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 Prudential’s President of Individual Life Insurance, Salene Hitchcock-Gear.

Salene Hitchcock-Gear

President, Individual Life Insurance/Prudential

Nicknames ­­­Sally Ann, Hitch

My first job was cleaning the chalkboards after school; 5th grade.

My big break came when a former colleague recommended me for a CEO position in 2000.

I’ve had to work hardest at being patient with others seeing the big picture.

I never imagined I would work in corporate America.

I wish I’d learned sooner how to network.

The risk I regret not taking is … No regrets, I have taken many risks.

If I could design my fantasy self-care day, it would be spent on the beach reading, doing yoga, and getting a massage.

Not much keeps me up at night.

When I’m struggling, I say to myself, keep going.

I am unapologetically me.

Portraits of Power is a yearlong series of candid insights from exceptional women leaders. It is brought to you by ADP.

Diversity in academia has been long outstanding in the field. This week, the University of California has made history by electing its first Black president.

The announcement came after the U.C. Board of Regents cast its vote to appoint Dr. Michael Drake as the public university’s first Black president in the institution’s 152-year history. He will be succeeding Janet Napolitano, who became the university’s first female president in 2013, who will be stepping down in August. Drake will be overseeing a $39.8 billion operation consisting of 10 campuses, five medical centers, and three national laboratories.

“Thinking about the trajectory of the country … the place that the university was and the chance that perhaps there might be a way to contribute further to the future really became a compelling opportunity,” Drake said in a statement to the LA Times. 

“Much has changed in the 15 years since I was given the privilege of becoming chancellor at U.C. Irvine, but not my absolute belief in this great University and its time-honored mission,” he continued. “I look forward to working with the regents, chancellors, students, faculty, staff, alumni, and our broader community as we, together, guide the University through the challenging times ahead.”

Prior to his appointment, Drake worked as the president of Ohio State University while serving as chair of the board of directors for both the Association of American Universities and Association of Public and Land-grant Universities bringing over 30 years of experience in education to the role.

• News

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

July 9, 2020

White Couple Who Vandalized Black Lives Matter Mural Charged With Hate Crime

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California police who were looking for a White man and woman who vandalized a newly painted Black Lives Matter mural over the July 4th weekend have found them and they have been arrested and charged with a hate crime, according to TheGrio.

The White couple who were seen on a social media post using black paint to attempt to cover a Black Lives Matter mural painted on the street have both been charged with a hate crime.

The couple, Nichole Anderson and David Nelson, were charged with misdemeanor counts on Tuesday for their actions that were caught on video over the Fourth of July weekend.

“We must address the root and byproduct of systemic racism in our country. The Black Lives Matter movement is an important civil rights cause that deserves all of our attention,” Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton said in a press release.

“The mural completed last weekend was a peaceful and powerful way to communicate the importance of Black lives in Contra Costa County and the country. We must continue to elevate discussions and actually listen to one another in an effort to heal our community and country,” Becton added.

BREAKING: The #Martinez couple caught on video painting over the approved #BlackLivesMatter mural on #FourthofJuly are being charged with a hate crime, according to a release from the #ContraCostaCounty District Attorney’s office. pic.twitter.com/9L21byNsE1

— KCBS 106.9 FM/740 AM (@KCBSRadio) July 7, 2020

The police department had previously released footage of the incident.

As the White woman is defacing the Black Lives Matter mural, the White man could be seen and heard saying, “There is no oppression, there is no racism. It’s a leftist lie. It’s a lie from the media, the liberal left.”

The Martinez Police Department stated after the incident, “The community spent a considerable amount of time putting the mural together only to have it painted over in a hateful and senseless manner. The City of Martinez values tolerance and the damage to the mural was divisive and hurtful. Please help us identify those that are responsible for this crime, so they can be held accountable for their actions.”

Kanye West, who announced last week that he plans to run for president of the United States, granted Forbes an exclusive interview where he dropped a few lines about current topics.

Along with telling the magazine that he no longer supports President Donald Trump, he says his previous plan of running for the office in 2024 has been abandoned so he could run this year.

Here are some of the things the billionaire rapper spoke on.

President’s son-in-law Jared Kushner on his thoughts on Black leaders:

“One time I talked to Jared Kushner, who was saying, ‘We don’t have Black leaders, we just have hustlers.’ Why? Because they killed all the Black leaders.”

The upcoming presidential election:

“I’m not saying Trump’s in my way, he may be a part of my way. And Joe Biden? Like come on man, please. You know? Obama’s special. Trump’s special. We say Kanye West is special. America needs special people that lead. Bill Clinton? Special. Joe Biden’s not special.”

President Trump:

“Trump is the closest president we’ve had in years to allowing God to still be part of the conversation.”

When he knew he’d run for president:

“It’s when I was being offered the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Awards at MTV. I remember being at my mom’s house, my mother-in-law, because my house was being worked on, she calls me ‘son’ and I call her ‘mom,’ I was in the shower, thinking, I write raps in the shower. It hit me to say, ‘You’re going to run for president,’ and I started laughing hysterically, I was, like, this is the best, I’m going to go out there and they’re going to think I’m going to do these songs and do this for entertainment, how rigged awards shows are, and then say I’m going to run for president. And I just laughed in the shower, I don’t know for how long, but that’s the moment it hit me.”

Rumors of Drake having the coronavirus:

“Chills, shaking in the bed, taking hot showers, looking at videos telling me what I’m supposed to do to get over it. I remember someone had told me Drake had the coronavirus and my response was Drake can’t be sicker than me!” (laughs)

Joe Biden:

“A lot of times just like political parties they feel all Blacks have to be Democrat. This man, Joe Biden, said if you don’t vote for me, then you are not Black. Well, act like we didn’t hear that? We act like we didn’t hear that man say that? That man said that. It’s a rap. We gonna walk, all the people. Jay-Z said it best. For the other candidates, I just gracefully suggest y’all bow out—Trump and Biden, gracefully bow out. It’s God’s country, we are doing everything in service to God, nobody but God no more. I am in service of our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ, and I put everything I get on the line to serve God.”

Police brutality:

“One of my to-do lists is to end police brutality. The police are people, too. To end laws that don’t make sense. Like, in the George Floyd case, there was a Black guy that went to jail and it was his first day on the force. So if it’s your first day on the force and it’s your training day, and this OG-accredited cop with 18 violations already starts filing out, are you going to jump in front of that person and lose your job that same day? Especially in this climate when 40,000 people lost their jobs? This man was put in a position where—and also he probably didn’t realize that the cop was going to take it that far, he probably was so scared, in shock, paralyzed, like so many Black people. I’m one of the few Black people that would speak openly like this.”

• Criminal Justice Reform

by Derek Major

July 9, 2020

Black Lives Matter Leader Outlines Five-Year Plan To Eliminate Police

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A Black Lives Matter Philadelphia representative outlined a five-year plan for the “complete abolition” of the city’s police department.

Activist YahNé Ndgo discussed her plan during a segment on Fox News Wednesday saying the police aren’t needed for communities to be safe; change is.

“One of the things that we are demanding over five years is the complete abolition. We don’t want to see any police in our community,” Ndgo told Fox News in an interview Tuesday. “Over the course of those five years, it gives time for the community to begin to build what is needed. We aren’t looking to leave any kind of vacancy around the issue of safety.”

According to Ndgo, crime in most inner cities is the result of poverty and hunger, which drives drug use and in turn drug-related crimes. Ndgo said helping drug addicts recover, people find jobs, and the homeless find homes will slow crimes.

“As we address these particular concerns, and at the same time build restorative justice practices, and build out our mental health response teams, and build medic responses,” she said, “[these are] responses that really actually deal with the issues that are in place. Then we will have less crime anyway.”

Several states have discussed significant police reform including abolishing whole police departments. Last month, the Minneapolis City Council pledged to dismantle the city police. The council analyzed the nature of 911 calls and discovered the majority of them are related to mental health services, health, and EMT, and fire services.

As a result, they have decided to put more money into social services such as mental health, drug addiction, and job placement.

Ndgo believes the community should deal with issues from the ground up, using funds that are now allocated to police departments.

“There are plenty of people who have been murdered as a result of mental health checks. The police came, and then they murdered the person, even though the person was acting erratically, which is what you would expect of a person who’s having a mental health crisis,” Ndgo told Fox News. “Domestic confrontations are also things that police are often called for. And these are kinds of situations that can be handled by different kinds of professionals. As it relates to more violent crime, there would still be trained individuals who are prepared to handle those kinds of situations.”

Ndgo added police typically are reactionary, showing up after a crime has been committed, but actually do little to make communities safer.

“Quite often, if there is violence happening, by the time the police arrive, that has already occurred and particularly in poor neighborhoods and in Black and Brown communities. So the police are not really a resource for preventing that kind of crime from happening. Just a response,” Ndgo said.

• Fashion & Beauty

by Derek Major

July 9, 2020

Supercuts Fires Employee After Telling Customer “They Do Not Cut Black People Hair”

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A Supercuts employee in Westborough, Massachusetts, has been fired after making a racist comment about cutting Black hair in the salon.

According to Boston.com, Damalyn Ellslager-Matthews, brought her three kids ages 2, 5, and 7 to the Supercuts location for a trim. After arriving, Ellslager-Matthews was told by an employee in front of her children that “we should have informed them when we made the appointment that my children are Black and they do not cut Black people hair.”

Ellslager-Matthews discussed the incident on Facebook tagging the store’s location in a post on July 4.

“It hurt my 7 year old daughter’s feelings the most all,” Ellslager-Matthews wrote. “She kept saying is [sic] she is not Black she is mixed and her skin is brown and that it should not matter anyways!!!! we are all people and all have hair that needs to be cut! this can not be tolerated at all!”

The Supercuts location, which has its own Facebook page, quickly reacted with a post on July 5.

“Supercuts serves all members of our community. We are horrified to hear of this and are investigating immediately and are taking action. This type of behavior will not be tolerated. We stand against racism of any kind. Our deepest apologies.”

Later that day, the hair salon announced the employee was fired.

“Racism, ignorance, and prejudice are not tolerated or allowed in our company,” Supercuts wrote on its page. “We will continue to provide sensitivity training throughout our organization. Our staff proudly believes in and supports equality and diversity in our workplace and throughout our communities.”

Ellslager-Matthews said the employee’s firing gave them little solace as she was forced to talk with her kids about race at an age where they should be concerned about cartoons and toys.

“For the first time I had to explain to my daughter that there are some people that have a problem with you just because you’re tanner than everybody else,” Ellslager-Matthews told CBS Boston.

Situations like this have occurred all over the country recently. Last month two managers at a seafood restaurant in Baltimore were fired after telling a Black woman and her son they could not eat due to the child’s “athletic” clothing. Three cops in North Carolina were fired after racist statements they made were recorded in their police cruiser.

• Politics

by Dana Givens

July 9, 2020

The U.S Passport Loses Power, Dropping to 25th Place In World Ranking

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Passport privilege is a very real thing that affects millions of travelers every year. One of the main factors that affects the overall power of a country’s passport is how many countries one can travel to visa-free. Since the start of Trump’s presidency, the U.S passport power has been slowly weakening due to international friction over certain political policies under the new administration, and now due to the coronavirus pandemic.

New rankings released this week shows how bad the situation has become, with the U.S. passport now dropping to 25th place in the overall world index.

Historically, the U.S. passport has been seen as the golden ticket to travel with ease across the international community as it was once regarded as one of the strongest passports in the world.

“Citizenship is the main factor behind preserving global inequalities today,” said Dimitry Kochenov, a co-creator of The Quality of Nationality Index and professor of European constitutional law at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands to The New York Times. “So of course the U.S. passport has always symbolized the ultimate level of this privilege.”

According to the latest Henley Passport Index, U.S. passports now have access to only 158 countries, putting it on par with a Mexican passport, a significant decline from its previous top 10 ranking in 2014. The decrease in standing was partly because of the E.U.’s decision to temporarily ban American travelers due to the COVID-19 pandemic with the U.S. still seeing a surge in new cases in different states.

“We see an emergence of a new global hierarchy in terms of mobility, with countries that have effectively managed the pandemic taking the lead, and countries that have handled it poorly falling behind,” says Christian Kaelin, chairman of Henley & Partners, according to Forbes.

“The U.S.’s dramatic decline in passport power means that Americans find themselves with a similar level of travel freedom usually available to citizens of Mexico.”

by Derek Major

July 9, 2020

San Francisco Lawmaker Introduces CAREN Act Making Racially Biased 911 Calls Illegal

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A San Francisco lawmaker has introduced a bill making it illegal to make discriminatory, racially biased 911 calls, naming it the CAREN Act.

According to NBC News, Supervisor Shamann Walton introduced the “CAREN Act” (Caution Against Racially Exploitative Non-Emergencies) Tuesday at a San Francisco Board of Supervisors meeting.

The name is a play on Karen, which has been used to describe white women who use their privilege to get what they want, usually at the expense of minorities and low-income workers.

“The CAREN Act will make it unlawful for an individual to contact law enforcement solely to discriminate on the basis of a person’s race, ethnicity, religious affiliation, gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity,” Walton said in a statement.

Examples of racially biased 911 calls include a White woman calling the cops on a Black bird watcher in Central Park and a White couple calling the police on a neighbor for writing Black Lives Matter outside his house.

Walton’s bill would coincide with a similar proposal made by California state Assemblyman Rob Bonta, whose bill would make the calls a hate crime.

“If you are afraid of a Black family barbecuing in the community park, a man dancing and doing his normal exercise routine in the bike lane, or someone who asks you to comply with dog leash laws in a park, and your immediate response is to call the police, the real problem is with your own personal prejudice,” Bonta said in a statement.

Current state law can treat false police reports as a misdemeanor or felony offenses depending on the situation. However, that does not include calls described in the CAREN Act.

Bonta’s Assembly Bill 1550 would make racially biased 911 calls a hate crime and the caller can be sued for up to $10,000 in damages. Violators of the CAREN Act would also be liable for no less than $1,000.

Not everyone found the name amusing. San Francisco Mayoral candidate Richie Greenberg expressed his displeasure on Twitter.

As if #SanFrancisco isn’t the butt of so many jokes and the poster child for Mismanagement corruption and homelessness , now we’ve got the ridiculously-named CAREN act , Oy Gevalt.

— Richie Greenberg (@greenbergnation) July 7, 2020

After a 30-day hold, the CAREN Act will be heard at the Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee before heading to San Francisco Mayor London Breed’s desk. If she signs the bill into law, it will take another 30 days to go into effect.

• News

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

July 9, 2020

Don Lemon: ‘If They are Going to Put Someone on Mount Rushmore, the First Black President Should be Front and Center’

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After President Donald Trump gave a speech at Mount Rushmore last week, there has been heightened scrutiny of the presidents etched in stone and of the history of the land itself. CNN host Don Lemon feels that with the racist and divisive history of the country, the nation’s first Black president, Barack Obama, should be “front and center” on Mount Rushmore according to Real Clear Politics.

Earlier this week, on CNN’s Cuomo Prime Time, Lemon and host Chris Cuomo were speaking about the white couple who were arrested for vandalizing a Black Lives Matter mural. The couple was caught defacing the letters on a street in Martinez, California.

That conversation morphed into Lemon suggesting that former President Barack Obama should be front and center on Mount Rushmore.

Lemon: “This is the country that we built. Even though a rich diversity of people helped to build this country and many of us, meaning our ancestors, for free. Did not get paid for it. Could not get an education. Could not build wealth. Are not on statues. Confederate or otherwise. Not on Mount Rushmore.

I think, listen, this is going to—people are going to get and pick this up—they’re going to put someone on Mount Rushmore considering the history of this country. The first Black president should be front and center.”

Cuomo responds: “Because now you are charged with what do you do here? What are you about? How do you collaborate in the creation here? Whether it’s the pandemic or whether it’s the virus of racism. What we do have to do in this country is everybody—you’re doing it beautifully and brilliantly yourself. Of course, I’m bias and I love you.

“But you’re using your platform you’ve made a choice. You may not be winning yourself a lot of fans but you’re going to say what you think is true from your experience hard minted from many years in this business and in this country.”

The full interview is below.

• News

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

July 9, 2020

Schenectady Police Chief Defends White Cop Shown Kneeling On Man’s Head (Video)

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Once again, a police officer is caught on video applying pressure to the neck of a person of color. This time the incident took place in upstate New York. The chief of police in Schenectady has come to the defense of one of his officers who kneeled on a suspect’s head during a violent arrest according to NewsOne.

Schenectady Police Chief Eric Clifford had stated that an investigation was underway for the incident but also seemed to defend and justify Officer Brian Pommer’s actions. He did state that the Black suspect didn’t lose consciousness, which makes it seem like it was OK.

The suspect, Yugeshwar Gaindarpersaud, a Guyanese-Indian, was resisting arrest “both actively and passively” after being accused of property damage by a neighbor, according to Chief Clifford. As the police officer, who was alone, has his knee on the head of Gaindarpersaud, he was attempting to gain control of the situation, while also instructing Gaindarpersaud’s family to stay away from the encounter.

“The release of a partial clip of video and a photo unfortunately tend to drive a wedge between the community and police,” Clifford said. “I would ask that at this time the public be patient with the current probe and trust that once all information is reviewed the appropriate action will immediately be taken by this agency.”

“The officer was alone and attempting to gain control of the continually struggling Mr. Gaindarpersaud,” Clifford said. “This officer briefly placed his knee on Mr. Gaindarpersaud’s head to maintain control of the subject while calling for help and giving repeated commands to Mr. Gaindarpersaud’s family to back up.”

On Monday, the Schenectady Police Department posted this statement to their Facebook account.

Gaindarpersaud had also stated that Pommer punched him in the stomach and bruised him on his own property.