Jan. 8, 2019 James Mitchell was scheduled to speak about something else on this morning after the CIAA announced it would take its tournament to Baltimore. But in this excerpt from the Forum captured by Jessica Davis, Mitchell addresses the issue of the day. In this telling, the city's bid to ... Continue Reading →
Nonprofit to train workers for hazardous cleanup jobs
July 31, 2018 Dr. Tonnia Thomas is executive director of a nonprofit called Training to Work an Industry Niche (TWIN). Last year, the nonprofit operated a pilot program; this year it begins full-scale operations to train people to take jobs in hazardous waste cleanup and similar environmental ... Continue Reading →
His eye’s on funneling capital to entrepreneurs building businesses
July 24, 2018 Patrick Cannon asked that he be allowed to introduce David Sharp to Forum participants. Cannon argued that African Americans in Charlotte seek advice of whites about financing their businesses, but run down or ignore African Americans who have similar or better credentials and ... Continue Reading →
2 Charlotte natives are making their marks
From left: Dr. Shanté Williams, Lambert Guinn. Feb. 13, 2018 Two Charlotte natives are back in the city and they are making their marks. Dr. Shanté Williams is a chemist and inventor with a work history in big pharma. All that has led her into founding an investment firm and head the city's ... Continue Reading →
Preserving, sharing the wisdom of the African Diaspora
June 20, 2017 A Sign of the Times is a performance group dedicated to "preserving the legacy of the African Diaspora through music, dance and the spoken word." It is Toni Tupponce's life work. In her presentation about the group's work, she highlighted efforts to engage young people to take the ... Continue Reading →
Longtime community leader outlines what it takes to make change
June 6, 2017 Rickey Hall was to be part of a panel discussion of the city's Neighborhood Matching Grants program. His late arrival put him on front of the Forum alone, and his comments went way beyond the city program explored here. Hall described a from-the-bottom-up effort to end food ... Continue Reading →
Sherrell Dorsey, leading in the tech space, focusing on action
March 28, 2017 Sherrell Dorsey is from Charlotte – and Seattle, and New York, and Connecticut. Like many of her fellow millennials, she appears to have had about nine jobs in the last seven years. She's moving! This morning she fired up another crowd, this one full of hardbitten longtime ... Continue Reading →
Minority Contracting 101: Rachelle Latimer offers some pointers
March 7, 2017 Rachelle Latimer is president and chief diversity officer for TRS&I Group, Inc., consultants on meeting equal opportunity program requirements. The firm was recently hired to work with Sugar Creek Construction, one of the prime partners in the current construction of 26 miles of ... Continue Reading →
Counting the days: CIAA prepares for Charlotte tournament
Feb. 13, 2017 Ticket sales are down. Hotel bookings are down. By how much wasn’t disclosed. But for CIAA Commissioner Jacquie McWilliams, it's time both to be "nervous" and "excited." Next week's tournament will draw thousands of visitors to Charlotte. Basketball will be played at Bojangles ... Continue Reading →
Post Foundation explains its Black Lives Matter Charlotte initiative
Jan. 10, 2017 Tiffany Capers' day job is at Teach for America. She appeared Tuesday at the Forum as a board member of the Charlotte Post Foundation, a group that has been holding programs in the community under the banner "Black Lives Matter Charlotte." In the video below of her presentation, ... Continue Reading →