All Star Code Founder Christina Lewis Is Learning to Celebrate Failure
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 the founder of All Star Code, Christina Lewis.
My first job was being my Dad’s stockbroker, paid on commission. I was 9 years old.
My big break came when an acquaintance introduced me to a reporter at The Wall Street Journal, my dream publication, where I eventually became a staff writer.
I’ve had to work hardest at speaking less, listening more.
I never imagined I would be in leadership roles in my career and have children and a family.
I wish I’d learned sooner how to manage my fear of failure.
The risk I regret not taking is not trying out a computer science class in college.
If I could design my fantasy self-care day, it would be spent hiking somewhere beautiful alongside a stream and ending the day with a massage and facial.
The news keeps me up at night.
When I’m struggling, I say to myself, “celebrate this failure, Christina, because it means you are trying to do something really difficult.”
I am unapologetically all-in for black and brown people.
Portraits of Power is a yearlong series of candid insights from exceptional women leaders. It is brought to you by ADP.
Former NAACP President Kweisi Mfume Wins Seat Held By Elijah Cummings
Former NAACP President Kweisi Mfume has won a special election to finish the term of the late Rep. Elijah Cummings.
According to BET, Mfume, who ran the NAACP from 1996 to 2004, beat Republican Kimberly Klacik for the heavily Democratic 7th Congressional District Tuesday. Mfume held the seat for a decade before resigning to lead the NAACP.
Mfume, 71, acknowledged those who voted for him during the gripping coronavirus pandemic which has sharply affected the district as well as Baltimore.
“To them, to their families and to the families of so many others who have lost lives prematurely to this disease,” Mfume said in his address after winning, according to the Associated Press. “I want all of you to know that from day one, all of my attention, all of my energy and all of my focus in the United States Congress will be on using science, data and common sense to help get our nation through this dark hour in our history.”
Only three polling stations were open due to the pandemic as most ballots were mailed-in.
According to the AP, Mfume said he would spend his term addressing issues that have affected residents in the district such as food deserts, an aging infrastructure, and an underfunded school system.
“I promise you that as your congressman I will use every ability that I have to bring about that change,” Mfume said during his acceptance address.
Mfume also pledged to help African Americans through the coronavirus pandemic. The virus hit the district’s heavily African American population hard. The Maryland Department of Health reports more than 2,631 confirmed coronavirus cases with 94 deaths in Baltimore County. Of those cases identified by race, 921 are African American.
Tia Mowry Talks Health, Family, and Her Life in Quarantine [Video]
When Tia Mowry launched her new vitamin supplement line Anser in January, she had no idea that a public health crisis would shift the entire world just weeks later. At the time, the actress, wife, and mother of two wanted to ensure that busy moms like herself received a healthy dosage of daily nutrients. However, with the mass devastation and disruption caused by COVID-19, many people have become more health-conscious and are turning to vitamins as they prioritize their health.
In an exclusive interview with BLACK ENTERPRISE, the 41-year-old actress, entrepreneur, and best-selling author opened up about expanding her supplement line and the chronic health condition that triggered her to launch Anser in partnership with BioSchwartz. The self-professed workaholic also talked about how she and her family are adjusting to life in quarantine.
Tia Mowry’s Wellness Journey
Mowry became a household name when she starred alongside her twin sister Tamera in the hit 90s TV sitcom Sister, Sister. Back in her 20s, she was diagnosed with a life-altering health condition, which caused her to struggle with fertility. Today, she’s an avid fitness and health advocate and the co-founder of Anser, a line of multivitamins, beauty supplements, and prenatal care initially made for women.
“It was inspired by my personal wellness journey. I’ve been very open with telling everybody that I suffer from something called endometriosis, which is a highly inflammatory condition that causes infertility,” she told BE. The illness, which affects more than 11% of women between the ages of 15 and 44 in the U.S., can also cause painful periods, chronic lower back pain, excessive and irregular bleeding, painful bowel movements, and stomach problems. After enduring excoriating symptoms and two surgeries, Mowry took her doctor’s advice and changed her eating habits and lifestyle.
“At first, it was hard to adjust to that, but I changed my diet. I started to eat more veggies, to eat more fruits, [and] to stay away from foods that caused inflammation within the body, which can exacerbate an inflammatory condition. I started exercising. I started meditating. I started taking supplements. And I saw this huge change within my health. I no longer had eczema. I no longer had migraines,” she said. “The biggest change, of course, was I was able to have children.”
After experiencing such positive results, Mowry said she wanted to share her holistic approach with others. “I didn’t want to keep all of that to myself,” she said. “That was one of the inspirations to why I came up with Anser.”
In March, she expanded Anser for men and children, professing that both her husband, actor Cory Hardrict, and 8-year-old son, Cree, love the supplements.
On Manifesting Success
During the interview, Mowry said she’s not surprised that her show, Family Reunion, has become the most-watched family series streaming on Netflix. The show, which was created by Meg DeLoatch, premiered in July 2019 and has been flourishing ever since.
“I have a vision board and I mediate and I manifested. I’m a huge Netflix fan and I said I want to be on Netflix,” she said. “And lo and behold, I ended up getting this show.”
She’s most proud of its multicultural representation both in front and behind the camera. After starring in four different television series throughout her career, Mowry says, “this is the only show that I’ve been on where I have seen huge diversity from not only having an amazing staff of writers that are black but also women [and] black women directors.”
On Adjusting to Quarantine Life
When she’s not cooking healthy meals for her family, working out, or creating content on her multiple media platforms, Mowry, like the rest of us, is adjusting to the new COVID reality.
“You have survival mechanisms. You have a bag of tools that you do to survive. But now that we’ve been put into this situation, you have to adjust and maybe change those tools,” she said. “With us focusing on that, we’re able to get by instead of just holding on to the old.”
Despite being locked down, she says she’s found a silver lining in the midst of the pandemic.
“I’m grateful for learning new things because I think that’s how you become a better person. It’s when you’re constantly evolving and constantly changing,” she said. “My goal for this pandemic is for people to come out changed and for people to come out with a whole new perspective.”
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs: ‘The Black Vote Will Not Be Free This Year’
Is Sean “Diddy” Combs starting to ‘REVOLT’ in this election year? He has made it clear to the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee former Vice President Joe Biden that he’ll “hold the vote hostage if I have to!” according to Madame Noire.
Diddy made an appearance on Naomi Campbell‘s YouTube series, “No Filter With Naomi” and the discussion led to Diddy expressing to her that he’ll “hold the vote hostage!”
“The black vote is not gon’ be for free,” he said. “We’re gonna have to see some promises. We’re gonna have to understand what kind of deal we’re getting out of—what are we getting in return for our vote? Nothing has changed in America for black America. And, in order for us to vote for Biden, we can’t be taken for granted like we always are because we’re supposed to be Democrats. Or because people are afraid of Trump.”
“It’s whoever is going to take care of our community, whoever wants to make a deal, it’s business at this point. We can’t trust politicians. So we want to know very clearly, just like Trump made it clear that he wanna build a wall, Biden needs to make it clear that he’s going to change the lives and quality of life of black and brown people,” he said.
“I will hold the vote hostage if I have to.”
As anticipated, many people were not only taken aback by Diddy’s declaration but some, including one of his closest friends, Kenny Burns chastised Diddy for not being an effective leader in this instance. After Burns posted on Diddy’s Instagram posting, the Combs Enterprises owner deleted Burns’ comment on the matter.
Burns, who is senior vice president of Brand Development for Combs Enterprises, wrote this before the deletion, “Puff this statement is VERY Irresponsible at this Point. THE ONLY OPTION IS TO GET TRUMP OUT OF OFFICE. Come on Champ!!! Encouraging People to Stand by is NOT AN OPTION. #VoteOrDie.”
Corporate Powerhouse Ursula Burns: We Must Not Waste This Crisis!
Ursula Burns is not about to waste the time she’s been given due to sheltering in place, and she doesn’t want you to either. For everyone who ever uttered the words, “If only I had the time, I would….” fill in the blank, she says now is that time.
For Burns, the blanks have included exercising more, eating better, and becoming the “crazy reader” she once was. But beyond training yourself to be a better steward of your mind and your body, Burns is urging everyone to look beyond their individual needs to the larger imperative for the better stewardship of our collective world.
“This really is a time that so many things are going to be reset. We don’t know to what, but the reset is going to happen,” she says. “We can sit back and let people do it for us or be actively engaged in these decisions.”
Reflecting on the events of the last six weeks Burns has spent quarantined alone in her New York City apartment, the corporate board director and chair of telecommunications company VEON becomes impassioned about the need to use the semi-frozen state of crisis the coronavirus pandemic has thrust the world into for positive outcomes.
“Use your voice, register for the census, and vote,” she says. “Don’t leave it to others to decide our future.”
This crisis has brought the plight of all marginalized groups of people into stark relief: black people and other minorities, the homeless, the poor, as well as the hard-working undercompensated and underappreciated masses whose very jobs are now placing them in harm’s way of the COVID-19 virus. This includes not only healthcare workers but sanitation workers, postal workers, supermarket and pharmacy staff, delivery, and security people. Raised in a lower Manhattan public housing project by a single mother from Panama who was one of the hard-working poor, Burns has not forgotten what life looks and feels like when there is no buffer for economic disruption, no less implosion.
“If she were here today, my mother would be panic-stricken,” Burns said in her “On the Clock with Caroline Clarke” interview. Not only the physical, but the financial health of too many futures have been put at risk by this pandemic, she says, and the reset must include a remedy. “We owe it to these people to reengage, to not be so insular, so dismissive, and so mean.”
“We have to lay a foundation for the world that allows people to participate in society,” says Burns, her words largely echoing the mission of the Ford Foundation, where she most recently joined the board.
“We educate two-thirds of black and brown people in ways that don’t allow them to fully participate. Throughout history, the systems that we have designed require a huge number of people to be subservient to a smaller number of people. That’s the way we’ve gotten ahead as a global society, to treat people like animals while treating other people like gods.”
One of the best things to have happened due to the COVID-19 pandemic is that “we now know how important our essential workers—who have essentially been invisible to us before this—are. Nurses, teachers, the guy pushing the gurney in the hospital, or the people coming in to clean up after the patient is gone. We have a chance to shift the power—to balance things out for everybody’s betterment.”
While Burns avoids much of the news, she is feeding her mind and perspective by plowing through books the way she promised herself she would again if she had time. Here are her book picks, in case you want to do the same.
Apeirogon by Colum McCann – a novel set in Occupied Palestine and Israel
The Better Angels of Our Nature by Steven Pinker – a 2011 Bill Gates recommendation about the decline of violence
The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw – profiles of those who grew up during the Great Depression and went on to fight in World War II
The Many Lives of Michael Bloomberg by Eleanor Randolph – biography of the business giant and former mayor of New York
The Overstay by Richard Powers – a 2018 novel about nature that won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
Shaquille O’Neal Pays Funeral Costs of Louisiana Boy Killed in Car Crash
Shaquille O’Neal comes through again by helping to pay for the funeral of a boy from Louisiana who was killed in a car crash, according to CNN.
Eleven-year-old Keshon Batiste and 12-year-old Trayvon Alexander were passengers in the back seat of a car when the vehicle crashed into a ditch and struck a tree on April 10 in Breaux Bridge, as reported by CNN affiliate KLFY. Both children died at the scene.
The NBA Hall of Fame basketball player and current sports commentator is helping to pay the funeral costs for Batiste. O’Neal offered to pay for both victims’ funerals but the Alexander family had insurance.
Phil Conrad, who is a friend of O’Neal, told KLFY that O’Neal initially heard about the wreck through local news reports. He reached out to Conrad to offer his help.
“He (Shaq) called me and asked me to reach out to the family on his behalf, and get back with him,” Conrad, the former chief deputy for the Lafayette Parish Marshal’s Office, told KLFY.
“When I called him back and told him that the family had raised over $3,000 in a GoFundMe, but was still short of what they needed, he immediately stopped what he was doing and sent the money to me, and I wrote out a check.”
The driver of the car that caused the accident was identified as Paula Thibeaux. She allegedly failed to make a complete stop at a stop sign and drove through the intersection and then crashed into a ditch before hitting a tree, KATC reported, citing police.
Just a few months ago, at the end of last year in December of 2019, O’Neal paid for the funeral of a 7-year-old girl in Texas who was shot and killed while she was riding in a car with her mother and three sisters.
O’Neal played collegiate basketball in the state of Louisiana, where he was a star at Louisiana State University, which is about 50 miles east of Breaux Bridge.
California Cop Caught on Video Abusing Unarmed Black Teenager
Police brutality against unarmed blacks is a trend that never seems to end, even with video proof surfacing. The latest proof of this illegal and immoral act took place in California, according to Fox 40.
Fourteen-year-old Elijah Tufono, endured a vicious beating from a police officer in Rancho Cordova, California. A video clip of the beating was posted Monday on Twitter by a witness. The teenager, who was unarmed at the time, was being beaten by a police officer with the Rancho Cordova Police Department (RCPD) over a cigar. The officer sat on top of the boy, punched him and maneuvered his arm in such a painful motion that it looked as if the limb might break. (The video footage, captured in the below tweet, is difficult to watch.)
RCPD brutally tackled and hit my best friend’s 14 year old brother today over a swisher sweet! The officer had no reason to brutalize and traumatize this boy like this! He has a pre existing health condition which could be fatal under this kind of stress! Unjustifiable! pic.twitter.com/94fqyu3J28
The Rancho Cordova Police Department defended the actions of the police officer. Below is the full written statement from the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office and Rancho Cordova Police Department:
“Note: These are the facts as we understand them at this time. This investigation is in its infancy and the facts as we understand them now are subject to change as we conduct a more thorough and complete examination of the circumstances surrounding this incident.
“On April 27, 2020, a Problem Oriented Policing (POP) Officer with the Rancho Cordova Police Department was proactively patrolling the area of Mills Station Road and Mather Field Road. The deputy was in the area due to complaints from citizens about hand-to-hand sales of alcohol, tobacco and drugs to minors.
“It’s important to put video footage into context, especially in relation to a use of force incident. In this case, the deputy saw what he believed to be a hand-to-hand exchange between an adult and juvenile. As the deputy turned around, he lost sight of the adult, who left the area. When the deputy approached the juvenile, the juvenile was uncooperative and refused to give the deputy basic identifying information. He told the deputy he was 18 years old. Having reasonable suspicion that criminal activity was occurring, the deputy attempted to detain the juvenile so he could conduct further investigation. The juvenile became physically resistive at that time, causing the deputy to lose control of his handcuffs, which landed several feet away. The deputy attempted to maintain control of the juvenile without his handcuffs and while alone waiting for his partners to arrive and assist him.
“Ultimately, the deputy recovered tobacco products from the 14-year-old juvenile, which is presumably the reason for his resistance. The juvenile was cited and released to his guardians.
“This type of situation is hard on everyone—the young man, who resisted arrest, and the officer, who would much rather have him cooperate. The community should know our deputies have a heart for the Rancho Cordova community, especially for the youth they serve through the schools, PAL sports, and our new Youth Center.
“These are the facts as we know them. The Sheriff’s Office and Rancho Cordova Police Department, however, have proactively started an investigation into the use of force by our deputy in order to gain a complete and thorough understanding of the events that took place during this incident. Maintaining the public trust and remaining transparent are of paramount importance to the Sheriff’s Office and Rancho Cordova Police Department.”
Tyler Perry is Encouraging Black People To Increase Their Vitamin D During The COVID-19 Pandemic
Filmmaker and entertainment mogul Tyler Perry has taken to Instagram to try to help slow down the spread of the deadly coronavirus. He is encouraging black people to up their vitamin D intake as part of the defense to keep the coronavirus at bay, according to Essence.
The television and moviemaker posted a short Instagram clip that shares the benefits of the fat-soluble vitamin by stating, “it helps with immune and respiratory health.”
But, he is also quick to explain to people that this alone isn’t the cure for COVID-19 nor does he endorse it as such. “This is not a cure for COVID-19. Please hear me clearly. This is not a cure for COVID-19,” he says.
“What I read in a study out of Spain, Italy, and China is that a lot of people who died from COVID were low in vitamin D,” the actor said. “Listen to me, I think that if America, this entire nation, was keeping [a] recording of who was dying and if they were low in vitamin D or deficient in different areas, we would know it—but apparently no one is keeping a record, which is insane to me.
“Because we are African American people, we are naturally deficient because of the melanin in our skin, it blocks out vitamin D. And for the most part—not all of us—but, a lot of us just don’t like being in the sun and that’s where vitamin D comes from.”
The actor, producer, and entrepreneur is planning to reopen the complex if he can implement COVID-19 testing for cast and crew members. If cleared, actors and staff would work and live on-site as they shoot their productions. Each production could be shot in about two-and-a-half weeks.
‘Little Women: Atlanta’ Regular Ms. Minnie Dies After Suffering Injuries in a Car Crash
Lifetime TV‘s Ashley “Ms. Minnie” Ross of the television show Little Women: Atlanta was injured in a car crash on Sunday evening and died from her injuries on Monday, according to USA Today.
The reality star passed away on Monday at approximately 10:30 p.m. at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, her publicist Liz Dixson told USA TODAY.
It is with profound sadness that we confirm on behalf of the family of Ashley Ross aka “Ms Minnie” of Little Women Atlanta has succumbed to injuries from a tragic hit and run car accident today at the age of 34. The family respectfully asks for their privacy as they grieve during this very difficult time.”
The 34-year-old reality TV star has died from injuries she suffered following a hit-and-run car accident when her car collided with another vehicle near the Old National Highway in Atlanta around 11 p.m. on Sunday. She was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, where she passed away on Monday.
Ross was one of the founding cast members of Little Women: Atlanta, a reality show on Lifetime based in Georgia, which chronicles the lives of women with dwarfism.
“Lifetime and the Little Women Family are deeply saddened to hear the tragic news of the sudden passing of Ashley Ross, our beloved ‘Ms. Minnie,’” the network said in a statement to USA TODAY provided by representative Theresa Black. “Our heartfelt condolences go out to her family and friends. Ms. Minnie was an amazing talent and a special part of Little Women: Atlanta. She will be dearly missed.”
She is survived by her mother Tammy Jackson, her aunt Veronica Deloney, her uncle John Deloney, and her grandmother Rose Deloney.
Black Leaders Pressure Gov. Gretchen Whitmer To Settle the Detroit ‘Right to Literacy’ Case
In 2016, seven students in Detroit filed a class-action suit against the state of Michigan asserting that education is a basic right and that they had been denied it. The Gary B. v. Snyder case proceeded to federal court and sought to invoke the Constitution. In a landmark decision, a federal appeals court has ruled that children have a constitutional right to literacy, dealing a remarkable victory to the students.
The 2016 complaint alleges that Michigan’s then-Gov. Rick Snyder and the state’s board of education denied Detroit students their fundamental right to literacy. It cites textbooks that were tattered, outdated, and in such short supply that teachers could not send work home. The suit also described school buildings that were in shocking disrepair: broken toilets and water fountains, leaking ceilings, and shattered windows. The complaint went on to describe a lack of air-conditioning that’s caused some students to faint and in winter, students regularly wore hats, coats, and scarves to class surrounded by horrid conditions with rats becoming commonplace in the building.
“You’re sitting down in the classroom, and you see rodents in a corner. Or you can hear things crawling in the books,” says Jamarria Hall, a plaintiff in the class-action suit, who graduated in 2017, according to NPR. “But the saddest thing of all was really the resources that they had, like, being in a class where there’s 34 students, but there’s only six textbooks.”
The complaint delivers a crushing assessment of these schools’ failure to educate students: Proficiency rates “hover near zero in nearly all subject areas,” it says. “Illiteracy is the norm.”
A group of black leaders are calling on Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to “claim her place in history” by negotiating a settlement in the landmark Detroit ‘Right to Literacy’ case including national civil rights attorney Ben Crump, Martin Luther King III, and Yvonne M. White, president of the Michigan State Conference of the NAACP. Together they joined Dr. Pamela L. Pugh to call on Gov. Whitmer to settle the case of Gary B. v Snyder and ensure equal access to education for African American children in Michigan.
In her letter to the governor, Dr. Pugh said, “the courts have now acknowledged that they and fellow Detroit students, like their counterparts in surrounding more affluent and mostly white neighborhoods, have a fundamental right to an education which at the very least guarantees them a basic right to literacy.”
“Gov. Whitmer cannot correct every injustice that life has heaped upon the black community, but she can walk through the door opened by the court and make sure their children have a reasonable education,” Crump said. “I am living proof that with an education, everything else is possible.”
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