April 2, 2019 (Washington, DC) – During Women’s HERstory Month, noted civil rights icon Congressman John Lewis recognized The Links, Incorporated as a distinguished organization of outstanding community service and influence. Dr. Kimberly Jeffries Leonard, president of The Links, Incorporated and The Links Foundation, Incorporated had the pleasure of meeting with Congressman Lewis in his historic and museum-like Capitol Hill office last week. There, he lauded Dr. Jeffries Leonard for her dynamic, bold leadership as the organization’s 17th national president. Moreover, he praised the premier women’s organization of more than 15,000 professional women, for its integrity, courage, and accountability. While presenting the esteemed service award, Congressman Lewis further characterized the group’s work as “essential to bending the moral arc of the universe towards justice.” Dr. Jeffries Leonard shared that Congressman Lewis is a fearless trailblazer whose contributions in both the civil rights and political arenas are unrivaled. “Receiving your vote of confidence, Congressman Lewis, confirms that we are on the right track, focused on transforming lives and fulfilling our purpose.” said Dr. Jeffries Leonard.

August 6, 2019 marks the 54th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, which was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Many brave activists, like Congressman Lewis, shed blood so that African Americans could enjoy the voting rights they have today – a right that Congressman Lewis calls “precious” and “almost sacred.” Currently voting rights in America are under attack. When asked about how The Links, Incorporated could raise their collective voices in support of Congressman Lewis’ agenda, he responded, “We need everyone to have the ability to participate in the democratic process and be able to register and vote.” The Links, Incorporated is committed to this call to action in ensuring every American has the ability to exercise their constitutional right to vote, and is proud to have seven dynamic women in Congress as active members: Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, Congresswoman Val Demings, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, Congresswoman Frederica Wilson, and honorary member Senator Kamala Harris. With 288 chapters in 42 states, and in the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of the Bahamas and the United Kingdom, the organization will mobilize, galvanize and utilize across its vast reach to coordinate with elected officials on state and local levels in preparation for the 2020 election. “It is incumbent that every American hold their elected officials accountable to ensure voting rights are protected for generations to come,” Dr. Jeffries Leonard stated.

About The Links, Incorporated:

The Links, Incorporated is an international, not-for-profit corporation, established in 1946. It is one of the nation’s oldest and largest volunteer service organizations of extraordinary women who are committed to enriching, sustaining and ensuring the culture and economic survival of African Americans and other persons of African ancestry. Links members contribute more than 1 million documented hours of community service annually – strengthening their communities and enhancing the nation. The organization is the recipient of awards from the UN Association of New York and the Leon H. Sullivan Foundation for its premier programs, as well as the Golden Torch Award for Corporate Community Service from the National Society of Black Engineers. For more information, visit www.linksinc.org

What Is the Census?
As mandated by the U.S. Constitution, the federal government must count its entire population—citizens and noncitizens—once each decade. The data collected through the census determines how more than $675 billion in federal funds will be allocated in education grants, Medicare and transportation, among other vital areas. Census data also impacts the number of congressional seats each state may receive and the number of votes in the Electoral College used to elect the president of the United States. The data is also used on a state and local level to redistrict state legislative districts, allocate state resources and reshape local policy priorities.

What’s New About the 2020 Census?
Data will be collected by phone and paper surveys, but in 2020 there will be a new emphasis on online responses. The bureau has announced upgrades to its mobile technology, geospatial innovations, and Internet self-response capabilities.

Historically, the census provides consistent and high-quality data on the population—and business and industry use this data to decide where to build, invest and employ individuals. It will be very important to see how the change in the collection instruments impacts economic and business decisions.

Are There Any Challenges with the 2020 Census?
There are certainly things to be aware of regarding the 2020 Census. In 2017, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) included the 2020 Census in its High Risk Report and cited: “Over the past three years, we have made 30 recommendations to help the bureau design and implement a more cost-effective census for 2020; however, only six of them had been fully implemented as of January 2017.”

1. Funding and Staffing. In 2014, Congress limited the funding of the 2020 Census to the costs of the 2010 Census without adjusting for inflation. In light of the 2020 Census budget constraints while also embracing technology, the Department of Commerce is replacing thousands of temporary census workers with online capabilities and technological tools. In 2017, the Census Bureau funding was reduced by 10 percent; in 2018, funding remained flat. The director of the Census Bureau resigned in May 2018.

2. Testing. The new census tools have not been fully tested, so it remains unknown whether the Spanish-language census and the rural-area population counts will yield accurate data.

3. Citizenship Question. The administration wishes to include a question on citizenship on the 2020 Census. The question, if adopted, threatens to dissuade individuals who may not have legal citizenship from responding. The Census Bureau is legally required to protect the privacy of all census data from requests by anyone, including government officials, and it is forbidden by law to pass information about citizenship status on to the government agencies that deport people. Unsurprisingly, many people remain skeptical and avoid answering the census out of fear that other government agencies will access their information.

A federal judge ruled against the citizenship question. As a result, the administration is now urging the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on the matter expeditiously, so that the census questions can be established by a June 2019 deadline.

Remember, it is critical that everyone be counted for the Census. Efforts to intimidate or suppress the total resident population should not be tolerated.

When Will the 2020 Census Data Collection Begin, and How Can We Be Involved?
April 1, 2020, is the start date for 2020 Census data collection. But the groundwork for success starts far before then. The time to prepare for the 2020 Census is right now.

Building our communities’ knowledge about the census is vitally important. The government shutdown and lapses in federal funding threaten to delay the rollout of the census as planned. Given the uncertainty, The Links, Incorporated wants to highlight the 2020 Census to our members NOW. We urge chapters to begin thinking about civic engagement and activities around the 2020 Census.

The Links, Incorporated is exploring new partnerships, toolkits, and resources to help ensure every individual is counted. We will pass along suggested materials as they become available.

Here are a few ways the Census Bureau recommends to get involved.

1. Sign up for updates on new resources and opportunities to partner with the U.S. Census Bureau.
2. Host a workshop to develop solutions to 2020 Census challenges in your community and generate commitments to tackle them.
3. Start or participate in a State Complete Count Commission or a Complete Count Committee to encourage census participation in your community.
4. Become a census worker. Open positions include census takers, recruiting assistants, office staff and supervisory staff.

By Maya Payne Smart – Town Lake (TX) Chapter – National Editor

For some chapters, one LINKS-NSBE Jr. Chapter just isn’t enough. Three feels like a better fit for STEM stars like the Birmingham (AL) and Port City (TX) chapters. Both stretch their time and talents to run after-school engineering programs across multiple campuses in their cities.

How do they do it? They say smart scheduling, responsive programming, and tapping a wide pool of talent (including Connecting Links and Heir-O-Links) are musts, along with healthy doses of laughter and connection.

“I really like to make it fun for the students and easy for the adults,” says Diann Jackson, the Services to Youth chair of the Birmingham (AL) Chapter. “I can’t make it hard for them, because they are already working. They are doing other things. They have families. My mantra is: Let’s make it fun for everybody so that we get the participation we need and sneak in some actual learning with the fun.”

In fact, joy and camaraderie top the NSBE Jr. agendas at all three of their schools, where meetings start with 15-minute icebreakers. A surprise recent hit involved an intergenerational game of jacks. It was a blast from the past for some and a new experience for others. “I almost couldn’t get those kids up off the floor,” Jackson says. “Most of us are of an advanced age. We know what jacks are and haven’t seen them since we were little. It was so much fun for everybody.”

After the ice breaker, the students dive into the day’s coding, design, or construction work. The NSBE Jr. teams have coded their own apps and built solar-powered cars and wind turbines with the help of their Links advisors. Chapter president Monique Gardner-Witherspoon says the program’s impact is most apparent in the enthusiasm of the principals who invite them back year after year and in the participants’ voices. “I go in, and the students are using the STEM language,” she says, “which suggests to me that there’s quality learning and engagement going on. They are able to apply it and speak it.”

The chapter provides financial resources, technical expertise, and moral support for the program and its students. It facilitates field trips, covers competition fees, and gives laptops to seniors who fulfill the program requirements. And even though it’s a Services to Youth program, others contribute. Dentists in the Health & Human Services facet brought the Colgate Dental Van to one of the campuses and performed dental check-ins. Arts facet members helped make costumes for robots that had been programmed to sashay down a runway. An Heir-O-Link serves as an in-school advisor for one of their high school programs.

The Port City (TX) Chapter in Houston takes a similar approach, encouraging members of all professional backgrounds to support its three LINKS-NSBE Jr. chapters. Links who run their own businesses or have more flexible schedules volunteer in the schools or support at robotics competitions, science nights, and career events. Members who can’t get there in person judge essay competitions or review program plans virtually.

Astra Zeno, a teacher at Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy, appreciates the combination of technical mentorship and soft-skills training Links provide to the school’s Five Girls R.O.C.K. LINKS-NSBE Jr. chapter. Chartered in 2014, the group now has 62 high school members and 10 middle school members. Participants have had the opportunity to travel and compete and win recognition at NSBE regional and national competitions. “The partnership has been life-changing for our students,” Zeno says.

The Port City Links have taken their winning formula to more recently chartered NSBE Jr. chapters at two elementary schools serving high percentages of low-income students. “It’s a commitment to the youth, so with that, you want to make sure that you don’t spread your members so thin that you’re not able to follow through,” says Sandra Alridge, the chapter’s NSBE Jr. and STEM lead. “Life happens. If you think you need five volunteers, then you want to start with 10 to make sure that those lights don’t go dim because somebody didn’t show up.”

Consistency matters at the school level as well, notes Dr. David Jackson, principal of Lucile Gregg Elementary School, where the chapter has worked for seven years, even prior to the launch of a NSBE Jr. chapter. He attributes gains in student performance on district-level assessments to Links supporting students with time, materials, exposure, and encouragement. “While each year’s support is appreciated, it is the cumulative effect of your efforts that is moving the needle with our scholars’ understanding of science,” he says of the chapter’s longstanding commitment to the school.

Tapping into members’ professional networks for volunteers and contracting with outside presenters help sustain and energize the programs, Alridge says. For example, the chapter works in partnership with the NASA African American Employee Resources Group to help Gregg Elementary students plan, build, and present scientific research projects each fall. Then it brings in professionals from WorleyParsons and the Society of Women Engineers to judge the entries. The comprehensive science fair program has grown to more than 80 individual and class projects, and all of the participants are eligible to take a chapter-sponsored trip to NASA afterward.

“Just like you work with your own children to help them with their science projects, this is what we’re doing with these kids,” explains Donna Blackshear-Reynolds, the chapter’s programs lead. “We are starting from zero and asking what the children are interested in. Then we help as a parent would and provide everything they need to do the project. We know they would not be able to do it otherwise.”

After the science fair, the LINKS-NSBE Jr. chapter, a smaller subset of children, meets biweekly, with gatherings alternately led by the science teacher and Links or Links partners. Activities, like dissecting cow eyes or exploring geology concepts, are aligned with state science standards. The chapter facilitates and supports STEM learning—all with a goal of bringing sparks to students’ eyes and smiles to their faces.

Alicia Boler-Davis
Oakland County (MI) Chapter
GM, Executive Vice President of Global Manufacturing
2018 Black Engineer of the Year

Today’s General Motors (GM) is built on the strength of its diverse workforce, and the company recognizes the importance of giving back. Diversity is an integral part of the company’s culture and success.

“General Motors has a strong track record of supporting STEM-related education for young girls and women, and particularly African-American women,” says GM Executive Vice President of Global Manufacturing and Link Alicia Boler Davis. “I’m proud and pleased that GM is providing a grant for $35,000 to The Links.”

The GM grant will be used to provide a matching $300 grant to any Links chapter that donates a minimum of $300 to start a new LINKS-NSBE Jr. chapter or support an existing LINKS-NSBE Jr. chapter.

Under the leadership of GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra, GM has made supporting education one of its top philanthropic priorities, with a special focus on creating STEM-education opportunities for young women.

“This grant is GM’s way of saying ‘Thank You’ to The Links organization and of supporting all the tremendous work that is going on, work that truly makes the world a better place,” Boler Davis says.

By Leslye Miller Fraser – Potomac (VA) Chapter – National STEM Chair

Most jobs of the future will require a strong grasp of math and science. STEM occupations are growing at 17%, while other occupations are growing at 10%, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. STEM degree holders also have a higher income, even in non-STEM careers. Yet African Americans are underrepresented in STEM at every degree level. Moreover, the number of African Americans receiving engineering degrees is declining, largely due to fewer African-American women earning degrees in these fields.

All our youth need to be STEM-literate, just as they need to be proficient in reading and writing, if they are to achieve their full potential—regardless of whether they choose STEM careers. There is not a single Link sister who would be unconcerned if the students in her chapter’s programs could not read and write at grade level. As Links, we need to be equally concerned when we see our students unable to meet the grade-level math and science standards.

Every chapter should be engaged in providing STEM education to the students they serve. To date, more than 70% of Links chapters have answered the call with programs of their own design or through partnerships with organizations such as the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), STEM Gems, and Black Girls Code.

To best help our students, we must deepen our own knowledge about STEM education and careers, clarify our chapter aims, and build the capacity and partnerships we need to deliver exceptional programs. To this end, the National STEM team has developed a suite of resources under the LINKS-STEMREADY banner to help chapter programs thrive.

1. Design for Impact. Chapters don’t need to go it alone as they build or deepen their STEM programs. See the members-only section of the national website for access to materials to help design programs for students at all levels, from kindergarten through college. The LINKS-STEMREADY program overview and Service Delivery Model white paper provide guidance on how to build powerful facet, integrated, or umbrella programs with a STEM emphasis.
2. Partner for Success. Accessing age-appropriate STEM materials and experiments from organizations such as NSBE, Black Girls Code, STEM Gems and Science Buddies can accelerate program startup, growth, and impact. Beyond curricular and networking support, the national STEM team continues to pursue financial support for chapter programs. In this program year, $550 in stipends were available to new and continuing LINKS-NSBE Jr. chapters from General Motors, Northrop Grumman, and a private foundation.
3. Keep Learning. Chapter Services to Youth and/or STEM Chairs are invited to join monthly STEM calls on the second Monday of each month, at 9 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, to discover grant opportunities, share program best practices, and get live answers to pressing questions. More than 130 Links have signed up for the voluntary calls. To join, send an email to LMFraser3@comcast.net and get LINKS-STEMREADY.

The Links, Incorporated and the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) agreed in September to extend their partnership for three years, through 2021. Together, the organizations promote and facilitate STEM education and career readiness for underrepresented minority students through the establishment of LINKS-NSBE Jr. chapters.

To bolster the partnership, The Links National STEM team set an ambitious goal to charter 75 LINKS-NSBE Jr. chapters by March 2020. As of December 2018, 70 LINKS-NSBE Jr. chapters are active across 24 states, including eight Central Area, 18 Western Area, 22 Eastern Area, and 22 Southern Area chapters. LINKS-NSBE Jr. chapters now account for a third of all NSBE Jr. chapters nationwide. And at least eight additional LINKS-NSBE Jr. chapters are in the process of being established.

Partnering with NSBE allows chapters to tap into the technical and career resources of the larger NSBE network and to create positive peer interactions for students via NSBE Jr. conferences. NSBE provides age-appropriate STEM programming for grades 3 through 12 for free or at nominal cost plus NSBE scholarships and resources tailored to help prepare high school students for STEM majors in college. Links chapters can more easily share best practices when they use the same STEM programming, lessening the load on individual chapters to figure it all out for themselves.

Additionally, the partnership creates special professional development opportunities for Links. For example, NSBE will be conducting its 2019 STEMulating Young Minds Institute Program for new and prospective NSBE Jr. chapter advisors in Detroit from Sunday, March 24 to Sunday, March 31. The training will focus on all aspects of successfully chartering and maintaining a NSBE Jr. chapter; present an in-depth overview of the STEM programs NSBE offers; and will give participants opportunities to observe NSBE Jr. chapters competing at the 2019 NSBE Annual Convention while shadowing a seasoned NSBE Jr. advisor.

The majority of the costs for selected participants—which will include travel, hotel, and most meals—will be covered. Half of the 50 available training slots are reserved for Links. Click here to apply. The other 25 slots are earmarked for members of other black professional or community organizations. Part of the goal of the SYMI Program is to showcase the LINKS-NSBE partnership as a model for other organizations to similarly establish NSBE Jr. chapters, thereby furthering our collective ability to prepare more African American youth for successful STEM careers.

If selected, you MUST affirm that you will attend the program in full, with no conflicting obligations. Please only apply only if you can affirm this grant condition.