WSSN Stories

Ida B Wells Fund Expands to Include Filmmaking, Visual Arts and Creative Placemaking

ATLANTA, GA— chromatic black™ launches Season Two of the Ida B. Wells Fund and calls for entries in short filmmaking and two new categories – visual arts and creative placemaking. This season, the fund expands to offer awards ranging from $1,000 to $25,000 in three categories—short-form filmmaking, creative placemaking and visual arts.

Ida B Wells Fund competition is open to storytellers whose original work explores the spirit of exploration and deepens our collective literacy.   Here are key dates for the fund.

Ø  The Short Film Fund applications will support five Black filmmakers with $15,000 each (a total of $75.000).  Short form film applications open on July 16, 2022.  Deadline for submission is August 27, 2022.  Short Film winners will be announced on September 23, 2022.

Ø  The Visual Art Fund will support 12 visual artists at $1000 each (a total of $12,000).  Visual arts applications launch on July 21, 2022. Deadline for submission is August 31, 2022.  Visual arts winners will be announced on September 23, 2022.

Ø  The Creative Placemaking Fund will support four creative placemakers at $25,000.  Creative placemaking making applications open on October 1.  The deadline for submission is December 1. Winners will be announced on February 14th, 2022.

The Ida B. Wells Fund partners with artist – activists across a spectrum of creative disciplines.  This year, the fund has two new developments – a new curatorial leadership of chromatic black™’s Artistic Director, Jessica Green and three categories—short-form filmmaking, creative placemaking and visual arts.

“We are equity architects. We are building cultural power by partnering with dope artists, creative teams and communities. For impact investors, we tie up the messy middle  connecting folks to the next wave of Black smarts, creativity, vision, grit, and determination” says Angela Harmon, co-founder and an Emmy-nominated storyteller, filmmaker, and creative director chromatic black™.

Ida B. Wells Fund Short Film Competition

The award recipients will be chosen by an interdisciplinary panel composed of expert curators, filmmakers, producers, other arts professionals, scholars, and winners from last year in a thorough, multi-step review process.

“Ida B Wells Fund enables filmmakers to take disruptive risks with new original works,” says Aunjanue Ellis, Oscar Nominee, Actress, and Writer.

The fund will invest in five projects that critique dominant social and historical narratives and embody artistic attributes: commitment, communal meaning, disruption, cultural integrity, emotional experience, risk-taking, coherence, openness, stickiness, and resourcefulness.

Winners of last year’s film fund at $10,000 each include Lamard W Cher-Aime’s “Captain Zero: The Animated Series” which speaks to the importance of mental health awareness in the Black communities and Christine Swanson’s “Sunflower: The Fannie Lou Hamer Story” staring Academy Award nominee Aunjanue Ellis.

Ida B. Wells Fund Expands to Include Visual and Creative Placemaking

In addition, the Ida B. Wells Fund will expand to visual arts and creative placemaking.

“Not only are artists producers of aesthetic objects and creators of experiences, they help to make places healthier, more equitable, and sustainable,” said Artistic Director, Jessica Green. The expansion of the fund to include creative placemaking is an acknowledgment of creativity as a radical act of resistance.”

Black placemaking is a reclamation of space rooted in remembrance. The fund acknowledges this praxis of remembrance, reclamation, and renewal as a creative act of resistance. The fund will partner with cultural bearers fortifying our participation in the public commons.

Visit the Ida B Wells Fund  to apply and for additional updates.

UCLA doctoral student and U.S. Immigrant, Merhawi Tesfai, appointed as 2023-24 UC student regent

LOS ANGELES, CA— The University of California Board of Regents today (July 20) appointed University of California, Los Angeles doctoral student Merhawi Tesfai to be the 2023-24 student regent.

Tesfai is the 49th student regent, a position established in 1975. He will serve as the student regent-designate for the coming year, able to participate in all deliberations, and will have voting privileges when his one-year term as a regent begins in July 2023.

Currently, Tesfai is a doctoral student in social welfare at UCLA, where he earned dual master’s degrees in social welfare and public policy. He also received his bachelor’s degree at UCLA in African American Studies, and his associate degree for transfer from Los Angeles City College.

Born in Eritrea, Tesfai immigrated to the U.S. as a child and is a first-generation, non-traditional transfer student. Tesfai has a background in counseling and uses his own experience to engage in outreach to assist community college students in navigating the transfer process. He also encourages students from underrepresented communities to apply to graduate school.

“UC offers incredible opportunities for learning, research and economic mobility to countless students from California and beyond. I am grateful for this opportunity to bring my experiences as a first-generation, non-traditional student to be one of two representatives of the student voice to the Board of Regents and advocate for our priorities and needs,” said Tesfai. “There is much work ahead for the University to provide critical academic resources and necessary support to ensure students have the tools for success. I cannot wait to get started in this important work.”

Panels appointed by the UC campus student body presidents and the UC Student Association and UC Graduate and Professional Council reviewed the applications for the student regent position and interviewed semifinalists. A special committee of the Regents interviewed the finalists and nominated Tesfai.

You may find more information about the Board of Regents’ policy on appointing a student regent here.

Global Reparations Leaders Call Meeting With the Vatican Successful

Vatican City, July 18, 2022 — Under the umbrella of the Global Circle for Reparations and Healing, a delegation of global reparations leaders was received today, July 18, 2022, in a formal meeting at the Vatican, by Bishop Paul Tighe, Secretary of the Pontifical Council of Culture, along with his assistant.

The purpose of the meeting was to begin a dialog with the Catholic Church on its role in sanctioning and benefiting from the Transatlantic slave trade and its legacy that inflicted immeasurable harm on Africa and its Global Diaspora.

Speaking on behalf of the Global Circle, Kamm Howard, Director of Reparations United, Dr Ron Daniels, convenor of National African American Reparations Commission (NAARC), Dr. Amara Enyia, strategist for the Global Circle for Reparations and Healing, and Nikole Hannah-Jones, author of the 1619 Project, delivered a Presentment outlining the harms and offenses of the Church, the legacy resulting from those harms and offenses and reparations measures that are needed for full repair and healing.

In his response, Bishop Tighe suggested that the moment is “ripe” for the Presentment to be seriously considered by the Church under the guidance of Pope Francis. He cited Pope Francis’s encyclical Fratelli Tutti as evidence of the Pontiffs commitment to explore issues of justice, equality, and reconciliation.

Bishop Tighe agreed to share the Presentment to leaders within the Church and offered suggestions for initiating a process for moving forward with talks.

Coming at a moment of Global reckoning on matters on racial justice and reparations, the spokespersons and representatives of the Global Circle and supporters present concurred that the meeting with Bishop Tighe was welcoming and productive. In addition, they agreed, the meeting could provide a roadmap that allows the parties to move forward on reparatory justice.

The Presentment will be translated in various languages and circulated widely in Africa, the Caribbean, Europe and North, Central and South America, i.e., Africa and It’s Global Diaspora, to create public awareness on the destructive role of the Catholic Church in the Transatlantic Slave Trade. The ultimate goal is to galvanize a global engagement with the Catholic Church to achieve reparatory justice.

The Global Circle for Reparations and Healing is a group of US and African reparations leaders and organizations committed to building a global culture of Repair

Supporters Present at the Vatican Presentment

Global African Congress UK,
First Repair, US
Black Europe Summer School, Amsterdam,
African Future Action Lab -Europe
Nia Foundation, Netherlands
Questa E Roma – Italy

 

***

Read this online (NAARC)

https://reparationscomm.org/naarc-news/press-releases/global-reparations-leaders-call-meeting-with-the-vatican-successful

Read this online (IBW21)

https://ibw21.org/press-releases/global-reparations-leaders-call-meeting-with-the-vatican-successful

 

Alfred Banks Stays Upbeat, Resumes Music Career 


By Percy Lovell Crawford

NEW ORLEANS — Catching COVID in January was a devastating ordeal for New Orleans rapper Alfred Banks. When the pandemic arrived in 2020, it nearly ended everything that Banks had worked for his entire life.

The pandemic essentially ended a seven-year relationship and his 9-5 job. Several tour dates, shows and collaborations were canceled. Ironically, the pandemic forced him to focus solely on his music — for the first time in his life.

And fate was on his side.

Following a stint of delivering food for Uber Eats Banks landed on his feet and is touring the country again.

Banks fills Zenger in on his return to music.

Zenger: Are you satisfied with your latest project: “The Range 2”?

Banks: What I’ve been doing lately is showing my range as an artist and the different genres I can do. I feel like I accomplished it pretty well. It’s a series. The first one had four songs and this one has six. I’m spreading out even more with the range. The reaction has been dope. I just started a tour a couple of days ago, and I’m excited by the way people received it.

After suffering through the lows of COVID, Alfred Banks is relishing the highs of touring. (Alfred Banks)  

Zenger: How far do you plan on going with this particular series?

Banks: I have no idea at the moment. As long as I’m in this mode, whatever hits me is what I do. There’s only one project I have been planning for a while, and it’s coming out later this year. Outside of that, I create from inspiration. I’m not a guy that writes to just write. I also don’t think that far ahead. I go with the flow. I may do two more installments, I may do one more, I may not do anymore. It depends on what mood I’m in.

Zenger: You seem to be in a great place right now, but that wasn’t the case two years ago. The pandemic really did a number on your personal life and career.

Banks: I caught COVID in January [2020]. It sucked. Physically, it was bad, so to make it past that was really cool. The pandemic wasn’t a good time for me. I was in a long-term relationship that ended. I had a day job at the time that ended because of COVID. I had 60 to 70 shows lined up — they all got canceled. My entire livelihood, my entire life, got uprooted, and I had to start from scratch.

It really forced me to get back to the basics of what got me the name I have. I had to grind. From 2016-2019, I didn’t have to make as many phone calls as I used to. I didn’t have to send as many emails. I didn’t have to DM as much as I used to. People were just reaching out and locking me in for events. These tours and festivals were just happening naturally. COVID shut everything down. I had to figure things out. I was able to bounce back from it.

I am grateful for that experience. I didn’t take music for granted, but now I definitely don’t take it for granted. Before COVID, I wasn’t a rapper for a living — now I am. It took the pandemic for me to really make things happen. June made my second year of being a full-time musician. I’m blessed. I took a bad situation and made it work.

Zenger: Sometimes, you don’t realize how strong and resilient you are until you have no choice. Did you surprise yourself by how much you overcame?

Banks: I really did surprise myself. I’ve been through a lot in my life. I went through so much in those seven months, but then you fast-forward to about 2021, and Hurricane Ida hit New Orleans. I had to deal with that on top of the pandemic. All of those things, grinding it out and working my butt off every single day to make it happen and keep the dream alive.

For me to be standing tall now says a lot about my character. At any point I could have gone another way and started doing something else. I believed in my music enough to know this wouldn’t be forever. I know the connection I have with my fans is deep. Those relationships were strengthened during the pandemic.

New Orleans rapper Alfred Banks demonstrates his musical range on his new project: “The Range 2.” (Alfred Banks)

I surprised myself by the way I was able to overcome so much, especially a doing it by myself. Now, being on with PR Amplified, having a beautiful publicist [Angelique Phipps], an incredible manager, incredible teammates, and booking agents really gets me going again.

Zenger: At one point, you delivered meals for Uber Eats, right?

Banks: Indeed. From May 2020 to about July 2020, I was doing Uber Eats on a bicycle. I was making $50 to $60 a day just to try to keep things going during the pandemic. During that time, I was still recording and do features when people would reach out. I remember being in an Uber one time specifically headed to do this big feature. It was honestly because the bread [money] was perfect. To know that somebody would think that much of me to put me on a record, the emotions flowed through me.

It all caught up to me, and I just cried in the Uber. It let me know that I would make it through this bad situation. Uber Eats was a lifesaver. It helped me get back on my feet. It helped me stay focused, and let me know that I had something. From that point, I was able to jump back into the shows. Now, I’m back on tour. My first tour in three years and these are the things I was able to get back to because of that hard work.

Zenger: Since you have experienced the lows what does the highs feel like?

Banks: The highs feel amazing. Just last night, I did a show in Dallas with Devin The Dude, and the night before, I was in Austin, same situation. These are the type of things that I don’t take for granted, and it feels amazing to be back doing these things on these bigger stages, introducing my music to fans. Also, having people from Houston, Dallas and San Antonio drive out to see my performance is an amazing feeling.

Seeing these people come to my shows with my merch on… I had a young lady come to the show who printed her own T-shirt. It feels incredible to know that even after all I’ve been through, people are still in tune with what I got going on. That’s a blessing.

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Black Property Owners: Law Requiring Landlords to Pay Tenants Is “Ill Conceived”

By Aldon Thomas Stiles | California Black Media

A recent federal appeals court decision opens the door for the state and several California cities to pass laws requiring landlords to pay one month’s rent to a tenant after they’ve been evicted.

The law, AB 1482, authored by former Assemblymember David Chiu, who represented the 17th District (San Francisco) until October last year, passed the Legislature in 2019 and took effect in 2020. Among other things, the legislation caps yearly rent increases to 10% for areas without rent control and provides financial assistance for tenants who were evicted because an owner of the property moved in.

San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, Long and Los Angeles all have laws on the books or proposals in the pipeline requiring landlords to pay to evict tenants.

As of July 1st, California’s eviction moratorium ended. Reports are that evictions are on the rise in some California cities, like Sacramento, for example.

Velma Marie Poplar, the owner of a property in Compton with 10 units and 10 families, says that this law is ill-conceived, and it will particularly hurt struggling Black property owners who do not have a lot of money saved up to absorb unanticipated expenses.

“I don’t think this is a good idea right now because these are hard times for us as well,” said Poplar, explaining some of the challenges landlords face.

“I don’t think it’s fair that a landlord has to pay a tenant to move out,” she continued.

Poplar says her financial struggles during the COVID-19 pandemic has been interfering with her and her husband’s ability to build generational wealth for her Black family.

“Right now, we’re barely making ends meet during the pandemic ourselves. We’re spending a lot of money that we had saved before COVID because you still have to maintain the apartments,” said Poplar.

She said many large real estate management companies may be able to afford to pay tenants a month’s worth of rent, but most small property owners cannot.

“The laws are not made for small business owners, they’re made for big businesses; either you’re rich or you’re not and the rich can outlast people like me,” Poplar emphasized.

In California and many other states, lawmakers responded to the global COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on renters by enacting protections for tenants whose abilities to earn money may have been impacted by local health and safety guidelines.

Poplar claims that some tenants have been taking advantage of those protections.

“During COVID-19, a lot of their incomes had not changed yet they refused to pay rent,” said Poplar.

She claims that 4 of her 10 tenants have not been paying rent due to the eviction moratorium and other pandemic related ordinances.

Although many Californians facing eviction have applied for the state’s COVID-19 rent relief-program, the process takes time, renter advocates say.

According to the California Department of Housing, over the last 15 months, $4 billion in financial support has been disseminated to 340,000 renter households.

“California ran the largest and most successful eviction protection and rent relief program in the country,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom. “340,000 families weren’t evicted because of this, and the overwhelming majority of assistance went to very low-income households. Homelessness prevented, public health protected, families stabilized.”

While rent is on the rise in the Sacramento area, Poplar said she has not raised rent on her tenants because she “knows the tenants can’t afford it.”

She also said that her taxes go up every year.

“Anyone who isn’t paying rent is getting evicted after COVID-19 is over,” said Poplar. “If I don’t catch up with everything I need to catch up with, my bills, I’m going to lose what I’ve worked so hard for in the last 17 years.”

She said that she’s worried the banks will take her and her husband’s property if they cannot continue to afford it due to pandemic related income loss.

“I would lose everything,” said Poplar.

According to reports, the lawsuit related to the court’s decision to uphold the rent payment law was filed by Better Housing for Long Beach and they are considering appealing to the Supreme Court.

California Ed Chief Tony Thurmond’s Equity Initiatives Gain National Recognition

By Joe W. Bowers Jr. | California Black Media

California is the winner of the 2022 Frank Newman Award for State Innovation.

The nation’s preeminent education award for innovation, it recognizes a state for enacting reforms or implementing programs that go beyond marginal or incremental changes to improve student outcomes on a large scale.

According to the Education Commission of the States, California is being recognized for “its coordinated approach to educating all students from preschool to postsecondary, with explicit attention toward whole-child supports and services, as well as its historic financial investments to ensure educational equity.”

In his press release announcing the win, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond said, “This is an incredible honor, and while the work continues, we’re proud of this national recognition that shows how California is improving educational outcomes for its students, closing equity gaps, and transforming education for students from pre-kindergarten to adulthood.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom, whose administration has made funding public education a priority, acknowledged receiving the award by saying, “California is transforming education from pre-kindergarten through to college and beyond, empowering students and families with more supports, more choices, and more opportunities. This award recognizes the hard work that’s gone into this transformative change by leaders throughout the state…. and the winners here are California’s kids and parents.”

The Newman Award announcement coincided with school districts finalizing their 2022-23 budgets which were due at their County Office of Education by June 30. Their budgets are bolstered by the highest level of funding in state history for all K-12 education programs – $128.6 billion is being allocated. Per pupil spending is $22,893 an all-time high.

The award recognized California’s Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) as one of the nation’s most equitable formulas. LCFF allocates more resources to school districts educating low-income students. In this year’s state budget, school districts are receiving a $9.0 billion increase in ongoing LCFF funding, a 13% base increase over 2021-22 rates.

The award noted that in the last two years, California has approved increases to the LCFF allowing school districts to add more teachers, counselors, paraprofessionals, and other student support providers.

A letter nominating the state for the award read, “… [W]e believe there is no other state doing as much to advance educational equity for its neediest students as California is doing today.”

Since taking office in 2019, Thurmond has championed and created initiatives taking into consideration the unique needs California’s students. In order to achieve equity and transformative change he has promoted mental health programs, community schools, literacy, expanded learning programs, professional development, anti-racism training, and universal schools and universal meals programs.

Thurmond told California Black Media (CBM) that, “Starting out my goal was to figure out how to support Black students wherever they are in the state.” His Task Force on Closing the Achievement Gap has been the source of a number of recommendations advancing equity for all students.

Task Force recommendations include:

Supporting literacy as a strategy for closing the gap. In 2021 Thurmond launched a campaign committed to ensuring all students read by third grade by 2026. This effort includes securing funds for literacy supports and school libraries as well as for family engagement supports for literacy. This year’s budget includes $250 million to be spent over 5 years to hire literacy coaches and reading specialists for low-income elementary schools, and to implement evidence-based literacy strategies for preschool through third grade students and their families.

Diversifying the teacher workforce. Thurmond developed and sponsored AB 520 (Mike Gipson, D-Carson), which called for expanding male educators of color. This bill was embedded into the 2021 budget which allocated $350 million in residency grants for teacher preparation programs with an emphasis on diversifying the teacher workforce. $184 million in new funding for teacher residencies is included in the 2022-23 budget and eligibility is expanded include to counselors.

Expanding funding for Community Schools. In 2019 Thurmond wrote and sponsored AB 1196 (Gipson) to fund Community Schools. In 2021, Thurmond worked with Newsom on a proposal to expand community schools. The 2021 budget allocated $3 Billion for Community Schools and the California Department of Education (CDE) is currently implementing the community schools’ strategy. An additional $1.13 Billion was authorized in this year’s budget.

Providing professional development to help close the achievement grant. Thurmond helped to secure $1.5 Billion in Educator Effectiveness Grants to support professional development for educators to help close learning gaps. CDE has awarded the Educator Effectiveness Grants and is working with districts to implement this strategy.

Expanding mental health programs. Thurmond sponsored SB 1229 (McGuire, D-Healdsburg) which would fund $25,000 grants to add 10,000 mental health clinicians to serve California students. Provisions of SB 1229 have been folded into the 2022-23 budget legislation as part of teacher and school counselor residency programs. The current Golden State Teacher Grant Program is expanded to include mental health providers authorizing them to receive grants up to $20,000.

Expanding Pre-school programs. Thurmond sponsored AB 22 (McCarty, D-Sacramento) a bill that guarantees Universal Transitional Kindergarten. Thurmond and CDE are now implementing the policy. This year’s budget expands transitional kindergarten eligibility and rebenches the Proposition 98 Guarantee to $611 Million to accommodate enrollment increases. Also, $383 Million is approved to reduce the adult-to-student ratio for transitional kindergarten.

Expanding Dual language immersion programs. Thurmond wrote and is sponsoring SB 952 (Limón, D-Santa Barbara) a bill that helps schools expand into dual language immersion programs. This bill is a priority bill for the Latino Caucus.

Piloting implicit bias programs. Thurmond secured $10 million in the 2021 state budget for funds for districts to provide anti-bias training.

Reducing chronic absenteeism. Thurmond secured grant funds to provide Oakland and Inglewood Unified School Districts resources needed to contact families with chronically absent students.

The Education Commission of the States will present California leaders with the Newman Award at the 2022 National Forum on Education Policy being held July 13-15 in Washington, D.C.

“You’ve Been Given Notice!”

By Lou Yeboah

Get yourself together, repent at once, and act as you did at first, or else I will surely come and remove your lampstand out of its place- [Revelation 2:5]. I will come in and sweep your house clean, says the Lord. Repent while it is still daybreak!

Listen, as God through Pilate gave Israel one last chance before consigning the nation to perpetual judgment. [John 19:8-16] He is giving you one last chance to repent.  The parable’s lesson in [Luke chapter 13] is that mercy and grace are available to all who will come to Christ IN TIME. Because eventually time runs out. ]Hebrews 9:27]. This is an urgent call to use the second chance wisely. This is a judgmental word filled with overtones of grace. [Luke 13: 1-9]. Don’t be like the self-righteous, prideful Jews who were horrified at the demand for repentance. How could they acknowledge sinfulness and the validity of God’s condemnation? They compared themselves to others who had met with unfortunate disaster and judged themselves to be worthy of God’s favor. But Jesus turned the tables on them once again as He pressed home the urgent need for repentance. As a nation, this was their last chance to repent. Don’t you wait until it’s too late! There is a season and time for everything. [Ecclesiastes 3:1-8].

Listen, this is where the rubber meets the road. This is where it comes down to the wire. For Jesus says in [Revelation 2:21] “And I gave her time to repent, and she did not repent.” Understand that it is only the forbearance of God that stands between you and eternal damnation. You are living on borrowed time. Opportunity to repent does not last forever. For He said to the vineyard-keeper, “Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! [Luke 13:7]. I tell you; God’s patience won’t last forever. “Seek the Lord while He may be found. Call on Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, the unrighteous man his thought, let him return to the Lord and He will have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” [Isaiah 55:6-7].

Listen, no one likes to be commanded to do anything. But here is a command from Almighty God that applies to every man, woman, boy and girl born on this planet. God says you must repent. No excuses will be accepted. If you do not obey God’s command, you will someday face a divine court-martial. Don’t take the grace of God for granted, make use of this opportunity to repent. “Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!” [Ezekiel 18:31-32].

“But if they do not listen, they will perish by the sword and die without knowledge.” [Job 36:8-12]. You’ve been given notice! Repent while you still have a chance!

McCaskill Appointed Alpha Phi Alpha Executive Director

BALTIMORE, MD— After an extensive international search, the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Board of Directors is pleased to announce the appointment of Brother Sean L. McCaskill as the Executive Director of the Fraternity. Brother McCaskill, who has been serving as the Interim Executive Director since March 1, 2021, assumes the official role at the General Office, effective, today, Friday, July 8.

Brother McCaskill, who was initiated at Xi Sigma Chapter on April 7, 1990, is no stranger to Alpha Leadership having served as both the District Director of the Pennsylvania Association of Alpha Chapters and the 26th Eastern Regional Vice President. He is a Life Member and currently an active member of the Alpha Omicron Lambda Chapter in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

“The Board of Directors and I are excited to appoint Brother McCaskill as the Executive Director for the Fraternity’s General Office,” said General President Brother Dr. Willis L. Lonzer, III. “Brother McCaskill has done an exceptional job in both motivating and empowering staff, which has ensured the stability in the operations of the General Office. His appointment provides consistency in our operations as well as ensures the high level of customer service we offer our Brotherhood. These challenging times will require dynamic leadership from Alpha, and Brother McCaskill provides the Board and I the best partnership to meet the ambitions we have in developing Alpha men into leaders needed to provide superior advocacy and service in our communities.”

Brother McCaskill attended Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) on a football scholarship, where he was a four-year letterman in football and two-year letterman in track and field as well as earned a bachelor’s degree in criminology and a master’s degrees in sociology.

For more than 20 years, Brother McCaskill, who also serves as an educational consultant, leadership coach, and entrepreneur, has successfully worked in the social service field gaining experience in individual and family therapy, treatment plan design, prevention, as well as team building and organizational leadership development.

“I am honored to accept this appointment and to be able to continue to do the work of Alpha in this capacity,” said Brother McCaskill. “I am also appreciative and incredibly proud of the General Office staff who have come to work every day over the last year with a shared commitment to improving systems and serving this Brotherhood at the highest level. I continue to be inspired by the work Brothers are doing across the country in their communities and will work to ensure the staff at your General Office is able to support that work in a meaningful way.”

Students Awarded $220,000 During Essence Festival

McDonald’s USA, through its Black & Positively Golden movement, surprised its Future 22 leaders with $10,000 each, totaling $220,000, during a celebratory event in their honor at the ESSENCE Festival of Culture presented by Coca-Cola®. These grants were awarded to help further the community-driven causes of these 22 change leaders, introduced earlier this year. Award-winning actress, singer & entertainer, Keke Palmer, took part in the surprise announcement as the Future 22 spokesperson.

From a STEM educator who is leveling the playing field for Black and brown children in computer science to a financial literacy champion who is bridging the financial gap in inner cities, these visionaries are shattering ceilings and breaking barriers to create meaningful change in communities across the country. Since February, their stories have been told through an integrated marketing campaign that includes videos on Instagram at @wearegolden and McDonald’s YouTube channel, as well as TV and radio spots voiced over by Keke, and more.

“It’s an honor to join McDonald’s to recognize and celebrate these awesome leaders, while also supporting their work and mission,” said Keke. “They are creating bright futures for themselves and the next generation – and, really, all of us – and the excitement on their faces during the McDonald’s surprise gave me joy.”

During the celebratory event held at Essence Fest last weekend in New Orleans, which McDonald’s sponsored for the 22nd year, Keke and Marissa Fisher, a second-generation McDonald’s Owner/Operator in New Orleans, participated in a fireside chat moderated by McDonald’s Senior Director of Cultural Engagement, Elizabeth Campbell, to inspire Future 22 leaders and provide tips on staying true to one’s mission, finding balance while changing the world and paving the way for others, among other topics.

“This year’s Essence Fest theme was Black Joy, and we couldn’t wait to celebrate all 22 leaders and bring them to New Orleans, in honor of their accomplishments,” said Campbell. “We certainly could’ve surprised them virtually but making them a part of our Essence Fest moment meant unlocking the additional community of supporters who are McDonald’s Owner/Operators and the Essence Fest family, to further celebrate them and demonstrate our belief in their work. It was more special than imagined, representing our commitment to feeding and fostering the communities we serve.”

McDonald’s has sponsored Essence Fest for more than 20 years to help shine a positive light on the Black community, culture and youth. All weekend, the Golden Arches celebrated and brought to life “Black Joy.” This included impactful booth experiences like show-stopping performances from R&B singer Jacquees, and award-winning gospel artists Sir the Baptist and Jekalyn Carr who previewed the 16th annual Inspiration Celebration Gospel Tour that kicks off (in person) this fall. Booth guest were also treated to a star-studded celebrity meet and greet lineup featuring Toya Johnson, Reginae Carter, Uptown Angela and actor and musician Jacob Latimore.

McDonald’s also reaffirmed its commitment to supporting Black media and communities of color by convening some of the leading voices in marketing, media, business, and tech for panels that offered tips and resources for opportunity creation and breaking barriers.

McDonald’s Future 22 and the Essence Fest partnership are two of the many company initiatives that celebrate Black excellence. For more than 65 years, McDonald’s and its Owner/Operators have awarded scholarships to HBCU students, created impactful partnerships with community organizations like the National Urban League, NAACP, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and more. And this year, McDonald’s is proud to congratulate the National Black McDonald’s Operators Association for 50 years of entrepreneurial and community excellence.

For more information on the McDonald’s Future 22, or to catch up on McDonald’s Black & Positively Golden activities at Essence, follow @wearegolden on Instagram.

Bellator Bantamweight Champion Raufeon Stots Revels In His Abilities


By Percy Lovell Crawford

HOUSTON — Bellator’s interim bantamweight champion, Raufeon Stots, is loud and confidence.

Currently riding a 10-fight winning streak, his lone loss coming in 2017, Stots feels mentally and physically on top. That spells trouble for opponents.

Danny Sabatello seems to have punched his ticket to take on Stots — after Sabatello unanimously defeated Leandro Higo at Bellator 282 on June 24. A heated exchanged between Stots and Sabatello during the post-fight interview set the stage for a showdown later this year.

Stots talks strategies with Zenger on how he plans to beat Sabatello.

Zenger: We know how great you are in the cage, but you sounded pretty comfortable commentating Friday night’s Bellator card, as well.

Stots: The commentating was dope. It was a lot of fun. I had a blast.

Zenger: You were cage-side analyzing potential opponents. Were you dialed in scouting or commentating from a fan perspective?

Stots: That was one of the reasons I wanted to do it. To come and get a close look. I wanted to feel the pressure of the moment and see what they can create. That was huge. It’s definitely different from being at home watching. I was able to feel what was going on inside the cage — or lack thereof — in terms of the Danny Sabatello fight. It was fun.

Raufeon Stots struts around the Bellator cage after being crowned interim bantamweight champion following his knockout over Juan Archuleta in April. (Bellator MMA). 

Zenger: In another interview, you said that since COVID, you removed self-doubt. Was the self-doubt mental or something you changed in training?

Stots: We couldn’t really practice during COVID to where I could rely on my coaches to teach me things. So I started learning stuff on my own. Then I started diving into the mental part of being an athlete — and a successful person. That was one of the affirmations I decided to create. That affirmation is that I’m confident and fearless in all that I do. I dominate, excite and finish fights. I’m Raufeon Stots, the Bellator world champion. I know that is who I am now. I embody that, and I’m not a doubtful person in anything I do.

Zenger: Since knocking out Juan Archuleta, do you feel pressured to top or repeat that performance?

Stots: The key for me is to focus on the moment. I can’t really worry about being better than I was last time, or what I have to do in the future. Good things happen when I’m in the moment. I feel like the one time I lost, I was too busy looking forward to things that were going to happen after I got the win, instead of focusing on what was occurring right in front of my face. In fighting, things can change in a second, so I definitely gotta be present.

Zenger: Your only loss came in 2017. You have won 10 consecutive fights since then. What is the key to this winning streak?

Stots: That fight taught me something, something that was missing in my game. It was on the mental side. It wasn’t really in my training. I have the best coaches and training regimen. I learned from the best in the game. It was a mental thing and now my mental is dialed in. That, coupled with my confidence and growing skill-set, I feel unbeatable right now. It’s a testament to what is occurring in my life over the past five-to-seven years.

Zenger: You seem to understand the entertainment aspect of fighting. How important is that in today’s climate, where self-promotion is key?

Stots: The talking part is really fun for me. The talking stuff is just extra. That’s my personality. It’s how I grew up. It’s my pastime. I like to play Fortnite and talk trash to my friends. I understand that none of that works unless you’re backing up what you’re saying. You have to go out there and perform well. I’m dialed in to MMA and the sport, so no matter what I’m saying or doing, I’m getting better in my sport.

There are so many things you can get good at in MMA, so every day, I’m doing something to better myself in my craft. I’m really good at fighting; the talking is just fun to me.

Zenger: How does a fight between you and Danny Sabatello play out?

Stots: We’re both good wrestlers. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have any skills past wrestling. I feel like if our wrestling cancels itself out, it’s going to be a long night for him. If he decides to engage me anywhere besides wrestling, the skill gap is too big. I said this before I was fighting him, I was rooting for him. But I didn’t know if he could make it because of his skill-set.

It’s so one dimensional, but luckily, he’s been able to fight people who don’t have good wrestling. I fought a lot of wrestlers, I wrestled myself, so I have a lot of those skills. I feel like there is nowhere he poses a threat. Even if he takes me down, there’s no way he can hold me down. It’s going to either be a long night or a really short night in my favor. I just don’t see anywhere he’s better. Maybe if he had finishing capabilities, I would think he can catch me with something, but I don’t see that. I don’t see power in his hands, I don’t see the threat of a submission, it’s just wrestling. My last opponent thought that would be the way to beat me.

Hopefully, he comes up with something in these next few months. I just don’t see a route to victory for him.

Raufeon Stots gets one step closer to becoming a million-dollar tournament winner for Bellator’s bantamweight division. (Bellator MMA). 

Zenger: You have your sights set on that million-dollar prize. To win it, you obviously have to win a few more fights, but the ultimate test would be against your friend, Sergio Pettis. Not to look too far ahead, but have you wrapped your head around potentially having to put the personal to the side and handle business with Pettis?

Stots: I try not to think about that. To fight Sergio … I feel like he would be my toughest opponent. People don’t realize the work he’s put in to be a well-rounded fighter. Our styles are similar. Our striking ideologies are similar. We know each other’s weaknesses and strengths. A fight with him will be the ultimate chess match, the ultimate physicality match, and it’s going to be real violent. It will be a grueling fight. The best man is going to win, but it will be a grueling fight.

Zenger: Any closing thoughts for Danny Sabatello?

Stots: Sabatello sucks! The hardest part of this fight is going to be breaking down footage of him, because I fall asleep every time, I watch him fight.

Edited by Fern Siegel and Andre Johnson

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