Sony Pictures Entertainment has officially announced its next EVP, Chief Communications Officer, and the move is a major one… a historic feat, if you will. According to a press release shared with AFROTECH™, Tahra Grant will serve in the position, succeeding Robert Lawson who will relocate to the company’s headquarters in Tokyo, Japan as SVP of Corporate Communications for the entire Sony Group. Not only is Grant the first Black woman to be named Chief Comms Officer at a major Hollywood studio, she is also the only Black woman to hold the position at a major studio among the stars. Since joining the studio in 2016, Grant has “streamlined and sharpened corp comm ops, handling crisis and issues with def skills during Covid and the double strikes, before and after,” per the report. Within a year with the company, she was promoted to SVP of Media Relations and her expertise in the industry continues to expand. She has also worked on several Sony blockbusters, which include Little Women,...

Board-Certified Pediatrician Dr. Hokehe Eko is launching a virtual clinic for children with autism. The mother of three boasts over 10 years of experience working with children of all ages as well as those on the autism spectrum. She also completed training to conduct autism diagnostic evaluations using the CARS standardized test, her website mentions. “As a result of my experience, I am better able to differentiate between neuro-typical and neuro-atypical behaviors, and can also help identify if there are other factors at play, such as ADHD, depression, anxiety, OCD, intellectual delays, or other medical conditions,” she said on her website. Based in Oklahoma, Dr. Eko’s virtual clinic, Glow Pediatrics, is now open for consultations and will see patients located in Georgia, Oklahoma, and Maryland within a week, Black News reports. This is significant as the average national wait time for families seeking autism diagnosis evaluation is 27 months, per The Journal of Pediatrics. “Early...

Knowledge is power, but being able to access it can be an uphill battle for disadvantaged communities. PBS NewsHour reports on Instagram that St. Louis, MO, is a “book desert,” and the likelihood of retaining a significant number of books in a community is low. However, a determined Black woman business owner has stepped in to enact the change she wants to see. According to the outlet, Ymani Wince launched Onyx, a free book vending machine, at the Herbert Hoover Boys and Girls Club, located on the north side of St. Louis. Wince also owns The Noir Bookshop, which provides Black and people of color (POC) literature.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by PBS NewsHour (@newshour) “I started thinking about what were ways that I could get books in the community, and I instantly thought of vending machines,” Wince told PBS NewsHour. “The concept of reading is good, having literacy is good, and I think access to information is a human right, no matter what you look like.” This...