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https://www.blackenterprise.com/back-to-school-photo/

You might want to think twice about posting a back-to-school picture of your child online.

Parents might unknowingly be putting their children at risk by following the social media trend. Online safety experts say these innocent pictures can be used maliciously by scammers and predators, HuffPost reported.

The back-to-school post trend sometimes includes images with details like the name of a school, a teacher’s name, a child’s birthday, and more. If you don’t want someone showing up to your child’s school unannounced, you might want to hold back on sharing these details. The Director of Privacy Innovation at Norton, Iskander Sanchez-Rola, warned that “anyone can know where your child is a majority of the day, Monday through Friday.” That’s a scary thought for any parent.

The director told HuffPost, “Scammers can also easily identify a child by searching their full name or reverse image searching a photo of their face shared online.” The director added, “If your child is old enough to have social media like Facebook or Instagram, cybercriminals can use their name and image to find their account and directly contact them.”

Google’s Help page explains that a reverse image search works like searching for a word or phrase. The page explains what you can expect to find when you drag and drop an image in Google’s search bar: “Search results for objects in the image, similar images, and websites with the image or a similar image.”

HuffPost also noted that a photo of your young child or teenager might cause problems in their social circles as they age. Just because you think it’s cute doesn’t mean your child will when they get older. “Lots of kids worry that their friends or schoolmates could see embarrassing posts of them online, and what may be a silly photo or video to you may seem very embarrassing to them,” Kaitlin Allair Tiches, a research librarian with the Boston Children’s Digital Wellness Lab said.

https://www.blackenterprise.com/boynton-chapel-receives-texas-protected-historical-landmark-designation/

Boynton Chapel Methodist Church, located in Houston’s Third Ward community, was designated as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, the highest honor the State of Texas can give a historic building.

The church was built in 1957, designed by John S. Chase, Texas’s first Black licensed architect and a founder of the Texas Southern University art department. According to the Houston Chronicle, some of the church’s members included Houston civil rights activists Christina Adair and Magdelean “Mama” Bush and Dr. Forde B. McWilliams, one of the first Black veterinarians in Texas. 

The congregation’s history stretches back to the early 1880s when the church was known as Dallas Street Methodist Episcopal Church, and it met in the home of one of its founders. Later, the property was purchased at Dallas and Paige Streets, and the church’s name was changed to Boynton Chapel Methodist Episcopal. Since Black people were not allowed to swim in public swimming pools, the church provided areas like a swimming pool, gym, and classrooms where vocational training was provided to adults. 

Boynton Chapel provided John S. Chase with one of his first major opportunities. After he designed the church, he designed TSU’s Thurgood Marshall School of Law, the Martin Luther King Jr. School of Communications, and the Booker T. Washington High School in Houston. Chase’s son, Tony, told the Houston Chronicle, “Dad’s honors thesis for his master’s at UT was about the Black church and the design and spirit of the Black church, so he was heavily invested in the development of the Black church, both physically and spiritually. It was also a practical matter … because, frankly, that’s the place in the Black community where there was capital and a lot of growth and construction going on.”

The University of Houston is also located in Third Ward, and two of its students were integral in ensuring the church received landmark status. In 2021, Walker Shores helped the church become a Protected Landmark of the City of Houston along with Sam Osemwingie, who helped ensure the church became a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark. The church currently needs repairs to its air conditioning system, drainage system, sanctuary windows, and bell tower, but received help from Urbano Architects, who offered to perform an architectural building survey, which usually costs $15,000, for no cost. 

The church has been a fixture in Third Ward for many years, and one-half of the first couple married in the church remembers what it meant to the community that Chase designed the church. Eighty-six-year-old Dorothy Murphy, whose husband, Albert, has since passed, told the Chronicle, “I remember when it opened, it was new and different from most of the other churches, both inside and out.” 

“People heard John Chase’s name and knew who he was—that he was the first Black architect in Texas and graduated from UT. It was something people wanted to drive by and see.” 

RELATED CONTENT: The Nation’s First Black-Owned Golf Clubhouse Is Now A Historic Landmark

https://www.blackenterprise.com/proudly-babycare-garbrielle-union-dwyane-wade/

The Black community is not a monolith, our preferences and priorities vary. However,  there are two things many Black people have common: we don’t play when it comes to our children—nor our hair. Across economic, education or social status, Black folks take great care attending to both.

Enter Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade.

In 2022, Union and Wade created PROUDLY baby care which launched exclusively in Target stores. The dynamic duo and proud parents of their youngest daughter Kaavia James, recognized the lack of products made specifically for their brown skin girl. Being business savvy and seeing a need created an opportunity to not only cater to their own child but other young Black children who are in need of quality skin and hair care products at affordable prices. Proudly hair care offers multiple products to suit all baby’s needs, including the grape seed oil, rosemary, and marshmallow root Softening Shampoo, $12.99 and a jojoba oil and marshmallow root Defining Detangler, $12.99.

Union and Wade shared their inspiration and future of PROUDLY Baby Care with BLACK ENTERPRISE, and here’s what we learned:

PROUDLY Babycare was created with your daughter Kaavia in mind. What about your experience as her parents informed your decision to create this line?

Gabrielle Union: Having Kaavia absolutely was definitely the inspiration for this line. For her, wash day and doing her hair is such an important activity in our home and she loves to get her hair done. Our whole village participates and it’s a really spe special activity. And as Kaavia has gotten older, she’s gotten more independent and she wants to use what mommy and daddy use in the shower, but we know that those products may not always be appropriate for her age. So what we wanted to create was something that she could use on her own that was safe enough for her. We feel good knowing the products are hypoallergenic, tear free, pediatrician and dermatologist approved and use clean ingredients that are safe for her. All the products are Kaavia tested and approved so we appreciate her help in building this line!

 

How do you see this line changing the landscape in baby care?

Right now, we see that the majority of the hair products in the baby aisle are 2-in-1s or even 3-in-1s which just don’t work for babies and children with tighter textured hair. This line was developed centering the needs of the tightest coils and curls and our hope is that our approach will make parents of color feel like their needs are being met in the aisle and will inspire other Baby brands to prioritize the needs of Black and Brown children.

 

The focus right now is babies. Is there any thought of getting into other specialized markets?

Dwyane Wade: We are excited about the innovation and opportunities within the baby space because there really isn’t another Brand doing what we are doing in this aisle, so for now we are super focused on this space.

 

Though you all are the minds and laborers behind this venture Kaavia seems to be the boss! How important is it to educate her about business at this age?  (Of course, in a kid friendly way)

Wade: Kaav definitely gives boss vibes and we love that about her. We include Kaavia in our work ventures where we can and PROUDLY is special because it is a Brand that was inspired by her, so it has been fun to include her in testing and trying the products and allowing her to give us her feedback. It was fun for her to see her face on the PROUDLY store endcaps last year and she is realizing that she’s a special part of the Brand. Outside of that, Kaavia is busy with her own kid adventures with her friends like camp, dance class and summer swimming and we think that’s how it should be.

 

You both are passionate about this line and believe in its value. Do you think your target market will respond with the same passion?

Union: We think so! Hair care has been the number one most asked about category from our consumers since we launched the Brand. So we know that our community needs and wants this line and we are excited to bring this line of products to them. Parents are looking for something that is both safe but really works on tighter textures, and we think we succeeded with this line.

RELATED CONTENT: Gabrielle Union And Dwyane Wade Announce EWG VERIFIED Mark For PROUDLY Baby Care Brand

https://nerdist.com/article/star-wars-anakin-skywalker-parallels-dc-comics-hal-jordan-green-lantern-paralax/

On the surface, it doesn’t seem like DC Comics’ Green Lantern mythology and the Star Wars saga have a ton in common, aside from both being space opera adventures. But upon closer inspection, both of these franchises have had incredible parallels, going back to their very beginnings. Was George Lucas influenced by Green Lantern comics when creating the Jedi, or coming up with Anakin Skywalker’s arc? Honestly, we’d say probably not. But nevertheless, the similarities are striking, And it’s been an ongoing thing for decades.

The Green Lantern Corps and the Jedi Order

In DC Comics lore, the Green Lantern Corps has been a peacekeeping force for literally hundreds of thousands of years. With their emerald power rings, they can channel energy from the Emotional Spectrum because of their innate willpower to create constructs and energy weapons. They draw their power from an energy that has existed since the dawn of creation. Also, they are usually paired with another Lantern, in a senior officer and rookie partnership. Every time they charge their rings, they take a solemn vow to the Corps, in the form of a spoken oath.

In Star Wars, the Jedi Order has also existed for thousands of generations, with a select few thousand acting as guardians of the peace for trillions of beings. Only a very select handful of sentient beings who can wield the Force had have allowance to train as Jedi. Similarly, potential Green Lanterns must be innately special for the ring to choose them. And not every sentient being can wield a ring, just as not every sentient being has an aptitude for the Force. Like the Lanterns, after initial training, they pair Jedi in a master/apprentice relationship. And like the Green Lanterns, they must also take a vow to the order. Of course, one of their own once decimated both the Lanterns and the Jedi Order, only for them to rebuild again.

Oa and Coruscant, the Bright Centers of the Galaxy

The home world of the Green Lantern Corps is the ancient planet Oa, the center of the known universe. There, the immortal Guardians of the Universe preside over their intergalactic representatives and issue orders to their Green Lanterns. Oa, in more recent comics, has also become the home of the United Planets, an intergalactic governing body. At the center of the Star Wars galaxy is Coruscant, which is home to the Jedi Temple and has been for centuries. The same Temple where the Jedi Council presides over its thousands of Jedi Knights, in a similar manner to Oa’s Guardians. Like Oa, Coruscant is also the seat of galactic government, first with the Republic, and later, the Empire.

The Fall of Hal Jordan, the Fall of Anakin Skywalker

The Star Wars saga centered on the rise and fall of Anakin Skywalker. But we didn’t see his actual transition into Darth Vader until the prequels. But the Green Lantern comics gave their premiere ring wielder, Hal Jordan, almost the same arc as Anakin would have, over a decade earlier. The Guardians of the Universe considered Hal Jordan to be the greatest Green Lantern of all time, a gifted pilot even before he received the power ring. Eventually, though, things went very sour.

When an alien despot destroyed his hometown of Coast City, killing millions, Hal suffered an unbearable loss. And he wanted more power from the Green Lantern central battery to undo it all. When the Guardians denied him, telling him he must accept loss, he went on a rampage and killed almost the entire Green Lantern Corps. He siphoned all the power from the main battery on Oa, emerging as the villain Parallax. After a few years as a bad guy, he ultimately redeemed himself, and died saving the Earth during the Final Night event, reigniting a dying sun.

Sound familiar? Anakin Skywalker was already a great pilot when he became Jedi, and as the Chosen One, many considered him the most powerful Jedi ever. When he was asked to let go of loss by wiser Jedi, he decided he couldn’t, and needed more power to save his wife from death. He kills all the Jedi in their temple, and becomes Darth Vader. As we know, in his final act in Return of the Jedi, he ultimately redeemed himself. Of course, Hal Jordan’s dark side turn was later retconned as a possession. And Hal got to come back to life with a clean slate. But for over a decade, Hal Jordan was DC’s Anakin Skywalker analogue.

The “Last” Green Lantern, Kyle Rayner, and the “Last” Jedi, Luke Skywalker

When the Jedi Order fell, eventually one farm boy named Luke Skywalker picked up a lightsaber and embarked on a journey that would make him the last Jedi. But Luke Skywalker’s world-famous story was somewhat reflected in the Green Lantern comics of the early ‘90s, when a new, younger Lantern named Kyle Rayner became to the Green Lantern Corps what Luke Skywalker was to the Jedi Order — the last of his kind. Or, depending on your point of view, the first of a new kind of Jedi.

When Hal Jordan broke bad and destroyed the Corps, only one ring remained. The last Guardian went to Earth and gave the final power ring to a young slacker named Kyle Rayner. He became the “Torchbearer” for the whole Lantern Corps, the only Lantern left, much like how for years Luke was the last Jedi. Kyle even spent some time under the mentorship of former Lantern John Stewart, in an Obi-Wan/Luke-style relationship. He eventually reignited the Green Lantern Corps again after a decade. And he had an epic battle with Hal Jordan, who became his nemesis, much as Luke did with Vader. And thanks to some time-traveling adventures, Hal became like a father figure to Kyle, completing the Luke/Vader parallels.

Multi-Colored Power Rings, Multi-Colored Lightsabers

In the Green Lantern mythology, each color ring represents a different aspect of the Emotional Spectrum. Green is willpower/courage, while blue is hope, purple is love, and indigo is compassion. All of these same colors represent the lightsaber hues of members of the benevolent Jedi Order. And these are all emotions and attributes a Jedi must display. Of course, in the DC Universe, the different colored rings each have a separate corps of their own. And there is only one Jedi Order in Star Wars. But their colors match the “good guy” rings in the pages of DC Comics.

Meanwhile, the emotion of rage fuels the Red Lantern rings. In Star Wars, only a Sith wields crimson blades. But the emotion of rage powers both the Red Lanterns and the Sith. In the Green Lantern comics, greed fuels the orange power rings. In Star Wars: Ahsoka, we see our first orange lightsabers, held by mercenaries who were former Jedi. As mercenaries, they’re in it for the money, so we’d say orange sabers represent greed as well. In both DC and Star Wars, white and black power rings/lightsabers are coveted and rare, worn by few (or one). The only colored lightsaber that’s doesn’t really line up with a corresponding power ring is yellow. In Green Lantern comics, yellow represents fear. In Star Wars, Jedi Temple guards hold yellow sabers, as does Rey eventually.

Will we see more Green Lantern and Star Wars parallels in the future? If the past several decades have been any indication, we think the answer is a definite yes. In the comics, we’ve seen Green Lantern and Star Trek crossover. Here’s hoping we see some power rings ignite next to some lightsabers. How fun would that be?

The post How STAR WARS Parallels DC Comics’ GREEN LANTERN Mythology appeared first on Nerdist.