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OUR TIME PRESS July 5 – 11, 2018
VOL. 22 NO. 27
WHAT’S GOING ON ■■
By Victoria Horsford
USA: MIDTERM ELECTIONS There was an upset in the 6/26 NY Congressional Democratic Primary that made national headlines. A Latina congressional hopeful, Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, 28, defeated 9-term Congressman Joe Crowley, the fourth-ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives and the Queens Democratic boss. Last week, NYC City Council Speaker Corey Johnson endorsed four Democrats who will challenge NYS Democrat Senate renegades, formerly known as the Independent Democratic Conference (IDC), who caucused with Senate Republicans, giving them majority status. Names of contenders whom Johnson supports vs. the incumbents, follow: Jessica Ramos vs. Sen. Jose Peralta; Black politico Robert Jackson vs. Afro-Latina Sen.
Mellnor Myrie
Marisol Alcantara; Black American attorney Mellnor Myrie vs. Sen. Jessie Hamilton; and Alessandra Biaggi vs. Senator Jeffrey Klein, erstwhile head of the IDC. US Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, a sometimes swing-voter, retires next month. Will President Trump nominate a judge to the Supreme Court who will tilt the scale of justice to the far right? The NAACP, the National Urban League, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the National Coalition of Black Civic Participation demand that a US Senate vote on confirmation for a Kennedy successor be delayed until after a new Congress is seated.
BLACK ENTERPRISE The NY Magazine cover story, “NETFLIX IS WATCHING YOU, An Exclusive Look Inside the Company that Swallowed TV Whole,” is a primer for Black producers, entertainers and writers in search of a production deal in TV and film. Netflix is a TVstreaming service which provides special TV programming, feature films, documentaries, you name it. Its market capitalization has climbed north of $150 billion, making it the world’s most-valued media company. The company boasts 125 million subscribers at $10.99 monthly, in 190 countries and will spend $8 billion in original content this year. Netflix is consumer, not advertiser-intensive. Its production budgets are off the charts. It is an equal opportunity company bankrolling big money to Black producers and content suppliers, like Shonda Rhimes’ “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Scandal;” comedians Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle got $20 million each. Michelle and Barack Obama signed a deal for a TV and film product. For Black filmmakers, there is another
Chris Rock stop for your dream factory pitch. You must check out AfroLife.TV, which launched at the American Black Film Festival last month. Founded by Dominican-born visionary Alberto Marzan, who is the CEO of AfroLife.TV, which is the Netflix for African-Americans! AfroLife.TV, wholly owned of the Press Media Group, is a digital media and entertainment company which provides on-demand premium streaming of original, classic, popular, emerging and premium content which focuses on African-Americans, African-Latinos and other consumers of color. Marzan has been cited by Forbes magazine as AfroLife.TV membership introductory fee of $59.95 a year. [Visit AfroLife.TV]
Jason Myles Clark at the State of New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Jason Myles Clark is an Assistant Attorney General in the NYS Attorney General’s Harlem regional office. He is also President-elect of the Metropolitan Black Bar Association of NYC, formed in 1984, the result of a merger between the Harlem Lawyers Association, founded in 1921, and the Bedford-Stuyvesant Lawyers Association, founded in 1933. A graduate of Princeton and the University of Michigan Law School, Attorney Jason Clark has organized programs aimed at 1) reducing the number of deaths of unarmed civilians by law enforcement, 2) protecting the rights of immigrants, and 3) reforming the NY bail system. He is a member of Manhattan Community Board 10. Michele Rodney is one of eight attorneys confirmed by the NYS Senate last month who were named to the Court of Claims, which is the exclusive forum for civil litigation seeking damages against New York State and state-related entities such as the Thruway Authority, the City University of NY and the NYS Power Authority.
SUMMER PLEASURES Alberto Marzan The NY Times 6/27 story: “Despite Caution Over Cryptocurrency, Investors are Bullish.” Cryptocurrency is a medium of exchange like normal currencies such as the USD, but designed for the purpose of exchanging digital info through a process made possible by certain principles of cryptography. The first and best known of the cryptocurrencies is bitcoin. U.S.-born Akon, 45, aka Aliaume Thiam, music phenom, businessman and philanthropist, joins the cryptocurrency generation by recently announcing the launch of his futuristic city in Senegal and of his new cryptocurrency which will trade exclusively in his own digital cash currency called AKOIN. Akon’s city, a 2000-acre tract of land given to him by Senegal President Macky Sall, is still in development. The AKOIN launch is early July. A businessman with his fingers on the pulse, he founded Akon Lighting, which provides solar energy throughout Africa. Akon observes, “Blockchain and crypton could be the savior of Africa in many ways because it brings the power back to the people.” Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana and Kenya are cryptocurrency-conscious.
NEWSMAKERS Michael Garner was reelected President of One Hundred Black Men (OHBM) of NYC for a second consecutive term. Founded in 1963 by a group of professional Black men who advocated for improvement in a multiplicity of conditions within their communities. Today, OHBM is a powerful civic organization which is the collective voice of Black business, social and community leaders and a force to reckon with in education, economic development, health initiatives and local power politics. A confirmed workaholic, Michael Garner is also Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) hosts its 109th Convention and Diversity Career Fair in San Antonio, Texas from July 14 to 18. Convention theme is “DEFEAT HATE –VOTE.” The NAACP is a biracial civil rights organization founded in 1909 to advance justice for African-Americans. Today, the NAACP works to ensure the political, educational, social and economic equality of rights for all people and to eliminate race-based discrimination. The National Urban League (NUL) hosts its annual conference, “Save Our Cities: Powering the Digital Revolution,” in Columbus, Ohio from August 1-4. Founded in 1910, the NUL is a civil rights organization committed to economic empowerment and to raising the standard of living in underserved urban communities. It is headquartered in NYC and has 90 affiliates serving 300 communities in 37 states and Washington, DC. [Visit nul.org] The 2018 National Association of Black Journalists’ (NABJ) Annual Convention & Career Fair will be held in Detroit, Michigan on August 1-5. It is the premier venue for journalism education, career development and networking, which will be attended by 3000+ journalists, business, tech, arts and entertainment professionals. Veteran journalists William Rhoden and Bob Ray Sanders will be named to the NABJ Hall of Fame. ESPN sports journalist Jemele Hill will be named NABJ Journalist of the Year. [Visit NABJ. org] The National Medical Association (NMA) hosts its 116th Annual Medical Conference and Scientific Assembly in Orlando, Florida on August 11-15. Founded in 1895, the NMA is the largest and oldest national organization representing AfricanAmerican physicians and their patients in the US. The NMA is the collective voice of African-American doctors and the leading force for parity and justice in medicine. [Visit NMAnet.org]