Black History Month (U - Diversity & Inclusion)

<p>American history is in Gayle Jessup White’s blood. A direct descendant of both Thomas Jefferson and those enslaved at his famous Monticello estate, her story is a real-life version of <i>Roots</i> – a 40-year struggle to prove that her family’s belief about its links to the author of the Declaration of Independence were true. Along the way, she unearthed not only a fascinating family saga, but sharp and searing insights into America’s conflicted past and the unsettled future.

<p>Autumn Rose *Miskweminanocsqua (Raspberry Star Woman)* Williams was born and raised on the Shinnecock Reservation in Southampton, New York. She graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a Bachelor of Science in Mass Communications and a Minor in Business.

<p>Inclusive leadership expert Lee Jourdan explains why workplace diversity gives organizations a competitive advantage, and offers concrete solutions for leveraging it amid the changing landscape.</p><p>Though data shows more diverse companies outperform their less diverse competitors, DEI efforts face growing challenges—from rulings against affirmative action to the current administration’s rollback of DEI initiatives. So what does this mean for the future of DEI?

<p>Dr. Bernice Albertine King is the youngest daughter to the late civil rights leaders Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King. She was five years old when her father was assassinated in 1968. </p><p>King answered the call to ministry at the age of seventeen when she gave an address advocating against the South African apartheid to the United Nations General Assembly in New York. In 1985 and again in 1986, she was arrested with her siblings while protesting against apartheid.

<p>An award-winning actor, <i>New York Times</i> bestselling author, and philanthropist, Hill Harper is a celebrity role model with empowering messages of achievement, defining success, effective communication and how to take control of one’s future.</p><p>With seven NAACP Image awards for his work, Harper has appeared in a variety of television and film roles, including Universal Pictures’ 2015 release, <i>The Boy Next Door</i>, on USA Network’s <i>Covert Affairs</i>, and previously, from 2004 to 2013, on the CBS TV drama <i>CSI:

<p>Cliff Albright is a 2020 Soros Equality Fellow and co-founder of Black Voters Matter Fund (and BVM Capacity Building Institute) which builds community and organizational capacity related to Black voting power. </p><p>BVM received national attention in 2017 when they helped mobilize Black voters during the U.S. Senate race between Doug Jones and Roy Moore.

<p>Fredrika Newton, the daughter of activists and former member of the Black Panther Party, says she learned how to march before she learned how to walk. Activism has always been in her blood, but no one was more surprised than her the day that Black Panther Party co-founder, Huey P. Newton, showed up at her parents’ home for lunch.</p><p>Her mother, a Jewish housing activist and real estate agent for the Party, invited Huey over when Fredrika was home from college.

<p>As Terrence Floyd once said, I am speaking for my brother.

<p>Justin Hansford is a Howard University School of Law Professor of Law and Executive Director of the Thurgood Marshall Civil Rights Center. </p><p>Professor Hansford was previously a Democracy Project Fellow at Harvard University, a Visiting Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center, and an Associate Professor of Law at Saint Louis University. He has a B.A. from Howard University and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center, where he was a founder of the Georgetown Journal of Law and Modern Critical Race Perspectives.

<p>Best known for her groundbreaking turn as the first Black lead on ABC’s <em>The Bachelorette, </em>Rachel Lindsay shares anecdotes from her incredible career as a media host and sports attorney, inspiring audiences to blaze their own personal and professional trails. </p><p>Throughout her journey to find love, Rachel Lindsay became a fan favorite for her intellect, authenticity, and ability to navigate difficult situations with confidence and poise.