NBA Icon Isiah Thomas Has Quickly Become an Entrepreneurial Legend
By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent Isiah Thomas played basketball with the tenacity not often seen in today’s game. Whenever a team outscored his Detroit Pistons, it only meant a negative mark in the loss column, but never total defeat for Thomas. An NCAA champion at Indiana, and a two-time NBA champ with the Pistons, much like basketball, Thomas has followed up his on-court success with an almost peerless triumph in the business world. He told the National Newspaper Publishers Association’s live morning show, “Let It Be Known,”
Black Married Couple Empowering Today’s Black Tech Leaders
Candice Matthews Brackeen and Brian Brackeen are General Partners at Lightship Capital, a firm investing in innovators, E-commerce, Artificial Intelligence, Healthtech, and more. They are the leaders behind Black Tech Week which aims to bring together some of the greatest innovators in technological industries. “As Black people we’ve been inventing things for a long time, we been entrepreneurs for a long time,” said Mrs. Matthews Brackeen. “We just want to make sure they all convene in the same space; they build community, they build network, and they do
All-Black Female Crew Observes 100th Anniversary of Bessie Coleman’s First Flight
By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent@StacyBrownMedia American Airlines celebrated the 100th anniversary of the first Black woman to earn a pilot’s license – Bessie Coleman accomplished that feat in 1922. With an all-Black female crew, the airlines hosted the Bessie Coleman Aviation All-Stars tour, recognizing how Coleman bravely broke down barriers within the world of aviation and paved the path for many to follow. To help honor Coleman’s legacy, American Airlines hosted Gigi Coleman, Bessie’s great-niece, on a flight from Dallas-Fort Worth to Phoenix. An all-Black female crew
Getty & The Smithsonian Acquire Ebony And Jet’s Iconic Photo Archives
Photo: Getty Images Seven decades of iconic Black stories and photos from Ebony and Jet magazines will soon be digitized and available to the public, Smithsonian Magazine reports. Over four million negatives and prints from Ebony and Jet, both produced via the Johnson Publishing Company starting in the 1940s and ’50s, have been acquired by the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) and the Getty Research Institute, according to a joint statement by the two entities. The Getty Trust is putting up $30 million towards processing the digitization of photographic negatives, photos,
Serena Williams announces retirement, arguably the greatest athlete of all-time
by A.R. Shaw Serena Williams will walk away from the game of tennis. In an article published by Vogue, Williams, 40, shared that she will “evolve away from tennis” to focus on other things. Her last tennis match will take place this month at the U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows, New York. Serena Williams, along with her older sister Venus Williams, took the tennis world by storm in the 1990s as teenagers on the pro tennis circuit. Serena would win her first grand slam title in 1998 at Wimbledon, capturing
Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated ® Elects Dr. Stacie N.C. Grant as International President
Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated elected Dr. Stacie N.C. Grant as its 26th International President and Chief Executive Officer during the organization’s biennial international convention in Philadelphia. A New York native, Grant received the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award from President Barack Obama. She is a CEO, award-winning author, international speaker, and trainer. A life member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Grant has served on every level of the organization as an active and financial member for 33 consecutive years. She brings decades of professional and business development expertise with
Henry Louis Gates Jr. To Oversee Oxford’s New African American Dictionary
Historian Henry Louis Gates Jr. will be at the helm of Oxford's new dictionary that will recognize Black culture's centuries-long impact on the English language. On Thursday (July 21), Gates Jr., Director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University, announced that he will serve as the editor-in-chief of the Oxford Dictionary of African American English. The new dictionary will house a glossary of popular words and phrases used by Black Americans past and present. “Just the way Louis Armstrong took the trumpet and turned it inside out from the way people
Morehouse Men Making Next Level Moves
Men of Morehouse are trained to have disciplined minds, leading lives of leadership and service. As they go on into their professional careers, we welcome Morehouse Men to share their wisdom and lessons learned. Below, attorneys, founders and owners of Sanders Roberts, LLP – Justin Sanders and Reginald Roberts, Jr. – share how they’ve leveraged their networks and relationship-building to grow individually and professionally to today own one of the largest Black-owned law firms in the western region of the United States, boasting more than 60 employees including 35 attorneys, 15 paralegals, and many
Inflation Nation: The Wealth Gap Isn’t a Game for Black America
By Hiram Jackson Fresh off of the Juneteenth and the Fourth of July independence celebrations, most Americans are getting back to business and addressing the sometimes arduous challenges of everyday life. In particular, financial challenges are a fact that is becoming more difficult and even taxing for many Americans, particularly Black Americans. Historically, Blacks have suffered severe economic and wealth disparities coupled with the educational and social inequities that have been an ongoing reality for centuries in our daily living. True, these issues were exacerbated by the pandemic, but even before the pandemic, we were
Dwayne Ashley Talks the Art of Fundraising with Mark Hayes
Dwayne Ashley is renowned for his bold, strategic thinking and wise counsel in philanthropy. He is a successful entrepreneur in the course of his career, he raised more than $ 1 billion. He is committed to social justice and helping organizations of color maximize their fundraising success. He’s also visited more than 100 countries and according to sources close to Mr. Ashley – he makes a mean mac n cheez. We welcome Dwayne Ashley to the spotlight – Mr. Ashley what a pleasure to see you! https://youtu.be/tXdtRa2EfIg Bridge Philanthropic