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The Recording Academy announced Thursday that Valeisha Butterfield Jones will be the first-ever Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer. Butterfield Jones joins the executive team following her position as global head of inclusion at Google. According to GRAMMY.com , the award-winning business and tech leader will guide the team responsible for advancing the Academy’s diversity and inclusion initiatives through the organization. The new appointment comes on the heels of the controversial ousting of CEO Deborah Dugan, who was accused of misconduct from a female colleague. “We are thrilled to welcome Valeisha Butterfield Jones into the Recording Academy family,” Academy Chair and Interim President/CEO Harvey Mason, Jr. said. “Valeisha has been a force in driving systemic change and enhancing equal opportunities for underrepresented groups across entertainment, technology and politics. I’m excited to work with her to continue evolving the Recording Academy as an organization that...
During the Clive Davis pre-Grammy gala , Sean “Diddy” Combs voiced his frustration toward the mistreatment of Black artists and the exclusion of diversity inflicted by the Recording Academy. According to Black Enterprise Combs’ stated: “Truth be told, hip-hop has never been respected by the Grammys. Black music has never been respected by the Grammys—to the point that it should be,” Diddy continued. “For years, we have allowed institutions that have never had our best interests at heart to judge us. And that stops right now. I’m officially starting the clock. You’ve got 365 days to get this s–t together.” Following Combs’ statement, the Recording Academy announced the development of a diversity initiative in collaboration with its Diversity Task Force. CNN reports Harvey Mason Jr., Chairman and Interim Chief Executive Officer of the Recording Academy, addressed the situation with a message to its members: “Six months ago, when I put my hat in the ring to be your Chair, I did so...
Tech giant, Google, commenced Black History Month with the airing of a commercial ad during this year’s Grammy Awards show, which has sparked conversation across social media outlets. Along with the debut of the ad, Google announced a $3 million Google.org grant to fund the NAACP’s Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics (ACT-SO) program which centers around providing Black youth an opportunity to pitch their ideas to a panel of mentors and judges for a chance to secure scholarship funding for their project. “NAACP ACT-SO is a program that prepares, recognizes and rewards students’ scholastic and artistic excellence. Google.org is proud to support @NAACP as they extend ACT-SO to even more future history makers,“ Google tweeted. NAACP ACT-SO is a program that prepares, recognizes and rewards students’ scholastic and artistic excellence. https://t.co/D84d9e0zeF is proud to support @NAACP as they extend ACT-SO to even more future history makers. Learn more →...