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Jesse Jackson Reveals Next Steps to Increase Diversity, Inclusion in Silicon Valley

Now that major tech companies like Facebook and Google have released their diversity statistics to the public, the Rev. Jesse Jackson is ready to launch the next phase of his plan to increase diversity in Silicon Valley.

Jackson announced the next phase of his plan on The Guardian over the weekend and bashed Silicon Valley for its “shameful” record on equality.

Through his social justice organization Rainbow Push, Jackson urged the hi-tech giants to release statistics about the demographics of their workforce.

With many tech giants having African-Americans making up less than 2 percent of their workforce and almost none in executive positions, Jackson stated that these companies “must put a real plan in place.”

“Treat inclusion and diversity just as you would any serious business line of a company and measure them,” Jackson wrote.

Representatives from the companies have already publicly criticized the lack of diversity in Silicon Valley, but some believe that the companies have not followed up with an efficient response to the problem at hand.

Jackson stated that the “face of technology” needs to change, and he believes Rainbow Push has the plan to do it.

According to the civil rights activist, the organization will be working hard over the next few months to “review the performance and causes that have perpetuated the lack of diversity and inclusion in technology,” get corporate leaders involved in implementing the necessary changes, and “identify strategies and solutions” that could actually help “change the face of technology companies to mirror the consumer and demographic base of the community.”

According to Jackson, African-Americans “consume more technology” than the average American although they are vastly “underrepresented in the boardrooms.”

The blueprint for Rainbow Push’s next plan of action also lists several other objectives for the coming months.

The organization will aim to create an annual diversity report that will keep track of diversity and inclusion in Silicon Valley.

Other goals for the plan include launching a pledge commitment and 2020 digital inclusion and diversity vision and creating an advisory committee that will be dedicated solely to coming up with the best practices to help nurture diversity in the tech space.

Jackson went on to say that the next phase in Rainbow Push’s plan will continue the fight for equality for minorities.

“In our journey from freedom to equality, we’ve used all of the tools and resources: we vote; we legislate; we litigate; we advocate; we leverage,” he wrote. “And with a mission stepped in our faith to seek justice, fairness and equality, we will fight and win.”

 

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Four Black ‘Geniuses’ Included in MacArthur Fellowship Class of 2014

The 2014 recipients of the MacArthur Fellowship were announced Wednesday morning, and the new class included four African-American visionaries whose works have had major impacts on today’s society.

The MacArthur Grant is commonly referred to as the “genius” grant and gives each of its recipients $625,000, which is paid out in equal quarterly installments over the course of five years.

One of the major perks of the fellowship money is that there are no restrictions on how its recipients are allowed to use it.

The MacArthur Foundation deemed 21 individuals worthy of the “genius” grant, including four African-Americans.

Steve Coleman, a 57-year-old jazz composer and saxophonist from Allentown, Pennsylvania, was one of those recipients.

According to the MacArthur Foundation website, Coleman’s musical talents are “expanding the expressive and formal possibilities of spontaneous composition.”

His improvised performances are truly unique as they update “iconic musical idioms in the creative traditions of luminaries like John Coltrane and Charlie Parker by infusing them with melodic, rhythmic and structural components inspired by music of the larger African Diaspora, as well as from the continents of Africa, Eurasia and the Americas.”

In addition to his incredible musical abilities, the MacArthur Foundation also celebrated Coleman’s generosity.

Throughout his career, Coleman has been adamant about giving back to the community and mentoring those who need him.

Terrance Hayes, a 42-year-old poet from Pittsburgh, was also included in the 2014 class of MacArthur Fellows.

The writing professor at the University of Pittsburgh crafts incredible poems that dive deep into issues of race and gender.

His poems have also taken a closer look at family structures in America and provided rhythmic commentary on current events.

One of his notable works, according to the MacArthur Foundation website, is Arbor for Butch.

The poem “plays off of pecha kucha, a Japanese business presentation format in which twenty images connected to a single theme are narrated for twenty seconds each.”

The websites goes on to explain that Hayes used this form along with sculptures of Martin Puryear to do something truly innovative with his poetry.

“Hayes links the visual with the sonic and the lyrical in an affecting consideration of what it means to be a father and a son,” the website added.

Then there is artist Rick Lowe of Houston.

The unconventional 53-year-old artist’s latest project is transforming an entire neighborhood.

A long-neglected neighborhood in Houston serves as his canvas for what has become an inspiring public art project.

Lowe teamed up with other artists to restore a block and a half of “derelict properties – twenty-two shotgun houses from the 1930s. – in Houston’s predominantly African American Third Ward and turned them into Project Row Houses.”

The Project Row Houses now don a community support center and several art venues.

The project brought new life to the neighborhood and led Lowe to launch similar projects in other cities across the U.S.

Those cities include Los Angeles, New Orleans and North Dallas.

Lastly, the 2014 class of MacArthur Fellows welcomed Jennifer L. Eberhardt.

Eberhardt’s passions are not rooted in the arts.

Eberhardt is a 49-year-old social psychologist from Stanford, California, and an associate professor at Stanford University.

Eberhardt has been “investigating the subtle, complex, largely unconscious yet deeply imagined ways that individuals racially code and categorize people.”

Her work focuses mainly on connections to race and crime.

Eberhardt has been able to give the world concrete proof that stereotypic associates between race and crime have had a major impact on the way minorities are treated by police and sentenced for crimes.

She is now working closely with law enforcement agencies to “design interventions to improve policing and to help them build and maintain trust with the communities they serve.”

 

Jennifer L. Eberhardt
Jennifer L. Eberhardt
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Young Entrepreneurs Revolutionize Education in Africa by Moving It Online

A group of five recent graduates, each from a different African country, are revolutionizing education on the continent by moving classes online.

With all the entrepreneurs being under the age of 25, they have all grown up in the digital era and now they are putting that background to incredible use.

Together, they have launched Funda, which is an online training platform that has been teaming up with universities in South Africa to provide e-courses for users.

“At Funda, we develop learning management systems and provide content development services to higher institutions to take their courses online so that the general public can access them at a cheaper price,” one of Funda’s founders, Kolawole Olajide, explained, according to CNN.

The group of millennials understood that in today’s world, it can be hard for students to make the time to attend classes.

Budding entrepreneurs may have unusual hours as they strive to launch their own startups. Others may have already obtained managerial positions that don’t give them the free time to attend classes on a daily basis. Then there are many cases where family emergencies and special circumstances rob would-be students out of furthering their education.

Moving courses online could resolve these issues, and the founders of Funda want to be a part of charting the way for that to happen in Africa.

“Our major goal is to be a major education technology provider in Africa,” Olajide added. “So we’re just trying to strategically position ourselves, so when Africa is ready we would also be ready.”

Whether or not certain countries in Africa are “ready” has been a major obstacle for the group of founders.

Kennedy Kitheka from Kenya, Jason Muloongo from Zambia, Sameer Rawjee from South Africa and Kumbirai Gundani from Zimbabwe are the other four founders and each of them brought important perspectives about technological issues that still exist in different African countries.

“I was aware of user experience because user experience of technology in Nigeria was not very good,” Olajide said. “One of the other partners was keen on developing the mobile application because he said in his area of the world, there are more mobile users. So we are bringing together solutions made by the problems we’ve faced in Africa.”

While Funda has managed to go mobile, Olajide added that it is very limited for now.

“At the moment, [mobile] is very limited,” he said. “Mobile phones are good for getting your results, educations checking attendance reports and all that stuff. But the real core experience is from the desktop machine.”

While Funda’s headquarters is in South Africa, the founders hope to continue to expand across the continent and make education more accessible.

“The future of the continent lies in how educated people are,” he said. “All the major problems can be solved with education – education is the key to the future.”

Funda was launched in 2009 and since then has earned recognition from the United Nations Development Program and the World Economic Forum.

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Marshall Graduate Launches American Dream Movement to Give Black Male Students a ‘Sense of Hope’

Marshall University alumnus Charles C. Meyers Jr. has launched a new initiative in West Virginia called the American Dream Movement, which he hopes will give Black male students “a sense of hope and direction” when they need it the most.

Meyers believes that there are many times that a student just needs a positive push or better guidance to be able to succeed in life.

The new program will welcome 12 students from eighth grade through 12th grade.

Thomas Jones, the only eighth-grader being accepted into the program, attends Huntington Middle School while all the other students attend Huntington High School.

While the press release for the American Dream Movement did not give many specifics on what the program will entail, it did clearly state that the initiative’s objective is to help young Black male students reach their full potential.

“In order for African American males to reach their full potential in life, they must be encouraged to achieve their dreams and to take the proper steps to success,” Meyers said, according to a press release for the new initiative. “An investment in the lives of African American male students in the Huntington community is needed, in order to change the trajectory of their lives in a positive direction.”

He explained that it is important for the entire community to be an active, positive part of the children’s lives.

“When members of the community take the time to provide the students with wisdom and guidance, the students have a much better chance of becoming motivated to succeed and to dream of a better life for themselves,” Meyers said, according to the press release. “I developed the American Dream Movement because I know the power of influence. When you take the time to invest in someone’s future, the impact that you can make on someone’s life is worth the investment.”

Meyers also explained why he wanted to call the initiative the American Dream Movement.

“In today’s society, the dedication and encouragement to achieve the ‘American Dream’ has dissipated in the hearts of many African American males in Huntington, West Virginia,” he said. “The motivation to pursue happiness and success has been truncated to fulfilling desires with short-term thinking leading to long-term consequences. Now, more than ever, it is critical for African American males growing up in society to understand the importance of faith, family, education and having a career.”

Meyers promises that the program will allow the students to have a better chance at succeeding in life by offering the young men “positive reinforcement, education and guidance.”

This is only the latest initiative that Meyers has launched.

Other initiatives by Meyers include Future Investment Day, A Gift to Remember in December and the Words of Reflection Writing Contest.

Meyers plans to hold a ceremony called “Gathering of Dreamers” later this month to celebrate the new members of the American Dream Movement.

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Black Film Visionary and Media Entrepreneur Makes History at UCLA

Black valedictorian at UCLA makes history

Graduating summa cum laude is a massive honor for any college student, but for Artel J. Great, that was just the beginning of his success story.

Great has made history at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), by becoming the first Black valedictorian of the university’s School of Theater, Film and Television.

During his interview with BlackEnterprise.com, Great revealed that he didn’t even set out to become the school’s valedictorian. He simply wanted to do his best.

“The funny thing is I never set out to be valedictorian,” he said. “I was just determined to do my best and work to the highest of my ability.”

He also added that although he appreciates the awards and honors, they are still not the most important things to him.

“I focus on doing my work,” he said. “Making a positive contribution, that’s what I think about. What can I give of myself to make a contribution to our culture? If I’m blessed to win more awards I’d be grateful to accept them in the spirit of the ancestors who sacrificed so much for me to even have an opportunity.”

In addition to making history with his performance in the classroom, Great also has made incredible strides outside of his studies.

Great was the 2014 recipient of the Cinema Research Institute Fellowship for Innovation, BlackEnterprise.com reports.

“The CRI fellowship means that executives in a film think-tank believe my ideas are cutting-edge and promising enough to nurture,” he told BlackEnterprise.com. “It also means that I have financial support for one year to test an innovative model in the market, which will help procure long-term funding to secure the company’s growth.”

The recent graduate is also quite the emerging entrepreneur.

He is the founder of Project Catalyst and has recently launched the Project Catalyst App.

According to BlackEnterprise.com, Project Catalyst is a transmedia organization that combines creative community-building practices with cinema, visual art, music and technology.

Great is currently touring major cities in the U.S. to continue promoting the app’s launch.

“We’ve successfully organized live events and presentations in New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles to introduce our new film and music app to the world,” he told BlackEnterprise.com. “We now have users in 11 countries across Europe, Asia, North and South America, the Caribbean and the Middle East.”

Great explained that the app “offers a progressive voice to multicultural communities with fresh, insightful entertainment that empowers and illuminates.”

Great plans to finish his Ph.D. at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and said that finishing his Ph.D. will be done in honor of his two role models – Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“They inspired me to earn my doctorate – that will be my greatest achievement,” he said.

It is no surprise that Great named these two historical figures as his role models.

The self-proclaimed historian said it is a “deep sense of responsibility” that drives him to work as hard as he does.

“I understand the sacrifice of so many dynamic figures in our culture that gave so much for us to have a chance,” Great said.

 

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DRIVEN Global Marks First Black-Owned Golf and Beverage Company

Two entrepreneurs will make history by launching the first Black-owned golf and fine beverage company.

Mark Thierry and Greshaun Fulgham, the founders of DRIVEN Global, have turned out to be a match made in heaven when it comes to business partnerships, but the two entrepreneurs didn’t find each other.

America’s first African-American billionaire and Black Entertainment Television (BET) founder Robert L. Johnson paired the self-made millionaires together.

What Johnson knew would be a great business partnership eventually developed into a close friendship as well.

Now, the business partners-turned-best friends are changing the face of golf.

There has been much discussion lately about how to get Black consumers interested in golf.

Introducing a Black-owned golf brand might be the first step to achieving that goal.

An official launch date has not been announced, but the Herald Online reports that DRIVEN Golf will launch sometime this fall – making it the first minority-owned golf brand dedicated to inspiring first-time golfers of color and urban socialites.

As for fine beverages, the pair will also be launching Destiny Moscato.

The American Sparkling Moscato will be a new product of Red Styxx Beverage, a subsidiary of DRIVEN Global.

The Destiny Moscato launch date is scheduled for Oct. 2  and will take place in Houston.

The two entrepreneurs are certainly on their way to breaking down boundaries and etching their names into business history books, and they may have their differences to thank for that.

While they are both driven businessmen, they tend to work and think differently, but even in the world of business, opposites attract.

“Thierry thrives off risk-taking, Fulgham masters structure,” the Herald Online reports. “When Thierry was thinking national, Fulgham was going global. What binds them together is the dream.”

That dream is much larger than profits and revenue.

“The Dream involves the awareness that everyone has more to this life that they can strive for,” Thierry told the Herald Online. “The Dream that a golf club, or anything for that matter, can be a metaphor for someone making the best of themselves.”

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TV Producers of ‘The Flash’ Consider Possibility of African-American Flash

Executive producers of the CW’s The Flash hinted that the show could introduce an African-American Flash some time in the future.

The show is only a few weeks away from its Oct. 7 series premiere, and while promotional trailers have already exposed the main character’s identity as a white male, producers say there may still be room for a Black Flash later down the line.

During CW’s panel Saturday at the PaleyFest, an annual celebration of diversity in programming and the creative processes behind television, one fan asked if the show would ever see a Black Flash.

According to executive producers Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg, it’s a strong possibility.

“We made the Wests African-American so that we could ultimately head in that direction, absolutely,” Berlanti said. “That’s our hope.”

The “Wests” Berlanti referred to are the family of Wally West.

In the DC Comics, Wally West is the first Kid Flash and the third Flash.

While he was originally depicted as a red-headed Caucasian male, the producers made a conscious effort to switch things up a bit by casting an African-American family instead.

In the past, some comic book fans have been critical of characters’ races being changed without explanation.

Despite the controversy that usually arises over the topic, the producers are standing by their decision.

In fact, Kreisberg explained that in the New 52, Wally’s identity had not been revealed yet anyway so it was the perfect opportunity to reimagine the character.

“What’s very cool is in the New 52 they hadn’t reintroduced Wally [yet],” Kreisberg explained. “When they reintroduced Wally, they made him African-American. So now and forever, Kid Flash will be African-American.”

That New 52 is the massive relaunch by DC Comics that started roughly three years ago. Back in September of 2011, DC canceled many of its popular existing titles and released new first issues of the classic comics. In other words, it’s a sort of retelling of the classic comic book stories that allows creators to reimagine some of America’s favorite heroes.

With the answers about a Black Flash still being relatively vague, the possibilities of seeing the African-American superhero come to small screens all across the country are quite limitless.

Some fans speculate that Wally will make an appearance on the show without ever becoming a main character.

Others suspect that if the show manages to survive for several seasons, Wally would eventually take over as a main character.

 

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30 Young African Women Prepare to Revolutionize STEM Careers

A group of high school girls from South Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia are prepared to revolutionize STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) careers by breaking down the barriers that often leave women excluded from such career paths.

On Aug. 30, the Taungana Movement STEM Expo awarded 30 young ladies with certificates to prove they have been given the skills and knowledge that will allow them to compete with their male counterparts for careers in STEM industries.

The annual expo is part of the Taungana movement that aims to take young African women from rural and disadvantaged communities and allow them to receive the type of specialized training and professional experience that many white males have become accustomed to.

The organization was founded in 2013, making it a relatively new program, but the support for the program has already grown substantially.

Taungana was set up in partnership with South Africa’s STEM IT Forward, TechWomen Zimbabwe and Zambia’s Asikana Network.

The program also boasts impressive partners and mentors from companies like BMW, Anglo America, SAA, Eskom, NECSA, Thoughtworks Africa and the Innovation Hub.

The attendees at the expo were given the opportunity to visit all of these companies and speak to professionals who are already thriving in the fields that the young students hope to conquer one day.

For one of the attendees, 17-year-old Sibongumusa Xaba from Zimbabwe, the program gave her a better idea of what career path she wants to pursue.

“What I enjoyed the most was yesterday’s seminar with Dr. Thenjiwe Hlongwane from a hospital here in Johannesburg because I want to become a gynecologist,” she told Htxt.Africa. “Now I really have a better idea of the career path I have chosen.”

The expo focused on more than just education and training. It also made sure it worked to inspire the girls to conquer all the obstacles they are sure to face as they move forward in their career goals.

As the founder of Taungana, Sandra Tererai from Zimbabwe explained it is not common to see Black women working in STEM careers.

“Being in this industry, usually I’m the only female when I’m at meetings, and it’s very rare to see females in companies’ management,” she said. “I’m typically surrounded by males.”

She then began pondering why there weren’t more women at those meetings and working in those management positions.

“So I started thinking why there aren’t more women at the table,” she said. “Is it that they were never exposed to the industry? The drop-out rate of women studying STEM courses? That’s where the passion to get young girls interested in STEM came from.”

For 14-year-old Chipo Manda from Zambia, the program certainly served as a powerful form of inspiration. She hopes to pursue a career in medicine in the future and said that the expo taught her not to let any major challenges stand in her way.

“Dr. Hlongwane told us that being in medicine is hard, but if that’s what you want to do, then go for it, she really inspired me,” Chipo said.

In the future, Tererai hopes to expand the expo to more countries in Africa and bring in even more students who are passionate about changing the face of STEM careers.

 

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Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson Confirms Villainous Role as DC Comics’ Black Adam

Dwayne Johnson, better known by some as The Rock, finally confirmed that he will be taking on the role of Black Adam in the upcoming DC Comics film adaptation.

There are still many questions left unanswered, like when the Shazam adaptation will hit theaters and if Johnson will be donning a spandex bodysuit for the role, but at least fans finally know who will be the face of the famous antihero.

Johnson took to his own social media to confirm the role and express his excitement over the part.

“ ‘Kneel at his feet or get crushed by his boot.’ My honor to become… #BlackAdam #TheAntiHero #DCComics,” he tweeted Wednesday.

He also shared an image of the magic-wielding supervillain he will portray putting his arch nemesis, Shazam, in a frightening chokehold.

For many fans, the 42-year-old actor’s decision was no surprise.

Last month, he talked to The Associated Press about how much he loves antiheroes and even pointed out Black Adam as one of his favorite DC Comics characters.

During an appearance in Mexico City to promote his latest film Hercules, he explained that he will do everything in his power to satisfy the fans.

“I am putting my heart and soul and my bones into this role,” he said.

Toby Emmerich, president and chief operating officer of New Line, is not the least bit worried about Johnson’s ability to bring this character to life.

“We love Dwayne and have had nothing but success with him over the years,” Emmerich said. “When I look at Dwayne both off screen and on screen, he is such a larger-than-life character, and it just made perfect sense to me that we put him in a DC Comics movie. You look at these comic book characters and they have this certain swag and charisma that Dwayne carries with him wherever he is, so that’s why this always made sense.”

Warner Brothers has not announced an official release date for the film.

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#BlackTwitterStudyResults Bashes USC’s Black Twitter Research

When the University of Southern California announced its latest study on Black Twitter, the virtual community gave the student researchers a firsthand taste of just how powerful of a digital vehicle Black Twitter really is.

The university’s Data Science at the Annenberg Innovation Lab website explained the details of one of the school’s latest studies – a closer look at the online sub-culture that has become known as Black Twitter.

Problems arose, however, when many users felt the research method watered Black Twitter down to nothing more than Scandal-watching live-tweeters with short attention spans.

“In order to observe the unpredictable flow of Black Twitter activity, we turn instead to a structured set of events around which a significant percentage of the Black Twitter community has gathered,” the DSAIL website explained. “Our case study focuses on the popular television show, Scandal (of which the protagonist is notable actress, Kerry Washington). From October 3 to December 12, 2013, we tracked the activity of any user tweeting about Scandal, and logged their Twitter conversations and user metadata. With this collection as a starting point, we have begun to map out relationships among users who ‘live-tweet’ Scandal in an effort to identify sub-groups of users that interact with one another outside of their shared interest in the TV show.”

The study, which initially seemed to be headed by only three white males, came across as offensive to many Black Twitter users who responded to the research in true Black Twitter fashion – with a sarcastic hashtag.

The hashtag #BlackTwitterStudyResults started circulating on the social media site rather quickly and even garnered attention from BET.

“#blacktwitterstudyresults: people still like #CollegeHill …That’s why we are re-airing it. MIDNIGHTS,” BET tweeted.

Others joined in by slamming the false perceptions that often swirl around the online community.

“Lacking the ability to multitask, Black twitter often forgets about Black on Black crime #BlackTwitterStudyResults,” another user tweeted.

Others used pop culture phrases to inspire their tweets.

“#BlackTwitterStudyResults Felicia is clearly disliked as everyone wants her to leave #ByeFelicia,” another user tweeted.

It wasn’t long before users began mentioning some frequently discussed topics in Black Twitter such as “shade throwing,” the term “beat face,” and thinning edges.

“If one catches fade then they also may be the victim of shade throwing? Something about edges. Still deciphering. #BlackTwitterStudyResults,” another user tweeted before quickly gaining over 100 retweets.

After the hashtag started to garner more and more attention, a young Black woman was added to the project’s website’s attribution section.

The woman, who was identified as Dayna Chatman, eventually took to her own timeline to defend the project that she claimed was her idea from the start.

“I want to voice my frustration with how the research is inaccurately represented online,” she tweeted. “I will say more about my role in the project.”

Through a series of tweets, Chatman said her only goal for the project was to “archive and understand the voice of Black people” because she feels it is not “done enough in Communication.”

She also explained that she “pitched this project” as a part of her dissertation.

Many users felt as if this was merely a tactic being used to help fend off some of the backlash aimed toward three white males heading a research project on Black Twitter.

Others simply felt as if the study would serve to be pointless and was far too narrow-minded.

“If you want to understand the way blck ppl communicate you’ll have to go beyond Twitter #BlackTwitterStudyResults,” one user tweeted shortly after Chatman explained her involvement with the project.