January 2021 Volume 6 No. 3 PANDEMIC TO PROSPERITY JAN. 15 ONE AFRICA IN 2021 souloftechnology.com Subcriptions $175 Yearly ACFTA AFRICA CDC What’s in 2021 Budget for Black Entrepreneurs Roy Clay Sr. Pinnacle DR. TIMNIT GEBRU

New Pharma Manufacturer In Philadelphia $100 Million for New HBCU Medical Education

450,000 Heroes BLACK NURSES on the frontlines John Lewis’ Healthcare ANGELO Legacy

RIDDICK Six Committee Chairs, 59 CBC members in New York 117th Congress

State CIO 1 Volume 6, No. 3 January 2021 © 2021 eAccess Corp.

Honorary Editor in Chief Roy L. Clay Sr.

Publisher John William Templeton

Guest Editors: Nichol Bradford, Dr. Juan Gilbert, Dr. Reginald Parker, Michel Molaire, Dr. Trevor Castor

The monthly scholarly journal of African-American technological progress

Yearly subscription $175 Includes State of Black Business

All rights reserved. Reproduction without express written permission is strictly forbidden by federal and international law.

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS

SCHEDULE INNOVATION&EQUITY20 PANDEMIC TO PROSPERITY 4 PUBLISHERS PAGE 5 RESEARCH NEWS Common Spirit sparks $100 million for Black medical education 7 MCI Diagnostics opens new lab in Dallas 9 ONE AFRICA IN 2021 120 innovations for COVID response 11 Inauguration of African Continental Free Trade Agreement Africa CDC 450,000 HEROES: BLACK NURSES ON THE FRONTLINES 15 National Black Nurses Association begins ReThink

COVER STORY: CIO IN A CRISIS: ANGELO RIDDICK IN NEW YORK STATE 18

New pharma in Philadelphia 21

SILICON VALLEY’s GIANT SLAYER: Dr. Timnit Gebru 24

STATE OF BLACK TECHNOLOGY: 550,000 STRONG 27

BREAKING DOWN THE 2021 BUDGET FOR BLACK BUSINESSES, HBCUs 30

John Lewis’ Legacy: CBC in the 117th Congress: Six chairs, 60 members 31

A CALL FOR ACTION IN EDUCATION 33

3 PANDEMIC TO PROSPERITY PANDEMIC TO PROSPERITY: Innovation&Equity 20 50 Most Important African-Americans in Technology

Pandemic to Prosperity 9 am Col. Angelo Riddick, (RET) NY CIO Christopher Boone, Ph.D AbbVie Global Head Kim Saunders, President, National Bankers Lezli Baskerville, President, NAFEO Roy Clay Technology Pinnacle 10 am Derek Peterson, CEO Soter Technologies Timnit Gebru, Ph.D Innovation over Inequity 11 am Michelle Y. Williams, Ph.D BW Incubator Colleen Payne, COO, MCI Diagnostics Marcus Martin Ph.D, 2M Research Tatyana Kalinga, Aide, Rep. Barbara Lee STEM Spark noon Lila Collins, Ph.D. California Institute of Regenerative Medicine John William Templeton, Lead Developer Dr. T. Nathaniel Burbridge Center for Inclusive Innovation Presentation of the 20th annual 50 Most Important African-Americans in Technology

Innovation&Equity 20 Exchange

4 PUBLISHERS PAGE

They had no idea in 1876

The last time that African-Americans elected multiple Senators from the South, there was a confidence rooted in the achievement of three Constitutional amendments and victory in the Civil War. In 1870, the U.S. Department of Justice was created specifically to enforce the Anti-Ku Klux Klan Acts after a massive turnout of more than 90 percent among Black voters from Virginia to Texas. To understand in hind sight how that was turned around by the Compromise of 1876, one need only look at 2020. Like Andrew Johnson who pardoned the Confederates and returned their

5 land, the current occupant of the White House was impeached at the beginning of the year because he was dead set against Black suffrage. Since November, the defeated one-term incumbent has sought to replay 1876 and overturn the results of the election with a notable lack of resistance from economic and political powerbases. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Fannie Lou Hamer, Thurgood Marshall and John Lewis were among the notable leaders of the eventual restoration of the 15th Amendment through the Voting Rights Act. As we note in our concluding article, Lewis’ final legacy came in the Jan. 5 election when his proteges entered the U.S. Senate, the obstacle to much of his agenda. Yet the mountaintop that King saw on the day before his death, the presence of his successor in the upper house, is part of a long mountain range of Black history. Each mountain is surrounded by a valley. Since last January, more African-Americans have died from COVID-19 than the entire continent of Africa and China. Our business districts have been shuttered and many of our college students have postponed their studies. Just as the nadir that Black scholars like Rayford Logan described at the end of the 19th century ended, this too shall pass. We have Stacey Abrams, LaTosha Brown, Keisha Lance Bottoms and Nikema Williams as leaders of the movement in Georgia that interrupts the repetition of history. During Pandemic to Prosperity, we present the agenda which addresses the unmet business of the 15th Amendment and the Civil Rights Movement. During the week-long delay in the $908 billion bill, Sen. Pat Toomey, R-PA, held up the legislation to prevent the Federal Reserve from using more than $450 billion in loan authority. It was a telling example of the root cause of racism — prevention of economic equity. The fear was allowing African-Americans access to the central bank, which has created a boom of trillions in unearned wealth by expanding its balance sheet, but only creating liquidity for a small minority. We had only asked for $50 billion in March so that Black banks could sustain the jobs maintained by Black-owned businesses. Our task must be clear. Billions will be spent in our communities to address the pandemic. We must make sure it is spent with Black-owned businesses.

6 RESEARCH NEWS

Dean teams with Morehouse for medical legacy

The Morehouse School of Medicine and CommonSpirit Health, a health system created by the alignment of Catholic Health Initiatives and Dignity Health as a single ministry in 2019, have announced a ten-year, $100 million initiative aimed at developing and training more Black physicians, including a commitment of $21 million over two years in seed funding from the partners themselves.

Morehouse and CommonSpirit will establish five new regional medical school campuses and graduate medical education programs in at least 10 markets in partnership with CommonSpirit healthcare facilities to be announced in spring 2021. The partnership will ensure a minimum of

7 300 additional underrepresented providers complete their residency training annually recruited from communities that have historical provider shortages.

As we reported in December, the number of medical programs at HBCUs fell from 13 in 1900 to the current four, resulting in the five percent ratio of Black physicians in contrast with the ten percent ratio of Black nurses. In a Oct. 30 speech at UC-San Francisco, Journal Publisher John William Templeton identified doubling that ratio as the single most important step in reducing health disparities. Our July Journal pointed to the four HBCU medical schools as the foundation for economic and health improvement for America’s Black population.

According to Morehouse, of the nearly 22,000 students entering U.S. medical schools in 2019, only 1,626 were Black and only 619 were Black males. "This statistic is alarming for many reasons, not the least of which is the impact on patient care," said MSM president and dean Valerie Montgomery Rice. "Studies show that Black patients have better outcomes when treated by Black doctors.”

"We are laying the foundation for patients to have more access to Black clinicians and for Black medical students and graduates to gain community-based experience that they need to be successful in their work," said CommonSpirit president and CEO Lloyd H. Dean. "Our initiative also will create a pathway for healthcare organizations across the nation to follow and share our learnings, a vital part of our work.”

CommonSpirit Health operates 137 hospitals and more than 1000 care sites across 21 states. In FY 2019, Catholic Health Initiatives and Dignity Health had combined revenues of nearly $29 billion and provided $4.45 billion in charity care, community benefit, and unreimbursed government programs.

Founded in 1975, Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) is among the nation's leading educators of primary care physicians, biomedical scientists and public health professionals. In 2011, MSM was recognized by Annals of Internal Medicine as the nation's No. 1 medical school in fulfilling a social mission.

8 Ribbon Cutting: From Left: Isam Berry, Colleen Payne Nabors, MCI, COO, Donnie Nabors, MCI, CEO, Adam McGough, Dallas Deputy Mayor Pro Tem and Councilman, and Drs. Chirita and Vanay Kohlii, MCI Pathologists.

MCI Diagnostics opens second lab in Dallas

MCI Diagnostic Center, a Service-Disabled Veteran Owned small business that offers national laboratory testing and diagnostics in all 50 states, officially introduced the Dallas community to its new state-of- the-art laboratory and staff. MCI expanded from its headquarters in Tulsa, Oklahoma to a second one in Dallas, Texas located at 9728 Greenville Avenue. MCI Diagnostic Center is an SBA HUBZone certified and accredited by CLIA, CAP, COLA and FDA. "We are providing a wonderful service in this time of need for our country. I thank each of you for coming and supporting the grand opening of MCI and we look forward to a long and healthy relationship on the other side of COVID-19," said Colleen Payne-Nabors MCI COO.MCI staff attending the ribbon cutting ceremony were Donnie Nabors, MCI CEO, Isam Berry,

9 Drs. Chirita and Vanay Kohli, Pathologists for MCI, Kathleen Henderson, Government Contractor Administrator, Kristy James, Senior Operations Manager, and Dr. N. Denise Mitchem, MCI VP of Marketing. MCI's mission is to empower veterans, patients, physicians, and all of their partners with information to make clinical decisions for the best care and well-being. MCI is committed to supporting the nation by providing accurate Coronavirus (COVID-19) testing solutions during the COVID-19 pandemic. MCI has the capacity to process thousands of tests per day which will save lives and get our nation back to their daily normal routines. The center offers COVID-19 Testing – PCR COV-19, Rapid COVID 19 Antibody and COVID-19 Antigen. Laboratory Capabilities -Full Service include Bacteriology, Mycobacteriology, Mycology, Parasitology, Virology, Immunology, Chemistry, Endocrinology, Toxicology/ Drug Testing, Hematology, ABO & RH Group, Molecular, Antibody Non-Transfusion, Histopathology, Cytology, and Antibody Identification. The community can register at www.mcicovid.com to secure a test. Walk-ups are welcomed."It is an honor to welcome MCI to the City of Dallas, to Council District 10, and to this neighborhood. We are so thankful MCI chose to come here. The need is overwhelming, and it makes me feel good to know that we have this facility right here in our community, right down the street from one of our best communities in the city, Hamilton Park. At a time where there have not been many reasons to celebrate, this is a good thing for our community and our city. Thank you for being here and we welcome you with open arms," said McGough.

10 ONE AFRICA IN 2021

11 African Continental Free Trade Agreement began on the first day of 2021

A new trade intelligence tool that enables firms to easily explore and compare trade opportunities across Africa has been released ahead of the start of trading under the new African Continental Free Trade Area. The African Trade Observatory was rolled out by the African Union (AU), the European Union (EU) Commission and the International Trade Centre (ITC) at an AU summit on 5 December 2020. ‘Trade information is vital to the promotion of trade in Africa,’ AU Commissioner for Trade and Industry, H.E. Amb. Albert Muchanga said. The AfCFTA lowers trade barriers and promotes regional economic integration. Trading under the continent-wide area is set to begin on 1 January 2021. ‘Economic Integration is close to the heart of the European Union and will continue to support the African Union towards its endeavour of the African Common Market,’ European Union Commissioner for International Partnerships H.E. Jutta Uripilainen said. The African Trade Observatory is especially valuable for empowering the economic operators during this COVID-19 pandemic, ITC Executive Director Pamela Coke-Hamilton said. ‘Today, we are putting an entire continent of trade intelligence at the fingertips of African entrepreneurs, especially to support small local firms, women and young people in making the most of new opportunities’. The beta version of the web platform, currently available in French and English, was released during the 13th Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government on the AfCFTA. The Arabic and Portuguese versions will be available in the near future. Following the release of two publicly available modules (Compare and Explore), policymakers and Regional Economic Communities will have access to a third Monitor module. This module will provide a range of real-time indicators on trade flows, utilization of AfCFTA tariff preferences, tax revenues, clearance time and trade simulations, thereby facilitating the evaluation of the implementation process and impact of the AfCFTA.

The African Union Assembly Decision/AU/Dec.394 (XVIII) to establish an African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and to endorse the Boosting Intra-Africa Trade (BIAT) Action Plan was adopted on January 18th, 2012. One of the Policy Clusters of the BIAT Action Plan is Trade Information. In addition, the Architecture of the AfCFTA as envisaged in the Decision includes, among others, the establishment of the African Union Trade Observatory (ATO), to be located within the Department of Trade and Industry

12 (DTI) of the AU Commission (AUC). The ATO constitutes one of the five operational instruments of the AfCFTA launched during the 12th Extra-Ordinary African Union Summit, held in July 2019, Niamey, Niger. The main focus of the ATO is to provide market intelligence to the Pan-African Business Community, Policy makers, Academia and Think Tanks. It will provide real-time data on international trade, information on market regulations and government laws.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) wishes to raise awareness of Member States regarding the new variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, which was reported in South Africa and the United Kingdom over the past week. Africa CDC is closely following up with authorities in South Africa, where the variant was first identified in Nelson Mandela Bay and has rapidly spread through the Eastern and Western Capes, as well as KwaZulu-Natal. This new variant is defined by multiple non-synonymous mutations in the spike (S) protein. Three of these mutations are located on the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the spike protein – the most notable being the N501Y mutation on the receptor binding motif that binds to the human Angiotensin Converting Enzyme-2 (ACE2) receptor. Preliminary analyses from South Africa and the United Kingdom suggest that this new variant may be associated with increased transmissibility and a higher viral load than the previously circulating

13 variants.However, researchers are conducting further investigations on this new N501Y variant to determine if it is more infectious, more transmissible, or has the potential to cause more severe illness. Research is also being conducted to assess the impact of the mutations on the performance of existing molecular diagnostics, serological assays, therapeutics, and vaccines. On 21 December, Africa CDC convened an emergency meeting of the Africa Taskforce on Coronavirus Response (AFTCOR), where the Network for Genomics Surveillance in South Africa, led by Prof. Tulio de Olivera and Prof. Salim Abdool Karim, shared findings from South Africa. The meeting discussed what is known, what is not known, and what needs to be done about this new variant. The Taskforce recommends the following: • Africa CDC Institute for Pathogen Genomics (IPG) and WHO to immediately coordinate further actions by a continental network of clinical laboratory centres of excellence to enhance surveillance of the new variant virus. • Member States should enhance implementation of ongoing public health and social measures to prevent further transmission of COVID-19, including correct and consistent mask-wearing, physical distancing and hand hygiene. • There is no immediate need to restrict trade and travel across the continent, because travellers across the continent now require a negative virologic test (PCR or Antigen test) before they can travel. A recent analysis conducted by the WHO Africa Regional Office, Africa accounted for 120 of the 1,000 new or modified technologies deployed worldwide to respond to COVID-19 including, surveillance, treatment, prevention and control. According to the analysis, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda and South Africa were the leading innovators - accounting for 37 per cent of the continent's share - mainly due to existing innovation frameworks in those countries. The WHO Africa analysis conducted between July and September 2020 examined 1,000 COVID-19 technological innovations.

14 450,000 HEROES America’s Black Nurses on the Frontline

When the first vaccine shot was delivered to Sandra Phillips, it shone a light on the ten percent of American nurses who are African-American, a bulwalk of the health care system and one of the largest Black occupational groups in the civilian labor force. They are also the key to addressing health disparities and health information because they reach practically every Black family in the nation through friendships or kinships. Phillips also became one of the first to receive the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine. In addition to care, this group is not afraid to flex its muscles as one of the largest African-American professional groups through the National Black Nurses Association. Their own health is a matter of public health as the pandemic goes through a winter surge that is affecting the entire country during the winter.

15 The National Black Nurses Association (NBNA) is excited to announce the launch of two new major campaigns for its members under its new wellness initiative, NBNA Resilient Nurse Resource™. RETHINK, launched yesterday, was created to build awareness around the importance of vaccinations, with a focus on influenza and pneumococcal. The goal of RETHINK is to debunk common myths surrounding vaccines and to inform Black nurses and the Black community on the benefits of vaccinations. The website features an interactive 'Test Your Flu IQ' quiz to test participants knowledge and understanding on the flu and vaccines. There is also a flu and pneumococcal vaccination locator to assist with identifying providers in nearby serving areas. Anyone interested in learning more about vaccines can visit www.nbnaRETHINK.com.

On December 15, 2020, the NBNA launched its mental wellness campaign, RE:SET. This new initiative offers members FREE counseling services, education webinars, wellness podcasts and more, to aid them in maintaining their mental wellness throughout the current COVID-19 crisis. The free counseling services are only available for existing and new NBNA members, and their families. Unfortunately, there is a stigma in the Black community surrounding mental health. This, in addition to the lack of providers from diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds and culturally competent providers, contributes to only one-in-three African Americans receiving mental health treatment. To provide the best patient care, nurses must be able to reset and recharge from the daily pressures and renew their resilience and strength. Creating tools for renewal and increased resilience is especially important as nurses have a high prevalence of anxiety and depression. With this comprehensive resource, NBNA members will receive holistic tools and resources designed to give nurses the boost they need to promote mental wellness and wellbeing. "We know how difficult this year has been for nurses everywhere, especially Black nurses who are faced with both the pandemic and the current racial uprising," states Dr. Martha A. Dawson, NBNA President. "It is crucial that we protect our nurses' physical and mental wellbeing during such an unprecedented time in our country. With RE:SET we are able to provide them with the tools necessary to recover from

16 the daily stresses of exhausting working conditions and challenges. It is essentially PPE for their mental and emotional health, which will help to impact their physical health." RE:SET provides NBNA members and their families with easily accessible options for mental wellness – including: RE:SET Support Line: Available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, members who need in-the- moment support, are connected with licensed clinicians for no-cost, confidential guidance and resources. Free, Confidential Counseling: The RE:SET program provides up to five free sessions with experienced and licensed clinicians. This service removes the cost, access and privacy hassles of getting professional emotional support when NBNA members face a problem or situation that is difficult to resolve. Text Coach®: Also known as 'text therapy' is available to NBNA members via mobile phone or desktop computer to help with non-acute concerns. Licensed clinicians will help nurses and their families boost emotional fitness and wellbeing by exchanging text messages, voice notes, tip sheets, videos and resource links. To learn more about the RE:SET FREE tools and other resources, visit, www.nbna.org on December 15th. To become a member of the National Black Nurses Association and to gain access to the FREE counseling services, visit www.nbna.org. About National Black Nurses Association (NBNA) Founded in 1971, the National Black Nurses Association (NBNA) is a professional organization representing 308,000 African American registered nurses, licensed vocational/practical nurses, and nursing students in 108 chapters and 34 states. The NBNA mission is "to serve as the voice for Black nurses and diverse populations ensuring equal access to professional development, promoting educational opportunities and improving health." NBNA chapters offer voluntary hours providing health education and screenings to community residents in collaboration with community-based partners, including faith-based organizations, civic, fraternal, hospitals, and schools of nursing. For more information, visit nbna.org. #NBNAResilient

17 18 EMPIRE STATE CIO: ANGELO RIDDICK Crisis-tested and delivery-oriented Angelo “Tony” Riddick, was selected by New York Gov. Mario Cuomo to serve as the state’s chief information officer, leading a staff of 3,400 as the state took on one of its greatest challenges, the COVID-19 virus.

In 2018, Riddick was awarded the StateScoop State Executive of the year Award for his efforts in disaster recovery and communications/IT infrastructure restoration following the devastation of hurricanes Maria and Irma that struck the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico in 2017.

The retired US Army Colonel is a native of Norfolk, Virginia. He attended Marion Military Institute in Marion, Alabama where he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the US Army as an Infantry Officer. Delaying active duty to complete studies at Albany State University in Albany Georgia, he entered active duty at Ft. Benning where he completed the Army’s Infantry Officer Basic Course, Airborne and Ranger School prior to his first assignment at Ft. Lewis, Washington.

As a Captain, Tony attended the Army’s Transportation School and went on to command a Transportation Truck Company and Movement Control Company during Desert Storm and Desert Shield while stationed in Germany. He deployed one platoon of transporters to the war and went on to teach ROTC at Florida State University following his command assignments in Germany. Tony returned to Germany in 1996 as a Major and served as an Operations Officer for a Support Battalion and subsequently served at Central Command in Tampa in his first Information Systems position managing a sensitive database system.

Reporting to the Washington DC area in 1998, he worked with the DoD Defense Travel System initiative to automate travel throughout the Defense Enterprise. Tony worked on the systems automation team and eventually served as the organization’s Adjutant for administrative operations. In 2000, as a Lieutenant Colonel (LTC), Tony deployed to Korea and served as the Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff (G4) for Logistics.

From Korea, LTC Riddick attended the Army’s Systems Automation Course where he completed the CISCO Academy and other IT related courses. Tony then returned to the Pentagon and led the Army’s IT Help Desk for the Military District of Washington (MDW) serving over 17,000 customers with a support staff of 269 military and contractor personnel. Additionally, while at the Pentagon, LTC Riddick also served as the Policy Branch Chief for the Information Management Support Center drafting IT policy for Army customers in the DMV and was selected and completed the Advanced Management Program

19 (AMP) and Chief Information Officer (CIO) certification course at Ft. McNair in Washington DC. Officials at the National Defense University (NDU) invited him to instruct in the AMP and CIO program after graduation where he taught master’s degree level courses in Information Technology Leadership, Cyber Security and CIO Operations for 6 years as a member of the military faculty.

Colonel Riddick deployed to Kirkuk, Iraq at the start of Operation New Dawn where he served as Site Lead (Base Commander) for the Office of Security Cooperation Iraq – Kirkuk (OSC-I Kirkuk). In this position, he led the newly configured training base to support the rebuild of the Iraq military while overseeing defensive combat operations.

COL Riddick retired from military service in 2014 and went on to work for a defense contractor providing business development services in Cyber Security and IT for a year.

The United States Virgin Islands (USVI) Senate confirmed Tony to serve as the Governor’s Director of Bureau of Information Technology (BIT) and Chief Information Officer (CIO) in 2016. In 2018, Director Riddick was awarded the StateScoop State Executive of the year Award for his efforts in disaster recovery and communications/IT infrastructure restoration following the devastation of hurricanes Maria and Irma that struck the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico in 2017. Tony returned to the continental United States in 2019.

In 2020, Tony was selected to serve as the CIO and Agency Head for the Information Technology Services Agency for the State of New York. In his current capacity, Mr. Riddick oversees an agency consisting of over 3400 employees who perform a variety of services for the NY State IT Enterprise. These services range from application development to Cyber Security and Data Center Operations.

Tony holds a master’s degree in Quality System Management from the National Graduate School and several IT certificates. He is also a certified Project Management Professional. Tony is a graduate of all requisite US Army military schooling including the Command & General Staff College and was selected to participate in the Army’s War College in 2005. His awards include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Defense & Meritorious Service Medal, 6 Army Meritorious Service Medals, Joint & Army Commendation and Achievement Medals, the coveted Army Ranger Tab, Airborne Wings and the Combat Action Badge.

He has chaired numerous Information Technology Committees including a 5-state region for the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity where he led the effort to update and modernize Information Technology services for the 10000+ membership region. He served briefly as the fraternity’s IT Committee chair overseeing IT services for the 200,000+ membership base.

Tony is married to the former Brenda J. Walker and has two sons, Gary and LaRico.

20

LucasPye Bio: Bringing pharmaceutical manufacturing to Philadelphia

21 When one of the biggest issues is the ability to manufacture an array of vaccines and therapies during a pandemic, Tia Lyles-Williams, CEO of LucasPye BIO, is breaking-ground for a Biologics CDMO with a budget of $150M - “

To date, we have a commitment of $5M Venture Capital from Black Pearl Global Investments, on-track to raise $30M-45M Venture Capital by Q4-2020, several Strategic Partners, and are negotiating our 1st customer contract with an estimated worth of $15M.

LucasPye BIO will be the biotechnology/biopharmaceutical company with E-Documentation Cloud- Software (incl. Mobile/Web Apps), Prescription Formulary Placement Services w/ Private/Public Medical Insurers, and a Commercial Life Science Co-working / Wet Lab Facility – known as HelaPlex to help Start- Up Life Science Companies successfully accelerate their new prescription drugs, medical devices, health-tech/med-tech Apps into the commercial market.

LucasPye BIO will the 2nd African-American owned/lead biotechnology company in the commercial market – 65 years after Dr. Percy Lavon Julian and his company, Julian Laboratories, Inc. (1953) – the 1st African-American to own and lead a biotech/biopharma company.

Lyles Williams has gathered a team of experienced pharmaceutical executives to join her in this venture.

Dr. Percy Lavon Julian was a trailblazing chemist whose discoveries improved and saved countless lives. The grandson of slaves, Julian grew up at a time when African Americans faced extraordinary obstacles. Yet Julian refused to let racism prevent him from becoming one of the most influential scientists of the 20th century, as well as a leader in business and civil rights.

Julian was born in Montgomery, Alabama, on April 11, 1899. He attended a segregated elementary school. And, because Montgomery had no public high school for African Americans, he was forced to attend a teacher training school.

In 1916, Julian entered DePauw University, a largely white liberal arts school in Indiana. Despite the many struggles Julian faced, he not only earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry, he graduated Phi Beta Kappa and first in his class.

22 Julian was the first African American to earn a master's degree in chemistry from Harvard University. Julian eventually became head of the chemistry department at Howard University, a leading African American institution. Determined to continue his education, Julian enrolled in the University of Vienna, where he earned a Ph.D. in chemistry—the fourth African American to achieve this distinction. It was in Vienna that he began his lifelong inquiry into the chemistry of plants.

Returning to DePauw University, Julian became an expert in synthesis, the process of turning one substance into another through planned chemical reactions. In 1935, Julian and Josef Pikl synthesized physostigmine—still used to treat glaucoma—found in Calabar beans. The American Chemical Society later recognized their work as a National Chemical Landmark—one of the top 25 accomplishments in American chemical history. Despite this achievement, DePauw refused to appoint Julian to a permanent faculty position.

Discrimination led Julian from academia to business. For over 18 years, his highly successful research for the Glidden Company uncovered new uses for chemicals from soybeans. Julian's work was not only enormously profitable, but it helped relieve human suffering across the globe. He extracted a soy protein used in fire-fighting foam, which saved thousands of lives during World War II. His process for isolating steroids from soybean oil led to the manufacture of synthetic hormones. He also played a key role in making synthetic cortisone affordable to millions of arthritis sufferers.

In 1953, Julian established Julian Laboratories to produce synthetic steroids. He became a millionaire when he sold it in 1961

23 The tweet that shook Silicon Valley: Dr. Timnit Gebru

Our second Roy L. Clay Sr. Technology Pinnacle Award on Jan. 15 goes to Dr. Timnit Gebru, who became a hashtag on Dec. 2 for pursuing her scientific research.

24 Gebru is a computer scientist who works on algorithmic bias and data mining. She is an advocate for diversity in technology and co-founder of Black in AI, a community of black researchers working in artificial intelligence.

On the Dangers of Stochastic Parrots: Can Language Models Be Too Big? was the article she co-authored that led to her receiving an email removing her from a post as co-lead of the Ethnical Artificial Intelligence Team at Google.

It came after the company entered a consent agreement on Sept. 25 with a coalition of law firms that had sued its parent firm Alphabet with a pattern of sexual discrimination.

The settlement provides for a $310 million funding commitment by Alphabet to diversity, equity and inclusion over 10 years - the largest-ever public commitment by a tech company to these efforts. It also eliminates mandatory arbitration for all Alphabet companies in any harassment, discrimination or retaliation-related dispute and limits Google’s use of non-disclosure agreements.

Additionally, the settlement creates a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Council, requires the adoption of best-in-class employment policies related to sexual harassment and misconduct and mandates sexual harassment and fiduciary duty training for the Board. Alphabet is also required to amend the charter of the Leadership Development and Compensation Committee to make explicit the committee’s mandate to promote a workplace environment free from employee discrimination.

Once Gebru tweeted the email asserting she had been “resignated,” a firestorm erupted among the community of scholars examining the impact of algorithms that have become ubiquitous in global life. Other Black women in technology offered their experiences.

Ironically, the people with the most technical expertise in the use of online media found themselves racially profiled in a year when the entire country had begun to reckon with racism in the wake of the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arberry and Breonna Taylor.

The focus of the controversy has not shrunk from her moment in history, serving as a lightning rod for an examination of the lack of equal opportunity in Silicon Valley, which the Silicon Ceiling series has documented for the past 20 years.

Roy L. Clay Sr., the “godfather” of Silicon Valley, was a strong advocate of equal opportunity as the first Black student to attend a predominately white institution in 1947. After the Brown vs. Board of

25 Education decision, he was hired as a computer programmer in 1956, coming to Lawrence Radiation Lab in 1958. His first scholarly paper was published by the Atomic Energy Commission in 1958.

Gebru’s scholarship is out of that tradition of African-American technical excellence which the Journal of Black Innovation.

Along with Derek Peterson, CEO of Soter Technologies, featured in the October issue, she is picking up the baton from the Silicon Valley Engineering Hall of Fame member, who became the first Black elected official in Santa Clara County when elected Palo Alto city councilmember and then vice mayor..

Out of Gebru’s resistance, a group of Google employees has formed the first employee union in Silicon Valley, the Alphabet Workers Union, affiliated with the Communications Workers of America. Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-Brooklyn, has written to the company’s leaders seeking an explanation for the separation of this intrepid researcher.

Since 2017, more than 3,000 have joined Black in AI, based in Palo Alto. It’s the kind of network that Clay developed in the 1960s to encourage African-Americans to integrate the industry.

26 The State of Blacks in Technology

Col. Angelo Riddick, Tia Lyles-Williams and Dr. Timnit Gebru all illustrate the wide range of talents who number more than 550,000 African-Americans nationally. In the past few months, some misguided chief executives, including the CEO of Wells Fargo, have had the temerity to say they have a problem finding black talent. The problem has never been a lack of experienced, capable, creative and committed practitioners. The Journal of Black Innovation’s nKlud advisory service is mounting initiatives in key metropolitan areas, including the area which Roy Clay made famous, to close the gap between the workforce availability

and the low numbers of African-Americans working in the most lucrative opportunities. Using the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s EEO Files for 2018, there are more than 559,000 workers in the most specialized occupations. To reach the ratios found in the nursing profession, described in earlier article, an additional 350,000 African-Americans would enter those fields.

In San Francisco County, we’ve set a goal of 10,000 new hires during 2021, to address the fact that only

1,000 Blacks got jobs from 2005 to 2017 out of 144,000 new opportunities in the county. Within the state of California, that talent can easily be found.

27 Similar numbers can be found in Riddick’s New York. Georgia also has a significant representation of African-Americans in these fields.

In Illinois, there is a significant concentration. Maryland’s has a vigorous African-American tech sector

28 Texas exceeds 50,000 in these sectors

29 Florida’s growing information and technology industries attract more than 35,000. Pennsylvania’s sector is a place where initiatives like LucasPye BIO are needed. Breaking down the 2021 budget for black business

The voters of Georgia gave the nation a holiday gift in December as their early voting forced Congress to pass a $908 billion COVID-19 stimulus bill and a $1.4 billion budget for the entire federal government through next September. Among the big winners were historically black colleges and universities which had $1.4 billion in capital loans forgiven. In just the state of Alabama, more than $500 million in loans were erased. When earlier pandemic bills were passed, the PPP loan program deployed $561 billion in forgiveable loans to businesses through their banks. That meant the lions share went to larger firms with existing relationships with larger banks. blackmoney.com analyzed the June 30 report and learned that only $500 million went to black-owned firms. The newest legislation specifically targets billions for minority depository institutions. Kim D. Saunders, President of the National Bankers Association, will discuss how Black businesses get the capital needed to survive the crisis during Pandemic to Prosperity on Jan. 15. The Congressional Black Caucus pushed for targeted appropriations to address the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on the black community, including $2.5 billion for testing and $300 million for vaccine delivery. Congressional staff will be available to go through the provisions and prospects for additional opportunities under the new administration.

30 A history-making 60th member of the Congressional Black Caucus John Lewis was the conscience of Congress for more than 30 years. For most of that time, it was a bitter sweet title because he was often objecting to legislation or policies he objected to. Lewis was arrested for protesting against apartheid in South Africa, and was spat upon and called an epithet while walking to Congress to pass the Affordable Care Act. Even before entering Congress, he was beat in Selma for seeking the right to register to vote. Before passing in 2020, his final act of “Good Trouble” was to stand at Black Lives Matter Plaza, but the bill approved by the U.S. House of Representatives to restore his signature Voting Rights Act was not allowed to be heard in the U.S. Senate. It is the final act of defiance from the grave that the people of Georgia Lewis represented voted in favor of the first Democratic candidate for President since 1992. Clayton County, part of Lewis’ Congressional district, provided the deciding votes for Joseph R. Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris on November 3.

31 Lewis wasn’t through. His seat was filled by Nikema Williams, chair of the Georgia Democratic Party, but the real act of grace would come in 2021 when his pastor, Rev. Raphael Warnock, shocked every observer on Jan. 5 and became the first Black senator from Georgia. The genius of Lewis was to turn defeat into ultimate victory. After being beat in Selma, he led a delegation from Congress across the bridge every year. New Sen.-elect Warnock promised to bring forward the John Lewis bill in the U.S. Senate as his election along with that of new Sen.-elect Jon Ossoff delivered a majority to the Democratic party, bringing a halt to ten years of obstruction by Senate Republicans. Even before the monumental victory in Georgia, the Congressional Black Caucus swore in its largest class since its founding in 1970 — 59 members at the time — on Sunday, Jan. 3. This includes six committee chairs, a Majority Whip and a Vice President: Rep. Eddie Berniece Johnson—House Science Committee Rep. Gregory Meeks —-House Foreign Affairs Committee Rep. Bennie Thompson — House Homeland Security Committee Rep. David Scott — House Agriculture Committee Rep. Bobby Scott — House Education Committee Rep. Maxine Waters—- House Financial Services Committee Rep. Jim Clyburn — Select Committee on the COVID-19 Crisis; Majority Whip Clyburn, a SNCC colleague of Lewis, became the most consequential politician of 2020 by endorsing Biden in the South Carolina primary. Black voters not only responded in the primary election, but contributed to the Biden-Harris ticket achieving 81 million votes, the largest vote in history. The Senate victories may be even more consequential. Members of the CBC have chaired House committees for decades, but rarely with a supportive majority in the Senate. Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, Congress has been relatively unable to pass major legislation because of the makeup of the legislative body. Having leadership at the Executive, Senate and House is an unprecedented opportunity to create signficant improvements for the 43 million African-Americans.

32 A call for action in education

On the first day of Kwanzaa, we present a Call to Action for Black Education. Providing input to this policy statement have been Dr. Joyce King, Dr. Benjamin E. Mays Distinguished Chair of Urban Teaching and Learning at Georgia State University and Debra Watkins, Founder of A Black Education Network. The bill approved by Congress allocates more than $68 billion to K-12 education. Parents and policy makers should insure that at least one-fourth of that funding is allocated to addressing the educational pandemic for African-American students at the local level. In 1763, the first Free African School was started in Providence, Rhode Island through a combination of philanthropy from free blacks and white supporters. Similarly, the Freedom Schools launched after the Civil War took the same collaborative approach. The Rosenwald Schools of the 20th century equally depended on the labor and property of the communities they served matched by outside contributions. Through more than 100 historically black colleges and universities, those investments have endured for 150 years. The convergence of leadership, events and resources that led to the Call for Action is a good sign for those organizations and scholars which have continued the tradition of success in black education. We wish to join with you in instilling an awareness of the institutional and programmatic needs of the entities which have relied on the black community itself for their continuance so that your efforts may accelerate progress instead of wasting this opportunity. This set of evidence-based principles for effective investments in black education should guide your work. We are willing to work with you to prioritize and rank how best to achieve a seamless educational experience from pre-K to post graduate for black students. PRINCIPLE 1. Addressing the profound underinvestment in black education should be the top priority of education funders. Because in a normal year, $60 billion is spent on black students in elementary and secondary schools and at historically black colleges and universities, we must reimagine how that investment is being utilized. To provide the complete range of educational experiences at every grade level, we urge a commitment of $50 billion per year for the entire range of black education to address both the emergency need during this year and the long-term disparities in funding. PRINCIPLE 2. The most effective pedagogy and curriculum for black students is a course which infuses a complete awareness of their own heritage throughout time and without geographic boundaries, relying on the primary sources of the black experience in Africa, the Caribbean and the Americas. PRINCIPLE 3. Providing that curriculum must be through entities accountable to and controlled by the black community, including HBCUs, research institutes, museums, black-led civic organizations and international agencies. PRINCIPLE 4. Black parents (and care-givers) must drive decision making on the education of their students and set priorities for their success instead of the agenda of funders. PRINCIPLE 5. Service to black communities must be an objective of students’ learning as well as investments in education. The Songhoy principle of alasal tarey, learning to serve humanity, is a direct contrast with the emphasis on competitive individualism and education as a way to make money.

33 PRINCIPLE 6. Presenting students with the result of their education as a long-term investments in their future is the most effective psycho-social intervention to achieve individual progress. To wit, primary students who can envision the impact of attending historically black colleges and universities on professions such as law, medicine and science can discipline themselves to reach those heights. PRINCIPLE 7. The 2020-21 school year creates an emergency need to immediately supply educational supports for students from the earliest grade school to post-graduate. Those needs are not met by mere access to technology or Internet service, but transformational learning resources that support students and families to address the long-standing inequities exacerbated by the impact of COVID-19 on schools. That also includes social-emotional support by black providers. PRINCIPLE 8. This investment makes a down payment on fulfilling the expectations of African-Americans who pushed for the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments in order to provide an education for their children, a primary motivation expressed in abolitionist literature. Had federal support for Freedmen’s Bureau schools continued, and segregation, that is to say, apartheid education, not been introduced, many of these issues would not exist. However, we are convicted that the historical impact of HBCUs, Rosenwald schools and Free African Schools indicates that sufficient funding of black education would magnify this tremendous legacy in preparing the growing black workforce in the United States from 43 million currently to 75 million by 2050. PRINCIPLE 9. This educational prioritization must set as outcomes the achievement of parity and market demand for African-Americans across the professions such as medicine, law, engineering, as well as the arts, humanities and education by 2040 so that the leaders who must defend black freedom and health are available. In 1900, there were 13 medical schools at HBCUs, but now there are only four serving ten times the population. We must start from the need in 2040 and work backward through all the steps necessary from early childhood to post graduate education to provide the workforce we need. We know that 50 percent of public school educators, 50 percent of military officers and similar proportions of graduate researchers and STEM practitioners are drawn from historically black colleges and universities, which should receive the funding commensurate with their production, weighted for the historic inequities in resources. In conclusion as a community of educators, parents and other stakeholders, we will convene regularly to serve as catalysts and stewards for this “great and mighty work.” As the delegates to the California Colored Convention wrote in 1855: “We are engaged in a great work; it is this, we aim to render ourselves equal with the most favored, not simply nominally equal, but truly and practically, in knowledge, energy, practical skill and enterprise. The past has been to us full of wrong and suffering; we are not content with our present condition; it remains for us to say whether we will continue in this position. “Under God, our dependence is in our children. As parents and guardians, we are under the most solemn obligations to have our children educated; upon any other conditions, our hopes and expectations of the future are vain. It cannot be denied, ignorance has been the cause, chiefly, of our sufferings. We must seize upon every opportunity to acquire knowledge, to educate the head, the hands, the heart, for the duties, necessities and responsibilities of life. . .When our characters, as a people, shall fully combine the elements of learning, sound morality, and wealth, we shall be free and respected by all.” Their assessment still applies today. We encourage you to not reinvent the wheel, but to propel the wheels to move faster and cover much more ground.

34 PANDEMIC TO PROSPERITY

Col. Angelo Riddick (RET) 01 NEW YORK STATE CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER

15 Kim Saunders 21 PRESIDENT, NATIONAL BANKERS ASSOCIATION Christopher Boone, Ph.D Roy L. Clay Sr. Technology Pinnacle Awards GLOBAL HEAD, POPULATION HEALTH, ABBVIE TIMNIT GEBRU, PH.D ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE DEREK PETERSON, CEO, SOTER TECHNOLOGIES

Michelle Y. Williams Ph.D EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, RESEARCH ADMINISTRATION, STANFORD HEALTHCARE

Innovating to defeat health inequity DR. MARCUS MARTIN, CEO 2M RESEARCH COLLEEN PAYNE, CEO MCI DIAGNOSTIC

R E G I S T R A T I O N $ 1 7 5 S35O U L O F T E C H N O L O G Y . C O M C A L L 4 1 5 - 2 4 0 - 3 5 3 7 36