In addition to her work with IMPACT, Semhar founded  and served as the executive director of the Diaspora African Women’s Network. Founded in 2007, the Diaspora African Women’s Network (DAWN) is a non-profit organization that serves as a global network for professional women of the African Diaspora focused on African affairs. You can learn more about the White House Champions of Change series at www.whitehouse.gov/champions. We invite you to watch the event live at 3:00 PM EST on www.whitehouse.gov/live.

On behalf of Team IMPACT we say congratulations to you Semhar. Please continue to IMPACT Your World….

Watch Semhar talk about her work with IMPACT HERE

Did you come out today? Watch this video recap of the event HERE

December 1, 2011 marks the 23rd Annual World AIDS Day. This is our opportunity as young professionals to unite and remember those who have been victims to this tragic and destructive disease, shed light on the 33 million global citizens currently live with the HIV virus today, and to also celebrate our accomplishments of increased assess to treatment and prevention. We must not simply be overcome with our own obstacles and achievements, yet we must engage in conversations that tear down walls and destroy negative stigmas surrounding the disease. It affects everyone and it could be any of us – but the only way to know for sure is to get tested. Now is the time for action.

KNOW your status. EDUCATE Others. FIGHT prejudice. IMPACT your world.

For more information on testing locations and World Aids Day visit, http://www.worldaidsday.org/ or www.blackaids.org or http://www.hivtest.org/

The needs of our communities stream in; education, jobs, and justice. This turbulent confluence will wash every race, from President to City Council, with the collective fervor of a community crying for solutions. Although individual races are important, the fact remains that communities and issues outlive candidates. Whether a particular candidate has 4 years or 8 years in office pales in comparison to the ability of a community to articulate needs, access the levers of power, and leverage that access for positive solutions. For young professionals of color it is important to seize current opportunities and appreciate their historic nature, but we must prepare for the future by acquiring the skills to organize a movement that persists in any climate.

What are you or your organization doing to ensure that your community is not only registered, but also fully participates in the 2012 elections through voting and advocacy?

UNSURE?

Attend the DC NAACP Voter Empowerment Training on November 19th. We will assist you in setting personal/organizational goals and crafting a plan to achieve them. December 17, 2011 10am-3pm

For more information or tickets check out=> http://naacpdc-efbevent.eventbrite.com

Click Here To Vote NOW!

To learn more about the IMPACT Leaders please click on their names in the table below:

	Helena Andrews
	Bakari Sellers
	Eric S. Casher
	Sinorice Moss
	Traci O. Blunt
	Karen Richardson
	Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins
	Michael A. Blake
	Ryan Mack
	Tina & Trina Fletcher

For NBA members, law is more than a career—it’s a commitment. United by a need to serve their communities, African American lawyers from across the nation attend the National Bar’s Annual Convention. Starting last year, during the convention IMPACT joined with the National Bar Association in an effort to celebrate the top young lawyers in the nation

Here at NationsBestAdvocates.com on June 1, 2011 we revealed our second class of Nation’s Best Advocates, the top 40 young lawyers under 40 for 2011. Last year’s class included Trial Lawyers, Judges, Professors and those working hard for nonprofits to make our world a better place. Together during a night of celebration firms, agencies, families, friends and clients showed their appreciation for the work done by these advocates.

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DC’s #1 Party DJ & Jay-Z’s DJ Under One Roof on Sat April 30th.

Two Amazing DJs. One Night. One Dance Floor. One Party.

Wash, D.C. (April – Mark your Calendars. Party people prepare. For the first time-ever Jay-Z’s DJ ‘Young Guru’ will come to Wash, DC to rock the party crowd along with DC’s #1 Party DJ, DJ Quicksilva. The event will take place on Saturday, April 30^th, at Café Asia in downtown DC.

Presented by Urbane Lifestyle & Entertainment Group, the concept behind the party is to create a unique Saturday night experience.  Experience is the key word. Inspired by Gentleman Jack ‘s ‘Art, Beats & Lyrics’, the event will feature an art+fashion show with a transition to an ultimate DJ party experience. Nzinga Smith of Urbane DC will co-produce the art+fashion show alongside Dana James & Kenyatta Smith. Kenyatta is a former Fashion Market Editor for Giant Magazine and fashion stylist for numerous magazines including GQ, Elle, Uptown Magazine, and Marc Ecko Ad Campaigns. A few local, national, & International designers will participate in the show. Internationally, one designer based in London and a Toronto clothing designer will be featured. Doors open at 9pm.

DJ Quicksilva will DJ during the art+fashion show and transition into the late night party. Young Guru will take center stage shortly after midnight. The self-titled ‘DMVs Party Kingpin’. DJ Quicksilva, has been partying with Urbane DC for the past year. He is the resident DJ for “Park Thursdays” at Park at Fourteenth where Urbane host its weekly happy hour & late night party. Young Guru is currently in London with Jay-Z & Kanye West recording “Watch The Throne” compilation. Fresh from studio sessions, he will return to the states to bring DC an inspiring dance floor crazed, hands in the air, lose your mind, party experience.

This event targets creative and fashion-forward partyers, hip hop lovers, and dance floor enthusiast.

More details about the event will be released soon. Stay tuned to Urbane’s facebook page (www.facebook.com/urbaneent) and twitter account (http://www.twitter.com/urbaneent). Friends can RSVP in advance at dc@urbaneworldwide.com.  If you are an interested designer, model, or hip hop painter/visual artist you can contact us at nsmith@urbaneworldwide.com.

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Jermaine Reed is a son of Kansas City and a product of Kansas City Public Schools.  He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science, from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Over the past ten years, he has dedicated his life to empowering others to achieve their dreams by exposing them to opportunities that give many the equal footing needed for them to succeed.

Strengthening the Kansas City community has always been one of his top priorities.  Mr. Reed ‘s dedication to community organizations such as the Ad-Hoc Group Against Crime, where he serves as Chairman of the Board, and his most recent experience with Congressman Emmanuel Cleaver’s Green Impact Zone of Missouri, are clear examples of his commitment to making Kansas City a better place for all of its citizens.

Mr. Reed has also been very focused on the youth of Kansas City with his involvement with the teen talk show, Generation Rap on KPRS/HOT 103 JAMZ that focuses on issues and topics that interest today’s youth.

It has always been a lifelong desire to support the very community he grew up in by utilizing his skills and experiences to help Kansas City become a world-class city.

Jermaine Reed is dedicated and energized to take his commitment to the next level as an elected official.

Jermaine tells us why he is running:

I have decided to enter the race for the 3rd District City Council Seat of the City of Kansas City, Missouri because I have always had a strong desire to be involved in the political process, and even stronger love for helping others.  As a product of this my community, I recognize that the citizens are seeking serious candidates that understand their needs and concerns.  Our community is in desperate need of action.  The time is now – I have answered the call, and I am motivated to bring about progress in my community.

My pledge as a City Councilman is to Energize & Restore the 3^rd District.  Our plan includes….

• Creating Job Opportunities
• Improving our Neighborhoods
• Empowering our Youth

These are vital issues that need to be addressed to bring the 3^rd District BACK to its glory days and to help position Kansas City as a “world-class city.”  You can read more about my plan at: http://www.jermainereed.com/

Revitalizing the 3^rd District will not be an easy task… nor will it be a quick task…but I am willing to work hard to complete the job for my friends & neighbors of the 3^rd District in Kansas City, Missouri. I truly believe that I can help energize & restore the 3^rd District by being your City Councilman.

1. What made you want to be a writer?

I’ve wanted to be a writer since before I knew how to write. When I was in pre-school my mother bought me composition notebooks to color in. I have no talent for stick figures. Instead, I spent hours filling them up with squiggly lines that three-year-old insisted were words. Those were my first stories. And my mother, either a genius or just in need of an hour of silence, encouraged it. I “read” them to her, my dolls, our rabbit and soon I couldn’t see myself doing anything but.

2. What allows you to be so vulnerable in front of such a wide audience?

For me, writing is a selfish act. When I write, I write for myself first. I don’t hold my creativity hostage by worrying about who might be clutching their pearls when they read my stuff. There should be a warning on the cover of “Bitch is the New Black”: Pearls will be manhandled. My favorite book quote from Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye” is about the instinctive bravado of children. The main character, a little black girl named Claudia, says, “…we had become headstrong, devious, and arrogant. Nobody paid us any attention, so we paid very good attention to ourselves. Our limitations were not known to us—then.” Since I don’t spend any time worrying about imaginary limitations they become just that—invisible.

3. What’s been the best experience of your career thus far?

When I met Shonda Rhimes (creator of “Grey’s Anatomy”) for the first time. I was so worried about how high my dress kept hiking up and what my hair was doing that when Shonda actually walked into the room, looking normal and very un-Hollywood, I forgot whatever canned pitched I had planned. So, we just chatted for an hour about nothing and everything—modern feminism, being black at an Ivy League school, motherhood, being single, working hard, and boys. When I left she said, “This is totally a movie” and that was that.

4. What’s next for you, career wise?  What should we look out for?

 

Right now I’m writing the screenplay for “Bitch is the New Black,” which was optioned by executive producer Shonda Rhimes for Fox Searchlight Pictures. The movie is still being written so it’ll be a while before the popcorn gets popped, but that’s my next big thing. In the meantime, I write a weekly column about being me for TheRoot.com called “Single-Minded.” I’ve also been marinating a few ideas for my next book, which will be another collection of essays.

5. Now that you’ve documented your 20s, what do you look forward to in your 30s?  And will you document that decade as well?

I just turned 30 and it was epic in a very small way. I spent the day contemplating why being another year older was such a big deal to everyone. I’m happy to report that my face didn’t melt off, my eggs haven’t all spoiled and no one called me “ma’am.” I’m still me just with much less tolerance for foolishness. I look forward to eradicating foolishness in the next decade of my life. As far as writing goes, I view my last book as less of a memoir and more of a collection of essays about my life (or anybody’s life that’s sorta kinda like mine). I’ve got lots more stuff to do so there are a lot of more stories to be told. I won’t wait a whole decade for the next book, instead I’ll be writing about life as I know it regularly.

6. What words of advice or encouragement would you give someone looking to follow in your footsteps?

First off, don’t follow me. Jump over me, run alongside me, or go in the total opposite direction of where I was pointing. Because in the end, all that matters is that you end up in the right place, which probably won’t look anything like the pictures in the brochure. But in terms of writing, branding, working for yourself advice, I’d say, “Be an authority.” Know what you’re talking about, know that someone else can’t talk about it like you can and that even more people give a care.

Lastly, give me three words to sum up Helena: headstrong, devious, attentive.