Michelle Obama Stresses The Importance Of Voter Registration: ‘We All Deserve to Have Our Voices Heard’
Since former first lady Michelle Obama has left the White House, she has made it her personal mission to advocate for voting rights. She created the When We All Vote initiative to encourage people to use their voting power and why it is even more important during the COVID-19 pandemic and key elections coming up.
Over the weekend, she used her initiative to team up with The Roots Picnic virtual event to talk more about voter registration and encouraging viewers to vote in the upcoming 2020 elections.
“You’ll get all the tools and resources you need to make sure everyone you know is registered and ready to vote in this upcoming election,” the former first lady shared in the video. “That means your friends, your neighbors, your family. That means from your favorite auntie down to your baby cousin who can vote for the very first time.”
In May, Obama launched a new nonpartisan coalition partnering with local mayors around the country to work new voting policies during the current political climate including online voter registration and mail-in voting.
“Voting is so much bigger than one election, one party, or one candidate. It’s great to feel inspired by candidates and the visions they put forth, but it is by no means a prerequisite to casting a ballot,” she said. “Because at the end of the day, someone is going to be making the decisions about how much money your schools get and how tax money is distributed. Voting gives you a say in those matters.”
Study: Right-Wing Extremists Have Killed 329 People While Left-Wing Groups Have Killed 0 in Decades
Despite President Donald Trump‘s claims that leftist groups are causing violence, new research has found that there have been zero deaths attributed to such groups while white supremacists and right-wing extremists have killed and harmed dozens of people over the past 25 years, according to mic.
Based on findings from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), “in 14 of the 21 years between 1994 and 2019 in which fatal terrorist attacks occurred, the majority of deaths resulted from right-wing attacks. In eight of these years, right-wing attackers caused all of the fatalities, and in three more—including 2018 and 2019—they were responsible for more than 90 percent of annual fatalities. Therefore, while religious terrorists caused the largest number of total fatalities, right-wing attackers were most likely to cause more deaths in a given year.”
It found that in the past 25 years, right-wing extremists have killed 329 people.
“Left-wing violence has not been a major terrorism threat,” Seth Jones, the researcher who led the creation of the database, told The Guardian. “The most significant domestic terrorism threat comes from white supremacists, anti-government militias, and a handful of individuals associated with the ‘Boogaloo’ movement that are attempting to create a civil war in the United States.”
Although Trump has been touting the false claims in relation to the violence being done by leftists groups, the stats tell a different story.
Just earlier this month, USA Today reported that peaceful protesters were hit by cars 66 times at Black Lives Matter protests since George Floyd was killed by police in May.
Black NHL Player Matt Dumba Becomes First to Kneel During the National Anthem
Basketball, baseball, and football players aren’t the only professional athletes kneeling to protest social injustice. A National Hockey League (NHL) player has also made a statement by taking a knee during the playing of the national anthem at a game this past weekend, according to CNN.
Minnesota Wild defenseman Matt Dumba became the first National Hockey League player to kneel during the national anthem on Saturday. Before the Edmonton Oilers and Chicago Blackhawks game, the Canadian player took a knee while wearing a Hockey Diversity Alliance sweatshirt with “Black Lives Matter” emblazoned on the sleeves.
Although his team wasn’t playing, Dumba knelt at center ice while two other Black players, Malcolm Subban of Chicago and Darnell Nurse of Edmonton, stood beside Dumba with a hand on each shoulder.
“For those unaffected by systemic racism, or unaware, I’m sure that some of you believe this topic has garnered too much attention during the last couple of months. But let me assure you, it has not,” Dumba said before kneeling. “Racism is everywhere — and we need to fight against it.
“I know first-hand, as a minority playing of the great game of hockey, the unexplainable and difficult challenges that come with it,” Dumba said Saturday.
The players involved in this alliance are San Jose Sharks forward Evander Kane and former NHL player Akim Aliu as co-heads of the organization. While the executive committee consists of Detroit Red Wings defenseman Trevor Daley, Minnesota Wild defenseman Matt Dumba, Buffalo Sabres forward Wayne Simmonds, Philadelphia Flyers forward Chris Stewart and former NHL forward Joel Ward.
National Black MBA Association Launches COVID-19 Relief Fund for Students and Small Businesses
The National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA) announced the launch of its COVID-19 Relief Fund.
According to a press release, the NBMBAA, is making a push to help Black Americans, who have been severely and disproportionately affected by the coronavirus pandemic and its wide-ranging repercussions.
The fund will support emergency student funding, including for basic needs, educational expenses, and technology requirements necessitated by virtual learning. The fund will also provide small business support, including training and assistance in gaining access to funding and resources to aid business reopenings, employment, and stabilization and the fund will provide skill development for displaced members and students.
The NBMBAA will also help community-based organizations that face increasing demands in meeting basic human needs due to the COVID-19 crisis.
“In the midst of a global pandemic which disproportionately impacts communities of color in America, it is imperative to provide tangible support to the Black community,” said Bruce Thompson, NBMBAA interim president & CEO. “The related economic collapse has left our already-at-risk student and professional population even more vulnerable. NBMBAA is activating its 39-chapter nationwide network and scaling its resources to help address these urgent challenges.”
The fund is currently looking for contributions from corporations, foundations, and individuals for its COVID-19 Relief Fund.
The NBMBAA is also working toward its first virtual Conference & Career Fair: A Virtual Experience. The conference will take place Sept. 23–25 and will feature programming focused on students, professionals, and entrepreneurs.
The member-based organization’s three-day schedule includes keynote speeches, panels, and interactive workshops on a wide variety of highly relevant topics by leaders in business, public affairs, and media. It also includes the nation’s largest diversity Career Fair with exciting opportunities offered by hundreds of corporate, academic, and not-for-profit partners.
In 2018, the NBMBAA celebrated its 40 anniversary with its conference theme, “One Voice, One Mission.”
“We are continuously building upon a legacy of excellence at each national conference. From career advancement to professional development opportunities, the ROI [Return On Investment] for every conference yields promises of learning the best practices in business, career strategies, and building lasting relationships with the best and brightest business professionals in North America,” said Amelia Jackson, president of NBMBAA’s Chicago Chapter.
Black Investment Firm Acquires IT Consulting Firm To Boost Its Presence In Government IT Services Business
Increasing its existence in the government IT services business, Black-owned investment firm IMB Partners has acquired Ashburn Consulting.
IMB Partners, which aims to build large minority business enterprise companies via acquisition and partnership, is making a growth equity investment in Ashburn, a Northern Virginia-based information technology consulting firm specializing in providing network engineering and cybersecurity solutions to federal, state, and local governments along with commercial clients. The investment starts a long-term partnership between IMB and Ashburn.
Based in Bethesda, Maryland, IMB Partners calls itself a private equity independent sponsor focused on making control acquisitions and partnering with management teams to grow lower middle-market companies serving government agencies and electric and gas utilities. It typically seeks platform investment targets with $5-$25 million in EBITDA, a key measure of the company’s financial performance.
Started in 2010, the firm changed its name to IMB Partners from IMB Development Corp. With revenue of $94 million, the company ranked No. 42 on BLACK ENTERPRISE’s 2019 BE 100s list, an annual ranking of the nation’s top Black-owned businesses.
The Ashburn deal cements IMB’s presence in the government IT services sector and builds on its experience with e&e, a provider of quality IT services to government and corporate clients across Pennsylvania and Florida, which IMB acquired in 2014. Indiana, Pennsylvania-based S&T Bank recently refinanced e&e’s debt and provided debt financing to support IMB’s investment in Ashburn. Financial terms of the deal are undisclosed.
IMB Partners CEO Tarrus Richardson stated in a news release: “We are excited about our new partnership with Ashburn. It is an outstanding company with a great management team that has experienced significant growth given their subject matter expertise and exceptional client service. We look forward to supporting the company’s future growth, which is underpinned by favorable sector tailwinds that include the increasing threat of cyber-attacks and rising demand for enhanced network infrastructures for remote workplaces.”
Ashburn’s founder and CFO, Sung Lewe, stated: “We are proud of our successful history of providing critical services to key federal, state and local government agencies, corporate enterprises and educational institutions. IMB Partners’ support will open new avenues for growth while allowing us to continue delivering the highest caliber, innovative solutions that meet our clients’ network engineering, cybersecurity, and broader IT needs.”
Richardson added, “The private equity markets have shifted since COVID-19, but we remain very active given the resiliency of electric and gas utility services and government contracting, IMB’s focus sectors. We are excited about our partnerships with e&e and Ashburn and look forward to collaborating with their management teams to support their growth and continued focus on providing best-in-class client service.”
Meet the Only Black Woman in the U.S. Who Owns Her Own Bank
One Black woman has managed to defy all the odds and is now the only Black woman to own and operate a banking institution in the United States.
Kiko Davis is a major stockholder of the First Independence Bank as a trustee of the Donald Davis Living Trust, the tenth-largest African American-owned bank in the country. In addition to running the bank, Davis is also the founder and president of the Don Davis Legacy Foundation to immortalize the legacy of her husband, Donald Davis, and also works as the managing director of Groovesville Productions & Publishing L.L.C., which controls the rights of several Grammy Award-winning music catalogs.
Davis says she gained leadership skills by watching other Black women taking on senior roles and running their own organizations. “We have an innate warrior spirit. It makes us inherently effective at leading [and] at winning. Strength, courage, intelligence, and analytical ability are hallmarks of any great leader; however, a warrior spirit goes beyond just that,” explained Davis in an interview with Rolling Out.
“We possess a level of empathy for people in general with a higher level of sensitivity towards women and minorities. Often times, it’s a skill set that unfortunately some men and non-minorities do not possess. They simply are socialized differently. I believe in order to lead people effectively you must be able to understand them, or at least want to.”
Zimbabwe To Pay $3.5 Billion Compensation To White Farmers For Land Settlement
Zimbabwe has agreed to a hefty billion-dollar settlement to White farmers who had their land expropriated by the government to resettle Black families.
Over two decades ago, Robert Mugabe’s administration evicted 4,500 White farmers to redistribute over 300,000 Black families as a way to address the effects of colonization from European settlers.
“As Zimbabweans, we have chosen to resolve this long-outstanding issue,” said Andrew Pascoe, head of the Commercial Farmers Union representing White farmers, to Reuters. The issue surrounding the land rights was one of Mugabe’s signature policies that caused a great deal of backlash from Western governments, which imposed heavy sanctions as punishment.
The deal would allow 50% of the $3.5 billion to be paid within the next 12 months from the day of signing. The balance will be paid in full within the next five years. “In the agreement, we have given ourselves 12 months to run around the world, around Zimbabwe to think of ways of raising this funding,” said Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube at the signing ceremony. “We are determined that we achieve that. It’s also about pledges not necessarily about cash being put on the table. It’s about commitment.”
“This momentous occasion is historic in many respects, brings both closure and a new beginning in the history of the land discourse in our country Zimbabwe,” said current President Emmerson Mnangagwa after signing the agreement, according to CNN.
“After almost 20 years of conflict over the land issue, representatives of farmers who lost their land through the fast track reform program and representatives of government have been able to come together to see a resolution of this conflict,” Pascoe said. “To me this is nothing short of a miracle. For me it has been a dream that I will see this day,”
Morgan Stanley’s Alice Vilma Keeps Moving Forward, Because There Really Is No Other Choice
Featuring a broad cross-section of women who have distinguished themselves across a rich variety of careers, our Portraits of Power series is a celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Black Enterprise, and of Black women. It’s a place for today’s businesswomen to share their own favorite images and their own stories, in their own words. Today’s portrait is Morgan Stanley Managing Director Alice Vilma.
Nickname: people called me “Al” in high school
My first job was as a sales associate at The Limited Too, a children’s clothing store.
My big break came when I won a fellowship that brought me to Morgan Stanley as a summer analyst.
I’ve had to work hardest at maintaining the right balance.
I never imagined I would have the career that I now have—I thought I’d be an attorney!
I wish I’d learned sooner to be kinder to myself.
The risk I regret not taking is … I really try hard to have no regrets.
If I could design my fantasy self-care day, it would be spent at a retreat with yoga, pilates, hot stone massages, and unlimited green tea.
Wondering about the legacy that we are leaving to future generations and if we are proud of what they will be facing socially and economically, and if I have done all I can do to positively contribute to the legacy that I would like to leave keeps me up at night.
When I’m struggling, I say to myself, this too shall pass and I will have learned lessons and gained insights that will be invaluable moving forward. And I HAVE to keep moving forward, there really is no other choice.
I am unapologetically making my own way in the world collecting experiences that I can share with others and look back on with a proud smile. I am also a strong, proud daughter of the African diaspora.
Portraits of Power is a yearlong series of candid insights from exceptional women leaders. It is brought to you by ADP.
Centurion terminated its multimillion-dollar relationship with the Mississippi Department of Corrections after Team ROC and Yo Gotti hired lawyers to represent 227 Mississippi inmates over the conditions in the prison. The lawsuit, filed in January, named the Department of Corrections Commissioner Pelicia Hall and Mississippi State Penitentiary Superintendent Marshall Turner as defendants in the case.
“These deaths are a direct result of Mississippi’s utter disregard for the people it has incarcerated and their constitutional rights,” read’s the lawsuit filed by Jay-Z’s attorney, Alex Spiro, at the U.S. District Court in Greenville, Mississippi.
In a letter sent from Centurion early last month, the Mississippi Department of Corrections was informed that it was terminating its relationship effective October 5, 2020.
“As we previously shared, we do not believe we can further improve the effectiveness of our level of care without additional investment from the Department in correctional staffing and infrastructure along the lines of what we have already recommended,” wrote Steven H. Wheeler, CEO of Centurion.
Marcy Croft, the lead attorney for Team ROC, said she hopes Centurion’s decision to end the relationship “sends a clear message to Governor Tate Reeves—it’s time to invest in the health and well-being of the people in your prisons.”
“There is no excuse for the 53 deaths across the Mississippi prison system over the past several months, many of which were preventable,” Croft said in a statement. “We will not stop until the incarcerated receive consistent and competent medical care, especially now with the COVID-19 crisis. This must be a priority.”
Report: Coronavirus Will Make Income Inequality Even Worse for Black and Brown Americans
The Coronavirus pandemic has hit low-income Black and Latino Americans harder than other groups and, as a result, the income divide in the U.S. will likely rise, according to a new report.
The report released July 23 by Deloitte, states before the coronavirus pandemic and the related recession, Black and Hispanic Americans were more likely to work low-wage positions, lack private health insurance, and have higher poverty rates than non-Latino Whites and Asian Americans. The coronavirus has only made those divides larger.
A lack of healthcare and income will lead to an increase in income inequality, especially in minority communities. According to the report, income and wealth inequality in the U.S. has risen since the early 1970s and was showing signs of growing before the coronavirus hit the U.S.
Since 1990, the proportion of wealth held by those in the top 10 percent of household income has risen from 60.8 percent to 70.0 percent. However, that’s nothing compared with the top one percent.The wealth owned by just the top one percent of income earners has gone up from 17.2 percent to 26 percent. In short, more than a quarter of the country’s wealth is in the hands of the top one percent.
The study also showed occupation largely influences income inequality between races and ethnic groups. Deloitte categorized 22 broad occupations into three wage groups—low-wage, medium-wage, and high-wage—based on mean nominal wages in 2018.
Low-wage occupations, including office and administration positions, transportation and material moving, ground cleaning, and maintenance are overwhelmingly worked by Black and Latino Americans. 50.4 percent of Black Americans work in low-wage positions; that number rises to 51.1 percent for Latino Americans. The percentage of White and Asians working low-wage positions is below 40 for both races.
When it comes to high-wage positions–that is jobs in architecture, engineering, computers, and math–47.3 percent of Asian Americans and 31.3 percent of White Americans fill those positions compared to 25 percent of Blacks (22.8) and Latino Americans (17.0).
Recessions typically make these numbers worse due to wage and position cuts during a recession. The median income for Black-headed households fell by 10% from 2007 through 2010, during which the last recession took place. That number is higher than Latino (-7.5%), Asian (-7.6%), and White (5.7%) Americans.
Making things worse, economic recoveries don’t necessarily make things better. During the economic expansion between 2010 and 2018, the gains in real median household income for Black householders were lower than the gains for householders in the other three racial groups.
Almost immediately after the pandemic started in March, many said low-wage workers and minorities would be disproportionately affected. Between using public transportation to travel to work, working positions that do not allow for social distancing, interacting with strangers, and a lack of healthcare, low-wage workers, which mostly consist of Black and Latino Americans, are more likely to be infected and killed by the virus.
The recession will likely also impact education at all levels including the ability for children of low-wage workers to go to college. Many college-aged children will have to forgo a higher education to help their families make it through the pandemic.
Minority children will be more likely to fall behind due to remote learning while medium- and high-income families have better internet and resources to deal with remote learning and can hire personal tutors.
