The Official Ill Community Black Excellence Thread

[Maximus Rex]

Venus, Serena Williams capture sixth Wimbledon doubles title
http://espn.go.com/tennis/wimbledon...s-serena-williams-capture-women-doubles-title

LONDON -- Serena Williams is leaving Wimbledon with two trophies, teaming with her older sister Venus to win the women's doubles final just hours after collecting the singles title Saturday.

The American siblings won their sixth doubles championship at the All England Club and 14th as a pair at all Grand Slam tournaments by beating fifth-seeded Timea Babos of Hungary and Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan 6-3, 6-4.

Earlier Saturday, also on Centre Court, Serena won her 22nd Grand Slam singles title with a straight-set victory over Angelique Kerber in that final. It was the fourth time that Serena won both titles at Wimbledon in the same year; Martina Navratilova pulled off the feat five times in the Open era.

"I had just enough time to change and get my ankles retaped," Serena said about going from one match to the other. "But there was so much adrenaline, I didn't want to cool down too much."

Venus sat in the guest box during the singles final.

"Watching Serena earlier was so amazing, and I was so into that. And then you have to reset yourself and say, 'OK, we've got to play a match and we're going to have to try to win,'" Venus said during a joint interview with the BBC after the doubles. "So she brought the energy from Game 1 and that really brought me up, too."

The Williams sisters also won doubles titles at Wimbledon in 2000, 2002, 2008, 2009 and 2012. Each time, one or the other also won the singles championship, with Serena doing it in 2002, 2009 and 2012 in addition to this year.

They're now 14-0 in major doubles finals. They were unseeded this time because they play doubles so infrequently, and their most recent Grand Slam title before Saturday had come four years ago at the All England Club. Until playing at the French Open in May, they hadn't even entered a doubles draw at any major tournament since 2014.

The 14 Grand Slam titles are tied for second in the Open era with Gigi Fernandez and Natasha Zvereva. Navratilova and Pam Shriver hold the Open era record with 20.

The Williams sisters are planning to compete in doubles, in addition to singles, at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics next month. They already have won three gold medals in doubles, at the 2000, 2008 and 2012 Summer Games.

When they were asked during the BBC interview which one is in charge of their doubles team, Serena immediately pointed toward Venus and said with a laugh, "She's definitely the boss."

Said Venus: "Well, I'm the older sister, so it kind of falls on me. But [there are] different times on the court that we both take over. So whatever the team needs, it kind of happens organically. That's the best kind of team."

Shvedova, who lost to Venus in the singles quarterfinals this week, was trying to win her third Grand Slam doubles title, after teaming with Vania King to win Wimbledon and the US Open in 2010. Babos has never won a major doubles trophy; she was the runner-up with Kristina Mladenovic at Wimbledon in 2014.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

 

[Qiv_Owan]

Jesse Russell should be on that list, he invented and patented 4g/mobile data

Biles made the team too, its crazy how during the selection all the focus was on Gabby...still black excellence

 

[Maximus Rex]

Micah Johnson, Gunman in Dallas, Honed Military Skills to a Deadly Conclusion
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/10/u...ooting-but-protests-flare-elsewhere.html?_r=0

By RICHARD FAUSSET, MANNY FERNANDEZ and ALAN BLINDERJULY 9, 2016

[/b]Police officers outside Micah Johnson’s home in Mesquite, Tex., on Saturday. Mr. Johnson, who shot and killed five officers in Dallas on Thursday night, had conducted training in his backyard. Credit William Widmer for The New York Times[/b]

GARLAND, Tex. — There was a time when he was known as a well-mannered young man — a regular at his church and a pleasant presence on a tree-lined, suburban, multicultural street in a neighborhood called Camelot. He grew up to serve his country in Afghanistan.

But on Thursday night, 25-year-old Micah Johnson, an African-American, drove his car to a rally against police violence and began killing officers in downtown Dallas, hoping to single out the white ones. In the process, he also managed to bring his war back home, killing at least one fellow military veteran and heightening fears that the nation he had been deployed to protect overseas was now failing to address its growing racial divide at home.

The Dallas police remained on edge Saturday. In the late afternoon, officers drew their weapons and cleared an area near the back of their headquarters after a report of a suspicious person in a department parking garage. The agency later said that no one had been found.

In the past several days, as demonstrators jammed the streets in a number of American cities, protesting police violence, new details emerged about Mr. Johnson’s life. They revealed a young man who had returned in disgrace from his stint abroad in the Army Reserve, but then continued a training regimen of his own devising, conducting military-style exercises in his backyard and reportedly joining a gym that offered martial arts and weapons classes.

A Dallas County official also revealed Saturday that Mr. Johnson — who killed five officers and wounded seven others, as well as two civilians,before the police killed him with a robot-delivered explosive device — had kept an extensive journal and described a method of attack in which a gunman fired on a target and then quickly moved to another location to confuse an enemy.

Although it did not seem to be a precise plan for Mr. Johnson’s ambush, it was strikingly similar to the tactics he used.

Micah Johnson enlisted in the Army Reserve in 2009. Credit via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

“It’s talking not only about how to kill but how to keep from being killed,” said Clay Jenkins, Dallas County’s chief executive and director of homeland security and emergency management, who said he had not read the original journal but had reviewed summaries of it. “It shows that he’s well prepared.”

Mr. Johnson showed an affinity for radical black-power organizations on his Facebook page. Organizers of the Black Lives Matter network and others have denounced Mr. Johnson’s shooting spree. In a news conference on Saturday in Warsaw, President Obama said it was “very hard to untangle the motives” behind the shooting.

“As we’ve seen in a whole range of incidents with mass shooters, they are, by definition, troubled,” Mr. Obama said. “By definition, if you shoot people who pose no threat to you — strangers — you have a troubled mind. What triggers that, what feeds it, what sets it off, I’ll leave that to psychologists and people who study these kinds of incidents.”

On Saturday, Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas said in a statement that Mr. Obama had called him to offer condolences. Mr. Abbott said he had thanked the president and reiterated the need for Americans to unite after the shooting.

Tensions remained high, however. In San Antonio, the police were investigating reports late Saturday that gunshots had been fired at their department’s headquarters, Chief William McManus said at a briefing.

Officers said that they heard gunshots hitting the building just before 10 p.m. and that “a number of shell casings” were recovered, Chief McManus said. There were no injuries.

Alexis McCormick, left, and Michaela McCormick at a United to Heal vigil at the Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe in downtown Dallas on Friday night. Credit William Widmer for The New York Times

Mr. Johnson spent some of his childhood at the home of his father and stepmother in Garland, about a half-hour drive north of downtown Dallas. Their neighborhood, Camelot, is a collection of one- and two-story ranch-style houses of late-20th-century vintage, and their house is set in the middle of a tree-lined block, where a number of neighboring homes this weekend still displayed American flags from the Fourth of July weekend. The neighbors walking by or working on their lawns were black, white, Hispanic and Asian.

Courtney Williams, 37, an electrician who lives in Forney, just east of Dallas, said he had known Mr. Johnson during his teenage days, when Mr. Johnson would stay with his mother in the Pleasant Grove area of Dallas. The two young men attended the same church, and Mr. Williams recalled Mr. Johnson as a “well-mannered” youth who was active in church events and the typical pursuits of a teenager.

“Video games, the whole nine yards,” he said. Mr. Johnson showed no interest in weapons, Mr. Williams said.

“He was just a quiet kid,” Mr. Williams said. “No attitude, no trouble with school. Just a normal kid.”

Mr. Williams lost touch with Mr. Johnson after the younger man graduated from John Horn High School in Mesquite, Tex., where he had shown some interest in the military, going so far as to participate in the school’s Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps program. He was not, it seemed on Saturday, a standout: Horn’s former J.R.O.T.C. instructor said he had little recollection of Mr. Johnson.

He enlisted in the Army Reserve in 2009 and was assigned to a unit — a component of the 420th Engineer Brigade — near Dallas. More than four years later, the unit deployed to Afghanistan. But before the soldiers left for the Afghan theater, they stood in formation not far from the streets where Mr. Johnson would someday stage a siege.

An officer urged them to take care of their families and cultivate their faith. He also emphasized the importance of adapting on the fly.

“Continue to build the flexibility to adjust to changing and unforeseen situations faster than the enemy can adapt,” the officer said, according to a video of the ceremony. “This is how we will succeed.”

But Mr. Johnson did not succeed. While overseas, a female soldier in Mr. Johnson’s unit accused him of sexual harassment. When the Army considered kicking him out, he waived his right to a hearing in exchange for a lesser charge.

Soon he was back in Texas, living with his mother. Ron Price, 49, a former president of the Dallas school board, lives in Mesquite, about four blocks away. He used to see Mr. Johnson in the neighborhood and exchange hellos. He said he had noticed nothing really remarkable about him.

“He was just another guy at the gas station,” he said.

But Mr. Jenkins said a neighbor had seen Mr. Johnson doing militarylike exercises in his backyard in Mesquite in the last couple of weeks.

Mr. Johnson’s preparations seemingly extended to visits to a “self-defense and personal protection” gym in the Dallas area.

 

[Maximus Rex]

Micah Johnson, Gunman in Dallas, Honed Military Skills to a Deadly Conclusion,con't

Outside Dallas Police Headquarters, two squad cars have been turned into memorials. Credit William Widmer for The New York Times

The gym’s owner, Justin Everman, told The Daily Beast that it counted many police officers among its members, and he sought to distance himself and his business from Mr. Johnson.

“It’s disgusting, what he did,” Mr. Everman told The Daily Beast. “I’m disgusted.”

In addition to reading summaries of the journal, Mr. Jenkins said he had heard descriptions of its contents from other officials.

Some of it was given over to very specific combat and sniper tactics, including details, Mr. Jenkins said, of “what we call ‘shoot and move’ tactics — ways to fire on a target and then move quickly and get into position at another location to inflict more damage on targets without them being able to ascertain where the shots are coming from.” This tactic is used by the military’s special forces.

“When you couple ‘shoot and move’ and other tactics in his writings, his practice in the yard, his interest in weaponry, it seems to me that this was a well-prepared individual,”[/u[ Mr. Jenkins said.

He added, “It appeared that he was an excellent marksman and was calmly shooting, as opposed to someone who’s just holding a gun up and aiming it and pulling the trigger in the direction of where they think people are.”

Mr. Jenkins said Mr. Johnson had used a semiautomatic SKS rifle and a high-capacity handgun. He drove his vehicle to the demonstration and parked it, Mr. Jenkins said, but was on foot at many points throughout the attack.

Police officers in riot gear moved in to break up a group of marchers as hundreds took to the streets to protest in Phoenix on Friday. Credit Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press

Mr. Johnson’s knowledge of “shoot and move” — and the fact that a few of the protesters in the crowd who were not involved in the shooting were armed and carrying rifles — has helped shed light on how a theory of multiple assailants emerged.

In Texas, gun owners can legally and openly carry what are known as long guns, including shotguns and rifles. The carrying of handguns is regulated in Texas and requires a state-issued permit, whether concealed or openly carried, but the carrying of rifles is largely unregulated and requires no permit. The so-called open carrying of rifles has become common at many demonstrations in Texas in recent years.

“When the shooting first happened, you had people in the crowd who were carrying long rifles and dressed in camouflage,” Mr. Jenkins said. “And then the shooting happens, and those people begin to disperse and move quickly, and they have guns and they’re not police officers and there’s a shooting, and so one of the things that people would investigate quickly is did they have anything to do with whatever is happening.”

Mr. Jenkins said that Mr. Johnson did not appear to have advance knowledge of the march route. Parts of the route were determined on the spot without planning, Mr. Jenkins said.

Throughout a sweltering Saturday, a section of downtown Dallas remained a closed-off crime scene as investigators faced a second day of piecing together the details of the attack, an inquiry that had included more than 200 interviews. More than 20 square blocks remained cordoned off.

Two squad cars outside Police Headquarters have become memorials, covered in flowers, balloons, posters and handwritten notes. On Friday evening, before the officers went on heightened alert, person after person slowly and quietly approached the cars to add tributes. A Dallas police sergeant wiped her eyes, and a handful of people gathered in a circle to pray.

Similar moments played out on Saturday. “I miss you already Brother, but you are home with the angels now,” said a note about Officer Brent Thompson. The authors wrote, “You were, are, and always will be our hero.”

As Mayor Mike Rawlings visited Police Headquarters on Saturday, he told reporters: “We’re all human here, and I think that people feel each other’s pain. And that’s what makes it great, that’s what makes you hopeful that we can do this, that we can move from senselessness, absurdity that’s like a Camus novel, to something that has redemption and hope in it. And that’s ultimately what we need to do.”

He stopped to speak with a woman kneeling by one police car and told her, “Pray hard, sister.”

Richard Fausset reported from Garland, and Manny Fernandez and Alan Blinder from Dallas. Reporting was contributed by Richard Pérez-Peña and Christopher Mele from New York; John Eligon and David Montgomery from Mesquite, Tex.; and Richard A. Oppel Jr. from Chicago. Jack Begg and Elisa Cho contributed research.

 

[Maximus Rex]

Little Known Black History Fact: The Shoe Clinic
http://blackamericaweb.com/2016/07/15/little-known-black-history-fact-the-shoe-clinic/

D.L. Chandler

The shoe repair business has been around a long time, although there’s typically an emphasis on dress shoes and the like. But in Birmingham, Alabama, two friends can lay claim to creating the state’s first Black-owned sneaker dry cleaning service which has expanded quickly since its opening.

Tavaris Godbolt and Alvin Miller are the founders of The Shoe Clinic, an idea that began humbly in Godbolt’s apartment. The frugal Godbolt had a pair of Air Jordan Retro 13 Flint sneakers he wasn’t ready to part with, so he applied some cleaning techniques and brought them back to life. After posting the results on social media, interest in his cleaning techniques gave him and Miller the idea to start a business.

The Shoe Clinic officially started in 2014 and Godbolt and Miller now have a storefront in downtown Birmingham. They’ve also expanded the focus of the business beyond sneaker restoration. The Shoe Clinic also does customizations and sells an at-home sneaker cleaning kits as well. Miller’s brother, Marcus Goodman, helps to support the shop’s operation.

It isn’t just about shoe repair and custom kicks for Godbolt and Miller. Every Saturday outside the shop, the Clinic hosts what they call the “Sole Care” donations program. Sole Care takes unwanted shoes, restores them, and provides Birmingham’s homeless and poor residents the sneakers free of charge.

Despite the Clinic’s humble growth, they’ve managed to attract business from a few celebrities. Rapper and activist David Banner, comedian Bruce Bruce, Carolina Panthers Defensive End Mario Addison, and University of Alabama star Blake Sims are just some of the Clinic’s notable clients.

 

[Maximus Rex]

Black-owned banks get rush of new depositors
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2016/07/15/black-owned-banks-credit-unions/87118624/

Nathan Bomey, USA TODAY 12:57 p.m. EDT July 17, 2016

(Photo: PRNewsFoto/Citizens Trust Bank)

A black-owned Atlanta bank is experiencing a sudden surge of deposits, powered by a campaign aimed at bolstering black-owned financial institutions after multiple high-profile police killings raised awareness of institutional inequality.

Citizens Trust Bank — anchored in metro Atlanta, Columbus, Ga., Birmingham, Ala., and Eutaw, Ala. — said it has received about 8,000 new applications for depositors in recent days.

One of the catalysts: Rapper Killer Mike called in to a town hall meeting on MTV and BET on July 8 to implore the black community to deploy "a portion" of its financial resources to make a difference.

He wants 1 million people to deposit $100 apiece in small black-owned banks or credit unions, believing that those financial institutions will be more likely than other banks to make loans to black citizens and businesses — and more likely to treat them fairly in general.

"We cannot go out in the street and start bombing, shooting and killing," the rapper said during the town hall. "I encourage none of us to engage in acts of violence that will cause more peril to our community and others that look like us. I encourage us to take our warfare to financial institutions."

Other supporters have posted similar remarks on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, urging people to consider shifting their money to black-owned institutions.

The biggest beneficiary so far is 95-year-old Citizens Trust Bank, which Killer Mike has specifically promoted on social media, using the hashtag #BankBlackBankSmallBankLocal.

Michael Grant, president of the Washington, D.C.-based National Bankers Association, which promotes minority-owned financial institutions, said that CEOs of black-owned banks have been calling him saying they're "getting volume that you would not believe" in recent days.

"It's not just happening in one location — it's happening to banks around the country," he said.

Frederick Daniels Jr., executive vice president and chief credit officer of Citizens Trust Bank, told USA TODAY in an interview that the bank is at the center of a "true movement."

"If we can bring together our economics collectively, we can help businesses grow, we can help people obtain home loans. That brings them closer to the American dream," he said. "We’re providing a tangible solution for those who want action."

The U.S. had 23 black-owned banks, credit unions or savings and loan associations as of March 31, according to the Federal Reserve. The nation's 156 minority-owned banks collectively hold $131 billion in assets.

Citizens Trust Bank had $328.8 million in deposits as of Dec. 31, down 3.5% from a year earlier, according to its annual report.

There are scattered reports of other black-owned banks receiving a surge of deposits in recent days. For example, Unity National bank in Texas has gotten more than 350 new accounts in the last week, the Houston Chronicle reported.

Moving assets to a black-owned bank is a concrete way that people can help reverse the tide of economic injustice, Grant said. Black-owned banks were hit particularly hard by the Great Recession as their customers suffered job losses and loan repayment rates fell, he noted.

"What happens in any community that feels insulted is it turns inward and tries to do what it can to protect itself," Grant said. "I think the community is trying to figure out ways it can strengthen itself — and what better way to address issues facing black America than to start harnessing our dollars and building some wealth and creating jobs in our communities?"

Among the people embracing the cause is singer Solange Knowles, who said Saturday on Instagram that it was "time to literally put my money where my mouth is" by shifting her money to a black-owned bank.

There appears to be a budding grass-roots push, too. Daniels said Citizens Trust Bank had a committee of young professionals who have helped build buzz about the movement on social media.

"They have been instrumental in creating additional momentum to help get the word out: You have an alternative," he said.

Follow USA TODAY reporter Nathan Bomey on Twitter @NathanBomey.

 

[Maximus Rex]

Black Golfers Making History on LPGA Tour and No One Said a Word

Four Black golfers compete in Cambia Portland Classic
http://www.blackgirlsgolf.net/blackgolfersmakinghistory/

From left to right: Ginger Howard, Mariah Stackhouse, Sadena Parks, Robbi Howard, Cheyenne Woods. (Photo Credit: Ginger Howard)

A 1st in 66 yr history of @LPGA 4 Black women on tour.

For the first time in its sixty-six year history, the LPGA has four black women on tour. There hasn’t been this much black golf history since 1964 when Althea Gibson became the first Black woman to play on the LPGA Tour. Yet, no one said a word about it.

There are several factors that contribute to why we don’t see more Black golfers, male or female, playing on the LPGA and PGA Tours. The culture of the sport contributes a great deal, but the other primary factors include cost, access, and awareness.

Golf is not a sport that Black families have traditionally supported with their dollars. Little league basketball and football teams are usually the go-to for Black families. Although an athlete can play golf for lifetime, it is not a sport we have embraced – but it hasn’t really embraced us either. The industry as a whole holds on to the fact that golf is meritorious. If you can play, the opportunities are there. That’s only half-true. A young golfer doesn’t have to spend his lunch money or bus fare to practice basketball, or football. To get to the elite levels of this game, it is tremendously expensive. The cost of equipment, coaches, range time, rounds, tournament entry fees, lodging and travel can eat into a family’s budget. Without sponsor dollars, it is difficult for golfers to continue at the professional level. THAT is what makes having four Black women playing professionally so momentous for the game.

However, the coverage on Golf Channel neglected to note the historical significance of having a cohort of four Black women on the tour. We won’t wait for them to say it, we’ll keep reminding everyone that the game should reflect the society in which we live.

Even after an exceptional finish for a pair of the ladies, golf media refused to acknowledge this milestone for Black golf history and the history of the game in general..

While I have several favorite female golfers playing on the tour, I pay special attention to those who look like me, and so will other black golfers. Both Cheyenne Woods and Mariah Stackhouse made the cut to compete during the final rounds. Cheyenne finished tied for sixth place, and Mariah Stackhouse made a great showing tied for 47th place.

Mariah Steakhouse @stackhouse_KPMG (Photo Credit LPGA.com)

College standout and Stanford grad, Mariah Steakhouse, is making her professional debut at the Portland Classic this week. She recently signed with KPMG as a brand ambassador. Even though she’s just barely out of college, she’s already achieved so much in her golf career. In 2011, at the age of 17, she became the youngest Black woman to earn a spot in the field at the U.S. Open. In 2014, she became the first Black woman to make the Curtis Cup team, which the United States won that year. We are looking forward to many more firsts from Mariah.

Cheyenne Woods @Cheyenne_woods (Photo Credit LPGA.com)

Cheyenne Woods is a familiar name in golf. She plays in the very large shadow of her famous uncle, Tiger Woods. However, Cheyenne is making a mark of her own. In 2009, she received a sponsor exemption to compete in an LPGA tournament where she missed the cut by four strokes. Fast forward three years where in 2012, after graduating from Wake Forest, Cheyenne went pro. That same year she qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open, where she made her professional debut at the LPGA Championship. In 2014, Woods had her second professional win (and first on a major tour) at the Volvik RACV Ladies Masters. Cheyenne Woods is the sixth Black woman to play on the LPGA Tour.

Sadena Parks @sadenaparks (Photo Credit LPGA.com)

Sadden Parks is as strong as she is beautiful. You can see proof of that in her 2015 spread in ESPN’s Body issue. You may also recognize her from her appearance on the golf reality show Big Break Florida. Parks is only the fifth Black golfer to join the ranks of her white counterparts on the LPGA and the first African American woman to earn her LPGA Tour card through the Symetra Tour.

Ginger Howard @gingerthoward (Photo Credit LPGA.com)

Ginger Howard made a name for herself when, at 17, she became the youngest Black golfer in the world to go pro. In 2012, she became the first Black golfer to earn a spot in the 2010 U.S Junior Ryder Cup. In 2016, Ginger earned her place on the LPGA Tour after completing Q school. She became the seventh Black woman to play on the LPGA Tour

 

[Maximus Rex]

LPGA History Is Upon Us: Sadena Parks And Cheyenne Woods Have Arrived
http://espn.go.com/espnw/news-commentary/article/12335119/sadena-parks-cheyenne-woods-arrived

By Mechelle Voepel | Feb 18, 2015

espnW.com

OCALA, Fla. -- Sadena Parks has the mind of an improvisational comedian, wit bubbling out of her like a natural stream.

"Actually, I'm not sure I'm funny," Parks said, "but Cheyenne keeps laughing, so ..."

Cheyenne Woods reassures her pal she is a hoot, and then they're off on another topic -- the pressing need both have for pedicures for the upcoming "gala" dinner prior to the LPGA's season-launching tournament in January.

"I've got open-toed shoes," Parks said, resignedly. "And you can't have your feet looking like this.''

Parks makes her best "monster face" while curling her hands up like claws. Woods cracks up again, and they resolve to try to get the pedicures together ASAP. Parks doesn't care for such things, but if Woods goes along with her, it won't be so bad.

They're doing something a whole lot bigger than toe maintenance together, though. Both women have earned playing status to compete in 2015 on the LPGA Tour. They are just the fifth and sixth African-American women to be members of the tour, which was founded in 1950.

"I think it's special that both Sadena and I were able to do it the same year," Woods said. "We've known each other since we were 14 or 15 years old. We grew up playing in the same golf organizations. It's kind of a long time coming.

"And I do think it's significant because of the lack of African-American women in the LPGA. You can name all of them easily because there have been so few."

The list starts with tennis legend Althea Gibson, who took up golf in her 30s and began playing on the LPGA Tour in 1964. It also includes Renee Powell (late 1960s to 1980), LaRee Sugg (1995-97 and 2000-01) and Shasta Averyhardt (conditional status in 2011 and '13).

No African-American has won an LPGA title. Gibson came the closest when she tied for second after a playoff in 1970.

Parks and Woods, both 24, want to be game-changers in inspiring more African-American girls to take up the sport. But they know they must have some level of success -- on a very competitive tour -- to gain needed visibility. And barriers that traditionally have kept various demographics away from golf also must be overcome. For many kids, golf is still not accessible geographically or financially.

There's also the social aspect of how welcoming the sport truly is to minorities, even in 2015. Reflection after the recent death of African-American golfing pioneer Charlie Sifford painfully reminded everyone of the many decades when golf's main governing bodies kept their doors closed to black players.

The emergence in the 1990s of Cheyenne's uncle, Tiger Woods, sparked an on-going national -- and international -- conversation about race and golf. But the LPGA seemed largely ignored in that discussion, as too often has been the case with most topics in golf. And while the LPGA of the past two decades has become far more representative of global golf, there still has been almost no African-American presence.

"I'd like to help kids think golf is cool, and it's for everybody," Woods said. "But when you look at the LPGA, you don't have a big name of any African-American woman who kids can look up to, or put their poster on their wall, or tune in and watch them every week. I think that's something that the game has been lacking."

 

[Maximus Rex]

Cheyenne Woods and Sadena Parks have taken a dues-paying road to get where they are, and they're still soaking it all in.

LPGA History Is Upon Us: Sadena Parks And Cheyenne Woods Have Arrived, Pt. II

Creating a strong bond

Parks and Woods are doing a photo shoot in the Governor's Room at the Golden Ocala Golf and Equestrian Club. It's the typical dark-paneled, high-ceilinged, library-like space of country clubs, filled with heavy furniture in muted colors. It has that deliberately anachronistic feel of solemnity, except ...

Check out the gold-framed paintings on the walls. Are those dogs in human clothes? A portrait of a stately dalmatian clad in a military jacket? A sad-eyed spaniel wearing an 1800s dress? This bit of unexpected whimsy in décor seems perfect for the occasion.

"Awww, I really want a dog," Woods said. Parks understands but adds, "I just don't have time for one."

Woods and Parks, both college graduates who have played on other tours professionally, have taken a dues-paying road to get this far. They first met about a decade ago at the Bill Dickey Invitational, a junior event for minority golfers. By that time, Woods' uncle was already one of the most famous athletes in the world, and she was proud of him. But she was, in her words, just an average middle-class kid who lived with her mother, Susan, after her parents had divorced. Cheyenne's father, Earl Woods Jr., is Tiger's half brother.

Earl Woods Sr. saw Cheyenne swing a club at age 2 and predicted, with affectionate humor, that she had a pro future. It turned out she had real talent, not just the kind that hopeful grandparents see. She also danced and ran track. But golf was, indeed, her calling.

"My mom searched out for a local minority golf association in Phoenix when I was 8 or 9," Woods said. "So then I could play golf with other kids who kind of looked similar. It really opened up my eyes to the fact that I wasn't the only one like me.

Sadena Parks was introduced to golf by her dad, Washington Parks, who took her to the driving range when he practiced.

"My mom is white and my dad is black, and I grew up more on my mom's side of the family. So when I went to this golf group, I was around other kids who were mixed-race, African-American, Mexican. We all had something in common."

Parks' parents also were divorced, and she grew up with her father, Washington Parks, in the Pacific Northwest. Her relationship with her mom was more distant, both geographically and emotionally, but Parks said it is something they're still working on.

Parks and her father were exceptionally close, so when he went to the golf course, she accompanied him.

"I didn't like leaving her behind in anything, so I bought her a starter set of clubs for $35," Washington Parks said. "I bought her clothes, did her hair, took her to basketball practice and T-ball and whatever else she did. Being a dad was what I feel like I was meant to do."

Sadena, though, wasn't sure what was meant for her. She began to enter golf tournaments but had ability at other sports, too, such as track and basketball. She acknowledges that she struggled as a teenager with thoughts that it might be easier to focus on one of those sports, which were more popular with her friends.

"I did feel out of place at times," Parks said.

The thing was, golf just felt so natural for her, despite some tough moments. Sadena remembers one afternoon playing golf with her father, when someone in a car drove by and shouted a racial epithet at them, saying they should get off the course.

Washington Parks told Sadena to ignore it and to refuse to let a hateful, pathetic idiot have any power over how she felt.

"I told her, 'Sometimes, you will have to deal with ignorance,'" he recalled. "'But there are going to be a whole lot more people who are with you than against you.' And that's been the case."

Washington's matter-of-fact, buoyant optimism has motivated him through life, and Sadena inherited that. It's helped carry her through doubts.

"I knew I was talented and that I wanted a chance at the LPGA," Parks said. "It's mental. When you're over the ball, if you're thinking, 'Do I belong?' then you have to fight those thoughts. It's deeper than golf itself."

She didn't have to explain that to Woods. They didn't even have to talk about it. Both just knew.

"We would see each other here and there throughout the next few years," Woods said of Parks after their initial meeting. "And because there aren't many African-American golfers out there, you create such a strong bond."

Their paths didn't cross during college, as they went to schools on opposite coasts -- Woods at Wake Forest in North Carolina and Parks at the University of Washington. Once they began pro golf and trying to make the rugged climb into the LPGA, their friendship deepened even though they still didn't see each other often.

Parks won twice in 2014 on the Symetra Tour, and her top-10 finish on the money list for the LPGA's developmental circuit last year earned her membership to play in the "big leagues" in 2015.

Woods also won last year, in a tournament co-sponsored by the Australia and European women's tours. Her entry into the LPGA Tour for this season, though, came through her 11th-place finish in qualifying school in December.

"This tour is the highest you can get in women's golf,'' Parks said. "And we're both doing it at the same time. It happened exactly as it should."

 

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LPGA History Is Upon Us: Sadena Parks And Cheyenne Woods Have Arrived, Pt. III

Renee Powell began competing on the LPGA Tour in the late 1960s and felt the direct sting of segregation.

It's been a long road here

With any issue concerning race, there always will be those who ask why it should matter in 2015. The answer can be complex. Or is can be as simple as this: Children tend to seek role models they look like, or with whom they can especially identify. Girls have had few African-American female professional golfers from whom to draw inspiration.

History explains a big part of the reason why, painful as it can be to explore that. The so-called "double whammy" of discrimination African-American women faced -- both racism and sexism -- often discouraged all but the most determined among them from playing golf.

As journalist and author Pete McDaniel chronicled in his book, "Uneven Lies: The Heroic Story of African-Americans in Golf," black women had to be particularly resilient to carve out their place in a game that, at best, didn't welcome them and, at worst, outright excluded them.

"These golf enthusiasts were not only thwarted by the same forces of racism outside their community that blocked all African-Americans' access to the game," McDaniel wrote, "but also by male chauvinism within it."

However, just as the Negro Leagues developed its own culture, heroes and legacy when African-Americans were banned from Major League Baseball, there were black golfers -- women among them -- who were very accomplished.

The United Golfers Association (UGA) started in the 1920s to give African-Americans a more welcoming counterpart to other golf organizations. Paris Brown, a longtime UGA tournament director born just after the turn of the century, made contributions so vast that she was considered "the first lady of black golf."

Ann Gregory, who took up the sport when she was in her 30s, became the first African-American woman to play in a United States Golf Association event, competing in the 1956 U.S. Women's Amateur at age 44.

Woods sought out Renee Powell, in particular, to learn about her past. Powell started playing on the course her parents, William and Marcella Powell, built in Ohio, a place where she continues to work now at age 68.

"I'm thankful to have a pretty good relationship with Renee Powell and to hear the stories of what she's gone through," Woods said. "It makes you appreciate where you are."

Powell, like Althea Gibson, felt the direct sting of segregation when they competed in the 1960s. Sometimes, there were hotels where they couldn't stay and clubhouses where they couldn't change clothes.

"I ran into everything," Powell said. "You're getting obscene phone calls in the middle of the night. Threatening letters on your life. Going in restaurants and they don't serve you, and hotels 'lose' your reservations.

"Even though I was playing the same sport and competing each day, I was going through things my peers didn't have to go through."

But Powell was thankful for the many women on tour, such as Hall of Famer Kathy Whitworth, who stood in solidarity with her. And Powell never considered giving up the sport.

"No, because I came from a background where my parents were groundbreakers," Powell said. "I saw what others did, too, and they were a huge influence on me. You have to stay the course.

"We can't put extra weight on Cheyenne and Sadena to succeed, just because they're African-American women that play on tour. But just by them being there, it does a lot."

LaRee Sugg had hoped to play until the next African-American came along, but that didn't quite happen.

Encouraging younger generations

LaRee Sugg learned the sport from her grandfather, Dr. James C. Nelson, a professor and golf coach at Virginia State University. By the time she was competing as a junior player in the 1980s, she said there were no overt displays of racial discrimination at golf courses. Things were more subtle.

"Sometimes it was a look you'd get," Sugg said. "Or you'd play in a junior tournament and some people would accept you there for a week. But you knew they wouldn't want you joining the club."

Still, Sugg said it didn't compare to what older people such as her grandfather had faced.

"In fact, I faced more discrimination in golf as a female than I did as an African-American," Sugg said. "There were places you couldn't go -- not because you were black, but because you were a woman."

Sugg, who won an NCAA team title with UCLA in 1991, had hoped by the time she stepped away from the LPGA in 2001, there would be a younger black woman on the tour, or perhaps even more than one.

"I wanted to be a positive influence and a mentor for whoever would follow me," Sugg said. "I was trying to hang on until the next one came along. But that didn't quite happen."

Now Sugg, an assistant athletic director at the University of Richmond, is among those cheering for Woods and Parks.

 

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Houston Rappers Unite to Open Accounts in State’s Only Black Bank, Host Private Meeting with Mayor to Discuss Local Violence
http://atlantablackstar.com/2016/07...meeting-with-mayor-to-discuss-local-violence/
http://hiphopdx.com/news/id.39694/t...n-accounts-at-black-owned-unity-national-bank
http://community.allhiphop.com/disc...ccounts-at-black-owned-unity-national-bank/p1

July 20, 2016 | Posted by Ricky Riley

After rapper Killer Mike urged Black Atlanta residents to put their money in Black banks, earlier this week Houston, Texas based rappers decided to do the same.

According to Houston’s ABC 13, rappers Slim Thug, Paul Wall, Willie D from the Geto Boys and more met with the mayor of Houston, Sylvester Turner, to create solutions to end police brutality and stop violence in communities.

“We don’t have all the answers, we might not have any of the answers, but at least we are acknowledging there is a serious problem. We don’t want to wait until there’s riots in the streets,” rapper Paul Wall states.

Black entertainers from around the nation have become outspoken about the conditions of Black people in wake of the Alton Sterling and Philando Castile shootings by police.

“It’s not just people in the hood that need to be held accountable for their actions. It’s the people in law enforcement that needs to be held accountable for their actions,” hip-hop artist Willie D of the Geto Boys says in the news report. “It’s very important that people understand when we say Black Lives Matter, we’re not saying that blue lives do not matter.”

After the meeting, many went to the Unity National Bank to open accounts because it is the only Black-owned bank in the state.

 

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Teen Pilot From Compton Returns to SoCal After Record-Setting Flight
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/l...d-Setting-Flight-387428791.html#ixzz4F0E1zM7K

Isaiah Cooper, 16, is the youngest African American pilot to complete the cross-country flight

By Staff and Wire Reports

A 16-year-old pilot from Compton has become the youngest African American to fly around the continental U.S. Michael Brownlee reports for the NBC4 News at 5 p.m. on Monday, July 18, 2016. (Published Monday, July 18, 2016)

A teenage pilot from Compton arrived home in Southern California on Monday, capping a flight across the nation in preparation for what he hopes will be a record-setting around-the-world trip.

Isaiah Cooper, 16, touched down at Compton airport after a roughly two-week flight around the country, becoming the youngest African American pilot to complete the cross-country flight. A flight instructor accompanied him.

Cooper's 8,000-mile flight was not without difficulty. Bad weather forced him to make a hard landing that heavily damaged his original plane in Wyoming.

"He was able to execute the emergency procedures flawlessly, got it on the road, landed, didn't damage the houses, the schools, the construction crew, nothing. I mean, he got out of that thing safely," said flight instructor Robin Petgrave.

But Cooper has a much larger goal. He hopes next year to become the youngest black pilot to fly around the world solo. He will be 18 years old when he takes off on the planned flight. The Guinness World Record is held by Matt Guthmiller of South Dakota, who was 19 when he circumnavigated the globe on his own in 2014, ending his voyage at Gillespie Field in El Cajon.

On a GoFundMe page, Cooper wrote that he began attending the youth

aviation program at Tomorrow's Aeronautical Museum in Compton when he was 5, but he dropped out when he began spending time "with the wrong crowd" and doing "seriously self-destructive things."

He said he hopes his attempt to break a world record will inspire other kids to turn their lives around and work to achieve their goals.

"There's a higher power that's always there trying to have you focused so whatever you want to do, you can do it. Just put your mind to it," Cooper said.

City News Service contributed to this report.

 

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Nick Cannon Enrolls at Howard University: 'My First Day as a Freshman!'
http://www.etonline.com/news/196330...d_university_class_2020_first_college_degree/

by Lynda Brendish 4:10 PM PDT, August 23, 2016

Photo: Getty Images

Talk about a full semester. Nick Cannon is already a multi-hyphenate -- actor, singer, television host -- but now you can add student to the list. Yes, the America's Got Talent host is headed to college.

Cannon, 35, posted a photo of himself next to a Howard University sign on Saturday and revealed that he was attending his first day as a freshman.

WATCH: Nick Cannon Tells Amber Rose He's Still 'Broken' Over Mariah Carey Divorce

"YOU KNOW!!!!! #HU2020 My First Day as a Freshman!!! Howard University Class of 2020," the actor wrote on Instagram.

Cannon confirmed his enrollment in a statement to ET. "Nelson Mandela once said, 'Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world,' and with that said I have officially enrolled at Howard University," it read.

"I am always seeking new challenges and continual growth and decided to obtain my first college degree from an institution that had a proven legacy of producing great minds. I have friends, mentors and colleagues who attended Howard University," he added. "I have heard about the famed Howard Homecoming since I was a kid growing up in California and knew that Howard would be the perfect place for me to further my education. I look forward to this new journey in my life and am excited about the possibilities ahead."

President of the Washington, D.C., historically black university, Dr. Wayne A. I. Frederick, said he welcomed the Chi-raq actor to the school. "Howard University is honored to have Nick Cannon as a member of the class of 2020," he said in a statement. "Howard students embrace our motto of Truth and Service as they pursue their life's education through the University's rigorous and dynamic academic and community service programs. We welcome Mr. Cannon."

Famous alumni of the prestigious university include actors Anthony Anderson, Chadwick Boseman, Ossie Davis, and Taraji P. Henson as well as Sean Combs and author Zora Neale Hurston.

RELATED: 9 Brainy Celebrities Who Earned Advanced Degrees in College

Cannon is continuing in his ninth season as host of America's Got Talent and -- at least for now -- it appears he will be splitting his time between hosting duties on the West Coast and classes on the East Coast. In a recent Instagram photo, Cannon referenced the airborne commute: "Turning these Airplanes into School Buses!"

 

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The Oldest Black-Owned Business in the U.S.
http://blog.blackbusiness.org/2015/...siness-in-the-united-states.html#.V8itoVsrLIU

Monday, October 12, 2015

The U.S. Department of Commerce recently recognized a Columbus, Ohio business as being the oldest African-American owned business in the United States. This year, they celebrated 134 continuous years in business. Can you guess what company it is?

The company that received this honor is the E.E. Ward Moving and Storage Company in Columbus, Ohio. The company was founded in 1881 by William S. Ward and his father, John. It was originally called Ward Transfer Line. The company is a recognized leader in the relocation and transportation business.

How the company started

Original owner John Ward became very interested in transportation by helping slaves escape to freedom in the 1840's through the Underground Railroad. The company first used horses and wagons to perform transportation jobs

What is so unique about E.E. Ward Moving and Storage Company is that they are not just the oldest, but also the oldest continually operating African American owned business in the United States. This means they have STAYED in business since their beginning in 1881.

Today, the company does residential moving, office and industrial moving, and corporate relocations. They are also an agent for North American Van Lines.

Congratulations to E. E. Ward Moving and Storage for your tremendous success!

 

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12-year-old Quantum Physics Boy Genius Said Studying Electromagnetism is ‘Pretty Simple’
http://urbanintellectuals.com/2016/...said-studying-electromagnetism-pretty-simple/

By Forest Parks - February 16, 2016 0 2182

Back in 2013 at just 11 years old Carson Huey-You was admitted into Texas Christian University to study Quantum Physics. The boy genius who had scored 1770 on his SAT test was the youngest ever admitted to the university and the fact that he is studying Quantum Physics is just mind blowing.

We reported earlier (read more here) that Huey-You was

“By the age of 2 he was reading books, started attending high school classes by the age of 5, speaks Mandarin fluently, plays the piano, believed calculus was relaxing and even had his goals set higher for the University level.”

In 2015, when he was 12 and at his Sophomore year of college tcu360.com revisited the story to see how he was getting along. It turns out, he was doing pretty damn well! They reported Huey-You as saying:

“For now, I think that all my classes have been pretty simple,”

And

“Right now I am in Electromagnetism and Optics,” Huey-You said. “But later on I will have to do quantum physics and that may be challenging in the future.”

And speaking of the school he said:

TCU has taught me how to be a much better student and at being more organized. It has also taught me to just have a schedule really.”

Wow, just wow! We would love to know how he is doing now in 2016.

 

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Sgt. William H. Carney, First Black Recipient of the Medal of Honor
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Harvey_Carney

William Harvey Carney (February 29, 1840 – December 9, 1908) was an African American soldier during the American Civil War. In 1900, he was awarded the Medal of Honor for his gallantry during the Battle of Fort Wagner in 1863. Because his actions preceded those of other medal honorees, he is considered to be the first African American to be granted the Medal of Honor.

William H.Carney was born as a slave in Norfolk, Virginia, on February 29, 1840. How he made his way to freedom is not certain. According to most accounts, he escaped through the Underground Railroad, and joined his father in Massachusetts. Other members of their family were freed by purchase or by the death of their master.

Carney joined the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry in March 1863 as a Sergeant. He took part in the July 18, 1863, assault on Fort Wagner in Charleston, South Carolina. (The attack on Fort Wagner is depicted in the film Glory.) It was in this attack that Carney's actions ultimately earned him the Medal of Honor. When the color guard was fatally wounded, Carney retrieved the American flag from his comrade and marched forward with it, despite suffering multiple serious wounds. When the Union troops were forced to retreat under fire, Carney struggled back across the battlefield. He eventually made his way back to his own lines and turned over the colors to another survivor of the 54th, modestly saying, "Boys, I only did my duty; the old flag never touched the ground!" Carney received an honorable discharge due to disability (as a result of his wounds) in June 1864.

His citation reads,

When the color sergeant was shot down, this soldier grasped the flag, led the way to the parapet, and planted the colors thereon. When the troops fell back he brought off the flag, under a fierce fire in which he was twice severely wounded.

 

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9-Year Old Entrepreneur Lands Million Dollar Contract with Whole Foods
http://www.blackentrepreneur.com/9-...nds-million-dollar-contract-with-whole-foods/

How did a 9-year old, Mikaila Ulmer of Sugar Land, TX, beat out the conglomerate giants such as Kraft, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Procter & Gamble to land coveted shelf space and a million dollar contract with Whole Foods?

Her precocious response? “I don’t know? Do they make theirs with love?”

Her company, Bee Sweet Lemonade, is the beginning of a Lemonade empire in which the idea came from when she was stung by bees when she was just 4 years old — twice in one week.

“After that I would freak out about the bees — like overreact — and then my parents wanted me to do some research so I would be less afraid. And doing that research I found out how incredibly important pollinators they are, and that they were dying,” Mikaila said. “And I decided to create a product that helped save the bees.”

She dug up an old lemonade recipe from her great-grandmother’s cookbook, and added honey — her way of calling attention to the plight of honeybees.

Beekeepers have reported losing 42 percent of their colonies in the past year. That’s the second highest annual loss on record.

Scientists suspect pesticides may be behind the decline, which could threaten our food supply, since bees pollinate crops.

“The pesticides either get into their brain and they can’t find their way back to the hive, or they have the pollen with the pesticides and they feed it to the hive and then the whole hive dies,” Mikaila said.

She and her family started brewing BeeSweet for local events, then bottling it for a pizza shop. Within a few years they had a company on their hands.

“We donate a portion of the profits we make to organizations that help the bees,” Mikaila said.

Some kids her age might not want to give any of their money away, but she’s okay with it.

“It’s solving a problem in this world. That’s what keeps me motivated to do it,” she said.

Whole Foods Market heard about her efforts to save the bees and is now selling her lemonade in 32 stores across four states.

“She’s asking questions about logistics, what retail prices should be, or margins. She’s incredibly sharp,” Whole Foods’ Erin Harper said.

Mikaila’s family helps her run the growing business that is now on track this year to sell nearly 140,000 bottles.

Even with all this work, Mikaila’s parents try to give her time to be a 10-year-old.

“Every weekend she does something that she enjoys. It may be rollerblading this weekend, sleepover this weekend. You create a balance because she is working as hard as she is playing,” her mom said.

Mikaila said BeeSweet will debut two new flavors this summer.

She said seeing so many people buying and enjoying her lemonade makes her want to grow her business even more. So her work continues, with hopes to create a little more buzz for the bees.

Visit Mikaila’s site and show support: Bee Sweet Lemonade

 

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Richest African-American Actors – Updated For 2016
http://gazettereview.com/2016/03/richest-african-american-actors-list/

Mar 18, 2016

During the 2016 Academy Awards, not a single African-American actor was nominated for an award in any of the acting categories. This has led many people to assume Hollywood is racist and that they are unfair towards minorities – particularly African-Americans. While it’s true that Hollywood should be more diversified, you can’t help but wonder if there is some actual merit to people’s claims and if so what can we as a nation do to put an end to it? We’re here today to celebrate African-Americans in film in hopes to help spread the word about how being prejudged towards any race is wrong.

#10 – Eddie Murphy (Net Worth: $80 Million)

Funny man Eddie Murphy was born in April in the year 1963. When Murphy was very young his father died in a tragic accident. During this time period his mother was unable to care for both him and his older brother due to illness so Murphy and his brother (Charlie) were sent to foster care. They would spend a little more than a year in foster care and Murphy would later on in life go back and describe his experience in foster care as the single most vital thing to his success as a stand-up comedian. After he and his brother left foster care they would join their mother and future step-father in Roosevelt, NY. During this time is when Murphy would really begin to hone his craft of becoming a comedian. He would often times sit in his room and watch other comedians like Richard Pryor on television and revolve his routines around their performances.

Murphy would go on to headline Saturday Night Live (SNL) in the early ’80s, bringing the show out of a temporary slump that it had been going through. The show was declining for years but Murphy came along and brought the show back to life with his multiple comedic roles. With the success he received from SNL he was able to start an even more successful film career. He would go on to star in several very popular movies, including: 48 Hrs., Coming to America, Beverly Hills Cop and Trading Places. He also did vocal work for Disney’s Mulan and DreamWorks’ Shrek which would go on to have a few sequels. During the 2006 Golden Globes he was able to snag a Best Supporting Actor award for his performance in the motion picture version of the musical Dreamgirls but unfortunately didn’t win the Oscar.

The vast wealth that Eddie Murphy has acquired can be attributed to his perfect comedic timing in his roles. These days his films aren’t as successful but when you’ve starred in so many successful films, you’re bound to have a few flops. Although he struggled in his early years, he managed to perceiver and has become one of Hollywood’s go-to comedic actors.

#9 – Jamie Foxx (Net Worth: $85 Million)

Jamie Foxx is without a doubt one of the most influential African-American actors of our time. His birth name is Eric Marlon Bishop and he was born in December of 1967. As a child, he was primarily raised by his grandmother who he attributes as the reason he has become so successful. When he was in the third grade his teacher found him so humorous that if her class behaved she would allow young Foxx to perform jokes in front of the class. This was a way she could reward the class and it’s where Foxx got the hang of being such a well-endowed improv performer. As he continued his education he would end up being involved with musical arts which is where his passion for music began. At a young age he was able to learn piano by ear and went on to continue studying classical music at the United States International University.

His career would finally break out in 1991 when he would land a role in the sketch comedy show In Living Color. With his success in the show he would be able to star in his own sitcom for five years called The Jamie Foxx Show. After that show ended his film career would start which is where he has been able to earn the majority of his wealth. He played a taxi driver opposite Tom Cruise in the 2004 crime thriller Collateral. Other films include Dreamgirls, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Jarhead, White House Down, The Kingdom, Django Unchained and the film Ray which won him an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role.

On top of his hugely successful film career, Foxx also releases studio albums on the side. To date he’s released five albums, the most recent being Hollywood: A Story of a Dozen Roses. He’s also been featured in several rap songs alongside legends like Kanye West.

#8 – LL Cool J (Net Worth: $100 Million)

James Todd Smith, also known as LL Cool J (Ladies Love Cool James) was born in 1968 in New York. He is credited as being one of the original Hip-Hop and Rap artists to mainstream that genre of music. By the time James was 9 years old he already knew he wanted to be a rap artist. With the help of his grandfather, who bought him musical equipment, James learned how to freestyle sick ass beats which would later earn him a recording contract with Def Jam Records which at the time was an independent record label. With the success of his musical career on the rise James was able to land a few appearances in television shows until he even starred in his own show in 1995 called In the House which starred James who played an ex-football player who rented part of his house out to a single mother of two children. The success of his show earned James a few roles in films. One of the first being the science fiction thriller Deep Blue Sea which is a movie about genetically enhanced sharks. He has also appeared in several other movies like Deliver Us from Eva, Last Holiday and S.W. A. T.

Throughout his career as both a successful actor and Hip-Hop artist, James has gone on to release 13 music albums, star in several feature-length films and television shows and has even been able to host the Grammy’s a few times. James himself has won a Grammy before way back in the early ‘90s when his career was just getting started. Although he was primarily interested in music, James has taken a back seat to that career lately to focus on his acting roles. These days he plays a secret agent in the hugely popular NSIC franchise, working alongside Chris O’Donnell.

 

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The Richest African American Actors, con't

7 – Ice Cube (Net Worth: $100 Million)

O’Shea Jackson who is better known by his stage name Ice Cube was born in June in the year 1969. His career began when he joined up with fellow rappers Dr. Dre and Eazy-E to form the rap group N.W. A. The group would see tremendous success on the West Coast as their genre of music (gangsta rap) was all but un-heard of. Ice Cube would leave the group after three years due to differences between he and the groups’ manager. He alleged the manager shorted him out of cash so Cube would go on to work on his own solo career instead. Cube began writing his own rap lyrics which are often declared as overly violent and brutally honest. He began touring at Lollapalooza which would broaden his fan base and continue making albums.

After his successful career as a music artist took off, Cube would begin receiving parts to star in film alongside some very prominent Hollywood actors. His debut role would be playing the part of Doughboy in the teen hood movie Boyz n The Hood which went on to see a decent amount of success. He also went on to appear in movies like Torque, Ride Along, 21 Jump Street, Friday and Three Kings, which stars George Clooney and fellow rapper Mark Wahlberg. His most successful roles would be for the movies Barbershop and Are We There Yet? Those two films have gone on to not only receive sequels but with the help of Tyler Perry have gone on to become television sitcoms on the network TBS.

Outside of his film and music career, Ice Cube endorses Coors Light and even has his own clothing line. He makes stylish hoodies which come equipped with headphones built-in the hood strings. While they’re a bit pricey, they are quite convenient.

#6 – Martin Lawrence (Net Worth: $110 Million)

Martin Lawrence is a comedian who encountered fame in the early ‘90s when he appeared on the show Star Search. He made to the final round but ultimately did not win first place. He got into comedy after being inspired by fellow comedian Eddie Murphy, which I find funny considering Lawrence is now worth more than him. Surprisingly he was born in West Germany to two parents who were at the time serving in the United States military. After his stint on Star Search, Lawrence would land an acting role on the sitcom What’s Happening Now!! The show would soon be cancelled so Lawrence would go on to act in the film Do the Right Thing which ended up being his break out performance. After that movie he would land a deal to host Def Comedy Jam which helped give Lawrence even more mainstream comedy exposure.

 

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The Richest African American Actors, con't

Lawrence would then go on to star in his own sitcom called Martin which actually saw tremendously high ratings and would go on to air for five seasons on the network Fox. From this point on, Lawrence was able to start starring in movies and raking in $10 million per role. His most successful movies are the likes of Bad Boys which co-stars Will Smith and Blue Streak which co-stars Luke Wilson. Bad Boys would become so famous in fact, that it would receive a sequel and recently it has been announced that both a third and fourth entry to the franchise is being worked on. Other films include Big Momma’s House, National Security, A Thin Line Between Love and Hate and Black Knight. Coincidentally I watched the movie Black Knight on television earlier today and while it was a box office bomb, it still is a highly entertaining comedy.

#5 – Denzel Washington (Net Worth: $140 Million)

Denzel Washington is one of the most critically acclaimed actors of all time. Born in Mount Vernon, New York, Washington wouldn’t get into acting until he was already studying at Fordham University. When he was younger, Denzel had a tendency to hang with the wrong crowd. Luckily before he got into any serious trouble his parents sent him to Oakland Military Academy which he attributes to “saving his life”. During his time at Fordham University, Denzel had spent some time organizing a talent show for a group of youngsters at a local YMCA. He had so much fun as their creative director that he decided to give acting a shot. The Fall semester would start shortly after the camp ended so Denzel decided to take some acting classes. He went on to join his fellow classmates in the plays Othello and The Emperor Jones. His performances were so well received that he transferred to the American Conservatory Theater in California where he would begin his professional acting career.

Denzel would go on to become one of Hollywood’s most beloved actors. He was able to land a few small roles for television but nothing too major. It wasn’t until 1982 when he would co-star in a television medical drama called St. Elsewhere that Denzel’s career would see a major break. From there he was able to see even more success and in 1989 he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the movie Glory. Since then he’s been in some of the most well-received movies of the past 20 years, including: Remember the Titans, Malcolm X, Courage Under Fire, Déjà Vu, John Q, Man on Fire, Unstoppable and Training Day which won him an Academy Award for Best Actor back in 2001. Denzel very much considers himself a man of God and has donated millions of dollars to charitable causes and has publicly stated that if he wasn’t an actor he would be a preacher. The only thing he hasn’t done yet is star in his very own superhero movie. Come on Denzel, when is it going to happen!?

#4 – Morgan Freeman (Net Worth: $150 Million)

If heaven is real and my soul gets transferred there when I die, I am going to be severely disappointed if God isn’t Morgan Freeman. Born in 1937 in Memphis, Tennessee, Morgan was primarily raised by his grandparents and would enter the acting business at a very young age. When he was 12 he won a statewide drama competition and continued acting all throughout high school. The head of Jackson State University offered him a full scholarship to their school but Morgan turned it down in order to valiantly serve our country and joined the United States Air Force. After four years he would return state side and move to California where he would take up acting and dancing once more. His career primarily became focused on doing theater and he became so involved that he wound up moving to New York to appear in Broadway shows.

His first on-screen performance technically occurred when he was child, when he was invited to appear on the PBS kids show The Electric Company although he discredits the show as being his break out performance due to how unhappy he was with the people involved. Morgan now considers his first appearance in front of the camera to be the film Street Smart which had Morgan teaming up with Superman himself, Christopher Reeves. The film reviewed well amongst critics and Morgan received a nomination for an Academy Award for Supporting Actor for his performance. Since then he has gone on to star in some of the greatest movies, including Se7en, Deep Impact (where he played the president), The Bucket List, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, The Shawshank Redemption, The Sum of All Fears, Gone Baby Gone and Lucy. He also played Lucius Fox in The Dark Knight trilogy and of course played God in the film Bruce Almighty and its sequel, Evan Almighty.

Morgan Freeman has been in a lot of great movies but what he is going to be remembered for is his deep, soothing voice. He has leant his vocal talent to movies like March of the Penguins and other Discovery Channel-related programs. It was also recently announced that you can now change your GPS’ voice to that of Morgan Freeman; although I would advise against it seeing as how his voice is so soothing that you may fall asleep on the wheel!