I gaze upon myself in the mirror and I am both enamored and inspired by what I see: The woman staring back in my reflection looks strong, confident and empowered. She has been through hell and back, but you can barely even tell because she looks so at peace and empowered. The gems on her Yuma Carnival costume glitter…
Catherine Pugh, the former mayor of Baltimore, was sentenced to three years in prison on federal conspiracy and tax evasion charges centered on her self-published children’s book series.
Before her sentence was handed down, Pugh, 69, tearfully apologized “to anyone I have offended or hurt through my actions” and asked Judge Deborah K. Chasanow to show mercy. Pugh said although she had “turned a blind eye” and “sanctioned things I should not have,” she never intended to harm anyone, according to The Baltimore Sun.
READ MORE: Former Baltimore mayor, Catherine Pugh, enters guilty pleas
Chasanow called Pugh’s crimes “astounding” and said she took advantage of her office to mislead organizations into buying her “Healthy Holly” books.
“I have yet frankly to hear any explanation that makes sense,” Chasanow said, according to The Baltimore Sun. “This was not a tiny mistake, lapse of judgment. This became a very large fraud. The nature and circumstances of this offense clearly, I think, are extremely, extremely serious.”
Pugh, who had previously served elected positions in Baltimore for more than 20 years, sold her children’s books to non-profits and foundations, in part to help fund her political career.
The most egregious was a no-bid deal with the University of Maryland Medical System, where Pugh sold 100,000 copies of her books for $500,000, reported The Sun. At the time, Pugh also sat on the board of directors for the medical system. Prosecutors said she sold more than $850,000 in books in total.
In addition to the three-year prison sentence, Chasanow sentenced Pugh to three years of probation. The judge also ordered Pugh to pay $400,000 in restitution to the medical system and nearly $12,000 to the Maryland Auto Insurance Fund, which also bought some of Pugh’s books. The court will also seize nearly $670,000 from Pugh, which includes her Ashburton home and $17,800 from her campaign account, and the remaining of her “Healthy Holly” books were ordered destroyed.
Pugh’s attorney, Steve Silverman, said the sentence was fair and thinks Pugh will be out of prison in about 18 months, under the new First Step Act, which strives to reduce the federal prison population.
READ MORE: Despite calls for her resignation, Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh says she plans to return
Pugh seemed stunned by the verdict, according to The Baltimore Sun. More than 70 people had written letters to Chasanow on her behalf, including former Democratic Mayor Kurt Schmoke, former Democratic U.S. Rep. Kweisi Mfume, and Morgan State University President David Wilson.
Pugh wasn’t imprisoned right away. She has until mid-April to report.
The post Catherine Pugh, former Baltimore mayor, receives three-year federal sentence appeared first on TheGrio.
This week, George Mason University made history in selecting its new president. Gregory Washington will serve as the university’s first African American president in the school’s history. He replaces interim president Anne Holton, who took office last year after former president Angel Cabrera left.
Washington is currently the dean of the Henry Samueli School of Engineering at the University of California, Irvine. During his time there, Washington hired one of the most diverse engineering faculty cohorts in the country–more than 40% of his hires consisted of women or underrepresented minority groups. He also established one of the nation’s first STEM ecosystems, OC STEM. He earned his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees from North Carolina State University.
“What attracted me to Mason was its reputation for having real impact, providing access, and for its commitment to inclusive excellence, ” Washington said in a statement. He will join the university on July 1.
The university is excited about the move and looking to bring more diversity to the overall faculty.
“George Mason University is not this sleepy institution in Northern Virginia,” Professor Dr. Wendi Manuel-Scott told Diverse: Issues in Higher Education. “We are a premier research institution that doesn’t just talk about diversity, that doesn’t just talk about inclusion, but rather it really is who we are, from the way in which we think about space—creating a memorial to the enslaved people George Mason held—to the types of programs, majors, and departments we have to support our students in their research and professional goals, to naming the first African American president.”
Julian Williams, George Mason University’s vice president of inclusion and diversity, heard his phone “blow up” with messages from faculty, staff, and students after the announcement. “This is just an awesome day for the institution,” he told Diverse: Issues in Higher Education. “Folks are excited.”
“He showed tremendous vision for the future of our region and how we fit in and displayed the ability to motivate and inspire our community,” GMU Rector Tom Davis of the board of visitors said in a press release. “I look forward to working with him and seeing him position Mason as a leader in higher education.”
George Mason University is one of the most diverse universities in the state of Virginia with a student body of over 39% first-generation students with 33% Pell-eligible.
On Saturday, voters in South Carolina will sound the starting gun for the race to the Democratic nomination for president of the United States. After giving white America a head start on selecting the party’s nominee, the Democratic Party now turns to South Carolina.
Last spring, we originally broke the news that Nia Phillips-Harper became an entrepreneur at her Sweet 16 birthday party. Her mother Dedra—an author and professor, gave her the gift of entrepreneurship in the form of a beauty brand: Ni’Abri Beauty, a lip gloss collection and other beauty essentials now available online.
Earlier this week, Phillips and her mother appeared on the Tamron Hall Show to discuss the importance and benefits of engaging children in business and investing in the next generation with Tamron and McDonald’s owner/operators and mother-daughter franchisee duo Marissa Fisher and Marla Thrower.
During the segment, Nia was surprised with $25,000 from McDonald’s as a part of its Black & Positively Golden movement which seeks to uplift communities and shine a light on black excellence through empowerment, education, and entrepreneurship.
The $25,000 donation is part of McDonald’s continued commitment to supporting entrepreneurs and encouraging generational wealth building. The brand is empowering rising businesswomen nationwide through its partnership with the YWCA Women’s Empowerment 360o program, which provides a free six-week business course to help close the entrepreneurship knowledge gap for women of color.
In true Black Girl Magic fashion, Hall surprised her guest audience with a free product from Ni’Abri Beauty!
Last year, Phillips-Harper shared that through the Ni’Abri brand, she hopes to help young women build their self-confidence and shine from within. “I want to inspire people to embrace positive things about themselves,” she said. “The world is full of negative messages. When someone purchases a lip gloss from my company, it comes with a card that describes the character trait of the product purchased, along with a special inspirational message from me.”
It’s fair to say that she is doing the work.
After appearing on the show, Phillips-Harper’s products flew off the shelves!
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Like always, we are rooting for Nia!
