Atlanta’s Byron Amos Elected Second VP of National League of Cities’ Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials
District 3 Atlanta City Council member Byron Amos has been elected as the 2026 second vice president of the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials, a constituency group of the National League of Cities (NLC). The National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials serves as a forum for communication and networking among demographic municipal officials and their colleagues to share ideas and develop leadership experience. Council member Amos was elected in November at NLC’s 2025 City Summit conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. "I am profoundly honored and
PRSA Detroit Elects New 2026 Leadership, Names Antonice Strickland President
Public relations professionals across Southeast Michigan gathered at Wayne State University on Nov. 20 as PRSA Detroit confirmed its 2026 Board of Directors and honored members whose work has shaped communications standards in the region. The meeting remains one of the largest annual convenings of communicators in metro Detroit, drawing representatives from corporate, nonprofit, education, government, and agency sectors. PRSA Detroit is the local chapter of the Public Relations Society of America, a national organization formed in 1947 to strengthen ethics, accreditation, and professional development across the communications field. Detroit’s chapter, established 78 years
DESC Appoints Talitha Johnson as New Communications Director
The City of Detroit’s workforce agency, Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation (DESC), has named Talitha Johnson as its new communications director. In this role, she will lead communications, branding and media relations for a wide range of major workforce initiatives managed by the agency, including key programs for the Detroit at Work system and Grow Detroit’s Young Talent. Johnson joined DESC in mid-November after serving as director of communications at the Downtown Detroit Partnership (DDP). “We are delighted to have Talitha joining to lead our communications team,” said Dana Williams, President of Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation. “This
Talia Kirkland Represented Black Women Powerfully and With Poise in Pittsburgh
Penn Hills native now works in Las Vegas by Naomi C. Ilochi For New Pittsburgh Courier Talia Kirkland is a multi-media reporter, wife, daughter and community advocate, shaped by her family, friends, hometown and life journey. Kirkland is a Penn Hills native, Penn Hills High School graduate (2010) and Duquesne University alumna with a degree in journalism and a Master of Science in Media Technology and Arts. She’s also a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), and a 2024 member of the
Extraordinary Entrepreneur and Women’s Leadership Advocate Dr. Sonia Lewis Partners with epiMediaGroup
Entrepreneur, financial expert, and women’s leadership advocate Dr. Sonia Lewis is broadening her influence beyond the business world through a recently announced alliance with epiMediaGroup, one of the elite public relations and marketing firms in all of Atlanta. Dr. Sonia is the founder and CEO of Student Loan Doctor LLC, an award-winning consulting company that specializes in student loan debt repayment initiatives. Affectionately known as “The Student Loan Doctor”, she uses this platform to help individuals navigate the student loan debt process and achieve financial freedom. Dr. Sonia’s
Meet Homestead Mayor-elect Mary Nesby … It’s about real work, not a title
Come January 2026, Mary Nesby will make history as Homestead’s first Black woman mayor. That’s admirable, Mayor-elect Nesby told the New Pittsburgh Courier, but for her, it’s not about titles. In her mind, with all she feels she’s done in the Homestead community, she feels like the mayor already. She told the Courier on Nov. 10 that she’s lived in Homestead for the past 23 years, and after being on Homestead Borough Council for the past eight years, she knows the ins and outs of not only Homestead
How NBA Legend Isiah Thomas Is Rewriting the Rules of Wealth, Industry, and the American Dream
There is something tender and knowing in the way Isiah Thomas speaks about the earth. It is the tenderness of a man who understands struggle and sunlight, who respects what grows slowly and what survives storms. When he began describing how his journey into renewable materials first took root, he started not with profit sheets or projections, but with the living world beneath our feet. “I began by understanding the plants and the soil,” Thomas told Black Press USA. “Rice, corn, soy, all of these crops work directly
Ladies of Virtue Raise $300K to Support Black Girls and Honor Chicago Defender Publisher Dyanna Knight Lewis Among Other Leaders
“Black girls defy the odds.” Those were the opening words from Jamila Trimuel, Founder and President of Ladies of Virtue (LOV), and they instantly grounded the room in purpose. Though the space was already filled with love, laughter, and an unmistakable sense of joy, Trimuel’s message reminded everyone why they gathered for the 2025 Leading With Virtue Cocktail Reception—to invest in the brilliance, resilience, and future of Black girls. From the moment guests entered the venue, it was clear they were in for a special evening. Volunteers and
Calvin Duncan, Exonerated After 30 Years In Prison, Elected As Court Clerk
Calvin Duncan, a New Orleans man who spent three decades in prison for a 1981 murder before his conviction was overturned, has won Saturday’s (November 15) race to serve as the city’s chief criminal court record keeper, per the Associated Press. Duncan, a Democrat, spent years fighting to clear his name after being convicted of carrying out a fatal shooting. In 2021, a judge vacated his conviction after Duncan uncovered evidence that police officers had lied in court. He is now listed in the National Registry of Exonerations. According to the
Youth Villages Georgia Honors Mentor of the Year Timothy Richmond
Youth Villages of Georgia is pleased to announce Creekside High School teacher Timothy Richmond as its Mentor of the Year. The honor was presented at Youth Villages’ Mentor & Volunteer Dinner held at Copeland’s of New Orleans on Cobb Parkway. Richmond, an AP African American studies and U.S. history teacher who was named Creekside’s Teacher of the Year, has been a part of Youth Villages’ Chris Crye Mentoring Program since he was a student at Atlanta’s Emory University. Joining the program in 2019, Richmond has mentored eight young people ranging