Being from Los Angeles, my ears have grown accustomed to hearing the airy sounds of Mariachi, Banda and Mexican folk music. It is as much a part of the L.A. soundtrack as Dr. Dre and Snoop. It is as much a part of our city’s culture as the elote man and buying fruit sprinkled with chili powder, lime and salt off of a…
Valeisha Butterfield Jones sits at the intersections of technology, politics, and entertainment. And she is a leading lady across industries as a businesswoman. As a woman of power, she has led global diversity and inclusion efforts as the former head of Women and Black Community Engagement at Google. Now, Butterfield Jones is taking her talents and wealth of knowledge to the Recording Academy as its first-ever chief diversity and inclusion officer.
Today the Recording Academy announced that Butterfield Jones will be joining the organization per the recommendation of the Academy’s Diversity & Inclusion Taskforce. As Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, Butterfield Jones will design, build, and implement world-class programs and industry standards focused on inclusion, belonging, and representation for underrepresented communities and creators. She will also implement her inclusion practices across all areas of the Recording Academy, including internal and external programs, organizational and staff culture, membership, awards, and related initiatives.
In her role, Butterfield Jones will report directly to Academy Chair and Interim President/CEO Harvey Mason Jr. effective May 11.
In a statement released by the Recording Academy, Mason Jr. said, “We are thrilled to welcome Valeisha Butterfield Jones into the Recording Academy family. Valeisha has been a force in driving systemic change and enhancing equal opportunities for underrepresented groups across entertainment, technology and politics. I’m excited to work with her to continue evolving the Recording Academy as an organization that represents our music community and a place where all voices are welcomed, supported and nurtured. We are so fortunate to have Valeisha’s leadership in this crucial area.”
Butterfield Jones also shared her excitement about joining the team, “The Recording Academy has an opportunity and responsibility to ensure that diversity and inclusion is embedded in its core values. I’m deeply honored to join the Academy as we enter a new chapter of transformational growth, leadership and change.”
She added, “During this unprecedented time in world history, together we will double-down on our focus to drive systemic change and equitable outcomes for underrepresented communities and creators.”
Butterfield Jones is a champion for access and inclusion and our hat is off to her for blazing pathways for others.
Kids, we don’t need to tell you that this won’t be any average Mother’s Day. Aside from the fact that it’s occurring relatively early in the month this year (Sunday, May 10), if you’re lucky enough to be with the mother figure in your life and both of you are healthy, safe and financially stable, you’re likely to…
College students, especially those at HBCUs, are being hit hard by COVID-19. For many of them, the freedoms of being away at school, pursuing their dreams on campus, and college life as they once knew it have come to a screeching halt as the doors of campuses closed.
For those reasons and more, NBA veteran George Lynch, Tracey Pennywell, co-founder of HBCU Heroes, and Ryan Johnson, Executive Director of Cxmmunity, have partnered to host Tech 4 COVID, a two-day virtual telethon to benefit HBCUs and students of color at various colleges and universities on May 2-3.
At a time when many students and their families around the nation are facing food, housing, and financial insecurities, the trio of entrepreneurs and way-makers decided to work together with their celebrity friends for a greater good. The fundraiser is expected to reach over 30 million people and raise over $3 million. All of the proceeds will benefit student-athletes at HBCUs, as well as underrepresented K-12 schools, complete remote learning.
Celebrities participating in the Tech 4 COVID event include Offset, Jeezy, DL Hughley, Cedric the Entertainer, Eddie Griffin, Bill Bellamy, Blair Underwood, Malik Yoba, Desi Banks, Dionne Warwick, Dean Crawford, The Hamiltones, Mr. Serv-On, and more.
In a statement released by Tech 4 COVID, Lynch, the NBA veteran and former head coach of Clark Atlanta University’s men’s basketball team, said, “We’re pulling out all the stops for this virtual telethon. HBCU student-athletes and K-12 minority students need this movement to galvanize help. I’ve witnessed dozens of student-athletes scramble during this pandemic to get laptops. Many of them were using school computer labs or the library and now they have to find their own technology resources. Something has to be done.”
To that point, Pennywell added, “Our goal is to ensure all HBCU athletes have the resources they need to compete academically and athletically. No student-athlete left behind.”
Many students are impacted by the digital divide and the group and supporters are insistent on helping to close the gap.
“It’s important that we do not allow HBCU and minority students to be affected inadvertently by this pandemic. By supplying computers for these students, this partnership is keeping them properly equipped during these ever-changing times,” said NFL veteran Everson Walls, a former Grambling State University student-athlete.
Johnson, who is an HBCU graduate of Oakwood University, said, “This is a phenomenal opportunity to leverage entertainment, esports, and music to increase awareness for this amazing cause. The esports industry has been an amazing resource for nonprofits who are able to leverage the industry properly to do good.”
In addition to the support of celebrities and former athletes, JP Morgan Chase is supporting the effort through its Advancing Black Pathways initiative. Programming will also include discussions on STEM led by Tuskegee alumnus Dr. Lonnie Johnson, inventor and aerospace engineer. Milton Little of United Way of Greater Atlanta, Tirrell Whitley of Liquid Soul, and Jeff Clanagan of Codeblack Life will also lead discussions on strategies to support HBCUs, tech, and more.
The star-studded event will also include–and be supported by–a number of media personalities and influencers to help get the community and the nation engaged in supporting students of color.
The event will be live-streamed May 2-3 from 12 p.m.to 12 a.m. EST both days, on Twitch, Kevin Hart’s LOL Network, NFL Alumni’s ESTV, Codeblack Life, Instagram Live, YouTube, Facebook Live, ESPN Syracuse Radio, HBCU go TV, Black College Sports Radio, Axis Replay, and more.
To read more about how COVID-19 is impacting communities of color, click here.
The COVID-19, or novel coronavirus, pandemic, has become the public health crisis of our generation, with the U.S confirming more than a million cases of the virus. The virus has been notoriously hard to treat and is extremely contagious, far more dangerous than the flu.
In a report by the News Atlantis, data shows it took 12 months and 61 million infections for the H1N1 swine flu to kill 12,500 Americans between 2009 and 2010. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that the more common seasonal flu killed 34,200 Americans during the 2018–2019 flu season. As of right now, the current death toll for the coronavirus in the United States is estimated to be over 60,000.
Despite the severity of the viral outbreak which has killed tens of thousands of Americans, some on the right still argue that the pandemic will end up being no more serious than a bad flu season. Fox News commentator Bill Bennett said that “we’re going to have fewer fatalities from this than from the flu.”
The seasonal flu kills 0.1% of people infected, but the novel coronavirus has already killed 0.1% of the entire population of the state of New York. Imagine the entire country getting hit as badly as New York state: 0.1% of the U.S. population is 330,000 people.
While there are 1.07 million confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States—that’s 0.3% of the U.S. population—former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb has noted that anywhere between 1% and 5% of Americans may have actually already been infected with the virus.
The seasonal flu, by contrast, is even less deadly when you take into account that it has a much higher infection rate: the common flu infected 12% of the American population last year.
In U.S., experts suggest to me rate is lower. My informal survey of thought leaders in this area puts estimate anywhere from 1-5%. Ultimately we must confirm this with serology studies (which are underway). But it falls short of the 50-70% needed to achieve “herd” immunity 8/n
— Scott Gottlieb, MD (@ScottGottliebMD) April 8, 2020
