I bet you already have a dozen leggings crammed in your closet, but trust: you need one more. You need the Ridge Merino Crowley Tights. Do not pass go, do not collect $100; instead just find yourself some internet and order up a pair faster than you can say, “Thank me later.”
This week Black Twitter found itself giving the Academy the side-eye as the nominations for the 92nd annual Academy Awards were announced and it quickly became clear that barely anybody Black had made the cut. But in that sea of alabaster there appeared one beautifully melanated spark of hope thanks to Matthew A. Cherry.
We all collectively rejoiced when Hair Love, the popular – and incredibly touching – children’s book turned animated short by the former NFL player, was nominated for a well deserved Oscar.
READ MORE: Unpacking the brilliance of ‘Watchmen’ … the most important show of the year
But what many may not know is that the former wide receiver turned filmmaker took the scenic route to this monumental achievement, opting to to launch a Kickstarter campaign that raised nearly $300,000, which was a whopping four times his original goal of $75,000. The outpouring of love his idea received was just further proof that there was a market hungry for his content.
“Media is impressionable and when little kids see shows, movies and magazines and don’t see people who look like them in a heroic place or complex place or don’t see themselves at all it makes them seem abnormal or an exception to the rule,” he told Because Of Them We Can back in 2017. “And we’re trying to make them feel normal and have a little Black girl with maybe kinky hair feel like she’s represented.”
READ MORE: Issa Rae threw shade with a curve during Black-snubbing Oscar nominations announcement
Wow! And to have @IssaRae announce it! It feels like a dream. Huge thanks to our great team @BruceAlmighteee @Mr_Scribbles @KDRupe @Monica_aYoung @DanielDCrawford @LionForgeDave @CarlForge @lionforge our kickstarter backers & @SonyAnimation for believing in us. @TheAcademy pic.twitter.com/2sVn7LqWk9
— Matthew A. Cherry (@MatthewACherry) January 13, 2020
Making the moment feel even more serendipitous is the fact that Issa Rae, who lent her voice to the project, ended up being a host during Monday’s broadcast, and got to announce the nomination to the world.
“WOW! And to have @IssaRae announce it! It feels like a dream,” Cherry tweeted. “Huge thanks to our great team … our kickstarter backers & @SonyAnimation for believing in us.”
The 92nd Annual Academy Awards will air February 9th on ABC. And if you haven’t already, please do yourself a favor and check out the short below.
READ MORE: Martin Lawrence says Tisha Campbell’s sexual harassment lawsuit: ‘It Was Bullsh*t’
#HairLove is live! It’s an animated short film about an African American father learning how to do his daughters hair for the first time. Written & Directed by me, co-directed by @BruceAlmighteee @Mr_Scribbles & stars @IssaRae. @SonyAnimation #HairLove pic.twitter.com/RRlh2Ncol1
— Matthew A. Cherry (@MatthewACherry) December 5, 2019
The post Black Twitter rejoices over Oscar nom for Mathew A. Cherry’s “Hair Love” appeared first on TheGrio.
One imagines that President Trump and his best bud Rudy Giuliani are probably sleeping a little less easy tonight as one of their former associates has apparently flipped.
It’s easy to name the CEOs of Silicon Valley’s biggest behemoths.
Mark Zuckerberg. Elon Musk. Tim Cook.
But not so easy is finding Black and Brown faces among the predominantly white E-elites and their coveted workspaces.
According to 2019 data from TechCrunch, Blacks make up less than 10 percent of the workforce at Facebook, Apple, Netflix, Google, Airbnb, Pinterest, Uber, and Slack, with Latinos trailing closely behind or only marginally outpacing their Black peers.
Meanwhile, Amazon refreshingly bucks that painful trend—their combined Black and Latino population of 41.5 percent outnumber their white peers by 2.6 percent.
For POC who dare to forge a career path in tech, despite #SiliconValleySoWhite, the lack of diversity can be intimidating at best and demoralizing at worst.
“I’ve been in the advertising and technology industry for almost ten years. However, I am super lonely in the industry,” Alicia Ray, 30, told theGrio in a recent sitdown. “I am the one and only many times, and it’s very frustrating.”
“There aren’t a lot of Black people in tech,” says WhatsTheMoveNYC app creator Taqee Bond, 28. “But, there’s enough for us to build a foundation now and teach other black people about it.”
“I have been in the tech space for about ten years,” says Ngozi Ogbonna, 39. “During that time, I’ve been usually the only Black woman, if not the only Black person [in an organization.]”
The drumbeat for greater diversity and inclusion is getting louder. In recent years there has been a surge in tech conferences for techies of color.
The Black Is Tech Conference 2020 will convene in New York in April. Leaders from FUBU and Google, as well as Shark Tank star and Scholly app founder Christopher Gray, who has helped students pocket $70 million in college scholarships, are scheduled to attend the conference, now in its second year.
Other sources of support include websites like LinkedIn and Glassdoor, where people of color in tech can gather intel on just how important diversity is to a company before even hitting “apply.”
That’s where Netta Jenkins and Jacinta Mathis saw a niche. The duo, both Black women, became fast friends while working alongside each other at digital media giant IAC in NYC. They recall feeling, well, token.
“I think I was the most senior female person of color in the company, probably,” recalls Mathis, 35.
“Netta and I often get asked by people: ‘What’s it like to be Latina working here? What’s it like to be black working there?'”
That idea sparked OurDipper.com (the name is a tribute to Mathis’s love of stargazing), which they launched in July 2019.
“Hundreds of people have shared their feedback and more in this very early stage. And we’re just at the beginning of building a platform where people of color who visit the site can have access to see reviews and insights from other people and then also the job.”
Growing up in Johnston, R.I., helped prepare Jenkins, 32, for the new dot-com venture. After her family immigrated there from Liberia, she experienced waves of racism from her white neighbors and schoolmates. “I remember coming home and crying about it,” she recalls, “and my mom saying to me, ‘You know, I didn’t bring you into this world to cry about things, I brought you in this world to create change.’ That was the most impactful thing for me.”
“And so it’s the same path that I’m on. What’s different is to provide a safe space for our community. To provide safe spaces in the workplace for people—on a global scale.”
Check out the full video above.
The post Black tech startup founders take on the racial status quo in Silicon Valley appeared first on TheGrio.
Teyana Taylor leads the way for Jordan Brand’s first new women’s collection.
“Our passionate female audience is asking us for more, and this capsule collection celebrates a higher standard, a competitive spirit and fearless mindset for anyone who has the confidence to fly higher and break boundaries,” says Andrea Perez, GM of Jordan Women’s, in a press release. “Jordan Women’s grew triple digits last fiscal year and there is strong excitement from our consumers and key accounts for us to keep reaching new audiences through our Women’s footwear and apparel.”
“The capsule collection is a beautiful blend of streetwear utility with fashion influence and is underpinned by the authenticity of the brand’s heritage,” says Michelle Walter, design director for Jordan Women’s Apparel. “For example, traditional elements from MJ’s original flight suit are brought to life within the Bomber Jacket’s silhouette and featured Wings lines.”
Teyana Taylor (Nike.com)
The new Flight Suit, along with other pieces in the capsule, takes inspiration from the Wings lines of Michael Jordan’s mid-80s flight sneakers. The Utility Pant and Bomber Jacket follow the same style and pattern, the dimensions of both balancing an overt oversizing with feminine touches, such as a high waist or a faux-fur hood.
‘The garment’s features relay a function-first approach to a common wardrobe staple, the jumpsuit, while the piece’s proportions create a streetwear edge. It signals the intent of Jordan Brand’s new women’s collection: consider a fundamental Jordan idea, flight, to deliver a selection of new everyday items specifically for women. Archetypical clothing is thus transformed through defiant attitude; the Jordan rules applied to women’s design,” reads the press release
Teyana Taylor (Nike.com)
All clothing in the inclusive capsule is designed to serve a range of body types, and most are also available in Asian fit and plus sizing.
The Jordan Women’s Flight Utility Apparel capsule will be available on Feb. 1 at various retail stores and released online Feb. 14 at Jordan.com, SNKRS and select retail stores around the world.
