When I first met my wife. I had dreams of starting my own internet business but then I got lazy and starting drifting, working in dead end jobs coming home unhappy. Every morning she would nag me and be on my case about following my dream. I was bringing in money what was her problem I used to think, we nearly broke up on numerous occasions because of it. Then one day I was laid off. I came home and told her I’d had enough, we sat up all night strategizing. I swear she was coming up with things I hadn’t even thought off. Five years on. I’m my own boss and the business is doing well. I’m so much happier and I owe it all to her. I swear. Black women make you great.
I was riding on the subway in Spain the other day, (which can be a racist place) when a black busker came on with a guitar and starting singing an amazing song about churches having no paintings of black angels. I can honestly say I’d never heard the song before and was captivated, so captivated that I missed my stop just to listen to him, he sang the song for about two minutes eyes closed and had the whole mainly white carriage shifting uncomfortably in their seats, which drew my attention even more. I was proud that he had the guts to sing it so freely with so much passion, when he had finished the song, he opened his eyes and looked around and saw me smiling at him. I personally walked over and gave him some money which prompted more people to give him money (maybe white guilt) and said the song and the way he sang it was amazing, he thanked me and we got chatting, it turned out he was from Cuba, and the song was very famous there, after chatting for a bit longer he gave me the title of the song which is called ‘Angelitos Negros’ (Black Angels) I thought it was his song but when I got home to check I saw it was originally a song by a singer called Antonio Machin, which was then covered by none other than Eartha Kitt in English and in Spanish, which she sings perfectly. See what you think.
I just had to share this photo today. This is my husband on the left and his first officer on his flight. Only 2.7 percent of airline pilots are African American. This makes me so incredibly proud to see this photo knowing how much education and training goes into a career like this. To make it this far, you have to be the best! So with all the negativity out there in the world right now, I hope you see this. – Dede (proud wife)
We see and salute you both for showing young boys that look like you, that they too can soar. #becauseofthemwecan
They laughed when I told them what I wanted to be….Because I didn’t fit “The Description”…. Fast Forward 11 years later and I still don’t fit the “The Description”… But who’s the one laughing now?… I will never fit “The Description” and trust me, I NEVER want to. I LOVE who I am. I LOVE going against the Grain. I LOVE shattering Stereotypes. Just know, my Patients will continue to LOVE me and that’s all that matters. To all my African Americans, never let anyone deter you away from being who you want to be regardless of your background, upbringing or current situation. Even the impossible is possible. YOU can also be that person where people say, “Wait, you’re a what?”. Lord knows, we need more of that in this world. #MedicalDoctor #InternalMedicine #Hospitalist #BlackDoctor #TattedDoctor #NotYourTypicalDoctor
Chris Okpara
Colin Kaepernick on Friday met with Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, a former star guard whom the NBA suspended 20 years ago for not standing for the national anthem.
Abdul-Rauf was born Chris Jackson. In 1991, he converted to Islam and changed his name. In 1996, he began to sit during the playing of the National Anthem believing the song represented oppression and racism. He believed standing and honoring the Anthem conflicted with his beliefs. In March of 1996, the NBA suspended him for one game, citing a rule that required players maintain a “dignified posture” during the Anthem. The NBPA backed Abdul-Rauf and he and the NBA came to a compromise, where he would stand and pray during the Anthem. Abdul-Rauf was traded by the Denver Nuggets to the Sacramento Kings the following off-season, he was released by the Kings after the following season. He reportedly could not even get an NBA tryout at the age of 29. His NBA career was cut short because of his beliefs. Abdul-Rauf was in Oakland for a screening and discussion of “By the Dawn’s Early Light,” a documentary that follows his political and spiritual journey.
On his 21st birthday, Keraun Harris received a non-traditional birthday drink: a celebratory cup of coffee, infused with Jolly Ranchers for sweetness (there were no sugar packets available) and delivered to him by his middle-aged cellmate.
“Congratulations,” the cellmate said.
Harris, a Houston native, was serving a two-and-a-half year sentence at the Texas State Penitentiary, the first of two prison stays he did for robbery and credit card abuse. And around the time of that cup of coffee, he said, he had a realization: this was not the life he wanted.
Six years later, Harris has turned things around in dramatic fashion. After getting out of prison, he started making comedy videos for Instagram, Vine, and YouTube under the moniker “King Keraun.” These videos—most of which were shorter than 15 seconds, the maximum length allowed by Instagram—dealt with the usual topics: relationships, family, football. But they were funny and relatable, and they came at a time when big companies were trying to capitalize on the appeal of social media celebrities. King Keraun’s videos got him noticed, first in Houston, and then by the larger internet fame complex.
What happened next was a modernized version of the classic Hollywood fairy tale: agents swarmed, entertainment mogul Russell Simmons brought him to L.A. and became his mentor, and brands clamored to place their products in his Vines and Instagram videos. He amassed 1.4 million Instagram followers, 1.8 million Facebook likes, and more than 100 million Vine loops. Soon, Keraun was part of an elite crew of young, black social media celebrities that included King Bach, Max Jr., and Jerry Purpdrank, who collectively entertained the market segments known as “Black Instagram” and “Black Vine” (both of which are separate from Black Twitter, but no less real or distinctive).
Along the way, King Keraun met Simone Shepherd, another social media star who converted a series of short comedy bits into a lucrative career. (3.1 million Vine followers, 405,000 Instagram followers, 300,000 Facebook fans.) The two started appearing in each others’ videos, fell hard, and started dating. These days, they don’t advertise their relationship on their social channels, but they’re not exactly keeping it a secret, either.
“We’re not really outright with it,” Shepherd says. “[Our fans] see us in each others’ videos every day, but we let them assume what they want to assume.”
NEW YORK – Maurice Ashley was 14 when he saw a high school friend playing chess and challenged him to a match. He lost badly, but it sparked a love affair that started him playing nearly non-stop ever since.
There were the countless hours competing against the hustlers in city parks, and the serious players at chess clubs in Manhattan. There were the years spent against increasingly tougher competition in college, and ultimately against the best of the best at tournaments around the country and abroad.
All that playing has led the 50-year-old Ashley to some trailblazing accomplishments — the first black person to be designated as a chess grandmaster, and last Wednesday, the first black person to be inducted into the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame in St. Louis. He received his honor as the U.S. Chess Championship got underway, with Ashley taking on commentating duties.
When he got the call in January that he was being inducted, for his contributions as a player, coach and commentator, Ashley said tears came to his eyes.
Forever Black Effusion 