Jaws is great, but no one has ever been able to build on what Steven Spielberg did.
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Saturday, June 20, 2020
Friday, June 19, 2020
Aunt Jemima’s great-grandson furious over her removal from products
The great-grandson of the Syracuse woman who played Aunt Jemima has slammed Quaker Oats’ decision to change its packaging after outcry that the logo is racist.
Larnell Evans Sr., 66, calls it “an injustice for me and my family” that his great-grandmother, Anna Short Harrington, who portrayed Aunt Jemima from 1935 to 1954, is being erased from the brand’s history.
“This is part of my history, sir,” said Evans, a Marine Corps veteran, tells Patch. “The racism they talk about, using images from slavery, that comes from the other side — white people. This company profits off images of our slavery. And their answer is to erase my great-grandmother’s history. A black female… It hurts.”
READ MORE: Aunt Jemima to change name, remove image ‘based on racial stereotype’
After 130 years, Quaker is finally changing the name of their popular pancake brand, Aunt Jemima, theGrio previously reported. Acknowledging that the brand was based on a racial stereotype, the name of the product will change and the imagery removed.
The company said it aims “to make progress toward racial equality” amid nationwide protests over race relations in the wake of th police killing George Floyd.
Quaker Oaks intends to change other stereotypical logos on brands including Uncle Ben’s, Cream of Wheat and Mrs. Butterworth.
Evans, however, does not co-sign with this erasure of history
“This woman served all those people, and it was after slavery. She worked as Aunt Jemima. That was her job,” he said. “How do you think I feel as a black man sitting here telling you about my family history they’re trying to erase?”
The original Aunt Jemima logo was based on a woman named Nancy Green who was a “storyteller and missionary worker.” Green was born enslaved.
Harrington was the third Aunt Jemima. She was discovered by representatives from Quaker Oats while cooking pancakes at the 1935 New York State Fair, per syracuse.com.
In 1989, the image was updated to show Aunt Jemima in pearl earrings and a newly-coiffed hairstyle. However, the name and her mammy-oriented personality remained.
Evans believes “white corporations” that profit off of the culture should pay restitution rather than “erase history like it didn’t happen.”
Harrington reportedly served up her delicious dishes for many fraternity houses at Syracuse University. She is buried in Syracuse.
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Michelle Obama reflects on Juneteenth and family’s slavery history
Michelle Obama reflects on the dark history of Juneteenth and what the holiday means to her, in a powerful message shared on social media.
The former first lady released a statement on Friday, June 19 — a day commemorating when the last slaves in Texas were freed in 1865 — more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
“Most of us were taught that slavery came to an end when President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. But as is so often the case, the full promise of this country was delayed for segments of the African-American community,” Obama wrote in a statement shared to Twitter, UK Independent reports. “And for enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, freedom didn’t come until June 19th, 1865.”
READ MORE: Obama addresses George Floyd protests, police brutality at MBK town hall
This year, the Juneteenth holiday coincides with ongoing protests across the country over police brutality and the death of George Floyd. Obama shared that the history of this day reminds her of her own family’s experience with racism.
Her grandfathers were both the grandchildren of slaves.
“They grew up in the Jim Crow South and migrated north in search of a better life,” she wrote. “But even then, they were still shut out of jobs and schools and opportunities because of the color of their skin,” she wrote.
This #Juneteenth, let’s all pledge to keep using our voices—and our votes—to keep marching toward freedom.pic.twitter.com/I510X0HCKe
— Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) June 19, 2020
“But they pressed forward with dignity and with purpose, raising good kids, contributing to their communities, and voting in every election,” Obama added.
“And though they didn’t live to see it themselves, I can see the smiles on their faces knowing that their great-granddaughters ended up playing ball in the halls of the White House – a magnificent structure built by enslaved Americans,” she continued.
READ MORE: Snapchat pulls Juneteenth filter that asked users to ‘smile’ to break chains of oppression
Juneteenth has never been a celebration of victory, or an acceptance of the way things are. It's a celebration of progress. It's an affirmation that despite the most painful parts of our history, change is possible––and there is still so much work to do.https://t.co/5XCRdnk3iR
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) June 19, 2020
Obama concluded her message by noting that there are “so many more parts to this story.”
“Even though the story has never been tidy, and black folks have had to march and fight for every inch of our freedom, our story is nonetheless one of progress,” she wrote.
On Friday, former president Barack Obama also acknowledged the holiday in a Twitter post explaining that “Juneteenth has never been a celebration of victory, or an acceptance of the way things are. It’s a celebration of progress,” he wrote.
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Susan Rice calls Trump’s White House ‘racist to its core’
When President Donald Trump speaks of “draining the swamp,” he may not be referring to the alleged white supremacists within his administration.
Former Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice has dragged the Trump White House for filth over its handling of race and the rising racial tension in the country.
While speaking with MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell on Thursday, Rice described the Trump administration as “racist to its core” when asked about the resignation of Mary Elizabeth Taylor, the first Black woman to serve as assistant secretary of state for legislative affairs.
Taylor, 30, submitted a five-paragraph resignation letter on June 18 to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, saying the president’s handling of racial injustice and the anti-racism protests “cut sharply against my core values and convictions,” according to The Washington Post.
READ MORE: Melania Trump visits National Archives to see slavery docs
“This was direct, it was personal, it names President Trump, it was specific,” Mitchell said about Taylor’s letter, Mediaite reports.
Rice then listed several instances highlighting the White House’s highly criticized response to racial issues “in recent days” and the last three and a half years.
UNHINGED: Susan Rice says Trump's supporters belong in "the trash heap of history"https://t.co/2xPWOdl4n3 pic.twitter.com/5QjLqsyvUC
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 19, 2020
“You know, to serve an administration which has been racist to its core for the last three and a half years,” sad Rice, “from comparing the peaceful protesters at Charlottesville to white supremacists, calling white supremacists very fine people, all the way through to the recent weeks where the administration has disparaged the Black Lives Matter movement,” she adds.
Rice also noted that Trump has “disparaged the peaceful protesters, and basically made plain they prefer to stand by a Confederate legacy than a modern America,” she said. It’s been an administration whose record on race is just disgraceful.”
When Mitchell asked about Joe Biden’s campaign, Rice made clear that the former vice president is not “somebody who can heal and unify the nation and remove Donald Trump and consign him and those who supported him in the Senate to the trash heap of history.”
READ MORE: Trump and Fauci spar over NFL return as more athletes test positive for COVID-19
The @RNC will tell any lie to distort Trump's abysmal record on race and everything else. I did NOT condemn Trump supporters. I said "those who supported him in the Senate." CUE THE TAPE. https://t.co/JEvYDvFd47
— Susan Rice (@AmbassadorRice) June 19, 2020
Following the MSNBC interview, Rice has been catching heat over that last comment. Several conservatives and media outlets, including RNC Research, accused her of saying “Trump supporters” belong in the trash of history.
Rice fired back on Twitter, saying she “did NOT condemn Trump supporters.”
“The @RNC will tell any lie to distort Trump’s abysmal record on race and everything else. I did NOT condemn Trump supporters. I said “those who supported him in the Senate.” CUE THE TAPE,” she tweeted.
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Juneteenth, Reconstruction, #BlackLivesMatter: more than an IG meme
The president believes that he introduced Juneteenth to the world.
As misguided as he might be, the reality is a lot of people (Black people) didn’t really know about the holiday marking the end of slavery until he said something. Sure, there are pockets that have incorporated the holiday into their annual ritual — but for slews of African Americans, the day was commemorated by the posting a meme on Instagram.
But as my mother used to say, what the devil meant for evil, God turned it around for our good.
READ MORE: Rep. Bobby Rush introduces Mamie Till-Mobley Memorial Stamp Act on Juneteenth
Jokes aside, there are a few variables that have made this Juneteenth an important one for this generation to pause and take note of. They are police-involved killings, the high concentration of Black deaths associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, degrading economy, systemic racism, etc.
But Juneteenth is not just Black people’s “We Ain’t Really Free Day.” It’s not just a reimagined Kwanzaa in the middle of the year. It is not just a reminder that we were slaves, a distinct marker in what Marimba Ani calls, “The MAAFA.”
Juneteenth is a celebratory day for communal reflection and cultural exploration.
It is a day for you to take in the journey of our people from 1865 and embrace all the manifestations of this sacred day. It is our Freedom Day. It is our Jubilee and Liberation Day. So establishing rituals that acknowledge those ancestors who were enslaved, their joys as well as their fights for freedom is important. Remembering that in addition to their labor and their abolition, they also loved and equipped themselves with unimaginable fortitude to be human while living in a world that legislated them as less than human. My family celebrates Juneteenth by engaging in sacred memory. Rev. David Brawley expanded the concept of sacred memory to include pausing to research, reflect, and meditate on one’s forebears to gain strength for the modern-day.
The first step in understanding that our ritual is to correctly embrace the historicity of slavery: Emancipation Proclamation vs. Juneteenth.
Slavery officially ended on January 1, 1863. Juneteenth was when the Blacks in Galveston, Texas were made aware of their freedom on June 19, 1865. The Allen-Strickland Clan, my maternal ancestors lived in Georgia and where “freed” sometime between 1863 and 1864.
What we have learned through extensive research of our family’s history is a story that shows the complicated nature of slavery and how the essence of the current #BlackLivesMatter is in our DNA.
Dr. Malcolm L. Landrum, my second great grandfather, was a Scottish white man from Oglethorpe, GA. He was married to two different white women (at two different times), but never had children with either. He had one servant. My second great grandmother, Millie Allen, who bore him children, both after slavery was abolished. To make this even more curious, his second wife Irene, never lived with him and she was the owner of Millie’s family. Living with Irene Irby Landrum were Gloster and Eveline Allen (my third-generation grandparents).
Dr. Landrum was a noted physician and reverend, who lived on what was referred to as the “Landrum farm,” and was drafted into the Civil War on May 15, 1861. He joined the Muster Roll of Company K, 8th Regiment of the Georgia Volunteer Infantry Army of Northern Virginia (C.S.A. and was a private. He came from a military family, with one of his forefathers serving in the Revolutionary War (a sneaky little fact that my daughter and I are candidates for Daughters of the American Revolution). He was swiftly discharged after succumbing to a disability on July 2, 1861. Millie was his faithful “servant” through his recovery, after the death of his first wife Leticia.
While emancipation came in 1863 and the Juneteenth acceptance was in 1865, census records show Millie casually having residence on Irene Irby’s farm and the Landrum farm. Nothing out of the ordinary, what the story tells is a depiction of a family in bondage shared or loaned out at the will of their master. That is until after 1885, the first Juneteenth and the fall of the south to the Civil War. Those lines started to blur as white folk no longer legally had jurisdiction over the Blacks that they owned. And at the latest 1866, Landrum started to pay people to run his land. This was something he never did before. One of those workers was Gloster Allen.
As a Black man born in 1828, it is likely that Gloster had never known what it was like to negotiate his terms for payment. Yet, the end of slavery gave him authority over his own economy, he was the master of his own sail. The terms were settled and he did the work. However, the “noble” Dr. Landrum did not pay him. The reason is never given, but the injury has been documented forever in an Athens court record from 1868.
“Allen, Gloster (Colored) April 1868 Clarke County, GA States that Malcolm M. Landrum (white) of Oglethorpe County, GA owes him $47.50 for service rendered in the year 1866 on the said Landrum farm. (Gloster) further states that Landrum refuses to pay him and threatened his life. Case referred to Mayor J.J. Annot. (sic) Sub asst. Comm. Athens, GA.”
This is one of two documents detailing this case. It is unknown if Gloster won the case.
How did he have the audacity to sue a white man three years after the Juneteeth date? Especially since by 1866 his daughter Millie was pregnant/ or had given birth to Landrum’s first child and only daughter (notice this is after slavery). Did he fear retaliation against his grandchild … after all it was nothing for white men to hurt or harm their own children? Did he even consider that? Who was this red-clayed hard-working man? How could the residual of slavery not live in his constitution?
While it would be bold to think that my great-great-great-grandfather was just a beast and had all the swag to stand up against his former master’s husband, I believe it was some of the institutions established to support ex-slaves after Juneteenth that stood behind him. The stood behind him just like the #BlackLivesMatter legions stand behind Ben Crump, Tamika Mallory, or Oluwatoyin “Toyin” Salau. Reconstruction is often spoken about in dreamy ways that don’t seem real and oftentimes seem inconsequential.
READ MORE: Morehouse grads create PSA calling for Juneteenth to be a national holiday
There was nothing inconsequential about Gloster and his act of self-preservation. He was a man, dammit! And there is equity in that.
Out of that spirit rose even in Athens, The Freedman’s Bureau set up to help Blacks transition from slavery to citizenship. He had to be inspired by their work. Also, the federal government possibly gave him something to at least feel hopeful about: in his state the Original 33 took office. The Original 33 were the first African Americans to be elected into the 80th Georgia General Assembly. The made up 5% of the congressional seats (153 House members and 44 Senators).
Little is known about my third great-great-great-grandfather outside of the two court documents that he filed when he was 40, younger than I am now. But we do know that by 1881, Dr. Landrum opened his church to start the Jeruel Academy. It was a school established to educate Black people in English, Greek, Latin, French, history, mathematics, public speaking, agriculture, sewing, cooking, music, and printing before the turn of the century (1900). The original building for the school was constructed in 1886 on the land that is now the University of Georgia campus. Many of the students and teachers attended Morehouse or Spelman College. One of those men would be Rev. John Henry Allen, the grandchild of Gloster, the only son of Landrum and Millie and my great grandfather.
My GG- pop would go on to be one of the founders of the Commerce school district in 1902, being the first principal and superintendent for the Johntown School, later acquiring a $2,500 grant from the prestigious Rosenwald Fund to further build up the school. According to the History of Harmony Grove-Commerce, under his leadership, “there were very few illiterates among them.” He was an itinerant preacher (founding several churches in the local community) and was a 1914 graduate of Morehouse in 1914.
The story is beautiful and makes you burst with pride? Yes?
It should. But right alongside all this progress were the wicked and nasty traces of white supremacy. Those 33 men took office in 1868. Within months they were expelled for being “Black.” There is a monument in Georgia to remind the state of how horrible its history has been. Perhaps, the absence of Gloster from all the records could speak to the time and reflect the social unrest going on. After the politicians were kicked out of congress, several hundred Blacks (and some whites) protested from Albany to Camilla. They were openly armed and ready to express their disgust, saying for that time that Black Lives Matter. But they were met with violence.
Nine to fifteen people were killed and about forty were injured. The Camilla massacre was an example of voter suppression and political disenfranchisement, something that Stacey Abrams is fighting right now in that same state.
And that is what Juneteenth is!
READ MORE: Snapchat pulls Juneteenth filter that asked users to ‘smile’ to break chains of oppression
It is a day when we see through sacred memory the gloriously complicated moments of our survival — of our march to civil rights. It has to give a nod to the ancestors and reflect on how courageous they have been to get us up to this point. At the same time, Juneteenth has to revitalize the young to see the protest does yield fruit but that fruit has to be followed through.
As you post on your TikTok, go live on IG, watch whatever on Facebook in acknowledgment of this holiday, remember it is not just about our struggle but our triumphs, it is not about the great people you may read about but the great people in your family. It is not just about your yesterday and today, it is about our forever — and the prayer that we have the endurance to keep it pushing.
#AllBlackLivesMatter #Juneteenth
Dedicated to Gloster Allen, Fannie Cobb Kendall, Veronica LeDoux Mitchell, Eden Duncan-Smith and Elaine Head
Rev. Nicole Duncan-Smith … West Philadelphia born and raised, and in the playground is where she spent most of her days. Currently, she serves on the ministerial staff at The St. Paul Community Baptist Church, and lectures on Hip-Hop as a viable love language to teach the Gospel. She is the founder of Haymakers Presents Battlecon, the first battle rap convention. She is a wife, a mother, a really cool chick, and a contributing editor at theGrio.
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Melania Trump visits National Archives to see slavery docs
Ahead of nationwide Juneteenth celebrations, Melania Trump took a tour of National Archives to see the historic documents that ended slavery.
READ MORE: Trump claims he made Juneteenth ‘very famous’
According to CNN, on Thursday afternoon, the first lady toured the United States National Archives, with specific intentions to view the Emancipation Proclamation and the Charters of Freedom, which include the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.
“During our country’s long march towards freedom, the Emancipation Proclamation and the Charters of Freedom continue to reaffirm our country’s democratic ideals and the values that have inspired me and all Americans to this day,” Trump said in a statement, providing little other detail.
READ MORE: Rep. Bobby Rush introduces Mamie Till-Mobley Memorial Stamp Act on Juneteenth
“Today, @SecretaryCarson & I visited the @USNatArchives to view the Emancipation Proclamation & Charters of Freedom,” Trump wrote on Twitter along with exclusive photos from the private tour. “The significance behind these documents is an important reminder that our nation is built on the principles of freedom, liberty & equality for all. #Juneteenth”
Today, @SecretaryCarson & I visited the @USNatArchives to view the Emancipation Proclamation & Charters of Freedom. The significance behind these documents is an important reminder that our nation is built on the principles of freedom, liberty & equality for all. #Juneteenth pic.twitter.com/EbmgZm6gEB
— Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) June 18, 2020
It was a rare public appearance for Trump, who has been much less visible than her predecessor, former first lady Michelle Obama. It was revealed recently in a new book that Trump renegotiated her prenup with President Donald Trump before she moved into the White House.
Author Mary Jordan told CNN that for “The Art of Her Deal: The Untold Story of Melania Trump,” she interviewed more than 100 people. The book reveals that Melania’s delay in moving into the White House in 2017 was because of their son, Barron, but not the way the public was first told.
“She wanted proof in writing that when it came to financial opportunities and inheritance, Barron would be treated as more of an equal to Trump’s oldest three children,” writes Jordan.
READ MORE:Tulsa mayor sets curfew before Trump rally
Melania Trump’s chief of staff, Stephanie Grisham, said the book should be considered “fiction.”
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Trump and Fauci spar over NFL return as more athletes test positive for COVID-19
Will there be an NFL season this fall? The league is planning on it as they stand to take a $5B hit even if the season is played without fans. But infectious disease specialist and President Donald Trump advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said the NFL should consider the same kind of isolation “bubble” the NBA is planning to complete their season.
READ MORE: Dallas Cowboys Ezekiel Elliott and other NFL players test positive for coronavirus
In an appearance on CNN, Fauci told Dr. Sanjay Gupta that “Unless players are essentially in a bubble — insulated from the community and they are tested nearly every day — it would be very hard to see how football is able to be played this fall. If there is a second wave, which is certainly a possibility and which would be complicated by the predictable flu season, football may not happen this year.”
The NBA is planning to reopen their season in Orlando, Florida at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex. Players from the 22 teams that have been invited to complete the season interrupted in March, will be confined to the complex and the games will be played without spectators. The NBA has created a 133-page document of criteria for almost every aspect of play and even personal conduct down to disposing of decks of cards after card games.
Fauci, the longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who has advised six presidents, has been minimized as the Trump administration moves away from coronavirus briefings. Trump quickly distanced himself from Fauci’s comments on social media.
Tony Fauci has nothing to do with NFL Football. They are planning a very safe and controlled opening. However, if they don’t stand for our National Anthem and our Great American Flag, I won’t be watching!!!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 19, 2020
But Fauci’s warning comes in the wake of record new cases in Florida this week, as well as the multiple sports leagues that have had players test positive for the virus. Multiple players from the Dallas Cowboys and the Houston Texans, including Cowboys star running back Ezekiel Elliot, have tested positive.
They join 13 players from the Texas Longhorns football team, who tested positive yesterday and members of sports teams from Baylor University, Texas Tech, and the University of Houston who have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. Clemson announced today that 28 players and staff have tested positive for the virus and The Philadelphia Phillies and Toronto Blue Jays have shut down their training camp after 5 players tested positive for the virus.
News at Clemson: School announces that 28 athletes have tested positive for COVID-19. They didn’t not break it down by sport, but a significant number of the 28 positive tests are football players. More at @YahooSports: https://t.co/euLeyDIKUe
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) June 19, 2020
Dr. Allen Sills, the NFL’s chief medical officer acknowledged the difficultly of making the players, coaches, and NFL safe but said they do have a plan.
“Make no mistake, this is no easy task,” Sills said in a statement provided to CNN. “We will make adjustments as necessary to meet the public health environment as we prepare to play the 2020 season as scheduled with increased protocols and safety measures for all players, personnel and attendees. We will be flexible and adaptable in this environment to adjust to the virus as needed.”
READ MORE: Goodell says he ‘encourages’ NFL teams to sign Kaepernick
The NFL season is scheduled to begin with the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs playing the Houston Texans in Kansas City on September 10th. Training camps are to begin on July 22 and the annual Hall of Fame Game is supposed to happen in Canton, Ohio on August 6.
The 2020 college football season is supposed to begin on August 29th. The NCAA is currently allowing its Division 1 athletes across all sports to begin workouts at school facilities.
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100+ Black Businesses to Support on Juneteenth and Every Day
At Black Enterprise, we celebrate Black businesses every day of the year. But as we pause to celebrate Juneteenth—and as much of the nation joins us for the first time—we feel there’s no better time to recommit ourselves to the fight for economic equality; to show support for our communities’ hard-working entrepreneurs; and to highlight the some of the amazing products being created by Black artisans, inventors, designers, chefs, and more.
Every year we put together a list of our favorite gifts from black-owned brands. There are plenty of ideas to help you (virtually) celebrate the grads, dads, and newlyweds. But there are also everyday items for your closet, your pantry, and your playroom. You can browse the 100 businesses on our most recent list broken down by:
Clothing, Jewelry, and Accessories
Tech, Recreation, Toys, and Games
But even our Ultimate Gift Guide is just a drop in the bucket. There are many more products and services available for when you’re being intentional about where, and with whom, you spend your money. Find our complete coverage of all things Black-owned here.
And since we’re finally at a moment when Black people, issues, and concerns are getting the mainstream attention they deserve, check out some of these recent roundups of Black brands across fashion, food, home decor, and more:
Allure’s Black-Owned Fashion and Lifestyle Brands You Need to Be Following
Glamour’s Black-Owned Businesses You Can Support Today and Every Day
Vogue’s Black-Owned Fashion and Beauty Brands to Support Now and Always
Marie Claire’s Black-Owned Brands to Support Today and Every Day
Food Network’s Black-Owned Food Brands That You Need in Your Kitchen
Entrepreneur’s Black-Owned Restaurants and Businesses You Can Support Right Now
Bon Appétit’s Black-Owned Restaurants Lists Circulating the Internet
Apartment Therapy’s Black-Owned Businesses in the Home Space to Support
InsideHook’s Black-Owned Businesses You Should Be Shopping Now and Forever
Motherly’s Incredible Black-Owned Businesses to Support Right Now
Thrive Global’s Black-Owned Businesses We Love in Our Communities and Beyond
New York magazine’s Black-Owned Businesses to Support
Retailers, marketplaces, and shopping directories are also giving you new ways to discover Black brands. For example, you can now find a curated selection of Black makers on Etsy and filter your local businesses on Yelp.
And if somehow you still haven’t found what you’ve been looking for, try one of these apps and websites to help you buy Black.
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Engineers design a device that operates like a brain synapse
Teams around the world are building ever more sophisticated artificial intelligence systems of a type called neural networks, designed in some ways to mimic the wiring of the brain, for carrying out tasks such as computer vision and natural language processing.
Using state-of-the-art semiconductor circuits to simulate neural networks requires large amounts of memory and high power consumption. Now, an MIT team has made strides toward an alternative system, which uses physical, analog devices that can much more efficiently mimic brain processes.
The findings are described in the journal Nature Communications, in a paper by MIT professors Bilge Yildiz, Ju Li, and Jesús del Alamo, and nine others at MIT and Brookhaven National Laboratory. The first author of the paper is Xiahui Yao, a former MIT postdoc now working on energy storage at GRU Energy Lab.
Neural networks attempt to simulate the way learning takes place in the brain, which is based on the gradual strengthening or weakening of the connections between neurons, known as synapses. The core component of this physical neural network is the resistive switch, whose electronic conductance can be controlled electrically. This control, or modulation, emulates the strengthening and weakening of synapses in the brain.
In neural networks using conventional silicon microchip technology, the simulation of these synapses is a very energy-intensive process. To improve efficiency and enable more ambitious neural network goals, researchers in recent years have been exploring a number of physical devices that could more directly mimic the way synapses gradually strengthen and weaken during learning and forgetting.
Most candidate analog resistive devices so far for such simulated synapses have either been very inefficient, in terms of energy use, or performed inconsistently from one device to another or one cycle to the next. The new system, the researchers say, overcomes both of these challenges. “We’re addressing not only the energy challenge, but also the repeatability-related challenge that is pervasive in some of the existing concepts out there,” says Yildiz, who is a professor of nuclear science and engineering and of materials science and engineering.
“I think the bottleneck today for building [neural network] applications is energy efficiency. It just takes too much energy to train these systems, particularly for applications on the edge, like autonomous cars,” says del Alamo, who is the Donner Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Many such demanding applications are simply not feasible with today’s technology, he adds.
The resistive switch in this work is an electrochemical device, which is made of tungsten trioxide (WO3) and works in a way similar to the charging and discharging of batteries. Ions, in this case protons, can migrate into or out of the crystalline lattice of the material, explains Yildiz, depending on the polarity and strength of an applied voltage. These changes remain in place until altered by a reverse applied voltage — just as the strengthening or weakening of synapses does.
“The mechanism is similar to the doping of semiconductors,” says Li, who is also a professor of nuclear science and engineering and of materials science and engineering. In that process, the conductivity of silicon can be changed by many orders of magnitude by introducing foreign ions into the silicon lattice. “Traditionally those ions were implanted at the factory,” he says, but with the new device, the ions are pumped in and out of the lattice in a dynamic, ongoing process. The researchers can control how much of the “dopant” ions go in or out by controlling the voltage, and “we’ve demonstrated a very good repeatability and energy efficiency,” he says.
Yildiz adds that this process is “very similar to how the synapses of the biological brain work. There, we’re not working with protons, but with other ions such as calcium, potassium, magnesium, etc., and by moving those ions you actually change the resistance of the synapses, and that is an element of learning.” The process taking place in the tungsten trioxide in their device is similar to the resistance modulation taking place in biological synapses, she says.
“What we have demonstrated here,” Yildiz says, “even though it’s not an optimized device, gets to the order of energy consumption per unit area per unit change in conductance that’s close to that in the brain.” Trying to accomplish the same task with conventional CMOS type semiconductors would take a million times more energy, she says.
The materials used in the demonstration of the new device were chosen for their compatibility with present semiconductor manufacturing systems, according to Li. But they include a polymer material that limits the device’s tolerance for heat, so the team is still searching for other variations of the device’s proton-conducting membrane and better ways of encapsulating its hydrogen source for long-term operations.
“There’s a lot of fundamental research to be done at the materials level for this device,” Yildiz says. Ongoing research will include “work on how to integrate these devices with existing CMOS transistors” adds del Alamo. “All that takes time,” he says, “and it presents tremendous opportunities for innovation, great opportunities for our students to launch their careers.”
The research, which included researchers at Brookhaven National Laboratory as well as MIT, was supported by the Skoltech Program, the MIT Quest for Intelligence, and the U.S. National Science Foundation.
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PG County police chief resigns after report exposes racism
Prince George’s County Maryland police chief, Hank Stawinski, has resigned from his job after an expert report details a pattern of racism in his department.
The report was submitted as part of a lawsuit alleging that Prince George’s County Police Department is biased against Black and Hispanic employees. The officers sued, stating that the department routinely discriminates against them in hiring, as well as in disciplinary action.
READ MORE: Atlanta police chief resigns after fatal shooting of Rayshard Brooks
According to The Baltimore Sun, the original lawsuit was filed with the backing of the ACLU of Maryland and the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs in December 2018. The suit alleges that Black and Hispanic officers are routinely given harsher disciplinary action and are demoted when they complain.
Further, the report notes that in 2018 a group of white officers walked out of a racial bias training class presented by the University of Maryland.
The expert report was prepared by Michael Graham, the former assistant sheriff in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Using employment records and other files, his findings are consistent with the lawsuit.
Stawinski has been the chief of the department since 2016. His resignation comes just days before the Maryland NAACP planned to issue a “no confidence” vote against him and his leadership.
Dennis Corkery, an attorney with the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, said that Stawinski remains a defendant in the lawsuit. “This is an important step,” he said, “but there is still much more that needs to be done to reform the racist culture within the police department.”
The county has denied the allegations.
READ MORE: Louisville police chief fired over protest shooting death, cops not turning on body cams
Prince George’s County is Maryland’s second-most populous county and the wealthiest African-American county in the United States.
Neill Franklin, a retired major and executive director of the Law Enforcement Action Partnership, made a valid point when speaking about the suit, “If we cannot resolve the racism among our ranks internally, we will never, never, do it within the communities we serve.”
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Twitter flags Trump ‘racist baby’ video as misinformation
Social media giant, Twitter, continues its crackdown against President Donald Trump and his spread of misinformation to the public.
The tweet shows a fake CNN banner saying, “Terrified todler (sic) runs from racist baby!” And “Racist baby probably a Trump voter.” The video shows a Black toddler running ahead of a white toddler. The video then goes blank, and the words “what really happened was,” appear on the screen.
READ MORE: Twitter does something it’s never done — fact checks Trump
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 19, 2020
The video then goes to a viral video of the children running toward each other, while the 70s folk song “Close to you,” plays.
The video goes on to say that mainstream media outlets spread misinformation.
Twitter flagged the video and added a label that it had been “manipulated.” The company’s policy prohibits sharing videos that have been “deceptively altered.”
This marks the second time that Twitter has taken decisive action to reduce Trump’s spread of misinformation. Last month, the company linked one of the president’s tweets about mail-in voting to their own “fact-checking” page. They also flagged the president’s “when the looting starts, the shooting starts,” tweet as glorifying violence.
The actions have earned Twitter backlash from the president.
He signed an executive order seeking to narrow protections for social media companies over the content posted on their sites. The order is expected to be challenged in court.
Facebook has been much less inclined to slow the stem of misinformation coming out of the White House. According to the New York Times, employees staged a walkout when Mark Zuckerberg refused to take action on a post that was seen as glorifying violence against protesters.
READ MORE: Twitter rips Trump’s Bible photo-op in front of church after protest remarks
This week, The Washington Post reports, the company did remove a post from the Trump campaign that prominently featured a Nazi symbol. The post was said to violate Facebook’s rules against “organized hate.”
On Wednesday, the Anti-Defamation League, NAACP, and several other civil rights organizations wrote a letter urging corporations to stop advertising on Facebook, until the company takes a firmer stance against online hatred.
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