YOUR LINK TO AFRICAN AMERICAN BUSINESS OWNERS A MULTIPLE AWARD WINNING PUBLICATION
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Here Come the Judges!! page 8
Black Culture Board Games page 34
Suite Life Mag Launch page73
Naomi Campbell Champions African Fashion Industry
Rihanna Links with Fashion House LVMH
page 34
page 50
FINAL EDITION
Publisher's Message “COMMUNICATION IS KEY”
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s the cover of this month's issue announces - Black Women are on the Move. While this is not a new phenomenon for Black people, we take it for granted, it is notable for the rest of the world. We take it for granted because all around us in Pubisher/Editor-In-Chief our homes, neighborhoods, church congregations, schools, factories, and offices we see women leading, taking charge and resolving challenges everyday. What is different? Why does this time feel different? The platforms for exposure of the people's actions and thoughts have multiplied and are not controlled by a central authority. We are better able to bring our own people to the attention of the world, on our own terms. Our communication platforms have expanded from church pulpits to YouTube channels. While we have lost one important channel with the recent demise of Ebony Magazine, we have regained Essence magazine, retained Black Enterprise, use Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram everyday all day and are now broadcasting Podcasts. We have even carved out a communications space that now has its own name - Black Twitter. Black women (Black People) are now more evident and are not alone on the public stage. Let us continue to grow and support our capability to promote the
Earl “Skip” Cooper, II
men Read the articles greatness of our women and men. on pages 8, 11, 12, 14 and 46 (How to Be a Fearless Female Leader) and more throughout this issue of the
Black Business News - a communication channel that we control. Throughout this issue you will find reports of women in government, politics, business, entertainment and social service. We do not overlook our men and young people. I hope that you find our coverage in this issue and all of our issues (Black Business News International and Black Business News Travel Africa) to be broad, fair, enlightening and encouraging. We take our role in the media realm seriously in the light of the observation by Malcolm X that "the media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent and that's power."
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companion issue not much referred to is the condition of a worldwide free press. A free press provides all of us with a platform to promote our concerns, circumstances and conditions as well as recruit supporters when needed. The United Nations' World Press Freedom Day each May 3rd reminds us of the importance of a free press and of our ressponsibility to protect and support a worldwide free press.
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frica Day is the annual commemoration of the foundation of the Organisation of African Unity on 25 May 1963. Now designated as the African Union (https://au.int), the organization continues to move forward with the process of positive development of the continent and her people. To celebrate the continuing progress and to honor Africa Day consider reviewing the current development plan, Africa 2063: The Africa We Want (https://au.int/en/ agenda2063/overview), to grasp the magniture of the challenge, the scope of the goals and to find your place in the plan as an individual or as an entrepreneur.
2 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
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his month the National Urban League issued their 2019 State of Black America Report, “Getting 2 Equal, United Not Divided” (http://soba. iamempowered.com). It is an unprecedented examination of the state of the black vote in the USA. A main take-away is the importance of requirement of the people to insist on full participation in the voting process of the nation. We must encourage young people reaching the age of voting to register. We must vote ourselves and to both encourage others to vote and help anyone challenged with getting to the polls to get to the polls. Companion to the voting rights issue is the upcoming nationwide Census 2020 (www.census.gov). It is vitally important that every eligible person participate in the census survey. The statistics garnered from the survey will affect political and economic decisions for the nation over the next 10 years or more. There are still opportunities for working for the Census process. Look out for outreach programs that will be evident in the coming months.
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he power of the Black Vote is very evident from time to time. It was evident in the election of Barack H. Obama as the first African American president of the United States of America. It was evident in the near election of Stacy Abrams in the recent Georgia election. We do and will continue to see it as honors to the 44th president continue to be established. Local, state and federal representtives of the people of Los Angeles, California recently renamed a main throughfare after President Obama (page 79). Thank you Los Angeles. Let's keep the honors coming.
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ational Small Business Week was celebrated May 5-11. The annual celebration and meetings held under the auspices of the Small Business Administration (www.sba.gov) highlight the role of and importance of small business in the US economy. A repeat feature for the 2019 event was the two-day Virtual Conference co-hosted by the U.S. Small Business Administration and SCORE on Tuesday, May 7 and Wednesday, May 8, 2019. Look for the Virtual Conference opportunity next year in order to benefit more fully from the information and sharing that is the essence of bringing the high achievers together. In this issue we present the article "5 Lessons from This Year’s Top Small Businesses" on page 79 so that we all may benefit from their experiences. Whether our relationship is B2B or C2B, we all have a role in contributing to the continued growth and strength of the African American economy. So, continue to Buy Black when ever possible, Bank Black (one account is never enough), Educate Black (the more we know, the more we can do). Again Malcolm X tells us "Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today." www.bbala.org
Black Business News Group P.O. Box 43159 Los Angeles, CA 90043 USA 1-323-291-7819 Fax: 1-323-298-5064
www.blackbusinessnews.net PUBLISHER/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Earl “Skip” Cooper, II
ASSOCIATE EDITORS Sarah Harris Dean L. Jones Phyllis Dixon
ENTREPRENEUR EDITOR Kim Anthony
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Linda Ware
PRODUCTION MANAGER Narishima Osei
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Bene Uche Linda Ware Ralph D. Sutton Timothy Lester, Jr. Veronica Hendrix Giavanna Foster P. Yvette Thomas Aman Williams LaSandra Stratton
GRAPHIC DESIGN Sarah Harris Tia RobinsonGRAPHIC DESIGN Sarah Harris Tia Robinson
STORY EDITORS Wanda Flagg Jennifer Marie Hamilton
PHOTOGRAPHY Ian Foxx Sabir Narishima Osei
CONTENT ADMINISTRATOR La Sandra Stratton
LAYOUT/TYPESETTING Lion Communications Copyright © 2019 by Black Business News All Rights Reserved. The posting of stories, commentaries, reports, documents and links (embedded or otherwise) on this site does not in any way, shape or form, implied or otherwise, necessarily express or suggest endorsement or support of any of such posted material or parts therein. Cover image: dreamstime.com
3 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
About
ABOUT THE BLACK BUSINESS NEWS GROUP‌ The mission of The Black Business News (BBN) is to inspire and inform public and private sector industry representatives on the importance of smart small business growth. As a versatile source of socioeconomic development activity news, the publications of the Black Business News Group (a division of the Black Business Association) impart current local, national and international industry and social trends and news aecting small businesses across the United States of America (USA), providing guides to greater access to ďŹ nancial capital, management eďŹƒciencies, business education, mentorship opportunities and social media networks. The goals of the Black Business News Group include: •
promoting USA-based black-owned business enterprises to a world wide audience.
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oering business growth enhancing information on education, exhibitioning, international trading, technology, industry trends, and more.
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exploring major public and private sector contracting methods to educate s. black-owned and operated enterprises. MŴŴZ ՗� ª€ŸŴŴ G @@
•
or providing an aďŹƒrmative inuence for nemerging entrepreneurs by sharing inal novative design and creative cultural content that exposes them to the his-tory of black enterprises and urgess them to participate in the USA’s fu-ture.
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advocating and promoting on behalf of black-owned businesses by promoting the need for expanding an economic foundation that supports an unfettered and self-sustained urban society with USA job creation and economic opportunity, where blacks work, live and operate viable business enterprises.
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Contents
Black Business News…May 2019 2
Publisher's Message
Government 8 10 11
12
14
16
17 18
The Story of the Historic Elec on of 19 African American Female Judges in Texas A New Era in U.S. Development Finance Adrienne Jones, First Woman and First African American Speaker of Maryland House of Delegates West Point's Class of 2019 Includes Historic Number of African-American Women Macron's Right-hand Woman: ‘He Doesn't Need Another Fla erer’ Immigrants from 78 Africa Most Affected by Proposed Order U.S. Regulators Approve New Silicon Valley Stock Exchange Microso Aims to Modernize and Secure Vo ng with Elec onGuard
Entertainment 22
BBN Show Biz Buzz
Editorials/Perspectives 72 97
Extremist Laws Will Make it Harder for Poor Women to End Pregnancies Five Steps to Fight Fake News and False Informa on On Whatsapp
Business 30 31 32 33 34 37
38 41
Two Young Chefs to Watch and Follow Cindy Pace Named Global Diversity & Inclusion Officer at MetLife This Black-Owned Ice Cream Shop Brings More Than Just Sweet Treats Serena Williams’ Venture Capital Por olio Board Game Brothas Mellody Hobson, George Lucas Seeking to Obtain Control of Historic EBONY and JET Archives Great Leaders Are Though ul and Deliberate, Not Impulsive and Reac ve #NYFWNoir: 11-Year-Old Made History at New
46 50 51 52 56 68 73
York Fashion Week How to Be a Fearless Female Leader Rihanna's New Fashion Line Is Making History in More Than One Way Melissa C. Thomas-Hunt Joins Airbnb as Head of Global Diversity and Belonging 5 Lessons from This Year’s Top Small Businesses Text Message Marke ng: Tips, Tools and Services Social Media Can’t Be Your Only VoC* Strategy Suite Life Magazine’s Inaugural Issue Release Party
Community/Public Interest 78 79 80
81
Baton Rouge Area Founda on Opens Entries for $10,000 Gaines Award Honoring President Barack H. Obama Michelle Obama: It's Up to Us as Mothers to Give Girls the Support That Keeps Their Flame Lit Ghanaian Scholar, Dr. Daniel Wubah, New President of Millersville University in America
Obituary/Memorials 85 87
Director John Singleton Dies at 51 Larry Jenkins, Actor, Dies at 63
International 88 92 94 94 95 96
Naomi Campbell and the Awakening of the African Fashion Industry MTN Becomes Public Company Ahead of Share Lis ng ANC Wins South African Elec on Ghana Rated the Fastest Growing Economy in the World Sudan Army Rulers, Protesters Agree on 3-year Transi on Period Inside Afro Na on: The Mul -Con nent Music Fes val You Don’t Want To Miss
Columns 58 90 103 161 166 168
Take A Look! African Stock Exchanges Shopping Gallery Books to Consider... BBA 2019 Master Planner 88 Resource Vault
5 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
House Oversight and Reform Committee Chair Elijah Cummings, D-Md., Photo by: J. Scott Applewhite
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ttorneys for President Trump and the Trump Organization on Monday moved to block a congressional subpoena that seeks financial information from Mazars USA, a longtime accounting firm for the company. The lawsuit, which names House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings, is the latest signal from Mr. Trump’s legal team that they plan to push back strongly against what one of his attorneys called “presidential harassment” from a newly empowered Democratic majority in the House. The lawsuit, filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, says Mr. Cummings “has ignored the constitutional limits on Congress‘ power to investigate” and says his subpoena of Mazars lacks a “legitimate legislative purpose.” It says the subpoena also threatens to expose “confidential information,” and asks the court to declare Mr. Cummings‘ subpoena “invalid and unenforceable.” “We will not allow congressional presidential harassment to go unanswered,” said Jay Sekulow, one of the president’s attorneys. The lawsuit says Democrats are using their newfound
majority on congressional committees in the House to investigate “every aspect” of Mr. Trump’s personal finances, businesses, and his family, and that House Democrats are “singularly obsessed” with finding politically damaging information on the president. “The Democrat Party, with its newfound control of the U.S. House of Representatives, has declared allout political war against President Donald J. Trump,” lawyers said in the lawsuit. “Subpoenas are their weapon of choice.” Mr. Trump’s lawyers have also pushed back against House Democrats’ recent demands that Mr. Trump hand over six years’ worth of tax returns. Mr. Trump broke with decades of precedent by declining to release any returns during the 2016 presidential campaign, citing an ongoing audit. Mr. Cummings, Maryland Democrat, had announced plans earlier this month to subpoena documents from the firm in order to corroborate testimony from Michael Cohen, Mr. Trump’s longtime former lawyer and fixer, about the president’s financial information. The congressman said Monday that the White House is engaged in “unprecedented stonewalling on all fronts”
6 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Rep. Elijah Cummings Sued to Block Recent Subpoena By David Sherfinski
and that they haven’t produced a single document or witness to the oversight committee this year. “The president has a long history of trying to use baseless lawsuits to attack his adversaries, but there is simply no valid legal basis to interfere with this duly authorized subpoena from Congress,” Mr. Cummings said. “This complaint reads more like political talking points than a reasoned legal brief, and it contains a litany of inaccurate information.” In addition to Mr. Cummings and Mazars, Peter Kenny, chief investigative counsel for the oversight committee, is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit. Listed plaintiffs include Mr. Trump, the Trump Organization, and other associated entities, including a revocable trust in Mr. Trump’s name. The subpoena demands financial statements and supporting documents from Mazars for Mr. Trump, the Trump Organization, and other entities. The subpoena covered documents from 2011 to 2018. In a memo to committee members announcing his intention to issue the subpoena, Mr. Cummings said financial statements Cohen gave to the committee in 2011, 2012, and 2013 raise “serious questions” about Mr. Trump’s representations of his financial condition. Several of the statements Cohen provided were prepared by Mazars, Mr. Cummings said. Cohen, who testified to the committee in February about his work for Mr. Trump, has pleaded guilty to lying to Congress, among other crimes. Last month, Mr. Cummings had asked Mazars for
financial information dating back to 2009 for the Trump Organization and several other entities. A lawyer for the company responded by saying Mazars couldn’t voluntarily turn over the documents, prompting Mr. Cummings to issue the subpoena. In a separate battle between Mr. Trump and congressional Democrats, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal has given the IRS a new April 23 deadline to turn over six years’ worth of Mr. Trump’s personal tax returns, as well as returns for some associated organizations, like one of his golf courses. Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin sent a letter earlier this month saying he was going to miss Mr. Neal’s original April 10 deadline to turn over the returns, and questioned the legislative purpose behind the request. An obscure law allows the chairmen of Congress’s tax writing committees to request private taxpayer information. Mr. Neal, who says he wants the information to examine IRS practices on auditing presidential tax returns, said later in a letter to IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig that if the agency doesn’t reply by 5 p.m. on April 23, which is Tuesday, he’ll interpret it as a “denial” of his request. www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/apr/22/trumporganization-sues-elijah-cummings-subpoena/
7 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Government - Presidential Campaign
The Story of the Historic Election of 19 African American Female Judges in Texas By Taylor Crumpton
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n November 6 last year, all eyes were on Texas as 19 black women made history as the largest number of female African Americans elected at one time to judicial seats in Harris County. In the aftermath of the record-setting victory, a photograph taken in August of the women gathered together at the Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law, named for the first African American justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, quickly and gleefully spread across social-media platforms worldwide. “It was our wildest hope that the photo would go viral,” says Lillie Schechter, who chairs the Harris County Democratic Party. “And now in our office we’re still getting notes from people who have seen the post and say, ‘Thank you for trusting black women.’ It’s incredible.” The striking image of the women—17 newly elected, two reelected—standing proudly and powerfully in a courtroom, a place where African Americans have long been underrepresented and disenfranchised, represents more than a milestone. It’s proof that black women, who have always been a key voting bloc for Democrats (94% of black women voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016), are finally getting not just one but many seats at the table. “If you look at the backbone of the country, the black woman has always been there but not necessarily given the opportunity to have input,” says Judge Erica Hughes, who used to run an insurance and criminal private practice and now presides over the county’s Criminal Court at Law No. 3. “Black women are taking a stand and saying, ‘We bring a lot of things to the table, and you should hear our voice. You’re going to hear our voice.’ ” The coordinated effort began in March 2018, when many of the candidates left standing after the primaries realized they had something in common. “We all looked around and were just like, ‘What is happening here?’ ” says Judge Michelle Moore, who went on to win election for the 314th Juvenile District Court. “It was definitely a pleasant surprise that there were so many of us.” Party leaders wanted to do something to highlight all of the women running, so they launched
a campaign called Harris County Black Girl Magic, inspired by CaShawn Thompson, who created #BlackGirlsAreMagic in 2013 to celebrate the power of black women. “It’s been a 10-year battle to take back the county—to make it more reflective of the people,” Schechter says. “And the only way we change the face of power here locally and statewide is by winning elections.” When Judge Dedra Davis, an entertainment lawyer elected to the 270th Civil District Court, began campaigning, she says people never thought someone like her would be in the running. She took a cooler to basketball courts to offer players water and strike up a conversation about the election. “One of the things I heard over and over was ‘You’re telling us we should vote, but when we do, it’s one white man Republican and one white man Democrat. What difference does it make which white man I’m voting for?’ ” Davis says. “I would look them in the eyes and say, ‘Well, I’m not a man, I’m not white, and I’m running.…’ If you could see their faces!” Those conversations kept her motivated. “It was very empowering,” she adds. “People were feeling like their voice had power and that their vote had some legs behind it—that it could really make a difference.” Making the judiciary more reflective of the population is a concern nationwide but especially in Harris County, where 43% of residents are Hispanic and 20% are black. (White people constitute 30% of the population.) The wins in November increased the number of black female judges from eight to 25 of the 75 elected judgeships. “Harris County is a great melting pot, but when you go into the courthouse, the judicial bench does not reflect that,” Hughes says of the county, the most populous in the state and home to Houston. “I practiced as a lawyer for 12 years, and it started to weigh on me. The system wasn’t going to change unless the judicial branch changed.” The lack of representation has taken a toll. In May 2016, Harris County faced a class-action civilrights lawsuit for its cash-bail system, which plaintiffs alleged discriminates against the poor, who are often
8 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
held in jail on low-level offenses if they can’t pay. In February 2017, a federal judge issued a scathing ruling against the county, saying the bail policy violated the Constitution’s due-process and equal-protection clauses; a year later, the decision was upheld by the conservative 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In January 2019, the new slate of judges approved a plan to overhaul the controversial system that, if approved by a federal judge, would see 85% of people arrested on misdemeanors automatically released on no-cash bonds. “People are going to see—already—some change,” Hughes says. “[We are] going to change the landscape of criminal justice.” Moore, who formerly worked on child-protection issues as a lawyer in the county’s attorney’s office, set her sights on the 314th Juvenile District Court to similarly change the system. Her predecessor, Judge John Phillips, a Republican, was one of two judges responsible for one fifth of the children sent to the state’s juvenile prisons, about 96% of whom were children of color. “If there was any court that I wanted to win, it was that one because of the injustices that were done day in and day out,” says Moore. “I was fed up, I’d had enough, and I knew that I had to change it.” But when she told people about her plans, they would say, “Hey, Michelle, you sure you want to run for that court? You know what happened the last time someone ran against him?” says Moore. Phillips, first elected in
2002, had previously easily won reelection. “My mind was blown. I’m thinking this is nothing but a man. What can he do? Yes, I’m running for the 314 court. Yes, I’m doing that.” Hughes can relate. “People were not really supportive initially,” she says. “We had to put it in their face and say we’re here; we’re not going anywhere. And as it got closer to the end, people started to, I guess you could say, feel the Black Girl Magic.” Having other women candidates to lean on helped. “We formed a bond—a sisterhood—over the course of running,” she adds. “The great thing is you’re not alone. You have other women to call, to ask questions of, to give insight, to bounce ideas off of, and to feel like they’re going to cover you. It’s been a great reward to have a circle that you trust.” Sadly, one of the newly elected judges, Cassandra Holleman, died in February at age 57, a month into her term on County Criminal Court at Law No. 12 and one week after she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. “At least she was able to fulfill her dream before she died,” Davis says. (Genesis Draper was appointed to fill the seat until the next general election.) Together, the remaining judges will work in her honor on the county’s civil, criminal, family, and juvenile courts to make their presence known during their four-year terms. “Institutionalized racism is very entrenched.
9 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
see page 10
Government - International Finance
A New Era in U.S. Development Finance
P
resident Trump signed the Better Utilization of Investments Leading to Development (BUILD) Act into law on October 5, 2018. This landmark legislation will reform and strengthen U.S. development finance capabilities into a new federal agency to help address development challenges and foreign policy priorities of the United States. The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (“USDFC”) will be a modern, consolidated agency that brings together the capabilities of OPIC and USAID’s Development
Credit Authority, while introducing new and innovative financial products to better bring private capital to the developing world. The U.S. will have more flexibility to support investments in developing countries to drive economic growth, create stability, and improve livelihoods. The USDFC will make America a stronger and more competitive leader on the global development stage, with greater ability to partner with allies on transformative projects and provide financiallysound alternatives to state-directed initiatives that can leave developing countries worse off.
Under the law, the President will soon submit a reorganization plan to Congress to begin the consolidation of the agencies involved. It is anticipated that USDFC could be operational as of October 1, 2019. In the interim, OPIC and DCA will operate without interruption and will work cooperatively on the work of building the USDFC. www.opic.gov/build-act/overview
the f th Deep D from page 9 from South. “It’s It’s on the bench, in the police important that force, school rooms—everywhere,” p r e s i d e n t i a l Davis says. “I’ll forever be working c a m p a i g n s to make law and order equal.” r e c o g n i z e Moore agrees. “What I’m really women of looking forward to is after a year color as a or two, what has happened?” she voting bloc says. “We have a fresh set of eyes and respond to and beliefs. How does that affect the issues that incarcerated people of color? are important What will it do to those numbers? to us,” says Our ideas and the way we see the A i m e e law, it changes everything in Harris A l l i s o n , Representative Barbara Jordan (D-Tex.) wbur.org County.” founder of This month, the county that She the responds to the needs of an was home to the record-setting, People (www. systemchanging victory will make shethepeople.org), which is hosting increasingly diverse population history yet again as the site of the forum on April 24. “We will than to elect women of color? “It’s the first-ever presidential forum not be ignored anymore, and the our time to lead the nation,” Allison focused on women of color, at numbers don’t lie. They need us, says. “I’m here for that!”. www.marieclaire.com/politics/a27132072/ Texas Southern University, the so they have to both respond and harris-county-texas-black-female-judgesalma mater of former representative have a campaign that inspires us historic-election/?utm_medium=10today. Barbara Jordan (D-Tex.), the first and reflects our needs.” And what ad3li.20190419.421.2&utm_source=email&utm_ content=article&utm_campaign=10-for-today--black woman elected to Congress better way to ensure government 4.0-styling 10 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Government - International Finance
Adrienne Jones, First Woman and First African American Speaker of Maryland House of Delegates By BOTWC Staff
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awmakers in Maryland elected the state’s first AfricanAmerican and the first woman to be the state’s House Speaker. The previous 106 speakers were white men. Delegate Adrienne Jones, who represents Baltimore County, was elected unanimously after a deadlock between two other candidates. The Speaker of the House is one of the state’s most powerful positions. The speaker assigns lawmakers to committees and appoints the chairs of the committees that shape the state’s legislation. Governor Larry Hogan congratulated Jones in a statement, saying, "The election of our first African-American and first female Speaker marks a proud and historic moment for our state. It is also
a moment of great opportunity; Adrienne has pledged to be a Speaker for all delegates, and that is exactly the kind of bipartisan, collaborative spirit our state needs right now." The caucus echoed the governor’s remarks in a statement released after the election: “Maryland House Minority Caucus today offered sincere congratulations to Delegate Adrienne A. Jones of Baltimore County on her historic election to speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates. Speaker Jones, elected with unanimous minority caucus support, becomes the first AfricanAmerican and the first woman to be elected speaker in Maryland state history. Our caucus is proud to have been a critical piece in this historic
election and we offer heartfelt congratulations to the new speaker of the House. Speaker Jones is a tremendous public servant and she represents the will and voice of her constituents and community with clear determination. She is someone we know we can work with and who will want to work with us. Ultimately, we believe in compromise and getting big things done for the people of Maryland and we know that Speaker Jones does as well. As the Speaker Pro Tem, Speaker Jones was always fair to our members and made sure their voices were heard. While we know we will be on opposing sides of certain issues going forward, we have faith that she will approach this new role with the same fairness and consideration she has always demonstrated. The Speaker of the House represents every member of the chamber and every member should have a real vote in this selection process -- and that is exactly what happened today. We are confident that Speaker Jones will make sure our voices, and the voices of our constituents, are heard and that our members will be treated fairly." Congratulations Del. Jones! www.becauseofthemwecan.com/blogs/ botwc-firsts/adrienne-jones-makes-historyas-first-woman-and-first-african-americanspeaker-of-maryland-house-of-delegates
11 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Government - Military Diversity Advancement
West Point's Class of 2019 Includes Historic Number of African-American Women By Joel Shannon
West Point's 2019 class will include a record number of African American females. (Photo: US Army photo by Cadet Hallie H. Pound)
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he U.S. Military Academy at West Point's class of 2019 is set to include 34 African-American women, the highest number in the prestigious academy's history. That's not the only historic figure West Point is projecting this year: The class will also include the largest number of hispanic female graduates ever, West Point spokesperson Frank DeMaro told USA TODAY on Thursday. Nineteen hispanic female cadets are projected to graduate in a May 25th ceremony.
DeMaro said West Point is also set to graduate its 5,000th female cadet since 1980, when the first class of women graduated from the academy. At the time, the congressional decision to allow women to attend service academies was controversial and met with public opposition from some senior academy leaders, according to a U.S. Army profile. This year's record number of African-American women graduates isn't expected to last long: DeMaro projects that next year's class will be even bigger.
A traditional Old Corps photoshoot was held to memorialize the historic number of black female graduates, the website Because of Them We Can (www.becauseofthemwecan. com) reported. “My hope when young Black girls see these photos is that they understand that regardless of what life presents you, you have the ability and fortitude to be a force to be reckoned with,” cadet Tiffany Welch-Baker told the website. www.usatoday.com/story/news/ nation/2019/05/16/west-pointgraduate-record-number-black-femalecadets/3695419002/
12 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Government - International
Macron's Right-hand Woman: ‘He Doesn't Need Another Flatterer’ By Angelique Chrisafis
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uring his rise to power, Emmanuel Macron, France’s youngest modern leader, was often seen surrounded by a close-knit group of identikit white male advisers in suits, fellow graduates of elite
Sibeth Ndiaye Photograph: Ed Alcock/The Guardian political schools, soon nicknamed “the Mormons” for their uniformity. But one woman stood out: Senegaleseborn Sibeth Ndiaye, his media communications supremo. The straight-talking 39-year-old in a biker jacket played a key role in crafting Macron’s image as the change-making outsider; the man who built a new centrist party in order to fight the far-right Marine Le Pen. Often, when Ndiaye briefed the Paris media establishment on Macron’s policy ideas, she was the only minority ethnic person in the room. Ndiaye has been at his side running his media
operation at the presidential palace after he won the 2017 election. She is so close to him that she has advised him on his trouser length, occasionally done his makeup and been known to tuck verses of poetry into his briefings. She is seen as one of the few people who can speak frankly to the president. “She’s direct with him and she jokes and teases him, where I wouldn’t have dared,” one former adviser tells me. This month, Macron propelled her from the shadows on to the public stage, appointing her a cabinet minister and government spokesperson. A unique quirk of French politics is that the spokesperson has a junior ministerial role, sitting on the parliament front benches. Ndiaye’s job is to ruthlessly argue the government’s cause and explain its actions on TV. I meet Ndiaye in the 18th-century Paris mansion that serves as her ministry. We sit in a quiet office with leather sofas, a vast glass chandelier, modern paintings and campaign pictures of Ndiaye with Macron on the mantelpiece. Over a pot of tea, she is warm and informal. We’re far from the relentless election campaign two years ago when I’d see her sprinting along the drab, grey corridors of Macron’s HQ or still working at midnight on the cold train home from a faraway rally (her days would usually end at 3am). As a press officer she was known to be direct – in a campaign documentary, she is seen berating a magazine writer: “That’s not the work of a journalist, that’s the work of a slob.” Indeed, she feels her new job is to cut through political waffle and listen to voters. “In order to convince people, you need to understand their difficulties, fears, questions, what they want,” she says. “And sometimes you need to use their vocabulary to make yourself better understood.” Ndiaye grew up in Senegal, moving to France when she was 17. Unlike many ministers in a centrist government supposed to have been pulled from both left and right, her background is in the leftwing student union movement – when she worked for Macron at the economy ministry, she took public transport every day from the suburban town of Saint-Denis, where she lived with her social housing director husband and three
14 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
children, twin girls now nine years old and a son aged six. (They have since moved to Paris to be nearer her work.) Since her appointment, she has become one of the most talked-about and photographed members of the French government; Macron would like her to represent a new, more human face of French politics. Her brief – far from easy – is to make the government seem more likable, more in touch. “Proximity, generosity,” the president is said to have advised her. However, her new public-facing role has unleashed a riot of sexist and racist abuse. One French author tweeted last month that Ndiaye having natural afro hair in government was With Macron’s inner circle of advisers, nicknamed ‘The Mormons’ for their an affront to France: a “provocation uniformity, in 2017. Photograph: Getty Images and a total lack of respect”. Trolls compared her patterned dresses to cleaners’ overalls. When she was 17, her father became desperately “I think it’s revealing of the moment we live in: that fear of the other, that retreat into what we believe our ill and was treated in a Paris hospital. He said he identity to be,” Ndiaye says of the recent abuse. She wanted her to have the chance to study abroad, like says she feels both Senegalese, where she grew up, her sisters, so she moved to attend a high school in and French, where she has lived for more than 20 Paris, boarding in a student residence. Her father died years; she took joint French nationality three years only a few months after she arrived. At school she suffered what she calls “the shock of ago. “I have never felt rejected or excluded by my adopted country, but I know there are some people – discovering for the first time that I was black”. Before through fear, foolishness or anxiety over what I might that, she hadn’t realised “the rejection” that could happen over skin colour. “My parents were intellectually represent. Ndiaye’s appointment ensures Macron’s promised black, and we talked a lot,” she says. “I had learned the gender parity in government, although she is one of poems of Aimé Césaire, of Léopold Sédar Senghor, I only two BAME people out of 36 ministers. “When was steeped in the concept of la négritude. But it was you’re a woman and you’re black, people will always an intellectual concept. I had never felt it bodily. And I cast doubt on why you’re there,” she said recently in a felt it bodily in France.” It was also the first time she was asked if she had TV interview. “I grew up bathed in politics,” she says. “I have an grown up in a hut. Shocked, she learned the western image in my head of my parents sitting in our living image of Africa, “a TV image of children in the dust”. room, under a huge cloud of cigarette smoke as they She says: “Africa was that, but it was also other things.” Despite the differences in their background – she talked and talked and talked: about the future of the a former leftwing activist, he a former investment African continent, and French politics, too.” Earlier this month, on the steps of Ndiaye’s ministry, banker – Ndiaye and Macron’s relationship has been in her first speech in her new role, she thanked her described by observers as “relaxed” and close. She family for helping her break glass ceilings. She has and Macron would talk politics “and we didn’t always paid tribute to her father who, with four daughters, agree”, though, being typically protective of him, she was a feminist who insisted school “was a tool for won’t say on what. At the Elysée she continued to speak her mind to emancipation”. “And I was surrounded by powerful, professional women, many with external signs of power him. “When you advise a politician, it’s important to – for example, women who had chauffeur-driven cars, tell the truth, that’s what you’re paid to do,” she says. which was something then considered to be reserved “There are enough flatterers in the court, he doesn’t for men,” she tells me. see page 16 15 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Immigrants from Africa Most Affected by Proposed Order By Parker Diakite
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recent order from the White House has directed the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security to crack down on countries for a “disproportionate” share of “visa overstays.” This order means that there will be a crackdown on people who come to the United States legally but stay past their visa expiration date. The measure even considers placing a travel ban against any country with a visitor visa overstay rate of more than 10%. The presidential memo seeks to address the “large numbers of aliens” who overstay and as a result are “placing significant strain on [government] resources, which are currently needed to address the national emergency on our southern border.” The secretary of state is required to provide recommendations to the president, which may include a measure of suspending all visitor visas from countries who meet that 10% overstay rate. Which Countries Will Be Affected? The latest data from DHS regarding overstay rates, shows 20 countries meet that threshold: Djibouti, Chad, Yemen, Eritrea, Burundi, Palau, Syria,
from page 15 need another one.” As Macron’s gatekeeper, Ndiaye’s relationship with the media has sometimes been fraught. After becoming president, Macron sought to limit journalists’ access to the back rooms and corridors of power. He wouldn’t give off-the-record chats. He and Ndiaye were accused of seeing journalism mainly as a means to pass on government announcements. In her first question-andanswer session with the press, she denied a report in a magazine that she once said she was fine with “lying to protect the president”. Ndiaye defends Macron, saying he “has enormous respect for the media, and I share that, because he’s convinced that democracy can’t exist without counterpowers.” She says the new executive simply wanted some elements of political decision-making to take place calmly, away from constant leaks. “Journalists naturally do their job, they try to open the
Angola, South Sudan, Nigeria, Liberia, Bhutan, Sudan, Somalia, Cabo Verde, Republic of Congo, Georgia, Mauritania, and the Federated States of Micronesia. One thing most of these countries have in common is that most of them are in Africa. As Boundless (www.boundless.com/blog/is-a-newtravel-ban-on-the-horizon) pointed out, what makes the DHS overstay data suspicious is the top 20 together make up, at most, 7% of visa overstays. The top 20 countries by overstay volume, on the other hand, account for 76% of visitor visa overstays, with Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, and Germany topping the list. “It’s hard to escape the conclusion that the administration has created a discriminatory benchmark that would focus primarily on people from countries in Africa, rather than addressing the overwhelming majority of visa overstays that originate in other countries,” Boundless analysis concluded. https://legacy.travelnoire.com/white-house-planning-travel-ban-onafrican-countries/
blackk b box,”” she “And bl h says. “A d my role l was iin some way tto make sure they didn’t open that box. Yes, our way of doing things was different, but at no point was it about showing contempt for the work of journalists or denying them a major place in the balance of democracy. On the contrary.” Ndiaye says only one factor has driven her life since her childhood in Senegal: “Injustice. I could never bear it. I have always asked myself, why me and not others?” she says. “Why did I live in a privileged way, go to school, was well-dressed, have things that others didn’t just because they weren’t born into the right family?” That rage has never left her, she says. For now, at the ministry, Ndiaye must rush to her next government meeting. And just like the women in power she grew up admiring in Dakar, her chauffeur-driven car awaits. www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/apr/27/sibeth-ndiayeemmanuel-macron-french-politics-angelique-chrisafis
16 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Government - New Stock Exchange
U.S. Regulators Approve New Silicon Valley Stock Exchange By Heather Somerville
It would also require more disclosure to investors about meeting key milestones and plans, and reward long-term shareholders by giving them more voting power the longer they hold the stock.
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.S. regulators recently approved a new stock exchange that is the brainchild of a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, a move that will give high-growth technology companies more options to list their shares outside of the traditional New York exchanges. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved the creation of the LongTerm Stock Exchange, or LTSE, a Silicon Valleybased national securities exchange promoting what it says is a unique approach to governance and voting rights, while reducing short-term pressures on public companies. The LTSE is a bid to build a stock exchange in the country’s tech capital that appeals to hot startups, particularly those that are money-losing and want the luxury of focusing on long-term innovation even while trading in the glare of the public markets. The stock exchange was proposed to the SEC in November by technology entrepreneur, author and startup adviser Eric Ries, who has been working on the idea for years. He raised $19 million from venture capitalists to get his project off the ground, but approval from U.S. regulators was necessary to launch the exchange. The decision followed an uncertain fate for LTSE, which had faced SEC opposition before revising parts of its proposal. Ries says the public market’s focus on short-term results leads to a decline in innovation, something LTSE wants to reverse. A 2017 study by public policy think tank Third Way showed that going public was accompanied by a 40% decline in patents within five years after listing, the result of pressure to satisfy analysts’ short-term expectations. “Everyone is incentivized to make the numbers quarter to quarter,” Ries said in a recent interview with Reuters. The new exchange would have extra rules designed to encourage companies to focus on long-term innovation rather than the grind of quarterly earnings reports by asking companies to limit executive bonuses that award short-term accomplishments.
LTSE would be the only stock exchange in California and the first in Silicon Valley since the shuttering of the Pacific Exchange in San Francisco at the end of the dot-com boom. It remains to be seen how well it would compete with the larger and better-resourced New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, which often court tech companies with fanfare to persuade them to list. Ries wants companies to go public sooner and have the ability to continue experimenting. This way, he said, more value can be created in the public markets, giving retail investors a chance to cash in on high-growth startups. The median age of tech startups going public has stretched to 12 years, and by the time they list have achieved most of their growth, enriching only an elite group of investors. Ries said LTSE would allow companies to duallist their stock on other exchanges. He added that a number of technology companies and a mix of foreign and U.S. investors and asset managers had signed letters of intent to participate in the exchange, but declined to provide further details. www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-sec-siliconvalley/u-s-regulatorsapprove-new-silicon-valley-stock-exchange-idUSKCN1SG21K Image credits: therealtimebloggers.com
17 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Government - More Scure Elections
Microsoft Aims to Modernize and Secure Voting with ElectionGuard By Devin Coldewey
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hen it comes to voting, we’ve come a long way from dropping pebbles into an amphora — but still not nearly far enough if the lack of confidence in our election systems is any indication. Microsoft is the first major tech company to take on this problem with a new platform it calls ElectionGuard
(https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2019/05/06/ protecting-democratic-elections-through-secure-verifiablevoting) that promises to make elections more secure
and transparent — and yes, it’s free and open source. Set to be made available this summer and piloted
during the 2020 elections, ElectionGuard is not a complete voting machine, but rather a platform for handling voting data that can either empower existing systems or have new ones built on top of it. It’s part of the Defending Democracy Program (https://news. microsoft.com/on-the-issues/topic/defending-democracyprogram) and sister product to the similarly named NewsGuard (https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-theissues/2018/08/23/defending-against-disinformation-inpartnership-with-newsguard) and AccountGuard (https:// blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2018/08/20/protecting-
18 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
democracy-with-microsoft-accountguard), which appeared
last year. The basic idea is to let voters track their votes securely and privately, while also allowing authorities to tabulate, store and, if necessary, audit them. As Microsoft puts it: ElectionGuard provides a complete implementation of end-to-end verifiable elections. It is designed to work with systems that use paper ballots, supplementing today’s tabulation process by providing a means of public verification of the accuracy of reported results. The platform would sit underneath existing voting systems, and when a voter casts their ballot, the data would be entered in the ordinary fashion in a state’s election systems, but also in ElectionGuard. The voter would then be given a tracking code that lets them see that their vote has been, say, recorded locally at the correct polling place, or perhaps that it has been sent on to state authorities for auditing. Meanwhile, the ElectionGuard databases are securely recording all votes and tabulating them, a process that would happen in parallel with existing tabulation processes. In the case of an audit, random ballots could be selected from the database and compared with paper ballots, providing a quick way to see if, for example, a machine error in one district was throwing off results. Importantly, this is all accomplished without Microsoft, or whoever is actually administrating the ElectionGuard system, knowing how any individual voted. This is
done, the company explained, via a cryptographic technique known as homomorphic encryption. Basically, it allows a system to perform mathematical operations on encrypted data without decrypting it, making interference or exfiltration of that sensitive data next to impossible. In this case, every vote is trackable only by the individual who made it, but the system is limited to adding up encrypted votes and reporting those sums. Ultimately ElectionGuard aims to be a full voting solution, but one that can be customized and run on any number of actual devices — just like the rest of Microsoft’s software: When it’s time to vote, ElectionGuard supports the use of standard tablets and PCs running a variety of operating systems as a ballot marking device, which can be used to create an interface that looks and feels like modern applications people interact with every day on their phones and tablets. Here’s hoping ease of deployment and a modern code base will end for good the reign of aged and insecure voting machines that can be hacked with a USB key. Microsoft is also working with election tech suppliers to bring ElectionGuard into existing product lines or build new ones. The company worked with Galois to develop ElectionGuard, a company that has been working on election security for years and recently received a $10 million grant from DARPA to pursue secure voting hardware. It will no doubt take some tinkering, but it’s good to see a major tech company making a credible and comprehensive bid to fix an elections process that is technologically compromised on multiple fronts. Tech can’t fix politics, but it can sure build a better way to vote. https://techcrunch.com/2019/05/06/microsoft-aims-to-modernizeand-secure-voting-with-electionguard/?utm_medium=techboard. mon.20190506&utm_source=email&utm_content=&utm_ campaign=campaign Image Credits: samotoitures.ch
19 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
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OPPORTUNITY TO MEET WITH DECISION-MAKERS FROM KENYA’S TELECOMMUNICATIONS SECTOR BUSINESS BRIEFING Tuesday, May 14 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. EST Arlington, VA Opportunities for U.S. Companies: • • • •
Learn about upcoming opportunities in Kenya’s emergency management sector Form new business partnerships Host the delegation Meet one-on-one with key decision makers
Delegates' Areas of Interest: • • • • •
Emergency response communications technologies Emergency Notification Systems Disaster preparedness, response, and mitigation technologies Best practices in emergency communications Policy and regulatory enablers
Delegates Include: • • • •
Ministry of Interior National Disaster Management Unit National Steering Committee on Peacebuilding and Conflict Management National Disaster Operations Center
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Kenya Red Cross
Background: In 2018, several areas throughout Kenya including Nairobi, experienced severely flooded, displacing households, damaging roads and bridges, preventing or limiting humanitarian access to many of the affected areas, cutting off people’s access to markets in multiple locations, displacing at least 244,407 people and causing more than 80 deaths. The country struggles to provide its citizens with basic emergency services, leaving much of its population without access to timely and often life-saving assistance. The Government of Kenya (GoK), through the National Disaster Operations Centre (NDOC) within the Ministry of Interior, has been working to address shortfalls in its emergency management response systems. GoK plans to invest in a number of projects to upgrade its emergency management systems to improve responsiveness to national disasters and emergencies including monitoring, coordinating, and mobilizing resources to respond to disasters. The GoK is also prioritizing the development and procurement of additional emergency communications systems which use technology to coordinate efforts among multiple agencies such as police, fire, health, and public utilities. *Registration is required* Save Your Seat Today! www.eventbrite.com/e/kenya-emergency-communications-systems-businessbriefing-tickets-60294857542 The business briefing is being organized by USTDA’s contractor, Tuatara Group. To learn more, contact Pamela Peseux by email at projectteam@tuataragroup.com or by phone at +1-301-335-1725. Attendance at this event is limited to U.S. individuals, U.S. firms, or U.S. consultants as defined in USTDA’s Nationality, Source and Origin Requirements, available on USTDA’s website at www.ustda.gov.
BBN Show Biz Buzz By Linda Ware
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New "Walk of Fame" Opens in DC
ecently unveiled is "The Howard Theater Walk of Fame", which pays tribute to 15 Black icons from different eras. Those icons include: James Brown, Moms Mabley, Chuck Brown, Marvin Gaye, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Billy Eckstine, Cab Calloway, Mamie Smith, Abbie Mitchell and Ella Fitzgerald. The individual tributes are d e p i c t e d in bronze medallions, as a nod to the metal’s traditional use in West African art. Each medallion features a hand-sculpted portrait, which is embedded in the sidewalk. To view the "Walk of Fame" start walking near the entrance of the Howard–Shaw metro stop on 7th Street NW and walk to T Street, ending in front of the Howard Theatre’s entrance. https://legacy.travelnoire.com/dc-howard-theater-walk-offame-pays-homage-to-black-icons/ Image credit: eastcityart.com
The Obamas Announce Their Netflix Slate
programming. The series include "Bloom," a period piece set in the postWorld War II fashion industry in New York City; "Overlooked," an anthology series adapted from the New York Times column of obituaries for past deaths the paper overlooked; "Fifth Risk," a nonfiction series adapted from "The Big Short" author Michael Lewis's book on government bureaucracy; and "Listen to Your Vegetables and Eat Your Parents," a half-hour preschool series focused on travel and food from Jeremy Konner (“Drunk History”) and Erika Thormahlen. Higher Ground is also planning movie projects: The company acquired documentary "American Factory" at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, which centers on a Chinese billionaire who opened a factory in Ohio and hired American workers. The company is also working on a film adaption of author David W. Blight's Pulitzer Prize-winning biography, "Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom." A third film is another documentary, "Crip Camp," about a camp for disabled teenagers in the 1970s that helped start the disability rights movement. “We created Higher Ground to harness the power of storytelling. That’s why we couldn’t be more excited about these projects,” Barack Obama said in the announcement. “Touching on issues of race and class, democracy and civil rights, and much more, we believe each of these productions won’t just entertain, but will educate, connect, and inspire us all.” www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/the-obamas-announce-theirnetflix-slate-documentaries-historical-series-and-veggies/arAAAKbRt?ocid=spartandhpl
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igher Ground Productions, President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama's production company in partnership with Netflix, has announced a list of projects being developed for the streaming service, and they feature an eclectic mix of films, TV series, documentaries and children's
Former President Barack and Michelle Obama
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Secrets of the Caribbean
ecrets of the Caribbean are the stories of the “real” Caribbean. From stories on “Robert Righteous,” a 78-year-old Rastafarian drummer, singer, and restaurant owner on Mayreau to Ivy Cartygumbs, a marvelous chef on Anguilla who fixes heavenly food. People like Orton “Brother” King, the turtle man of Bequia, who has devoted his life to saving his beloved sea turtles and Tess Verhij, a Dutch painter who uses art therapy to help children traumatized in St. Maarten by the hurricanes. These are the stories you won’t find on other programs and just a few of the thousands of stories that we hope to tell in the next few years. Currently, we are carried on One Caribbean Television which services most of the Caribbean and several East Coast cities, like D.C., Philadelphia, New York, Boston and Chicago. One Caribbean is also available in the larger Canadian markets: Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. We’re carried in 25 SSN-TV markets, including Los Angeles, Seattle, Minneapolis, Dallas, Tampa and several others. A complete list to cities and times are on our website: www.secretsofthecaribbean.net. https://legacy.travelnoire.com/black-produced-tv-seriesaims-to-show-real-caribbean-to-the-world
Brown Sugar Salutes Mothers and Pam Grier
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rown Sugar, the subscription video channel on demand service from Bounce is honoring both Moms and the "Mother of Badass" - the legendary Pam Grier during the month of May by showing cult classics Coffy, Sheba, Baby, Friday Foster and more. "Foxy Brown" herself turns 70 this month and Brown Sugar offers Brown Sugar Mamas, a collection of films featuring strong mother figures, including (Lynn Whitfield, Jasmine Guy), Grandma's House (Wendy Raquel Robinson, Loretta Devine) and Holiday Heart (Alfre Woodard). Brown Sugar is available on Apple TV, Roku, Chromecast,
Comcast Xfinity X1, Amazon Channels, Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Kindle, Android and Apple smartphones and tablets and web browsers via www.BrownSugar.com. MG Media
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Stars Shine at Annual Met Gala
he annual Metropolitan Museum of Art fund raising event held at their Costume Institute in New York City (Met Gala) brings out the high creative skills of the world's best know designers and the many stars willing and able to present the avant gard and fantasy outfits to the world. The theme for the 2019 Costume Institute exhibition is framed around Susan Sontag's seminal 1964 essay "Notes on 'Camp,'" with Lady Gaga, Harry Styles, Serena Williams, and Gucci's creative director Alessandro Michele named as cohosts alongside Vogue's editor in chief Anna Wintour. Visit the link below or search on "Met Gala" to see more of the flashy fashions and your favorite stars. We show you Lizzo and Lupita. www.cosmopolitan. com/style-beauty/ see page 24
23 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
BBN Show Biz Buzz from BBN Show Biz Buzz on page 23
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Tiger Woods Receives "Medal of Freedom"
iger Woods was at the White House on Monday to be presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom following his Masters victory in April. Woods, who had gone 11 years between major victories as off-thecourse scandal and injury temporarily derailed his career, was given the honor to commemorate his comeback to the top of the sport. In brief remarks, Tiger Woods with children Tiger Woods thanks jupi.com his family, and sounds moved as he acknowledges the three golfers to be presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom before him: Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Charlie Sifford. https://ftw.usatoday.com/2019/05/tiger-woods-trump-medalof-freedom-ribbon-tangled-mom-fixed-tida
Highlighting Two of the 2019 James Beard Award Winners
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s. Bailey and Mr. Onwuachi are just two of the winners announced at the 2019 awards ceremony held in Chicago.. Mashama Bailey, Best Chef: Southeast for Savannah restaurant the Grey. Mashama Bailey, executive
chef and co-owner of The Grey in Savannah. Under the leadership of Bailey and her business partner, John Morisano, the contemporary Southern restaurant has garnered numerous awards and accolades since doors opened in late 2014. Kwame Onwuachi, Rising Star Chef, chef of Kith/Kin and author of memoir "Notes From a Young Black Chef," In his acceptance speech, he commented he was fulfilling “my ancestors’ wildest dreams.” See page 157 for a review of his book. https://ftw.usatoday.com/2019/05/tiger-woods-trump-medalof-freedom-ribbon-tangled-mom-fixed-tida
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Cover/Issue Make History
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yra Banks returns to modeling as one of the new cover stars of the 2019 Sports Illustrated S w i m s u i t edition. The 45-year-old supermodel, who was the first AfricanAmerican model to appear on the cover of this publication alongside model Valeria Mazza in 1996, came out of retirement for the 2019 issue. Also, Halima Aden makes history as the first model to wear Laretta Houston/Sports a burkini in a Sports Illustrated Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. Summer 2019 Sports Illustrated cover with Tyra Banks in Great Exuma, Bahamas is on sale now. The BanX cover was photographed in Great Exuma, Bahamas, by Laretta Houston. Ms Houston is the first female and African American to shoot a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover. https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/tyra-banks-alexmorgan-camille-kostek-cover-2019/story?id=62890099
Kenan Thompson Has New
24 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
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Comedy Series
aturday Night Live star Kenan Thompson is adding a third NBC series to his plate. The network has given a series order to The Kenan Show (aka Saving Kenan), a single-camera comedy starring and executive produced by Thompson, from Universal TV and Lorne Michaels’ Broadway Video. The unscripted Bring The Funny, a reality competition
Kenan Thompson and the Lockett sisters Ron Batzdorff/ NBC
series, is one of his now-three series on NBC. Written by Jackie Clarke and directed and executive produced by Chris Rock, The Kenan Show is a family comedy that centers on Kenan (Thompson), who strives to be a super dad to his two adorable girls (Dani Lockett and Dannah Lockett) while simultaneously balancing his job and a father-in-law (Andy Garcia) who “helps” in the most inappropriate ways. Punam Patel also co-stars. Thompson, Clarke and Rock executive produce with Michaels and Andrew Singer for Broadway Video. The Kenan Show is produced by Universal Television in association with Broadway Video. https://deadline.com/2019/05/kenan-thompson-comedythe-kenan-show-series-order-nbc-1202611924/
Red Table Talk Series Available on Facebook Watch
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ada Pinkett Smith, her daughter Willow, and mother Adrienne – three generations of women open their home for a series of candid conversations with family and friends. Follow Red Table Talk for new episodes, only on Facebook Watch (www.facebook.com/redtabletalk). Kicking off a new season in May, there are already 28 episodes available for you to view. “Red Table Talk is about raw truth, love and deep
passion. My mother is old school, Willow is new school, and I find myself right in the middle,” Pinkett Smith tells PEOPLE. “I’ve done a lot of sharing and growing on Facebook. Being able to engage with the Facebook Watch community in such a deeply personal way is amazing, and I’m excited to be part of something new.” And for real, we put it #AllOnTheTable,” adds the daughter of Will Smith. Red Table Talk won an Image Award in 2019 for Outstanding Host in a Talk or News/Information (special or series) individual or ensemble. https://deadline.com/2019/05/kenan-thompson-comedythe-kenan-show-series-order-nbc-1202611924/ https://people.com/movies/jada-pinkett-smith-willow-smithred-table-talk/
Missy Elliott Receives Honorary Degree
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n Saturday, May 11th the Berklee College of Music awarded Missy Elliott with an Honorary Doctorate in Music, making her the first hip-hop artist in the school’s history to receive the prestigious degree. Elliott is set to make history again this June as the first woman rapper to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. www.becauseofthemwecan.com/blogs/botwc-firsts/missy-elliott-
25 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
see page 26
BBN Show Biz Buzz from BBN Show Biz Buzz on page 25
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Dave Chappelle to Receive 2019’s Mark Twain Prize for American Humor
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he Kennedy Center announced today that Dave Chappelle will receive this year’s 22nd annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, which will be officially handed out on Sunday, October 27, and later broadcast on PBS January 6, 2020. “Dave is the embodiment of Mark Tw a i n ’ s observation that ‘against the assault Dave Chappelle of humor, . Photo: Valerie Macon/AFP/Getty Images n o t h i n g can stand.’ For three decades, Dave has challenged us to see hot-button issues from his entirely original yet relatable perspective,” Kennedy Center president Deborah F. Rutter said on the news. “Dave is a hometown hero here in Washington, D.C., where he grew up. We’re so looking forward to welcoming him back home.” Other recent Mark Twain Prize winners include Carol Burnett, Eddie Murphy, Bill Murray, David Letterman, and most recently Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who took home the award late last year. By Megh Wright www.vulture.com/2019/05/dave-chappelle-mark-twain-prize-2019. html
BIG3 Basketball League's 2019 Tour Schedule
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he BIG3 is preparing for its third season overall and first season broadcasting on the CBS networks.
The Ice Cube-owned league will have an 11-week season beginning in Detroit on June 22 and culminating in the championship game on Sept. 1 in Los Angeles. Here is the full 11-week schedule, including cities, dates and the arena that the BIG3 games will be taking place in. The first seven venues listed also include when tickets will be sold for each event. • June 22 — Detroit (Little Caesars Arena) *Tickets on sale May 17
• June 23 — Indianapolis (Bankers Life Fieldhouse) *Tickets on sale May 20
• June 29 — Charlotte (Spectrum Center) *Tickets on sale May 22
• June 30 — Philadelphia (Liacouras Center) *Tickets on sale May 17
• July 6 — Birmingham (Legacy Arena at the BJCC) *Tickets on sale May 24
• July 7 — Atlanta (State Farm Arena) *Tickets on sale May 17
• July 13 — Providence (Dunkin Donuts Center) *Tickets on sale May 31
• July 14 — New York (Barclays Center) • July 20 — Kansas City (Sprint Center) • July 21 — Oklahoma City (Chesapeake Energy Arena) • August 3 — Chicago (Allstate Arena) • August 17 — Dallas (American Airlines Center) • August 18 — San Antonio (AT&T Center) • September 1 — Los Angeles (STAPLES Center) *Championship
The BIG3 recently expanded from eight teams to 12 teams for the 2019 season. The league has also added former NBA stars such as Gilbert Arenas, Lamar Odom, Greg Oden and Kendrick Perkins to the talent pool for its third season.
"During the upcoming 11-week BIG3 season, games will air live on CBS Television Network and CBS Sports Network on both Saturdays and Sundays, with a champion crowned live on CBS on Sunday, September 1. CBS Television Network will broadcast more than 20 hours throughout the season, with CBS Sports Network set to televise more than 25 hours of additional live game coverage." www.cbssports.com/nba/news/big3-basketball-league-announces2019-tour-schedule-including-cities-dates-and-venues/
26 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
400th Commemoration Year of Enslavement 1619-2019 ALL ANCESTRY TEST KITS ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL Don't be fooled by other ancestry test kits pushing highly discounted prices this holiday season. Over the years, countless people have called us disappointed with the lack of specificity from other ancestry test kits. Get the results you want, the first time. Order today! Get the results you want, the first time. Order at https://shop.africanancestry.com www.facebook.com/africanancestry/videos/363773494403533/
Sincerely, Gina Paige President, African Ancestry Maternal Country of Ancestry: Nigeria Maternal Tribe of Ancestry: Fulani
www.africanancestry.com
27 May 2019 Black Business ine ness ss N New News ewss www.blackbbusinessnews.net www. ww w.bl blac ackb kbbu busi sine ness ssne news ws.n .net et 1-323-291-7819 1-32 13233-29 2911-78 7819 19
North Carolina Lawyer Cheslie Kryst Named Miss USA 2019 By Alexander Wooley
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27-year-old lawyer from North Carolina who represents prison inmates for free won the Miss USA title Thursday night, describing herself as a "weird kid" with a "unibrow" who's now part of the first generation of truly empowered women. Asked in the final round to use one word to summarize her generation, Cheslie Kryst of Charlotte said "innovative." "I'm standing here in Nevada, in the state that has the first female majority legislature in the entire country," she said at the event held for the first time in Reno. "Mine is the first generation to have that forward-looking mindset that has inclusivity, diversity, strength and empowered women. I'm looking forward to continued progress in my generation." New Mexico's Alejandra Gonzalez, the first runner-up, and Oklahoma's Triana Browne, the second runner-up, helped highlight the diversity of the competition on stage as the three finalists along with Kryst, who is African American. Browne said she's a proud member of the Chickasaw Nation whose father is white and mother is African American. She's in a partnership with Nike to promote a brand that celebrates Native American heritage. Gonzalez, whose mother immigrated to the United States from Mexico, founded a nonprofit that teaches children the importance of being literate. Nevada's Tianna Tuamoheloa, who made it to the final five, was the first woman of Samoan descent to compete in the event that dates to 1952. Savannah Skidmore, a former state basketball champion from Arkansas who has a second-degree black belt in Taekwondo and is pursuing a law degree, also made the final five. Kryst and Gonzalez faced each other holding hands during the moments before the winner was announced, then embraced with the news. Kryst said she didn't feel nervous as she advanced through the elimination rounds. "I just kept hearing my name get called," she said. As
Miss North Carolina Cheslie Kryst wins the 2019 Miss USA in Reno, Nev., on Thursday, May 2, 2019. © The Associated Press
she waited for the winner to be announced, "All I could think was, 'This is really cool.' " Kryst earned a law degree and an MBA at Wake Forest University before becoming a civil litigation attorney who does pro bono work to reduce sentences for inmates. In a videotaped message played during the two-hour event at a hotel-casino, she told a story of when a judge at a legal competition told her to wear a skirt instead of pants because judges prefer skirts. "Glass ceilings can be broken wearing either a skirt or pants," Kryst said. She told reporters afterward she'll never forget being
28 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Miss America 2019 Nia Franklin. uncsa.edu
Miss Teen USA 2019 Kaliegh Garris. justjaredjr.com
"I can't say pageants make you beautiful. I think they make your more confident in the person that you are," she said.
istoric First in law school at Wake Forest participating in a moot court competition in Louisiana with a panel of judges who provided very little feedback to her and her partner. "We stood there for 30 minutes after practicing for months and all you said was wear a skirt next time?" she said. "It was very frustrating. Don't tell females to wear different clothes while you give the men substantive feedback on their legal arguments." Kryst who advances to the Miss Universe competition, was crowned by 2018 Miss USA Sarah Rose Summers of Nebraska. She said her interest in pageants began when she was 10 years old, watching her mother ride a horse-drawn carriage in a parade when she was named Mrs. North Carolina in 2002. "It was a time in my life when I didn't' know who I was and wasn't confident in myself. I was that little weird kid who had a unibrow and didn't have any friends. My hair was always pulled back. I thought I want to be just like her," she said. Kryst went on to compete in pageants in high school.
Cheslie Kryst contributed to pageant history when she was crowned Miss USA on Thursday: For the first time, Miss USA, Miss Teen USA and Miss America are all black women. Miss Teen USA 2019, Kaliegh Garris, was crowned Sunday. The high school senior from Connecticut plans to attend college and pursue a degree in nursing. Miss America 2019 Nia Franklin, who won her competition in September, hailed from New York. Both Kryst and Garris were applauded for wearing their natural hair during their pageants. “There were a few naysayers saying, ‘You look better with straight hair,’ or ‘You should put in extensions and straighten your natural hair,’” Garris told Refinery 29, later adding, “I feel more confident and comfortable with my natural hair.” www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/north-carolina-lawyer-cheslie-krystnamed-miss-usa-2019/ar-AAAOxNO?OCID=ansmsnnews11 www.huffpost.com/entry/miss-usa-teen-america-blackwomen_n_5ccc8e28e4b0d1239553098c
29 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Business - Young Entrepreneur Profile
Two Young Chefs to Watch and Follow By DeAnna Taylor, Travel Noir
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alvin Wright Jr. and Oscar Johnson are quickly rising to the top of the cooking scene around Charlotte, North Carolina. Wright, a native of New York and Johnson of Hampton, Virginia, currently work together at Loft and Cellar—one of Charlotte’s premier Calvin Wright, Jr. Black-owned Photo courtesy of Calvin Wright Jr. establishments (https://loftandcellar.com). Calvin has a unique story. He started off in franchise restaurants to pick up experience, then made his way to a few other restaurants. He found out he had a brain tumor and needed brain surgery. He was supposed to ease back into the profession but Oscar Johnson Photo courtesy of Oscar Johnson was forced into a 50-hour work week immediately following his surgery by his boss. Then came a review, which determined raises. Calvin received a $.13 raise, while his white counterpart got a $3 bump. This discouraged him and led him to quit cooking in restaurants all together for 2 years. He focused on private cooking before getting back into restaurants. Oscar got into cooking through a program offered to young, aspiring chefs around the Hampton Roads area in his junior year of high school. It gave him lots of exposure to other chefs already in the industry and allowed him to see if cooking was something he really wanted to pursue. He went on to attend Johnson and Wales University for more formal training. Although he
showed lots of promise, many people told him that he wouldn’t make it and finish the program. However, he proved them wrong. Fast forward to today. The two men were handpicked by Greg Collier, also a Black chef in Charlotte, to come under his wing and start a movement of cooking some of the best, culturally relevant dishes around. “I ate at his restaurant in South Carolina with one of my friends and we spent a lot of money,” Johnson tells Travel Noire. “I reached out to him after and told him that I came. He made a joke about us having him and his team busting their behinds in the kitchen. He told me he was opening a restaurant in Charlotte. I wasn’t happy in my situation at the time and I really wanted to work with him. It was the opportunity of a lifetime. I was willing to take a pay cut because I knew it was a movement we were about to begin.” While they can cook up almost any genre of food, Johnson and Wright want to focus on more culturally relevant dishes. Thanks to Collier, the chefs are also learning the history behind each of the dishes they cook. They are putting a lot of their focus on dishes coming from various regions rooted in Black culture such as Africa, the Caribbean, and the Deep South. “Black people have been making dope food for years. We fed America. I want to continue to play on that,” Wright said. You can catch this rising duo at Loft and Cellar. They are both hosting a series a pop-up events this summer that are sure to be a hit. Greg Collier To learn more about piedmontculinaryguild.com these two men, you can catch them on social media @chef_oscar_j and @ cheflife_to_the_nextlife. https://legacy.travelnoire.com/young-black-men-overcamethe-odds-to-become-two-of-charlotte-best-chefs/
30 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Business - Career Advancement
Cindy Pace Named Global Diversity & Inclusion Officer at MetLife By TNJ Staff
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indy Pace was named Global Diversity & Inclusion Officer at MetLife (www.metlife.com). In her new role, Pace will further MetLife’s global diversity and inclusion strategy to help fuel innovation, cross-cultural collaboration and business success. “I am excited about all we can accomplish through our ongoing commitment to diversity and inclusion,” says Susan Podlogar, MetLife executive vice president and chief human resources officer. “I know these efforts will only get stronger under Cindy’s leadership.” Pace joined MetLife in 2013 to lead the company’s first global women’s initiative to advance women in leadership roles and strengthen the readiness and capabilities of women in the talent pipeline. Under her leadership, these efforts resulted in an increase of merited promotions into vice president-level roles. Pace also spearheaded the recent partnership with the United Nations’ Women and Global Innovation Coalition for Change and serves as an advisor and company representative.
A 20-year veteran of various corporate management and global leadership roles, Pace has worked in clinical research, diversity and inclusion, organizational change, executive leadership development, talent strategy integration, and innovation. “Cultivating a purpose-driven and inclusive culture where diversity is valued and fostered is at the heart of MetLife’s approach,” says Pace. “We believe a globally, diverse workforce enables us to drive innovation, deliver on our promises to customers, and make a positive impact in the communities we serve.” Pace earned a doctorate in Organizational Learning and Leadership from the Teachers College at Columbia University; a Master of Business Education from New York University; and a
Bachelor of Science in Biology from Morris Brown College where she was a Research Fellow in Microbiology and Neuropsychology. https://tnj.com/cindy-pace-namedglobal-diversity-inclusion-officer-atmetlife Image credit: logok.org
31 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Business - Young Entrepreneur Tips
This Black-Owned Ice Cream Shop Brings More Than Just Sweet Treats By DeAnna Taylor
Photos courtesy of Mikey Likes It Ice Cream| Facebook
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ichael “Mikey” Cole was born and raised in New York City. He opened his ice cream shop, Mikey Likes It Ice Cream (https://mikeylikesiticecream. com), to fill a void in a community that was often misunderstood, misinformed, and misrepresented. “Leaders of the new scoop” is what you will find on your cup when you order your ice cream at Mikey’s. It is said to be “the worlds first popculture inspired premium ice cream brand.” “The inspiration behind the ice cream shop is to create a safe haven for everyone that also creates memories and empowers the community,” Mikey tells Travel Noire. “This is my version of the lemonade stand. The kids now have to be encouraged and empowered to be
able to reach their goals and in turn, be successful.” Mikey’s love for making ice cream can be b credited dit d to t his hi late Aunt Lucy. He came across an ice cream recipe that she had and after some tweaking he was able to come up with his own version that he now uses in all his flavors. His creations are unique, bearing names of several pop culture and Black-centered references. “Southern Hospitality, which is pecan pie ice cream with praline pecans and pecan pie pieces is one of our best flavors,” Cole said. For the month of April, Mikey’s shop featured a flavor called ‘Eat to Heal,’ a blueberry-hibiscus vegan option inspired by Dr. Sebi.
The flavors have been so popular that he was even asked to create custom flavors for celebs like JAY-Z and Hillary Clinton. While the ice cream at Mikey’s is the selling point, it is not all the shop has to offer. “While we work to grow our business, we will be launching our Mikey Likes It Ice Cream Academy. This is our not for profit program where we take at-risk youth and teach them how to obtain a food handlers certificate and be able to work in the food world. We will help them build character and then give them the opportunity to work in the business,” Cole explained. “Whether it’s an ice cream maker, a flavor pilot, il t a graphic designer or anyone that has a passion the help the business grow, we want to help build others as they help us grow the business. This is what will help strengthen the each other and in turn strengthen the community.” There are plans in the works to begin a nationwide shipping option. Until then, you can catch up with Mikey on his website (https:// mikeylikesiticecream.com/pages/ourmenu) or Instagram (www.instagram. com/mikeylikesiticecream). https://legacy.travelnoire.com/blackowned-ice-cream-shop-nyc/
32 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Business - Young Entrepreneur Investment Firm
Serena Williams’ Venture Capital Portfolio by Yomi Kazeem
e-commerce, fashion and social good. Part of the company’s thesis, Serena wrote, is backing companies Serena Williams techmoran.com “that embrace diverse leadership, individual ndela (https://andela.com), empowerment, creativity and the developer training and opportunity.” And Andela ticks all of outsourcing company with those boxes. With a diverse team of operations in four African countries, co-founders and executives as well already has a high-powered roll call as local lead directors in countries of investors including the Chan where it operates, Andela admits Zuckerberg Initiative and Al Gore, budding African developers into a a former US vice president. highly selective program (it has an It turns out Serena Williams, admission rate of 1%), trains them the 23-time tennis Grand Slam to become globally competitive champion, is another. and outsources them to global Through Serena Ventures companies in need of development (www.serena.vc), an investment talent. fund founded in 2014 which has It’s a model that’s proven enough remained secret until a recent to win significant investor backing Instagram post, Williams has with Andela among the best funded backed 30 companies across start-ups in Africa. Its $100 million
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Series D round, which Serena Ventures participated in earlier this year, is one of the largest ever single rounds raised by an Africanfocused tech company and brought the total venture funding raised by the company to $180 million. Alongside Andela, Serena Ventures has also backed Coinbase (www.coinbase.com), the San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange, Masterclass (www. masterclass.com), the online learning platform and Wave (www.wave.com), a remittance service that’s available in five African countries. https://qz.com/africa/1599942/ serena-williams-serenaventures-backs-andela/?utm_ medium=techboard. mon.20190422&utm_ source=email&utm_content=&utm_ campaign=campaign
33 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Business - Young Entrepreneur Profile
"Board Game Brothas" Developing Board Games Based on Black Culture By Deana Taylor
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othing is more fun than a dope game night with your friends. Whether it’s a classic like Uno or one of the newer card games on the market, playing games with those close to you is always a move. While there are lots of Black-themed card games out there, there aren’t many actual Black board game designers. Meet Omari Akil. The 32-year old New Orleans native currently lives in Durham, North Carolina where he and his brother are busy creating games that we can relate to. We spoke with Omari to learn what it’s like to be one of the only Black game designers out there and to learn more about the games he creates.
were trying to do now is just be visible. Very soon we want to spend some time in our community talking about developing games and eventually teaching game design. The more people from different backgrounds with different interest who are creating games, the better and more interesting the games become.
Travel Noire: How did your love for board games develop?
TN: How do you merge your love for hip hop with board games?
Omari: Six years ago, I stumbled upon the show Tabletop, hosted by Wil Wheaton. It looked like they were having the kind of fun that I wanted to have so I decided to find my own gaming group. It wasn’t easy but I eventually found a group. After my first time there, I basically decided this was something I was super into and I went on Amazon and spent way too much money on what would be the start of my board game collection. I started mentioning to people that I was really into board games and slowly more and more people would be like, “Me too!” and now I have more board gaming friends than I know what to do with.
Omari: I love hip hop, but my brother is a hip hop head. When he came to me with the idea, I had no clue how it was going to work, especially since I had never designed a game before. After lots of conversations, what we decided to focus on would be the thing that has always been at the core of hip hop, storytelling. So much of hip hop is about who we are and where we come from. We decided that had to be in this game. As part of the game’s design, we came up with close to 500 “life events” that could happen to an artist going through their career. We have cards like, “Winning a talent show,” “Selling 35 CDs out of your trunk,” or “West coast tour.” When the game ends you can see exactly how you went from nothing to something. That to us is what hip hop is all about.
TN: Tell us about your brand? Omari: Board Game Brothas (www.boardgamebrothas) is the company I started with my brother to design and publish board games. It was so obvious when we started making our first game that this was something we wanted to continue doing. We made a hip hop board game and once we really got into it we knew that if we wanted to see more games that more prominently and positively featured black culture, we would have to just create them ourselves. So, a big part of what
TN: What challenges have you faced as one of the only Black men in this market? Omari: The biggest challenge I think, is just being in the space where you just feel so different. I think my path to creating games is different. I think my goals for creating games are different. When I’m in a room with 50 or more other game designers and we’re all testing
34 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
our games, I constantly feel like so much more is at stake for me. At this point, all I can do is hope that I’m opening the door for people behind me who come from the same place and who want to do the same things that I’m doing.
TN: What sets your games apart from others out there right now? Omari: All the games we are working on are clearly related to hip hop culture and black culture. They are designed to appeal to gamers who have hundreds of modern games in their collection and are looking for new experiences, but also gamers who haven’t played a board game since they were a kid. We want our games to be the best of both worlds so we can reach our community but also have the support and visibility in the larger gamer community. I think we’ve seen some fun games come out that are specifically reaching out to the black community. But, they aren’t super playable to anyone who isn’t steeped in that culture, like Black Card Revoked, or Martin Trivia, and more recently Hillman the Game. These are great and necessary games (that you should buy), but we are definitely doing something different. Anyone can play our games with no knowledge of the culture, have a great time, and ideally learn something in the process.
Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, you can sign up for our email list by going to www.boardgamebrothas. com, or you can also follow my personal account on Twitter (@omariakil) and Instagram (@omari_akil). https://legacy.travelnoire.com/meet-one-of-the-only-blackboard-game-designers-in-the-industry Image credits: Photo courtesy of Omari Akil, oneboardfamily.com
TN: Where can we find you online? Omari: You can find Board Game Brothas on 35 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Business - Rescuing History
Mellody Hobson (L) and honoree George Lucas attend the 2017 LACMA Art + Film Gala Honoring Mark Bradford and George Lucas presented by Gucci at LACMA on November 4, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for LACMA)
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ollowing Johnson Publishing Company’s recent Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing, the fate of thousands of original historical pictures and recordings are left threatened, but that could change with efforts from a powerhouse couple in finance and film. Ariel Investments president Mellody Hobson and her husband, Star Wars filmmaker George Lucas, are seeking control of the EBONY and JET archives, The Wall Street Journal reports. The extensive collection contains images and recordings chronicling more than 70 years of Black life and culture. Original images of Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes and Muhammad Ali are among the collection.
It also includes photos taken of historic moments like Emmett Till’s 1955 funeral, and images taken of his battered body, which his mother Mamie insisted on letting the world see; a Pulitzer Prize-winning image of Coretta Scott King and daughter Bernice at her husband’s funeral in 1968; and a host of images published in both magazines from the Civil Rights Movement as it happened. Johnson Publishing filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy earlier this month (April) after the company withstood years of financial and industry troubles, eroding its business and leaving it in serious debt. According to The Journal, the archives which had once been appraised at $40 million, are collateral for a $12 million loan that Capital Holdings V, LLC.,
36 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Mellody Hobson, George Lucas Seeking to Obtain Control of Historic EBONY and JET Archives By Megan Sims
provided Johnson Publishing In 2015, Linda Johnson Rice, daughter of founder John H. Johnson, along with then-CEO had placed the collection up for sale in order to raise the cash. About four months later the company secured the loan from Capital Holdings. The loan has been in default for three years and now the archives are uninsured with their preservation at risk. Johnson Publishing had published EBONY and JET magazines, and also
owned Ebony Media Operations before it was sold in 2017 to the Black-owned Texas-based investment firm The Clear View Group. “We are dedicated to preserving and celebrating stories and storytellers around the world,” Capital Holdings said in a statement to The Wall Street Journal. “The Johnson Publishing archives are an essential part of American history and have been critical in telling the extraordinary stories of African American culture for decades. We want to be sure the archives are protected for generations to come.” The Journal reports that Hobson has a lengthy relationship with Johnson Publishing and was directly involved with providing the loan, which was meant to help shore up the company to give it time to figure out how it will save its business and assets. But when Johnson filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, it placed those assets in control of a court-appointed trustee. Capital Holdings’ has requested to foreclose on the archive to protect the collection, but their motion has to be approved by a bankruptcy judge. The Journal says the chapter 7 bankruptcy could challenge their request, but a judge is set to consider Capital’s motion on Tuesday. In addition to her role at Ariel, Hobson is on the board of directors of JP Morgan Chase and became a vice chair of Starbucks last year. https://thegrio.com/2019/04/25/ mellody-hobson-george-lucas-ebonyjohnson-publishing/
37 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Buiness - Leadership
Great Leaders Are Thoughtful and Deliberate, Not Impulsive and Reactive By Tony Schwartz and Emily Pines
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ou set aside the first hour of your day to work on a strategy document that you’ve been putting off for a week. You haven’t been disciplined about getting to it, but you’ve had one crisis after another to deal with in the past week. Now, finally, you’ve carved out 90 early morning minutes to work on it. First, however, you take a quick peek at the email that has piled up in your inbox overnight. Before you know it, you’ve used up the whole 90 minutes responding to emails, even though none of them were truly urgent. By the time you walk into your next meeting, you’re feeling frustrated that you failed to stick by your plan. This meeting is a discussion with a direct report about the approach he’ll be taking in a negotiation with an important client. You have strong views about how best to deal with the situation, but you’ve promised yourself that you will be open and curious rather than directive and judgmental. You’re committed, after all, to becoming a more empowering manager. Instead, you find yourself growing even more irritable as he describes an approach that doesn’t feel right to you. Impulsively, you jump in with a sharp comment. He reacts defensively. You worry for a moment — and rightly so — that you cut him off too quickly, but you tell yourself that you’ve worked with this client for years, the outcome
is critical, and you don’t have time to hear your direct report’s whole explanation. He leaves your office looking hurt and defeated. Welcome to the invisible drama that operates inside us all day long at work, mostly outside our consciousness. Most of us believe we have one self. In reality, we have two different selves, run by two separate operating systems, in different parts of our brain. The self that we’re most aware of — the one that planned to work diligently on the strategy document and listen patiently to your direct report — is run by our prefrontal cortex and mediated through our parasympathetic nervous system. This is the self we prefer to present to the world. It’s calm, measured, rational, and capable of making deliberate choices. The second self is run by our amygdala, a small almond-shaped cluster of nuclei in our mid-brain and it is mediated by our sympathetic nervous system. Our second self seizes control any time we begin to perceive threat or danger. It’s reactive, impulsive, and operates
largely outside our conscious control. This second self serves us well if a lion is coming at us, but the threats we experience today are
mostly to our sense of worth and value. They can feel nearly as terrifying as those to our survival, but the danger we experience isn’t truly life-threatening. Responding to them as if they are only make things worse. It’s in these moments that we often use our highest cognitive capacities to justify our worst behaviors. When we feel we’ve fallen short, we instinctively summon up our “inner
38 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
lawyer” — a term coined by author Jonathan Haidt — to defend us. Our inner lawyer is expert at rationalizing, avoiding, deflecting, dissembling, denying, disparaging, attacking, and blaming others for our missteps and shortcomings. The inner lawyer works overtime to silence our own inner critic, and to counter criticism from others. All this inner turmoil narrows and consumes our attention and drains
our energy. The problem is that most organizations spend far more time focused on generating external value than they do attending to people’s internal sense of value. Doing so requires navigational skills that most leaders have never been taught, much less mastered. The irony is that ignoring people’s internal experience leads them to spend more energy defending their
value, leaving them less energy to create value. In our work with leaders, we’ve discovered that the antidote to reacting from the second self is to develop the capacity to observe our two selves in real time. You can’t change what you don’t notice, but noticing can be a powerful tool for shifting from defending our value to creating value. A well-cultivated self-observer allows us to watch our dueling selves without reacting impulsively. It also makes it possible to ask our inner lawyer to stand down whenever it rises up to argue our case to our inner and outer critics. Finally, the self-observer can acknowledge, without judgment, that we are both our best and our worst selves, and then make deliberate rather than reactive choices about how to respond in challenging situations. To improve your capacity to selfobserve, begin with negative emotions such as impatience, frustration, and anger. When you feel them arising, it’s a strong signal that you’re sliding into the second self. Simply naming these emotions as they arise is a way to gain some distance from them. Also, watch out for times when you feel you’re digging in your heels. The absolute conviction that you’re right and the compulsion to take action are both strong indicators
that you‘re feeling a sense of threat and danger. In our work, we provide leaders with small daily doses of support — reminders to pay attention to what they’re feeling and thinking. We’ve also found it helpful to build small groups that meet at regular intervals so leaders can share their experiences. A blend of support, community, connection and accountability helps offset our shared impulse to stop noticing, push away discomfort, and revert to survival behaviors in the face of perceived threats to our value. A good starting place is to find a colleague you trust to be your accountability partner, and to seek regular feedback from one another. Finally, it’s important to ask yourself two key questions in challenging moments: “What else could be true here?” and “What is my responsibility in this?” By regularly questioning your conclusions, you’re offsetting your confirmation bias — the instinct to look for evidence that supports what you already believe. By always looking for your own responsibility, you’re resisting the instinct to blame others and play victim and focusing instead on what you have the greatest ability to influence — your own behavior. A deceptively simple premise lies at the heart of this deliberate set of practices: see more to be more. Rather than simply getting better at what they already do, transformational leaders balance courage and humility in order to grow and develop every day. https://hbr.org/2019/04/great-leadersare-thoughtful-and-deliberate-notimpulsive-and-reactive Image credit: uncw.edu
39 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Business - Fashion Industry
#NYFWNoir: 12-Year-Old Made History at New York Fashion Week By Kellee Terrell
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leven-year-old Kheris Rogers knows on our what it feels like to be an outsider. The Los C l a s s i c Angeles-native spent the past few years shirts is being bullied for her dark skin, but thanks to her so bold resilience, the tween turned lemons into lemonade i s and is now an insider making history at this because season’s New York Fashion Week! w e With her Flexin’ In My Complexion, Rogers w a n t e d is the youngest designer ever to debut a line on the shirts the event’s coveted runway. Earlier this week, she did so at Harlem Fashion Week at the Museum of the City of New York. On her Instagram, Rogers wrote: “I just made history as OXSLWDQ\RQJR #NYFW youngest fashion designer EVER! I am only 11 years old and made it to the runway while encouraging people to love their skin.” Look at Kheris' beauty Lupita Nyong'o and confidence. And look www.instagram.com at which celeb is a HUGE fan: Oscar winner Lupita to be just as bold as the message.” Nyong’o!!! She also recognized the power that As we previously reported, her line is having over people. Rogers started her line after “It is very exciting that so many people starting a Twitter account are supporting,” she added. “There with her sister highlighting have been so many people reaching her skin tone and beauty. out and telling me their own stories, Kheris Rogers beyondclassicallybeautiful.com Playing off 2015’s and I appreciate it because I know that trending hasthag I am not alone in my experience.” #FlexinInMyComplexion, earlier this year Rogers Kheris was the recent recipient of the told Mashable that she hopes her shirts remind Outstanding Young Achievers Award at the others that their skin color is beautiful—regardless "BBA Salute to Black Women" on March 30, of the shade. 2019. “I wanted to create this clothing line to inspire Congrats Kheris! You deserve all the success! other people to be confident and comfortable in https://hellobeautiful.com/2958864/kheris-rogers-nyfwtheir skin,” she stressed. “The reason why the font designer-history-flexin-in-my-complexion/ 41 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Business - Cyberseccurity
FBI Internet Crime Center Reports $2.7B in 2018 Fraud By Sean Michael Kerner
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he FBI's Internet Crime Center (IC3) (www. ic3.gov) released its annual Internet Crime Report on April 22, revealing a dramatic spike in the amount of financial losses incurred in 2018 from internet-enabled theft fraud and exploitation. The 28-page report is based on 351,937 complaints received by IC3 in 2018, which is a nominal increase over the 301,580 complaints received in 2017. IC3 also estimated that in 2018 there was a total of $2.7 billion in financial losses from online cyber-criminals, which is nearly double the $1.4 billion reported in 2017. "The 2018 report shows how prevalentt these crimes are," Donna Gregory, chief off IC3, wrote in a statement. "It also shows thatt the financial toll is substantial and a victim can be anyone who uses a connected device."
an employee's login credentials for a payroll system. Once the attacker has the credentials, deposit information is changed, redirecting funds to an attacker-controlled resource. In 2018, IC3 reported that losses from payroll diversion came in at approximately $100 million on only 100 complaints.
Tech Support Fraud Although BEC and payroll diversion complaints generated the most losses, one of the fastest growing areas of complaints came from tech support fraud scams. In tech support fraud scams, attackers attempt to trick victims into thinking they require some form of assistance to fix a broken system. In 2018, ICE reported a 161% increase in tech support fraud financial losses, totaling $39 million. IC3 received a total of 14,408 tech support fraud complaints, with the majority of victims being individuals over 60 years of age.
Business Email Compromise Once again, IC3 identified Business Email Compromise (BEC) as one of the mostlyy costly scams. BEC attacks occur when a hacker tricks an organization into paying a fraudulent invoice. In 2018, IC3 received 20,373 complaints about BEC, up from the 15,690 complaints received in 2017. Estimated losses from BEC in 2018 according to IC3 hit $1.2 billion, up from $675 million in 2017. Losses from BEC have mounted rapidly in recent years. In 2015, IC3 estimated that losses for all of 2014 were $215 million. BEC scams have not only grown in volume and financial losses over the last few years, they have also grown in terms of different tactics. In 2018, IC3 reported that it saw an increase in fraudsters requesting victims to buy gift cards to pay for different business or personal invoices.
Payroll Diversion While BEC scams look to trick victims into paying for fraudulent invoices, another even more lucrative scam IC3 saw in 2018 involved payroll diversion. With payroll diversion scams, an attacker exploits a victim via a phishing email that is targeted at stealing
Recovery Asset R A t Team T While attackers continue to attempt to defraud individuals and organizations through various online scams, IC3 has endeavored to help victims recover lost funds. In February 2018, IC3 established an effort called the Recovery Asset Team (RAT), which is specifically tasked with helping to recover funds lost from BEC scams. The RAT is a joint effort with the Domestic Financial Fraud Kill Chain (DFFKC) group, which is a partnership between law enforcement and financial entities. "In 2018, the IC3 RAT notified 56 field offices and 12 Legal Attachés of 1,061 DFFKC’s totalling $257,096,992, a recovery rate of 75%," Matt Gorham, assistant director of the Cyber Division at the FBI, wrote in the report. www.eweek.com/security/fbi-internet-crime-centerreports-2.7b-in-2018-fraud?
42 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
To Create a Seven-Figure Business, Start With a FiveFigure Concept By Daniel Griggs “Dream small” might seem an unfitting motto for a brandnew business, but I believe this phrase holds the key to success in the competitive startup economy. Entrepreneurs tend to dream big and envision all the ways their end product could reach the largest audience with maximum profitability. But sometimes shooting for the stars can mean shooting yourself in the foot. To build a seven-figure business, begin with a five-figure idea — the minimum viable product that will get you up and running — and then scale from there. If you want your startup to be the next Facebook, you have to to start where the social media giant did: with a simple idea and a clear proof of concept that is easily scalable. When I first began my agency, I had visions of a full team, great office space and a website that was as good as it gets. But I began with the basics. Before I could have the seven-figure agency, I began as a fivefigure agency — a one-man team working at a local coffee shop with a website that would get the job done. While it can be tough to have to start so small, it is what allowed me to build a solid foundation for future growth. Because of that foundation, I’ve gone from a one-man team to a team of 31, from a coffee shop to an office that keeps coffee on deck, and from a website that got the job done to a high-converting site that generates leads daily. Here are my top tips so you can do the same.
Ease your audience into your idea. We are creatures of habit. Many of us will choose familiarity over convenience and resist the learning curve of a new product or process — even if they could make our lives easier in the long run. Take this into consideration when marketing and launching your startup. If your product or service offers a simple solution for
a common problem, chances are your target audience members will need time to adjust to the concept. They will also require attentive communication and customer service. Warm up potential customers with the use of visual promotional materials — particularly video content that shows your product’s ease of use — and continue to cater to them after they buy into your concept. Companies like Zoom and Dropbox do a great job of creating video content for both new and existing customers that demonstrates how to maximize their products’ potential.
Start small and scale up. It is much easier to add to your product than it is to remove features or scale down. The top priority in the first iteration of your startup should be proof of concept. Make sure your product or service resonates with your target audience and that you are demonstrating its feasibility and practicality. Many visionaries want to start by marketing the solution to a problem, when it is most effective to start by marketing the problem. You need to clearly demonstrate the need for your services. Begin with the minimum viable product, then once you have some audience engagement, solicit as much feedback as you can and use it to inform your growth. From there, you can develop a long-term plan for expanding segment by segment.
Develop your website with customer service in mind. When designing a website and mobile app for your startup, make sure you are working with a developer that is taking the entire customer experience into consideration and building your site in a way that is easily scalable. Your customer base may need a lot of hand-holding as they adjust to your platform. Teach them how to maximize usage of your product through email newsletters, videos and webinars. As much as possible, preempt their questions by building a FAQ section or “how-to” section into your web and mobile designs. Although it may seem counterintuitive, limiting the initial scope of your business and then scaling up over time will lead to more long-term success. Pitching a clear proof of concept to your target audience, providing high-quality customer service and evolving alongside your client base is the best way to ensure steady growth. www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2019/05/06/to-create-a-sevenfigure-business-start-with-a-five-figure-concept/?utm_ medium=40digest.7days3.20190506.carousel&utm_source=email&utm_ content=&utm_campaign=campaign#2b26033e2fd5
43 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Business - Success Profile
Sylvia Rhone Named Chairman and CEO of Epic Records By Music Business Worldwide
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ylvia Rhone has been promoted to Chairman and CEO of Epic Records at Sony Music. In her new role, Rhone will report to Rob Stringer, CEO, Sony Music Entertainment. She will lead the overall creative direction and management of Epic Records, overseeing a roster of artists including Camila Cabello, Travis Scott, Future, 21 Savage, Meghan Trainor, DJ Khaled and French Montana. Stringer said, “Sylvia is a trailblazing and iconic executive who has played a critical leadership role in driving Epic’s recent artist development success. Her wealth of experience and passionate support of artistic vision will help us further grow the reach of Epic’s roster around the world.” Rhone commented: “I am excited to continue my amazing journey at Epic Records supported by Rob Stringer’s vision and leadership. “Everything we do is a testament to our incredible artists who set the bar of the entire Epic culture, inspiring our dedicated executive team every day and enriching the legacy of this great label.” “Sylvia is a trailblazing and iconic executive who has played a critical leadership role in driving Epic’s recent artist development success.” Rob Stringer, Sony Music Rhone has held the position of President of Epic Records since 2014. The label’s major successes since then have included Travis Scott’s acclaimed 2018 album Astroworld which maintained a Top Ten position on the Billboard 200 Albums chart for 29 consecutive weeks; Camila Cabello’s debut album Camila and its smash single “Havana,” which was recently named the biggest single of 2018 by the IFPI; a string of No.1 albums from Future, including 2019’s Future Hndrxx Presents: The Wizrd; and two hit albums from 21 Savage, including 2018’s I Am > I Was, which debuted at No. 1 in the US.
Rhone’s career in the music industry has spanned more than four decades. Prior to Sony Music, she spent eight years at Universal Music Group, where she was President of Universal Motown Records and Executive Vice President at Universal Records from 2004. From 1994-2004, Rhone was Chairman and CEO of Warner Music Group’s Elektra Entertainment Group, the first African American woman to be named Chairman of a major record company, guiding the careers of artists including Missy Elliott, Busta Rhymes, Metallica, Staind, Third Eye Blind, Tracy Chapman, Natalie Merchant, Gerald Levert, Yolanda Adams, Phish, Jason Mraz, and others. Prior to her time at Elektra, Rhone held various senior roles throughout WMG, ABC Records and Ariola Records. She began her career at Buddah Records in 1974. Rhone is a graduate of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She received an honorary doctorate from the Berklee College of Music on April 5, 2019, in recognition of her career achievements as a leading female music executive who has reached the status of label head multiple times, and for her influence on the music industry through her leadership. Included annually in entertainment industry executive power rankings from The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard and Entertainment Weekly, Rhone was the first woman to receive the Music Business’ Association Presidential Award for Sustained Achievement. She has also received Essence’s Black Women in Music Trailblazer Award and the 2011 Keepers of the Dream Award. Rhone succeeds L.A Reid as Chairman & CEO of Epic. Reid, a long-time colleague of Rhone’s, exited Epic in 2017. www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/sylvia-rhonenamed-chairman-and-ceo-of-epic-records
44 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
A
re you a Small Business interested in selling your product or services to Metro or to Prime Contractors that do business with Metro? Would you like to learn how to win contracts as a Prime Contractor through SB Prime, Metro's exciting set-aside initiative? If so, we invite you to come grow with us and learn about Metro Connect. Start now and register for a How to Do Business with Metro Workshop. Metro staff will show you how to take advantage of the vast array of products, services and transportation related opportunities projected over the coming weeks, months and year. As an added bonus, Metro's procurement staff will host informal interviews with firms before the workshop, starting at 9:00 a.m. Tuesday, June 11, 2019 8:30 a.m.: Registration 9:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. One-on-One with Contract Administrators and Continental Breakfast 9:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.: Program
Metro Headquarters 3rd Floor, Board Room, One Gateway Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Topics: Highway Project Update, Procurement Update, Certification Update, Small Business Prime Update, LA SAFE/511 Next Generation Update To learn more about how Metro Connect's Small and Disadvantaged Business Certifications can help open the door to contracting opportunities with Metro visit Metro Vendor Portal. For further questions, please contact Marisela Villar at VillarM@metro.net or via phone at 213.922.2235.
Business - Marketing
How to Be a Fearless Female Leader By Jenn Hempel A Recap from The WomEn’s Leadership Forum presented by Dakota County Regional Chamber of Commerce
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e had the honor of attending the 9th annual Dakota County Regional Chamber of Commerce WomEn’s Leadership Forum, where over 200 women and men came together to energize, educate, and empower women. It was a time of inspiration, networking, and encouraging every woman to be a leader. The fact is simple: every woman can be a leader and her own change agent in the world. So, what defines a leader? Is it someone who leads a team of people? A stay at home mom? A small business owner? This conference reminded us that women can be leaders regardless of their title. We were fortunate to have Nancy M. Dahl as our keynote speaker, who encouraged every woman in the room to strive for a fully integrated life, rather than a “balanced” life. She highlighted the five circles of life, which are work, play, relationships, learning, and spirituality & mindfulness. The best part is YOU, the leader of your life, get to decide how big each circle is and make room for what matters most. We become the best leaders we can be when we are building community, leading fearlessly, and following our passions. Below are key points made during the Forum that stood out as actionable advice:
Building Community • Create authentic professional connections beyond the LinkedIn screen • When you build authentic connections, you don’t just know their title, you know their story • Challenge yourself to make new connections in person, connect over coffee, and turn a digital connection into an authentic one • Connect with people in different industries; use the passion they have in their industry to fuel passion in your own
Prioritize your relationships at home • Lead by example by spending quality time with your family and friends • As a leader, support what your co-workers and employees are trying to accomplish in their home life
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• Be conscious about filling your calendar, making sure you prioritize what’s important to you and your family while being mindful of managing your stress
Pay it forward in your community • Find an organization to volunteer with that you’re passionate about • Put your interests on LinkedIn; people will connect with you because of your similar interests and will know who you really are • Exemplify servant leadership wherever you go, whether it’s with your employees, co-workers, or the people behind you in the drive-thru
Leading Fearlessly • Don’t let FEAR affect your leading • This powerful acronym was shared with us, encouraging us all to lead without fear of failure: False Evidence Appearing Real • Remember that failure is a part of your success story as it helps you learn • Lead with passion rather than fear, never afraid to fail • Be brave and cut your own path rather than following in someone else’s tracks
Be the leader you wish you had • Be a visionary leader, one that can see a vision without letting the budget affect a dream • Encourage constructive criticism to be given and received respectfully • Have a heart for those you’re leading and be approachable
46 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
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-history.blogs.archives.gov
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Lead with a flexible plan • Set the tone that you want to see in your organization • Remember that moving forward is progress even if it wasn’t on your exact time schedule • Lead with a plan knowing that there may be unpredictable changes ahead
Following Your Passions • Find your passion & do it • Intention matters: Where can you do your best work? • Find what makes you awesome and go become a part of it • If you’re lucky, work won’t feel so much like work
Create your mission statement • Remember you are more than a job title and more than the results from a Myers-Briggs Personality Assessment • Practice what you would write on your nametag to explain who you are • Create a mission statement for all areas of your life
Never stop learning • Life is about trying new things and starting new things • You can read about anything but it’s not until we do something new that we really learn
Always debrief after an experience by asking yourself the following questions • • • •
What makes you proud? What did you learn? What could you optimize? What do you need next?
And finally, we were reminded of this: You being you is your greatest superpower. It’s never too late to start doing what you love. Be grounded in what brings you joy.
Maxine Waters nbcnews.com
As women, we must come together to build one another up in community Michelle Obama to encourage ourweekly.com building authentic relationships both personally and professionally, exemplifying fearless leadership, and infiltrating your passion into every area of your life. Once that becomes routine, we become true leaders. http://www.skyline-etips.com/how-to-be-a-fearless-femaleleader/
47 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
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Business - New Fashion House
Rihanna's New Fashion Line Is Making History in More Than One Way By Kimberly Truong
A
ccording to the New York Times, Rihanna is teaming up with LVMH — the luxury conglomerate that's home to Dior, Givenchy, Celine, and Louis Vuitton — for a fashion brand called Fenty Maison that will include ready-to-wear, shoes and accessories. Rihanna has collaborated with big brands like Puma and Manolo Blahnik in the past, but this new collaboration is a huge, history-making deal. Rihanna
will become the first woman to create an original brand at LVMH (www.lvmh.com), the first woman of color at the top of an LVMH maison, and her line will be the first new house created by the group since Christian Lacroix in 1987. “Everybody knows Rihanna as a wonderful singer,
Rihanna rollingstone.com but through our partnership at Fenty Beauty, I discovered a true entrepreneur, a real C.E.O. and a terrific leader,” Bernard Arnault, the chairman of LVMH, said a statement to the Times. Since 2017, Fenty has partnered with LVMH to create and distribute Rihanna’s beauty line. Now, Rihanna joins the likes of designers such as Hedi Slimane, Nicolas Ghesquière, and Marc Jacobs, who have all worked with LVMH. “Designing a line like this with LVMH is an incredibly special moment for us,” Rihanna said in the statement. “Mr. Arnault has given me a unique opportunity to develop a fashion house in the luxury sector, with no artistic limits. I couldn’t imagine a better partner both creatively and business-wise, and I’m ready for the world to see what we have built together.” The first products, according to the Times, will be unveiled in "a few weeks." If Fenty Beauty and her lingerie line, Savage, are anything to go by, Fenty Maison will likely be inclusive of a diverse set of customers — and will have us pulling out all of our wallets. See Rihanna fashion and beauty products in the BBA Shopping Gallery beginning on page 103 (112-113, 129). www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/lifestylebuzz/rihannas-new-fashion-line-ismaking-history-in-more-than-one-way/arAABbFzn?ocid=spartandhp Image credits: lvmh.com, moroccanladies.com
50 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Business - Career Advancement
Melissa C. Thomas-Hunt Joins Airbnb as Head of Global Diversity and d Belonging
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t Airbnb, our mission is to create a world where anyone can belong anywhere, and we cannot achieve our mission without a diverse workforce. Today, we are proud to announce that Melissa C. Thomas-Hunt is joining Airbnb as our new Head of Global Diversity and Belonging. In her role at Airbnb, Thomas-Hunt will serve on Airbnb’s Executive Team and lead the strategy and execution of our global internal diversity, inclusion, equity and belonging programs for Airbnb’s 5,000 employees around the world. An expert on building inclusive, global teams, Thomas-Hunt joins Airbnb from Vanderbilt University, where she served as Vice Provost for Inclusive Excellence. In that role, she was responsible for
helping advance equity, diversity and inclusion in Vanderbilt’s academic research and community of almost 22,000 students, staff and faculty. Prior to her work at Vanderbilt, Thomas-Hunt served as Global Chief Diversity Officer at the University
"I felt deeply c alled by Airbnb ’s mission and purpose. Increasing belo nging is powerful, com pelling and co mplex to opera onalize . By con nuing to build a diverse and in clusive team a round the world, we can help individuals shi and shape their tr ajectory to re alize their full poten al, and I am hono red to join Airbnb to help achieve these goals." Melissa Thoma s-Hunt, Airbnb ’s Head of Diversity and B elonging
of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, where she was focused on ensuring that the student community was seen, heard, valued and supported. Thomas-Hunt held Full, Associate and Assistant Professorial roles for over 20 years at schools such as Vanderbilt, the University of Virginia, Cornell University, and Washington University in St Louis. Her research and teaching focused on organizational behavior and the factors that unleash, leverage and amplify the talents and contributions made by women and underrepresented individuals. She began her career at IBM as a Marketing Representative and received her master’s and doctoral degrees from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management and her undergraduate degree in chemical engineering from Princeton University. In recent years, Airbnb has launched a series of initiatives like the Airbnb Community Commitment and Open Doors policies that help fight discrimination and promote belonging. Thomas-Hunt will advise Airbnb on these and other initiatives that are designed to work to fight bias and ensure our community is open and fair for all hosts and guests. Thomas-Hunt will report to Beth Axelrod, Vice President of Global Employee Experience. https://press.airbnb.com/melissa-c-thomas-hunt-joinsairbnb-as-head-of-global-diversity-and-belonging/
51 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Business - National Small Business Week Winner's Tips
5 Lessons from This Year’s Top Small Businesses By Emily Wiseheart Every year, the United States celebrates a week dedicated to appreciating small businesses. This year, National Small Business Week falls on May 5th – 11th, 2019. In addition to celebrating all small businesses, the Small Business Association (SBA) recognizes select, outstanding entrepreneurs and small business owners from each of the 50 states and U.S. territories. We decided to take a look at the winners of the 2019 Small Business Week Awards and highlight a few of the things they are doing to set themselves up for success. Here are five lessons we can all take away from this year’s winners:
1. They can be found online Each winner this year has a big online presence. Can your business be found online? By being online, you increase your chances of being found by many more customers. In fact, in 2021, over 2.14 billion people worldwide are going to be shopping online. You want a piece of that pie! Not only does an online presence provide social proof that you are a reliable business, like with reviews and ratings, but your customers actually expect to be able to find you online, and may go to a competitor if they can’t. In 2019, building a website is easier than it’s ever been. You don’t need to have extensive technical skills, and there are tons of inexpensive options. Almost anyone can get a basic website up and running in about thirty minutes. Check out the website from one of this year’s winners, Fireside Partners (www.firesideteam.com).
2. Their social game is on point This year’s winners understand the importance of social media marketing. “Word-of-mouth” in 2019 happens online, more likely to be communicated via a keyboard and social media than from someone’s actual mouth. By building up a strong social presence, you can keep in touch with customers, share your business story, create a platform to spread your brand awareness, target new customers, and be a part of the conversation around your specific expertise.
Check out the Instagram from one of this year’s winners, Mills Group, LLC (www.instagram.com/ millsgroupllc).
3. They use email marketing
If social media is the party, then email marketing is the invitation to the party! Another best practice this year’s winners are applying to their marketing strategy is email marketing automation. One of the top benefits of email marketing is that it makes money. In fact, for every $1 you spend on email marketing, you can expect an average return of $38. Other benefits include helping to build prospect and customer relationships over time, and allowing your business to stay top-of-mind even when your customers aren’t shopping. When adding automation to your email marketing, for example, by creating an automated series of emails to welcome new subscribers, your emails become more timely, relevant, and personalized. Plus, the average open rate for automated welcome emails is a whopping 50%. Wondering how you can get started applying email marketing to your business? Check out this article for some ways to get new and repeat business with email automation (https://blogs.constantcontact.com/
some-ways-to-get-new-and-repeat-business-with-emailautomation).
4. They monitor their reviews and ratings Considering nearly 95% of shoppers read online reviews before making a purchase, it’s no wonder that monitoring those reviews is practiced by the top small businesses in 2019. This year’s winners understand the importance of responding to reviews in a timely and positive manner. The truth is, the person you are responding to is not the only one who will see that response. You want the other visitors to your review sites to know that you care about answering questions and concerns from your customers, and that you do it in a professional way. Make sure your business has a response strategy, regularly checks ratings and review sites, and thanks consumers for positive reviews and word-of-mouth promotion. See how one of this year’s winners, Tucker’s NH, manages their online reviews. 5. They know how to bring it all together Equally as important as knowing how to apply small business marketing tactics to your business strategy would be understanding how they all work together. Try measuring your results from your website, social media marketing, email marketing, and review sites to see what is working and where. Cross-promote content
52 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
November 7 - 10, 2019 Oakland, California AfroTech: https://experience.afrotech.com Register: https://e.sparxo.com/Afrotech19 Partner: https://experience.afrotech.com/partner Tracks: Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Engineering & Design The groundbreaking, revolutionary experience for Black techies, startups and entrepreneurs returns! Come join 6000+ of your fellow founders, entrepreneurs and engineers for a 360-degree look at how culture, innovation and tech run the world. Collectively, we can scale our collective power in culture, innovation and tech. Buy your tickets today! Together we have the power to drive innovation, redefine how we do business, and create our own future. through these different channels and note the kind of response you are getting from your audience. Set goals for each marketing tactic and for your marketing strategy as a whole. By tying your marketing efforts together, and measuring the results, you will gain full visibility into understanding your customers, enabling you to market to them even better. For example, PIP Printing, another one of this year’s winners, uses their website to tie to their social posts, their social posts are boosted/sponsored, and their website ties to their reviews and ratings. They also have an email sign-up form on their website where people can subscribe to gain weekly insight into the
evolving world of Marketing. Congratulations to all the 2019 SBA Award winners! We would like to congratulate all the businesses that will be recognized as winners for their efforts and accomplishments during National Small Business Week. We are proud to say that a group of these winners are Constant Contact customers! As a dedicated partner of small businesses for over 20 years, Constant Contact provides products and services to support ALL small businesses and makes sure they have the resources they need to succeed. https://blogs.constantcontact.com/5-lessons-from-thisyears-top-small-businesses/?rmc=pm_ht_all#
53 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Business - Marketing
Text Message Marketing: Tips,Tools and Services By Kiely Kuligowski,
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ext Message Marketing, also called mobile marketing or SMS (short message service) marketing, is on the rise as a way to reach your customer base in real time with a near guarantee that your message will be read. As with email marketing, text message marketing requires customers and clients to opt in to the service. Once they sign up and provide their mobile phone number, businesses have the right to send them text messages about what's going on with the business. The key to text message marketing is to regularly engage customers and build a two-way dialogue with them. There are three main features that businesses can use to increase the back-and-forth communication: • Autoresponders: One of the most popular options is autoresponses, which can be set up in advance so businesses don't have to respond to each customer individually. Autoresponse messages can be programmed to be sent only when certain criteria are met, such as when new customers opt in to start receiving messages, when they participate in a survey or when they use certain keywords. • Surveys and polls: By sending out polls, businesses can determine what consumers are looking for, whether it is which food item customers would like to see added to the menu or what deals people want to receive text messages about. Surveys are an important tool in two-way communication that can improve a company's marketing and service offerings. • Coupons: Sending customers coupons is an easy way to drive new business. Consumers are always looking for a good deal, and coupons can get them in the door and spending money.
Benefits of text message marketing Text message marketing is a unique opportunity to connect with your customers on an informal basis, said Leslie Crews, senior content strategist at Blurban Planner Co. "[Text message marketing] reduces the pressure of conventional correspondence like email or snail mail and helps to reduce the pressure already
inherent to sales. People buy from you because they feel comfortable." Plus, the average American checks their phone every 12 minutes, which lends itself to a nearly 98% open rate for text messages – much higher than the 20% average for email campaigns. And text message marketing eliminates the risk that your messages will land in the Spam folder. Engagement marketing is becoming the order of the day as consumers are rejecting traditional marketing techniques in favor of companies that connect with them on a personal level, and what's more personal than a text message? There is a concern that mobile marketing is invasive, but Maria Kiagias, founder of Social Gold, said that responsibility and restraint are key. "It's how you use it that counts," she said. "Get in the mind of your customer [and] don't abuse the technology."
How to use mobile marketing First and foremost, get written permission from your customers to send them text messages (see below for more on laws governing SMS marketing). Next, decide what you are going to send to those who opt in. Make sure it's pertinent to both your target audience and your business, and keep it short – no more than 200 characters. Because it's a text campaign, you don't have to worry about curating graphics or being overly clever. Brevity is key. Be mindful of when and how often you're texting. Do so within business hours (Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and no more than once or twice a week. "Do not spam your customers with messages," said Bryan Heredia, founder and CEO of MyGoGoStore. "If you do, they'll just end up ignoring you." You should also strive to make it worth it for people to opt in to receiving texts. "You want your text message channel to feel like an exclusive VIP club for your customers," said David Hamilton, chief growth artist at Oppilo. "Offer exclusive access to new products and special deals."
Text message marketing laws It is critical for a business to get permission before
56 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
sending out text messages to current or prospective customers. Pizza giant Papa John's found out the hard way when they were sued for $250 million for sending out 500,000 illegal text messages. In the end, the pizza company settled the class action lawsuit for a reported $16.5 million. As of October 2013, businesses are required to follow new regulations passed by the Federal Communications Commission. According to law firm Perkins Coie, businesses must abide by certain rules when obtaining customer permission, including that: • the person signs, either handwritten or electronically, the consent form • the consent form clearly authorizes the business to send the customer text messages • the consent spells out that in addition to the text messages, they can also receive telemarketing calls using an automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice The consent form also needs to be clear that the business is not requiring the signature and signing is not a condition of any purchase. Businesses that violate the new FCC laws face between a $500 and $1,500 fine per message.
Text message marketing services Before choosing a text message marketing service, businesses should look out for several things. In addition to the ability to send different types of messages, including autoresponders, surveys, polls and coupons, the service should have reporting tools to help businesses gauge how effective their campaigns are. Reporting tools enable businesses to track conversations they're carrying with customers, as well as track data keyword responses, poll results
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and delivery rates. The service, which should be easy to set up and use, should also have extensive help and support options should a business run into problems. Top services provide support via phone, email, and live chat to deal with immediate needs in addition to offering online documentation and video tutorials to help businesses handle issues they may encounter. With so many text message marketing services available to businesses, it can be difficult to find one that best fills their needs. BusinessNewsDaily's sister site, Business.com, has done extensive research on text message marketing services (www.business.com/ categories/best-text-message-marketing-services). Among the various services, Business.com ranks EZ Texting (www.eztexting.com) as the best option for its ease of use, range of features and intuitive dashboard. The service also offers an extensive feature set, including analytics, automation, contact management, customization and more. Other services highly rated by Business.com are SlickText (www.slicktext.com), which has an easyto-use interface and excellent customer service; SimpleTexting (https://simpletexting.com) for its flexibility and variety of tools; and Textedly (www.textedly.com), which is easy to use and beginner-friendly. www.businessnewsdaily.com/5288-text-messagemarketing.html
57 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Business - Technology / Take A Look! Technology:
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TikTok - Short Form Video Platform
ikTok (www.tiktok.com) is the world's leading destination for short-form mobile videos. Our mission is to capture and present the world's creativity, knowledge, and moments that matter in everyday life. TikTok empowers everyone to be a creator directly from their smartphones, and is committed to building a community by encouraging users to share their passion and creative expression through their videos. TikTok has offices in Beijing, Berlin, Jakarta, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Mumbai, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, and Tokyo. In 2018, TikTok was one of the most downloaded apps in the world. TikTok is available worldwide for iOS and Android. T i k T o k r e c e n t l y announced the launch of "TikTok Spotlight," an innovative musician program to discover and support independent and unsigned artists (www.tiktok.com/ tiktokspotlight). TikTok Spotlight is an opportunity for musicians to build a community of followers and showcase their original and creative work to a global audience. As part of the program, TikTok will open a special channel for musicians to submit their music, making it available for TikTok users around the world to discover and use in their videos. TikTok is committed to keeping our platform safe for all users, and as part of that ongoing effort we're pleased to partner with Internet Matters – a notfor-profit organization whose purpose is to empower parents and carers to keep young people safe in the digital world. Our partnership with Internet Matters follows the launch of our Safer Internet Day initiative,
#BetterMeBetterInternet from TikTok, which encouraged our global community to unite and work together in creating a safer internet. We also recently launched a video series available @tiktoktips called ‘You’re in Control’ to raise awareness among users about the in-app safety and privacy settings that let them customize and manage their online presence. Users and their families can also find more information on our tools and best safety practices by visiting our Safety Center. www.tiktok.com https://newsroom.tiktok.com/tiktoks-new-user-safetyvideos-merge-education-with-entertainment/ www.tiktok.com/en/safety Image credit: en.wikipedia.org
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Microsoft "To-Do" Organization Tool
o-Do helps you manage, prioritize, and complete the most important things you need to achieve every day, powered by Office 365 integration. The ToDo Daily Planner app is available from the Microsoft Store (www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/b/home). MY DAY - Start your morning with a clean slate with My Day. Your My Day list starts out empty—helping you to be more intentional about what you want to get done. SUGGESTED FOR YOU - To-Do’s Suggestions make it easy to prioritize your daily tasks. Suggestions look at your to-dos across your lists and recommend the most important ones for you each day. REMINDER - Keep track of deadlines by adding reminders, due dates, and notes to your to-dos. Whether for work or personal tasks, To-Do helps you be more productive.
SHARE/COLLABORATE - Share lists with colleagues, friends, and family. Collaborate on projects to get things done faster. LISTS GALORE - Create lists for anything you want:
58 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
work, school, groceries, movies, or household tasks. You can even personalize your lists with different themes and colors to help you quickly identify them. OUTLOOK TASKS - To-Do is integrated with Outlook Tasks, making it easier to manage all your tasks in one place. ACCESS ANYWHERE - Microsoft To-Do is available for free, and syncs across iPhone, Android, Windows 10, and the web. https://products.office.com/en-us/microsoft-to-do-list-app Image credit: intowindows.com
Microsoft "OneNote" Your Digital Notebook
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neNote is already installed on Windows 10. OneNote helps you to capture thoughts, ideas, and to-dos and sync them to all your devices. You can store and share your notebooks on OneDrive with your free Microsoft account. Your notebooks don't expire use OneNote for as long as you like. MY DIGITAL NOTEBOOKS - Get organized in notebooks you can divide into sections and pages. With easy navigation and search, you’ll always find your notes right where you left them. Sort content across notebooks, sections, and pages. EASY UPDATES - Revise your notes with type, highlighting, or ink annotations. With OneNote across all your devices, you’ll never miss a flash of inspiration. Highlight can’t-miss notes with Important and To-Do tags. Draw your thoughts and annotate your notes, using a stylus or your finger. Use the OneNote Web Clipper to save content with a single click. OneNote can manage Mixed Media formats so you can record audio notes, insert online videos, and add files. SHARE/COLLABORATE - Great minds don’t always think alike, but they can share ideas and create together in OneNote. Share notebooks with coworkers, friends, and family. EDUCATION INDUSTRY - Teachers can use OneNote to organize lesson plans in searchable digital
notebooks, and staff can create a sharable content library. Encourage students to handwrite notes and sketch diagrams. USES GALORE - Visit the OneNote Blog to keep up to date on how others are using the organization/ productivity tool (www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/ blog/onenote). Also follow other OneNote users on Twitter and Facebook (www.facebook.com/OneNote). ACCESS ANYWHERE - Microsoft To-Do is available for free as a component of Windows 10, and syncs across iPhone, Android, Windows 10, and the web.. Image credit: weston-tech.com https://lifehacker.com/how-to-schedule-emails-with-gmailsnew-feature-1833717623
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Microsoft "Dictate"
ictate (hands free typing) is an add-in for Microsoft Outlook, Word and PowerPoint. Download the software from www.dictate.ms to get started. Software features incude: • Supports more than 20 languages for dictation • Real time translation to 60 languages • Commands like "new line", "stop dictation" and "enter" to give more control while dictating • Two modes of punctuations: Auto and manual for English • Visual feedback to indicate that speech is being processed. Commands Available (English) • New line: Takes cursor to new line • Delete: Removes the last line you dictated • Stop dictation: Terminates the dictation session • Full stop or period: Types period character (.) • Question mark: Types (?) • Open quote: Types (“) • Close quote: Types (”) • Colon: Types (:) • Comma: Types (,)
Curatted by LaSandra Stratton, Chief Content Administrator of the Black Business News.
59 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Jane e Reese-Wilkins s & Associates s e Black k Business s Association n Memberr off the Will assist you with your FREE Covered California Enrollment for No Cost! We assist with the quote, plan selection and enrollment. Depending on your situation, you may receive Premium Assistance. Dental and vision coverage is available at the time of enrollment. We represent the following plans:
Please call for your NO COST consultation, (626) 372-9097 janereesewilkins@yahoo.com www.coveredcaliforniamedicare.com #0C54211
60 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
61 February 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Celebrating the 65th Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education
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ixty-five years ago this week, the Supreme Court declared the doctrine of "separate but equal" unconstitutional. As we celebrate the impact of Brown v. Board of Education, LDF recognizes that the work of Brown is far from finished. According to a recent report, the percentage of intensely segregated schools, defined as those where less than 10% of the student body is white, tripled between 1988 and 2016, from 6% to 18% This regression makes it even more critical for LDF to continue leading the fight for equal education. Learn more about the history of Brown and our work today to secure equal opportunities for every student. Use this link to learn more: www.naacpldf. org/celebrating-65th-anniversary-brown-vboard-education/?track=DE19E30&utm_ source=1905brownemail1&utm_ medium=email&utm_campaign=fy19brown. NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. 40 Rector Street, 5th floor New York, NY 10006
64 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Government - Trade
TRADE MISSION: USA Trade Fair Conference and Exhibition 2019 May 21-23, 2019 Venue - Eko Convention Center Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria We are excited to announce the Commercial Service Nigeria’s first ever USA Trade Fair Conference and Exhibition, May 21-23, 2019 in Lagos, Nigeria. Get access to Africa’s largest and most dynamic market over an intense 3-day period. The USA Fair, which will include exhibitions, company promotions, diplomatic events and targeted one-on-one business meetings, provides U.S. companies with unique opportunities to engage Nigeria’s most qualified buyers and partners. Did you know that by 2050 Nigeria is predicted to be the third most populous country in the world (behind only India and China) and has the largest economy on the African continent, 17th largest in the world? Demand is growing across the agriculture, infrastructure, IT/digital economy sectors, in addition to the traditional sectors such as energy (oil and gas, power), transportation, construction and environmental technologies. For detailed information about the USA Fair, including activities, fees and logistics. Don’t hesitate to reach out to benedicta.nkwoh@trade.gov and ambrose. thomas@trade.gov. Also contact Africa Business Portal at: 1-800-573-6105 or info@africabsp.com. You won’t want to miss this opportunity to grow your business in Africa’s largest and most dynamic market. We will be pleased to arrange a conference call with you to discuss your product or in case you have any further concerns or questions about USA Fair 2019. For details on the Republic of Nigeria visit: https://2016.export.gov/nigeria
66 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Business - Customer Interaction
Social Media Can’t Be Your Only VoC* Strategy
While you may not anticipate every problem, you can avoid being put on blast on social if you can key into your customers’ experiences more proactively.
By Sophie Corlay
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or customers, conversations with brands Prioritize are never more than a click away. Social Transparency media is opening up more direct channels for Social isn’t communication between brands and consumers than going away, ever before. And savvy brands know to use platforms and it’s difficult like Facebook and Instagram as stronger touchpoints qualaroo.com to completely to engage consumers. You might have seen this eliminate negative feedback on these platforms. While play out with airline brand representatives (www. you can work to reduce these instances by gaining a targetmarketingmag.com/article/understanding-perceptionof-airline-brands-keeps-all-brands-flying-high) alleviating better understanding of your customers, you can also concerns with disgruntled flyers online in real-time, or use negative feedback to solve real problems. That famous fast food brands exchanging cheeky tweets requires transparency. Don’t ignore or delete negative social posts -- address with critics (www.buzzfeed.com/christinajhuynh/15-timeswendys-twitter-was-more-shameless-than-y-2tfa4?utm_ them as soon as possible. Avoid direct or private term=.uyvYlP5PN#.ekWobBwBV). While social media is messaging a customer if possible. Instead, reply via a powerful communication tool, it doesn’t replace a public posts to show others that saw original posts *Voice of the Customer (VoC) solution when it comes that you’re working to alleviate concerns. Otherwise, to gaining actionable customer feedback. Without a problems only magnify, since it might look like you’re solid VoC strategy in place, social media can easily ignoring upset customers. become a place where your brand’s dirty laundry is Eliminate Social Silos aired via public conversations, rather than a real driver When issues come up on social, it’s important to of positive change. understand what they mean for your entire customer Here’s how you can use a strong VoC strategy to experience. To really understand this, you need to look work in tandem with social to better understand how beyond the marketing department. customers feel about your brand: Social media is often considered the domain of
Seek Out Feedback Customers often believe they can get better responses from brands if they post negative feedback on public channels. And while social media can facilitate these interactions efficiently, most marketers would prefer to avoid social media venting sessions. The best way to do that is to capture negative feedback before it goes social. Touch base with your customers along each step of their journey. How was their online shopping experience? How hard was it to find what they were looking for? What problems or frustrations did they have while interacting with your brand? The only way to know is to ask. Prioritize these touchpoints throughout the customer journey (whether through a simple slideout survey on the mobile app, quick feedback button, in-store questionnaire or more) and make it easy for them to share thoughts.
the marketing department alone. This is a problem, considering many of the insights shared on social platforms aren’t related to marketing, but rather larger problems that brands must address. Issues with products, processes and user experience touch every aspect of your brand, and should be reported appropriately to the people who can actually address them. A strong VoC strategy, empowered by the right tools, can pull insights from both social media and other feedback channels to align marketing, sales, product and customer success teams. That way, departments across your business can use feedback to their benefit and improve the overall customer experience. www.targetmarketingmag.com/article/social-media-cantbe-only-voc-strategy/#ne=4a21b9167bf658408191e7c49 140a9aa&utm_source=today-%40-target-marketing&utm_ medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=2019-04-29
68 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Commentary - Health Care
Extremist Laws Will Make it Harder for Poor Women to End Pregnancies
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labama — led by utterly clueless male legislators — just passed the most restrictive ban on abortion in the country, with Georgia and Missouri piling on. Other states dominated by right-wing Republican politicians are jockeying to join in. Their aim is to get the courts, newly packed with right-wing judges appointed by Trump, to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark precedent that established a woman’s right to choose in the early months of pregnancy. The new laws generally deem abortion murder after six or eight weeks, no exceptions. This is often before women are even aware that they are pregnant. Some of the laws would imprison doctors; others lock up mothers. This is what the antiabortion movement has demanded. It has been spurred on by cynical politicians like Donald Trump, who devoted part of his State of the Union address to a blood-curdling description of infanticide that came completely from his own ugly imagination. Now anti-abortion activists are on the verge of getting what they want — the ability to prosecute doctors
and/or pregnant women for murder if they choose to abort a fetus early in their pregnancies. Even if the life of the mother is at risk, doctors would be loath to risk imprisonment by taking the necessary step to save her. Suddenly, right-wing politicians and moral hypocrites are expressing dismay at their victory. Donald Trump, who not many years ago was entirely pro-choice, tweeted that he didn’t support the Alabama laws, that he believed in exceptions for rape, incest and protecting the life of the mother. Apparently murder isn’t always murder for the president — or for televangelist Pat Robertson, or for House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy, who said the law “goes further than I believe,” because he would allow “exceptions” as a matter of “personal belief.” But as E.J. Dionne notes in the Washington Post, if personal beliefs can carve out exceptions to murder, why would Trump’s or McCarthy’s exceptions weigh more than the considered choices of the women struggling with whether to take a fetus to term? Cynical male politicians weighing how to placate
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the anti-abortion conservatives without alienating the vast majority aren’t making a more moral, more reasoned decision than the woman involved. Lost in this posturing — mostly by male politicians — is the basic reality. Passing laws that outlaw abortions won’t end abortions. They will simply make them less safe, putting more lives at risk. And the posturing totally ignores the deep injustices surrounding reproductive rights, as whatever the law is, rich women will retain the right of choice — even if it requires going to a hospital in another country — while the lives of poor women, already locked out of any federal support for the counseling and choices they need, will be at ever greater risk. Of course, many of these same politicians pushing these laws supposedly to protect life inside the womb do little to save the lives of those outside the womb, voting to roll back Medicaid, cut aid for
72 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Business - New Publication on the Rise women and infant children, slash food stamps and eliminate welfare for impoverished mothers with young children. Donald Trump revealed his brazen cynicism, tweeting out his exceptions to the Alabama law while pleading with the antiabortion movement to “stick together and win for Life in 2020.” His concern is re-election not making a moral decision on how best to deal with this agonizing concern. This is an ugly debate. The extremist laws passed in Alabama and elsewhere won’t stand, but the result inevitably will be to make it more difficult and perilous for poor women to make the agonizing decision about a pregnancy. The posturing will lead to the punishment of poor women for childbearing, putting more women and more fetuses at risk, and leave more infants born into a life without the basic support — health care, food, shelter — needed to have a chance for a healthy life. I share the concern for life that animates the most sincere opponents of abortion. I also agree that reproductive justice is essential to women. Family planning isn’t a sin; it is a vital necessity for ensuring that the next generation of infants is brought into the world with the love and the care they need. In Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court ruled essentially that it is the pregnant woman who is best charged with making the decision about pregnancy until the fetus is viable. I would trust the women agonizing over that choice far more than politicians like Trump or McCarthy, who cynically weigh how to placate their base without alienating the rest of us.
Suite Life Magazine’s Inaugural Issue Release Party
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arah Harris, founder of Suite Life Magazine, is proud to announce an Inaugural Issue Release Party on Thursday, June 6, 2019. This premiere event will take place at Harold & Belle’s in the Peacock Lounge. A highlight of the evening will be the unveiling of the premiere edition with a cover featuring Ryan and Jessica Legaux, third-generation owners of Harold & Belle’s Restaurant in celebration of the restaurant’s 50th anniversary and in recognition of their decades (L) Sarah Harris and honorees Ryan (top) and Jessica of service to the community. Legaux Invited guests include elected officials, community leaders, media, celebrity guests, and the producers of the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo, another special feature in the premiere issue in recognition of 35 years of showcasing equestrian entertainment across the country and celebrating the rich legacy of black cowboys and the Buffalo Soldiers. The magazine also features a spotlight on Women Who Brew, informative articles and much more. Suite Life Magazine will offer high profile interviews with prominent local and national leaders, news anchors, civic and cultural leaders among others. It will fast become an invaluable resource for the engaged professionals and community organizers. It is designed to provide readers with the latest must-know and must-dos, from events and marketing to project management and community relations. "With our underlying principle being that we will constantly strive to communicate solutions and ideas to help make your life “suiter,” we are thrilled to produce this highend, must-have concierge magazine," said founder and publisher, Sarah Harris. Our mission is to be the leading source for essential information to execute successful projects, initiatives, events, campaigns and business ventures. Our goal is to aid the community in garnering maximum exposure and outcomes for their endeavors. The magazine will be distributed quarterly at select locations and special events throughout greater Los Angeles as well as available online with ongoing updates. For more information, visit contact Sarah Harris at sarah@suiteevents. com or call 323.445.6745.
www.rainbowpush.org
73 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
FOR
Mother's Day
OR ANY SPECIAL OCCASION
76 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Community/Public Interest
Baton Rouge Area Foundation Opens Entries for $10,000 Gaines Award
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he Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence honors Louisiana’s revered storyteller, Ernest J. Gaines, and serves to inspire and recognize rising African-American fiction writers of excellence at a national level. The book award, initiated by donors of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, is now in its 13th year and has become nationally recognized in its role of enhancing visibility of emerging AfricanAmerican fiction writers while also expanding the audience for this literature. The annual award of a $10,000 cash prize is to support the writer and help enable her/him to focus on her/his art of writing. The 2019 panel of judges are themselves renowned contributors to the literary world. They are Anthony Grooms, Edward P. Jones, Elizabeth Nunez, Francine Prose and Patricia Towers. The Baton Rouge Area Foundation sponsors the winner’s travel to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to receive the prize at a ceremony attended by Ernest Gaines where the author reads an excerpt from the selected work of fiction. A reception follows. The evening is free, open to the public and attracts a diverse audience. The literary award winner also participates in educational activities at selected area schools and after-school programs in keeping with the Gaines Award's
interest in emphasizing the role of literature and arts in education. Through small creative writing workshops with the winning author, students are encouraged to pursue reading, delve into their own creativity, and to consider becoming an author.
Criteria for the 2019 Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence: • A work of fiction (novel or collection of short stories) that will be published in 2019. Galleys for a 2019 publication are also accepted. The nominee must be a rising author, not yet widely recognized for their work. • Author must be an AfricanAmerican U.S. citizen. • Self-published books will not be accepted. Self-published is publishing one's work independently and at one's own expense. • Emailed entries will not be accepted. The winning author must be willing to attend the award ceremony on January 30, 2020, and participate in educational outreach activities during that week. To enter a published book or galley for review, send the completed REGISTRATION FORM (https://static1.squarespace.com/ static/52b0cf80e4b029770ea746db/t/5ca2 87b28a0ac50001ce563a/1554155442784/ EG+Reg+Form+2019+entries.pd)
and 8 copies to: Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence c/o Baton Rouge Area Foundation 100 North St., Suite 900 Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70802
TIMELINE: • April 1, 2019 – August 15, 2019 Eligible entries for 2019 Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence will be accepted. See criteria for submission above for eligibility. All entries for the book award will receive written notification of receipt. • November 2019 The winner will be selected by a national panel of judges. The judges reserve the right not to issue the award if they feel the selection pool lacks an acceptable candidate. Once the winner is selected, written notification will be sent to all eligible entries. • January 30, 2020 The 12th Annual Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence Ceremony will take place in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. www.ernestjgainesaward.org/
78 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Community/Public Interest
Honoring President Barack H. Obama
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n Saturday, May 4th, we renamed Rodeo Road in South Los Angeles after our 44th President, Barack Obama. These days, it’s especially powerful to remember his service to our country. In 2008, he inherited a country on the brink of economic collapse. His administration implemented reforms that Los Angeles is still reaping the benefits from to this day. In 2008, our health care system was in shambles. The Affordable Care Act gave coverage to millions of Americans and secured health benefits for millions more with preexisting health conditions who, to this day, are still insured. In 2008, the world did not know where Osama bin Laden was. By the time President Obama left office, the world knew he was dead. The impact of his presidency went beyond policy successes. He showed our country grace, he showed our country compassion, and he showed our country honesty. For eight years, he showed us what it was like to have a presidency without scandal. Somewhere in South Los Angeles, maybe on Rodeo Road, there is a group of teenagers who know what it’s like to have a President that looks like them. President Obama gave our community that. He gave Black America that.
Sincerely,
Karen Bass Member of Congress 37th Congressional District of California
cnnphilippines.com
79 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Community/Public Interest
Michelle Obama: It's Up to Us as Mothers to Give Girls the Support That Keeps T Their Flame Lit (l-r) Malia Obama, Michelle Obama, Marion Robinson, Shasa Obama
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n honor of Mother’s Day this year, Michelle Obama shares memories of her mom, Marian Robinson, for the new issue of PEOPLE. Michelle Obama reflects on what she learned about parenting from her own mother:
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y mother is a woman who chooses her words carefully. She’ll sometimes speak in clipped sentences, her wisdom packed into short bursts and punctuated with an infectious smile or a wry laugh. It’s a style that makes her a favorite of everyone she meets — a sweet, witty companion who doesn’t need the limelight. As I’ve grown older, I’ve seen how her manner in conversation also reflects her approach to parenting. Because when it came to raising her
kids, my mom knew that her voice was less important than allowing me to use my own. That meant she listened a lot more than she lectured. Growing up, she was willing to endure endless questioning from me — Why did we have to eat eggs for breakfast? Why do people need jobs? Why are the houses bigger in other neighborhoods? She didn’t chide me if I scrapped with some of the neighbor kids or challenged my ornery grandfather when I thought he was being a little too ornery. She listened intently to the lunchtime conversations I had with my schoolmates over bologna sandwiches, and nodded patiently along to tales of my contentious piano lessons with my great aunt Robbie. In today’s world, it’s easy to hear all that and think that Marian
Robinson was bordering on negligent, that she was letting the kids rule the roost. But the reality was far from that. She and my father, Fraser, were wholly invested in their children, pouring a deep and durable foundation of goodness and honesty, of right and wrong, into my brother and me. After that, they simply let us be ourselves. … I see now how important that kind of freedom is for all children, particularly for girls with flames of their own — flames the world might try to dim. … It’s up to us, as mothers and mother-figures, to give the girls in our lives the kind of support that keeps their flame lit and lifts up their voices — not necessarily with our own words, but by letting them find the words themselves. www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/michelleobama-apos-us-mothers-130037044. html
80 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Community/Public Interest
Ghanaian Scholar, Dr. Daniel Wubah, New President of Millersville University in America By Jeffrey Mensah
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A Ghanaian scholar, Dr Daniel Wubah, has been appointed as President of the Millersville University in the USA. Dr. Wubah was inaugurated at a beautiful ceremony on Thursday, April 18, 2019.
Ghanaian scholar and microbiologist, Dr. Daniel A. Wubah, has been appointed as the 15th President of Millersville University, Pennsylvania in the United State of America, YEN.com. gh has gathered. According to information YEN. com.gh garnered from the school's website, Dr Wubah served as Provost and later as Senior Adviser to the President of the Washington and Lee University was sworn into office at a colourful investiture ceremony in the school. The well-attended ceremony was graced by Ghana’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Martha Pobee. Madam Pobee's office shared photos from the beautiful inauguration ceremony. A graduate of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) with a Bachelor of Science Hons in Botany and Dip.Ed. in Education, Dr Wubah earned a
Master of Science in Biology from the University of Akron, Ph.D. in Botany from the University of Georgia. He is the Safohene at Breman Asikuma in the Central Region with the stool name Nana Ofosu Peko III. Millersville University was founded in 1855 and has the distinction of being Pennsylvania’s first state-owned university. It offers more than 100 undergraduate and graduate programmes in Education and Human Services; Science and Technology; Humanities and Social Sciences and Adult Learning. By his inauguration on Thursday, April 18, 2019, Dr Wubah became the 15th president of the school. https://yen.com.gh/126556-ghanaianscholar-dr-daniel-wubah-presidentmillersville-university-america. html#126556 Image credit: myjoyonline.com, millersville.edu
81 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Community/Public Interest
Community/Public Interest - Obituary/Memorial
‘Boyz n the Hood’ Director John Singleton Dies at 51 By Cynthia Littleton
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ohn Singleton, writer-director of “Boyz n the Hood” and industry pioneer, who was the first African American to earn an Oscar nomination for best director, has died. He was 51. Singleton suffered a stroke after experiencing weakness in his legs, and was admitted to the hospital on April 17. He was taken off life support Monday and died a few hours later at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. His family issued a statement, saying: “We are sad to relay that John Singleton has died. John passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family and friends. We want to thank the amazing doctors at Cedars-Sinai Hospital for their
expert care and kindness and we again want thank all of John’s fans, friends and colleagues for all of the love and support they showed him during this difficult time.” — The Singleton Family. He grew up in South-Central Los Angeles, which became the setting for much of his work as a writer and director. He attended USC film school and turned his student thesis into the screenplay for 1991’s landmark “Boyz n the Hood.” Fresh out of college with no credits under his belt, Singleton boldly insisted he direct the movie when Columbia Pictures approached him about optioning the “Boyz” screenplay. “I wasn’t going to have somebody from Idaho or Encino
[Los Angeles] direct this movie,” he recounted at a 25th anniversary screening. “Boyz n the Hood” starred Ice Cube and Cuba Gooding Jr., in a raw look at life for African-American youths in communities torn apart by drugs and violence. The movie earned Oscar nominations for Singleton for original screenplay and for directing. In addition to being the first black director to land an Academy Award nom, he was also the youngest person to nab a directing mention, at the age of 24. “As the movie was going along, I was learning how to direct,” Singleton explained at the anniversary screening. “As it becomes more intense and comes
84 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
on to the third act, the camera work is more and more fluid, because I’m getting better and better — and taking more chances.” Roger Ebert wrote on its release, “By the end of ‘Boyz n the Hood,’ I realized I had seen not simply a brilliant directorial debut, but an American film of enormous importance.” He then moved into music videos, directing Michael Jackson’s “Remember the Time” with Eddie Murphy, Iman and Magic Johnson. Singleton went on to direct such films as “Poetic Justice” (1993), “Higher Learning” (1995), a remake of “Shaft” (2000) and the second installment of the “Fast and Furious” franchise, 2003’s “2 Fast 2 Furious.” Singleton, who had said he was profoundly affected by the death of Tupac Shakur, had signed on to direct the “All Eyez on Me” Tupac biopic, but left the project due to creative differences. He was vocal about Hollywood’s poor track record in recruiting black filmmakers to tell black stories. At a Hollywood Masters talk at Loyola Marymount University, Singleton said, “If you’re doing a story that is African-American-themed, you have to have black people on that can give you advice that are not insecure — they are not just there Mary J Blige, Taraji Henson, John to show their damn face. That Singleton actually can challenge and listen and say, ‘Maybe you should think about this,’ in the development process. That kind of thing.” As a producer, he shepherded films including Craig Brewer’s “Hustle & Flow” and “Illegal Tender.” “There’s hardly any precedent for a guy John Singleton, Samuel L. Jackson, Spike Lee
like me to have the career that I’ve had,” Singleton told Variety in 2017. “Because I grew up the way I grew up, I’m an in-your-face kind of guy. I developed that as a defense mechanism to survive in the streets. I do that in Hollywood in the service of my passion.” Singleton turned his attention to working in TV in recent years as his filmmaking opportunities became narrower and less interesting to him. He earned an Emmy nomination for directing the powerful “The Race Card” episode of FX’s 2016 miniseries “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.” “I got them in a room. I said, ‘It’s an L.A. story. I’m from L.A. I met O.J. I gotta be part of this,’” Singleton said. “I said, ‘You guys gotta get this right. You have to have a real black perspective on this — you can’t just whitewash it.’” Singleton left the room with a commitment that led to his directing the episode “The Race Card,” an unflinching look at the racial politics in play during Mark Fuhrman’s testimony and the defense team’s “redecorating” of Simpson’s Brentwood home for the jury’s visit. That episode of the muchlauded series landed Singleton nominations for an Emmy and Directors Guild Award. The following year he launched two drama series, BET’s “Rebel” and FX’s “Snowfall.” “Rebel,” which revolved around a savvy female detective, lasted one season. “Snowfall,” which examines the rise of the crack cocaine epidemic in Los Angeles in the early 1980s, has been renewed for a third season to air in 2019. He also directed episodes of “Billions” and “Empire.” https://variety.com/2019/film/news/ john-singleton-dies-dead-boyz-nthe-hood-1203200263/
85 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
(323) 868-2621
Community/Public Interest - Obituary/Memorial
Larry Jenkins, Actor, Dies at 63 By Trilby Beresford
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ctor Larry "Flash" Jenkins, known for his appearance as a valet driver in Ferris Bueller's Day Off and a husband in Edtv, died Thursday of a heart attack, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. Jenkins was born in 1955 in Long Island, N.Y., and began his career as an actor in the 1978 TV movie Crisis in the Valley. He went on to appear in numerous series, including M.A.S.H., The White Shadow, Ben City Blues, Finder of Lost Loves and more. As a producer and director, Jenkins' credits include gospel titles such as Marriage Vows and House of Grace. He also operated two of his own production companies called Flashworks Productions and Gold Coast Productions. According to Spectrum Global Agency, Jenkins was working on a film project for the last year which was nearing production. Jenkins is survived by his son, Jeffrey. www.msn.com/en-us/movies/celebrity/larry-jenkinsferris-buellers-day-off-and-edtv-actor-dies-at-63/arBBWkvER?ocid=spartandhp
ew.com
twitter.com
87 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
International - Fashion
Naomi Campbell and the Awakening of the African Fashion Industry By Ntianu Obiora
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he iconic Arise Fashion Week was called Arise Fashion Week with Naomi Campbell this year and for good reason because the international supermodel has big plans for the continent. Naomi Campbell's affinity for Africa, Nigeria in particular, is no secret. The supermodel has made numerous trips to the continent and has been linked with some prolific Nigerian stars including Wizkid and Skepta. Last year, she shutdown Arise Fashion Week when she arrived and hit the runway for select designers like Tiffany Amber and Lanre Da Silva. Little did we know that her appearance would spark a series of fortunate events that would position Africa as the next fashion capital of the world with international luxury brands like Gucci clamouring to support emerging design talent. This year's program was noticeably more insightful with the introduction of the Fashion Talks, a series of panels with fashion greats like ex US Vogue Editorat-large Andre Leon Talley, owner of luxury concept store ALARA Reni Folawiyo and designer Ituen Basi as well as people from the banking and finance sector to bring much-needed perspective to the business side of fashion. During her panel, Naomi revealed that luxury label would begin a design talent empowerment incubator which would take place at the University of Lagos. The news was music to the ears of those struggling for opportunities in the Nigerian fashion industry. The initiative comes as part of Gucci's Diversity Initiative which came in response to their blackface scandal which happened in February. An emergency meeting was called by Dapper Dan, a member of the Gucci family and a black fashion icon from the 80's, to discuss the pertinent matter of diversity at the fashion house. Their first step towards creating a more diverse and inclusive company was to be more inclusive in their hiring therefore, Gucci committed to hiring global and regional directors of diversity and inclusion. The goal with this initiative is to find a Global Director of Diversity and Inclusion and execute strategies to foster a more inclusive company.
Gucci’s second step in their plan was to create a multi-cultural design scholarship program aimed at creating more employment opportunities for underrepresented groups. This scholarship program has reached the shores of Lagos. No doubt, Naomi's influence is clear. Although Nigeria has the raw talent to begin with, many would agree that we struggle with infrastructure and positioning ourselves properly. With the challenges we face in this country from financial opportunities such as loans for SME's and logistical issues making it difficult to import and export textiles and materials, we had struggled to establish our industry in the way it deserved to be. With Naomi turning her attention towards empowering designers and creatives from the talent, it's causing the rest of the word to sit up and take notice. At one panel, Segun Awolowo, Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Export Promotion Council announced that the government had passed a bill which would remove the import tax on ankara making it easier and less expensive to acquire the material. This year, Naomi brought in American designer Pyer Moss, Colombian fashion designer Esteban Cortazar and Asai to name but a few. Supermodel Liya Kedebe and the Editor of British Vogue Edward Enninful also landed in Gidi at the behest of Miss Campbell who was keen to show them all that we had to offer. Having these international designers walk on our stage, international editors sit front row and report on it in their respective publications and popular models wear our clothes, gives legitimacy to our industry and in an impassioned speech, Naomi promised that Arise Fashion Week 'will be henceforth known as the official Lagos Fashion Week.' Instead of us fighting to be recognised on international territory, we can be recognised and uplifted right here at home. Naomi's influence, her belief in the sheer talent of Africans as a whole, might just be the awakening of an industry. No longer will we have to fight for relevance because slowly but surely, African is becoming the epicenter of it all.
88 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
www.pulse.ng/lifestyle/fashion/naomi-campbell-and-theawakening-of-the-african-fashion-industry/6dpscd3 Image credits: fashionsizzle.com, indianexpress.com, yahoo.com
89 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
International
African Stock Exchanges • Bolsa de Valores of Cape Verde - www.bvc.cv (in Portuguese) • Bolsa Valores de Mocambique - www. bolsadevalores.co.mz • Bond Exchange of South Africa - www. bondexchange.co.za • Botswana Stock Exchange - www.bse.co.bw • Bourse Regionale des Valeurs Mobilieres UEMOA (Abidjan, Ivory Coast) - www.brvm.org • Casablanca Stock Exchange (Morocco) - www. casablanca-bourse.com/bourseweb/index.aspx • Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (Tanzania) - www. dse.co.tz • Douala Stock Exchange (Cameroon) - www. douala-stock-exchange.com/index_us.php • The Egyptian Exchange - www.egx.com.eg/ English/homepage.aspx • Ethiopia Commodity Exchange - www.ecx.com.et • Ghana Stock Exchange - www.gse.com.gh • Johannesburg Stock Exchange (South Africa) www.jse.co.za/Home.aspx • Khartoum Stock Exchange (Sudan, in Arabic) -
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www.kse.com.sd Libyan Stock Market - www.lsm.ly/_layouts/ membership/login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fEnglish%2fP ages%2fdefault.aspx Lusaka Stock Exchange (Zambia) - www.luse. co.zm Nairobi Stock Exchange (Kenya) - www.luse. co.zm Malawi Stock Exchange - www.mse.co.mw Namibian Stock Exchange - www.nsx.com.na Nigerian Stock Exchange - www.nse.com.ng/ Pages/default.aspx Rwanda Stock Exchange - www.rse.rw/ Stock Exchange of Mauritius - www. stockexchangeofmauritius.com Swaziland Stock Exchange - www.ssx.org.sz Tunisia Stock Exchange - www.bvmt.com.tn Uganda Securities Exchange - www.use.or.ug
Read the lastest issue of The Exchange Magazine www.nse.co.ke/media-center/e-communique/exchangemagazine/category/50-free-version.html
90 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
MTN Becomes Public Company Ahead of Share Listing By Adeyemi Adepetun
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TN Nigeria Communications Plc (MTN), has completed its conversion from a private company to a public company (Plc).The Telecommunications firm explained that the conversion to a Plc is a legal requirement and key milestone in the preparatory process for MTN's listing by introduction on The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). The South African service provider plans to list its shares on NSE before second quarter of 2019.MTN's intended listing on The NSE is expected to create a new telecoms asset class for investors and provide a wider group of Nigerians with a chance to participate in the MTN investment opportunity.
https://allafrica.com/stories/201904250074.html
The Transform Africa Summit is the Smart Africa flagship event. Following four successful edi ons, the fi h summit will take place in kigali, Rwanda, from 7-10 May 2019. Under the theme "Boos ng Africa's Digital Economy", the Summit is expected to a ract 4,000 par cipants, including Heads of State and Governement, First Ladies, UN Broadband Commissioners, Regulators, Public & Private Sector, Interna onal Organiza ons, Industry Leaders, Investors, Entrepeneurs, Young Innovators, Civil Society and Academia. In addi on to the Leaders Summit, TAS 2019 will feature subject specific streams tackling current digital economy topics. Delegates will be able to a end insigh ul & engaging sessions in the Hubs, Plenaries, Networking Lounges as well as several customized sessions by our partners.
Kigali Conven on Center, Kimihurura Roundabout P.O. Box 6629, Kigali, Rwanda h ps://smartafrica.org/tas 92 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
International - Global Transport
Ethiopian Wins Best African Cargo Airline Awards By 2025, Ethiopian Cargo & Logistic Services envisions to achieve an annual revenue of $2 billion, annual uplift of 820,000 tons and serve 60 international freighter destinations with 19 dedicated freighters.
thereporterethiopia.com
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egarding the award, Group Chief Executive Officer of Ethiopian Airlines, Mr. Tewolde Gebre Mariam, remarked “We are truly honored to have received this prestigious award and the accolade is an endorsement of our dedication and our heavy investment in expanding our cargo services globally and a testimony to the leading role that Ethiopian Cargo & Logistics Services is playing to the socio- economic development in Africa and the rest of the world with safe, secure, dependable and competitive cargo and logistics services.’’ In line with its Vision 2025, Ethiopian Cargo & Logistics Services has built the largest cargo terminal in Africa with an annual capacity of around 1 million tons and delivers cargo services spanning across 44 international destinations in Africa, the Gulf States, Middle East, Asia, North Americas, Latin America and Europe with its dedicated freighters of 11 B777F and 2 B738F as well as over 400 tons of daily belly
capacity. With a rapid growth trajectory, Ethiopian Cargo & Logistic Services provides industry-leading supply chain management catalyzing the import and export economies of African countries. Air Cargo News is the leading source of cargo news, information, interviews of industry leaders, industry analysis and reports to the global airfreight industry, the Airlines has saifd in its press statement. The “Cargo Airline of the Year” award from Air Cargo News is the most prestigious and highly respected award of recognition in the air cargo industry. The award ceremony is held on April 26, 2019. https://newbusinessethiopia.com/ethiopian-wins-bestafrican-cargo-airline-awards/?utm_source=The+Cor porate+Council+on+Africa+%28Revised%29&utm_ campaign=36343a8d6e-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_01_08_ COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_4004c7754636343a8d6e-325749657
93 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
International - ANC Victory
ANC Wins South African Election, Despite Worst Result in its History
But many of those men and women punished his party for failures to address corruption, unemployment and racial inequality. Despite being Africa's most advanced economy, South Africa is one of Cyril Ramaphosa has won another five years in office the world's most unequal societies, according to the World Bank. The ANC's 57.5% share of the vote was its worsthe African National Congress (www.anc1912. ever election performance since South Africa's first free org.za) has won the South African election, election marked the end of white minority rule in 1994. despite its worst-ever result. The victory gives It will hold 230 of the 400 seats in the country's President Cyril Ramaphosa another five years in parliament, which is decided based on a system of office but the party's poor showing will make it difficult proportional representation. This is fewer than the 249 for him to fight rivals. it had going into the election. After the ANC was declared the winner, he said: https://news.sky.com/story/anc-wins-south-african"Let us now work together, black and white, men and election-despite-worst-result-in-its-history-11717542 women, young and old to build a South Africa that truly Image credit: sabcnews.com belongs to all that live in it."
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Ghana is closely followed by its neighbor Ivory Coast with 7.5%, and Ethiopia with 7.7%. The growth rate of these two countries from 2018 to 2020 appears to be consistent, while Ghana’s growth is predicted to decline again in 2020. Apart from Ghana and Ivory Coast, South Sudan, Rwanda, Ethiopia, and Senegal, also top the list of the fastest growing economies in the world according to the IMF report. In the IMF list, Angola came last on the list of African countries and economic growth rate has been predicted to be 0.4%. South Africa’s growth rate has been projected to be only 1.2%, an increase of 0.4%bfrom that of 2018. Resource-rich Nigeria will have a growth rate of 2.1% according to the report. (BBN Edits)
Ghana Rated the Fastest Growing Economy in the World By Lorine Towett
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he latest International Monetary Fund (IMF) report has rated Ghana as the fastest growing economy in the world. The IMF notes that many other African countries lag far behind. IMF predicts that Ghana’s economy will grow at 8.8% in 2019, a growth rate it says is the fastest in the world. IMF attributes the projections to Ghana’s improved macroeconomic performance for the last two years and the strong economic growth in 2018 .Last year, Ghana’s economy grew by 5.6%, putting it in sixth position.
www.timeforanawakening.com/2019/05/20/ghana-ratedthe-fastest-growing-economy-in-the-world/
94 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
International - Hostilies Abated
Sudan Army Rulers, Protesters Agree on 3-year Transition Period
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udanese army rulers and protest leaders recently agreed on a threeblog.antvt.com year transition period for transferring power to a full civilian administration even as negotiations over a new sovereign ruling body remain unfinished. The protest movement is demanding a civilian-led transition following 30 years of iron-fisted rule by now deposed president Omar al-Bashir, but the generals who toppled him have been holding onto a leadership role. Talks between the two sides resumed earlier in the week but were marred by violence when an army major and five protesters were killed by unidentified gunmen at a long-running sit-in outside military headquarters in Khartoum. The two sides announced early Wednesday that they had reached an enca.com agreement on the transition period. "We agreed on a transitional period of three years," Lieutenant General Yasser al-Atta, a member of the military council told reporters. composition of the sovereign council, which the Atta said a final agreement on the sharing of power, generals have insisted to be military led while the including the forming of the next ruling body -- the protest leaders want it to be majority civilian. sovereign council -- will be signed with the protest After the forming of the sovereign council, which movement, the Alliance for Freedom and Change, will replace the existing ruling body made up solely of within a day. generals, a new transitional civilian government would "We vow to our people that the agreement will be be formed to run the country's day-to-day affairs. completed fully within 24 hours in a way that it meets That civilian government would work towards having the people's aspirations," Atta said. the first post-Bashir elections after the end of the He said of the three-year transition period, the first transition period. six months will be allocated to signing peace accords Atta said that during the transitional period the with rebels in the country's war zones like Darfur, parliament will be composed of 300 members, of which Blue Nile and South Kordofan. 67% will be from the Alliance for Freedom and Change The army generals had initially insisted on a two-year and the rest will be from other political groups. transition period, while the protest leaders wanted four www.afp.com/en/news/3954/sudan-army-rulers-protestersyears. agree-3-year-transition-period-doc-1gf78s4 The key negotiations however remain on the 95 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
International - Show Time
Inside Afro Nation: The Multi-Continent Music Festival You Don’t Want To Miss By DeAnna Taylor Travel Noire
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desegun Adeosun Jr. aka Smade is a Nigerianborn citizen who moved to London to study. His passion for African entertainment led him to launch his own brand Smade Entertainment, which is now the number one Afrobeats promoter company. This year, Smade and his partner, Obi Asika, are hosting the first installment of their already sold-out festival, Afro Nation. The festival will take place on the beautiful beaches of Algarve, Portugal August 1-4. They will host a second edition of the fest on Laboma Beach in Accra, Ghana December 27-30. Those tickets go on sale soon. Afro Nation will be one of, if not the, largest African inspired music festival to hit Europe and later Africa. With names like Stefflon Don and Davido on the ticket, you know it will be dope. We spoke with Smade about festival, how it was birthed, and what we can expect when we attend.
Travel Noire: How was Afro Nation born? Smade: This idea was birthed by my partner Obi Asika and I, out of a passion to unify Africans in the diaspora. We want to spread the African culture worldwide and seeing other festivals, we were inspired to start an African festival that gives a bigger platform to African artists.
TN: How did you decide that Portugal was the best place to have a festival like this? Smade: We knew our first destination had to have beautiful weather and be accessible to the people spread all over Europe. We chose it because it is affordable for the festival goers and has good vibes. It also has a strong link to African history, Lagos is only 40 mins from our site. There are obviously some painful connections between this part of Portugal and our homeland. It will be a moment of deep significance to see our people come together in celebration at Afro Nation.
TN: What can we expect at Afro Nation? Smade: We have performances from some of the biggest names out of Africa right now like Davido, Wizkid and Burna Boy. There are going to be beach parties & boat parties; and expect delicious African food and amazing African fashion. It’s going to be
TN: What does bringing a platform like this to Portugal mean to you? Smade: It means that Europe is going to have the pan-African experience, we want the world to see how truly beautiful our culture is. We want to unite our diaspora and bring all different types of people together, to celebrate life.
TN: Where can we find more info about the festival? Smade: You can find us online at www.afronation. com and on our Instagram @afronation & @ afronationghana for all updates as they come. https://legacy.travelnoire.com/inside-afro-nation-themulticontinent-music-festival-you-dont-want-to-miss/
96 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
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Five Steps to Fight Fake News and False Information On Whatsapp By Africa Check Johannesburg Africa Check
Be aware before you share! Always ask yourself (and other users) these five questions before you forward a WhatsApp message. Forwarding a false message on WhatsApp (or any social media system) can mislead your friends and family. They may be tricked into believing something that isn't true. False information can also kill. We should always be careful not to share fake or misleading messages. But how can we tell if a message is false? Here are five questions to ask yourself (and your friends) before you share.
1) Who wrote it? Many fake messages (especially forwarded ones) don't say who wrote the message. If we don't know who wrote it, how can we trust it? Before you share: Ask the sender who the author and source is, and double-check the facts.
2) Can I verify the claims? Many fake messages don't give sources for their claims, or use unreliable sources like hoax news sites. Some fakes say they come from a trusted source, such as a real news site - but they're lying. Before you share: Ask the sender if the same claim has been reported on any trusted news sites or other sources, and make sure these aren't hoax sites. Even then, double-check the facts.
3) Does the info make me scared or angry? Many fake messages try to make us scared or angry about something. They can be shocking claims about crime or kidnapping, about people from a different country or racial group, or about new government policies. Before you share: Ask yourself if the message is playing on people's fears or prejudices, and doublecheck the facts.
4) Does it include shocking pictures, video or audio? Many fake messages use pictures, video or audio to trick us. These could be edited to be misleading. They
could also be taken from a different event in another time or place. Before you share: Check if the media has been edited, and double-check to see if it's actually from a previous event or different place.
5) Am I sure this is not a hoax? Many fake messages can be checked out online. You can search reliable news sites or fact-checking websites such as AfricaCheck.org or Snopes.com. And you can now also ask Africa Check to fact-check something by sending us a WhatsApp message on (+27) 073 749 7875. If you are still not sure if the message is a hoax - be careful. Before you share: Search online to see if the message has already been fact-checked or reported as a hoax. Don't share information unless you are sure it's true. Just because it's on a website or social media doesn't mean it's true! Africa Check (https://africacheck.org) is fighting fake news and misinformation on WhatsApp. We're launching a new fact-checking show on the platform called "What's Crap on WhatsApp?"
How can you get involved? • Add us as a contact. Send your name to (+27) 073 749 7875. • Forward us dodgy messages, videos and images to fact-check. • Receive and share our monthly "What's Crap on WhatsApp" show!. Guide: How to verify a website and the people behind it. (https://africacheck.org/factsheets/guide-verify-websitepeople-behind)
Guide: How to verify images on your smartphone. (https://africacheck.org/factsheets/guide-verify-imagessmartphone) www.msn.com/en-za/news/other/five-steps-to-fight-fakenews-and-false-information-on-whatsapp/ar-AAAYw9C
97 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
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eaturing forty trailblazing black women in American history, Little Leaders educates and inspires as it relates true stories of breaking boundaries and achieving beyond expectations. Illuminating text paired with irresistible illustrations bring to life both iconic and lesser-known female figures of Black history such as abolitionist Sojourner Truth, pilot Bessie Coleman, chemist Alice Ball, politician Shirley Chisholm, mathematician Katherine Johnson, poet Maya Angelou, and filmmaker Julie Dash. Among these biographies, readers will find heroes, role models, and everyday women who did extraordinary things - bold women whose actions and beliefs contributed to making the world better for generations of girls and women to come. Whether they were putting pen to paper, soaring through the air or speaking up for the rights of others, the women profiled in these pages were all taking a stand against a world that didn't always accept them. The leaders in this book may be little, but they all did something big and amazing, inspiring generations to come. www.amazon.com/dp/B072V4QDCF/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_ encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
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So much of hip hop is about who we are and where we come from. We decided that had to be in this game. As part of the game’s design, we came up with close to 500 “life events” that could happen to an artist going through their career. We have cards like, “Winning a talent show,” “Selling 35 CDs out of your trunk,” or “West coast tour.” When the game ends you can see exactly how you went from nothing to something. That to us is what hip hop is all about. All the games we are working on are clearly related to hip hop culture and black culture.
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Rihanna Shows Hidden History of Barbados in New Fenty Fashion Campaign By Stephanie Ogbogu
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ove over Paris and Milan, Rihanna has subtly made Barbados the new home of high fashion. Earlier this month, LVMH — owners of Louis Vuitton, Fendi, and Dior — announced that they are partnering with Rihanna to launch her very own high fashion label, FENTY. Not only is this the first label launched by LVMH in over 30 years, but Rihanna is also the first Black woman to lead a fashion house under its name. This major move is not only historic but highly anticipated. Rihanna started off by releasing a campaign video (https://youtu.be/pod3RjrnA5A) for her new label. The visual includes models posing in various styles from Rihanna’s upcoming line as the pop singer works as the creative director. What fans may miss upon the first watch, however, is how Barbados and its rich history serves as the backdrop. The video begins with models posing in front
of straw huts, similar to the slave houses found in St. Michael. Rihanna then takes us to Broad Street in Bridgetown, Barbados where we see busy shoppers heading to and from local markets. Other landmarks you may recognize are the Cave Shepherd shopping mall on Broad Street and Rihanna’s childhood home in Bridgetown which is located on a street that has since been named after the singer. While many don’t immediately think of Barbados as a high fashion market, Rihanna is set to change that. You can keep an eye out on Rihanna’s upcoming label by visiting FENTY.com. https://legacy.travelnoire.com/rihanna-historybarbados-fenty-fashion-campaign/
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at McGrath Labs, the makeup line created by legendary makeup artist Pat McGrath, is now being valued at $1 billion. As Women's Wear Daily reports, the brand received a $60 million minority investment from Eurazeo Brands. Pat McGrath Labs was launched three years ago and is growing quickly, with retail sales expected to reach more than $60 million for 2018. The line debuted in 2015 with a $40 product called Gold 001. The multipurpose gold pigment came in a bag full of sequins, and it sold out all 1,000 units in just six minutes. Other products included Skin Fetish 003, a three-piece highlighting kit, and Lust 004, a sparkly lip kit. A broader, permanent collection debuted in 2017 with lipsticks, lip liners, eyeliners, mascara, and an eyeshadow palette in three color-ways. Most recently, the brand released Lip Fetish Astrals, a sparkly update of the Lip Fetish Lip Balm from earlier in the year. The products from Pat McGrath Labs, which are available on her website and at Sephora and Sephora.com, are often inspired by
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10 Women of Color-Owned Skincare Brands to Add to Your Routine
by founder She’Neil Johnson's own struggles with acne, the line includes a moisturizing facial "jelly" and body cream. www.basebutter.com
From www.shondaland.com/live/beauty/g22793939/ women-of-color-owned-skincare-brands/
6 Beija Flor Naturals This organic California-made skincare line was founded by Stevonne Ratliff, who created it out of a need to address her own hyper pigmentation and skin frustrations. Her botanical products include scrubs, lotions, and bar soaps all inspired by Brazil. http://beijaflornaturals.com
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n a beauty industry that too often fails to cater to women of color, many of those women have taken matters into their own hands by starting their own companies. There are so many great rising makeup brands to pay attention to — and now we're looking at skincare. The recent Project Beauty Expo in New York proved to be the perfect spot to get hip to several black-owned indie brands that create skincare with women of color in mind. Refresh your routine with some new some standouts, ahead. 1 Aba Love New York-based skincare brand Aba Love creates handcrafted, botanical products. It's perfect for the green beauty lover because the aromatic goods are free of synthetic fragrances and parabens — and instead boosted with seed, plant, and floral oils. www.abaloveapothecary.com 2 Kaike Kaike, pronounced "cake," has a whole collection of dessert-inspired skincare solutions. With product names like Lip Frosting lip balm, Chocolate Mask + Scrub, and Marshmallow Mask + Scrub, the plant-based, Chicago-made
multipurpose menus is irresistible. www.shopkaike.com 3 Anne's Apothecary Anne's Apothecary's philosophy is "what you put on your skin should be safe enough to eat" — so you better believe the ingredients are pure. The products, created in North Carolina, are handcrafted in small batches with a focus on herbs and essential oils. You can shop everything from body scrubs, to
cleansers, to deodorant. https://annesapothecary.com 4 Elle Johnson Elle Johnson is all about no-fuss, easy to follow botanical skincare starting with the "Clear 3," a skincare system of 1) cleansing lotion (yes, lotion), 2) toner, and 3) moisturizer. It doesn't hurt that Johnson, who used to work in branding, has gorgeous Instaready packaging. www.ellejohnson.co 5 Base Butter All-natural skincare line Base Butter is on a mission to challenge the depiction of black women in media. Partly inspired
7 Blade + Bloom Blade + Bloom's eco-conscious goods are handmade in Chicago with a focus on creating 100 percent plant-based skincare and candles with delicious scents (for example the "Charming I'm Sure" soap apparently smells like "the secret ingredient in your boyfriend's cologne"). The nononsense packaging is also recyclable. https://bladeandbloom.com 8 Elements of Aliel Elements of Aliel is all about minimalism and non-toxic skincare. The vegan face and body products range from serums to clay masks to balms. www.elementsofaliel.com 9 Jacqs This organic line promises to help you "slay, naturally." Cleansers, mists, masks, toners, and even "beauty boosters" contain tiny, concentrated doses of antioxidants and other good-for-skin ingredients. www.jacqsorganics.com 10 True Moringa True Moringa started as a project to explore alternatives to chemical hair relaxers and cosmetics, and has since expanded to skincare. The facial oils, scrubs, and balms contain moringa, a green plant rich in fatty acids, antioxidants, and other skin quenching ingredients. https://truemoringa.com
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Beyoncé's New Adidas Collection
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f you're in need of cool workout gear or comfy athleisure to lounge around in, who better to design it for you than the Queen B herself? Beyoncé and Adidas have announced that they're teaming up on a signature collection that includes footwear and apparel. The best news? Beyoncé will also be relaunching her athleisure line, Ivy Park, with the brand. According to a press release from Adidas, she will be a creative partner for the brand and work with them to design performance and lifestyle products. "This is the partnership of a lifetime for me," Beyoncé said in the press release. "Adidas has had tremendous success in pushing creative boundaries. We share a philosophy that puts creativity, growth and social responsibility at the forefront of business. I look forward to relaunching and expanding Ivy Park on a truly global scale with a proven, dynamic leader." Ivy Park was first introduced in 2016 and was previously sold at Topshop, but after allegations of sexual harassment and bullying surfaced against Topshop chairman Sir Philip Green, Beyoncé ended her partnership with the businessman and bought back her athleisure line from the brand. It's unclear if she did so because of the allegations, but either way, we're about to see Ivy Park in stores again soon. "Beyoncé is an iconic creator but also a proven business leader, and together, we have the ability to inspire change and empower the next generation of creators," Eric Liedtke, executive board member at Adidas, said in a statement. No word yet on when the collection is due to drop, but we'll be anxiously awaiting the arrival of Beyoncé x Adidas. www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/lifestyle-buzz/heres-whatwe-know-about-beyoncés-new-adidas-collection/arBVCQFl?ocid=spartandhp
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Black-Owned Watch Brands You Should Make Your Brands MG Media, TBTNEWS
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Youngblood Timepieces: Launched in 2006, this brand of high-end signature watches continues to be one of the most sought-after Black-owned watch brands. Its co-founders Paul Youngblood and Patrick Martin created the brand to offer both accessory and apparel products for savvy shoppers who sought to maximize their value without compromising on quality. https://youngbloodworldwide.com/collections/menswristwatches
Talley & Twine: Started with just a few sketches and no previous knowledge of the watch industry, Robert Williams designed his first watch that eventually became a successful luxury watch brand. Since then, they aimed to create quality, detailed, attention-grabbing timepieces that are reasonably priced and resist the status quo.
Seventeenth Watches: Owned and operated by an army veteran, Chris Johnson, who is also Black, this brand creates watches that are a perfect union between simplicity and class. Their styles are usually unisex and minimalist that makes it a timeless piece that would seem to still be in trend even in the next decades. www.seventeenth-watches.com/ Benson Watch: Established on the principle that "time should be spent doing what you love," its founder, Marcel Benson, wanted to encourage people to take charge of their time and live life on their terms. Additionally, this brand produces exclusive collection watches that are available for limited time only and will not be replicated anymore. https://www.bensonwatch.com/ SPGBK Watches: Founded by two African-American fraternity brothers from Fayetteville, North Carolina, this brand aims to create original culturally-inspired watches that are inspired by diversity and inclusion. The name is an abbreviation of "Springbreak" as the two founders, who were both HBCU graduates, wanted the company to be collegethemed. www.springbreakwatches.com/
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Enbois by Maxim: Named after the French word which means "wooden," this brand's watches are designed with the finest sustainable materials. Also, an acronym for Each New Bead Offers Its Support, its founder Maxim Thuriere sought a way to give back to his country of heritage, Haiti, where a portion of each transaction is donated to help improve educational opportunities as well as reforest Haiti. http://enbois-originals.com/
Vitae London: Based in London, England, this brand features watches that are made of either a high-quality genuine leather band or a stainless steel mesh band with scratch-resistant sapphire crystal glass that are stylish, elegant, and built to last. What's more, for every watch sold, the company supports an underprivileged child in South Africa through education. https://vitaelondon.com/
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Shaquille O’Neal Has a Big Comfort Food Restaurant in l.A. Live Los Angeles
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Southern hospitality with modern flair Genuine warmth and hospitality, modern décor, great music, as well as amazing food and drink think fried green tomatoes, shrimp and grits, corn pudding, mac and cheese and banana pudding. Guests will always be welcomed by
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Ambience No detail has been overlooked. Shaquille’s is proud to offer exclusive al fresco dining on our patio as well as swanky interior seating. Dynamic music and subdued lighting, paired with an open layout welcome all to be a part of the Shaquille’s experience.
Shaquille’s namesake Like the man himself, Shaquille’s is larger-than-life. Our goal is to offer the best in food, drink, and service to everyone who enters our Shaq-sized doors, while never forgetting to have fun! www.shaquilles.com/
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CHEF MARCUS SAMUELSSOM'S Black Panther Breakfast Recipe Makes 2-3 servings. Ingredients Gnocchi ( buy from your local grocery store) Hominy (canned ) Béchamel ¼ cup of unsalted butter ¼ cup of flour 1 qt of milk 1 tsp of salt Cheddar Cheese (shredded) Parmesan Cheese (shredded) Diced pork belly Minced habanero peppers Eggs Directions Cheese Sauce • Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat, once butter is melted stir in flour until it is smooth; continuing stirring until flour is light brown then lower the heat and continue to cook for five minutes. • In a separate pot bring milk to a simmer then add the hot milk to the roux while continuously stirring. • Allow to cook on low heat for about 15 mins or until you no longer taste flour • Then add your shredded cheese and stir until well blended Making the breakfast • In boiling salted water blanch off your gnocchi, for 30 secs or until they float • In a medium sauté pan, make sure your pan is hot, add a tsp of olive oil then render down your pork belly. Drain excess fat but leave some in the pan for flavor. • Next add in the diced habanero and the blanched gnocchi. Cook until the gnocchi is golden brown on each side. • Then add in your cheese sauce; add in veg stock if the consistency is too thick . • In a separate small frying pan, cook your eggs sunny side up • Assemble https://marcussamuelsson. n. com/recipe/black-panther-breakfast-recipe https://marcussamuelsson. n. com/
21720 Avalon Blvd. Suite 102B Carson, California 90745 1-424-570-0531 www.darrowsNewOrleansgrill.com
@DarrowsNewOrleansGrill Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Drinks Eat-In, Take Out, Catering
Shop for all of the NoMu products at: https://shop.nomu.co.za and www.amazon.com
www.amazon.com/Pattie-Labelle-Sweet-Potato-Family/dp/B07KFXM2QV/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_2_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1543253889&sr=8-2-fkmr0&k eywords=patty+labelle+pies Image credits: nbcbayarea.com, popsugar.com, cbs4indy.com, www.amittenfullofsavings.com/patti-labelles-banana-pudding/
Parker House Sausage
(www.parkerhousesausage.com) was started by Chicago entrepreneur, Judge H. Parker who came to Chicago from Montgomery County, Tennessee with little more than the conviction that there was a potential market for homemade sausage products prepared according to his mother’s recipes. By 1919 Judge Parker began selling his unique blend of herbs and spices mixed with flavorful, savory sausage from a horse drawn cart on a retail basis. Recognized as one of the oldest family owned businesses in the U.S. In 2014 Parker House expanded its product line to include chicken products including breakfast sausage, hot links, and smoked sausage.
LOOK FOR US IN THE FROZEN FOODS SECTION!
SHOP ONLINE! //shop.parkerhousesausage. com
We invite you to browse through our store and shop with confidence. Need a dinner idea. Go to the Recipe Page on our website. Thanks for visiting!
S
ince people from all walks of life really enjoy Down South cooking, NFL Pro Reggie Kelly thought, why not bring a piece of the South to their homes. Reggie and his wife founded KYVAN® FOODS. KYVAN® Foods is a supplier to great customers like Kroger, Walmart, Sam’s Club, Firehouse Subs, Performance Foodservice, Hot Shots Distributing and more. As stated by Reggie, “It’s my goal to pass down to my kids (Kyla & Kavan) and to everyone the gift passed down to me… An Appreciation Of Good Food.” Thanks and God Bless! Website: http://kyvan82.com Shop Online: http://kyvan82.com/store Store Locator: http://kyvan82.com/storelocator
Delicious Southern Flavors At Home!
Whether you’re north or south of the Mason-Dixon line, east or west of the Mississippi, Grandma Maud’s gives you a taste of the South in your own kitchen.
Try our Recipes: //grandmamauds. com/recipes
You’ll find our Bean Meals, Southern Seasonings and Pie Fixin’s in supermarkets throughout the U.S.A. (Jewel-Osco, Mariano’s, Safeway and Kroger Stores) – and online at: (h ps://eyelevellink.com/collec ons/ vendors?q=Grandma%20Mauds) or call us at: 1-773-493-5353!
Not Just Cookies NJC is a cookie company providing, natural desserts superior in quality and taste. Our cookies and pies are made with the finest ingredients. We offer select gluten free and vegan desserts that are rich in taste. Not Just Cookies is a certified Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) founded by Johnathon Bush.
W
e can cater for any event or party. We offer custom packaging for all of our cookies and pies to suit any need. Cookie platters also available. Corporate gifts, company parties, restaurants looking to outsource pastries, we're here for you. The menu: Turtle Cookies, Chocolate Chip Oatmeal, Butter Cookies, Oatmeal Raisin, Brownies, Snickerdoodle, White Chocolate Macadamia Nut, Ginger Cookies, Vegan Brownies, Gluten Free Chocolate Chip, Sweet Potato Pie, and Fruit Pies (apple, cherry, blueberry or peach). Visit www.notjustcookies.com for online shopping, store locations, shipping and catering details. Talk to us by calling: 1-800-833-4541 or send NJC an inquiry at: info@ notjustcookies.net.
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Try all 3 flavors!
In your local grocery store or shop online for syrups, recipes, and books. Learn about our special projects and join the recipe contest.
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Eso Won Books
African American Books 4327 Degnan Boulevard, Leimert Park, Los Angeles
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Books to Consider
Books to Consider... Notes From A Young Black Chef: A Memoir
B
By Kwame Onwuachi with Joshua David Stein
y the time he was twenty-seven years old, Kwame Onwuachi had opened—and closed—one of the most talked about restaurants in America. He had launched his own catering company with twenty thousand dollars that he made from selling candy on the subway, yet he’d been told he would never make it on television because his cooking wasn’t “Southern” enough. In this inspiring memoir about the intersection of race, fame, and food, he shares the remarkable story of his culinary comingof-age. Growing up in the Bronx, as a boy Onwuachi was sent to rural Nigeria by his mother to “learn respect.” However, the hard-won knowledge gained in Africa was not enough to keep him from the temptation and easy money of the streets when he returned home. But through food, he broke out of a dangerous downward spiral, embarking on a new Chef Onwuachi beginning at the bottom of thepostglob.com
the culinary food chain as a chef on board a Deepwater Horizon cleanup ship, before going on to train in the kitchens of some of the most acclaimed restaurants in the country and appearing as a contestant on Top Chef. Onwuachi’s love of food and cooking remained a constant throughout, even when he found the road to success riddled with potholes. As a young chef, he was forced to grapple with just how unwelcoming the world of fine dining can be for people of color, and his first restaurant, the culmination of years of planning, shuttered just months after opening. A powerful, heartfelt, and shockingly honest story of chasing your dreams—even when they don’t turn out as you expected—Notes from a Young Black Chef is one man’s pursuit of his passions, despite the odds. www.amazon.com/Notes-Young-Black-Chef-Memoir/ dp/1524732621
Let Love Have the Last Word: A Memoir
C
By Common ommon believes that the phrase “let love have the last word” is not just a declaration; it
is a statement of purpose, a daily promise. Love is the most powerful force on the planet and ultimately, the way you love determines who you are and how you experience life. To u c h i n g on God, selflove, partners, children, family, and community, Common explores the core tenets of love to help others understand what it means to receive and, most important, to give love. He moves from the personal—writing about his daughter, to whom he wants to be a better father—to the universal, where he observes that our society has
161 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Books to Consider become fractured under issues of race and politics. He knows there's no quick remedy for all of the hurt in the world, but love—for yourself and for others—is where the healing begins. Courageous, insightful, brave, and characteristically authentic, Let Love Have the Last Word shares Common’s own unique and personal stories of the people and experiences that have led to a greater understanding of love and all it has to offer. It is a powerful call to action for a new generation of open hearts and minds, one that is sure to resonate for years to come. www.amazon.com/Notes-Young-Black-Chef-Memoir/ dp/1524732621
The Man Who Sold America: Trump and the Unraveling of the American Story
C
by Joy-Ann Reid
andidate Trump sold Americans a vision that was seemingly at odds with their country’s founding principles. Now in office, he’s put up a “for sale” sign—on the prestige of the presidency, on America’s global stature, and on our national identity. At what cost have these deals come? The Man Who Sold America delivers an urgent accounting of our national crisis from one of our foremost political commentators. Three years ago, Donald Trump pitched millions of voters on the idea that their country was broken, and that the rest of the world was playing us “for suckers.” All we Joy-Ann Reid needed to fix this was oday.emich.edu Donald Trump, who rebranded prejudice as patriotism, presented diversity as our weakness, and promised that money really could make the world go ’round. Trump made the sale to enough Americans in three key swing states to win the Electoral College.
As president, Trump’s raft of self-dealing, scandal, and corruption has overwhelmed the national conversation. And with prosecutors bearing down on Trump and his family business, the web of criminality is circling closer to the Oval Office. All this while Trump seemingly makes his administration a pawn for the ultimate villain: an autocratic former KGB officer in Russia who found in the untutored and eager forty-fifth president the perfect “apprentice.” How did we get here? What is the hidden impact of Trump, beyond the headlines? Joy-Ann Reid’s essential book examines why he succeeded, and whether America can undo the damage he has done. Through interviews with American and international thought leaders and in-depth analysis, Reid situates the Trump era within the context of modern history, examining the profound social changes that led us to this point. A deeply pertinent analysis, The Man Who Sold America reveals the causes and consequences of the Trump presidency and contends with the future that awaits us. www.amazon.com/Surviving-Trump-Field-StayingMadness/dp/0062880101
Karamo: My Story of Embracing Purpose, Healing, and Hope
K
by Karamo Brown
aramo believes that culture is so much more than art museums and the ballet—it’s how people feel about themselves and others, how they relate to the world around them, and how their shared labels,
162 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
burdens, and experiences affect their daily lives in ways both subtle and profound. Seen through this lens, Karamo is culture: his family is Jamaican and Cuban; he was raised in the South in predominantly white neighborhoods and attended an HBCU (Historically Black College/ University); he was trained as a social worker and psychotherapist; he overcame personal issues of colorism, physical and emotional abuse, alcohol and drug addiction, and public infamy; he is a proud and dedicated gay single father of two boys, one biological and one adopted. It is by discussing deep subjects like these, he feels, that the makeovers on the show can attain their full, lasting meaning. Styling your hair and getting new clothes and furniture are important, but it’s imperative that you figure out why you haven’t done so in twenty years so you can truly change your life. In this eye-opening and moving memoir, Karamo reflects on his lifelong education. It comprises every adversity he has overcome, as well as the lessons he has learned along the way. It is only by exploring our difficulties and having the hard conversations—with ourselves and one another—that we are able to adjust our mind-sets, heal emotionally, and move forward to live our best lives. Karamo shows us the way. www.amazon.com/Karamo-Story-Embracing-PurposeHealing/dp/1982111976/ref=sr_1_1?hvadid=785464612079 00&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvqmt=e&keywords=karamo+bro wn+book&qid=1558152519&s=gateway&sr=8-1
Pulse of Perseverance: Three Black Doctors on Their Journey to Success
by Pierre Johnson MD (Author), Maxime Madhere MD (Contributor), Joseph Semien Jr MD (Contributor)
P
ulse of Perseverance is the honest, deeply personal tale of three young black men's refusal to succumb to failure and how, together, they overcame daunting odds to take their place among the just five percent of U.S. doctors who are black. Through writing as passionate as it is relatable, the authors provide an unflinching look at the barriers black Americans face as they try to move out of the place society has designated for them. This book is a searing indictment of our still separate and unequal education system, one that ensures the road to becoming a doctor, or a lawyer or professor, will be much harder for black children than it will be for white. Yet, at its core, Pulse of Perseverance is an inspirational story of what can be accomplished with dedication, the support of people with similar goals, and the investment from institutions dedicated to black success. This book is the North Star for every black child who sees something greater for himself than the world would have him believe. www.amazon.com/gp/product/099927970X?ref=em_1p_3_ ti&ref_=pe_7176780_411413850
163 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
BBA 2019 Master Planner
167 July 2018 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
Resource Vault Media/Information
APO (Africa Wire®/MENA Wire®) -www.apo-opa.com Africa Business Communities -https://africabusinesscommunities.com Africa Interactive Multimedia Press/Content \ Agency in Africa -www.africa-interactive.com Africa is a Country -- www.africasacountry.com Africa News & Stories -- http://africatodaytv.com Africa Newsroom -- www.africa-newsroom.com Africa World Now Project -www.africaworldnowproject.org Africa World Press Books -www.africaworldpressbooks.com African Trade Magazine -www.africantrademagazine.com African Vibes Magazine -- www.africanvibes.com Africanews. -- www.africanews.com The Africapitalist -www.tonyelumelufoundation.org/africapitalisminstitute/africapitalist-magazine AfricaFocus -- www.africafocus.org Africast TV -- www.africast.tv The African World -- www.theafricanworld.tv Afritorial -- www.afritorial.com www.facebook.com/Afritorial AllAfrica (news) -- http://allafrica.com Because Of Them We Can -- www.becauseofthem wecan.com Black Business Directory & Blog -www.blackbusiness.org Black Business News Group -www.issuu.com/blackbusinessnews BlackNews.com -- www.blacknews.com Black Wall Street Times -- http://bwstimes.com Black Children's Books and Authors -http://blackchildrensbooksandauthors.tumblr. com BlackPast.org -- www.blackpost.org Black Press USA -- www.blackpressusa.com Black Then -- https://blackthen.com Blavity Inc. -- www.blavity.com BridesNoir -- www.bridesnoir.com The Chocolate Voice -www.thechocolatevoice.com CuisineNoir -- www.cuisinenoirmag.com Cybrary -- www.cybrary.it Dogon Village -- www.dogonvillage.com Elders (The) -- https://theelders.org Face2Face Africa -- https://face2faceafrica.com GhanaWeb -- www.ghanaweb.com How Africa, The Rise of Africa -http://howafrica.com
iAfrica -- www.iafrica.com Informaza - www.infomaza.com Macauhub -- www.facebook.com/Macauhub Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) -www.youtube.com/user/marquesbrownlee MahoganyBooks -http://blog.mahoganybooks.com/ New Black Magazine (The) -www.thenewblackmagazine.com NKA: Journal of Contemporary African Art -www.nkajournal.org Publish Africa -- http://wow.gm/publishafrica Red Media Africa -www.facebook.com/RedMedi aAfrica Rock Me Africa -- //rockmeafrica.com Second Opinion Publications Ltd (The) -- www. facebook.com/thesecondopinion TONL -- https://tonl.co/ United Nations -- http://webtv.un.org WikiHow -- www.wikihow.com World Library -- www.worldlibrary.org
Media/Podcasts, Streams
2 Dope Queens -- www.wnycstudios.org/shows/ dopequeens Cape Up with Jonathan Capehart -- https://itunes. apple.com/us/podcast/cape-up-with-jonathancapehart/id1143265842?mt=2 Demand Africa -- www.demandafrica.com DiasporaVoice -www.blogtalkradio.com/diasporavoice KweliTV -- www.facebook.com/kwelitv UN Video -- https://videos.un.org/en YouTube Educational Channels -- http://teacherswithapps.com/197-educational-youtube-channels-know
Culture/Arts Asako Afrikan Combat Capoeira -www.abibifahodie.com Africa Center (The) -- www.theafricacenter.org
168 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
African Networks -http://afn.bibalex.org/MainPart/About_.aspx African Origins -- www.african-origins.org Almasi Arts -- www.almasiarts.org Cultural Events/Content -- www.okayafrica.com Digital Assets Repository -http://dar.bibalex.org/webpages/dar.jsf Fashion For All -- www.fashionforallnyc.org Freedom Park -- www.freedompark.co.za Hungry Black Man -https://thehungryblackman.com Infocus247 -- https://infocus247.com Information for Africa -http://bibalex.org/baifa/en/home/index Library of Alexandria -www.bibalex.org/en/default Pan African Film Festival -- www.paff.org Paradigm Grey -- www.paradigmgrey.com Shadow & Act -- //shadowandact.com/about-us Travel Noire -- https://travelnoire.com W.E.B. DuBois in Accra -https://webduboiscentreaccra.ghana-net.com
Commerce/Entrepreneurship
#IAMWANDA -- www.facebook.com/IamWANDAorg African Success Stories -- www.risingafrica.org African Technology Foundation -www.thea25n.com BBurb -- https://bburb.com Black Female Founders -www.blackfemalefounders.org Black Wall Street -- www.blackwallstreet.org iBuyBlack.org -- www.ibuyblack.org Jumia -- https://group.jumia.com www.jumia.com.ng Nigeria (Africa) financial news -- //nairametrics.com She Leads Africa -- http://sheleadsafrica.org Shoppe Black -- https://shoppeblack.us
Organizations Africa's Brain Bank -- www.facebook.com/ AFRICASBRAINBANK / African Leadership Forum -http://afrialeadership.org African Union -- www.au.int/en Africans in Boston (AiB) -- //africansinboston.org Black Business Association -- www.bbala.org Black Emergency Managers Association International -www.blackemergmanagersassociation.org CauseCast -- www.causecast.com www.causecastfornonprofits.com Color of Change -- www.colorofchange.org Community Healing Network -www.communityhealingnet.org
Love Our Girls -- http://logpledge.org/ StayWoke -- www.staywoke.org TimesUp -- www.timesupnow.com United African Organization -http://uniteafricans.org Zambia-USA Chamber of Commerce -www.zambiausachamber.org
Investment/Development Africa Reports -- www.africareports.com African Development Bank -- www.afdb.org African Export-Import Bank -//afreximbank.com/afrexim/en AfrigadgetTV -- www.afrigadget.com Breaux Capital -- www.breauxcapital.com Disrupt Africa -- http://disrupt-africa.com/ Exchange Magazine (The) -- www.nse.co.ke Harlem Capital -- http://harlem.capital Silicon Harlem -- http://event.siliconharlem.net Ventures -- www.ventures-africa.com
General Explore ideas -- https://ideas.ted.com Focus On Africa -- https://theafricachannel.com/ shows/bbc-focus-on-africa Quora -- www.quora.com The Undefeated -- https://theundefeated.com
U.S. Government Commerce Department -- www.doc.gov International Trade Administration -http://trade.gov Minority Business Development Agency -www.mbda.gov Power Africa -- www.usaid.gov/powerafrica Small Business Administration -- www.sba.gov State Department -- www.dos.gov Trade Africa -- www.usaid.gov/tradeafrica White House -- www.whitehouse.gov
169 May 2019 Black Business News www.blackbbusinessnews.net 1-323-291-7819
NYSE trader/broker Lauren Simmons © CNBC Make It