• Education

by Atiya Jordan

March 29, 2023

Living Fearless: Black, Female CEO Empowers Breast Cancer Survivors, Tackles Disparities in Healthcare

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Maimah Karmo is a stage II breast cancer survivor, founder, and CEO who is fearlessly pouring into her life’s purpose in a world that is stacked against Black women’s health.

Back in 2006, the dynamic mastermind behind the Tigerlily Foundation was diagnosed with triple- negative breast cancer – one that is more aggressive and deadly in young and Black women.

17 years later, Karmo has become a passionate leader in women’s health, creating and carrying out national health initiatives for women and girls, with the goal of eliminating disparities of age, stage, and color.

“From being told I was too young, to having to push for a mammogram, then having it come back clean – even though I could still feel the lump; having to push for a biopsy for months and being denied,” Karmo told BLACK ENTERPRISE.

“There were so many statistics telling me as a young woman and a Black woman that the odds were against me. I refused to accept that for myself, other women and future generations, so I began to work to empower women and girls, to change thinking, framing and disrupt systems that are not working for us,” she added.

Tigerlily Foundation, whose mission is to educate, advocate for, empower, and support young women, before, during, and after breast cancer, has since launched the #InclusionPledge, driven education to millions of people through digital programs, including Breathe TV and our My Life Matters Magazine and more.

“I began Tigerlily while in treatment at 32 years old, with no money, resources or training and have built it into a grassroots, community based organization, with a national and global footprint,” Karmo recalled.

Passionately, Karmo, a Congressional Black Caucus’s Leadership in Advocacy Award winner, shared more with BLACK ENTERPRISE about her transition from diagnosis to health champion.

What is your life’s purpose?

My life’s purpose is to ensure that families have every opportunity to live a full life, with equitable access to all the opportunities this world affords, with a specific focus on health equity, access, improved medicines for patients, supportive care and respect for people as they navigate their life and healthcare journey.

How did you discover your fearlessness through breast cancer?

After getting diagnosed, I was shocked, scared and overwhelmed. I had two choices – to accept what I’d been told – that I had an average of 5 years for recurrence and possibly death; or I could create my life on my own terms and use this challenge as a gift.

Looking back, I had the fearlessness in me all along, I just didn’t know it, but this is why we have to always tell ourselves the right story – how we talk to ourselves, see and believe in ourselves is key to success. Even when people didn’t believe, I did and I was relentless in pursuit of my goal of amplifying young women’s voices and changing policies, systems, and how and when we educate the community.

What was going on through your mind to inspire Tigerlily?

After finally getting the biopsy and the diagnosis of Triple Negative Breast Cancer, I knew that I had to do something to make a difference. I didn’t know what, but I asked God to guide me and I listened. I also believe that service is the rent we pay for living and as long as I am alive, I had to do something to change the outcomes that younger and Black women were facing.

Describe your experience as a Black female executive and breast cancer survivor in women’s health?

I spent 14 years working a full-time job, single parenting and building Tigerlily full-time, and people wouldn’t fund me. No one was teaching me how to grow, and I kept hearing that I was small and a one- person show, but how do you grow when you’re getting pennies and others are getting millions.

As a Black woman, the foot on my neck were companies that held the purse strings who said they were working towards equity, but wouldn’t support a patient driven organization with the lived experiences and trust from the community that I had. I didn’t give up and I kept building and showing up at places and somehow, God kept giving me these platforms – even the Oprah Winfrey Show, but I still wasn’t getting funding.

What challenges have you witnessed affecting young Black women with breast cancer?

One of the things that is most egregious is the lack of treatment options for Black women. So not only are we not seeing people who look like us in breast health campaigns, we are not offered clinical trials, we are experiencing delays in diagnosis – often because we are dismissed by providers; there is the issue of underinsurance; then when finally diagnosed the disease tends to be more advanced, which means aggressive treatment, but most often a recurrence and death… not to mention the toll on our families.

Why is it important as a Black woman to sit on the Federal Advisory Committee on Breast Cancer?

It’s amazing to look back and see that a conversation that started in Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz’s office led to the EARLY Act, put me at a table where I could make change, and to know that my efforts have improved the journey and outcomes for millions of young women.

Being on the Committee allowed me to represent the Black woman’s perspective and lived experiences – one that had been stifled or ignored for so long.

Sneaker giant Adidas AG has asked the U.S. Trademark Office to reject an application for a Black Lives Matter trademark featuring three parallel stripes, arguing it could mislead the public.

Adidas told the office in a Monday filing that Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation Inc’s yellow-stripe design would create confusion with its own famous three-stripe mark. It sought to block the group’s application to use the design on goods that the German sportswear maker also sells, such as shirts, hats and bags.

Adidas declined to comment on the filing. Representatives for the Black Lives Matter group did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

Adidas said in the filing that it has been using its logo since as early as 1952, and that it has acquired “international fame and tremendous public recognition.”

Adidas has filed over 90 lawsuits and signed more than 200 settlement agreements related to the three-stripe trademark since 2008, according to court documents from a lawsuit the company brought against designer Thom Browne’s fashion house.

A jury in that case decided in January that Thom Browne’s stripe patterns did not violate Adidas’ trademark rights.

The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation is the most prominent entity in the decentralized Black Lives Matter movement, which arose a decade ago to protest police violence against Black people. The group applied for a federal trademark in November 2020 covering a yellow three-stripe design to use on a variety of products including clothing, publications, bags, bracelets and mugs.

Adidas said in its Monday filing that the group’s design was confusingly similar to its logo, and that consumers would likely think their goods were connected or came from the same source.

The Trademark Office gave the Black Lives Matter group until May 6 to answer.

• News

by Sidnee Michelle Douyon

March 29, 2023

‘Let’s Go’: Body Camera Video Shows Nashville Officers Rushing School Shooter

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When police officer Rex Engelbert arrived at the Nashville grade school shooting on Monday, he immediately retrieved a rifle from the trunk of his patrol car.

Three minutes later, the shooter was dead, dropped by rounds Engelbert fired.

Nashville police on Tuesday released officer body camera video of the latest mass shooting to rock the United States, generating praise for Engelbert and fellow officer Michael Collazo for how efficiently they pursued the assailant.

“Let’s go,” Engelbert directed others, as police quickly closed in on the shooter who had killed three 9-year-old school children and three adults at the Covenant School.

Other officers who have yet to be identified also rushed toward the perpetrator, who was armed with two assault-type weapons and a 9 mm pistol.

Their actions contrasted with those of police in Uvalde, Texas, who during a school shooting last May waited more than an hour before storming the assailant. Nineteen students and two adults were killed in that tragedy.

The Nashville officers won praise from the police chief, a leading expert on police training and members of the public who called Engelbert and Collazo heroes on social media, saying they saved lives.

“I’m thankful for all that,” Collazo said when reached by telephone on Tuesday. He declined to speak at length, saying, “I just want to spend time with my family.”

Engelbert is a four-year veteran of the force and Collazo a nine-year veteran, police said. Collazo had previously worked as a paramedic with the SWAT team and had special weapons training, Police Chief John Drake told reporters.

“I was really impressed that with all that was going on, the danger, that somebody took control and said ‘let’s go, let’s go, let’s go,'” Drake said at a news conference on Tuesday.

President Joe Biden said he spoke with the officers involved in stopping the attack and planned to visit Nashville.

Thor Eells, executive director of the National Tactical Officers Association, said he was especially impressed with how the officers quickly shifted from their initial room-by-room search to a direct pursuit of the shooter once they heard gunfire.

“It was as close to perfect as you could realistically expect,” Eells said, commending their calm, communication and technique in handling weapons.

Engelbert’s body camera video shows police converge on the shooter. Someone yells “reloading” and Engelbert appears to be the first officer to fire, squeezing off four rounds that down the shooter.

Another officer with a long gun, standing between Engelbert and Collazo, may have also fired a round. Then Collazo quickly moves forward, firing four more shots with his handgun.

In Collazo’s body camera video, he runs through a hallway with other officers toward the gunfire.

“Shots fired, shots fired, move,” Collazo says before joining Engelbert and the other officer in confronting the shooter.

With the perpetrator on the floor, Collazo presses forward to take the final four shots, exhorting the shooter to “stop moving!”

There is no response from the mortally wounded assailant, as Collazo says, “suspect down, suspect down.”

• News

by Sidnee Michelle Douyon

March 29, 2023

Conviction of ‘Serial’ Podcast Subject Adnan Syed Reinstated by Maryland Court

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A Maryland appeals court on Tuesday reinstated the murder conviction of Adnan Syed, who was found guilty of the 1999 killing of his former girlfriend in a case that drew attention after the podcast “Serial” raised doubts about his guilt.

After an investigation identified problems with the case, a circuit court judge last year vacated Syed’s conviction in the murder of Hae Min Lee and ordered his release. He had served more than 20 years in prison.

The judge left it to prosecutors to decide whether to retry him and they decided to drop the case.

On Tuesday, a Maryland appellate court panel, in a 2-1 decision, ordered a new hearing into the matter, saying the lower court had violated the right of the victim’s family to attend a critical hearing in the case.

“This Court has the power and obligation to remedy those violations, as long we can do so without violating Mr. Syed’s right to be free from double jeopardy,” the panel said in its ruling.

“Accordingly, we vacate the circuit court’s order vacating Mr. Syed’s convictions, which results in the reinstatement of the original convictions and sentence,” it said.

The panel did not specifically order Syed back to prison, but allowed for a two-month delay in the “mandate” of its decision to allow the parties “time to assess how to proceed.”

Syed has maintained he was innocent and did not kill Hae Min Lee, who was 18 when she was strangled and buried in a Baltimore park. The podcast “Serial,” produced by Chicago public radio station WBEZ, drew national attention to the case in 2014.

An attorney for Syed said he remains free and the latest decision was not about Syed’s innocence but more about proceedings. The attorney said Syed’s team will seek a review in the Supreme Court of Maryland.

“The Appellate Court of Maryland has reinstated Adnan’s convictions, not because the Motion to Vacate was erroneous, but because Ms Lee’s brother did not appear in person at the vacatur hearing,” Erica Suter, Syed’s counsel, told Reuters.

“There is no basis for re-traumatizing Adnan by returning him to the status of a convicted felon.”

Prosecutors filed a motion last September to vacate the conviction after conducting a yearlong investigation alongside a public defender representing Syed.

Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Melissa Phinn subsequently ordered Syed to be released from prison, where he was serving a life sentence.

Honda will bring together more than 200 students and coaches from 32 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), with the in-person return of the 34^th Honda Campus All-Star Challenge (HCASC), America’s premier academic competition for HBCU students. Hosted on the American Honda corporate campus in Torrance, Calif., HCASC is the only program of its kind and provides a national stage for high-achieving HBCU students to advance their dreams. The HCASC National Championship finals can be watched at 3:00 p.m. PT on April 20-21 at HCASC.com.

Honda Campus All-Star Challenge is a year-round program that celebrates Black excellence and showcases the academic talents of top HBCU students from across the country. Four-student teams from each participating school face off in head-to-head competition and must quickly answer questions about history, science, literature, religion, math, the arts, pop culture, and sports. HCASC challenges students to expand their scope of knowledge on a wide range of topics, with the opportunity to gain lifelong learning skills, including leadership, collaboration, and sportsmanship.

Based on the theme “Friends for Life,” participating students have the opportunity to build camaraderie with students from other HBCUs and gain mentorship opportunities with HCASC alumni. Additionally, Honda offers development seminars to help prepare students for success after graduation.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, HCASC was held virtually in 2021 and 2022. This year’s HCASC theme, “Driving the Legacy,” celebrates the rich history and unique experience of HBCUs and aims to inspire students to create the life they envision for themselves. Honda created HCASC as a platform to help students pursue their dreams and annually provides more than $400,000 in institutional grants to all participating HBCUs, in addition to providing travel, meals and accommodations for the 32 teams. The winning school will receive a $75,000 institutional grant from Honda.

“Honda supports HBCUs because we believe they play a unique and critical role in society and in developing the next generation of leaders,” said Yvette Hunsicker, vice president of Corporate Social Responsibility and Inclusion & Diversity at American Honda Motor Co., Inc. “Beyond the gameplay, Honda Campus All-Star Challenge is truly a one-of-a-kind program that has provided multiple generations of HBCU students with unforgettable experiences to meet and bond with their peers from different schools.”

In addition to HCASC, Honda’s support of HBCUs includes Honda Battle of the Bands, the nation’s premiere showcase for HBCU marching bands and dance teams, which returned to live format in February and was held for the first time on an HBCU campus at Alabama State University. Honda also has partnered with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and UNCF to provide scholarship funding to support HBCU students pursuing an education in engineering, supply chain management, and manufacturing-related fields.

The 2023 HCASC participating HBCUs are: Alabama A&M University, Alabama State University, Albany State University, Benedict College, Bowie State University, Central State University, Cheyney University–Pennsylvania, Claflin University, Elizabeth City State University, Florida A&M University, Hampton University, Howard University, Kentucky State University, Langston University, Lincoln University-Pennsylvania, Morehouse College, Morgan State University, Norfolk State University, North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina Central University, Oakwood University, Prairie View A&M University, Shaw University, Southern University-Baton Rouge, Spelman College, Stillman College, Tennessee State University, Tuskegee University, University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff, University-District of Columbia, Virginia State University, Winston-Salem State University.

To follow the teams’ road to the HCASC National Championship, visit the HCASC Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Learn more at https://www.honda.com/community/diversity-reports.

SWV’s Cheryl “Coko” Gamble stepped up to the plate after losing her cousin Sheila Laney to Lupus. In the wake of Laney’s passing, Coko has become the guardian of her late cousin’s 12-year-old twins.

Coko was just starting to relax after raising her adult sons Jayye Michael, 27, and Lil’ Tracy, 20. But the R&B singer made a promise to Laney that if anything ever happened, she would care for her children.

When Laney lost her battle with Lupus after contracting COVID-19, she left behind her 12-year-old twins, son DJ and daughter Nevea. Since Laney’s passing, Coko and her 76-year-old mother Lady Tibba Gamble have been maintaining the village it takes to raise a child.

“She was sick,” Coko told People. “She had lupus, and we feel like she knew that she was sick already and that she wouldn’t be here much longer because she was getting things in order.”

“We were like, ‘Of course, sure, no problem,’ and she was getting paperwork in order and everything. Shortly thereafter, she got really sick and she passed away, and so here we are today.”

In January, Coko moved the twins from New York City to her residence in Virginia and doesn’t regret the big life change.

“It’s family,” Coko says. “I would want somebody to do that for me.”

“[I’m] pretty sure my mom would’ve wanted somebody to do that for her, so when she asked it was like a no-brainer, absolutely. I have the room. We were just that tight. She knew we had her back and we knew that she had ours, if anything ever happened.”

The “So Into You” singer explained the “teamwork” involved with caring for the twins and handling Nevea’s special needs.

“Nevea is autistic and DJ, he’s just brilliant,” Coko explains. “It’s been very loud. I’m used to it being quiet because my kids are grown. It’s been very active, and we stay busy.”

“Because my mother, myself and Jayye, he’s here, my youngest son. My mom gets up in the morning with them. I do Nevea’s hair, Jayye picks out the clothes. It’s like teamwork,” she continued.

The new family dynamics aren’t easy, but it’s a situation Coko wouldn’t have any other way.

“It’s challenging. But I think we needed this because I was ready to just prepare to take my mother and let’s go off into the sunset,” she said. “But God had other plans for us.”

• News

by Booker Jones

March 28, 2023

Mississippi Deputies Are Under Investigation for Using Excessive Force During Encounters With Blacks

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The Justice Department is investigating several Mississippi deputies who are believed to have violated the civil rights of Black men.

The Associated Press reported that there have been at least four incidents involving violent encounters between deputies and Black men, of which two Black men have been left dead. 

AP News reported that two men have accused Rankin County deputies of putting guns into their mouths — in separate incidents. In one of the incidents, the officer pulled the trigger, resulting in one man having to have surgery to repair his tongue. 

According to the report, the shooting of Michael Jenkins is what led the Justice Department to investigate the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department. 

Back in February, Jenkins found himself with lifelong injuries after an officer put a gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger. Jenkins was visiting the home of a friend when the incident occurred. Police maintain that Jenkins was shot after he pointed a gun at an officer. However, it hasn’t been determined if a gun was even found at the scene, let alone on Jenkins. 

Rankin County is east of Jackson, MS, and holds the highest percentage of Black people in any city in the U.S. AP News reported. In the city of Brandon, a statue of a Confederate soldier still sits across the street from the sheriff’s office, AP News reported.

Jenkins’ attorneys, who filed a lawsuit, said that deputies came into the home of Eddie Terrell Parker, the friend Jenkins was visiting, then handcuffed and beat both Jenkins and Parker. The report went on to say that deputies repeatedly used tasers for over 90 minutes. AP News also reported that deputies forced Jenkins and Terrell to lie on their backs while they poured milk on their faces. 

Deputies claimed they were conducting a drug raid after reports of drug activity at Parker’s home. Jenkins was charged with being in possession of 2-10 grams of methamphetamine and aggravated assault on a police officer. Parker was charged with possession of paraphernalia and disorderly conduct. Both are misdemeanors. 

• News

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

March 28, 2023

Man Gets Luggage Back After Using AirTag to Track Bag Stolen From Atlanta Airport

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Police in Atlanta have arrested a man who’s been accused of taking people’s luggage at the airport. His crime was discovered when one of his victims tracked their luggage through his Apple AirTag.

According to Newsweek, the accused thief, Craig Nelson, was picked up by Atlanta police officers and arrested and charged with theft by taking unlawful removal of baggage, and criminal trespass.

The incident took place at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta.

The man who helped the police apprehend Nelson, Jameel Reid, stated that he tracked him down because his luggage was equipped with an Apple AirTag. It was in his bag as he was returning to Atlanta from Los Angeles.

He told WSB-TV that he had about $3,000 worth of stuff in his bag.

“I’m going to baggage claim and all that…I’m trying to look for my luggage. I’m standing there for like 30 minutes or so. I’m not seeing it,” said Reid. After realizing that his luggage was nowhere to be found, he decided to check his tracking device.

“Eventually, I pulled my phone out, so I have an Air Tag in my luggage. After I had seen that it was not in the airport, it was actually in Grady.”

He then stated that he noticed that the AirTag signaled that it was heading back to Hartsfield-Jackson. That’s when he contacted airport security, took his phone out, and followed the tracking device. It led him straight to Nelson.

Reid confronted the thief and noticed that he was wearing some clothes of his.

“This silver one here, I have a tracking device in it and I tracked it to you. And you have my shirt on…that’s insane. My shirt and my jeans,” said Reid.

Relieved that he received his possessions back, Reid said he has concerns about security at the airport.

“You can literally walk into baggage claim, like walk straight in and possibly take somebody’s luggage and walk out and nobody would even know.”

Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport said they are cooperating with Atlanta Police.

Mary J. Blige has accomplished a lot in her 52 years of life. But having children is one milestone she has yet to experience.

While becoming a mom is a common goal for many women, the Grammy-winning singer would rather serve as an aunty than a mommy. E! Daily Pop recently asked Blige if she regretted not bringing any children into the world.

“Oh, I’m not there yet. I am not there yet so I’m good,” she said. “Listen, I have nieces and nephews forever. I’m always watching how people are scrambling around for babysitters [laughs]. I don’t wanna go through that.”

When it comes to why the “No More Drama” singer is comfortable not being a mom, she enjoys living life with no limits in comparison to her friends who do have children.

“I like my freedom. I like being able to get up and go and move and do what I want to do,” she explained.

“I don’t want to have to tend to someone all the time. Right now, that’s where I’m at. I don’t think it’s gonna happen.”

The closest Blige has gotten to being a mom was during her time married to ex-husband Kendu Issacs and serving as a stepmother to his three children Briana, Jordan, and Nasir.

“I’ve been a stepmother for three years now and I love them so much,” she told Redbook in 2007. “They would ask me questions like, ‘What do we call you?’ I said, ‘Call me Mary, call me what you want. You don’t have to call me Mommy until you’re ready.’”

It was important to Blige to make her stepchildren feel loved and not experience the trauma she did during her childhood.

“There was a lot of damage done to [my mother] by my father. I don’t want my children — my stepchildren — to see that kind of anything or to feel that kind of energy,” she shared. “I want them to always feel loved and secure.”