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Saturday, April 25, 2020

Unstoppable: Carla Harris’ Leadership Tools for Unprecedented Times

leadership

It’s been said that crisis doesn’t build character, it reveals it. Carla Harris, Vice Chair, Wealth Management and a senior client adviser at Morgan Stanley, takes it a step further. In an exclusive interview with Black Enterprise, she notes that crisis creates openings for everyone to tap into the leader within.

The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented time when “everyone should step up to lead, no matter your title or seat,” she said.

Leadership is not about telling people what to do or being in charge. It’s not about being “The Boss.”

“It’s about getting things done and driving an effort,” Harris says. You can have “chief” as a title, but you can also lead when you haven’t been given the title. “Do it anyway,” Harris continues. Use this time to build those muscles and skills, aware that given how quickly things are changing in business right now, you may find yourself in an unexpected seat of power.

“Folks of color and women in particular often get their opportunities to lead during crisis,” she notes.

Leadership in this uncertain time, demands certain tenets more than ever. Harris, who is working on a third book of her pearls of wisdom while she shelters in place (her first two are “Strategize to Win” and “Expect to Win”), offers this advice on leading now, when it matters so much:

Be Visible. It sounds obvious. Leadership is typically synonymous with heightened visibility. But being visible is easy when everyone’s winning and cheering and fine. In times of crisis, there’s an initial natural tendency—even within seasoned leaders—to want to shrink, hang back, or even cut and run. But there is no more critical time for leaders to step up than when there’s great challenge and uncertainty. The more acute the difficulty, the more acute the need is for an ever present steadiness at the top. “Leaders must step forward to be seen and heard,” Harris says. “People are looking for a voice that will give them some type of assuredness, they have to see you in order to feel that.”

Be Transparent. “You don’t have to have all the answers,” Harris says. No one expects you to, but they do expect to understand your process for arriving at answers and a direction in which to go forward. So be forthright about what you know and what you don’t, what you need help with, and who you’re inviting to the table to offer it. Own your doubts, but overlay them with optimism. Invite questions and honest feedback. “We’ve not seen this [kind of crisis] before, but if you are in a position of leadership, you do have access to info that not a lot of people know.” Sharing what you can helps empower others.

Be Empathetic There are some whose lives have not been directly impacted by the virus itself, but having a heart for those who have is critical. “Now is not the time to say I’m superwoman and that’s not my kryptonite,” Harris says. “Now is the time to say, I know what you’re feeling and I feel it too.” It’s a time to offer all the comfort and support you can. Leadership is not just about what you say, you must also listen to others and be prepared to step up to be helpful in innovative ways.

Above all, it’s critical that leaders offer reassurance, no matter how unsettling the times. There’s a lot we don’t know, Harris acknowledges, but “I know this will pass,” she said. Recalling the numerous hits she’s seen the stock market take during her three decades on Wall Street, she recalled that every devastation to the market was followed by a rebound that led to new market highs.

“The market is resilient,” Harris says, and we must be too. Whether you’re a senior graduating from school, or a senior citizen, whether you’ve been furloughed or you’re working the frontlines of this pandemic, putting yourself at risk every day, “Hope and change are two very sure things that are on the other side of this,” Harris says, and the opening exists for every one to reimagine both an individual and collective future in which leadership is redefined and more broadly distributed and acknowledged.

“Whenever the rule books are being rewritten, there’s the time for you to put your personal imprimatur on it,” Harris says. “Set out the goals that you want to achieve and set out your own timelines that would exist if this framework wasn’t in place. Do not spend time on the thing that you cannot see and you cannot predict.”

Watch Carla Harris share her leadership tips on “On The Clock With Caroline Clarke” below.




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Zoom Upgrades Encryption Keys to What It Promised All Along

Plus: Facebook data on the dark web, Nintendo accounts keep getting hacked, and more of the week's top security news.

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Should There Be a Religion Based on *Dune*?

In tech writer Steven Kotler's new book, the religious group known as the Rilkeans is based on the Fremen in Frank Herbert's novel. 

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Democrats Plan To Censure Black Detroit Representative For Crediting Trump With Saving Her Life

Whitsett

Democrats in Detroit are planning to censure Rep. Karen Whitsett (D-MI) for crediting President Donald Trump with saving her life after she experienced a severe case of the coronavirus.

Whitsett said she was diagnosed with the coronavirus and used hydroxychloroquine to treat her illness. The drug is typically used for malaria patients. However, the drug’s effectiveness has not been proven to treat patients with the coronavirus and the Food and Drug Administration issued a warning after several people who’ve used the medication have died.

The drug has also been touted by President Donald Trump as an effective treatment for the coronavirus. Whitsett later visited the White House and has repeatedly offered praise for the president since overcoming the virus.

“It has a lot to do with the president … bringing it up,” Whitsett said earlier this month. “He is the only person who has the power to make it a priority.”

Now, the 13th Congressional District Democratic Party Organization is seeking to censure the lawmaker, saying her comments are dangerous and potentially life-threatening. Greg Bowens, a member of the executive board for the 14th Congressional District, said Trump will use her words to hurt others.

“She is in her own way trying to champion the inequities in our system,” Bowens said. “But everybody knows Trump’s a user. If you give him any praise, he’s going to use it in his campaign to win the state.”

As part of the censure resolution, Whitsett will be barred from receiving the group’s endorsement in the next election, and will also be prohibited from taking part in activities with the group for two years.

Former Georgia State Rep. Vernon Jones resigned last week after breaking with the party to endorse Trump’s re-election and offered some harsh words for his party on his way out the door.

“The way the Democrat Party has treated me this past week has made one thing clear: they are the bigots they claim to hate and I won’t be silent about it,” Jones said.



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Covid-19 Is Pulling the Plug on Clean Energy Jobs

A new analysis warns that up to 500,000 jobs in the renewable energy industry will be wiped out by June, including ones in solar power, biofuels, and electric cars.

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Sci-Fi Has a Somber Lesson for This Crisis

Technology can save the world. But discord between humans persists, and it's the kind that kills.

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As Workers Spread Out to Halt the Virus, Robots Fill the Gaps

Social distancing requires rethinking the layout of workplaces. A new breed of robots can help keep factories and warehouses running.

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How to Make Better Coffee at Home

Stuck indoors with no espresso machine? Not to worry, these tips and tools will help you brew cafe-quality joe at home.

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12 Best Weekend Deals: Robot Vacuums, Games, and More

Noise-canceling headphones and running shoes are both ways to get some socially distanced space.

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Friday, April 24, 2020

theGrio’s ‘Dear Culture’ podcast debates Kenya Barris’ ‘#blackAF’

Dear Culture’s fourth episode, “What’s Really #BlackAF?” probes into the question of Black representation in media with Hollywood royalty, Kenya Barris.

Though Barris is widely known for his autobiographical television shows, Black-ish and Mixed-ish, Barris has been a film veteran for years. Having co-created and produced, ANTM, The Game, Soul Food, and even writing for Girls Trip. His latest television venture, a Netflix deal estimated to be worth $100 million dollars, #blackAF has received countless amounts of criticism from Black audiences. 

“It’s Black Folks who are saying we don’t want this. We have to ask, why not,” says co-host and theGrio senior writer Blue Telusma.

READ MORE: #SaltyAF: Has it become impossible to make Black audiences happy?

The tea on Blackness is that we, as Black peoples, will always have a never-ending amount of multiplicity in our perspectives, stories, and experiences. Facts are, we can’t ever be represented or perceived as a monolith. The issue Black audiences are having with #BlackAF is neither technical or new; the issue is representational and even ideological. 

“The reality is that how many Black film creators get access to make television shows that just show non-racially ambiguous families or just full dark skin families?” said guest and theGrio contributor Ernest Owens.

Film, media, and nearly all industries “hand-pick’ which Black people get to tell what stories to the masses. For decades, Black stories in Hollywood have often been called into question for centering lighter skin — and for Barris the critique is no different.

“Colorism exists, but was not created by Black people,” says Telusma.

Though many Black audiences can quickly point out how colorism and class come into play, supporters of #BlackAF argue that Barris is indeed speaking from his own perspective as an affluent Black man in Hollywood.

READ MORE: #blackAF review: The navel-gazing inception of Kenya Barris

Having left the restraints of cable network for streaming, Barris takes the same family story beloved by a mainstream audience and repackages it — all while sticking to his proverbial lane.

Though many Black audiences find another re-telling of Barris’ nuclear family to be redundant, many still find it original with “expert-level” maneuvering of racial dynamics in this country. 

On Dear Culture, Barris tells theGrio’s entertainment director Cortney Wills that understanding and coping with slavery was a large element in creating #BlackAF.

READ MORE: #blackAF review: Kenya Barris is done appeasing the masses

“There’s never been an official apology from the country [for slavery]. It affects us everyday,” Barris told 

Mixed reviews, debate, and all, it’s clear that Barris meditates on the happenings of slavery and how it still affects the Black community today. #BlackAF is another intimate look into Barris’ mind-mapping of his own life in regards to family, class and race.

And like any piece of art, it will always be up for critique. Take a listen to the full debate below:


Tune in to Dear Culture’s third episode, “Power (and Purpose Moves),” now streaming on Apple PodcastSpotify, and Stitcher

The post theGrio’s ‘Dear Culture’ podcast debates Kenya Barris’ ‘#blackAF’ appeared first on TheGrio.



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National Park Service Awards $7.7 Million in Grants to 17 Historically Black Colleges and Universities

National Park Service HBCUs

Many of the buildings on historically black colleges and universities are historical landmarks with a rich history built into the brick and mortar. As a result, there are rules and regulations that colleges and universities have to abide by when performing renovations. In efforts to help HBCUs properly renovate campus buildings, the National Park Service announced that they are awarding $7.7 million in grants to 17 schools through the Historic Preservation Fund.

In a statement released by the organization, Director David Vela, National Park Service Deputy said, “These grants help us to honor the legacy of HBCUs in serving our nation’s higher education needs. Funding awarded this year will help preserve 18 historic properties on HBCU campuses in 12 states, many of which are listed in the National Register.”

Since the 1990s, the National Park Service has awarded more than $60 million in grants to over 80 of the remaining active HBCUs.

This year’s grant recipients include:

    1. Miles College
    2. Morehouse College
    3. Southern University and A&M College
    4. Grambling State University
    5. Morgan State University
    6. Jackson State University
    7. North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University
    8. Livingston State University
    9. Bennett College
    10. Central State University
    11. Langston University
    12. Benedict College
    13. Bluefield State College – Applied Research Foundation of West Virginia
    14. South Carolina State University
    15. Claflin University
    16. Texas College
    17. Virginia University of Lynchburg

Projects funded by these grants provided by the organization will support the physical preservation of HBCU campuses to include historic districts, buildings, sites, structures, and objects. Eligible costs include pre-preservation studies, architectural plans and specifications, historic structure reports, and the repair and rehabilitation of historic properties according to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Archeology and Historic Preservation.

For many of the schools, the grants will help them restore buildings and preserve their culture. Some of the notable buildings include Samuel T. Graves Hall at Morehouse College; the University Memorial Chapel at Morgan State University; and the Historic Carnegie Library at Livingstone College.



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BET COVID-19 Relief Fund Raises Over $16 Million To Support Black Communities Impacted by Coronavirus

BET COVID Relief Fund Alicia Keys

An array of black artists performed their hits, repped their cities, and provided the world with much-needed entertainment Wednesday night during the “Saving Our Selves: A BET COVID-19 Relief Effort.” In addition to delivering virtual performances and short skits, the two-hour special surpassed BET Network’s initial fundraising goal of $10 million, raising over $16 million towards African American communities impacted by the coronavirus.

The special, which aired on BET and BET Her and was streamed on Facebook, Tidal, and BET.com, comes as the global coronavirus pandemic wreaks havoc across the nation, especially in black and brown communities. It was co-hosted by Anthony Anderson, Kelly Rowland, Terrence J, and Regina Hall, who each emceed from the comfort of their homes.

Highlights of the evening included Alicia Keys, who dedicated “New York State of Mind” to New York City, featuring appearances from Whoopi Goldberg, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Queen Latifah, Fat Joe, and Remy Ma. Ludacris and Jermaine Dupri performed “Welcome to Atlanta,” while John Legend performed his new single “Bigger Love” in an afro wig accompanied by dancers in a “Soul Train” style theme. Anthony Hamilton performed “Lean on Me” and Kirk Franklin encouraged viewers with a rendition of this song “I Smile,” featuring Fantasia, Tyrese Gibson, Kelly Price, and others. Usher, Ella Mai, Chloe X Halle, and rapper Swae Lee also delivered virtual performances. Outside of the musical performances, Tiffany Haddish and the very pregnant Ciara delivered a hilarious dance battle while Kevin Hart and a number of other celebrities made appearances throughout the night.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the way our audience, leaders in our community and our business partners have stepped up to address the devastating impact of COVID-19 on African Americans,” said Scott Mills, president of BET, in a statement. “I am forever grateful to the talent and production team who pulled off that extraordinary show from home! We will continue this work, and we will continue to raise funds to assist those that need it most.”

Funds will support over 50 organizations across the nation providing emergency resources directly to the African Americans hardest hit by COVID-19.  Presented in partnership with United Way Worldwide, the BET Covid-19 Relief Fund received generous grants from Blue Meridian Partners, the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, and The Ford Foundation. Corporate donations included Facebook, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Toyota, Salesforce, McDonald’s, AmEx, AARP, and JP Morgan Chase’s Advancing Black Pathways initiative.

“We are proud to have partnered with BET on such a successful program event, and we are encouraged by the tremendous outpouring of support we have seen from individuals and major corporations to the BET COVID-19 Relief Fund,” said Stan Little, Chief Experience Officer for United Way Worldwide. “We look forward to working with BET to not only provide immediate relief, but to build stronger and more resilient communities.”

Watch “Saving Our Selves: BET COVID-19 Relief Effort” below.



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Coronavirus in Africa: Tips to improve your mental health during lockdown

BBC Africa's Ashley Lime demonstrates tips from experts on how to stay positive during the pandemic.

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College Board Surprises High School Seniors with $40K Scholarships While Sheltering in Place

College Board

School closures are impacting the lives of students and families in more than one way. And COVID-19’s economic impact has many parents and guardians questioning whether or not they will be able to send their child to college. In efforts to support students and families across the nation, the College Board recently announced a new scholarship worth $40,000.

The College Board Complete Your Journey Scholarship is open to high school juniors and seniors who complete six simple college planning steps (Build a College List, Practice for the SAT, Complete the FAFSA, Improve your SAT score, Strengthen your College List, Apply to College) to earn scholarships from $500 to $2,000. Students who complete all six qualify for the $40K Complete Your Journey Scholarship.

As the class of 2020 faces the realities of finishing out their high school careers at home, the College Board was able to surprise 25 recipients with its first-ever $40K Complete Your Journey Scholarship and bring them some much-needed news to celebrate. To make the moment even more special, the College Board worked with parents to have its CEO, David Coleman, and the Head of College and Career Access, Steve Bumbaugh, to make surprise Skype calls to as many students as possible.

Take a look at the heartwarming surprises


In a statement released by the College Board, Coleman said, “To those students who may have counted themselves out of scholarship opportunities, this program is for you. There is so much more talent out there than we can see,” said Coleman. “We want all students to see themselves as scholars, no matter where they began. College planning does not need to be daunting. These 25 students took one simple step, and then another, until they reached their goals. We encourage the class of 2021 to follow their lead.”

Claudia Gore of Newport News, Virginia, was excited and filled with gratitude and thanksgiving when College Board CEO David Coleman called to surprise her son Nyzaiah with news that he was a $40,000 recipient. Gore shared, “He’s not going to walk [at graduation], he can’t go to prom. All those special moments have been taken away. This is a moment to just see his face light up. He’s worked so hard, he deserves it.” Nyzaiah, who wants to study law and African American studies, says his father is especially proud of his passion for learning, because members of their family “do not usually go to college, much less finish high school.”

Meet Three of the Winners

Nyzaiah Gore — Newport News, VA, undecided but wants to attend UVA: 
College Board

(Courtesy: Nyzaiah Gore)

Gore sits on his school’s leadership team and is the student representative on the district school board. He’s a member of the Warwick High Principal’s Advisory Committee, Model UN, and the Battle of the Brains academic team. The district asked him to be a student speaker at orientation for new teachers. He writes poetry and he’s known around school for surprising others. Eighty percent of students in Nyzaiah’s school are eligible for free/reduced lunch. Many students feel they won’t get to go to college because of the cost. His principal says this scholarship will be “life-changing.”

“My college career is important to me because as a lawyer, I want to be able to advocate for those that are misrepresented, while African Americans undergo racial discrimination and prejudice within the law, I believe that I would be able to help the misfortunate. Outside of that, college is another opportunity to learn— but not only that, college is another opportunity to shape my learning! My dad always told me that “this isn’t normal”— he was referencing the fact that people within my family do not usually go to college, much less, finish high school. My parents know who I am, the fact that I love to learn has only motivated them to push me harder.

Trinity Scott, Chicago, IL, undecided, wants to attend UNLV:
College Board

(Courtesy: Trinity Scott)

Growing up in a family of six, Scott shouldered a lot of responsibility as a caregiver to her younger siblings while her parents worked multiple jobs to support the family. Preparing after-school snacks while watching a lot of HGTV, Scott says she discovered two things she’s now passionate about, real estate and baking. “The Opportunity Scholarships helped me throughout my college application journey. The College Board gave me simple tasks to help with my college application while awarding me with scholarship raffle entries. The College Board Scholarships are a great opportunity that also keeps you on track for pursuing a higher education.”

Reflecting on the moment she found out about the $40,000, Scott said, “I was speechless. My mom made fun of me because I’m a talkative person, and for once I was speechless. I also happy because my hard work finally paid off. And the last thing I felt was pride because a lot of black youths don’t get the opportunity to reach where I’m at. So, you know I’m repping that Black Girl Magic!”

Angelique Hall – Beacon, NY, will attend SUNY Plattsburgh: 
College Board

(Courtesy: Angelique Hall)

In her previous high school, Angelique was a member of the Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, the National Honor Society, and the School Band. She had a difficult time when she had to change schools during her high school career, but she quickly bounced back and has excelled academically and socially. As her school counselor put it, “Angelique has grit.” She is a member of the National Honor Society, a Class Advocate, and maintains a rigorous academic workload and is in the top 10% of her class. Angelique enjoys writing poetry, short stories, and narratives. At a recent poetry slam, Angelique’s principal was moved by her poem about identity and acceptance. She hopes to pursue a career as an author and entrepreneur. Her leadership recognitions include being named Class of 2020 Advocate, Outstanding Cadet, Cadet Captain, NYSSMA, Tuskegee Airman Inc. AFJROTC Cadet Award, Flight Commander of Alpha Flight, Flight Sergeant of Alpha Flight, Plight Physical Training NCO of Alpha Flight.

Apply Today

More than 500,000 students from all 50 states have joined the College Board Opportunity Scholarships program since it launched in December 2018. In addition to the 25 $40,000 Complete Your Journey winners, nearly 4,000 students from 48 states, including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, earned $3.6 million in smaller scholarships, ranging from $500 to $2,000.

Click here to learn more about the College Board’s scholarships.



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Lockdown Has Taken Us From Internet Time to Groundhog Time

Plus: Bezos' 10,000-year clock, life in XR, and tornado warnings at the eye of the storm.

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10 Best Android Phones (Unlocked): Our Top Picks for 2020

Wonder what the absolute best Android phone is right now? We have the answer, ranging from Google, Samsung, OnePlus, and more.

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'Receiver 2' Makes Players Understand What Guns Do IRL

The videogame instills some much needed realism into the first-person shooter genre.

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Dell XPS 13 (2020) Review: Close to Perfect, Yet Again

A bigger screen, long battery life, and an ultra-portable design make this a winning computer.

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A Group of Philadelphia Doctors Are Giving Free COVID-19 Testing To Underserved Communities

coronavirus testing

Since the start of the COVID-19, or the novel coronavirus, pandemic, hospitals have been overwhelmed by the rising number of new cases coming in. Healthcare professionals have been forced to work around the clock to provide medical treatment to the infected, and major cities have converted large venue spaces into treatment centers to accommodate more patients. One group of doctors in Philadelphia are taking matters into their own hands to provide free testing and treatment to underserved communities in the city.

Pediatric surgeon and North Philly native Ala Stanford runs a medical consulting firm and a private practice. She says she noticed more and more deaths were being recorded in the city and has become increasingly frustrated with the response. The surgeon worries about the city’s black population as the pandemic continues.

“In Philadelphia, African Americans represent 44% of the population, but at last check, 52% of the deaths,” Stanford said to WHYY PBS. “For me, that was unacceptable.”

Stanford formed the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium—an affiliation that includes a number of doctors and churches in Philadelphia’s black neighborhoods. As a part its initiative, the group took some medical supplies and went out into the community to start making house calls in West Philadelphia and eventually the rest of the city. The group has been able to test around 200 people per day.

“We are many of the forward-facing employees,” she said. “We’re driving the buses, we’re driving … the subways and the trains. We are the post office workers, we are in the grocery stores, we’re ringing people up at the pharmacies.”

The group has set up a  GoFundMe account and has raised more than $2,200 of its $50,000 goal. Stanford said Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Einstein Medical Center, and the city health department have also expressed interest in partnering with the group but for right now, she plans to keep doing independent tests in the meantime.

“It takes time with systems and bureaucracy,” she said. “I just couldn’t stand watching it on the news every day and not doing anything.”



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Education Secretary Betsy DeVos Blocks DACA Students From Receiving Coronavirus Grant Aid

DeVos

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos blocked students in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program from receiving emergency grant aid as part of the CARES Act Monday.

According to Forbes, the CARES Act allocated $14 billion to colleges and universities to address the unique impact the virus has had on college campuses. Half of the funds must be in the form of emergency grant aid directly to students to address living expenses such as housing, food, healthcare, and more.

Universities and colleges were waiting for DeVos to release guidance to detail how exactly schools could allocate the grant money, including who is eligible. In the guidance, released Monday, DeVos limited the students eligible for the grant aid to those who are only also eligible for federal student financial aid.

That means undocumented immigrants participating in the DACA program are not eligible to receive funds.

“The CARES Act makes clear that this taxpayer funded relief fund should be targeted to U.S. citizens, which is consistently echoed throughout this law,” an Education Department spokesperson said Monday.

The aid, however, is not considered normal student aid—something DeVos acknowledged by excluding it from the 90-10 rule, which limits the share of federal student aid dollars that make up for-profit colleges’ revenues. Additionally, DACA students are taxpayers themselves and the CARES Act does not prohibit DACA students from receiving the emergency aid.

The financial impact of coronavirus may affect students in the DACA program harder than others. Students in the DACA program, most of which are Hispanic, may be forced to get jobs to hold them over or to help their family.

According to a JPMorgan Chase Institute study, for every $1 lost in income, African American families cut spending by $0.46 and Hispanic families cut spending by $0.43. Additionally, many Hispanic families are already dealing with the reality of lower-paying jobs and a lower likelihood of working from home than white families.



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How Do We (Safely) Go Back to Normal?

This week, senior correspondent Adam Rodgers talks about how we could go about reopening the country.

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Want a New Covid-19 Drug Fast? Bring on the Battle Royale

Scientists have no shortage of contenders to fight the new coronavirus. But to find the winners, they’re trying new approaches to testing.

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The Psychology Behind That Tempting Quarantine Makeover

Thinking of bleaching your hair or growing a beard? It's not boredom—it's a coping mechanism.

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The Boston Dynamics Coronavirus Doctor Robot Dog Will See You Now

Spot, the famously deft robot, gets a job screening patients at a hospital. But there’s still much that it and other medical robots can’t do.

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Facebook and Google Survey Data May Help Map Covid-19's Spread

Researchers from Carnegie Mellon hope to use the data to observe and predict surges in the spread of the virus.

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Stop Getting So Excited About ‘Preliminary’ Findings

No, seriously, when it comes to Covid-19—or any disease—bad data is worse than no data at all.

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An Oral History of the Day Everything Changed

On March 11, 2020, the coronavirus pandemic seemed to crystalize in the national consciousness. Americans look back on the turning point.

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Coronavirus: South Africa to ease lockdown restrictions

President Cyril Ramaphosa announces plan to reopen the economy but warns of new infections.

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Thursday, April 23, 2020

Six from MIT elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences for 2020

Six MIT faculty members are among more than 250 leaders from academia, business, public affairs, the humanities, and the arts elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the academy announced Thursday.

One of the nation’s most prestigious honorary societies, the academy is also a leading center for independent policy research. Members contribute to academy publications, as well as studies of science and technology policy, energy and global security, social policy and American institutions, the humanities and culture, and education.

Those elected from MIT this year are:

  • Robert C. Armstrong, Chevron Professor in Chemical Engineering;
  • Dave L. Donaldson, professor of economics;
  • Catherine L. Drennan, professor of biology and chemistry;
  • Ronitt Rubinfeld, professor of electrical engineering and computer science;
  • Joshua B. Tenenbaum, professor of brain and cognitive sciences; and
  • Craig Steven Wilder, Barton L. Weller Professor of History.

“The members of the class of 2020 have excelled in laboratories and lecture halls, they have amazed on concert stages and in surgical suites, and they have led in board rooms and courtrooms,” said academy President David W. Oxtoby. “With today’s election announcement, these new members are united by a place in history and by an opportunity to shape the future through the academy’s work to advance the public good.”

Since its founding in 1780, the academy has elected leading thinkers from each generation, including George Washington and Benjamin Franklin in the 18th century, Maria Mitchell and Daniel Webster in the 19th century, and Toni Morrison and Albert Einstein in the 20th century. The current membership includes more than 250 Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners.



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Reporting tool aims to balance hospitals’ Covid-19 load

As cases of Covid-19 continue to climb in parts of the United States, the number of people seeking treatment is threatening to overwhelm many hospitals, forcing some facilities to ration their care and reserve ventilators, hospital beds, and other limited medical resources for the sickest patients. 

Having a handle on local hospitals’ capacity and resource availability could help balance the load of Covid-19 patients requiring hospitalization across a region, for instance allowing an EMT to send a patient to a facility where they are more likely to be treated quickly. But many states lack real-time data on their current capacity to treat Covid-19 patients. 

A group of researchers in MIT’s Computer Science and Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), working with the MIT spinoff Mobi Systems, are aiming to help level demand across the entire health care network by providing real-time updates of hospital resources, which they hope will help patients, EMTs, and physicians quickly decide which facility is best equipped to handle a new patient at any given time. 

The team has developed a web app which is now publicly accessible at: https://Covid19hospitalstatus.com. The interface allows users such as patients, nurses, and doctors to report a hospital’s current status in a number of metrics, from the average wait time (something that a patient may get a sense for as they spend time in a waiting room), to the number of ventilators and ICU beds, which doctors and nurses may be able to approximate.

EMTS can use the app as a map, zooming in by state, county, or city to quickly gauge hospital capacity, and decide which nearby hospitals have available beds where they can send a patient requiring hospitalization. The app can also generate a list of hospitals, prioritized by availability, time of travel, and most recently updated data. 

“We want to flatten the Covid curve by physical distancing over the course of months,” says MIT graduate Anna Jaffe ’07, CEO of Mobi Systems. “But there’s another curve to flatten, which is this real-time challenge of getting the right patient to the right hospital, in the right moment, to level the load on hospitals and health care workers.”

“Do something”

As the pandemic began to unfold around the world, Jaffe was intrigued by the results of a short hackathon that one Mobi member, Julius Pätzold, recently attended in Germany. The weekend challenge, sponsored by the German government, included a problem to match supply and demand, for instance in a hospital facing a surge in patient visits. 

His team mapped the German hospital infrastructure, including the status of individual hospitals’ capacity, then simulated dispatching patients to hospitals according to a hospital’s capacity, its relative location to a patient, and a patient’s medical needs. The real-time maps developed over this short time suggested such tools would have a positive impact on a patient’s quality of care, specifically in decreasing death rates.

“That intersected with my feeling that I think everyone wants to do something around Covid-19 in response to the current crisis, and not just be cooped up in our respective homes,” says Jaffe, whose company, Mobi Systems, develops tools for large-scale network optimization problems surrounding mobility and hospitality. 

Mobi originally grew out of CSAIL’s Model-based Embedded Robotic Systems group, led by MIT Professor Brian Williams, whose work involves developing autonomous planning tools to help individuals make complex, real-time decisions in the face of uncertainty and risk. 

Jaffe reached out to Williams to help develop a web-based reporting tool for hospitals, to similarly help patients and medical professionals make critical, real-time decisions of where best to send a patient, based on resource availability. 

“Our question was, how can the resources statewide or nationwide be used most effectively, in order to keep the most people healthy,” Williams says. “And for the individual, which hospital will meet their needs, and how do they get there. That’s the exercise we’re tackling here.”

Crowd power

The team’s app is heavily dependent on crowdsourced data, and the willingness of patients and medical professionals to report on various metrics, from a hospital’s current wait time to the approximate number of ICU beds and ventilators available. 

“The reporting options right now are very specific,” Jaffe says. “But what we really want to know is, can your hospital accept a patient right now?” 

A user can enter their role — patient, nurse, or physician — then report on, for instance, a hospital’s average wait time. With a sliding scale, they can rate their confidence in their report before submitting it. 

But what if those users are reporting false or inaccurate data, whether intentionally or not? 

Williams says in order to guard against such uncertainty, the team takes a probabilistic approach. For instance, the app assumes that one user’s reporting of a hospital’s status is one of low confidence, which is initially not weighed heavily in the overall estimation for that metric. They can then incorporate this one data point into all the other reports they’ve received for that metric. If most of those reports have also been rated with low confidence, but report the same result, that estimate, such as of wait time, is automatically weighed more heavily, and therefore rated at a higher confidence overall.  

Additionally, he says if the app receives reports from more trusted sources — for instance, if hospitals make in-house, aggregated data available to the app — those sources would “swamp out” or take higher priority over low-confidence reports of the same metric. 

The team is testing the app with just such a trustworthy dataset, from the state of Pennsylvania, which for the last several years has had a system in place for hospitals to report resource availability, that is updated at least twice a day. The team has used data from the last week to track Covid-19 visits across the state’s hospital system.

“In this data, you can see that not all hospitals are overrun — there are clear differences in availability,” says MIT graduate Peng Yu ’SM 13, ’PhD 17, chief technology officer at Mobi, highlighting the potential for distributing patients across a region’s hospitals, to balance resources across a hospital network. 

However, most states lack such aggregated, updated information. In most other states, for instance, EMTs either have a handful of default facilities where they typically send patients, or they have to call around to surrounding hospitals to check availability. 

“It’s really about word of mouth — who do you know, and who do you call up,” says Williams, whose nephew is an EMT who has worked in regions with varying decision-making practices. “We’re trying to aggregate that information, to make these recommendations much faster.

The team is now reaching out to thousands of medical professionals to test-drive the reporting tool, in hopes of boosting the crowdsourcing component for the app, which is now available on any internet-enabled device. To address the pandemic, the team believes that data need to be made available at a faster rate than the virus’ spread. Their hope is that states will follow in Pennsylvania’s footsteps and, for instance, mandate that hospitals report resource data, and provide reporting tools such as the new app to doctors and EMTs. 

“This project is very much for the people, by the people, and will be kept open and free,” Williams says.  

“Unfortunately, it doesn’t feel like this is a flash pandemic,” Jaffe says. “Even in a recovery period, hospitals will have to resume normal care, concurrently with treating Covid-19 over time. Our app may help load balance in that way as well, so hospitals can more effectively predict how many floors they need to quarantine for Covid-19, so that the rest of the hospital can go back to things like having families around a mother giving birth. We aim to really understand how to bring things back to a more normal operational status, while still handling the crisis.



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Rep. Maxine Waters says her sister is dying of coronavirus

In the midst of supporting legislation to help Americans who have been financially devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic, California Rep. Maxine Waters announced her sister was dying from the virus.

READ MORE: Stacey Abrams says she’d be concerned if Biden’s VP pick is not a woman of color 

“I not only rise in support of this legislation,” Waters said in her comments on the House floor. “I also would like to rise in support of what we’re doing for the health care enhancement act in this bill. And I’m going to take a moment to dedicate this legislation to my dear sister who is dying in a hospital in St. Louis, Mo., right now infected by the coronavirus.”

 

 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, supported the bill, and her colleague, after learning of her sister’s diagnosis.

“It is my honor to sign it. but I do so very sadly and prayerfully. Maxine learned today that her sister has been diagnosed with the virus,” she said at a ceremony with other House members. “It could happen to anybody at anytime on the floor.”

Sen. Elizabeth Warren announced yesterday that her older brother, Donald Herring, died of the coronavirus. He was 86.

The $484 billion relief package supplements the original Paycheck Protection Plan which ran out of money last week. That plan allows small businesses to borrow up to $10 million to play their employee, depending on the size of their business. If they retain the workers, the loans can be forgiven.

The Senate has already passed the bill and the House of Representatives passed it tonight. $60 billion of the new funding will be alloted to businesses without traditional banking relationships, including rural and minority-owned businesses reports NBC News.  

Hospitals will receive $75 billion and $25 billion will be allocated to virus testing. The Labor Department reported earlier in the day that 26 million jobs have been lost in just five weeks. 4.4. million American claimed unemployment last week alone.

READ MORE: These three Southern states will start easing coronavirus lockdowns

Passing this measure would ease the economic fallout, but there’s already some concern that it won’t be enough. Earlier this week, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin doubted any additional monies would be provided after this latest package.

Torsten Slok, the chief economist for Deutsche Bank Securities, told NBC News that the economy being shut down is the central issue.

READ MORE: The IRS sent checks to dead people while the living wait 

“The doors are still closed. There is still no smoke coming out of the chimneys in corporate America.” Given that, he added, it is “not surprising that you continue to see significant layoffs.”

President Trump said he would likely sign the bill tonight.

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African Nations Quick Moves Are Helping To Beat The Coronavirus

people of color

Four African nations that have imposed the most stringent restrictions on the continent are seeing early signs that rapid measures to contain the coronavirus are working.

According to Bloomberg News, other African nations are now following suit. Nigeria, the most populous nation on the continent, has imposed strong containment measures in the commercial hub of Lagos and in the capital, Abuja. Ethiopia, which ranks second in population, declared a state of emergency without a strict lockdown.

Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO regional director for Africa, commended the continent for taking the coronavirus seriously.

“It’s important to put in place mitigation measures from the very beginning,” Moeti told Bloomberg. “And in a number of countries, this is being done.”

South Africa responded to the virus quickly once it was discovered in the region—mobilizing healthcare workers to go out, some going door-to-door, taking down people’s travel histories, temperatures, and other risk factors, even setting up pop-up clinics. According to scientists, it bought the government valuable time to allow hospitals to prepare in the event positive cases skyrocket. A travel ban came into effect 13 days after the first coronavirus case was confirmed on March 5, and a lockdown was imposed on March 27.

Because of the quick action, the region now has less than 3,500 coronavirus cases. Almost 127,000 tests have been conducted out of a population of 59 million.

“The trajectory in South Africa is different from anywhere else,” said Salim Abdool Karim, chairman of the Ministerial Advisory Group on the outbreak, in a televised presentation. “We want to focus on the small flames so we never get to the raging flames.”

Ghana banned travelers from places with high rates of coronavirus in early March and as cases began to rise in the region, the government locked down its main cities and increased its testing. Ghana has tested more people than any other region other than South Africa. President Nana Akufo-Addo lifted the lockdown on Monday but said lifting the order “does not mean we are out of the pandemic,” adding stringent social distancing policies will remain in place.

Anthony Nsiah-Asare, Ghana’s presidential adviser on health, said the number of coronavirus cases will rise, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

“When we start testing a lot of people, you will realize that the figure of positives will likely go up,” he said. “There is no cause for alarm. It means we’re doing our work very well.”

Uganda shut its borders and banned commercial flights starting March 23, less than 48 hours after the East African country identified its first coronavirus case. Two weeks later the government initiated a 14-day lockdown, which has been extended to May 5.

Despite all the good news, medical experts are warning fragile healthcare systems on the continent could create problems.

African Americans dealing with the coronavirus in the U.S. have not had the same good outcomes. Black Americans in the U.S. are being infected and dying at higher rates than other races in the U.S.



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Joe Biden Says He Would Choose Michelle Obama As His Vice President ‘In A Heartbeat’

Michelle Obama

Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden has come under pressure to elect a person of color and a woman as his running mate. Critics have suggested that he elect a black person to be his VP pick, which he hasn’t committed to. Recently, Biden told KDKA Pittsburgh that he wished former FLOTUS Michelle Obama was interested in politics because he would choose her as his running mate “in a heartbeat.”

“I’d take her in a heartbeat. She’s brilliant. She knows the way around,” Biden told reporter Jon Delano in an online interview. “She is a really fine woman. I don’t think she has any desire to live near the White House again.”

The discussions around Obama pursuing a political career aren’t new. The former first lady experienced very high approval ratings, including Republicans who weren’t in support of her husband. Over the years, she has repeatedly denied any interest in getting involved in politics after spending eight years in the White House with her husband. Instead, she’s used her platform toward voting efforts, philanthropy, and writing. In her best-selling 2018 memoir Becoming, she wrote blatantly, “I’ll say it here directly: I have no intention of running for office, ever.”

Obama talked about her lack of political aspirations during an event in Orlando in 2017 where she spoke candidly about why she never wanted to go back into politics despite her near-universal appeal among Americans.

“It’s all well and good until you start running, and then the knives come out. Politics is tough, and it’s hard on a family … I wouldn’t ask my children to do this again because, when you run for higher office, it’s not just you, it’s your whole family,” she said during a Q&A session at the American Institute of Architects’ annual conference, according to The Orlando Sentinel. “Plus, there’s just so much more we can do outside of the office because we won’t have the burden of political baggage.”



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Tamron Hall talks to woman whose husband died of coronavirus after haircut

Like everyone else, talk show host Tamron Hall has been doing her daily talk show virtually, with guests checking in via Skype. But she may have wished she could have comforted one of her latest guests with a hug.

READ MORE: Are Black people negatively impacted by coronavirus overload?

Latresa Rice believes that her husband, Albert, contracted the coronavirus and died after getting a haircut. She told Hall during an appearance on her show Wednesday that although she’d traveled two weeks ago, she returned without symptoms and that no one she was in contact with contracted the virus.

Rice told Hall that after going out to get a haircut, her husband fell ill and days later, he was dead.

Rice, who was a newlywed, wants people to know how important it is to follow social distancing guidelines as even something as innocuous as a haircut could put you or a loved one’s life in danger.

Watch below:


While COVID-19 can cause mild symptoms for many, for others, like DJ Jazzy Jeff, it can be a significant illness. Hall talked to him recently as well.

Although the virus was first deemed to kill more people 65 and up and those with existing conditions, people younger and in good health are succumbing as well.

READ MORE: Rapper Fred The Godson dead at 35 due to COVID-19

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Stacey Abrams: ‘I’d be concerned if Biden’s VP pick isn’t a woman of color’

Stacey Abrams doesn’t just think Joe Biden needs to pick a woman for his running mate, she believes it specifically needs to be a woman of color.

In March, the former Vice President made headlines after he vowed during the final Democratic primary debate with Sen. Bernie Sanders, that he was committed to selecting a woman to share the ticket with during the upcoming election.

READ MORE: Joe Biden announces when he expects to name VP choice

The presumptive Democratic nominee has also made indications that he might seek out a woman of color. So Wednesday, during an interview on ABC’s The View, host Sunny Hostin asked Abrams, if she would consider it “a slap in the face” to Black voters if he didn’t follow through on that pledge.

Initially, it appeared as if the former Georgia Democratic gubernatorial nominee would sidestep the question, telling Hostin that “I think Vice President Biden is going to make a smart choice, and I appreciate the fact that he has lifted up women as being a necessary partner in this.”

READ MORE: If Biden doesn’t pick Stacey Abrams, he can kiss Black folks goodbye

But then she continued, “I would share your concern about not picking a woman of color because women of color — particularly black women — are the strongest part of the Democratic Party, the most loyal, but that loyalty isn’t simply how we vote.

It’s how we work, and if we want to signal that that work will continue, that we’re going to reach not just to certain segments of our community, but to the entire country, then we need a ticket that reflects the diversity of America.”

In an interview on CBS’ Late Late Show with James Corden, Biden forecast that he would most likely have a shortlist of up to three potential running mates by “sometime in July.”

READ MORE: Joe Biden’s VP pick needs to be a woman of color and it should be…Kamala Harris

Abrams, a rising star in the Democratic party who met with Biden last year and has been widely speculated to be on his VP list, told Elle magazine just last week, “I would be an excellent running mate.”

Some have been taken aback by Abrams’ forthrightness over the last few months, but during her appearance on The View, she explained, “I try to be straightforward because while we hope the work speaks for itself, sometimes the work needs a hype man, and I learned early on that if I didn’t speak for myself, I couldn’t tell the story.”

Have you subscribed to theGrio’s new podcast “Dear Culture”? Download our newest episodes now!

 

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Joe Biden Won’t Commit to Selecting An African American Woman For Vice President

Biden

In a move that could shake the foundation of his primary victory, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said Monday that he wouldn’t commit to selecting a woman of color as his vice presidential pick.

According to NewsOne, Biden made the statement during an interview with Pittsburgh’s KDKA, saying he would stick to the promise of a female pick, but that’s it.

“I’ll commit to that be a woman because it is very important that my administration look like the public, look like the nation,” Biden told KDKA. “And there will be, committed that there will be a woman of color on the Supreme Court, that doesn’t mean there won’t be a vice president, as well.”

Biden’s statement could hurt him with black voters, on which he largely relied on to win the Democratic primary after Bernie Sanders jumped out to an early lead. Last month, House Majority Whip James Clyburn urged Biden to select an African American female as his running mate. Clyburn went as far as listing potential candidates including Kamala Harris, Stacey Abrams, Reps. Marcia Fudge of Ohio, Val Demings of Florida, Karen Bass of California, and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.

Abrams said last year that she would be willing to serve as the running mate for the Democratic nominee. The Grio, published an opinion piece last week titled, If Biden doesn’t pick Stacey Abrams, he can kiss black voters goodbye, almost daring Biden to try to win with anyone else.

So far this month, Biden has received endorsements from former President Barack Obama and Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Biden also tried to appeal to young voters who backed Sanders and Warren by calling for widespread student loan forgiveness. But, he has also been non-committal about marijuana legalization, another factor that could swing young and minority voters in his favor.

Biden has largely been quiet on even potential vice president candidates, but did say in the interview he would readily have Michelle Obama as his running mate “in a heartbeat.”

 

 



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Tennis Phenom Coco Gauff: ‘For About a Year I Was Really Depressed’

Coco Gauff

At just 16 years old, Cori “Coco” Gauff suffered from a bout of depression. She made an appearance at Wimbledon at the young age of 15 and then struggled to deal with the pressure of being a tennis phenom,  according to an essay she wrote for Behind The Racquet.

Gauff is the youngest tennis player currently ranked in the top 100 by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA). Her rise to fame and prominence was achieved when she beat five-time Wimbledon singles champion, Venus Williams, in the opening round of Wimbledon and also bested her again at this year’s Australian Open in January.

“I am getting used to the idea that people view me as a role model. It does add a bit of pressure since I know people are watching every move. For the most part, it is easy because I am always just being myself, not putting up a front, which people seem to be OK with. I don’t feel like I have to flip a switch or anything. In the beginning, I thought I had to be perfect but I’ve done a lot of soul searching and moved past it. Since doing that I’ve been having much more fun practicing and playing matches,” Gauff writes in the Behind The Racquet article .

She goes on to explain the mindset that led her into a depressed state.

“Right before Wimbledon, going back to around 2017/18, I was struggling to figure out if this was really what I wanted. I always had the results so that wasn’t the issue, I just found myself not enjoying what I loved. I realized I needed to start playing for myself and not other people. For about a year I was really depressed. That was the toughest year for me so far. Even though I had, it felt like there weren’t many friends there for me. When you are in that dark mindset you don’t look on the bright side of things too often, which is the hardest part. I don’t think it had much to do with tennis, maybe just about juggling it all. I knew that I wanted to play tennis but didn’t know how I wanted to go about it. It went so far that I was thinking about possibly taking a year off to just focus on life.”

She also doesn’t feel it’s fair to be compared to the Williams sisters as she hasn’t accomplished much in her young career.

“I don’t like being compared to Serena or Venus. First, I am not at their level yet. I always feel like it’s not fair to the Williams sisters to be compared to someone who is just coming up. It just doesn’t feel right yet, I still look at them as my idols. With all their accolades I shouldn’t be put in the same group yet.”

Gauff has a ranking of No. 49 in the world in singles and a ranking of No. 42 in doubles. She won her first WTA singles title at the age of 15 at the 2019 Linz Open, which made her the youngest singles title-holder on the WTA Tour since 2004. She has also won two WTA doubles titles with fellow teenager Caty McNally.



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