• Black History Month

by Yolanda Baruch

February 26, 2022

Timberland Honors Black Creators and Nonprofits in New Black History Month Campaign

---

For Black History Month, Timberland, the outdoor work and lifestyle brand launched a “From the Root” campaign to salute Black creatives and nonprofit organizations dedicated to inspiring the next generation of designers, entrepreneurs, and outdoor leaders within Black communities, according to a press release shared with BLACK ENTERPRISE.

Timberland realizes that Black communities are underrepresented in outdoor brands, sports, and activities, and the company is determined to change the narrative and drive progress.

The campaign recognizes that Black creators continued to amplify Timberland’s cultural relevance and decided to collaborate with creative talents of the African diaspora whose legacy is one of solid bonds to continue growing and maintaining an inclusive community that supports Black creatives. 

“From the Root” Film

The film is led by the Black-owned and women-led advertising shop CHÉ Creative, directed by Dalia Dias, Executive Producer DAPS from production powerhouse CR8TIVE ROW, Content Creator Jahleel Coleman and his agency 13th and Create. The Wardrobe Stylist is AmiraaVee, and there are a host of other Black and Brown creative talents behind the scenes.

The film is an emotional ode to the Black community that connects generations of family in the scenic backdrop of Philadelphia, perfectly poised for the celebration of Blackness in nature, reads Timberland’s official release. 

“I am pleased to share my creative lens with Timberland by directing this piece that celebrates black families in a new light. To be able to show the love, joy, and bond that we share within our homes, in an outdoor space – where there are no boundaries, air that fills us with comfort, and the beautiful sky above, reminding us there’s no glass ceilings as we dream. It is refreshing, beautiful, and important to document Black people in nature, reclaiming these spaces where we belong and can express ourselves freely,” says film director Dalia Dias.

She goes on to say, “I am happy to continue to change the narrative within my work and be recognized for this, especially as a black female director with a sharp focus on building more representation in the industry, and I’m extremely proud to be working with Timberland that are in support of making a conscious and active effort to diversify and showcase the world we live in as it is, through their brand and platform.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Dalia Dias 🇪🇬🇳🇬 (@daliadias)

 Timberland pledged to donate $125,000 to five nonprofit organizations devoted to uplifting Black communities to use their creativity in participation in outdoor activities. The Virgil Abloh ‘Post-Modern’ Scholarship Fund, Greening Youth Foundation, Urban Creators, The Gray Matter Experience, and Soul Trak were selected because they illustrated Black people in sporting activities and brands, according to their website.

“Black culture is rich in history and heritage, when we explore the far-reaching effects of its impact on the world, we can truly appreciate how it all traces back to a legacy of self-expression and identity,” said Dabo Che, Chief Creative Officer, and CEO of CHÉ Creative.

• Black Lives Matter

by Yolanda Baruch

February 26, 2022

Columbia Psychiatry Department Chair Terminated For Calling Sudanese Model ‘Freak of Nature’

---

Wednesday, Columbia University terminated its psychiatry department chair because he posted a racially insensitive retweet about South Sudanese model Nyakim Gatwech, reports the Huffington Post.

Jeffrey Lieberman is no longer the psychiatry department head at Columbia’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons nor the psychiatrist-in-chief at Columbia University Irving Medical Center/NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, following an email shared with Columbia faculty and staff and obtained by NBC News.

Lieberman’s termination was fast and furious after he made comments about the Gatwech, writing: “Whether a work of art or freak of nature she’s a beautiful sight to behold,” according to NBC News.

Lieberman’s directed his remarks at Gatwech’s dark skin seen in a picture that another user posted and insultingly referred to her as an “it.” The photo claims that the Guinness World Record lists Gatwech as having the darkest skin on the planet; however, Guinness denies setting any record-keeping based on skin tones.

A highly regarded psychiatrist, Lieberman deleted the tweet and apologized for making such an offensive post.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Woke Doctors ⚕️ (@wokedoctors)

“TWEET DELETED. My sincere apologies for any offense taken and indiscretion. Living and learning,” he wrote, but not before Twitter users took screenshots of his comments. Lieberman later shut down his account.

Gatwech blasted his views as “straight-up racism,” she said to NBC New York.

“Coming from somebody with so much power, that was so disappointing,” she added and posted the tweet on her Instagram page.

Members of the medical community did not hold back on their condemnation of his comments. Especially when Lieberman holds such a high position at one of the nation’s top educational institutions and systemic racial bias against Black patients is so prevalent in the health care system.

“It also makes me wonder what other things about people of color that physicians like him and others think are ‘freakish’ and how that impacts the way in which they deliver care to those individuals,” Dr. Heather Irobunda, a New York City obstetrician-gynecologist commented on her Instagram page.

Dr. Ima Ebong, an assistant professor of neurology at the University of Kentucky, also voiced her concerns in a tweet about Lieberman’s troubling perspective on Blackness, “[this is] why we need more Black leaders in medicine… Calling us ‘Freaks of nature’ is racist, fetishizes our bodies and is rooted in slavery and colonialism. Shameful.”

Why we need more Black leaders in medicine…

Calling us "Freaks of nature" is racist, fetishizes our bodies and is rooted in slavery and colonialism. Shameful. #medtwitter

Columbia University Psychiatry Dept Chair Called Out For Racist Tweet | NewsOne https://t.co/OYcZSNbfZj

— Ima Ebong, MD (@ImaEbongMD) February 23, 2022

Tuesday, Lieberman issued a formal apology in an email to his colleagues acknowledging his tweet as “racist and sexist” and expressed remorse by saying he was “deeply ashamed,” according to an email from Columbia spokesperson sent to NBC News.

“An apology from me to the Black community, to women, and to all of you is not enough,” Liberman’s email said. “I’ve hurt many, and I am beginning to understand the work ahead to make needed personal changes and over time regain your trust.”

Since Ilbert Sanchez launched Garçon Couture with his college roommate and business partner, Jean Gilbert Francillon, the duo has positioned the brand as the go-to source for dapper debonaire menswear.

Speaking with BLACK ENTERPRISE‘ “Hip Hop and Enterprise,” Sanchez explains how he and Francillon combined their knack for entrepreneurship and style to stake a claim in the luxury fashion industry. Sanchez, a Honduran, and Haitian-born Francillon tap into each of their cultural roots when crafting the vibrant tailored pieces seen on Emmy red carpets and star-studded celebrity weddings.

Taking the wedding industry by storm, the fashion designer explains how the way Garçon Couture designs for bridal parties has left brides crying tears of joy and they’re only just getting started. While the pandemic presented challenges for the brand, Sanchez shares how he’s maintaining their three showrooms in New York City, Miami, and Atlanta.

With personally tailored accents added to each piece, the high-end menswear line specializes in the dialogue between the gentleman and the dreamer within. With an inventory of over 500+ top, quality products, Sanchez explains how Garçon Couture’s specialized styling service is at the heart of their customer service.

Sanchez walks us through how he takes his clients through a curated experience with trained stylists that resonates in ways that continue to elevate the aesthetic and credibility of the brand. With garments that are individually constructed with a canvas chest piece that molds your body for a true custom fit, Sanchez is confident his brand has the quality to “bring out your inner king.”

From styling Hollywood stars like Omari Hardwick, Caleb McLaughlin, and Rotimi, to amplifying the Black love that was on display at Danielle Brooks’ recent wedding, and even putting together an original piece for the dancing weather man Fox 46 Nick, Garcon Couture take an inclusive approach to their Black luxury brand.

• Career

by Jeffrey McKinney

February 26, 2022

How Entrepreneur Teresa Hodge Has Evolved From Former Inmate To New Corporate Advisory Board Chair Of Top Tech Firm

---

Formerly an incarcerated business executive who now helps previously imprisoned entrepreneurs, Teresa Hodge has been named corporate advisory board chair of Aventiv Technologies.

She will lead an influential, newly formed 11-member board for the Dallas-based company. Aventiv calls itself a multi-million dollar firm that promotes rehabilitative justice. It helps former inmates gain access to business, job training, and educational resources to effectively build their skills to re-enter society.

Hodge is the president and CEO of Mission: Launch, a Baltimore-based nonprofit that works with financial institutions to help formerly inmates gain start-up capital to start businesses. She too is the CEO of R3 Score, an alternative background check firm.  In June 2021, she was named on the Forbes inaugural 50 Over 50 list of women business executives and activists. A nationally recognized re-entry advocate,  Hodge was featured in this BLACK ENTERPRISE piece.

The advisory board has some heavy hitters. They include the former president of the National Bar Association, the top executive of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation, and a former Federal Communications Commission leader. They too include former executives from GE and IBM, U.S. Department of Labor senior officials, community activists, and public policy experts. Check out the members here.

The advisory board will work with individuals in prisons, their loved ones, community leaders,  government agencies, and reform advocates. Their efforts are aimed to help Aventiv improve the lives of those impacted by the criminal justice system.

Hodge reflected on her role in a statement.

“I have committed myself to reducing the harm prison causes to individuals and their families, especially children.  The fact is our prison system makes reentry incredibly difficult. I am pleased to play an impactful role in helping Aventiv use its place inside facilities to improve outcomes for justice-involved families and cement the foundation for systemic change. Once part of the problem, Aventiv is now part of the solution.”

Statements from Adventiv CEO Dave Abel included, “We have undertaken an ambitious transformation to make investments work for all the people whose lives are affected by the criminal justice system,” he stated. “These changes were long overdue. Now we’re investing hundreds of millions of dollars in a broader suite of technology products and services that support communications and education, reentry, and rehabilitation. We are very fortunate to have a stellar group of advisors in our boardroom.”

The prolific singer responsible for worldwide classics such as “Cruisin,’” “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me,” and “Tracks of My Tears,” Smokey Robinson has had it with being called an African American.

First performed in 2003 during a Def Poetry finale, Robinson penned a poem titled “A Black American,” in which he describes the history of his ancestors and what being Black means to him.

An ode to reclaiming power behind the word Black, he ponders and critiques the slew of names Black Americans have been called throughout history. To honor Black History Month, his poem was recently turned into an animation by a school teacher to inform his students about the Black experience. 

Robinson joined The View to go further in-depth about being labeled African American:

“I think that when you do that, you’re disclaiming all the things, the contributions that Black people have made to America,” he said. “You see, I consider myself to be a Black American, and I enjoy being called Black, and Black has been so negativized as a color down throughout history, by those who wanted to negativize it. And so it spilled over into the Black community and to the Black people. And even Black people back in the day calling each other Black was a sign for a fight…”

The Motown legend goes on to say that Black Americans have bestowed so much positivity and culture and have even given their lives to fight in all the American wars; they did not do so for Timbuktu or Kenya, but have spilled their blood for Louisiana and Georgia and Alabama. He emphatically states that their contributions should be appropriately recognized. 

“I resent being called African American because Black people have contributed so much to the development of the United States of America,” he said. 

by Derek Major

February 26, 2022

Black Employees Make Up Less Than 10% Of Tech Workers, These Nonprofits Are Trying To Change That

---

The tech sector is one of the leading industries that pledged to increase diversity amid the 2020 Black Lives Matter movement. However, two years later, little has changed.

According to NBC Washington, Black talent in the tech sector is still significantly underrepresented as it accounts for less than 10% of the industry. Even worse, Black women make up less than 2% of tech workers.

The national nonprofit Jobs For Future has released a report highlighting other nonprofits working to increase Black representation in the technology sector. A recent JFF survey of 1,000 Black adults showed six in 10 Black Americans are interested in switching careers in IT or tech. At the same time, more than half (55%) of respondents say they don’t know where to start or lack the financial resources (51%) and skills necessary (52%).

Major technology companies, including Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Apple, are working to close that gap, but mainly at the college level through partnerships and college-to-career pipelines with HBCU schools. But more is needed.

Michael Collins, one of the authors of the JFF report, told NBC the obstacles Black Americans face in tech are systemic and begin before anyone thinks about a career in technology.

“To disrupt historic patterns of occupational segregation in technology, we cannot ignore the systemic barriers to access and advancement that begin in K-12 schools and persist in communities and in the workplace,” he said in a press release.

One company trying to change the narrative is Black Girls Code (BGC), which offers IT training and development for girls between 7 and 17 through workshops, hackathons, and summer camps for girls. Another female-based nonprofit is Girls Who Code, which features programs for girls in grades 3-12 and women early in their professional careers.

Code 2040 is another tech nonprofit working to eliminate barriers holding Black and Latino tech enthusiasts through yearly partnerships with several tech companies through its fellowship program.

Other nonprofits named by JJF include the Black Tech Pipeline, Codepath.org, DevColor, and Ed Farm, which focus on increasing educational equity and improving learning outcomes through technology and preparing the future workforce.

• News

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

February 26, 2022

Former NFL Star Zac Stacy Facing New Domestic Violence Charges In Second Alleged Attack On Ex-Girlfriend

---

Former NFL star Zac Stacy faces five new domestic violence charges just three months after his ex released a shocking video showing him brutally beating her in front of their 5-month-old son.

New court documents reveal charges from an Aug. 16, 2021 incident with his ex-girlfriend, Kristin Evans, TMZ reports.

Evans, the same woman seen being viciously attacked by the NFL running back in November 2021, had previously filed for a restraining order in Florida, claiming Stacy flew into a violent rage over rent money last August.

“He physically assaulted me several times because he wanted the money back he gave me for our rent,” Evans wrote in the application.

“He punched my legs, slapped me, picked me up by my arms, and threw me into my window, which broke,” she added. “I had glass in my feet that I removed myself.”

Stacy was charged with three misdemeanor domestic violence battery charges and two misdemeanor criminal mischief charges. Images show large cuts and bruises on Evans’s body following the alleged attack.

In November, Evans spoke out against Stacy, revealing the alleged physical abuse from the former LA Rams player.

“He has bullied me for so long that, at one point, I believed it was my fault,” Evans told WESTH-TV at the time. “It’s disturbing and disgusting to see things people have said online about what did I do. I did nothing. I never did anything to deserve something like this—no one could do anything to deserve something like this.”

“The physical abuse began in May. I didn’t report it. I was pregnant at the time,” she continued. “I wanted my son’s dad to be there for me and for the birth of his first child. So I forgave him.”

When the shocking video was released of the November attack, Stacy was charged with aggravated battery and criminal mischief. He is now due in court next month for a hearing on the new charges.

• Women

by Derek Major

February 26, 2022

Black Lawyers, Judges Celebrate Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Nomination To The Supreme Court

---

The announcement of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson‘s nomination to the Supreme Court is a milestone for Black lawyers and judges across the country.

Black civil rights and legal groups have been celebrating and praising Jackson and celebrating her amazing and record setting legal career.

I sought a nominee with the strongest credentials, record, character, and dedication to the rule of law. That’s why I’m excited to nominate Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve on the United States Supreme Court. pic.twitter.com/iGHLqqRAD0

— President Biden (@POTUS) February 25, 2022

National Urban league President Marc Morial released a statement on Jackson’s nomination saying she has already proven she is extremely qualified for the position.

“Two years ago today, President Biden made a promise to the American people that he would nominate the first Black woman to the United States Supreme Court.Morial said in a statement. “We are pleased that the President honored his promise and congratulate U.S. Circuit Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on this prestigious nomination.

 “Judge Jackson has remained dedicated to fighting for the most vulnerable members of our society and fought for the constitutional rights of all — qualities that have been overlooked in recent nominations to the Court. This country deserves a Supreme Court that reflects the rich diversity of the American people, and this nomination brings us one step closer to realizing that goal.”

DNC Chair Jaime Harrison said Jackson is ready for the position and should easily go through the confirmation process due to her career and background.

“Judge Jackson will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Court. Her experience as a public defender will add a vital perspective,” Harrison said. “In short, Judge Jackson will live up to the legacy of Justice Breyer and the other qualified jurists that have served and continue to serve on the Supreme Court. I fully expect the Senate will agree and confirm Judge Jackson with bipartisan support — as they have three times before.”

Congressional Black Caucus Chair Joyce Bratty (D-OH) also released a statement saying the caucus will be laser-focused on making sure Jackson receives a full and fair hearing.

“This is a historic day for America. If confirmed, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson will be the first Black woman to serve as a Supreme Court Justice,” said Beatty. “The Congressional Black Caucus applauds President Biden for his outstanding leadership and commitment to ensuring our courts look like our country. The CBC will be laser-focused on ensuring she receives a full and fair hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. We are also prepared to combat anyone who may use personal attacks or bigoted language to discredit Judge Jackson.”

Jackson also received numerous shoutouts on social media including MSNBC journalist Yamiche Alcindor, Roland Martin, former President Barack Obama, V.P. Kamala Harris, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and many others.

• Lifestyle

by Black Enterprise Shop

February 26, 2022

Travel The World Without Breaking The Bank

---

The new year just started, but many of us are already planning for the next holiday. Tax season brings the accompanying hassle of making sure everything’s signed, sealed, and delivered before the dreaded filing deadline. However, if you’re one of the people who are expected to receive a refund, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.

A nice refund could fund your next vacation, and a TravelHacker Premium Subscription could go a long way in saving you even more money. For a limited time, you can purchase this software for $39. That’s a savings of 84% from its MSRP ($250).

Think of TravelHacker as your travel agent. This software uncovers low airfare deals, and it also detects the reopening status and restrictions in 124 countries and more than 3,800 airports around the world. The information is updated in real-time.

TravelHacker users save an average of $200 to $500 on ticket purchases.

Create unlimited routes and region alerts, uncover rare deals, enable smart pandemic-friendly destinations with just one click, monitor more than 1,000 departing flights from your home airport, and set up takes just two minutes.

TravelHacker can be used on any modern browser, and you can join the TravelHacker Facebook Group to tap into even more resources with your subscription.

“I go to Peru every now and then and the cheapest I’ve ever found a ticket to Lima was $650 … I immediately found one for $350 as my notifications came in which by the way are refined searches based on parameters I set only looking at deals to Asia and Latin America,” writes verified 5-star purchaser, Chris A.

Subscriptions last one year, and updates are regularly provided to keep the software up-to-date.

One of the most restrictive parts of traveling is the sheer cost. With TravelHacker, you know you’ll get the best deal possible. Purchase it today for $39 and book your next trip.

Prices subject to change.