Getty & The Smithsonian Acquire Ebony And Jet’s Iconic Photo Archives
Photo: Getty Images Seven decades of iconic Black stories and photos from Ebony and Jet magazines will soon be digitized and available to the public, Smithsonian Magazine reports. Over four million negatives and prints from Ebony and Jet, both produced via the Johnson Publishing Company starting in the 1940s and ’50s, have been acquired by the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) and the Getty Research Institute, according to a joint statement by the two entities. The Getty Trust is putting up $30 million towards processing the digitization of photographic negatives, photos,
Serena Williams announces retirement, arguably the greatest athlete of all-time
by A.R. Shaw Serena Williams will walk away from the game of tennis. In an article published by Vogue, Williams, 40, shared that she will “evolve away from tennis” to focus on other things. Her last tennis match will take place this month at the U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows, New York. Serena Williams, along with her older sister Venus Williams, took the tennis world by storm in the 1990s as teenagers on the pro tennis circuit. Serena would win her first grand slam title in 1998 at Wimbledon, capturing
Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated ® Elects Dr. Stacie N.C. Grant as International President
Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated elected Dr. Stacie N.C. Grant as its 26th International President and Chief Executive Officer during the organization’s biennial international convention in Philadelphia. A New York native, Grant received the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award from President Barack Obama. She is a CEO, award-winning author, international speaker, and trainer. A life member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Grant has served on every level of the organization as an active and financial member for 33 consecutive years. She brings decades of professional and business development expertise with
Russell Westbrook Enters Digital Media Game to Bring Focus to Multicultural Audiences
NBA veteran point guard, entrepreneur, and philanthropist, Russell Westbrook, has formally entered the digital media sector by launching Russell Westbrook Enterprises, new digital media division, RW Digital. The division has architected specific programmatic solutions that enables brands to more efficiently reach diverse audiences and amplify owned and operated minority publishers. Since ascending, Westbrook's business portfolio has grown to touch multiple verticals including Venture Capital, Fashion, Real-Estate, Insurance and now Digital Advertising. With the driving force of resourceful betterment for his community being the focal point, Westbrook has intentionally expanded his
The Clean Energy Economy: Will Blacks Get Left Behind in the Race to Green?
America continues to plod the course toward a clean energy nation – albeit glacially. Though hampered by an aging infrastructure and other factors, widespread clean energy – or power that does not, in its generation and consumption, add pollution or contribute to climate change – appears to be a certainty. Unfortunately, this particular scenario could lead to yet another great divide for African Americans. As the world slowly moves toward increased clean energy generation, a gap is widening and hindering African Americans positioning themselves to benefit from the
The BasBlue Foundation: A Multimillion Dollar Investment in Detroit Women
BasBlue, a nonprofit space dedicated to creating pathways and opportunities for women, opened its doors in October 2021. Today, it is a community of nearly 700 women, 60% of whom live in the City of Detroit. Now, BasBlue is launching its next chapter: The BasBlue Foundation. The Foundation’s initial goal is to raise $2 million before the end of 2023 to support fellowships and opportunities that empower women and girls by providing tools and resources to support their education, careers and increase their access to capital. Thanks to
Henry Louis Gates Jr. To Oversee Oxford’s New African American Dictionary
Historian Henry Louis Gates Jr. will be at the helm of Oxford's new dictionary that will recognize Black culture's centuries-long impact on the English language. On Thursday (July 21), Gates Jr., Director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University, announced that he will serve as the editor-in-chief of the Oxford Dictionary of African American English. The new dictionary will house a glossary of popular words and phrases used by Black Americans past and present. “Just the way Louis Armstrong took the trumpet and turned it inside out from the way people
BYRON ALLEN’S ALLEN MEDIA GROUP ACQUIRES BLACK NEWS CHANNEL
United States Bankruptcy Court Approves $11 Million Sale of 'Black News Channel' Assets to Allen Media Group Byron Allen's Allen Media Group (AMG) is proud to announce that the Northern District of Florida, Tallahassee Division of the United States Bankruptcy Court, (Case No. 4:22-bk-40087-KKS) issued an order approving the sale of "substantially all of" Black News Channel (BNC) "assets free and clear of all liens, claims, encumbrances and interests" to AMG's networks division. AMG is acquiring BNC out of bankruptcy for $11 million from billionaire Shahid Khan, owner of the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars franchise. Khan invested over $100 million into BNC. AMG's acquisition of BNC will add 300 million linear and digital
Michael Langley To Make History As Marines’ First Black Four-Star General
Courtesy of Black Information Network Lt. Gen. Michael E. Langley is set to become the first Black four-star general in the Marines' 246-year history as head of U.S. military forces in Africa, the Washington Post reports. Pending Senate confirmation on Thursday (July 21), Langley will become the Chief of U.S. Africa Command. The historic confirmation would elevate Langley as the only Black man to have become a four-star general, an honor that has been accomplished by more than 70 white men in the Marines' history. Black men have previously become four-star generals in the Army, Navy, and Airforce, while
Meet Greg Robinson — HBCU grad who fixed NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope
Courtesy of Black Information Network Photo: Getty Images An HBCU grad who comes from a family of sharecroppers is the man behind the James Webb Space Telescope project, which recently unveiled groundbreaking images of distant galaxies, New York Times reports. Gregory Robinson brought the long-stalled NASA project back on track after years of delay and unanticipated costs when he came on as program director in 2018. The James Webb Space Telescope project started back in 2002 and was first scheduled to launch in 2010. A myriad of problems continued to push back the launch date costing NASA over