Archives December 2021

Re-living the Dream: Meet Abstract Mindstate, the Retired Chicago Group Kanye Brought Back Together

Olskool Ice-Gre and ​​E.P Da Hellcat had put their rap careers behind them. Then fate intervened in the form of the most infamous man in popular music.

They were freshmen at Jackson State, a dab of Black college life nestled in the middle of Mississippi. They were both waiting at Union Station for a train to their shared hometown of Chicago. Gre and his crew posted up near the tracks, bags filled with liquor, minds at ease. The platform swarmed with off-the-clock students. Amid the bustle, a voice protruded. It was E.P. No one in her group had packed any booze and she was pissed. Gre’s cousin looked at him, then looked at her, and then, before anyone even knew what was happening, said out loud, “You don’t even got to worry about that. You can drink with us.” So the strangers rode and drank together.

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Power of artifacts

To touch a pair of shackles that belonged to a child is a powerful experience. Seeing the items in a display case is sobering enough, but to actually hold the items in your and imagine the tiny legs that must have been in them is overpowering. I wonder if the tiny legs that fit into those shackles were the legs of one of my ancestors who have origin in Ghana, Benin, and other sub-Saharan African countries.

Centuries-old DNA helps identify specific origins of slave skeletons found in Caribbean

A newly developed genetic technique enabled researchers to sequence DNA from the teeth of 300-year-old skeletons, helping to pinpoint where in Africa three slaves had likely lived before being captured.

March 9, 2015 – By Krista Conger

More than 300 years ago, three African-born slaves died on the Caribbean island of Saint Martin. No written records memorialized their fate, and their names and precise ethnic background remained a mystery. For centuries, their skeletons were subjected to the hot, wet weather of the tropical island until they were unearthed in 2010 during a construction project in the Zoutsteeg area of the capital city of Philipsburg.

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Mississippi among worst in racial health disparities, a new report finds

by Will Stribling
November 26, 2021
An extensive report from the Commonwealth Fund has found deep-seated racial health disparities in all 50 states — with many more pronounced in Mississippi than anywhere else in the nation.

Across 24 measures graded in a Health Equity Scorecard, Mississippi ranked near the bottom or last when measuring health outcomes, health care access, and health care quality for both its Black and white populations. Only one state, Oklahoma, had a lower overall health care rating for its Black population.

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AI-driven Sentiment Analysis in Customer Service: Use Cases, Benefits, Expert Tips

Terry Wilson

Understanding customers’ sentiment is essential for business success. If a company fails to make a good impression, clients will leave. With research showing that gaining a new customer is six to seven times more expensive than keeping an existing one, understanding people’s sentiment seems like a “cheaper” path to success. Are you interested in AI-powered sentiment analysis but not sure how to proceed? Do you doubt whether to opt for a ready-made solution or turn to AI consultants to develop a custom tool? Hopefully, this article will resolve your doubts.

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