We are highlighting examples of Black excellence throughout the year! Feel free to send us suggestions!

How struggling with suicidal thoughts inspired one woman to address Black mental health

Brittany Jones-Cooper·Reporter Thu, July 7, 2022 at 2:35 PM

Fonda Bryant’s path to becoming a mental health advocate started with a personal crisis: In 1995, while living in Charlotte, North Carolina, she was struggling. Her appetite was non-existent, she was exhausted all of the time, and she willingly sought out isolation.

“I just thought, I’ve been working hard, I’m raising a son, I’m going to school. I had no idea I was struggling with a mental health condition,” Bryant tells Yahoo Life.

In fact, Bryant didn’t become aware of her depression until suicidal thoughts overwhelmed her on Valentine’s Day that same year.

“I was in so much pain, excruciating pain. People don’t realize how much pain you’re in because [the brain] is the most important organ in your body,” says Bryant. “I couldn’t take it anymore. My apartment was immaculate. I had a plan. I wanted to make sure that when I implemented my plan, my son wouldn’t find me, my brother would. And that would be the end of it. I wouldn’t be in pain anymore.”

On the day of her planned suicide, Bryant called her aunt, Spankie, and offered up her shoe collection. Sensing that something was wrong, her aunt called her back and asked Bryant if she had plans to kill herself.

“I said yes,” recalls Bryant. “And she went into action, like a superhero.”

Soon after, there was a knock at the door and Bryant came face to face with a Charlotte police officer who had come to escort her to a mental health facility. After some slight resistance, she agreed to go with him — a choice that saved her life.

“I tell people all the time: ‘We’re not weak. We’re not selfish. We’re not crazy. We just want that excruciating pain to go away in that moment,’” says Bryant of those driven to suicidal thoughts.

It was that pivotal day, coupled with a second bout of depression in 2014, that inspired Bryant to help others. Today she runs the nonprofit Wellness Action Recovery (WAR), which has a mission to spread awareness of mental health and suicide prevention. While WAR programming is open to everyone, Bryant specifically focuses on the Black community, highlighting the message that mental health does not have to be a silent struggle

“You know in the Black culture, the way we’ve been raised, you pray about it,” she says. “Don’t claim it, give it to God. It’s a sign of weakness, and in my family, like so many other families in the Black culture, we never talked about it. And when we did, it was never anything really positive.”

Bryant adds, “Mental health does not discriminate, and culture matters. The biggest thing with the Black community is letting them know that mental health is real, that we can recover, and we can get better.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a person in the U.S. dies by suicide every 11 minutes, and one in five Americans struggles with mental health. Through her work, Bryant knows that people often don’t seek help because of the shame and stigma around mental health. That’s why she became certified to teach a suicide-prevention method known as QPR — Question, Persuade, Refer. The two-hour training teaches people how to recognize if someone is suicidal, what to say, what not to say and how to connect them to resources for help.

“Most people are training in CPR to help someone having a heart attack or stroke. QPR is the same, but it’s for a person in crisis mentally, or suicidal,” says Bryant.”If we talk about it, we can stop it. If we ask that person the suicide question, it lowers anxiety, and gives the person a chance to open up and share what’s going on with them. And it gives us a chance to help them.”

By learning about the resources available ahead of time (such as mobile crisis units and walk-in services), Bryant says that we can all play our part in keeping ourselves and those we love safe and healthy.

Back in 1995, Bryant felt alone and unsure of what to do or where to turn. Today, through programs and a podcast, she’s using WAR to help those in pain find hope.

“You never know what someone is going through. A smile can hide a lot of pain,” says Bryant. “Suicide is everybody’s business, and anyone can prevent the tragedy of suicide.”

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/how-struggling-with-suicidal-thoughts-inspired-one-woman-to-address-black-mental-health-183513466.html

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Mike Grier becomes the first Black general manager in NHL history

July 6, 202212:22 PM ET

Shruti Rajkumar

Mike Grier has been named the general manager of the San Jose Sharks, making him the first Black GM in National Hockey League history.

“I am extremely proud and grateful to be given the opportunity to be the general manager of the San Jose Sharks,” the 47-year-old hockey veteran said in a statement. “Along with my staff, I look forward to the challenge of building a fast, competitive, and hardworking team that Sharks fans will enjoy watching and be proud of.”

Grier has been an NHL hockey player, scout, coach and executive. He spent 14 seasons in the league as a top defensive forwards and leader. Prior to the Sharks GM position, he was the New York Rangers’ hockey operations adviser.

There is no better source to confirm the news than himself.

Please say hello and hear from our new #SJSharks General Manager, Mike Grier. 👋 pic.twitter.com/kIrBGAU14i— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) July 5, 2022

In 1996, he became the first African American born and trained in the U.S. to play in the NHL, according to NHL.com. The NHL didn’t track advanced statistics until the 2005-06 season, but Grier ranks 10th among all NHL forwards in blocked shots (315) and 33rd in hits (705). Sponsor Message

Grier isn’t the first general manager in his family, and comes from a line of sports executives. His father, Bobby, serves as a consultant with the Miami Dolphins and is a long-time executive in the National Football League. Grier’s brother, Chris, has been the Dolphins’ GM since 2016, and previously worked in scouting with the New England Patriots.

“Mike’s successful career on the ice speaks for itself, but what impressed me the most were his leadership qualities and his overwhelming desire to win,” Sharks owner Hasso Plattner said.

https://www.npr.org/2022/07/06/1110004459/mike-grier-nhl-first-black-general-manager

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Ellisha Walker was elected to the Amherst Town Council and also serves as co-chair of the Community Responders for Equity, Safety & Service (CRESS), which was formed to create a civilian, unarmed alternative to calls that might otherwise require a response from the Police Department.

From Ellisha’s campaign website: https://www.ellishaforamherst.com/bio

I AM ELLISHA WALKER…

As a young person being educated in the Amherst Public School system, I gained an equity lens through my work on the Minority Student Achievement Network (MSAN) and with the People of Color United group (POCU). I further developed my equity lens during my post-secondary education at UMass Amherst; because of accumulated lived experience as a Black woman and mother navigating resources, opportunities, and supports within the Town of Amherst, I have pursued a career of service. In my professional life, I work within the justice system serving community members facing housing insecurity and discrimination.

I am an advocate for racial justice, community engagement, and equitable opportunities for all Amherst residents, including BIPOC and other marginalized groups. I serve my larger community through my role as the co-chair of the Town of Amherst’s Community Safety Working Group–working towards equitable solutions to community safety and wellness through authentic community engagement, research, consultation, and innovative proposals to meet the needs of our entire community.

I will be a town councilor who listens, understands, and advocates for the needs of the community as identified by the community. I am committed to the good of our entire town,   I will invest my time in engaging with community  members where you are and through an equity lens, ensuring that all voices are heard and valued.

I think our Town Council will benefit from having a Councilor who is a Black woman who grew up in Amherst and can be a voice for the BIPOC community. As an at-large Councilor, I will also take seriously my responsibility to serve all Amherst residents.  I will seek to foster a sense of unity, vision, and shared purpose in our town and on the Town Council.

I work as an executive assistant and office manager at a law firm. My children, ages 5 and 10 attend Fort River elementary school while my 3 year old attends a local childcare center. In our spare time we try to get outside as much as possible. We frequent the groff park playground and enjoy exploring local trails; which is one of our favorite things about Amherst! I deeply value my children having a strong sense of self and having a connection in the environment in which they live.

WHY  I WANT TO SERVE ON TOWN COUNCIL

I desire to leave a legacy of amplifying the voices of BIPOC, immigrant, low-income, first time home-buyer, and other traditionally marginalized community members who have long been disengaged by town government, but are most impacted by the decisions our council makes. This is precisely why I have chosen to run at large – because these marginalized communities exist in all corners of our town and these voices deserve authentic representation.I believe deeply in our community’s ability to build on the momentum of what is working for our town and to improve what is not working.

​

• Amherst must respond to the climate emergency by reducing our collective carbon footprint, especially in buildings and transportation, in ways that work for everyone.

​

• Amherst must invest in affordable housing initiatives to retain families and those facing housing insecurity. 

​

• ​Amherst needs safety services that are tailored to meet various needs.  We need preventative services, mental health and mediation responders who help people solve problems and access services, an adequately funded fire department, and a police department that is only deployed to situations that truly require police.  This will mean a smaller police force, with more needs addressed by Community Responders for Equity, Safety, and Service (CRESS).

​

• Amherst must work to balance budget priorities by meeting the needs of the community as identified through authentic community engagement that allows all residents to access opportunities to provide input in the town budget process. 

I love Amherst and am glad to have grown up and stayed here. At the same time I have personally experienced and witnessed countless racial inequities and obstacles here. Amherst has much to gain from making it possible for BIPOC community members to participate fully in the life of the town and provide leadership and new perspectives. 

I know that if we work together, Amherst can be an equitable, anti-racist, and thriving town for all community members.

https://www.ellishaforamherst.com/bio

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C. Riley Snorton is an American scholar, author, and activist whose work focuses on historical perspectives of gender and race, specifically Black transgender identities. His publications include Nobody is Supposed to Know: Black Sexuality on the Down Low (University of Minnesota Press, 2014) and Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity (University of Minnesota Press, 2017).^[1][2] Snorton is currently Professor of English Language and Literature at the University of Chicago. In 2014 BET listed him as one of their “18 Transgender People You Should Know”.^[3]

Biography

C. Riley Snorton is a transgender scholar and author. Snorton was born in the Bronx and raised in Wedgefield, SC, Sumter, SC and attended in high school in Atlanta, GA. He has 3 older siblings and one younger sibling. Snorton earned an A.B. in Women and Gender Studies at Columbia University (2003), an M.A. in Communication at the University of Pennsylvania (2008), and he also earned his Ph.D. in Communication and Culture, with graduate certificates in Africana Studies and Gender & Sexuality Studies from the University of Pennsylvania in 2010. He is a recipient of a predoctoral fellowship at the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute at Harvard University (2009), a Mellon postdoctoral fellowship at Pomona College (2010) and a National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture (2015).^[4] He is currently Professor of English Language and Literature at the University of Chicago.

Publications

Books

• Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 2017. In Snorton’s second book he provides an attempt to mapping together histories of race, gender, and sexuality in the United States to examine the origins of modern black transgender identities. Although Snorton’s research draws from medical texts and journalistic narratives he makes the effort of letting the reader know that Black on Both Sides is “not a history per se so much as it is a set of political propositions, theories of history, and writerly experiments”(6). Snorton is interested in complicating and acknowledging the ways that blackness and transness do not follow a linear trajectory of time. Instead, Snorton focuses on the ways in which “blackness and transness emerge” from slavery to emancipation up until the popular use of the Internet in the 1990s. The book engages black feminist thought, queer- and trans-of-color critique, visual culture studies, and disability theory to explain “how the condensation of transness into the category of transgender is a racial narrative, as it also attends to how blackness finds articulation within transness” (8). Drawing on an “eclectic archive” compiled of medical illustrations, fugitive slave narratives, true crime books, and more, Snorton suggests that “To feel black in the diaspora, then, might be a trans experience” (8). He also addresses present-day anti-black and anti-trans violence, discussing in the preface of the book Laverne Cox, and the deaths of Tamara Dominguez and Black Lives Matter activist Blake Brockington. In 2018, Black on Both Sides won a Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Nonfiction.
• Nobody is Supposed to Know: Black Sexuality on the Down Low. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 2014.^[5]

Journal articles and Book chapters

• “‘A New Hope’: The Psychic Life of Passing.” Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy 24.3 (2009): 77-92.
• “Trapped in the Epistemological Closet: Black Sexuality and the ‘Ghettocentric Imagination.’” Souls: A Critical Journal of Black Politics, Culture and Society, 11.2 (2009): 94-111.
• “Trans Necropolitics: A Transnational Reflection on Violence, Death, and the Trans of Color Afterlife.” Co-authored with Jin Haritaworn in the Transgender Studies Reader, 2nd Edition. Eds. Susan Stryker and Aren Aizura. (New York: Routledge, 2013): 66-76.^[6]
• “On the Question of ‘Who’s Out in Hip Hop.’” Souls: A Critical Journal of Black Politics, Culture and Society 16.3 -4 (2014): 283 – 302.
• “An Ambiguous Heterotopia: On the Past of Black Studies’ Futures.” The Black Scholar, 44.2 (2014): 29–36.^[7]
• “Gender Trouble on Triton.” In No Tea, No Shade: New Writings in Black Queer Studies. Ed. E. Patrick Johnson. (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2016): 105–123.
• Gender. Keywords in African American Studies. Eds. Erica Edward and Rodrick Ferguson.

Awards and distinctions

• 1999: Kluge Fellowship, Columbia University, New York, New York 1999-2003.
• 2006: Fontaine fellowship, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.
• 2008: James D. Woods Teaching Award, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
• 2009: Sheila Biddle Ford Foundation Fellowship, W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American research, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.
• 2010: W.E.B. Du Bois Non-Residential Fellowship, W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.
• 2011: Consortium for Faculty Diversity/Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship, Two-year Award, Media Studies Department, Pomona College, Claremont, CA.
• 2014: Lavender Mentorship Award, LGBTQ Student Association, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL.
• 2015: National Endowment for the Humanities/Schomburg Center Scholar-in-Residence Fellowship, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and the New York Public Library, New York Public Library, New York, NY.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._Riley_Snorton

We are highlighting examples of Black excellence throughout the year! Feel free to send us suggestions!

Joseph Drew Lanham is an American author, poet and wildlife biologist.^[1] Raised in Edgefield, South Carolina, Lanham studied zoology and ecology at Clemson University, where he earned a PhD in 1997 and where he currently holds an endowed chair as an Alumni Distinguished Professor.^[2] He is a board member of several conservation organizations, including the South Carolina Wildlife Federation, Audubon South Carolina, the Aldo Leopold Foundation, BirdNote, and the American Birding Association, and an advisory board member for the North American Association of Environmental Education.^[3] In 2019 he was awarded the National Audubon Society‘s Dan W. Lufkin Prize for Environmental Leadership, recognizing “individuals who have dedicated their entire lives to the environment”.^[4][5]

In 2013, Lanham wrote a piece for Orion Magazine titled “9 Rules for the Black Birdwatcher”,^[6][7] drawing attention to the lack of black birders and diversity in general among naturalists. The short piece inspired producer Ari Daniel and videographer Amanda Kowalski to create a short film with the same title for BirdNote^[8][9] which quickly went viral on social media.^[1] In 2016 he wrote “Birding While Black.”^[10] In 2017 he published the award-winning memoir The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man’s Love Affair with Nature.^[11] The book was listed in The Chronicle of Higher Education as one of the 11 best scholarly books of the 2010s, chosen by Anna Tsing.^[12] Lanham features in episode 7 of the 2019 TV series Birds of North America, produced by Topic and hosted by Jason Ward.^[13][14] In 2020, the podcast This is Love spoke with Drew Lanham for their episode, “Prairie Warbler.”^[15] In December 2020, he received the E.O.Wilson Biodiversity Award for Outstanding Science, Advocacy.^[16] Lanham was recognized in February 2022 by the Post and Courier Newspaper (Charleston, SC) as one of twelve Black Leaders in South Carolina.

Dr. Lanham is married to Janice Garrison Lanham. They live in the Upstate of South Carolina and have two adult children Alexis Shepard and Colby Lanham.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Drew_Lanham

We are highlighting examples of Black excellence throughout the year! Feel free to send us suggestions!

Congresswoman Val Demings represents Florida’s 10th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Rep. Demings is a lifelong public servant who broke numerous glass ceilings in her rise through the Orlando Police Department and her election to Congress.

Today, she works on the House Judiciary, Homeland Security, and Intelligence Committees. In 2020, she broke another glass ceiling and continued her career as a guardian of the law when she became one of the first women and one of the first Black Americans to prosecute a presidential impeachment before the U.S. Senate.

Rep. Demings shared a two-room home in Jacksonville, Florida with her six older siblings. Her parents, Elouise, a maid, and James, a janitor, instilled in their children a deep respect for hard work, decency, and responsibility.

Rep. Demings got her first job at age 14. She worked, saved, and with the sacrifice and hard work of her parents became the first in her family to graduate from college. Her chosen field of study was guided by her parents’ lessons and the police procedurals she had watched on T.V. as a child, which had instilled in her a fundamental sense of right and wrong. With her parents proudly at her side, she received a B.S. in Criminology from Florida State University, then went on to receive a Master’s in Public Administration.

Rep. Demings began her career in Jacksonville as a social worker, working to protect foster children. Then, in the early 1980s, Rep. Demings was inspired to move to Orlando to join the police force. Despite institutional resistance to the idea of women in law enforcement, she determinedly pushed forward, graduating from the police academy as class president, receiving the Board of Trustees’ Award for Overall Excellence, and earning the reputation of a smart, tenacious, no-nonsense cop.

During her distinguished 27-year career with the Orlando Police Department (OPD), she served in virtually every department, including serving as Commander of the Special Operations. In this role, she was responsible for some of Orlando’s highest profile tasks, including special events and dignitary protection.

In 2007, Val Demings made history when she was appointed to serve as Orlando’s first female Chief of Police.

When Chief Demings took office, she launched into a relentless campaign to reduce violent crime and build new connections with the community. Through the work of Chief Demings and her dedicated officers, OPD reduced violent crime by more than 40 percent.

By making the Orlando community a partner of the department, Chief Demings made the concept of “protect and serve” a tangible presence in Orlando’s most dangerous neighborhoods. She launched innovative programs like Operation Positive Direction, a mentoring program that empowers at-risk students through tutoring, community service, and positive incentives. She also launched Operation Free Palms, a project focusing on rejuvenating Orlando’s most crime-ridden housing complex, the Palms Apartments. By focusing on unorthodox strategies like access to childcare, building playgrounds, a GED program, and job skills training, OPD created an alternative to crime and improved the quality of life in Orlando’s most distressed community.

Rep. Demings is married to Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, is a proud mother to three sons, and proud grandmother to five.

Rep. Demings holds an honorary doctorate of laws from Bethune-Cookman University, as well as honorary doctorates from Florida Technical College and City College Fort Lauderdale.

Rep. Demings is an active member of St. Mark A.M.E., Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Orlando Chapter of the Links, Inc., NAACP Silver Life Member, Florida Bar Citizens Advisory Committee, Florida Police Chiefs, National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives, National Congress of Black Women, and numerous other affiliations.

Rep. Demings enjoys spending her very limited free time riding her Harley-Davidson Road King Classic motorcycle. She has completed the O.U.C. half marathon as well as the Walt Disney marathon.

Rep. Demings sits on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (Subcommittee on Intelligence Modernization and Readiness; Subcommittee on Defense Intelligence and Warfighter Support), the House Judiciary Committee (Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security; Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law), and the House Committee on Homeland Security (Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security).

She is Chair of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery.

Demings is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, Women’s Caucus, and New Democratic Caucus. She is a member of the Law Enforcement Congressional Badge of Bravery Review Board and the Elections Security Taskforce. Besides serving as a Subcommittee Vice-Chair, Congresswoman Demings’ leadership positions include serving as Assistant and Regional Whip for the House Democratic Caucus, Co-Chair of Candidate Recruitment for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and Vice Chair of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force.

https://demings.house.gov/about

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Anchored in Family, Fishing and Fine Outdoor Living

Ebony Anglers is a competitive women’s fishing team.  We are five professional Black women who embrace the sport of competitive fishing while balancing family, motherhood, and business.

Gia Peebles: With a charming personality, remarkable smile, and the ability to multitask, Gia Wilkerson Peebles is a successful entrepreneur. In 1993, she received a B.S. degree in Criminal Justice from California State University at Long Beach and went on to work for the prominent law firm of Ault, Duprey, Jones and Gorman in San Diego, California. Later, Gia relocated to North Carolina and in 2001 opened Aura Salon and Boutique, known today as the Aura Galleria, a premier full-service salon, barbershop and day spa located in Durham, North Carolina. Gia has become a master in the cosmetology industry – styling an array of prominent women and men in business, entertainment and beyond.

What most folks may not know about Gia is her athleticism, she has many accomplishments as a life-long competitive athlete. At the age of seven (7) Gia began playing softball and continued throughout high school. Gia lettered in four (4) sports and won the Jr. Olympics in softball.

She went on as the first black female in the Cal State Long Beach softball program. With a full athletic/academic scholarship Gia achieved among the top ten at bat, among the top ten in triples, first team all-conference, and competed in four (4) College World Series.

In 1997, Gia played for the Durham Dragons inaugural professional women’s softball team. In 1999, she coached the North Carolina Central University Eagles women’s softball to a CIAA Championship.

In 2000, Gia married the love of her life, William Maurice Peebles, former collegiate athlete, Omega Man and avid sportsman. Through this union, three sons Caleb, Aeneas and Braylon were nurtured and loved. Gia and William have a family legacy of successful athletic competition. William’s love for fishing has influenced Gia. Gia remarks, “ if I’m going to be out here with you, I want to know what we are doing”.

After seeing many women Anglers and with little to no representation of women of color, this sparks her competitive nature to form an all-black women’s fishing team called the ”Ebony Anglers’ ‘. Gia serves as the President for possibly the only black women’s fishing team in the US. In their first competition they won first place with an award winning catch-48lb/56.4 inch King Mackerel. The State of North Carolina Division of Marine Fishery, Saltwater Fishing Program has awarded the Ebony Anglers a citation for the catch.

Lesleigh Mausi, M.Ed. is an entrepreneur, award-winning educator and author.  She is Co-Founder and VP of The DOME Group (@domegroup) an entertainment promotions company producing live-music concerts and festivals throughout the country.  With her husband and partner Sulaiman Mausi, Lesleigh owns the Art of Cool Music Festival (@AOCFEST), a destination weekend event drawing over 10,000 music fans annually. In 2019, Lesleigh expanded the brand as CEO of Art of Cool Radio (@AOCRadio), an online radio station and free app featuring Neo-soul, Jazz and Hip-Hop with talk content focused on economic and cultural empowerment.

Lesleigh’s heart for youth is reflected in her 23-year career in education, serving thousands of public school students in both Detroit, MI and Durham, NC. She was named Assistant Principal of the Year in 2016 for Durham Public Schools, the first ever to receive the district’s inaugural award. She took a leap of faith in 2016, leaving her career in education to join her husband to grow their family businesses.  She continues to impact youth and women across the country speaking at conferences and hosting vision board mentorship seminars.

Creatively, Lesleigh is a classically-trained pianist and a writer. She has served as Minister of Music and choir director for churches and various musical projects. Her published works have appeared in the Detroit Free Press, Spectacular Magazine, and the recent anthology, Black Girls Hear. Her first published book, Through the Fire, is set for release in November 2020.  Co-authored with her husband Sulaiman, the book chronicles their personal pinnacles and pitfalls of marriage and business, and serves as a guide for entrepreneurial couples in their journey to success.

Lesleigh’s skill for angling was kindled at a young age by her father Raymond, a lifelong fisherman who chartered deep-sea tours for Black anglers across the country.  After his death in 2019, Lesleigh uses her competitive experiences as an Ebony Angler to connect with the spirit of her father, earning her the team name, “Legacy”.

A Detroit native, Lesleigh holds a B.A. in Communications from The University of Michigan, a Masters degree in Educational Leadership from Wayne State University and is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. She’s a loving wife of 21 years, a nurturing mother to three amazing sons, and a woman with a testimony to the power of God. 

Glenda Turner is an award-winning Nail Stylist currently in residence at Aura Galleria in Durham, North Carolina. She has a reputation for highly personal and exceptional customer service maintaining a diverse star-studded clientele.

Glenda’s career spans the inception of the nail industry in Durham, North Carolina to the present time which is 38 years. She was instrumental in the establishment of the first Black Nail Salon in Durham, North Carolina with the Phyllis Enterprises Corporation, which was 10 years prior to the influx of Asian Nail Salons.

During the 1980’s, the cosmetic nail industry was new to the Durham area and Glenda was and has continued to be a trendsetter from the inception. As a leader in the cosmetic nail industry with no previous mentors, they were left to carve out their own path with creative and ingenious new ideas to expand the vision. Glenda assisted with nail seminars to train staff, the production of training cassettes, slide presentations, and posters to promote the business.

As an entrepreneur/mentor and pioneer in the cosmetic nail applications industry, Glenda generously assisted others in pursuing their dreams in Durham, Chapel Hill, Henderson, and Washington, D.C.

Glenda has helped and inspired many young people in our community. She takes pride in her longevity in the nail industry and credits the longevity to her passion, commitment, and continuing education. Glenda offers a full range of nail services: natural nail maintenance, nail tips, sculptured nails, pink and whites, gel nails, and more. She adapts to the ever-changing trends in the nail and the beauty industry keeping her clientele current. Her pedicure is coined “tantalizing.”

Glenda has been a licensed manicurist in Atlanta Georgia and Durham, North Carolina. Glenda is a Certified Nail Professional with Creative Nail Design Inc. in Brisa Gel, Retention Acrylic and Shellac Gel System. Dazzle Dry Inc. Erica’s E. File Inc. Centre for Beauty Inc, Gehwol profession foot care, just to name a few. She has attended many Professional Nail Shows over her career.

Participate in charitable events. Glenda is also a published Nail professional in The News & Observer discussing how safe gel nails are. Her abstract nail designs can be seen in Durham magazine. Glenda strives to be knowledgeable about the Nail industry and keep up with the latest trends.

Glenda graduated from Jordan High School in Durham, North Carolina Glenda is married to the Love of her Life, Walter L. Turner III and they have three children and eight grandchildren. In her spare time, she is a member of the Ebony Anglers and enjoys deep-sea and competitive fishing. Glenda is

very adventurous. Loves traveling as well, She is also a member of World Overcomers Christian Church in Durham North Carolina where she has facilitated a Financial Peace University Class to members, orchestrated lunch for The Samaritan Inn for eight years. Served on the CARE team, Greeters ministry, Service Coordinator. Volunteered for countless Christmas,thanksgiving and back to school drives.

In reflection, Glenda understands fully through her life experience when much is given, much is expected. She has discovered her purpose, ministry, and passion through the people she has met and the fortunate events that have occurred through her vocation. Thereby she finds satisfaction in sharing with others and strives for excellence and perfection.

Graphic Media Artist, Creative Director and CEO of Socialotus Media Group and Baroque Fashion Media, Bobbiette “The Brand” Palmer, began her marketing firm, SMG in 2010 and her clients extend domestically and internationally. Bobbiette passionately believes in creator collaboration for the elevation of each other’s platforms, unique skills and crafts. 

As a self-starter and entrepreneur, she strives to demonstrate the value of quality marketing and media services and derives delight working and collaborating with other artists and creative professionals in the fashion, arts, entertainment, as well as non-profit, government and commercial industries. Her latest endeavor Brand or Die is a series of classes that teach aspiring entrepreneurs and veteran business owners looking to refresh their image and audience how to create, organize, implement and launch their brand in as little as 30 days.

Past Ventures Include:

Socialotus Media Group (2010 – 2020) 

A branding agency specializing in social media, digital marketing and event coverage.​ We help small businesses, entrepreneurs and local governments and nonprofits claim a strong presence in their respective markets and across the web. Our mission is to provide top quality AFFORDABLE services to small business, non-profits, corporations and individuals while maintaining the highest standards in customer service and portability. 

Socialotus Media Group is the parent company of Baroque Fashion Media.   

Baroque Fashion Media (2013 – 2018): 

A fashion marketing and media group that represents an intimate network of creative professionals in the fashion and entertainment and art industries domestically (U.S.A.) and internationally. BFM is based in Durham, NC and serves artists and creative professionals in North Carolina, New York and international markets. 

Baroque Fashion Media helped to facilitate healthy collaboration among artists and creative professionals and provided high quality media and marketing services to those creative professionals, thereby attracting quality clientele for membership. 

Bobbiette has been in the fashion and entertainment industry for over 13 years. During the span of her career, she has worked to foster healthy collaborations between artists in fashion entertainment and art, and her passion for fashion and penchant for creative and dynamic branding has led her to work with some of the world’s top industry talent.

Beauty and fashion are important to her because they are universal vehicles that have afforded her the opportunity to pursue her dream of traveling often and abroad, to places like New York, attending and covering fashion week, to Miami to attend and co-produce an event for Art Basel, to Las Vegas and soon to Sweden where she produced and directed of an internet reality series featuring celebrity designer, Stevie Boi. She also traveled to Europe to walk for Stevie Boi during Paris Fashion Week and produced a new clothing line presentation for him, for Paris Fashion Week.

At only 5 foot 4 inches, Bobbiette has faced many challenges and obstacles. As a freelance model and entrepreneur, beginning her career in Iowa, Bobbiette is no stranger to turning challenges into opportunities. Bobbiette used her unique looks and discovered partnerships in a low volume market which propelled her career early and thus began her love of collaboration with fellow creative professionals. It is to this end, that Bobbiette has built the principals of her company, Baroque Fashion Media, upon.

Some of the people that Bobbiette has worked with include, six-time Grammy-nominated jazz singer, Nnenna Freelon, celebrity fashion designer, Stevie Boi, celebrity fashion designer, Lizzie London, Hip Hop Icon, Big Daddy Kane, Singer and Songwriter, Yahzarah, celebrity photographers Steven Paul Whitsitt, Chris Charles, Antonio Martez to name a few.

By creating safe and healthy spaces for artist collaboration, she continues to blaze a safe trail for those creatives and self-propelled freelance artists into the industries of fashion, entertainment, and art.

New York native Tiana Davis, is a woman of many talents. She is a proverbial Jack of All Trades and master of some! Tiana graduated from Hampton University in 1997, where she earned a B.S in Pre-Medical Biology. In 2004 she exchanged her career in the medical field to pursue her dreams of entrepreneurship. 

She and her husband, Bruce Davis, opened their first restaurant in Long Island, New York, while simultaneously welcoming the first of their five children. Soon after they relocated to Raleigh, North Carolina where they ran a successful publishing company for a decade before returning to their roots as restaurateurs and caterers. 

Finding balance in business, home and self remains one of her greatest talents as well as greatest challenge. The self-proclaimed foodie is currently the curator at On Board Char where her love of artistry and food collide. In addition to wife, mother and businesswoman she now adds professional angler to her resume. 

Tiana is often heard saying “what I lack in skill, I make up for in competitiveness”, she is however, no novice to fishing. It is a skill she began developing long ago, but she admittedly still has much to learn. As she embarks on the journey of professional angling she welcomes this next challenge with a competitive spirit and a ready rod.

https://www.ebonyanglers.com/our-team

https://www.ebonyanglers.com/

We are highlighting examples of Black excellence throughout the year! Feel free to send us suggestions!

I am a pediatrician, public health advocate, and scholar. I write and teach on the relationship between structural racism, inequity and health.

I work clinically, teach nationally, and have a scholarly focus on the child and public health impacts of structural inequality. I partner with community-based and non-profit organizations, public health departments, and academic centers to understand and address forms of social inequality that contribute to poor and inequitable health outcomes. I’m the Director of Equity and Justice for The California Children’s Trust, an initiative to advance mental health access for children and youth across California.

In partnership with the Kaiser Family Foundation, Black Coalition Against COVID, and Unidos US I co-developed THE CONVERSATION: Between Us, About Us, a national campaign to bring credible information about the COVID vaccines directly to Black, Latinx, and Spanish-speaking communities.

I graduated cum laude with a B.A. in Africana Studies and Health from the University of Notre Dame. I earned a M.D. at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and completed my pediatric residency at University of California, San Francisco. In 2017, I graduated from the Commonwealth Fund Mongan Minority Health Policy Fellowship at Harvard University’s School of Public Health, earning an M.P.H.

Blog: https://rheaboyd.com/blog/

Bio

We are highlighting examples of Black excellence throughout the year! Feel free to send us suggestions!

DEI Spotlight: Dominique Kone Reflects on his Experience as a Black, Gay Marine Ecologist

June 26, 2020

As we have been reflecting on the recent killings of Black people, the ongoing civil unrest, and Pride Month—a tradition that stems from a riot led by Black transgender women in 1969—we wanted to spotlight a voice from the Black and LGBTQI+ communities. Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) are underrepresented in marine fields, including at Washington Sea Grant (WSG), where less than 12 percent of staff identify as BIPOC. We believe that representation matters, and aim to have our staff demographics reflect the demographics of Washington’s communities. We know that we still have work to do. We are extremely lucky to have connected with Dominique Kone (him/him) for this interview, a Black, gay marine ecologist, whom we found through the 500 Queer Scientists database.

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Dominique Kone is a systems thinker. He is dedicated to seeing the whole picture of complex environmental issues, and using the insights he gains to inform decision-making processes. He currently works as a science officer at the California Ocean Science Trust, an organization that is co-convening a working group on ocean and climate justice in which WSG participates. Kone’s identity as a Black, gay man has inevitably shaped his experience as a marine scientist and as a person in the world. Over the past month, he has been thinking a lot about his own experience as a member of the Black community and the covert nature of systemic racism in the United States. We talked with him about his career, how his identities as Black, gay and a marine scientist have intersected, and why he’s found it so hard to focus on science or celebrate Pride Month during this particular moment. Here’s what he had to say.

500 Queer Scientists is a visibility campaign for LGBTQI+ people working in science. You can also find WSG social scientist Melissa Watkinson’s profile in the database here, WSG science communications fellow James Lee’s profile here, and Lisa Graumlich’s, dean of the UW College of the Environment, here.

What was your path to becoming a marine ecologist?
I first became interested in terrestrial ecology because I wanted to work on endangered species conservation. I started my career working in D.C. for non-profits, and I became interested in boundary-spanning work: work that is focused on spanning the divide between the science and policy worlds. This includes both trying to understand how policy is used in the science arena, and how science can be used to make more effective policy. I took a job working for a grant funding program that targets marine research to be used by policymakers. That was my first taste of marine science. Almost every topic that I came across while working there was really exciting to me, and it became clear that doing boundary-spanning work in marine systems was my calling. That’s when I applied to go to grad school to do marine research.

You now work as a science officer at the California Ocean Science Trust. What do you do there?
We’re a small non-profit, a boundary-spanning organization that’s primarily made up of scientists. We look for ways that science can advance ocean priorities in the policy arena. We partner with folks at the state, as well as scientists who are trying to advance state issues. We do things like coordinating scientific working groups, bringing federal funds to state issues, and trying to form relationships between decision-makers and scientists. We allow ourselves to be flexible and for our role to change depending on what the need is.

There is growing recognition that there’s a lot of value for this type of work. I always like to put myself in the shoes of scientists, particularly professors. Look at all the things they’re responsible for: running a lab, writing grants, advising students. And now we have this increasing requirement of them to make their work applicable, which is a lot to ask of a job that already has them working at 110 percent capacity. This shows the need for that middle person who can help meet the needs of decision-makers.

“We need to increase our understanding of how people are interacting with the marine environment, including how we impact the environment, how we depend on it, and how it impacts us. This coupled-lens can improve how we manage our marine resources.”

What do you think is the most pressing marine issue of today?
I wouldn’t say it’s one particular issue, but more of a framing that crosscuts all marine topics: how we think of the natural environment versus human societies. Historically, we have thought about these two systems as being distinct, that people are separate from the environment. I think if we’re going to make progress on a range of issues—whether it’s more conservation-focused, like species recovery, or it’s helping coastal communities adapt to sea level rise—we need to change our thinking and say, “we are also part of the environment.” We need to increase our understanding of how people are interacting with the marine environment, including how we impact the environment, how we depend on it, and how it impacts us. This coupled-lens can improve how we manage our marine resources.

For example, in grad school I worked on a project looking at the potential reintroduction of sea otters to Oregon. Sea otter reintroduction is a really interesting topic because you have certain stakeholders that are very focused on the potential impacts of sea otters to fisheries, like Dungeness crabs or sea urchins. They are cautious about sea otters reducing how much of those prey populations are available. But, sea otters can also have a lot of ecosystem benefits, particularly the restoration of kelp, which can provide additional ecosystem services to coastal communities. When I would communicate my research, I tried to give people exposure to those two sides of the story, so that they could appreciate how what happens in the marine environment is going to impact what happens within the human system, and vice-versa. Taking this broader perspective and thinking about people as a species in the environment allow us to recognize the actions we take may impact the environment, and eventually and ultimately impact us.

As stated on your profile on 500 Queer Scientists, you identify as a Black, gay man. How have these facets of your identity shaped your experience in marine science and policy?
Given the recent civil unrest and killings of innocent Black people, I find myself thinking about this question more and more these days. For a long time, it was very hard for me to tease apart my experience as a Black person as opposed to a gay man: because they are both my identity, they were sort of one and the same for me. But now I realize that they are actually quite different experiences. As a cisgender gay man, I always had the option to not open up about my sexuality in an attempt to avoid potential discrimination. Whereas as a Black man, there is no hiding my race. I experienced racial discrimination throughout my childhood growing up in a very white community in Maine, and as I got older I saw how that discrimination evolved and became more covert, turning into microaggressions. For me, being Black has had a far greater impact on both my education and professional life because that racial discrimination has been a constant.

These recent killings really put things into perspective for me. For the first time in my life, I found myself unable to focus on the work I wanted to do, because I was so concerned about the state of the world and what sort of progress we were making on race relations in the United States. I found this clash between my identity, personal life and professional life, where the trauma I experienced from hearing and seeing these deaths prevented me from doing the things that I really wanted to do and from excelling in my day-to-day job. 

“We, as a society, have much further to go in understanding those intersectionalities and how these identities influence a person’s overall well-being, and subsequently, ability to succeed in their job or education.”

How has the fact that the recent civil unrest has been going on at the same time as Pride Month shaped this experience?
Typically, I am very excited for Pride Month. But given the current climate, I’ve also found myself completely unable to celebrate this year, because I am so hyper-focused on what I need to do to help my people in the Black community. Which is unfortunate, because Pride Month should be a time of not only celebration for me, but for other people in the LGBTQI+ community and allies – for all of us to celebrate the progress that we’ve made. But these recent killings and civil unrest is a constant reminder that we have so much further to go when it comes to this country valuing Black people and people of color, that’s made it almost impossible for me to really enjoy this Pride Month.

While being Black, being gay, and being a marine scientist are all aspects of your identity, it sounds like this past month has really highlighted that there are moments when some aspects of identity come more to the forefront than others.
Absolutely. And I think it’s also really demonstrated the importance of understanding intersectionality when it comes to a person’s identity. Where the country could be making a lot of progress in accepting or valuing people for certain parts of their identity, but not others. Because I identify with all these groups, it makes it challenging to do the things that I typically like to do when it comes to my job as a marine scientist or celebrating Pride as a gay man. We, as a society, have much further to go in understanding those intersectionalities and how these identities influence a person’s overall well-being, and subsequently, ability to succeed in their job or education.

What do you think marine organizations, which are disproportionately white, can do to become more diverse, equitable and inclusive?
That’s a very difficult question to answer. I think it really requires knowledge of this system as a whole. We need to take a much broader look at marginalized experiences, particularly when it comes to what happens to people outside of work. Black people and people of color don’t stop being people of color when they leave the workplace. There’s a lot of stuff that can go on outside the office that impacts their day-to-day life and their overall well-being. If we want to increase diversity or want to create organizations that are equitable and more inclusive, we need to take that broader perspective and understand it’s not just marine organizations that are predominately white, or where there may be microaggressions or hurdles within our profession. There are all these other experiences outside our field that could hinder our ability to succeed or even want to join the marine professional sector. These are very ugly historical systems that have evolved and are very covert these days. We need to look beyond marine organizations to really get an understanding of how we can begin chipping away and breaking down the system as a whole.

Follow Dominique Kone on Twitter: @dom_kone

DEI Spotlight: Dominique Kone Reflects on his Experience as a Black, Gay Marine Ecologist

We are highlighting examples of Black excellence throughout the year! Feel free to send us suggestions!

The violent, heroic actions of an illiterate black sailor threatened with enslavement enthralled newspaper and magazine readers during the tense early phase of the American Civil War.

Born free in Milford, Delaware—a state that permitted slavery but had a relatively small slave population—William B. Tillman found opportunity as a naval and merchant seaman. At the beginning of the Civil War Tillman labored as cook and steward for the eight-man Union merchant schooner S. J. Waring, which left Brookhaven, New York, bound for Montevideo, Uruguay, in early July 1861 with a cargo of food products. Patrolling waters off the coast of New Jersey was the Confederate privateer Jefferson Davis, a former slave ship refitted for war with five cannons. It seized the S. J. Waring and put a five-man contingent from the privateer onboard to ensure its voyage to Charleston, South Carolina.

Despite having told Tillman that he would be sold into slavery upon reaching Charleston, the Confederate crew viewed him as harmless and allowed him to roam the schooner to perform his routine duties. Unknown to his captors, however, Tillman instigated a plan to retake command of the schooner with the help of William Stedding, one of the three captive crewmen left behind on the S. J. Waring. On the night of July 16, 1861, within hours of the ship’s projected arrival in Charleston, Stedding gave Tillman the signal to kill their Confederate captors as they slept. Using a shipboard hatchet, Tillman killed the captain, first mate, and second mate. He and Stedding threw the bodies overboard. Tillman then announced to all aboard that he had taken charge and demanded everyone, including the two remaining Confederates that he spared, to cooperate with him in returning the Confederate vessel to New York.

The crew of Unionists and Confederates pulled together in their newly assigned duties and even survived a storm before reaching their northern destination. Detained, interviewed, and his story confirmed, Tillman’s daring action was welcome news to the victory-starved Union, which had just suffered a crushing defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run. The popular press lionized Tillman, a federal court awarded him $6,000 for his salvage (ship recovery) claim; Currier & Ives did his portrait, and he spoke to thrilled audiences for seventeen days at P. T. Barnum’s American Museum. However, Tillman never received special recognition from President Abraham Lincoln who, at least during the early months of the war before blacks were recruited as soldiers, likely feared appearing too comfortable with the idea of a black man killing whites.

In 1863, Tillman married Julia A. Prophet, a black housekeeper, and the couple had one son, Frederick. The 1870 census listed the Tillman family as residing in Cranston, Rhode Island, and Tillman working as a sailor. By 1880, he was divorced, possibly disabled, and living as a boarder in a house in San Francisco, California. His death date is unknown.

William B. Tillman (a.k.a. William Tilghman, 1834?-1880?)