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Almost a century before Barack Obama made history as the first African American to become president of the United States in 2008, a black man by the name of George Edwin Taylor set his eyes on the White House in 1904.

Born in 1857 as the son of a free woman and an African American slave, Taylor worked as a professional journalist before getting involved in politics. However, he discovered that neither the Democratic nor the Republican Party represented the interests of people of color.

In 1904, an all-black independent party called The National Liberty Party nominated Taylor to run for president on a third-party ticket. Taylor’s candidacy was largely ridiculed as a joke and his name was left off the ballot in most states. Nevertheless, Theodore Roosevelt was re-elected as president. Still, Taylor’s run symbolized the growth of political power that black Americans acquired following the Reconstruction Era.

According to Jacksonville.com, a few days after the election, Taylor explained in a newspaper interview why he decided to launch a presidential campaign.

“Yes, I know most white folks take me as a joke … but I want to tell you the colored man is beginning to see a lot of things that the white folks do not give him credit for seeing. He’s beginning to see that he has got to take care of his own interests, and what’s more, that he has the power to do it,” he told the paper.

Eight years later, Taylor moved to Jacksonville, Florida, in late 1912 and worked as the manager of the Promotion Publishing Co., which printed a newspaper aimed at the city’s black residents. Records also show that he worked as the editor of the “colored section” of the Florida Times-Union and later for the Florida Sentinel, a progressive newspaper. He died in 1925. Forty-seven years later, congresswoman Shirley Chisholm launched a presidential campaign under the Democratic ticket, becoming the first African American candidate for a major party.

The post Black History Month: The Son of a Slave Who Ran for President, George Edwin Taylor appeared first on Black Enterprise.

Alita: Battle Angel is Hollywood’s latest attempt at bringing a beloved Manga property to life, and it has an all-star cast of creators behind it. The film, which is directed by Robert Rodriguez, is produced by James Cameron and Jon Landau, the same team that brought Pandora and the world of Avatar to life. As with Avatar, Cameron is re-teaming with WETA Digital to build the world of Alita and its uncanny protagonist.

This behind-the-scenes featurette follows how the production went about shooting and engineering the character of Alita, who possesses a cyborg body and larger than life Anime-inspired eyes. In the clip, we see actress Rosa Salazar outfitted with a motion-capture suit, as well as two high-definition cameras pointed directly at her face to capture every movement and gesture. It’s a dizzying amount of work, both for the actress and the production to put together, but the end results are pretty impressive.

But groundbreaking special effects can only get you so far. We’ll have to wait and see if Alita: Battle Angel has the script and performances to back up its $200 million promise. What do you think of the upcoming adaptation? Will you be trekking out to theaters to see the film?

(via SyfyWire, image: screencap)

• Netflix’s Big Mouth is getting its very own Valentine’s Day special, titled “My Furry Valentine”. (via Deadline)
• DC’s Jim Lee releases his very own sketch of Black Manta. (via CBR)
• Red Dead Redemption 2 features an option for players to canoe their way to distant lands, and honestly same. (via Kotaku)
• How will Matt Reeves’ The Batman fit into the extended DCEU? Nobody knows! (via Nerdist)

Hope you’re staying warm out there, Mary Suevians!

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Captain Marvel dropped a new TV spot with new footage! Did it also give us a glimpse of a future Avenger? Jessica has the easter egg (WITH POTENTIAL SPOILERS) on today’s Nerdist News!

The post How the New Captain Marvel Teaser Reveals a Future Avenger! appeared first on Nerdist.

Step aside, Kylie Jenner: Instagram’s record-breaking egg and Hulu are collaborating on a big reveal for Super Bowl LIII. On Friday, world_record_egg, the Instagram account of the viral egg picture that generated more […]

The post Instagram’s Most-Liked Egg and Hulu Are Teasing a Big Super Bowl Reveal appeared first on Geek.com.