News — african americans

What has been widely interpreted as unfair election laws aimed at hurting the Black vote in the state of Georgia have now been promulgated despite the protestations of Democrats and election experts in and out of the Peach State.

On Thursday afternoon, Governor Brian Kemp signed the Election Integrity Act of 2021 after both houses of the state legislature, which Republicans control, voted in favor. The days leading up to the legislative decision saw a nationwide interest in what the bill proposed.

A few of the things the law seeks to do has left many concerned. For instance, the Act requires Georgians to get new ID requirements to request mail-in ballots. Formerly, Georgians only had to sign their names. Apart from that, Georgian legislators have now been given power to take control of election operations if any problems at all are reported during an electioneering process.

People waiting in line at at a polling center now will not receive food and drinks from any Samaritan since the practice is now illegal. The law will also allow only a short period of time for early voting.

When the new rules were being signed, State Rep. Park Cannon, a Black Democrat, went to the door of the room at the statehouse where Kemp and other legislators convened. After knocking on the door in continuous protest, Cannon was arrested, handcuffed, and removed from the premises.

She would later tweet: “I am not the first Georgian to be arrested for fighting voter suppression. I’d love to say I’m the last, but we know that isn’t true”.

The new laws have been read as a response to the devastating defeat suffered by Republicans in the 2020 election where for the first time in decades, the two United States senators from the state – Rev. Raphael Warnock, a Black social activist, and Jon Ossof, a Jewish investigative journalist – are Democrats.

President Joe Biden also became the first Democratic candidate for president to win Georgia since Bill Clinton in 1992. The president also added his voice to the critics’ in calling out the new Georgia laws saying they amounted to “Jim Crow in the 21st Century” targeting Black people.

Jay-Z is probably the busiest Black entrepreneur in the market, making one deal after another. He recently sold half of his champagne brand, Armand de Brignac, to LVMH, the luxury goods company and also launched a marijuana brand.

The rapper is back in the news after selling a majority ownership stake in Tidal audio and video music streaming service to Square, a digital payment platform run by Jack Dorsey.

Square will pay a mix of cash and stock in the value of $297 million and Tidal’s superstar shareholders, including Beyoncé, Madonna and Rihanna will remain in place, making them the second-largest co-owners. Jay-Z will join Square’s board of directors.

“Why would a music streaming company and a financial services company join forces?!,” Dorsey posted on Twitter, confirming the deal. “It comes down to a simple idea: finding new ways for artists to support their work. New ideas are found at intersections, and we believe there is a compelling one between music and the economy. I knew TIDAL was something special as soon as I experienced it, and it will continue to be the best home for music, musicians, and culture.” 

In a thread, the Twitter CEO further explained: “Given what Square has been able to do for sellers of all sizes and individuals through Cash App, we believe we can now work for artists to see the same success for them, and us. We’re going to start small and focus on the most critical needs of artists and growing their fanbases.”

On his part, Jay-Z said TIDAL remains “a platform that supports artists at every point in their careers. Artists deserve better tools to assist them in their creative journey. Jack and I have had many discussions about TIDAL’s endless possibilities that have made me even more inspired about its future. This shared vision makes me even more excited to join the Square board. This partnership will be a game-changer for many. I look forward to all this new chapter has to offer!”

Jay-Z first acquired Tidal for $56 million in 2015 but the platform has since struggled to keep up with other music streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music. In 2017, Jay-Z announced that he was selling a stake in Tidal to Sprint, a telecoms company.

The $200 investment from Sprint was not enough to keep Tidal afloat as it still struggles to rival Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music. According to Forbes, the streaming service’s financial woes have been going on for years. In 2014, it lost $10.4 million, $28 million in 2015 and then nearly $44 million in 2016.

A Black female Amazon Web Services senior manager on Monday filed a lawsuit against the trillion-dollar company and two of its executives on allegations of race and gender discrimination. Besides an additional allegation of the company flouting the Equality Pay Act, the plaintiff, in the lawsuit, also claims she was sexually harassed and assaulted by a former Amazon executive, Recode reported.

Prior to joining Amazon in 2017, the plaintiff, Charlotte Newman, previously worked for Sen. Cory Booker as his economic policy adviser. In an interview with Recode, the Harvard Business School graduate revealed the discrimination started when she was first offered a much lower role within the organizational ranks despite applying for a higher opening that she said befitted her qualifications.

After joining the company, Newman said the discrimination persisted as she was unable to rise up the organizational ranks for over a year despite performing some tasks that were above her level and also demanding a promotion from her manager. She also alleged some of her White colleagues who were on the same level as she was were promoted ahead of her despite having less working experience and not having graduate degrees. The lawsuit alleges that the period of stagnation cost her millions.

Though she was eventually promoted to a senior level in 2019, Newman claimed her first boss spoke to her in a language she believed was racially stereotypical when he addressed her about her mode of communication – using descriptions like it was “too direct”, “just scary”, and saying she “can intimidate people.”

Aside from that, Newman alleged a senior colleague by the name Andres Maz sexually harassed her on numerous occasions, claiming he went as far as seemingly proposing they have sex. Newman also recalled other separate incidents where Maz groped her by her thigh and yanked her by her hair when she was leaving a company hangout. She also said she was initially reluctant to report Maz’s alleged unprofessional advances as he was responsible for providing updates on her performance to another manager, thus making her fear there was going to be some form of retaliation from her superiors if she did so.

“There’s been deep emotional pain,” she told Recode. “All of the hard work, all of the sacrifices I made, my education — none of that saved me from someone who’s a predator and living in fear of what else he might do.”

Newman said she ultimately decided to file an official complaint against Maz and also open up on the discrimination she faced as an employee of the organization after she was spurred by the protests that happened in the country following the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. She said she filed the complaint in June last year, adding that she was also working from home during that period. Though Maz was eventually fired after investigations, she said she had to endure participating in virtual meetings involving him for several months while company authorities were looking into her complaints.

“At the very least, Amazon could have better safeguards in place to protect employees,” she told Recode. “A company of Amazon’s size should have clear guidelines about what happens if you report, hear what your rights are … [and] ensure that once you report you don’t have to be contacted by the person who harassed you.”

Fearing retaliation from her managers, Newman said she moved to a different department last year. Newman’s lawsuit comes after an expose from the news outlet that revealed bias and discriminatory complaints from Black Amazon employees.

“I strongly believe that Amazon should be harnessing the light of diverse leadership rather than dimming the light of Black employees and other employees of color,” she said. “For years I had been sort of suffering in silence, [but] I’m sure there are a lot of people who now feel more empowered to add their voices to the story, and hopefully there’s some real change that occurs.”

Newman said she has told representatives from the company she would only remain with the establishment for a longer period if they introduce policies that would revamp their hiring and diversity programs. She also wants a company hiring practice known as “down-leveling” to be either scrapped or reviewed.

“Amazon works hard to foster a diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture, and these allegations do not reflect those efforts or our values,” the company said in response to the lawsuit. “We do not tolerate discrimination or harassment of any kind and thoroughly investigate all claims and take appropriate action. We are currently investigating the new allegations included in this lawsuit.”

The “Black Panther” movie has inspired many initiatives to empower African Americans and Blacks in general. Columbus-based entrepreneur Maurice Womack was moved by the Marvel film to co-found with his wife an educational eco-system for black learners called the Wokanda APP.

The platform was launched on February 1 and houses a group of experts who are committed to educating subscribers on topics such as entrepreneurship, finance, health care and other topics through BLCK (Bite-sized Learning & Community Knowledge) Talk. What’s more, the topics will be taught by all Black experts.

“We’re really focused on empowering the Black community,” co-founder Maurice Womack said. “We’re using African American experts to reach the African American community. We’re trying to create a community where you’re learning from people who are recognized experts in their field, who are teachers that look like you. We as a community have a lot to offer each other.”

Aside from providing education to members, the communal platform also seeks to encourage lasting personal and professional relationships. On its website, Wokanda says its “mission is to empower the Black community with knowledge, ideas, and connections to one another.”

“We truly believe in the mantra that ‘Knowledge is Power’ and we are providing a platform to facilitate its distribution. We’re building a library of knowledge from a nation of subject matter experts and a community of learners to engage with each other and information.”

Some of the experts on the platform include Barbara Fant, a poet; James Rose III, an investor; Dawn Carpenter, a finance expert and Tracie Cleveland Thomas, executive director. Others include Evelyn Sullen Smith, an attorney and Joe Moss, an entrepreneur.

“(We’re) really trying to creating a long-term community resource around learning and around the topics that matter to us from leaders around the community who are important to us as experts,” Womack told The Columbus Dispatch.

Explaining the rationale for the name of the platform, Womack said the platform derives its name from the word “woke” and Wakanda, the fictional Africa country of superhero Black Panther.

“If you think of Wakanda, it’s the pinnacle of Black success,” Womack told bizjournal. “It was this idea of working together, being able to empower ourselves with our own knowledge and our own community. I think in one word, it embodies what we’re trying to do.”

Womack said he and his wife started the Wokanda platform after the failure of their STEM education consulting company. The web services interactive platform targeted children in under-resourced areas of science and technology-based coursework.

“People are accustomed to using Zoom now because of the pandemic, so it’s not as hard of a sale,” Womack told The Dispatch. “But these experts happen to be Black people, and they’re teaching culturally responsive topics in a way that’s familiar to us.”

The Wokanda app works through registering and paying up a membership fee which ranges from $14.99 for current students and $19.99 a month for others. Womack said his goal is to reach at least 1,500 registered members before the end of 2021.

Stacy Osei-Kuffour will sprinkle some Black Girl Magic on the all-new ‘Blade’ played by Mahershala Ali as she becomes the first Black female to write a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie. Osei-Kuffuor was chosen among a list of other potential Black writers as a hallmark of Marvel’s Phase Four to increase diversity behind the scenes.

Ali, 46, is replacing Wesley Snipes, 58, who had played the sword-wielding half-man, half-vampire hunter in the three franchises; the first in 1998 by New Line Cinema, then in the 2002 sequel and in 2004.

Snipes gave his blessing to the two-time Oscar winner, who was involved in the screening of the writers together with the studio bosses.

“To all the DAYWALKERS losing their minds right now, chillaaxx. Although the news comes as a surprise, it’s ALL GOOD. Such is the ‘business’ of ‘entertainment!’ Much peace to the MCU crew – always a fan. Honor and respect to the grandmaster Stan,” Snipes said.

“Congratulations and Salaam to Mahershala Ali, a beautiful and talented artist whose expressions I look forward to experiencing for many years to come,” he added.

The three films starring Snipes, which were all written by David S. Goyer, grossed about $418 million globally through 2004, according to Variety.

Although no director has been attached to the Blade reboot yet, Ali expressed interest in the role and the Marvel Studio chief Kevin Feige who nursed the reboot of Blade jumped at it when they believed it was time.

“Now with Doctor Strange and the supernatural elements coming into the MCU, it felt like we could definitely start exploring that.

“Mahershala wanted to come in and meet with us, and when Mahershala Ali wants to meet, you take the meeting.”

Osei-Kuffuor, the Watchmen writer, earned a nomination for her script in a Season 1 episode of Hulu’s “Pen15”. She has also worked as a story editor on Amazon’s “Hunters” and HBO’s “Run”. She is now among the Black women making history in MCU. Nia DaCosta was recently selected by Marvel as the first Black woman to direct a Marvel Studios film with “Captain Marvel 2.”

DaCosta has had little stints in the industry but it was the 2019 indie movie “Little Woods,” starring Tessa Thompson, that served as the springboard which fully launched DaCosta’s career. It opened the door for her to direct the new “Candyman” movie produced and co-written by Jordan Peele.

Marvel Studios is known to work with different directors for their movie sequels to bring different perspectives to their movies.

In 2018, Rwandan launched the ‘Made-In-Rwanda’ initiative to boost the production and consumption of local products. A number of local and international entrepreneurs responded to the initiative to open local industries and companies.

One of such persons is Allen Simms, who took his sporting venture to Rwanda. The African American is the founder of Impano Sports, a company that provides African-inspired quality sports apparel designed specifically for athletes, runners, and the active lifestyle community.

Although Simms took advantage of the Rwandan government’s Made-In-Rwanda policy, his venture started when he traveled to the East African country to identify and coach young talented athletes. While in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, he noticed that many of the athletes had limited access to quality sportswear and that was how Impano Sports was founded.

Simms is a former track and field athlete. He competed for Puerto Rico in 2007 after switching allegiance from the United States in 2005 before changing back in 2008. He emerged as the national champion in 2007 and was ranked 15th in the world. In 2004, he was the champion in the triple jump of the USA Indoor Champion. Also, he finished fourth at the 2003 Pan American Games and eighth in the long jump at the 2007 Pan American Games.

He was an athlete at the University of Southern California and a coach at Cornell University. “There at Cornell I was training a bunch of spoiled kids and I wanted to make an impact with my coaching so let’s see what’s going on in Africa,” he said in a Shoppe Black interview.

Simms aims to empower Africans to be independent and bring out their creative juices. Part of his agenda is to encourage the youth to discard the second-hand ideology. It is a known fact that across Africa, there is a high demand for second-hand clothing from Europe and other developed nations. To try to reverse this, Simms produces quality sportswear for the local and international market.

The former athlete recently praised the Rwandan government’s effort to develop the fashion industry. “They make it very comfortable to live here as a foreigner. They have a nice system in place to set up a business,” he said.

Simms obtained his bachelor’s degree in multimedia technology from the University of South California in 2005 and a Master of Art in Liberal Studies and a graduate certificate in Global Studies from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro in 2014. Also, he holds IAAF and USATF coaching certificates in athletes majoring in jumping events.

The release of the Fenty fashion label made Rihanna the first Black woman to create a Luxury Brand with Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE (LVMH). Per WWD, the luxury fashion brand and the ‘Work’ singer are putting production on hold for her fashion line after barely two years of its launch in anticipation of better conditions.

It was the first time Chief Executive Officer of LVMH Bernard Arnault launched a brand under the parent company of Louis Vuitton from scratch since Christian Lacroix in 1987.

The luxury fashion industry was badly impacted by the coronavirus. However, the LVMH’s investment fund will continue to support the Savage x Fenty lingerie brand and the Fenty Beauty cosmetics line.

“LVMH and Rihanna reaffirm their ambition to concentrate on the growth and the long-term development of Fenty ecosystem focusing on cosmetics, skincare and lingerie,” the luxury goods company said in a statement on Wednesday.

Fashion analysts believe that the prices may have been too steep for consumers despite Rihanna’s huge following. “Celebrity-originated brands can be very popular very quickly, but their staying power is questionable,” Luca Solca, analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein, said. “The risk is that they end up being a flash in the pan.”

However, there is no other celebrity to make the Black Girl Magic spell more compelling than Robyn Rihanna Fenty who has dominated the entertainment and fashion industry for several years.

She was recently certified by Forbes as the richest female musician in the world.

Following her hit song “Work” in 2016, the famous musician has evolved into a serial entrepreneur. Her source of wealth, according to Forbes, comes from music, cosmetics and her clothing lines.

Rihanna has sold more than 60 million albums and 215 million digital tracks, according to her label, Roc Nation. This places her as the second best-selling digital artiste globally.

The Barbadian singer is regarded by Forbes as one of the most publicly charitable celebrities. She was named Harvard Humanitarian of the Year in 2017 for her work supporting education and health care in the Caribbean and developing countries.

She recently donated $5 million to various organizations assisting with coronavirus relief efforts. Other charitable works by her include giving $1 million to New York’s needy, $2.1 million to abuse victims in LA and $5 million to other charities through the Clara Lionel Foundation.

In a social media post on Monday, Austin Chenge, a Nigerian-American Trump loyalist and GOP gubernatorial candidate for Michigan, said he’s going to cancel Black History Month in the state if elected as he deems it “offensive.”

Instead, he said he’ll introduce what he calls “American History Month.”

A U.S. Army veteran, Chenge immigrated to the United States from Nigeria with his family in 2008, and they subsequently naturalized five years later, according to Michigan Radio. The 35-year-old, who has reportedly never held any public office, describes himself as an entrepreneur and conservative Republican in his Twitter bio.

In the post which was met with swift backlash, Chenge tweeted: “I will cancel #BlackHistoryMonth in #Michigan. It’s offensive, unfair, maybe illegal… Americans from all backgrounds deserve a revered history. I’ll declare American History Month.”

Chenge, who is the first Republican gubernatorial candidate for Michigan and has set his sights on taking the seat from incumbent Democratic governor Gretchen Whitmer in 2022, is described as being “deeply conservative”, according to Detroit Metro Times.

Among his campaign promises, Chenge says he’ll sever the state’s contract ties with Dominion Voting Systems on his first day in office if elected. A section of pro-Trump supporters has accused the election technology supplier of manipulating the 2020 presidential elections in favor of Joe Biden. Those allegations are, however, unfounded and baseless.

In an interview with Detroit News, Chenge also defended the pro-Trump rioters who forced their way into the U.S. Capitol and clashed with law enforcement agents during protests against the 2020 presidential election results. Five people died in the aftermath of the January 6 incident.

“Some of them were overcome by passion, more passion than others and may have acted in a way that they didn’t intend to when they went there,” he said. Asked if it was right for the rioters to besiege the building, he said: “If someone is motivated by passion to do something, it’s more subjective than it is objective.”

Meanwhile, Chenge could become the first Black governor of Michigan if he wins the seat. He, however, told Michigan Radio that being a potential trailblazer isn’t of great significance to him as he feels it causes a divide.

“I don’t actually see myself as a minority, or a Black American, or a Black anything or a minority anything. I just see myself as an American,” he said. “When we start focusing on a person’s gender or race or anything that causes division, we lose our unity as Americans.”

“If I become the governor of Michigan, I’m not going to be the first Black governor of Michigan. I’m going to be just another American governor.”

Lisa Forrest has made history as the newest Battalion Chief to be promoted in the Philadelphia Fire Department. She is the first African American woman to ever occupy this position.

“This is not for me, this is for somebody coming behind me to let them know that anything is possible,” Forrest told ABC News.

An outdoor promotion ceremony was recently held for Forrest, although those were usually held privately, according to Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel.

Forrest, who started her career as a firefighter in 2003, worked her way up the ladder quickly. Within just two years, she became a lieutenant. She also made history in 2013 when she became the first Black female captain.

“Hopefully, they look at me and say if she can do it, I can do it,” said Forrest, who is also the first woman president of Club Valiants, a society for minority firefighters.

Forrest is also thankful for the support of her family, who were also trailblazers like her. She hopes to inspire other women with her determination as well.

“I certainly do hope if women of any age or interest are watching this you know that you can do it, too,” Commissioner Thiel said.

In a new book titled Disloyal: A Memoir, former attorney Michael Cohen has made staggering accusations against President Donald Trump including that the president once said Nelson Mandela “was no leader”.

Cohen is serving the rest of a three-year sentence for fraud and perjury under house arrest due to concerns over the coronavirus in prisons. He writes that Trump was explicitly racist and disrespectful of Black leaders.

While the world mourned Mandela’s death in 2013, Trump allegedly said in a conversation where Cohen was present: “Mandela f**ked the whole country (South Africa) up. Now it’s a sh*thole. F**k Mandela. He was no leader.”

According to Cohen, the castigation of Mandela was not personal for Trump but rather symptomatic of his animosity towards Black and/or African leadership, generally.

“Tell me one country run by a black person that isn’t a sh*thole…They are all complete f**king toilets,” Trump is quoted to have said in 2008 after Barack Obama became America’s first Black president.

The interesting point about Cohen’s claim of “sh*thole countries” is that the president is alleged by different persons in 2018 to have made similar comments about Black majority countries.

Trump is also said to have given up hope of winning support from racial minorities because “they’re too stupid to vote for” him. “They’re not my people,” he allegedly added.

President Obama appears as another obsession of President Trump’s in Cohen’s book. According to the now disbarred attorney, Trump hired a “Faux-Obama”, a Black man who portrayed Obama and was the subject of belittling from Trump.

The information about the “Faux-Obama” comes with a photo of Trump and another Black man seated on opposite sided of a desk. The Black man wore an American flag pin on a suit.

Cohen, a former close ally of Trump’s, is now visibly campaigning to have him defeated by Democratic nominee Joe Biden in November.

For 12 years, Lauryn Williams had seen it all in the field of sports. She became the first African-American to win gold in the 2005 World Championships in Athletics and silver medals at the 2004 Summer Olympics, 2007 World Championships, and 2006 IAAF World Indoor Championships.

As an athlete, Williams earned more than she was spending and didn’t pay attention to building a sound savings culture. When she ended her career in sports, and with a degree in finance from the University of Miami, she transitioned into entrepreneurship. She launched Worth Winning in March of 2016, a year after retiring, to help others achieve their financial goals.

Her company offers virtual services to help young professionals get the answers to the financial questions that matter most to them.

“This quest for my own money knowledge is what eventually led me down the path of becoming a certified financial planner,” she said. “While learning how to handle my own money, it became so important to me to help others, especially young professionals, do the same thing.”

Williams had been moved to become a financial planner after many of the financial planners she had while a professional athlete failed her. She then started to self-educate and told people she wanted to help them organize their finances while she tried to do that for herself.

Williams subsequently enrolled in the Certified Financial Planner program and then in a National Association of Personal Financial Advisors program before becoming an intern at an advisory firm.

When she finally started her company, her passion clouded her judgment when it came to spending. The Olympian said she could buy all the latest software without clients to support the tools she was using or pay to get in front of an audience of athletes that yielded zero clients.

She changed course and started implementing a budget for both her business and personal finances, and that became one of the best decisions she could have made. “I was not great at it initially,” she said. “It took time to understand how to best categorize my expenses and track my purchases.”

Maintaining a budget now became the foundation of Williams’ decision-making process and helped her see in real-time how her company was growing to its full potential. Just like her days as an athlete, she wanted to be the gold medalist in financial planning.

“I thought it would automatically happen overnight,” she said. “The truth was I had to retrain my brain. I had to learn, in this new career, how to set realistic goals for myself and define what success meant for me now, and not spend time comparing myself to others.”

In her track and field days, Williams was responsible for her successes and failures. It is a completely different ball game when it comes to managing finances or a business. And so she found herself some mentors to share what works and what doesn’t work for the growth of her company.

“Today, I belong to a networking mastermind group of eight other financial planners who run a similar business. I have two wonderful industry mentors who have been at this for a long time, and I talk with them regularly about my goals for the company,” she said.

As a startup, small wins matter, she said. Her first real small win came when a couple she had never met before decided to work with her, she said. Four years later, they are still her clients. For her, being able to retain her original customers shows her company is doing something right.

“Even if you’re an expert in your industry, there are things that you don’t know when you’re starting to run your own business. So as you retrain your brain and throw out old assumptions about success, give yourself a break if things don’t go perfectly. And celebrate the wins as they come.”

President-elect Joe Biden‘s first Secretary of Defense will most likely be an extremely private veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who has ties to the private sector, including as a military contractor for Raytheon Technologies as well as a director for the multinational health services provider, Tenet Healthcare.

But retired General Lloyd James Austin III will also be the first African-American to be installed in that position. If he passes legislature vetting, Austin will be responsible for the world’s most expensive and expansive defense capacities and network.

Such is the history that beckons that Austin’s nomination has been met with primarily, graciousness. Many have welcomed the incoming administration’s openness to retaining racial diversity in top federal jobs.

For Austin, Biden himself scripted a testimonial that was published in The Atlantic. A paragraph read:

“In his more than 40 years in the United States Army, Austin met every challenge with extraordinary skill and profound personal decency. He is a true and tested soldier and leader. I’ve spent countless hours with him, in the field and in the White House Situation Room. I’ve sought his advice, seen his command, and admired his calm and his character. He is the definition of a patriot.”

Careful reading reveals what Biden would want us to realize. The president-elect calls the general Austin – not General Austin – giving away a sense of amity the pair would have established over the “countless hours” they have spent in each other’s company. The general is also praised for his character and called “a patriot”, a necessary byline in marketing your pick to the American public.

But the four-star general who has been described as “intensely private and razor-sharp” may not need more than the former vice-president’s adulation in order to get into the job. Having left military service only four years ago, Austin requires a special waiver from the House and the Senate to enable him to become the next Defense chief.

The law for which he needs the waiver prevents former soldiers from becoming Defense secretary within the first seven years of retiring from military service. The last man to need the waiver was Jim Mattis, Donald Trump‘s first Secretary of Defense who dramatically fell out with the outgoing president.

But political watchers are confident this will be no stiff hurdle for Austin. He is also generally respected across partisan divides. A lot of the conversations about his nomination have suggested that Austin may need to convince a few on the Capitol with particular regard to the global war on terrorism as well as his private sector dealings.

Austin was born in Mobile, Alabama in 1953 but he was raised in Thomasville, Georgia along with five siblings. He joined the army in 1975 growing in stature over the course of forty years.

Between 2008 and 2009, he was the Commander of Multinational Corps in Iraq. In 2010, former President Barack Obama appointed Austin as the Commanding General of all U.S. Forces in Iraq.

Austin has been called a “devout Catholic” and conservative man who would often speak of himself in the third person.