What’s Wrong With Shaq? Photo Surfaces of NBA Hall of Famer in a Hospital Bed
When people say check on your strong friends, there’s a reason for that especially after a concerning photo of the big, lovable and playfulShaquille O’Neal surfaced on social media with Shaq in a hospital bed.
The TNT sports commenter was spread eagle in a hospital bed, according to a Twitter photo and his fans sent out well wishes to the big guy Sunday night without so much of an explanation to what he was suffering from.
Shaq posted the social media message to Ernie Johnson and Candace Parker saying: “i’m always watching @TurnerSportsEJ and @Candace_Parker miss y’all.”
That hiding comment comes on the heels of a lawsuit after FTX, the second-largest player in the crypto space behind Binance, filed for bankruptcy, crippling the cryptocurrency landscape.
As BLACK ENTERPRISE previously reported, The NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal was among those named in a lawsuit in December pertaining to his involvement with FTX. Now, he is reportedly trying to avoid being served.
According to the New York Post, the Papa John pitchman is evading being served the legal papers for a class-action lawsuit filed against him and other celebrities like basketball star Stephen Curry and football legend Tom Brady who endorsed the failed cryptocurrency company.
But Shaq has denied the hiding claims.
“I have nothing to hide. If I was heavily involved, I would be at the forefront saying, ‘Hey.’ But I was just a paid spokesperson, O’Neal said in December 2022.
You’re Not Ready! Disney’s Newest, Fastest Attraction Tron Is an Exhilarating Roller Coaster Joyride #AllTheDisneyThrills
Walt Disney World has a new attraction that will have you catching your breath, clutching your pearls and running to the back of the line for another chance to soar on the motorcycle seat of the TRON Lightcycle/Run.
TRON Lightcycle / Run presented by Enterprise, opening April 4, 2023. (DISNEY)
Next month, visitors to Walt Disney World will finally get the chance to mount TRON Lightcycle / Run Presented by Enterprise at Tomorrowland on April 4, which brings the 40-plus-year-old fan favorite, classic movie back to life.
This week, BLACK ENTERPRISE was invited to do a ride-along and try out TRON and the experience was like no other and gave me an adrenaline rush and had my heart pumping with pleasure. The ride burst me into another realm with the electrifying lights leading the way. I don’t think I even remember the ride because I was too busy screaming at the top of my lungs and afraid that I would lose my glasses to gravity. But I didn’t.
Tron is TRULY a ride for the thrill seeker because it delivers the kind of heart palpitating fun that feeds the soul of any motorcycle road rebel or wanna-be biker like me. I hopped off the ride completely in awe because Tron was a whirlwind. It’s fast, furious and fun all rolled up into one!
Kia Morgan Smith, riding Tron – Courtesy of Disney
Located in Magic Kingdom Park, it is the fastest coaster attraction in a Disney theme park, alongside its sister coaster at Shanghai Disneyland. The attraction masterfully blends coaster thrills with speed, visual effects, music and a one-of-a-kind ride system to create an experience like no other.
“As you’re walking through the attraction you’ll see different nods to the Iron legacy film and some other things from the original Tron film and so we’re carrying that story forward and bringing it here to Tommorrowland,” Missy Renard, Creative Director, Walt Disney Imagineering Research and Development told BLACK ENTERPRISE during an onsite interview Tuesday, March 14.
“I think what I’m most excited about is for guests to just experience this. There are just so many wonderful things from this beautiful canopy which if you get to see it in the evening it is absolutely gorgeous with the lighting and how it syncs to music and just being on the thrill ride itself. It’s just exhilarating experience…. And the screams, when you hear those go off and just the joy people are getting from it, that’s my favorite part,” Renard explained.
There are so many ways to experience the feeling of a Disney Thrill across the Walt Disney World Resort. Whether it’s trying a new attraction, meeting a favorite Disney Character face to face, eating a classic Disney snack or ending the night with a nighttime spectacular, there is something to thrill the whole family. In Magic Kingdom Park, guests can experience the thrill of TRON Lightcycle / Run presented by Enterprise, opening April 4, 2023. (DISNEY)
A virtual queue will be in place when TRON Lightcycle / Run opens and guests will also have the option to purchase individual Lightning Lane entry for the attraction via the My Disney Experience app on the day of their visit.
Tron (Black Enterprise)Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and Walt Disney World president Jeff Vahle welcome Tron movie stars Bruce Boxleitner and Cindy Morgan, along with other guests during a special celebration of TRON Lightcycle / Run presented by Enterprise. The new attraction opens April 4, 2023, at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.. (Paul Morse, Photographer)
“It’s one of our most thrilling attractions and the fastest ride here at Magic Kingdom,” Alex Gonzalez, an associate with the Disney PR team said. “Who hasn’t dreamed of being inside the internet. We have all been online, but this ride takes inside the grid.”
Disney topped off our day riding TRON with a magical celebration in Tomorrowland with food and fireworks galore.
After Silicon Valley Bank Failure, US Acts to Shore Up Banking System Confidence
U.S. authorities launched emergency measures on Sunday to shore up confidence in the banking system after the failure of Silicon Valley Bank threatened to trigger a broader financial crisis.
After a dramatic weekend, regulators said the failed bank’s customers will have access to all their deposits starting Monday and set up a new facility to give banks access to emergency funds. The Federal Reserve also made it easier for banks to borrow from it in emergencies.
While the measures provided some relief for Silicon Valley firms and global markets on Monday, worries about broader banking risks remain and have cast doubts over whether the Fed will stick with its plan for aggressive interest rate hikes.
The main entrance of Silicon Valley Bank is pictured in Menlo Park, California, U.S. March 10, 2023. REUTERS/Michaela Vatcheva
“We think the steps taken by the Fed, Treasury and (the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp) will decisively break the psychological ‘doom loop’ across the regional banking sector,” said Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at Corpay in Toronto.
“But, fairly or not, the episode will contribute to higher levels of background volatility, with investors watching warily for other cracks to emerge as the Fed’s policy tightening continues.”
Regulators also moved swiftly to close New York’s Signature Bank, which had come under pressure in recent days.
The wider efforts to avert a crisis lifted Wall Street stock futures in Asian trade on Monday, helping broader markets.
Lingering concerns about the financial sector weighed on bank shares in Asia, with Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ hitting a two-month low and Singapore’s DBS a four-month low. Hong Kong shares of HSBC and Standard Chartered pared early losses to trade near-flat.
European stock markets fell 0.6% in early trade, while banking stocks fell just over 1%. U.S. stock futures were higher. Asian shares outside Japan climbed over 1% while the blue-chip Nikkei tumbled 1%.
The Biden administration’s intervention underscores how a relentless campaign by the Fed and other major central banks to beat back inflation is putting stress in the financial system and global markets.
Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), a mainstay for the startup economy, was a product of the decades-long era of cheap money, with unique risks that made it especially vulnerable. But as a run on the bank ensued last week, worries that other regional banks shared similarities spread quickly.
With the Fed poised to continue raising rates, investors said the financial system may not be fully out of the woods yet.
Goldman Sachs analysts said they no longer expect the Fed to raise rates by 25 basis points at its next policy meeting on March 21-22, amid the stress in the banking sector.
“What investors have to expect coming into tomorrow and beyond is that we are going to be dealing with a lot of event risk,” said Michael Purves, chief executive of Tallbacken Capital Advisors. “There are still going to be lingering questions with other regional banks.”
DEPOSITORS PROTECTED
The collapse of SVB – the largest bank failure since 2008 – sparked concerns over whether small-business clients would be able to pay their staff, with the FDIC only protecting deposits of up to $250,000.
Some 89% of SVB’s $175 billion in deposits were uninsured as of the end of 2022, according to the FDIC.
All depositors, including those whose funds exceed the maximum government-insured level, will be made whole, according to a joint statement by U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Fed Chair Jerome Powell and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp Chair Martin Gruenberg on Sunday evening.
A senior U.S. Treasury official said the actions taken would protect depositors, while providing additional support to the broader banking system, but officials and regulators were continuing to monitor financial system stability.
“The firms are not being bailed out. The depositors are being protected,” the official said.
The risk would be borne by the Deposit Insurance Fund, which has sufficient funds to do so.
Providing the systemic risk exceptions was deemed quicker than waiting for a possible buyer, the official said.
‘WIPED OUT’
Treasury officials said depositors of New York’s Signature Bank, which was closed Sunday by the New York state financial regulator, would also be made whole at no loss to the taxpayer.
Signature, like SVB, had a clientele concentrated in the tech sector, and the securities on its balance sheet had eroded as interest rates rose. As of September, almost a quarter of Signature’s deposits came from the cryptocurrency sector, but the bank announced in December that it would shrink its crypto-related deposits by $8 billion.
While all customer deposits will be protected, new policies adopted Sunday will “wipe out” equity and bondholders in SVB and Signature Bank, a senior U.S. Treasury official said.
Together with the Fed’s decision to ensure financial institutions can meet the needs of all their depositors, the steps would “restore market confidence,” the official said.
Fed fund futures surged on Monday to imply only a 17% chance of a half-point rate hike by the Federal Reserve when it meets next week, well off the 70% before the SVB news broke last week.
The Fed said it would make additional funding available through a new Bank Term Funding Program, which would offer loans of up to one year to depository institutions, backed by Treasuries and other assets these institutions hold.
When the coronavirus pandemic triggered financial panic in March 2020, the Fed announced a series of measures to keep credit flowing by lowering borrowing costs and lengthening the terms of direct loans. By the end of that month, use of the Fed’s discount window facility shot up to more than $50 billion.
Through the middle of last week, before SVB’s collapse, there had been no indications of usage picking up, with Fed data showing weekly outstanding balances of $4 billion to $5 billion since the start of the year.
UK FALLOUT
In Britain, where SVB has a subsidiary, the government and Bank of England held talks over weekend to find a solution that would avert the local lender from failing.
In a move reminiscent of the financial crisis era, early on Monday in London HSBC announced it was buying Silicon Valley Bank UK for 1 pound ($1.21). It said the subsidiary had loans of around 5.5 billion pounds and deposits of around 6.7 billion pounds as of March 10.
While SVB UK is small – HSBC’s balance sheet exceeds $2.9 trillion – concerns that SVB’s failure would cause Britain’s start-up industry to seize up had prompted calls from the sector for government to intervene.
British start-ups backed by venture capital have around 2.5 billion pounds, largely in deposits, “locked” in SVB UK, according to a weekend survey by an industry body, seen by Reuters.
(Reporting by Lananh Nguyen, Paritosh Bansal, Tatiana Bautzer, Nupur Anand, Ira Iosebashvili and Dan Burns in New York, and Pete Schroeder, Jason Lange, Sarah N. Lynch, Rami Ayyub, David Morgan and Andrea Shalal in Washington, Kanjyik Ghosh and Akanksha Khushi in Bengaluru, and Andrew MacAskill, William Schomberg, Amy-Jo Crowley and Pablo Mayo in London; Writing by Megan Davies, Alexander Smith, Leslie Adler, Simon Lewis and Vidya Ranganathan; Editing by Deepa Babington, Heather Timmons, Diane Craft, Leslie; Adler, Sam Holmes, Elisa Martinuzzi and Catherine Evans)
Analysis-With Record Diversity on their Boards, Fed Bank Chiefs See Lower Chances of Policy Error
By Ann Saphir
(Reuters) – A record number of women and minorities hold seats this year on the boards of the Federal Reserve’s 12 regional banks, providing perhaps the most diverse range of input ever as those banks’ presidents – alongside Fed governors in Washington – wrestle with how to slow inflation without tanking the economy.
Fed bank directors generally stay out of the limelight, but many U.S. central bankers view them as a critical resource. Indeed, some argue prospects for a best-case outcome to their policy-tightening campaign are heightened by the advice from such a wide spectrum of voices.
“I think the probabilities are far higher of achieving that gentle transition, that smoother transition,” San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly told Reuters in an interview.
Daly, her 11 bank president peers and the six current members of the Fed Board face some of the toughest decisions in their central banking careers in the months ahead.
After jacking up interest rates by the most since the 1980s last year to combat too-high inflation, they now want to find the right stopping point – a level of borrowing costs that can slow a surprisingly resilient economy still being reshaped by the COVID-19 pandemic without causing extensive harm in the form of large-scale job losses.
To find it, they’ll be advised by a small army of PhD economists across the Fed system.
They will also draw on what Fed Chair Jerome Powell called earlier this month a “haul” of anecdotal information on the real economy from the regional Fed banks that dot the country.
Central to getting that information, Fed bank presidents say, are their regular huddles with their boards, panels that until as recently as 2018 had largely been cut from the same cloth: bankers and business leaders, most of them white men.
Years of efforts by Fed leadership, as well as pressure from lawmakers and community groups, have changed the picture.
This year, of the 108 spots on the 12 Fed bank boards, 44% are filled by women, and 41% by people of color, a review of the data shows.
By comparison, despite a sharp increase in the appointment of minority directors since the upheavals over racial justice in 2020, the average board at publicly traded U.S. companies is still just 26% women, and 19% minority, according to an analysis by Cornell University professor Scott Yonker.
UNSOLICITED INSIGHT
Nine directors oversee each Fed bank’s operations, three of whom are bankers. The six that are not bankers choose a new president when the job opens up.
In addition to picking the regional bank leaders, directors “always provide important insight into how monetary policy impacts the economy,” Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic told Reuters. “As we quickly tighten policy to address high inflation, their diverse perspectives help us understand how our actions affect Americans living in a very broad range of circumstances and inform how we can best calibrate policy to avoid unnecessary dislocation.”
Bostic’s own board, in fact, this year marked a milestone for the Fed system. In a first, the Atlanta Fed board now has a Black woman among the ranks of its commercial banker directors, long the least diverse of the three director classes comprising the boards.
The directors are constantly offering up recommendations of people and businesses to talk to about policy impacts and the economic outlook, according to Daly and others.
“We use that network to really learn,” said Daly, whose district stretches from Alaska and Hawaii to Idaho and Arizona. “And I think it absolutely increases our chances of doing this well.”
After what Daly and her colleagues now acknowledge was a late start to battling high inflation, the Fed began raising rates last March and ramped up quickly. She and her colleagues worried about the impact of higher borrowing costs on minority communities, which tend to lose jobs faster in economic slowdowns than richer or white Americans.
But her directors and their contacts told her a different story, she said.
“Again and again, without solicitation, they just tell me inflation is really hurting the people we serve, especially low- and moderate-income people, and it’s informed how I think about policy, and how I think about what is optimal for the country,” Daly said.
Other colleagues feel similarly.
“They give us context to talk to other people that open up our thinking about what these communities are facing,” Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker said of his board. “And I find that incredibly valuable as a policymaker.”
‘HIT THAT SWEET SPOT’
Fed policymakers have undergone their own transformation in recent years, with five people of color now among the Fed’s 18 current policymakers.
Still, a majority of the Fed’s economists are white men, as are its top two monetary policymakers: Powell and New York Fed President John Williams.
And despite progress on diversifying bank boards by gender and ethnicity, critics say directors are still drawn too heavily from big business and finance and do not adequately represent nonprofit organizations and labor, among others.
Senator Bob Menendez voted against Powell’s 2022 confirmation to a second term to register his disappointment in the Fed’s diversity. He is urging President Joe Biden to pick a Latino to succeed Lael Brainard, who last week vacated the Fed’s vice chair role for a job at the White House.
“We have repeatedly seen through economic crises and recessions that the brunt of the impact falls on communities that were already struggling – those are minority communities,” Menendez told Reuters, a point that Fed policymakers themselves frequently make as well.
Hispanics and Latinos, Menendez notes, are a fast-growing segment of the population but are underrepresented at the Fed at all levels, including on Fed bank boards. “Decision makers need that first-hand perspective of the disproportionate impact their decisions may very well have,” Menendez said.
Fed policymakers say they value diversity on their boards for many reasons, including research showing that more diverse groups make better decisions, and the need for accountability to and credibility with the American public.
This year, those directors may play a more important role than ever in shaping policy, says Kaleb Nygaard, research fellow at the University of Pennsylvania.
A diverse slate of directors “increases the odds that the Fed will be more in touch with what’s happening on the ground” he said, so that it can “hit that sweet spot – what’s the soonest that we can stop being overly tight and yet still keep inflation under control?”
(Reporting by Ann Saphir; Additional reporting by Michael S. Derby; Editing by Dan Burns and Andrea Ricci)
This Black Founder Stayed True to His Triple ‘Win’ Strategy to Build a $1 Billion Business
Wemimo Abbey’s journey to co-founding billion-dollar fintech company Esusu, the leading platform for renter financial health that supports low-to-moderate-income households in the U.S., began in Lagos, Nigeria.
Abbey was raised by his mother and two sisters after his father passed away when he was just two years old. Then, in 2009, his mother’s staunch belief in the value of education brought him to the “magical place called America” for college, from his 80-degree hometown to 22-degree Minnesota.
But it was far from an easy transition.
In need of a loan to fund her son’s schooling, Abbey’s mother walked into one of the largest financial institutions in the U.S. — and was turned away because she didn’t have a credit score. Not only was she forced to borrow money from a predatory lender at a 400% interest rate, but she also had to borrow from church members and pawn her husband’s wedding ring.
“No matter where you come from, the color of your skin and your financial identity shouldn’t determine where you end up in the wealthiest nation in the world — and dare I say anywhere in the world,” Abbey told Entrepreneur.
That conviction led Abbey and his co-founder Samir Goel to launch Esusu in 2018. The goal was to offer a path to building credit for those who might not have the option otherwise — and that’s exactly what Abbey and Goel have done with their company, which reports rent payments to major credit bureaus to help renters raise their scores, and owners and property managers maximize returns.
“We really believe in this idea of justice capitalism: We can do good and do well.”
Homeownership is the largest driver of wealth in the U.S., Abbey said, and the legacy of Jim Crow and redlining have left people of color at a distinct disadvantage.
Today, that history contributes to a significant racial wealth gap in the U.S. The divide between the wealthiest and lowest-income families in the U.S. more than doubled from 1989 to 2016, by which point the median wealth of white households was $171,000 — 10 times that of Black households ($17,100) and eight times that of Hispanic households ($20,600), according to Pew Research Center analysis of data from the Federal Reserve Board’s Survey of Consumer Finances.
With Esusu, Abbey strives to dismantle a system that has failed millions of Americans.
“We need to find ways where we can create a win-win-win construct across the board,” Abbey says. “We really believe in this idea of justice capitalism: We can do good and do well — and it’s by no means mutually exclusive.”
Esusu adheres to a “do no harm approach.” The platform captures on-time rental data and reports it to consumer revenue agencies, but it only reports positive rental data. Renters enrolled with Esusu can also opt-out at any time.
But Esusu’s desire to bridge the racial wealth gap goes even a step further: renters can tap into a zero-interest rent-relief fund.
“It’s this win-win-win construct,” Abbey explains. “It’s a win for the renter because they can establish their credit score or build their credit score and not go through what my mother and I went through when we came to this country, and during a tough time, [renters also] get access to zero-interest rent relief. The landlord can also get paid instead of evicting the renter. And the last win is for society — to prevent eviction and homelessness.”
Esusu is valued at $1 billion. Abbey acknowledged that the premise of the company’s existence is “very in your face” and that its investor demographics reflect that: Roughly 75% of Esusu’s investors are women or people of color, he said.
“Because we’re talking about addressing the [racial wealth] gap, those are the kind of investors we attract,” Abbey says. “My co-founder and I spoke with 326 investors and received multiple ‘nos’ across the board because some of the traditional folk just didn’t want to get behind an idea that’s going to bridge the gap — it sort of sounds [like a] nonprofit to some people. But we fundamentally believe that the rising tide lifts all boats.”
“We need to give credit where credit is due so everyone’s on the same page.”
“Representation is not liberation,” Abbey says. “Representation is currency. You, as a founder, have the currency to fundamentally impact the world in a positive way.”
Esusu’s positive impact has already been significant. The company works with more than 50% of the largest property owners and operators in the U.S., which translates to more than four million rental units. Esusu is “immensely grateful” for its current partnerships, but it’s “still early days,” and Abbey has his sights set on the nearly 50 million rental units across the U.S.
As the fintech company grows, it must continue to meet U.S. compliance and regulatory standards. “There are a lot of compliance and regulatory challenges,” Abbey admitted, but Esusu has managed to navigate the “constellation” of thousands of rules and regulations to ensure rent reporting happens.
It’s a stringent process, but Abbey “applauds regulators across the country” for their due diligence. What’s more, Esusu has gained powerful traction with government-sponsored entities including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
“We collaborate with them,” Abbey explained, “and they’ve essentially created incentives to make sure sponsors and lenders within their network are pushing this agenda of rental reports to reflect on the consumer credit score.”
Additionally, Abbey noted that support for rent payments counting towards credit scores has crossed party lines: the bipartisan Credit and Inclusion Act of 2021 allows for the reporting of information related to a consumer’s performance in making payments either under a lease agreement for a residence or pursuant to a contract for a utility or telecommunications service.
“This policy is probably one of the only bipartisan issues we have in Washington, D.C. today, and it’s simple,” Abbey said. “When you pay your mortgage, you get credit for it, and when you pay your rent, you should also get credit for it. We need to give credit where credit is due so everyone’s on the same page.”
This article was republished with permission from Entrepreneur.com.
Five Former Memphis Officers Plead Not Guilty in Beating Death of Tyre Nichols
By Maria Alejandra Cardona
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (Reuters) – Five former Memphis police officers on Friday pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and other charges stemming from last month’s beating of Tyre Nichols, a Black man whose death three days later stirred outrage and fresh calls for reform.
Police video captured images of the officers beating and kicking Nichols, hitting him with a baton, spraying him with pepper spray and firing a stun gun at him on Jan. 7 following a traffic stop. The case has renewed a national discussion of race relations and police brutality.
The five officers, all of them out on bail, entered their pleas during an arraignment in Shelby County Criminal Court in Memphis, where they are formally charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression.
“I feel very numb. I am waiting for this nightmare – waiting for someone to wake me up,” RowVaughn Wells, the victim’s mother, dressed in black, said outside the courthouse after the hearing.
“I want each and every one of those officers to look me in the face,” she said. “They didn’t even have the courage to look at me.”
The five officers – Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmit Martin, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith – are Black. They have been fired from the police force, and the special unit to which they belonged has been disbanded.
Shelby County Judge James Jones set a May 1 date for the next hearing in the case against the officers, who face a maximum penalty of 60 years in prison if convicted of the murder charge.
“We understand that there may be some high emotions in this case, but we ask that you continue to be patient with us,” Jones said during the hearing. “Everyone involved wants this case to be concluded as quickly as possible.”
A sixth officer, who is white, was also fired, as have three Memphis Fire Department emergency medical technicians who arrived afterNichols was beaten. Two Shelby County sheriff’s deputies who responded to the scene were suspended five days without pay.
Nichols – a 29-year-old father, avid skateboarder and student of photography – attempted to converse with police as they shouted orders and threatened him with violence during last month’s ordeal.
“You guys are really doing a lot right now. I’m just trying to go home,” Nichols said at one point, sitting on the street as police tried to subdue him.
“Stop. I’m not doing anything,” Nichols said, just before breaking free and running.
When police caught up to him, he was beaten while being restrained, clubbed with a baton and kicked while on the ground.
Less than 100 yards (meters) from home, he called out for his mother several times.
Officers on the video said Nichols had swerved through traffic dangerously, and one said Nichols attempted to grab his gun during the scrum.
(Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Stephen Coates and Jonathan Oatis)
Black Legend Awards Silicon Valley Will Hold the 8th Annual Induction Ceremony Honoring History-Making Black Pioneers in Silicon Valley
This Saturday, February 18, 2023, the Black Legend Awards Silicon Valley will hold the 8thAnnual Induction Ceremony honoring Black pioneers who have made history in Silicon Valley through their achievements.
The evening promises to be an inspirational and engaging international event, critically needed at a time when accurate reporting of Black History is essential education for all communities to promote understanding and celebration.
This virtual event begins with a warm receptionwith people from all over the globe and Legends from Classes 2015 through 2023 at 3:30 p.m. PST/6:30 p.m. EST. Award-winning television and radio hosts Afrikahn Jahmal Dayvs (Legend Class of 2023) and Janice Edwards (Legend Class of 2019) co-host the ceremony; acclaimed artist Stacy Carter performs.
The Black Legend Awards Silicon Valley is a fundraiser for the continued development of the San Jose Black History Museum Silicon Valley (SJBHMSV).Tickets can be purchased here, at blacklegendsawards.orgor by calling 408.320.2111 for special group, family and couples ticket rates.
This year, Black Legend Awards Silicon Valley also celebrates the publication of Legacy: The History and Stories of African Ancestry & African Americans in Silicon Valley. More than a history book, it is the must-have missing piece of the puzzle that firmly reinserts African Ancestry and African Americans back into the halls of history. Legacy is available in Hardcover and Paperback and can be purchased online at Barnes & Noble, Amazon and various bookstores. For bulk purchase for schools and other organizations, please contact Black Legend Awards Silicon Valley at408.320.2111 or info@blacklegendawards.org. The books are available forindividual purchase online or at bookstores.
Five prominent organizations in San Jose formed a Consortium to advance the development of a Black History museum in San Jose, The San Jose Black History Museum Silicon Valley (SJBHMSV):
Joyner Payne Youth Services Agency, Inc.
Silicon Valley Black Chamber of Commerce
African America Community Service Agency
The National Association of Juneteenth Lineage California, Inc. (NAJLCA)
Our Common Denominator.
The purpose of this groundbreaking collaborative is to create an educational institution that will celebrate the genius and contributions of Black People throughout time, starting with Mother Africa, American History and ending with the Silicon Valley.
THE INDUCTEES FOR THE CLASS OF 2023 are:
The Banks-Gage Education Award recipient is John Payne. This honor is awarded to individuals who had outstanding careers as teachers, administrators, and policymakers, who had a significant impact on the quality of educational services for the community, and who enhanced the lives of people in the Black community.
The Brown-Gross Public Service Award recipient is Dudley C. Bynoe.*
This honor is awarded to those public service employees who provided for the health and safety of the broader community and enhanced the quality of life of people in the Black community.
The Community Sports & Leadership Award recipient is Percy Carr. This honor is awarded to the individual who has nurtured, mentored, and developed young boys and girls through various sports and athletically oriented activities. This honoree helped youth excel in athletics, become leaders in the community, and enhance the quality of life of people in the Black community.
The Clay-Williams Business & Entrepreneur Award recipient is Joseph Johnson.*
This honor is awarded to those business owners and entrepreneurs who created successful businesses or services in the community and used their success to enhance people’s lives in the Black community.
The Dean-Greene S.T.E.M Award recipient is Vernol Battiste.
This honor is awarded to individuals who helped produce, enhance, and improve today’s social network and were instrumental in landmark changes in S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) to enhance and improve the general public’s lives and those in the Black community.
The English-Higgins Health & Medicine Award recipient is Marjorie Craig.
This honor is awarded to those doctors, nurses, and health practitioners who provided healthcare to people in the broader community and enhanced the lives of people in the Black community.
The Harris-Washington Spiritual Award recipient is Rev. Dr. Moses S. Pinkston.*
This honor is awarded to those members of the faith-based communities who have led congregations of churches or mosques in prayer for peace and salvation in the broader community and have enhanced people’s lives in the Black community.
The Joyner-Stroughter Community Service Award recipients are Clarissa Abram-Moore and Ellen Rollins.
This honor is awarded to businesspeople and volunteers who created and/or volunteered for non-profit agencies that provide essential services to enhance the quality of life for people in the Black community.
The Piper-Whye Art/Theater/Music Award recipient is Afrikahn Jahmal Dayvs.
This honor is awarded to individuals who have distinguished themselves and have had outstanding careers in art, theater, television, or movies in the broader community and have used their influence to enhance people’s lives in the Black community.
Community Organization Award recipient is Eta Rho Omega Chapter, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. This honor is awarded to Black organizations that have served and enhanced the lives of people in the Black community and Silicon Valley.
*These awards are being bestowed posthumously.
Contact for more information: Black Legend Awards Silicon Valley 408.320.2111 or
Who Pissed Off Denzel Washington So Much That Jay-Z Couldn’t Even Calm Him Down?
Never mess with an accomplished actor from “money-earning Mount Vernon” because no matter how much money he’s earning as an A-list celebrity, the N-Y-C will show up when need be.
Case in point, superstar Training Day actor Denzel Washingtonseemed to get a little heated in a video that went viral last week, seemingly showing the seasoned thespian yelling and ready to throw hands at a b-ball game before billionaire music mogul Jay-Zstepped in.
Last Tuesday, Washington and Jay-Z attended Los Angeles Lakers for LeBron James’ historic-making night when he broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record and secured the ranking as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer with his 38,388th point.
It was a night to remember as James, his family and the whole arena celebrated the moment and stopped the game for 10 minutes to mark the ceremonial occasion.
While there was a lot going on on the court, one unique moment caught on video was of Washington dead-set in a dust-up with someone and it looked like things were getting heated with the actor mouthing off so much that Jay-Z attempted to grab him unsuccessfully a few times as Washington snatched his arm away.
We’re not sure who Washington was squaring up with but we’re glad that things cooled down with Jay’s help.
This was surely out-of-character for Washington who normally keeps it classy.
For instance, last year President Biden named his 17 picks for the highest civilian honor, among those being Oscar-winner Washington, Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles, civil rights attorney Fred Gray, Sandra Lindsay, the NYC nurse who was the first American to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, and civil rights activist Diane Nash.
The awardees are highlighted for their “exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavors,” reads the statement from the White House.
Family of Amir Locke Files Wrongful-Death Lawsuit in Minneapolis
The family of Amir Locke, a Black man who was killed by Minneapolis police during a no-knock raid on an apartment last year, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city and the officer who fired the fatal gunshots.
FILE PHOTO: The casket of Amir Locke, a Black man who was shot and killed by Minneapolis police, is brought to the hearse at the Shiloh Temple International Ministries in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S., February 17, 2022. REUTERS/Ben Brewer
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for Minnesota on behalf of the parents of the 22-year-old Locke, was announced on Friday by civil rights attorney Ben Crump and other lawyers representing the family.
It accuses the officer, Mark Hanneman, of violating Locke’s rights under the Fourth and Fourteenth amendments of the U.S. Constitution, among other claims. The family is seeking compensatory, special and punitive damages in an amount to be determined by a jury, according to the complaint.
“Our hearts are broken, and there is nothing in the world that will make that better,” his parents, Karen Wells and Andre Locke, said in a statement. “We now fight for justice in his name and hope meaningful change will be his legacy.”
The city of Minneapolis said it would review the complaint once it has received the document. The city’s police department said it cannot comment on ongoing litigation.
Prosecutors had declined to bring criminal charges in the case.
The Locke case has prompted comparisons with the 2020 killing of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman whom police fatally shot during a no-knock raid on her Louisville, Kentucky, apartment.
Locke was killed on Feb. 2, 2022, by a shot fired by Hanneman, a member of the city’s SWAT team, as it executed a warrant in which Locke was not named as a subject. The warrant was part of an investigation into a fatal shooting in neighboring St. Paul.
Police released video footage from the raid the following day.
Locke was sleeping on a couch with a handgun within reach at the time of the raid. The suit alleges that SWAT officers failed to identify themselves and shouted confusing commands upon entering. When Locke reached under a cover for the gun, Hanneman shot him three times, the suit said.
“Hanneman failed to give Amir any such opportunity even though Amir never pointed the handgun at Hanneman or put his finger on the trigger,” the suit said.
The suit alleges that Minneapolis had policies that allowed for racial discrimination in policing and the use of excessive force, and claims the city failed to properly train the police force.
The shooting and backlash from the community prompted the city to impose strict limits on the use of no-knock warrants.
(This story has been refiled to say ‘files’ instead of ‘file’ in the headline)
(Reporting by Tyler Clifford in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler)
Factbox: Key Winners at Music Industry’s 2023 Grammy Awards
By Danielle Broadway
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The biggest names in the music industry gathered in Los Angeles on Sunday for the 65th annual Grammy Awards ceremony.
Here is a list of winners in key categories:
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
“Harry’s House” – Harry Styles
RECORD OF THE YEAR
“About Damn Time” – Lizzo
SONG OF THE YEAR
“Just Like That” – Bonnie Raitt, songwriter (Bonnie Raitt)
BEST NEW ARTIST
Samara Joy
Samara Joy accepts the award for Best New Artist during the 65th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California, U.S., February 5, 2023. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni
BEST POP DUO/GROUP PERFORMANCE
“Unholy” – Sam Smith & Kim Petras
BEST POP VOCAL ALBUM
“Harry’s House” – Harry Styles
BEST RAP PERFORMANCE
“The Heart Part 5” – Kendrick Lamar
BEST ROCK PERFORMANCE
“Broken Horses” – Brandi Carlile
BEST R&B SONG
“CUFF IT”- Beyonce
Beyonce accepts the award for Best Dance/Electronic Music Album for “Renaissance” during the 65th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California, U.S., February 5, 2023. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni
BEST COUNTRY ALBUM
“A Beautiful Time” – Willie Nelson
(Reporting by Danielle Broadway; Editing by Mary Milliken)
