Serena Williams Steps Up For Vital Voices; Alexis Ohanian Sr. Resigns Reddit Board

Serena Williams Steps Up For Vital Voices; Alexis Ohanian Sr. Resigns Reddit Board

Tennis legend, black activist, fashion designer — and yes, now venture capitalist — Serena Williams became the global spokeswoman for Stuart Weitzman in early May. Photographer Ethan James Green captures Serena in campaign images that present her fierce power and beauty unbowed.

The power of the project for Serena lies in Stuart Weitzman’s alliance with the Vital Voices Global Partnership  Tapped to choose two women leaders to participate with her in the campaign, Williams tapped Ashlee Wisdom and Sage Ke’alohilani Quiamno. Wisdom is the founder of  Health in Her Hue, a platform that connects black women to culturally competent health-care providers. Ke’alohilani Quiamno, founder of Future for Us, a civic organization that gives women of color the tools to succeed in the highest levels of corporate and social-sector careers.

Alexis Ohanian Sr. Resigns from Reddit Board

It’s Serena Williams’ husband Alexis Ohanian Sr.that made the big news today — June 8 — as word of his resignation from the board of directors of Reddit traveled through media channels. The co-founder of Reddit recommended that his spot be filled by a Black candidate amid activists’ calls for more representation of BlPOC in positions of power in global companies.

"I co-founded Reddit 15 years ago to help people find community and a sense of belonging," Ohanian wrote across his social media channels, pulling from a blog post on his site. "It is long overdue to do the right thing. I'm doing this for me, for my family, and for my country." Along with the statement to the public, Ohanian embedded a video message from his Instagram account onto his blog entry, and in it he reiterates his original statement.

Tory Burch's 'Walk the Walk' Campaign Needs to Take Luxury in a New Direction

Tory Burch's 'Walk the Walk' Campaign Needs to Take Luxury in a New Direction

Tory Burch’s Spring Summer 2020 campaign celebrates Ambition with Purpose. Mikael Jansson photographed Anok Yai and Natalia Vodianova, who talk about the positive side of ambition in Tory Burch’s 2020 ‘Walk The Walk’ campaign.

The successful fashion business leader has been a champion of women and girls — and especially as entrepreneurs — for a decade through The Tory Burch Foundation.

The fashion industry entered late May, immersed in deep conversation about changes long overdue in our business sector. Now we add America total crisis over racism and inequality. Tory Burch is among the luxury brands who has learned some lessons on the topic of racism and cultural appropriation. We have every expectation that she will rise as a leader on the future of luxury brands and the fashion calendar — but even more critical now, the status and social/economic obligations in an American society who is saying “enough is enough”.

Put the anarchists and looters aside. Many want to destroy Tory Burch and every other luxury company on the planet. Across this land, tens of millions of Americans — and especially young Americans — cannot live any longer in a world so totally out of whack between the so-called 1% and everybody else.

Major rethinks are required, and Tory Burch’s voice, anchored as well by her marriage to  Pierre-Yves Roussel, a former LVMH Moët Hennessey Louis Vuitton executive, has a perspective that will be critical as we consider how best to move forward.

Revisiting the Johanna Ortiz X H&M Spring 2020 Collab In A Flower Power World

Revisiting the Johanna Ortiz X H&M Spring 2020 Collab In A Flower Power World

The Johanna Ortiz X H&M Spring 2020 collab is one of the Spring 2020 beauties lost in the COVID-19 pandemic. Following on the success of her Fall 2019 collection for H&M, Ortiz returned for spring. Describing the designer, H&M wrote:

If you don’t know that Johanna Ortiz hails from the birthplace of salsa, her energetic designs will give you some immediate pointers. Dramatic, luscious, extravagant — Johanna Ortiz’s dresses are the kind of pieces you’ll want to throw on and start dancing in. They tap their own beat, and demand the wearer does the same.

It’s not only fashion lovers who feel the rhythm of Ortiz’s collections. There’s an irresistible sense of joy and power at the heart of the Colombian designer’s work that has the world’s most powerful women smitten. Michelle Obama opted for Johanna Ortiz during her book tour, at parties, Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Alexa Chung and Jessica Biel count Ortiz’s designs as must-haves. Olivia Palermo wears Ortiz to set her style agenda, and when it came to serving a major look at Jennifer Lawrence’s wedding, it was Johanna Ortiz that Sienna Miller favored. 

H&M Magazine then interviewed Ortiz about her frankly-feminine, design vision that resonates deeply with so many women leaders.

Banksy Says A White System Has Ruined Black Lives, As American Flag Does Slow Burn

Banksy has left his personal testimony against racial discrimination, in response to the death of George Floyd and protests that have spread all over the world. Publishing the new work for his 9.3 million Instagram followers, Banksy’s American flag is about to catch fire, lit by a candle placed next to a photo with a black silhouette.

In Banksy’s own words:

“At the beginning I thought of keeping silent and listening to black people on this problem. But why? The problem is mine, not them ". 

“The white system has ruined the lives of black people. It is like a broken pipe that floods the downstairs apartment. It's up to the whites to fix it. "

Fear, More Than Hate, Feeds Online Bigotry and Real-World Violence

Fear, More Than Hate, Feeds Online Bigotry and Real-World Violence

By Adam G. Klein, Assistant Professor of Communication Studies, Pace University. First published on The Conversation.

When a U.S. senator asked Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, “Can you define hate speech?” it was arguably the most important question that social networks face: how to identify extremism inside their communities.

Hate crimes in the 21st century follow a familiar pattern in which an online tirade escalates into violent actions. Before opening fire in the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, the accused gunman had vented over far-right social network Gab about Honduran migrants traveling toward the U.S. border, and the alleged Jewish conspiracy behind it all. Then he declared, “I can’t sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics, I’m going in.” The pattern of extremists unloading their intolerance online has been a disturbing feature of some recent hate crimes. But most online hate isn’t that flagrant, or as easy to spot.

As I found in my 2017 study on extremism in social networks and political blogs, rather than overt bigotry, most online hate looks a lot like fear. It’s not expressed in racial slurs or calls for confrontation, but rather in unfounded allegations of Hispanic invaders pouring into the country, black-on-white crime or Sharia law infiltrating American cities. Hysterical narratives such as these have become the preferred vehicle for today’s extremists – and may be more effective at provoking real-world violence than stereotypical hate speech.