When Gambian orphan Muhammed Sanneh arrived in Sicily aged 16, his life took an unexpected turn.
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Saturday, September 26, 2020
Singer Kennedy Stephens pays tribute to Breonna Taylor
The 49-second tribute song went viral on social media
19-year-old Kennedy Stephens paid tribute to Breonna Taylor by writing a song about her.
The song is called “Wounds” and was posted to Instagram and YouTube.
Taylor was killed by three Louisville Metro Police officers in her bedroom during the summer.
State Attorney General Daniel Cameron did not charge the police officers responsible for her death.
Read More: Louisville settles Breonna Taylor wrongful death lawsuit for $12 million
The 49-second song describes how Taylor might have felt the night of her murder.
“I’m scared for my life,” Stephens sings.
“One moment I’m sleeping in my bed with nothing to lose. One second later, I’m feeling my wounds. The world will never be the same because people are fighting for change…Black will see praise”
The song tugged on a lot of people’s emotional heartstrings, including celebrities like Jamie Foxx, Snoop Dogg, and Tiffany Haddish.
“God bless u for this!!!! We cannot let up… we must continue to fight for justice….,” Foxx wrote.
“Thank you @iamalexavant for sending me this beautiful tribute from @kennedystephens for Breonna Taylor called ‘Wounds,'” Haddish said.
“Kennedy killed it 馃敟馃敟馃敟 everyone watching please share with your friends,” Haddish continued.
“Sang Kennedy,” Snoop Dogg said.
Read More: Keedron Bryant performs viral song, ‘I Just Wanna Live’ for Dr. Dre
Many musicians have used social media to dedicate songs to those who have fallen victim to police brutality and gun violence.
As theGrio previously reported, Keedron Bryant, a 13-year-old boy best known for going viral after singing a tribute to George Floyd, met with Dr. Dre.
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NYPD should stop making traffic stops, attorney general says
New York AG Letitia James says the death of a Bronx motorist last October ‘further underscores the need for this change’
NEW YORK (AP) — New York’s attorney general on Friday recommended the New York Police Department get out of the business of routine traffic enforcement, a radical change she said would prevent encounters like one last year in the Bronx that escalated quickly and ended with an officer fatally shooting a motorist.
Attorney General Letitia James, who acts as a special prosecutor appointed to investigate certain police killings, argued that traffic stops for minor infractions often end in violence and that Allan Feliz’s death last October after he was pulled over for a seat belt violation “further underscores the need for this change.”
James’ office concluded that the NYPD’s use of deadly force was justified but that the sequence of events leading to Feliz’s death would never have happened if police hadn’t stopped him in the first place. Police further heightened tensions by attempting to arrest Feliz on outstanding warrants for low-level offenses such as spitting, littering and disorderly conduct, James’ office said.
The NYPD declined to comment.
Feliz initially complied when an officer asked him to get out of his car, but then jumped back in and tried to flee, James’ office said in a report on his death that included the recommendation about police yielding traffic stop duties.
READ MORE: NYPD cop promoted after allegations of inappropriate contact by multiple Black men
Sgt. Jonathan Rivera then fired a stun gun at Feliz and climbed into the car, warning, “Yo, boss, I am going to (expletive) shoot you,” as Feliz shifted the vehicle into gear and began moving. Rivera shot Feliz once in the chest, killing him.
James’ office concluded Rivera was justified in shooting Feliz in part because he feared the vehicle’s movement was endangering another officer standing nearby, the report said.
“The officer’s alleged justification is a fairy tale,” said Robert Vilensky, a lawyer for the Feliz family, which is suing the NYPD. “The car which they say was moving was at best moving 2 mph. That wouldn’t knock over a fly.
“The justification is a made-up story to rationalize killing an unmarked civilian,” he said.
READ MORE: NYPD union backs Trump for the next election
The NYPD has a separate unit of personnel who are not officers but direct traffic and hand out parking tickets — but who also have limited interaction with the public. James’ recommendation is aimed at officers who stop people for things like speeding, seat belt infractions and other issues.
If police officers are to remain involved in traffic enforcement, James’ office said, the police department should drop a policy that encourages officers to arrest any motorist who is found to have an open warrant.
Instead, the report said, drivers with open warrants should be arrested only with a supervisor’s approval if an officer had reasonable cause to believe they were a danger to the community.
“It is highly unlikely that the incident involving Mr. Feliz … would have escalated in the manner it did in the absence of this automatic arrest policy,” James’ office wrote.
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Argentinian lawmaker, spotted kissing girlfriend’s breast during congress meeting, resigns
Juan Emilio Ameri stepped down as a member of parliament after video of the escapade was displayed on a Zoom call and later spread on social media
An Argentinian lawmaker resigned his post on Thursday after obscene behavior was witnessed by participants in a Zoom meeting earlier that day.
Juan Emilio Ameri was seen kissing his girlfriend’s breast on screen in the middle of the virtual legislative session for the South American country. The 47-year-old politician later stepped down as a member of parliament after he was suspended from the body.
Ameri, who represented Argentina’s Salta province, was on the call with fellow lawmakers as well as members of the public when his girlfriend came into view on the conference call, which was being displayed on a large screen in parliament, The Independent reports. The girlfriend, identified as Celeste Bugos, served as an advisor to Ameri, who is estranged from his wife, according to The New York Post.
Burgos sat on Ameri’s lap as he pulled her close. Ameri proceeded to pull down her shirt, kissing and exposing her breast.
READ MORE: California mom in viral video alleges police harassment during son’s traffic stop
The meeting was then paused by Argentina’s Chamber of Deputies President Sergio Massa, calling attention to “a serious offense” in Ameri’s act on camera. After the incident, which went viral on social media, Ameri was suspended for 180 days.
Massa considered expelling Ameri from parliament, but the lawmaker elected to resign rather than wait for a decision.
Ameri wrote a letter of resignation and tearfully announced his decision to Argentinian news outlet TN. He expressed that he was unaware that he was visible on the Zoom call, due to technical difficulties, and that he kissed his girlfriend’s breast because she had just completed a breast augmentation.
“It was serious, really. I take responsibility. I’m very ashamed,” Ameri told the Spanish TV news station, according to a translation by Google Translate.
“Taking advantage of the fact that the session was down, I saw that my partner came out of the bathroom and I asked her how she was, due to the operation that was carried out recently to place breast prostheses.”
READ MORE: Norwegian lawmaker nominates Trump for Nobel Peace Prize
In a resignation letter dated Sept. 24, Ameri wrote how ashamed he was by the incident and had no intention to offend the legislative body.
“Given the fact of public knowledge, I write to you to apologize for my conduct during the remote special session on September 24 of this year,” he scribed in Spanish. “It was in no way my intention to disrespect this Honorable Chamber, my fellow deputies and deputies, nor the people of Salta who elected me. Aware of the responsibility that my position represents, I offer my resignation as a national deputy, and I will continue working for my beloved province of Salta and for Argentina to stand up.”
Ameri has three children and has been estranged from his wife.
This is not the first time a public figure has been caught in a suggestive video since the global coronavirus pandemic forced people to work from home. In April, Spanish news anchor Alfonso Merlos was in the middle of a live news report from his home when a half-naked woman appeared in the background. The New York Post reported that Merlos was dating Marta L贸pez of CBS reality game show “Big Brother” when the incident happened.
The woman in the video was identified as fellow journalist Alexia Rivas, who said she had been dating Merlos for many weeks. L贸pez called the incident “shameful” and “unpleasant.”
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CeCe Winans, reacting to backlash, says role in Trump COVID-19 ad blitz is ‘not political at all’
Celebrities from CeCe Winans to Dennis Quaid were cast in a White House ad blitz to tout health safety, but questions arise over the politically convenient timing of the campaign
The Trump Administration has been enlisting celebrities for a series of advertisements seeking to reassure citizens as the nation continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic.
Among the celebrities chosen is gospel legend CeCe Winans, and fans are not happy about it.
As reported by Politico, the White House has tasked the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to create an ad campaign to address how the federal government has handled COVID-19, how to combat the virus and how to stay optimistic. About $250 million in taxpayer dollars is being used for the $300 million campaign as an effort to “defeat despair.”
The HHS has paired celebrities like The Parent Trap-actor Dennis Quaid with senior officials of the Trump administration in interviews for the ads. Winans was mentioned as one of the celebrities being interviewed for the campaign. Many fans were shocked to see the 12-time Grammy Award-winning gospel superstar participating in an ad campaign, ordered by President Donald Trump, and took to social media to express their disappointment.
READ MORE: Trump tries to win over Black voters with $500B ‘platinum plan’
After trending Friday night when the news hit, Winans posted a video statement about her participation in the ad on her Twitter account. In the video, she disclosed that she did indeed sit down with U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams to discuss the pandemic and explained to her followers that she acted with good intentions.
“I was asked a couple weeks ago to do an interview with the surgeon general, Jerome Adams, about the coronavirus, and this interview stresses how important it is for everyone to wear a mask and it also gives us other instructions on how to get on the other side of this pandemic,” Winans stated. “It was not political at all.”
“We have lost so many lives because of COVID-19. Let’s all do everything we can so we won’t lose any more,” she said before closing out the 40-second clip with “God bless you.”
The HHS plans on releasing the ads prior to the Nov. 3 election, which is just over a month away. The agency is seeking to retain country music singer Garth Brooks and Dr. Mehmet Oz to participate in the coronavirus ads as well.
READ MORE: Biden campaign to run ad during every NFL game until Election Day
News of the ad campaign was first reported in August, leading Democrats to investigate the expensive endeavor, seeing it as a tactic to boost Trump’s reelection odds. HHS public affairs official Mark Weber has refuted that the ad blitz is an attempt to garner votes for the president.
“There is no room for political spin in the messages and materials designed by HHS to help Americans make informed decisions about the prevention and treatment of Covid-19 and flu,” Weber stated.
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Black Woman Entrepreneur Owns Two 7-Eleven Stores Right Across the Street From Each Other
Meet Alyson Rae Lawson, the CEO and founder of RaeLawson Enterprise LLC, a franchisee/operator of two 7-Eleven convenience stores with gas stations that are located right across the street from each other in Arlington, Texas. She is the only African American in her city to have accomplished this.
Originally from Dallas, Alyson is an HBCU graduate who earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Hampton University and later, her Master of Business Administration from Texas A&M University.
She knew from an early age that she wanted to be a franchisee because her father franchised three McDonald’s in the Oak Cliff area when she was younger. By the age of 30, she herself was a 7-Eleven franchisee with not just one, but two locations.
She recently made history after partnering with a Black-owned wine brand whose products continue to sell out in her stores.
Challenges along the way
“It is never an easy road to being an entrepreneur,” Alyson told Voyage Dallas. “Although 7-Eleven waves the purchasing fees, I was still left with the franchising fees and other costs that are associated with promoting my own business. It is always difficult financially beginning your own business.”
She says that she believes the biggest struggle when having a business is employment. She comments, “In this industry, it is a challenge finding the best help and longevity because although I am there most of the day, I have to be able to trust my staff when I am not there. So the hiring process is very tedious and selective.”
She also says that there are new challenges every day, but nonetheless, she describes herself as a team-oriented leader who combines motivation, drive, and the ability to adapt to various opportunities and work assignments. She says that she anticipates and readily accepts challenges.
In addition to running her 7-Eleven franchises, she is also a motivational speaker that empowers high school and college students.
The article was originally published by BlackBusiness.com.
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Early vote shows signs of Black voters’ shift to mail voting
Vote-by-mail rates are up for Black voters, but the numbers also come with a warning sign
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Shirley Dixon-Mosley had never sent a ballot through the mail. She always treasured casting her ballot in person. But for November’s election, she voted early and by mail because she didn’t want to take any chances.
“I want to make sure my vote got in and it counted,” said the 75-year-old retired teacher’s aide in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Black voters are among the least likely to vote by mail nationally, but there are early signs they are changing their behavior as the shadow of the coronavirus hangs over the presidential race. The evidence is clearest in North Carolina, the first state in the nation to send out mail-in ballots and where voting has been underway for almost three weeks. But there are hints in other battleground states like Georgia and Pennsylvania.
The signals are good news for Democrats, who will need a robust turnout by Black voters in these states to win both the White House and control of the U.S. Senate. With coronavirus increasing the risk of in-person voting, African American mail voting rates are one indicator of whether that key part of the Democratic coalition will participate at its regular clip.
In North Carolina, Black voters cast 16.7% of the more than 173,000 ballots returned so far, a jump from the 9% of mail votes cast by Black voters in 2016. They are 21% of North Carolina’s registered voters.
“They’re changing their dynamics,” said Michael Bitzer, a political scientist at Catawba College in North Carolina who tracks state elections. “It seems like there’s a shift going on which will certainly help Democrats.”
But the numbers also come with a warning sign. North Carolina’s Black voters are four times more likely than whites to have their ballots not yet accepted due to missing witness information. Just under 5% of absentee ballots returned by Black voters either still have missing witness information or are in the process of having ballot requirements corrected, compared with just 1.3% of ballots returned by white voters.
It is, of course, very early — the votes so far in North Carolina translate to only about 5% of those cast in the entire 2016 presidential election. It’s unclear how much Black voters’ early embrace of the new method will increase overall turnout and whether issues will persist as more votes roll in.
Alarmed by the not-accepted figures, Democratic-leaning groups are already shifting their messaging to help Black voters resolve the witness requirements. North Carolina made this process easier on Tuesday, settling a lawsuit from the North Carolina Alliance for Retired Americans seeking to ease absentee guidelines on the state’s witness component. County boards of elections now mail an affidavit for a voter to return to resolve ballot problems. Both Republicans on the state’s five-person Board of Elections resigned after the settlement.
READ MORE: Rejected absentee ballots higher for minority voters, study finds
“There’s been a big push to get Black voters to use the option of vote-by-mail,” said Adrianne Shropshire of VoteBlackPac, one of several groups trying to boost the use of mail-in ballots among Black voters. The group sent absentee ballot applications to 400,000 North Carolina voters. “The problems that people are having is related to the fact that this is new to people.”
Jeffrey Brooks, a 49-year-old Democrat from Durham, said he’s previously voted in person. But when he sent in his mail-in ballot earlier this month, he failed to have a family member sign it as a witness.
“I didn’t know that,” Brooks said. “I thought it was just for young people. I didn’t get them to sign it because I did it at home. I didn’t know you had to have a witness.”
Voters like Brooks have until Nov. 12 to correct their ballots and get them received by their local county elections board.
The North Carolina Democratic Party and Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s campaign have established hotlines for confused voters. Both groups also have volunteers working on the ground to help people remedy witness issues.
Tonya Foreman, an activist whose group CAREE has been registering people to vote in barbershops and a pop-up registration tent in the eastern part of the state, worries that some of these Black voters, already deeply suspicious of a system they see as rigged against them, “will just decide ‘I knew it’ and not fix their ballots.”
Foreman has seen shifts in Black voters’ interest and trust in voting by mail, saying it seemed high last spring but then tapered off after controversy over mail delays due to changes at the United States Postal Service.
Black voters have traditionally preferred to vote in-person and see their ballot being accepted, a certainty sought after generations of voter suppression, discrimination and fighting to win the right to vote. In 2018, only 11% of African American voters cast their ballots by mail compared with 24% of white voters, according to the U.S. Census.
READ MORE: Trump requests absentee ballot after attacking mail-in voting
But Black people have been disproportionately killed by the coronavirus, and many older Black Americans are now trying to balance safety with their rights, said Marcus Bass, an activist with the group Advance Carolina.
“The most faithful bloc of voters are older Black voters,” Bass said.
Still, Bass’ group has acquired 250,000 pieces of protective gear because he thinks many Black voters will want to vote in-person again.
There are hints of the shift in other data on mail voting. In Georgia, about one-third of all absentee ballot requests so far have come from African Americans, slightly higher than their share of registered voters, said Tom Bonier, a Democratic data analyst. In Pennsylvania, 7.38% have — which is also precisely the Black share of that state’s electorate.
Bonier said the early data suggests that Democratic investments in educating Black voters about mail-in ballots may be paying off. The rates, he added, are also “an early indicator of very high engagement by Black voters.”
Dixon-Mosley is one of those engaged voters. She was happy to have the option to vote by mail, but she added she would cast her ballot in person if she had to.
“Our parents and forefathers fought too hard to get the vote,” she said. “To not do it is to dishonor them.”
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Trump Attempts To Woo Black Voters With ‘Platinum Plan’
President Trump is making his most significant effort to woo Black voters with what he calls his “Platinum Plan” for Black economic empowerment at a campaign event in Atlanta.
The Trump campaign released its plan Friday to coincide with the event. Trump’s Platinum Plan includes a $500 billoion investiment in Black communities across the country, increasing access to capital to fuel Black owned Busineeses, a tax cut, increased education opportunities, lowering the cost of healthcare, making Juneteenth a National Holiday, prosecuting the KKK and ANTIFA as terrorist organizations and making lynching a national hate crime.
“President Trump’s return to Atlanta, GA will lay out his second term vision for Black America. Capitalizing off a successful first term of unprecedented accomplishments for the Black community, the Black Economic Empowerment-Platinum Plan, is a gamechanger for Black Americans and will lead to historic opportunities, security, prosperity and fairness for all Black Americans. President Trump made the Black community a priority in his 4 years in office while Joe Biden spent 47 years creating and supporting policies that destroyed Black families, communities and generational wealth,” Paris Dennard. senior communications advisor for Black media affairs said in a statement.
Additionally, the Platinum Plan will also create 3 million new jobs for the Black community, create 500,000 new Black owned busineeses, access to better education and job training opportunities and a committment to a Second Step Act, among other initatives.
President Trump, who won 8% of the Black vote in 2016, has had a contentious first term with Black voters. During his first term, Black voters have watched Trump praise the Charlottesville protesters, call Colin Kaepernick and other NFL player protesting protesting police brutality “disgraceful,” call the Black Lives Matter mural in New York “a symbol of hate” and praise police officers in Minneapolis, where George Floyd was killed.
Many movements by Black Americans over the past year, including National Black Voter Day have been movements towards signing up more Black voters in order to defeat President Trump and push Black Americans to enter politics.
Trump does have a group of Black supporters who believe that he is fighting for their causes and the Dmerocratic Party has negliected and ignored the cries of Black Americans.
“Though Black Americans have traditionally been shut out of opportunities to grow our own businesses and create generational wealth, President Trump is working hard to give us access to the American Dream,” said K. Carl Smith, Black Voices for Trump Advisory Board Member said in the Trump release. “Unlike career politicians like Joe Biden, President Trump is a businessman and understands that pride, community, and dedication are built through entrepreneurship.
More detailed information on Trump’s Platinum Plan will be released in the coming days.
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Texas Teacher Fired For Refusing To Stop Wearing Black Lives Matter Mask
Texas teacher Lillian White was terminated from her position in Great Hearts Western Hills because she continued to wear a Black Lives Matter mask after being asked to stop.
White says that she wore facial masks with slogans from the Black Lives Matter movement and that she was asked by the assistant principal to stop wearing those types of masks. When she refused, she was terminated from her role.
“It was stressful because I have a financial obligation to help support my family,” White told KENS5 News. “It’s also kind of heartbreaking that this is the kind of—this is the reason that I lost my job,” she continued.
“This is human rights and it should be something that is promoted at our school. It’s an excuse to not talk about it by saying this is politics, talk about it on your own time. It’s just an excuse because they’re uncomfortable with the conversation,” White said.
Superintendent Daniel Scoggin said in a statement that “Great Hearts respects the privacy of all current and former employees and as a result does not issue a public comment on specific personnel matters. On the question related to face coverings, Great Hearts enacted, in this unprecedented pandemic environment, a policy that faces coverings have no external messages. This policy was authored by school leaders and teachers in service to the learning environment of our classrooms.
“Great Hearts was founded and exists today to serve the innate dignity and worth of every human being. We stand with the Black community and all who are suffering. Great Hearts deplores bigotry and its crushing effects on all those subjected to it,” Scoggin continued.
“Great Hearts is committed to an America where racism, violence, and injustice do not happen because such acts find no home in the hearts of a great people.”
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Friday, September 25, 2020
Marsai Martin to develop unscripted series on ‘trailblazing Black women’
The actress will produce the project alongside her parents Joshua and Carol Martin.
black-ish star Marsai Martin is producing a new unscripted series focused on trailblazing Black women.
Tentatively titled Baddies, the project is in collaboration with ITV America’s Sirens Media.
“Black women have always contributed to American culture,” said Martin in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. “They’ve just never gotten the recognition. This show is a fun way of letting people know how dope we are.”
If picked up, Baddies would be the first series produced by the budding actress. Martin is the youngest star in Hollywood to ink a first-look deal with a studio (Universal Pictures), and the youngest to executive produce a major motion picture with 2019’s Little.
Read More: Marsai Martin demands free school meals for all K-12 students
As part of her deal with Universal Pictures, Martin will produce the forthcoming comedy Queen under her Genius Productions banner, theGRIO previously reported. The film will be written by Camila Blackett, but the plot is currently a mystery.
“There are so many movies and content that are coming down the pipeline soon,” Martin said of her future projects in a Dec. 2019 interview with Galore magazine. “The upcoming project with Mandeville and Don Cheadle will be amazing. I also have Step Monster with my own production company, Genius Productions. Also, be sure to look out for more videos on my new YouTube Channel and subscribe as I have some cool ideas coming to life on that platform!”
Meanwhile, Shadow and Act reports that Baddies “aims to blend her curiosity and affinity for pop culture while highlighting previously unsung Black women from the worlds of sports, entertainment, politics and innovation,” the outlet writes.
Read More: Marsai Martin claps back at trolls over BET Awards hair
“Our team continues to be blown away by Marsai on multiple levels,” said Sirens president Jessica Sebastian-Dayeh. “She’s a creative force of nature and an important voice in our culture, and aside from her obvious talents on camera, is a very deft and thoughtful executive behind the scenes. We’re proud to partner with her and Genius on this series that will shed light on vital stories in imaginative and unexpected fashion.”
Martin will EP Baddies alongside her parents Joshua and Carol Martin.
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Virginia governor, wife test positive for coronavirus
Ralph Northam, the governor of Virginia, and his wife have both tested positive for coronavirus but reportedly show no symptoms.
The governor of Virginia and his wife have both tested positive for the coronavirus, a new statement revealed.
Read More: California coronavirus death toll passes 15,000 mark
The Associated Press confirmed Gov. Ralph Northam and his wife Pamela are two of the latest cases of COVID-19. According to the report, he showed no symptoms of the respiratory illness while his wife’s symptoms were mild. The coupled shared their plans to isolate in quarantine for 10 days and the governor committed to carrying out his professional duties from home.
Northam described the coronavirus as “very real and very contagious,” AP reports. He continued, “We are grateful for your thoughts and support, but the best thing you can do for us — and most importantly, for your fellow Virginians — is to take this seriously.”
His office informed AP it is working with health officials to trace the Northam’s close contacts. Both had made public appearances shortly before their diagnosis. The couple was told Wednesday that an Executive Mansion staff member who worked in their living quarters displayed COVID-19 symptoms, and tested positive for the virus.
The Democratic governor, who is also also a doctor, issued multiple mandates to hinder the coronavirus pandemic. Northam was typically seen wearing his own protective mask and made the gear mandatory statewide. According to Law And The Workplace, Virginia became the first state to adopt mandatory COVID-19 workplace safety requirements including flexible sick-leave policies and policies to determine when workers known or suspected to have had coronavirus, can return to the office.
Though gatherings of over 250 individuals are banned in the state, AP reports President Donald Trump has planned a rally in Newport News. Northam’s staff asked that the event, expected to draw a crowd of 4,000, be canceled or downsized.
Other governors who have tested positive for COVID-19 include Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, who according to theGrio, opposed a mask mandate. Kevin Stitt, governor of Oklahoma, also tested positive for coronavirus, theGrio reports. According to the Associated Press, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced his rapid test for COVID-19 was positive, although another test later delivered a negative reading.
Read More: Trump admits to concealing truth about coronavirus: ‘I wanted to always play it down’
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 144,433 total cases of coronavirus in Virginia since the start of the pandemic. Of those sick, 5,731 cases were in the last seven days. A total of 3,136 people have died of COVID-19 in Virginia.
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Highlights From the Black Enterprise Women of Power Tech Summit
Hundreds of women were empowered with the tools, insight, and knowledge needed to thrive in various tech-driven industries at the BLACK ENTERPRISE inaugural Women of Power Tech virtual summit this week.
The two-day digital conference included an all-star lineup of dynamic speakers, executives, and Silicon Valley leaders who opened up about their climb to the top of the industry during a variety of sessions, panels, and workshops. Hosted by Ally, Women of Power Tech also included professional coaching to help Black women identify new trends and opportunities and gain new skills.
Here are some of the highlights.
Netflix CMO Bozoma Saint John on Career Transitions
Netflix Global Chief Marketing Officer Bozoma Saint John offered a masterclass of information for women looking to power through or to pivot in tech. During a keynote conversation hosted by Ally with Women of Power Chief Brand Officer Caroline V. Clarke, the marketing superstar shared her story about navigating in Silicon Valley, salary negotiation tips, and turning unique experiences into a story of success.
“Advice that I have for us, and for Black women, in particular, is that we actually have to own our unique ability and our unique experiences–and tout them,” said the marketing executive extraordinaire.
Saint John also talked about the various transitions she’s made throughout her 20-year marketing career, which includes serving in C-suite positions at Endeavor, Uber, Apple Music, and Pepsi-Cola North America.
“I would not say that transitions are ever easy,” she said. “I had to be able to figure out what was going to work for me, what I needed to do in order to advance and to grow because sometimes I couldn’t find those opportunities in the jobs that I was in or at the companies I was in.”
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Apple VP of Social Initiatives Lisa Jackson on Knowing When to Exit
During another keynote session, Lisa Jackson, the vice president of environment, policy, and social Initiatives at Apple, talked about the importance of knowing your worth in the workplace. The tech veteran also shared insights on when and how to pivot in your career.
“You can do a lot of things on your own, you can put up with a lot…But if your evaluation leads you to believe that you do not have a supportive management structure, you are probably in the wrong place,” said Jackson. She also advised viewers to trust their gut when decided when to make a new career move.
“Ask yourself, ‘is it worth it?’ because walking away feels good and it may be the right decision, but you have to think deeply about that.”
.@LisaPJackson on knowing when it’s the right time to walk away.
Register (complimentary) and login https://t.co/a4xJbpJbgl to watch the full “Where Tech Meets Justice” panel hosted by @apple #WPtech pic.twitter.com/aowGJzVaVQ— Black Enterprise (@blackenterprise) September 24, 2020
Verizon Director Shellye Archambeau on Owning Your Career
Silicon Valley leader and Verizon Director Shellye Archambeau stressed the importance of owning your career and being intentional about your journey.
“It’s really important as you’re building your career to realize that you own your career. You do, not anybody else. Not your boss, not your manager, not your employees, not your spouse, not your mentors. You own it,” she said during a session hosted by Verizon. “It’s important to take charge of what you own.”
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Entrepreneur Dawn Dickson on Using Tech as Solution
Serial tech entrepreneur Dawn Dickson discussed how she conceptualized and then actualized the development of her two most recent ventures Flat Out of Heels, rollable flat slippers for women, and PopCom, revolutionary software for automated vending machines. She revealed that she came up with Popcom after identifying a problem and then using technology to find a solution.
“I decided to solve my own problem and start PopCom,” she said during the “SistersInc.: Founders Real Talk Roundtable.”
“I had been itching for a big problem to solve.”
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MIT and Indigenous Peoples Day
The following letter was sent to the MIT community today by President L. Rafael Reif.
To the members of the MIT community,
I write to announce three encouraging and related steps in our ongoing efforts to make MIT more welcoming and inclusive.
First, this summer, I asked Institute Community and Equity Officer John Dozier and Vice President for Human Resources Ramona Allen to reexamine our roster of Institute holidays. After outreach that included students, staff and faculty – and building on extensive work by then-interim ICEO Alyce Johnson – they concluded that while the overall reconsideration of holidays can and should continue, we should move swiftly now to consider renaming the holiday we recognize each year on the second Monday in October.
With the endorsement of Academic Council, beginning this year MIT will change the name of this holiday from Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day, in recognition and celebration of the Native presence and voices in our community. You can learn more about the holiday’s significance through an October 14 lecture by MLK Visiting Scholar Patricia Saulis.
I offer my thanks to John, Ramona, Alyce, Chair of the Faculty Rick Danheiser and ICEO Program Director Beatriz Cantada for their care in advancing this recommendation.
And we owe a special debt of gratitude to two student groups – the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) and the Native American Students Association (NASA) – for their dedication to promoting equity and visibility on behalf of our Indigenous community.
Second, in the spring, Professor Craig Wilder, a former faculty advisor to AISES and the current advisor to NASA, will lead a class that will research and document MIT’s Native American history. The class will anchor a collaborative project that invites students, staff, alumni, community members and faculty from diverse fields to study and research MIT’s connections to Native nations and tribal lands, the histories of Native communities in the New England region, and the history of Indigenous students, faculty and staff at the Institute.
Third, before the pandemic, the Office of the Provost was in conversation with students and other MIT community members about designating a campus space for members of our Indigenous community to gather and share traditions and experiences. I am glad to report that we have identified options for such a space and are committed to act, once in-person indoor gatherings on campus are again permitted.
* * *
I would like to pause and recognize that, for many in our community, Columbus Day is an important and meaningful tradition, independent of its namesake. For many Italian Americans, Columbus Day presents an opportunity to celebrate their history, heritage and contributions to this nation, and to honor the struggle of immigrants from Italy who faced many decades of violence, exclusion and discrimination in the United States. We move forward with deep respect for every member of our community as we work to acknowledge the complex and evolving story of our nation.
It is natural to cherish our roots. They nourish the spirit and they keep us grounded. Yet they also enable us to grow new branches of understanding that rise upward to the light – and toward each other.
I am grateful for the partnership of our entire community as we aspire and work toward a better and stronger MIT.
Sincerely,
L. Rafael Reif
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