs of attending college in the U.S.

“With just a handful of exceptions, across continental Europe, $10,000 a year is pretty much as high as it gets as far as tuition—and most are a lot less,” remarked Jennifer Viemont, a Lisbon-based American who runs Beyond The States, an online resource and full-service consultancy that helps match American teenagers with European-based undergraduate programs. “That’s quite a bit less than most state schools and a mere fraction of what it costs to attend the top American colleges and universities, which top out at over $60,000 a year in tuition. Throw in room and board, travel, books and extras, and you could easily spend $75,000 a year in the U.S.” 

https://observer.com/2021/07/us-high-school-graduate-attend-europe-university-trend/

Friday, July 16, 2021

RESPECT | Jennifer Hudson Becomes Aretha Franklin – First Look Featurett...

The Best Heist Movies You've Probably Missed

An excerpt from Looper - 

The Best Heist Movies You've Never Seen

By Patrick Phillips

Widows (2018)

With bold new additions to the superhero set, a handful of caustic social satires, a few artistically ambitious genre offerings, and a couple of potent comedic farces, 2018 is certain to earn a place one of the better years for movies of late. Unfortunately, it'll also go down as the year that moviegoers completely balked at paying respects to two high-quality, female-fronted heist flicks. The first was a fun but flighty addition to the Ocean's franchise by the name of Ocean's Eight. The second was a legit modern feminist crime classic that should've been one of the year's biggest hits.

That film was Steve McQueen's bracing, politically savvy crime saga Widows. For those who missed out, Widows was adapted by McQueen and Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl, Sharp Objects), it's set on the streets of modern-day Chicago, and it follows four women thrown together and forced into a life of crime thanks to their criminal husbands.

Read More: https://www.looper.com/144414/the-best-heist-movies-youve-never-seen/?utm_campaign=clip

RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS THAT WILL RESTORE YOUR FAITH IN HUMANITY!

Truck Drivers Helped to Save a Life

From Upworthy (April 2018) - 

13 truck drivers parked side by side in the middle of the night to save a life.

By Eric Pfeiffer

Around 1 a.m. on April 24, semi-truck drivers in the Oak Park area of Michigan received a distress call from area police: An unidentified man was standing on the edge of a local bridge, apparently ready to jump onto the freeway below.

Those drivers then did something amazing. They raced to the scene to help — and lined up their trucks under the bridge, providing a relatively safe landing space should the man jump.

Fortunately, he didn't.


Black-Owned Etsy Shops

From Elite Daily - 

These Black-Owned Etsy Shops Are Creating Fire Fashion & Beauty Products

BY THERESA MASSONY AND MARGARET BLATZ 

https://www.elitedaily.com/style/black-owned-etsy-shops-fashion-beauty-products

Restaurant Owner Repairs Junk Cars and Donates Them To Those in Need

From Black Enterprise - 

South Carolina Restaurant Owner Turns Junk Cars Into Treasures, Donates Them to Those In Need

By Andrea Blackstone

Eliot D. Middleton fixes old cars,
then gives them to others in need of transportation. Image - Twitter

Who knew that run-down rides and ribs go together like peanut butter and jelly!

Well Eliot D. Middleton, 38, a restaurant owner from South Carolina, must have had an inkling of some sort because he will give you some ribs if you give him your raggedy car so he can fix it and transform it into a treasure to give to people in need of transportation in the rural area, according to CNN.

The community helper is honoring his father’s legacy by turning inoperable cars into working vehicles. So far he has “collected 100 cars and surprised 33 community members with a repaired ride — without asking for a single thing in return,” according to the outlet.



https://www.blackenterprise.com/south-carolina-restaurant-owner-turns-junk-cars-into-treasures-donates-them-to-those-in-need/amp/


Master Pickpocket Breaks Down 12 Pickpocketing Tricks In Movies | How Re...

Thursday, July 15, 2021

How Car Chase Scenes Have Evolved Over 100 Years | Movies Insider

The Most Famous Invention From Every State

An excerpt from the Family Handyman - 

The Most Famous Invention from Every State

By Marissa LaLiberte

Which great American invention comes from your state? 

Alabama: Windshield Wipers

DI STUDIO/SHUTTERSTOCK


On a trip to New York City in 1902, Mary Anderson realized what a nuisance the falling snow was for her streetcar driver. Anderson couldn’t drive, but back home in Birmingham, she sketched up her design for windshield wipers. Don’t miss these other 16 things you didn’t know women invented.

https://www.familyhandyman.com/list/the-most-famous-invention-from-every-state/

The Most Photogenic Architectural Wonder in Every State

From Trip Trivia - 

The Most Photogenic Architectural Wonder in Every State

Arizona:  Chapel of the Holy Cross

The Chapel of the Holy Cross located in Sedona, Arizona stands out for several reasons, not least of all because its sleek, minimalist design is unlike the ornate, Gothic Revival elements typically found in Catholic church architecture. The Roman Catholic church, completed in 1956, replicates the natural form and color of the surrounding red rock in the desert landscape, standing 250 feet on a butte, with a simple cross as its frame and the surrounding windows as its most notable feature. The interior is just as straightforward, with nothing but a few pews and an altar, letting the natural beauty outside the chapel be the primary focus. 

https://www.triptrivia.com/most-photogenic-architectural-wonder-in-every-state/X_M1N7nODQAGebh0?utm_source=blog&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=1310997129&utm_term=SA0115

https://www.triptrivia.com/

"Mom, Do Not Leave Your Kids With This Guy!"

From Bored Panda - 

Dad Sends His GF These Pics Whenever She Asks If Their Babies Are OK While He’s Watching Them (30 New Pics) Interview With Artist

By Jonas Grinevičius and Justinas Keturka

We’ve all got that one person in our lives who is a total dad You know what I mean—they keep making puns and dad jokes and doing whatever they can to brighten everyone’s day in their own unique way. Father of two Kenny Deuss, from Antwerp in Belgium, is a total dad in the best possible way and I for one relate to him quite a bit (I make everyone groan with my dad jokes and I used to live in Belgium).

Whenever Kenny used to look after his firstborn and his girlfriend would be out, she’d ask him if little Alix was doing all right. That’s when humor-loving Kenny had a brilliant idea. He began photoshopping replies to the love of his life’s queries in the form of pictures. In them, he and the toddler would be in various dangerous, adventurous, and comic situations.

Since the very first photoshop, Kenny has amassed a following of over 157k fans on Instagram who eagerly await his latest photo-edited masterpiece. What’s more, the dad’s also started photoshopping pictures with his second child, Aster, who was born just this year, in 2021, as well.

#1 

Happy Birthday Alix! Even Though We Only Have A Small Party Due To Covid, We’re Having A Blast!

Happy Birthday Alix! Even Though We Only Have A Small Party Due To Covid, We’re Having A Blast!

#2 

We Spend Two Days At The Belgian Coastline. Apparently There Are A Couple Of Aggressive Seagulls There. If Someone Finds Their Nest With Aster In It, Please Let Me Know

We Spend Two Days At The Belgian Coastline. Apparently There Are A Couple Of Aggressive Seagulls There. If Someone Finds Their Nest With Aster In It, Please Let Me Know

https://www.boredpanda.com/father-photoshops-baby-dangerous-situations-on-adventure-with-dad/

How To Write A Eulogy

An excerpt from the Mirror - 

How to write a eulogy for a funeral - where to start and what should you include

A eulogy at a funeral for a loved-one is like a best man's speech except everyone is crying, it's no wonder some people find the prospect of delivering one daunting

By Emily Sleight 

A eulogy is often a key part of a funeral, you will have a chance to talk about your loved one’s life and what they meant to you, they can be very emotional.

It is often regarded as an honour to be asked to give a eulogy, as it means you played a big part in the life of the deceased.

If you've been tasked with putting together a eulogy you might be feeling pretty anxious about it, but thankfully there is no real right or wrong in what you say.

You just need to think about your audience, and establish a basic structure so you’re feeling prepared and confident.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/how-write-eulogy-funeral-start-24524052

From Reffing to Fighting For His Life

An excerpt from the Undefeated - 

A year ago, Tony Brown was reffing his first NBA Finals. Now, he’s fighting for his life.

The veteran referee opens up about the pancreatic cancer diagnosis that changed his course

BY TONY BROWN, AS TOLD TO JERRY BEMBRY

Tony Brown worked Game 4 of the 2020 NBA Finals
between the Heat and Lakers.
JESSE D. GARRABRANT/NBAE VIA GETTY IMAGES

As I watch the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns play for an NBA championship, I can’t help but revisit this stage of the season a year ago.

It was Los Angeles Lakers vs. Miami Heat. LeBron James against Jimmy Butler. The NBA bubble.

It was also, in Game 4, the moment I reached the pinnacle of my professional career. After 19 years as an NBA referee, after over 1,000 regular-season and 35 playoff games, I stepped on the court to work my first Finals.

Most eyes at tipoff were, I’m sure, focused on the star players who are the driving force in this league. I’m sure back home in Atlanta the eyes of my wife and my three kids were focused on me as I finally got the opportunity to work the NBA’s premier event.

It was career validation: I was considered one of the best referees in the world. 

When this season began, my goal was to experience that exhilarating moment again.

But life threw me a curveball.

Pancreatic cancer. Stage 4.

Honestly, I don’t know what’s in store for me.  

But with the love of my wife, my kids, my NBA family and my friends in the trenches alongside me, I’m well armed for this battle for my life.

https://theundefeated.com/features/a-year-ago-tony-brown-was-reffing-his-first-nba-finals-now-hes-fighting-for-his-life/



Common Courtesies

From Buzzfeed - 

People Are Sharing The Unwritten Rules Of Life, And I Never Thought Of These

FOLLOW THESE!

by Ryan Schocket

On Tuesday, Reddit user u/0_7_0 asked, "What is one 'unwritten rule' that you believe everyone should know and follow?" People responded with a bunch of valuable tidbits we all should listen to.

1. "If I show you a picture on my phone, don't go swiping sideways."

—u/Soft-Problem

2. "If you borrow something, return it in the same condition."

—u/Ryastor

3. "Stand back before boarding a bus, subway, metro, or elevator so that those on can get off quickly without having to wait for you to back up first."

—u/Lightmareman

4. "Don't watch loud videos on your phone at a restaurant. Can't believe this isn't common courtesy anymore."

—u/penguinmanbat

5. "The last one to go to bed has to turn all the lights off."

—u/Rebeca2277

https://www.buzzfeed.com/ryanschocket2/people-are-sharing-the-unwritten-rules-of-life-and-i-never

Woodturning - The Pencil Globe !!

Sunday, July 11, 2021

Another Brilliant Black Doctor Sounding the Alarm

An excerpt from Zenger - 

America’s First Black Female Transplant Surgeon Says Organ Donation Is Racially Lopsided

The number of organ donors in the black community is alarmingly low. Velma Scantlebury is working to change that.

By Vandita Agrawal 

Dr. Velma Scantlebury, who earned her Doctor of Surgery in 1989,
has performed over 2,000 transplants. (Courtesy of Velma Scantlebury)

The nation’s first black female transplant surgeon says that while donated organs are allocated equitably along racial lines in America, African-Americans continue to face unique disadvantages in the life-saving process she has worked in since 1989.

Velma Scantlebury told Zenger that the black community needs greater awareness about the need for more organ donors among nonwhite Americans. She points to the Minority Organ and Tissue Transplant Education Program, founded in 1991.

African-Americans have a more difficult time getting on kidney transplant lists, even though they are more likely to have end-stage renal disease. They trail whites in access to kidney transplants. Scantlebury said her black patients face inequality in health care, poor treatment by some doctors, lack of insurance, late referrals to specialists and a lack of health literacy.

“They are often diagnosed late, due to a lack of equity of health care. When referred to transplant, many have difficulty navigating the system to get the required tests. Hypertension and diabetes are more common in African-Americans, and despite this, many patients are neglected when it comes to getter their kidney function checked,” said Scantlebury, who has performed more than 2,000 transplants.

https://www.zenger.news/2021/07/05/nations-first-black-female-transplant-surgeon-advocates-for-better-care-for-african-americans/

First Black Female Chair of Surgery @ Albany Medical College

 

https://www.blackenterprise.com/meet-the-first-black-female-chair-of-surgery-at-a-u-s-academic-health-science-center/

"Is Angela Working?"

An excerpt from The Mirror - 

Woman escapes date with 'violent' man with life-saving secret signal to club DJ

The woman asked the DJ at a Liverpool pub the question that alerted him to her situation. He knew exactly what she meant and helped her to leave with the aid of a security guard

By Tim Hanlon 

A distressed woman needing help to escape a potentially violent date used a private signal to the DJ at a Liverpool pub to get away.

She was saved by asking the DJ if Angela was working and, knowing immediately what she meant, he helped her out of the difficult situation.

At the city centre pub, the DJ responded by saying yes, Angela was working and told the nervous woman to get inside the booth with him.

He then called for help from security, and asked a guard the same question, which led to the woman being helped out of the back of the venue and into a taxi.

The man, who shared the episode on a Liverpool hospitality industry Facebook page, is now calling on other venues to train its staff to know what to do in these types of situations.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/woman-escapes-date-violent-man-24495152

Four Phrases to Use When Stopped by Cops

An excerpt from Good - 

The Four Magic Phrases to Use When You’re Stopped by the Cops

Everyone should know their rights.

By Brandon Weber

 Whether it's a traffic stop that turns into “We smell something in your car" or a “driving while black" situation, you have rights when you're pulled over, and it's for the best if you actually use them. So how does this work, anyway? Well, you have rights when you're pulled over. These have been established via case law, and ultimately, some stem from the Constitution itself. In order, here are the magic phrases, along with some graphics to help you remember.

1. “Am I free to go?"

In any situation involving the police, you can ask this question. Some people ask it slightly differently: “Am I being detained?"—which is a version of the same question. Basically, if they've got nothing on you, they have to let you go. If they answer no to that question, you are in fact not free to go. In that case, you are suspected of doing something, and it's their job to try to get you to admit to it or to say a bit too much and incriminate yourself.

https://www.good.is/articles/4-magic-phrases-cops

Football players give student clothes

High School Students Create Wheelchair Stroller for Teacher's Husband

One Smart Cookie - Historical Spelling Bee Winner = 14 Year Old Black Girl!

From HuffPost - 

Spelling Bee Champ Is A Speed-Reading Math Whiz Who Holds 3 World Records

Zaila Avant-garde, 14, also made history at this year’s Scripps National Spelling Bee.

By Elyse Wanshel 


Zaila Avant-garde competes in the first round of the
Scripps National Spelling Bee finals in Orlando, Florida, on July 8.
JIM WATSON VIA GETTY IMAGES

This year’s spelling bee champ is F-A-S-C-I-N-A-T-I-N-G.

Zaila Avant-garde, a 14-year-old from Harvey, Louisiana, made history Thursday when she became the first African American winner and the second Black champion in the Scripps National Spelling Bee’s 96-year history.

But that may not even be the most interesting thing about the teen.

Zaila, who dipped her toe into competitive spelling just two years ago, knows how to speed-read and discovered that she could divide five-digit numbers by two-digit numbers in her head, according to The New York Times.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/spelling-bee-champ-speed-reading-math-whiz-3-world-records_n_60e856eee4b0b0220ededff8?ncid=NEWSSTAND0001

Dad interrogates daughter's first date via doorbell camera. - 1062899

Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head (Fingerstyle)

Stand By Me - Ben E. King (Boyce Avenue acoustic cover) on Spotify & Apple

Tuesday, July 6, 2021

He's A Chess National Master!

From the NY Times - 

Remember the Homeless Chess Champion? The Boy Is Now a Chess Master.

By Nicholas Kristof

Tanitoluwa Adewumi two years ago.
Credit...Christopher Lee for The New York Times

Once upon a time a 7-year-old refugee living in a homeless shelter sat down at a chess board in school and learned how to play. His school then agreed to his mom’s plea to waive fees for him to join the chess club.

The boy wasn’t any good at first. His initial chess rating was 105, barely above the lowest possible rating, 100.

But the boy, Tanitoluwa Adewumi — better known as Tani — enjoyed chess as an escape from the chaos of the homeless shelter, and his skills progressed in stunning fashion. After little more than a year, at age 8, he won the New York State chess championship for his age group, beating well-coached children from rich private schools.

I wrote a couple of columns about Tani at that time, and readers responded by donating more than $250,000 to a GoFundMe campaign for Tani’s family, along with a year of free housing. It was heartwarming to see Tani running around the family’s new apartment, but I wondered: Is this kid really that good?

It turns out he is. This month, as a fifth grader, Tani cruised through an in-person tournament in Connecticut open to advanced players of all ages and won every game. He emerged with a chess rating of 2223, making him a national master.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/08/opinion/sunday/homeless-chess-champion-tani-adewumi.html

Twin MDs fight entrenched racism in medical world



https://apnews.com/article/race-and-ethnicity-business-coronavirus-pandemic-education-health-215deeefc26994290faf84746e9c9808

Another Brilliant Sista!

From Blavity - 

Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, Who Helped Develop COVID-19 Vaccine, Joins Harvard’s Faculty

Corbett plans to expand vaccine research in her new laboratory with the goal to create universal vaccines.

by Sìmone Stancil

Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett / Photo Credit: Timothy Nwachukwu

Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, one of the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) lead scientists, is joining Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health as an assistant professor, the university announced.

Corbett is most widely known for playing an integral role in the development of Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine, which has proven to be up to 94.1% effective, according to the CDC. 

“I am delighted to welcome Kizzmekia to the School. Working in public health is a calling, and I am proud to work each day supporting an amazing team of researchers who have devoted their professional lives to helping others live full, happy, and healthy lives,” Michelle Williams, dean of the faculty at Harvard Chan School and angelopoulos professor in public health and international development, said.

“Kizzmekia is a natural fit here. Her success in the lab is matched only by her commitment to using science to improve people’s lives, especially for communities that have too often been left behind by advances in health care,” she added.

As a professor in the Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Corbett is spearheading the new Coronaviruses & Other Relevant Emerging Infectious Diseases (CoreID) Lab to study and understand the correlation between hosts’ immune systems and viruses that cause respiratory illness. Her goal is to create novel and potentially universal vaccines.

https://blavity.com/dr-kizzmekia-corbett-who-helped-develop-covid-19-vaccine-joins-harvards-faculty?category1=news&category2=Wellness

Daughters Of NASA Trailblazer Katherine Johnson Remember Her Legacy

FAMU's Dillard Tops Golf Ranking

From PGA Tour - 

Florida A&M’s Mulbe Dillard IV tops final APGA Collegiate Ranking

Top-five players earn APGA Tour playing privileges and benefits in 2021

By Chris Richards

After a record-setting four years at Florida A&M, Mulbe Dillard finishes his career as the No. 1 player in the APGA Tour Collegiate Ranking.

The top-five players in the 2021 APGA Collegiate Ranking have been finalized, with Florida A&M University’s Mulbe Dillard IV finishing No. 1 and earning an exemption into the Korn Ferry Tour’s REX Hospital Open. Dillard’s teammates Mahindra Lutchman, Cameron Riley and Prince Cunningham also finished in the top five, while Michigan State’s Andrew Walker finished No. 2 and rounds out the inaugural class of the APGA Collegiate Ranking.

“The path to professional golf has never been stronger for Black golfers, and I am excited about the opportunities that lie ahead for the top players in this year’s APGA Collegiate Ranking,” said Ken Bentley, co-founder and CEO of the APGA Tour. “This year’s inaugural class is an important step forward as the APGA Tour continues to grow and provide opportunities in professional golf to Black players.”

All five players receive APGA Tour membership and entry into this season’s tournaments, starting with the APGA Tour event at TPC Louisiana, May 31-June 1. Additionally, this year’s class receives travel costs associated with playing APGA Tour events and the Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament.

https://www.pgatour.com/university/news/2021/05/26/florida-a-and-m-mulbe-dillard-iv-tops-final-apga-collegiate-ranking.html

HBCUs Matter

From Blavity -

These 6 Black Philadelphia Judges All Graduated From The Same HBCU

HBCUs have produced 80% of the Black judges in the country.

by Tomas Kassahun

Six Black Philadelphia judges sat down for an interview with CBS Philly to talk about their common denominator: Hampton University, one of the most renowned HBCUs in the country.

Judges Roxanne Covington, Jonathan Irvine, Kai Scott, Mark Moore, Sharon Williams Losier and Lillian Harris Ransom, expressed their gratitude for HBCUs and emphasized the need for more diversity in courtrooms.

"When I come out from the back, you’ll see people’s faces change when they see you,” Irvine told the news station of being a Black judge in the city. “I don’t know whether that’s good or bad. You need to see diversity. Sometimes, you need to see people who look like you.”

Scott said it's not only important for the court to have diversity in race, but also in terms of gender and socioeconomic background.

“It’s important that the bench represents the entire community,” she told the station.

https://blavity.com/these-6-black-philadelphia-judges-all-graduated-from-the-same-hbcu?category1=news&category2=politics

Meet the 29Yr Old Entrepreneur Who Owns The largest African American Own...

Black Women Surfers

From the NY Times - 

Making Waves 

By Gabriella Angotti-Jones

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/06/04/opinion/black-women-surfers.html?referringSource=articleShare

First Black PhD in Math from Indiana University

From Black Enterprise - 

KEMP MAKES HISTORY AS FIRST BLACK STUDENT TO RECEIVE PH.D. IN MATHEMATICS FROM INDIANA UNIVERSITY

by Charlene Rhinehart 

www.linkedin.com/Dr. Dóminique Kemp

Last month, Dr. Dóminique Kemp reached a milestone that few individuals achieve in mathematics education.

The Indiana University student became the first Black graduate to earn a Ph.D. in mathematics, Indiana Daily Student reported. Nearly a century ago, Elbert Frank Cox was recognized as the first black person to earn a Ph.D. in mathematics. He received his degree from Standford University in 1925 and spent most of his career as a professor at Howard University.

Few have been empowered to further their mathematics education since that time. But Kemp wants to change that. He’s on a mission to inspire and empower the next generation of mathematicians.

https://www.blackenterprise.com/kemp-makes-history-as-first-black-student-to-receive-ph-d-in-mathematics-from-indiana-university/

A Flying Option

From Business Insider - 

I flew on Set Jet, where flights on private jets cost the same as typical airlines' first class, and saw why it's one of aviation's best kept secrets

By Thomas Pallini

  • Set Jet is a membership-based private jet firm offering seats on private aircraft on set routes across the American West. 
  • Flights cost less than $500 but still offer most of the trappings of a traditional private jet flight.
  • I flew on a Set Jet flight and was impressed by the luxury of the service for the low price point.
Flying on a private jet is the very pinnacle of air travel and has traditionally been reserved for the ultra-wealthy, until now.

Set Jet is a Scottsdale, Arizona-based private aviation firm that offers by-the-seat private jet flights on routes across the American West. The idea isn't new but its founders say they've found a way to make the service consistent, safe, and profitable.

Fares are only between $449.95 and $489.95 one-way on most routes but only pre-approved members can book flights. A monthly membership costs $99 and flyers have to pay a one-time security fee of $99.

https://www.businessinsider.com/flying-on-set-jet-between-arizona-and-california-review-photos-2021-6#fares-are-only-between-44995-and-48995-one-way-on-most-routes-but-only-pre-approved-members-can-book-flights-a-monthly-membership-costs-99-and-flyers-have-to-pay-a-one-time-security-fee-of-99-3

First Day How-To's of Foster Care

 

@fostertheteens

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♬ Outdoors - Colin Tierney

Black Scientists Proved the Polio Vaccine Worked

From Scientific American - 

Hidden Black Scientists Proved the Polio Vaccine Worked

Tuskegee Institute researchers showed Jonas Salk’s vaccine protected children by developing a key test

By Ainissa Ramirez

In the summers of the early 1950s, multitudes of American children were stuck in their home. Parents didn’t permit them to play together because, when the weather got warm, society entered a nightmare called polio. Children would eagerly begin their school breaks with a bicycle, scooter or kite and end them in crutches, braces or an iron lung.

The disease poliomyelitis, or polio, had been in the medical textbooks for decades. In the summers of the early 20th century, however, this illness grew into an epidemic. The virus behind the disease could infect anyone, but in the U.S., it caused the worst damage among children under five years old, and polio was consequently called infantile paralysis.

In early 1953 there was a glimmer of hope that this nightmare might come to an end. Medical researcher Jonas Salk created a polio vaccine that, when injected, stimulated the immune system to make antibodies that fought off the virus. By January of that year, he had inoculated 161 people, and the results looked promising. Salk’s work was funded by the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (NFIP). This organization—founded in 1938 by polio sufferer and U.S. president Franklin Delano Roosevelt—evolved from a dilapidated spa in Warm Springs, Ga., for those afflicted with the disease to become a major polio research funder. Buoyed by Salk’s early results, the NFIP, with its broad mission of conquering polio, started pushing to get hundreds of thousands of children vaccinated. But before moving ahead, Salk wanted to make sure his vaccine was the “safest and most certain” approach by monitoring the inoculation’s ability to trigger enough antibodies to neutralize the virus. In earlier tests, monkeys were injected with the vaccine and monitored to see if they got sick, or their cells were observed to see if they deformed. But the number of the animals needed to test thousands of children was too costly and cumbersome.

Fortunately, researchers had found there were unique cells that could help. These were HeLa cells, the living line of cancer cells that were taken without permission from a Black patient named Henrietta Lacks years earlier. After blood was drawn from a vaccinated patient, part of it was placed in a glass dish along with HeLa cells and a small dose of polio. With those items, a microscopic—and deadly—battle commenced. In the dish, the poliovirus tried to attack the HeLa cells. If there were enough of the proper antibodies in the patient’s blood, however, they blocked the virus from causing any harm. Scientists could readily see the cells under a microscope. If the HeLa cells looked misshapen, this meant that the right antibodies were not present in the blood.

To evaluate his vaccine, Salk would need tremendous amounts of HeLa cells. He would get help not from traditional established institutions such as Harvard University or Yale University but from a small Black college in the South that had become famous for cultivating peanuts.

In 1881 educator Booker T. Washington founded the Tuskegee Institute with 30 pupils inside an old church building in Alabama. Washington had big dreams for his small school, and they were realized. Just 50 years later, the number of students increased 100-fold. And the entire nation grew to know about this institute from botanist George Washington Carver’s pioneering work on cultivating the peanut there. During World War II, the Tuskegee Airmen, an all-Black flying squadron, also put this sleepy part of the country on the map.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/hidden-black-scientists-proved-the-polio-vaccine-worked/





911 Help

 

Antonia Bundy helped the child solve a math problem (Twitter/ @LafayetteINPD)

 

Auburn's First Black Female Drum Major

From AL.com

Meet Auburn University’s first Black female drum major

By The Associated Press

Brianna Jarvis, a senior in the Auburn band who plays the trumpet,
poses for a photo before Auburn played Texas A&M
for its final home game in 2020 on Saturday, Dec. 5. (Photo by Giana Han)

Brianna Jarvis will lead the Auburn University Marching Band into Jordan-Hare Stadium when the football team plays Akron on Sept. 4.

She will also be making history as the band’s first Black female drum major.

The music education major attended Reeltown High School where she says she saw the impact of the university from 30 minutes away. A first-generation college student, Jarvis says she knew she wanted to attend Auburn but didn’t know how to make that happen.

Jarvis’ high school band director was Auburn University alumnus Tyler Strickland, and he acted as a mentor, helping Jarvis navigate college applications, Auburn University Marching Band auditions and more.

https://www.al.com/news/2021/06/meet-auburn-universitys-first-black-female-drum-major.html

Mikki Allen looking to bring hockey to Tennessee State | Hockey Culture ...

All Black Flight Crew

From CNN Travel - 

All-Black flight crew commemorates Juneteenth

By Neelam Bohra and Justin Lear, CNN


(CNN) — Water cannons blasted over United Airlines flight 1258 as it left its gate, celebrating that every person on the flight crew, from pilots to gate agents and ramp staff, was Black.

The all-Black crew flew from Houston to Chicago on Saturday morning, commemorating Juneteenth, now a federal holiday celebrating the end of slavery. Before takeoff, a celebration of the crew included a speech from Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, a saxophone performance from one of the pilots, Sal Crocker, and water cannons on the tarmac.

Turner said the flight crew was a symbol for how far the Black community has come over the past 150 years.

"Now, we're soaring amongst the stars," Turner said to CNN affiliate KTRK. "Let me tell you, for our ancestors, my parents, if they were still alive, they would just be amazed."

Just 2.47% of United States aircraft pilots and flight engineers are Black, according to Data USA.

But for flight 1258, even the flight dispatchers, both in Houston and Chicago, celebrated their Black heritage.

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/all-black-flight-crew/index.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+CNN+-+Top+Stories%29

Put an Aspirin in Your Washing Machine - It's Incredibly Effective

Friday, June 18, 2021

RAW: Andrews High principal sings ‘I Will Always Love You’ to Class of 2021

"High on the Hog"

 An excerpt from Vice - 

'High on the Hog' Proves Why Food Travel Shows Need New Gatekeepers

“The reason why [the show] is so resonant for Black people is because that’s really who it’s for. It’s for us.”

By Kristin Corry

“Tell me what you eat and I’ll tell you where you are from,” famed Yoruba artist Romuald Hazoumè told Stephen Satterfield, host of Netflix’s inspiring new travel show High on the Hog. The phrase could double as the thesis of food historian Dr. Jessica Harris’s book of the same name, which resonated so much with production duo Fabienne Toback and Karis Jagger that they chose to adapt it for their first full-length documentary.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/93y3vd/netflix-high-on-the-hog-food-travel-show-interview

Honoring Her Parents

From Today - 

Graduating senior honors farm-worker parents with special photos

Jennifer Rocha began working in the fields with her parents when she was in high school. 

By Kait Hanson and Mohammed Syed


One California woman is going viral for the emotional graduation photos she took to honor her parents.

21-year-old Jennifer Rocha, from Coachella, California, has been working in the fields with her parents, both immigrants from Michoacán, Mexico, since she was in high school.

"My dad decided to take me to work in the field when I was in junior year of high school," Rocha told TODAY Parents, adding that during that time she was also running on the cross-country team at school. "My dad would pick me up from cross-country practice at around 2, 3 p.m. and then come home, eat something, (and) change. And then we would go and plant strawberries overnight."

https://www.today.com/parents/ucsd-student-honors-farm-worker-parents-photos-field-t222050





Quads Graduate From Yale

From People - 

Ohio Quadruplets Who All Graduated from Yale Say They Were Able to Carve Their 'Own Paths' at Ivy

Aaron, Nick, Nigel and Zach Wade graduated together from Yale University last month

By Rachel DeSantis

https://people.com/human-interest/ohio-quadruplets-graduated-from-yale-carved-own-paths/ 

Ahmed Muhammad Becomes First African American Valedictorian at Oakland ...


Heading to Harvard

From People - 

N.Y. School's First Black Valedictorian Is Heading to Harvard: 'There's No Dream Too Big'

By Joelle Goldstein 

https://people.com/human-interest/new-york-teen-onovu-otitigbe-becomes-high-schools-first-black-valedictorian-heads-to-harvard/

https://people.com/human-interest/new-york-teen-onovu-otitigbe-becomes-high-schools-first-black-valedictorian-heads-to-harvard/

Monday, May 24, 2021

Black Family Cookout Rules

An excerpt from Afro.com -

What you not fid’na do at a Black family cookout

By Rev. Dorothy Boulware 

Yes we have rules for everything and everybody. Rules for behavior in Big Mama’s house. Rules of proper conduct for “in person” church. Rules for butting or rather, not butting into grown folks’ conversations. And we have rules for going to a cookout, a Black family cookout. Granted they’re not written, but you’d better ask somebody if you don’t know.

~~~~~

Cookout or barbeque. Some prefer one over the other. Picnic? Absolutely never!!! Check out a Black history book. So what are the rules of your family’s barbecues? The funny thing is that when the question was posed to family, friends, FB friends and AFRO staff, the answers were quite similar.


*Don’t disrespect Big Mama.

*Don’t pack take-home dishes before everyone eats.

*Don’t come empty handed (unless we have eaten, or not eaten, your food before)

*Don’t put raisins in anything that’s not dessert. Seriously. Even if you are newly Black.

*Don’t bring your new girlfriend when you know your Ex is always invited.

(Click below to check out the entire list.  Please pass this on far and wide to those who need it.  You know who. - Faye)

https://afro.com/what-you-not-fittin-do-at-a-black-family-cookout/


Priceless Guide to Black BBQs

From Deadspin - 

The Caucasian's Guide To Black Barbecues

By Michael Harriot

As interracial dating, integration, and cross-cultural friendships increase, many people find themselves attending events in which they are the minority, and have no frame of reference from which to base their etiquette. In an effort to help bridge the cultural gaps we all have to traverse at some point, I have created a few rules for all my Caucasian friends who might find themselves at a black cookout.

1. You gotta bring something. One time, I went to a co-worker named Tom’s barbecue and brought a pasta salad. He looked at me like I had shit in the middle of his living room.

At a black cookout (yes, if there’s more than seven black people there, the name automatically changes from “barbecue” to a “cookout”), only the meat and the grill is supplied by the host. Everything else is brought by attendees—and no, this is not “potluck.” Black people don’t do potlucks. Potluck dinners are for Caucasian bible-study meetings where one can bring store-bought dishes. Here, you either show up with a homemade dish, or they’re gonna look at you funny. And please don’t try no new shit like potato salad with raisins or vegetarian shish kabobs. If you can’t cook, or you don’t have all the required black seasonings, just bring some cups and napkins. Or LOTS of aluminum foil. I don’t know what the hell black people do with all the aluminum foil at cookouts, but they ALWAYS need more. I have long suspected that black cookouts were ploys by hosts to get free aluminum foil. In any case, you are expected to bring something.

https://adequateman.deadspin.com/the-caucasians-guide-to-black-barbecues-1730865233


 

Sunday, May 23, 2021

What Are They Afraid Of?

An excerpt from the Salt Lake Tribune - 

Leonard Pitts: Sometimes you wonder what they’re so afraid of

The powers that be have conspired to protect white people — and prevent Black people — from knowing our history. 

By Leonard Pitts, The Miami Herald

Not that the subject has ever been easy. No, as has often been noted in this space, this country has been positively Herculean in its effort to remain ignorant of African American history. From schools trying to ban it to state laws restricting it, to textbooks telling lies about it, that history is something we have long resisted.

But if the subject was never easy, it has seldom been as fraught — as filled with political heat — as it is now. The New York Times Magazine’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “1619 Project,” in which reporter Nikole Hannah-Jones had the temerity to reframe America’s story through the lens of slavery, seems to have tapped something primal in some of us; something that has moved them to spend two years condemning it; something that has states like Texas, Tennessee and Idaho rushing to pass laws banning schools from teaching critical race theory (which seemingly all conservatives fear and none can define); something panicky that is emphatically not explained by academic arguments over points of factuality.

For the record, I consider myself pretty well-informed about Black history. But it is not lost on me that most of what I know was learned on my own after my formal education ended, that I somehow managed to graduate an elite private university knowing next to nothing about it.

Even at that, I was more fortunate than some. School only left me uneducated. It left them miseducated, i.e., taught things that were not true. In an inspired feat of enterprise journalism, Michael Harriot of The Root recently dug up the high school history textbooks that would have been used by many of those who grew up to deny the reality of systemic racism or seek to restrict the teaching thereof. The results are enlightening.

https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/commentary/2021/05/16/leonard-pitts-sometimes/

Tulsa Race Massacre Survivors Testify

From Custodian to Teacher

An excerpt from The Black Detour -  

Georgia School Janitor of 23 Years Graduates College With A Degree in Education

A Georgia school janitor for the last 23 years has graduated from college with a degree in education. Tylan Bailey is now ready to change careers and become a teacher.

“Just walking through these halls every day, you’re surrounded by education. Each corner of this building, education. So why not be a part of that,” Bailey told WSBTV 2.

Over the last 23 years Bailey has worked at Hightower Elementary School in DeKalb County as its head custodian.

“He’s the kind of person you want in your building, on your side,” Principal Sheila Price told the news outlet. “It’s a bittersweet moment because we love him and we want to keep him here. But we know this is a huge step and we support him. We’re here for him for whatever he needs.”

In 2017, Bailey started his journey to become a teacher when he began attending classes at Georgia State University while still working part-time.

https://theblackdetour.com/georgia-school-janitor-of-23-years-graduates-college-with-a-degree-in-education/

Katie vs. Big Pharma

 

Grants & Scholarships For Black Women

From Essence - 

9 Grants, Scholarships and Resources For Black Women To Apply For Right Now

WHETHER YOU ARE AN ENTREPRENEUR OR A CREATIVE, WE FOUND THESE GRANTS THAT ARE WAITING FOR YOU!

https://www.essence.com/news/money-career/grants-scholarships-for-black-women-to-apply/

This Masquerade | Fingerstyle (Leon Russell / George Benson / Carpenters)

Medical Pedicure

 

Black Girls Climbing in the Midst of Racism

From the Washington Post -  

The Racism of the Great Outdoors

Hikers and climbers of color face a host of obstacles, from bigoted route names to Confederate flags. This D.C.-based group is trying to change that.

By Ikya Kandula

Five years ago, Gabrielle Dickerson, then a sophomore at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, lay awake in her sleeping bag on her first overnight climbing trip, enveloped by the woods of the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve near Fayetteville, W.Va. Like many rock climbers in the D.C. area, she’d been drawn to the New, as outdoor enthusiasts call it — a five-hour road trip from Washington — because it offers 1,400 of the best climbing routes in the United States.

The rest of her group had swiftly fallen asleep after a day of projecting — the process of strategizing about, and eventually completing, a climb with no breaks — but apprehension took hold of Dickerson. “I was very aware of how uncomfortable I was in the backcountry of West Virginia,” Dickerson recalls. “Not only because I was a Black woman, but also because of the relationship and trauma my ancestors had with the woods.” Her grandfather had been born on a North Carolina cotton farm in 1930 and picked cotton until he escaped from the owner in his teens. On his way to Philadelphia and a new life, he witnessed his best friend get lynched in the woods.

Loneliness sank in as Dickerson realized that no one in her campsite would be able to relate: She was the only Black climber in her group. She’d been climbing in a gym in Rockville, Md., for six months; that day in the New was her first experience projecting in a natural space. She’d spent the afternoon struck with a sense of wonder, but that didn’t offset her disquietude in that moment. She knew that the deep canyons that surrounded her overflowed with histories of Black families just like her own.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/magazine/2021/05/19/rock-climbers-color-face-host-obstacles-this-group-is-trying-change-that/?tid=a_classic-iphone&no_nav=true