Month: July 2020

Social Change Virtual Town Hall

Verizon is bringing together business leaders, activists, policy experts and thought leaders for the first-ever Citizen Verizon Assembly, which will focus on creating responsible and just business practices, cultivating an inclusive future in education, and upskilling our workforce to ensure everyone can prosper.

Yara Shahidi, Andrew Yang, Karamo Brown, CEOs and Nonprofit Leaders Convene for Citizen Verizon Assembly Addressing Responsible Business and Creating Social Change

In what should be a fascinating event, join world-renowned leaders for an urgent discussion on driving impact around inclusivity, education and the workforce of the future on Tuesday, July 28 at 5pm EST on Yahoo Finance and @Verizon on Twitter.

For this event, Verizon is bringing together business leaders, activists, policy experts and thought leaders for the first-ever Citizen Verizon Assembly, which will focus on creating responsible and just business practices, cultivating an inclusive future in education, and upskilling our workforce to ensure everyone can prosper.

The hour-long virtual event will include keynotes and discussions with leaders from around the globe, including former presidential candidate Andrew Yang, Grown-ish actress and activist Yara Shahidi, and Ben & Jerry’s CEO Matthew McCarthy, among others.

This is the first in a series of Citizen Verizon Assemblies that will spotlight the importance of corporate responsibility in helping to drive social, economic and environmental advancement.

“The Citizen Verizon Assembly was born out of the need for businesses to raise their voices along with the millions of Americans who are fighting for social causes and change. From big cities to small towns, now is the time for all of us to come together and use our power – our power as caring citizens, thought leaders, companies, educators, activists and celebrities – to follow through on our commitments to create real, lasting, meaningful change. At the end of the day, we’re all citizens of this world. I’m excited to see changemakers coming together to join us in moving the world forward,” said Rose Stuckey Kirk, Chief Corporate Social Responsibility Officer, Verizon.

The inaugural Citizen Verizon Assembly will allow the public to hear from global leaders, activists, television personalities and leaders of iconic brands. Events include:

A discussion moderated by Karamo Brown on building a future that’s inclusive, including:
• Geoff Canada, educator and activist pioneering school reform;
• Yara Shahidi, actress, producer and change agent;
• and Meredith Walker, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls
A CEO panel on businesses taking a responsibility for pressing social issues will include:
• Hans Vestberg, CEO, Verizon;
• Matthew McCarthy, CEO of Ben & Jerry’s;
• David Heath, Co-Founder and CEO of Bombas;
• Mindy Grossman, CEO of Weight Watchers;
• Enrique Lores, CEO of HP;
• and moderated by Ibram X Kendi, bestselling author and founding director of the Antiracist Research and Policy Center at American University
• Andrew Yang, Founder, Humanity Forward, will deliver closing

Alexandra Petri: Nothing is Wrong and Here is Why

“ I think of writing as a way of trying to make eye contact with people and say, are you seeing this too?, and in that way it is sanity-affirming,” she says. “It helps me feel less alone and remember that other people agree that this is not the way we would like our world to be.”

         Before she turned 30, Alexandria Petri was the winner of the O. Henry Pun Off World Championship (I bet you didn’t even know such a contest existed) where she made puns on the names of every U.S. president  in chronological order such as “if Andrew jacks an automobile” and the loser on Jeopardy! Now Petri, a columnist for the Washington Post has written her second book, Nothing Is Wrong and Here Is Why (W.W. Norton & Co. 2020; $17.99—Amazon price), collection of more than 50 new and adapted essays from her Post columns.

         If you think someone with a resume like this was a nerd in high school, you’d be right. The only child of a U.S. Congressman from Wisconsin, she wrote a Shakespeare and feline comic book at age eight. Now that is seriously nerdy.

         Petri now has taken her humor to a more modern stage. She loves to skewer politics and the somewhat frightening and nonsensical actions our politician’s take.

         Is it hard, I ask her, to transform the horrible news we hear into satire and is it a way for her to keep sane?

         “I think I tend to be a relatively cheery person and this almost maniacal devotion to hunting for a bright side in gloomy situations can manifest as a kind of satire,” she says in describing the way she writes such columns as “America, please don’t put bleach inside yourself like the president says” and “Know The Signs: How to tell if your grandparent has become an antifa agent” in response to President Trump’s musing that maybe the 75-year-old protestor pushed to the ground in Buffalo was actually an ANTIFA agent trying to block police communication.

         It’s a way, she says, of looking at the way your thinking would have to be deranged to see today’s particular monstrosity as great news.

         “ I think of writing as a way of trying to make eye contact with people and say, are you seeing this too?, and in that way it is sanity-affirming,” she says. “It helps me feel less alone and remember that other people agree that this is not the way we would like our world to be.”

         Sometimes even people who can win national pun contests run out of ideas. What does Petri do when this happens?

         “I will usually go for a walk or pick up a book or something that isn’t the news and see if fresh inputs will help my brain along, but sometimes that doesn’t do it and my editor is nice enough to think it’s better only to write when you have something to say,” she says. “I am also grateful that I don’t always have to write jokes; sometimes I will just write a more straightforward column. If I can’t think of anything funny to say, I know I don’t always have to. And the flip side of this is that there are some days when I want to write three columns and have to be restrained from doing so.”

         Asked if there is anything else she wants people to know about her book, Petri has a quick answer.

         “I hope they will buy it and enjoy its cover,” she says, adding, “everyone please wash your hands and wear a mask and stay safe.”

Barnes and Noble’s Best Books of 2020 (So Far)

Booksellers Select the Top Ten Titles from the First Half of 2020

Barnes & Noble Inc., the world’s largest retail bookseller, today announced that booksellers from across the U.S. selected ten titles as the Best Books of 2020 (So Far), including books that address our current moment, share lessons from the past, and bring memorable characters—both real and imagined—to life.

“Our passionate bookselling team has undertaken the distinct challenge of narrowing down our favorite books from the first half of 2020 into a short list of ten diverse and thought-provoking titles. The result is a unique range that includes the informative and historical, to electrifying new novels and even a heartwarming children’s tale about a dog, a gorilla, and an elephant,” Jackie De Leo, Vice President, Bookstore, Barnes & Noble. “I am really impressed with our booksellers’ selections, and I am pleased to recommend these titles to our customers.”

1) The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, by Suzanne Collins
“Readers return to the districts of Panem to see the Hunger Games in its infancy and witness a side to future-President Snow that you wouldn’t expect … A heart-stopping adrenaline rush that has you clamoring to reread the original series now that you’ve gotten a glimpse of this unexpected backstory!” -Bookseller Melissa Lavendier

2) A Burning, by Megha Majumdar
“A searing debut novel filled with characters who will live with you long after you turn the final page… the intensity of this story cannot be overstated. A Burning is the best book I’ve read so far this year!”  -Bookseller Sarah Coombs

3) Countdown 1945: The Extraordinary Story of the Atomic Bomb and the 116 Days That Changed the World, by Chris Wallace
“Step into the shoes of President Truman and experience the most difficult 116 days in American history.  Albert Einstein said working on the atomic bomb was ‘the one great mistake in my life.’  Don’t let missing this book be yours.” -Bookseller Steven Kneeland

4) Deacon King Kong, by James McBride
“This brilliant novel starts out with a literal bang when a church deacon shoots a local drug dealer in 1969 Brooklyn. It’s a story that will captivate you until the very end. Hands down, one of the best books I’ve read this year.”  -Bookseller Tara Smart

5) Me and White Supremacy, by Layla F. Saad
“A must read—and ENGAGE—book and an invaluable tool for fully examining the tentacles of white privilege and for confronting our own, individual complicity in a racist culture.  Said is a firm, gentle, frank, and demanding guide on a journey to explain and drive home the full meaning of what it is to be antiracist.” -Book Buyer Sallye Leventhal


6) The One and Only Bob, by Katherine Applegate
“Another heartfelt and empowering novel from Katherine Applegate, it will enchant and delight the inner child in every reader.  Follow Bob along on his mission to save his long-lost sister with his best friends.  See Ivan again in this as he helps his friend, Bob, and root them on until the very last page.” -Bookseller

7) The Splendid and the Vile, by Erik Larson
“A beautiful history of how Churchill gave strength to the British people through times of great struggle and brought a country together.” -Bookseller Savanna Kessler

8) Stamped, by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
“Stamped is a book that should be in the hands of every teenager. This book is a call to action and is written with the intention of dismantling the racist prejudices that continue to plague our nation. It is educational, important and so very relevant.” -Bookseller Victoria Bartolo

9) Untamed, by Glennon Doyle
“Untamed is another honest, moving and empowering book from Glennon Doyle. Her books feel like you’re having a conversation with just her, this one is no different.”            -Bookseller Sarah Smith

10)  The Vanishing Half, by Brit Bennett
“The Vanishing Half is an incredibly thought-provoking novel that touches on societal norms, gender constructs and racial inequality. Brit Bennett has given us a powerful, challenging and complex story that I absolutely recommend to anyone looking to understand racial prejudice and colorism.” -Bookseller Allison Osborn

Customers can find these titles at their local Barnes & Noble and on BN.com.