American Gold Medalists Placed on 12 Months' Probation for Pan Am Games Protests: ‘I’m Honored to Make That Sacrifice’

Two American gold medalists were put on probation for a year as punishment for their decision to demonstrate during the National Anthem at the 2019 Pan American Games.

Read more...

from The Root https://ift.tt/2TUf7g1
via

National Urban League President Marc Morial is Redefining Civil Rights in the 21st Century

When you attend the BLACK ENTERPRISE Black Men Xcel summit (BMX) next week, you will quickly understand why we celebrate the best of who we are. On the opening night, we will hold our annual Xcel Awards, hosted by AT&T, in which we will  pay tribute to timeless standard-bearers: Rev. Jesse Jackson, civil rights icon and Rainbow Push founder and president; Eddie Levert, soul-stirring crooner and member of legendary trio The O’Jays; and Jerome Bettis, NFL Hall of Famer and ground-breaking entrepreneur.

Among our honorees will also be Marc Morial, one of our nation’s most accomplished servant-leaders, who continues to uplift communities and transform countless lives nationwide as president and CEO of the National Urban League (NUL), the largest historic civil rights and urban advocacy organization. For more than 15 years, he has been a transformative force as the head of the 105-year old organization. In fact, you couldn’t find a more committed change agent who brings strategic brilliance, laser-beam focus, and magnetic, action-oriented leadership to his role. So many – including myself—have learned from his energetic, effective approach to some of the most daunting challenges facing people of color.

Here are nine ways Morial, a leading, full-throated activist, is working to redefine civil rights in the 21st century with a focus on closing the economic gap between white and black Americans.

Eugene Mitchell, Marc Morial, and Rev. Jesse Jackson at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition and Citizenship Education Fund’s 22nd Annual Wall Street Project Economic Summit in Feb. 2019

During his tenure, NUL has evolved to represent the gold standard among charitable organizations, experiencing record fundraising success with its five-year, $280 million campaign. Moreover, Morial has secured the BBB nonprofit certification, which has confirmed NUL as a leading national nonprofit, and the coveted 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, placing it in the top 10% of all U.S. charities for adhering to best practices like good governance as well as meeting its mission in a fiscally-responsible manner.

Under Morial’s stewardship, NUL launched an unprecedented $100 million, five-year “Jobs Rebuild America: Educate, Employ, Empower” initiative in 2013 to “address the nation’s employment and education crisis.” Bringing together federal government, business, and nonprofit resources, it developed initiatives in 50 cities across the country like the Urban Youth Empowerment Program to help young adults gain sustainable jobs and Entrepreneurship Centers to advance small businesses growth through the Urban League affiliate network.

Morial helped create the Urban Empowerment Fund to provide loans to “urban impact” businesses as well as designed NUL’s New Markets Tax Credits program, which has resulted in $1 billion in community debt and equity investment in minority-owned firms and other urban-based businesses.

He expanded the State of Black America, the NUL’s highly-regarded annual report which reveals benchmarks, thought leadership, and solution-oriented proposals related to racial equality in key areas such as economics, education, health, social justice, and civic engagement. It also includes the Equality Index, a quantitative tool for tracking racial equality in America through the Black-White Index and Hispanic-White Index.

2019 National Urban League Annual Press Conference July 2019 (Facebook/National Urban League)

The son of the late Ernest “ Dutch” Morial, New Orleans’ first African American mayor, serving from 1978 to 1986, the younger Morial proved to be an effective and popular chief executive of the city within his own right. During his two terms as mayor (1994-2002), his broad multi-racial coalition has been noted for leading the 1990s renaissance of The Big Easy. As a result, he left office with a 70% approval rating.

He made an impact on the federal level through key appointments. For example, President Obama tapped him to serve as Chair of the Census Advisory Committee, a member of the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability, and on the Department of Education’s Equity and Excellence Commission. He was also appointed to the Twenty-First Century Workforce Commission by President Bill Clinton.

As an attorney, Morial won the Louisiana State Bar Association’s Pro Bono Publico Award for his legal service to the poor and disadvantaged. He was also one of the youngest lawyers, at age 26, to argue and win a major case before the Louisiana Supreme Court.

As a Louisiana state senator, he was named Legislative Rookie of the Year, Education Senator of the Year, and Environmental Senator of the Year, while authoring laws on a wide range of vital areas.

Throughout the years, he has gained well-deserved recognition for his impact across disciplines, being cited as one of the 100 most influential Black Americans by Ebony Magazine, one of the Top 50 Nonprofit Executives by the Nonprofit Times, and one of the Top 100 Black Lawyers in America, among others

Join us at the Black Men Xcel summit and you’ll discover even more milestones related to this remarkable leader.

 

---

Join us Aug 28- Sept 1 at the JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort & Spa, as we honor the essence of today’s man of color.  

REGISTER HERE TODAY!

from Black Enterprise https://ift.tt/2KQfQvW
via

If You’re Looking for Some Simple Entertainment, Reading Cardi B’s Deposition Will Please You

Cardi B doesn’t need to take a BuzzFeed quiz to realize that if she were a Powerpuff Girl, she’d be Buttercup. (By the way, I searched to see if there’s an actual “Which Powerpuff Girl Are You?” BuzzFeed quiz, and you’re damn Skippy peanut butter it is.)

Read more...

from The Root https://ift.tt/31TaNR1
via

Black Women Can’t Wait 106 Years for Equal Pay

Today is Black Women’s Equal Pay Day and it is only right to address the fact that black women work twice as hard as their counterparts, if not harder, yet still earn less. According to research conducted by the Institute for Women’s Research Policy, if trends in the pay gap persist like they have over the last 30 years, black women will have to continue to work hard until 2124 just to receive equal pay.

We spoke with Teresa C. Younger, president and CEO of the Ms. Foundation, about closing the pay gap and how women can persevere as they work toward receiving equal pay.

What does closing the pay gap mean for women beyond the dollar signs?

The pay gap is really about how we value women. And in this country, we have continually under-valued women. Particularly women of color and particularly black women. So for us, and as a black woman, this is how we place value on who we are and what we bring into our society.

It’s not “just” about the dollars and cents.

Although, it is about the dollars and cents because if you can pay your bills, put some money in the bank, and transfer that wealth to the next generation then that’s critical and that helps to build what our society could look like. If we can start making sure that our women are paid for their worth in our society, it will show and reflect their value. And help them uphold a level of self-confidence they will carry into other aspects of their lives.

How can women be more involved in being a part of the change they want to see?

There is so much going on in life that feels completely overwhelming. And we often ask ourselves, ‘what can any one person do?’ and ‘what can I do because this feels like so much?’

Whether you’re registered to vote; whether you’re able to talk to your manager or supervisor; how you’re able to ask a question; or whether you’re able to mentor somebody, we want women to walk out of this room today knowing that there is something that they can do. And if everyone does something that adds up to a whole lot of things and that’s how we create the momentum for change.

What advice do you have for women as they fight to close the pay gap?

There are a couple of things that we have to come to terms with when we recognize that we’re going to be about making change happen:

1. It does not happen overnight.
2. We do not get to be tired. We have a responsibility to those shoulders that we stand on and those generations that come behind us. We have to step in, fight wholeheartedly, and do it with full honesty and integrity to who we are. And, we have to hold other people accountable.
3. We have to engage with people one on one. We can’t just stand outside and scream at the air—we actually have to start talking with people.

When I think about this fight for pay equity, it is about at this moment in time us finally placing value on women of color. At this moment in time, it is about holding those [people in high places] accountable. This moment in time, it’s about opening the doors so that others can come in behind us and come in strong.

 

---

Editors’ Note: This piece was originally published on April 10, 2018.

from Black Enterprise https://ift.tt/2I5RNId
via

22 Days of Eating Like Beyoncé, Day 9: Where's the Beef? (It's Probably With My Coin)

I’m sure you’re wondering why, nine days into a 22-day series of blogs about attempting veganism (as Beyoncé and her trainer Marco Borges—among many others—have urged us to do), you’re looking at a perfectly seared, medium-rare steak. Did I break from the plan last night in a fit of bloodlust and stuff my face with…

Read more...

from The Root https://ift.tt/2MyUEg4
via