#LeadershipTuesdays Motivational Moment: My Resolve and Expectations…Ava Duvernay

In an interview with Fresh Air, Terry Gross asked Ava Duvernay, ‘Where do you go next? You’re going to have a lot more clout now as a film director.'

"I don’t know if I’m going to have more clout. There’s really no precedent for someone like me gaining clout in the space that I’m in…a black woman directing films in Hollywood. You know, no precedent for there being a black woman director who's gained any clout. Black women directors that make amazing beautiful things? Yes. I can name 50. Black women directors that have attained that kind of clout to be able to answer that question from a place of the privilege of having lots of options: I’m not so sure. We’ll see. It’ll be nice. But regardless, I’m going to keep on telling my stories. I’d be absolutely happy to go back and make a smaller picture. I never want to be….my choices to be dictated by budget. That’s one of the reasons why I take so much pride in being able to make films for two dollars and a paper clip. Because I can always get my hand on two dollars and a paper clip. I never have to ask for permission for that. And so I don’t know what the next step is gonna be, but I know that I’ll be doing what I was doing for the six years before this moment: constantly making something. You can call me at any time and ask me what I’m doing? I’ll tell you I’m making this right now. It’s about momentum for me. It’s about that artistic energy and constantly having my hands on a project. So, I don’t know what it’ll be but it’ll be something."* 

--Ava Duvernay, Award-winning director of the movie, Selma.

http://www.avaduvernay.com

Every other Tuesday, WOMEN AT LIBERTY provides a platform for a variety of voices and resources to develop, encourage, and strengthen women leaders. This month, in honor of Black History Month, we will highlight African American leaders who are making an impact or have made an impact in their respective fields. Today, Ava Duvernay, an award-winning director and film maker is featured. Last week, a courageous March 2014 TED talk on race by Mellody Hobson, President of Ariel Investments, was presented.

To view the video for last week's feature, click here. For more information on Leadership Tuesdays, click here. To hear the Fresh Air interview from which the above quote was taken, click the link below.

*The Sounds, Space and Spirit of Selma: A Director’s Take, AnInterview with Ava Duvernay by Terry Gross, Fresh Air, NPR, 1/08/2015

Leadership Tuesdays: The Numbers Do Not Lie..Mellody Hobson

"Now race is one of those topics in America that makes people extraordinarily uncomfortable. You bring it up at a dinner party or in a workplace environment, it is literally the conversational equivalent of touching the third rail. There is shock followed by a long silence.

Now, I know that there are people out there who'll say that the election of Barack Obama meant that it was the end of racial discrimination for all eternity, right? But I work in the investment business and we have a saying, 'the numbers do not lie.' ...There is significant quantifiable racial disparities that can not be ignored in household wealth, household income, job opportunities, health care. I [talk] about this issue of racial discrimination because I believe that it threatens to rob another generation of all the opportunities that all of us want for all of our children no matter what their color or where they come from. And I think it threatens to hold back businesses.

So, I think it's time for us to be comfortable with the uncomfortable conversation about race. Black, White, Asian, Hispanic, male, female, all of us. If we truly believe in equal rights and equal opportunity in America, I think we have to have real conversations about this issue. We can not afford to be color blind. We have to be color brave."*

-Mellody Hobson, President, Ariel Investments; Chairman of the Board, DreamWorks Animation SKG
*This quote is an excerpt from a TED Talk Mellody Hoboson gave on March 20, 2014

Every other Tuesday, WOMEN AT LIBERTY provides a platform for a variety of voices and resources to develop, encourage, and strengthen women leaders. Today's Leadership Tuesdays' post is a courageous talk on race given by Mellody Hobson, President of Ariel Investments, at a TED Conference in March of 2014. Her eloquent discourse regarding an experience she had in 2006 of being mistaken for the "kitchen help" when she showed up with then Congressman Harold Ford (D-Tennessee) for a lunch meeting at the offices of a highly regarded New York publication will make you chuckle because it seems unbelievable. But, yet it is true. As one of only two African American Chairperson of a publicly traded companies (the other person is Ursula Burns of Xerox) she is less well known than a Beyonce or even Oprah Winfrey. However, Ms. Hobson is a highly accomplished, Princeton-educated young woman.

Her talk is both relatable and relevant. She makes a business case for businesses making diversity one of its core values and part of its competitive strategy. She also makes a human argument for why we can not wait for the next election or another year to confront the issues of race and racial discrimination in America.

To listen to today's feature, click here. For more information on Leadership Tuesdays, click here. 

Patriots Deflategate: How You Play The Game Matters! by Nona O.

Tom Brady playing in the AFC Championship Game: Indianapolis Colts vs. New England Patriots
January 18, 2015, Gillette Stadium, Foxboro,MA

I was fortunate enough to see Tom Brady, the quarterback for the New England Patriots, play in college at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in 1998. Going to a Michigan football game was very memorable for me. I left the game singing the few words of the Fight Song I could remember, “Hail….Hail….Hail!” Truthfully, I think I was more excited about ‘cursing on the sly’ than anything else. However, a few things I will never forget about that experience are: 

1. How big the stadium was. It seated well over 100,000 people and I believe it was at that time, and still is, the largest football stadium in the U.S.
2. Michigan fans are super FANatical. They’re really into their football.
3. Tom Brady was a very talented college quarterback.

I was in Detroit for an MBA conference and met some guys who were going to the Michigan game that weekend. I suddenly remembered that a young man who attended my church in Washington, D.C. was a freshman running back on the Michigan team. Walter Cross was the 1997 offensive player of the year as a senior at Oxon Hill High School and with 5,227 rushing yards, he set a Maryland Public Schools’ record as a running back. I called back to Maryland got his number and made plans to tag along with my new friends to support Walter at the game. (I’m happy to say that Walter is married now and a very successful IT professional working on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.)

It was at that game that I got a chance to experience Big Ten Football. Having grown up watching the NFL on TV and rooting for the Oakland Raiders, I was not prepared for the atmosphere at the game, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Even as an undergraduate at Howard University, I did not attend many football games and when I did it was more so to check out the marching band. I just wasn’t a college football fan. At that time, I was a basketball fan.

Anyway, back to Tom Brady. He had an outstanding college career and he has lived up to the hype with the Patriots. With three Super Bowls wins under his belt and six trips to the “big show”, in my opinion, he is already in the category with some of the NFL’s greatest quarterbacks of my era like Joe Montana, John Elway, Steve Young, and Peyton Manning. That’s being said, I am not only disappointed with the latest scandal, “Deflategate”, but I am also weary of the persistent reports of lapses in judgment that have followed the Patriots and Coach Bill Belichick over the last few years. The term “professional” is supposed to mean something. One of the definitions found in Webster’s Dictionary states that a professional is “characterized by or conforming to the technical or ethical standards of a profession.” Professionals don’t get a spot in their respective sport’s Hall of Fame nor their names mentioned in the rarefied stratosphere as some of the game’s greatest players by cheating. Shadiness is not cute!

Now, I’m not accusing Tom Brady of cheating. However, I will say that as great of a player as he is, he does not have to cheat. Further, he has worked too hard and played too long at such a high level for there ever to be an asterisk besides his name.  

How you play the game matters, just like how you earn your living means something. Time and time again with the scandals that have plagued cycling and Baseball, we know that integrity matters. At the end of the day, we, the fans, want players to win fair and square.  We want them to be ethical in how they conduct themselves. I can’t say that I am rooting for the Patriots on Sunday. My team is not in the Super Bowl. But, I have to acknowledge the comportment of the Seattle Seahawks’ quarterback, Russell Wilson. He’s a class act! I will say this, should the Patriot’s win, it would be sad if we have to always footnote this game or their record with Deflategate.  Or even wonder in the back of our minds if the Patriots really earned all of their wins. From watching him play over the years, I think Tom Brady deserves a better legacy than that. 

What do you think?

#LeadershipTuesdays: Essential Qualities for Young Female Leaders

Every other Tuesday, WOMEN AT LIBERTY provides a platform for a variety of voices and resources to develop, encourage, and strengthen women leaders. Today we feature an article, "One quality all young female leaders should have", Fortune magazine (Online, 1/22/15) written by Sandi Peterson, Group Worldwide Chairman at Johnson & Johnson.

Below is a quote from the article that rang true for me: 

"Leaders who make things happen have both confidence and courage. Many view these traits as innate, but they can be – and they need to be – cultivated. Confidence comes from doing your homework – you need to to know your business and your market. And courage is the constant willingness to go beyond your comfort zone. Doing so will help you gain deeper insights and analysis."

Did this quote resonate with you? Please feel free to leave a comment below.

To read the rest of the article, click here. For more information on Leadership Tuesdays, click here.

Nona O.
WOMENATLIBERTY.com

Washington DC's Newest Chief Executive Is A Woman: Mayor Muriel Bowser

On Friday, January 2, 2015, Muriel E. Bowser was sworn into the Office of Mayor of the District of Columbia, the Capital of the United States. She is the second woman to hold this position, following in the footsteps of former Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly (1991-1995), and the 2nd youngest person to be elected Mayor of Washington, D.C. 

Mayor Bowser is a native Washingtonian and a former City Council Member (2007-2014). She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Chatham College and a Master’s degree in Public Policy from American University. 

Check out the clip below to hear a very inspiring excerpt from Mayor Bowser as she talks about making history. To hear the speech in its entirety, go to: http://youtu.be/XsD9zoSUj50. For more information on Mayor Bowser go to: http://www.mayor.dc.gov.

Happy 2015!

Happy 2015 from Women Making History and @womenatliberty! May your year be filled with joy, enriching experiences and love. Thanks for your support!

http://womenatliberty.com

Still Committed To Impacting The Lives of Women And Their Families!

Today is the first day of Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Women Making History is sending a SHOUT OUT to all survivors of breast cancer and domestic violence and those who give them support and love unconditionally!!

Since 2001 FOR THIS CAUSE, Inc., parent organization of Women Making History, has been bringing together a diverse community to address the profound physical, psychological, social and economic effects breast cancer has on the lives of women and families. For more information on past programs, go to: http://www.forthiscause.org. 

To make a donation or buy a T-Shirt to support our current efforts to help women live better lives and develop women leaders, go to: http://www.womenatliberty.com. Thank you!