The 25 Most Influential African American Leaders in U.S. History

 

TheGrio.com named the 25 most influential African American leaders in U.S. History in commemoration of Martin Luther King Day."TheGrio is devoted to sharing the news, opinions, and contributions of black people in America and around the world," said Managing Editor David Wilson. "We are specifically interested in understanding what the past teaches us about this moment and, more importantly, how it helps us prepare for the future." 

Notable results:

-President Barack Obama is the only living leader among the Top 10

-Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is not among the Top 25, nor is he

among the Top 5 Legal and Business category

-While Rev. Jesse L. Jackson is among those named, Rev. Al Sharpton was not

among the Top 25

-Retired General Colin Powell is one of few conservatives to make the list

- Four women are among the top 10: Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, Ida B. Wells-

Barnett and Ella Baker

Full survey results are available at www.thegrio.com/specials/25-top-black-leaders.

First African American Woman Elected to the House of Representatives

 Shirley Chisholm was the first African American woman elected to the House of Representatives. She was elected in 1968 and represented the state of New York. She broke ground again four years later in 1972 when she was the first major party African-American candidate and the first female candidate for president of the United States

 

February is Black History Month

Black History Month is an annual celebration of achievements by black Americans and a time for recognizing the central role of African Americans in U.S. history. The event grew out of “Negro History Week,” the brainchild of noted historian Carter G. Woodson and other prominent African Americans. Since 1976, every U.S. president has officially designated the month of February as Black History Month. Other countries around the world, including Canada and the United Kingdom, also devote a month to celebrating black history.

Robots to the Rescue

 

Japan’s robots can help rescue survivors and clear debris after disasters.

KITAKYUSHU CITY, JAPAN – Earthquake evacuations will never be the same. Meet T-53 Enryu®, a fearsome, 11-foot-tall robot with giant, multi-jointed arms and the growl of a tractor. Designed to rescue trapped victims, this ambidextrous creature can move into a devastated zone and pick up and toss aside heavy wooden blocks and other large debris like so many chopsticks.

Japan is Cool Robot Central. As fast as you can say, “Everything is go, Astro Boy!” a new model joins a staggering array of robots that play musical instruments, calm frazzled motorists, and gracefully two-step through TV commercials. There are robots that play soccer, dance, climb trees, and swim, not to mention all the functions they perform on auto assembly lines. Osaka University Prof. Hiroshi Ishiguro has even spawned his own eerily lifelike, silicone-skinned twin.

Now, the nation that has long dominated industrial robotics is grappling with ways robots can tackle society’s other challenges. One is relieving firefighters of heavy-lifting burdens after an earthquake, thereby speeding rescues. Yet a more complicated problem looms, that of how Japan’s shrinking workforce will care for a growing elderly population.

Supermoon

Saturday night's full moon appeared 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than normal as its lunar orbit brought it close to the Earth. The moon came its closest to earth in 18 years, making it bigger and brighter than normal.

The occurrences, technically known as "lunar perigees," were previously visible in 1955, 1974, 1992, 1993 and 2005. But what makes this one particularly special is that it coincides with a full moon, which hasn't happened since 1993, according to Geoff Chester of the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C.

Knut The Polar Bear Dead: Famous Animal Dies In German Zoo

The world-famous bear died alone in his compound, bear keeper Heiner Kloes told The Associated Press.

"He was by himself in his compound, he was in the water, and then he was dead," said Kloes. "He was not sick, we don't know why he died."

A post mortem will be conducted on Monday to try pinpoint his cause of death, he said.

Between 600 and 700 people were at Knut's compound and saw the four-year-old bear die, German news agency DAPD reported.

Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit called Knut's death "awful."

"We all held him so dearly," Wowereit told daily newspaper B.Z. "He was the star of the Berlin zoos."

The polar bear rose to global fame after he was rejected by his mother when he was born in captivity on December 5, 2006. The fluffy cub was shown to the public 15 weeks later, and attendance at the zoo has roughly doubled since, officials said.

The resulting "Knutmania" led to a 2007 Vanity Fair cover with actor Leonardo DiCaprio shot by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz, a film and plush likenesses. Though the zoo has never released exact numbers, Knut merchandise including postcards, key chains, candy and stuffed Knuts have brought in hundreds of thousands of euros.

Celebrate with Pi, Not Cake

The Chicago Tribune (3/14, Ford) reports that "Monday is Pi Day," in honor of "the number that expresses the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter" and "starts with 3.14159. Thus, March 14, or 3/14, for Pi Day." The celebration started in San Francisco in 1989 and "has spread around the world, and math teachers, students and other self-proclaimed math fans amused or intrigued by pi celebrate the number." The Tribune points out that "one highlight of many Pi Day events is a competitive recitation of the numerous digits of pi, which modern computers have calculated to a trillion decimal places." Chicago's Morgan Park Academy has a "record" of 312 digits, and one Walter Payton College Prep student who now attends Yale University "remembered a mind-blowing 500 digits."