Reflection from Home
Columbus, Georgia-Whenever I mentioned I was from Columbus, it was always
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Jackie Wright reporting from Montgomery, Al for WTVM of Columbus,GA. |
followed by a refrain of "Ohio." No, Columbus, Georgia, on banks of the Chattahoochee River, next to Fort Benning in the piedmont section of Georgia 45 minutes from President Jimmy Carter's hometown, Plains, "Ya'll"! Here's a recent clip of Columbus featured on "Southern Weekend" on WTVM, the ABC affiliate where I used work.
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| Radio Talk Show Host VJ Roberts speaks with Molly McKinney of "Southern Weekend" as the show explores Blues Legend Ma Rainey who hailed from Columbus; Columbus' Black History; a Naval Civil War Museum; the River Walk; hot spots and more..."Excuse me, Tyler Perry...There's more to Georgia than Atlanta! What you say, Valdosta; TY TY; Sweet Vidalia Onions, GA; St. Simon's Island; Waycross (Ozzie Davis Ya'll), Augusta (James Brown), Albany ("Georgia on My Mind" Ray Charles) and Oh, yeah Bay Area, Eatonton, GA (Alice Walker ) (Oops, almost wrote Alice Waters...bon appétit to the Berkeley champion of sustainable agriculture from Chatham, NJ. Georgia hospitality welcomes all. Alice Walker please extend an honorary GA membership to fellow Berkeleyite/Berkeleyan Alice Waters)? |
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2:16-3:32 in the video clip, my University of Georgia Drama School alumna VJ Wells, who became VJ Roberts after giving up a promising career in Los Angeles, is featured. We became great friends before I went on to the Henry W. Grady School of Journalism at UGA (Thank you
Hamilton Holmes and
Charlayne Hunter-Gault for paving the way.
Hunter-Gault is at Stanford University tonight along with Jemele Hill & DeJuana Thompson.)
WOW, VJ, "You're giving up your career and getting on that
midnight train to Georgia to marry
OZ Roberts?" (a UGA alum)!
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| Oz Roberts, 2nd Vice President, AFLAC |
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Prolific photographer always with camera in hand, Oz who turned out to be a producer/director for the Miss Georgia Pageant and have you seen those
AFLAC--AFFFLAAAACK! commercials, well OZ has a hand in those commercials for the company he's worked for for over twenty years. I remember it was a big deal back in the day when the company started by the Amos Family in 1955 in Columbus, G-A, extended its business to Japan...think that was a few years before Oz joined the team. I believe AFLAC is still the only skyscraper in Columbus. It's been a while since I've been home.
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VJ Roberts, Actress, Producer, Writer, Corporate Trainer, and Radio Talk Show Host. |
Of course, VJ's choice of love over "I'm ready for my close up, Mr. DeMille" yielded true treasure for the radio talk show host as she and Oz made a wonderful home in Columbus with VJ mounting various plays at the historic Bradley Theater (1940-2010) and other venues and serving as a corporate trainer over the years. And chief among the treasures, Jessica Nicole Roberts, the apple of her parents' eye, did not fall too far from the tree.
Keep up the good work Jessica and the entire Roberts Family!
Mmmmm...Speaking of Working for WTVM
Jackie Wright Standing With Reverend Jesse Jackson
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Jackie Wright 2nd from Left at podium with Reverend Jesse Jackson who said circa 1986,"We're going to keep on loving. We're going to keep on marching. We're going to keep on voting. We're going to keep on demanding justice and fair place and nothing or nobody is going to turn us around." Reverend Jesse Jackson is staying on message after all these years. Check out PUSHTECH 2020. Jesse Jackson just won't quit! |
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| CLICK IMAGE! |
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From the Office of Flynn Bradley SFO
There's still time to take in the 61st San Francisco International Film Festival, now through April 17, 2018.
Get Ready for the San Francisco Black Film Festival in June, Father's Day and Juneteenth Weekend, June 14-17, 2018! Final Call for Film Submissions April 15th.
20/20 Vision @SFBFF
BLACK PANTHER FILM PRODUCES COMMUNITY SERVICE
WEPAY SET A CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY EXAMPLE BY PROVIDING TICKETS FOR THE EARLY RELEASE OF THE FILM TO INSPIRE YOUTH! 100 STUDENTS FROM
SAN FRANCISCO'S GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
ENJOYED THE FILM IN REDWOOD CITY!
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| WEPAY CHAPERONES ALL SMILES AFTER KEEPING A WATCHFUL EYE ON 100 STUDENTS! Omar Kalif (WEPAY); KPIX Emmy Award-Winning Director, Carla Duke; Abby Chaffatt (WEPAY);Emmanuel Stewart, Principal Carver Elementary; and Tina Hsiao (WEPAY). |
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In anticipation of the Black Panther film, WEPAY Chief Compliance Officer, Abby Chaffatt poses with her husband Keith at WEPAY's Halloween Party a few months before the film's release. Chaffatt's outfit falls right in line with Ruth E. Carter'sdesigns for the film. |
WHY "WEPAY" PAID IT FORWARD
Black Panther, written and directed by Oakland native Ryan Coogler, is the first major cinematic production of American comics that depicts a superhero of African descent. The film is set in a technologically advanced African nation and consists of a predominantly black cast.
The release of Black Panther marks an important shift in pop-culture with regard to representation, and WePay is excited to celebrate this shift with the young people who will be most excited, acknowledged and reaffirmed by seeing something of themselves in this movie. This representation is an important resetting of the standard of possibility around creativity, acceptance and success, especially for young people of color and especially those who are underserved, unprivileged, and marginalized both nationally and globally.
This event is also a great opportunity to connect your students to the tech community in the Bay Area. WePay, a Chase Company, is a leading payments service provider based in Redwood City. We work in the exciting new fintech (financial technology) sector and are connected to many technology, financial and investment organizations in the Bay Area. We value diversity and inclusion and strive to have our organization and people reflect all aspects of our community.
Abby Chaffatt
Chief Compliance Officer
says Scott Mendelson in 4/12/18 Forbes Article
Walt Disney is in a strange place right now, where the overperformance of the MCU stand-alone flick puts potentially undue pressure on the rest of their biggies. Does Black Panther's overperformance create unrealistic expectations for Infinity War and Solo: A Star Wars Story? Click here for entire article "by Scott."
FOR YOUR CORPORATE COMMUNITY OUTREACH PLANS CALL JACKIE WRIGHT,
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