Black Immigrant Daily News

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Mon. June 20, 2022: While the gaming sector has always been popular, its fame and acceptance reached a new height following the global pandemic in 2020. According to statistics, the number of active gamers in the United States is expected to hit over 179.6 million at the end of 2022.

In the United States and the world at large, the popularity of the industry continues to rise. Whether playing Atomic Heart on consoles or online blackjack, the number of people open to playing games online continues to skyrocket each passing year. As the gaming industry continues to grow, it is important to acknowledge that it has been impacted by various races and tribes, including Black immigrants.

Black innovators in the industry have proactively contributed to the further development of video gaming, and we cannot help but recognize their efforts and great inputs. Some of these American innovators that have brought great changes and innovations to the video gaming industry include:

Gerald Lawson

Known as the father of video gaming, Gerald ‘Jerry’ Lawson was a black engineer who turned around the story of video gaming in the 1970s. He helped create the first video game console and its games. Lawson led his team to the creation of the Fairchild Channel F.

Nintendo and Atari easily accepted Lawson’s inspiration behind the video gaming idea. After some years working with the giant pair, he proceeded to establish his own Black gaming creation company. Lawson was born in Brooklyn, NY and died in 2011 in California.

Alice ‘Wonderwoman’ Washington

Interestingly, not all Black gaming industry advancers went into the cores of game design. A large array of other innovators played major manufacturing positions associated with building coin-operated video games. One of these includes Alice’ Wonderwoman’ Washington, evident with her impact on PCBs (printed circuit boards) inside arcade game cabinets.

Noteworthily, printed circuit boards encompass not only the game but the required technology for running it effectively. This enables arcade gamers to access their favorite games.

Alice Washingtons’s efforts towards the installation of PCBs in gaming consoles boosted the widespread acceptance of arcade games. In fact, without her implementation of PCB installation, a large majority of arcade gamers today wouldn’t be able to access their favorite games.

Neil Jones

Neil Jones is a black game developer and multi-disciplined 3D artist based in Detroit, US. Neil Jones has developed amazing games such as Dot’s Home and Clique. These games were inspired and talked about the systemic oppression against the Black race and social problems.

While developing these projects, Jones couldn’t successfully get a job offer at any video game studio. Thus, he turned the waves in his favor by going solo and enjoying the outcomes. Jones released his first video game, ‘Never Yield’, launched in May 2020 under his 3D development brand Aerial Knight.

The Never Yield project is a game which involves endless running in a futuristic Detroit, pursuing his dreams and never yielding to excuses. Amazingly, Jones’ efforts have been recognized worldwide by several publications. Some of these publications include New York Times and The Verge. Even further, Neil Jones is acknowledged in the modern history of Black gaming.

Chella Ramanan

Chella Ramanan has helped advance the gaming industry via her firm 3-Fold Games which was co-founded with Clair Morwood. Chella Ramanan and her team of developers released Before I Forget, a short, well-detailed game that enables users to play as the main character, Sunita, a dementia patient who remembers everything in bits as she constantly interacts with her surroundings.

Besides co-creating 3-Fold Games, Chella Ramanan has supported different representations within game development and video games as she also co-founded POC in Play. POC in Play is a company designed to further diversify the gaming industry.

Also, Ramanan advocated for several representations while working as a journalist. Her efforts aren’t going unnoticed as she continually pushes her gaming advocacy across well-known publications such as The Guardian and game development events such as AdventureX. In 2019, the Game Developers Heroes Awards honored Ramanan with the 2019 Progression Advocate Award.

Shawn Alexander Allen

Shawn Alexander Allen is one of the Black innovators in modern gaming history. He is a self-acclaimed ‘Hip hop obsessed’ speaker, activist, and writer who developed a great working relationship with Rockstar Games.

Some of his works include Red Dead Redemption, Grand Theft Auto IV, and Grand Theft Auto V; they have all been market leaders and globally sought after. However, Allen stopped working for Rockstar Games and moved on to develop his firm, the NuChallenger.

At his new firm, he deployed an intuitive video game known as Treachery in Beatdown City. TBC underwent successful crowdfunding, after which it was deployed in 2020 on several leading platforms.

There is no denying the gaming industry has felt been impacted in a great way by Blacks worldwide. These Black innovators have left a footprint in the sands of time in the industry through their amazing works, and they are worth celebrating.

NewsAmericasNow.com

Black Immigrant Daily News

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Tues. July 12, 2022: In recent years, the Assiniboia Downs racetrack in Winnipeg, Canada, has come to be dominated by jockeys with thick Caribbean accents. Riders from Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago have flocked to the course and in 2022, over three-quarters (13 out of 17) of the competitors are from the Caribbean.

So why, exactly, has this particular racecourse attracted such a large number of Caribbean riders? What are the benefits for both parties? And should we expect to see Caribbean jockeys continue to dominate the Assiniboia Downs leaderboards for the foreseeable future? We delve into all these questions and more in this informative article.

A dwindling pool of local talent

Historically, Assiniboia Downs has relied upon homegrown talent to satisfy its quota of riders and delight its spectators. The track was first opened to the public in 1958 and in the six decades since, Canadian and American jockeys have been among the most successful. However, the changing face of society has meant that there are fewer and fewer local talents to take up the mantle going forwards.

That’s because urbanization across North America has meant more and more young people are moving into towns and cities. This leaves less people to work on rural farms, which is how most jockeys learn the basics of riding a horse – which in turn, usually leads on to racing horses. With a smaller pool of talent to draw from, Assiniboia Downs recruiters have been forced to look elsewhere.

Caribbean calling

The first Caribbean jockey to grace the Assiniboia Downs racetrack was Vassell Najair, a Jamaican rookie who came to Winnipeg over 20 years ago. The arrangement proved to be a mutually beneficial one for both parties, with Najair finding his talents were given more room to develop on a bigger stage, while Assiniboia Downs benefited from having a safe pair of hands in the saddle. Najair unfortunately passed away four years ago, but his legacy lives on through his countrymen.

Since then, there has been a concentrated recruitment drive aimed at the West Indies, with Assiniboia Downs attracting more jockeys from that part of the globe than other tracks around Canada. CEO Darren Dunn has paid particular attention to logistical issues such as immigration, flights and accommodation, making the transition to Canadian life as seamless as possible. Many jockeys normally spend the thoroughbred racing season (May to September) in Winnipeg, before going back to their native countries for the rest of the year. However, the upheaval and uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic has caused some to uproot themselves and move to Canada full time – and they aren’t looking back.

A lucrative arrangement

With the attractive prize pots on offer, it’s not difficult to see why. Jamaican jockey Chavion Chow first came to Assiniboia Downs in 2008 and walked away with the leading rider title in 2015. In total, he has won some 269 races and pocketed more than $2.4 million in prize money, indicating the level of luxury that can be accessed for those successful at his sport.

Some Caribbean riders have fared even more positively elsewhere in Canada. Barbadian Patrick Husbands, for example, is a stalwart at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, where he has claimed nearly $160 million in purses after winning over 3,200 races. “The success we’ve had in the Caribbean — the talent, the skill, year after year that continues to emerge from there — is certainly a testament to the roots of racing in the Caribbean,” explains Dunn.

The fans are happy

Of course, horse racing is largely a spectator sport which generates the majority of its revenue from betting on the outcome of races. As such, keeping the fans happy is of paramount concern – but there are no issues there. One only has to see all races on horse racing and note the number of Caribbean riders competing in all of them to understand how widespread the practice has become in North America today, with the sport remaining as popular as ever.

That’s because to the average punter, the nationality of the jockey in questions matters not a jot. What does matter is their skill in the saddle and their treatment of their equine friends – as well as the outcome of the race upon which the punter is betting, of course.

With more and more Caribbean jockeys taking part in and winning horse races across North America, the future of the sport looks rosier than ever.

NewsAmericasNow.com