• News

by Sharelle B. McNair

May 13, 2024

New Orleans Mayor Files Restraining Order Against Woman Accused Of Stalking Her 

The mayor says the woman’s actions "have placed me and my family in greater risk of being harmed, jeopardizing my safety especially at places I frequent.”

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New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell is taking precautions by filing a temporary protective order against a woman accused of stalking her. 

According to records of the Orleans Parish Civil District Court, Cantrell claims the woman, Anne Breaud, has been taking photos and videos of her — “aggressively” — for the past two years, including taking pictures of her dining on a restaurant balcony in April 2024. “The defendant then proceeded to the street to find my vehicle, where she captured additional photos and video,” documents read. 

“The defendant also made several phone calls in my sight.”

The mayor says the woman’s actions “have placed me and my family in greater risk of being harmed, jeopardizing my safety, especially at places I frequent,” according to NOLA. The picture in question shows Cantrell dining with Jeffrey Vappie, a New Orleans police officer and member of her security team, who has since been placed on administrative leave after the photo went viral.  

The two were also seen engaging in conversation at a bar with glasses of wine, sparking questions of Vappie’s work ethic and professionalism by the Metropolitan Crime Commission, a  police watchdog group. 

Vappie wasn’t mentioned in Cantrell’s protective order request, but Breaud was accused of submitting photos and video footage to Fox 8, which the news station says is not true. 

The order prohibits Breaud from being within 100 yards of the mayor, her home, or city hall, as well as prohibiting her from making contact with Cantrell or her family. Judge Paulette Iron approved the request for ten days, with a hearing being set for May 20. However, legal analyst Joe Raspanti is putting the future of the order in question. “You’re the mayor. People take your picture all the time,” he said. 

“So I think she has; I think she’s going to have a problem with this. I think that what she’s asking for may not be appropriate.” 

Vappie has been the subject of controversy before in regard to his professional conduct while guarding the mayor and how he is spending his time while on duty. He was reprimanded by NOPD’s Public Integrity Bureau in June 2023 and was removed from Cantrell’s detail for four months during an investigation.

The elected official was listed in the officer’s divorce filing, as Vappie’s ex-wife accused the pair of having an affair. Both Cantrell and Vappie have denied those allegations.  

• Education

by Daniel Johnson

May 13, 2024

Alabama House Unanimously Passes ‘Teacher Bill Of Rights’ Legislation

The bill received bipartisan support.

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On May 7, the Alabama House unanimously passed bill SB157, also referred to as the Teachers Bill of Rights, which lawmakers argue is aimed at addressing unruly students. The bill, once signed into law by Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, would take effect during the 2024-2025 school year. Although the bill received bipartisan support, some Democratic legislators questioned if the bill was the answer to how to extend protections to teachers. 

As the Alabama Reflector reports, the vote followed a spirited debate by the Alabama House Education Policy Committee in April. In that meeting, Vic Wilson, the executive director of the Council for Leaders in Alabama Schools, expressed concern over what he termed a “two-strikes” policy contained in the bill. Randy Smalley, a Tuscaloosa County School Board member and a district director for the Alabama Association of School Boards, raised concern that the bill would strip control from local procedure and is in conflict with pending student due process bills the association is in favor of passing. 

During the House vote, Rep. Thomas Jackson (D-Thomasville) said that he believed some of the problem comes from teachers who don’t respect their students. “Now, I worked in elementary school, and there were some young teachers in there who didn’t tolerate little boys, Black boys, I’m going to use the term, but the Black teachers didn’t have no problem with those boys.”

Another Democrat, Rep. Patrick Sellers, (D-Birmingham) argued that taking God out of the school system is part of the reason for the disciplinary issues in Alabama schools and seemed to call for a return of corporal punishment. “Y’all might not want to hear what I got to say. When we took God out of school, part of your problem arrived. When you take the paddle out of the hand of the teacher, part of your problem arrived.” Sellers continued, “I have to hear this conversation every single day from my wife because she deals with the discipline in her school. And I tell her everyday you need a resident butt-whooper in your school to handle discipline.”

Rep. Mary Moore (D-Birmingham) expressed concerns that suspending students helps bolster the school-to-prison pipeline, saying, “We expel them from the school to the street.” Despite the concerns raised by some Democrats, they still voted with their Republican colleagues. According to a document compiled by the Alabama Education Association, a teachers’ union that pushed for the law, several reported incidents of violence against teachers and inaction from school officials spurred them to lobby for the bill’s passage. 

In February, a report, Only Young Once: Alabama’s Overreliance on School Pushout and For-Profit Youth Incarceration, outlined that Alabama’s willingness to use juvenile detention centers harms Black youth and taxpayers. Delvin Davis, a senior policy analyst at the Southern Poverty Law Center and the report’s author, told AL.com that he sees a line from Bull O’Connor to the present day. “This isn’t a new problem for Alabama. They’ve been incarcerating young Black youth for a very long time, even going back to Bull Connor. Those kids were incarcerated. They were separated from schools, expelled and suspended from school. We’re seeing that same thing where they are incarcerating and disposing Black kids.”

Davis continued, “There are a lot of community-based alternatives to incarceration where you can divert a child out of the court system, the youth justice system,” Davis said. “You can care for a kid in the community and not disrupt their education and the services that they’re used to school and really think about more of a rehabilitative model that does not require incarceration to do it. These facilities are not really designed for rehabilitation, but more so for punishment and separating kids from society. That’s the system that creates more recidivism.”

RELATED CONTENT: Former Teacher Says America Isn’t Making A ‘Big Enough’ Deal About Its Current Literacy Crisis

• Money

by Sharelle B. McNair

May 13, 2024

Keeping Up With Inflation: The Minimum Wage Would Be Close To $13 If It Moved With Inflation 

What a wonderful world that would be....

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The Bureau of Labor Statistics has revealed what the minimum wage would be like if it were to keep up with rising inflation. 

If the minimum wage is adjusted to inflation in 2024, the amount would be close to $13 — $12.85, to be exact. The federal minimum wage hasn’t moved in 15 years, with the most recent adjustment happening in 2009 – going from $6.55 to $7.25. Regardless of the U.S. sustaining economic growth and decline and a global pandemic, somehow, the federal minimum wage has remained at $7.25. 

According to the Bureau, $7.25 in July 2009 is equivalent to $10.50 in March 2024. Full-time employees making that amount earn close to $15,080 a year, just $20 above the poverty level. If it were still 2009, the annual salary would need to increase to $21,870 today just to keep up with the rising cost of goods and services.

A minimum pay per hour rate still stands in 20 states, but in the other 30 states and territories, minimum wage is higher than $7.25. Employees can find the highest minimum wage in the country in Tukwila, Washington. For large employers with more than 500 workers, workers must be paid a minimum of $20.29. For states and territories like Washington, D.C., the best rate is $17 an hour.

There have been discussions on raising the federal minimum wage, but Congress has stalled on those efforts. In 2021, Democrats proposed increasing the base wage to $15 base wage in 2021, but it was rejected in the Senate. However, there is a push in local municipalities to raise wages in specific spaces. 

According to KING 5, King County Council is considering a proposal to set a minimum wage of $20.29 an hour in Seattle. If legislation is passed, county employees, employees of businesses in unincorporated King County, and the employees of contracting companies with the county would see a wage increase. For small- and medium-sized businesses, there would be more allotted time to have their wages increased to the county’s standard. 

Also, the county’s minimum wage would rise every year, starting on Jan. 1, 2025, based on the rate of inflation. 

In San Diego, labor unions are putting pressure on city council members to mandate a $25 hourly minimum wage for service workers. Representing employees of thousands of hotel, janitorial, and convention centers, unions are arguing that low-paid service employees often have to choose between paying rent or eating in the city. 

They are pushing for a 50% increase from the current wage of $16.85 an hour.

• Beauty

by Stacy Jackson

May 13, 2024

Piersten Gaines Expands ‘Pressed Roots’ Salon With New Houston Location

The 1,924-square-foot space is Gaines' fourth location for the salon, which has gained investment from tennis champ Naomi Osaka.

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Piersten Gaines, the founder of Pressed Roots, has expanded her luxury express salon experience by unveiling a fourth location in Houston on May 9.

According to the Houston Chronicle, the new salon, situated in the Centre at Post Oak, boasts a 1,924-square-foot space designed to accommodate 50 hair stylists. Pressed Roots’ signature offering is the silk blowout, available in various styles like silky straight, loose curls, or beach waves. Clients can enhance their experience with add-on services or opt for private VIP stations. The salon also retails products to help customers maintain hairstyles between appointments.

Gaines’ entrepreneurial journey has garnered notable support from influential investors like tennis champion and entrepreneur Naomi Osaka, former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, and former Neiman Marcus CEO Karen Katz Gaines. The concept, which BLACK ENTERPRISE recognized as “the first-to-market luxury express salon experience for women with textured hair,” has been a hit since its inception in 2020, attracting clients across the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

“I created Pressed Roots for me and the 42 million other women with textured hair in the U.S. who want a brand that prioritizes hair health and experience,” said Gaines in a 2020 statement. “Pressed Roots is fulfilling an immediate need in the salon industry.”

Pressed Roots was developed to cater to “the super curly, the coily, and even the kinky-textured girls,” the company’s website states. The salon prides itself on offering a team of “highly trained stylists” who have successfully completed the Pressed Roots boot camp and mastered the art of “the blowout.” Pressed Roots hairstylists “know what’s right for every hair type.”

Gaines emphasized that hair health is a priority at the brick-and-mortar shops. The Houston Chronicle noted clients can expect efficient service, with stylists providing blowouts in under an hour and a half. The hair guru’s website promises salon services that prioritize the health of its clients’ hair, respect the client’s time using a signature straightening method, and offer the best salon experience with complimentary drinks and WiFi.

• HBCU

by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman

May 13, 2024

Howard University Cancels Chaotic Graduation Mid-Ceremony

Students felt poor planning was to blame for the chaos during the event.

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Howard University cancelled the graduation for one of its colleges in the middle of the ceremony due to the chaos outside the venue. The university later let the students walk following its school-wide commencement.

The Dean at the College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences informed graduates of the news at its May 9 event, as reported by the New York Post. The sudden cancellation came from the chaotic breakdown of letting loved ones in the auditorium where the graduation took place.

“Because of the size of the room and because our relatives sometimes do not know how to act, the fire department is now here to shut us down,” explained Dean Dr. Gina S. Brown.

Despite her words, the DC Fire Department denied doing so.

The graduation’s first come, first served entry left many families outside the venue while their loved one received their degrees. Limited seating filled up quicker than expected, as the class of 2024 in general is the largest in Howard’s history.

Angered at not being let in, many of the shut-outs began yelling outside the graduation venue. Video footage showed many yelling “Let Us In!” as they saw the graduates enter the facility.

“While they were doing the keynote speaker, there was, like, loud banging, even before that, for like 10 minutes straight,” shared graduating student Bria Flowers to NBC Washington.  “Just like boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.” Footage showed a man breaking the entrance door, shocking his fellow protestors. Howard released a statement on the cancelled event following the news gaining traction.

“This incident led to a disturbance among guests outside of the facility, resulting in a disruption of the program,” explained the HBCU. “Guests in attendance were immediately dispersed following this incident.”

However, despite the less-than-illustrious start to Howard’s 156th commencement weekend, the graduates received their moments on stage. Howard’s president especially recognized the cohort in his welcome speech during the main ceremony. Following the event, many of those graduates finally walked in front of loved ones.

RELATED CONTENT: Howard University Breaks Record With 37,000 Applicants For Freshman Class

• HBCU

by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman

May 13, 2024

Phylicia Rashad Speaks On Life After Howard As Dean Prepares To Step Down

The 75-year-old announced that she would step down at the end of this school year.

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Actress Phylicia Rashad graduates from Howard University, but this time in a different capacity. The former student is now stepping down as dean of the College of Fine Arts and looks toward her future.

She spoke of her decision to take on the role as the newly established college named after fellow alum and actor Chadwick Boseman. She became dean in May 2021, adding to her esteemed resume following her most notable role as Clair Huxtable on “The Cosby Show.” The 75-year-old announced her intention to step down in August 2023.

During an interview with WUSA9, Rashad reminisced on her time at the University as a student and dean. She studied at the Ira Aldridge Theater while pursuing a degree in fine arts at the HBCU.

“This is the space in which I performed and rehearsed,” explained Rashad of the venue. “This is the space in which I received acknowledgment.”

Her appointment to dean was inspired by Boseman, her mentee, who, before his death, sought to make the Fine Arts program an official college at the school. The late “Black Panther” actor asked Rashad to take on this new role. Already well-versed in academia, Rashad taught master classes at Howard and other schools such as NYU. Furthermore, she was a university trustee at her alma mater.

“He said, yes, it’s going to be coming back,” she shared of Boseman’s request.” It’s going to be reestablished, and I think you should be the dean. I looked at him and laughed; I did. I said, please. ‘Chile, please.’”

It wasn’t until after Boseman died that Rashad became fully invested in the position, helping fulfill his goal and legacy. As dean, she worked to rebuild the college’s infrastructure and reemphasized the importance of fine arts in academia.

She added, “One of the things that I hoped to do was to create a narrative, a narrative that would expand understanding of what the arts are, their value to humanity and their academic value to this institution.”

As for the college’s honor of Boseman, Rashad wanted to remember him as a scholar in the craft, and more than just a role he portrayed. The same feeling extends to someone considered as “America’s mom,” too.

“His name is not here because he was ‘Black Panther,’ his name is here because he was a scholar,” she explained. “As a student, he wanted to know everything there was to know about theater, about art, about music.”

Both became household names in Black Hollywood and beyond for what they represented in media. However, their legacy forever connects to Howard through their leadership and upliftment of students in the arts.

For Rashad, from Broadway to the silver screen, her future remains uncertain. However, like a true artist, Rashad finds comfort in the unknown because the possibilities are limitless.

“I don’t always know what’s next,” says Rashad. “And I like that because it’s what I don’t know that interests me most.”

RELATED CONTENT: Phylicia Rashad Does Not Like Reality TV Mothers

• News History

by Daniel Johnson

May 13, 2024

Morehouse University Remains Free Of Gaza Protests As Mood Shifts

The anger is simmering under the surface at Morehouse but has not yet resulted in the encampments and other protests witnessed at other universities.

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As the college protests around the Israeli bombing of Palestine have heated up at universities around the country, the response at HBCUs like Morehouse College has remained muted by comparison. During a recent visit to Atlanta, Vice President Kamala Harris asked the university’s student government president about the university temperature and what topics students may be interested in hearing during President Joe Biden’s visit scheduled for May 19. 

As The New York Times reports, the anger is simmering under the surface but has not yet resulted in the encampments and other protests witnessed at other universities, including Atlanta’s Emory University. Morehouse, the paper reports, has traditionally been concerned with domestic matters and is less concerned with international affairs. 

David Thomas, Morehouse College president, told The New York Times that he did not believe that the vaunted institution is a place for “cancel culture.”

As Thomas said on May 9, “This should not be a place that cancels people regardless of if we agree with them. Whether people support the decision or not, they are committed to having it happen on our campus in a way that doesn’t undermine the integrity or dignity of the school.”

Despite Thomas’ assertion, several meetings with leaders have contained spirited exchanges, and faculty have expressed that they will be boycotting the commencement. A group of Morehouse alumni have also written a letter critical of the institution’s history of “celebrating student activists long after they have graduated.”

Morehouse is much more bound to tradition than most universities, even other HBCUs. The expectation from alumni, including Cedric Richmond, who graduated from Morehouse in 1995, ran Biden’s public engagement office, and is now a senior advisor at the Democratic National Committee, is that the commencement will not be protested. Richmond told the Times, “The Morehouse College graduation, at least as I remember it, is a very solemn event,” Richmond said. “You have almost 500 African American males walking across that stage, whose parents and grandparents sacrificed and those students worked their butts off to, one, get into Morehouse, and two, to graduate. That’s a very significant day. And I’m just not sure whether students or protesters are going to interfere with that solemn moment.”

Benjamin Bayliss, a junior at Morehouse, believes that it is time for the protests to make their way onto the campus at Morehouse as he told the Times, “I feel like the protests do need to come out, because if you don’t see students advocating for what they believe in, then the change that they’re advocating for will never come about,” Bayliss said. “You really feel the weight of what King did and the fire of the torch that he lit that we have to carry on.”

Samuel Livingston, an associate professor of Africana studies at Morehouse, meanwhile, criticized Biden’s foreign policy concerning Gaza, contrasting his likable nature with concern over the ethical problems of Biden’s policy.“ Joe Biden is probably a very nice person,” said Livingston, “but niceness is not the level of leadership that we need. We need ethical leadership. And continuing to support the aiding, abetting and the stripping of Palestinian land, from Palestinian people in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, is not ethical.”

RELATED CONTENT: President Biden Announced As Morehouse College Commencement Speaker Amid Campus Protests

• Health and Wellness

by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman

May 13, 2024

First Pig Kidney Transplant Recipient Dies Weeks After Surgery

Slayman died around seven weeks after his procedure; his hospital said there's no indication his death is related to the surgery.

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Richard Slayman, the first-ever recipient of a pig kidney transplant, has died nearly two months after his surgery

ABC News reports surgeons at the Massachusetts General Hospital successfully performed the four-hour operation on the 62-year-old in March. Slayman was released by the hospital April 2.

“Our family is deeply saddened about the sudden passing of our beloved Rick but take great comfort knowing he inspired so many,” Slayman’s family said in a statement. “Millions of people worldwide have come to know Rick’s story. We felt—and still feel—comforted by the optimism he provided patients desperately waiting for a transplant.

“[The doctors’] enormous efforts leading the xenotransplant gave our family seven more weeks with Rick, and our memories made during that time will remain in our minds and hearts,” the family added. “Rick accomplished that goal and his hope and optimism will endure forever. His legacy will be one that inspires patients, researchers, and health care professionals everywhere.”

However, despite his death occurring shortly after the procedure, the hospital said there is “no indication that it was the result of his recent transplant,” adding that Mr. Slayman will forever be seen as a beacon of hope to countless transplant patients worldwide and we are deeply grateful for his trust and willingness to advance the field of xenotransplantation.”

Slayman, who suffered from Type 2 diabetes and hypertension, received a human kidney transplant in 2018. However, it began to fail five years later.

Returning to dialysis strained Slayman’s life, leading to the xenotransplant with a pig kidney provided by eGenesis. The genetically-edited pig had human genes added with animal genes dangerous to humans removed.

Despite the short-lived outcome, Slayman’s procedure continues remains a medical advancement for others to potentially use as a treatment option.

RELATED CONTENT: First Patient With Transplanted Pig Kidney Discharged From Hospital, And He’s Black

• Events

by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman

May 13, 2024

Black Restaurant Week Returns For Fifth Year In NYC

Businesses like Red Rooster Harlem will offer affordable menu options for patrons.

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Black Restaurant Week is back and better than ever. Its fifth installment in New York City starts on Juneteenth and hopes to showcase emerging and renowned Black-owned businesses for food-lovers to visits. For guests to get the best offerings of these diverse food spots, the restaurants offer affordable menu options, often multi-coursed.

Across NYC and tri-state area, customers can indulge various types of eateries, including cafes, food trucks, and bakeries. The event seeks to promote the “diverse tastes” of food across the Black diaspora. Whether African, Black American, or Caribbean food is one’s favorite, the week-long event hopes to appeal to all appetites.

According to Time Out, Black Restaurant Week originally started in Houston. Since its 2016 launch, it has blossomed into an international festival to celebrate Black culinary achievement. This year, world-renowned restaurants such as Red Rooster in Harlem and Negril Village will offer a tasty assortment of their prized dishes to New York-based attendees.

Furthermore, engaging in Black Restaurant Week is more important than ever in a post-pandemic society. It provides free promotion to Black restaurateurs who may lack the necessary funds for a lucrative marketing campaign.

“COVID-19 changed the landscape since 2020,” said Warren Luckett, the event’s founder. “Now, the price of food is soaring. From being overlooked for revitalization funds to inflation, most Black-owned culinary businesses cannot afford advertisements/PR/marketing to build awareness and attract consumers. That’s why we proudly do this for free—it’s peer-to-peer support for 10 or 14 days (depending on the market) within each market and for the past nine years.”

This year’s event runs from June 19 to June 30 in NYC, and features more than 80 restaurants participating. Black Restaurant Week hosts all information, including planning one’s ultimate food tour, on its website.

RELATED CONTENT: Black Restaurant Week Shines A Light On Mouth-Watering Menus And Dope Culinary Professionals

• News

by Ida Harris

May 13, 2024

Yung Miami Supports ‘The Gays’ With A New Pride Capsule Collection

Yung Miami is a proud supporter of the LGBTQ+ Pride community.

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Yung Miami is pushing past negative press with a positive initiative on the horizon. As a proud supporter of the LGBTQ+ Pride community, the 305-bred rapper has doubled down in her commitment with the launch of an upcoming Pride Collection titled “The Gays.”

The certified City Girl curated the capsule line—which includes apparel and accessories—around freedom, diversity, inclusion and acceptance, and in collaboration with her “Caresha Please” brand. 

The celebratory merchandise is set to drop on May 17, however, the public received a preview May 10, when Yung Miami teased the line at the 2024 #GLAADhonors event that pays homage and exalts “Black LGBTQ nominees of the GLAAD Media Awards for their efforts, contributions, and visibility to the Black LGBTQ community,” according to a press release shared with BLACK ENTERPRISE. 

“In light of gay pride, I wanted to do something for the LGBTQ community which is a big part of my fan base,” Yung Miami said in a press statement. “Oftentimes, I feel they’re left out so I wanted to celebrate and dedicate this collection to them to make sure they feel seen and heard.” 

The “#CFWM” rapper is putting the money where her mouth is by donating portions of the proceeds from “The Gays” collection to LGBTQ programming supported by GLAAD. 

Yung Miami, one half of hip-hop’s iconic female group City Girls, has become known for her fashion-forward style and has recently ventured into brand apparel. The “Caresha Please” brand has produced a line of women’s tees, joggers, and cozy pajamas. The rapper went viral in February when she dropped her YAMS line which paid homage to the over-the-top confidence of Deion Sanders swag from the 1990s.

Pride month is in June, but D.C. Black Pride runs from May 24 through May 27. The largest celebration of Black Pride, Atlanta Black Pride Weekend, was established in 1996 and pops off Aug. 27 and takes place through Labor Day.

RELATED CONTENT: New City Girls Series Opens Up a Larger Conversation Around the Motherhood Penaltatlantaprideweekend.comy