Panel on 'Hidden Figures' Hosted by Soledad O'Brien

(From left to right: Elizabeth Gabler, President Fox 2000 Pictures, 20th Century Fox; Rashid Ferrod Davis, Founding Principal, P-TECH; Kristen Summers, Technical Delivery Lead, Watson Public Sector, IBM; Soledad O’Brien, journalist and panel moderator. Image: Black Enterprise)

Coinciding with the official nationwide launch of Hidden Figures, the biopic about three black women mathematicians who worked in the earliest days of the American space program, Soledad O'Brien hosted a panel on the movie and a discussion of women in science and tech.

Those mathematicians (Dorothy Vaughan, Katherine Johnson, and Mary Jackson) did work that helped John Glenn orbit the Earth in the 1960s.

The panel at CES, the world’s largest technology show, included the film's director, Theodore Melfi, and one of its stars, Octavia Spencer as well as leaders in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and focused on the incredible achievements of the three mathematicians as depicted in the film and the ongoing push for women to succeed in STEM.



Soledad O’Brien said that the movie was an emotional experience for her because it not only recognizes the power of these women using math and science, but also what they accomplished socially. She was struck by how the women affected great change. “These are some tough, amazing women who really got the job done that needed to be done,” she said.

During the movie, Octavia Spencer’s character learns to program the IBM 7090 DPS—a vacuum-tube mainframe computer. IBM is one of the oldest tech companies in the world, forming in the 19th century. Its technology was used in World War II and for space exploration.

“Big Blue” also has an extensive history of diversity. “We’re so privileged to have had the IBM forefathers who hired the first black employee,” said Lindsay-Rae McIntyre, IBM’s chief diversity officer. That employee was Richard MacGregor hired in 1899 by IBM’s precursor company, the Computing Scale Company. In 1953, IBM hired its first black engineer and continues on a trajectory of diverse hiring today.

You can watch the IBM and Hidden Figures panel in its entirety at facebook.com/IBM/videos/1226504650773148/





Source: http://www.blackenterprise.com/technology/ibm-hidden-figures-celebrate-jeannette-epps-foremothers/

O'Brien is Mistress of Ceremonies at Kunta Kinteh Premiere

Soledad O'Brien wears South African gown
 at Kunta Kinteh VIP screening.
Photos: Alicia Edwards, Urban Style Examiner

Tyler Perry and filmmaker Elvin Ross held a black tie screening of the new documentary film produced by Elvin Ross Studios, Kunta Kinteh Island: Coming Home Without Shackles. The event in Atlanta, premiered the film which honors the African captive, Kunta Kinteh, who gained worldwide recognition in the 1977 ABC television series Roots.Soledad O'Brien served as the mistress of ceremonies at the event.

Perry, Ross with his sons  and Soledad at the premiere

Soledad Hosts Behind the Lens Event for Spike Lee

Soledad O'Brien hosted an event yesterday for Spike Lee who was named the Chrysler LLC 2008 Behind the Lens honoree in Los Angeles.

Soledad worked with Spike Lee in 2007 on his documentary, "Children of the Storm" which chronicles the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina through the eyes of children who were living in the New Orleans area. For the series, Soledad and director Lee distributed video cameras to 11 children from diverse backgrounds and instructed them to document their everyday lives.
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"We wanted to really represent the diversity that is in New Orleans - geographic diversity, gender diversity, racial diversity, an experiential diversity," Soledad said.

Spike Lee is an influential figure in contemporary cinema. As a director, producer, screenwriter, author and educator, he is to be recognized for his outstanding achievements in film and television at the sixth annual award ceremony.

In recognition of Lee's accomplishments, the Chrysler Foundation will donate $25,000 to Lee's alma mater, Morehouse College in Atlanta. The donation will benefit the vision of the Morehouse College School of Sports Journalism, a program created to expand the field of sports journalism from the small percentage of African Americans currently working in it today.

The program, which began with seed money donated by Lee, launched its first course offerings in January 2007. A graduate of Morehouse, class of 1979, Lee is a third-generation Morehouse graduate and now serves on the school's Board of Trustees. To date, his efforts have raised more than $1 million to benefit the program.