deerstalker
http://www.blackenterprise.com/topeka-sam-trump-johnson-clemency/
You may not know the name Topeka Sam as well as you know Kim Kardashian, but you should. Sam, a prison reform activist, facilitated the viral Mic video that moved Kardashian to take a meeting with President Donald Trump to plead the case of Alice Johnson, a black woman who was granted clemency June 6 after serving 21 years for a nonviolent, drug-related crime. Though Kardashian helped put a worldwide spotlight on Johnson’s case, Sam was a major leader in a community of activists, legal professionals, and entrepreneurs who worked on her behalf for years before the day she was finally freed.
Sam, a formerly incarcerated woman herself, has advocated for female inmates’ rights, prison reform, and empowerment for women through spiritual renewal, education, and entrepreneurship since her own 2015 release. “My parents were franchise business owners for the first 20 years of my life,” Sam says. “They owned a Carvel franchise in Brooklyn, N.Y., and after that, they ran their own restaurant in Harlem until they retired. I’ve always been exposed to what [owning a business looked like]. I think it was just in my DNA, that I was going to be a business owner at some point.”
The founder of The Ladies of Hope Ministries and Hope House NYC, was bitten by the entrepreneurship bug in her youth, and she has since promoted the freedom and power of entrepreneurship as a viable and sustainable option for formerly incarcerated individuals.
“Prior to going to prison, I’d launched several small businesses, [from] a concierge service to throwing parties. I started a customized mobile-phone case boutique for brands with a friend of mine, who’s still an entrepreneur,” Sam recalls. “When I was inside, God gave me the name The Ladies of Hope Ministries and Hope House. I had a business plan and everything. …I wrote out what my ideas were, like the Bible says, ‘Write it down and make it clear, and at the appointed time, it will come to pass and will not tarry.’ That’s exactly what I did.”
In launching Hope House NYC, Sam has combined entrepreneurial knowledge with her personal experience of prison life for women, and she also uses knowledge she’s gained while serving as a Columbia University Beyond the Bars fellow, a Justice in Education Scholar, and director of dignity for the Van Jones-helmed Cut50 initiative to keep the Bronx-based facility going. At the home, women and girls affected by incarceration can get educational, vocational, spiritual, and entrepreneurial resources and housing, and find a safe space of support from other women.
“It’s everyday work, not only because you’re a social entrepreneur or systems entrepreneur, [but because] you have people’s lives in your hands,” Sam says. “You have to make sure the bills are paid so that women can remain safe [at Hope House NYC] and they can thrive in their lives. I have to make sure the resources we are providing are viable.”
She takes pride in the impact she can make through starting something she is in charge of, and knows how entrepreneurship or launching your own platform can have a positive effect on lives beyond that of the business owner.
“With entrepreneurship, it allows you to hire people who have been impacted by incarceration and give opportunities to people so that when they come home, they don’t have to worry about applying for a job and being told they’re being terminated because of a prison conviction,” Sam says. “When you think about entrepreneurship, it doesn’t mean you have to build an organization. Speaking about your experience, you get paid to speak, that’s a business. …I speak across the country. … Whatever you’re good at, you can make a business out of it. Every time a woman comes through my organization, the question I ask them is, ‘what do you want to be [moving forward]?”
Building a foundation of business smarts and tenacity helped Sam balance her process of transitioning into life after prison, sharing her story through panels and speaking engagements and fulfilling a vision to help others. She knew she had to strengthen herself through research and education in order to accomplish the freedom of running her own show.
“I think because I had the understanding of what it took to start a business, because of my past, I knew [I had to do my due diligence]. … We’re creating an entrepreneurial course and partnering with a large corporation to do it. I believe education is extremely important for people to change their lives. …Skills education leads to business, and business leads to entrepreneurship. [Through entrepreneurship], I have the freedom to do this as I want to, and I don’t have to worry about people putting [limitations] on me [as a formerly incarcerated woman.]”
Watch the Mic video that led Kim K. to go to Trump: https://www.facebook.com/MicMedia/videos/miss-alice-is-serving-life/1687918217897628/
Video of Johnson’s release:
The post Meet the Black Woman Behind the Video That Led to the Trump Clemency of Alice Johnson appeared first on Black Enterprise.
These days, you see a lot of headlines about stars or casts who “want” to do exciting projects. Often it’s in the context of reboots or playing a certain superhero role. Usually, what that actually means is that that project was mentioned in passing and it will never, ever happen.
So I was holding my expectations when I clicked on the headline “Jordan Peele Reportedly Wants to Direct a ‘Gargoyles’ Movie at Disney.” Surely, that seemed too good to be true. But apparently, it is. Peele reportedly walked into Disney and said he wants to “do a new version” of the 90s animated Gothic series. According to this source, Disney is sitting on the pitch, though, since it doesn’t fit neatly into one of their preexisting boxes.
How do you turn down Jordan Peele? Well, you can’t. Who wants to be responsible for that decision? So in the absence of a good reason to say no, but prevented by their Big IP box from saying yes, Disney is slow walking the decision. It’s hoping, it seems, that they’ll run out the clock, he’ll sign other deals elsewhere, and the project will just fade away.
Disney, damn it, make this happen!
- This is a fantastic look at how it’s Hollywood, not China’s censors, that are preventing our favorite characters from being as gay as we hope they would be. (via CBR)
- The director of Pacific Rim: Uprising regrets not giving “more weight” to Mako Mori’s story arc. (via Screen Rant)
- Aeon Flux is coming back to MTV, this time in the form of a live-action series! (via i09)
- Here’s some more info on what we can expect from that Game of Thrones spin-off. (via Den of Geek)
- This is awesome: Maine will now offer a nonbinary gender option on driver’s licenses. (via Jezebel)
- Lupita Nyong’o went to some sort of event dedicated to fashion accessories and showed off her incredible taste in accessories. Two words: bejewelled pineapple. (via Go Fug Yourself)
- What do you all think of this ranking of The Best Black American Films of the 21st Century? (via IndieWire)
- Thank you, Netflix.
Some fans have noticed that Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown was scheduled to come off Netflix US on June 16. As of today, we’ve extended our agreement that will keep Parts Unknown on the service for months to come.
— Netflix US (@netflix) June 12, 2018
- Also, thank you, Paul Feig. (via Twitter)
What did you all see there in the world today?
(image: Disney)
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Queen Sugar / Season 3, Episode 2 / OWN
Nova is happy to be home from her trip to NYC and visit to St. Jo when she sits down to take a look at the most recent issue of her newspaper. It’s pretty clear she’s not the reporter who covered the protest at the Collings – St. Jo basketball game; in fact, the article talks about the Black students “causing trouble,” which we know wasn’t her take.
Aunt Vi stops by the grocery store where she’s been selling her pies, and the manager lets her know that they flew off the shelves during the holidays. In fact, he wants more–double the order–and is promising more promotion for her, including a prized display in the store. She thinks about it for a second–this is going to be a lot of work, and the lupus is taking its toll–but she tells him he has a deal.
What Do You Have to Give Up?
Remy is at the High Yellow Diner sitting with some older farmers who’ve come for a buffet Charley is hosting as a thank you for everyone’s who’s stuck by Queen Sugar. They’re talking about the protest, and while the other men are bothered by what the kids did, Remy argues that times are dangerous, and they need to pay attention to what’s going on–police brutality–and not look away. Charley walks in with Ralph Angel and thanks everyone for their commitment to the mill despite the hardships they faced last season, which was of course the Landrys intimidating everyone, threatening to terminate their leases. She also promises a lock on their rates grinding with Queen Sugar for five years–she wants to show Louisiana what Black business can look like.
Remy wants to bounce but can’t help himself and stops to talk to her when her little speech is over. He says she’s tricking her own people while still handing business to the Landrys, and she points out that it’s better than them giving the Landrys that business directly and at a higher cost. When Remy asks what it is she has to give up for this partnership, you know he’s thinking about Jacob Boudreaux. They continue to spar, quietly, for a couple minutes before he leaves, looking back at her with something akin to disgust.
Ra tells her not to worry about it, but she’s clearly upset and wonders if it’s too early in the day to have a glass of wine. Ra reiterates that he’s there for her, and considering how the first season ended and the second began, it’s really nice to see them being so loving with each other. He suggests they go out the next night.
Back at Aunt Vi’s, Hollywood gets a certified letter. “The eagle has landed”: his settlement from the oil rig fire has finally arrived. He wants to go celebrate by shopping, but Vi promises him a little something in the bedroom later if he’ll let her get back to making pies in the kitchen.
Micah is at a gas station with his dad. He wants to go to public school–St. Jo, where the Black Lives Matter protesters go. Davis is giving him advice on how to approach Charley about transferring to public school, and he’s rehearsing his spiel. But they both Charley; there’s no way in hell she’s going to agree to this.
Meanwhile at Charley’s house, she walks into the living room as the TV is blaring some breaking news. The leaked video of Officer Orson, the cop who tormented Micah, beating a suspect is playing, and he’s now being investigated for police brutality. Charley stares in disbelief and then pulls out her phone and texts someone “Thank you.”
Black Girl Magic is Hard Work
Nova is talking to her editor about the story that ran about the Black Lives Matter protest at the high school. She’s pissed that something like that went into print, but he says he didn’t tell her about it because he knew how she would feel about it. According to him, Nova’s been labeled an “Black Identity Extremist” since her last article went viral, and their ad revenue has taken a hit. This kind of editorial bent [read: racist] might win back advertisers, and for now, he wants her to lay low.
After that conversation, Nova needs some sister-love. While making dinner with her friends, she mentions that she’s considering leaving the paper to focus just on her book. They all mostly agree that it’s a risk to give up both her paycheck and her platform. Why not keep the security of her job with the paper while she works on the book? But they all acknowledge that in her line of work–writing as a Black woman–there’s always going to be a target on her back. They’re there for her regardless what she decides to do, and one of her friends even manages a shout-out to everybody’s fave Issa Rae: “I’m rooting for everybody Black!”
Micah is finally talking to Charley about his desire to transfer to public school while Davis stands by silently. He follows the script he’d come up with speaking to his dad before, but Charley shuts him down. She wants to make sure all the doors are open to him, and she’s convinced a public school in a small Louisiana town isn’t going to get him into an Ivy.
Ralph Angel is at home contending with Blue’s continued misbehavior. He gets a knock at the door, and it’s a surprise visit from his parole officer. Ralph Angel is embarrassed by how messy the house is, clothes and toys everywhere, but this dude seems nonplussed. He’s tells Ralph Angel about a program that might cut his last year of parole down to just three months. He also suggests that Ra hire some other young men who just got out of prison to work on the farm. He knows how hard it is to find work, and these guys could stand to see what life on the outside could look like.
Only Human
Nova comes to visit Aunt Vi with some homeopathics (and some weed, of course). Vi’s stressed out trying to make pies, and her oven won’t light. Nova tries to remind her that nothing is worth her health. She’s determined to make the order she agreed to deliver, though, no matter what.
Charley meets up with Jacob at a marina. He’s working on a small yacht and says he’s getting it ready for the summer. He then says he’d like to take her out on the lake, and all I can think is that white people taking Black people on boats hasn’t always worked out in our favor, but anyway. Jacob goes into some rambling story about the boat, and how it was passed down from one family member to another, and how his father always said to toast a new partnership as close to the water as possible because people were more honest there than on land. If only he knew. Charley asks about the fact that the Landrys seem to be honoring the locked-in rates for the Black farmers. and Jacob says that Sam did indeed want to break the deal, which is unsurprising, but that Jacob’s side of the family made him honor it. He also says that her 1% stake in the mill makes her family. She sips champagne with him to toast, but we all know things aren’t what they seem, at least on her end.
With her oven still not working, Violet moves her pie operation to High Yellow kitchen. Unfortunately, when the owner comes in, he’s pretty pissed she’s using his diner for her side hustle and tells her to pack up. She finally decides to go talk to Miss Effie, some church lady with whom there is no love lost, to see about using the church’s kitchen. It’s humiliating having to ask this woman, who judges her for her relationship with Hollywood, for help, but the heffa hands over the keys when Vi promises 10% of the profits from her pies to one of the church’s charities.
Hollywood is at the mall shopping with Ralph Angel and Blue, who’s got an armful of light-up sneakers. Ralph Angel tells him to put them back, and Blue refuses. After a couple of those angry whispers we all remember from our parents and guardians when we were acting up in public, Ralph Angel finally snatches the shoes out of Blue’s arms and puts them back on the display. A security guard starts to eye them, and Hollywood steps in, saying they’re leaving. He knows Ra can’t afford any run-ins with the law.
Amplify
Nova is sitting in her room looking through old clips, still trying to come to a decision about what to do. She comes across one clipping with a Post-It note on it with the word “Amplify” at the top. She calls the paper and asks for a meeting with Steve, her editor, to talk about a new story she wants to work on.
Charley and Ralph Angel are out at a club trying to forget their troubles. They sardonically toast to parenthood, talking about Micah trying to transfer to public school and Blue’s disobedience stemming from how much he misses Darla. Eventually, a very tipsy Ra decides to head to the dance floor, and Charley leaves.
But her SUV won’t start. A guy sees her and offers her a jump. He’s…kinda cute. He gives Charley his number. “And if I don’t call?” “Then it wasn’t meant to be.” Hmm, Romero. We see you!
Micah’s watching the video of Orson beating a suspect on his laptop. He looks freaked out and closes it. The next day, Davis comes to see Charley and asks right off the bat if she had anything to do with the video of Orson getting leaked. She doesn’t say anything at first, then gets defensive. Davis asks her if Micah has seen it, since it could be making things worse. Charley hasn’t considered that.
She heads upstairs to see if Micah wants to go out for breakfast. He’s not in his room, but the photos he’s been taking with his new camera cover one wall. They’re beautiful. And they’re all of Black people. Regular Black people. He finally talks about why he wants to go to public school so badly–to finally feel like he belongs, something he’s never felt. Charley finally acquiesces and says they’ll try it for a month.
On the farm, Blue walks into the kitchen while Ralph Angel is washing dishes. He wants to know if timeout is over and then apologizes for being bad. Ra tells him he doesn’t have a bad bone in his body, and Blue offers to help wash dishes.
Charley meets a white woman at a cafe. She’s “Vicky,” a private investigator, apparently. She not only found the Orson video, but she’s also got info on the Landry family, like the fact that they’ve been drowning in debt for two years and have a legal team that will be a challenge.
Violet finishes the pie order after all the struggle, and Hollywood congratulates her for all her work. She looks tired. The family heads to the store to see her pies, but instead of being on the central display the store manager promised her, they’re just stacked on the floor near the dairy section. Vi loses it; she worked so hard for this. She tells the clerk to please go talk to his boss, and while he’s gone, starts moving the pies herself. “I know it’s a little thing, but it’s my little thing.” She is angry and disappointed–she doesn’t want to be side-lined. It’s her time.
Nova takes that inspiration and comes to see her editor, but instead of telling him she’s going to work on a new story as she’d said previously, she drops a mic–oh, wait–an envelope–on his desk. It’s her resignation. Nova is ready to see where this book deal takes her. We’re rooting for you, Nova!
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