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D.C. Businessman, Yimaj “Steve” Kalifa, Helps Howard University Fight The Pandemic

As an immigrant from Ethiopia, Washington, D.C., businessman Yimaj “Steve” Kalifa is living the American Dream, having built a personal wealth estimated at $100 million. Now at a time when COVID-19 has struck nearly 38,000 residents of the District and killed more than 900, Kalifa is paying back to the community that helped him build his fortune.

At the urging of a friend with connections to Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office, one of Kalifa’s companies, Capital Medical Supply Inc., donated 30,000 pieces of personal protection equipment to a Howard University virus testing center.

The friend was Armstrong Williams, political commentator and chief executive officer of Howard Stirk Holdings.

“It’s really sad what’s going on, so I really wanted to do something for the community that’s given so much to me,” said Kalifa, 53. “So, Armstrong called me and said, ‘Let’s buy these masks.’ He reached out to the city, which reached out to Howard’s Unity Clinic, and that’s how it happened.”

Medical staff at Howard University in Washington, DC, give Covid-19 vaccination doses for hospital staff Members on December 15. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

With a $1 million grant awarded in 2020, Howard University launched a testing site in the impoverished neighborhood of Benning Road Northeast, whose residents are disproportionately affected by pre-existing health conditions that make them susceptible to the novel coronavirus.

The site, which offers free testing four days a week to walk-ins, was impacted by a citywide shortage of personal protective equipment.

“The donation was very helpful at a time when the use of masks was critical to helping to curb the spread of the virus, especially in the minority community,” said Hugh E. Mighty, M.D., dean of the Howard University College of Medicine and vice president for clinical affairs. “We are grateful to Mr. Kalifa and Mr. Williams for their generous donations and support of the community.”

The site is now providing COVID-19 vaccinations, and will extend the program as more vaccine doses become available, Mighty said. Citywide, 83,125 doses have been delivered, with 62,219 administered as of the end of January, according to a monthly COVID-19 situational report released by Bowser’s office.

An additional 10,975 doses are expected to be delivered this week.

Although he incurred a personal cost of about $100,000, Kalifa said it was Williams’ connection to the mayor that made the personal protective equipment donation possible.

“I don’t have her cellphone number; he does,” Kalifa said. “So, he definitely gets credit for that.”

Medical staff at Howard University prepare Covid-19 vaccination doses. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

Building his empire

A self-described serial entrepreneur, Kalifa entered the business world in 2006, traveling to more than 20 states opening branches of a home health care company owned by three doctors and based in his adopted hometown of Los Angeles.

“On one trip, I went to Allentown, Pennsylvania, when the property owner offered to sell me the whole building for $30,000,” Kalifa said. “Coming from LA, that was a great price. That was the first property I purchased. But, from that point, in every state that I purchased a property, I leased it back to the three doctors. It was a lot of work starting out on my own, but that was the start of Capital View General Construction Inc.”

CVGC (doing business as Mitchell Heating and Cooling) is now a multimillion-dollar company specializing in commercial construction, road construction, residential construction and renovation projects in Denver and Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Washington, D.C.

CVGC and Mechanical Solutions Inc., a Denver-based heating, ventilation and air conditioning company, make up the bulk of Kalifa’s business portfolio. He also operates Capitol Medical Supply Inc., a durable medical equipment company in the District, and Source Cuisine, which, in 2019, outbid the former owner of Taylor Gourmet in a bankruptcy auction to reopen four locations of the popular D.C. sandwich shop.

Medical staff at Howard University give a Covid-19 vaccination dose. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

Opposites attract

Williams, 59, a black conservative commentator and owner of several television stations through his company, is known for a brand of rhetoric that often runs counter to voices on the American left. He met Kalifa about 10 years ago at the Congressional Black Caucus dinner. He acknowledges that he and Kalifa agree on little besides a mutual interest in building their respective business holdings.

“We have opposing views, but we have a civil discourse,” said Williams. “We agree on business, and we learn from each other. But, if everybody agreed with everybody, somebody’s not necessary.

“My first impression on meeting Steve was that he is very free, he’s truly free. We can agree on legal, moral and ethical things; I respect that. He’s built the $100 million health care and real estate portfolio around the world that he always wanted to. Steve’s a great guy; he’s my brother.”

(Edited by Jameson O’Neal and Alex Patrick)



The post D.C. Businessman, Yimaj “Steve” Kalifa, Helps Howard University Fight The Pandemic appeared first on Zenger News.

Seeking A Place ‘Where No One Knew Me,’ Baby Storme Became A Star

The Chinese video app TikTok has exploded in popularity since the pandemic began.

With hours of extra time on their hands, many users have turned to the app for diversion, recording 60-second dances to tracks by their favorite artists. Others have used it as a form of expression, whether to vent or to perform music of their own. New York’s Baby Storme at first found TikTok to be somewhat of an escape from real life. It was a place where she was unknown and so could be herself.

What she didn’t anticipate was using the app to launch a career. The very place where she retreated to be unknown was now making her popular — and allowing her music to take center stage. Her unique look — colorful hair, several face piercings, catchy contact lenses — captures as much attention as her soothing voice and her keyboarding talents. She is the perfect mixture of confidence and complexity.

Her new single, “Jackson,” holds the No. 1 Featured Spot on the app. The single became highly anticipated when Baby Storme released a snippet on TikTok and Lil Nas X, whose “Old Town Road” spent a record 19 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart after finding an audience on TikTok, left a comment: “Sounds really good.” Those three simple words catapulted “Jackson” to the top of the TikTok Emerging Artists Playlist on Spotify.

In an interview with Zenger News, Baby Storme reveals why she contemplated suicide just a month ago, how music saved her life, and what we can expect from her in the near future.

Percy Crawford interviewed Baby Storme for Zenger News.

Zenger News: What’s up, Storme? How’s it going?

Baby Storme: I’m good. Thank you.

Zenger: I’m very glad to hear that you are good, because in late December you made a post about being suicidal and seemingly checked into a hospital. How did you hit rock bottom? You were in a very dark spot; how did you end up there?

Storme: I was in a very toxic relationship, and basically, I just got to a point where everything was terrible. And when the relationship ended, I felt like I had exhausted all of my energy into it, and I had nothing left. I was living alone. It was just a really bad place. It was a bad time for me.

Zenger: Did you seek help to get you through those times? And are you in a mentally stable place right now?

Storme: I didn’t seek out help. I actually didn’t need help. I don’t have a mental problem. I never had a history of mental issues. It’s a really crazy story of how I ended up being put in there in the first place. It was involuntary. But I did not seek out the help. And I would say, to be honest, what really helped me was focusing on music and focusing on myself. That’s the only thing that moved me past it. You can go to a hospital, you can go to as many hospitals as you want, the only thing that’s going to fix you is you. Me focusing on my music and me focusing on what I was supposed to do, and starting to see that progress, that’s the only thing that helped me, to be honest.

Percy Crawford interviewed Baby Storme for Zenger News. (Heidi Malone/Zenger)

Zenger: And now you have completely dived into your music headfirst. I’m sure that is your happy place, and where your focus needs to be right now.

Storme: Yes, because I don’t dwell on the past at all. If anyone asks me, I have no exes, no past relationships or nothing like that. So, yeah … my music is my comfortable space.

Zenger: You have a unique look that I love. Is it inspired by someone or something, or is that all you?

Storme: No, it’s 100% me. For me, it was just like, I wanted to come up with something that I felt was unique. And I wanted to have a look that I felt like no one else had. My look is all over the place — the crazy hair, the piercings, the eyes, and this and that, so thank you for acknowledging that.

Zenger: Definitely! Is it a conscious thought process behind your appearance, or do you get a look for the day, walk out of the door and that’s just your look for that day?

Storme: It’s both. Literally both. Totally. I like both. Some things I plan, and then some things I am just totally spontaneous and just for fun. Out of nowhere. 

Zenger: What was your TikTok takeoff moment where you realized that this thing could turn into something?

Storme: That was a year ago. This time a year ago. Literally this exact time, because I had hopped on TikTok and I got on it because I wanted to get on a platform where no one knew me. At that time, that was before TikTok was like it is now. That was pre-quarantine. Because now everybody’s on TikTok. Before, people were just talking about it and they knew about it, but it wasn’t as big. I wanted to get on a platform where no one knew me, and that was just what started it. Then I started making videos about music, my personality videos and blogs and stuff, and the numbers started going up. So, when that happened, I was like, “OK, this could actually be a real thing.” So, I just went harder, and I ran with it, and now I’m here now.

Baby Storme says she plans some of her looks — but others are more spontaneous. (Terrhon Vaughn)

Zenger: Over 6.5 million likes, more than 400,000 followers on TikTok. I understand that you had a moment where you felt it could be a thing, but did you even expect this level of success and popularity?

Storme: I wasn’t shocked at all because I think it’s going to be even bigger. I think that I’m just starting off right now. I’m not in shock at all. I’m just really grateful for people that care about me enough to support me. You’ll see that this is just the beginning for me — the very-very beginning— so I’m not shocked at all. I don’t really think about the numbers. I don’t see myself as this big person. I feel like I’m just starting out.

Zenger: Your new single, “Jackson,” hit the No. 1 Featured Spot on TikTok. You made a very interesting video for that song. Give us the concept of “Jackson.”

Storme: The concept behind it is, it is a song about me being a stalker and following around the person who I am interested in. And I just take it to the next level. I just find a way to turn that craziness into a song. Because I feel like everyone has that inner crazy, especially nowadays with social media. I can be like an FBI detective at this point. Just watching. And so many people can relate, so I just wanted to turn that into a song. It’s just something that people can relate to and understand. It’s a catchy song, even though it’s about me being a stalker, which is also catchy. You don’t really realize what you’re saying while you’re singing it.

Zenger: It’s crazy because in the video, the guy doesn’t even know he’s being stalked, and in the social media era, that’s very possible. I thought it was a dope concept.

Storme: And you don’t even know it. That’s the craziest part because that’s actually true. You cannot even know. The whole story is fictional, by the way. I don’t know anyone named Jackson. I never stalked anyone, but just the idea of it I think is so realistic. Especially now with social media, you can really find anyone and follow their lives for as long as you want. You really can. It’s crazy.

Zenger: “Jackson” is so big and popular. Where do you go from “Jackson,” musically?

Storme: I want to make it bigger [laughing]. But other than that, I have a single that I’m dropping on Valentine’s Day. And it is a completely different vibe from “Jackson,” but it is just as strong of a single. It’s a low vibe. It’s very, very calm. It’s a very chill track, but it’s a vibe. But it’s very different than “Jackson.”

Zenger: You are a self-taught pianist. Can we expect more of that from you in the future?

Storme: Yes, 110%. A lot of the tracks that will eventually be heard from me are going to be strictly me on the keyboard. I actually have a song out right now called “Men,” which is my favorite song that I’ve ever put out. It’s just all me. Just on the piano, saying what I have to say. For the future moving forward, you will hear a lot more piano tracks. A lot of piano, a lot of violin, just very, very sad, but also very good.

Baby Storme never expected opening a TikTok account would lead to fame. (Terrhon Vaughn)

Zenger: I understand you saying you don’t feel like you’re that big of a person, but the reality is, you are. How did you transition from being a “regular” person to 400,000 followers with an audience?

Storme: I just don’t think about it. I really just don’t. You’re right, there is a transition, but it happened over a course of time. If it was to happen overnight, that’s a little bit different. But for me, it was a gradual growth over the years. Let’s just say, this time last year I was maybe not at 10K followers yet. I maybe had a few thousand then. You go from like 10K, 20K to 30K, and you just kind of grow slowly. It just keeps growing gradually, so it’s like, after a certain point, you don’t really feel the growth, because it just happens so slow. It’s like when you go to the gym and you work out 30 minutes a day, you don’t really feel the progress until you look back at an old picture of yourself, and it’s like, oh my God, I used to look different. You don’t even realize it because you have been doing a little every single day, and it just adds up. So, I don’t feel… I feel totally the same. I don’t feel any different at all.

Zenger: It does have to feel good to know that so many people are invested in what you’re doing and the things you have going on and promoting.

Storme: It’s a great feeling because for me it’s like, I was so nervous for a long time. I wanted to see my music career go somewhere. Obviously, I believed in myself enough to know that it would go somewhere. But still, without that recognition, it’s a little bit hard to be taken seriously by people around you, and to be taken seriously by yourself, if anything. So, for me, starting to see the progress and starting to see people listen to my music… I remember this time last year when I was putting out music; I remember thinking, “Is the music even good?” I knew it was good, but no one was really listening. When I started seeing people listen to it, it was like, “Oh, OK, people actually really listen to it because they want to.” And that’s what made me get to the point where it was like, “OK, the music is good, it’s good.” And just started creating more and more, because without that recognition, it’s hard to really go anywhere. I feel like you just need that. I’m just grateful. Super grateful, but I try not to think about it too much.

Zenger: What you are saying is so true, because I’m sure for you, it seemed as if other people’s music was taking off overnight, although that may not have been the case. I understand feeling like people who came in around the same time as you are quickly moving, and you are in slow motion.

Storme: Oh, yeah! It’s easy to compare yourself to people on the internet, but in reality, you have no idea what they’re going through. It’s so easy to be like … someone like Lil Nas X. He blew up overnight with that song [Old Town Road], but he put out like 14 songs before that. He was sleeping on his sister’s couch; his family disowned him. The whole thing is like, you don’t really know what people are going through before they have their breakthrough. I already know that nothing on the internet is really what it seems. I know enough now about the industry to know that there are so many inside jobs. People working to make something happen for a person. I know it’s not overnight. I 100% know that now.

Zenger: I wish you continued success. Keep doing your thing, and I’m sure we will be talking again in the near future. Is there anything else you would like to add?

Storme: Thank you for taking the time out to talk to me. I appreciate it.

(Edited by Jameson O’Neal and Alex Patrick.)



The post Seeking A Place ‘Where No One Knew Me,’ Baby Storme Became A Star appeared first on Zenger News.

‘The Nigerian Nightmare’: The Chiefs Can Go Back-To-Back At Super Bowl LV

In the late ’80s and early ’90s, Christian Okoye punished defenses while playing running back for the Kansas City Chiefs. Teammate Irv Eatman appropriately labeled him “The Nigerian Nightmare” — a nickname that rang true for opposing defenses. Okoye was a big back who could run around you or through you; he led the NFL in rushing yards in 1989.

He was hard to bring down, and seldom was he tackled by a single defender.

Breaking arm tackles while scurrying into the end zone became his forte. The Nigerian-born Okoye didn’t pick up the sport until he was in college, but he was a quick study. In the course of his career, he was selected to two NFL Pro Bowls and won an AFC Offensive Player of the Year Award. He was inducted into the Ring of Honor at the Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Fame.

Even approaching 60, Okoye looks like a man who could get a first down in a pinch, but the once imposing and feared runner has turned gentle giant. Since leaving the field, Okoye has focused his attention on young people. His philanthropy and outreach to troubled youth is well-documented. He is spreading the message about the importance of education and extracurricular activities. Through the Christian Okoye Foundation, he has expanded his services and free summer sports camps to his homeland. Okoye’s passion to uplift makes him one of the most beloved Chiefs in the franchise’s storied history.

Zenger News did what many defenders couldn’t: We tackled the Nigerian Nightmare to get his thoughts on Super Bowl LV, Sunday’s showdown between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs.

Okoye also opens up about his playing days and his foundation.

Percy Crawford interviewed Christian Okoye for Zenger News.

Zenger News: How are you doing?

Christian Okoye: I’m doing well. I have no complaints.

Zenger: I will say this: You still look like you could give some linebackers a hard time.

Okoye: [Laughing] Ah, looks are deceiving, man.

Zenger: [Laughing] I can tell you take your health and physical fitness very serious. That’s always a good thing.

Okoye: I try to. After you leave the game, it’s important to stay in some kind of physical condition. Because after years of having accidents, running into guys, it puts a toll on your body.

Percy Crawford interviewed Christian Okoye for Zenger News. (Heidi Malone/Zenger)

Zenger: To see the Kansas City Chiefs organization have so much success recently, as a former Chief, that has to be a great feeling.

Okoye: It is a good feeling, of course. Anytime your team is doing well… especially for me, because I didn’t play for any other team. I played for the Chiefs, so they are like family. Every time they do well, I’m jumping up and down like a brother or sister is doing something good. They are a part of my family.

Zenger: How does it feel to see people still sporting that No. 35 Christian Okoye Chiefs jersey?

Okoye: Well, it takes me that I left enough of a mark that people still remember me. Of course, it makes me feel good. That’s why when I speak to kids these days, I tell them, “Hey, you gotta do something to be remembered. You have to work extremely hard to make your mark.” If you leave your mark, later on in your years, you will be thankful. You will be proud of yourself.

Zenger: What do you think of this Kansas City team, when you watch them from a keen eye? You understand the intricacies of football better than the average eye. What are your thoughts when watching this team?

Okoye: Well, what I see is, the team is well-coached. They have coached them in such a way that they don’t worry about the past. When they make a mistake, they just bounce back. You see in the AFC Championship, the punt returner [Mecole Hardman] fumbled the ball, and Buffalo scored off of that. We came right back and scored and still won the game. The guys are young, but they still listen to [Chiefs head coach] Andy Reid, who is the driver out there — the coach and the father figure.

Zenger: Their ability to have short-term memory for such a young team is incredible. They forget the last play and move on to the next one. Not to mention in this year’s playoffs and last year, they went down on points early and just rally back.

Okoye: That’s right. That’s a great quality to have as a football player. When you’re playing in a team sport, even in a single sport, as long as you’re still in it, never give up. Keep trying and things will turn around.

Zenger: What do you feel are the keys of victory for the Chiefs to win consecutive Super Bowls?

Okoye: Keep doing what they’re doing. [Quarterback Patrick] Mahomes is the engineer right there. Whatever you’re doing, keep doing that — running the ball and throwing it accurately, and not giving the ball up. Because you can’t give [Tampa Bay quarterback] Tom Brady any chance at all.

Christian Okoye. (Photo courtesy of Christian Okoye)

Zenger: How impressive is it to see Tom Brady not only still play at a very high level, but still have the ability to lead a team to a Super Bowl at 43 years of age?

Okoye: That means that he’s taken care of himself. He’s a different human being. He takes care of himself very, very well. And he takes the game of football very seriously, and he loves the game. So, when you put those three things together, you will be just like him.

Zenger: Mahomes seems to have all the intangibles and the three factors you just named about Brady as well. We see so many players say football just isn’t fun to them anymore. Mahomes seems to have fun while doing his thing on the football field. How important is it to still enjoy the game while learning and getting better?

Okoye: Yes! He’s having a great deal of fun. And that’s very, very important, because if you’re having fun, you have the hunger to improve at any stage of your game. Patrick Mahomes is having a lot of fun. People always ask me, “What do you think when you’re watching Patrick Mahomes?” And I say, “Well, when I watch him, it reminds me of playing in your backyard with your friends — just having a great deal of fun.” It’s not work, it’s a game.

Zenger: [Chiefs running back] Clyde Edwards-Helaire — Louisiana guy, my neck of the woods. He’s had a dynamic rookie year at the running back position. You even joked about people calling him your “Mini Me.” Have you had the opportunity to meet him and speak with him yet?

Okoye: [Laughing] I haven’t talked to him because of COVID. They try to keep people away from the players. He just got to the team this last year — it was during the pandemic, so you can’t really chance anything. You want to keep your players pure. Hopefully, in a couple of months, I will get to meet him. But from what I see, he’s a great player. I love the way he runs. He’s closer to the ground. He’s very close to the ground, very strong legs, and I’m hoping that he bounces back in this game and does well.

Zenger: When you watch offenses now, particularly the Chiefs, things are so spread out and wide open. Much different from the days when you played, and it was about having a great front five and pounding the ball down defenses’ throats. If you can, just speak a little bit about the different style of play nowadays.

Okoye: I think football is healthier now for the players. It’s a passing league more than a running league. It’s one of those pluses that accompanies the game, and it’s keeping the guys healthier today long-term than when we played. Pounding the ball is a good strategy, but it benefits you to have somebody in the backfield who can throw the ball. And the Chiefs have that with Mahomes, and so does Tampa with Tom Brady. If you have that guy in your backfield, then you can do that. You can spread everyone out and throw the ball all over the field.

Christian Okoye in September 1993 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. (Photo by Fred Vuich /Allsport/Getty Images)

Zenger: I’m almost sure I know who you are going to pick, but can I get a prediction with a score as well?

Okoye: You know exactly what I’m going to say [laughing]. But the Chiefs are going to win by a score of 34-27.

Zenger: You do a great deal of philanthropy work through your foundation, the Christian Okoye Foundation. I wanted to give you the opportunity to speak about the foundation and the things you do for Nigeria.

Okoye: Yeah, my foundation has been going since 1990. I’ve been working with kids in the summertime, putting on free sports camps. Trying to motivate kids to stay in school and focus on their education and set goals for themselves. I’m trying to bring the kids out of their neighborhoods and show them what’s out there, so they can better set goals for themselves. In Nigeria — I took part of my foundation back to Nigeria four years ago, so I can do the same for the kids in Nigeria. That’s going really, really well.

Zenger: Focusing on school is very important, but that time away from school can equally be important. For kids to get involved in sports and after-school activities is so important, and I know that’s something your foundation encourages as well.

Okoye: It’s very important because when kids stay idle, then they start to get in trouble. You gotta keep them occupied. When you keep them occupied doing something positive, they don’t have any opportunity to get in trouble at all.

Zenger: You said being drafted into the NFL was one of the best days of your life, and you have said in the past that football essentially saved your life. Why was finding football essential for you?

Okoye: Football gave me the opportunity to do a lot of things. It provided a lot of opportunities by meeting some of the people that I met along the way. It gave me the vehicle to do what I do with my foundation. Without football, I wasn’t going to be able to do what I did and reach the kids that I reached. I did a lot with kids in Kansas City, California and Hawaii through my foundation.

Zenger: Has COVID slowed down some of the things you had planned with the foundation?

Okoye: COVID has stopped some things. We didn’t do any events at all last year. Well, in January we did our race to raise money. Other than that, we didn’t do anything else because of COVID. COVID suspended everything. So, I’m hoping this summer things will open up.

Zenger: It’s been an honor and a pleasure speaking to you. Good luck to your Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. And a special thank you to Miss Cynthia Busby and Busby Promotions for linking us together. She is awesome. Is there anything else you want to add before I let you go?

Okoye: She is a great person. I just want to tell everyone to watch the game and watch my man Patrick Mahomes do his thing. We’re excited that the Chiefs got back to the Super Bowl. Go, Chiefs!

(Edited by Jameson O’Neal and Alex Patrick)



The post ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’: The Chiefs Can Go Back-To-Back At Super Bowl LV appeared first on Zenger News.

Celebrate Black History Month with Three New Graphic Novel Collections

In celebration of Black History Month, TidalWave Comics is proud to announce three new graphic novel collections featuring Black politicians, musicians, and athletes at the top of their fields.

Every February for the last twelve years of producing biography comic books, we celebrate Black History Month to show our respect for the Black community’s work and sacrifices. No stranger to honoring those who shape our politics and culture, TidalWave has profiled politicians, musicians, actors, and others for more than eleven years using graphic narrative’s unique storytelling properties.

The merging of compelling text with eye-popping art appeals to people of all ages, something that’s important to publisher Darren G. Davis.

“I was a reluctant reader as a kid,” said Davis. “But comic books drew me in. There’s something magical about the combination of words and pictures working together that appealed to me.”

That appeal is something adults, and kids enjoy. “Comics like this are collectible memorabilia,” said Davis, “but we also want them to be a great read about the people who are shaping our country’s politics and culture.”

The graphic novel collections explore the lives of real people who achieved fame and are considered at the top of their chosen fields.

The first collection, out on February 10, “Black History Leaders: Volume 2: Nelson Mandela, Michelle Obama, Kamala Harris, and Tyler Perry,” is a study in active, social leadership. Also available is “Black History Leaders: Volume 1 ” featuring: Oprah, Barak Obama, Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice. 

“What I love about working with TidalWave is that we focus on the real lives of our subjects. We don’t get mired down in conjecture. We strive for unbiased storytelling. Don’t think of this as a political book. Think of it as a profile of people who are influential in our political system.” Said writer Michael Frizell, whose work is featured in the section on Vice President Kamala Harris.

Chosen for their undeniable influence on the music scene, the second collection, “Black History Leaders: Music: Beyonce, Drake, Nikki Minaj, and Prince,” looks at leadership’s creative side. This collection is set for release on February 17.

“As a kid, I couldn’t get enough of Prince’s music,” said writer Frizell. “Sure, Michael Jackson sold more copies during that time, but Prince changed the way we listen to music. His combination of funk and rock was infectious. It was his innuendo-laden lyrics that got me in trouble with my parents as a kid.”

And finally, on February 24, “Black History Leaders: Athletes: LeBron James, Jackie Robinson, Russell Wilson, and Tiger Woods” explores the lives of people who pushed themselves to their physical limits and led their respective sports to fame. The cover was drawn by famed comic book artist Joe Phillips.

Upcoming comic book biography titles in 2021 featuring other African Americans include Stacey Abrams, Angela Davis, Amanda Gorman and a tribute to Herman Cain. 

The biography comic format allows TidalWave writers to delve into newsworthy figures’ history and explore what shaped them. Several media outlets, including CNN, FOX News, “The Today Show,” and Time and People magazines, have featured the company’s line of biographical comic books.

The “Female Force: Oprah Winfrey” comic book is displayed in the Smithsonian Museum.  Our titles also can be seen as part of the “Black History 101: Mobile Museum”.

Print copies of the comics are available on Amazon. Digital versions are available from iTunes, Kindle, Nook, ComiXology, Kobo, and wherever e-books are sold.

The latest biography graphic novels join TidalWave’s ever-growing library of more than 200 comic book biographies. Previous titles have profiled Barack Obama, Selena Gomez, Condoleezza Rice, George Bush, Cher, Marco Rubio, and Elizabeth Warren.

Please feel free to use the cover images and credit TidalWave Productions.  To download the covers, click here: http://bit.ly/3taevnI

Review copies in PDF form and interview opportunities are available upon request.

For more information about the company, visit www.tidalwavecomics.com

SOLICITATIONS

Black History Leaders: Volume 2: Nelson Mandela, Michelle Obama, Kamala Harris, and Tyler Perry

Writers: Robert Schnakenberg, Clay Griffith, Michael L. Frizell, C.R. Ward

Artists: Azim Akberali, Patricio Carbajal, Pablo Martinena, Juan Burgos, Steven Wilcox

Release Date: 2/10/2021

Print Price – $19.99

Digital Price: $11.99

ISBN: 9781954044425

The impact of the leadership demonstrated by Kamala Harris, Tyler Perry, Nelson Mandela, and Michelle Obama cannot be overstated. 

As the first woman to hold the office of Vice President of the United States, Kamala Devi Harris, lawyer, prosecutor, and former attorney general, has devoted herself to bettering her constituents’ lives while focusing on social issues that help minorities women.

Tyler Perry is known for wearing many different hats and wigs, such as actor, director, screenwriter, playwright, producer, author, and now comic book character. His inspiring life story has had dramatic highs and lows that have launched him to superstardom.

Nelson Mandela of South Africa is one of the most important figures of the last century. He symbolizes the struggle against racial and political oppression and serves as a model for sustaining that struggle with grace and decency.

From humble beginnings in Chicago, Michelle Obama rose to become an outspoken advocate, trailblazing First Lady, and international style icon.

Their stories inspire generations and shape our culture. Celebrate Black History Month by exploring the lives of those who made history.

Black History Leaders: Music: Beyonce, Drake, Nikki Minaj, and Prince

Writers: Michael L. Frizell, C.W. Cooke, Marc Shapiro, Michael Troy

Artists: Marcelo Salaza, Angel Bernuy, Keith Quinn

Release Date: 2/17/2021

Print Price – $19.99

Digital Price: $11.99

ISBN: 9781954044449

Drake, Nicki Minaj, Prince, and Beyoncé changed what music means.

He made a name for himself as an actor, portraying wheelchair-bound Jimmy Brooks Degrassi: The Next Generation, but when Aubrey Graham went by his middle name, Drake, he rocketed to stardom with a sound unlike any before him.

From her humble beginnings in Jamaica to her childhood in Queens, New York, to her spotlight alongside high-profile personalities on the American Idol judge’s panel, hip hop star Nicki Minaj came to conquer the music scene. She succeeded.

So much has been left unsaid about the passing of legendary music innovator Prince Rogers Nelson. Prince, a prolific musician from Minneapolis, started a musical revolution with the hits “1999,” “Little Red Corvette,” “When Doves Cry,” “Purple Rain,” “Batdance,” and more, challenging even the “King of Pop,” Michael Jackson, for chart supremacy during the 1980s.

She might not be a superhero, but judging by all the things she’s done, you’d be hard-pressed not to think she is. She’s amazing, fierce, and always striving to be the best. All the single ladies know that Beyoncé is one of the world’s hottest musicians, if not the hottest.

Explore the lives of those who made us stand up and take notice during Black History Month.

Black History Leaders: Athletes: LeBron James, Jackie Robinson, Russell Wilson, and Tiger Woods

Writers: C.W. Cooke, Scott Davis, Michael L. Frizell, Robert Schnakenberg

Artists: Marcelo Salaza, Angel Bernuy, Keith Quinn

Release Date: 2/24/2021

Print Price – $19.99

Digital Price: $11.99

ISBN: 9781954044432

Jackie Robinson, Lebron James, Tiger Woods, Russell Wilson have all held the title of “greatest player of all-time” in their respective sports. How did they get there? And what influence have they had on our culture?

The first African-American to play major league baseball, Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s color line and played a role in the Civil Rights Movement.

Now the holder of three NBA championships, four MVP awards, two Olympic gold medals, and much more, LeBron James’ fame has afforded him the ability to use his numerous endorsements to start companies, participate in social activism, and donate to worthwhile causes.

By far, Tiger Woods is the most famous golfer of all time who’s TGR Foundation delivers unique and empowering educational opportunities that lead to personal and professional excellence.

Expectations and the pressure following them could break lesser men. Fortunately for Seattle Seahawks fans, Russell Wilson manages to withstand success and defeat with grace and aplomb.

Read their exciting stories in Celebration of Black History Month!

About TidalWave Comics

TidalWave is a multifaceted multimedia production company with the mission of delivering dynamic storytelling in various forms by developing graphic and literary fiction and nonfiction, audio, film, and more. The company’s wide range of diverse titles delights readers through its creative and innovative storytelling in high-quality print and electronic formats.

TidalWave delivers a multimedia experience unparalleled in the burgeoning graphic fiction and nonfiction marketplace. Dynamic storytelling, coupled with groundbreaking art, provides an experience like no other. Stories are told through multiple platforms and genres, gracing the pages of graphic novels, novelizations, engaging audio dramas, and cutting-edge film projects. Diversity defines TidalWave’s offerings in the burgeoning pop-culture marketplace through its use of fresh voices and innovative storytellers.

As one of the top independent publishers of comic books and graphic novels, TidalWave unites cutting-edge art and engaging stories produced by the publishing industry’s most exciting artists and writers. Its extensive catalog of comic book titles includes the bestsellers “10th Muse” and “The Legend of Isis,” complemented by a line of young adult books and audiobooks.

TidalWave’s publishing partnerships include entertainment icon William Shatner (“TekWar Chronicles”), legendary filmmaker Ray Harryhausen (“Wrath of the Titans,” “Sinbad: Rogue of Mars,” “Jason and the Argonauts” and more), novelists S.E. Hinton (“The Puppy Sister”) and William F. Nolan (“Logan’s Run”), and celebrated actors Vincent Price (“Vincent Price Presents”), Dirk Benedict of the original “Battlestar Galactica” (“Dirk Benedict in the 25th Century”) and Adam West of 1966’s “Batman” fame (“The Mis-Adventures of Adam West”). TidalWave also publishes a highly successful line of biographical comics under the titles “Orbit,” “Fame,” “Beyond,” “Tribute,” “Female Force,” and “Political Power.”

Majority Leader Reyes Introduces Bill to Establish California Commission on Human Rights

Sacramento – AssemblyMajority Leader Eloise Gómez Reyes (D -San Bernardino) introduced AB 412 which establishes a new commission to oversee the status of human rights within the state of California. The California Commission on Human Rights would provide oversight and policy recommendations aimed to protect the human rights of all Californians.   

“California has been a long time leader in the advancement of social justice thus making the establishment of this commission consistent with the ideals that have made California home to people from all over the United States and across the world.   California has often led the nation in establishing legal protections that safeguard the dignity and human rights of the state’s population.”  Majority Leader Reyes continued “AB 412 will ensure that we hold ourselves accountable as a state to meet the ideals that are so important to all of us.”

“The Council on American Islamic Relations – California (CAIR-CA) is excited to co-sponsor, and are grateful for Majority Leader Reyes’s leadership, on this monumental legislation.  The creation of the California Commission on Human Rights will ensure that California is constantly prioritizing the human rights of Californians across the state.  The advisory body is one big step to ensuring California’s most vulnerable continue to be prioritized.” – Hussam Ayloush, CEO

“The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) is proud to stand as a co-sponsor on AB 412 which will create the California Commission on Human Rights – a commission that will uplift the voices and needs of California’s diverse communities.  The advisory body will go a long way in ensuring that California can lead the way in promoting and protecting everyone’s human rights.” – Joseph Villela, Director of Policy & Advocacy

AB 412 would create the first statewide effort to review the status of human rights in the state of California on an ongoing basis.   The Commission would be tasked with creating regular reports, identifying human rights abuses and concerns, developing policy recommendations and advocate for them accordingly. This commission is crucial to protect and ensure human rights for all.

Obituary: Sidney Frederick Herndon

When Sidney and Essie Herndon welcomed their firstborn child in the spring before America entered World War II, they gave the glory to God and began pouring their love and attention into raising little Sidney in the small town they called home.

What the young couple may not have realized is that their son would usher in an extraordinary family legacy. That he would make history and distinguish himself as an outstanding leader and advocate, remarkable innovator, fount of soft-spoken wisdom, and exemplar of Black dignity and achievement before it was commonly recognized and celebrated.

Sidney Frederick Herndon was born March 30, 1941 in Broken Bow, Oklahoma. He was known as a precocious child who was always ready to accept the most adult responsibilities — a standing in life that was encapsulated in his parents’ decision to move west while Sidney was a student at Bing High School in Ada, Oklahoma: hardly old enough to possess a license, the teenager drove what had become a very large family most of the way to California.

The Herndons put down roots in San Bernardino, where Sidney — the eldest of 11 children — graduated from San Bernardino High School in 1957. He began studying to become a psychiatric technician immediately following high school, starting a lifelong career in mental health that began at Patton State Hospital and led to a decade at Camarillo State Hospital, where he became nursing coordinator; and then spent five years as program director, and then spent five years as program director for acute psychiatric patients at Metropolitan State Hospital in Norwalk. Along the way, he earned degrees from Antioch University and the University of the Pacific.

In the summer of 1980, at the age of 39, Sidney became the first African-American in California history named executive director of a state mental hospital — when he assumed the post on an acting basis at Metropolitan. On December 22 of that year, he was named executive director of Atascadero State Hospital, a 1,263-bed facility in San Luis Obispo County. Each hospital he led achieved accreditation.

After retiring from the State of California, Sidney moved to the Midwest and served as deputy director of hospital services in the State of Ohio.

Sidney’s approach to serving people with mental illness and supporting their caregivers was captured in remarks he gave to the San Bernardino Sun newspaper in 1980 — as he advocated for more community-based psychiatric clinics to treat mental illness at earlier stages and possibly prevent hospitalizations.

“State hospitals have a stigma about them,” he said, “and what I would like to do is take it (treatment) into the community and normalize it.”

Outside of his historic career and phenomenal record of professional and community leadership, Sidney never lost sight of what always meant most to him: family. While he was living in Oxnard, his parents entrusted him with caring for two teenage siblings — Willie and Ruben — eager to learn the ways of the world from their older brother.

Fatherhood came naturally to him, and his 1962 marriage to Gayle Cole was blessed with two children, Tina and Eric. He married Caroline Rotherman in [YEAR], a union that brought Timothy, Catherine and Elizabeth into their loving family.

Sidney enjoyed traveling with his family, especially trips to campgrounds with his children. He was a master of the motor home, and once took his parents on a memorable road trip to their Oklahoma hometown to visit relatives and reminisce.

After retiring from the State of Ohio, Sidney and his wife of 15 years, Hazel Simonette Herndon, lived in Trinidad before moving to Corona, California at the end of 2019.

Throughout his life, Sidney modeled a quiet strength and generous spirit that influenced, motivated, and sustained countless people and touched generations of lives.

After his father’s passing, Sidney took his role as family patriarch to heart: he was known to never miss a major function or moment in the lives of his loved ones. He took every occasion as an opportunity to exemplify the values he held dear: Put family at the center. Act with kindness. Be present for one another’s sake. Thoughtfully show what it really means to take care of each other. Lead quietly and confidently with intelligence and grace. Never lose sight of how valuable your mere presence can be for the people you love and who love you.

He was preceded in death by his beloved parents Sidney and Essie; and brothers Brent Astaire Herndon, Freddie Lee Herndon, Willie Cullen Herndon, Ruben Coleman Herndon, and Jerry Lyn Herndon.

Beyond his children and wife Hazel, Sidney is survived by his brothers Myles Edward Herndon and Byron Duryea Herndon (Regina); sisters Beverly Ann Martin, Evelyn Margie Tahiru, and Ida Ruth Martin (George). He will be remembered by a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends who looked to Sidney as a role model, mentor, and style icon — and his memory will be loved and treasured forever.

A Tribute to Cicely Tyson

By Mark Kennedy | Associated Press

Cicely Tyson, the pioneering Black actor who gained an Oscar nomination for her role as the sharecropper’s wife in “Sounder,” won a Tony Award in 2013 at age 88 and touched TV viewers’ hearts in “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman,” succumbed on Thursday, January 28 at the age of 96.

Tyson’s death was announced by her family, via her manager Larry Thompson, who did not immediately provide additional details.

“With heavy heart, the family of Miss Cicely Tyson announces her peaceful transition this afternoon. At this time, please allow the family their privacy,” according to a statement issued through Thompson.

A one-time model, Tyson began her screen career with bit parts but gained fame in the early 1970s when Black women were finally starting to get starring roles. Tyson refused to take parts simply for the paycheck, remaining choosey.

“I’m very selective as I’ve been my whole career about what I do. Unfortunately, I’m not the kind of person who works only for money. It has to have some real substance for me to do it,” she told The Associated Press in 2013.

Tributes from Broadway and Hollywood poured in, including from Broadway star Tracie Thomas, who thanked her for paving the way. “A queen and a trailblazer indeed,” she wrote on Twitter. Former co-star Marlee Matlin wrote: “She was a consummate pro and all class.” Director Kenny Leon added: “God bless the greatest and the tallest tree.”

Tyson’s memoir, “Just As I Am,” was published this week.

Besides her Oscar nomination, she won two Emmys for playing the 110-year-old former slave in the 1974 television drama “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman.” A new generation of moviegoers saw her in the 2011 hit “The Help.”

In 2018, she was given an honorary Oscar statuette at the annual Governors Awards. “I come from lowly status. I grew up in an area that was called the slums at the time,” Tyson said at the time. “I still cannot imagine that I have met with presidents, kings, queens. How did I get here? I marvel at it.”

Writing in “Blacks in American Film and Television,” Donald Bogle described Tyson as “a striking figure: slender and intense with near-perfect bone structure, magnificent smooth skin, dark penetrating eyes, and a regal air that made her seem a woman of convictions and commitment. (Audiences) sensed… her power and range.”

“Sounder,” based on the William H. Hunter novel, was the film that confirmed her stardom in 1972. Tyson was cast as the Depression-era loving wife of a sharecropper (Paul Winfield) who is confined in jail for stealing a piece of meat for his family. She is forced to care for their children and attend to the crops.

The New York Times reviewer wrote: “She passes all of her easy beauty by to give us, at long last, some sense of the profound beauty of millions of Black women.”

Her performance evoked rave reviews, and Tyson won an Academy Award nomination as best actress of 1972.

In an interview on the Turner Classic Movies cable channel, she recalled that she had been asked to test for a smaller role in the film and said she wanted to play the mother, Rebecca. She was told, “You’re too young, you’re too pretty, you’re too sexy, you’re too this, you’re too that, and I said, `I am an actress.’”

In 2013, at the age of 88, Tyson won the Tony for best leading actress in a play for the revival of Horton Foote’s “The Trip to Bountiful.” It was the actor’s first time back on Broadway in three decades and she refused to turn meekly away when the teleprompter told to finish her acceptance speech.

“`Please wrap it up,’ it says. Well, that’s exactly what you did with me: You wrapped me up in your arms after 30 years,” she told the crowd. She had prepared no speech (“I think it’s presumptuous,” she told the AP later. “I burned up half my time wondering what I was going to say.”)

She reprised her winning role in the play for a Lifetime Television movie, which was screened at the White House. She returned to Broadway in 2015 opposite James Earl Jones for a revival of “The Gin Game.”

Her fame transcended all media. Wendell Pierce took to Twitter to praise Tyson as an actor “who captured the power and grace of Black women in America” and Gabrielle Union said “we have lost a visionary, a leader, a lover an author, an icon and one of the most talented actresses the world has ever seen.” Neil deGrasse Tyson called her “a force of nature unto herself” and Shonda Rhimes said “her power and grace will be with us forever.”

In the 1974 television drama “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman,” based on a novel by Ernest J. Gaines, Tyson is seen aging from a young woman in slavery to a 110-year-old who campaigned for the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

In the touching climax, she laboriously walks up to a “whites only” water fountain and takes a drink as white officers look on.

“It’s important that they see and hear history from Miss Jane’s point of view,” Tyson told The New York Times. “And I think they will be more ready to accept it from her than from someone younger”

New Yorker film critic Pauline Kael offered her praise: “She’s an actress, all right, and as tough-minded and honorable in her methods as any we’ve got.”

At the Emmy Awards, “Pittman” won multiple awards, including two honors for Tyson, best lead actress in a drama and best actress in a special.

“People ask me what I prefer doing — film, stage, television? I say, ‘I would have done “Jane Pittman” in the basement or in a storefront.’ It’s the role that determines where I go,” she told the AP.

Tyson made her movie debut in the late 1950s with small roles in such films as “Odds Against Tomorrow,” “The Last Angry Man,” and “The Comedians.” She played the romantic interest to Sammy Davis Jr.’s jazz musician in “A Man Called Adam.”

She gained wider notice with a recurring role in the 1963 drama series “East Side, West Side,” which starred George C. Scott as a social worker. Tyson played his secretary, making her the first Black woman to have a continuing role in a dramatic television series.

She played a role in the 1968 drama “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter” that was hailed by a reviewer as “an absolute embodiment of the slogan ‘Black is beautiful.’” In “Roots,” the 1977 miniseries that became one of the biggest events in TV history, she played Binta, mother of the protagonist, Kunta Kinte, played by LeVar Burton.

She also appeared on Broadway in the 1960s in “The Cool World,” “Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright” and other plays. Off-Broadway, she appeared with such future stars as Maya Angelou, Godfrey Cambridge and James Earl Jones in a 1961 production of French playwright Jean Genet’s “The Blacks.”

She won a Drama Desk award in 1962 for a role in the off-Broadway “Moon on a Rainbow Shawl.”

After her “Sounder” and “Miss Jane Pittman” successes, Tyson continued to seek TV roles that had messages, and she succeeded with “Roots” and “King” (about Martin Luther King) and “The Rosa Parks Story.”

She complained to an interviewer: “We Black actresses have played so many prostitutes and drug addicts and house maids, always negative. I won’t play that kind of characterless role any more, even if I have to go back to starving.”

She continued with such films as “The Blue Bird,” “Concorde — Airport ’79,” “Fried Green Tomatoes,” “The Grass Harp” and Tyler Perry’s “Diary of a Mad Black Woman.”

She won a supporting actress Emmy in 1994 for “Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All.” She was nominated for Emmys several other times, including for “Roots,” “King,” “The Marva Collins Story” “Sweet Justice” and “A Lesson Before Dying.”

In recent years, she was part of a panel discussion for “Cherish the Day,” an eight-episode OWN anthology series created and produced by Ava DuVernay. She played the mother of Viola Davis on the long-running “How to Get Away with Murder.”

Tyson’s parents moved from the island of Nevis in the Caribbean to New York, where Cicely (her name was spelled early on as Cecily and Sicely) was born in 1924, the youngest of three children. When her parents separated, her mother went on welfare. At 9 Cicely sold shopping bags on the streets of East Harlem.

When she graduated from high school, she found work as a secretary at the Red Cross. Her striking looks prompted friends to advise her to take up modeling and that led to acting schools, theater, movies and television.

“My mother told me I could no longer live in her house because I was determined to be an actress,” she told an interviewer in 1990. “I said `OK,’ and I moved out.”

Tyson was married once, to jazz great Miles Davis. The wedding was held in 1981 at Bill Cosby’s home in Massachusetts, attended by show business notables. They divorced in 1988.

Tyson was never hard to spot. She tried to say no to wearing a terrifically large hat to Aretha Franklin’s 2018 funeral, only to be overruled by her designer. The hat would become a viral highlight.

“I never thought in my career that I would be upstaged by a hat! And I did not want to wear it,” Tyson said later. “I said, ‘I can’t wear that hat, I will be blocking the view of the people behind me, they won’t be able to see and they’ll call me all kinds of names.’ He just looked at me and said, ‘Put the hat on.’”

She came around, telling the AP she thought of the hat as homage to Franklin’s appearance at Obama’s inauguration.

AP National Writer Hillel Italie contributed to this report.

“My People? Don’t You Worry About A Thing!”

By Lou Yeboah

“I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land.” [Martin Luther King, Jr.]. God has chosen us out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. The LORD did not set his affection on us and chose us, because we were more numerous than other peoples, for we were the fewest of all peoples. But because the LORD loved us and is keeping the oath He swore to our forefathers that He brought out with a mighty hand and redeemed from the land of slavery. [Deuteronomy 7:6-8]. We have been elected. He chose us. Let that continue to encourage you and give you confidence that He will keep you until the end.

Yes, we are the peculiar people of God; all His own, closest to His affections, under His protection, the recipients of all needed. I tell you, don’t you worry about a thing, because God got you! I’m reminded of when the Children of Israel who had come to what seemed like the end of their journey on the banks of Jordan, Moses told them to go on ahead. They began to wonder what would happen to them next, and the Lord said tell them… “Be strong and of a good courage, do not fear, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you; He will not fail you, nor forsake you… [Deuteronomy 31:6]. My people, “I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land.”  We are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of God’s possession.” [1 Peter 2:9].

Therefore, “Do not think its strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. [1 Peter 4:12-14]. For we’ve come “Out of Africa” now into the wilderness.  But God has promised to be with us every step of the way.  I tell you, don’t you worry about a thing, God got you!

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?  As it is written: “… we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.  For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. [Romans 8:31-39].

Take this confident assurance forward with you through whatever trial or hazard besets you, and faithfully prepare to cross the Jordan, into the land that Christ has giving unto us as He promised to Moses.  From the wilderness and the Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, to the Great Sea in the west shall be our territory. Moving forward knowing that no one shall be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As God was with Moses, so He will be with you; For He said, “I will not fail you or forsake you.  Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to act in accordance with all the law that His servant Moses commanded us, Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, so that you may be successful wherever you go.  [Joshua 1:1-11]. For, He said, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so they will know that I will be with you just as I was with Moses. [Joshua 3:7-8].

I tell you, having monuments to God’s faithfulness that we can look back on can encourage our faith for the future. [Joshua chapter 4]. Even when it seems like we’re not making any progress, the Lord’s command is: “FORWARD MARCH!” [Exodus 14].  

Advancing with confidence to that promised inheritance as we celebrate Black History Month!

“Lift every voice and sing, Till earth and heaven ring, ring with the harmonies of Liberty. Let our rejoicing rise, high as the listening skies, let it resound loud as the rolling sea. Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us. Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us. Facing the rising sun of our new day begun. Let us march on till victory is won..” [Lift Every Voice and Sing – often called “The Black National Anthem” – was written as a poem by NAACP leader James Weldon Johnson (1871-1938) and then set to music by his brother John Rosamond Johnson (1873-1954) in 1899.]

Pioneering Engineer Leverages Success To Boost Minority Contractors

WASHINGTON, D.C. — It all started because she wanted to claim her seat at the table.

Deryl McKissack had worked hard in the construction business for years but was always told to put her head down, work harder and not ask any questions.

When her new boss wanted to demote her simply because she was a woman, McKissack said, “I quit.”

With a thousand dollars and a business plan drafted using a book purchased at Barnes & Noble, she launched McKissack & McKissack.

“I just think it was my passion that got me through, and my determination of, I’m just not going to let anybody define me,” she said. “No one can stop me from getting the work that I’m supposed to get. And whatever I get, I’m going to make sure that we do a great job.”

McKissack, president and CEO of McKissack & McKissack, is one of the nation’s foremost African American female engineers. She leads an architectural, engineering, program and construction management firm that today oversees more than $15 billion in projects nationwide.

Some of the nation’s most stunning and significant architectural projects of the 21st century were designed, managed or built by McKissack & McKissack.

McKissack & McKissack has overseen renovations at Washington, D.C., landmarks such as the Lincoln, Jefferson and Martin Luther King Jr. memorials — and they are just a small fraction of the company’s national footprint.

Under McKissack’s leadership, the company has worked in the energy, education, aviation, infrastructure, culture and commercial real estate sectors on noteworthy projects such as the O’Hare International Airport Modernization Program, the DC Waters Clean River Project and Nationals Park, the home stadium of the Washington Nationals Major League Baseball team.

The company is an outgrowth of the oldest minority-owned architecture/engineering firm in the United States. Its roots predate the Civil War, when a slave named Moses McKissack learned the building trade. It was his grandson, Moses III (Deryl McKissack’s great-great-grandfather), who launched the first McKissack & McKissack in Nashville, Tennessee.

Moses III, along with his brother Calvin, launched the first McKissack firm in Nashville, TN. He was the grandson of Moses McKissack, a slave who learned the trade of building from his owner and began a family legacy in the industry. (Courtesy of McKissack & McKissack)

Since launching the newer McKissack & McKissack 30 years ago, Deryl McKissack has grown her company to include more than 150 employees and offices in Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami and Washington, D.C.

But building the billion-dollar company in an industry dominated by white men wasn’t easy.

The Howard University alum recalls making a presentation at a university to a room full of men in one of her first attempts to gain business for the company in 1990.

When the presentation was done, the man in charge looked at McKissack and said, “Little lady, there is nothing that you can do for us.”

“I looked him in the eye, I grabbed his hand, and I was shaking it really hard, and I said, ‘Thank you so much for taking your time to listen to my presentation, and I look forward to working with you,’” McKissack said. “Then I went out on that campus for two hours and I just looked at every job I was going to be working on. I mean, I just walked through the campus and I started thanking God for the work that I was going to be doing on this campus. I believe in planting seeds.”

That seed sprang up about six months later.

The only African American man seated at the table on the fateful day of McKissack’s presentation was promoted to boss. Impressed with McKissack’s gracious response to the way she was treated, the new boss reached out to McKissack and offered her a small job worth $5,000. Within a year, McKissack had acquired $1 million worth of business with that university.

“I just never take no,” McKissack said. “I stare down the barrel of no so much, but I keep looking until I find my yes. I have won a lot of jobs at debriefings where they’re sitting there and telling me how I don’t add up, and then I get to tell them how I do.”

Even with her record of success, McKissack said she still encounters racism in the construction industry. She continues to experience “microaggressions,” which she explained as covert expressions from clients who, despite her expansive portfolio, continue to openly question her company’s ability to do the job.

“To be so successful [on previous projects] but yet get questioned over and over again on the next project — that’s what we’ve had to deal with,” McKissack said. “I’ve had to deal with it for 30 years now. … We’re achieving excellence, but at the same time you get slapped in the face every time you try to do something. There’s always resistance. There’s an undercurrent of, are you good enough? Or, can you do it? And extra questions. I’m still on calls that I’m in amazement on what I’m hearing.”

“I just hope that it gets better,” she said.

By the age of six, Deryl McKissack was drafting architectural drawings under her father’s tutelage. She later attended Howard University where she graduated with a B.S. in civil engineering. (Courtesy of McKissack & McKissack)

True to her character, McKissack is not one to just sit back and ignore these issues in the industry she loves; she’s addressing them head-on. She launched a 7-Step Plan to Confront Racism in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction Industry.

Her plan calls for industry leaders to acknowledge that racism is a serious problem in the industry and commit to fixing it through actions such as hiring minority- and women-owned firms as prime contractors and procuring goods and services from minority- and women-owned suppliers.

Blacks are significantly underrepresented in architecture, engineering and construction.

African Americans make up 12.3 percent of the workforce but represent only 6.4 percent of construction workers and 6.1 percent of architecture and engineering professionals, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. By contrast, whites make up 78 percent of the total workforce but 84 percent of all architecture and engineering professionals.

McKissack said some companies have already adopted elements of her plan, but in 2021 she hopes to bring more of the industry’s major players on board.

“I’m going to be forming a group of companies that are huge companies that can really make a difference,” she said. “Because I know their CEOs really well, I’ve started small conversations with them, but we’re going to make it a little more formal in 2021.”

Keith Foxx has watched McKissack’s career over the past 20 years and believes her to be not only a visionary, but one of the industry’s foremost advocates for diversity.

As a program manager at RK&K, Foxx worked with McKissack on the D.C. Power Line Undergrounding program. When Foxx voiced his intention to start his own business, McKissack helped him secure his first government contract. Foxx is launching his engineering and construction management firm, FOXXSTEM, this month. He is grateful for McKissack’s support.

“Starting your own business, there are a lot of unknowns,” Foxx said. “She found a way to help me get my first contract. I will never forget that.”

Foxx said McKissack wields extraordinary influence in the industry.

“If she talks, everyone is listening, and she has the ears of some very important people,” Foxx said. “She’s legendary — a powerhouse and an icon — because she’s blazed a trail that I’m going to walk in.”

Beyond helping minority businesses get their foot in the door, McKissack helps them sustain success in the industry.

Christine Merdon, chief operating officer of McKissack & McKissack, said McKissack often speaks with pride about a minority contractor who was hired to work on the Washington D.C. Convention Center project managed by the firm.

“The contractor began the project with one truck, but by the time the project was over, he owned five trucks,” Merdon said. “When we bring minority- and women-owned firms on projects, it’s not only that they show up, but they are sustainable and have increased capacity.”

McKissack celebrated her company’s 30-year anniversary in 2020. That year the company received Inc. magazine’s 2020 Best in Business Award for its workforce diversity plan. Also in 2020, McKissack was elected to the National Academy of Construction. In bestowing the honor, the academy described her as “a visionary leader and entrepreneur with significant contributions in architecture, engineering, construction, and program management and a mentor to the next generation of industry leaders.”

She shows no signs of slowing down in 2021.

The coronavirus pandemic has been a boon for McKissack’s area of the construction industry; clients have taken advantage of reduced traffic to launch school and infrastructure projects. McKissack’s company won bids for more than 40 projects, and more are expected.

She said her company is emerging from the challenges of 2020 even stronger. By slowing down, and spending less time traveling and more time interacting with employees, McKissack was able to see her business in a new light.

“I know now what we do good and what we do great,” McKissack said. “I know the people in the company, and what their strengths are, and I like to build on people’s strengths.”

Merdon said McKissack’s visionary leadership, political savvy and compassion for her employees has enabled the company to lead “mega projects” while also creating opportunities for minorities in the industry.

“Her leadership inspires people and draws really good people to the firm,” Merdon said. “Everybody has to work through tough days, but if you have a leader that believes in you, you can get it done.”

(Edited by Jameson O’Neal and Alex Patrick)



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Researchers: No-Kill, Lab-Grown Meat Will Be $291 Million Industry In Five Years

Despite rising demand for cultured meat and other cellular agriculture products, scaling up production and gaining public acceptance remain challenges, according to industry experts.

Cellular agriculture refers to the bio-technology — such as tissue engineering and synthetic biology — to create products that would otherwise be produced using traditional agriculture methods. In the case of cultured meat, products are creating using in vitro cultivation of animal cells, rather than the meat of slaughtered animals.

Globally, cultured meat products have quickly risen in popularity over the last several years.

The global cultured meat market accounted for $72.6 million in 2018 and is expected to reach $291.4 million by 2027, growing at 16.7 percent per year, according to ResearchAndMarkets.com.

“Recently, we’ve seen a major trend toward consumers’ interest in how food is brought to their table, and food’s impact on themselves, their community and the planet,” said David Kay, director of communications for Memphis Meats, a U.S.-based food technology company.

“Meat is universal, and we’ve found an appetite for cell-based meat products exists across the globe,” Kay said. “Research indicates that roughly two-thirds of Americans would eat cell-based meat, and the more familiar people become with this innovation, the more enthusiastic they become.”

Whole muscle cell-based yellowtail amberjack bisque. (Photo courtesy of BlueNalu)

Market gets boost during COVID-19

Despite the rising popularity of cultured meat products, the market still pales in comparison to demand for processed meat, estimated at $519 billion in 2019, according to Fortune Business Insights. In the U.S., the revenue of the top 100 meat and poultry processors totaled nearly $228 billion in 2018, per the National Provisioner.

Proponents of cultured meat believe the sector will become popular with visibility.

Among those at the forefront of investment in cultured meats is Saudi Arabia’s Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud, the founder-CEO of KBW Ventures. To date, KBW Ventures has invested in six cellular agriculture companies, including Memphis Meats and BlueNalu, a California-based company that recently closed a $60 million financing deal that will allow it to take their first product — lab-grown Mahi Mahi — to market by the end of 2021.

“The science and the demand are finally catching up to one another, and it’s going to be a tipping point in the way we source protein for the world,” Khaled told Zenger in an interview. “In five years, I see the lab-grown everything industry as highly lucrative and thriving on an explosion in demand.”

The COVID-19 pandemic and concerns about climate change contributed significantly to a change in attitudes toward cultured meat products, he said.

“People were thrown into shock by the pandemic. Suddenly, clean meat didn’t sound so futuristic after learning about the potential for zoonotic diseases to proliferate and eventually end up in the food chain,” Khaled said.

Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud, the founder-CEO, KBW Ventures. (Photo courtesy of KBW Ventures)

“People are also shocked by our extreme weather events; the frequency and the severity are ever-increasing, and the climate crisis has now become real,” he said. “The climate crisis will also play a big role in turning more customers onto clean meats, seafoods and milks, as who wants to play a role in needless emissions?”

Cell-based beef is also hormone, antibiotic and microplastic-free, which makes it better for the environment.

The Good Food Institute’s 2018 State of the Industry report estimated that lab-grown beef reduces land use by more than 95%. “For climate change emissions, it ranges from 74% to 87%, and the often-ignored nutrient pollution by 94%,” he added.

Remaining Challenges 

Despite the rise of lab-grown products as a source of meat, a number of problems remain.

Some potential consumers are still unconvinced by what cultured meat products offer, said Megan Rogalski, a meat, seafood and deli retail specialist at KeHe, a leading national wholesale food distributor.

“The main challenge of the alternative meat category is to get more meat-focused individuals to try the product,” she said. “The biggest issue we hear from customers is the taste, texture and quality is not what they expect. However, once they try it, most consumers enjoy the product and feel better about what they are eating.”

Cultured products are still lagging behind plant-based products, the other form of alternative meat products, she noted.

Cultured meat and chicken products are gaining public awareness. (Photo courtesy of Memphis Meat)

“Plant-based products are continuing to evolve, and a majority of retailers are seeing sales growth. With the growth of these products, retailers expand their assortment,” she said. “As for the lab-grown meats, consumers need more education and need to better understand the benefits of lab-grown meat before they are willing to try it.”

“The biggest challenge for the entire industry will be scaling a high-quality, low-cost product,” said Kay.

While Khaled acknowledged that scale “is a challenge,” he said it is “very manageable” and expressed optimism about cultured meat’s future.

“By 2025, I think cell-based meat will have a good market share, and that’s one reason venture capital-backed companies are moving forward rapidly. These companies have the funds to work on scaling the solution, thereby making it affordable and accessible” he said.

“Public perception has come pretty far, pretty rapidly,” he added. “Some of the world’s biggest markets are favoring clean alternatives. Once these population hubs are onboarded, it will be so much better for everyone.”

(Edited by Fern Siegel and Matthew B. Hall)



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