Blavity Inc. has unveiled the star-studded lineup for the 2023 AfroTech Conference in Austin, Texas, from Nov. 1 to 5. This annual event connects Black professionals with inclusive tech companies and influencers shaping major corporations’ diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
Speakers include Issa Rae, Timbaland, Maxine Waters, Sade Muhammad, and Bernard Coleman. Leading brands like Google, Meta, and Microsoft will share DEI insights.
AfroTech Music will provide live performances from artists like Rick Ross, DJ Spinderella, and others, with an exclusive after-party featuring Jadakiss.
Summits will cover women, sports, health, product development, and tech innovation. Over 100 speakers will discuss timely topics like responsible AI, sports and tech, leadership in a remote world, and DEI’s impact on marketing and VC trends.
Culture Park will host a marketplace for local Black-owned brands collaborating with Black Makers Market.
The 2022 event had an $18.2 million economic impact on Austin and supported 148 jobs. The 2023 AfroTech Conference is set to continue its legacy of promoting DEI in the tech industry. Don’t miss this transformative event!
AfroTech Conference’s 2023 full agenda is now live HERE and will feature:
Issa Rae, Emmy-award nominated actor, producer and writer
Timbaland, iconic producer, artist and entrepreneur
Maxine Waters, U.S Representative for California’s 43rd congressional district since 1991
Doug E. Fresh, rapper, record producer, and beatboxer
Sade Muhammad, TIME CMO
Detavio Samuels, CEO, REVOLT, the world’s largest Black storytelling engine
Zinhle Essamuah, award winning journalist and co-anchor of NBC News Daily and network correspondent for NBC News and MSNBC
Bernard Coleman, Chief Diversity and Engagement Officer at Gusto, a cloud-based payroll, benefits, and human resource management software for businesses
For those keeping score at home, Rep. Maxine Watershas fired off a number of jabs and quips in the direction of President Donald Trump. Her latest missive came via Twitter as she blasted the former business mogul over his handling of the COVID-19 crisis.
The California congresswoman fired off her latest blows on Monday (March 30) as the nation continues to grapple with the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. President Trump’s response to the situation has been criticized in the media and by pundits on the sidelines, but Waters’ pointed words have been among the sharpest yet from an elected official.
“Trump, stop congratulating yourself! You’re a failure & you’ve mishandled this #COVID19 disaster! You’re not knowledgeable & you don’t know more than experts & generals. Your ignorance & incompetence are appalling & you continue to demonstrate that every time you open your mouth,” read one tweet.
Waters came back with another writing, “Trump, you incompetent idiot! You sent 18 tons of PPE to China early but ignored warnings & called COVID19 concerns a hoax. You’ve endangered doctors, nurses, aids, orderlies, & janitors – all risking their lives to save ours. Pray 4 forgiveness for the harm that you’re causing!”
As it stands, Congresswoman Waters and President Trump will never cross the bridge of friendship, at least not anytime soon. Waters echoes the sentiments of many who feel that the Trump administration’s handling of COVID-19 has been largely pushing forth lofty projections and misinformation at an almost daily clip.
Trump’s initial plans of reopening the economy by Easter has been shot down repeatedly by medical experts on all sides, prompting him to bend to the will of science and extend his projection until the end of April at best.
Trump, stop congratulating yourself! You’re a failure & you've mishandled this #COVID19 disaster! You're not knowledgeable & you don’t know more than experts & generals. Your ignorance & incompetence are appalling & you continue to demonstrate that every time you open your mouth!
Trump, you incompetent idiot! You sent 18 tons of PPE to China early but ignored warnings & called COVID19 concerns a hoax. You've endangered doctors, nurses, aids, orderlies, & janitors – all risking their lives to save ours. Pray 4 forgiveness for the harm that you're causing!
The brand is very strong. Desus & Mero headed back to the political warzone, Washington D.C., where they chopped it up with America’s Auntie, congresswoman Maxine Waters.
Desus Nice and The Kid Mero are racking up the wins in the form big interviews current political figures but making sure to keep the same energy they have come to be loved for. The dynamic Bronx duo returned to the nation’s capital to have a discussion with Auntie Maxine Waters and to take a quick D.C. tour.
Before getting into the interview, they make sure it’s okay to call the leader of the Impeach Trump movement Auntie and asking her if it has a negative connotation with her, and she says not it doesn’t and that she is “honored to be called Auntie.” Sorry, Ava Oprah, and Gayle King, you’re alone on that on that one. The interview touched on a range of topics, including the orange menace, Donald Trump, which the U.S. Representative for California’s 43rd congressional district calls a “flawed character” and that “she has never seen nothing like this.”
When the topic switched to the general election and the Democratic primaries going on, Auntie Maxine revealed she is very worried.”I’m uncomfortable,” she stated. When Desus further inquired what she is most concerned about? Water’s responded:
“I think now it boils down to all of us wanting someone that we feel comfortable can really beat Trump. This country cannot tolerate another 4 years of him [Trump]. People have said, I don’t think they’re talking about the issues I we are concerned about, and I have not endorsed anybody, and I am going to wait till after South Carolina.”
No lies detected.
Following the brief conversation, Auntie Maxine took the Bodega Boys on a quick D.C. tour taking them to the committee she chairs and letting them get a taste of her day-to-day business. While in the chamber, Waters points out that there are no people of color or women’s portraits hanging and that she is the first Black person and woman to chair the House Financial Services Committee.
After their committee experience, Auntie Maxine takes the boys on a ride using the subway located directly underneath the United States Capitol that is connected to all three of the Senate office buildings and one of the four House office buildings.
Waters joins the growing list of political figures that have spoken with the duo. Just recently, they linked up with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez headed back to BX to enjoy bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches and put her bartending skills to use. They also quizzed current Democratic presidential frontrunner, Bernie Sanders on the price of “grails.” This is the content we are here for. You can peep their latest interview with Auntie Maxine below.
If you were ever unclear of what President Donald Trump and his constituents stand for, the latest video screened by supporters at his latest rally definitely gives you a clear eye view.
As the New York Times reports, during a three day conference sponsored by a group called American Priority at the Trump National Doral Resort in Miami, Trump supporters screened a parodied clip of the 2014 dark comedy film “Kingsman: The Secret Service” which depicted Trump murdering his political opponents, former President Barack Obama, Rep. Maxine Waters, and Black Lives Matter.
During the graphic clip, the fake Trump is seen repeatedly punching someone with Rep. Maxine Waters‘ face superimposed on them and another character with the word “JAIL” superimposed on them throws Waters out the window. Then the menace continues on graphically and violently killing others, which includes the depiction of Barack Obama getting his neck snapped and a person with “Black Lives Matter” superimposed on them getting shot in the head.
While there is no doubt whatsoever that if the roles were reversed and a clip this graphic in nature was screened during President Barack Obama’s second presidential campaign there would be outrage and the end of his presidential bid, the Trump administration and supporters continue to feed into the vile clip with their “fake news” anti-facts rhetoric during rallies across the country and online. Since Trump has been in office, not only has the administering of propaganda-style news from non-reputable sites increased, so have the attacks on people of color which is so violently highlighted in the clip.
Organizers of the pro-Trump rally, American Priority, denounce the video claiming that they were screening the clip as a part of a “meme exhibit” and was unsure how the video ended up being shown at the conference.
“Content was submitted by third parties and was not associated with or endorsed by the conference in any official capacity,” said the organizer, Alex Phillips. “American Priority rejects all political violence and aims to promote a healthy dialogue about the preservation of free speech. This matter is under review.”
White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham took to Twitter to convey Trump’s condemnation of the clip, saying:
“Re: the video played over the weekend: The @POTUS @realDonaldTrump has not yet seen the video, he will see it shortly, but based upon everything he has heard, he strongly condemns this video.”
Re: the video played over the weekend: The @POTUS@realDonaldTrump has not yet seen the video, he will see it shortly, but based upon everything he has heard, he strongly condemns this video.
Despite his “strong condemnation”, Trump is still taking to social media to continue to feed the narrative that he is a “victim” of the very system he upholds in office. While the response to the video came from the office of the Press Secretary, Trump is using his account to continue to attack reputable news sources such as CNN and New York Times for their continued coverage into the falsehoods of his presidency and the illegal activity which has led him down the road to impeachment.
Wow! Hunter Biden is being forced to leave a Chinese Company. Now watch the Fake News wrap their greasy and very protective arms around him. Only softball questions of him please!
The Fox Impeachment poll has turned out to be incorrect. This was announced on Friday. Despite this, the Corrupt New York Times used this poll in one of its stories, no mention….
“MemeWorld has not and does NOT condone ANY violence committed by ANYONE, for ANY REASON. The Kingsman video is CLEARLY satirical and the violence depicted is metaphoric,” it said. “No reasonable person would believe that this video was a call to action or an endorsement of violence towards the media.
This attack on the American Priority Conference and a MemeWorld contributor comes from the same New York Times that supported a play calling for President Trump’s staff to Assassinate him in the style of Julius Caesar. This attack is yet another example of the Mainstream Media’s hypocrisy. The Kingsman video was played on a small tv in an empty room for a few hours during a 3-day event that FEATURED AN ANTI POLITICAL VIOLENCE PANEL.”
While anyone with a brain understands that the current administration isn’t fit to run a SIM’s city, let alone the real United States, that’s not stopping some Black people from drinking the Kool-Aid. As previously reported both Kanye West, Omarosa Manigault, and Isaiah Washington have both declared their love for Trump, and sunken place mayor Candace Owens has even blazed the campaign trail to denounce the reality of the increase in racist attacks and homegrown terrorism since 2016.
Despite the overt acts of racism, a July Quinnipiac University poll showed a majority (51%) of voters believed that Trump is a racist, while 45% said that he is not. Even with the influx of people, namely women of color, being elected to office and compelling proof of systematic racism being presented, Americans seem to want to stay dense in regards to the racist attacks people of color have faced since the inauguration of Trump and how huge of a role that Trump himself actually plays into it.
As former Trump supporter and “African American friend” Gregory Cheadle pointed out during his interview with PBS, “Trump is only out for white people” and he doesn’t care who knows it.
“President Trump is a rich guy who is mired in white privilege to the extreme,” Cheadle told PBS. “Republicans are too sheepish to call him out on anything and they are afraid of losing their positions and losing any power themselves. When you look at his appointments for the bench: White, white, white, white, white, white, white. That to me is really damning to everybody else because no one else gets a chance because he’s thinking that the whites are superior, period.”
From chants of “build a wall” to “send her back”, Trump and his followers have shown that they not only support the clip but in so many ways are trying to make it a sad reality.
Ask any young person you know about Blacks in politics on the national level and you will be hard pressed to find a long list of names. Of course, you will hear President Barack Obama. You might even hear Stacey Abrams on account of her recent campaign or Corey Booker because of his courageous opposition to Brett Kavanaugh during those recent confirmation hearings earlier in the summer. One name that you will most certainly here is Maxine Waters. But you won’t hear it like that with your millennial. You will hear her by a moniker that is chock-full of endearment, love, and trust: Auntie Maxine.
Waters has become beloved by so many because of her unwavering commitment to the civil rights of her people, her unabashed tongue and that look she gives to folk across the aisle that work clearly work her nerves.
During Tuesday’s mid-term election, Rep. Waters claimed an easy win in California’s 43rd Congressional District over Trump support, Omar Navarro. This is not the first time Navarro has challenged and lost to the octogenarian. The GOP keeps trying, but her supporters not only appreciate her raw and honest politics but have rallied to keep her guard against any opposition.
There is a reason for them to protect her and keep her in office: She is positioned to throw a monkey wrench in 45’s wicked scheme to make the rich get richer and to tap dance on the poor.
Auntie Maxine has served for 14 terms as a House member and has been the top Democrat on the banking panel since 2013 when she replaced retired Congressman Barney Frank from Massachusetts. Because of her ranking, she is poised to become the chair of the panel, thanks to the drastic loss that the GOP suffered in the midterm election. This has the GOP, Big Business and Wall Street shaking in their designer boots.
Waters keeps coming at 45’s neck because he is so soft on Big Business and Wall Street.
Calling for an increase in national bank regulations, she clearly is on the opposite side of President Trump and his Capitol Hill allies. Recently, she has released a report with other Dems calling for Wells Fargo to close their doors and pledging to call for higher fines for financial institutions that try to skirt around the law. Waters has said that if she wins (AND SHE DID) and Dems take control of the house, that she would focus on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and housing reform.
And so… it is safe to say that Wall Street did not rejoice when Auntie Maxine won her race. We will sit back with popcorn to see how all of this plays out.
They tried it. Allegedly, one of Cult 45’s followers decided to take it upon him/her/themselves to bring bodily harm to his political enemies and sent makeshift pipe bombs to popular Democrats such as Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and everyone’s favorite Auntie, Maxine Waters.
While Donald Trump refuses to take any kind of blame for the level of hostility his base of deplorables partake in, Mrs. Waters took it upon herself to remind him and everyone else that not only is he responsible for the current divisiveness America is experiencing right now. She also let everyone know her bones don’t crush easy ’cause she ain’t never scared.
Speaking to Blavity, the California congresswoman said “I think the president of United States should take responsibility for the kind of violence that we are seeing for the first time in different ways,” Waters told Blavity. “I think the president of the United States has been dog-whistling to his constituency, making them believe that their problems are caused by those people over there. And I think they are acting in a way that they think the president wants them to do and the way he wants them to act.”
She’s not wrong. He does praise Republican candidates who body slam reporters and encourages people at his rallies to put hands on protestors. This is well documented.
As for the threats on her life, that’s nothing new to the Cali congresswoman as she’s been the target of MAGA madness before and famously told her would be assassins they’d “better shoot straight.” So while the bombs sent to her office is a new development for her personal safety, it’s still not enough to deter her from going about her business.
“I don’t know whether the bombs are real or not, but we should not crawl under the bed, close the doors, not go out, be afraid to go to rallies,” she said. “We have to keep to doing what we’re doing in order to make this country right; that’s what I intend to do, and as the young people say, ‘I ain’t scared.’”
The 48th annual Black Congressional Legislative Conference has been an amazing experience. This year in Washington D.C., there were some impressive young and talented individuals that were on the panel that includes Common, Rapsody and YBN Cordae. They all discussed their form of the culture and did a freestyle at the end. Cordae paid tribute to the moderator of the panel. Both Common and Rapsody performed their hit single off their latest project.
