How Legendary Businessman Reginald Lewis Continues to Influence Generations of Black Entrepreneurs

Why Should White Guys Have All the Fun? is celebrating its 25th anniversary. The book is about Reginald F. Lewis, the legendary entrepreneur who rocked Wall Street when his firm, TLC Group, acquired Beatrice International Foods for $985 million. The purchase in 1987 helped Lewis build the first Black-owned business to exceed the billion-dollar revenue mark. At the time it was the was the largest-ever offshore leveraged buyout. It was gigantic as TLC Beatrice International Holdings Inc. became the nation’s largest snack food, beverage, and grocery store conglomerate with a global presence.

And now, an audio version of the classic book was just released. Written by Lewis and co-author Blair S. Wall, the book was a New York Times best seller. The extraordinary exploits on the life and times of the astute, courageous, and bodacious Lewis still serve today as a source of inspiration to generations of Black entrepreneurs, including those in finance, technology, entertainment, and other fields.

Before his death in 1993, Lewis helped Black Americans gain access to financing for Blacks on Wall Street. His landmark endeavors encouraged Blacks to overcome barriers like race to become business owners, corporate executives, and major growth contributors to America’s economy. Lewis’ accomplishments remain momentous though they occurred over a quarter century ago. They shine like a beacon for African Americans to keep striving for, and potentially exceed, his success in their own business pursuits. The trailblazing work by Lewis is perhaps even more amazing in that it shows how a Black man pulled off acquiring a major international company with 64 companies in 31 countries. The name of Lewis became a sign of hope. That was especially true in the Black community as many African Americans were compelled to believe that if Lewis could score such a feat, then others could possibly play in the game as well.

Lewis left an enduring mark on business history. His actions permeated with many top Black business leaders, including the likes of real estate mogul Don Peebles and BET founder Bob Johnson.

“Reggie was not afraid of going beyond what Black business was, which was privately owned companies run by family members to be passed on to family members,” Johnson told Black Enterprise eight years ago. “He got access to public capital, which gives you leverage in deal making.” Johnson is founder and chairman of The RLJ Cos., a portfolio of companies with holdings in many industries.

Also a philanthropist, Lewis donated millions of dollars to empower and help others. The Reginald F. Lewis International Law Center was the first building at Harvard University named after an African American. The Reginald F. Lewis Foundation, whose chairman is Loida Lewis, Reginald’s wife, is among the largest African American private foundations in the world. As of December 2019, the foundation had given $30 million in grants since starting, according to its website.

Black Enterprise connected with Black entrepreneurs by email to reflect on this: How did Lewis inspire them in business and how can future generations build on his legacy?

Reginald F. Lewis As Role Model

IMB Partners CEO Tarrus Richardson recalls that in July 1987, there was an article on “Mr. Lewis buying McCall Patterns for $27 million and selling it for $90 million. He had invested only $1 million and made $63 million. I was 17 years old. After reading the article I looked at my mom and said, ‘now that looks like a good job’ and from that time on I committed to getting a job in the leveraged buyout business.”

Richardson added, “You can’t be what you can’t see. Once I had the visual of a Black man making that kind of money buying and selling companies, it made it easier for me to believe I too could do it.”

Today, Richardson is founder and CEO of IMB Partners. The Bethesda, Maryland-based firm is a 100% Black private equity holding company (similar to TLC Beatrice) that makes control acquisitions and partners with management teams to grow lower middle-market companies serving government agencies and electric and gas utilities. IMB Partners has revenue of over $500 million, five portfolio companies, and more than 300 employees. It ranked No. 42 on BLACK ENTERPRISE’S Top 100 list, an annual ranking of the nation’s top Black-owned businesses.

When he started imbpartners.com in 2010, Richardson says, Loida was one of his earliest investors and has invested in all of IMB’s deals. Richardson says while his company has not made a 90-to-1 return, the company is making 5-to-1 returns on its investments and its goal is to get to over $1 billion in revenue in the next five years.

Outside of business, Richardson says he helped Christina Lewis, Reginald’s daughter, found All Star Code as its founding board chair. He reports he was the lead funder for the 2018 PBS documentary on Reginald Lewis that was a dream of Loida and the family. “I am incredibly grateful for the inspiration and role modeling both in business and in life Mr. Lewis and his family have played in my life since I was a teenager and continues to play in so many others.”

Lewis Leaves Us A Blueprint

For serial entrepreneur Paul Brunson, Why Should White Guys Hall All the Fun? was the first book that he read cover to cover; he was 18 years old at the time.

“My life was completely heading in the wrong direction. It was prison, death, or out on the streets. The book really spoke to me because it was the first time that I felt someone was speaking to me. It gave me inspiration and instruction.”

More importantly, Brunson was inspired because someone who looked like him was winning and doing it not on a basketball court or a football field. He loved the step by-step instruction the book offered. For example, Brunson spoke of how Lewis had a specific schedule or gave himself mantras, including on such matters as to become a great lawyer you have to work hard. “That structure was very important because we can see that structure led to his success,” Brunson says.

Nowadays, Brunson hosts the Better With Paul podcast. He’s also a TV host and a business columnist at USA Today. The previous host of Black Enterprise‘s TV show, Our World, Brunson says the book is one of the first books that “moved a lot of us to the mindset we can actually do this, meaning that we can actually succeed as a professional in business.”

Brunson contends future generations can learn from the book threefold. He says in order for us to continue to succeed in business, rise the ranks of corporate America, or increase our social economic standing, all of that requires extraordinary discipline. He added that Lewis was able to win because his extraordinary discipline led to his extraordinary success. “That is a pillar that we have to hold onto.”

Brunson says another pillar is the fact that we have to constantly re-evaluate ourselves and ask ourselves what we can do better, even in the face of adversity like racism.

For example, Brunson says there was at least one acquisition, but probably more than one, that Lewis attempted to make in his early 40s where he was unsuccessful—namely because of racist tactics on the part of the seller. Still, he says, Lewis re-evaluated what he could do better in the situation though he obviously could not change the color of his skin. “That self-reflection and introspection is very important for us, particularly for Black professionals as we move forward.”

Further, Brunson says, one of the biggest things that has gotten lost in the Black community is that real wealth building comes as the result of acquiring businesses, not just starting businesses.

He says a philosophy for Lewis was: how to acquire a business, add more value to that business, and then extract value from that. Brunson says acquisitions are what Black entrepreneurs should be focusing on. “We would benefit to a much higher degree if we would acquire more businesses.”

“People didn’t just read the book. They turned its words into action, into money, and into companies,” says Christina Lewis, younger daughter of Reginald F. Lewis, who is an author, entrepreneur, and co-founder of GiveBlck.org, a comprehensive database of Black-founded nonprofits. (Image: Courtesy of Reginald Lewis Foundation)

Lewis’s Mark As A Father

Following in her father’s entrepreneurial footsteps, Christina Lewis started All Star Code. The nonprofit creates economic opportunity for young men of color by helping them develop tools needed to succeed in a technological world. But in developing a generation of young Black high school students and future tech entrepreneurs, Christina says what she is doing is helping develop Reginald Lewises in tech and trying to develop others to follow in her father’s footsteps.

Christina, who also is treasurer of the Reginald F. Lewis Foundation, says, “My Dad inspired me in life to be hard-working, to value strength of character, and to be generous. He and my mother taught me to be a caring parent. Future generations can build on his legacy by staying humble, achieving success, but also enjoying their lives. My father never had a chance to retire. I hope that those who follow in his footsteps of hard work know that Black joy is a precious thing.”

Using Lewis’s Words As A Guide

Another Black entrepreneur Lewis greatly influenced was Troy Carter. He’s the founder and CEO of Q&A, a music and technology firm. He was previously founder and CEO of Atom Factory and co-founder/managing partner of Cross Culture Ventures. He most recently was global head of Creator Services at Spotify.

Carter recalls coming across Lewis’s biography when he was 22-years-old. “I just became a father and was struggling with what to do with my life. Reginald’s life story gave me the inspiration I needed and gave me the confidence that a young Black kid had the ability to play in the big leagues.” Over the years, Carter says he has re-read the book dozens of times as he ran into roadblocks. “‘What would Reggie do?’ became my internal mantra when I needed a battery in my back.”

A couple of decades later, after building a successful career in music and technology, Carter says he was speaking at an MIT event. He says a woman walked over and told him her idea of building an organization to teach Black teenagers software programming. The woman was Christina Lewis. Carter says he became a founding member of her board and part of the Lewis family.

“More importantly, I became a true part of Reginald’s legacy,” Carter says. “If I can impact one kid the way Reginald’s life has impacted mine, it would serve as a small forwarding of the blessing.”

from Black Enterprise https://ift.tt/33tYGxp

How Legendary Businessman Reginald Lewis Continues to Influence Generations of Black Entrepreneurs

Why Should White Guys Have All the Fun? is celebrating its 25th anniversary. The book is about Reginald F. Lewis, the legendary entrepreneur who rocked Wall Street when his firm, TLC Group, acquired Beatrice International Foods for $985 million. The purchase in 1987 helped Lewis build the first Black-owned business to exceed the billion-dollar revenue mark. At the time it was the was the largest-ever offshore leveraged buyout. It was gigantic as TLC Beatrice International Holdings Inc. became the nation’s largest snack food, beverage, and grocery store conglomerate with a global presence.

And now, an audio version of the classic book was just released. Written by Lewis and co-author Blair S. Wall, the book was a New York Times best seller. The extraordinary exploits on the life and times of the astute, courageous, and bodacious Lewis still serve today as a source of inspiration to generations of Black entrepreneurs, including those in finance, technology, entertainment, and other fields.

Before his death in 1993, Lewis helped Black Americans gain access to financing for Blacks on Wall Street. His landmark endeavors encouraged Blacks to overcome barriers like race to become business owners, corporate executives, and major growth contributors to America’s economy. Lewis’ accomplishments remain momentous though they occurred over a quarter century ago. They shine like a beacon for African Americans to keep striving for, and potentially exceed, his success in their own business pursuits. The trailblazing work by Lewis is perhaps even more amazing in that it shows how a Black man pulled off acquiring a major international company with 64 companies in 31 countries. The name of Lewis became a sign of hope. That was especially true in the Black community as many African Americans were compelled to believe that if Lewis could score such a feat, then others could possibly play in the game as well.

Lewis left an enduring mark on business history. His actions permeated with many top Black business leaders, including the likes of real estate mogul Don Peebles and BET founder Bob Johnson.

“Reggie was not afraid of going beyond what Black business was, which was privately owned companies run by family members to be passed on to family members,” Johnson told Black Enterprise eight years ago. “He got access to public capital, which gives you leverage in deal making.” Johnson is founder and chairman of The RLJ Cos., a portfolio of companies with holdings in many industries.

Also a philanthropist, Lewis donated millions of dollars to empower and help others. The Reginald F. Lewis International Law Center was the first building at Harvard University named after an African American. The Reginald F. Lewis Foundation, whose chairman is Loida Lewis, Reginald’s wife, is among the largest African American private foundations in the world. As of December 2019, the foundation had given $30 million in grants since starting, according to its website.

Black Enterprise connected with Black entrepreneurs by email to reflect on this: How did Lewis inspire them in business and how can future generations build on his legacy?

Reginald F. Lewis As Role Model

IMB Partners CEO Tarrus Richardson recalls that in July 1987, there was an article on “Mr. Lewis buying McCall Patterns for $27 million and selling it for $90 million. He had invested only $1 million and made $63 million. I was 17 years old. After reading the article I looked at my mom and said, ‘now that looks like a good job’ and from that time on I committed to getting a job in the leveraged buyout business.”

Richardson added, “You can’t be what you can’t see. Once I had the visual of a Black man making that kind of money buying and selling companies, it made it easier for me to believe I too could do it.”

Today, Richardson is founder and CEO of IMB Partners. The Bethesda, Maryland-based firm is a 100% Black private equity holding company (similar to TLC Beatrice) that makes control acquisitions and partners with management teams to grow lower middle-market companies serving government agencies and electric and gas utilities. IMB Partners has revenue of over $500 million, five portfolio companies, and more than 300 employees. It ranked No. 42 on BLACK ENTERPRISE’S Top 100 list, an annual ranking of the nation’s top Black-owned businesses.

When he started imbpartners.com in 2010, Richardson says, Loida was one of his earliest investors and has invested in all of IMB’s deals. Richardson says while his company has not made a 90-to-1 return, the company is making 5-to-1 returns on its investments and its goal is to get to over $1 billion in revenue in the next five years.

Outside of business, Richardson says he helped Christina Lewis, Reginald’s daughter, found All Star Code as its founding board chair. He reports he was the lead funder for the 2018 PBS documentary on Reginald Lewis that was a dream of Loida and the family. “I am incredibly grateful for the inspiration and role modeling both in business and in life Mr. Lewis and his family have played in my life since I was a teenager and continues to play in so many others.”

Lewis Leaves Us A Blueprint

For serial entrepreneur Paul Brunson, Why Should White Guys Hall All the Fun? was the first book that he read cover to cover; he was 18 years old at the time.

“My life was completely heading in the wrong direction. It was prison, death, or out on the streets. The book really spoke to me because it was the first time that I felt someone was speaking to me. It gave me inspiration and instruction.”

More importantly, Brunson was inspired because someone who looked like him was winning and doing it not on a basketball court or a football field. He loved the step by-step instruction the book offered. For example, Brunson spoke of how Lewis had a specific schedule or gave himself mantras, including on such matters as to become a great lawyer you have to work hard. “That structure was very important because we can see that structure led to his success,” Brunson says.

Nowadays, Brunson hosts the Better With Paul podcast. He’s also a TV host and a business columnist at USA Today. The previous host of Black Enterprise‘s TV show, Our World, Brunson says the book is one of the first books that “moved a lot of us to the mindset we can actually do this, meaning that we can actually succeed as a professional in business.”

Brunson contends future generations can learn from the book threefold. He says in order for us to continue to succeed in business, rise the ranks of corporate America, or increase our social economic standing, all of that requires extraordinary discipline. He added that Lewis was able to win because his extraordinary discipline led to his extraordinary success. “That is a pillar that we have to hold onto.”

Brunson says another pillar is the fact that we have to constantly re-evaluate ourselves and ask ourselves what we can do better, even in the face of adversity like racism.

For example, Brunson says there was at least one acquisition, but probably more than one, that Lewis attempted to make in his early 40s where he was unsuccessful—namely because of racist tactics on the part of the seller. Still, he says, Lewis re-evaluated what he could do better in the situation though he obviously could not change the color of his skin. “That self-reflection and introspection is very important for us, particularly for Black professionals as we move forward.”

Further, Brunson says, one of the biggest things that has gotten lost in the Black community is that real wealth building comes as the result of acquiring businesses, not just starting businesses.

He says a philosophy for Lewis was: how to acquire a business, add more value to that business, and then extract value from that. Brunson says acquisitions are what Black entrepreneurs should be focusing on. “We would benefit to a much higher degree if we would acquire more businesses.”

“People didn’t just read the book. They turned its words into action, into money, and into companies,” says Christina Lewis, younger daughter of Reginald F. Lewis, who is an author, entrepreneur, and co-founder of GiveBlck.org, a comprehensive database of Black-founded nonprofits. (Image: Courtesy of Reginald Lewis Foundation)

Lewis’s Mark As A Father

Following in her father’s entrepreneurial footsteps, Christina Lewis started All Star Code. The nonprofit creates economic opportunity for young men of color by helping them develop tools needed to succeed in a technological world. But in developing a generation of young Black high school students and future tech entrepreneurs, Christina says what she is doing is helping develop Reginald Lewises in tech and trying to develop others to follow in her father’s footsteps.

Christina, who also is treasurer of the Reginald F. Lewis Foundation, says, “My Dad inspired me in life to be hard-working, to value strength of character, and to be generous. He and my mother taught me to be a caring parent. Future generations can build on his legacy by staying humble, achieving success, but also enjoying their lives. My father never had a chance to retire. I hope that those who follow in his footsteps of hard work know that Black joy is a precious thing.”

Using Lewis’s Words As A Guide

Another Black entrepreneur Lewis greatly influenced was Troy Carter. He’s the founder and CEO of Q&A, a music and technology firm. He was previously founder and CEO of Atom Factory and co-founder/managing partner of Cross Culture Ventures. He most recently was global head of Creator Services at Spotify.

Carter recalls coming across Lewis’s biography when he was 22-years-old. “I just became a father and was struggling with what to do with my life. Reginald’s life story gave me the inspiration I needed and gave me the confidence that a young Black kid had the ability to play in the big leagues.” Over the years, Carter says he has re-read the book dozens of times as he ran into roadblocks. “‘What would Reggie do?’ became my internal mantra when I needed a battery in my back.”

A couple of decades later, after building a successful career in music and technology, Carter says he was speaking at an MIT event. He says a woman walked over and told him her idea of building an organization to teach Black teenagers software programming. The woman was Christina Lewis. Carter says he became a founding member of her board and part of the Lewis family.

“More importantly, I became a true part of Reginald’s legacy,” Carter says. “If I can impact one kid the way Reginald’s life has impacted mine, it would serve as a small forwarding of the blessing.”

from Black Enterprise https://ift.tt/33tYGxp

How Celebrity Ghostwriter Pauleanna Reid Is Building Her Empire While Mentoring Other Women To Build Theirs

What does one who suffers from depression and has attempted suicide do for a career? If their name is Pauleanna Reid, they turn that pain into purpose. Reid is a successful journalist, celebrity ghostwriter, and millennial mentor, changing the game simply by having a giving heart and outworking everyone in her path. Her journey is one for the books. While Reid doesn’t have a college degree, she has been schooling women on the goal-getting game for years.

As the founder of New Girl on the Block (her mentorship program for millennial women dealing with major life and career transitions), a leading senior contributor for Forbes, and sought after keynote speaker, her rise to the top is on display for all to see. This amazing journey has not come without its sacrifices though, and Reid is a brilliant business woman who shares both the ups and the downs—a rarity in the filtered world of Instagram highlights.

Mentorship Built on a Solid Foundation

Growing up in a strict Caribbean-led household with a Trinidadian mother and Jamaican father, putting her best foot forward was the only option for Reid, whose giving spirit stems from childhood seeing family members active in her community.

“Mentorship is the greatest contribution that I can make with my life. I take that role very, very seriously.” To borrow the words of Queen Bey, Reid knew she was part of something way bigger. Having had mentors pour into her, she wanted to be able to pay it forward in a meaningful way.

In 2015 Reid founded her mentorship program New Girl on The Block, where she has helped more than 200 women, spanning 10 different countries “turn distant dreams into noteworthy achievements.” From sex workers to seven-figure earners, Reid’s mentee base is all-inclusive. Whether they’re going through a quarter life crisis, a corporate career transition, are a new graduate or an entrepreneur in need of guidance, Reid lends an ear, heart, and hand. She shares her experiences, teaches them about marketing and the art of pitching themselves, as well as helps her mentees to rework unsupportive narratives. Reid is on a mission to instill confidence while also providing those in her program with the tools that they need to achieve accelerated growth toward their goals.

Many though are confused about a mentor’s role. If you too have been unsure, Reid can clear it up for you. “Mentors are in your life to guide your steps. Mentors are in your life to edit your steps. Oftentimes people are scared and are stuck in analysis paralysis. They second guess themselves and do not know whether or not to put something into the world. So, mentors are really there to leverage their experiences, resources and networks.”

Your Story Needn’t Look Like Anyone Else’s

“Dropping out of school opened a lot of doors for me. I think many people lean heavily on traditional education and that’s totally fine, but for me, I made a decision to turn the world into my classroom.”

People have not always understood Reid’s decisions, which led to some tough sacrifices along her journey, losing the support of some friends and family members along the way. The millennial entrepreneur believes that we invest time in what’s most important to us. “As you add more to your plate, you have to subtract something else.”

Pre-COVID (remember those days?), the Toronto native was on a flight every other week. This resulted in her not being available to celebrate important events with loved ones. “That means I’m missing out on graduations and I’m missing out on birthday parties and weddings, because when you’re an entrepreneur, you only eat what you kill.”

At certain points even her parents weren’t on board with some decisions. She believes a lot of people are crippled by the idea of loved ones not supporting their dreams. “Your parents love you I’m sure, but I don’t believe they always know what’s best for you. Ask yourself that tough question, ‘Am I going to listen to my gut, or am I going to listen to someone else.?” The ability to reflect, understand her emotional triggers and hone in on what’s truly best for her is what has given Reid such an edge.

“A lot of times when people have criticism, it’s based off their own self-doubts, Their own fears, Their inability to take risks. And so, if that’s the case, you are not in a position to advise me of anything. If you have not been in the direction I’m heading, then you’re not qualified.”

Reid operates on very little sleep admitting that she has slept on couches and in airports to get it in where she can. While it is not a lifestyle she plans on maintaining long term, it’s short term sacrifices like this along with the many other unconventional decisions she often makes that are paying off (literally) for the 32-year-old. Reid is on the path to seven figures with her ghost writing agency, The WritersBlok. At The WritersBlok, she and her team help “the leaders and doers who are shaping the future turn their personal stories into brand assets.” Reid works with celebrities, professional athletes, CEOs, entrepreneurs, and busy executives on everything from penning book proposals, bios, and keynote speeches to helping pull together blog content.

This rise to the top didn’t happen by chance though. Reid made conscious, often uncomfortable and scary, decisions daily to get her to where she is today. She made consistent moves, even before the outside world thought she was ready. She showed up day in and day out. Before Reid had a website, she used an unpolished deck. And when her first website wasn’t up to par, she shared it anyway. Imperfect progress has been a big part of her journey.

Where You’ve Been Doesn’t Determine Where You Can Go

Reid went from struggling with reading and failing Grade 11 and 12 English to writing for Business Insider and becoming a Forbes senior contributor (an honor only about 50 of 2,000 writers received by the way). She went from two failed suicide attempts to living a full life of purpose. She went from being bullied to speaking on stages for thousands, from monster bosses to becoming a multiple six figure full-time entrepreneur. The lesson here? Where you’ve been does not determine where you can go.

“I wouldn’t change a damn thing. At the moment it seems like your life is over and you’re dying a slow death and everything is crumbling around you. But looking back, it’s made me who I am in the context of there’s a lot I’ve put myself through that I can bounce back from. I have an incredible amount of resilience.”

This is not the end for Reid. She plans on pulling back from being so hands-on with her ghostwriting agency through hiring a CEO in the future, which will allow her to spend even more time helping others build their lives up. She would ultimately love to do more work with the youth through schools and conduct even more guest lectures at colleges and universities.

“I love the idea of aiding people who are shaping the future and who are shifting culture … this is the gateway to my ultimate goal of living a simpler life. Heading into my late 30s, I would like to slow down. I’m very passionate about youth education, mental health advocacy, and anti-bullying so I want to do more work in schools. I do feel like a lot of the curriculums are outdated. I feel like we do our students and our next-gen leaders a disservice by not taking the time to give them the tools that they need in order to succeed in the next phase of their lives.”

With such a bright future ahead of her, and all the success and accolades, it’s easy to forget the abuse and trauma Reid has withstood. She believes that understanding her triggers along with speaking up and not living in crippling silence saved her.

“How I’ve climbed out of any hole I’ve been in is gradually. The recovery process for everybody looks different. For me the best thing I could’ve done for myself is raise my hand and talk to a medical professional. I actually did not take that step until I had my suicide attempt in 2008, Until I recovered from that—And that was way too late. I really want to encourage people to not wait that length of time, To not wait until you are faced with a life or death situation to talk to somebody about what you’re dealing with and what you’re going through.”

Working Through Fear Plays A Major Role

Reid is more than 10 years into her entrepreneurship journey having started her first company when she was just 21 years of age. “I’ve always played the long game. I’ve never wanted to rush the process. I don’t believe anything that comes easy is worth it anyway. I think that it’s really important to also understand that every artist, entertainer, business owner was once an amateur. I want people to focus less on scalability and focus more on perfecting their craft.”

Reid recommends studying the history of your industry and figuring out who are the best in the game, and learning from them. She also loves to encourage those sitting on the sidelines with a dream to start early, assuring that “you’ll never feel ready.” The New Girl On The Block founder finds that fear is a big stumbling block for many women she encounters.

“I do think successful people experience fear, but we don’t allow it to paralyze us. And how you can get over that is doing one thing a day that scares you. That has been my mantra for a very, very long time now. If you do one thing a day that scares you, you’ll then make discomfort feel normal. And so, when I have to stand in front of a stage in front of a thousand people, yes I’m afraid but because I’m so accustomed to doing things that scare me, by the time I have to climb that big hill, it’s a familiar feeling, and so I’m able to still do my job.”

Reid understands that the largest hurdle is a mental one. “It’s the conversations that we have with ourselves that determine if we win or lose and many are having losing conversations.”

Mentor Monday: Getting into Pauleanna’s Tribe

Outside of her mentorship program New Girl On The Block, Reid also has a Mentor Monday for those who follow her on Instagram @PauleannaReid, which consists of 15 minute consultation calls with women two Mondays out of the month. You can also follow her hashtag #ReidingList for the founder’s dope list of book recommendations.

 

from Black Enterprise https://ift.tt/36zYgrc

The Nobel in Medicine went to 3 scientists who co-discovered hepatitis C

Thomas Perlmann (R), the secretary of the Nobel Committee, announces the winners of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine during a press conference at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, on October 5. | Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP via Getty Images

Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton, and Charles M. Rice “made possible blood tests and new medicines that have saved millions of lives.”

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine went to three scientists on Monday for their discoveries that led to the identification of the hepatitis C virus, which affects more people than HIV worldwide.

Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton, and Charles M. Rice “made a decisive contribution to the fight against blood-borne hepatitis,” the Nobel Assembly said in a press release.

Alter is an emeritus researcher at the the National Institutes of Health and Rice is a virologist at Rockefeller University. Houghton is a British virologist at the University of Alberta in Canada. The 10 million Swedish kronor (or $1,118,000) prize was announced at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.

Hepatitis refers to inflammation of the liver. There are two main forms: acute and chronic. The acute form of the disease is caused by the hepatitis A virus, which is spread through contaminated water or food.

Hepatitis B and C can cause chronic liver disease, and together, “are the most common cause of liver cirrhosis and cancer,” according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Globally, some 71 million people have chronic hepatitis C virus infection, the WHO estimates, and the disease is linked to 400,000 deaths.

Hepatitis B can be spread through numerous bodily fluids, including semen and blood. The C virus is transmitted only through contact with the blood of an infected person — often via dirty needles, infected blood products, or sexual contact. Some people exposed to the virus spontaneously clear their infection without experiencing any disease. In others, the virus can lurk silently, with symptoms of chronic liver disease appearing years after exposure to the virus.

Before the Nobel winners’ discovery of the virus, no one knew why many people receiving blood transfusions appeared to develop chronic hepatitis. “After hepatitis A and B were discovered in the 1970s, it was clear there was still at least one other virus or more that were causing liver damage,” Will Irving, a virologist at the University of Nottingham, told the AP. “We knew there was a virus in the blood supply, because when people had blood transfusion they would get liver damage ... It was recognized as a risk but there was nothing we could do. We didn’t know what the virus was and we couldn’t test for it.”

The work of Alter, Houghton, and Rice — in the 1970s and ’80s — “revealed the cause of the remaining cases of chronic hepatitis and made possible blood tests and new medicines that have saved millions of lives,” the Assembly said.

As for their individual contributions, Alter hypothesized that a then-unknown virus was an important contributor to chronic hepatitis, while Houghton isolated the genome of the new virus. Rice “provided the final evidence showing that hepatitis C virus alone could cause hepatitis,” the Assembly said.

There’s currently no vaccine for hepatitis C, but medications — known as “direct-acting antivirals” — can now cure the disease. One such cure, branded as Sovaldi in the US by the drugmaker Gilead, ignited a controversy over pharmaceutical price gouging when it debuted in 2013 with an $84,000 price tag for a 12-week course of treatment.

Since then, additional hepatitis C drugs, including lower price generics, have entered the market. The competition “has been very effective putting the price down close to $20,000,” said Craig Garthwaite, director of the program on health care at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. “That is still high, but well within cost effective price range.” Indeed, a 2020 study on hepatitis C drug pricing said “cost remains a key barrier to access for many patients and for scale-up in many national health programs.”

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If Trump has learned anything from getting Covid-19, he’s not showing it

President Donald Trump waving to supporters from the back of a motorcade outside of Walter Reed Medical Center, where he is receiving treatment for Covid-19. | Alex Edelman/AFP via Getty Images

Trump’s drive-by motorcade photo-op is out of the same coronavirus playbook that got America into this mess.

If President Donald Trump has learned anything from getting sick with Covid-19, he’s not showing it.

Since Trump’s diagnosis last Thursday, he and his administration have worked diligently to cover up the president’s disease. They’ve downplayed his symptoms. They’ve suggested he needed to be hospitalized not because of his apparently high fever and low oxygen levels but “out of an abundance of caution.” They’ve posted videos and photos of the president doing normal things. Even the president’s own doctors have taken to politicized spin, arguing that they were trying to be “upbeat” as they refused to fully and truthfully answer questions about Trump’s health.

On Sunday, it culminated in a photo-op in which Trump was driven outside Walter Reed hospital as he waved at supporters — exposing at least the driver and passenger in the car to infection. As James Phillips, attending physician at Walter Reed, tweeted, “That Presidential SUV is not only bulletproof, but hermetically sealed against chemical attack. The risk of COVID19 transmission inside is as high as it gets outside of medical procedures. The irresponsibility is astounding. My thoughts are with the Secret Service forced to play.”

This is all out of the same playbook Trump has used for Covid-19 from day one. It’s an attempt to make everything seem normal, as if the coronavirus isn’t wrecking lives, in a desperate attempt to go back to a better world that could help ensure Trump’s reelection. As Trump told journalist Bob Woodward, “I wanted to always play [the coronavirus] down.”

Trump has stuck to this even as it’s put people in danger again and again — and now even after he’s gotten sick himself. He’s called for states to reopen — to “LIBERATE” them — even as experts warned that opening too soon would lead to new cases (and, sure enough, cases spiked over the summer as states opened prematurely). He’s pushed for less testing, arguing more tests pick up more cases and therefore make the US look bad, even as experts said more testing, along with contact tracing, is still needed to slow the outbreak. He’s mocked masks and frequently refused to wear one himself, even as experts and a growing body of research show masks are key to stopping Covid-19.

This obsession with creating a false sense of normalcy seemingly extended to the moment that Trump received a positive coronavirus test. As the Washington Post initially reported, and White House staff confirmed, Trump attended campaign events on Thursday even after he and his staff learned that one of Trump’s closest aides, Hope Hicks, was showing symptoms. That continued, based on recent reports, as some staff noticed Trump seemed fatigued. In doing this, Trump likely exposed his own staff and supporters to Covid-19.

A potential silver lining to Trump getting sick was that maybe this would show him how serious this virus is — that it’s real, that it can make people very ill and kill them. Trump alluded to that in a video on Sunday, claiming, “I learned a lot about Covid. I learned it by really going to school. This is the real school.” Despite that, Trump was back out Sunday for the drive-by photo-op that potentially exposed his staff, at least, to the coronavirus.

This is all ridiculous, because we already know Trump is sick and hospitalized. This is obviously not normal.

And we know the consequences of this action. It’s how the US ended with nearly 210,000 Covid-19 deaths so far — more than any other country in the world. It’s how the US ended up, after accounting for population, at the top 20 percent among developed countries for Covid-19 deaths. (If the US had the same Covid-19 death rate as Canada, more than 125,000 more Americans would likely be alive today.) It’s why America can’t go back to normal, even as countries like Germany, New Zealand, and South Korea open up more, as it faces far too many coronavirus cases — almost 100,000 new cases alone since Trump tested positive.

As he lived his denial, going to ill-advised campaign rallies and events, frequently refusing to wear a mask, Trump exposed himself to the coronavirus again and again.

And it’s all set to continue — as Trump and his staff’s barrage of mistruths and political spin over the weekend proved.

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