Issue # 455
INSIDE
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Gov. Walz announces new COVID-19 vaccine pilot program
FEBRUARY1-8,2021
A F R IC A N
C OM MU N I T Y
N E W S PAP E R
President Biden’s executive orders focus on immigration
WHO: Impact of COVID-19 on cancer care ‘profound’
Monique Idlett-Mosley, CEO of Reign Ventures on her faith in God
President Joe Biden’s first executive orders on taking office included those on immigration benefiting Liberians and those affected by former President Trump’s Muslim and African bans. Photo: Nachna Nautiyal/Shutterstock
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Justice at last for Niger Delta (for now)
By Mshale Staff
action on the following: Repealed Trump’s Muslim and African Travel Ban
A few hours after being sworn-in as president, Joe Biden made good on his campaign promise to immediately start reversing Trump’s anti-immigrant policies. In total, Biden signed 17 executive orders on his first day with six of them dealing with immigration.
Biden issued an executive order repealing Trump’s ban of travel from African and Muslim-majority countries. In his executive order, Biden instructed the state department to begin visa processing for the affected countries.
For Liberians, Biden extended the Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) through June 30, 2022. This will provide Liberians temporary protection from deportation and give them work authorization until that date. In a memorandum issued after the signing of the various executive orders, Biden said “there are compelling foreign policy reasons to reinstate DED for an additional period for those Liberians presently residing in the United States who were under a grant of DED as of January 10, 2021.”
The order however does allow for increased screening and vetting of travelers through information sharing with other governments.
Biden also issued a memorandum directing officials to “preserve and fortify” the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and urged Congress to pass permanent protections for the over 700,000 young undocumented immigrants. Biden’s immigration reform proposal which he has already sent to Congress would provide DACA recipients a three-year path tocitizenship. The US Citizenship Act of 2021 was sent to Congressyesterday. Besides the above two actions on immigration, Biden also took
The affected countries under Trump’s ban were Libya, Iran, Somalia, Yemen, Syria, Sudan, Nigeria, Tanzania, Myanmar, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, North Korea, and Venezuela. Paused construction of Trump’s border wall President Biden issued a proclamation pausing the construction of the Trump border wall with Mexico. This is a temporary pause while his administration determines the way forward and how to best direct the resources elsewhere. Stopped Trump exclusion of immigrants from 2020 Census Former president Trump in a controversial move directed the Census Bureau to exclude undocumented immigrants from the Biden on Pg. 8
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February 1-8, 2021 Issue 455
Minnesota COVID-19 vaccination pilot program to use lottery system By Mshale Staff
Minnesota’s COVID-19 vaccine pilot program that started last week for seniors (65 and older) is moving to a lottery system starting last week (Tuesday, Jan. 26). Governor Tim Walz announced the changes in statement to the media. The statement said the updated process “accounts for anticipated high demand for appointments online and at the call center and allows for more equitable and orderly access to appointments by eliminating the first come, first served system.” Last week, the website the state set up to take appointments for the pilot program crashed due to high traffic. Minnesotans age 65 and older will now have a 24-hour window of time beginning at 5:00 am Tuesday to pre-register for a randomized opportunity to get an appointment. The statement went on to say “Signing up for the pre-registration list means you will have a chance to be randomly selected, so you do not have to register right away: it is not a first come, first serve system.” The governor’s office is strongly encouraging pre-registering online at mn.gov/findmyvaccine. The website will be open for pre-registering from 5:00 a.m. Tuesday, January 26 until 5:00 a.m. on Wednesday, January 27. If unable to register online, one can call 833-431-2053 to sign up. The call center will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 26. If you are randomly selected for a vaccine you will be notified via text message, email or phone to finalize your appointment. About 8,000 appointments will be available this week.
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MNsure opens up three-month special enrollment following Biden executive order Following President Biden’s executive order on Jan. 28 to reopen Healthcare.gov for a special enrollment period, MNsure, Minnesota’s state-run health insurance exchange said Wednesday it will also open enrollment starting Feb. 16 through May 17. Biden’s executive order cited provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, that governs the marketplaces allows for a special enrollment due to “exceptional circumstances,” in this case, the COVID-19 pandemic. In a statement to the media, MNsure CEO Nate Clark said “COVID-19 is still with us, so having access to comprehensive health care coverage is critical at
this time.” The special enrollment period could be particularly useful to those who might have just lost their jobs after the enrollment period ended. It should be noted however that individuals and families can sign up anytime for coverage through MNsure without the need for a special enrollment period if they have what is defined as a “qualifying life event.” You can visit this MNsure page to see what such a qualifying event is.
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Guest Commentary by Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr.
Race and data discrimination in America Today there is a welcomed breath of fresh political air in Washington, DC even amidst the unprecedented spread of the global COVID-19 pandemic throughout the United States. According to the Biden-Harris Administration the issues of racial justice and equity are now top priorities in a “whole of government” commitment to all Americans, and in particular to African Americans and other people of color communities. Most recently the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) had a special on-the-record briefing from the White House Office of Public Engagement directed by The Honorable Cedric Richmond who is also Senior Advisor to President Joe Biden. As we heard Richmond strongly reaffirm the Administration’s urgent push to have the U.S. Congress to enact the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan that promises to respond to the nation’s pandemic and economic crisis respecting the principles of equity, I thought reflectively about all the various racial disparities, discriminations, and inequities that daily have a negative impact on Black America. Yet, in 2021 we live in the age of data where the aggregation, control, and ownership of data continues to have enormous social and economic consequences for those who are poor and marginalized. One preexisting condition that has not gotten enough public attention and debate is the issue of the intersection of race, data discrimination, and inequity in America. Data discrimination is a covert form of racism that is having a devastating overt impact on the quality of life of African Americans and others who continue to face systemic inequity. It is relevant to note that the largest credit reporting agency in the U.S. is Equifax. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Equifax actually has become more profitable at the expense of millions of Americans who are struggling to survive to make ends meet. As a consequence, we must begin to raise questions about the apparent linkage of the expanding credit reporting industry to the growing financial inequities especially in African American communities. As credit reporting booms while most Americans are experiencing financial hardship, Equifax’s “Work Number” workforce division is turning in record profits by raising costs on consumers. The Work Number is a user-paid
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verification of employment database that was acquired and now owned by Equifax. This database allows credentialed verifiers to receive instantaneous electronic confirmation of an individual’s employment data and income for verification purposes. Today Equifax’s Work Number is charging $49.95 for the cost of an Income and Employment Report that is nearly three times what the cost of the report was six years ago at ($18). The U.S. credit reporting industry generated over $12 billion in revenue last year, according to research from IBISWorld, and the market size is expected to grow another 3.7% next year. The three largest agencies—Equifax ($EFX), Experian ($EXPGY) and TransUnion ($TRU) —accounted for more than 50% of the total revenue. The industry’s growth is driven by a unique business model, which provides a dual revenue stream from consumer data. Businesses pay credit bureaus to collect employee information and manage verification requests, like those generated when an individual seeks to obtain a loan from a bank. Agencies then charge requesting parties for the personal information, generally on a per-request basis, which is frequently passed onto the consumer. Equifax, despite its 2017 data breach that impacted 147 million people, continues to be the largest player in the space. The company claims to have records on over 222 million U.S. consumers and receives weekly payroll data on a third of the U.S. population. Equifax’s Work Number has benefited from the spike in unemployment caused by the Coronavirus pandemic. With millions of Americans out of work, demand for verification services has surged as creditors seek to determine employment status of loan holders and potential loan candidates. We all know that African Americans have the largest increase in unemployment before — and even more after the beginning of — the pandemic. African American-owned businesses have had the greatest financial losses amidst COVID-19. The more unemployment in Black America, the more Equifax’s Work Number data is purchased by a wide range of financial status verifiers. But who is monitoring or challenging the accuracy of the Equifax Work Number data especially when it is about African Americans? According to Equifax’s quarterly financial reports, The Work Number generated nearly $377 million in revenue during the third quarter of last year, a 57% increase year-over-year and the second consecutive quarter of more than 50% growth. Between 2012 and 2020, The Work Numbers’ verification services revenue jumped nearly 400%. Largely driving The Work Number’s growth is its dominance in the mortgage lending market, which accounted for 31% of the division’s revenue mix throughout last year. The Work Number controls over 380 million current and historic consumer data records, including 100 million added between 2019 and 2020. That scale provides immense leverage over the mortgage lending industry. “We have real scale in the business, which provides a competitive advantage,” Equifax CEO Mark Begor said on the company’s earnings call last October. “We’re now having a billion companies deliver data to us on a period basis. That makes this data set very, very valuable and tough to replicate. And if you’re one company, then you’re likely not going to give the data to two companies. You’re going to give it to the company that’s been in it for long time.” I ask Mark Begor a simple but serious question: “What verifiable safeguards are in place at Equifax Inc. that prevent racial and data discrimination with respect to African Americans and other people of color?” Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. is President and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) and Executive Producer/Host of The Chavis Chronicles, PBS TV Network.
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February 1-8, 2021 Issue 455
WHO: Impact of COVID-19 on cancer care has been ‘profound’ By UN News Service The COVID-19 pandemic has had a “profound” impact on the diagnosis and treatment of cancer around the world, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) has said, before highlighting that breast cancer has become the most common type of the disease. More than a year since the new
An unspecified number of countries “of all income levels” had been affected, the WHO medic continued, although some wealthier nations had managed to counter the effects of the pandemic, including the Netherlands, where special programmes have been set up to speed up access to cancer diagnosis and treatment for those with symptoms. Amid uncertainty over which COVID-19 vaccine might be most suitable for cancer patients, given the increased vulnerability of some individuals, Dr Ilbawi said that
of all cancer cases. It is also the leading cause of cancer death worldwide among women. Speaking via Zoom in Geneva ahead of World Cancer Day this Thursday, Dr Ilbawi noted that “for the first time, breast cancer now constitutes the most commonly occurring cancer globally, followed by lung, which has historically been leading cause in most of, of cancer, and third colorectal”.
Underscoring the benefits of early diagnosis and appropriate treatment, the UN health agency appealed for better availability of human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV) and low-cost approaches for screening and treating pre-cancer “before it progresses to invasive cancer”, in addition to new approaches to surgical training.
The WHO official warned that the
“To get on the path to eliminate cervical
A nurse provides care for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy in a hospital in Burera District, Rwanda.
coronavirus crisis began, its impact on cancer care has been stark, with “50 per cent of governments (having) cancer services partially or completely disrupted because of the pandemic”, said Dr. André Ilbawi, from WHO’s Department of Noncommunicable Diseases. “Delays in diagnosis are common. Interruptions in therapy or abandonment have increased significantly,” he continued, adding that this would likely have an impact in the total number of cancer deaths in coming years. “Healthcare professionals have been under great stress to deliver services and there are significant reductions in research and clinical trial enrolment. To state it simply, the consequences of the pandemic on cancer control efforts have been profound.”
data from ongoing clinical vaccine trials had yet to be published. “We do appreciate that cancer patients are being noted in these clinical trials because evidence has shown that cancer patients are at greater risk for COVIDrelated morbidity and mortality because of their immuno-suppression”, he said. According to the WHO, the economic burden of cancer on communities is huge and increasing; in 2010, its cost was estimated at $1.16 trillion.
from cervical cancer occurring in low and middle income nations.
burden of cancer is expected to rise further in the years ahead for a variety of reasons including population growth, with the number of new cases worldwide in 2040 likely to be 47 per cent higher than in 2020. The greatest increases will be in low and middle income countries where late-stage diagnosis and lack of access to quality and affordable diagnosis and treatment are common, the UN agency said in a statement.
“In 2020, the number of people diagnosed with cancer globally reached 19.3 million, with the number of people dying increasing to 10 million”, said Dr Ilbawi.
Highlighting efforts to tackle cervical cancer, WHO noted that it is the fourth most common cancer among women globally, with an estimated 604,000 new cases in 2020 and 700,000 cases and 400,000 deaths forecast in 2030.
According to the agency, there were 2.3 million new breast cancer cases in 2020, representing almost 12 per cent
Sufferers from poorer countries are disproportionately affected, with nearly 90 per cent of global deaths in 2020
Photo: Karen Prinsloo/UNICEF
cancer, we must achieve three targets by 2030: 90 per cent of girls fully vaccinated with the HPV vaccine by 15 years of age, 70 per cent of women screened using a high-performance test by age 35 and again by 45 and 90 per cent of women identified with cervical cancer treated,” WHO said. Achieving these targets would lead to a decline in cases of more than 70 per cent by 2050 and help to avert 4.5 million cervical cancer deaths.
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February 1-8, 2021 Issue 455
Meet Hollies Winston who is running for Brooklyn Park mayor
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By Tom Gitaa Mshale
After winning a seat on the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners, former Brooklyn Park mayor Jeff Lunde resigned his position on Jan. 3, sparking a special election to fill the seat. The special election will be held on April 13 if a maximum of two candidates file to run. If more than two candidates file, the special election will be held on Aug. 10, with April 13 serving as the primary election day to narrow the field to two. The candidate filing period opens on Feb. 2 and will end on Feb. 16. The first one to announce his candidacy was Hollies Winston, a self-employed small business consultant and advocate. “I want to create a Brooklyn Park that works for all of us,” he said when announcing his bid one week after Lunde won the county seat. This is his second attempt to be mayor having run unsuccessfully against Lunde in 2018 when he received 45.68% of the vote against Lunde’s 52.50%. Winston, 42, was born in Chicago but raised in the Twin Cities where his family moved to when he was 10. After the move to the Twin Cities, his father who is a lawyer went on to become vice president at Northern States Power Company, the predecessor to present day Xcel Energy, the power company that serves most of Hennepin county. His mother spent most of her career as well in corporate America. They have both since retired to Arizona. Winston graduated from the International School of Minnesota High School and then Northwestern University for his bachelors degree, before receiving an MBA from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. He lives in Brooklyn Park’s Maplebrook neighborhood with his wife Latrice and their three children. Winston admits to struggling as a youngster after moving to the Twin Cities at a young age with trying to adjust to his new surroundings “but a strong support system from my family back then is what made me succeed in life,” he says. That strong family support structure is the foundation for his candidacy, he says,
Hollies Winston was the first to announce his bid for mayor of Brooklyn Park. He is the DFL endorsed candidate and has garnered endorsements from US Representative Dean Phillips who represents Brooklyn Park and Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman who lives in the city. Photo: Tom Gitaa/Mshale
and guides him on how he approaches public policy. Elections for the mayor and city council in Brooklyn Park, as in most cities, are nonpartisan but Winston is the DFL endorsed candidate and has secured big name endorsements including the area’s US Representative, Dean Phillips, as well as the speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives Melissa Hortman, who lives in the city. In an interview with Mshale on his candidacy outside city hall, Winston outlined his top priorities for Brooklyn
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Park if elected. Winston said he’s running because he believes “everyone should have the same equal opportunities,” adding that while the city has made strides in providing access, opportunities are not extended equally to those who choose to make Brooklyn Park home. But Winston’s top issue is the covid-9 pandemic which is superseding other issues at the moment, he says: “we have to get our arms around the pandemic, as many of our residents are frontline workers whether they be in the healthcare field or in businesses where they cannot work from home.” To address the pandemic, Winston says there is a role for the city in terms of getting out information to residents about the resources available to them, so that “people know their options.” Winston also listed crime as a priority, saying there is an uptick in crime that is concerning to all residents. He attributes the increase partly to the pandemic but also to a lack of opportunities for the youth. “People want to feel safe,” he said. Asked about his view on the relations between the city’s police and residents,
Winston said that “it depends who you talk to. People of color if you ask them, they would say it could be better. For other communities they would say it is great.” Winston does not believe police and public relations in the city are strained to the level they are in big cities like Minneapolis, but that police in Brooklyn Park could do better. “We do need to move those relations to where we are not just okay but to excellent,” he said. He wants to see the department engaging the public more, “so they are not meeting you for the first time when there is an emergency.” Another priority is the rebalancing of the city’s revenue source. Winston serves on the city’s budget advisory commission and his term ends on April. He says serving on the commission has given him a better understanding and appreciation of the intricacies of the city budget. He however believes the city’s residents, especially homeowners, are bearing the brunt of providing more revenue to the city. The way to address the imbalance is to attract more businesses to the city, both small and big. “That way as we grow as a city we have a better mix to be able to support our budget,” said Winston.
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February 1-8, 2021 Issue 455
Google Pledges $10 Million to help Kenyan economy mitigate effects of COVID-19 By Edwin Okong’o Mshale
recovery of the country, where the per capita income is $1,816.5, according to 2019 World Bank data.
Google Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai announced Wednesday that the American tech giant will make a $10 million grant to help Kenya’s economy recover from the downturn related to the coronavirus pandemic.
Pichai said the $10 million would be divided into three separate grants. The first $2 million will go to Kenyan nonprofit organizations that work in underserved communities. Small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs) will get $3 million. The remaining $5 million will go towards supporting technology startups.
Pichai made the pledge during a virtual meeting with Uhuru Kenyatta, the East African nation’s president. “As economies begin to reopen from a tough 2020, recovering from the pandemic, we see opportunity to support governments, to help businesses, people who are looking for jobs, and communities recover,” Pichai said. “Today, I’m excited to announce a $10 million (1.1 billion Kenyan shillings) for economic recovery.” Although the African continent has been largely spared by the coronavirus, long shutdowns to curb the spread of the pandemic have taken a heavy toll on economies that were already struggling. With a population of 52 million people and a GDP of $95.5, Kenya is one of the largest economies in Africa. It has recorded over 100,000 cases and 1,751 deaths. Last week, Kenyan scientists announced that they had identified a new coronavirus strain in the country, which could complicate recovery. But if used wisely and as Google mandates, the $10 million grant could make a significant impact on the
“I have always felt Kenya as being very entrepreneurial and willing to drive technology and innovation,” Pichai said. He said the grant was “just a beginning” and that he looked forward to “announcing more in the coming months.” President Kenyatta said access to digital technology in Kenya had grown exponentially in the last 20 years. Because of that growth, 95 percent of Kenyans now have access to financial services mostly via their mobile devices. Twenty years ago, only 30 percent of the population had a bank account, and everyone had to stand in long queues to in banks to conduct financial business, Kenyatta said. He promised to continue to invest in the sector. The president added, however, that Kenya hadn’t seen the full impact of technology in driving economic growth. “Now we need to work together [with Google] to see how we can translate that into economic opportunity for our people,” Kenyatta said, “how they can link small and mid-size enterprises that are
In this September 25, 2018: Google employees are seen working outdoors at Googleplex headquarters main office. The company has pledged $10 million to help Kenya in its COVID-19 fight Photo: Anton Gvozdikov/Shutterstock
the backbone of our economy to global markets. This is really where the future lies.” This is not the first time Google has given money to Kenya, according to Pichai. In September, the tech giant gave $1 million to help the economic recovery of Kenyan women who had lost income due to the pandemic. The company also started a digital hub to help 300,000 Kenyan SMEs build online presence to take advantage of the growing trend in online commerce. Google has also been working to make remote learning successful in Kenya, Pichai said.
“Society has made huge strides on connectivity and it’s a trend around the world,” Pichai said. “Covid has really accelerated digital trends by years, and online digital has been a lifeline for many businesses around the world.” Kenyatta’s and Pichai’s meeting was organized by the Corporate Council on Africa, a Washington, D.C.- based organization that aims to strengthen trade and commercial ties between the continent’s economies and the United States. It was moderated by Kenyan journalist and former CNN news anchor, Zain Varjee.
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February 1-8, 2021 Issue 455
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President Biden appoints Enoh Ebong as acting director of USTDA
President Biden last week announced the appointment of Nigerian-born Enoh T. Ebong as the acting director of the U.S. Trade and Development Agency. The federal agency is responsible for helping American companies “create U.S. jobs through the export of U.S. goods and services for priority development projects in emerging economies.” Political appointees of federal agencies typically leave their positions when a new administration comes in. Incoming administrations then fill the positions with officials in acting capacities, until they can nominate and the Senate confirms permanent leaders. Until her appointment to the USTDA, Ebong was the head of strategic partnerships at the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream. She previously worked at USTDA from 2004 to 2019 when she worked a variety of roles including as general counsel, deputy director and chief operating officer. Biden from Pg. 1 just concluded census. Biden issued an executive order stopping that move. The Census Bureau will now include all persons counted last year as required by law.
Ms. Ebong earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School, a Master of Arts in Communication from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, and a Master of Arts in History, with Honors, from The University of Edinburgh, Scotland. “It is an honor to return to USTDA. The opportunity to lead the Agency comes at a critical moment when the world is turning to the United States for leadership on clean energy and climate-smart infrastructure, as well as safe and secure ICT solutions,” said Ms. Ebong during her swearing-in ceremony. “The Agency is one of the most effective, targeted and proven tools within the U.S. government. I’ve long believed in USTDA’s mission and program, which are fully aligned with the President’s vision of strengthening our economy and addressing climate as an essential component of American foreign policy and national security.”
One of the executive orders Biden signed marks a return to Obama-era prioritization of immigration action against those who pose a threat to national security and those convicted of serious crimes and away from those that pose no danger to the United States such as families and the undocumented that have lived in the US for years but have committed no crime.
Enoh T. Ebong Photo: Courtesy USTDA
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February 1-8, 2021 Issue 455
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Religion
Music mogul Monique Idlett-Mosley leans on God while on ‘Undercover Billionaire’ By Elana Schor AP Monique Idlett-Mosley, the founder and CEO of technology fund Reign Ventures, was challenged with the difficult task of building a million-dollar company in 90 days without all of her resources. Throughout her journey, she turned to the one thing that has always been there for her: her Christian faith. The music mogul and brains behind the Mosley Music Group, in partnership with ex-husband Tim “Timbaland” Mosley, left her home in Miami, Florida, to film the new series “Undercover Billionaire: Comeback City” in Takoma, Washington, which premiered on Jan. 6 on Discovery. With only $100 and absolutely no connections or other resources, she was challenged to build a million-dollar business out of $100. Idlett-Mosley is responsible for managing the careers of One Republic, Nelly Furtado and Chris Cornell and has generated hundreds of millions for the startup companies she’s collaborated with. While on this new venture she did what she has always done, relied on her faith. “For me, it was leading with my faith and going to the church because that’s what I know,” Idlett-Mosley said to The Christian Post of the reason she immediately went to a church for help once she arrived in Tacoma
Monique Idlett-Mosley the founder and CEO of technology fund Reign Ventures on “Under Cover Billionaire.” Photo: Courtesy of Discovery
financial success? Idlett-Mosley: I don’t know that I always understood it as me being led by faith, versus me just growing up in the church. I grew up in the church, sang in the choir ... But when I became a teen mother and was in college, I started looking at my faith very differently, as a very individual relationship with God and understanding the [blessings] we’re allowed to have, and what we should feel valuable of ourselves and trusting this process and trusting this journey, no matter what it looks like, in front of me. So from college age, I absolutely took on this approach to life that no matter what it looked like, in front of me that that was just temporary. And it was never my future. If I prayed for something, I prayed for it once. I never revisited it because I trusted it that much. It could be a fire right in front of me in my life, I looked at it as “Oh, that’s just temporary. That’s not who I am. That’s not my future. Those aren’t my permanent circumstances.” That is absolutely how I’ve been able to navigate through this life and I’m so grateful that I learned early to take that type of approach to life. CP: In the very first day of your journey with just $100 and nowhere to stay you said the church was a safe place to find help. Furthermore, you talked about leaning on your faith through this process, how did that help in this journey? Idlett-Mosley: My mother’s a pastor and we grew up in a state of service. I’ve seen, to this day, what my mother and her church, what they do for the community. So for me, I felt like it was most important for me to show the audience, in particular women, especially if any of them have watched season one, what I wanted to do was hopefully show people, to let others know what you need and you probably will get some help. For me, it was leading with my faith and going to the church because that’s what I know.
Each episode of the new season of “Undercover Billionaire” provides insight on how Idlett-Mosley and two other billionaires individually build businesses in different cities from the ground up. Idlett-Mosley, who used an alias when she arrived in Tacoma, will get to reveal her true identity to the locals who helped her start the business at the end of 90 days.
CP: You talked about the importance of building relationships and being vulnerable. For people of color and women that can be looked down on. Can you speak to pushing past that and being vulnerable and allowing those relationships to establish in order for people to build generational wealth?
The following is an edited transcript of Idlett-Mosley’s interview with The Christian Post in which she offers advice and tips on leadership. “[When] you lead with your faith, you are literally unstoppable,” she said.
Idlett-Mosley: I’ll start with just being a person of color, right? I think that when we look at it from just a statistical perspective, the lowest paid person, when you talk about wage gap, is the minority woman. We still make the least amount on the dollar, or any other market, and any other gender. That is very sad to me that in 2020, we are still talking about civil
CP: Before joining the show, how did faith inform your career and
Monique Idlett-Mosley the founder and CEO of technology fund Reign Ventures on “Undercover Billionaire.” Photo: Courtesy of Discovery
rights, civil injustices, we’re still talking about pay injustice, all based on gender and color. If the stats alone aren’t enough, I’m not quite sure what else people will need to understand that we’ve come far, but we haven’t come far enough. When we’re talking about building businesses, I have a quote that I stand by. I understand, historically, that we have to force ourselves at the table. But I like to kind of give back the power to ourselves as human beings. And I believe that if you trust your journey, your process, and take a stance on something, if it’s something that’s valid and valuable, you build it yourself. And anyone who believes in that will come to you. Part of the problem of forcing ourselves at the table, that one person got to the table, and then everyone was complacent. It’s not enough for only one of us to be in a room, it’s not enough for only one woman to have a great business. Not enough for one woman to be on the board. We have to fight for equity, equality for all. One of the things that I take a lot of pride in, once I got to Tacoma, is that when the end of this happened, literally, we saw the most inclusive, diverse room of people. That is how the world looks and that is how every organization should look. That is how everything should be in our life. In our world, there are many cultures, we have to show love. I like to lead with love and I think that’s important. I don’t look for people to solve these problems, I’d rather just solve them myself. Because we keep having conferences, we keep trying to talk about these problems, but the reality is that faith without works, and actions, what is that? It’s nothing! I’d rather just do the work and be the example. I think one of the most important things is understanding how powerful God designed us. People, we’re not our circumstances, we’re what the possibility is. And I think that if we look at life in that perspective, we do have a better outcome,
we have better examples. CP: What did remind you of?
this
experience
Idlett-Mosley: There is nothing to compare it to. I’ve never done anything like this before. It was the most difficult thing I’ve ever done in my personal or professional life. I grew up in the projects in New Jersey. It’s not that I’ve never had adversity. Adversity has been a part of my journey and I’m OK with that. I think that the hardest part was, I’ve never done life not as myself. I could not use or have access to my very intentional life. So that was probably the hardest. The hardest was being with a community of people that I wasn’t being honest to. That’s something I never had experienced before. It became harder and harder each time. CP: What helped make your company Reign Ventures the success that it is? Idlett-Mosley: Reign Ventures is nine years old. This is something that we believe in. I will tell you that I am a true believer that everything happens for a reason. I believe everything I’ve been through in my life led me to that moment, to be able to be humble enough to be able to be present enough emotionally, mentally, physically through that process. I just want people to trust their journey to trust their process. Understand that if you lead with your faith you are literally unstoppable.
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February 1-8, 2021 Issue 455
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Art & Entertainment
Justice at last for Niger Delta (for now) By Banning Eyre AfroPop Here’s an encouraging news item to kick off Black History Month. After a 13-year battle in a Dutch court, farmers in the Niger Delta have finally been awarded a monetary victory against Royal Dutch Shell for the company’s role in two massively destructive oil spills in 2006 and 2007. Technically, the settlement pins responsibility not on Royal Dutch Shell but on its Nigerian subsidiary Shell Petroleum Development Company. And, of course, the ruling can be appealed to the Dutch Supreme Court. Nevertheless, it is a landmark win for victims of one of the worst acts of environmental devastation in recent memory. Afropop Worldwide witnessed some of that destruction in 2017 while researching the program “Hip Deep in the Niger Delta.” And Banning Eyre reported on musician activism associated with the disaster for All Things Considered. Eyre and “Hip Deep” scholar Mark LeVine spent a day in Ogoniland with one of the four plaintiffs in the legal case, Chief Eric Dooh. The chief’s village had been transformed into a toxic wasteland, its fisheries rendered useless, his people scattered with little or no help from any
Chief Eric Dooh Photo: Banning Eyre/Afropop official source. On learning of the court’s ruling, Chief Dooh told the New York Times that the result was bittersweet as two of the four plaintiffs, including Dooh’s father, have died since the case began.
His first football season, Isaiah told us, ‘Wear a jersey with my name on it. I want everyone to know you’re here for me.’ Darnell and Denna, adopted 16-year-old Isaiah LEARN ABOUT ADOPTING A TEEN YO U C A N ’ T I M AG I N E T H E R E WA R D
A D O P T U S K I D S . O R G
“Finally,” said Dooh, “there is some justice for the Nigerian people suffering the consequences of Shell’s oil.” Given the extent of the spoilage and the human cost in the Niger Delta over decades, this “justice” is surely too little too late. But
let’s hope it stands and that assistance reaches the region soon. Righting the larger wrong of oil extraction in the Delta will be the work of lifetimes.
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February 1-8, 2021 Issue 455