Zoom Conference Call for Delaware Black-Owned Businesses Interrupted by Hackers Spewing Racist Rhetoric and Pornography
It seems as if nothing is truly safe online. A Zoom conference call that was set up by the Delaware Legislative Black Caucus last week was interrupted by hackers who forced their way in with racist language, Nazi imagery, and graphic pornography, according to Delaware Online.
Last Wednesday, the Delaware Legislative Black Caucus arranged a virtual conference event that was going to focus on helping black-owned businesses and organizations receive federal money. In an unexpected move, the Zoom-hosted call was taken over by a hacker who gained control and displayed a racial slur and porn.
The Zoom virtual “meeting” was an informal panel of eight state lawmakers, a few members of Congress, and several other officials. The meeting was a virtual information session to encourage African American businesses, churches, and not for profits to apply for the Paycheck Protection Program, a $349 billion program that the federal government launched to help small businesses impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Nearly an hour into the Zoom conference call, Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester is heard speaking about “the equity of this whole process” when the screen goes black and she disappears. The video screen stays black for about 2 minutes as participants continue meeting. Then, a white cursor appears on the black screen. A scribbling of the N-word in red appears across the screen, along with a drawing of a swastika.
“So I see someone has joined,” said Blunt Rochester, when she appeared back on the screen. “And you know what, we rebuke hate. We know that this—there’s a bigger plan here, and it’s all about love and caring for each other as a part of a large community. And so I am so grateful, I’m grateful for everybody that’s on this call. Because we know that that’s really what these times are showing us. It’s calling out who we really are. It’s not about who we say we want to be.”
Without skipping a beat, Blunt Rochester says, “So don’t worry folks, we’re going to be together in it, and we’re going to continue to work together. Stay strong, and thank you so much. And don’t forget the Census!”
The meeting was apparently a victim of “Zoom-bombing,” in which people crash public meetings with obscenities, racial slurs, or hate speech.
Michigan Security Guard Killed Over Face Mask Argument Honored as Parent of the Year
The Michigan security guard who was killed after refusing to allow a customer to enter the Family Dollar where he worked was recently named parent of the year at Madison Academy in Burton, according to ABC News.
Calvin Munerlyn, 43, died last week after he was shot while working as a security guard at Family Dollar in Flint.
“When we need something, we are going to call ‘Duper.’ When we need somebody to do security at graduation, we need somebody to come up fix his famous oodles, so he would come up during lunch and fix those. Fundraisers, whatever it is that we need, Mr. Munerlyn was there for the kids,” Madison Academy Principal Christel Drew told ABC 12 News.
“We have four of their children here, two of their other children graduated from Madison Academy, so the Munerlyns are our family,” said Drew, who added that the award would be renamed the “Super Duper” parent award in Calvin Murelyn’s honor.
On Friday, Murelyn told Sharmel Teague’s daughter she couldn’t enter the store because she lacked a face mask, according to Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton. Before leaving, Teague, 45, got into a heated argument and spat on Murelyn. Shortly after, two men entered.
Teague, her 44-year-old husband, Larry, 44, and Ramonyea Bishop, 23 were charged with first-degree premeditated murder and gun charges. Larry Teague is also charged with violating Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s executive order mandating that all customers and employees must wear face coverings inside grocery stores, Leyton said. In most states, a face mask is required to enter a store to try to stop the spread of the deadly coronavirus.
Leyton announced charges against three suspects in Munerlyn’s shooting on Monday. Two of them, 44-year-old Larry Edward Teague and 23-year-old Ramonyea Bishop, remain at large.
“It is important that the governor’s order be respected and adhered to, and for someone to lose their life over it is beyond comprehension,” Leyton said in a statement.
As of Monday, Michigan has a reported 43,754 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 4,049 deaths due to complications from the coronvavirus.
“The hostile tone that we have seen in recent days on television and in social media can permeate our society in ways we sometimes don’t fully realize or anticipate,” Leyton told reporters Monday. “Decisions like staying home when we can, wearing a mask when going to the store, and staying a safe distance from those around us—these should not be political arguments. They don’t necessitate acts of defiance, and we simply cannot devolve into an us versus them mentality.”
Munerlyn’s mother, Bernadett, said she wants justice for her son.Ho
“They didn’t have to take my baby and it wasn’t that serious,” she said during a candlelight vigil. “All you people just have to do is listen to the law, listen to the governor. Just stay home. If you don’t have to come out, then you wouldn’t need a mask unless you’re out getting groceries or necessities. All my baby was doing was his job.”
New Study: The Coronavirus Has Mutated and Is More Contagious
According to a study, the coronavirus has mutated and the new, dominant strain spreading across the U.S. appears to be even more contagious.
As reported by NBC News, the study was conducted by the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The new strain began to spread in Europe in early February before migrating to other countries. The strain hit the U.S. and Canada in late March.
The researchers warned in the study that if the coronavirus doesn’t subside in the summer the situation could get worse. Mutations of the virus could potentially limit the effectiveness of coronavirus vaccines currently being developed.
Bette Korber, a computational biologist at Los Alamos and lead author of the study, acknowledged the news is serious, but added the worldwide effort for a vaccine has its advantages.
“This is hard news,” Korber, told NBC News and wrote on her Facebook page.
“But please don’t only be disheartened by it,” she continued. “Our team at LANL was able to document this mutation and its impact on transmission only because of a massive global effort of clinical people and experimental groups, who make new sequences of the virus (SARS-CoV-2) in their local communities available as quickly as they possibly can.”
The study has yet to be peer-reviewed, but the news is of “urgent concern” considering more than 100 vaccines are currently being developed.
To find the mutation, researchers received help from Duke University and the University of Sheffield in England. Together, they analyzed thousands of coronavirus sequences collected by the Global Initiative for Sharing All Influenza.
The initiative promotes the rapid sharing of data from all influenza viruses and the coronavirus. To date, the researchers have identified 14 mutations.
The mutation described in the study impacts the spike protein, a multifunctional mechanism that allows the virus to enter the host.
Another study published in the journal Nature Research found the coronavirus lingers in the air of crowded spaces with poor ventilation such as elevators and subways.
This Entrepreneur Is Providing New Solutions For Student Housing
One of the most difficult problems students deal with when they are in college is finding housing, whether they are living on or off-campus. For Ivy League-grad-turned-entrepreneur Derrick Milam, his experiences with student housing as an undergraduate directly influenced his desire to create a company that provides students with easier and affordable solutions.
Milam is the co-founder and COO of Vie Management, a student housing financing, acquisition, development, and management company. After graduating from Princeton University with a degree in public policy in addition to attending law and business school at Columbia University, Milam’s passion for commercial real estate is what drove him to look at business opportunities in the field after seeing his father lose the land he fought to earn.
“My experience at Princeton set the foundation for my interest in real estate development and, more importantly, my effort to serve underserved communities,” said Milam in an interview with BLACK ENTERPRISE. “My father was a sharecropper and the first to graduate college in his family. He and my mother made it possible for me to attend Princeton where I was, as a result of financial aid, fortunate to study, socialize and even compete with the best as the first of my family to attend an Ivy League institution. I learned to set expectations for performance, the same expectations I set for my company today.”
From there, he used his background and the knowledge gained from experience in economic development. He says that his goal is for students to ultimately feel at home while they focus on their studies. “Our goal is to build intentional communities and an environment that enables students to thrive,” continued Milam. “Specifically, our firm develops communities with an emphasis on health, fitness, education, and social interaction.” His firm has since garnered investors from Asia and the Middle East, securing $120 million to use for funding.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, his company has taken steps to ensure the health and safety of students who are unable to return home from school due to closures from the viral outbreak. “COVID-19 immediately changed our business and accelerated some emerging industry trends that will greatly influence our future performance,” he said. “The first significant change is the relationship between private industry and government. [The ] government has designated housing as an essential industry in the effort to flatten the curve, so we have modified our operations to comply with these temporary strict regulations and requirements. We have embraced this change because we are empowered to create measures at the community level to further promote the health and wellness of our residents and teammates.”
Democratic Operatives Make a Push For Michelle Obama To Become Vice President
Democratic operatives have just launched a committee with the aim of pushing presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden to name Michelle Obama as his vice president.
“The Committee to Draft Michelle Obama firmly believes that Ms. Obama will not only benefit the Democratic ticket this November but also help lead this country to be more just and caring,” the group said in a statement according to ABC News. “However strongly we support Ms. Obama as Vice President Biden’s running mate, we will transfer our resolve to whoever joins the ticket to defeat the most dangerous incumbent in the history of our nation.”
Biden committed to choosing a black woman as his vice president but has backtracked on that in recent weeks. Biden did say that he would choose the former first lady “in a heartbeat,” but noted that it was unlikely to happen.
“She’s brilliant. She knows the way around. She is a really fine woman. The Obamas are great friends,” Biden said in an interview with CBS in late April. However, Biden added, “I don’t think she has any desire to live in the White House again.”
The newly formed committee filed as a non-connected PAC on April 26, according to FEC documents, and is not affiliated with Barack Obama or Biden’s campaign. The committee is supported by Democratic fundraisers including Nadine Hack and Mack Wilbourn.
Although the committee wants Biden to choose Michelle Obama as his running mate, the committee said it will “transfer our resolve to whoever joins the ticket to defeat the most dangerous incumbent in the history of our nation.”
In March, House Majority Whip James Clyburn urged Biden to choose a black woman as his running mate. Clyburn suggested Kamala Harris, Stacey Abrams, Democratic Reps. Marcia Fudge of Ohio, Val Demings of Florida, and Karen Bass of California as potential choices, as well as Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.
Biden has already begun his search for a vice president saying he hopes to make a selection by the end of May.
In the Battle of the Sexes, Women are Better at Cybersecurity Than Men
Women are arguably better than men at a lot of things, and the latest research suggests that cybersecurity can be added to that list. Women are better at protecting themselves online, tending to be more concerned about their accounts getting hacked and also using unique passwords more often.
The report, from password manager NordPass, is based on an anonymous survey of 1,400 people in the U.S. and the U.K. conducted in March to determine consumers’ password habits and to understand how much of a burden most people perceive managing their passwords to be.
The findings on password security:
57% of women always use a unique password for banks and other financial institutions, compared with only 50% of men; 50% of women use a unique password for personal email, compared with 42% of men; 43% of women use one for online store accounts, compared with just 36% of men; and finally 38% of women set unique passwords for communication apps, while just 31% of men do the same.
“Using unique passwords for your accounts is one of the best things you can do for your online safety,” Chad Hammond, a security expert at NordPass said in a statement. “People who reuse passwords for different accounts are at a higher risk of getting hacked.”
With our growing numbers of online accounts and accompanying passwords, most of us find cybersecurity challenging. Eight of out 10 respondents said they found managing passwords somewhat difficult, with 30% in the U.S. saying it was extremely difficult to remember unique passwords for multiple accounts.
“Although stressful, effective password management is crucial. The total cost of reported cybercrimes exceeded $3.5 billion in 2019, and it is unlikely to fall. Therefore, coming up with strong and unique passwords is the least people can do to protect themselves online,” Hammond continued.
Good “cyber hygiene,” as NordPass calls it, leads to tangible results, with fewer women from its survey falling victim to cybercrime. A little more than one-fifth of surveyed respondents have been victims; in the U.S., 54% of the victims were men, whereas only 46% were women.
Barack And Michelle Obama To Host Virtual Graduation Ceremony For HBCU Graduates
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many milestones and celebrations have been canceled following restrictions on large public gatherings due to health concerns. One of the many casualties of the public health crisis has been school graduations for this year’s graduates.
Because of school closures, many organizations have decided to partner with celebrity commencement speakers to give graduates a virtual experience to still celebrate their achievements. Now the Obamas have become the latest to announce they will also be offering commencement speeches for the class of 2020.
Former U.S. President, Barack Obama, will be creating a virtual commencement ceremony specifically for HBCU graduates who have had their traditional ceremonies canceled due to the coronavirus outbreak, titled “Show Me Your Walk: HBCU Edition.” The two-hour program is being held by Chase Bank as well as the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and the United Negro College Fund, and others.
“Over the past month, President and Mrs. Obama have received dozens of requests from around the globe to address graduating classes whose in-person commencement events have been canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,” the former president’s office said in a statement on Tuesday, according to ABC 7. “Today, the Obamas are pleased to announce that they will participate in multiple virtual commencement celebrations for students, families and educators.”
The Obamas will also be featured in another virtual commencement ceremony for all graduates. People reported that the event will take place on June 6 and will be livestreamed on YouTube.
Michelle Obama took to Twitter to announce the news for the class of 2020.
In addition to the special ceremony, Barack Obama will also be making an appearance on “Graduate Together: America Honors the High School Class of 2020,” on May 16. Other celebrity appearances include LeBron James, H.E.R., Yara Shahidi, and Pharrell Williams.
Elaina Watley’s Amazing Lash Studio Franchise Empire is Just That – Amazing!
I had the pleasure of meeting Elaina Watley at the 2020 Black Enterprise Women of Power Summit She participated in a breakout session entitled “Conversations About Wealth Creation,” which focused on encouraging black women to set goals and to be empowered when managing personal finances. It’s not often that someone’s personal journey has an effect on me as Elaina’s did, so after the session, I was excited to have the opportunity to sit down with her and learn more.
If you’re not familiar with Elaina’s story, she is a single mother, co-parenting her daughter with her former partner, Victor Cruz, retired wide receiver for the New York Giants. Over 10+ years, the relationship had great highs and lows, and eventually came to an end. For many women, the story stops there, but for Elaina, it was simply the start of a new chapter. She founded Brand Infinite, a marketing agency that managed the careers of professional athletes, including Victor. Prior to that, she worked for top agencies including Creative Artist Agency and William Morris Endeavor, but she felt it was time to do something she could fall in love with, which led her to the Amazing Lash Studio franchise.
Meet Elaina Wately
Black Enterprise: Elaina, thank you so much for taking the time to share your story. In the Women of Power session, you revealed that you loved lashes, which is what drew you to that business. How did you decide to go with a franchise rather than creating your own brand?
Watley: I have several friends that own various franchises, some single-store owners, others Area Representatives (AR), and I just loved the idea of being able to scale the business quickly.
Black Enterprise: How did you land on Amazing Lash Studios?
Watley: I researched ALL of them! Not only did I want to find the right one for me, but I had to prove to my financial adviser that this was a viable business that could achieve strong revenues. When I started meeting with the Amazing Lash Studio team, I felt a real connection—they were incredible. I also really loved their marketing, they were on all the calls I asked them to be on, and they were very open with their financials. But what sealed it was how receptive they were to listening to everything I had to say.
When I asked Elaina to expand on that a little bit, she shared that at the time she was considering investing, Amazing Lash Studio was an emerging brand, with approximately 65 units open at the time. Everyone, including her, wanted to grow—big. When this emerging brand was willing to listen to her ideas on growth
Elaina Watley – Amazing Lash Studio Franchisee
strategies, she knew she had found the right business. Today, the Amazing Lash Studio franchise has 270 units nationwide.
Growing and Scaling
You are currently operating five locations but own a total of seven. How did you start and how are you growing?
Watley: I started with purchasing a license for one location in NJ but quickly regretted not buying multiple licenses at the start. My advice to people getting into a brick-and-mortar franchise business is to really think about your future plans. I knew I wanted to grow, and had I purchased additional licenses in the beginning, I would have been able to secure the surrounding territories to ensure I could grow where I wanted to. When I went to look for my second location, the territory had already been purchased. Luckily, through a series of events, I was able to get the territory and location I wanted, but it was a challenge. My third, fourth, and fifth locations were actually acquisitions from other owners. Unfortunately for them, they were struggling with the model and were looking to sell. While they were having great sales, their profitability margins were too low to sustain the business. Having done well with my first two locations, I knew how to get the profitability numbers where they needed to be.
I’m really excited about my next two locations because I’m moving into New York. One will be in Brooklyn — the first location in the five boroughs and the other potentially in Manhattan.
Those are VERY expensive markets, what made you confident that you could handle the lease and build-out costs?
Watley: I know! This goes back to my love for the Amazing Lash Studio brand and team. I approached my franchisor and told them I had found the perfect location in Brooklyn, but the lease and build-out costs were sky-high. So, I pitched to them a new interior design concept that would cut the build-out costs significantly, and they were all in. Now, we have created a more open floor plan and we’re calling it the “urban design.” It’s beautiful!
Sharing the Wealth
One of the things that really impressed me during the session was that you’ve made some of your employee’s owners in the business. How did this “share the wealth” idea start and how did you implement it?
Watley: When I opened my first location, I was still working full time. When it came time to hire managers and team members, I was looking for leaders that I would be comfortable with running the business while I was working. During my interviews, I asked applicants what their five-year plans were. Those that responded that they were interested in owning a store themselves, I paid special attention to. I was blessed to hire three women that saw the vision, and now, I wouldn’t want to do the business without them.
My original plan was to simply be a business mentor and encourage them to own their own locations. But once I realized I didn’t want to do the business without them, I looked for a way that we could build together, so I wouldn’t lose them. That’s when I began to think about offering equity. I spoke with my financial adviser to learn the various ways to share equity. Then I started offering monthly financial literacy courses to my team so that they could learn how financing worked and how to save money that could go toward store ownership. Not all of the equity offers are the same. It often depends on what the person wants to do and what they’re willing to sacrifice. I make the offer and ask them what they are willing and able to put in. It’s usually a combination of sweat equity and monetary investment—everyone puts in some money, based on what they have. As owners, they may get a salary, or an ownership model based on a percentage of the profitability.
Let’s get to what I call a four-letter word when it comes to investing in a business — LOAN. Oftentimes, our community is afraid to take out loans under the guise of not wanting to owe anyone (especially the government) and what happens if you can’t pay it back. Did you have a fear of loans and what advice do you have for people afraid to take out loans?
Watley: I always wanted to take out loans because I was told that preserving cash was important, and to leverage other people’s cash whenever possible. However, my student loan debt from college did scare me. But I still knew that I needed to remain as liquid as possible. The more I learned about SBA loans, the more comfortable I got. SBA has better flexibility than conventional loans, so in case of economic disaster and hardships, they are quick to allow deferments. Just this week, due to the coronavirus outbreak, they have deferred loan payments 90 days.
My advice would be, if you’re planning to purchase a franchise, ask about the franchisor’s preferred lender— most of them have one. They tend to work with the same bank to get a lot of their deals done. The benefit here is that the lender understands that particular business, with a number of approvals under their belt, and that will help you get your approval. After you get your first SBA [loan], the subsequent ones become A LOT easier. I knew much more about the process and I was also able to use my strong Profit and Loss statements as proof of concept in the business case.
You were a Finance major in college, yet, you are very open about being scared to look at your business numbers. How did you get past that, and what would you suggest to others who find themselves in this situation?
Watley: I first had to ask myself WHY am I afraid to look at my numbers. Why am I afraid to face them? I determined it was because I didn’t want to be disappointed. Once I got past my fear and looked at them, I still didn’t really understand what the numbers were telling me. I then enlisted the help of several people, including my franchisor and financial adviser. My franchisor helped me understand key benchmarks. My adviser and personal accounting team gave me various scenarios. If I wanted my profits to be in a certain place, these are the things I needed to do differently. That’s when I learned all about leveraging various business credit cards for points, perks, and cash back.
I didn’t want to look at my numbers, because I was afraid of failing. But I had to learn not to be afraid of failing. I realized that NOT looking at the numbers was failing.
A Woman of Power
I know your plan is to continue to grow with Amazing Lash Studios and to help other women become owners, but what other projects are you working on?
Watley: I am so excited about what I’m working on. I visited Ghana earlier this year with a group of girlfriends. I absolutely fell in love with the landscape and the people. I had a spiritual transformation on that trip. After returning to the States, I started a business called “The Butterfly Effect.” Our goal is to introduce the diaspora to Ghana. We plan to host curated trips to help develop the Ghanaian ecosystems, starting later this year. We hope to provide entrepreneurs with the same cultural connection and experience we had.
In addition, we’re building a school in Ghana called “Lilies of the Field.” We consider it to be a disruptor in the community. The current school already has after-school programs in place, so our plan is to expand upon that by building a state-of-the-art facility that provides classes for the entire day.
Our third component will be to create an investment fund, so that we’re able to connect the global community to Ghana, by providing more education on building viable and sustainable businesses.
To learn more about “The Butterfly Effect”, please go here.
Chris Christie Backs Plan To Reopen Economy, says ‘There Are Going To be Deaths’
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Tuesday that America needs to reopen despite data showing more people will die from the novel coronavirus.
According to The Grio, Christie acknowledged that lives need to be saved, but added that at a certain point the country has to start thinking about if we can recover.
“Of course, everybody wants to save every life they can — but the question is, towards what end, ultimately?” Christie said on The Daily DC Podcast. “We’ve got to let some of these folks get back to work because if we don’t, we’re going to destroy the American way of life in these families — and it will be years and years before we can recover.”
When asked what he would tell Americans if he was president, Christie responded, “The message is that the American people have gone through significant death before.” He pointed to the first and second World Wars as examples of how “we’ve gone through it and we’ve survived it. We sacrificed those lives.”
Christie’s statements have support among Republicans, who also want the economy to reopen.
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said on Fox News in March that grandparents are willing to die from coronavirus to keep the economy running.
“No one reached out to me and said, ‘As a senior citizen, are you willing to take a chance on your survival, in exchange for keeping the America that all America loves for your children and grandchildren?”
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has already reopened the state with certain restrictions. Kemp has taken heat for his decision from African Americans, who are dying from the coronavirus at a higher rate than other races.
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms gave a grave warning on Twitter to residents that flooded parks and malls last weekend.
Lance Bottoms attached a Forbes headline to her tweet stating the risk of exposure to the coronavirus in the state has increased by 40% since the state has reopened. However, the story has disappeared with an editor’s note saying the page is no longer active.
BLACK ENTERPRISE spoke with Don Hardin, founder of the Don Hardin Group and project manager of the construction project. During the conversation, he expressed the importance of having black-owned businesses involved in projects of this magnitude and involving creative professionals to help complete them.
Tell us about your involvement in the upcoming construction of the National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM) and when do you anticipate completion of the project?
Working on the National Museum of African American Music has been a labor of love. Don Hardin Group was hired by the museum’s executive board because they needed someone dedicated to the business of design, fabrication, and construction of the facility and its components. Our team ensures the vision is carried out through the complex coordination of architects, exhibit designers, and general contractors. Music lovers from across the world can expect to experience the museum when it opens Labor Day weekend.
What is the Don Hardin Group and what projects have you participated in recently?
Since opening in the fall of 2000, Don Hardin Group has had the fortune of working on several high-profile projects that now provide many uses to the general public. We value the use of fundamental construction management tools and find ways to implement new technology as often as possible. As project manager and as a general contractor, our projects and clientele include the Mount Zion Baptist Church of Nashville, Music City Center, Hospital Corporation of America, The Cal Turner Family Center at Meharry Medical College, First Tennessee Baseball Park, Nissan North America, and the Metropolitan Nashville Airport to name a few.
How important is this NMAAM project in terms of diversity and for black-owned firms?
The commitment that NMAAM has made to ensure the project leads with African American businesses cannot be overstated. Throughout my 30-year career, it is rare to find African American construction firms that thrive in the industry and pass down their expertise to younger generations to make their own. Our effort is targeted at creating a balance in the attrition rates of black professionals in construction.
The NMAAM project has allowed black firms to excel in the industry in a way that we have always dreamed of; the collective training and talent of black architects, interior designers, general contractors, and project managers are on full display here. I would also highlight project architect, Harold Thompson; interior designer, Donna Gilliam; and construction team, Mark Deathridge, Rigor Ligon, Mark Campbell, and Ed Henley–who comprise Euphony Four–as some of the partnering African American-owned firms that are key to the success of the NMAAM project.
Today, on the NMAAM construction site, nearly every person who has a major role is black; and each of these men and women are driven, highly skilled, and being given the opportunity to grow in their position. We believe that this type of inclusion will help to change the landscape of construction in this country.
What would you suggest to someone who wants a career in project management and/or construction?
First, I tell every interested person to pursue construction for the long-term rewards and not for short-term gratification. It is a risky business, and you must learn to manage the risks. There are so many types of projects that require different approaches, so you will never know everything there is to know about construction. Always be proactive and a very committed teammate who shows enthusiasm and a positive attitude. Finally, learn the art of developing a project schedule because you will need this at every level in this profession. A schedule helps the team to visualize the end of the project and then it forces you to fill in the blanks with the who, what, and how that brings a project to life over time.
What do you think is the most important thing you’re gaining from this experience with this project for NMAAM?
In general, I have always thought that construction projects are a lot of fun to work on. The nature of the National Museum of African American Music definitely adds some elements to that fun. Our philosophy is that with building a museum, you’re designing and building from the inside out when it comes to satisfying the requirements that make a museum engaging.
What has been most rewarding to my team is finding the connections in the music we enjoy today to the influence of African Americans over the years and across all genres. In various conversations from our project meetings, we have seen a diverse array of people all share fond stories of their love of black artists like Marvin Gaye, Prince, and B.B. King. This is inspiring because you can see people from all walks of life united under a common love for music.
As contractors, we are always excited about the outcome of a project because of all the effort resulting in a finished brick and mortar structure. On this project, what excites me is creating a place for culture to thrive.
