The history of African-American settlement in Africa extends to the beginnings of ex-slave repatriation to Africa from European colonies in the Americas.

History

Ex-slaves

The immigration of African Americans, West Indians, and Black Britons to Africa occurred mainly during the late 18th century to mid-19th century. In the cases of Liberia and Sierra Leone both were established by freed slaves who were repatriated to Africa within a 28-year period.

However, other ex-slaves were repatriated from other European territories and colonies. The Tabom people are descendants of Afro-Brazilian ex-slaves who were either voluntarily or forcefully deported by the Portuguese to Africa (some of them being deported following the Bahia Malê Revolt in 1835); they constitute a minority ethnic group on the coastal regions of modern-day Ghana and Togo.

Back-to-Africa movement

Following the abolition of slavery in the United States and elsewhere in the Americas, numerous movements for African-American settlement in Africa sprung up and fluctuated in popularity, many of them involving the colonies – Maryland in Africa, Kentucky in Africa, Mississippi in Africa, and others – that would combine to create Liberia. African-American abolitionist and Army officer Martin Delany supported a project for African-American immigration to Liberia later in his lifetime. However, it declined by the end of the 19th century following a string of hoaxes and fraudulent activities associated with the movement.

Beginning in 1787, the British government made their first attempt to settle people in Sierra Leone. About 300 Black Britons, known as the Black Poor of London, were settled on the Sierra Leonean peninsula in West Africa. Within two years, most members of the settlement would die from disease or conflict with the local Temne people. In 1792, a second attempt at settlement was made when 1,100 freed slaves established Freetown with support from British abolitionist Thomas Clarkson. Their numbers were further bolstered when over 500 Jamaican Maroons were transported first to Nova Scotia, and then to Sierra Leone in 1800. The descendants of freedmen are the Sierra Leone Creole people.

The Back-to-Africa movement achieved popularity again with Jamaican activist Marcus Garvey and his Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League, who advocated racial pride amongst African-Americans in the United States and pressed for repatriation of slave descendants to Liberia and Sierra Leone. The movement fell apart by the end of the 1920s, but influenced both the Nation of Islam and the Rastafari movement; the latter, a Jamaican that saw Haile Selassie I, the emperor of Ethiopia, as a reincarnation of Jesus and Garvey as a patron saint, managed to secure a settlement in Shashamane, which exists to this day and constitutes over 200 individuals out of an urban population of around 95,000.

People

Ghana

Another African-American settlement is concentrated in Accra, Ghana, which has nearly 10,000 African-American residents, primarily originating from the United States and Jamaica, who reside in the country on work permits, with a few on permanent resident status. Accra has long attracted African-American tourists since the country became the first African country to gain independence from the United Kingdom in 1957 (W. E. B. DuBois settled in Ghana in his last years and is buried in Accra), and the government has made controversial overtures to gain more African-American residents and tourists, including enacting a right of abode law in 2001. Organizations have been established to support African-American residents in Ghana, including the African-American Association of Ghana.

As of 2019, there were 4,000 Jamaicans living in Ghana along with the estimated 5,000 African-Americans who have moved to the country in recent decades.

Liberia

Americo-Liberian people, are a Liberian ethnic group of African American, Afro-Caribbean, and Liberated African descent. A similar ethnic group to the Americo-Liberians are the Sierra Leone Creole people, who shared similar ancestry and related culture. Americo-Liberians trace their ancestry to free-born and formerly enslaved African Americans who emigrated in the 19th century to become the founders of the state of Liberia. They identified there as Americo-Liberians.

Sierra Leone

Some African Americans, following resettlement in Canada, also participated as founding settlers in Sierra Leone and other recaptive repatriates settled in present-day Côte d'Ivoire. Their descendants are the Sierra Leone Creole people.

See also

Back-to-Africa movement
Diaspora tourism
Door of Return
Genealogy tourism (Africa)
Return to roots
Right of return (Ghana)
Year of Return, Ghana 2019
Blaxit

References

African and Black nationalism
Repatriated Africans
Repatriated slaves
People of Liberated African descent
African diaspora history
Pre-emancipation African-American history
African-American repatriation organizations

African Americans in Africa


Taking Sides is a 1995 play by British playwright Ronald Harwood, about the post-war United States denazification investigation of the German conductor and composer Wilhelm Furtwängler on charges of having served the Nazi regime. Harwood drew inter alia on a detailed diary kept by Furtwängler of his interrogation sessions. Although the investigation that is the focus of the play resulted in formal charges being brought against Furtwängler, he was eventually cleared by the tribunal.

Original London production
The original West End theatre production was performed at the Criterion Theatre in Piccadilly Circus, London. It starred Daniel Massey as Wilhelm Furtwängler and Michael Pennington as Major Steve Arnold. Massey was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in 1996 for his role as Furtwängler. Harwood was also nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play. The cast had originally performed the play at the Minerva Theatre in Chichester, which was directed by Harold Pinter. It premiered there on 18 May 1995. The play then transferred to the West End and premiered on 3 July 1995.

Broadway
When the play transferred to Broadway for a limited run in 1996, Ed Harris took over the role of Major Steve Arnold, and Daniel Massey reprised his award-winning role as Wilhelm Furtwängler. The first of 15 previews of the production commenced on 4 October 1996 and the show officially opened at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on 17 October 1996. 85 performances of the play were shown before the production closed on 29 December 1996. For his performance in the role of Furtwängler, Massey was nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play.

Film adaptation
In 2001, the play was adapted into a motion picture of the same name, directed by Hungarian director István Szabó. Harwood wrote the screenplay for the film himself. Taking Sides premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on 13 September 2001 and was released to cinemas in the US and UK, on 5 September 2003 and 21 November 2003 respectively. The film stars Harvey Keitel as Major Steve Arnold and Stellan Skarsgård as Furtwängler.

References

External links

1995 plays
Plays by Ronald Harwood
British plays adapted into films

Taking Sides (play)


Hardy LeBel Jr. (most often credited as simply Hardy LeBel) (born August 4, 1967) is an American professional in the video games industry with a variety of published credits on video game titles including game designer, creative director and creative consultant.

Early life
He was born on August 4, 1967, at the United States Airforce base Tachikawa Airfield in Tachikawa, Tokyo, Japan, and is the only surviving child of Hardy LeBel Sr. (deceased) and Joan LeBel.

Hardy LeBel Jr. graduated from High School at Providence Country Day School and also attended Boston University where he studied acting for a time, but ultimately earned his bachelor's degree in English studies. He currently resides in the Pacific Northwest with his family.

Career
LeBel's video game design credits include titles such as Pac Man World, Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2.

Games credited as game designer:
 Halo: Combat Evolved (2001), Microsoft Game Studios
 Oni (2001), Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.
 Pac-Man World (1999), Namco Limited
 Vigilante 8 (1998), Activision, Inc.
Games credited as creative director or Design Director:
 SOCOM 3: U.S. Navy SEALs (2005), SCEA
 SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs - Fireteam Bravo (2005), Sony Computer Entertainment America, Inc.
 Dungeon Siege II (2005), Microsoft Game Studios
 Sudeki (2004), Microsoft Game Studios
Games credited as creative consultant:
 Halo 2 (2004), Microsoft Game Studios
 Interstate '76: Nitro Riders (1998), Activision, Inc.
 Interstate '76 (1997), Activision, Inc.
 Far Cry 2 (2008), Ubisoft Entertainment.
Games credited as voice-over actor:
 Dark Reign: The Future of War (1997), Activision, Inc.

References

American video game designers
Living people
1967 births
People from Tachikawa
Creative directors

Hardy LeBel


The Austin 7 hp is a small motor car that was designed by British manufacturer Austin, and built by Swift for two years from 1909 to 1911. It was introduced to the public at the November 1909 Motor Show at London's Olympia. The resulting 7 hp car was sold under both Austin and Swift marques; a total of 1,030 were produced, 162 of which were Austin.

The 7 hp was powered by a single-cylinder engine, using one cylinder block from the Austin 18/24 engine.  The resulting engine of 1099 cc produced 9 hp at 1300 rpm.

The press described it at its first showing as "in every detail thoroughly up-to-date. The frame is of pressed steel, a gate lever operates the gears and the finish is excellent".

The car was sold for £150 but it was not a success, and production ceased after two years.

Notes

References

07 hp
Cars introduced in 1909
Brass Era vehicles

de:Austin 7
it:Austin 7 hp

Austin 7 hp


Thomas McBroom, (born September 17, 1952) is a Canadian golf course architect.

McBroom is the principal and founder of Thomas McBroom Associates Ltd., a Toronto-based landscape architecture firm specializing in golf course design. McBroom holds a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture (BLA) from the University of Guelph. He is a member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects. As of early 2007, McBroom had completed over 40 original course designs and led numerous course renovations of varying scale.

McBroom lives in Toronto, Ontario. He is married and has two children.

Recognition
There are 12 McBroom designs listed in the 2006 SCOREGolf Magazine "Top 100 Golf Courses in Canada": Beacon Hall (5), Crowbush Cove (10), Rocky Crest (19), Deerhurst Highlands (30), Le Géant (34), Deer Ridge (39), Bell Bay (40), Heron Point (52), Granite Golf (80), Algonquin (82), Lake Joseph (86) and National Pines (92).

McBroom designs have been the recipient of the Golf Digest "Best New Canadian Course" award 6 times: The Links at Crowbush Cove (1994), The Lake Joseph Club (1997), Bell Bay Golf Club (1998), Timberwolf Golf Club (2000), The Ridge at Manitou (2006), and Tobiano (2008).

References

External links
 Tom McBroom Golf Design
 American Society of Golf Course Architects profile (copy archived August 2016)

1952 births
Living people
Golf course architects
People from Toronto
University of Guelph alumni

Tom McBroom


Camp Rock is a 2008 American musical television film directed by Matthew Diamond from a screenplay by Karin Gist, Regina Hicks, Julie Brown, and Paul Brown. The 73rd Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM), the film stars Demi Lovato, Joe Jonas, Meaghan Martin, Maria Canals-Barrera, Daniel Fathers, and Alyson Stoner. In the film, aspiring teenage singer Mitchie Torres (Lovato) visits Camp Rock, a summer music camp.

The film premiered on Disney Channel on June 20, 2008. Camp Rock was the second DCOM to air on ABC's The Wonderful World of Disney after its premiere on Disney Channel and was placed on the iTunes Store for digital purchase shortly after its premiere. The film was watched by 8.9 million viewers on the night of its premiere and is currently the third highest viewed DCOM of all time, behind High School Musical 2 and Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie. A sequel, Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam, premiered on September 3, 2010.

Plot
Shy singer Mitchie Torres and her family are unable to afford the fees required to attend Camp Rock, a summer music camp. Her mother, Connie, a chef, is hired to cater food for the camp, which enables Mitchie to attend at a discounted rate. Her mother tasks Mitchie to help her in the kitchen when not performing camp duties. Upon arrival, Mitchie meets fellow camper Caitlyn Gellar, an aspiring music producer.

Shane Gray, the spoiled lead singer of the pop music trio Connect 3, returns to Camp Rock at his bandmates' behest to rehabilitate Shane's public image. Shane assumes a position as a dance instructor and is required to record a song with the winner of Final Jam, the camp's closing singing competition. Shane overhears Mitchie singing in a hall; unable to see her before she leaves, he obsesses over finding her, with the camp knowing he is searching for the girl with "the voice".

During Opening Jam, a camp meet-and-greet, Mitchie learns the campers are rich or well-connected. Embarrassed at being able to attend camp due to Connie's catering, Mitchie lies to Tess Tyler (the popular daughter of singer TJ Tyler) and her friends Ella Pador and Margaret "Peggy" Dupree that her mother is the president of the Chinese department of the music channel Hot Tunes TV. Impressed, Tess invites Mitchie to join her group at the disappointment of Caitlyn, who advises against Mitchie becoming friends with Tess.

During lunch, an argument between Tess and Caitlyn escalates to a food fight. Tess portrays Caitlyn as the aggressor of the dispute to Brown Cesario, the camp's director and Shane's uncle; Brown punishes Caitlyn by making her work in the kitchen. Mitchie, worried Caitlyn will learn about her secret, does not defend her, to Caitlyn's annoyance.

Shane shares a song with Mitchie, which is a stylistic departure to his previous music with Connect 3. Doubtful his record label and fans would accept a change in musical direction, Mitchie expresses she likes the song. As Caitlyn arrives in the kitchen and learns about Mitchie's secret, they argue but reconcile at Pajama Jam, a pajama party music showcase, after Mitchie stands up to Tess when Tess attempts to upstage Caitlyn's performance.

Jealous at seeing Mitchie and Shane together, Tess follows her and learns of her secret. Tess exposes Mitchie in front of campers; Shane, believing Mitchie lied to him solely to be with him because he is famous, breaks their friendship and Mitchie becomes ostracized at camp. Tess then deduces Mitchie is the mysterious singer. On the eve of Final Jam, Tess frames Mitchie and Caitlyn for stealing her bracelet, and Brown bans them from all camp activities until the end of Final Jam.

At Final Jam, which is judged by Connect 3, Peggy and Ella argue with Tess and opt not to perform with her as planned; Ella performs with fellow campers Barron James and Sander Loyer. Tess stumbles during her performance after TJ attends and takes a call. Peggy performs a solo song as Final Jam's closing act and eventual winner. When Brown announces the end of Final Jam, Mitchie and Caitlyn make the spotlights flicker; he lets them go on stage, proud they understood their ban was only until "the end of Final Jam". As Mitchie sings, Shane realizes she is the mysterious singer, and they reconcile by singing together. Backstage, Tess apologizes to Peggy and Ella and tells Brown that she staged the theft of her bracelet.

In the extended ending, Caitlyn invites Mitchie, Tess, Peggy, and Ella to the recording studio she built in her garage.

Cast
 Demi Lovato as Mitchie Torres, a young girl aspiring to be a singer.
 Joe Jonas as Shane Gray, the spoiled and arrogant lead singer of the popular music trio Connect 3.
 Meaghan Martin as Tess Tyler, a shallow and self-centered girl known as the "diva of Camp Rock".
 Alyson Stoner as Caitlyn Gellar, a Camp Rock attendee whom Mitchie befriends.
 Maria Canals-Barrera as Connie Torres, Mitchie's mother and Camp Rock's new cook.
 Daniel Fathers as Brown Cessario, Camp Rock's camp director.
 Julie Brown as Dee La Duke, Camp Rock's musical director.
 Anna Maria Perez de Tagle as Ella Pador, a Camp Rock attendee and Tess's friend.
 Jasmine Richards as Margaret "Peggy" Dupree, a Camp Rock attendee and Tess's friend.
Renee Sands as Peggy's singing voice.
 Jordan Francis as Barron James, a Camp Rock attendee and rapper.
 Roshon Fegan as Sander Loyer, a Camp Rock attendee and rapper.
 Nick Jonas as Nate Gray, a member of the popular music trio Connect 3.
 Kevin Jonas as Jason Gray, a member of the popular music trio Connect 3.
 Aaryn Doyle as Lola Scott, a Camp Rock attendee and singer.
 Giovanni Spina as Andy, a Camp Rock attendee and drummer.
 Edward Jaunz as Steve Torres, Mitchie's father.
 Jennifer Ricci as T.J. Tyler, Tess's mother and a famous singer.

Production
Camp Rock was filmed between September and October 2007 at YMCA Camp Wanakita in Haliburton, Ontario, and Kilcoo Camp in Minden, Ontario.

Soundtrack

The Camp Rock soundtrack features lead vocals from Demi Lovato, Jonas Brothers, Roshon Fegan, Renee Sandstrom, Meaghan Martin, Jordan Francis and Aaryn Doyle. It was released on June 17, 2008, by Walt Disney Records. Full songs of the album were made available on Camp Rock's official web site for one week beginning June 10, and the full soundtrack premiered on Radio Disney on June 14, during Planet Premiere: Camp Rock. The soundtrack was released in the United Kingdom one month later on July 14.

The album reached top ten in six countries, among which peaked at number 3 for four weeks on the US Billboard 200 album charts, selling over 188,000 units in its first week. It also topped the Soundtrack chart in the country. The album was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) after selling over a million copies in the United States. In Brazil, Mexico and Spain, the album was also certified platinum by the PMB, AMPROFON and PROMUSICAE respectively.

Release and marketing

Home media
The DVD and Blu-ray of the film, titled Camp Rock: Extended Rock Star Edition, was released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on August 19, 2008. It was released in November in other countries, and on December 1 in the United Kingdom, only on DVD. Both the DVD and Blu-ray release contains an extended ending, the music videos, sing-along and karaoke functions, a gallery and more bonus features.

Merchandise
Merchandise of the film is sold at Target, Claire's, and Limited Too. They include clothing (such as pajamas, T-shirts, and underwear), bags (tote bags, backpacks, etc.), bedding collection, toys, and dolls of the characters. Play Along Toys, so far, has only released dolls of Mitchie and Shane. On May 13, 2008, Disney published Camp Rock: The Junior Novel, by Lucy Ruggles, the novelization of the film. Target retail stores sell "special editions" of the novel, hardcover books that include photos.

Reception

Ratings
Camp Rock premiered on Disney Channel in the United States on June 20, 2008, with 8.9 million viewers, being the second most viewed Disney Channel Original Movie at the time, only behind High School Musical 2 (2007). Its June 21 showing on ABC had 3.47 million viewers, and its June 22 showing on ABC Family had 3.73 million viewers, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The DVD topped the national home video sales chart for the week ending August 24. The movie's premiere in Canada became Family Channel's second-most-watched movie ever, also behind High School Musical, with 848,000 viewers. Its Disney Channel Italy premiere received 1.14 million viewers in September. According to Billboard the film attracted an audience of 146 million viewers in 160 nations and 30 languages.

Critical response
The film received moderate reviews from critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 48% based on 21 reviews, with an average rating of 4.4/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Camp Rock wants to be the next High School Musical, but its forgettable songs and dull premise hold it back". Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 64 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Brian Lowry of Variety stated that "it's difficult not to grudgingly admire the marketing savvy with which Camp Rock was assembled". New York Post critic Austin Smith called it a "really great movie, like a modern-day version of an old Judy Garland-Mickey Rooney picture" in which the kids "put on a show that improves the lives of all who see it". Barry Garron of The Hollywood Reporter admired Matthew Diamond's "solid enough" direction and Demi Lovato's performance. He also said that with Camp Rock, "Disney plucks another fresh face off its deep bench of young talent". Robert Lloyd of Los Angeles Times wrote that the film "isn't particularly good, but it's good at what it does", and called it "inauthentic". USA Todays Robert Blanco called the film "simultaneously overdone and underproduced" and said that "it jerks its way from point to point without bothering to explain the characters' behavior or inject any life into its musical numbers". Entertainment Weekly'''s Gillian Flynn said "the strange and objectionable thing about the film's morality tale is that no one makes an outright decision to be brave or better", and called it "so rigidly formulated and unremarkable" that by the time the cast sings its finale, We Rock, "it's hard to agree".

Following the critics' line of comparison to High School Musical, Jennifer Frey of The Washington Post said that Camp Rocks music is "in the same easy-to-memorize, dance-inspiring mode" as that of the previous franchise, "but not as catchy". Daily Newss David Hinckley agreed, saying that "the songs don't feel as fresh" and "the film is specifically designed to ride on the success of the previous one", but he praised its formula that "goes back to the animated Disney classics of decades past", and called it "catchy and fun, a rock-steady Disney hit". Hinckley also praised the talent and performance of leads Joe Jonas and Lovato.

In 2016, Billboard's Maria Sherman named Camp Rock Lovato's best film to date, describing it as "something of a coming of age tale, one not only about believing in yourself, but accepting yourself". USA Today added Camp Rock to the top ten best summer camp movies of all time. Rebecca Alter of Vulture ranked the film as one of the best Disney Channel Original Movies of all time.

Sequel and spin-off
 Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam

After the great reception to the official premiere of Camp Rock, being the second most viewed Disney Channel Original Movie at the time, Disney confirmed a sequel to be produced in late spring 2009. Lovato, the Jonas Brothers, Martin, Canals-Barrera, Fathers, and Stoner reprised their main roles. Daniel Kash, Matthew "Mdot" Finley, and Chloe Bridges joined the cast in the new film. Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam premiered on the Disney Channel on September 3, 2010, reaching a total of 7.9 million viewers on its first broadcast, the most for a movie on cable television in the year. The film was directed by Paul Hoen and written by Dan Berendsen, Karin Gist and Regina Hicks. It was shot in Toronto, Ontario, from September 3 to October 16, 2009, filming the scenes at the French River, Kilcoo Camp, The Kingbridge Centre, and Earl Bales Park. It was the last sequel of a Disney Channel Original Movie, until Teen Beach 2, in 2015.

 My Camp Rock My Camp Rock, a singing competition based on Camp Rock'', aired between 2009 and 2010. It had five international editions: a Scandinavian, Spanish, Benelux, French and British version, the original. It invited viewers to log online and make a video of themselves singing "This Is Me" and "We Rock" as a group, a duet or a solo. The competition was open to children aged 8 to 16. The best 8 entries were picked to participate in the TV show, and to attend a 4-day intensive Camp Rock-style singing and dancing workshop. They had the opportunity to demonstrate their musical talent to the panel of judges through a range of music and physical activities. In the Final Jam, the viewer vote decided the winner. The prize for the winner was to have their version of a song from the film professionally recorded and released along with a music video. The winner of the first British edition was Holly Hull, 14, from Camberley, Surrey.

References

External links

2008 television films
2008 films
American teen comedy films
American teen musical films
American musical comedy films
American musical television films
Films shot in Ontario
Rock musicals
Films directed by Matthew Diamond
Disney Channel Original Movie films
2000s teen comedy films
2000s musical comedy films
2000s English-language films
Films scored by David Kitay
Films with screenplays by Julie Brown
2000s American films
Television shows set in summer camps

Camp Rock


Presidential elections were held in Austria on 24 April 2016, with a second round run-off on 22 May 2016. However, the results of the second round were annulled and a re-vote took place on 4 December 2016.

The President of Austria is directly elected by the people once every six years. The election is held under a two-round system; if no candidate receives more than 50% of votes cast in the first round, then a second ballot occurs in which only those two candidates who received the greatest number of votes in the first round may stand.

Incumbent President Heinz Fischer had served two terms and was not eligible to be elected for a third successive term.

Results
In the first round of the election, Norbert Hofer of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) received the most votes. Alexander Van der Bellen, a member of the Austrian Greens ran as an independent, placed second. Since no candidate received a majority of the vote, Hofer and Van der Bellen went head-to-head in the second round in May. This was the first time since World War II that an Austrian president had not been backed by either the People's or the Social Democratic party. During the run-off, Van der Bellen defeated Hofer on 23 May 2016 after the postal ballots had been counted.

Annulment of second round
On 22 July, the results of the second round of voting were annulled after the results in 20 of the 117 administrative districts were challenged, and the Constitutional Court of Austria found that Austrian electoral law had been disregarded in 14 of them. The Court found that over 77,900 absentee votes were counted too early, however without any signs of votes having been cheated. The second round re-vote was planned on 2 October, but was postponed to 4 December 2016.

Van der Bellen ultimately won the second round re-vote with 53.8% of the vote and a voter turnout of 74.2%. Hofer announced his defeat in the race to Van der Bellen when the result had become apparent shortly after polls closed. Van der Bellen was sworn in as the twelfth president of Austria on 26 January 2017.

Notes

References

Other websites

2016 in Europe
Politics of Austria

2016 Austrian presidential election


An internet celebrity (also referred to as a social media influencer, social media personality, internet personality, or influencer) is an individual who has acquired or developed their fame and notability on the Internet. The growing popularity of social media provides a means for people to reach a large, global audience. Internet celebrities are found on popular online platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Whatsapp, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Myspace, OnlyFans, Telegram, Twitter, Twitch, Reddit, Discord, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Tumblr, and Threads.

Internet celebrities may function as lifestyle gurus promoting a particular lifestyle or attitude. In this capacity, they act as key influencers or amplifiers of trends across various genres including fashion, cooking, technology, travel, video games, movies, esports, politics, music, sports, and entertainment. As part of influencer marketing, companies and organizations may enlist internet celebrities to advertise their products to their fan base and followers on their respective platforms.

History
In 1991, the Internet and the World Wide Web became widely available, leading to the creation of numerous websites dedicated to shared interests. These forums allowed users to seek advice and help from experienced individuals in their field, increasing the availability of information beyond mainstream print media and corporate websites. Dedicated social media platforms emerged from these developments, providing users with the ability to create profiles and connect with others. SixDegrees.com pioneered this concept in 1997. Additionally, websites supporting blogging emerged around the same time, allowing users to publish long-form articles and stories. Since then, forums, social media, and blogging have transformed into integral components of communication, social interaction, business, and journalism. Popular social media platforms include Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Reddit, Twitch, Snapchat, TikTok, Twitter, Discord, Viber, WeChat, and WhatsApp.

The origins of online influencing can be traced back to the emergence of digital blogs and platforms in the early 2000s. Nevertheless, recent studies demonstrate that Instagram, an application with more than one billion users, harbors the majority of the influencer demographic. These individuals are sometimes referred to as "Instagrammers" or "Instafamous." A crucial aspect of influencing lies in their association with sponsors. The 2015 debut of Vamp, a company that links influencers with sponsorships, transformed the landscape of influencing.

There is much debate about whether social media influencers can be considered celebrities, as their path to fame is often less traditional and arguably easier. Melody Nouri addresses the differences between the two types in her article "The Power of Influence: Traditional Celebrities VS Social Media Influencer". Nouri asserts that social media platforms have a greater negative impact on young, impressionable audiences compared to traditional media like magazines, billboards, advertisements, and tabloids featuring celebrities. Online, it is thought to be simpler to manipulate an image and lifestyle in such a way that viewers are more susceptible to believing it.

Influencers and marketing networks
The early 2000s witnessed corporate endeavors to leverage the internet for influence, with some companies participating in forums for promotions or providing bloggers with complimentary products in return for favorable reviews. A few of these practices were viewed as unethical for taking advantage of the labor of young individuals without providing monetary remuneration. The Blogstar Network was established in 2004 by Ted Murphy of MindComet. Bloggers were encouraged to join an email list and receive remunerated offers from corporations in exchange for creating specific posts. For instance, bloggers were compensated for writing reviews of fast-food meals on their blogs. Blogstar is widely regarded as the first influencer marketing network. Murphy succeeded Blogstar with PayPerPost, which was introduced in 2006. This platform compensated significant posters on prominent forums and social media platforms for every post made about a corporate product. Payment rates were determined by the influencer's status. The very popular, PayPerPost, received a great deal of criticism as these influencers were not required to disclose their involvement with PayPerPost as traditional journalism would have, and made the public aware that there was a drive by corporate interests to influence what some people were posting to these sites. The platform also incentivized other firms to establish comparable programs. Despite concerns, marketing networks with influencers continued to grow throughout the 2000s and into the 2010s. The influencer marketing industry is expected to be worth up to $15 billion by 2022, up from as much as $8 billion in 2019, according to estimates from Business Insider Intelligence, which are based on Mediakix data.  Evan Asano, the Former CEO and founder of the agency Mediakix, previously spoke with Business Insider and said he believed influencer marketing on Instagram would continue to grow despite likes being hidden.

By the 2010s, the term "influencer" described digital content creators with a large following, distinctive brand persona, and a patterned relationship with commercial sponsors. Consumers often view celebrities as reliable, leading to trust and confidence in the products being promoted. A 2001 study from Rutgers University discovered that individuals were using "internet forums as influential sources of consumer information." The study proposes that consumers preferred internet forums and social media when making purchasing decisions over conventional advertising and print sources. An influencer's personality strongly impacts their audience's purchasing decision, with those who engage with their audience being more persuasive in encouraging product purchases. Companies today place great importance on feedback and comments received through social media platforms as consumers trust other consumers. Reviews are often relied on to persuade consumers to make a purchase, highlighting the impact of a negative review on a business's revenue. A typical method of marketing between the influencer and the audience is "B2C marketing". B2C marketing, meaning Business to Consumer marketing, entails the strategies in which a business would undertake in order to promote themselves and their services directly to their target audiences. This is typically through the advertising and creating content through the influencer themselves. The intention is that their followers who relate or look up to certain influencers will be more inclined to purchase an item because their favorite "Internet celebrity" recommended it. Internet celebrities typically promote a lifestyle of beauty and luxury fashion and foster consumer–brand relationships, while selling their own lines of merchandise.

"Digital Branding: A Comprehensive Step-by-Step Guide to Strategy, Tactics, Tools, and Metrics" by David Rowles explains the methods online influencers employ to increase their audience and brand visibility. Digital branding encompasses all online experiences and necessitates value provision." It is suggested that users are already familiar with the lives of their influencers as devoted followers. This makes it easy for them to promote companies as their followers feel as though they know the celebrities they follow, despite the reality being different.

Self-branding
Self-branding, also known as personal branding, describes the development of a public image for commercial gain or social or cultural capital. The rise of social media has been exploited by individuals seeking personal fame and product sales. Platforms such as Instagram, Twitch, Snapchat, VSCO, and TikTok, are the most common social media outlets on which online influencers attempt to build a following. Fame can be attained through different avenues and media forms, including art, humor, modeling, and podcasts. Marketing experts have concluded that anyone can build websites easily without any technical knowledge or complex coding languages. They can upload text, pictures, and videos instantly from personal computers or phones. With technological barriers diminishing, the web has become the ideal platform for personal branding.

Types

Depending on their rise to fame, internet celebrities may reach their audiences in different ways. Some people write journals or blogs, some make YouTube or TikTok videos, others post frequently on Instagram or Twitter. The Internet has made fame accessible to and attainable for the general public.

In some cases, people might rise to fame through a single viral event or viral video, and become an Internet meme. For example, Zach Anner, a comedian from Austin, Texas, gained worldwide attention after submitting a video to Oprah Winfrey's "Search for the Next TV Star" competition. Viral videos from internet celebrities could entail a funny event happening in the moment, a popular new dance, or even a post on Twitter, such as the "Alex from Target" tweet in 2014.

Many other people build their followings slowly over time, sharing their daily life and/or passions with people. Families such as the LaBrant Family and The Bucket List Family share their children, life experiences, and travels with their followers. Individuals such as MrBeast and David Dobrik post content about their lifestyle and host challenges and/or giveaways.

Although multiple studies offer slightly differing views, internet celebrities, or influencers, can be broken into five or six different categories: Nano, Micro, Mid-tier, Macro, Mega, and Celebrity.

 Nano influencers: 1,000 - 10,000 followers
 Micro influencers: 10,000 - 50,000 followers
 Mid-tier influencers: 50,000 - 500,000 followers
 Macro influencers: 500,000 - 1,000,000 followers
 Mega influencers: 1,000,000 - 5,000,000 followers
 Celebrities: Above 5,000,000 followers

YouTubers and vloggers

YouTube has risen as one of the biggest platforms for launching internet celebrities. YouTube creators (known as YouTubers), regardless of the genres or types of videos they make, have created an industry that can generate revenue from video views and online popularity. For example, Swedish internet celebrity PewDiePie uploads gaming and comedy videos on YouTube. , he has around 100 million subscribers and is the second most-subscribed non-corporation YouTuber.

Every minute, 300 hours of videos are uploaded to YouTube, and 5 billion videos are watched every day. In August 2014, Variety wrote that YouTubers are more popular than mainstream celebrities among U.S. teens. Advertisers, in an effort to reach teenagers and millennials who do not watch regular television and movies, have started contacting YouTubers and other internet celebrities.

YouTube's AdSense program enables creators to earn money from advertisements. AdSense has certain requirements—a YouTuber must have more than 1,000 subscribers, live in an eligible country, and have more than 4,000 hours of watch time within a year to be eligible.

Micro-celebrities
A micro-celebrity, also known as a micro-influencer, is a person famous within a niche group of users on a social media platform. Micro-celebrities often present themselves as public figures. The concept of the micro-celebrity was originally developed by Theresa Senft and P. A. Poitier in their 2008 book, Camgirls: Celebrity and Community in the Age of Social Networks. According to Senft and Poitier, the concept of the micro-celebrity "is best understood as a new style of online performance that involves people 'amping up' their popularity over the Web using technologies like video, blogs and social networking sites". A number of other researchers have published papers on micro-celebrities. According to Tobias Raun, a micro-celebrity is "a form of identity linked almost exclusively to the internet, characterizing a process by which people express, create and share their identities online". According to Senft and Marwick, micro-celebrities differ from more traditional forms of celebrities associated with Hollywood stars because a micro-celebrity's popularity is often directly linked to their audience, and the audience comes to expect a certain degree of authenticity and transparency.

Wanghong
Wanghong () is the Chinese version of Internet stardom. The wanghong economy is a Chinese digital economy based on influencer marketing in social media. Some wanghong celebrities generate profits via retail or e-commerce, through attracting the attention of their followers. Internet celebrities have become a popular phenomenon in China. For example, Sister Furong (Fúróng Jiějiě, 芙蓉姐姐) received worldwide notoriety and fame for her self-promotion efforts through online posts. According to CBN Data, a commercial data company affiliated with Alibaba Group, the Chinese internet celebrity economy was estimated to be worth  () in 2016, more than China's total cinema box office revenue in 2015.

There are two main business models in the wanghong economy: social media advertising, and online retail. In the online retailing business model, e-commerce-based wanghong use social media platforms to sell self-branded products to potential buyers among followers via Chinese customer-to-customer (C2C) websites, such as Taobao. Internet celebrities may promote their products by modeling for their shops by posting pictures or videos of themselves wearing the clothes or accessories they sell, or giving makeup or fashion tips. They serve as key opinion leaders for their followers, who either aspire to be like them or look up to them.

Zhang Dayi (张大奕)—one of China's best-known wanghong according to BBC News, with 4.9 million followers on Sina Weibo—has an online shop on Taobao, reportedly earning  () per year. This is comparable to the  made by Fan Bingbing (范冰冰), a top Chinese actress. Li Ziqi (李子柒), a celebrity food blogger with more than 16 million followers on Weibo, has inspired many bloggers to post similar content on traditional Chinese cooking and crafts.

Censorship in China has created an independent social media ecosystem that has become successful in its own way. For every Western social media platform, there is a comparable Chinese version; Chinese social media platforms, however, generate revenue differently. The greatest difference between Chinese internet celebrities and their Western counterparts is that the profits generated by Chinese celebrities can be immense. Unlike YouTube, which takes 45% of advertising revenue, Sina Weibo, one of the largest Chinese social media platforms, is not involved in advertising, which allows internet celebrities to be more independent. The monthly income of Chinese influencers can exceed  ().

Net idols

In Japan, a specific type of internet celebrity is known as a , a sub-category of the idol industry in Japan. Net idols first emerged in the 1990s through personal websites and blogs when internet became more accessible, with some selling personal merchandise such as photo books through their websites. Around March 2007, dance covers (known as ) became popular in video-sharing websites such as Niconico, which in turn led people into performing choreographed dances from anime series and idol groups. Notable creators of dance covers, known as , who later debuted as idols include Kozue Aikawa from Danceroid, Beckii Cruel, and Keekihime.

VTubers
VTubers or Virtual Youtubers are entertainers that use digital 3D model avatars that are computer generated. VTubers originated from Japan and had begun in early 2010s and had risen in popularity in 2020s. The first virtual Youtuber being Ami Yamato that had debuted on May 18, 2011 , but the first official VTuber who had used the phrase "virtual Youtuber" is Kizuna AI who began entertaining in 2016. The appeal of VTubers is similar to a real person, except the entertainer may choose to remain anonymous through their VTuber persona. The 2D anime virtual avatars appealed to many Japanese fans and popularity began to spread internationally. In October 2021, there has been reported to be 16,000 VTubers around the world.

VTubers function in a similar fashion to YouTubers and streamers, with some VTubers being music artists. These VTubers that were music artists or broadcast their musical talent would be dubbed "VSinger" (Virtual Singer). Agencies such as Hololive and VShojo, scout and hire these VTubers to aid in marketing and build popularity. Their trademark character being the VTuber avatar or a 2D anime form of that character on the album covers, allowing recognition of the avatar and for the agency.

Income

Different types of internet celebrities can make money in various ways, but most of them earn money from endorsements. Internet celebrities can use their fame to promote products or experiences to their followers, and are believed to provide credibility to products. In social media advertising, internet celebrities can be paid to advertise products. When they have garnered sufficient attention and following, they can be approached by advertising companies to help advertise products and reach a wider audience. Endorsements for fashion and cosmetic products are common for Instagram internet influencers. YouTubers tend to advertise a wider array of products, regardless of relevance to their genre of content.

YouTubers can also expand their source of revenue by creating their own products or merchandise to sell. Similarly, fashion bloggers and Instagram celebrities can earn money by promoting brands on their platforms or developing their own brands. Bloggers can feature sponsored posts in social media to make profits. For instance, fashion blogger Chiara Ferragni started as an online blogger, and then gained millions of followers on Instagram. She later created her brand, the Chiara Ferragni Collection. Like many other Instagram celebrities, Ferragni started by charging money per post for promoting brands. She earns revenue from promotional Instagram posts and the sale of her own products.

In 2020, a report by venture-capital firm SignalFire stated that the economy spawned by internet creators was the "fastest-growing type of small business."

Advertising regulations
Despite the recent emergence of influencer culture, influencer marketing and advertising it is left highly unregulated by existing legislation. This became a prevalent concern when users on social media platforms were finding it difficult to distinguish any differences between advertisements and sponsorships with personal posts. This was evident with the mismanagement of Fyre Festival, where numerous Instagram influencers were sanctioned for their lack of transparency. This led to a massive backlash from the public, who felt the promotion of the event deliberately misled and confused target audiences. As a result, numerous advertising bodies sought to introduce strict regulations and guidelines around influencer marketing. This includes the AANA (Australian Associations of National Advertisers), who states that influencer advertising must be "clearly distinguishable".

Cancel culture
Cancel culture is a form of ostracism where an individual is excluded from social or professional circles because of certain past or present actions or allegations. The act may occur on social media platforms or in person. Cancel culture is a common term among internet celebrities where they may lose their source of income, fans, or reputation because of their controversial actions. For example, Beauty Guru YouTuber Jeffree Star has faced many allegations of misconduct in his career, which include cyberbullying and vocally expressing racist remarks. On July 10, 2020, the makeup brand Morphe cut ties and ceased all makeup collaborations with Jeffree Star because his problematic past had resurfaced. The year before that, Kuwaiti celebrity Sondos Alqattan was "cancelled" for criticising Filipinos. As a result of this, some brands cut ties with her.

Interacting with fans

Meetups are often a way internet celebrities interact with fans in real life. Occasionally, an internet celebrity might organize a meetup and invite fans to meet them at a certain place and time without proper organization. This can attract crowds of fans, causing disorderly or even unsafe situations. For example, Tanacon was an organization produced in collaboration with talent manager Michael Weist involving a group of internet celebrities who were set to meet paying fans, but did not follow through. Because of the disorganized setup, the meetup resulted in chaos.

Alternatively, events can be organized at a venue with security personnel. VidCon is an annual organized video conference designed for people interested in online videos. It invites internet content creators to participate in events for paying fans, such as performances, panels, and meet-and-greets.

Effect on fans
Internet celebrities can draw in a devoted crowd of fans whether their reach is small or wide. A scholarly article published from Thammasat University in Thailand explains that the younger generation is becoming more attracted to the path of fame compared to the typical intellectual development and financial security route. The appearance of the ease and simplicity of the life of internet celebrities obstructs the reality of what this life often really entails. Seeing influencers display the highlights of their lives has shown to produce some unintended effects on fans.

Those who closely follow the lives of internet celebrities are more likely to develop psychological difficulties such as anxiety, depression, and dissociation. Although many internet celebrities appreciate the support and loyalty of their viewers and fans, the dedication to their lives can sometimes be intense. Fans may develop extreme behaviors or attitudes towards their favorite celebrities that can be identified as obsessive or may sometimes result to criminal behavior. The younger crowd are also being impacted through seeing their internet celebrities on different social media platforms. The Journal of Behavioral Addictions published by Akademiai Kiado evaluates a study that was done on Hungarian adolescents demonstrate these effects. The research found that the desire for fame on the internet was negatively associated with self-acceptance and potentially result to materialism and the desire for social recognition.

Internet celebrities are also able to influence fans through creating parasocial relationships with their audiences. For example, Kim Kardashian frequently creates the appearance of authenticity through harnessing the emotions of her audience. In Lueck's (2012) study they find  that 60% of her Facebook advertising contains an "embedded emotional/transformational story". Her social media posts blur the boundaries between commercial promotion and personal storytelling, making it more difficult for followers to distinguish between authentic messages and promotional material. This motivates the followers to engage in particular purchasing behaviours which reflects her parasocial influence.

See also

 Celebrity culture
 Content creation
 Fashion influencer
 Influencer marketing
 Internet activism
 Kid influencer
 Internet Hall of Fame
 List of Internet phenomena
 Online streamer
 Parasocial interaction
 Role model
 Social media marketing
 Usenet celebrity
 Virtual influencer
 Virtual YouTuber
 Vlogger

References

Further reading

 "Rise of an Internet Star - Parlaying YouTube Fame Into Big Business" at ReadWriteWeb

Celebrity

Cultural trends
Social influence
Social media

Internet celebrity


Marozia, born Maria and also known as Mariuccia or Mariozza ( 890 – 937), was a Roman noblewoman who was the alleged mistress of Pope Sergius III and was given the unprecedented titles senatrix ("senatoress") and patricia of Rome by Pope John X.Edward Gibbon wrote of her that the "influence of two sister prostitutes, Marozia and Theodora was founded on their wealth and beauty, their political and amorous intrigues: the most strenuous of their lovers were rewarded with the Roman tiara, and their reign may have suggested to darker ages the fable of a female pope. The bastard son, two grandsons, two great grandsons, and one great great grandson of Marozia—a rare genealogy—were seated in the Chair of St. Peter." Pope John XIII was her nephew, the offspring of her younger sister Theodora. From this description, the term "pornocracy" has become associated with the effective rule in Rome of Theodora and her daughter Marozia through male surrogates.

Early life
Marozia was born about 890. She was the daughter of the Roman consul Theophylact, Count of Tusculum, and of Theodora, the real power in Rome, whom bishop Liutprand of Cremona characterized as a "shameless whore... [who] exercised power on the Roman citizenry like a man."

At the age of fifteen, Marozia became the mistress of Theophylact's cousin Pope Sergius III, whom she knew when he was bishop of Portus. The two had a son, John (the later Pope John XI). That, at least, is the story found in two contemporary sources, the Liber Pontificalis and the Antapodosis sive Res per Europam gestae (958–62), by Liutprand of Cremona (c. 920–72). But a third contemporary source, the annalist Flodoard (c. 894–966), says John XI was brother of Alberic II, the latter being the offspring of Marozia and her husband Alberic I. Hence John too may have been the son of Marozia and Alberic I.

Marozia married Alberic I, duke of Spoleto, in 909, and their son Alberic II was born in 911 or 912. By the time Alberic I was killed at Orte in 924, the Roman landowners had won complete victory over the traditional bureaucracy represented by the papal curia. Rome was virtually under secular control, the historic nadir of the papacy.

Guy of Tuscany
In order to counter the influence of Pope John X (whom the hostile chronicler Liutprand of Cremona alleges was another of her lovers), Marozia subsequently married his opponent Guy of Tuscany. Together they attacked Rome, arrested Pope John X in the Lateran, and jailed him in the Castel Sant'Angelo. Either Guy had him smothered with a pillow in 928 or he simply died, perhaps from neglect or ill treatment. Marozia seized power in Rome in a coup d'état. The following popes, Leo VI and Stephen VII, were both her puppets. In 931 she managed to impose her twenty-one-year-old son as pontiff, under the name of John XI.

Hugh of Arles, and death
Guy died in 929, and Marozia negotiated a marriage with his half-brother Hugh of Arles, the King of Italy. While in Rome Hugh quarreled with Marozia's son Alberic II, who organized an uprising during the wedding ceremonies in 932. Hugh escaped, but Marozia was captured.

Marozia died after spending some 5 years in prison. Her descendants remained active in papal politics, starting with Alberic II's son Octavian, who became Pope John XII in 955. Popes Benedict VIII, John XIX, and Benedict IX, and antipope Benedict X of the House of Tusculani, were also descended from Marozia. By Guy of Tuscany she had a daughter named Berta Theodora, who never married.

Family tree

Sources

 di Carpegna Falconieri, Tommaso (2008), Marozia, in Dizionario biografico degli italiani, 70, pp. 681–685

Footnotes

890s births
937 deaths
Year of birth uncertain
Nobility from Rome
Queens consort of Italy (Holy Roman Empire)
Queens consort of Lower Burgundy
10th-century Italian women
10th-century Italian nobility
Papal mistresses
People from medieval Rome
Women and the papacy
Medieval Roman patricians
Remarried royal consorts

Marozia


Vincenzo Re (1695–1762) was an Italian scenic designer. Born in Parma, Re began his career in Turin. In 1737 he became the assistant designer under Pietro Righini at the newly formed Teatro di San Carlo, ultimately replacing him as head designer in 1740. He remained at that post until his death 22 years later in 1762. During his years there, he designed and built sets for well over 100 stage works, including operas, plays, and ballets. Many of his set designs required him to invent new forms of theatrical machinery. He also occasionally served as director for some of the productions.

In addition to his work at the Teatro di San Carlo, Re occasionally worked for smaller theatres, sometimes collaborating with Giuseppe and Antonio Baldi. He also invented theatrical machinery for a variety of festivities in the Naples area and prepared compositions for dramas and celebrations that were held in the Court Theatre and in the palaces of the nobility. Fifteen of his set designs were engraved on tablets by Giuseppe Vasi, some of which are part of the permanent collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

References

1695 births
1762 deaths
Italian scenic designers
Ballet designers

Vincenzo Re


Sunsun is an American singer-songwriter and performer.

In September 2006, Sunsun debuted on DJ Kaskade's fourth solo album Love Mysterious as the vocalist for the album's first single, "Be Still", which reached No. 4 on Billboard Magazine's Hot Dance Club Play.

Sunsun is also a vocalist on Kaskade's seventh album, Strobelite Seduction, for the songs "Back On You" and "I'll Never Dream" (and the Japanese bonus track "Are You Listening"). She is also heard on Kaskade's dance.love DJ mix in the song "Raining" (with Adam K).

In 2011, Sunsun was a featured vocalist in the song "Happiness" for Swimming With Dolphins' first studio album, Water Colours.

She has since participated with Kaskade in the recording of "Baby Mine" for the Disney remix album Dconstructed, performing Betty Noyes' original vocals.

References

External links
 Sunsun Facebook Page
Sunsun Myspace Page
Kaskade Official Site

Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)

Sunsun


Cumberland is the northeasternmost town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States, first settled in 1635 and incorporated in 1746.  The population was 36,405 at the 2020 census, making it the seventh-largest municipality and the largest town in the state.

History

Cumberland was originally settled as part of Wrentham, Massachusetts, which was purchased from the local Indigenous Americans by the Plymouth Colony.  It was later transferred to Rhode Island as part of a long-running boundary dispute. The town was named in honor of Prince William, Duke of Cumberland.

William Blackstone (also spelled William Blaxton in colonial times) was the first European to settle and live in Cumberland. (He was also the first European to have settled in Boston, but left when he and the newly arrived Puritans disagreed about religion.) He preached his brand of tolerant Christianity under an oak tree that became an inspiration to Christians worldwide. He lived on a farm in the Lonsdale area of Cumberland, where he cultivated the first variety of American apples, the Yellow Sweeting. The site of his home is now occupied by the Ann & Hope mill.

The popular tourist destination "Nine Men's Misery" is a tomb found on the grounds of a former Trappist monastery (Abbey of Our Lady of the Valley), part of which was destroyed in a fire in 1950. The Trappists sold the monastery and grounds to the town and part of the building was converted into the Edward J. Hayden Library, aka Cumberland Public Library in 1976. This combined three smaller libraries into one.

Cumberland was the site of iron works that made cannons and cannonballs for the French and Indian War and the American Revolution.  Additionally, Cumberland (along with the neighboring towns of Central Falls, RI, Lincoln, RI, and Attleboro, Massachusetts) was the home of the Valley Falls Company, which is the original antecedent of Berkshire Hathaway, now one of the world's largest and most successful companies.

A machine shop in Cumberland made the first power looms for woolens in America. These were reportedly used at the Capron Mill in Uxbridge, around 1820, that burned in a fire in 2007.

Cumberland is home to the headquarters and original location of the Ann & Hope chain of discount stores which claims to be the first chain of discount department stores in America and was founded in 1955.

Cumberland is in the lower Blackstone Valley of Rhode Island and in the John H. Chafee, Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor, New England's historic National Park area.

Aaron Fricke was denied a request to bring a same-sex date to a school prom at Cumberland High School 1979. In an early legal victory for LGBT rights, a federal court held that such a denial violated the student's free speech rights, in Fricke v. Lynch.

In the summers of 2011 and 2014, the Cumberland American Little League baseball team, led by coach David Belisle (both times), won the New England Regional Little League Baseball Championship and went on to play in the Little League World Series.

In 2023, Cumberland became the central location for the online, Pacer1 story Rise, where it was featured as a post apocalyptic compound operated under the guidance of the larger, Nova Scotia-based colony beginning with the series' fifth season.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which  is land and , or 6.40%, is water.

Cumberland is the easternmost town along the state's northern border with Massachusetts, making it the state's de facto northeasternmost town.  Cumberland borders the Rhode Island cities of Woonsocket to the northwest and Central Falls, to the south and the town of Lincoln to the west as well as the Massachusetts towns of Wrentham to the north, Plainville and North Attleborough to the east and city of Attleboro to the southeast.

The Rhode Island state rock Cumberlandite is a rare iron-rich mineral unique to the region. The only large deposit of the mineral in the world is found off Elder Ballou Meeting House Road in northern Cumberland.  Though the ore was used to make cannons during the colonial era, the resulting casts were of poor quality and prone to cracking. A major geologic feature of the area is Diamond Hill, a massive outcropping of white quartz. The hill once was host to two small ski areas and is now a town park.

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 33,506 people, 13,143 households, and 9,232 families residing in the town.  The population density was .  There were 13,791 housing units at an average density of .  The racial makeup of the town was 92.8% White, 1.5% African American, 0.3% Indigenous American, 2.3% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.4% from some other race, and 1.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.5% of the population.

There were 13,143 households, out of which 23.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.8% were headed by married couples living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.8% were non-families. 24.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.6% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.  The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 22.5% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 30.2% from 45 to 64, and 15.8% who were 65 years of age or older.  The median age was 42.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.6 males.  For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.0 males.

At the 2000 census, the median income for a household in the town was $72,242, and the median income for a family was $84,038. Males had a median income of $41,073 versus $29,188 for females. The per capita income for the town was $32,378.  About 2.9% of families and 3.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.1% of those under age 18 and 7.7% of those age 65 or over.

Government

In the Rhode Island Senate, Cumberland is split in its representation between the 19th District, represented by Democrat Ryan W. Pearson, and the 20th District, represented by Democrat Roger A. Picard. At the federal level, Cumberland is a part of Rhode Island's 1st congressional district, currently represented by Democrat David N. Cicilline.

In presidential elections, Cumberland is reliably Democratic as no Republican presidential nominee has carried the town in over three decades.

Schools

The school system is led by its seven-member School Committee that is elected to serve for two years and includes a chairperson, vice-chairperson, and clerk.  The School Committee hires a Superintendent of Schools to administer policies and to manage and lead learning in the district. The Cumberland Superintendent of Schools (in chronological order) are Mr. Robert Condon, Dr. Robert McGinnis, Mr. Rodney McFarlin, Dr. Robert Patterson, Mr. Robert Wallace (1993–1996), Mr. Joseph Nasif (1996–2005), Dr. Donna Morelle (2005–2011), Dr. Phil Thornton (2011–2015), and Mr. Robert Mitchell (2015–present).

Cumberland is home to a public charter school, the first Rhode Island Mayoral Academy, Blackstone Valley Prep (originally Democracy Prep Blackstone Valley).  The school opened in the fall of 2009 with Kindergarten.

The Blackstone Valley Prep High School, a $10 million mayoral charter school, opened in 2017 on the site of a former lumber center in Valley Falls.

The one non-public school in Cumberland, Mercymount Country Day School, is run by the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, a Roman Catholic order which has its New England regional headquarters in Cumberland.

Culture and traditions

Cumberland is home to the Arnold Mills Fourth of July Parade and 4 Mile Road Race, which is held each year to celebrate (Fourth of July). The first recorded Arnold Mills Parade was held on July 4, 1927. During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the road race was held "virtually" for the first time.

Cumberland Farms, a large convenience store chain, takes its name from the original dairy farm business in Cumberland, Rhode Island.

A popular event, Cumberlandfest, is held each year on the second weekend of August at Diamond Hill Park on Diamond Hill Road. This event features a carnival, with rides and venues, as well as live entertainment and a small fireworks show. Proceeds go to the town's athletic programs.

The Blackstone River Theatre at 549 Broad Street hosts a wide variety of cultural events mostly in the form of intimate concerts encompassing the prevailing traditional cultures of the people who settled the Blackstone Valley. The Blackstone River Theatre sponsors the annual Summer Solstice Festival at Diamond Hill State Park in Cumberland.

Historic Metcalf-Franklin Farm on Abbott Run Valley Road was the last working dairy farm in Cumberland. Open historic fields, exposed farmers walls and a traditional "cow" pond are open for exploration. The 1810s barn and 1850s house are in the process of historical preservation.

Notable people

 John Capron, Sr. (1797–1878), military officer, state legislator, and textile manufacturer; born in Cumberland
 Aaron Fricke, gay rights activist and author; successfully sued Cumberland High School for not allowing him to bring his same-sex partner to prom
 Public Universal Friend (1752–1819), genderless evangelist; born in Cumberland
 Johnny Goryl, Major League Baseball infielder 1957–1964; born in Cumberland
 Richard Jenkins, actor (Six Feet Under, Cheaper by the Dozen); nominated in 2008 for Academy Award for Best Actor (The Visitor); lives in Cumberland
 Brian Lawton, left wing for six different National Hockey League teams; grew up in Cumberland
 David Macaulay, British-born author and illustrator; graduated from Cumberland High School
 Dan McKee, 76th Governor of Rhode Island (2021–) and former Lieutenant Governor (2015–2021); the town's former mayor from 2007 to 2015; member of the town council for multiple terms
 Cory Pesaturo, musician; three-time world champion, only person to ever win in acoustic, digital and jazz accordion; from Cumberland
 Stephen Peterson, rower on 1996 U.S. Olympic team and gold medalist at 1990 World Rowing Championships
 Pete Wells, restaurant critic for The New York Times
 Tim White, referee for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE); born in Cumberland
 Inez Whipple Wilder (1871–1929), zoologist who studied fingerprints and salamanders; born in Cumberland

National Registered Historic Places

Arnold Mills Historic District
Ashton Historic District
Ballou-Weatherhead House
Berkeley Mill Village
Burlingame-Noon House
John Cole Farm
Furnace Carolina Site
Luke Jillson House
St. Joseph's Church Complex
Lewis Tower House
Tower-Flagg Barn Complex
Whipple-Jenckes House
Metcalf-Franklin Farm

References

External links

Town of Cumberland official website
Cumberland Public Library
Cumberland School Department
Arnold Mills July 4th Parade and Road Race
 Who is William Blackstone?, short biography of a local pioneer
 Detailed history of Cumberland, from History of the State of Rhode Island, by Albert J. Wright, 1878
 Historic Metcalf-Franklin Farm website

1746 establishments in Rhode Island
Populated places established in 1746
Towns in Providence County, Rhode Island
Providence metropolitan area
History of the textile industry
Portuguese-American culture in Rhode Island
Towns in Rhode Island
Prince William, Duke of Cumberland

Cumberland, Rhode Island