LIKE FATHER, LIKE BUN

LARRY THORNTON SR IS THE FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN MAN IN BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA TO

OWN A MCDONALD’S FRANCHISE. HIS SON DALE WORKED AT HIS FATHER’S STORE AS EARLY AS
10 YEARS OLD, LEARNING THE ROPES OF THE RESTAURANT BUSINESS. HIS FATHER FIRST
DUBBED HIM THE “PLAYGROUND MANAGER.” IN 2004, DALE EARNED A BUSINESS DEGREE
FROM MILES COLLEGE. IN THE FOLLOWING YEARS, HE ATTENDED MCDONALD’S RESTAURANT’S
HAMBURGER UNIVERSITY, TWICE, TO PREPARE FOR HIS FRANCHISEE FUTURE. HIS
COMMITMENT PAID OFF AND IN 2006, AT AGE 25, DALE BECAME MCDONALD’S YOUNGEST
FRANCHISEE. NOW, THE FATHER-SON DUO HAS SEVEN LOCATIONS TOGETHER IN THE
BIRMINGHAM AREA. IN THE SPIRIT OF GIVING BACK TO HIS COMMUNITY, DALE DONATED
500,000 DOLLARS TO HIS ALMA MATER. IN 2011, LARRY ALSO DONATED ONE MILLION
DOLLARS TO ALABAMA STATE. TOGETHER, THE PAIR IS AN EXAMPLE THAT “LIKE FATHER, LIKE
BUN.”
LOUD AND CLEAR

IN THE TIME OF COVID AND QUARANTINE, HUMAN CONNECTION IS INVALUABLE TO

SURVIVING THE SEPARATION. EVERY TIME WE CALL FRIENDS AND LOVED ONES, WE
CAN DO SO THANKS TO JAMES EDWARD WEST. WEST IN 1962 PATENTED HIS
ELECTROACOUSTIC TRANSDUCER ELECTRET MICROPHONE, WHAT WE WOULD JUST
CALL A MIC, AT BELL LABORATORIES.

JAMES EDWARD IS A BLACK INVENTOR WHO WAS BORN IN 1931 IN PRINCE EDWARDS
COUNTY, VA. WEST WAS RAISED BY HIS GRANDMOTHER FOR SEVERAL YEARS WHILE
HIS MOTHER WAS AWAY TEACHING ON A NATIVE AMERICAN RESERVATION IN ORDER
TO AFFORD HER COLLEGE TUITION. WEST ATTENDED TEMPLE UNIVERSITY AND
STARTED AS AN INTERN AT BELL LABS. HE WAS CONDUCTING RESEARCH FOR THEIR
PROGRAM IN MURRAY HILL, NEW JERSEY. THEN, IN 1957, WEST WAS OFFERED A
FULL TIME POSITION. HE NOTES THAT ONE OF THE DRAWS TO THE JOB WAS THAT HE
WAS ABLE TO BE IN COMMUNITY WITH OTHER BLACK SCIENTISTS. THUS WEST
INVESTED IN PROGRAMS THAT ENCOURAGE MORE STUDENTS OF COLOR TO GET
INVOLVED IN THE SCIENCES. IN 2001, WEST RETIRED FROM BELL AND TRANSITIONED
TO BECOMING A RESEARCH PROFESSOR AT JOHN HOPKINS UNIVERSITY.

TODAY ROUGHLY NINETY PERCENT OF MICROPHONES USE WEST’S GENIUS

TECHNOLOGY WHICH HAD INCREDIBLE ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, AND SIZE. WEST’S
MIC WAS LIGHTWEIGHT AND SMALL AND STILL ABLE TO OUTSHINE OTHER DEVICES
AT THE TIME. WEST RECEIVED COUNTLESS AWARDS AND HONORS, INCLUDING
BEING INDUCTED INTO THE NATIONAL INVENTORS HALL OF FAME. THANKS TO WEST,
WE ARE ABLE TO FEEL CLOSER TOGETHER, LOUD AND CLEAR.
FIRST BLACK WOMAN AWARDED A MICHELIN STAR

MARIYA RUSSELL IS TRULY “CHEF-FING” UP HISTORY. THE YOUNG OHIO NATIVE

MADE HEADLINES AS HEAD CHEF AT KIKKO CHICAGO, A DUAL CONCEPT BAR AND
RESTAURANT.

WHILE THERE, SHE CREATED A SEVEN COURSE TASTING MENU INSPIRED BY

TRADITIONAL JAPANESE FLAVORS. SHE ALSO ENTIRELY PREPARED AND SERVED
EVERY DISH. HER SKILL AND ATTENTION TO DETAIL ATTRACTED THE INTEREST OF
THE MICHELIN GUIDE. IN SEPTEMBER OF 2019, SHE BECAME THE FIRST BLACK
FEMALE CHEF TO EARN A STAR IN THE SERIES 94-YEAR-LONG HISTORY.

RUSSEL HAS BEEN ON A HIATUS FROM KIKKO SINCE THE START OF THE PANDEMIC
TO RECONNECT TO HER CREATIVITY. IN FEBRUARY OF THIS YEAR, SHE STARTED
POSTING FOOD EDUCATION CONTENT TO HER YOUTUBE CHANNEL. IN THESE 20
MINUTE VIDEOS, SHE SHARES HER CRAFT SO THAT YOU CAN TRY YOUR HAND AT
MICHELIN-STAR CUISINE FOR FREE. RUSSELL SHOWS THAT THROUGH PASSION AND
DRIVE, EVEN THE TALLEST OF GLASS CIELINGS CAN BE BROKEN.

I’M _________. AND THIS HAS BEEN THE BLACK INFORMATION NETWORK.