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Invest in MMTC and Help
U
s Train the
Next Generation
Leaders, Workers, and Entrepreneurs!
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MMTC-Led Group of 28 Organizations
Files Letter with FCC in Support of Lifeline
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On April 17, 2020, MMTC along with 27 other national public interest, civil rights, and business advocacy organizations filed a letter with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that addressed the Commission's
authority to regulate the
Lifeline
program in light of the 2019 Mozilla ruling. It is a moral imperative of the Commission to use the authority granted by Title I, Section 254(e) and ancillary jurisdiction to not only continue, but to expand the Lifeline program.
The Lifeline program connects millions of low-income, underserved households to phone and broadband service. This connectivity is increasingly vital to learn, work, and engage as a society, especially as communities of color are disproportionately impacted and disconnected by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the program is significantly underutilized - only 28 percent of the 31 million Americans who are eligible are enrolled.
The full letter and list of 28 organizations is available here
here.
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MMTC
expressed its support of FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's proposed plan to open the full 6 GHz band for unlicensed use in an April 3rd letter to the FCC
. The FCC's move aligns squarely with MMTC's mission, as there is a critical need for actions that focus on bringing broadband to and improving access in underserved communities - particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
More unlicensed spectrum enables new applications that can benefit rural, low-income, elderly, minority, and other underserved communities in many areas, such as telework, telehealth, online learning, and more. Full unlicensed allocation also will provide the much-needed bandwidth for next-gen Wi-Fi 6 to flourish and provide even more opportunities to our communities, small businesses, and the economy.
At its open meeting Wednesday, the Commission formally adopted the proposal, affirming the release of 1200 MHz of spectrum for full unlicensed use. MMTC expressed further support on Twitter.
- MMTC's letter was quoted in an FCC report on "What They Are Saying About Chairman Pai's Proposal to Allow Unlicensed Use of the 6 GHz Band," available here.
- The full letter is available here.
- The FCC's press release on adopting the new rules is available here.
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MMTC Participates in FCC Advisory Committee on Diversity and Digital Empowerment Meeting
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On April 28th, MMTC participated in the FCC Advisory Committee on
Diversity
and Digital Empowerment's (ACDDE) virtual meeting. The ACDDE meeting featured a report from each of the working groups. Each Working Group proposed strategic changes in their work plans to reflect COVID-19's impact on future operations.
The Access to Capital Working Group's report focused on its ongoing examination of ways to improve access to capital in order to encourage management and ownership of broadcast properties by a diverse range of voices, including minorities and women.
The Digital Empowerment and Inclusion Working Group's report discussed its work assessing access, adoption, and use of broadband and new technologies by under-resourced communities.
The Diversity in the Tech Sector Working Group's report addressed its progress in examining issues pertaining to hiring, promotion and retention of women and minorities in tech industries.
Go here to listen the audio recording of the ACDDE meeting.
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Former MMTC Senior Fellow Max Ateba Serves
in U.S. Army Medical Service
During COVID-19
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The COVID-19 crisis has shined a bright light on our most important
priorities, and vulnerabilities. MMTC is proud to salute and support everyone serving our country including Max Ateba, former 2019-2020 MMTC Senior Fellow and Advisor on
Corporate Development, Business Strategy, FinTech, and Health Tech. Currently, Ateba is working as a Medical Logistics Specialist in the U.S. Army Medical Service Corps where he supervises his supply squadron on needs assessment, inventory management, and quality control to ensure mission readiness of materials. We are
proud of the work he is doing to serve our nation's people in their crisis, and we thank him for his service.
While at MMTC, Max provided strategic planning coaching to
implement MMTC's Strategic Plan developed with the assistance of Columbia University's Capstone Program,
and advice on
establishing an accelerator for entrepreneurs, and several grant proposals.
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MMTC CEO Speaks on Government, Industry and Nonprofit COVID-19 Efforts on NALEO Virtual Policy
Institute Webinar
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MTC President and CEO Maurita Coley delivered a presentation during the webinar "Rising to the Challenge: The Private Sector As Key Partners in COVID-19 Response," held by the
National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Education Fund on April 22. The webinar covered the essential roles the private sector, government, and nonprofit organizations are playing in response
to the COVID-19 health emergency
.
Coley's presentation highlighted:
- The FCC's 'Keep Americans Connected' pledge;
- Telecom, tech, and media industry efforts beyond the pledge;
-
The FCC's telehealth initiative;
- The Department of Labor's opportunities for funding to small businesses and companies that expand Registered Apprenticeship;
- MMTC's continued work to bridge the digital divide and ensure connectivity and affordable access for vulnerable communities (through advocacy on Lifeline and 6 GHz);
- MMTC's role to expand Registered Apprenticeships for communities of color through our work with DOL and the National Urban League; and
- The role local policymakers can play in these efforts to ensure those most vulnerable in their communities do not get left behind and disconnected.
The NALEO Education Fund
NALEO Educational Fund is the nation's leading non-profit, non-partisan organization that facilitates full Latino participation in the American political process, from citizenship to public service. Learn more about the organization
here.
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MMTC Alumnus DuJuan McCoy's MyINDY-TV 23
Will Broadcast Daily Academic Lessons
for Indianapolis Public School Students
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DuJuan McCoy, owner, president, and CEO of Circle City Broadcasting, announced a partnership with Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) to produce and broadcast academic lessons to IPS students in grades K-8 five days a week. IPS, along with all other Indiana public schools, are closed through the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year as a result of the COVID-19pandemic. Lessons will air from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., Monday through Friday, on MyINDY-TV 23, beginning April 27 through the end of the school year.
The WISHTV.com article, "MyINDY-TV 23 to broadcast daily academic lessons for IPS students," is available here.
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MMTC's COVID-19 Portal Has Been
Updated with New Resources
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In response to the coronavirus pandemic, MMTC created a COVID-19 Portal on our website to track our response, the FCC's response, and the
efforts of the cable, telecommunications, media, and entertainment industries including our partners, AT&T, Charter Communications, Comcast, CTIA, Motion Picture Association, NCTA - Internet & Television Association, T-Mobile, US Telecom, and Verizon to expand broadband access to and inform Americans.
The Portal also includes resources created by MMTC, partner organizations, and other groups that address the needs of communities of color, families, and small businesses.
Over the past several weeks, MMTC Media & Telecom Brokers has reached out to radio and television station owners to provide helpful information about small business loan programs and advice on how to apply for the loans to keep their stations on-the-air and serve the public.
MMTC's COVID-19 Portal is available here.
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MMTC Celebrates the Life of
Broadcasting Pioneer and Former MMTC Board Member
Willie Davis
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NFL legend and broadcaster Willie Davis, a former member of MMTC's first Board of Directors, died on April 15, 2020. After he left the NFL, Davis launched All-Pro Broadcasting in 1976 and acquired several radio stations in California and Wisconsin.
Davis was inducted into the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association's Hall of Fame in 2008.
David Honig, MMTC President Emeritus and Senior Advisor, recalled Davis's pivotal role in broadcasting and with MMTC: "He was far ahead of his time as a broadcaster and humanitarian. From MMTC's Day One (December 17, 1986),
Willie
served on our first board of directors with fellow minority broadcast pioneers Bertram Lee and Ragan Henry. These three broadcast icons raised the funds to get MMTC established and working for social justice in media and telecom."
Suzanne Gougherty, Director, MMTC Media & Telecom Brokers, remembers him: "I spent time with him on several different occasions at his stations in Milwaukee back in the 90's. He was a man of honor. Sat on the board of Kmart and was a great help to me to secured funding for a syndicated show that I produced for radio stations."
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MMTC Remembers Henry Geller, Communications Pioneer 'Fifty Years Ahead of His Time'
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Former FCC General Counsel and National Telecommunications & Information Administration Director
Henry
Geller
passed away April 7, 2020, at the grand age of 96. In honor of Geller's life, MMTC Founder David Honig wrote a tribute to the "FCC World's Visionary-in-Chief" on Broadcasting and Cable.
In his tribute, Honig recalls "
how much better off we are as a nation because of Henry's unparalleled creativity, moral force, determination, and brilliance. Henry is the only person ever inducted into MMTC's Hall of Fame twice. That's how great he was."
Honig's full tribute to Henry Geller is available here.
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Women Business Collaborative Celebrates
MMTC President Maurita Coley and
Urban One
Chairwoman
Cathy Hughes
in the Women's Leadership Magazine
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MMTC President and CEO Maurita Coley was named one of the 25 DC-area women leading the way for the next generation of women in business by Women Business Collaborative's Women Leadership Magazine.
Read the full issue
here
. Coley's profile is on page 26.
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MMTC congratulates Cathy Hughes, founder and Chairwoman, Urban One, on 40 years of leadership! Hughes was inducted into the MMTC Hall of Fame in 1998.
Read more about her accomplishments in the latest issue of the Women Business Collaborative's Women Leadership Magazine here. Hughes' profile is on page 6.
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MMTC 2107 Pitch Competition Winner kweliTV Launches on Comcast's Xfinity X1 and Xfinity Flex
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MMTC 2017 Capital Pitch Competition 1st place winner kweliTV, an ad-free subscription video on demand service that celebrates independent Black stories from across the globe, recently launched on Comcast's Xfinity X1 and Xfinity Flex.
DeShuna Spencer
is the founder of kweliTV.
In addition to winning the 1st place prize at MMTC's inaugural Capital Pitch Competition, Spencer joined MMTC and Charter Communications' Multicultural Content Creators Forum at the DC Office of Cable, Television, Film, Media, and Entertainment (OCTFME) in October 2019, where she discussed the importance of stories told by people of color in media, television, and film, and the impact these stories have on communities of color and society at large.
Read the Yahoo article,
"kweliTV Launches on Xfinity X1 and Xfinity Flex"
here.
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Former MMTC Fellow Keran Billaud
Joins Cole, Scott & Kissane
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Keran Billaud, former MMTC 2018 Earle K. Moore fellow and graduate of the University of Florida - Frederic G. Levin College of Law, recently accepted a position as an associate at Cole, Scott & Kissane in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
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Calling All MMTC Alumni and Fellows!
We Need Your Help in 2020!
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Please share your updated contact information and career news with Dorrissa Griffin, MMTC Chief of Staff, at dgriffin@mmtconline.org.
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MMTC 2020 Census Resources
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| Participate in the 2020 Census Today! |
This year, MMTC is continuing our commitment to close the digital divide by helping communities of color prepare for, understand, and participate in the first-ever digital 2020 Decennial Census, with resources published on our website.
MMTC a
nd more than 275 organizations and civic leaders have taken the Census Confidentiality Protection Pledge to work together during the 2020 Census: 1) to monitor for any breach of census data confidentiality; 2) to use our collective power and influence to prevent, block, and/or bring an end to any breach of the currently-established guarantee and understanding of the confidentiality of data collected as part of the 2020 Census; and 3) to emphasize publicly the critical importance of continued Census safety and security. Learn more about the Pledge here.
MMTC also joined several other groups to launch the Census Pledge social media campaign, led by the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Asian Americans Advancing Justice - AAJC, and MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund).
Watch the PSA video here to learn why you should participate in the 2020 Census.
Go
here
to access MMTC's 2020 Census Resources.
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The Opportunity Hub Partners with Morehouse College and Momentum Learning to
Establish Momentum@Morehouse
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Earlier this month, the Opportunity Hub, co-founded by MMTC Board member Rodney Sampson, announced its partnership with Morehouse College and Momentum Learning to create Momentum@Morehouse, a coding certificate bootcamp and continuing education program. Momentum@Moreouse was established to help a community of career-starters, skill-seekers, and workers downsized during the global pandemic learn how to thrive as software developers.
The program officially
launch online on May 26, 2020.
More information on the program is available here.
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FLIXPICS Launches Virtual Film Fest
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FLIXPICS presents the VIRTUAL
FILM
FEST 2020 featuring international and domestic films beginning May 1, 2020.
Register here for more information:
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Download, Share, and Support
MMTC's
Jumpstart Tech
Career and Business Guides
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MMTC created the
Jumpstart Your Tech Career Guide
and Jumpstart Your Tech Business Guide to support those who are looking to start or strengthen their careers and businesses in the tech industry.
The
MMTC Jumpstart Your Tech Career Guide
provides a four-step process along with resources to help you develop and execute your tech job search strategy. The four steps include:
- Step 1: Do relevant work.
- Step 2: Listen to the buzz.
- Step 3: Start applying.
- Step 4: Identify conferences and tech weeks to attend for training, resources, information sharing, and networking.
Whether you're a student, a recent graduate, or a mid-level or seasoned professional exploring tech entrepreneurship, the MMTC Jumpstart Your Tech Business Guide provides a five-step process along with resources to help you develop and execute a strategy to launch your business. The five steps include:
- Step 1: Launch Your Tech Business
- Step 2: Fund Your Tech Business
- Step 3: Target Funders Who Support Diversity
- Step 4: Partner with Corporate Supplier Diversity Programs
- Step 5: Identify Peer Groups, Continuing Education Opportunities, Conferences and Events
Download the FREE guides and share then with your network.
- Go here to get a copy of the MMTC Jumpstart Your Tech Career Guide
- Go here to get a copy of the MMTC Jumpstart Your Tech Business Guide
Help MMTC expand the guides with a donation. Go here to donate.
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Have you seen
MMTC TV yet? Go
here to watch videos of MMTC's Broadband and Social Justice Summits and Access to Capital and Telecom Policy Conferences.
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MMTC's March Social Media
Learn more about MMTC's work by visiting our Wakelet Blog:
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Help Expand MMTC's Work in Tech, Media & Telecom!
With our nonpartisan values of diversity and inclusion, MMTC continues to pursue our work with great determination notwithstanding our modest resources.
We
offer our sincere appreciation for support in helping us deliver our world-class advocacy, convenings, and policy leadership in industries regulated by the Federal Communications Commission.
TO SUPPORT MMTC, YOU CAN DONATE IN TWO WAYS:
- Fellowship: Help the next generation of media and telecom lawyers and policy professionals to advocate on behalf of our nation's multicultural, women, and underserved communities by investing in the new Henry M. Rivera Fellowship. Other fellowships you are invited to support are the Cathy Hughes and Earle K. Moore fellowships.
- General: Make a donation to general support.
MMTC is recognized by the IRS under 26 U.S.C. ยง501(c)(3). All contributions are tax-deductible.
Your support makes it possible for MMTC to serve as an advocate for diversity, inclusion and equal opportunity in the nation's most important industries.
Thank You!
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The Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC) is a non-partisan, national nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and preserving equal opportunity in the tech, media, and telecom industries, and closing the digital divide. MMTC is generally recognized as the nation's leading advocate for multicultural advancement in communications. We strongly believe that the breathtaking changes in communications technology and the new global forms of media partnerships must enhance diversity in the 21st century.
About MMTC Media & Telecom Brokers
As the nation's only nonprofit media and telecom brokerage, we invest time and effort in training a new generation of media and telecom entrepreneurs. Our brokerage services have expanded to include consulting. So please think of us if you have a client or a friend looking to enter the broadcast business that needs a seasoned brokerage firm. We are dedicated to our cause of promoting diverse broadcast ownership in media, telecom, and tech.
Want to learn more about MMTC Media & Telecom Brokers? Contact Suzanne Gougherty at
sgougherty@mmtconline.org or David Honig at dhonig@mmtconline.org.
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