Some days I feel like a spectator in this really weird game of media bumper cars. As a career journalist, I have inside knowledge of how the media works. The good, the bad, and we all know things can get very ugly. But lately things seem especially wretched. Huge companies that have a huge impact … Continue reading Media Influence Is so Bad, Apple Wants to Teach Critical Thinking
You know those westerns where the sheriff smirks and tells the bad guy who’s been terrorizing the citizens, “you’ve got ‘til sundown to get outta town,” then turns and walks away? It’s implied that if you don’t, Mr. Bad Guy, I’m gonna fill your ass fulla lead. We need that. Day after day the stories … Continue reading We Need a Sheriff for the Internet
I walked past the new Apple store yesterday. It’s beautiful, a rather old-fashioned front but glass everywhere looking out over the Chicago River. It was a pleasure to see since for months all we saw was this clunky barricade. There was writing on the barricade, some long, inspiring quote that I can’t quite recall. Something … Continue reading Is Denise Young Smith Ready to Handle Diversity at Apple?
I’ve been obsessed by one question lately. And it was brought home to me in stereo just last week when the New York Police Department stripped Sgt. Kizzy Adonis of her badge in connection with Eric Garner’s July 2014 death. It was just so ridiculous. She had nothing to do with it. Like, literally, she … Continue reading Black or Female, Which is Worse?
Before you write in blasting me and Diversity Executive for insensitivity, I want you to know I chose that title deliberately. The point? Don’t overreact. Some things deserve your time and angst — Clorox’s April 9th tweet is not one of them.
I saw the news when it came out, and I was planning to ignore it — but just today someone brought it to my attention, again. So I’m going on record saying, chill people. Not everything is race related.
When I first read the tweet: “New emojis are alright but where’s the bleach,” I didn’t even get the racially motivated furor. I thought, oh, they want a little bottle of bleach. And why not? They seem to have an emoji for everything else. Someone had to explain to me that the upset was related to Apple’s new emojis. Continue reading “Chill, People — It’s an Emoji, Not a White Hood #racism #diversity @Clorox”
If you’ve ever searched for and didn’t find the perfect emoji for your text or email, your disappointment may soon be at an end. Apple is planning to release a plethora of new racially diverse emojis in a variety of skin shades. In new versions of the company’s iOS and OS X operating systems, consumers can … Continue reading Emojis, Apple’s New Frontier For #Diversity #Apple #inclusion
Apple CEO Tim Cook came out today.
Mum on his sexual orientation until he shared his truth in 
an essay for Bloomberg Businessweek, Cook said he considered it a good trade, his privacy for the chance to bring comfort or to inspire someone “to insist upon their equality.”
Despite the prevailing non-diversity friendly sentiment that seems to hang over Silicon Valley — and the tech industry in general — like a bad smell, he said Appleloves creativity and innovation and knows it can only flourish when organizations embrace people’s differences. Continue reading “Apple CEO Tim Cook Says: “I’m Proud to Be Gay” #diversity #LGBT”
Earlier this week Apple announced $10K in scholarships for minorities in the tech industry. Great! After that big reveal of diversity data from most of the tech big wigs in Silicon Valley a few weeks back, here’s a leader in the industry making a definitive move to put its money where its mouth is.
Well, maybe. When you read the headline, it’s like, cool beans. Apple has acknowledged there’s a lack of diversity in tech and has come up with a solution help feed the pipeline to change that. But when you think about it, meh. Continue reading “Hey Apple, Nice Gesture #diversity #inclusion #technology”
A Life Not Grey 