Team USA fencer Daryl Homer wins silver medal

Daryl Homer, the son of a single mother from the Virgin Islands who became fascinated by fencing when he saw a picture of two fencers in a children’s dictionary at the age of 5, became the first American to win a silver medal in men’s individual sabre in 112 years Wednesday night at the Olympic Games.

Homer, 26, the 2015 world silver medalist who is ranked 10th in the world, lost the gold medal match to longtime rival Aron Szilagyi of Hungary, 15-8. Szilagyi also won the gold in London four years ago, where Homer finished sixth.

“I’m just very, very pleased,” Homer said. “Just happy to be on the podium, happy that I competed, happy that I left it all out there. I think I just overthought the match a little bit, got a little of the heebie-jeebies.”

Homer became the first U.S. man to win an Olympic medal in individual sabre since Peter Westbrook, who won the bronze at the boycotted 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Like Westbrook, Homer is black, a rarity in the sport.

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Comcast Announces Six Time Olympic Medal Winner Jackie Joyner-Kersee to Serve as National Spokeswoman for Internet Essentials

PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Comcast Corporation today announced Jackie Joyner-Kersee will serve as a national spokeswoman for Internet Essentials, the largest and most successful broadband adoption program in the country. Soon to kick off its sixth annual back-to-school season, Internet Essentials has helped close the digital divide for more than 600,000 families, benefitting 2.4 million low-income Americans.

“There is no question that Jackie Joyner-Kersee is one of the greatest athletes of all time, but she has also distinguished herself in her post-Olympic career”

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“There is no question that Jackie Joyner-Kersee is one of the greatest athletes of all time, but she has also distinguished herself in her post-Olympic career,” said Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer, David L. Cohen. “Through her charitable foundation, she has been working on the front lines in her community to serve as a role model for others, to help those who are less fortunate, and to inspire a younger generation to dream and lead. We are thrilled to have Jackie help us to close the digital divide and raise awareness about all that the Internet has to offer students and families.”

“The mission of my foundation is to inspire young people to develop the drive and determination to succeed in both academics and athletics,” said Joyner-Kersee. “In my community, I’ve seen first hand that’s really hard to do if you’re on the wrong side of the digital divide. So, I’m excited to go on the road this year with Internet Essentials and help more kids and families cross that divide and develop to their fullest potential.”

Joyner-Kersee, winner of six Olympic Medals, is, according to ESPN, one of the “50 great athletes of the 20th century.” She is the first woman to win back-to-back gold medals in the heptathlon, the first African American woman to win an Olympic Medal in the long jump, and the first woman to score 7,000 points in the heptathlon. Born and raised in East St. Louis, Joyner-Kersee is committed to ensuring that all children have access to high-quality after-school programs, safe recreational places within their communities, and caring adults to help them achieve their dreams. She launched the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation in Los Angeles and, in 1995, moved it to East St. Louis. Inspired by the closing of her neighborhood community center, Joyner-Kersee grew the Foundation by raising more than $12 million to expand programming and built a comprehensive youth and sports facility and campus that opened in 2000.

Internet Essentials Key Investments

From August 2011 through December 2015, Internet Essentials has connected more than 600,000 low-income families, benefitting more than 2.4 million Americans, to the Internet at home. Also since 2011, Comcast has invested more than $280 million in cash and in-kind support to help fund digital literacy training and education initiatives, reaching nearly 4.4 million people through national and local nonprofit community partners.

• Provided more than 47,000 subsidized computers at less than $150 each.
• Distributed for free nearly 51 million Internet Essentials program materials.
• Broadcast more than 8.3 million public service announcements, valued at more than $100 million.
• Welcomed 5 million visitors to the Internet Essentials websites in English and Spanish and its Online Learning Center.
• Fielded more than 3.9 million phone calls to our Internet Essentials call center.
• Made Internet Essentials available in nearly 48,000 schools in more than 5,000 school districts, in 39 states and the District of Columbia.
• Partnered with 9,000 community-based organizations, government agencies, and federal, state, and local elected officials to spread the word.

About Internet Essentials

Internet Essentials from Comcast is the nation’s largest and most comprehensive high-speed Internet adoption program. It provides low-cost high-speed Internet service for $9.95 a month plus tax; the option to purchase an Internet-ready computer for under $150; and multiple options to access free digital literacy training in print, online and in-person. For more information, or to apply for the program, visit www.InternetEssentials.com or call 1-855-846-8376. Spanish speakers should call 1-855-765-6995.

About Comcast Corporation

Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA) is a global media and technology company with two primary businesses, Comcast Cable and NBCUniversal. Comcast Cable is one of the nation's largest video, high-speed Internet and phone providers to residential customers under the XFINITY brand and also provides these services to businesses. NBCUniversal operates news, entertainment and sports cable networks, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, television production operations, television station groups, Universal Pictures and Universal Parks and Resorts. Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more information.

Contacts

Comcast Corporation
Charlie Douglas, 215-264-8020
charlie_douglas@comcast.com
or
Meredith Wertz, 215-970-8504
meredith_wertz@comcast.com

Michelle Carter: First American woman to win gold medal in shot put

Michelle Carter, who calls herself the “Shot Diva,” unleashed a Herculean final throw in the women’s shot put competition Friday night in Rio to take home the first-ever gold medal by an American woman in the event.

Carter, 30, heaved her last shot 20.63 meters to surpass and upset two-time defending gold medalist Valeri Adams of New Zealand. Adams had set the distance to beat, 20.42, and Carter’s first five throws had ranged from 19.12 to 19.87. But she came up big on her last attempt.

Carter had never medaled at the Olympics, but took bronze at the 2015 World Championships, and won gold at the 2016 World Indoor Championships.

Carter is the daughter of former NFL defensive lineman Michael Carter. Michael won a silver medal in the shot put in 1984 in Los Angeles, and won the Super Bowl with the San Francisco 49ers in the same year. He is the only person to win an Olympic medal and a Super Bowl in the same year.

Michelle’s gold also makes her and her father the first American father-daughter duo to medal at the Olympics.

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Simone Manuel: First African-American woman to medal in an individual swimming event.

Simone Manuel won a gold medal in the women's 100 freestyle final Thursday night, surprising even herself.

Her jaw dropped as she looked up to the scoreboard and saw a tie for gold and an Olympic-record time of 52.70 seconds. A FINA official confirmed that Manuel is the first African American woman to win Olympic gold in an individual event.

The last time an American woman won gold in the event was 1984, when Nancy Hogshead and Carrie Steinseifer also tied.

This is the first tie for a gold medal since Anthony Ervin and Gary Hall Jr. did it in the 50 free in Sydney in 2000.

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Some black business owners strain to sell to black consumers

When Terina McKinney displays her leather bags and belts at events attended primarily by black women, they are often interested in her designs, and in her experience as an African-American business owner. But she seldom makes sales.

“They all ooh and ahh and ask a ton of questions, but don’t necessarily make purchases,” says McKinney, whose Jypsea Leathergoods products range from $20 to $325. Instead, her customers tend to be white or Asian women. While calls have been increasing for black consumers to support black-owned businesses with their buying power estimated at more than $1.2 trillion a year, social media campaigns with momentum like (hash)buyblack are relatively new. And McKinney’s frustration is shared by some other black business owners who say they can find it hard to sell to black consumers.

The factors can be logistical or practical, such as being located farther away or having higher prices than big chain stories, retail experts and civic leaders say. Scarcity can be a reason: It can be hard to find businesses owned by African-Americans. But other considerations might be emotional, like wanting a trendy design everyone is wearing, or the perception that national brands are better.

“There’s a myth that’s been placed on our communities for many generations: White people’s ice is colder. White businesses are superior to black businesses,” says Ron Busby, president of the U.S. Black Chambers, a national business organization for black-owned companies. “We have to change that mentality. We have to be better, conscientious consumers.”

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