Stacey Bledsoe joined Gilead Sciences in 2022 to serve as the biopharmaceutical company’s first Head of Global Clinical Trial Diversity and Inclusion. As a registered nurse with more than two decades of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, she saw a unique opportunity to fulfill a personal and professional obligation to improve representation in clinical studies that evaluate the safety and efficacy of new medications and protocols.

“My father was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2016,” Bledsoe explains.

“I asked his caregivers whether any trials were open to him and was told there were none. That didn’t sit well with me. I started thinking about Black people’s experiences and what we in the healthcare industry were doing in this space. Didn’t we have a responsibility to ensure everyone has access to innovative drugs and treatments that can save lives?”

Black people have been largely left out of clinical research due to centuries of past and present systemic medical mistreatment, directly leading to community distrust of the healthcare system. Another fundamental barrier has been the industry itself.

“Historically, clinical trials in the United States have almost exclusively focused on middle-aged white males,” Bledsoe told BLACK ENTERPRISE.

“The industry didn’t start focusing on women at all until 1993 – Black women and minorities followed that.” The result is that decades of established treatment protocols—many of which are currently standard use—are based on data culled from a single, narrow patient demographic.

Bledsoe points to FDA data finding 20% of drugs approved for use in the U.S. produce different reactions in patients based on the individual’s race or ethnicity.

“If we aren’t part of clinical trials, then we don’t have this information until after these drugs go on the market,” she says, noting that differences in gender, age, family history, as well as socio-economic determinants, all factor into the risk/benefit equation when evaluating a course of treatment.

Bledsoe believes the critical lack of data is at least partially responsible for shocking health disparities and poor disease outcomes among African Americans.

“Black women are 41% more likely to die of breast cancer than our white counterparts, yet we account for only 10-15% percent of participants in clinical trials for cancer treatments. Diversifying clinical trials will help us better understand how different treatments affect the populations that can benefit most,” Bledsoe shared.  

“Representation in clinical trials not only matters, it saves lives,” 

Amid National Minority Health Month, Bledsoe took the opportunity to discuss the necessity of Black participation in clinical trials and Gilead’s efforts to eliminate the barriers that have manifested both in the community and the healthcare industry.

She explains: “We are focused on a strategy with three main components: patients, providers, and partners.” Specifically, the company is conducting community outreach to educate patients about the importance of clinical trials and empower them to advocate for participation with their doctors. On the provider front, Gilead challenges the misconception that communities of color are “hard to reach.”

The goal is to locate clinical trial sites accessible to people of color and where trial investigators are racially diverse. The final piece of the puzzle is partnerships.

“We know we can’t do this work alone. Gilead enters partnerships and collaborations with trusted intermediaries in the community that address diversity in clinical trials and help equity as a whole.”

For example, Bledsoe cited Gilead’s recent Black History Month collaboration with Black Health Matters, a nonprofit which kicked off an educational campaign raising awareness of Gilead’s clinical trials for triple-negative breast cancer. The company also partnered with Highland Hospital in Oakland, California, to support a new cancer clinical trial center to make cancer care accessible to the area’s predominantly Black community.

On the policy front, Gilead is working toward implementing new guidance from the FDA that will require biopharmaceutical companies to enroll more participants from underrepresented populations into clinical trials.

While Gilead, energized by Bledsoe’s drive and leadership, is making strides in diversifying clinical research, change is also coming across the industry. Pharmaceutical companies were spurred to act on this front by the healthcare inequities exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the federal government’s subsequent demand for increased accountability from the industry.

“These events started the fire,” Bledsoe told BE.

“New FDA guidelines require companies to have a diversity plan for every Phase 3 clinical study, and in that plan, you must have enrollment goals for recruiting diverse patients.”

Bledsoe feels her efforts at Gilead have the advantage of the company’s supportive leadership and a larger culture that values diversity. As part of growing that culture and creating a healthier world for all people, the company is also actively involved at the community level. Gilead is on–the–ground investing in education, partnerships, and innovative sciences so that historically marginalized and disinvested communities have fair and just opportunities to achieve their best health.

Bledsoe explained, “I came to Gilead because of its history of putting the patient first. The company has achieved this with HIV, with hepatitis, and that level of support continues with oncology. At Gilead, we are committed to increasing diversity in clinical trials and advancing global health and Black equity overall.”

The bottom line is that science is better when everyone has a seat at the table, and improving the diversity of clinical trials requires enabling communities to contribute to the research and development process.

For assistance in finding a clinical trial, Gilead has created an easy-to-use search tool, which can be found here.

RELATED CONTENT: 5 For The Fight Pairs Howard University Students with Leading Cancer Research Institutions

• Diversity, Equality, Inclusion

by chrisatwell

August 3, 2022

Hasbro’s Baby Alive Turns 50, Representation Defines and Drives Iconic Toy Brand

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A child forms a unique bond with their doll. Dolls offer youngsters a source of comfort and inspiration for imaginative play, but most toys function this way. It’s their job. But dolls, especially “realistic” ones, are more than that — they reflect identity. The connection is personal.

“The first doll is that first hug; it’s where empathy begins. Children need to look at that doll and see a face that looks like them.”

The words belong to Dori Santos, senior director of IP Development and Toy Integration for Hasbro. The creative executive’s passion for representation is one of the primary reasons why the company’s iconic Baby Alive brand will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year with its most expansive and culturally diverse product line to date.

Santos joined Hasbro in 2009 and almost immediately zeroed in on one of the company’s most popular and influential brands. Introduced in 1973, the first Baby Alive was a game changer on multiple levels — a lifelike doll that could eat, drink and go potty, allowing users to simulate infant care with unprecedented specificity and realism. Many will remember those early TV commercials showcasing the moving mouth you could feed and soiled diapers you could change.

Baby Alive was the era’s must-have toy for millions of girls, including millions of girls of color. The inaugural product line included an African American Baby Alive — a timely acknowledgment of the importance of Black consumers and the heightened racial pride and awareness that marked the post-Civil Rights era. Other race-specific Baby Alive models followed, but when Santos joined Hasbro 13 years ago, she felt the brand had not kept pace with a rapidly evolving, increasingly diverse marketplace.

“We are a multi-cultured, multi-faceted population representing many skin tones, eye colors, hairstyles and cultures,” she says. Like other African Americans of her generation, Santos grew up during a time when commercially produced Black dolls were still the exception, and those that were available lacked authenticity or were physiologically inaccurate.

“I knew we could do more.”

Santos’ passion and ideas for greater ethnic and racial variation in the Baby Alive brand moved the brand forward towards greater inclusivity. So did the vivid picture she painted of the scale and diversity of its target audience, Generation ALPHA — ages three to five — and the most culturally diverse population ever, not to mention their parents. The latest research confirms that parents are making identity-based buying decisions. A 2019 Adobe survey found that 63 percent of millennials feel their racial/ethnic identities are more important than ever. According to a 2021 Deloitte report on marketing trends, 62 percent of U.S adults say diversity in brand advertising impacts their perception of the brand’s products and services.

Keeley Tobin, Hasbro’s senior global brand and marketing manager, puts it succinctly.

“In today’s business environment, if you’re not doing inclusive marketing, you’re not doing marketing.”

Hasbro committed to a broader, more inclusive vision for Baby Alive, assembling a culturally diverse team of internal creatives and external partners to deliver that vision, including Fredericka McQueen, Hasbro’s vice president of Inclusive Product Design. Fifty years after one Black doll stood in for every non-white consumer, there are 70 distinct and active Baby Alive dolls on the market. Beyond various skin tones and hair types, the brand’s inclusivity extends to different abilities and life circumstances. There’s a Baby Alive that wears glasses, another without hair that a child undergoing cancer therapy might identify and bond with.

“A doll like me” means something specific to every child.

McQueen said the detailed creation of each iteration of Baby Alive represents an engaged collaboration of professionals striving for lifelike authenticity. This process extends from the initial spark of inspiration to the retail shelf.

“There’s more to representation than choosing the color of the materials,” McQueen says.

“Is the skin tone warm and vibrant? How will the product look on the shelf under store lighting? From the facial expression to hair texture, we’re hoping to connect to the child looking at ‘the doll that looks like me.'”

Today, Baby Alive is more than a doll; it’s a global franchise and the number one-selling nurturing doll in the world supported by innovative marketing, including YouTube-streamed animated storytelling content that features baby characters sharing lessons about different cultures and draws 100 million views each month. Phil Johnston, senior copywriter for Left Foot Blue, Hasbro’s internal creative agency, helps craft Baby Alive’s brand and product marketing content.

“Hasbro works like no company I’ve ever worked with,” says Johnston, who is largely responsible for syncing content with the company’s representation goals through storytelling and world building.

“I have the opportunity to be on-set and involved with casting child and adult models of different races, body types and skin tones. I have input on how the campaigns look and other production choices. It’s exciting and rewarding.”

The company’s drive to represent modern, diverse families in its packaging and marketing content extends to the model casting process for Baby Alive. The brand team partners with HumanKind Casting, a woman-owned talent agency that uses social and digital avenues to find authentic faces, abilities and body types that break the traditional mold.

Not lost on Johnston, Santos and Hasbro’s entire development team from design and packaging to branding and marketing and everything in between, is how their work to fill consumer demand for authenticity and representation impacts more than the company’s bottom line. It is opening opportunities for diverse creatives across the industry.

The team is happy with the progress to date, but they’re not done. New doll development continues, as does collaborative brainstorming of ways to better engage consumers.

“The culture is evolving, and our audience will continue to grow more diverse,” Tobin says.

“We want Baby Alive to reflect and represent everyone.”

by chrisatwell

June 20, 2022

Inaugural UPS Small Biz Grants ‘Ignite’ Next-Level Success for Growing Ventures

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Chef and chocolatier extraordinaire Phillip Ashley Rix founded his Memphis, Tennessee-based company, Phillip Ashley Chocolates, in 2012.

It didn’t take long for his award-winning confections to attract an impressive client base. Hollywood’s elite came calling with orders for high-profile events and TV guest spots. But sometimes success is its own kind of problem. The company needed to grow if Phillip Ashley were to make the most of what he’d achieved.  

Enter UPS Ignite, a newly launched executive education program for diverse small business owners.

The 12-week course, administered by #3 US ranked Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management, arrived as a timely opportunity for the entrepreneur. In May, Phillip Ashley Rix was among the inaugural class of 36 to complete the course. Better still, UPS, in collaboration with the Accion Opportunity Fund, recently announced the first 10 winners of the UPS Ignite Grant Program —awarded $10,000 each. Phillip Ashley Rix rose to the top.   

“The UPS Ignite Kellogg program is a game changer for entrepreneurs like me who are on the path of scaling up our businesses,” Phillip Ashley Rix said. “The curriculum gave me a deeper insight into principles and methods that I can implement throughout my overall growth strategy.”  

Since UPS launched Ignite in 2021, the program has welcomed 140 exceptional business owners, providing business coaching and mentorship, executive training, and on-demand learning resources, as well as essential access to responsible small business capital.  

Participants who applied for grants were asked to describe their expansion plans and how they would apply the funds to scale their ventures, from adding staff to production upgrades to marketing outreach and investment. Phillip Ashley Rix’s thoughtful and innovative proposal clearly impressed. Already dubbed by the press as “the real-life Willy Wonka,” the chocolate master is well on his way to living up to the title. 

“Receiving the $10K grant, especially during this phase of my business, is truly transformative,” he said. “The funds will allow me to invest in my infrastructure; adding essential equipment that will triple my production. Many thanks’ UPS Ignite!” 

– Phillip Ashley Rix – graduate UPS Ignite with Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management  

Grant winner photograph – Phillip Ashley Rix 

Congratulations to Phillip Ashley Rix and the rest of the grant winners! 

Ten Grant winner profiles 

Adrian Coulter_XL Feet w shoe

Adrian Coulter – Founder and CEO XL Feet Incorporated

www.xlfeet.com

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Lisa Marsh – Owner and Creator of MsPos GFree Inc

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MsPsGFree produces delicious, nutritious and healthy gluten-free snack foods that are sold in Whole Foods Market locations, on Amazon and on our ecommerce website.  MsPsGFree focuses on females who are between the ages of 35-70, who are mostly women of color and those looking to snack healthier, live longer, move more and eat cleaner.  These ladies are usually married or not, may or may not have children but have a desire to take care of themselves to be around to see future generations thrive and grow.  These wonderful women have a median income over 50,000, and usually take Yoga, Pilates, and or other courses to improve and maintain their health.

Jen Lyles, Lead Ignitor and Dr. Kathy Spears, Managing Partner of Firesign Inc. Promotional Products & Print

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A full-service product and print firm that designs beautifully inspired branded merchandise and promotional materials.

UPS and the nonprofit Accion Opportunity Fund are committed to supporting small businesses across the country. We invite you to explore these additional resources:  

Explore small business financing options [aofund.org] through the UPS and Accion Opportunity Fund. 

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“We need corporate America to lean into this issue, making [America] a just place where all folks can thrive.”

So says Maurice Jones, CEO of OneTen, an ambitious and unprecedented initiative that has brought together more than 50 major corporations – “and counting” – to collectively create 1 million new jobs for Black Americans over the next decade. Jones discusses OneTen and other corporate efforts to drive change at the BLACK ENTERPRISE Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Virtual Summit, going online Wednesday, June 23.

Participating in the Summit panel discussion “Using DEI to Drive Social Change,” Jones details the specifics of the OneTen effort and its targeted criteria. “The jobs that count for this journey,” he says, “must pay a living wage, do not require a four-year degree for (candidates) to be competitive, are at low risk of automation so they’re going to be around for a while, and require less than five-years’ experience  Any job of any occupation, any industry, located in any part of the country that meet these criteria are jobs we want employers to put into this game.”

Derek T. Dingle, BE Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer, moderates the session, which focuses on business leaders who are walking the walk, striving to move the needle on Black employment and entrepreneurship at the corporate level. Dingle challenges Jones and co-panelist Sean Suggs, Group Vice President & Chief Social Innovation Officer at Toyota, on the substance corporate America’s commitment to combat systemic racism within organizations and beyond them.

Speaking to Toyota’s initiatives, Suggs shared examples of the company attacking racial disparities at the community level, from closing the Wi-Fi gap in underserved communities to supporting local education: “We’re launching our 360 School program in West Dallas that will provide services not just for kids that come to school but also the wraparound services needed for that student – health care, child care for the parent, food if needed.” Suggs continues that Toyota will launch 14 360 Schools across North America. “This is a five-year plan, not a one-month plan.”

Suggs highlights education as the core of Toyota’s long-term commitment Black talent development. Jones talks of OneTen’s success in aggregating corporate partners behind talent development, as well as engagement outside partners – “HBCUs, non-profits, community colleges … We are endorsing organizations whose track records show us they can produce the talent at the quality level that companies are looking for to fill these jobs.”

For more, join BE’s DEI Virtual Summit on Wednesday, June 23. The “Using DEI to Drive Social Change” panel discussion will be held from 2:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

To successfully elevate and retain Black talent in its organizations, corporate America must adopt an “equity mindset” that goes beyond the “false narrative” of the pipeline problem – one of many provocative concepts to emerge from BE’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Virtual Summit, which goes online Wednesday, June 23.

Presented in partnership with Toyota, American Express, Boeing, Merck and Wells Fargo, the Summit is the second in BE’s DEI-themed virtual event series, bringing together leading executives and thought-leaders to discuss strategies for driving change and expanding opportunities for African Americans in the corporate space.

John Rice, the founder and CEO of the DEI consultant firm Management Leadership for Tomorrow is a featured panelists in one of the day’s sessions, “What Corporate America Must Do to Elevate Black Talent.” Rice says companies miss one of the root causes behind why professionals of color lag behind white counterparts in upward advancement despite equal qualifications – the pressures of being the only one who looks like you.

“When you’re of one or one of a few, you will have deficits in confidence and it will affect how you navigate the organization,” Rice says. “We spend literally 30% of our brain energy every day asking ourselves] ‘How are people perceiving me?’ ‘If I make a mistake does that reflect on all African Americans?’ Our white colleagues are spending 0% of their brain bandwidth on these questions. We’re competing at a deficit.”

Also joining the panel is William Ampofo II, Supply Chain Vice President at Boeing Global Services, who also spoke to “the challenges of being one or sometimes the only African American in the room.” Ampofo talks about the responsibility of organizations to provide formal mentorship and sponsorship initiatives to foster a culture of support and belonging for African Americans at all levels. “It’s critical as we go forward and look at this next generation of talent. As we know, most organizations have their own cultures and sub-cultures and it’s good to have that support to help navigate the written and more importantly the unwritten rules that govern a particular organization.”

BLACK ENTERPRISE Executive Managing Editor Alisa Gumbs moderates the panel, which goes deep on the evolving challenges of Black executives seeking a sense of belonging within corporations while meeting the pressure to maximize performance.

Tune in to “What Corporate America Must Do to Elevate Black Talent” Wednesday, June 23, from 1:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.

The events of 2020 – in particularly the murder of George Floyd – prompted an essential refocusing and expansion of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies, according to the top-tier corporate diversity professionals featured in BLACK ENTERPRISE’s DEI Virtual Summit on June 23.

The Summit’s Chief Diversity Officers Roundtable – entitled “Developing High-Impact DEI Agendas” – features leading CDOs speaking candidly and in detail about the impact of 2020 on their respective companies and how new awareness is driving change.

“[George Floyd] mobilized the hearts and minds of employees of all backgrounds,” says Wells Fargo Executive Vice President Jimmie Walton Paschall, who leads Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Diverse Segments at the company. “The power of this issue and the opportunities for us was that African American leaders across the company were willing to tell our own story. Eyes were opened in ways they had not been before. People realized they need to get more proximate to different.”

BLACK ENTERPRISE Senior Vice President and Editor-At-Large Alfred E. Edmond, Jr. moderates the roundtable, which delves into the changing expectations and increased influence of the chief diversity officer role in the wake of external events. While the events of 2020 have been instrumental in reigniting companywide DEI agendas, CDOs have been laying the groundwork for change for decades.

Sonia Cargan, Senior Vice President and Chief Colleague Inclusion & Diversity Officer at American Express, shares the company’s diversity success using quantitative data, including its 60% board diversity and 48% workforce diversity within the US. Such performance, she says, has been driven by Amex’s corporate culture. “You can have as much diversity as you want in your organization but if you don’t have an inclusive culture, where people know they belong and can be their very best selves, then you’re not optimizing the innovation and creative we know diversity brings to our businesses.”

Celeste Warren, Vice President, Global Diversity and Inclusion Center of Excellence at Merck, connects internal culture to the importance of a larger social agenda. “It’s not enough that we’re doing things inside our four walls, we have a responsibility to look outside to the community,” she says, citing the company’s work on health inequity and workforce development, starting with young people. “[We need to help] high school, middle school and college students understand STEM-related fields, especially Black and Brown students who may not see that opportunity. We need a pipeline to the future, and that has to be comprised of a diverse workforce.”

The BE DEI Summit goes live Wednesday, June 23, 2021. Join the Chief Diversity Officer Roundtable from 12:30 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

BLACK ENTERPRISE returns with the second edition of its groundbreaking Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Virtual Summit on Wednesday, June 23. The event is presented in partnership with Toyota, American Express, Boeing, Merck and Wells Fargo.

With a strong lineup of top-rank executives and thought leaders on board as panelists and guest speakers, BE’s DEI Summit promises to reset the agenda for Black representation, participation, and advancement in the corporate arena at a critical moment of renewal and reckoning.

“Over the past 18 months we’ve watched Corporate America respond to the emergence of COVID-19, ultra-partisan political division, and the aftermath of the George Floyd tragedy,” says BE President and CEO Earl “Butch” Graves, Jr. “There’s been an unprecedent focus on diversity, equity and inclusion as corporate values and targeted goals. This Summit is about taking those items on mission statements and putting them into practice.”

The first BE DEI event in February 2021 examined corporate commitment to real change and presented actionable steps to resolve systemic inequities in corporate America. Part 2 continues and deepens the conversation across a packed one-day agenda. Scheduled sessions are dedicated to critical questions: How can CEOs create true inclusive and fair corporate cultures? What’s the best approach to retaining Black talent and keeping it on the management track? What is the real impact of the chief diversity officer on company recruitment and greasing the ladder to c-suite? Have past pledges to diversify teams, boards, and workforces begun to bear fruit, and are Black entrepreneurs are gaining a larger slice of the corporate procurement pie?

“The day’s program kicks off with perhaps the most critical question of all,” says Graves. “Will we have the required courageous conversations in corporate America to drive much-needed change. I believe the caliber of talent participating in our Summit will help answer that question.”

Scheduled speakers and panelists include William A. Ampofo II, Supply Chain Vice President for Boeing Global Services; Sonia Cargan, Senior Vice President and Chief Colleague Inclusion & Diversity Officer at American Express;  Carla Harris, Vice Chairman, Managing Director and Senior Client Advisor at Morgan Stanley; Michael Hyter. President & CEO of The Executive Leadership Council; Maurice Jones, CEO of OneTen; John Rice, founder & CEO of Management Leadership for Tomorrow; and Sean Suggs. Group Vice President of Social Innovation at Toyota Motor North America.

Designed for maximum engagement, the one-day event will provide opportunities for virtual attendees to network with peers and pose questions of speakers via live text. One part progress report, one-part strategic plan, one part call to action, BE’s DEI Summit meets the urgency of our times, offering instruction on how Black professionals can navigate structural racism and corporate politics, build beneficial business networks, and gain recognition that advances careers.

Check out this link for more information on the Summit agenda and speakers.

Register TODAY.

• BE 50th Anniversary

by chrisatwell

October 11, 2020

Morehouse College Students Gain Top Prize, Career Exposure At Black Enterprise’s HBCU Hackathon

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The results are in!

The 6^th annual BE Smart Hackathon, hosted by Black Enterprise and American Airlines, has concluded, revealing an array of prize-winning teams that represent the best tech talent from the nation’s HBCUs.

Team Morehouse, composed of five students from Atlanta-based Morehouse College, scored first prize in the tightly-contested final showdown. Its Free-Fly travel app greatly impressed the BE Smart judging panel consisting of Earl “Butch” Graves, Jr.,  president and CEO of BLACK ENTERPRISE; Earl Barnes, managing director of Enterprise Infrastructure Services at American; Dr. Jerry Higgs, senior software and systems engineer at e-commerce marketplace Etsy; and Cornelius Boone, American’s vice president of Human Resources and Team Member Services.

Each member of Team Morehouse walks away with 100,000 AA Advantage Miles for their first-place showing. They also won one of the event’s coveted partner prizes, awarded by software intelligence firm Dynatrace.

Also making a strong showing at the event — produced under the theme “Tech Superheroes Unite!” in honor of Chadwick Boseman, the late actor and HBCU alum who played the title role in the blockbuster Black Panther — was the second-place winner Kilmonger Avengers – an HBCU collaboration between Hampton University and Florida A&M. Their Quick Way project gained each team member 75,000 AA Advantage Miles. The Kilmonger Avengers also received a special prize from event partner Harman International, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samsung.

Third place went to the Bowie State Cyber Panthers for their impressive AA Baggage Protection 2.0 app. They were followed by two Morgan State teams that took the fourth and fifth spots, respectively: Vibranium and the Jabari Bears. Due to their prowess in developing innovative tech solutions, American decided to award each member of the three remaining finalist teams with 50,000 AA Advantage Miles.

The 2020 BE Smart Hackathon was noteworthy in many respects. For one, it was conducted as a virtual competition for the first time — a choice necessitated by the worldwide pandemic. “But despite COVID-19 and other challenges, BE Smart hosted 25 HBCUs with the participation of more than 40 teams and over 200 HBCU students,” says Graves.

Phillip Easter, American’s head of emerging technology who led the airline’s collaboration with BE, cites another development he believes will impact the tech space: Roughly 40% percent of the student competitors were women.

The BE Smart hack provides a valued platform for HBCU students to gain internship and job opportunities. In fact, Graves applauded the title sponsor for its track record in expanding diversity hiring and kickstarting careers for HBCU talent. “Last year, American hired 10 HBCU graduates who participated in the 2019 hackathon. Despite the pandemic, they made good on their commitment.”  The air carrier also recruited four additional HBCU graduates from other events it attended last year and has engaged in such hiring activity prior to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Graves also credited the event’s corporate partners for going “above and beyond” to make the event a success. In addition to Dynatrace and Harman, corporate partner companies, including IBM, Microsoft, Mastercard, Slack, and Hewlett Packard, awarded a range of special prizes to teams with students from Fisk University, Florida Memorial, Tuskegee University, and Howard University, among others.

During the event, Easter encouraged corporate partners to hire hack participants. One such affiliate Nvidia, the multinational firm that designs graphics processing units for the gaming and professional markets, awarded Storm AI, a team composed of students from Fisk and Florida Memorial, an all-expenses paid trip to its Silicon Valley headquarters to meet top executives. Yunior Garcia of Storm AI,  won two partner prizes, gave his enthusiastic review of the event shared by scores of other attendees:  “It’s been beyond anything I could have imagined. My teammates and I are just thrilled about the prizes but mostly about the experiences we have gained from a collaboration that began only last Friday at Noon.”

Graves presented the last honor of the hack – the Black Enterprise Design and Collaboration Award – to an all-women team from Prairie View A&M University that competed during their midterms and participated in all of the event workshops. The prize was a collector’s item — a framed poster of the themed event artwork signed by acclaimed comic book illustrator Denys Cowan. That team was aptly named Dora Milaje, the elite female special forces of Wakanda featured in the Black Panther movie.

After saluting “all of the tech superheroes who participated in our hackathon,” Graves promised that “we’ll be back next year…bigger and better.”

• Education

by chrisatwell

October 10, 2020

A Tech Mind With A Creative Spirit Competes For Top Prize At BE Smart Hackathon

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Jayla Williams’ passion is problem-solving, which is fortunate as the year 2020 delivered a surplus of practical problems that need solutions. The Fisk University sophomore is competing for the first time in Black Enterprise’s annual BE Smart Hackathon, hosted by American Airlines.

As part of a five-member team of Fisk tech wizards, Williams is contributing to a data-crunching project that will help airlines accommodate travelers with respiratory issues. As she explains it: “We can provide safe departure times and make sure passengers with health issues aren’t surrounded by people when they arrive at the airport.”

The effort is a creative technical adaptation to life under a pandemic designed to protect both lives and jobs – a perfect distillation of the BE Smart ethos, and a telling example of Williams’ creative spirit.

Speaking from her home in Hillsboro, Oregon, near Portland., where she distance learning her way to a degree in computer science, Jayla talked about her journey and where it might take her.

“I was born in Los Angeles, but we moved to Oregon when I was one. I have always been creative. I enjoyed art, painting, singing, playing instruments. I studied flute for seven years. I especially enjoyed writing songs. I guess I’ve always been attracted to the idea of creating something from nothing – making something just from the tools I have around me.”

At first glance, one might not see how a love for the creative arts connects a budding career in technology, but for Williams, it was a natural transition. She excelled at math and science, earning a 4.0 average in high school. College was a given, but where?

“I applied to 31 colleges and most accepted me, including Fisk. To be honest, I really wasn’t looking hard at Fisk; it was not my number one choice. Really, they chose me, offering me a full-ride scholarship.” There was another important deciding factor, aside from the financial. Williams’ older brother attended Dillard University in New Orleans and sold her on the prospect of attending an HBCU.

“I attended mostly white public schools. I never saw that as a particular problem; it was just the norm. But I became intrigued by Fisk and its history. And my brother was telling me, ‘You don’t know what you’re missing out on – learning black history outside of black history month, not feeling like the minority all the time.’ So I took a leap of faith, and I’m happy I did. I’ve made great friends at Fisk. And I’ve developed a lot. And being around, so many smart and ambitious black people has motivated me to succeed.”

Williams entered Fisk as a physics major, but a single computer course convinced her that she had found her calling. Computer science speaks to her creative spirit and analytical skills. And she knows that she’s landed on a path that leads to opportunities “to innovate and provide useful solutions.”

In the meantime, Williams has enjoyed the BE smart hack (“I’ve learned a lot, especially in the workshops”). And she’s fully engaged at Fisk, even if only remotely at the moment. “It’s challenging. I miss my friends and walking around campus.”

Living virtual has not dimmed her enthusiasm, and there is no shortage of role models. The hackathon theme of Tech Superheroes United takes its inspiration from Hollywood and comic book heroes, but Jayla gets more direct inspiration from her peers – social media influencers and YouTubers who build huge followings from small platforms. “Creative people show the way,” she said.

As she aptly put it earlier: “Making something from nothing.”

• Education

by chrisatwell

October 2, 2020

BE SMART Hackathon Showcases HBCU Talent With ‘Tech Superheroes’ Theme Inspired by Chadwick Boseman

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“(Howard University’s) legacy is not wrapped up in the money that you will make but the challenges that you choose to confront. As you commence to your paths, press on with pride and press on with purpose.” — Chadwick Boseman

When Chadwick Boseman, cinema’s Black Panther, delivered these words at his alma mater’s 150^th commencement in 2018, the public was unaware of the actor’s cancer battle, which claimed his life just weeks ago. The HBCU alumnus may have inspired millions with his historic portrayal of a Black superhero, yet it was the heroism he displayed off-screen that will prove to be his ultimate legacy.

“Chadwick Boseman encouraged young people to proceed with pride and purpose, as he did in life, despite his personal struggles,” says Earl Barnes, a senior executive at American Airlines, which is partnering with BLACK ENTERPRISE for its 6^th annual BE SMART Hackathon, a tech-based competition and mentor opportunity for HBCU students nationwide.

“It was Boseman’s life and movie image,” Barnes continues, “that gave us the inspiration for the theme of this year’s Hackathon: Tech Superheroes UNITE!”

Hosted by American Airlines, the 2020 BE SMART Hackathon will livestream from the airline’s headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas, October 9-10. It will be the first BE SMART Hackathon to go entirely virtual, a move necessitated by the COVID pandemic, but very much in keeping with the event’s focus on technical prowess and innovation, according to BLACK ENTERPRISE President and CEO, Earl “Butch” Graves Jr.

“The Hackathon was conceived to both showcase and uplift the best and brightest tech talent that our African American institutes of learning have to offer,” Graves says. “The past six years of competition have demonstrated the capacity of these young people to adapt, to problem solve, to meet adversity with visionary ideas. We’re confident that this virtual Hackathon will be the most exciting to date.”

The Hackathon is open to all students currently enrolled at an accredited HBCU who will form teams and prepare to compete for prizes provided by American Airlines and BE’s tech industry partners. Prep work for competing hackers has already begun, with participation in a series of virtual workshops conducted by Microsoft, IBM, HP, and others to bring them up to speed on the latest technologies, including A.I., data analytics, and image recognition.

“American Airlines’ technical staff will be mentoring each team throughout the 24-hour competition,” says Barnes. “We aim to offer advice, nothing more. The caliber of the competition rests entirely on these young people, their ideas, and their skill-sets. We expect to be impressed and, like all good mentors, stay out of the way!”

For Graves, both the BE SMART Hackathon and its Tech Superheroes UNITE! theme speak to a unique moment in the culture, the future of HBCUs, and the history of the country.

“African Americans have never faced more formidable challenges, from COVID to systemic racism in our courts to economic inequality,” he says. “Tomorrow’s tech superheroes have a critical role to play in addressing these issues and moving the nation forward. Chadwick Boseman fought cancer and lived a life of impact that changed the world. The BE SMART Hackathon celebrates the potential of our tech-talented HBCU students to move mountains in their respective fields. As Boseman said, ‘It’s about ‘pride and purpose.’”