Hyde Park Citizen 1-8-2020

Citizen

Clare Boothe Luce Grant Supports 18 Undergraduate Research Awards for Women in Engineering — Page 3 Week of Jan. 8, 2020

| Vol. 31 | No. 7 | www.citizennewspapergroup.com

HYDE PARK

MARCH WITH DR. MARTIN L. KING JR. AT DUSABLE MUSEUM EXHIBIT An upcoming exhibit at the DuSable Museum of African American History, whose executive producer is Academy Award actress Viola Davis, will offer a virtual reality experience with Dr. Martin L. King Jr. and highlight his fight for equality.

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An upcoming exhibit at the DuSable Museum of African American History will offer a virtual reality experience with Dr. Martin L. King Jr. and highlight his fight for equality. Photo credit: By Wendell Hutson

BUSINESS

FASHION

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Workers in Majority of U.S. States See Minimum Wage Increases

ENTERTAINMENT

Blow Dryers and Blockbusters Connect Cinema To Consumers

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Reggae Artist, Safira Mono Targeted

by VooDoo Community for Her Latest Single “Tunback Blow” PAGE 7

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2 | CITIZEN | Hyde Park | Week of Jan. 8, 2020

NEWS briefly EDUCATION

IBHE NAMES MEMBERS OF DISABILITY SERVICES ADVISORY COMMITTEE The Illinois Board of Higher Education is announcing the members of the newly-constituted Disability Services Advisory Committee. This group will play a critical role in reviewing current policies and practices in serving students with disabilities in Illinois institutions of higher education.

“I feel honored and privileged to be afforded the opportunity to serve along my esteemed colleagues from across the state, and to give a voice to issues and a community that unfortunately, is often an afterthought in diversity and inclusion conversations,” said Dominic Dorsey, chair of the advisory committee. Dorsey is the director of Accessible Campus Community and Equitable Student Support (ACCESS) at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. The committee was created in 2004 and its accomplishments so far include such projects as training, conferences, transition support programs, data collection and accessibility awareness programs.

HEALTH

AMERICA’S HEALTH RANKINGS 2019 ANNUAL REPORT MARKS 30 YEARS OF PUBLIC HEALTH PROGRESS AND CHALLENGES For 30 years, America’s Health Rankings has played a leading role in raising awareness of important trends in public health. The United Health Foundation recently released the 2019 America’s Health Rankings® Annual Report, which highlights health trends from the past three decades as well as from the past year.

The report showcases meaningful progress in reducing smoking and infant mortality. It also identifies challenges including increasing rates of diabetes, suicide and drug deaths. “Over the past 30 years, the understanding and science of public health has changed dramatically,” said Dr. Rhonda Randall, chief medical officer of UnitedHealthcare and advisor to America’s Health Rankings. “Many health issues that were concerning in 1990 remain so today, and additional issues have arisen that require action now. America’s Health Rankings will continue to provide evolving state and national snapshots of health to inform and drive action to build healthier communities.”

LAW & POLITICS

ILLINOIS SUPREME COURT APPROVES NEW REMOTE ACCESS POLICY The Illinois Supreme Court recently announced the approval of a new Remote Access Policy (RAP) which took effect on January 1, 2020.

The RAP, which was developed by the e-Business Policy Advisory Board in conjunction with the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, supersedes the previous Electronic Access Policy for Circuit Court Records of the Illinois Courts.

The Administrative Director of the Illinois Courts has authority to amend the RAP as is necessary and appropriate.

“Providing remote access to court documents lines up with the Illinois Supreme Court’s mission to provide equal access to justice and to meet changing needs,” Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Anne M. Burke said. “Court users want to be able to access case information without travelling to a courthouse and this program addresses that need.”

March With Dr. Martin L. King Jr. at DuSable Museum Exhibit Continued from page 1

BY WENDELL HUTSON Contributing Writer

An upcoming exhibit at the DuSable Museum of African American History, whose executive producer is Academy Award actress Viola Davis, will offer a virtual reality experience with Dr. Martin L. King Jr. and highlight his fight for equality.

The new exhibit, “The March,” will run from Feb. 28 to Nov. 30 and Perri Irmer, president and CEO of the DuSable Museum, 740 E. 56th Pl., said the exhibit would bring the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech to life.

“The exhibit will introduce new generations to the civil rights movement,” explained Irmer. “This is extremely important today because as we witness and experience an uprise in white supremacy, hatred, racism, and violence, it’s critical that our youth understand the battles that were fought for

equality and civil rights.”

While inside the exhibit, visitors will be able to wear wireless, virtual reality goggles to walk side by side with Dr. King and have a front row seat to his 1963 ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, according to Irmer. The designer for the new exhibit is AV Concepts, who also designed a hologram of the late rapper Tupac Shakur that performed onstage at the 2012 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio, California. Sponsors for the exhibit include American Family Insurance.

The free exhibit will run about 14 minutes but will be timed, “so we encourage people to get their tickets in advance online to guarantee admittance,” added Irmer.

Historian Timuel Black said the DuSable Museum was founded in 1961 as a way to celebrate black culture because during the 1960s black history was often overlooked by most museums.

The 100-year-old Washington Park resident organized protest marches for King during the 1960s when he visited Chicago.

“I for one plan to attend this exhibit. It sounds like a winner and a history lesson black folks need to learn,” said Black. “Maybe if black folks knew what Dr. King had endured to achieve equality for all, they would have a better appreciation for his work today and not shoot and kill each other.”

He said during his generation, black kids lived at home with both parents.

“There were mostly two-parent households back then but today that is less than 35 percent,” contends Black. “The community has disconnected itself from helping families and now we have a bunch of single mothers raising children with no help from the community.”

One thing Black said that bothers him is to see so many young people not planning for the future.

“The reason you see so many young people shooting each other is because they do not believe there is a future for them and they just don’t care about their actions,” he added.

Where are Americans Moving?

North American Van Lines, Inc. has released its latest migration map, updated through 2019, showing where Americans have moved throughout the years.

According to the latest information published by the U.S. Census Bureau, the percentage of people that move every year equates to 14% of the population (or roughly 40 million).

People move for a variety of reasons: housing, jobs, family, etc. Being aware of cross-country moving migration patterns can give you a better idea of the behavior of Americans.

The following historical U.S. migration study will provide you the states with the largest influx of moves and the states that have the most outbound moves.

The updated migration map can be found at www. northamerican.com/migration-map/.

Key Takeaways from 2019 Migration Report l The top three states for outbound moves in 2019 were Illinois, California, and New Jersey. l Minnesota re-emerged as the sixth highest state for

outbound moves after not being in the top eight the year before. l Connecticut, which also was not in the top 8 last year, moved up to #8 for the states with the most outbound moves in 2019. l For inbound moves, the top five states in 2019 were identical to 2018, with Idaho first followed in order by Arizona, South Carolina, Tennessee, and North Carolina.

Additional Takeaways Midwestern states States in the Midwest typically rank for outbound moves. However, Colorado ranked sixth for inbound moves in 2018 before falling to seventh place in 2019.

Minnesota was not in the top eight states for outbound moves in 2018 but came in sixth place for 2019. It ranked high in several previous years as well.

Illinois is the leader here having ranked in the top spot for 5 out of the last 6 years.

Similar to Illinois, Michigan has consistently been a member of the states with the most outbound moves.

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The top three states for outbound moves in 2019 were Illinois, California, and New Jersey.

CITIZEN | Hyde Park | Week of Jan. 8, 2020

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NEWS Community Reinvestment Act Changes Expected to Benefit Low- and Moderate-Income Communities

BY CHRISTOPHER G. COX Publisher and managing editor, www.realesavvy.com

Nationally, women earn only 23.6% of doctoral degrees in engineering and represent only 17.4% of the discipline’s tenured/tenure-track faculty (ASEE, 2018)—statistics that have seen only moderate increases in the past decade.

Clare Boothe Luce Grant Supports 18 Undergraduate Engineering Research Awards for Women in Engineering Over the past decade, Villanova University’s College of Engineering has distinguished itself as one of the country’s leading engineering programs for women.

In the gender diversity of its faculty and student body, the College consistently exceeds national averages for the percentage of women teaching and studying engineering.

In addition, there are a variety of K-12 STEM outreach programs and support services and resources across campus that demonstrate Villanova’s commitment to ensuring greater gender equity in engineering and STEM disciplines.

These were among the factors that led the Henry Luce Foundation’s Clare Boothe Luce (CBL) Program, a national leader in promoting women in STEM, to award Villanova $236,635 in support of 18 undergraduate research awards for women in the College.

Nationally, women earn only 23.6% of doctoral degrees in engineering and represent only 17.4% of the discipline’s tenured/tenure-track faculty (ASEE, 2018)—statistics that have seen only moderate increases in the past decade.

The Clare Boothe Luce Engineering Scholars Program at Villanova (CBL-ESP) aims for greater gender parity at the PhD level by supporting female engineers throughout their educational journeys and into research-oriented professions, both inside and outside academia.

The goal of CBL-ESP is to provide female students with three distinctive research experiences from freshman through junior year, along with intentional mentorship from College faculty, alumnae and graduate students.

The program will also ignite the College’s new initiative: WE_CAN—Women Engineers in Community at Nova— which creates an umbrella for all Villanova Engineering-sponsored initiatives designed to help aspiring and current female engineers reach their full potential from primary school to career.

The Clare Boothe Luce Engineering Scholars Program will augment and advance two of Villanova’s core institutional priorities: (1) creating a more diverse, equitable and inclusive (DEI) campus and (2) increasing and supporting undergraduate research experiences as a recently classified Doctoral Research institution. The DEI aspects of the program will be bolstered through partnerships with VISIBLE (Villanova Initiative to Support Inclusiveness and Build Leaders); the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; and McNulty Institute for Women’s Leadership, which will offer panels, seminars and resources for female leaders.

CBL-ESP’s research opportunities will be administered through the University’s esteemed Center for Research and Fellowships (CRF).

CRF’s existing programs— the Villanova Match Research Program for First Year Students (Match), Villanova Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program (VURF) and STEM/NSF Bootcamp—will be leveraged to create a comprehensive research pipeline for Luce Research Scholars. Through Match, participants will spend 10 weeks as research assistants to faculty mentors during the spring semester of their first year. They will also participate in CRF’s professional development seminars on oral presentations and applying for research opportunities. During the summer after their sophomore year and continuing into their junior year, participants will undertake an independent research project with their faculty mentor through VURF and VURF Extension.

After those experiences, the NSF/STEM Bootcamp will help Luce Research Scholars secure an external academic fellowship or research-oriented internship for the summer between the junior and senior years.

Dr. Seri Park, associate professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, will serve as director of the Clare Boothe Luce Research Scholars Program. In 2013, Dr. Park was hired as one of the College’s three Clare Boothe Luce professors. She says, “Because I recognize the positive impact of CBL’s support on my own career, I am eager to foster a vibrant community of female engineering scholars.”

Interim Dean Dr. Randy Weinstein notes that the College’s efforts on behalf of women in engineering will expand beyond CBL-ESP. “Over the next five years, we plan to launch WE_CAN as an umbrella for existing initiatives, create opportunities for female PhD engineering students to serve as mentors for undergraduate students, identify opportunities to support alumnae, and establish new professional development workshops in partnership with the McNulty Institute to support female engineering students at all levels.”

Founded in 1842 by the Order of St. Augustine, there are more than 10,000 undergraduate, graduate and law students in Villanova University’s six colleges. www.citizennewspapergroup.com

Proposed changes to the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) could lead to greatly enhanced investment in low- and moderate-income (LMI) communities around the country, according to Grovetta N. Gardineer, senior deputy comptroller for Bank Supervision Policy with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).

The OCC is soliciting comments on a proposal to modernize the CRA by clarifying what counts, updating where activity counts, measuring performance more objectively, and making reporting more timely and transparent.

“The CRA has a very noble goal of making sure banks meet their responsibility for lending, investing in and servicing communities where they do business, with a focus on low- and moderate-income individuals and areas,” Gardineer said. “The statute remains a noble goal, but the implementation is outdated and, in many ways, ineffective.”

The CRA was enacted in 1977 as a direct response to redlining, an unethical practice whereby banks and other lending institutions made it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for residents of poor, inner-city communities to borrow money, get a mortgage, take out insurance or access other financial services.

Redlining did not take into consideration an individual’s qualifications or creditworthiness.

Gardineer explains that a primary reason the CRA needs updating is because the banking industry has changed fundamentally in the more than 40 years since it was implemented.

“Among other things,” Gardineer adds, “we did not have the internet in 1977, and interstate branching was not available.

“Banks were limited to where they had branches or where their home office was located, so they had a completely geographical

approach,” she continued. “With all of the tremendous technological advancements in recent years, banks now offer products and services across the country regardless of geography.”

The OCC hopes stakeholders will carefully review the proposed changes and submit comments so that a final rule can be issued in the first half of 2020.

Noting that the new CRA rules would fight displacement and harmful gentrification – a high priority in many minority communities – Gardineer points out that the OCC is making a concerted effort to work closely with such organizations as the NAACP and the National Urban League.

To that end, OCC has invested the time to meet with thousands of concerned individuals “discussing the issues that need to be addressed.” Meetings are currently scheduled with Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP, and Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League. Another recent outreach effort to solicit public input included an Atlanta bus tour with Ambassador Andrew Young.

There are still too many underserved communities in the U.S. that are “CRA deserts,” Gardiner notes. “No matter what their geographical footprint, we want banks to be able to offer a broad array of services to communities and individuals throughout the nation.

“Given the wide spectrum of individuals who we know will benefit from this rule making process,” Gardiner said, “it is particularly important to the Comptroller to make sure that we spread a wide net, that we make ourselves available and that we share our vision.

“We have really worked hard over the past two years,” she concluded, “closing a loophole that allowed wealthy people to get CRA credit for investing in LMI areas. That is not what CRA was ever intended to do. And that is being directly responsive to some of the feedback we have been receiving.”

4 | CITIZEN | Hyde Park | Week of Jan. 8, 2020

BUSINESS

Workers in Majority of U.S. States See Minimum Wage Increases According to payroll experts Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S., a total of 26 states and the District of Columbia will raise the minimum wage in 2020. In twenty two of those states, the increases were implemented by January 1.

The highest rates in the nation are found at the municipal level.

Seattle has the highest minimum wage rate at $16.00 per hour for large employers and $15.00 for small employers. New York City’s minimum wage is set at $15.00 per hour for all employers.

California raised the minimum wage rates by $1 on January 1 ($12.00 per hour for employers with 25 employees or less, and $13.00 per hour for employers with 26 employees or more), while the highest state rate will remain in Washington at $13.50 per hour.

A few states’ wages remain on the lower end of the spectrum, with some state minimums coming in below the federal wage rate, and others with a slower incremental increase. The lowest minimum wage rates of $5.15 are in Georgia and Wyoming.

However, most employers and employees would be subject to the higher federal minimum wage rate of $7.25 per hour.

“The increases indicate a move toward ensuring a living wage for people across several states,” said Employment Law Analyst for Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S. Barbara O’Dell, JD. “Some of the new rates are the result of previously approved incremental increases to reach a specific amount that is considered to be a living wage such as California, Colorado, Maine, Washington, whereas other states’ increases reflect

A total of 26 states and the District of Columbia will raise the minimum wage in 2020. Credit: Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S.

an annual cost-of-living adjustment, such as Alaska, Florida, Minnesota, Montana.”

Those states following the step-up approach tend to have higher minimum wage rates than those taking a cost-of-living adjustment approach. The trend towards regional minimum wages, such as

those in New York and Oregon, also reflect lawmakers’ recognition that costs of living are higher in large metro areas than they are in other parts of the state. Under the new legislation in Illinois, the minimum wage is $9.25 per hour, up from $8.25. The minimum wage in Illinois is scheduled to reach $15 in 2025.

Aventiv Technologies Welcomes Evon Jones, Chief Information Officer Aventiv Technologies recently announced that Evon Jones has been appointed Chief Information Officer for the organization. Jones will report directly to President Dave Abel, contributing to customer-facing products and corporate information technology.

As CIO, Jones will support all brands under the Aventiv Technologies umbrella, focusing on improving processes, creating more efficiencies and fueling technology to increase consumer value through consistent positive brand engagement.

Jones joins the Aventiv organization with more than 20 years of executive-level IT management experience with consumer brands including Hallmark, Liz Claiborne, The Dial Corporation, Bausch and Lomb, and American Express.

Headquartered in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, Aventiv Technologies is the www.citizennewspapergroup.com

PRNewsfoto/Aventiv Technologies

parent company for Securus Technologies, JPay and AllPaid.

With nearly 2,000 associates, Aventiv serves the public sector by applying technology solutions to make complex connections more secure and simpler than ever before. For more information, please visit www.Aventiv.com SOURCE Aventiv Technologies

CITIZEN | Hyde Park | Week of Jan. 8, 2020

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CitizenOnTheMove

South Suburban Links, Chicago Chapter Links and Hoffman Estates Rounds Up 2019 With Huge Celebrations

Photos by CREDD

Greg Kramer, Covenant House of Chicago, Donor Relations Manager; Carolyn Lopez, Services to Youth Chair; Annette J. Johnson, Program Chair; Ruth Slaughter, Program Co-Chair; Murrell Duster, Social Committee Chair; Julianna Stratton, Lieutenant Governor of Illinois; Gwendolyn B. Lee, 14th National President of Links, Inc; Tresa Dunbar Garrett, President, Chicago Chapter of the Links, Inc; Cheryl Hamilton Hill, CEO of Covenant House of Chicago; Sherma Wise Thomas, Mistress of Ceremony and Services to Youth Co-Chair; Michael Wallace, Director of Sales and Marketing, Millennium Knickerbocker Hotel Chicago.

Event goers were entertained by R&B Vocal Legendary Group "The Whispers"

The South Suburban Chicago Links, Incorporated Fundraiser, “Getting In the Groove� featuring the Whispers at the Odyssey Country Club! The party was awesome as usual! Event goers enjoyed the view of festivities from the tables of Link Faye Terrell-Perkins , Link Donna and Link Jennifer Norell.

Hoffman Estates (IL) Chapter, The Links, Incorporated

Event goers shares a smile for the camera before the Legendary Whispers performance.

The Chicago Chapter of the Links, Inc., President Tresa Dunbar Grant and Chair Murrell Duster celebrated the holidays at the Millennium Knickerbocker Hotel featuring DJ Vince Adams.

"The Hoffman Estates (IL) Chapter, The Links, Incorporated, held its annual fall fundraiser, Jazzin' & Steppin' into Fashion at the Drake Hotel, Oak Brook IL. The sold out event provided guests an intimate look at the new fall fashions by African American designers in the Chicagoland area. Guests alo were able to shop with the designers after the show. The event Chairman was Crystal Reynolds Lewis and the Co-Chairmen were Helen Hammond Redding and Diane Latta.

Visit us at: www.citizennewspapergroup.com to view our photo gallery!

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6 | CITIZEN | Hyde Park | Week of Jan. 8, 2020

FASHION

PRNewsfoto/Virmax, LLC

VirMax, LLC Partners with Bethenny Frankel’s Skinnygirl to Launch New Line of Supplements for Women According to a press release, healthier living for women is becoming more simplified and affordable thanks to the launch of a new line of Skinnygirl supplements available exclusively at Walgreens retail locations across the country.

Entrepreneur, philanthropist, and founder and CEO of Skinnygirl, Bethenny Frankel, has teamed up with established supplement brand, VirMax, LLC, to create a new line of once daily supplements designed to help women address common health challenges.

Four initial supplement formulations will include: Hair, Skin & Nails with Biotin: Designed to help

Wil Shelton

Blow Dryers and Blockbusters Connect Cinema To Consumers Wil Shelton, President and CEO of Wil Power Integrated Marketing, has learned how to use his network of over 100,000 African American-based hair salons and barbershops to spread awareness of many global brands around the country.

According to Shelton, “The barbershop is one of the most influential places in the country.” The former salon owner noticed that many people, while receiving salon and/or barber services, often discuss and make recommendations for things happening in the media. “It’s almost every day that I would hear someone say, ‘Hey did you all hear about that new movie coming out…’ or ‘I’ve been thinking about picking up that new record, what do you all think…’ and before you know it, consumers are making buying decisions based on conversations had in a barbershop. I felt like, ‘this is gold!’ “ It was from this revelation that Shelton’s company, Wil Power Integrated Marketing (WPIM), was birthed.

WPIM has now been in business for over 20 years and includes a ground team in over 40 markets. Within WPIM, they have a network of over 100,000 hair salons and barbershops in multicultural and urban communities where he hosts events and distributes brand paraphernalia.

Some of its current and former clients include Paramount Studios, 20th Century FOX, RCA, AT&T, Columbia Records, Lions Gate, Empire on FOX,

TV Land, Comedy Central and more.

As a result of his extensive and diverse reach, he is able to curate a targeted strategy based on the needs of the client.

“Because we service so many types of salons and barbershop, we have been able to hyper focus our campaigns to better suit the needs of the client. For instance, we are able to target facilities where more women or men are the clientele and even target based on age demographic. Some clients may only focus on certain regions and others focus on a much larger scale as a whole. Either way, we are able to scale and guarantee visibility for a host of major brands.”

Shelton also sees this as dual opportunity for salon owners to boost their visibility within their communities.

Salon owners receive the marketing materials from the companies for free, via WPIM, and some salon owners have truly maximized on these opportunities.

As a result of these initiatives salon owners have hosted movie screenings, premiere parties, giveaways, and more that have increased community brand awareness and, in some cases, their overall revenue generation and client base.

Through the events alone, several hundreds of people have been in attendance, with celebrity sightings, games and more. Shelton feels, “The African American community is not hard to reach; however, it’s important that companies reach us where we are,” he said.

maintain glossy hair, strong nails and radiant skin.

Collagen Enhancer: Designed to help fight signs of aging, reduce wrinkles and age spots and enhance collagen, making skin firmer.

Relaxation & Sleep Support with Melatonin: Designed to help increase relaxation and improve sleep quality and duration.

Sensuality For Female Intimacy: Designed to help increase desire, elevate sensation and improve blood flow.

For more information, visit www. skinnygirlsupplements.com.

The Global Hydrating Spray Market size is expected to reach $5.8 billion by 2025 The Global Hydrating Spray Market size is expected to reach $5.8 billion by 2025, rising at a market growth of 6% CAGR during the forecast period.

Increased demand, high disposable income, rapid urbanization and industrialization, growth in distribution channels and technical innovation have contributed significantly to the growth of the hydrating spray market.

On the other side, certain factors may hinder the development of the market, like rising consumer awareness of the side effects of synthetic ingredients in products.

Nevertheless, demand for hair and body mist products is projected to increase, specifically from the male grooming segment.

Through locking in the moisturizing ingredients, facial water spray is being used to hydrate the skin. Facial water sprays are also used as toners and are used by absorbing the skin care ingredients to improve the radiance of facial skin.

This product is also available as

www.citizennewspapergroup.com

a moisturizing fragrant mist and is often used as a mood-boosting spray. Facial water spray helps in setting of makeup and cools the hot, sweaty skin. These are often used instead of the skin toners and are used in addition to the make-up. Facial water spray helps to treat dry skin.

Facial water spray with its benefits is widely favored, especially as climate temperatures rise; this increases the adoption of the product. They can also be purchased from drug stores.

Sprays of facial water may have additional features and materials, such as minerals, antioxidants, and other ingredients, which can have a hydrating effect on the skin. There are certain water sprays that are made from an organic base. Different types of water with minerals such as calcium and magnesium are used in the spray. Other water types used to prepare these sprays include water from the ocean, water from the spring, or purified water.

Based on Product Type, the market is segmented into Face, Body and Hair. Based on Gender,

the market is segmented into Female and Male. Based on Distribution Channel, the market is segmented into Specialty Stores, Supermarkets & Hypermarkets, Online and Others. Based on Regions, the market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America, Middle East & Africa. The market is characterized by the presence of regional and international vendors. In addition to generating revenue from retail sales, the global market vendors are providing their products online.

These vendors compete based on their broad portfolio of products and beauty brands that are popular around the world. Due to the value-added benefits and multi-functionality of the products offered by these established players, the market competition is intensifying.

The market has significant growth opportunities for several players with the increased demand for organic and herbal beauty products.

SOURCE Reportlinker

CITIZEN | Hyde Park | Week of Jan. 8, 2020

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ENTERTAINMENT

New Training Program to Increase Minority Presence in Film Industry Launches The Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity (DCEO) plans to invest $500,000 through the Illinois Film Office Workforce Training Program to enable more women and minorities to access job opportunities within the film industry.

As the industry grows, more minority groups are moving toward film production as a career, making up 49% of the accredited productions in the state.

To keep this momentum going, DCEO’s new job training program will train and graduate regular cohorts of new film and TV production workers annually through the program which is to be adopted by qualified institutions, colleges, and universities through a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). The state-wide training program will position qualified and trained minorities to land entry-level positions on productions across the state and would add 2,500 new minority crew positions over a 10-year period.

Peter Hawley, director of the Illinois Office

of Film at DCEO, said, “Although 2019 is a record-breaking year for film production in the state, with fan favorite TV shows such as Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, Chicago PD, Empire, The CHI, and Fargo filming in Illinois, we still need producers and industry representatives from HBO, Disney, Paramount, and Fox to bring more productions to Illinois. Governor Pritzker recently signed legislation that renews the film tax incentive for productions to shoot in Illinois.

To prevent staffing shortages in the years ahead, Illinois needs more trained crew members to fully staff those productions. Our goal is to boost our economy and ensure that our workforce more accurately represents Illinois’ diversity.”

The specific goals of this program are as follows: l Increase the number of productions and associated jobs in Illinois l Change the perception that Illinois is “booked

up” with a lack of trained crew members l Improve communication and coordination between producers and workforce training programs to increase the number of people graduating from those programs l Work with groups that provide workforce training to match the needs of production l Help grow and support new training programs all across the state l Help low-income and minority Illinoisans train as production assistants for career growth opportunities in the film and television industry The Illinois Film Workforce Training Initiative’s mission is to fight poverty and empower low-income and minority Illinois residents by creating living-wage employment opportunities and connecting graduates to careers with long-term potential for growth and educational advancement.

A recent study shows that across motion

DCEO’s new job training program will train and graduate regular cohorts of new film and TV production workers annually through the program which is to be adopted by qualified institutions, colleges, and universities through a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO).

picture video production, distribution, and tele/ post-production services in Illinois, the average annual pay was $73,686 in 2018, which is higher than the average annual pay of $59,941 across all industries.

The NOFO for the Workforce Training Program is available at https://www2.illinois.gov/ dceo/AboutDCEO/GATA/Pages/2336-1297.aspx The application submission deadline is 5:00pm CST on 1/9/2020.

Reggae Artist, Safira Mono Targeted by VooDoo Community for Her Latest Single “Tunback Blow” Reggae artiste Safira Mono is getting a lot of flak from several individuals in various countries including Jamaica, Haiti and Ghana following the release of her recent single “Tunback Blow,” produced by James Lord.

The single tackles the taboo topic of obeah, a system of spiritual and healing practices developed among enslaved West Africans in the West Indies. She hones in on a particular practice of the ‘tunback blow’ which is a means of deflecting evil sorcery onto the perpetrators of the original act.

“Obeah is real if we believe it to be so. Our minds are more powerful than we may have been led to believe. Therefore, if a person possesses an evil intent, the mind is powerful enough to manifest that evil into reality.

I wrote and recorded ‘Tunback Blow’ based on life experiences.

If we put out negative energy, we should also expect a negative return,” she said.

The song was released recently and ignited a fierce online debate about the practice with some accusing Safira Mono of promoting sorcery and slackness.

Although obeah remains a popular practice among those of African ancestry, it is still frowned upon by society, and widely practiced in secrecy. In fact, obeah has been outlawed in Jamaica since

Safira Mono Tunback Blow

www.citizennewspapergroup.com

1760 after Tacky’s Rebellion.

Variations of obeah are practiced in the Bahamas and in several Caribbean nations. Obeah was decriminalised in Anguilla in 1980, Barbados in 1998, Trinidad and Tobago in 2000, and St Lucia in 2004. In Guyana, the government recently announced its intention to remove the crime of obeah from the criminal code, according to a press release.

“It is evident that Jamaica is not ready for talks about what to do with obeah, we have a complicated relationship with our African ancestry and heritage. But the government needs to understand that criminalising people’s belief systems is unconstitutional and could be challenged in court,” Safira Mono said.

Even at the height of the lucrative Christmas season, the annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, the practice is ramped up because of the high financial stakes involved.

“Obeah is practised all over Jamaica, is like it decriminalised already, dem more brave and open with it downtown and in some rural towns, especially commercial areas because of the intense competition to make sales. Trust me, if someone promises say dem ah go obeah yu, dem will dweet in front of your face, dem no ‘fraid,” Safira Mono said.

8 | CITIZEN | Hyde Park | Week of Jan. 8, 2020

CALENDAR

Reckoning with “The Incident”: John Wilson’s Studies for a Lynching Mural On View January 17–May 10, 2020 In 1952, while studying at La Esmeralda, the national school of art in Mexico City, African American artist John Wilson (1922–2015) painted The Incident, a fresco mural of a racial terror lynching at the hands of the Ku Klux Klan.

Executed on an exterior wall at street level, the mural was intended to be temporary, but its commanding composition prompted renowned Mexican muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros—who was then the head of Mexico’s department for the protection and restoration of murals—to advocate for its preservation.

Though the mural itself is no longer extant, Reckoning with “The Incident”: John Wilson’s Studies for a Lynching Mural brings together nearly all of the known preparatory sketches and painted studies for the fresco, as well as related drawings and prints, from the collections of the Faulconer Gallery, Grinnell College, Iowa, the Clark Atlanta University Art Museum, the Yale University Art Gallery, and select private lenders.

As a young man, Wilson was drawn to the work of Mexican muralists José Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera, and Siqueiros and their commitment to create art with a socially conscious message. A grant from the John Hay Whitney Foundation allowed Wilson to travel to Mexico, where he studied from 1950 through 1956. He later commented, “The aim of the Mexican muralist movement was to be spokespeople for the common man.

They wanted to create works of art expressing the reality of the forgotten ones, revealing their history, their celebrations and struggles….[Mural painting] is a public thing because it’s available to masses of people. And

so, through Mexican art I began to experience a sense of how to depict my reality.” Of his choice of lynching as the subject matter for his Mexican mural, Wilson said that while he knew that he was not going to “change America,” it was an attempt to “exorcise” the feelings he had carried with him since seeing photographs of lynchings as a child.

Wilson explored the intersection of art and politics throughout his career, always with an eye toward issues of social justice. His most well-known work is a three-foot-tall bust of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., which has been on view in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C., since its 1986 installation. Reckoning with “The Incident”: John Wilson’s Studies for a Lynching Mural expands upon the national conversation focused in Montgomery, Alabama with the recent opening of the Equal Justice Initiative’s Legacy Museum and National Memorial for Peace and Justice— national monuments of unprecedented importance that honor and memorialize over 4,400 African Americans from 12 Southern states who were lynched between 1877 and 1950.

“Though no longer extant, John Wilson’s mural on the subject of a racial-terror lynching survives today in these numerous, beautifully articulated, and deeply emotive preparatory studies that attest to the transformative power of Wilson’s art,” states Elisabeth Hodermarsky, the Sutphin Family Curator of Prints and Drawings and cocurator of the exhibition. “Ranging from details in chalk of hands, feet, guns, and ropes to compositional cartoons in gouache, Wilson’s forcefully rendered studies help us contemplate the legacy of lynching and its indelible stain on

a Lynching Mural” aims to stimulate thoughtful and respectful dialogue about the history and reality of racism and terror in this country.

On View January 17–May 10, 2020 Yale University Art Gallery The Gallery is located at 1111 Chapel Street between York and High Streets in New Haven, Connecticut Exhibition Credits Exhibition made possible by the Isabel B. Wilson Memorial Fund. Organized by Pamela Franks, Class of 1956 Director, Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, Mass., and former Senior Deputy Director and Seymour H. Knox, Jr., Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Yale University Art Gallery, and Elisabeth Hodermarsky, the Sutphin Family Curator of Prints and Drawings, Yale University Art Gallery.

John Wilson, Compositional study for The Incident (detail), 1952. Opaque and transparent watercolor, ink, and graphite, squared for transfer. Yale University Art Gallery, Janet and Simeon Braguin Fund. © Estate of John Wilson

America’s collective psyche.”

Stephanie Wiles, the Henry J. Heinz II Director, notes that, “Since 2008 the Gallery has enthusiastically explored opportunities for college and university museums to share collections and develop interdisciplinary programs that spark important conversations about art and its role in our lives.”

Wiles continues, “Highlighting drawings, prints, and painted studies of John Wilson’s now-lost mural

on the subject of a lynching, this exhibition provides an unparalleled opportunity to present the artist’s compelling contributions and unique visual response to racial violence and injustice to audiences across America.”

Please be advised that this exhibition includes images of a racial-terror lynching at the hands of the Ku Klux Klan that may elicit strong emotional responses. “Reckoning with ‘The Incident’: John Wilson’s Studies for

Plan Your Visit For ideas on what to see and do during your visit to the Gallery, download their free mobile app or floor plan PDF, explore their collections, or browse their calendar.

Admission The Yale University Art Gallery is free and open to the public.

Hours Tuesday–Friday 10:00 am–5:00 pm Thursday (Sept.–June) 10:00 am–8:00 pm Saturday–Sunday 11:00 am–5:00 pm Closed Mondays (except for Yale Commencement) and on these major holidays: New Year’s Day, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day

Honda Battle of the Bands Announces Atlanta Homecoming Honda Battle of the Bands (HBOB) will return to Atlanta on Saturday, January 25, 2020 for dynamic performances by the nation’s top Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) marching bands and dance teams.

“HBOB was created to support the unique academic experience at HBCUs and honor the excellence of their marching bands. The program continues to help bring more visibility to these important academic institutions,” said Steve Morikawa, vice

president of Corporate Relations and Social Responsibility for American Honda. “We can’t wait to get back to

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Atlanta to see what these bands have in store for the fans.”

The 2020 Honda Battle of the Bands will be the 17th invitational showcase. This year’s theme, Live the Dream, aims to inspire HBCU student musicians to create the life they envision for themselves. For many, this dream centers on music.

Honda sees HBOB as a platform to help these students live their dreams.

Tickets for the HBOB invitational showcase are available for purchase at HondaBattleoftheBands.com.

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NEWS

Encouraging Youth Sports and Their Benefits Family Features - Sports help shape kids’ lives, but due to funding shortages, some school sports programs are at risk.

Most experts agree physical activity is an essential aspect of youth development that teaches teamwork, builds confidence and fuels academic potential.

However, according to a survey of middle school educators engaged with DonorsChoose.org, 6 in 10 feel their middle school athletic programs are barely funded or underfunded.

In fact, a lack of funding accounts for 47% of cuts to middle school sports programs, the survey revealed.

A multiyear program known as “Mission Tiger,” launched by Kellogg, is committed to helping save middle school sports. The initiative started with a $1 million commitment to DonorsChoose.org to fund projects big and small at schools in need.

Professional athletes passionate about youth sports, including Olympian Julie Ertz, are teaming up with the program to help underfunded programs. The prosoccer midfielder teamed up with Mission Tiger to help a school inspire its students’ dreams both on and off the field by donating new equipment, including soccer balls, cleats, shin guards and more.

“Growing up, I learned numerous skills from sports, skills that applied not only to athletics but to my everyday life,” Ertz said. “This is one of the many reasons why I joined

A multiyear program known as “Mission Tiger,” launched by Kellogg, is committed to helping save middle school sports. The initiative started with a $1 million commitment to DonorsChoose.org to fund projects big and small at schools in need.

the Mission Tiger team – we’re not just giving kids the opportunity to play sports, we’re giving kids the opportunity to develop beneficial skills that can positively impact the future of today’s youth.”

Benefits of youth sports: l Teamwork: Sports teach kids the advantages of working together

toward a common goal. The ability to collaborate with peers, including those outside a child’s immediate circle of friends, is a skill that provides benefits through adulthood. l Character: Learning how to accept wins and losses gracefully isn’t just good sportsmanship, it’s a life lesson. A playing field puts

these lessons to use so kids can practice empathy and other social interactions in a comfortable setting. l Fitness: Sports are a fun way to get kids moving, and this increased physical activity helps build healthy bodies and reduces the risk of diseases. From cultivating a healthy heart and lungs to helping prevent

high blood pressure and, ultimately, heart disease, regular physical activity provides numerous health benefits. l Discipline: While free play has its place, kids also need structure and boundaries. Sports come with rules, and kids naturally learn through positive reinforcement (scoring points or winning a game) and consequences (getting a penalty or losing). l Academics: Studies reveal that physically active children score higher on tests and are more likely to go to college, according to research published by The Aspen Institute. Sports help reinforce learning concepts and habits like repetition and problem-solving.

Those skills, along with the sense of accomplishment that comes with learning, are transferrable to the classroom setting.

Visit MissionTiger.com for more details about how you can help give kids a chance to play. For every box of Frosted Flakes you purchase, you can spark a $1 donation to DonorsChoose.org by uploading your receipt to Kellogg’s Family Rewards within 30 days of purchase.

Kellogg is donating $1 per purchase to DonorsChoose.org with Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes receipt upload. Min. donation $500,000 – Max. $1,000,000. Go to missiontiger. com for instructions. Applies to purchases between 8/5/19 and 8/5/20; must upload within 30 days of purchase.

SOURCE: Kellogg’s

Pure Drawing: Seven Centuries of Art from the Gray Collection Highlighting one of the most important gifts in the history of the Prints and Drawings department, Pure Drawing: Seven Centuries of Art from the Gray Collection brings together more than 100 works from celebrated art dealer Richard Gray and art historian Mary L. Gray.

Assembled over nearly 50 years, the Gray Collection encapsulates a long and distinguished history of artmaking dedicated to the medium of drawing. From January 25 to May 10, 2020, Pure Drawing documents that endeavor, showcasing one of the most immediate, exploratory, and intimate of art forms.

Prominent Chicago gallery owner Richard Gray and his wife Mary L. Gray were longtime benefactors and supporters of the city’s cultural institutions. Motivated by their deep sense of civic responsibility and longstanding relationship with the Art Institute of Chicago, they have given 91 works from the collection to the museum.

The exhibition Pure Drawing celebrates their extraordinary legacy. With a deep and sustained interest in the variety of ways artists put pen or pencil to paper, the Grays built a collection that is exceptional in both quality and breadth.

Focused on key periods and places—fifteenth to eighteenth-century Italy; seventeenth to twentieth-century France; seventeenth-century Holland; and twentieth and twenty-first century America—they sought out works defined by excellence and boldness of execution.

The most celebrated names appear throughout: Peter Paul Rubens, François Boucher, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Canaletto, Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, Paul Cézanne, Edgar Degas, Vincent van Gogh, Georges Seurat, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Willem de Kooning, and Jackson Pollock.

Extending from Renaissance drawings to works of art brut and beyond, Pure Drawing encompasses the richness of drawing techniques and media in the Western tradition, from black and red chalk, graphite, conté crayon, wash, and pastels to charcoal, watercolor, collage, and pen and ink.

Although landscapes, still lifes, and the occasional abstraction are to be found in their collection, the Grays gave prominence to one of the great subjects in Western art: the human figure.

A few examples give a sense of the scope of the exhibition. Tiepolo’s masterly red-and-

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo. The Head of a Young Man in Profile to the Left, 1749/50. The Art Institute of Chicago, gift of Richard and Mary L. Gray.

white chalk drawing on Venetian blue laid paper, The Head of a Young Man in Profile to the Left (1749/50), conveys an immediacy of expression and empathetic rapport that suggest drawing from life. Jacques-Louis David’s Nude Soldiers Gesticulating with Their Weapons (1796/97) is a powerfully executed preparatory

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work for his iconic painting The Intervention of the Sabine Women (1799). Edgar Degas’s Study for a Portrait of Monsieur and Madame Louis Rouart (1904) evidences the artist’s relentless experimentation with the medium of pastel.

Picasso’s Man with a Clarinet (1911) represents the consummation of Analytical Cubism, pulling apart and reassembling the figure in order to capture its totality.

“Richard and Mary’s unerring eye for drawings of extraordinary quality was legendary, and they demonstrated over and over again a level of collecting sophistication rarely matched,” said Kevin Salatino, Anne Vogt Fuller and Marion Titus Searle Chair and Curator of Prints and Drawings, and co-curator of the exhibition. “The importance of their gift to the Art Institute cannot be exaggerated, and reflects their abiding love for the museum and the city of Chicago—and for the medium of drawing,” Salatino added.

Showcasing one of the finest private collections of its kind, Pure Drawing traverses 700 years of artists’ myriad attempts to understand, reflect, and interpret the world through drawing.

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CitizenOnTheMove

Calahan Foundation hosted its “11 Annual Celebration of Giving”, at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. Among the evening honoree were Retired Senator Emil Jones . Joining the Calahan's for a photo is the owner of Kates Security. Photo by: Tarji Smedley

Calahan Foundation Hosted Its "11th Annual Celebration of Giving" Awards Gala Gala Foundations Shirley and Edward Calahan enjoyed guests at the table of Carmen Lemons, CEO Lem's Barbecue.

Wendell Phillips High School Alumni Association 15th Annual Blue and White Gala!

First Row: Alexander Powell; Sandra Williams; Pamela Freeman Howell; Mary Jennings: Marilyn Pye Sanders, Vice Chair Centennial Commiitee. Second Row: Royce Cunningham; Carolyn Palmer; Yvonne Pugh, Secretary; Gail Haynes; Gail Henry; Hubert Jackson Jr. Centennial Chair; Debra Beard Norman, Committee; Norval Edwards; Dr. Loretta Muhammad, Committee; Isaac L. Palmer.

Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated, Chi Lamda Lambda Chapter

Calahan Foundation Awards program Co-hosts were Beyonce Fox, V103 and Eric Calahan. Pictured are Board members; Debra German, Patricia McCreary; Dr. Richidine Murry; Valerie Calahan-Taylor; Shirley Calahan, Founder; Attorney Lauren Raymond; Edward Calahan, Founder; Alton Bell; Charles Wells; Rev. Jasper Taylor, Executive Director. Photo by Tarji Smedley

Kappa Alpha Psi in the holiday spirit!

Members of the Chicago Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity at their Annual Toy Give away are: Ja’ami Dawan; Mel Flowers, Polemark; Boyd Jerrell; Fernando Jones; Goss; David Crook; Malik Shabaz (back); P. Scott Montgomery; Glen Brooks.

Omega Psi Phi, Omicron MuMu Chapter of Lansing, Michigan The Brothers of Omega Psi Phi , Omicron Mu Mu Chapter of Lansing, Michigan collected and distributed toys for the children.

The men of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated, Chi Lamda Lambda Chapter celebrated their 15th Anniversary.. Pictured are: Fred B. Arnold, Basileus of Chi Lambda Lambda; Thomas E. Vaughn Esq; Sean Long, Omega Psi Phi Tenth District Representative; Dr. William McClinton.

Officer Mia Carter joined the members of Omega Psi Phi, OMM chapter at their toy give away.

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