Sunday, November 28, 2021
A Sweet Victory
An excerpt from People -
Lawyer Recalls Winning His First Case in Same State Courts Where He Was Wrongfully Convicted
PEOPLE’s Voices from the Fight Against Racism will amplify perspectives on the push for equality and justice
By People Staff
When he was just 17 years old, Jarrett Adams' college plans — and his whole life — were blown apart when he was wrongly convicted of rape by an all-white jury and sentenced to 28 years in jail. In 2007, after nearly a decade in prison, Adams was exonerated. He went on to become a defense attorney, working with the Innocence Project, the same nonprofit that helped secure his freedom. Adams details his life before, during and after this nightmarish — and all too common — experience in his new memoir, Redeeming Justice. "I needed to hurt in order to give people this story, so we can prevent other people from being in pain," Adams says of the triggering writing process. Here, the founder of Life After Justice, a nonprofit that supports and empowers exonerees, remembers winning his first case in the same state courts that had sent him to prison years before, despite his innocence.
During my own trial, it was so painful to sit there and be accused of a crime — a heinous crime against a woman — after being raised by all women. My mother was in tatters. I kept asking her, "Mom, you know who you raised. Why are you so nervous? Why are you so afraid?" She looked at me and she said, "When I see you, I see Emmett Till. You don't know what it's like. You don't know that being innocent ain't a savior when you Black."
When I appeared before the same state court 10 years after my release, I was working as a defense attorney with the Innocence Project. My client was also wrongfully convicted. During the hearing, I often relived certain moments in my own case, how vulnerable we were, how much we didn't know. It felt amazing to not only know the law, but to be able to calm my client and his family's anxiety by simply saying, "I understand." Because I do.
She Caters to the Divine 9
An excerpt from Black Enterprise -
Black Woman Entrepreneur Launches Shoe Company That Caters to Sororities and Fraternities In The Divine 9
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| b.c.e Shoes (Blacknews.com) |
Meet Kam Ballard, founder of b.c.e Shoes, an online company that customizes shoes for the sororities and fraternities in the Divine 9.
Ballard says that she started the company to offset college costs for her children.
“I started this company as a way to pay for my children’s college education. I wanted to break the cycle of graduating from college with a mountain of student loan debt. It has evolved into something bigger than I ever could have imagined,” Ballard said.
She is a member of and a certified vendor for Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and is also an approved vendor for the following organizations within the Divine 9: Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., and Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc.
b.c.e.’s products include a variety of shoes that can be worn in the board room or the ballroom. She has recently added an athletic shoe line.
Ballard’s goal is to provide stylish, comfortable, and affordable shoes. “I want to make shoes that cater to the seasoned professional, but also, keep them affordable where a Neo on the college campus is able to obtain them without breaking the bank.”
He Revolutionized the Video Game Industry!
An excerpt from Black Information Network -
Jerry Lawson: The Black Engineer Who Revolutionized The Video Game Industry
By Zuri Anderson
 Gerald "Jerry" Lawson - Photo: Jerry Lawson Estate |
The new generation of video game consoles is here, and we have one man to thank for making it possible: Jerry Lawson.
Gerald "Jerry" Lawson is a self-taught electrical engineer who took the gaming world by storm in the 1970s. Back then, the industry was a fledgling compared to the multi-billion dollar beast it is today.
Born on December 1, 1940, in New York City, the Brooklyn native was inspired by the work of scientist George Washington Carver. Dabbling with electronics, he eventually became one of the few engineers working in Silicon Valley at the time.
Lawson worked for a company called Fairchild Camera and Instrument when he pioneered a historic invention: the Fairchild Channel F. If you're wondering what the "F" means, it stands for fun! "Channel Fun," to be more specific.
What made the 1976 console special was that it was the first video game console to utilize cartridges, paving the way for consoles like the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), the Playstation, Xbox, and other popular consoles.
Unfortunately, Lawson never got much credit for his work over the years. He passed away in 2011 at age 70.
It wasn't until the recent decade that more people started becoming more acquainted with his influential work -- a legacy his two children are working to continue.
Anderson and Karen Lawson remembered their father as a "gentle giant" who tinkered with many electronics.
Smokey Robinson & the Temptations
From USA Today -
The Temptations team with Smokey Robinson for the first time in decades with new single
By Brian McCollum
He's Getting His Due
An excerpt from Rolling Stone -
After 50 Years, a Gospel-Soul Legend (Finally) Gets His Due
Five decades after T.L. Barrett released highly regarded but largely unknown funk and soul gems, a new, career-spanning box set helps spread the Chicago pastor’s message to the masses
By DANIEL KREPS
“About five years ago, they told me that Kanye West was sampling — I had never heard the term — my music. And I said, ‘Well, I hope he likes it.’ I thought they meant he was listening to it,” Pastor T.L. Barrett tells Rolling Stone. “But my record company said, ‘No, it’s on his album. They want to use two of your songs.’ And it just took off like a rocket.”
A famed Chicago preacher, civil rights activist, community organizer, power broker and — among a small congregation of music fans — a significant yet largely unknown gospel artist, Barrett pinpoints the exact moment where his name began gusting out of the Windy City: When West sampled his 1976 song “Father I Stretch My Hands” for the 2016 The Life of Pablo standout “Father Stretch My Hands.”
Fifty years after Barrett first recorded his debut LP — and nearly four decades since he created any new music — his devotional catalog has proliferated its listenership in unlikely ways outside of his weekly church service: The end credits of a movie here, the theme song for the NCAA basketball tournament there, a commercial, a sample, an interpolation, a Leon Bridges cover… little by little, music fans have come to discover the talent that Chicagoans have long cherished as their own.
“He’s not an obscure figure in Chicago. He’s got a street named after him now,” says Rob Sevier, whose archival record label Numero Group will release the first in-depth exploration of Barrett’s musical career, I Shall Wear a Crown, on Friday. For over 50 years, Barrett has preached within a two-block radius in Chicago. With the new collection, the pastor aims to spread his musical message to the masses.
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/pastor-tl-barrett-numero-group-box-set-1229569/
She's Got the Goods!
An excerpt from Black Enterprise -
NAILAH ELLIS-BROWN RUNS ONE OF THE BIGGEST BLACK-OWNED BEVERAGE COMPANIES IN THE COUNTRY
by Jeroslyn Johnson
 | |
| Nailah Ellis-Brown (screenshot) |
Nearly 10 years after dropping out of college to launch her beverage company, Nailah Ellis-Brown is making history by running one of the largest Black-owned beverage company.
Years after launching Ellis Island Tea from her parent’s basement and landing the homemade product in Whole Foods locations across the mid-West, Ellis-Brown credits her hometown of Detroit with her company’s success.
“Growing up in Detroit, I knew nothing was going to be handed to me. I expected doors to be closed and knew I would need to work hard and never take ‘no’ for an answer,” she said. “I’ve heard ‘no,’ but I haven’t let that stand in my way. There is always a way forward,” she said previously.
Through partnership deals with major retailers and after winning Centric TV’s reality competition show Queen Boss, Ellis-Brown’s Jamaican-inspired line of naturally sweetened hibiscus tea beverages has caught the attention of Beyoncé, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, and even received investment from Kevin Hart.
The recipe behind Ellis Island Tea comes from her great-grandfather, who immigrated to America from Jamaica by way of Ellis Island. The family’s last name and the history of their journey to America add to the special meaning behind the company’s name.
Black Home Shopping Channel Creatives Making Moves
An excerpt from Black Enterprise -
MARRIED COUPLE, FOUNDERS OF BLACK HOME SHOPPING CHANNEL TO PRODUCE NEW CHANNEL ON AMAZON, ROKU AND APPLE TV
by BLACK ENTERPRISE Editors
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| Chris Roberta Holmes Black HSN (Blacknews) |
Chris and Roberta Holmes, the founders of The Black Home Shopping Channel streaming on Exposure Network TV, have announced that they are producing a new channel on the network. The Streaming Home Marketplace expands the power of 24/7 stream shopping at affordable rates.
The kickoff for the channel is an international vendor event that provides a platform for entrepreneurs to create infomercials to showcase their products or services worldwide. Content is accessible on Roku, Amazon Fire Stick, Android TV, Apple TV along with iOS & Android mobile devices the network’s app is currently reaching over 160 million homes in 128 countries.
During the pandemic, Exposure Network TV managed to gain over 800,000 app downloads. The meteoric growth of Exposure Network TV caught the attention of media executives and over the summer Exposure TV Network President, Tam Lawrence was awarded a $2.5 million dollar content merger with HBO.
Champion Racer Boosting Number of Black STEM Teachers
An excerpt from Skysports -
Lewis Hamilton's charity aiming to boost number of black STEM teachers in England
Lewis Hamilton's charity, Mission 44, has partnered with Teach First to help recruit 150 black science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) teachers in England; Hamilton keen to help improve diversity in the profession
By PA Media
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| Lewis Hamilton hopes to create a framework the wider education industry can implement |
Lewis Hamilton's charity is launching a partnership aimed at increasing the pool of black science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) teachers in England.
Mission 44, launched by the seven-time Formula 1 world champion earlier this year, has partnered with Teach First to work on research, mentoring and marketing campaigns designed to help recruit 150 black STEM teachers to work in disadvantaged communities across the country.
The hope is that the framework the partnership creates can then be adopted by other educational bodies to further improve diversity in the profession.
The project, which is launched on UNESCO's World Teachers Day and during Black History Month, follows findings from The Hamilton Commission that highlighted the lack of black STEM teachers as a barrier to students engaging with these subjects.
Mercedes driver Hamilton is keen to help improve diversity in STEM after noting it had been a "lonely path" as a black individual in the F1 industry.
Speaking about the new partnership, Hamilton said: "We know representation and role models are important across all aspects of society, but especially when it comes to supporting young people's development.
Keep It Moving Folks!
Long goodbyes.
— The Dad Briefs™ (@SladeWentworth) August 31, 2018
Warm embraces.
Sweet chit chat.
Lingering gazes.
Multiple I love you's.
These life moments are NOT for the school drop off line.
Let's move it, people.
The Human Library
An excerpt from CNN -
This library lets you borrow people instead of books. It just may help bridge our bitter divisions
By John Blake, CNN
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| Two women -- one Muslim, one not -- talk at a Human Library event in London in 2018. |
(CNN)On a rainy spring morning in Muncie, Indiana, a White, middle-aged, conservative woman met a transgender woman for a date.
It did not start well. The transgender woman was waiting at a table when the other woman showed up. She stood up and extended her hand. The other woman refused to take it.
"I want you to know I'm a conservative Christian," she said, still standing.
"I'm a liberal Christian," the transgender woman replied. "Let's talk."
Their rendezvous was supposed to last about 30 minutes. But the conversation was so engrossing for both that it lasted an hour. It ended with the conservative woman rising from her seat to give the other woman a hug.
"Thank you," she said. "This has been wonderful."
This improbable meeting came courtesy of the Human Library, a nonprofit learning platform that allows people to borrow people instead of books. But not just any people. Every "human book" from this library represents a group that faces prejudice or stigmas because of their lifestyle, ethnicity, beliefs, or disability. A human book can be an alcoholic, for example, or a Muslim, or a homeless person, or someone who was sexually abused.
The Human Library stages in-person and online events where "difficult questions are expected, appreciated, and answered." Organizers says they're trying to encourage people to "unjudge" a book by its cover.
This setup leads to some of the most unlikely pairings anyone will ever see.
A feminist meets with a Muslim woman in a hijab and asks if she wears it by choice or compulsion.
A climate change activist meets with someone who thinks global warming is a hoax.
A Black antiracist activist meets with a supporter of former President Trump.
Or, in the case of Charlize Jamieson, a transgender woman meets a conservative Christian woman who thinks she is living in sin.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/14/health/human-library-blake-cec/index.html
What's the Most Popular Pie in Your State?
An excerpt from WTAE -
Pumpkin pie no longer America's favorite Thanksgiving pie, study says
By Anne Newman
Pumpkin pie is no longer America's favorite Thanksgiving pie.
Google Trends data reveals that key lime pie is the most popular type of pie in the U.S. with it being the most Googled pie in eight different states.
The study conducted by photographic and printing experts Printique discovered the most favored flavors of pies in each state across America with key lime pie taking the top spot.
Key lime pie has 106,000 average monthly Google searches in the U.S.
The second-most-popular type of pie, being Googled the most in a total of eight states is pumpkin pie.
Lemon meringue pie was the third-most-popular type of pie with seven states Googling it.
The least popular types of pies were salted caramel, gooseberry, blueberry, and peach, all being the most popular in only one state each.
https://www.wtae.com/article/pumpkin-pie-no-longer-americas-favorite-thanksgiving-pie/38353978#
Schools Reap Benefits of Hiring Coach Prime and Eddie George
An excerpt from Yahoo Sports -
Schools reap benefits of hiring Coach Prime, Eddie George
By TERESA M. WALKER
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| Deon Sanders |
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Deion Sanders has been all over national TV, putting Jackson State in the spotlight every time his insurance commercials air.
Hiring Eddie George has had a similar effect at Tennessee State.
Thanks to their high-profile coaches, Jackson State and Tennessee State are reaping benefits from bigger crowds and more interest from top recruits to companies wanting to tap into all the hype, making deals with both universities and players under the new name, image, and likeness rules.
Just as university officials hoped.
“It’s just reestablishing our football brand that was so dominant for many decades and just restoring that,” Tennessee State athletic director Mikki Allen said of George. “He’s been everything that I could ask for in a head coach.”
Allen said Tennessee State’s enrollment already is up, and four-and five-star recruits are looking closely at George and the Tigers. Tennessee State hosted 317 recruits one weekend.
Tennessee State has had corporate interest from companies including The General, Best Buy, and bottling sponsor Coca-Cola. A six-figure gift from trucking company Western Express started a new weight room project for the indoor complex.
The Tigers also have partnered with OpenDorse to help athletes who’ve signed deals with restaurants, vendors, barbershops, and cell phones on handling name, image, and likeness issues. Allen said brands wanting to tap into George’s star power is transferring to his players.
“There’s a lot of brands who want to be connected, obviously, to our head coach,” Allen said. "But then I think a lot of that star power that he has transferred over to our student-athletes in the sport of football.”
https://sports.yahoo.com/schools-reap-benefits-hiring-coach-070523704.html
Alcohol Detection Systems Will Be Mandatory in All New Cars
An excerpt from Your Tango -
Alcohol Detection Systems Will Now Be Mandatory In All New Cars To Prevent Drunk Driving
By Isaac Serna-Diez
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration did a study in 2019 that shows 28 people die every day in drunk driving crashes — that's one person every 52 minutes.
Although that’s actually the lowest percentage since 1982 when NHTSA started tracking data, it’s still a lot more than is necessary when these deaths could all be prevented.
Thankfully, new legislation seeks to minimize drunk driving and its effects by mandating systems that will detect blood alcohol levels in all new cars.
Are alcohol detection systems required in cars in the US?
The 2021 U.S. Infrastructure Bill included a law that requires alcohol detection systems in all new cars.
Biden’s new $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill included a mandate that requires all car manufacturers to include alcohol detection systems in the making of all new vehicles after 2026.
https://www.yourtango.com/news/are-alcohol-detection-systems-required-cars-us
Tuesday, November 23, 2021
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