by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

June 6, 2024

Ohio Woman Arrested After Allegedly Stabbing 3-Year-Olf Boy To Death In Supermarket Parking Lot

32-year-old Bionca Ellis was indicted on multiple charges including aggravated murder and attempted murder.

An Ohio woman has been charged in the stabbing death of a 3-year-old boy and an attack on the boy’s mother after allegedly committing a “random act of violence” in the parking lot outside of a supermarket in North Olmsted.

Bionca Ellis, 32, reportedly walked past Margot Wood and her son, Julian, while in the Giant Eagle supermarket. After following the pair into the parking lot, Ellis allegedly stabbed both of them with a knife she had taken from the Volunteers of America thrift store. Wood was stabbed in the shoulder, while Julian was stabbed in the face and back. The incident took place on June 3.

Police officers responded to several 911 calls after 3 p.m. to the store’s parking lot.

“There’s a lady with a knife stabbing somebody in the lot at Giant Eagle,” a woman reportedly told dispatchers. “She’s walking toward Lorain with a knife in her hand.”

An employee of Giant Eagle told dispatchers, “There’s a child; he’s bleeding all over the place. I don’t know what happened to him. They’re doing CPR on him. Is he breathing? I don’t know.”

On June 4, at Rocky River Municipal Court, Judge Brian Hagan set Ellis’ bond at $1 million.

The Associated Press reported that a Cuyahoga County grand jury indicted Ellis on multiple charges on June 5, including aggravated murder and attempted murder.

According to Live 5 WCSC, Detective Sgt. Matthew Beck said the motive of her action is unknown, but “everything learned thus far points that this was a random act of violence.”

Ellis was arrested last year for stealing from a Walmart store in North Olmsted and convicted of a reduced charge of unauthorized use of property.

“Our hearts go out to the two victims of what appears to be a random act of violence,” North Olmsted Mayor Nicole Dailey Jones said in a written statement.

Giant Eagle also commented on the tragic incident, “We are aware of the reported incident and are working with the authorities. For the moment, they (the authorities) are the best source for information.”

Civil Rights Hall of Fame, Mississippi, Jackson, Mayor Lumumba

by Sharelle B. McNair

June 6, 2024

TaShun Bowden-Lewis, the First Black Chief Public Defender of Connecticut, Fired Over Misconduct Allegations

Do you think there is more behind her firing?

TaShun Bowden-Lewis, Connecticut’s first Black chief public defender, was fired following months of misconduct allegations and disagreements with the agency’s oversight body.

An oversight commission fired Bowden-Lewis on June 4 after two years in the position. The firing followed 16 misconduct allegations, including racism, mistreatment of employees, and improper use of email access. During two public meetings in April, Bowden-Lewis denied all the allegations and even accused the Public Defender Services Commission panel of interfering with her authority to run the office. However, the board voted unanimously to let her go.

“Miss Bowden-Lewis, we recognize that this is a very difficult time for everyone, including you, the division and the commission,” Palmer said following the panel vote.

“When this commission was appointed, we started with great hope for the future and never expected or wanted to be here today. It’s the commission’s sincere hope that there are better days ahead for you and for the division. Thank you.”

Intense disagreements started in early 2024, resulting in Bowden-Lewis being suspended on Feb. 9. Palmer wrote in a letter that the disciplinary action resulted from an “investigation by the commission into certain behavior that, if confirmed, could be grounds for disciplinary action.”

The board also accused her of repeating claims of discrimination, bias and retaliation against members. However, they opted not to factor that into their decision. “The interest in protecting the right to oppose discrimination outweighs the interest in avoiding meritless claims of discrimination,” the decision wrote.

The Connecticut Public Defender Attorneys Union released a statement praising the decision: “Members have fulfilled our vital public mission.”

“Our members have fulfilled our vital public mission despite the controversy and dysfunction that we have experienced during the last two years,” the statement read.

“We look forward to working productively with a new Chief Public Defender so we can continue to serve the people of Connecticut with the utmost professionalism.”

While Bowden-Lewis declined to comment after the vote, according to Associated Press, her lawyer, Thomas Bucci, the former mayor of Bridegport, Connecticut, called the vote an “unlawful removal.” “This was a skewed process, an unfair process, meant to remove a very capable and competent director who was protecting the integrity of the institution,” Bucci said.

Several supporters who attended the public meetings felt that Bowden-Lewis should remain in the position. The former chief public defender once said she thought she was never given a fair chance at success in the role. Some Black and brown employees described the move as an effort to undermine the chief’s goals, which Bowden-Lewis described as the “hyper scrutinizing and undermining” of her decisions.

by Shanique Yates

June 6, 2024

Study Reveals Racial Bias In Facebook Ads for Education Opportunities

A 2024 research paper curated by a team of university researchers suggests that Facebook’s advertising algorithm has unevenly targeted Black users with ads for for-profit colleges.

A 2024 research paper suggests that Facebook’s advertising algorithm has unevenly targeted Black users with ads for for-profit colleges.

Meta, the current parent company to both Facebook and Instagram, did not share why billions of users might see certain posts that were not seen by others. However, a group of academic professionals from Princeton and the University of Southern California took matters into their own hands, The Intercept reported.

The group purchased ads from Facebook and tracked their performance among real Facebook users, revealing “evidence of racial discrimination in Meta’s algorithmic delivery of ads for education opportunities, posing legal and ethical concerns.”

For-profit colleges like DeVry and Grand Canyon University were the targets of the study, especially since both schools have been listed among those fined or sued by the Department of Education for advertising trickery.

According to researchers, for-profit colleges have had a “long, demonstrable history of deceiving prospective students,” homing in on students of color through the use of predatory marketing “while delivering lackluster educational outcomes and diminished job prospects” in comparison to other educational institutions.

The group purchased sets of two ads paired together to conduct the study. Therefore, one campaign would be for a public institution like Colorado State University, and the other would focus on a for-profit company such as Strayer University, both of which the report claims were not involved in this project.

While advertisers can fine-tune campaigns on Facebook through a range of targeting options like age and location, race is no longer an option that can be selected when preparing to advertise on the social media network. The researchers, however, found a workaround using North Carolina voter registration data, which includes individuals’ races.

Through this strategy, the scholars could build a sample audience that was 50% Black and 50% white. Black users came from one region in North Carolina, and the white voters were from another part of the state.

By utilizing Facebook’s “custom audience” feature, the researchers were able to upload a roster of specific individuals to be targeted with the ads. While the race of the users who viewed the ads was not disclosed, what was revealed was allegedly the location in which each ad was seen.

“Whenever our ad is shown in Raleigh, we can infer it was shown to a Black person and, when it is shown in Charlotte—we can infer it was shown to a White person,” read the paper.

If the algorithm in question were genuinely unbiased, it would serve ads for each school to an equal number of Black and white users. However, the experiment revealed a bias because Facebook’s algorithm allegedly “disproportionately showed Black users ads for colleges like DeVry and Grand Canyon University.”

Conversely, more white users saw ads geared toward state colleges, per the study.

“Addressing fairness in ads is an industry-wide challenge, and we’ve been collaborating with civil rights groups, academics, and regulators to advance fairness in our ads system,” said Meta spokesperson Daniel Roberts.

“Our advertising standards do not allow advertisers to run ads that discriminate against individuals or groups of individuals based on personal attributes such as race, and we are actively building technology designed to make additional progress in this area.”

In 2016, a ProPublica report revealed that Facebook allows advertisers to “explicitly exclude users from advertising campaigns based on their race.”

Since then, the company has removed options allowing marketers to target users by race. However, even if the aforementioned for-profit programs refined their marketing efforts and “aimed for racially balanced ad targeting,” the team of Princeton and USC researchers found that “Meta’s algorithms would recreate historical racial skew in who the ads are shown to and would do so unbeknownst to the advertisers.”

P Diddy, combs, lawsuit, Howard University, video, cassie, Revolt, CEO

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

June 6, 2024

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sells Majority Stake in Revolt To Employees, Keeping The Company Black-Owned

Sean “Diddy” Combs has officially sold off his stake in Revolt with employees becoming the largest shareholder stake in the company.

Sean “Diddy” Combs has officially sold his stake in Revolt, and employees have become the company’s largest shareholders.

On June 4th, Revolt unveiled its new ownership structure following Combs’ exit as chairman of the television and media company he founded in 2013. The latest model aims to incentivize team members, boost company morale, and keep Revolt Black-owned.

Company staff, comprising 80% people of color, will soon receive detailed breakdowns of employee participation. Revolt remaining Black-owned, which was a priority for the company, CEO Detavio Samuels teased their plans to keep “dreaming bigger and Blacker.”

“This is something that we’ve been looking to do, waiting to do, believing that the people who give this company their blood, sweat and tears should have some sort of upside opportunity if and when we win,” Samuels said.

“All of the data suggests that the companies that have incentive pools for their employees outperform the rest. They perform better financially, they perform better with company morale and culture and they perform better as it relates to retention.”

Future plans include “continuing to create more women-led and women-targeted shows,” Samuels shared along with the expansion of Revolt Sports.

“We seek out and embrace the genius of the underdog … the voices that have been traditionally silenced. For the first time, this group gets a chance at that kind of equity,” Monique Chenault, president of Revolt Studios, said.

Samuels stayed quiet on questions about how Combs’ allegations have impacted the Revolt team but did confirm the hip-hop mogul’s ties to the company have been completely severed. Combs stepped down from his role at Revolt in November 2023, shortly after settling a shocking lawsuit with his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura that accused him of sex, physical, and drug abuse, among other allegations.

Since Ventura’s lawsuit, Combs has been hit with additional lawsuits involving allegations of rape, misconduct, sex trafficking, and other criminal activity. Last month, CNN released leaked surveillance camera footage that showed Combs assaulting Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel.

The Bad Boy founder later took to Instagram to share a video in which he admitted to his “inexcusable” behavior.

“I take full responsibility for my actions in that video,” he said.

Portia Archer, The Women's Tennis Association, WTA

by Shanique Yates

June 6, 2024

NBA G League’s Portia Archer New CEO of Women’s Tennis Association

As former COO of the G League, Archer brings years of experience in positions at various big-name media companies, including the NBC Sports Group, HBO, and the BBC

The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) has officially appointed Portia Archer as CEO. The former NBA G League executive will replace Steve Simon, who will continue as WTA’s chairman. Archer is set to begin July 29.

Simon called Archer a “fantastic addition” to the WTA leadership team.

As chief operating officer of the G League, Archer brings years of experience in positions at various big-name media companies, including the NBC Sports Group, HBO, as well as the BBC, ESPN reports.

“The WTA is an organization I have long admired,” Archer said in a statement. “It has pioneered the growth and development of women’s professional sport around the world, and I am excited to have the opportunity to join the team as we deliver our ambitions for the Tour and write the next chapter of the WTA story.”

In 2023, the WTA faced criticism from players over the lack of equal pay at certain events where their male counterparts received higher compensation for the same work. The association also faced backlash over the late announcement of the host city for the 2023 year-end WTA finals as well as the conditions at of that event, which was held in Cancun, Mexico.

In April 2024, the WTA was scrutinized for its involvement with Saudi Arabia and the nation’s Public Investment Fund. For the next three seasons, the finals will be held in Riyadh, with the PIF serving as the title sponsor for weekly rankings.

Other reports say there has been financial turmoil in the organization, along with increased conversations around merging commercial assets with the Association of Tennis Professionals.

Simon stepped down as CEO while continuing to serve as WTA chairman in December 2023. In a statement at the time, Simon said the separation of the two roles would allow him to focus on “governance, the strategic interest of the WTA within the sport, integrity issues and the development of new markets and frontiers for the WTA.”

DEi, divided,, corporate leaders, controversy, board, meeting, ceo, business

by Shanique Yates

June 6, 2024

Corporate Leaders Divided On DEI Commitment Amid Growing Controversy

Although the top-line numbers show that DEI is in a good space, other figures in the report suggest otherwise.

Throughout 2024 so far, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) has been the topic of conversation. Billionaires like Elon Musk and Bill Ackman’s public disdain for policies at their respective companies have garnered mixed reviews.

However, as companies dismantle the programs, there are still business executives who are fully committed to DEI, even going as far as doubling down on the programs that are currently in place.

According to Fortune, a study conducted by management consulting firm Bridge Partners revealed that roughly 72% of C-suite and Human Resources (HR) leaders plan to enhance their current DEI efforts over the next two years. More than 400 business executives with at least 250 employees or $25 million in revenue were polled.

On the other hand, just about 4% of leaders at companies said they plan to cut back on DEI initiatives or eliminate the programs.

While about 94% of survey respondents claim that DEI is important due to its “positive impact on recruiting, hiring, and retention,” another 74% believe that the programs help improve a company’s reputation with customers and the public. About 68% say the push for more DEI programs helps to foster innovation and creativity.

Although the top-line numbers show that DEI is in a good space, other figures in the report suggest otherwise.

When asked if DEI is more important today than it was five years ago, the numbers dropped—from 82% who said yes in 2023 to 73% in 2024. Additionally, one in four executives see DEI programs as “one-sided, biased, and likely a fad that will go away.” What’s more, 33% say that the initiatives “unfairly advance some employees but not others.”

One statistic that doesn’t appear hopeful regarding DEI: the share of employers increasing DEI investments fell from 77% in 2023 to 66% in 2024.

“There is this sort of dichotomy of: ‘Yes, we understand the business case. Yes, we want to continue to invest. Yes, we’re in this for the long term. But also, it’s a fad, and it’s unfair,’” said Tory Clarke, Bridge Partners partner and cofounder. “The conclusion that we’ve come to as we’ve pored through all of this data depends on who you’re asking.”

According to the poll, DEI is a big deal for HR and executive leaders, with 87% and 75% calling it a “high priority.”

Board members, shareholders, and external stakeholders are the least likely to prioritize DEI, with only 57%, 41%, and 35%, respectively, calling it a high priority.

Clarke said the C-suite becoming more diverse offers a glimmer of hope. However, there is still a long road ahead for DEI proponents, said Clarke, who noted that the current backlash is just “one of many that diversity initiatives have faced over the years.”

Joyel Crawford, Fairygodmentor, Ask Your Fairygodmentor, Column, peer to mentor, manager, peer

by BLACK ENTERPRISE Editors

June 6, 2024

Ask Your Fairygodmentor®: To Exit interview Or To Not Exit Interview?

When it's time to move on from your current job you have a choice to make.

Reader’s Question:

Dear Fairygodmentor,

Is it wrong to decline an exit interview? I recently left a job and I don’t have anything nice to say, but it seems rude to not take the appointment.

Best wishes,

Don’t Want to Be Rude

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Dear Don’t Want to Be Rude,

I’m going to give you an answer that you may not like.

It depends.

You always have a choice. Just as you made the choice to leave the place where you were working and work someplace new.

Choice One: Participate in the exit interview. By participating, you provide the workplace that you’re leaving with some specific, detailed feedback on your experiences there with the intention that they will make improvements, gain knowledge on how retain their existing employees, and give insights on how the organization works well (or doesn’t work well).

An exit interview is a pretty harmless process. The Human Resources department will most likely ask you a set of standard questions that revolve around why you’re leaving and give you an opportunity to share feedback before you leave the organization.

The key is to be completely honest and specific. Keeping things generic or high-level serves no one.

Ultimately, the exit interview can provide closure for you and the organization that you’re leaving.

Choice Two: Do not participate in the exit interview. I don’t know your reason for leaving, but perhaps it’s because you’d rather close that chapter of your life and leave well enough alone.

Exit interviews are not mandatory.

The key to remember is that it’s ultimately your choice. You’re not obligated to participate. Your boundaries are yours and yours alone. “No” is a complete sentence.

It’s not rude to decline.

You got this!

Sincerely,

Your Fairygodmentor®

Joyel Crawford is an award-winning career and leadership development professional and the founder of Crawford Leadership Strategies, a consultancy that develops empowered, results-driven leaders through engaging leadership development coaching, training, and facilitation.

Have a question about handling a micromanager, are you having difficulty navigating spaces because of your hair, is work stressing you out, do you need support coaching poor performance, or are you wondering how to negotiate and get the job offer you desire, effectively? Do you have any questions about career and leadership development?

Ask Your FairyGodMentor® here.

AI, artificial intelligence, trends, A.I., journey, technology, DryMerge, AI, job interview

by Shanique Yates

June 6, 2024

Are AI Tools Like Microsoft’s Copilot and ChatGPT Compromising Your Workplace Security?

As generative AI tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Microsoft’s Copilot continue to evolve, so do multiple concerns around privacy and security issues.

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace is growing at a rapid pace. As generative AI tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Microsoft’s Copilot continue to evolve, so do multiple concerns around privacy and security issues.

More recently, a new Microsoft tool, Recall, has been listed as a potential “privacy nightmare” thanks to its ability to take screenshots of its user’s laptop every few seconds, Wired reports.

The news caught the attention of the UK regulator, the Information Commissioner’s Office, which has since asked the leading technology company to provide more details surrounding the product’s safety as the company prepares to deploy it in Microsoft’s Copilot PCs.

Another platform raising eyebrows is OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which also has demonstrated its use of the screenshot feature in the soon-to-launch macOS app. According to privacy experts, the tool could result in the capture of sensitive data, specifically in the workplace.

Cam Woollven, group head of AI at risk management firm GRC International Group, told Wired that a bulk of generative AI systems are “essentially big sponges,” posing threats of inadvertently exposing sensitive data.

“They soak up huge amounts of information from the internet to train their language models,” said Woollven.

With AI companies “hungry for data to train their models,” Elementsuite CEO and founder Steve Elcock said those same businesses are “seemingly making it behaviorally attractive” to do so. The collection of data in this way poses concerns about the potential for sensitive information to be placed into someone else’s ecosystem.

What’s more, AI systems are more susceptible to being targeted by hackers.

“Theoretically, if an attacker managed to gain access to the large language model (LLM) that powers a company’s AI tools, they could siphon off sensitive data, plant false or misleading outputs, or use the AI to spread malware,” Woollven explained.

While the above poses threats for individual users, Elcock told Wired it won’t be long before “this technology could be used for monitoring employees.”

While generative AI does pose some risks, there are steps that businesses and individual employees can take to prevent security exposure. First, experts say it is imperative to avoid providing the platforms with sensitive information.

“Do not put confidential information into a prompt for a publicly available tool such as ChatGPT or Google’s Gemini,” Lisa Avvocato, vice president of marketing and community at data firm Sama, warned.

Instead, she suggests being generic.

“Ask, ‘Write a proposal template for budget expenditure,’ not ‘Here is my budget, write a proposal for expenditure on a sensitive project,’” Avvocato told Wired. “Use AI as your first draft, then layer in the sensitive information you need to include.”

At this time, the House of Representatives is among the organizations that have banned the use of generative AI platforms like Microsoft’s Copilot among its staff members. The move was made after it was deemed to be a risk to users due to “the threat of leaking House data to non-House approved cloud services” by the Office of Cybersecurity.

Giancarlo Esposito, Italian, New York, memoir, book, publishing

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

June 6, 2024

Giancarlo Esposito To Open Up About Black-Italian Upbringing And ‘The Call That Changed His Life’ In New Memoir

Giancarlo Esposito's memoir is on the way following a bidding war won by The Crown Publishing Group in partnership with Sugar23 Books.

Giancarlo Esposito has a story to tell and will take fans on a candid life journey in his new memoir.

The Breaking Bad star has sold his untitled life story following a bidding war won by The Crown Publishing Group in partnership with Sugar23 Books. The book will follow Esposito’s life from his birth in Europe to a Black American mother and Italian father to a drastic transition to the United States where he and his family lived out of a one-bedroom apartment in Upstate New York.

“The memoir will explore Giancarlo’s upbringing as the second child of a black American opera singer and an Italian theatrical set builder,” the book’s official description reads.

“Born in Europe in the late 1950s and identifying as Italian, he experienced no racism that he understood until his parents moved to the States — where his complex relationship with them continued out of a one-bedroom apartment in Elmsford, New York. In a bizarre and tragic turn of events, Giancarlo became his family’s sole breadwinner at the age of eight when he was cast in a Broadway musical.”

It continues. “After decades of awards and hundreds of roles on the large and small screen, he found himself bankrupt, living in a goat barn, divorced and unable to support his ex and four daughters. Despite all the work, Hollywood never really knew what to do with Giancarlo. Then came the call that changed his life…’Breaking Bad.’”

The memoir announcement comes two months after Esposito opened up about some of the challenges he faced in life, including the time he contemplated organizing his own murder as a means to provide for his family. It was during an appearance on SiriusXM’s Jim & Sam show in April when the Do the Right Thing star discussed the time in his life when he was so financially desperate that he came up with the idea to orchestrate his murder and secure life insurance for his then-wife and their four daughters.

“If I got somebody to knock me off, death through misadventure, they would get the insurance,” Esposito said. “I had four kids. I wanted them to have a life. It was a hard moment in time. I literally thought of self-annihilation so that they could survive. That’s how low I was.”

Esposito will likely retell this traumatic life event among others in his new memoir. He’s currently starring and executive producing AMC’s Parish and has a role in Netflix’s The Gentlemen. Recent reports revealed the villain role he’s set to take on in Marvel’s next Captain America movie.

National Cancer Survivors Day, June 2, cancer

by Stacy Jackson

June 6, 2024

New Study Examines Genetic Risks Of Breast Cancer Among Black Women

Data gathered as part of the NIH-funded African Ancestry Breast Cancer Genetic consortium will be used by researchers around the world.

In an ambitious pursuit to unravel the unique genetic risks associated with breast cancer among women of African descent, a research team led by Dr. Wei Zheng of Vanderbilt University has meticulously analyzed genetic data from over 40,000 individuals within this population.

The study, believed to be the largest genome-wide association study (GWAS) of its kind, sought to identify genetic variants more prevalent in participants with breast cancer compared to those without. According to the National Institutes of Health, the analysis unveiled 12 genetic regions, or loci, associated with the disease, three of which were specifically linked to the aggressive triple-negative subtype, which Black women are twice as likely to develop compared to whites.

An alarming 8% of the study participants harbored two copies of the high-risk genetic variants within all three of the identified loci, elevating their probability of developing the aggressive triple-negative breast cancer subtype by a staggering 4.2-fold in comparison to women possessing only one or lacking any copies of these concerning variants.

Dr. Zheng emphasized the significance of these findings, stating, “Data put together in this consortium have been and will continue to be used by researchers around the world.” As triple-negative breast cancer lacks specific cell receptors often targeted in treatment, such as estrogen or HER2 receptors, these insights may pave the way for the identification of new therapeutic targets.

The study also corroborated numerous previously identified breast cancer risk variants across diverse populations and uncovered an uncommon risk variant in ARHGEF38, a gene associated with prostate and lung cancers in the past. The data gathered as part of the NIH-funded African Ancestry Breast Cancer Genetic consortium encompassed 26 studies, with approximately 18,000 participants having been diagnosed with breast cancer. Most (85%) of the participants were African Americans, while the remaining were from Barbados or Africa.

Over 310,000 new breast cancer cases are anticipated to emerge nationwide this year, and Black women are more likely than whites to die from the disease. Results from the study were reported in Nature Genetics on May 13.