#NNPA BlackPress

Tech Diva Cynthia Renee Frazier Succumbs

PRECINCT REPORTER GROUP NEWS — Tenacious businesswoman, loving grandmother, teacher and down to earth social justice advocate are a just few of the many endearing qualities to describe local tech diva, Cynthia Renee Frazier. Ms. Frazier passed away last week.

Published

5 years ago

August 10, 2019

Precinct Reporter News

(l-r) Cynthia Renee Frazier and Charmain Johnson . (Photo by: precinctreporter.com)

By Dianne Anderson

Tenacious businesswoman, loving grandmother, teacher and down to earth social justice advocate are a just few of the many endearing qualities to describe local tech diva, Cynthia Renee Frazier.

Ms. Frazier passed away last week.

Charmain Johnson reflects on 20 years of their friendship, the long intellectual conversations about the community, business and social progress. They talked about getting beyond the obstacles of life and business.

“We just clicked and came together and said, hey, here’s the solution,”she said.

Together, they put on forums for women to talk about issues of impact and how to get plugged into what it takes to be in business as an entrepreneur on a formal level, she said.

She said Frazier wanted to present a structured approach and steps that women could take both at a personal and professional level to meet their goals and dreams.

“Cynthia was a very technical, methodical person, she was very caring, hands-on, and a do-what-you have-to-do kind of a gal,” Johnson said.

Frazier had a lot of love for the community and was a willing helper for many who asked. At a time when others in her circle were becoming grandparents, she also took on a mission to raise her grandson, Isaiah, from infancy.

“That stood out for me, she took on the role as a mother. That was admirable at her age, and to take care of a baby,”she said.

At a time when few women possessed her level of technical ability, Frazier was setting a higher standard. She founded Tech Divas Uncorked, where Johnson assisted with marketing, to teach women how to use tech to grow their own companies.

Johnson said she learned everything she knew about technology from Frazier in those early years.

“Her tech-savvy goes back to when the internet first got started,” she said. “She goes back before social media, before Facebook. She taught technology at the community college level and worked in technology for a long time.”

Through her career and her personal life, Frazier pressed on with several business models with the heart of a fighter.

“She’s had some great challenges in life that she’s overcome, and she’s taken it in stride” she said.

Kimberly Woods, who has a teen outreach program, recalls Frazier as an ardent community supporter. She said Frazier attended her vendor event with a booth for her business and held great influence in the community.

Everyone knew her and loved her.

“She talked to the audience about how they needed to learn computers at a time when people didn’t know how to use computers, or programs. She taught all of that,” Woods said.“She was just a great person inside and out.”

Trudy Coleman said Frazier was always supportive of her events, and regularly participated in the MLK breakfast, and Juneteenth.

“It was heartfelt for me because I know she’s a giver, always trying to help.“She’s definitely a loss to the community,” said Coleman, CEO/Founder of the Juneteenth Education Technology Mobile Arts Center, Inc.

Not only admired for her technical skills, she was also admired for her eagerness to share advice on how to create winning businesses and nonprofits.

Terrance Stone, founder and CEO of Young Visionaries Youth Leadership Academy, said that they often traveled in the same circles. She always brought a smile to the room.

Stone would invite her to meet with the IE Minority Led Resource Development Coalition, and she would come out to talk to their organizations about ways to strengthen their business outreach.

She called herself a tech diva to make it more appealing for the kids, he said. It was her way of showing that technology, as a career, was a cool choice.

“She was known as the tech diva, but probably before any other African American female, she was trying to push the issue with our kids about STEM,” Stone said. “With African American kids, all kids, she wanted to show the influence of career choices in technology.”

To Kim“Kat”Shepherd, who teaches business and computer courses at UCR Extension, Frazier was a trailblazer and pioneer in the tech field.

In many ways, Frazier was charting a new course for the community. Shepherd first met her at Riverside Chamber of Commerce events and said that she brought a special kind of energy to support tech in the Black community. Her nonprofit, Mobile Commerce Digital Technology Alliance, focused on business development and innovation.

“She was in the forefront of tech,” Shepherd said. “She was one of the first people to present tech and showcase tech in the Riverside community, which is predominantly an audience that is not Black women.”

Shepherd, who is also a grandmother, admired the legacy and love she had for her grandson. She said Frazier always wanted to include him in the back-end technical work and instill in him a sense of entrepreneurship.

“Her passion and love transcended from love to Isaiah. She planted all of these seeds in the community. It’s exponential what she did,” she said.

This article originally appeared in The Precinct Reporter News Group.

Precinct Reporter News

Posts by Precinct Reporter News

Up Next

Sigma Beta Xi, ACLU Slow School Pipeline to Prison

Don't Miss

Attendees on What They Thought of City’s Inaugural Freedom Fest

Precinct Reporter News

1 Comment

#NNPA BlackPress

IN MEMORIAM: Ramona Edelin, Influential Activist and Education Advocate, Dies at 78

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Born on September 4, 1945, in Los Angeles, California, activist Ramona Edelin’s early years were marked by a commitment to education and social justice. According to her HistoryMakers biography, after graduating from Fisk University with a Bachelor’s degree in 1967, she pursued further studies at the University of East Anglia in England. She earned her master’s degree before completing her Ph.D. at Boston University in 1981.
The post IN MEMORIAM: Ramona Edelin, Influential Activist and Education Advocate, Dies at 78 first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Published

4 weeks ago

April 3, 2024

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

Once upon a time, Black Americans were simply known as colored people, or Negroes. That is until Ramona Edelin came along. The activist, renowned for her pivotal roles in advancing civil rights, education reform, and community empowerment, died at her D.C. residence last month at the age of 78. Her death, finally confirmed this week by Barnaby Towns, a communications strategist who collaborated with Dr. Edelin, was attributed to cancer.

Born on September 4, 1945, in Los Angeles, California, Edelin’s early years were marked by a commitment to education and social justice. According to her HistoryMakers biography, after graduating from Fisk University with a Bachelor’s degree in 1967, she pursued further studies at the University of East Anglia in England. She earned her master’s degree before completing her Ph.D. at Boston University in 1981.

Edelin’s contributions to academia and activism were manifold. She was pivotal in popularizing the term “African American” alongside Rev. Jesse L. Jackson in the late 1980s.

Jackson had announced the preference for “African American,” speaking for summit organizers that included Dr. Edelin. “Just as we were called Colored, but were not that, and then Negro, but not that, to be called Black is just as baseless,” he said, adding that “African American” “has cultural integrity” and “puts us in our proper historical context.”

Later, Edelin told Ebony magazine, “Calling ourselves African Americans is the first step in the cultural offensive,” while linking the name change to a “cultural renaissance” in which Black Americans reconnected with their history and heritage.

“Who are we if we don’t acknowledge our motherland?” she asked later. “When a child in a ghetto calls himself African American, immediately he’s international. You’ve taken him from the ghetto and put him on the globe.”

The HistoryMakers bio noted that Edelin’s academic pursuits led her to found and chair the Department of African American Studies at Northeastern University, where she established herself as a leading voice.

Transitioning from academia to advocacy, Edelin joined the National Urban Coalition in 1977, eventually ascending to president and CEO. During her tenure, she spearheaded initiatives such as the “Say Yes to a Youngster’s Future” program, which provided crucial support in math, science, and technology to youth and teachers of color in urban areas. Her biography noted that Edelin’s efforts extended nationwide through partnerships with organizations like the National Science Foundation and the United States Department of Education.

President Bill Clinton recognized Edelin’s expertise by appointing her to the Presidential Board on Historically Black Colleges and Universities in 1998. She also co-founded and served as treasurer of the Black Leadership Forum, solidifying her standing as a respected leader in African American communities.

Beyond her professional achievements, Edelin dedicated herself to numerous boards and committees, including chairing the District of Columbia Educational Goals 2000 Panel and contributing to the Federal Advisory Committee for the Black Community Crusade for Children.

Throughout her life, Edelin received widespread recognition for her contributions. Ebony magazine honored her as one of the 100 Most Influential Black Americans, and she received prestigious awards such as the Southern Christian Leadership Award for Progressive Leadership and the IBM Community Executive Program Award.

The post IN MEMORIAM: Ramona Edelin, Influential Activist and Education Advocate, Dies at 78 first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Stacy M. Brown

Posts by Stacy M. Brown

#NNPA BlackPress

Tennessee State University Board Disbanded by MAGA Loyalists as Assault on DE&I Continues

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Recent legislative actions in Tennessee, such as repealing police reform measures enacted after the killing of Tyre Nichols, underscore a troubling trend of undermining local control and perpetuating racist agendas. The new law preventing local governments from restricting police officers’ authority disregards community efforts to address systemic issues of police violence and racial profiling.
The post Tennessee State University Board Disbanded by MAGA Loyalists as Assault on DE&I Continues first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Published

4 weeks ago

April 3, 2024

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

Tennessee State University (TSU), the state’s only public historically Black college and university (HBCU), faces a tumultuous future as Gov. Bill Lee dissolved its board, a move supported by racist conservatives and MAGA Republicans in the Tennessee General Assembly, who follow the lead of the twice-impeached, four-times indicted, alleged sexual predator former President Donald Trump. Educators and others have denounced the move as an attack on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) and a grave setback for higher education.

Critics argue that TSU’s purported financial mismanagement is a manufactured crisis rooted in decades of underinvestment by the state government. They’ve noted that it continues a trend by conservatives and the racist MAGA movement to eliminate opportunities for Blacks in education, corporate America, and the public sector.

Gevin Reynolds, a former speechwriter for Vice President Kamala Harris, emphasizes in an op-ed that TSU’s financial difficulties are not the result of university leadership because a recent audit found no evidence of fraud or malfeasance.

Reynolds noted that the disbanding of TSU’s board is not an isolated incident but part of a broader assault on DE&I initiatives nationwide. Ten states, including Tennessee, have enacted laws banning DE&I policies on college campuses, while governors appointing MAGA loyalists to university trustee positions further undermine efforts to promote inclusivity and equality.

Moreover, recent legislative actions in Tennessee, such as repealing police reform measures enacted after the killing of Tyre Nichols, underscore a troubling trend of undermining local control and perpetuating racist agendas. The new law preventing local governments from restricting police officers’ authority disregards community efforts to address systemic issues of police violence and racial profiling.

The actions echo historical efforts to suppress Black progress, reminiscent of the violent backlash against gains made during the Reconstruction era. President Joe Biden warned during an appearance in New York last month that Trump desires to bring the nation back to the 18th and 19th centuries – in other words, to see, among other things, African Americans back in the chains of slavery, women subservient to men without any say over their bodies, and all voting rights restricted to white men.

The parallels are stark, with white supremacist ideologies used to justify attacks on Black institutions and disenfranchise marginalized communities, Reynolds argued.

In response to these challenges, advocates stress the urgency of collective action to defend democracy and combat systemic racism. Understanding that attacks on institutions like TSU are symptomatic of broader threats to democratic norms, they call for increased civic engagement and voting at all levels of government.

The actions of people dedicated to upholding the principles of inclusivity, equity, and justice for all will determine the outcome of the ongoing fight for democracy, Reynolds noted. “We are in a war for our democracy, one whose outcome will be determined by every line on every ballot at every precinct,” he stated.

The post Tennessee State University Board Disbanded by MAGA Loyalists as Assault on DE&I Continues first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Stacy M. Brown

Posts by Stacy M. Brown

#NNPA BlackPress

Braxton Haulcy and the Expansion of Walker|West Music Academy

May 24, 2023 – Walker West Music Academy gets an early start on expansion. Join us for a Wednesday episode of The …
The post Braxton Haulcy and the Expansion of Walker|West Music Academy first appeared on BlackPressUSA.