(pictured: Dean Jannette L. Dates & Commissioner Mignon Clyburn)
The Minority Media and Telecommunications Council (MMTC) has donated $175,000 to help strengthen the John H. Johnson School of Communications’ initiatives, including the capital campaign for a new building. The donation will go toward planning for construction of a state-of-the-art facility, along with the technology and equipment necessary to meet the rising demand s of the telecommunications industry.
“On behalf of the John H. Johnson School of Communications, we thank the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council for its generous contribution,”� said Jannette L. Dates, Dean of the John H. Johnson School of Communications. “With significant donations from partners like MMTC, we are confident the School will continue to empower our students with knowledge of communications technology and policy, giving them a competitive edge throughout their careers.”� Founded in 1986, MMTC is the nation’s leading advocate for multicultural diversity and inclusion in the media and telecommunications industries, which represent one-sixth of the national economy. MMTC has represented over 70 national organizations in FCC proceedings and has provided fellowships for 50 minority attorneys in telecommunications practice. It operates the only minority owned media brokerage in the nation and has effectuated the sale of $1.7 billion in television and radio stations to minorities.
On January 22, MMTC’s President (and former School of Communications professor) David Honig, Board Chairman Henry Rivera and Advisory Board Member Tyrone Brown joined with over fifty experts on broadband technology, journalism and social justice, including senior public officials, corporate leaders and civil rights veterans, in the MMTC Broadband and Social Justice Summit. In a series of roundtable conversations, Summit participants addressed broadband literacy, education and civic engagement, broadcasting and journalism in the broadband world, and closing the digital divide. Presented in partnership with Howard University’s John H. Johnson School of Communications, the MMTC Summit hosted over 100 students and some of the nation’s leading next-generation of African American bloggers, including Wayne Bennett (the Field Negro), Angela Benton (BlackWeb2.0), Richard Prince (Journal-isms) and Navarrow Wright. Keynote speakers included FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, FCC Broadband Policy Director Blair Levin, and National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Administrator Lawrence Strickling.