Media mogul and philanthropist Oprah Winfrey has answered the call, agreeing to serve as the featured commencement speaker for #Graduation 2020: Facebook and Instagram Celebrate the Class of 2020, a multi-hour streaming event set for May 15 on both platforms.
Many 2020 high school and college graduates and parents lamented the negative impact the COVID-19 virus has had on graduation rituals including proms and graduation ceremonies. Now there is a high-profile, high-powered solution featuring Winfrey as the commencement speaker and celebrities like Simone Biles, Awkwafina, Jennifer Garner and Lil Nas X. Miley Cyrus is scheduled to perform her hit song, “The Climb” during the virtual ceremony.
Set your calendar reminders and get your cap and gown ready for Facebook Watch, which will broadcast the event May 15. Segments will be posted to Instagram.
This post was written by Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D., founder & editor-in-chief of The Burton Wire. Follow her on Twitter@Ntellectual.
Ursula Roberts-Allen has been a nurse in the Washington, DC area for over 30 years. In this video posted to her Facebook page, Roberts-Allen lists some of the symptoms black people are exhibiting that differ from the symptoms being widely shared by medical professionals in media. Roberts-Allen says black people may suffer from malaise and pain in a part of the body. If experiencing the symptoms, black people should not lie down when that happens because if infected, that position causes blood and fluids to go directly to the lungs. Walk around and sit upright. She also discussed using time-tested remedies like lemon and ginger and compresses to help manage the virus. Oh and she’s tired of people doing foolish things and jeopardizing the lives of nurses and doctors.
Check out the important information and warnings nurse Roberts-Allen shared via her Facebook page:
Ahmaud Arbery, 25, was killed by Gregory and Travis McMichael, while jogging through their neighborhood. (Photo: Chavous B. Johnson and Reid Funeral Home)
Ahmaud Arbery, 25, was killed by Gregory and Travis McMichael, while jogging through their neighborhood. (Photo: Chavous B. Johnson and Reid Funeral Home)
On February 23, 2020, Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old black man, was killed while jogging through a mostly white neighborhood in Brunswick, GA.
Arbery who was a standout athlete and once dreamed of a career in the NFL, was by all accounts committed to staying in tip top shape and an avid runner. In a New York Times article about the case and an Atlanta Journal-Constitution article about the case, his friend said, running “was like therapy” for Arbery.
On this particular day, Gregory McMichael, 64, saw Arbery running through their neighborhood and allege he fit the description of someone who had been breaking into cars in the neighborhood. McMichael called out to his son Travis McMichael, 34, to get their guns. The McMichaels, who are white, grabbed their weapons, a .357 magnum revolver and a shotgun, got into their truck and began following Mr. Arbery. While following him, they kept yelling for him to stop running; Arbery continued running until they cornered him with their car. He tried to run in the opposite direction. They followed him. They cornered him again. After an alleged altercation, Arbery was shot with a shotgun twice and fell dead to the ground.
Arbery’s killer, Gregory McMichael, was a police officer for 7 years and then an investigator for the DA’s office for 30 years.
According to prosecutor George E. Barnhill, no one has been charged with the killing of Arbery because “the pursuers acted within the scope of Georgia’s citizen’s arrest statute,” Barnhill, an alleged friend of the McMichaels, has since recused himself from the case. A prosecutor from another county is now in charge and will determine whether the case should be presented to a grand jury.
Darnisha Harrison, President and CEO of Ennaid Therapeutics.
(Photo: Ennaid Therapeutics)
Darnisha Harrison, President and CEO of Ennaid Therapeutics. (Photo: Ennaid Therapeutics)
Dallas Weekly is reporting Darnisha Harrison, founder and CEO of Atlanta-based Ennaid Therapeutics, which develops anti-viral treatments, filed a patent for a Coronavirus treatment developed by scientists at her company. The article states:
“Both BET News and WBRZ-TV, an ABC News affiliate in Baton Rouge, have confirmed that Harrison, who graduated from Louisiana State University, has already filed a patent after discovering a drug that shows strong scientific evidence of blocking two proteins that cause COVID-19 from invading healthy host cells and replicating. The drug is called ENU200, a repurposed, patent-pending, orally deliverable antiviral drug that was previously approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a different indication.”
Harrison, a former microbiologist and chemist who initially began working in veterinary medicine, spent three years as a scientist at Amgen and the University of Georgia, and sixteen years in Business Development/Licensing as a Director in various companies within the pharmaceutical research & development industry. She has been profiled by Newsweek Magazine for her work on finding a cure for the Dengue virus.
In an interview with Chris Nakamoto of WBRZ news, Harrison believes if the patent is approved, Ennaid can start clinical trials in approximately 90 days which would last for roughly one month. Harrison also said the FDA has been supportive with fast-tracking the review process for the treatment.
This story is developing. Find out more about Ennaid Therapeuticshere.
Rolling out this weekend is the crime thriller #FreeRayshawn on the much celebrated Quibi, a paid mobile-app that hosts a plethora of short-form content including documentaries, shorts and news programs to name a few.
Co-creator, executive producer and director of #FreeRayshawn Seith Mann. (Photo: Seith Mann)
Executive produced and directed by Seith Mann(Raising Dion, The Breaks, Homeland), who directed all episodes of the series, #FreeRayshawn is the story of Rayshawn (Stephan James), an Iraq war veteran who is set up by the police during a drug deal gone wrong. Rayshawn flees the scene, barricading himself into his apartment with his wife and child as he tries to keep them alive and figure out his next move. Laurence Fishburne plays a conscious police negotiator who tries to help RayShawn navigate the precarious road ahead. Watch the trailer below:
Quibi, which was founded by uber producer and media mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg launched on April 6, 2020.
While the app has been tauted for high-quality celebrity content, #FreeRayShawn with Antoine Fuqua at the helm, in addition to strong writing from Marc Maurino and a cast that includes amazing talent like James (If Beale Street Could Talk, 21 Bridges), Jasmine Cephas Jones (Blindspotting) and the legendary Fishburne, #FreeRayshawn brings Quibi to life, taking storytelling and direction to another level in the mobile app game.
While many celebrities show what you can do on Quibi, Mann and company show what you can do with Quibi with this timely thriller.
Quibi is offering a 90-day free subscription, so check out #FreeRayshawn for free while you can.
This article was written by Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D., founder & editor-in-chief of The Burton Wire. Follow her on Twitter @Ntellectual.
(April 17) – Hollywood’s powerhouse writer and director Kenya Barris is at it again with #blackAF, debuting today on the streaming giant Netflix. The acclaimed showrunner who brought the juggernaut sitcom Black-ish to ABC and mined spin-off gold with Grown-ish and Mixed-ish is premiering his first show for Netflix. Barris, who famously left ABC for a $100 million deal with Netflix in order to have more creative control over his shows, stars as himself, an overworked and exhausted parent of five trying to maintain his dominance in Hollywood and keep his family together. Interestingly, Barris and his real-life wife Dr. Rania “Rainbow” Barris, are in the midst of a divorce after 20 years of marriage. The college sweethearts (Clark Atlanta University) share six children and Black-ish is based on their family dynamics. But I digress.
Co-starring Rashida Jones as Barris’ wife on the show, #blackAF is a nod to the self-reflexive zaniness that is Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm and the culturally relevant comedic sensibilities found on Black-ish. In addition to Barris and Jones, the cast is rounded out by Iman Benson (Uncle Buck), Andrea Ellsworth (Shameless), Justin Clairborne (Marlon), Scarlet Spenser (Shameless), Genneya Walton (Project Mc2) and newcomers Ravi Cabot-Conyers and Richard Whitney Gardenhire, Jr. With celebrity cameos galore #blackAF brings the star power as well. Check out the official trailer below:
Barris and company got back in the lab and #blackAF debuts today on Netflix. Will you be watching? Let us know if you’re watching and what you think of the show on Twitter @TheBurtonWire and of course #blackAF.
This post was written by Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D., founder & editor-in-chief of The Burton Wire. Follow her on Twitter @Ntellectual.
COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on the lives of people, particularly parents who are often parenting and working simultaneously. Reports of the increased risks of child abuse due to the stress of the societal changes made necessary by the coronavirus pandemic like living in close quarters and pre-existing issues like domestic violence in the home is creating additional causes for concern.
In the nick of time, Elmo’s father George comes through with a PSA for overwhelmed parents reminding us to give ourselves a break and to breathe. Check out the PSA below:
Visit sesamestreet.org/caring for more tips on activities you can do with your child at home during this precarious time. Hang in there and remember to breathe.
If you or someone you know is experiencing child abuse, then please contact the Childhelp.com National Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453. If you are experiencing domestic violence, please contact the Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.
For more information on breathing to reduce anxiety, check out Los Angeles Performance Therapy’s 5 minute breathing exercise for anxiety, relaxtion and stress relief:
This post was written by Nsenga K. Burton, founder & editor-in-chief of The Burton Wire. Follow her on Twitter @Ntellectual.
Al-Jazeera America’s Richelle Carey examines the anti-African and African American discrimination foreign nationals are experiencing in Guangzhou due to xenophobia and being scapegoated for bringing COVID-19 to the area.
Footage of Africans and African Americans being harassed and forcefully evicted has surfaced online. China’s response to the accusation is the United States media coverage of the treatment of Africans is an attempt to drive a wedge between African and Chinese relationships.
Watch the segment and share your thoughts on Twitter @TheBurtonWire.
Fresh from our, ‘What Now?” file, Okay Africa is reporting Africans in China are being forcefully evicted from their housing because they are blamed or what we would call scapegoated for spread of the Coronavirus also referred to as COVID-19.
Damola Durosomo of Okay Africa writes:
“Fears of a second wave of coronavirus in China have led to widespread racism and xenophobia against African populations. Reports of Africans being forced out of their homes in Guangzhou, China have caused fear amongst its African community and backlash across social media.
As China faces more cases of the novel coronavirus, much of the blame has been placed on foreign nationals who are being accused of importing new cases into the country. Guangzhou, nicknamed “Little Africa,” has the highest population of African immigrants—largely from Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and Uganda—who have long been a target of racial discrimination. Tensions further escalated over the weekend when Chinese state media reported that five Nigerians had contracted the virus and passed it onto a local restaurant owner.”
Footage of Africans sleeping on the streets have caused outrage.
Ugandan politician and musician Bobi Wine has partnered with businessman Neil Nelson to airlift affected Africans and African-Americans “to a country in Africa that is willing to receive them.” Neil Nelson is co-founder of media firm Atlanta BlackStar.
This story is developing.
Read the entire article referenced here at OkayAfrica.
The world is mourning the loss of Sarah Maldoror, pioneer of Pan-African Cinema and a lifelong activist, who died Monday due to complications related to COVID-19.
“Born Sarah Ducados, to a Guadeloupian father and a mother from the southwest of France (Gers), she chose her artist’s name as homage to The Songs of Maldoror, the work of the surrealist poet Lautréamont.
Starting out in theatre, she founded Compagnie d’Art Dramatique des Griots in Paris in 1956, the first troupe composed of African and African-Caribbean actors, “to bring attention to black artists and writers.”
Maldoror spent time with the pioneers of the African liberation movements, in Guinea, Algeria and Guinea Bissau, alongside her companion, Mario Pinto de Andrade, a poet and politician from Angola, who founded the Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and became the liberated country’s first president in 1960.
Maldoror’s bio on African Film Festival (AFF) states:
“She left the company (Compagnie d’Art Dramatique des Griots ) in the early 1960s to study cinema in the Soviet Union at VGIK in Moscow on a scholarship—there she met Ousmane Sembène who was also studying at the time. Maldoror worked both as an assistant director and a director in Paris, Martinique, and Portuguese-speaking African countries. After residing briefly in Morocco in 1963, she went to Algeria to work as Gillo Pontecorvo’s assistant on the 1966 classic film, The Battle of Algiers, the prototype for all mainstream political cinema of the 1970s.”
Maldoror Is best known for the award-winning feature film Sambizanga (1972) about the Angola liberation struggle (1961-1974), which was told from a woman’s perspective.
Co-written by her husband, Sambizanga is a fictionalized chronicle of the arrest and fatal imprisonment of a man whose underground activities were an impenetrable secret to all around him. It was at a prison near the Luandan suburb of Sambizanga on February 4, 1961, where the first uprising of what was to become the Angolan resistance movement was staged. The film is set a few weeks before that uprising, during a time of increasingly desperate and repressive security measures by the colonial government.
France’s former culture minister, Frédéric Mitterrand awarded Maldoror with the Chevalier dans l’Ordre National du Mérite for services to culture in 2012. “She had contributed to fill the deficit of images of African women in front of and behind the camera,” he said, thus changing cinema and history.
Watch an interview with Maldoror in French on Vimeo:
An activist to the end, Maldoror often stated, “For many African filmmakers, cinema is a revolutionary tool, a political education to raise consciousness.”
Maldoror was 91. Rest in power.
This post was curated by Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D., founder & editor-in-chief of The Burton Wire. Follow her on Twitter @Ntellectual.
