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Zaila Avant-garde, 14, won the Scripps National Spelling Bee championship held in Lake Buena Vista, Florida today, becoming the first African American winner and only the second Black champion in the bee’s 96-year history.
Resilient is a new award-winning short film that shines the light on childhood homelessness by looking through the life of Dr. Tommy Watson, whose parents were arrested 121 times by the time he was a homeless senior in high school. During that time, he had been recruited as one of the top football players in America.
There are nearly 3 million homeless students in the nation’s public schools – a problem that continues to grow at staggering rates. Every night, in Charlotte, NC, nearly 5,000 kids will go to sleep in shelters, motel rooms, and in cars. According to the Institute for Children, Poverty & Homelessness, these students have an 87% chance of dropping out.
Resilient is based on Dr. Watson’s real-life, award-winning book entitled A Face of Courage: The Tommy Watson Story. “The purpose of writing and producing this short film was to inspire others to be their best selves regardless of the challenges they face in life,” he explains. “I want people to know that our stories, good or bad, make us who we are and what we decide to become.”
55-year old Clyde Beasley was wrongfully incarcerated for many years in the state of California. However, while behind bars, he was able to skillfully exonerate himself and get his case overturned. Now as a free man, he has launched The Prison Reform Project to help other innocent prisoners and their families.
In addition to bringing more awareness to wrongful convictions and the need for prison reform, his non-profit organization also focuses on giving comfort and guidance to families and their loved ones who are in prison.
Clyde comments, “I served many years in state and federal prisons, and six of those years was for a crime that I simply did not commit. However, I am now a fully rehabilitated man seeking redemption as the creator of this powerful platform which is designed to educate and empower both men and women who are caught up in the American prison pipeline.”
After working for over 30 years in several different positions within the Chicago Fire Department, Annette Nance-Holt recently became the first woman to lead the CFD.
Her appointment to the top position of Fire Commissioner was confirmed last week by Chicago’s City Council, wgntv.com reports.
“Commissioner Holt has more than three decades of proven leadership and a passion for public service that makes her the perfect fit for this role,” said Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
“Furthermore, in a time where more work remains in order to eliminate discrimination, racism and sexism from the firefighter profession, Commissioner Holt’s history-making appointment as the first woman and Black woman to lead as Fire Commissioner couldn’t have come at a better moment.”