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Following the death of George Floyd in May 2020, North Central University held a memorial service. During the ceremony, the Minneapolis, MN-based institution announced that it had created the George Floyd Memorial Scholarship, according to a news release. “It is time to invest like never before in a new generation of young black Americans who are poised and ready to take leadership in our nation,” North Central University President Scott Hagan, Ph.D., said per the news release. He added, “So, university presidents, let’s step up together.” Hagan’s call to action for fellow college and university presidents to establish their own George Floyd Memorial Scholarship sparked a movement. Schools such as the University of Minnesota, University of Michigan, Ohio University, and more went on to create their own. However, as the fourth anniversary of Floyd’s passing is coming up, North Central University’s scholarship in his remembrance is receiving pushback. According to NBC News, on March...
Gospel music legend Walter Hawkins penned lyrics that opened one of his most famous songs by suggesting that “tragedies are commonplace.” When writing the ’80s faith classic, it’s doubtful that this phrase would apply to the behavior of white people looking to capitalize on the murder of Black bodies. In a series of tweets, users discovered white business owners were using the names of Black men like George Floyd and Elijah McClain to advertise and solicit support for their work.
Nakia Booker’s introduction into the art world began as a young child learning different mediums of art from her grandfather. Decades later, the Southern University and A&M College graduate has returned to her roots through her brainchild The Black Artivism Capsule. The curated collection is now a home for 26 creatives to share their realities with the world through a Black lens. Featured artists include Raphael Adjetey Adjei Mayne, Ashley Nesmith, Khalid Thompson, and the late Crystal Kirk. The spread will feature the Black experience through all its facets such as civil unrest, health crises, and snapshots of a more hopeful future. “The place where I was at this time when all this was going on — I was feeling upset, angry, frustrated, like everybody else. This project I started during the pandemic gave me hope and joy because it is timeless. It captures the past, present, and future so when you look at it you’ll be reminded of where we used to be and where we are now,” Booker...
Bouncing off the plan to create a modern-day Green Book, a guide for African Americans who were seeking places they could safely reside during the Jim Crow period, ANJEL Tech was bloomed. Designed by James A. Samuel, Jr. alongside his wife Evelyn Samuel in October of 2020, the powerful body camera is designed to turn one’s smartphone into a lifeline. As a Black woman, when ANJEL Tech was brought to my attention, I was automatically intrigued. Every day, when I scroll through social media, another Black woman is missing and there appear to be no traces of her whereabouts. According to reports, last year alone nearly 183,000 Black individuals went missing and of those nearly 100,000 Black women vanished. These statistics are frightening when you consider the cries of these individuals are often met with silence and their families left with unanswered questions. ANJEL Tech puts the power back into the hands of victims and their families by storing live streams of the incident into a...
On Feb. 12, 2021, the Minneapolis Police Department announced that its officers are banned from using facial recognition software when they’re in the process of apprehending suspects. According to TechCrunch, the problematic police department — best known for being the home of the officers who killed George Floyd last summer — is known for having a “relationship” with Clearview AI, a firm with a record of “scraping” images from social media networks and selling them, wholesale, to police departments and federal law enforcement agencies. 13 members of the city council — with no opposition — voted in favor of banning facial recognition software usage. And Minneapolis is just the latest city to join in the usage ban, joining Boston and San Francisco in this landmark move. However, the bans haven’t included selling the images to private companies — which many privacy experts cite as a growing concern. But there’s another, more salient reason why facial recognition software is facing...
In the wake of George Floyd’s death, his sister Bridgett Floyd has decided to carry on his legacy through a newly-launched internship program for young Black men at Texas A&M University-Commerce. The Be His Legacy Internship Program — co-created by the George Floyd Memorial Foundation — is an “innovative new program designed to provide hands-on experiences through community outreach, targeted educational programs, and intentional reform initiatives to eliminate police brutality, promote social justice, and protect the civil rights of all people of color,” according to its website . View this post on Instagram A post shared by GF Memorial Foundation (@gfmfoundation) The program — which is available to students of Texas A&M’s African American Male Mentorship Program — is meant to provide sound opportunities for career and personal development, the school shares . According to the program’s website , a select number of virtual internship opportunities will be offered to qualified...
Popular website BabyNames.com recently made a powerful statement on its homepage that Black lives matter. In place of the rankings of babies and photos, the site features a black message box naming over 100 Black people whose lives were lost as a result of fatal police brutality. The gesture is in response to current protests for racial justice following the death of George Floyd . ok baby names dot com go off pic.twitter.com/4jkDQHKsDP — bijan (@bijanstephen) June 9, 2020 “Each one of these names was somebody’s baby,” the collapsible message reads. “BabyNames.com stands in solidarity with the black community.” The list names Emmitt Till, who was beaten to death at 14, along with other well-known victims, including Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner , Sandra Bland, Michael Brown , Tamir Rice , Trayvon Martin, Botham Jean, and Philando Castile . BabyNames.com founder Jennifer Moss, who considers herself an ally, spoke with HuffPost about the company statement. “I saw the names listed on...
As many learned on “The Last Dance” docuseries, Michael Jordan was once reluctant to participate in politic-related dealings. However, following the recent killing of George Floyd, the basketball icon is helping fight for racial justice. In a statement , Jordan and Jordan Brand announced their joint commitment to donate $100 million over the next 10 years to organizations dedicated to racial equality, social justice, and education access. “Black lives matter,” it reads. “This isn’t a controversial statement. Until the ingrained racism that allows our country’s institutions to fail is completely eradicated, we will remain committed to protecting and improving the lives of Black people.” Jordan Brand president Craig Williams goes on to share that while the company’s Jordan Wings Program has focused on “providing access to education, mentorship and opportunity for Black youth facing the obstacles of systemic racism” — the $100 million will extend their efforts. “We must join forces...
The murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has sparked widespread unrest, both peaceful and riotous. Amid the global uprising, which began on May 26, several businesses have been a casualty of protestors’ war against police brutality, including Black-owned stores. Thousands of people have made their way to the streets for justice, to call for defunding the police, and to spread awareness of other Black bodies that have been executed via state-sanctioned murders, particularly Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery . Windows have been shattered, vehicles have been burned and property damage is done. Additionally, some Black businesses have suffered economically due to mandatory curfews. As activists continue to organize, strategize and mobilize on the ground, donate to or simply #BuyBlack at any of these Black businesses. Pure Oasis This Boston cannabis retailer, the state’s first and only Black-run cannabis retailer, was hit by looters. According to The Boston...