Bestow collection, Jen Hayes Lee, breast cancer, SurviveHer — Courtesy of Bestow Collection

by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman

October 28, 2024

Bestow Jewelry Collection Partners With ‘SurviveHer’ To Spread Awareness For Breast Cancer

The two trailblazers launched this collaboration to shed light on a critical issue for Black women.

Black-owned jewelry brand Bestow Collection has announced its partnership with the SurviveHer non-profit organization to spread awareness on breast cancer.

Bestow Collection’s founder, Jen Hayes Lee, aims to help Black women disproportionately impacted by the disease to learn more about steps to take action. According to a press release obtained by BLACK ENTERPRISE, Hayes Lee met SurviveHer’s founder, Lyndsay Levingston, through the Support Your Girlfriends Community network. Now, the two trailblazers have launched this collaboration to shed light on a critical issue for Black women.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Bestow (@bestowcollection)

As Hayes Lee’s own mother died from breast cancer in 2003, this endeavor is a personal mission for the brand to empower this community. A long-standing advocate for awareness, Hayes Lee became a pre-vivor herself.

Undergoing a preventive double mastectomy, Hayes Lee promotes preventative care for those most vulnerable of diagnosis. According to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Black women are more susceptible to aggressive subtypes including triple-negative (TNBC) and inflammatory breast cancer. Moreover, the demographic remains more likely to be diagnosed at a younger age and later stage.

Through Bestow Collection, Hayes Lee will encourage customers to “sharing your gifts” while spreading awareness for breast cancer. Through its assortment of jewelry, the collection aims to help women showcase their beauty for a special cause.

Bestow Collection and Hayes Lee continues to encourage its customers to “rock their hoops” in solidarity with survivors and all impacted by the illness. This initiative also aligns with Hayes Lee’s The Golden Hoop project. The venture raised over $10k for free genetic testing to see if one carries genes that could develop breast cancer.

The collaboration hopes to continue the joint mission of empowering women through knowledge and advocacy. Bestow Collection and SurviveHer also intend to promote this initiative beyond Breast Cancer Awareness month. The entrepreneur’s efforts include a donation of 50% of net proceeds from sales using the exclusive discount code, 20SurviveHer, that go to the nonprofit organization.

UK, reparations, Caribbean leaders — (Photo: Kristina Gadeikyte/Unsplash)

by Daniel Johnson

October 28, 2024

London’s Leaders Call For ‘Meaningful, Respectful’ Reparations Dialogue

In 2023, a UN judge declared the UK possibly owes over $18 trillion in reparations due to its role in slavery in 14 Caribbean countries.

Leaders in the United Kingdom have indicated their desire to have a respectful and meaningful conversation about reparations for the country’s role in the slave trade despite the UK’s insistence to keep the issue off the table during a two-day summit in Samoa.

According to the BBC, 56 heads of government, including UK’s Prime Minister Sir Kier Starmer signed a letter calling for “discussions on reparatory justice” regarding Britain’s role in the “abhorrent” transatlantic slave trade. The letter also declared it was time for a “meaningful, truthful and respectful conversation.”

“The dominant theme of the two days has been resilience and climate,” Starmer told reporters in an Oct. 26 press conference. He also added that the section on reparations was a small part of the joint statement and only made up “one paragraph in 20-something paragraphs.”

Starmer continued, “None of the discussions have been about money. Our position is very, very clear in relation to that.”

Starmer’s comments follow those of UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who previously told the BBC that the country would not pay any reparations for slavery.

This, despite a United Nations judge’s ruling in 2023 that the UK possibly owes over $18 trillion in reparations due to its role in slavery in 14 Caribbean countries.

“(It) is very insulting (to) tell people of African descent to forget and move forward,” Labor Party lawmaker Bell Ribeiro-Addy said during a cross-party reparations conference in London, according to Reuters. “I’m very proud those nations refused to be silenced.”

Labor Party lawmaker Clive Lewis told Reuters that he was surprised at Starmer’s “colonial mindset” and seemed concerned by his attempts to “dictate what could and could not be discussed.”

According to The Associated Press, the legacy of slavery is interwoven among some of Britian’s most revered institutions, including the Church of England, multinational insurer Lloyd’s of London, and even the monarchy itself.

As Olivette Otele, professor of the legacies and memory of slavery at the School of African and Oriental Studies at the University of London, told the AP, “Britain benefited from transatlantic enslavement. The money and the money trail is there to prove it. So we need to have these conversations much more openly.”

In recent years, the idea of reparations has gained traction among British leaders, particularly after former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair expressed deep sorrow over Britain’s role in the slave trade in 2006.

In 2013, the Caribbean trade bloc CARICOM requested that European governments formally apologize for their roles in the slave trade and to create a repatriation program for people who want to return to their homelands, neither of which has occurred.

In 2021, King Charles III, then the Prince of Wales, spoke about reparations during a trip to Barbados, discussing the “appalling atrocity of slavery, which forever stains our history.” A year later, at a Commonwealth summit, he said that the discussion about reparations was a “conversation whose time has come.”

However, for some, a mere conversation is not enough to address the actual harms slavery created for those it affected.

Diane Abbott, Britain’s first Black woman lawmaker, told Reuters that she believes Starmer “seems to have forgotten that” his party, the Labor Party, promised to create a national reparations commission, before adding, “Reparations isn’t about the past, it is about the here and now.”

Theresa Randle, arrest, domestic violence — (Photo: Sasun Bughdaryan/Getty Images)

by Daniel Johnson

October 28, 2024

2 Arrested After Stolen Bronze Statue Of Tuskegee Airman Recovered

The statue was stolen from Detroit's Rogue Park.

A 600-pound statue of Lt. Col. Alexander Jefferson was found on Oct. 25 after it was stolen from Detroit’s Rogue Park, the Detroit Police Department said.

According to The Associated Press, the bronze statue of Jefferson was sawed off at its ankles. Investigators for the department believe that it was stolen sometime between Oct. 23 and Oct. 24.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said officers determined the time of the theft by canvassing the neighborhood and pulling security footage.

“(Officers) found out the person who rented it was suspected of other robberies,” Duggan told reporters at a press conference. “They ran him down in real-time, caught him. He turned over the statue, confessed, and we made two arrests.”

According to the Detroit Free Press, authorities believe the statue was stolen and transported via a moving truck.

The city installed the life-sized statue of Jefferson near an area of the park where he often flew model planes before he died in June 2022. He was 100 years old.

Jefferson’s granddaughter, Ernestine Lavergne said in a statement on Oct. 24 that the theft saddened and disheartened her family.

“This statue has stood not just as a piece of art, but as a symbol of our community’s history, values, and collective memory. To many, it represents a cherished reminder of our shared past and the lessons we carry forward,” Lavergne said. “This act of theft goes beyond vandalism; it is a loss to everyone who found meaning, connection, and pride in that statue and the heroic actions of the Tuskegee Airmen.”

Jefferson was a member of the famed Red Tails group that flew during World War II. During one mission in 1944, he had his plane shot down and was captured as a prisoner of war. Thankfully, he would return to Detroit, where he became a teacher and helped create a Tuskegee Airmen chapter in Detroit.

His statue was unveiled in Detroit in June 2024. “Lt. Col. Jefferson was a hero in every sense of the word and so richly deserves this honor,” Duggan said then.

LYFT,lawsuit, 2.1 million — (Photo: Praiselightmedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)

by Keka Araújo

October 28, 2024

FTC Cracks Down On Lyft For Deceptive Earnings Claims

The FTC's vote to authorize the DOJ to file the complaint in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California passed by one vote.

After the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit against Lyft, claiming the company used deceptive advertising practices to mislead drivers about their potential earnings, the rideshare giant has agreed to a proposed settlement.

The lawsuit, filed by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on behalf of the FTC, cites misleading claims regarding driver pay and promises of “earnings guarantees” that failed to deliver what drivers expected.

According to the FTC, Lyft misled potential drivers during increased demand in 2021 and 2022. Advertisements from Lyft touted impressive hourly earnings—up to $33 in Atlanta, $41 in Portland, and $43 in Los Angeles. However, based on the top 20% of drivers’ earnings, these figures did not represent what most drivers could expect. The complaint states that average earnings were inflated by as much as 30% and often included tips, though many drivers assumed tips would be in addition to hourly pay.

“It is illegal to lure workers with misleading claims about how much they will earn on the job,” FTC Chair Lina M. Khan said. “The FTC will keep using all its tools to hold businesses accountable when they violate the law and exploit American workers.”

The lawsuit also addressed Lyft’s advertising of “earnings guarantees,” promising set payouts if drivers completed specific rides within a time frame. For example, Lyft advertised that drivers could make $975 for 45 rides over a weekend. However, many drivers reported disappointment upon realizing the earnings guarantee would only cover the difference between their actual pay and the advertised amount. The FTC noted that complaints flooded in from drivers who assumed the guarantee was a bonus, not merely a supplement to regular earnings.

As part of the proposed settlement, Lyft has agreed to ensure that its pay claims reflect typical driver earnings. Lyft will also be prohibited from including tips as part of advertised hourly earnings and must communicate to drivers that guarantees are meant to bridge shortfalls rather than serve as bonuses. Lyft must keep accurate evidence of its pay statements moving forward to back these claims.

The settlement includes a $2.1 million civil penalty and mandates that Lyft notify drivers about the revised policy. The action is part of a broader FTC initiative to protect gig economy workers from false earnings claims. The FTC has also taken action against Amazon, HomeAdvisor, Arise, and Care.com, securing millions in redress and conduct relief for aggrieved workers.

The FTC’s vote to authorize the DOJ to file the complaint in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California passed with a 3-2 majority.

Central State University, Ohio, fiscal watch — (Photo: HystericalMark/Flickr)

by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman

October 28, 2024

Central State University, Ohio’s Only HBCU, Placed On Fiscal Watch

The school hopes to get off the fiscal watch within three years.

Central State University has been placed on fiscal watch by the Ohio Department of Higher Education due to financial challenges.

The department’s chancellor, Mike Duffey, made the announcement on Oct. 25, as reported by WKBN. With the declaration, the sole HBCU in Ohio will receive support as it undergoes a plans to improve its status.

Central State must create a financial recovery plan, which will include increased financial reporting requirements and engagement from the board of trustees. Moreover, a state auditor will perform an evaluation on the school, in addition to consulting on its budgeting and reporting procedures.

Classes are expected to run as normal for the university, which was founded in 1887.

“It‘s not something that any university wants to be on,” explained Central State’s president, Morakinyo Kuti, to Dayton Daily News. “When I came on, I knew that things were not what they were supposed to be, so we wanted to inform the state as soon as possible, and we also wanted to get their assistance as soon as possible.”

Upon taking office in September 2023, Kuti found discrepancies in the HBCU’s financial reports. Alongside unpaid balances to school vendors, Kuti discovered its 2023 audit was incomplete. The mounting issues led to Kuti informing the state about the matter.

“My goal, our goal as a university, is to get out as soon as possible,” Kuti said. “We asked for the state support and assistance because the future is bright at Central State University, but in order for us to get to that bright future, we have to get our house in order.”

Moreover, Central State has suffered from a significantly decreased online enrollment, dropping from 4,000 to 1,000.

“Central State is very important to the Miami Valley,” Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said. “It supports the whole State of Ohio. It has not only a storied past, but it’s got a great future. We’re optimistic about Central State’s future, but this is certainly a bump in the road, … The quicker it can get dealt with, the better.”

Central State previously went on fiscal watch in 2015. This time, the school hopes to get off the watch within three years.

Jordin Sparks, fire, safety — (Photo: Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons)

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

October 28, 2024

Jordin Sparks Stresses Importance of Fire Safety In New Campaign: ‘I’d Rather Be Safe Than Sorry’

Jordin Sparks has a new campaign that's all about fire safety in our homes.

Jordin Sparks is the face of a new campaign focused on promoting fire safety education in households with young children.

The platinum-selling singer is part of Kidde’s Cause For Alarm™ campaign to promote the new Living Jingle, which features an emotional message and call to action from children affected by house fires. It’s a campaign that strikes a chord with Sparks, a proud mother to her 6-year-old son, Dana Jr., whom she shares with her husband, Dana Isaiah. She is actively teaching her child the importance of prioritizing safety in all aspects of life.

“We’re all about safety right now, safety at school, safety when you’re with your friends, safety when you’re at home,” Sparks tells BLACK ENTERPRISE. “And so when I was reading through this campaign and everything that it stood for, I was like, ‘This makes a lot of sense for us to do.'”

The “No Air” singer acknowledges that fire safety wasn’t always a top priority for her before she became a mother. However, partnering with the Cause For Alarm campaign has reminded her just how quickly a fire can start.

“It also, for lack of a better term, lit a fire under my behind, because it’s something that I don’t think about often. Fires can happen at any point to anybody.”

Sparks is right to admit this. The campaign found that 40% percent of people believe they’re more likely to win the lottery or be struck by lightning than experience a house fire. Yet, this year alone, over 1,000 people—including children—have died as the result of home fires across North America.

For the third consecutive year, Kidde’s Cause For Alarm campaign is dedicated to supporting vulnerable communities that face a greater risk of fire-related incidents. This initiative aims to enhance fire safety education and awareness by addressing gaps in knowledge and access to fire safety measures, offering essential resources and life-saving devices to at-risk populations.

To encourage people to make fire safety a priority, Kidde is introducing its new “Living Jingle,” an emotional appeal and call to action voiced by children who have been affected by house fires.

“It’s a very powerful message that can be driven home,” Sparks says of the “Living Jingle.” “For kids, especially in a musical format, and as a musician, I know how powerful a tool of music can be.”

With a last name like “Sparks,” the singer notes the irony in her plea while stressing its importance.

“If I can spark an idea or spark a movement or spark, you know, a thought like, ‘Oh, wow, I haven’t really thought about that in a long time,’ then I want to be able to be a part of that, especially as a mom now. It’s just really, really important. And I’d rather be safe than sorry.”

In addition to the Cause For Alarm campaign, Sparks released her first full-length non-holiday album in nearly 10 years, No Restrictions, which reflects her growth as a woman, wife, singer, and mother.

“I’m grateful that I was able to have that time to really grow within myself, grow within my family, my marriage as a mother, as a friend,” she shares. “As a human, I just feel like I’ve grown so much. And that’s why I called it No Restrictions. Because at this place in my life, I feel so free. And I feel like I’m letting go of outdated beliefs. I’m letting go of things that I used to think about myself, what I thought about, what other people thought about me.”

Sparks also teased what viewers can expect from the new skating competition show she’s hosting called Roller Jam and how much fun she had filming each episode. Press play to learn more.

Michelle Obama, UFC Freedom 250, transphobia, transmisia — (Photo; Jean Catuffe/GC Images)

by Daniel Johnson

October 27, 2024

‘Take Our Lives Seriously’: Michelle Obama Implores Men To Vote For Harris

Obama pleaded to the 'men who love us' to vote for Kamala Harris.

As the polling continues to show a deep gender divide for Vice President Kamala Harris, former first lady Michelle Obama made an impassioned plea to men to stand up for women on Election Day during a rally in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on Oct. 26.

According to The New York Times, this marked Obama’s first appearance on the campaign trail. She pleaded “from the core of my being” to male voters “to take our lives seriously.”

“If your wife is shivering and bleeding on the operating room table during a routine delivery gone bad, her pressure dropping as she loses more and more blood, or some unforeseen infection spreads and her doctors aren’t sure if they can act, you will be the one praying that it’s not too late,” Obama said. “You will be the one pleading for somebody, anybody, to do something.”

She continued, “If we don’t get this election right, your wife, your daughter, your mother, we as women, will become collateral damage to your rage.”

Obama lambased the media and voters for “choosing to ignore [former President] Donald Trump’s gross incompetence, while asking Kamala to dazzle us at every turn.”

She continued, “We expect her to be intelligent and articulate, to have a clear set of policies, to never show too much anger, to prove time and time again that she belongs. But for Trump, we expect nothing at all, no understanding of policy, no ability to put together a coherent argument, no honesty, no decency, no morals.”

Harris underscored the points Obama made during her address. “We’re seeing women scrambling across state lines to get the care they need. Do you think Donald Trump is thinking about the consequences for the millions of women who will be living in medical deserts?”

The vice president continued, “I want the men in the arena to bear with me on this, because there’s more at stake than just protecting a woman’s choice to give birth. Sadly, we as women and girls have not been socialized to talk openly about our reproductive health. We’ve been taught instead to feel shame and to hide how our bodies work.”

She also stressed that unwanted teen pregnancy not only affects young girls, but also the young fathers who will have the course of their lives drastically change.

The urgency has its roots in polling data. As Vox reported, nearly every poll has indicated that men are lagging behind women in their support of Harris’s candidacy. A poll from ABC News and Ipsos of likely voters in the 2024 election, Black men currently lead the way, supporting Harris at an 85% clip while Latinx men are polling at 63% and white men lag far behind at 38 percent.

https://twitter.com/keithboykin/status/1850531732409520265?s=19

According to CBS News, the election may also shape up to be a referendum on personal views of progress.

Men who believe that the focus on diversity, equality, and inclusion has left them behind in favor of women tend to indicate support for Trump, while women who believe that Trump is incompetent and is unfit to serve as president tend to indicate support for Harris.

Las Vegas Aces, GM, fired — (Photo: Christopher Trim/NBAE via Getty Images)

by Daniel Johnson

October 27, 2024

Natalie Williams Out As GM Of Two-Time WNBA Champion Las Vegas Aces

The Aces declined to renew Williams' contract as part of what the team described as a front office restructuring.

Natalie Williams is out as the general manager of the Las Vegas Aces after it did not renew her contract as part of a front office restructuring, the team said in an Oct. 26 statement.

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the 53-year-old Williams took the position in April 2022, three months after the team hired head coach Becky Hammon.

The Aces move follows their semifinals exit from the WNBA playoffs after two straight championships.

“It has been a joy and honor to serve as General Manager of the Las Vegas Aces,” said Williams, who thanked owner Mark Davis in her comments. “…I love the WNBA, and it has been wonderful watching the growth of the game. I’m looking forward to what lies ahead.”

According to the Review-Journal, there are some indications that the dismissal of Williams could be related to the federal lawsuit against the Aces brought by former player Dearica Hamby.

Williams, Hammon, and Aces team president Nikki Fargas are all named in Hamby’s litigation as she appears to be dissatisfied by the WNBA’s investigation which led to Hammon being suspended for two games and the team forfeiting its 2025 first-round draft pick.

Hamby’s federal lawsuit claims that the organization did not honor portions of her contract and then traded her to the Los Angeles Sparks once she told team officials she was pregnant, NBC News reports.

In Fargas’ statement, she alluded to Williams’ service of the organization, going back to when the franchise was known as the Utah Starzz.

“We are incredibly grateful for Natalie’s invaluable efforts in helping build the Aces into the premier franchise in the WNBA,” Fargas said. “Her time with the organization extends back to the league’s formative years in Utah, and she will forever be a part of our history, having left an indelible mark as both a player and an executive. We wish the best for Natalie and her family.”

Former St. Louis Prosecutor,Misusing Public Funds — (Photo: greenleaf123/Getty Images)

by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman

October 27, 2024

Former St. Louis Prosecutor Admits To Using Public Funds To Cover Personal Court Fees

Kimberly Gardner used the funds to cover costs from a 2022 case against her by the Missouri Supreme Court.

Kimberly Gardner, a former St. Louis prosecutor previously supported by left-leaning billionaire George Soros, has admitted to using public funds to cover her own personal court fees.

Upon entering a pretrial diversion program with U.S. District Court in St. Louis, Gardner confirmed she had employees under her supervision write checks that amounted to over $5,000.

According to First Alert 4, employees took the money out of the Contingent Fund Account in her office. Gardner used the checks to cover the money spent in a 2022 case against her by the Missouri Supreme Court. In the case, the court found her in violation of ethical rules while prosecuting the state’s former governor, Eric Greitens.

The Contingent Fund remains reserved for prosecuting expenses. However, Gardner had the money “deposited in her personal bank account and used for her personal expenses unrelated to her job duties and the operations of the Circuit Attorney’s Office,” the diversion agreement stated.

Prior to her admission, Gardner faced pressure from both parties to resign from her role as the lead prosecutor in St. Louis. She did in June 2023.

Through her cooperation in the program, Gardner cannot break any laws and must report to a pretrial services officer. The agreement also defers prosecution for 18 months, but Gardner will have to pay back the funds as restitution.

“Ms. Gardner entered into a pre-charge diversion agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s office,” wrote her attorney, Ronald S. Sullivan Jr., in a statement. “The parties agreed to resolve the matter prior to any criminal action commencing and to spare the district the time and costs associated with defending any claim of criminal wrongdoing. While Ms. Gardner was prepared to vigorously defend any allegations that may have been lodged against her, she and the government agreed to end any dispute and terminate any investigation with the pre-charge diversion agreement.”

While no further investigation will take place, the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office did note that the current agreement is a “just and fair outcome” for the former official, said U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming.

Civil Rights Hall of Fame, Mississippi, Jackson, Mayor Lumumba — (Photo: Katrin Bolovtsova/Pexels)

by Daniel Johnson

October 27, 2024

Civil Rights Activists Get Arrests Expunged 64 Years After Historic South Carolina Sit-In

A judge signed an order only a few blocks from where the group was arrested.

On Oct. 25, Simon Bouie and six others had their arrest records expunged more than 60 years after they staged a sit-in in a Columbia, South Carolina, lunch counter that was designated as whites-only.

According to The Associated Press, a judge signed an order only a few blocks from where the group was arrested.

Before he left to join the protest, Bouie assured his mother that he would not get himself into trouble and he kept that promise in mind as he and the other activists sat at the Eckerd Drug Store counter.

“We had a desire to fight for what was right and nobody could turn us around. We walked in that building with our heads held high and sat down,” Bouie told the AP.

Although South Carolina is not the genesis of the practice of the sit-in during the Civil Rights Movement—that honor belongs to Greensboro, North Carolina—Bouie and company’s sit-in helped to change laws in South Carolina, and more broadly, the Jim Crow South.

Of the seven men arrested during the two days of protesting, only Bouie and Charles Barr are alive to see their records expunged.

The other five men, David Carter, Johnny Clark, Richard Counts, Milton Greene, and Talmadge Neal, were represented at the table by white roses.

“It made me feel good we were a part of this movement that had helped to make everything easier for everyone to get along a little better in South Carolina,” Barr told the AP.

According to University of South Carolina professor Bobby Donaldson, the five men who died before they could see justice cared more about creating a better world than their freedom.

“In 1960, they were victimized. Today, they are vindicated. In 1960, they were prosecuted. Today, they are praised. In 1960, they were convicted. Today, they are exonerated,” Donaldson said.

Although the men had their convictions thrown out by the Supreme Court a few days before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed into law, their arrests stayed on their records.

According to Solicitor Byron Gipson, who handled the paperwork that investigated the arrests and got the expungements before a judge, the men are heroes.

“These men stood bravely—sat bravely, quite frankly—in the face of adversity, in the face of threats, in the face of death. They did it because they wanted to guarantee the Constitution applied to all Americans,” Gipson said at the ceremony.

Judge Robert Hood, who signed the order, took the papers from Gipson and issued his own statement to the 150 attendees in the packed courtroom.

“These heroes stood firm against oppression often at great personal cost. They dared to dream of a world where equality is not an aspiration, but a reality,” Hood said. “Their unwavering commitment to justice serves as a beacon of hope and inspiration to us all.”