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Former Running Back Jason Wright Named President of NFL’s Washington Football Team

Former National Football League running back Jason Wright was named the first Black president of an NFL team on Monday, according to The Washington Post. He will be heading up the Washington Football Team.

The hiring by team owner Daniel Snyder of the 38-year-old Wright, who rose quickly in the business world after getting an MBA at the University of Chicago and became a partner at McKinsey & Company, comes at a difficult time for a franchise that in past years was one league’s strongest.

To quote the Washington Post:

The team has had eight losing seasons in the last 11 years; it recently dropped its 87-year-old name, which is considered a racial slur, under pressure from sponsors; it has commissioned an investigation of its corporate culture after The Washington Post published a story detailing allegations of sexual harassment and verbal abuse; and Snyder’s three minority partners want to sell their roughly 40 percent stake in the team.

Yet Wright, who has lived in the Washington area since 2013, said he understands what waits for him when he takes over the team’s business operations next week.

“A lot of the high-stakes stuff that you see in and around the club at this time is something that I’m quite familiar with,” he said. “Hopefully, having not grown up in [Washington’s] front office allows me to bring some catalytic thinking. It’s the same reason organizations bring in people externally — to push the thinking, to have new, creative ways of thinking about things [and] maybe be a bit disruptive.”

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/08/17/jason-wright-hired-president-washington-football-team/

Serena Williams Donates Proceeds from Unstoppable Jewelry Collection to Relief Fund for Black-Owned Small Businesses

Tennis legend Serena Williams is the latest celebrity and entrepreneur to help Black business owners in need of relief during the COVID-19 crisis.

Williams announced via Instagram that until August 5 proceeds from her Unstoppable capsule jewelry collection will go to the Opportunity Fund’s Small Business Relief Fund, according to a Black Enterprise report.

Williams, who has won a career-defining 23 Grand Slam titles, started the business in late 2019 and has been wearing pieces from her brand during her tennis matches.

“I wore a circular necklace the last time I won all four Grand Slams in a row,” Williams told People about her collection. “I had won four in a row wearing that necklace. I was just really unstoppable.”

The collection includes a sterling silver bracelet and necklace, and also features a simple polished circle with a glittering round diamond that represents serenity and unity. Check out Serena’s Unstoppable offerings here.

CBS Network Announces Plan to Commit 25% of Development Budget to BIPOC Creators and Projects

According to Variety.com, the CBS network has announced it will commit 25% of its script development budget to projects created or co-created by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) beginning with the 2021-2022 development season.

CBS also says it will target having a minimum of 40% BIPOC representation in their writers’ rooms  beginning in 2021-2022. The goal is to increase that number to 50% the following season. The network will also hire additional BIPOC writers on some of their series for the upcoming 2020-2021 season.

To quote from Variety.com:

“While steady progress has been made in recent years both in front of and behind the camera, change needs to happen faster, especially with creators and leadership roles on the shows,” said George Cheeks, president and CEO of the CBS Entertainment Group.

“As a network with ambitions to be a unifier and an agent of change at this important time, these new initiatives will help accelerate efforts to broaden our storytelling and make CBS programming even more diverse and inclusive.”

News of the commitments comes as the entertainment industry, and the United States in general, continues to undergo a racial reckoning following massive civil unrest sparked by the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers.

Under former CBS CEO Leslie Moonves, the company had been frequently criticized for lagging behind competitors in terms of diversity and inclusion on both its broadcast network and in its executive ranks. Last year, former CBS executive Whitney Davis published a piece with Variety about the “white problem” at the company at large.

Read more: https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/cbs-bipoc-development-writers-rooms-1234704857/

Netflix Moves $100 Million to Black-Led Banks to Help Build Economic Opportunity in Black Communities

Netflix announced today it is shifting $100 million of its cash to financial institutions that serve the Black community to draw attention to the racial wealth gap in America.

The streaming giant has $5.1 billion in cash assets, and 2% of that will be moved to Black-led banks.

In its public statement, the company said it will first inject $25 million into a fund managed by the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, a nonprofit that develops underinvested communities. Another $10 million will go to Hope Credit Union, which provides capital for the nation’s most impoverished regions in the Deep South.

To quote from Netflix’s statement:

At Netflix, we know great stories can create empathy and understanding. Stories like Ava DuVernay’s 13TH and Explained’s Racial Wealth Gap show how systemic racism in America has sustained a centuries-long financial gap between Black and White families. As part of our commitment to racial equity, we are turning understanding into action. Going forward, Netflix is going to allocate two percent of our cash holdings – initially up to $100 million – into financial institutions and organizations that directly support Black communities in the U.S.

According to the FDIC, banks that are Black-owned or led represent a mere one percent of America’s commercial banking assets. This is one factor contributing to 19 percent of Black families having either negative wealth or no assets at all – more than double the rate of White households – according to the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Black banks have been fighting to better their communities for decades but they’re disadvantaged by their lack of access to capital. The major banks, where big multinational companies including ours keep most of their money, are also focusing more on improving equity, but not at the grassroots level these Black-led institutions can and do. So we wanted to redirect some of our cash specifically toward these communities, and hope to inspire other large companies to do the same with their cash deposits.

We plan to redirect even more of our cash to Black-led and focused institutions as we grow, and we hope others will do the same. For example, if every company in the S&P 500 allocated a modest amount of their cash holdings into efforts like the Black Economic Development Initiative, each one percent of their cash would represent $20-$30 billion of new capital. And that would help build stronger communities, offering more Black families pathways to prosperity and a more equitable future.

Aaron Mitchell, Director, Talent Acquisition

Shannon Alwyn, Director, Treasury

The news was welcomed by billionaire Robert F. Smith, who made headlines last year when he offered to pay off the debts of Morehouse College‘s graduating class. He recently expanded on that pledge by creating the Student Freedom Initiative to help students at HBCUs get affordable, low-interest loans for to fund higher learning.

“This is how we turn outrage into action,” Smith tweeted Tuesday. “$100m into Black-owned banks is a giant step forward. If major U.S. companies invest 2% of profits in left-behind communities, we can close the racial wealth gap in 10 years.”

Recently, Netflix’s CEO Reed Hastings and his wife Patty Quillin personally pledged to donate $120 Million to HBCUs.

After Backlash and Calls to Boycott, Starbucks Will Now Allow Employees to Wear “Black Lives Matter” Apparel

According to the Washington Post, global coffee corporation Starbucks, after telling its employees not to wear anything that said “Black Lives Matter,” has reversed course after news reports on their policy sparked a social media backlash.

To quote from washingtonpost.com:

“We see you. We hear you. Black Lives Matter. That is a fact and will never change,” the company said in a letter posted Friday. “This movement is a catalyst for change, and right now, it’s telling us a lot of things need to be addressed so we can make space to heal.”

Earlier this week, and first reported by BuzzFeed, the company turned down a request from baristas and other employees who wanted to show their support for the BLM movement.

In a memo to its 250,000-member workforce, Diversity Officer Zing Shaw said “there are agitators who misconstrue the fundamental principles of the Black Lives Matter movement — and in certain circumstances, intentionally repurpose them to amplifying divisiveness.”

The news sparked backlash on social media, including calls to boycott the company, just days after Starbucks had issued a “Black Lives Matter” statement of solidarity and committed $1 million to social justice groups as protests broke out across the country following the death of George Floyd, a black man, in police custody.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/06/12/starbucks-black-lives-matter/

NBA Legend Michael Jordan and Jordan Brand Pledge $100 Million to Racial Equality, Education and Social Justice Organizations

According to ESPN.com, Michael Jordan and Jordan Brand are pledging $100 million over the next 10 years to nationwide organizations “dedicated to ensuring racial equality, social justice and greater access to education.”

To quote from ESPN:

“Black lives matter. This isn’t a controversial statement,” read a joint statement from Jordan and his company, which is a subsidiary of Nike. “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.”

Specifically, Jordan Brand will increase its work in communities across the United States to provide access to education and opportunities for future generations, while also taking a more active role in supporting organizations that work to effect policy change in local government.

The Jordan Brand pledge came hours after Nike announced its own “Commitment to the Black Community,” an additional $40 million collective pledge to community organizations from the Nike, Jordan and Converse brands over the next four years.

Read more: https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29272682/jordan-brand-pledges-100-million-racial-equality-education-initiatives

https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/charlotte-hornets/article243321076.html

Tech Investor Arlan Hamilton to Fund Scholarships for Black Students at Oxford & Dillard Universities

Arlan Hamilton (photo via backstagecapital.com)

According to USA TODAY, technology investor and entrepreneur Arlan Hamilton is funding a brand new scholarship for black undergraduate students at Oxford University in the U.K., a first for the world-renown educational institution.

To quote the article:

The scholarship, partly named for Hamilton’s mother, will cover fees and living costs for one undergraduate student a year for three years beginning in 2020. The value of the scholarship fund is about £220,000 (or nearly $300,000), Oxford said.

Hamilton is a former music tour manager without a college degree who bought a one-way ticket to San Francisco with the goal of backing underrepresented entrepreneurs. She was so broke that she met with tech investors by day and slept on the floor of the San Francisco airport at night until one of them cut her a check.

Today she runs Backstage Capital, a venture capital firm that backs women, minority and LGBTQ founders who are overlooked by Silicon Valley and reflects Hamilton’s determination to overcome the complex set of biases and barriers that begin in preschool and persist in the workplace that keep women and people of color from gaining equal access to some of the nation’s highest-paying jobs.

Tyler Perry to Build Compound for Displaced Women, Children and LGBTQ Youth at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta

 

Filmmaker and entrepreneur Tyler Perry told Gayle King on CBS This Morning this week that his eponymous film studio in Atlanta will soon provide a safe haven for homeless women, displaced LGBTQ youth, and sex trafficking victims.

Perry is the first African American man to own a major movie studio, a 330-acre property that was once a Confederate Army base. But he is most excited about the aspect of helping those in need. “You know, the studio’s gonna be what it is,” Perry said.

“I’ll tell you what I’m most excited about next is pulling this next phase off, is building a compound for trafficked women, girls, homeless women, LGBTQ youth who are put out and displaced … somewhere on these 330 acres, where they’re trained in the business and they become self-sufficient.”

“They live in nice apartments. There’s day care. There’s all of these wonderful things that allows them to reenter society. And then pay it forward again,” Perry continued. “So that’s what I hope to do soon.”

The land for Tyler Perry Studios was acquired by Perry in 2015 and is located on the historic grounds of the former Fort McPherson army base in Atlanta, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

“Think about the poetic justice in that,” Perry said. “The Confederate Army is fighting to keep Negroes enslaved in America, fighting, strategy, planning on this very ground. And now this very ground is owned by me.”

The major motion picture studio includes 40 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places, 12 purpose-built sound stages named after African-American luminaries such as Oprah Winfrey, Diahann Carroll, and Harry Belafonte, 200 acres of green space, and a diverse backlot.

To read more: https://www.blackenterprise.com/tyler-perry-studios/

History-Making Tyler Perry Studios Has Grand Opening Gala in Atlanta with Oprah, Beyonce and More

Tyler Perry (photo via commons.wikipedia.org)

Actors, directors, musical artists, filmmakers and politicians such as Oprah Winfrey, Beyoncé, Stacey Abrams, Ava DuVernay, Viola Davis, Samuel L. Jackson, Spike Lee, Tiffany Haddish, Whoopi Goldberg, Reginald Hudlin and Halle Berry showed up to support filmmaker and entrepreneur Tyler Perry as he formally opened his Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta.

Tyler Perry Studios marks the first time that an African-American person has owned and operated a major film studio anywhere in the U.S.

Perry also reportedly named his twelve sound stages after living and late legends such as Denzel Washington, Oprah Winfrey, Halle Berry, Sydney Poitier, Della Reese, Spike Lee, Harry Belafonte, Cicely Tyson, Whoopi Goldberg, Diahann Carroll and Will Smith.

“Why did it take so long?” Goldberg wondered in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “Why was he the first to get it? Now he’s the man who makes the decisions, chooses the movies, and he doesn’t have to ask anybody for shit. There’s nothing better than that. He’s never on his knees. He gets what he needs because he provided it.”

Davis concurred by saying, “Tonight is history. Tonight is not just entertainment and flamboyancy, it’s not just an excuse to get dressed up. It’s an excuse to celebrate a historic moment, which is a black artist taking control of their artistic life and the vision that God has for their life,” she said. “What’s happened with us historically is we’re waiting for people to get us. We’re waiting for people to throw us a crumb. That’s not what Tyler Perry has done. I want to be able to look back on this and say ‘I was there.'”

Winfrey added of Perry: “Tyler is my little big brother. To see him rise to this moment that I know he’s dreamed about, planned, defined, clarify for himself, it’s just a fulfillment of a dream. It’s wonderful to see.”

DuVernay, among others, touchingly reported on the momentous occasion on her Instagram and Twitter:

https://twitter.com/ava/status/1180950995892879361

To read and see more, go to: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/inside-tyler-perry-studios-grand-opening-gala-1245752

LET’S TALK ABOUT IT: Could African American Philanthropy Help Solve the Black Student Debt Crisis?

Billionaires Robert Smith, Oprah Winfrey, top; Beyonce and Jay Z, bottom (photos via Creative Commons)

EDITOR’S NOTE: For some time now, we here at GBN have struggled with the fact that while our operating directive is always to present positive stories, there are so many issues that affect our communities that don’t fit that philosophy, but would love to find a way to present that doesn’t stray from our core mission. It recently dawned on us that the steps we as individuals and societies take to solve problems, large or small, could perhaps be our way in. Solutions can only come first through awareness and acknowledgement of the issue, learning about it, discussing it, then figuring out ways to act that may help solve it.

In that spirit, we introduce “Let’s Talk About It” – a new GBN feature we will occasionally present about problems that need ideas for solutions. Our first entry is a share from, appropriately enough, The Conversation, a website GBN has partnered with to bring to you exactly this type of content.

First up: How can we as a community begin to solve the black student debt crisis? Should we follow the lead of billionaire Robert F. Smith, who single-handedly relieved the debt of Morehouse College’s graduating class of 2019, and task the wealthiest among us to pitch in and help out? Or are there other ways for us to alleviate this issue? Read below, and if you’d like, let’s discuss!

-Lori Lakin Hutcherson, GBN Founder and Editor-in-Chief

From The Conversation:

by Mako Fitts Ward, professor at Arizona State University 

When billionaire Robert F. Smith decided to pay off the student loans of the graduating class of 2019 at Morehouse College, he suggested that others follow his lead.

“Let’s make sure every class has the same opportunity going forward, because we are enough to take care of our own community,” Smith declared in his commencement speech.

But is there even enough black private wealth in the United States to pay off all black student loan debt?

As a scholar in social transformation and African American studies, I’m intrigued by this question. It provides an opportunity to examine black wealth, higher education and the possibilities for alleviating debt, which in turn opens the door to new economic opportunities.

Black celebrities give to higher education

Smith’s gift is estimated to be worth US$40 million and will benefit 396 students.

That’s a lot of money, and he’s done it before. Before his gift to Morehouse, Smith donated $50 million to Cornell University, his alma mater, in part to support African American and female students at Cornell University’s College of Engineering.

Other black celebrities have also stepped up to fund education. Powerhouse couple Beyonce and Jay Z gave more than $1 million in scholarships to students who lived in cities they were touring in 2018.

Rapper Nicki Minaj gave 37 “Student of the Game” scholarships. LeBron James, through his foundation, promised to pay for 2,300 students to attend the University of Akron – at an estimated price tag of $100 million. Oprah Winfrey has donated more than $400 million to educational causes.

But with just five black billionaires in the United States – Smith, Winfrey, David Steward, Michael Jordan and Jay Z – monumental gifts like the one that Smith made will likely be few and far between.

Is Smith’s claim that “we are enough to take care of our own community” true of all the black wealth in the U.S.?