Angela Simmons Opens Up About Her New Skincare Line, Unannounced Book, and Parenting in the Pandemic (Video)
Despite being in lockdown for the past couple of months, Angela Simmons has been staying active and productive—and she has a lot to show for it.
The 32-year-old creator, producer, and star of Growing Up Hip Hop announced in April her plans to launch a skincare line called Simmons Beauty. After teasing the collection to her 6.6 million Instagram followers for weeks, she finally dropped a hyaluronic acid serum called Glow In A Bottle Clear Tonic, which she says sold out in hours on Monday.
“While being in quarantine, obviously skincare and taking care of yourself is super important. And I’ve always been big on my skin and like what I do with it, and I’ve just never really put anything out there. And so I feel like now’s the time to share my secrets,” Simmons told BLACK ENTERPRISE.
Following the success of her first product release, Simmons says she has a second product in the works. “I already have my next product lined up. I’m very excited about it.” Plus, the reality star is planning to share in-depth details about her skincare regime in a new book. “I have a book coming out too, which I haven’t talked about. It’s actually with the skincare. I haven’t announced it yet,” she said.
In addition to jumping into the beauty industry, the serial entrepreneur is juggling both her Built Not Bought fitness program and her Purpose app, which provides tips and inspiration for motherhood, all while raising her 3-year-old son.
Although the global COVID-19 pandemic has caused mass disruption and devastation, Simmons says it has also given a lot of people more time to work on developing themselves and their passions.
“There’s no time like the present and while you have time and we’re actually home, now’s the time to just do it,” she said. “Don’t sit around and wait for this to end. No, you got time right now. Put the remote down. Get to work.”
Learn more about Simmons’ new beauty line, her upcoming book, her work to help front line workers, and more on the latest episode of The New Norm With Selena Hill. Watch below.
Twitter Hides Trump Tweet For ‘Glorifying Violence’ In Minneapolis
By Subrat Patnaik and Shubham Kalia
(Reuters) – Twitter hid a tweet by U.S. President Donald Trump behind a warning on Friday, accusing him of breaking its rules by “glorifying violence” in a message that said looters at protests in Minneapolis would be shot.
Twitter’s decision to step in escalates a feud between Trump and tech companies, and comes at a time of racially charged civil unrest in cities across the United States over the death of George Floyd, a black man seen on video gasping for breath while a white police officer knelt on his neck.
A screenshot of a tweet by U.S President Donald Trump posted on May 29, 2020. Twitter/@realDonaldTrump via REUTERS
Trump responded by accusing the company of targeting him, Republicans and other conservatives for censorship. He threatened to impose new regulation on internet companies and called on Congress to revoke a law that protects online platforms from lawsuits over content.
Trump’s tweet tagged by Twitter read: “…These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!”
Trump’s message can now be seen only after clicking on a notice which says: “This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules about glorifying violence. However, Twitter has determined that it may be in the public’s interest for the Tweet to remain accessible.”
Trump issued his tweet amid days of unrest in Minneapolis, which was engulfed in a third night of arson, looting and vandalism as protesters vented their rage over Floyd’s death.
Trump has condemned the killing of Floyd and promised justice. Four police officers involved in Floyd’s death have been fired and the FBI is investigating.
FILE PHOTO: A man wearing a face mask holds a sign near a burning vehicle at the parking lot of a Target store during protests after a white police officer was caught on a bystander’s video pressing his knee into the neck of African-American man George Floyd, who later died at a hospital, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S., May 28, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
A Twitter spokeswoman said CEO Jack Dorsey had been informed of the decision to tag Trump’s tweet before the label was applied. The decision was based on a policy in place since June, 2019, which the company said it had applied previously, pointing to a tweet by a Brazilian cabinet member in April this year.
The move came hours after Trump signed an executive order threatening Silicon Valley social media firms with new free speech regulations.
“Twitter is doing nothing about all of the lies & propaganda being put out by China or the Radical Left Democrat Party. They have targeted Republicans, Conservatives & the President of the United States. Section 230 should be revoked by Congress. Until then, it will be regulated!” Trump tweeted on Friday.
Section 230 refers to a law that protects social media platforms from lawsuits over content that appears on them.
Floyd’s death was one of several killings of black people in the United States in recent months that has provoked outrage. The Minneapolis night sky was lit up with flame from a police precinct that had been torched overnight. In the morning, riot police in gas masks arrested a CNN film crew on live TV, leading them away in handcuffs from streets that resembled a war zone. More than an hour later, the crew was released.
Protests took place in other U.S. cities including Louisville, Kentucky, where police said seven people were shot. Protesters there vented rage over the police killing of Breonna Taylor, a black woman shot in her apartment in March.
FILE PHOTO: The Twitter and Facebook logo along with binary cyber codes are seen in this illustration taken November 26, 2019. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
Twitter said it acted over the Trump tweet “in the interest of preventing others from being inspired to commit violent acts”. People will still “be able to retweet with comment, but will not be able to like, reply or retweet it”.
Trump’s moves to regulate social media platforms followed Twitter’s decision to tag his tweets this week about unsubstantiated claims of fraud in mail-in voting. Twitter added a warning prompting readers to fact-check the posts.
(Reporting by Shubham Kalia and Subrat Patnaik in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Josephine Mason; Writing by Peter Graff; Editing by Jon Boyle and Chizu Nomiyama)
Black Voters Don’t Trust Mail Ballot That’s A Problem For Democrats
By John Whitesides
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Sharon Fason used to accompany her mother to their south Chicago polling place every Election Day as a little girl, watching as she joined their African-American neighbors in the hard-won right of casting a ballot.
Now 47, Fason says she always votes in person, a ritual she has no intention of changing even if the deadly coronavirus still rages in November.
“I will put on protective gear and I will still walk in and cast my ballot,” said Fason, a black public librarian in Chicago.
The Democratic Party is pushing mail-in voting as the safest way to cast ballots amid the coronavirus pandemic. But the party is struggling to persuade a bedrock constituency: African Americans.
Their votes will be crucial if Democrat Joe Biden hopes to unseat Republican President Donald Trump on Nov. 3. In 2016, turnout among black voters declined for the first time in 20 years, aiding Trump’s surprise win over Democrat Hillary Clinton.
FILE PHOTO: Voters wait in line outside Riverside University High School to cast ballots during the presidential primary election held amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. April 7, 2020. REUTERS/Daniel Acker/File Photo
During the most recent national elections, the 2018 congressional midterms, only about 11% of black voters cast their ballots by mail, according to Census figures. That’s the lowest percentage of any measured ethnic group, and it’s just under half the rate of white voters.
There are a variety of reasons. For African Americans such as Fason, striding to the polls is a powerful act, both symbolic and substantive. Some black voters fear their mail ballots might get lost or rejected. African Americans are more transient than other racial groups and have high rates of homelessness, government statistics show, major barriers to mail voting.
That could pose a problem for Democrats if in-person voting is severely restricted in November and many polling stations closed because of coronavirus worries. That was the case in recent primary elections in Wisconsin and Ohio, crucial battleground states where turnout was down by double-digit percentages from 2016.
In Georgia, a once solidly Republican state that polls show could be competitive in November, early requests for mail ballots in the state’s June 9 elections show voters of color have been slow to embrace the process.
As of May 19, 25% of white registered voters in Georgia had requested mail ballots in Georgia, compared to 17% of black voters and 11% of Latino voters, according to a study by the Brennan Center for Justice.
Georgia’s Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger sent all of the state’s 6.9 million active voters an application for an absentee ballot, a move that was widely applauded in a state where more than 1,900 people have died of COVID-19.
But Raffensperger also formed a task force to investigate absentee ballots with irregularities such as mismatched signatures, a move he said was needed to combat fraud. Many Georgia Democrats criticized that as an intimidation tactic that could lead to more challenges of mail ballots and a suppression of Democratic votes.
Trump and his Republican allies say mail voting is prone to fraud and favors Democrats, even as numerous independent studies have found little evidence of either claim.
Democrats “are using a pandemic to completely destroy the integrity of our elections,” Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said.
Some Democrats fear such efforts to discredit mail balloting, coupled with a possible reduction of in-person polling places if a second wave of coronavirus hits this fall, could depress African-American turnout and doom Biden’s chances.
“It’s unfortunate the Republican Party would rather play games with people’s health and people’s votes just so they can try to come out on top in an election,” said Nikema Williams, the first black woman to chair the Georgia Democratic Party.
FILE PHOTO: Jocelyn Bush, a poll worker at the Edmondson Westside High School Polling site, cleans each station after a ballot is cast, during the special election for Marylands 7th congressional district seat, previously held by Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S., April 28, 2020. REUTERS/Tom Brenner/File Photo
DIFFICULT CHOICE
The new coronavirus has killed and infected African-Americans at disproportionately high rates, in part because they are more likely to work in frontline service jobs than whites, and tend to have more chronic health problems. As of May 19, the mortality rate for black Americans was 2.4 times the rate for whites, according to the American Public Media (APM) Research Lab.
That could force a difficult choice on many African-American voters in November: Risk in-person voting or pivot to a mail system that many do not trust.
Tumultuous April 7 elections in Wisconsin offered a potential preview. The state shifted to a nearly all-mail format and drastically reduced the number of polling places open on Election Day amid concerns about coronavirus.
Milwaukee, home to more than two-thirds of the state’s African-American residents, had only five polling places operating, down from the usual 180 locations. People were forced to wait in long lines for hours, many wearing masks.
Robin Reese, an African American voter from Milwaukee, requested her first-ever absentee ballot after she contracted COVID-19. She immediately hit a hurdle: Wisconsin requires a witness to sign the envelope to verify the voter’s identity and Reese didn’t want to risk infecting anyone.
Her health eventually improved enough that she could use Milwaukee’s drive-up voting service, where a worker took her absentee ballot and served as a witness.
“I feel if I don’t put the ballot in the machine myself, who knows what happens to it?” said Reese, the manager of a Milwaukee business improvement district.
Such fears are not unfounded.
A report released in April by researchers at the University of Florida and Dartmouth College found that mailed ballots cast in 2018 by blacks, Hispanics and other racial minorities were twice as likely to be rejected in Florida as those cast by white voters, often for missing or mismatched signatures. Florida, with 29 electoral votes, is one of the biggest prizes in the November general election, where early polls show a tight matchup between Trump and Biden.
Democrat Stacey Abrams, who fell just short in her 2018 Georgia bid to become the first black woman elected governor in the United States, supports the push to make it easier for all voters to obtain mail ballots. Still, she said a variety of options are needed to prevent disenfranchisement in black communities, such as an expanded period for early voting and drive-through voting.
“There will be legitimate fears about using absentee ballots,” said Abrams, who has been considered a possible vice presidential pick for Biden. “We have to use every tool in the toolbox.”
‘NO REASON TO TRUST GOVERNMENT’
Even in states such as Pennsylvania, which last year made absentee voting easier for all of the state’s voters, African Americans appear to lag whites in signing up.
Ahead of Pennsylvania’s June 2 primary, Philadelphia County – the state’s largest with a population that is about 44% black – received 206,961 requests for mail ballots, according to state data as of May 26. That’s nearly 25% fewer requests than in the state’s second-most-populous area around Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, where just 13% of residents are black.
The Democratic National Committee and black voter mobilization groups have launched broad educational programs to encourage mail balloting and help African Americans navigate the requirements. The DNC has teamed up with state parties in Florida, Pennsylvania and Georgia to text millions of supporters.
Other efforts could include transforming African-American communities’ traditional “Souls to the Polls” early voting programs. Black churches long have bused parishioners to polling places after services during election season. Alternatives could include socially-distanced marches to early voting sites or online church programs to help parishioners fill out their ballots.
“We have to do a ton of education ensuring that black voters feel their vote will be counted,” said Quentin James, founder of Collective PAC, a group working for the election of black officials.
James, an African American who lives in Ohio, voted by mail in that state’s April 28 primary. Still, he submitted his ballot via a drop box at the elections office instead of mailing it.
“We just don’t trust the government, and I don’t think government has given us a reason to trust them,” James said.
(Additional reporting by Jarrett Renshaw, Editing by Soyoung Kim and Marla Dickerson)
Stanford Summer STEM Camp for Students of Color Goes Virtual During COVID-19
As students and their families prepare for what would normally be considered summer break, many people are looking for programs to participate in amid COVID-19. Many educational service providers are restructuring their programs to comply with social distancing regulations and are going digital. As they pivot, the question about access for all students has been posed as some parents cannot afford top-tier academic programs. In response, three STEM organizations in the Bay Area operated by leaders of color have teamed up to provide the Science in the City STEM program at Stanford University, virtually.
In the seventh year of the program, The Social Engineering Project (TSEP), Stanford’s Graduate School of Education (SGSE) and SLAC Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC) have partnered to bring Science In The City virtually as parents seek quality programs for their students to participate in. For the fraction of the cost, founders Dr. Bryan Brown of SGSE; Kevin L. Nichols of TSEP; and Dorian Bohler and Marguax Lopez of SLAC have designed traditional STEM low-cost summer experience for incoming 5th and 6th-grade underrepresented students of color (African American/Black, Chicano/Latino/LatinX, Indigenous/Native American, and Pacific Islander) at $350 until June 1.
The virtual summer camp will take place on Zoom during the week of July 13 -17, 2020.
According to a statement released by the group, “The purpose of SITC is for students to fall in love with math, science, physics, and chemistry. By doing so, they have a higher probability of going to college, majoring in a STEM-related major, and working in the tech industry in order to improve the quality of life of their families and communities.”
As outlined by the group, “This year’s curriculum will focus on weather, biotech (genetics), and exploring the most advanced research available on COVID-19. Further, students will also interview researchers, scientists, and engineers; and have additional assignments to do at home if they choose for more exposure to the concepts taught.”
To make the program more accessible for families to enroll their students in the program, SITC has partnered with Northrop Grumman who will provide scholarships for students experiencing economic hardships or that have been impacted by COVID-19; First Republic Bank, which will provide laptop computers for students who are experiencing hardships and/or do not have devices to participate with; and ThermoFisher Scientific, which will provide lab coats, gloves, goggles, and backpacks for students.
Ahead of the application opening for the program, BLACK ENTERPRISE interviewed Nichols via email where he expressed the importance of creating an online experience that families can afford and students of color can benefit greatly from.
Creating Pathways to STEM
What are you most excited about being able to provide this virtual experience?
I am most excited about the culturally relevant curriculum that my team has developed this year due to our partnership with Stanford’s Graduate School of Education and SLAC Accelerator Laboratory. Our students will learn how scientists and physicists are currently studying the COVID-19 virus, what it looks like under a laser, and they will conduct a similar experiment at home to study the virus themselves.
Will the virtual program create more access for students across the Bay Area to participate?
Yes, going virtual will actually create more access for students across the nation. We are no longer limited to students being able to get to and from Stanford University. Moreover, thanks to a generous donation from First Republic Bank, we can provide laptop computers to students experiencing hardships that do not have a device to participate with.
What do you hope students will be able to take away from the experience?
I hope that students will fall in love with science, build their confidence in STEM, and know that they can be successful scientists. Our program provides lab coats and transforms our students into scientists on Day 1. We positively reinforce that black and brown people are smart and can accomplish/achieve anything that we set our minds to. We affirm this throughout the week and we have a Harambee-type ceremony on the last day that sends them off to be scientists to the world.
To learn more about the program and how you can get involved, click here.
Meet The Black Woman Who Created Live 24-Hour Movie Streaming Platform
Streaming has become the main way people consume entertainment. Platforms ranging from Netflix to Hulu have been dominating movie and television platforms with 24/7 content. For one entrepreneur, creating a streaming platform became a way to share black stories across the globe through a new 24-hour movie channel dedicated to the culture.
DeShuna Spencer is the founder and CEO of KweliTV, one of the only digital streaming platforms dedicated to celebrating black culture and the African diaspora around the world. The name of the network comes from the Swahilli word for truth. Spencer was inspired to create the unique platform after becoming frustrated with the lack of diversity in movies and television. Her mission was to create a platform that could tell the global black experiences through numerous stories across the world.
Spencer recently expanded her network to include a new 24-Hour movie channel where viewers can enjoy indie films, documentaries, and web series from black creatives all around the world. Many of the films have been played at notable film festivals and garnered critical acclaim within the film community. Spencer is committed to ensuring that creators get their fair share of the profits offering them 60% of the revenue each quarter.
In an interview with Black Business News, Spencer says that “this year, KweliTV is laser-focused on spreading our content across various distribution channels to make it much easier to reach our audience in a number of ways. Given the fact that COVID-19 is disproportionately impacting our community’s health and pocketbooks, our live, free channel allows us to connect with customers who may be experiencing financial challenges.”
HP Is Helping HBCU College Students Obtain Internships Amid COVID-19
The COVID-19, or the novel coronavirus, pandemic, has severely impacted the lives of the Class of 2020. From graduation ceremonies and proms being canceled to universities and primary schools working on strategies to continue remote learning while they learn to adapt, students are among some who have been hit the most by the public health crisis.
Outside of traditional ceremonies, it has also affected the job market for new graduates leaving college. According to a new report by Glassdoor, internship openings have been cut by 52% since March with over 4 million jobs being lost as a direct result of the pandemic. To help students and graduates with the transition, HP has announced that it will be launching a new virtual development experience aimed toward HBCU students.
Starting this summer, HP will launch its Summer Scholars series, a free developmental series to help students gain technical and professional skills to help them in businesses ranging from learning how to perform software data analysis, understanding how trends influence the global market, and discovering job opportunities at HP. The company is currently working with a group of deans from various HBCUs around the country to encourage students to apply. The program runs from June 15 – July 24.
In addition to the program, the tech giant has donated over $1 million in direct relief efforts for communities impacted by COVID-19 in addition to using its 3D printing technology to produce equipment for healthcare professionals.
“As a global company, we understand the importance of acting globally while executing at the local level,” said Christoph Schell, chief commercial officer for HP to Channel Futures. “Rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach, we are taking a customized approach specific to the unique and evolving dynamics at the market and country level, depending on a variety of factors.”
For students interested in applying to the program, they can visit the website or email hpsummerscholars@hp.com.
Fannie Mae Launches ‘Here to Help’ Education Effort
The Federal National Mortgage Association, commonly known as Fannie Mae has announced the launching of its “Here to Help” campaign.
According to a press release, the campaign will assist U.S. homeowners and renters with tools and resources to navigate the available financial options related to the coronavirus.
“Fannie Mae is committed to providing sustainable housing options to help keep people in their homes,” Hugh R. Frater, CEO, Fannie Mae said in a released statement. “We hope Here to Help will bring some clarity, transparency, and assurance to homeowners and renters who are facing job loss, reduction in work hours, illness, or other issues related to COVID-19.”
As a resource, Fannie Mae has created the “Here to Help” online portal. The portal features informative videos, fact sheets, mortgage loan and apartment rental lookup tools, to assist homeowners and renters with information to navigate their options. The portal will also assist mortgage servicers and lenders with explanations and guidelines concerning forbearance, repayment options, and training videos for loan servicers.
“We are committed to putting people first, helping Americans stay in their homes, helping customers stay in business, and ensuring that the nation’s mortgage and housing markets remain strong,” Frater said in the release.
Since the coronavirus pandemic hit the U.S., Fannie Mae has suspended foreclosures and evictions as well as extended eviction protections to multifamily renters.
As the coronavirus pandemic lingers on, renters, lawmakers, and tenants rights organizations across the country have called for rent freezes. Instead, many lawmakers, including New York Governor Andrew Cuomo have frozen eviction proceedings.
Many owners have also worked out deals with tenants, understanding why they can’t pay.
However, the housing market could come crashing down soon in many areas. If renters cannot pay their rent to a landlord, then homeowners cannot pay their mortgages to the bank and tax bills to their cities and states.
Many commercial owners have not been paid rent as offices and storefronts have been forced to close due to the coronavirus pandemic. Now, a July 1 deadline for property tax bills looms in New York City and lawmakers have yet to postpone the deadline.
If property owners cannot make the payments, “the city will be starved of an enormous revenue stream that helps pay for all aspects of everyday life, from the fire department to trash pickup to the public hospitals,” the New York Times wrote.
Republicans Open to Back-To-Work Bonuses For Unemployed Workers
A proposal to provide $450 weekly to unemployed Americans returning to work, in addition to their wages, is gaining traction among Republicans.
According to Fox News, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow indicated Republicans are open to a back-to-work bonus for unemployed Americans in the next round of coronavirus aid.
“It’s something we’re looking at very carefully. Sen. Portman has a good idea. He understands incentives and disincentives,” Kudlow said Tuesday during an interview on Fox News. “The trouble with the $600 plus-up, and maybe we needed it in that emergency period, but frankly it’s a major disincentive to go back to work and we don’t want that. We want people to go back to work.”
The proposal, drafted by Sen. Rob Portman, (R-Ohio), would provide $450 weekly to laid-off Americans returning to work, in addition to their wages. Under the proposal, the money would be distributed through July 31, the same week the extra $600 a week unemployment benefit ends.
Republican lawmakers are concerned that the $600 citizens are receiving in addition to their state unemployment benefits are discouraging Americans from returning to work. Republicans believe Americans would rather stay at home rather than work and risk catching the virus.
According to Fox News, Portman is reportedly working with the Senate Finance Committee on the proposal.
House Democrats, meanwhile, have passed a $3 trillion stimulus package that includes additional unemployment benefits. However, Republicans called the bill dead on arrival; Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said additional jobless benefits will not be included in the next package.
According to unemployment numbers released Wednesday morning, another 2.1 million people filed for unemployment benefits last week. The number is the lowest total since the coronavirus crisis began, but still higher than economists predicted last week, according to CNBC.
The antibody tests, usually called serologic tests, look for proof of an immune response to infection. “Antibodies in some persons can be detected within the first week of illness onset,” the CDC says.
“Serologic test results should not be used to make decisions about grouping persons residing in or being admitted to congregate settings, such as schools, dormitories, or correctional facilities,” the CDC states. They also say that “Serologic test results should not be used to make decisions about returning persons to the workplace.”
The new CDC guidelines caution against using antibody tests to make policy decisions. They explain why testing can be wrong so often. It has a lot to do with how common the virus is in the population being tested.
“For example, in a population where the prevalence is 5%, a test with 90% sensitivity and 95% specificity will yield a positive predictive value of 49%. In other words, less than half of those testing positive will truly have antibodies,” the CDC said.
“Alternatively, the same test in a population with an antibody prevalence exceeding 52% will yield a positive predictive greater than 95%, meaning that less than one in 20 people testing positive will have a false-positive test result.”
The CDC is stressing that everyone should still continue to practice preventative measures, including social distancing, proper hygiene, and wearing personal protective equipment, regardless of whether people have tested positive for antibodies or have recently had the coronavirus.
“It cannot be assumed that individuals with truly positive antibody test results are protected from future infection,” the CDC said. “Serologic testing should not be used to determine immune status in individuals until the presence, durability, and duration of immunity is established.”
Updated on May 27: More than 1.6 million COVID-19 cases have been reported in the U.S., with 30 states reporting more than 10,000 cases. COVID-19 cases reported among healthcare personnel now available: https://t.co/wiuFBKR3Uh. pic.twitter.com/Bgl8JxMD0u
‘The High Note’ Movie Stars Ice Cube and Kelvin Harrison Jr. Talk Business and Finding Your Voice
The new movie The High Note, featuring Tracee Ellis Ross, Ice Cube, Kelvin Harrison Jr., and Dakota Johnson, is a tale about taking risks and following your dreams. In a virtual sit-down interview, BLACK ENTERPRISE spoke with Ice Cube and Harrison about the importance of finding your voice, doing business with confidence, and what it takes to relentlessly pursue your dreams.
Written by Flora Greeson, produced Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner; and executive produced by Alexandra Loewy and Nathan Kelly; and directed Nisha Ganatra, The High Note takes place in the world of the Los Angeles music scene. The movie is centered around the story of superstar and diva Grace Davis, played by Ross, who is seeking to remain relevant in an industry that promotes ageism and prefers the next best thing. In the film, Grace’s manager Jack Roberston (Ice Cube) presents her with a choice that could alter the course of her career. Harrison plays Grace’s estranged son David Cliff who is pursuing a music career and finds a way to take center stage with his mother.
In a statement released by Focus Films, Ganatra shared that Ice Cube was the perfect fit for the role. “He’s a businessman who thinks his star should play it safe, and not take too many risks at this point in her career,” she said. “Cube’s mere presence makes the music element really take root. There are few people so strongly associated with Los Angeles’ influential music scene. But Cube is also a fantastic comic actor who makes the most of every last line.”
Ice Cube stars as Jack Robertson in THE HIGH NOTE, a Focus Features release. Credit: Glen Wilson / Focus Features
The High Note
In the movie, Harrison’s character is in the pursuit of finding his voice and living out loud. He successfully does so after finding a little inspiration. Harrison stars as one of the romantic leads and his relationship ultimately leads him back to his first loves: his mother and music.
Kelvin Harrison Jr. stars as David Cliff and Dakota Johnson as Maggie Sherwoode in THE HIGH NOTE, a Focus Features release. Credit: Glen Wilson / Focus Features
“The High Note marked the first time Kelvin had a chance to show us all that he is a fantastically talented vocalist. I think his performance in this film is charming, grounded, and truthful. He makes it look easy, but he comes off so great because he works so hard on his craft,” Ganatra said.
During the pandemic, Ganatra hopes that The High Note can bring joy to people.
“I think it’s important to tell stories that emphasize how we all benefit from striving to be our best selves and from coming together to support one another—even if there are stumbling blocks to overcome along the way (and there always are). I also hope that with The High Note, we’ll be able to bring a little additional joy into the world with great performances, a lot of laughs, and some truly unforgettable music. Because nothing buoys the spirits like beautiful songs and laughter,” she concluded.
