With so much going on in the world, who can keep up? BlackEnterprise.com has you covered, with a round-up of this week’s highlights and top trending stories in news, money, career, small business, lifestyle, tech, and education.
[Related: Urban World Film Festival Takes Place in New York Sept 23-27]
News
This week in news, Empire creator Lee Daniels was sued by Actor Sean Penn, claiming that Daniels defamed him in a recent interview, and things got a little heated in Hollywood. Penn states that he was falsely accused of hitting women, by being likened to Empire star Terrence Howard. Read the full story here.
Money
Pope Francis made his first official visit to the U.S. this week, grabbing headlines and attracting attention from all over the world. Now, he is inspiring investors to adopt biblical principles on climate change. Also in money, a new report surfaced by Nielsen, showing the number of black immigrants in the U.S. has more than doubled since 1980, to a booming 3.8 million. It’s estimated from the research that by 2060, 1/6 U.S. blacks will be immigrants.
[Below: Watch Video of the Pope in New York City]
Careers
Recapping this week’s top career stories, lawyer turned entrepreneur Desiree Verdejo spoke to BlackEnterprise.com about opening a beauty boutique for women of all skin tones. Verdejo also discussed career transitions and the inspirational moments leading to the pursuit of her dream. Read more of this story here. Verdejo wasn’t the only one making waves this week, as former HBO executive Kery D. Davis became Howard University’s new athletic director. Read about Davis’ experience here.
Small Business
Banking giants Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase topped the small business charts this week. Wells Fargo invested $1.2 million to fuel black, Hispanic, Asian, and LGBT chambers of commerce. JPMorgan Chase launched a $6.5 million loan fund to help Detroit’s minority-owned small businesses, providing financing to these contractors, small retailers, and service businesses.
Lifestyle
On Sept. 20, Viola Davis became the first African American to win an Emmy for Best Actress in a Drama, causing the nation to focus their attention on black women in the film industry. Taraji P. Henson also talked about Davis’ historic accomplishment on the Ellen DeGeneres Show. Read ‘5 Lessons We Can All Learn from Viola Davis’ Emmy Awards Acceptance Speech’Â here. After Davis’ big win, there has been heightened interest in black women and leading roles. The latest article The Power of Black Women in Fandom discusses the power of viewers, in telling compelling stories that resonate with many people.
Tech
In the world of tech, Mary Farrow created Gramsly, an online platform allowing you to send customized care packages to anyone aged 50 or older. The Harvard/MIT grad was inspired because of her strong relationship with her grandparents. Now, she uses Google to build a customer base, where 90% of customers make repeat purchases. Read the full article here.
Education
This week in education news, HBCU teams are forming to compete for prizes at the Black Enterprise TechConneXt Summit Hackathon. Teams will be designing a personal finance app, targeting young college students and professionals. Read more here. Another hot topic was whether or not you should enroll your high school student in a foreign exchange program. According to a MetLife Survey, 65% of Fortune 1000 executives think that knowledge of other nations and cultures and international issues are very important or absolutely essential to be ready  for college and a career — including about 2 in 10 who consider it to be absolutely essential.†Read more here.
Do not miss the inaugural Black Enterprise TechConneXt Summit. Grab your resume, your growth-mindset, and your most innovative ideas and be at the Hyatt Regency Santa Clara, Santa Clara, California, October 12-13. Â Register now.
For more information on the TechConneXt Summit visit https://blackenterprise.com/events/techconnext/. Follow @blackenterprise on Twitter for updates and tech news.
What are your thoughts on this week’s stories? Share with us below in the comments section.