Book/Music Vibe: Book: Why We Can’t Wait, Dr. Martin Luther King. New York: Signet Classics, 1964. 206 pages. X Music: Seven Steps to Heaven, Miles Davis. As we arrive to another dawn of MLK Jr. Day, it led me to reflect (like many others) on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Recently, I finished…
Read more Dr. King’s Letter From Birmingham and Why We (Still) Can’t Wait
This past week marks 4 years since I took the oath and became a U.S. citizen. In September of this year, it will be 21 years since my family fled the Congo and arrived to the U.S. as refugees. With age I have become keenly grateful for my parents’ courage, but I have also come to…
In a global exclamation of defiance and solidarity, millions (myself included) rallied at women’s marches in the nation’s capital and cities around the world Saturday to send President Donald Trump an emphatic message on his first full day in office that they (we) won’t let his agenda go unchallenged. According to CNN reports, more than…
Read more Sounds of Liberation: A Roadmap of Resistance post Women’s March on Washington
When Barack Obama won the Democratic nomination for President in 2008, I like many other incoming college freshmen switched my major from Marketing to Political Science. His win in November of that year would validate my decision to study something that would ideally give me the tools needed to launch a career focused on changing…
Read more I’m Kevin Beckford, the real SWOTUS, and this is How I Rise
I would like to share with you the launch of a new monthly storytelling series which I hope to involve you or someone you know. The How I Rise series asks rising young talented black leaders to share their personal stories of success, hustle and more in their work to break barriers and change the world. The How…
ALT TITLE: Beyonce’s Formation: Subversive Slayage Beyoncé’s Formation video and halftime performance were instantly polarizing. Some said this was her “I’m black and IDGAF” moment. She scared some folks and even seemed to set boundaries about who could and could not dissect her performance. Rudy Giuliani was not happy to say the least (he called…
Read more Beyoncé’s Formation: How to Slay Even When You’re Inconsistent
This interview with Frank Braxton took place on two separate Saturday’s in his apartment on Massachusetts Ave., NW. Jasmine Carpenter and Nadith Saibou from St. Martin’s Church at North Capitol and T Street, NW, where Mr. Braxton is a parishioner, contributed questions, shot photos and helped turn an interview into the personal story it became. Read part…
Read more 100 Years of Service: An Interview with Frank Braxton, part 2 of 2
This interview with Frank Braxton took place on two separate Saturday’s in his apartment on Massachusetts Ave., NW. Jasmine Carpenter and Nadith Saibou from St. Martin’s Church at North Capitol and T Street, NW, where Mr. Braxton is a parishioner, contributed questions, shot photos and helped turn an interview into the personal story it became. Mr. Braxton’s…
Read more 100 Years of Service: An Interview with Frank Braxton, part 1 of 2
Ernst and Young recently conducted a study of corporate boards in the United States that revealed a shocking and unsettling reality. Of the 1,500 companies surveyed, there are more board members named John, Robert, William, or James than there are women on boards. The lack of gender diversity across American industries is nothing new. However,…
At the start of my 14-week venture abroad, I received some critical advice from a globetrotting Confidant, “Find the small things that you like and focus on them. Trying to take the whole experience on at once can be overwhelming.” Though I’ve been told this many times, even during moments of daily life in the…
