Terms and Conditions

Welcome to The Melanin Day School Academy web site, located at www.melanindayschoolacademy.org (the "Web Site"). Use of the Web Site, information, services, and content distributed through or in conjunction with the Web Site (collectively, the "Services") — including without limitation IamEmpowered.com — is offered to you subject to your acceptance of these Terms of Use, the Melanin Day School Academy ("MDSA") Privacy Policy, and any other notices or amendments posted through the Services.

BY ACCESSING AND USING THE SERVICES, OR ANY OF THE INFORMATION AND/OR CONTENT PRESENTED IN ANY AREAS OF THE SERVICES, YOU ARE ACKNOWLEDGING THAT YOU HAVE READ AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THESE TERMS OF USE, OUR PRIVACY POLICY AND OTHER NOTICES POSTED THROUGH THE SERVICES. YOU FURTHER WARRANT AND COVENANT THAT YOU HAVE THE POWER AND AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO THIS AGREEMENT. IF YOU DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE WITH THE ABOVE, YOU MAY NOT ACCESS OR USE MDSA'S INFORMATION, CONTENT, OR SERVICES.

BECAUSE THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE IMPOSE LEGAL OBLIGATIONS UPON YOU, IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU READ THEM CAREFULLY.

MDSA has the right, at its sole discretion, to modify, add, or remove any terms or conditions of these Terms of Use at any time ("Changes"). You will be notified of any Changes through a posting on this Web Site, a notification in the Services, or via e-mail. Any Changes become effective THIRTY (30) days following the posting of such Changes (the "New Effect:ive Date"). The most recent version of these Terms of Use may always be found on the website. You agree to review these Terms of Use from time to time and agree that any use by you of the Services after the new changes have been posted serve as your acceptance of all the Changes. If you do not agree to any or all of the Changes, you must stop using the Services immediately and notify MDSA via e-mail at: melanindayschoolacademy@gmail.com These Terms of Use were last modified April 17, 2022.

• Purpose of the Web Site and Services

The Web Site and Services are services made available by MDSA. The information and/or content available in or on, or accessed or downloaded through or from, the Services ("Information And Content") are made available solely as a convenience to you for general informational purposes only and are not intended to provide specific commercial, financial, investment, accounting, tax, medical or legal advice. The Services and all Information and Content is provided to you solely for your own personal, non-commercial use and not for purposes of resale, distribution, public display or performance, or any other uses by you in any form or manner whatsoever.

• No Representation Regarding Content

MDSA has used reasonable efforts to obtain the most accurate and timely information available. Due to various factors, including human and mechanical error, We do not guarantee the accuracy, authenticity, timeliness, reliability, appropriateness, or completeness of any of the Information And Content. You agree that all risk associated with the use of, or reliance on, any of the Information And Content contained in the Services rests with you. You further agree that We are not responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, in any way for any loss or damage of any kind caused as a result of, or in connection with your use of, or reliance on, any of the Information And Content.

• Limited License & Permitted Uses

We are a non-transferable, non-exclusive, revocable license to:

• access and use the Services strictly in accordance with these Terms of Use; and
• use the Services solely for internal, personal, non-commercial purposes; and
• post and share content, subject to the requirements of these Terms of Use(collectively, the "Permitted Uses").

Except for the Permitted Uses contained in this limited license, nothing in these Terms of Use gives, implied or expressed, under copyright or other intellectual property law. You agree that all right, title and interest (including all copyrights, trademarks, service marks, patents and other intellectual property rights) in the Services, and their Information and Content belong to MDSA and/or its licensors, as applicable.

• Prohibited User-Generated Content

You are solely responsible and liable for any User-Generated Content that you upload, post, input, publish or otherwise distribute using the Services. As a condition of your use of the Site, you agree not to use the Site for any unlawful or prohibited purpose. User-Generated Content prohibited from the Site includes, without limitation, User-Generated Content that MDSA determines in its sole and absolute discretion:

(a) constitutes or includes any illegal or unauthorized copy, in whole or in part, of another person's copyrighted or copyrightable work, discloses trade secrets without authorization, or otherwise violates the proprietary rights of a third party;

(b) misrepresents the source or identity of any material;

(c) is unlawful, obscene, defamatory, libelous, threatening, abusive, harassing, promotes racism, bigotry, hatred or physical harm of any kind against any individual or group, or encourages any other conduct that would be considered a criminal offense, create civil liability, or is otherwise offensive to users of the Site or inappropriate;

(d) violates the rights of privacy or publicity of any person;

(e) is false or deceptive;

(f) displays pornographic or sexually explicit material of any kind;

(g) includes material that exploits people under the age of 18 in a sexual or violent manner;

(h) is an advertisement or solicitation to sell a product or service to users of the Site, or constitutes any other commercial use of the Site, without the prior written consent of MDSA;

(i) is unlawful under the laws of the United States or any individual state or locality, the laws of any foreign jurisdiction, or any international treaty or convention;

or

(j) interferes with the proper functioning of the Services or Sites, or violates any other term of this Agreement. You should not post any User-Generated Content if you are in doubt about its legality or its prohibition by the terms of use.

The above restrictions include, "screen scraping", or any other practice or activity that is used to obtain lists of data, portions of a database, or other lists or information from the Services, in any manner or in any quantities not authorized in writing by MDSA.

You acknowledge that MDSA is a service provider that may allow users to interact online regarding topics and content chosen by the users. MDSA does not endorse any User-Generated Content or any opinion, recommendation or advice that may be expressed. MDSA generally does not regulate and shall have no obligation to monitor any User-Generated Content. Nonetheless, MDSA and its agents shall have and reserve the right to monitor any User-Generated Content from time to time for any lawful purpose. MDSA may, without notice to you, remove or block any User-Generated Content, including disabling access to such User-Generated Content. MDSA also may terminate your access to the Site and refer the User-Generated Content to law enforcement if MDSA believes it is in violation of any state, federal or local law.

• Prohibited User Conduct

Subject to the permitted use of the Services granted in this Agreement, you may not, in whole or in part, copy, photocopy, reproduce, translate, reverse engineer, derive source code from, modify, disassemble, decompile, or create derivative works based on the Services, or remove any proprietary notices or labels from the Services. Failure to comply with the restrictions and limitations contained in this Section 5 will result in the immediate, automatic termination of your access to the Site and may subject you to civil and/or criminal liability. You further agree that you will not, under any circumstances:

(a) frame or otherwise display any portion of the Site or its contents that is not your User-Generated Content without prior authorization;

(b) sell, grant a security interest in, or transfer reproductions of all or any portion of the Services to other parties in any way not expressly authorized herein, nor shall you rent, lease or license all or any portion of the Services to others;

(c) exploit the Services or any of its parts for any commercial purpose whatsoever without the express prior written authorization of MDSA;

(d) host, provide or develop services for or using the Services, or intercept, emulate or redirect the communication protocols used by MDSA in any way, including without limitation through protocol emulation, tunneling, packet sniffing, modifying or adding components to the Services, use of a utility program or any other techniques now know or hereafter developed, for any purpose, including without limitation unauthorized access in any form over the Internet;

(e) facilitate, create or maintain any unauthorized connection to the Services, or any portion thereof, including without limitation any connection to any unauthorized server that emulates, or attempts to emulate, the Services. All connections to the Services, or any portion thereof, may only be made through methods and means expressly approved by MDSA. Under no circumstances may you connect, or create tools that allow you or others to connect to the Services, or any portion thereof, other than those expressly provided by MDSA; or

(f) use the Services in a manner prohibited by any applicable law or government regulation, or by the Terms of Use.

6. User Registration

As a condition to using certain components of the Services, you may be required to register with MDSA and select a password and screen name ("User ID") to obtain a personal account. You agree to provide MDSA with accurate, complete, and updated registration information. Failure to do so will constitute a breach of the Terms of Use, which may result in immediate, automatic termination of your access to the Site. You may not select or use as a User ID a name of another person with the intent to impersonate that person; use as a User ID a name subject to any rights of a person other than you without appropriate authorization; or use as a User ID a name that is otherwise offensive, vulgar or obscene. MDSA reserves the right to refuse registration of, or to cancel, a User ID in its sole and absolute discretion. Notwithstanding the foregoing, you acknowledge that MDSA cannot guaranty the accuracy of any information submitted by any user of the Services, nor any identifying information about any user. You are solely responsible for the activity that occurs through your account. You will be solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password. MDSA's password protection scheme is designed for entertainment purposes only, and is not designed for protection or securing of personal or sensitive data. You should never reveal personal or sensitive information about yourself that you wish to remain secure in posting your favorites or answering questions. You may not share your account with a third party or use the account of a third-party. You agree to notify MDSA immediately in writing of any unauthorized use of your account, or other account-related security breach of which you are aware. You may cancel your account at any time upon written notice to MDSA.

7. Remedies for Violations

We reserve the right to take all measures available under the law to block access by violators, or for suspected violators, of these Terms of Use, including but not limited to the right to block access from a particular IP address to the Services and their features.

8. License of Your Content to MDSA

When you use the Services any content, or submitting any materials for use on the Services, you grant (or warrant that the owner of such rights has expressly granted) MDSA or its designee, a perpetual, royalty-free, irrevocable, fully-paid, non-exclusive, worldwide right and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, sublicense, translate, reformat, create derivative work(s) or adaptation(s) from, and distribute such materials or incorporate such materials into any form, medium, or technology now known or later developed throughout the world, in any manner otherwise than as stated in MDSA's Privacy Policy.

9. DISCLAIMERS

(a) THE SERVICES AND ANY ACCOMPANYING DOCUMENTATION AND MATERIAL ARE BEING PROVIDED TO YOU "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND WHATSOEVER. WITHOUT LIMITING THE INTENDED GENERALITY OF THE PRECEDING SENTENCE, MDSA DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICES OR ANY PORTION THEREOF (i) WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE OR ERROR FREE, OR THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED; (ii) IS COMPATIBLE WITH ANY SOFTWARE, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION INTERNET BROWSER SOFTWARE; (iii) IS FREE OF INFECTION BY VIRUSES, WORMS, TROJAN HORSES OR ANYTHING ELSE MANIFESTING CONTAMINATING OR DESTRUCTIVE PROPERTIES; OR (iv) IS FREE OF DEFAMATORY, DEROGATORY OR ADULT-ORIENTED MATERIAL, OR MATERIAL THAT SOME INDIVIDUALS MAY DEEM OFFENSIVE OR OBJECTIONABLE. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT ALLOWED BY LAW, MDSA DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY AND ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE.

(b) MDSA IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CONDUCT, WHETHER ONLINE OR OFFLINE, OF ANY USER OF THE SERVICES. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL MDSA BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE, INCLUDING PERSONAL INJURY OR DEATH, RESULTING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES, ANY USER-GENERATED CONTENT POSTED ON THE SITE OR TRANSMITTED TO ANOTHER USER, OR ANY TRANSACTIONS BETWEEN OR AMONG YOU AND OTHER USERS, WHETHER ONLINE OR OFFLINE.

(c) THE SERVICES ARE CONTROLLED AND PROVIDED BY MDSA FROM ITS FACILITIES IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. MDSA MAKES NO REPRESENTATION THAT THE SITE OR THE SERVICES ARE APPROPRIATE OR AVAILABLE FOR USE IN OTHER LOCATIONS. IF YOU ACCESS OR USE THE SITE OR THE SERVICES FROM OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES, YOU DO SO VOLUNTARILY AND ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR COMPLIANCE WITH THE LAWS APPLICABLE TO YOUR LOCATION.

YOU FURTHER ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT IN NO EVENT WILL MDSA BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS, INJURY, CLAIM, LIABILITY, OR DAMAGE OF ANY KIND RESULTING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES. MDSA WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, LEGAL FEES AND COURT COSTS) IN ANY WAY DUE TO, RESULTING FROM, OR ARISING IN CONNECTION WITH:

• ANY LOSS OF YOUR USER GENERATED CONTENT OR ANY INTERRUPTIONS OF SERVICE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ISP DISRUPTIONS, SOFTWARE OR HARDWARE FAILURES, OR ANY OTHER EVENT WHICH MAY RESULT IN A LOSS OF DATA OR A DISRUPTION OF SERVICE;
• YOUR PARTICIPATION OR RELIANCE ON INFORMATION AND CONTENT POSTED ON MESSAGE BOARDS OR E-MAIL FORUMS; OR
• ANY OTHER MATTER RELATING TO THE SERVICES AND/OR ANY INFORMATION AND CONTENT, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER ANY OF THE FOREGOING IS DETERMINED TO CONSTITUTE A FUNDAMENTAL BREACH OR FAILURE OF ESSENTIAL PURPOSE.

TO THE EXTENT THIS LIMITATION ON LIABILITY IS PROHIBITED, MDSA'S SOLE OBLIGATION TO YOU FOR DAMAGES SHALL BE LIMITED TO $1.00.

10. Service Modifications

You acknowledge and agree that MDSA reserves the right, in its sole discretion and at any time, to modify, change, add to, terminate, or discontinue (with respect to an individual user or all users) the Services and/or any associated services, Information And Content, or technical specifications with or without notice to you, and that MDSA will not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, to you or any other person in any way for any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of, or in connection with, any such modification or discontinuance.

11. Privacy and Personal Information

Your use of the Services may require you to provide information about yourself.  The Services include the Privacy Policy relating to the collection, use and disclosure of this information. Please read the Privacy Policy carefully. By using the Site, you are acknowledging that you have read and agree to all of the terms and conditions of the Privacy Policy (which is located at:  http://melanindayschoolacademy.org/privacy-policy) and that you agree to the incorporation of the Privacy Policy into these Terms of Use.

12. Confidentiality and Transmissions over the Internet

The transmission of data or information (including communications by e-mail) over the Internet or other publicly accessible networks is not secure, and is subject to possible loss, interception, or alteration while in transit. Accordingly, MDSA does not assume any liability for any damage you may experience or costs you may incur as a result of any transmissions over the Internet or other publicly accessible networks, including without limitation transmissions involving the exchange of e-mail with MDSA containing your personal information. While MDSA shall take commercially reasonable efforts to safeguard the privacy of the information you provide to MDSA and shall treat such information in accordance with MDSA's Privacy Policy, in no event will the information you provide to MDSA be deemed to be confidential, create any fiduciary obligations to you on MDSA's part, or result in any liability to you on MDSA's part in the event that such information is inadvertently released by MDSA or accessed by third parties without MDSA's consent.

13. MDSA’s Ownership of the Sites and Proprietary Material

The Sites contain copyrighted material, technology, trademarks, service marks, trade secrets and other proprietary information, which may include computer code, text, data, video, images, illustrations, animations, sounds, musical compositions and recordings, audiovisual effects, color schemes, business methods and methods of operation, concepts, ideas, know-how, moral rights, and any related documentation (collectively the "Proprietary Material"). All intellectual property rights to the Proprietary Material, including patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret rights, are owned or licensed by MDSA. You agree not to copy, download, reproduce, republish, upload, post, transmit, perform, display, distribute or sell, or in any other way exploit the Proprietary Material, or to participate with or to encourage others to engage in such acts, without the prior written consent of MDSA. Nor may the Proprietary Material, or any portion thereof, be modified or used for any purpose other than as expressly authorized in this Agreement. The Proprietary Material may include materials licensed by MDSA from third parties, and the licensors of those materials may enforce their rights in the event of any violation of this Agreement. For example, you are expressly prohibited from using the Proprietary Material to modify content generated by you or by others for the purpose of selling or assisting others to sell the content in its modified form. ALL RIGHTS NOT EXPRESSLY GRANTED TO YOU IN THIS AGREEMENT ARE RESERVED BY MDSA AND ITS LICENSORS.

14. Indemnification by User

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold MDSA and MDSA's affiliates, business partners, officers, directors, employees, and agents harmless from any loss, liability, claim, action, suit, demand, damage, or expense (including reasonable legal fees, costs of investigation and court costs) asserted by any third party relating in any way to, or in respect of, your use of the Services, any third party applications, software, or content you post or share on or through the Services, or breach of these Terms of Use. MDSA reserves the right to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter subject to indemnification by you, which shall not excuse your indemnity obligations.

15. Third Party Web Sites, Content and Products and Services

LINKS TO THIRD-PARTY WEBSITES Solely as a convenience to users, MDSA may provide links on the Site to other websites owned by third-parties. Unless otherwise expressly stated, MDSA does not endorse or control these third-party websites and assumes no responsibility for them.

YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT IN SUCH DEALINGS WITH THIRD PARTIES, MDSA IS NOT THE SELLER OR PROVIDER AND YOUR AGREEMENT OF PURCHASE OR FOR SERVICES WITH SUCH THIRD PARTY IS SOLELY BETWEEN YOU AND THE THIRD PARTY, AND NOT MDSA. MDSA ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY WHATSOEVER FOR ANY CHARGES, LOSSES OR LIABILITIES YOU, OR ANY USER OF YOUR ACCOUNT, INCUR WHEN MAKING PURCHASES, DEALING WITH OR COMPLETING TRANSACTIONS WITH SUCH THIRD PARTIES.

By accessing third party services through the Services, you hereby authorize such third party service providers to provide MDSA with personal information regarding your use of and your activities with respect to the purchase and use of third party services and/or goods.

Hypertext links or pointers to third party web sites and references to products and services offered by third parties are provided to you for convenience only and do not constitute an endorsement or approval by MDSA of:

• 1. the organizations that operate such web sites;
• 2. the information, content, privacy policies or other terms of use on such web sites, or;
• 3. such third party products and services.

As MDSA has no control or responsibility over, and does not investigate, monitor, or check for accuracy third party web sites or information and/or content maintained by other organizations, or for products and services offered by third parties, and MDSA does not assume any liability for your use of any of the foregoing. If you decide to exit the Services and access third party web sites, you acknowledge and agree that you do so at your own risk and you should be aware that these Terms of Use no longer govern.

16. Unlawful Activity

MDSA reserves the right to investigate complaints or reported violations of these Terms of Use and to take any action MDSA deems appropriate, including but not limited to reporting any suspected unlawful activity to law enforcement officials, regulators, or other third parties, and disclosing any information necessary or appropriate to such persons or entities relating to your profiles, e-mail addresses, usage history, posted materials, IP addresses, and traffic information.

17. General

These Terms of Use incorporate by reference all notices and disclaimers contained in the Services, including but not limited to the Privacy Policy and, except for any agreements with MDSA that expressly reference these Terms of Use (i.e. the End User Licensing Agreement), constitute the entire agreement between you and MDSA with respect to access to, and use of, the Services. Except as specifically set forth herein, these Terms of Use supersede any prior agreements, including prior oral and/or written statements or representations not contained herein, between you and MDSA relating to the Services. This agreement is not intended to create a partnership, joint venture or agency relationship between you and MDSA.

If any provision of these Terms of Use is invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any respect under any applicable statute or rule of law, such provision will be enforced to the maximum extent permissible and the remaining portions of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect. MDSA's failure to insist upon, or enforce, strict performance of any right or provision of these Terms of Use shall not constitute or be construed or deemed to be a waiver of such right or provision in the future or a waiver of any other right or provision under these Terms of Use. You agree that these Terms of Use, MDSA's Privacy Policy and other notices posted through the Services have been drawn up in English. Although translations in other languages of any of the foregoing documents may be available, such translations may not be up to date or complete. Accordingly, you agree that in the event of any conflict between the English language version of the foregoing documents and any other translations thereto, the English language version of such documents shall govern.

You may not transfer or assign any of your rights or obligations provided in this Agreement without the express prior written approval of MDSA.  MDSA may assign this Agreement without restriction of any kind. No failure on the part of MDSA to enforce any provision of this Agreement shall be deemed a waiver or consent.

You agree that the Sites will be deemed exclusively based in New York, United States of America and this Agreement shall be deemed to have been made and executed exclusively in the State of New York. Any dispute arising out of this Agreement shall be resolved in accordance with the laws of the State of New York without reference to its conflict of law provisions. You agree that any claim asserted in any legal proceeding by you or MDSA shall be commenced and maintained in any state or federal court located in New York County, State of New York, having subject matter jurisdiction with respect to such dispute. You and MDSA agree to submit to the personal jurisdiction of such court. The prevailing party in any such proceeding shall be entitled to reimbursement of court costs, including a reasonable attorney fee, in addition to any other remedy awarded.

18. Force Majeure

In addition to applicable disclaimers stated above, MDSA's performance under these Terms of Use shall be excused in the event of interruption and/or delay due to, or resulting from, causes beyond its reasonable control, including but not limited to acts of God, acts of any government, war or other hostility, civil disorder, the elements, fire, flood, earthquake, explosion, embargo, acts of terrorism, power failure, equipment failure, industrial or labour disputes or controversies, acts of any third party data provider(s) or other third party information provider(s), third party software, or communication method interruptions.

19. Copyright Infringement

It is MDSA's policy to block access to or remove content that it believes in good faith to be copyrighted material that has been illegally copied and distributed by any user or other content provider. If you believe that User-Generated Content or other material residing on or accessible through the Sites infringes a copyright, please send a notice of copyright infringement to the Designated Agent. The notice of infringement should conform to the elements of notification provided in the DMCA, Section 512(c)(3), including: (i) contact information and the physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright allegedly infringed; (ii) identification of the copyrighted work or material infringed; (iii) identification and location the of the content claimed to be infringing so that it may be found and verified; (iv) a statement that the complaining party has a good faith belief that the use of the content in the manner complained of is not authorized; and (v) a statement, made under penalty of perjury, that all information in the notification is accurate and that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright claimed to be infringed. Once proper infringement notification is received by the Designated Agent, MDSA will remove or disable access to the claimed infringing User-Generated Content or other material; notify the accused infringing party that it has removed or disabled access to the User-Generated Content or other material; and determine appropriate measures to prevent recurrence by the accused infringing party. The DMCA requires a service provider to give prompt notification to the accused infringing party of the copyright claim and that the accused User-Generated Content or other material has been removed or access to it has been disabled. Section 512(g). The accused infringing party may then issue a counter notification in the form provided in the DMCA, Section 512(g)(3). In such instances, MDSA shall follow the procedures and requirements of the DMCA calling for notification to the complaining party and timely restoration of the User-Generated Content or other material alleged to be infringing.

20. Donations

Acceptance of donations does not represent the Melanin Day School Academy's express or implied endorsement of the positions, opinions, products or services of any person or its employees, or partners or other business concerns in which such person has a material financial ownership.

We request corporate funders or partners expressly acknowledge and agree to the following:

The Melanin Day School Academy has not, by virtue of accepting a charitable contribution, granted to any person, in whole or in part, any rights to influence, control, direct or veto, in any manner, express or implied, the editorial, financial, policy or advocacy stance undertaken by the Melanin Day School Academy.

21. Contact

If you have any questions or concerns about the Sites, the Services, or these Terms of Use, please feel free to contact us at the address below:

Melanin Day School Academy

2251 Florin Rd suite 122

Sacramento CA, 95882