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Posts published in “Philanthropy”

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Documentary “Twenty Pearls,” Narrated by Phylicia Rashad, Premieres March 26 on Xfinity Channel

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Documentary “Twenty Pearls,” Narrated by Phylicia Rashad, Premieres March 26 on Xfinity Channel

By goodblacknews on March 26, 2021

The exclusive premiere of the documentary film Twenty Pearls: The Story of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated®, starts airing today, Friday, March 26 on Comcast NBCUniversal‘s newly-launched Black Experience on Xfinity Channel.

Narrated by AKA member Phylicia Rashād, directed by filmmaker Deborah Riley Draper and produced by Coffee Bluff Pictures, Twenty Pearls closely examines the founding and legacy of the first Black sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated®, which is regarded as one of the most significant and influential Black organizations in history.

The documentary tells a story of sisterhood. In 1908, nine Black women students enrolled at Howard University  created Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.®

Through narration, interviews and rarely seen archival materials, the audience will see the sorority’s impact on World War II, NASA, Civil Rights, Women’s Rights and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) culminating in the historic election of Kamala Harris as America’s first Black and South Asian woman Vice President.

Twenty Pearls features interviews with members of the sorority including Vice President Kamala Harris, Miss Universe Ireland 2019 Fionnghuala O’Reilly, Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch III, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt Fierst, great-granddaughter of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, International President and CEO of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated® Dr. Glenda Glover and many more.

Other notable AKAs include NASA mathematician and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Katherine Johnson, civil rights activist and icon Coretta Scott King, tennis champion Althea Gibson, and Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison.

“This is an extraordinary time to look back at our past to serve our future,” added Deborah Riley Draper. “A future where Black women are centered. Helming this documentary love letter to the founders of Alpha Kappa Alpha, the generations of women that followed in their footsteps and to all Black women everywhere is an honor. This is an important history for all of us to know and understand.”

“Telling our own story is essential to preserving our history and uplifting the culture,” said Alpha Kappa Alpha International President and CEO Dr. Glenda Glover. “Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated’s remarkable 113-year journey which began on the campus of Howard University is punctuated by stories of history makers, ceiling breakers, public servants and ordinary women who have changed the course of American history.  Through this beautifully written and narrated odyssey, this film highlights in undeniable ways the vision, courage, tenacity, determination and power of Black women while putting to bed the age-old questions about the relevance of Historically Black Colleges and Universities and the Divine Nine sororities and fraternities.”

Black Experience on Xfinity is a destination of Black entertainment, movies, TV shows, news and more. It features high-quality content from many of Xfinity’s existing network partners, while investing millions of dollars in fostering and showcasing emerging Black content creators.

Black Experience on Xfinity is available at home on Xfinity X1 and Flex, and on-the-go with the Xfinity Stream app,  At home, Xfinity subscribers can visit channel 1622 or simply say “Black Experience” into the Voice Remote to instantly enjoy its content.

Visit https://www.xfinity.com/learn/digital-cable-tv/black-experience to learn more about the Black Experience on Xfinity and other Black programming available on X1, Flex, and the Xfinity Stream app. 

Visit www.aka1908.com to learn more about Twenty Pearls, which premieres on today on Xfinity and is free for subscribers, and will be available on demand nationwide starting on March 30, 2021.

Morehouse College and Spelman College Co-Create Center for Black Entrepreneurship with $10 Million in Funding from Bank of America

Morehouse College and Spelman College Co-Create Center for Black Entrepreneurship with $10 Million in Funding from Bank of America

By goodblacknews on March 20, 2021

According to jbhe.com, the Black Economic Alliance Foundation, HBCUs Spelman College, Morehouse College and Bank of America have announced plans to develop the Center for Black Entrepreneurship, the first-ever academic center to assemble, educate, and empower a new class of Black entrepreneurial talent.

The Center for Black Entrepreneurship is powered by $10 million in funding from Bank of America and will be co-located on the Spelman and Morehouse campuses. The Center will support the development of an academic curriculum, faculty recruitment, co-curricular programming, and the development of new physical space.

Mary Schmidt Campbell, president of Spelman and part of the Black Economic Alliance said “our students will learn to build strong businesses and create wealth for their families and their communities, all while obtaining a first-rate liberal arts education. We’ll hire top-tier faculty, support our students financially, continue to grow co-curricular programs that offer real-world experience, and offer courses online for those adults who are already in the workplace.”

In addition, the CBE will allow current student-run initiatives, like Spelman’s Entrepreneurship Club and the Black Venture Capital Consortium, as well as popular programs like Spelpreneur, to create a stronger network of young leaders.

“As an alumna of Spelman College, I know firsthand the lasting and meaningful impact the institution can make on its students and surrounding community,” said Cynthia Bowman, chief diversity and inclusion and talent acquisition officer for Bank of America. “This collective partnership will work to eliminate existing barriers by providing unique opportunities to Black entrepreneurs, ultimately fueling Black innovation and economic mobility within the next generation.”

The CBE seeks to eliminate the access barriers among Black entrepreneurs, professional investors, and business builders by leveraging education, mentorship, access to capital and opportunity.

Read more: https://www.jbhe.com/2021/03/the-center-for-black-entrepreneurship-established-at-morehouse-and-spelman-colleges-in-atlanta/

https://www.spelman.edu/about-us/news-and-events/news-releases/2021/02/22/bank-of-america-supports-creation-of-new-center-for-black-entrepreneurship-at-spelman-college-and-morehouse-college

[Photo credit: spelman.edu]

Goldman Sachs Commits More Than $10 Billion in Investment and Philanthropic Capital to One Million Black Women Initiative

Goldman Sachs Commits More Than $10 Billion in Investment and Philanthropic Capital to One Million Black Women Initiative

By goodblacknews on March 11, 2021

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. announced a new investment initiative yesterday of more than $10 billion to advance racial equity and economic opportunity by investing in Black women.

The initiative, One Million Black Women, is named for and guided by the goal of impacting the lives of at least 1 million Black women by 2030.

It is being shaped by Black women within Goldman Sachs, alumna of the 10,000 Small Businesses program and partnerships with Black women-led organizations such as  Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., National Council of Negro Women, Power Rising, Black Women’s Roundtable and the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, Walker’s Legacy Foundation, Sistahs in Business Expo, and The Links, Inc.

“This initiative is transformational,” said Melanie Campbell, Convener of the Black Women’s Roundtable and President and CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, a partner with Goldman Sachs on the program. “What Goldman Sachs is doing has the potential to materially impact the lives of Black women, their families and communities across the country.”

The investment will be grounded in the voices and experiences of Black women. Goldman Sachs and its partners will commit $10 billion in direct investment capital and $100 million in philanthropic capital over the next decade to address the dual disproportionate gender and racial biases that Black women have faced for generations, which have only been exacerbated by the pandemic.

Black women leaders across Goldman Sachs developed and will continue to lead this initiative alongside an Advisory Council of Black leaders, including:

“Our newly published research, Black Womenomics, suggests that no investment could have a bigger impact than unlocking the economic potential of Black women,” said David M. Solomon, chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs.

Black Lives Matter Foundation Expands $3 Million Survival Fund to Help Those Struggling Financially During Pandemic

Black Lives Matter Foundation Expands $3 Million Survival Fund to Help Those Struggling Financially During Pandemic

By goodblacknews on February 26, 2021

The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation is formally expanding a $3 million relief fund it launched earlier this month to help people struggling financially during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Associated Press.

The foundation, which grew out of the creation of the Black Lives Matter movement nearly eight years ago, plans to give 3,000 microgrants of $1,000 each to people who it believes need it most.

The BLM foundation has already begun asking recipients to apply for the Survival Fund grants as it builds out its philanthropic arm. Those approved can have the money is deposited directly into their bank accounts or made available on prepaid debit cards, the foundation said — no strings attached.

As of Thursday afternoon, the foundation reported the response had been overwhelming and it was no longer accepting applications for the initial round of the fund.

To quote the Associated Press:

Patrisse Cullors, the foundation’s executive director, said that so far the Survival Fund’s first recipients have included the families of people killed by police or who died while incarcerated, grassroots community organizers, people who identify as transgender, single parents and formerly incarcerated individuals.

“This came from a collective conversation with BLM leadership that Black folks are being hurt the most financially during the pandemic,” Cullors said.“I believe that when you have resources, to hoard them is a disservice to the people who deserve them.”

During that time, mutual aid and direct assistance programs like BLM’s Survival Fund have increased in popularity. According to the nonprofit Town Hall Project, which created the Mutual Aid Hub to track various collective efforts last March, the number of mutual aid groups in the U.S. grew from 50 to more than 800 in 48 states by last May.

Black mutual aid efforts date back to antebellum times, when enslaved Americans pooled their money to buy each other’s freedom from bondage. In the 1960s, the Black Panther Party for Self Defense created programs in several stated where members provided groceries and breakfasts to the elderly and schoolchildren, as well as health care screenings through community clinics.

Cullors said the Survival Fund is a tribute to that legacy.

To read more: https://apnews.com/article/black-lives-matter-survival-fund-ad6c0c0777b3fdc44a4cd3aec8e09ccc

Calvin E. Tyler Jr., former UPS Driver and Morgan State University Alumnus, Endows the HBCU with $20 Million

Calvin E. Tyler Jr., former UPS Driver and Morgan State University Alumnus, Endows the HBCU with $20 Million

By goodblacknews on February 22, 2021

[Photo: Philanthropists Calvin E. Tyler Jr. and Tina Tyler with ‘Tyler Scholars,’ students with scholarships from the fund established in the Tylers’ name. September 2017, at groundbreaking for the Calvin and Tina Tyler Hall Student Services Center.]

Morgan State University recently announced receipt of a $20 million commitment from alumnus and philanthropist Calvin E. Tyler Jr. and his wife Tina Tyler, increasing an endowed scholarship fund previously established in the Tylers’ name.

In 2016, the Tylers made a commitment of $5 million to Morgan State — at the time the largest in Morgan’s history—bolstering the Calvin and Tina Tyler Endowed Scholarship Fund established in 2002 to provide full tuition scholarships for select need-based students residing in the Tylers’ hometown of Baltimore.

In light of the financial hardships and challenges a number of students and their families are facing as a result of the current pandemic, the Tylers were compelled to expand their giving to the HBCU. Once exclusive to students from Baltimore, the endowed scholarship is now national in scope and will benefit generations of future Morgan students seeking a college education.

To date, the endowed fund has supported 222 Morgan students by way of 46 full-tuition and 176 partial scholarships, with the promise of benefiting more ‘Tyler Scholars’ with the increased multimillion-dollar pledge and expanded scope.

“Morgan is so proud to call this son and daughter of the great City of Baltimore our own, and through their historic giving, the doors of higher education will most certainly be kept open for generations of aspiring leaders whose financial shortfalls may have kept them from realizing their academic dreams,” said David K. Wilson, president of Morgan State University.

BHM: Celebrating Baltimore’s National Great Blacks in Wax Museum

BHM: Celebrating Baltimore’s National Great Blacks in Wax Museum

By goodblacknews on February 10, 2021

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

Most museums with a national profile are created and built by cities, states or institutions that work with curators and major funding.

There are also, however, a select few museums of renown that are built up from a grassroots level by community members determined to inform and educate future generations about history and culture from an authentic and engaging perspective.

Sociologist Dr. Elmer Martin and his wife, Dr. Joanna Martin, were most definitely among those select few.

Drs. Joanna and Elmer Martin, co-founders of The National Great Blacks in Wax Museum (photo: wernercoach.com)

The Martins wanted to teach Black history in a way that would grab the attention of school children —so they did it with wax.

The Martins had wax heads made in the likenesses of Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, Mary McLeod Bethune and Nat Turner, then used department store mannequins for the bodies.

They originally presented the figures at schools and community centers in Baltimore, Maryland, but after garnering donations and grants, the figures were permanently installed at the Great Blacks in Wax Museum in 1983.

Just over two decades later, in 2004, the Great Blacks in Wax Museum was recognized by the United States Congress and was designated The National Great Blacks in Wax Museum.

Visit the site: http://www.greatblacksinwax.org/index.html

Voting Rights Activist Stacey Abrams Garners Nomination for Nobel Peace Prize

Voting Rights Activist Stacey Abrams Garners Nomination for Nobel Peace Prize

By goodblacknews on February 2, 2021

Stacey Abrams has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for her work to promote voting rights via Fair Fight in Georgia and the United States overall.

“Abrams’ work follows in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s footsteps in the fight for equality before the law and for civil rights,” said Lars Haltbrekken, a member of Norway’s parliament.

“Abrams’ efforts to complete King’s work are crucial if the United States of America shall succeed in its effort to create fraternity between all its peoples and a peaceful and just society,” Haltbrekken said.

Other candidates this year include the Black Lives Matter movement, the World Health Organization, U.S. Congresswoman Barbara Lee and climate campaigner Greta Thunberg.

According to Reuters the Nobel Committee in Norway, which decides who wins the award, does not comment on nominations but nominators can choose to reveal their picks.

The 2021 laureate will be announced in October.

Black Lives Matter Movement Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize, Wins Sweden’s Human Rights Prize for 2020

Black Lives Matter Movement Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize, Wins Sweden’s Human Rights Prize for 2020

By goodblacknews on January 30, 2021

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

Petter Eide, a member of Norway’s parliament, nominated Black Lives Matter for a Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of the movement’s continuous work towards manifesting racial justice in the U.S. and across the globe.

“To carry forward a movement of racial justice and to spread that to other countries is very, very important. Black Lives Matter is the strongest force today doing this, not only in the U.S. but also in Europe and in Asia,” Eide told USA TODAY.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 in recognition for his work and mission of non-violent protest during the Civil Rights Movement.

Albert Luthuli and Nelson Mandela won in 1960 and 1993, respectively, for their campaigns against racial discrimination and apartheid in South Africa.

Additionally, the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation has won Sweden’s Olof Palme human rights prize for 2020, for promoting “peaceful civil disobedience against police brutality and racial violence” according to the prize’s organizers.

Patrice Cullors, one of the original founders of Black Lives Matter, will accept the $100,000 on behalf of BLM during an online ceremony today.

To read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/01/30/black-lives-matter-nominated-nobel-peace-prize-norwegian-mp/4322546001/

https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-europe-55862130

Beyoncé’s BeyGood Foundation Partners with NAACP to offer Grants for Housing Relief During Pandemic

Beyoncé’s BeyGood Foundation Partners with NAACP to offer Grants for Housing Relief During Pandemic

By goodblacknews on January 8, 2021

Yesterday on Instagram, Beyoncé’s BeyGOOD Foundation announced applications are open for housing relief via naacp.org.

The application is available on the NAACP website and will end on Thursday, January 21st at 11:59PM.

“The NAACP is committed to helping ensure African Americans maintain their wealth and financial security during this unprecedented time of COVID-19,” the site reads. “We are partnering with BeyGOOD to provide one hundred grants up to $5,000 each to families who are delinquent in their home mortgage or rental payments.”

“When we were faced with the pandemic caused by COVID-19, BeyGOOD created a plan to make a difference,” the BeyGOOD site says. “We assisted organizations across the country that were providing people with basic needs like food, water, household supplies, and COVID testing. We also provided mental health support.”

To read more about the grants and to apply, visit https://www.naacp.org.

Rapper and Activist Meek Mill Donates Gifts and Money to Families in Philadelphia Impacted by Criminal Justice System

Rapper and Activist Meek Mill Donates Gifts and Money to Families in Philadelphia Impacted by Criminal Justice System

By goodblacknews on December 24, 2020

[Photo: Meek Mill via facebook.com]

Yesterday hip hop artist and activist Meek Mill along with his Dream Chasers record label delivered toys, clothes, and new Xbox consoles to 35 families in Philadelphia impacted by the criminal justice system.

In partnership with the REFORM Alliance, Puma, GoPuff, and DocuVault, the rapper helped arrange the deliveries, and saw the families receive everything from MacBook Air laptops or iPads, to baby clothes and Xbox Series X consoles.

To quote from complex.com:

“It’s been a tough year for all of us, but through all the ups and downs, I’ll always do my part to support and give back to the Philly community that raised me,” said Meek. “I remember not having much growing up, so it’s important to use my platform to give back, especially to the families trying to provide for their kids while also dealing with the criminal justice system.” Among the recipients was Anthony Morse, who fosters five kids as well as raising his own children.

Conducted with social distancing protocols, Meek personally FaceTimed some of the families to hear their stories as the deliveres were conducted. He also announced that he has donated $30,000 to the Philadelphia chapter of volunteer organization Twelve Days of Christmas, which aims to help families make it through the holiday season. His contribution will go towards 30 families across North Philadelphia, include those who went to his old school, James G. Blaine Elementary School.

Robert Rihmeek Williams aka Meek Mill was born and raised in Philadelphia and was executive producer and subject of the 2019 Free Meek documentary on Prime Video detailing his own personal battles with the criminal justice system.

To read more: https://theurbandaily.com/3609086/meek-mill-gifted-toys-clothes-electronics-to-philly-families-hurt-by-the-criminal-justice-system/