Gabe's Musings

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Adriel Hilton: Higher Education Administrator Reaches, Teaches And Mentors Students

BE Modern Man: Adriel Hilton

Higher education administrator; 37; Dean of Students and Diversity Officer, Seton Hill University, Greensburg, Pa.

Instagram: @aahilton

I currently serve as dean of students and diversity officer at Seton Hill University. I have held similar roles as an education administrator at several other higher educational institutions where I have worked to improve diversity. Perhaps most impactful is the work I have done to promote student success and awareness of the plethora of opportunities available to students to enhance their educational experience. I take pride in the work I have been able to do on several campuses to increase access for students while also improving retention and graduation rates as a college administrator.

As a scholar-practitioner and a critical race theorist, I rely heavily on articles and books that speak to the experiences of minority students at colleges and universities (i.e. Minority Serving Institutions or Predominately White Institutions). In addition, I rely on the advice of mentors and sponsors who push me to be the best that I can be.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF IN LIFE?

I am most proud to be doing the work I am doing as a higher education administrator. As a resilient black male, I am blessed to be in a position to mentor and teach young men, particularly African American males, from my lived experiences. I want to help these students to avoid making the mistakes, personally and professionally, that I have witnessed; therefore, I pour into them my time and heart to show them they can and will achieve against the challenges they face.

HOW HAVE YOU TURNED STRUGGLE INTO SUCCESS?

Being considered a second-class citizen or a third-rate human being, and otherwise looked down upon as a black male in society causes one to build inner strength. I have had to position myself with key supporters in my life. I have turned struggles into successes by seeking their wisdom and advice but also having my wise counselors advising me to not ever give up.

I still hear their voices telling me, “No matter your situation, you are blessed” and also, “No matter what you are going through, this too shall pass.”

WHO WAS YOUR GREATEST MALE ROLE MODEL AND WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM HIM?

My greatest male role model is Dr. Howard L. Simmons, past executive director and associate director of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. Dr. Simmons served as professor and chairperson of the Department of Advanced Studies, Leadership and Policy in the School of Education and Urban Studies at Morgan State University, where I earned my Ph.D. in Higher Education under his tutelage. Prior to joining the faculty at Morgan State University, Dr. Simmons was a tenured member of the faculty in the Division of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Arizona State University. I learned from Dr. Simmons how to effectively utilize research within my work and also the importance of mentorship. In reference to mentorship, Dr. Simmons was a firm believer in mentorship and passing on his knowledge and legacy to the next generation. He taught me to use my knowledge, skills, and abilities to impact students positively as a higher education administrator.

WHAT’S THE BEST ADVICE YOU’VE EVER RECEIVED?

The best advice I have been given was from Dr. Fred A. Bonner, II, professor and endowed chair in educational leadership and counseling and founding executive director and chief scientist of the Minority Achievement, Creativity and High-Ability (MACH-III) Center at Prairie View A&M University. “Status will come as a result of a job well done,” he said. What I took from this was that if you do good work, accolades follow. Do not go searching for credit or accolades for they will come as a result of the work you have done.

HOW ARE YOU PAYING IT FORWARD TO SUPPORT OTHER BLACK MALES?

As a member of a Black social fraternity, a product of HBCUs and also as a member of several professional associations, I believe it is important to use whatever knowledge, skills, and abilities I have accumulated to achieve some measure of success and then to use that success to mentor young people, particularly African American men. Through my scholarship (books, articles, and op-eds), my goal is to empower students that they can achieve against almost any odds. Also, I assisted in launching a scholarship program at a previous university that allows deserving students to receive aid to assist in their educational pursuits. Therefore, I pay it forward by supporting other black males through mentorship and also through financial support for their educational pursuits.

HOW DO YOU DEFINE MANHOOD?

Manhood is complicated and simple at the same time. It is as difficult to define as love. I define manhood as maturity, persistence, the inner strength to endure, and the self-assurance to be able to laugh at yourself and still cry, empathetically, for others.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT BEING A BLACK MAN?

The unique perspective that my lived experience gives me as a black man has profoundly impacted my life. What I like most about being a black man is that we are resilient. I believe that’s what it takes to prevail against the odds, to rise above the challenges that many of us face in life; it helps us to be better. We need to push through our situations and to not [fall prey to] the imposter syndrome. We must be resilient.

BE Modern Man is an online and social media campaign designed to celebrate black men making valuable contributions in every profession, industry, community, and area of endeavor. Each year, we solicit nominations in order to select men of color for inclusion in the 100 Black Enterprise Modern Men of Distinction. Our goal is to recognize men who epitomize the BEMM credo “Extraordinary is our normal” in their day-to-day lives, presenting authentic examples of the typical black man rarely seen in mainstream media. The BE Modern Men of Distinction are celebrated annually at Black Men XCEL (www.blackenterprise.com/blackmenxcel/). Click this link to submit a nomination for BE Modern Man: https://www.blackenterprise.com/nominate/. Follow BE Modern Man on Twitter: @bemodernman and Instagram: @be_modernman.

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Chase Consumer Banking CEO Thasunda Duckett Joins NIKE’s Board of Directors

Thasunda Duckett, CEO of Chase Consumer Banking, a division of JPMorgan Chase, has joined an exclusive club with her recent appointment to NIKE‘s board of directors. As such, she has become the only African American female C-suite executive to serve on the board of the $34.3 billion athletic footwear and apparel producer as well as a future member of the BLACK ENTERPRISE Registry of Corporate Directors, which identifies blacks among the corporate governance ranks of the nation’s largest publicly traded companies.

“Thasunda’s expertise in leading digital and physical transformation in retail banking will be invaluable in helping Nike further deepen consumer relationships,” Mark Parker, NIKE Chairman and CEO said in a released statement. “She is a dynamic and forward-thinking leader, and we are delighted that she has joined the board.”

Serving on its Corporate Responsibility, Sustainability and Governance Committee, Duckett joins three other African American members of NIKE’s board of directors: Registry members Peter B. Henry, Dean Emeritus of New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business and William R. Berkley Professor of Economics and Finance; John R. Thompson Jr., former head coach of Georgetown University’s basketball team and current board member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches; and John W. Rogers Jr., Chairman, Chief Investment Officer and Co-CEO of Ariel Investments L.L.C. (No. 1 on the BE ASSET MANAGERS List with $11.6 billion in assets under management).

By enlisting her for NIKE’s board of directors, the company gains access to the acumen of a business and financial dynamo dedicated to the development of platforms that promote financial health, wealth building, and economic inclusion. Duckett, 46, has oversight of a banking network with more than $800 billion in deposits and investments, 5,000-plus branches, 18,000 ATMs and 50,000 employees—including a phalanx of financial advisers—to meet the needs of over 23 million households throughout the country.

Prior to her current role, she was CEO of Chase Auto Finance, one of the top providers of auto financing with a portfolio of more than $80 billion in assets and relationships with 75% of U.S. franchised automotive dealers. Under her leadership, the division moved from No. 27 in the JD Power Dealer Financing Satisfaction Survey to the leader in Prime and Non-Prime. She expanded its dealer partnerships and launched Chase Auto Direct, its latest direct-to-consumer business.

One of her major thrusts has been her role as executive sponsor of the institution’s Advancing Black Pathways program to drive prosperity for African Americans while addressing nagging racial and economic barriers to wealth creation. To achieve this end, she has created partnerships with a range of influential companies, organizations, and leaders. “Opportunity is not distributed equally, but we all know that talent is. Being black and really focusing on this initiative, it really rings true,” she told BE earlier this year. “We know that the economic wealth gap facing black Americans is stark. We also know [about] the business gap, in terms of people of color owning businesses at the same rate as whites. That outcome would mean or result in 9 million more jobs and $300 billion in worker income. So Advancing Black Pathways is really focusing on expanding economic opportunity for black Americans.”

Due to her myriad of accomplishments, the graduate of University of Houston and Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business, Duckett has been included on BLACK ENTERPRISE’s 300 Most Powerful Executives in Corporate America and Most Powerful Women in Corporate America rosters, respectively.

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Lakeith Stanfield Isn’t Feeling Black Media Outlets

Get out! The unfairness from some media outlets causes some artists to give them the side-eye. According to Blavity, Lakeith Stanfield feels that some black media outlets are “anti-Black.”

In an Instagram post, the actor reveals, “It’s a fact that a lot of these platforms are usually or tend to be feeding grounds for negative reinforcement toward BLACK “nonconformists”. They bolster faux vanity and hold a white supremacists scope over black men and women often highlighting negative attributes and downplaying mind-expanding ones. They serve as bottomless coward consumption pits and digital, audio, or otherwise slave mentatilty museums. @ all you want”

He specifically called out The Shade Room, Lipstick Alley, The Breakfast Club, and WorldStar.

Although some celebrities agreed and liked his post, the words Stanfield wrote, did NOT get a pass from The Breakfast Club’s Charlemagne Tha God. For Stanfield’s post, he earned the illustrious “Donkey of the Day” from Charlemagne. “You can say any and everything about me. I’ve damn near heard it all about myself online. But what you won’t do is ever fix your lips to call one of my platforms, especially The Breakfast Club, anti-Black,” said Charlamagne.

He also said, “I’m not going to sit here and act like we’ve gotten it right all the time, because we haven’t. We’ve made plenty of mistakes on this radio. All that critique is fine. But, Lakeith Stanfield, don’t you ever fix your raggedy-ass mouth to call the author of Black Privilege – because I truly believe it is a privilege to be Black – anti-Black.”

Charlemagne also points out that Stanfield has been accused of not talking to black media on the red carpets and only interacting with white media outlets. Stating that if he chose to call out white media, it would hurt him in Hollywood circles.

But, Charlemagne concludes with, “This came from a place of love. Two takeaways I want to leave you with: One, be the change you want to see in media and stop acting like a damn buffoon in all your interviews. And two, don’t burn those Black bridges just because White folks in Hollywood sent you a boat, because history shows us what happens when White folks put Black folks on a boat.”

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Study shows Blacks in New Jersey are arrested for weed more than whites

Black cannabis users in New Jersey can’t catch a break when it comes to being targeted by law enforcement.

NJ.com reports, that according to the American Civil Liberties Union, Blacks and whites may have similar engagement with adult use or recreational marijuana. However, Black folks continue to be arrested for possession far more frequently than whites in New Jersey. The ACLU announced Friday that they are pushing lawmakers to legalize cannabis before the state legislative session ends in January.

“Legalization is about racial justice,” said Amol Sinha, executive director of the ACLU in New Jersey.

Despite growing public support for the legalized use of recreational marijuana, arrests in New Jersey have increased in recent years, according to data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In 2017, the state reportedly had more arrests of Blacks users of the plant, and at higher rates, than almost every other state.

The ACLU’s analysis targeted three counties: Salem, Ocean and Hunterdon, where Blacks were eleven times more likely to be arrested for possessing marijuana. In Salem County, Blacks were six times more likely to be arrested. Even worst is in Ocean, were they are seven times more likely to be targeted, harassed and hauled off to jail.

Back in March, top state lawmakers canceled a planned vote on a bill that would legalize recreational marijuana for adults 21 and older.

“We’ll be back at this,” state Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, told reporters shortly after the vote was called off. “So anybody who thinks this is dead, they’re wrong.”

“This is an issue that’s not going away,” he added. “The legalization of adult-use marijuana will get passed in the state of New Jersey, one way or another.”

Lawmakers said they haven’t received enough support in the state Senate to pass the bill.

Sweeney admitted he “may have under-estimated the challenge of getting this passed.”

The post Study shows Blacks in New Jersey are arrested for weed more than whites appeared first on theGrio.

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Black borrowers are struggling to repay student loan debt, here’s why

According to the Federal government, Black college students in cities such as Brooklyn and Chicago are drowning in student loan debt at higher numbers than white borrowers.

Matter fact, according to research economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, student loan debt weighs heavier on Black Americans, and the reason may not be all that surprising.

The fact that Black Americans earn a relatively lower income that other racial groups is part of the problem, as they lack the money and resources to make payments, the Fed researchers said, per CBS News.

The data also noted that “Black college students either graduate or drop out with a higher loan bill than other racial groups,” the outlet writes.

“Borrowing rates are somewhat higher in areas with a majority of Black residents, at 23%, compared with 17% in Hispanic-majority ZIP codes and 14% in white-majority ZIP codes,” the Fed researchers wrote. “These differences are likely explained, in part, by income disparities, as lower-income students are more likely to need student loans to afford tuition.”

Here’s how the Fed data breaks down:

Students living in predominantly urban or Black areas have an average student loan balance of $37,000 or higher
Meanwhile, white student’s, on average, have a balance of $34,000
The data also suggests that 18% of Black borrowers are twice as likely to default on student loans compared to 9% of white borrowers

“Black graduates still earn less at their first post-graduate jobs compared to other races,” said Marcus Garrett, who hosts a podcast on how to eliminate debt. “Typically, African-American households have less median income,” he added. “Therefore, the children of these households would theoretically need to take on more school loan debt.”

And this is one of the main reasons why paying off student loans remains an uphill battle for Black Americans.

“It’s a Catch-22 to try to make additional payments when you’re already struggling to just make minimum payments,” Garrett said. “Yet, the main solution to paying off loan debt — beyond lowering the interest rate — is to make additional payments above the minimum payment whenever possible.”

Several Democratic presidential hopefuls have shared their vision for eliminating student loan debt, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, who has stated that if elected president she intends to cancel up to $50,000 in debt for over 40 million borrowers. Over the summer, Senator Bernie Sanders announced a bill that would eliminate all student loan debt.

The post Black borrowers are struggling to repay student loan debt, here’s why appeared first on theGrio.

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Dr. Tony Evans becomes the first Black American to publish Study Bible

Renowned Dallas-based pastor Tony Evans has become the first Black American to publish a study bible and commentary.

After celebrating 50 years in public ministry, Evans released the two tomes in partnership with LifeWay, Christianheadlines.com reports. Evans is a celebrated theologian and pastor of Oak Cliff Fellowship, a predominantly Black nondenominational church. He is also the founder of The Urban Alternative.

“What I want to say to African Americans is if you see what’s really in the Bible, you can find yourself there,” he said in an exclusive interview with Religion News Service. “You don’t have to lose yourself to believe in Jesus. In fact, much of who we are is in Jesus.”

The Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship celebrated the release of the study bible and commentary with a gospel-star-studded celebration on Friday. Dubbed “Kingdom Legacy Live,” the event brought out the likes of musicians LeCrae and Kirk Franklin, who Evans is supporting in his boycott of the Dove awards after the gospel singer’s race-related comments were omitted from a recent broadcast of the annual ceremony.

Prior to the Kingdom Legacy Live event, Evans chopped it up with Religion News Service about his new biblical volumes, during which he noted why it was vital for him to highlight the Black presence in scripture.

“Paying attention to context is extremely important if you want to accurately understand what the Bible is saying,” he wrote in the Bible’s opening instruction letter. “If you don’t pay attention to the context, you are in danger of trying to make the Bible say something that it doesn’t actually say.”

Evans added, “In fact, in Numbers 12, God judged Aaron and Miriam for their reaction of Moses’ African wife. So early on, God was dealing with racism and interracial marriage,” he told Christianity Today.

The pastor, who was the first Black American to earn a doctorate in theology from Dallas Theological Seminary, noted that his Study Bible acknowledges the Black experience in the scriptures.

“In the lineage of Jesus are a number of people from the lineage of Ham. The lineage of Ham goes back to African people since he settled in Africa. We deal with the curse of Ham that was used to promote slavery in America and apartheid in South Africa,” he said. “That’s often not pointed out.”

The post Dr. Tony Evans becomes the first Black American to publish Study Bible appeared first on theGrio.

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Kanye West performed two secret concerts for Harris County jail inmates

Two days before Kanye West and his famed Sunday Service are slated to appear at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Texas, the rapper played two secret performances at the Harris County Jail on Friday.

More than 200 male inmates inside the 701 San Jacinto building got to #turnup to Ye’s gospel experience with his 100-member of the choir. The rapper then served up a second hour-long set inside the main Baker Street jail for a smaller group of women inmates, E! News reports.

“This is a mission, not a show,” West reportedly told his jailhouse audience.

Video of the performance has been shared online, which shows several inmates overcome with emotion as the Hip-Hop icon performs hits from his gospel-themed Jesus is King album.

On Sunday, West is taking his Sunday Service to Osteen’s Lakewood megachurch, and a source exclusively tells ET that there will be two Ye-themed services. The first one will be during the morning service. at 11:00 a.m. According the source, the service “will include a conversation between Joel and Kanye about overcoming adversity and his faith journey.” Then at 7:00 p.m., West’s Sunday Service will perform a free event, but attendees are required have an admission E-ticket only available through Ticketmaster, the report states.

There’s such a demand for tickets that, according to TMZ, scalpers have already copped a bunch of reserve tickets to sell for a quick buck. However, the outlet writes, “We’re told the tickets they have identified as being held by scalpers have been invalidated.”

West’s appearance at Osteen’s church in Houston on Sunday will be the first time that he will have ever spoken publicly about his salvation in front of a large audience. The Lakewood Church boasts about 52,000 people every week, according to the Christian Post, and millions tune in every Sunday to watch Osteen on TV.

It will also be the first time the musician and Osteen meet face-to-face. Yeezy’s wife, Kim Kardashian, is also expected to attend the service, fresh off her visit with death row inmate Rodney Reed.

The reality tv star has been lobbying to set Reed free, and according to TMZ, she met with him Friday in Livingston, TX while her hubby was rocking the jailhouse for inmates in Houston.

West wanted to visit Reed too but only legal visitation was permitted, and since Kardashian is a legal apprentice, she was allowed to chop it up with Reed about his controversial case. The make-up mogul was with the inmate when he received the exciting news that “ the highest court in Texas had issued a stay of execution and remanded the case back to the trial court for further consideration.”

As TheGrio previously reported, 51-year-old Reed had been set for lethal injection Wednesday evening for the 1996 killing of 19-year-old Stacey Stites. Prosecutors say he raped and strangled the teenager as she made her way to work at a supermarket in Bastrop, a rural community about 30 miles southeast of Austin.

The post Kanye West performed two secret concerts for Harris County jail inmates appeared first on theGrio.

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2021 Africa Cup of Nations: Senegal await Ismaila Sarr injury verdict

Watford's Senegal international Ismaila Sarr could face a spell on the sidelines after suffering an ankle injury in the win over Congo on Wednesday.

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2021 Africa Cup of Nations: Madagascar beat Ethiopia in qualifier

Madagascar beat Ethiopia 1-0 in Antananarivo at the start of their 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign.

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Drawing With Drones Over the Salt Flats of Bolivia

Reuben Wu uses LED-equipped drones to illuminate mysterious shapes in one of the world’s strangest landscapes.

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6 Best Gaming Laptops for Every Kind of Player (2019)

We tested the latest and greatest gaming laptops to sort the god-rolls from the vendor fodder.

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Hackers Discovered Only After Maxing Out Victim's Cloud Storage

A border privacy win, a suspect Army app, and more of the week's top security news.

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Uber’s Mistakes, 'Ford v Ferrari,' and More Car News

Plus: The deadly design flaws of the B-17 Flying Fortress and a sneaky cat swap.

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'Buffy' Should Have Been Set in the Virgin Islands

Author Cadwell Turnbull, who grew up in Saint Thomas, thinks his home territories would have been a better locale for the show.

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16 Best Gifts for Travelers and Frequent Flyers

These gifts will help jet-setters stay their wanderlust woes.

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Google Is Finally Rolling Out its Own RCS in the US

The company’s already launched the messaging standard in the UK and France, and now America is next, carriers be damned.

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2019 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations: Nigeria miss out on Olympic place

Nigeria miss out on a chance to compete in the 2020 Olympic football tournament after a 0-0 draw with South Africa at the U-23 Africa Cup of Nations.

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Liv Thrive E+ EX Pro Review: An E-Bike Made Just for Women

The designers of the Liv Thrive E+ EX-Pro posit that bicycle frames can be tweaked to accommodate the specific needs of more petite, more powerful riders.

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Every Tech Company Wants to Be a Bank—Someday, At Least

Apple, Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Uber are all eyeing financial services as the next frontier. Getting there might take some work.

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14 Best Fitness, Audio, and Snow Sports Deals Right Now

Hit the gym, cozy up indoors, or tackle the slopes with these discounts.

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Friday, November 15, 2019

Anthony Roberson: Detective Builds Ties Between Law Enforcement And The Community

BE Modern Man: Anthony Roberson, Ph.D.

Law enforcement officer, community leader; 42; Detective, Providence (R.I.) Police Department

I started my Shop With A Cop program six years ago. I get businesses large and small to donate dinners, items, and the like, that are raffled off to raise money to buy $150 gift cards. That, in addition to some grant money, allows me to gather 25-30 students and partner them up with police officers who proceed to take them on a shopping spree. The shopping spree is nice but the relationships forged are priceless.

Then there’s the twice-a-year Handshake Initiative, eight years strong now, in Providence, Cumberland, and East Providence. I bring successful male adults from all walks of life, dressed up, to welcome the students to school in the morning, with encouragement, handshakes, and high-fives. The role models, mostly males of color, seek to impress upon the students that they too can achieve success as represented by the gentlemen welcoming them to school. Nearly 200 role models participate.

Then there’s my Bicycle Safety Initiative I started with Walmart, along with some grant money, with volunteer police officers providing 30 or so kids a year with a bicycle and a helmet.

Lastly, I sit on the board of directors at the Sojourner House, an organization that combats domestic violence. It’s my hope that forging and strengthening relationships between law enforcement and the community they serve will positively impact the quality of life for city residents.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF IN LIFE?

I’m most proud of the strength and perseverance I observed throughout my life, as embodied by my mother. She had to overcome obstacles in life that many would have surrendered to, through no fault of their own. It’s due in large part to her that I was able to confront the many challenges in life that resulted in not only my volunteering in the community or becoming a detective but earning a doctorate degree as well.

HOW HAVE YOU TURNED STRUGGLE INTO SUCCESS?

During my upbringing, there were many social struggles. Neighborhood violence, narcotics, and domestic abuse appeared to be the norm. Having gone through such experiences allows me to better relate to those who might be experiencing similar situations. Being able to relate has made me a better community leader and detective. There is perhaps no greater feeling than helping a person get out of a dangerous life situation. Although I experienced my struggles, my success as a detective rests in my ability to identify with and help others.

WHO WAS YOUR GREATEST MALE ROLE MODEL AND WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM HIM?

One of my greatest role models, although I don’t know him personally, is Denzel Washington. It’s not because of his fame or fortune, but due to how he appears to treat his wife and his words of wisdom offered in his speeches throughout the years. In one of his speeches, he suggested that a person should place their slippers way underneath their bed at night because in the morning that person would have to get down on their knees to retrieve the slippers. While on their knees that person should be thankful to the Lord for their blessings. I couldn’t agree more.

WHAT’S THE BEST ADVICE YOU’VE EVER RECEIVED?

The best advice I was ever given was to follow my heart because I was special and would change people’s lives for the better. To really appreciate that advice, you would have to have seen the sincere expression of the individual’s face when he shared it. He really meant it, and I believed him.

HOW ARE YOU PAYING IT FORWARD TO SUPPORT OTHER BLACK MALES?

In order to pay it forward, as a detective and a community leader, I make sure I mentor several young people each year. Being a man of color, I know firsthand that the world can seem limited as far as available opportunity is concerned. Communicating the appropriate wisdom and encouragement is essential, and a downright obligation.

HOW DO YOU DEFINE MANHOOD?

My definition of manhood is the moment immaturity leaves a male and is replaced with maturity and the embracing of responsibility.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT BEING A BLACK MAN?

I love our heritage and expression in music that is arguably unsurpassed in any other genre. The soul that is poured, crafted, and produced as a rich melody is embedded with such emotion you can almost touch it. Luther Vandross, Otis Redding, Stevie Wonder, and so many others have captured the world with their gift.

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Texas appeals court blocks inmate Rodney Reed’s execution

HOUSTON (AP) — Texas’ top appeals court on Friday halted the scheduled execution of inmate Rodney Reed, whose conviction is being questioned by new evidence that his supporters say raises serious doubt about his guilt.

The stay of execution issued Friday afternoon by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals came just hours after the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles recommended delaying the lethal injection.

The parole board unanimously recommended a 120-day reprieve for Reed. The board rejected Reed’s request to commute his sentence to life in prison.

The 51-year-old Reed had been set for lethal injection Wednesday evening for the 1996 killing of 19-year-old Stacey Stites. Prosecutors say Reed raped and strangled Stites as she made her way to work at a supermarket in Bastrop, a rural community about 30 miles southeast of Austin.

Reed’s efforts to stop his execution have received support from such celebrities as Beyoncé, Kim Kardashian and Oprah. Lawmakers from both parties, including Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz, have also asked that officials take a closer look at the evidence in the case.

The board’s decision was to go next to Gov. Greg Abbott, who hadn’t said whether he would accept or reject it or do nothing. The stay likely makes Abbott’s decision moot until Reed’s appeals are exhausted.

Bryce Benjet, an attorney with the Innocence Project, which is representing Reed, had sought to delay the execution to properly consider “powerful new evidence of his innocence” and for possibly allowing DNA testing that could prove “who actually committed the crime.”

Since Texas resumed executions in 1982, only three death row inmates have had their sentences commuted to life in prison within days of their scheduled executions.

The parole board since 1982 has recommended commuting a death row inmate’s sentence five times. But former Texas Gov. Rick Perry rejected the recommendation twice, in 2004 and 2009.

Since taking office in 2015, Abbott has halted only one imminent execution, which occurred in 2018.

Reed still has several appeals pending, including with the U.S. Supreme Court. His supporters have held various rallies leading up to his execution, including an overnight vigil on Thursday in front of the Supreme Court in Washington. A rally in front of the Texas governor’s mansion is set for Sunday.

Reed has long maintained he didn’t kill Stites and that her fiance, former police officer Jimmy Fennell, was the real killer. Reed says Fennell was angry because Stites, who was white, was having an affair with Reed, who is black.

Fennell’s attorney has said his client didn’t kill Stites. Fennell was paroled last year after serving time in prison for sexual assault.

Prosecutors say Reed’s semen was found in the victim, his claims of an affair with Stites were not proven at trial, Fennell was cleared as a suspect and Reed had a history of committing other sexual assaults.

Reed’s lawyers say his conviction was based on flawed evidence. They have denied the other sexual assault accusations made by prosecutors.

In recent weeks, Reed’s attorneys have presented affidavits in support of his claims of innocence, including one by a former prison inmate who claims Fennell bragged about killing Stites and referred to Reed by a racial slur. Reed’s lawyers say other recent affidavits corroborate the relationship between Stites and Reed and show that Fennell was violent and aggressive toward Stites.

The post Texas appeals court blocks inmate Rodney Reed’s execution appeared first on theGrio.

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Gayle King admits she posed nude for photoshoot during college

This week Gayle King made a surprising admission about an X rated photo shoot that she says will never see the light of day.

According to Page Six, Tuesday, while appearing on the “Pretty Big Deal with Ashley Graham” podcast, the CBS anchor opened up about her wilder days in the mid-1970s when she was a student at the University of Maryland.

“Once in college, I was dating a guy who was a photographer, and I thought, ‘OK, let’s have a sexy photoshoot,” recalled the now 64 year old.

“Now, my idea of a sexy photoshoot, I was nude, but Ashley, I was wearing rollers. This was back in the day where you wear pink, foam rollers,” she continued.

“That’s very Marilyn,” Graham reassured her. “Were you doing, like, ‘50s poses?”

“I mean, you know, you stick your butt out, you stick your boobs out,” King said, actually mimicking her pose. “He’s a photographer, so I went with him to the dark room to develop them, and then when they were done, I got all the negatives. I know that they will never see the light of day.”

Despite that one risqué moment, King admits she still has a hard time understanding the allure of the modern day practice of “sexting.” Unlike her situation where she had complete control of who would see her images, she can’t reconcile why people would take the risk of widespread public exposure.

“I don’t get it, because once it’s out there, it takes [on] a life of its own, I honestly don’t get that,” concluded the mother of two.

Check out the full interview below.

The post Gayle King admits she posed nude for photoshoot during college appeared first on theGrio.

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Kenya Airways stowaway: Mystery of the man who fell from the sky

Four months after the body of a suspected stowaway fell from a Kenya Airways plane into a London garden, we still don't know who he was.

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12 Great Gifts for the Coffee Lover in Your Life

We all know someone who puts a little too much time into their morning coffee. Here's how to shop for them.

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‘Epstein Didn’t Kill Himself' and the Meme-ing of Conspiracy

What happens when a conspiracy theory becomes flattened into a quick, shareable phrase?

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For Barack Obama and Deval Patrick, a long friendship and political bond

By JULIE PACE AP Washington Bureau Chief
WASHINGTON (AP) — Deval Patrick was in need of a pep talk.
He was staring down reelection as Massachusetts governor in 2010, in the midst of a sluggish economic recovery that would ultimately contribute to sweeping Democratic defeats across the country. In stepped President Barack Obama, a close friend and political ally, who was in town for an event. The two men met for a “get in the game” conversation that helped put Patrick on the path to a second term.

“I think it was very meaningful to Deval,” said David Axelrod, a political adviser to both Obama and Patrick. “That’s the kind of relationship they have. There’s a level of trust and mutual caring between them.”

That relationship will test whether Obama can maintain his vigorously neutral approach to the 2020 Democratic primary now that Patrick has launched a late bid for the presidential nomination. Although Obama has ties to several candidates — most notably Joe Biden, who spent eight years as his No. 2 in the White House — his ties to Patrick are unique. The two men were friends well before the White House years and have bonded over shared personal experiences and a strikingly similar approach to politics.

“They both had Chicago roots, they both had the Harvard experience and they shared a set of values,” Axelrod said. “You go back and listen to some of Patrick’s speeches from when he was running for governor and you hear echoes of Obama.”

Obama advisers say there are currently no plans for the former president to endorse in the Democratic primary race, though he’s met with most of the major candidates and is said to be following the primary campaign closely. Yet advisers have purposely left some wiggle room in that position, well aware that there could be a moment that demands the input of the nation’s most popular Democrat, particularly if the primary appears to be headed toward a contentious conclusion.

READ MORE: New York state legislator’s bill seeks to outlaw hymen exams

For now, the former president appears content to stay on the sidelines and offer occasional counsel to the candidates he is closest to, including Patrick.

When Patrick called him this week to tell him he was making a late bid for the nomination, he got advice similar to what Obama has told other White House hopefuls: Make an affirmative case for yourself, show up and be present even in places you might lose, and stay focused on the urgency of defeating President Donald Trump.

Patrick, who made his first campaign appearance in New Hampshire on Thursday, said Obama had given him “great insights about his own experiences and about his experience with some of the other candidates and what he thought the strengths and weaknesses of the campaign, of my campaign, might be.”

“He’s been, I think, entirely appropriate in saying, Look, this is your decision, no one else’s,” Patrick said shortly after filing papers to get on the ballot in New Hampshire. “And I’m not encouraging you or discouraging you. Be clear-eyed about how heavy the lift is.”

Obama and Patrick first connected in the 1990s, long before either was a national political figure. Both graduated from Harvard Law School and were shaped by their experiences on the South Side of Chicago, where Patrick grew up and Obama worked as a community organizer. Later, when Obama and his family vacationed during their summers in the White House at Martha’s Vineyard, Patrick and his family made regular visits from Boston.

As barrier-breaking African Americans, Obama and Patrick have also drawn comparisons throughout their political careers. The day after Patrick won his first campaign for governor in 2006 — running on a “Together We Can” slogan — two of his top political consultants, Axelrod and David Plouffe, met with Obama to start charting his 2008 presidential campaign. That campaign’s motto: “Yes We Can.”

In addition to Axelrod and Plouffe, Obama confidante and White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett is particularly close to Patrick and urged his campaign for president.
It’s unclear whether those connections will help Patrick, who is launching his campaign less than three months before voting begins. Many Obama staffers are already working for other candidates or have left the political arena. It’s also uncertain whether Patrick, who was the first black governor of Massachusetts, will be seen by African American voters as the heir to Obama’s legacy.

So far, it’s Biden who has had the strongest appeal with black voters, one of the most important constituencies in Democratic politics. And it’s Biden who has wrapped himself in Obama’s legacy, frequently reminding voters of the eight years he spent by the 44th president’s side. He’s also staked his candidacy in part on a robust defense of the landmark health care overhaul Obama signed into law.

Obama has stayed in touch with Biden throughout the campaign, and the two huddled privately last month at funeral services for U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland.
Biden also remains the only candidate whose entry into the race was greeted with a formal statement from Obama, who praised his former vice president but stopped short of endorsing his White House run.

___

Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC

The post For Barack Obama and Deval Patrick, a long friendship and political bond appeared first on theGrio.

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Judge denies motion to drop suspect’s charges in Nipsey Hussle murder

On Thursday Eric Holder, who is accused of killing rapper Nipsey Hussle, tried unsuccessfully to get his attempted murder charges thrown out.

According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, a judge denied Holder’s motion to discharge the murder charges involving the March 31 fatal shooting of Hussle and attempted murder of two other men, XXL reports.

As previously reported by theGrio.com, prosecutors allege Holder fatally shot Hussle, 33, after having an argument with him in front of his Marathon Clothing Store in South L.A. earlier this year. He was ultimately charged with one count of murder, and two counts of attempted murder for shooting a man named Kerry Lathan and his nephew. Holder was also charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a felon.

Also reported by theGrio.com, in earlier in October, Holder’s legal team wanted the two counts of attempted murder dropped.

His counsel believed that the attempted murder charges fit within the “Kill Zone” theory, which is based on whether the shooter intended to kill the other people who were injured.

Deputy District Attorney John McKinney wasn’t buying it. He believes Holder’s case does not fit within the “Kill Zone” parameters, and suspects the attempt to have the two charges dropped is just a ploy to prolong the case. McKinney also points out that the alleged shooter waived his right to have a trial within 60 days after his indictment.

“Given the magnitude of the case, the complexities of the case, work his defense attorney needs to do, he knew it wasn’t in his best interest to try to go to trial right now,” McKinney previously told USC Annenberg’s student run news website Annenberg Media.

But his attempt to get the charges axed didn’t work.

Instead, he is being held on a $6.53 million bond at Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles. The case is slated to go to trial in February, and Holder faces life in prison.

The post Judge denies motion to drop suspect’s charges in Nipsey Hussle murder appeared first on theGrio.

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How AS Roma helped find a missing Kenyan child

When the Italian side signed Chris Smalling on loan, his arrival helped find a missing child.

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An Instagram Without Likes, And a MacBook Keyboard Without Fails

Instagram and Apple made small changes to their products this week that could affect customers in a major way.

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The Evidence That Links Russia’s Most Brazen Hacking Efforts

From the 2017 French election to the Olympics to NotPetya, the same group's fingerprints have appeared again and again.

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Five Ways To Leverage The Latest Rate Cuts By The Fed

Interest rates in America have been cut three times this year. The Federal Reserve on Oct. 29 slashed the federal funds rate to a range between 1.5% and 1.75%, a move to help keep economic growth spurring along. The action could bring lower rates on consumer loans, some mortgages, and student loans.

In tightening rates, the Fed has aimed to derail a global economic slowdown, President Donald Trump’s trade wars with other countries, and a drop in U.S. manufacturing. The trio of cuts was nearly a U-turn from the four increases the Fed made in 2018 to deal with a growing economy. The rate cuts since July 2019 are also geared to encourage more borrowing and spending. The move trims the short-term rates the nation’s central bank controls, determining the direction of some key consumer and business loans.

The Fed released a statement in its latest policy meeting that it has used since June to indicate a future rate cut is likely. That possibly indicates that the Fed is done cutting rates this year and will leave them untouched while gauging how the economy performs in upcoming months.

Consumers and entrepreneurs might benefit from the Fed rate cuts:

POSSIBLY MORE LOANS FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

Interest rates that banks and other financial institutions charge small businesses for loans likely move lower. That gives banks more incentive to boost loan activity, potentially increase the number of loans they make to small businesses. The lower rates make capital less costly and boosts the money supply. And with customers of small businesses able to borrow money for less, that perhaps means they could buy more goods.

POTENTIALLY LESS COSTLY TO MAKE HOME REPAIRS

A majority of home equity lines, also known as HELOC, are pegged to the prime rate. The prime rate is what most banks charge their most credit-worthy customers. Changes in the federal funds rate and the discount rate influence the direction of the prime rate. The prime typically determines the direction of borrowing costs on such things as credit cards, home equity loans, lines of credit, personal loans, and auto loans. Experts say the Fed’s third rate reduction could shave rates on HELOCs by a quarter-point by November or December.

For existing homeowners, the rate cuts could be good news. For those planning to make improvements to get their houses ready to sell next year, the rate changes could make financing the upgrades cheaper.

PERHAPS NOW IS THE TIME TO CONSIDER HOME REFINANCING

The Fed’s actions, along with the economy and other factors, could impact long-term mortgage interest rates. Still, how those rates move are more commonly tied to yields on U.S. Treasury notes. Accordingly, the mortgage rates are now much lower than since late 2018.

So if you purchased a house within the last several years, it would be worth checking to see if you can now refinance at a lower rate. Just cutting a percentage point off your mortgage rate could potentially save you more than $100 monthly, experts say.

PURSUE LOWER BORROWING COSTS ON STUDENT LOANS

More than 1.4 million students annually utilize private student loans to help pay college debt. At the same time, the bulk of students use federal student loans with fixed rates. The private loans can carry a fixed rate or variable rate. The loans with a variable rate could be trimmed when the Fed cuts rates. How much can be saved may depend on such factors as the terms of the loan. If you have both federal student loans and private student loans, experts advise paying off the private loans first or seeing if you can refinance them at a lower fixed rate.

LOWER CREDIT CARD COSTS, BUT ONLY EXPECT A TAD IN SAVINGS

The federal rate of 25 basis points will have little impact on the interest cost for consumers, says Robert McKinley, senior analyst for CardTrak.com. For example, a consumer with a credit card balance of $3,000, with a 20% interest rate, would save about $7.50 per year. So far this year there have been three rate cuts for a total of 75 basis points, dropping the prime rate from 5.50% one year ago to 4.75% in November. So, using the same example of a $3,000 balance at 20% APR, the savings would be $22.50 per year, or about a little less than $2 per month, compared to one year ago.

Unfortunately, the Fed rate means lower rates on a certificate of deposit and other savings accounts. Individuals may now have to look for higher-yielding savings accounts but realize the gains might be minuscule. Plus, senior citizens who put money into CDs and savings accounts will net less from lower rates. That could translate into less income for older Americans for retirement savings as well as money to live on.

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Rapper Lil Nas X makes history at the Country Music Association Awards

Lil Nas X has become the most unlikely darling dude of country music, making history as the first openly gay entertainer to win a Country Music Association Award.

The “Old Town Road” rapper and his co-collaborator Billy Ray Cyrus has seen huge success with the folksy head-bopping rap jam. And on Wednesday the dynamic-odd-duo won for musical event of the year, which includes Cyrus’ rap solo on the song’s remixed version, Out Magazine reports.

“LETS GOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! 🐎 ⚡,” Lil Nas X tweeted on Wednesday, celebrating his historic win.

LETS GOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! 🐎⚡️ https://t.co/QjcZTvp09h

— nope (@LilNasX) November 13, 2019

“I wasn’t sure if this was going to be able to happen tonight,” he told reporters USA Today reports. “I’m so happy this song was accepted because it is the bridging of two polar opposite genres. I’m happy it’s gotten respect from both places.”

Earlier this year, Lil Nas X‘s smash single “Old Town Road” was removed from country charts. In a twist of irony, he later found himself nominated for a Country Music Award at the 53rd annual celebration of the genre.

The trap-infused, remix which was nominated for the Musical Event of the Year category, was even up against country music vets Brooks & Dunn and Garth Brooks.

According to the Huffington Post, the original version of “Old Town Road” first hit the web in December. However, it did not begin to catch the attention of the masses until March. As it began to ascend up the Hot Country Songs chart, it was also removed in March. Billboard cited the reason for the exclusion as the single not containing the “elements of today’s country music to chart.”

After the removal outrage spanned social media, the history of racism, in particular with Black artists and country music, arose. In April, Billy Ray Cyrus spoke out in support of the young star, spawning the first of many remixes to the song.

And when Lil Nas X came out as gay at the end of June, his song still continued to skyrocket and became the longest-running No. 1 single ever to hit the Billboard Hot 100 Chart.

We’re happy for his success.

The post Rapper Lil Nas X makes history at the Country Music Association Awards appeared first on theGrio.

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Canada refuses visas to over a dozen African AI researchers

Visa hassles made another AI conference move to Ethiopia, rather than deal with Canadian officials.

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Alien Hunters Need the Far Side of the Moon to Stay Quiet

The far side is normally protected from all the radio noise emanating from Earth, but SETI researchers worry that new visitors will gunk it up.

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'Ford v Ferrari' Overlooks the Best Part of the Racing Rivalry

It's a good time, but it skips the feats of engineering that made 1966's historic 24 Hours of Le Mans race possible.

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146 New Vulnerabilities All Come Preinstalled on Android Phones

The dozens of flaws across 29 Android smartphone makers show just how insecure the devices can be, even brand-new.

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Ghana progress at Under-23 Africa Cup of Nations

Ghana beat Mali 2-0 to qualify for the semi-finals of the Under-23 Africa Cup of Nations and move a step closer to the 2020 Olympics.

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Viral rap song highlights Morocco monarchy taboo

A viral rap song has raised the taboo subject of the monarchy in Morocco, where insulting the king is a criminal offence.

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SA post office rapist and murderer given life

The killing of student Uyinene Mrwetyana sparked protests about high levels of gender violence.

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Thursday, November 14, 2019

'Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order' Is Strong With the Force

Traditional in its approach to the material but elegant in its craftsmanship, the game is one of the best 'Star Wars' games ever made.

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Jaleesa Trapp shakes things up in the classroom and in computing

“My introduction to MIT was an interesting one,” says Jaleesa Trapp, a graduate student in the MIT Media Lab. “MIT came to me.”

That introduction came in the form of an afterschool program called the Computer Clubhouse in Trapp’s hometown of Tacoma, Washington. The program, founded by the Media Lab research group Lifelong Kindergarten and run by the The Clubhouse Network, is a technology-based learning environment for high school students that has been introduced to 100 underserved neighborhoods in over 20 countries. At the Clubhouse, Trapp learned graphic design, coding, video editing, and robotics, and she was introduced to a wide spectrum of possible STEM careers.

Now, Trapp is working toward her PhD in the very same research group. Informed by many happy hours spent at the Clubhouse, her undergraduate studies, and her experience teaching high school, she aims to study the different ways youth, particularly black and brown youth, interact with computers and technology. She is especially curious about nonstandard human-computer interfaces — technologies distinct from desktop or laptop interactions.

Shaking things up

The Clubhouse in Tacoma was in close proximity to Trapp’s high school, yet it felt worlds away. “I hated high school, but I liked going to the Clubhouse,” she says. “It was like I was in two different worlds. My teachers had no idea that at the Clubhouse I was creating these interactive CD-ROMs and doing all types of things.”

Trapp’s experience at the Clubhouse, along with a high school internship at Microsoft, crystallized her interest in using technology to solve problems for people. She received her undergraduate degree at the University of Washington in human-centered design and engineering with a concentration in human-computer interactions.

After college, Trapp spent a year with AmeriCorps before returning to the Clubhouse as a coordinator, running the program she had attended just a few years before. After a year working solely at the Clubhouse, she was approached by local educators to teach high school. She hesitated at first but then realized the impact she could have. “I ended up going back to teach high school [because] I wanted to give more youth the opportunity to have the same Clubhouse experience I did — but inside the classroom. Not all students can come to an afterschool program, so I try to find a way to do that inside the school.”

Trapp describes her pedagogical approach as a bit unorthodox. She recalls a computer science class in which she taught students how to make their own playdough to use with Makey Makey, software that allows children to make their own controllers with conductive objects. “The way that I run things, when I go to other teachers’ classrooms I know they think, ‘She’s letting these kids run wild!’ I like going and shaking things up.”

Returning to kindergarten

After teaching for three years, Trapp wanted to apply her skills and her proclivity for shaking things up to the world of academic research. When she applied to the Media Lab, the Lifelong Kindergarten Group was a natural fit. The group is inspired by the way learning occurs in kindergarten — through building and experimenting — and aims to expand that concept to other technologies and learning experiences.

One of the strengths of the program, she says, is the diverse backgrounds of others in the Media Lab. "Kind of like the real world!” she laughs. “We all have these different skills and knowledge to bring to work on a project, which I think makes it a lot more dynamic than if we were to work alone.”

Despite the diversity of backgrounds, Trapp notes that she is one of just a few black students in the Media Lab, which at times makes her feel hypervisible: “I change my hair a lot. I wear a lot of braids and twists and stuff. And just the comments about my hair, asking why it’s so different … just having to answer that type of question is really exhausting. Like, you get to come here and be a student, and I get to come here and teach you about black hair … and then be a student.”

Empowering her students

Trapp has channeled the added pressure she feels as a minority student into her master’s thesis, which she recently finished. It’s an antiracist learning guide that helps educators engage marginalized youth in STEM activities by creating an equitable learning space. One important way to do that, Trapp explains, is by shifting power: “Even just the way we do introductions, allowing students to stand up there and say their names instead of [teachers] butchering their names, asking them their preferred name, giving them that power, asking them what they value.”

“I don’t have rules in my classroom,” she adds. “They come in and as a group we decide, how do we want to treat each other in this space? How do we want to treat this space, and how do we hold each other accountable for it? And by doing that, if something happens I can always remind them, ‘You set this up, not me, and I’m also held accountable to it.’” Trapp looks forward to using her master’s thesis work as a foundation for her PhD thesis, but with more of a focus on how youth interact with computing.

As she gears up for her next four years in Boston, Trapp admits she misses her beloved Tacoma, where her strongest support system remains. (The town raised thousands of dollars after she was admitted to MIT, to help her to move to campus and settle in.) She also feels a responsibility to the youth of Tacoma.

“I think I’m so invested because I want to be able to give opportunities that I didn’t have,” she says. “If there were more opportunities like the Clubhouse … I think that could inspire kids to do other things, and know that they’re capable, and know that there’s more out there. And then, hopefully, they would still want to give back to Tacoma, too. For the future of Tacoma, I want kids to know that they can go and do anything that they want to do.”

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Nathan Hale Williams: Filmmaker And Attorney Tells Stories Through A Social-Justice Lens

BE Modern Man: Nathan Hale Williams

Filmmaker, author, entertainment attorney; 43; President, Executive Producer and General Counsel, iN-Hale Entertainment L.L.C.

Twitter: @NathanHWilliams; Instagram: @NathanHWilliams

As a filmmaker and attorney, I tell stories and I represent people who tell stories. As a filmmaker, my goal is always to make movies that have a social justice focus, but that are also funny and entertaining.

My latest film, BURDEN details the macro and micro-aggressions we face as men of color in this society. I wrote in response to a discussion of what happened to the two men in a Starbucks in Philadelphia in April 2018.

90 DAYS starred Teyonah Parris and Pauletta Washington and dealt with HIV/AIDS in the heterosexual black community. The film literally toured the world, opening up dialogue on the topic in our communities across the African Diaspora and in Africa. It won many awards including multiple awards at Cannes and an African Academy Award. More importantly, it started young to old people talking about this disease that is still ravaging our community when it doesn’t have to do so anymore.

I also write books and have done several TV shows. The thru-line in all of my projects as a filmmaker and attorney is uplifting, empowering, and celebrating our people.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF IN LIFE?

I am most proud of my relationships with my family and my friends. The love I have in my life is the fuel that keeps me going when showbiz and entrepreneurship gets rough. My family is a traditional tight-knit, wisecracking and all-loving black family from the Southside of Chicago. I also pride myself on having the same friends for literally my entire life. When you have a solid foundation under you anything is possible, and I am proud that I have maintained, nurtured and supported the people that mean the most to me.

HOW HAVE YOU TURNED STRUGGLE INTO SUCCESS?

After living in New York City for almost 15 years, I decided I needed to move to Los Angeles to give my career as a writer/director a boost. I had been majorly successful in New York and had firmly established myself there. I moved to LA right after my 39th birthday. Little did I know that the first year in LA would be one of the most difficult years ever in my life.

Almost a year later, I celebrated my 40th birthday and things still hadn’t improved. My birthday party underscored that I was alone in a new place. It was filled with people, just not with the people that mattered most to me. It depressed me and I went into a week-long funk, secluded in my house.

By the weekend, I had enough of my pity party and knew I had to do something. I had to take the pain I was feeling and use it as fuel to change my circumstances. So the Sunday after my 40th birthday, I sat down and wrote my award-winning film, 90 DAYS, in 6 hours. That little film changed my life and firmly cemented me as a writer/director in Hollywood.

WHO WAS YOUR GREATEST MALE ROLE MODEL AND WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM HIM?

My grandaddy aka “Big Daddy” was the epitome of what it meant to be a man. He worked hard. He wanted to learn things. He was a man of principle, integrity, and honor. He loved his family first and most. And he was dedicated to excellence in whatever he did. Whether it be the two jobs he worked for 30 years—driving a CTA bus and working for the Post Office—to being a 33rd Degree Mason, to the job that was most important to him: being a loving husband, father, and grandfather. I think about Big Daddy often and I always want to make sure I carry his legacy of excellence forward in my work as a filmmaker and attorney.

WHAT’S THE BEST ADVICE YOU’VE EVER RECEIVED?

My mother always told me to, “Never give up and always do your best.”

HOW ARE YOU PAYING IT FORWARD TO SUPPORT OTHER BLACK MALES?

My entire mission is to make sure I am not the last of anything. As a filmmaker and attorney, I make it a point to hire and mentor younger black men in entertainment. Just as Ava DuVernay does with women, I do the same to make sure my editors, my producers, my crew are made up of a lot of black men.

I have also volunteered for organizations like College Summit/Peer Forward, which helps young black men (and women) who might not otherwise go to college prepare, apply and go to college.

HOW DO YOU DEFINE MANHOOD?

I define manhood as the acceptance and execution of responsibility, duty and your place in the world. It also is the courage to stand for your convictions and the confidence to love who you are.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT BEING A BLACK MAN?

I love the strength we have. Walking through this society as a black man and not merely surviving but thriving is a Herculean feat. I love that we are complex. I love that we are full of joy when we are given the space to express it. I love the way we move through the world—our swag is undeniable.

I want black men and women to really understand and embrace the extent of our power. We are powerful beyond measure and the sky is just the beginning of what we can accomplish in unity for our community. Truly, you can decide to be and become whatever you want. We have that much power and I want us to know it!

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Africa's top shots: 8-14 November 2019

A selection of the week's best photos from across the continent and beyond.

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Kenya's ugali scare: How safe is your maize flour?

Well-known brands of maize flour have been banned after a warning they could be poisonous to humans.

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A MacBook Keyboard Fix, Best Buy's Smart Home Mess, and More News From Today

Catch up on the most important news from today in two minutes or less.

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Reaching the C-suite: no shortcuts, yet many paths

For many, reaching the C-suite for senior executive officers may seem like the pinnacle of success. Power, prestige, the opportunity to make a lasting impact — not to mention that spacious corner office. But how do executives arrive at those top spots? What does it take to stay and thrive in the role? And what can we learn from the experience of others that can be applied to our own career paths?

Just as there are many incentives that drive an executive’s desire to land in the C-suite, so are there many potential paths to get there. That is especially true in today’s dynamic business environment, which demands that leaders be comfortable managing a state of nearly constant change.

Veteran executive advisor and coach Cassandra Frangos spent her career helping Fortune 500 companies assess and select C-suite executives. She shares her experiences and expertise with those seeking leadership positions in her recent book, “Crack the C-Suite Code: How Successful Leaders Make It to the Top.” The book includes interviews with dozens of CEOs and other C-suite executives from a broad range of companies and industries, as well as hundreds of executives who are likely to be C-suite candidates in the future. Frangos also interviewed the topmost experts in executive recruiting, leadership development, and management academia.

“I talked to as many C-suite executives as I could, across industries over a multi-year period — at conferences, networking events, and over the course of my everyday job. I got in the habit of asking them to tell me their stories,” Frangos shared in a recent webinar for MIT Sloan Executive Education. “Suddenly, I was the one asking the question: 'So, what did you do to reach C-suite?'”

With this research and inquiry as the backdrop — along with her keen interest in the intersection of psychology and business — Frangos offers a practical framework for how leaders can prepare for and achieve the corner office. This work has also informed a new program at MIT Sloan Executive Education, Strategies for Career Development: Charting Your Path to the C-Suite. The inaugural session of the program was held in September and received great reviews from participants who appreciated the insights, interactivity, and 360-degree assessments the program provides. Frangos teaches the program alongside MIT Sloan Professor Roberto Fernandez.

Trends to watch

“It’s an exciting time be in in the C-suite — and with it comes a lot of pressure,” says Frangos. “The digital economy changes everything; most CEOs have never before seen this much transformation.”

To manage this kind of change, today’s CEO needs to be both strategic and operational. They need to have a keen understanding of the current and future impact of technology on their business. And they need to be willing to recognize the areas of expertise they need to shore up. Frangos illustrates her points by sharing examples of specific strategies that real executives — including some household names — have used to ascend to the top of their organizations. Her experience offers a glimpse into the real work of succession and offers both inspiration and practical advice.

Another key trend for aspiring executives to watch is the move toward flatter organizational structures. This removes layers of management that can act as a barrier to change, and in turn puts the CEO in charge of more direct reports, making it easier for him or her to get a pulse on the business and act quickly and decisively based on this information.

Within this type of organizational structure, communication is key. The successful CEO needs to be able to clearly communicate their vision clearly to their colleagues, customers, investors, and, perhaps most importantly, to themselves. It is this last audience — understanding one’s own motivations for reaching the C-suite — that is at the core of Frangos’ research and recommendations.

Charting your path

Leaders who have their eye on the C-suite have likely already proven themselves as capable within their organization and in their field. Frangos offers ways to leverage this momentum to help these executives accelerate to the top. From the tenure track to the “leapfrog” path and options in-between, she offers a framework for advancement that is suited to an individual’s goals and strengths.

“When I assess executives who are getting ready to be promoted, I’m often surprised at how many don’t understand what their brand is within the organization,” she says. “For example, they may be very good operationally but need to be seen as more strategic to get to the next level.”

Frangos’ work explores ways leaders can evolve to better align with their leadership goals, as well as zeroing in on other factors that enhance or detract from a chance of success in the C-suite. She also offers proven career development strategies, regardless of where a person is in their organization. Importantly, her approach stresses the need for leaders to cultivate both professional and personal support networks.

Embarking on a path to the C-suite isn’t for the faint of heart, which is why it’s just as important for leaders to assess whether they truly have the appetite and determination to do the work and stay the course.

“Only you can control your destiny,” says Frangos. “No one is doing this for you. You have to chart your own path.”

Strategies for Career Development: Charting Your Path to the C-Suite will be held again in July and October 2020.

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He’s In! Ex-Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick announces Democratic presidential bid

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick announced Thursday he is running for president, making a late entry into the Democratic race less than three months before primary voting begins.

In an announcement video, Patrick highlighted his poverty-stricken childhood on Chicago’s South Side, saying he’s running for the “people who feel left out and left back.”

As the first in his family to go to college and law school, Patrick said, “I’ve had a chance to live my American Dream.” But over the years, the “path to that dream” has closed off for others, he said, as government and economy have been “letting us down.”

Patrick made history as the first Black governor of Massachusetts and has close ties to former President Barack Obama and his network of political advisers. But he faces significant fundraising and organizational hurdles this late in the race.

His announcement comes as some Democrats worry about the strength of the party’s current field of contenders. Another Democrat — former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg — is also weighing a last-minute bid for the party’s nomination.

Bloomberg has taken steps toward launching a presidential campaign, filing candidate papers in Alabama and Arkansas. Even 2016 nominee Hillary Clinton this week said in a BBC interview that she is “under enormous pressure from many, many, many people to think about it,” adding that she has no such plans but still would “never, never, never say never.”

The moves reflect uncertainty about the direction of the Democratic contest with no commanding front-runner. Joe Biden entered the race as the presumptive favorite and maintains significant support from white moderates and Black voters, whose backing is critical in a Democratic primary. But he’s facing spirited challenges from Patrick’s home-state senator, Elizabeth Warren, and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, progressives whose calls for fundamental economic change have alarmed moderates and wealthy donors.

Patrick acknowledged the challenges posed by his late entry in such a big field.
“When I was thinking about it many months ago, one of the questions was: How do you break though in a field this large and this talented without being a celebrity or sensationalist? And I’m none of those things,” Patrick said on CBS “This Morning.”

Patrick could present himself as a potential bridge across the moderate, liberal and progressive factions — as candidates like Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Kamala Harris and Sen. Cory Booker are trying to do.

But the former governor faces significant hurdles to raise enormous amounts of money quickly and to build an organization in the traditional early voting states that most of his rivals have focused on for the past year. And he’ll have to pivot to the expensive and logistically daunting Super Tuesday contests, when voters in more than a dozen states and territories head to the polls. Bloomberg’s team has said they will skip the early states of Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina to focus on the Super Tuesday roster.

It’s also a near certainty that Patrick — and possibly Bloomberg — wouldn’t make a Democratic debate stage until January, if at all, because of debate rules set by the party.

Those dynamics left some prominent Democrats questioning Patrick’s viability.
“Stop. We have enough candidates,” said Kathy Sullivan, a Democratic National Committee member from New Hampshire, which hosts the party’s first presidential primary following the Iowa caucuses.

Texas Democratic Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa, whose state boasts the second-largest number of Super Tuesday delegates behind California, argued that donors and media are mistaken to think that rank-and-file Democrats see Biden, Warren and others as unable to take down President Donald Trump.

Besides, Hinojosa said, “most of the people you need to build out a campaign have already chosen sides.”

A former managing director for Bain Capital, Patrick has close ties to Wall Street donors. As only the nation’s second elected Black governor since Reconstruction, Patrick also could run as a historic boundary breaker trying to dent Biden’s support among African Americans — though Harris and Booker, the only two Black Democrats in the Senate, have been unable to do that thus far.

Patrick has remained active in politics since his term as governor ended in 2015. During the 2018 midterm elections, he traveled across the country in support of Democratic candidates, raising his national profile. He also campaigned for Doug Jones during Alabama’s contentious 2017 special election for U.S. Senate.

Last year, some of Patrick’s supporters and close advisers launched the Reason to Believe political action committee, which held meet-ups across the country, including in early presidential primary states.

By December, however, Patrick cooled to the idea of a presidential bid.

“After a lot of conversation, reflection and prayer, I’ve decided that a 2020 campaign for president is not for me,” Patrick posted on his Facebook page at the time. Patrick said he and his wife worried that the “cruelty of our elections process would ultimately splash back on people whom Diane and I love, but who hadn’t signed up for the journey.”

After Trump’s election, Patrick’s initial criticism of the Republican president was somewhat less pointed than other Democrats offered. “We need our presidents to succeed,” he said, while still expressing concern about what he described as Trump’s belittling of those with opposing points of view.

Patrick also urged the party at the time to look in the mirror, saying that “the outcome of the 2016 election was less about Donald Trump winning than Democrats and our nominee letting him do so.”

Early in his career, Patrick served as assistant attorney general for civil rights in the Clinton administration and later worked as an executive at Texaco and Coca-Cola. Since leaving the governor’s office, Patrick has worked as a managing director for Bain Capital — a company co-founded by 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, Patrick’s predecessor as governor.
Patrick’s Massachusetts record is mixed. His successes include helping oversee the 2006 health care law signed by Romney that would go on to serve as a blueprint for Obama’s 2010 health care law.

But Patrick was also forced to publicly apologize for a disastrous effort to transition to the federal health care law during which the state’s website performed so poorly it created a backlog of more than 50,000 paper applications.

Barrow reported from Atlanta. Peoples reported from Concord, N.H.

The post He’s In! Ex-Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick announces Democratic presidential bid appeared first on theGrio.

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Kerry Washington reveals sometimes people confuse her with Kanye West

Kerry Washington’s got a situation that needs to be handled.

The former Scandal actress admitted that she gets quite a few texts sent to her phone that are meant for another KW – Kanye West.

Appearing on the Jimmy Kimmel Live show, Washington said she’s figured out that she and Ye’s got quite a few friends in common, even though she doesn’t know him.

“We’re not friends but we have a lot of friends in common,” Washington explained.

Her name, she assumes, has been programmed as KW in several celebrity phones so she occasionally gets an accidental text meant for rapper.

“I think a lot of people have us programmed in their phone as ‘KW,’ so I’ll get a text like once a year where I’m like ‘That’s not for me.’ … This year if it happens I’m sure it will be something very pious and Godly,” she said referencing West’s news Christian quest.

Washington who appeared on Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear’s All in the Family and The Jeffersons, also learned from Kimmel that she’s got a true friend in Will Ferrell.

Washington who played opposite Ferrell as Tom and Helen Willis from The Jeffersons was surprised when Kimmel told her that the actor advocated that she assume the role. That shocked her since she said she didn’t know him that well before.

“The only time I ever see him is in my pajamas at drop off,” at her kids school, Washington said in the clip. “But, I must’ve impressed him with my pajammies,” she said laughing.

Now the actress is joining the producing team to bring audiences a holiday episode of All in the Family and Good Times on December 18.

“You know what’s amazing to me is just how relevant these shows still are,” Washington said. “Still so funny, still so meaningful.”

Washington has her slate full and has also signed on to produce a new legal drama Reasonable Doubt through her production company, Simpson Street Productions partnering with Larry Wilmore and his Wilmore Films imprint along with ABC Studios.

The post Kerry Washington reveals sometimes people confuse her with Kanye West appeared first on theGrio.

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Sierra Leone boss Sellas Tetteh responds to Kei Kamara comments

Sierra Leone coach Sellas Tetteh responds to comments about his coaching style by former striker Kei Kamara.

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Don’t Underestimate the Forces, Mandalorian

A physicist analyzes a fight scene in the new TV series and asks: Do the *shoes* make the Mandalorian?

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Saturday, November 16, 2019

BE Modern Man: Adriel Hilton

Friday, November 15, 2019

BE Modern Man: Anthony Roberson, Ph.D.

POSSIBLY MORE LOANS FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

POTENTIALLY LESS COSTLY TO MAKE HOME REPAIRS

PERHAPS NOW IS THE TIME TO CONSIDER HOME REFINANCING

PURSUE LOWER BORROWING COSTS ON STUDENT LOANS

LOWER CREDIT CARD COSTS, BUT ONLY EXPECT A TAD IN SAVINGS

Thursday, November 14, 2019

BE Modern Man: Nathan Hale Williams