by Stacy Jackson

September 11, 2023

‘Status Of Black Women And Girls’ Study Reveals Alarming Rates For Trafficking Black Women

Here’s what the status of Black women and girls in the United States looks like at the moment.

After gathering and examining data from various federal and state government sources, academic journals, research reports, legal cases, census reports and credible news, John Jay College Professor Gloria J. Browne Marshall and The Law and Policy Group Inc. found both positive and alarming conclusions.

“The Report on the Status of Black Women and Girls” found Black women to have the highest rates of political participation and high school graduation, reported The Tennessee Tribune. Black women also rated high when collecting data in regards to spirituality.

On another note, research findings became alarming to the professionals upon learning of the high rates in regards to the trafficking of Black women. The report also highlights questionable conclusions about Black females having the highest rate of lung cancer, a strange conclusion since Black women were found to smoke less than other women. Black women were also found to have a lower life expectancy, 74.8 years.

The 2023 study has sparked curiosities for Browne Marshall who said she is interested in what the rate of Black women leaving the U.S. looks like.

“There appears to be a rise in those people of color who have given up in this country or just want a new experience in another one,” said Browne Marshall, who added that she wants to learn more about the rate of Black girls in relation to their connection with gang-related activity.

“I want to highlight that this report can improve the quality of life by allowing people to determine if there are things, lifestyle choices that need to change or be updated. They can draw conclusions from the data,” she said.

“We are progressing. But we must stay vigilant. Black women do so much for so many. We must also take care of ourselves. This report will help. Knowledge is power,” Browne Marshall said.

by Mary Spiller

September 11, 2023

New York City Entrepreneurial Family Opens Therapeutic “Plant Cafe”

Back in June, Staten Island resident Shana Taylor quit her job at the U.S. Post Office to chase her dream and open a “plant cafe” with her family

She recently spoke to SiLive about the holistic health idea behind the Koze Vibes Plant Shop Cafe in Staten Island.

Taylor went into business with her parents, Denise Armfield and Michael Taylor, after quitting the post office. Both already owned cafes, bakeries, and other businesses in the Staten Island area but decided to support Shana’s newest endeavor.

“We decided to merge our businesses to give me another chance. Along with my brother, who utilizes the space for his Pokémon card business called Big Grin, Koze Vibes was born,” Shana explained. Her sister, Tanisha Taylor, designed the store.

“My mom makes cupcakes and all kinds of baked goods, so we utilize her baking abilities, and we also have coffee, hot tea, lemonade, iced tea and homemade refreshers,” Taylor said. “We’re trying to create a different vibe on Staten Island. People don’t always have to pay expensive prices at Starbucks. We try to be reasonably priced.”

Koze also serves light meals during the day, like casual sandwiches and salads. The cafe even has a dinner menu, which includes fan-favorites like mac and cheese, cornbread, and honey barbecue wings.

Besides having delicious food, there’s something else that distinguishes Koze Cafe: it teaches patrons how to be a “plant parent.”

In an array of plant events appropriate for all ages, Shana hosts classes focusing on learning to grow a plant from scratch, learning plant trivia, and even getting hands-on experience with plant care. She also conducts in-home plant consultations.

The idea to incorporate plants into Koze Cafe’s experience came from when Taylor was still living in Manhattan and working at the post office.

“Caring for plants helped with my depression,” she told SILive. “It also taught me patience, which helped with my anxiety. Plants are soothing, and they bring me joy, peace, and clean air. It brings a balance and calmness. Soil is also said to have ingredients that produce more serotonin in us.”

She figured if plants helped her, they can help others.

Taylor focuses on the importance of planting a seed and concentrates on the present in her therapeutic Koze Cafe classes. “You don’t need to worry about yesterday, and you’re not worrying about tomorrow because you have to focus on what you’re doing right now.”

There’s no target audience for her classes either; she expressed that learning to be a plant parent is a task anyone can learn.

“My clients are everyone from corporate companies, such as NBC, Philanthropy New York and the Staten Island Foundation, to people like you and me,” Taylor expressed. “There’s almost always one houseplant in every home so I can market to everyone. You need to have a friendly personality, as people can be a bit intimidated/overwhelmed, especially as new plant parents. So a welcoming attitude and reassurance can go a long way to connect with customers and to ensure they return.”

Jim Brown, Kimberly Brown, lawsuit, will

by BLACK ENTERPRISE Editors

September 10, 2023

Daughter of Jim Brown Files Lawsuit, Claiming His Will Is Invalid

Kimberly Brown, the daughter of late NFL legend Jim Brown, claims that her father’s extreme chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) makes his will and trust invalid.

RadarOnline reports she petitioned the courts to negate his current will, saying he was unfit leading up to his death. The famed athlete and civil rights activist died of natural causes in May at 87.

Kimberly Brown called out her stepmother, Monique Brown, for allowing her father to sign the documents in 2016 without his full capacity or knowledge of what he was agreeing to. According to Kimberly Brown, her father was dealing with a combination of cognitive decline, dementia, and Parkinson’s disease at the time. Because of this, he was not capable of making his own decisions for his best interest.

Kimberly Brown is one of his three children from his first marriage to Sue Jones, and one of his five children overall.

Sharing more insight into her father’s mental decline, Kimberly Brown details how she noticed his consistent confusion as well as an inability to formulate sentences during some conversations as well. Her stepmother, in the years leading up to his death, became the sole executor over his estate. Upon his passing, Monique Brown became owner of his $7.5 million Los Angeles home.

However, Kimberly Brown claims that her father was not in total agreement with the move, and that he would often speak in code so his wife wouldn’t overhear their conversations. Kimberly Brown also stated that he wanted to leave mementos to his children, which they have yet to receive.

As a result, she is urging the courts to revoke her stepmother’s ownership of the home and to void his will and trust and rightfully establish what she views as his actual final wishes. What those are, however, have yet to be disclosed.

by BLACK ENTERPRISE Editors

September 10, 2023

Kansas City’s Black-Owned Seltzer Company Receives $3 Million From NFL Player

Kin Seltzer Inc., the first Black-owned business of its kind in Kansas City, is getting a hefty boost from retired Chiefs linebacker Dezman Moses who has invested $3 million into the growing venture.

The company’s founder, Joshua Lewis, confirmed the news of Moses’ induction into the company’s board. Moses will also also receive equity in the company as well, as reported by Startland News.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Joshua I. Lewis Sr. (@joshuailewis)

“Dezman and I met over a decade ago and became friends,” Lewis said. “As his entrepreneurial grind increased, it just made sense for us to finally connect and see what we could get done business-wise. The timing was right, the branding is right, and what we’re building is right. It’s something that he’s super-interested in.

“For him, it was about helping Black-owned brands to be more visible and make more money in these spaces,” Lewis added. “He feels like there was a gap just like I did, the gap that needs to be covered in the party nightlife drink beverage space.”.

In his post-NFL career, Moses has pursued industries outside of football, such as real estate and podcasting. He also stays connected to his former career as a sports analyst for news station KCTV5. Moses retired in 2016 after four seasons in the NFL, three of which were spent in Kansas Cit.

With Moses’ financial contribution to Kin Seltzer, the company can now expand distribution and operations to widen its audience in the hopes of boosting sales.

Kin Seltzer considers itself “for the folks” as it is brewed with natural ingredients, such as the fruit that makes up its flavors. Currently, it can be found across Kansas City, including bars, restaurants, clubs,and retail stores.

New Orleans Marks First Gun Violence-Free Week Since 2021

by Daniel Johnson

September 10, 2023

New Orleans Marks First Gun Violence-Free Week Since 2021

The City of New Orleans experienced its first week without a killing or a shooting since Hurricane Ida in 2021. This represents the longest gun violence-free stretch this year in the Big Easy.

Michael Hecht, the central organizer of the NOLA Coalition, a group of 500 New Orleans business and civic organizations that formed to combat the crime wave in 2022, told Nola.com, “We hope this is the result of NOPD tactics like the proactive removal of guns from the street, combined with an organic ebb in violence, and that it will continue as a long-term trend.”

So far, Labor Day Weekend is the first holiday celebrated in New Orleans that did not involve someone being shot and/or killed.

Over Fourth of July, Juneteenth, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Memorial Day, Fat Tuesday, and Easter Sunday, nine people were killed and nine others were shot. Shootings and violent crime in general in New Orleans are on a downward trajectory, consistent with a drop in violent crime nationwide. Policymakers in New Orleans have taken a creative approach, applying a blend of tried-and-true methods along with some outside-the-box thinking.

Their initiatives include: pre-hospital blood transfusions, expansion of the Ceasefire/Violence Interrupters Program, gun lock giveaways, and the launch of a civilian department designed to assist the work of an understaffed New Orleans Police Department.

Mayor LeToya Cantrell recently sang the praises of a newly created Mobile Crisis Intervention Unit, which is designed to assist 911 callers who are not in need of a first response team.

Cantrell says the program is responsible for “lifting the burden of the New Orleans Police Department so our officers are not having to respond to calls really where they are not needed.”

However, given that the decline in violence is a recent trend, it is too early to decide if the recent efforts are causations or merely correlations, but as Hecht might attest, any kind of decline in violent crime or gun violence is cause for a brief sigh of relief.

Robin Roberts, Amber Laign, wedding, GMA

by Daniel Johnson

September 10, 2023

‘Good Morning America’ Co-Anchor Robin Roberts And Amber Laign Tie The Knot In Intimate Wedding Ceremony

Robin Roberts, the co-anchor of Good Morning America, and her longtime partner Amber Laign are officially married after an 18-year romance.

According to Good Morning America, the two were introduced by mutual friends on a blind date. “Our two friends, my friend Alex, her friend Bert, finally said, ‘Enough, you two are going to meet,” Laign recalled. “I remember just walking up and she’s just beautiful, and she took my breath away, and she still does.”

Roberts is a breast cancer survivor, and recently celebrated 10 years since she returned to Good Morning America following a bone marrow transplant procedure.

The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic was a catalyst for the two to discuss marriage; the two were engaged at the end of 2022.

“We took the calamari rings and we slapped them on each other’s fingers and we just we proposed to one another,” Roberts told Good Morning America. “Now looking back, it was pretty fitting for us to not have a down on one knee [proposal] and one person doing it … it was just us hanging out in our little hole-in-the-wall Mexican spot and putting calamari rings on each other and saying, ‘Let’s go. Let’s do it.'”

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A post shared by Robin Roberts (@robinrobertsgma)

The bond they share has only deepened since their proposal, said Roberts.

“Many people go into marriage hoping for and looking for what Amber and I already know we have, and so ours is a celebration. We’ve been living our happily ever after through all the ups and downs, so it’s a celebration.”

The Sept. 8 ceremony was officiated by Roberts’ childhood pastor, and the two were wed wearing custom wedding gowns designed by Mark Badgely and James Mischka. Following the wedding, the two celebrated with family and friends at the reception, which featured an enchanted garden theme.

Roberts captioned her Instagram post celebrating the reception: “An intimate, magical wedding ceremony in our backyard followed by a joyous reception…ohhhh the dancing!! We are immensely grateful to all for making it a day and a night to remember,” Roberts wrote. “Honeymoon here we come!”

by Daniel Johnson

September 10, 2023

Coco Gauff Claims U.S. Open Title, Claps Back At Detractors

Nineteen-year-old tennis phenom Coco Gauff claimed her first major victory in decisive fashion at the U.S. Open on Sept. 9.

The victory placed Gauff in the same sentence as her idol, Serena Williams, the last American teenager to win the tournament. As PBS Newshour reported, Gauff took the time after letting out a trademark yell immediately following her game point to thank her haters in the post-match interview.

“Thank you to the people who didn’t believe in me. Like a month ago, I won a (tour) title, and people said I would stop at that. Two weeks ago, I won a (tour) title, and people were saying that was the biggest it was going to get. So three weeks later, I’m here with this trophy right now,” Gauff said. “Tried my best to carry this with grace, and I’ve been doing my best, so honestly, to those who thought they were putting water in my fire: You were really adding gas to it, and now it’s really burning so bright right now.”

https://twitter.com/usopen/status/1700643482908442763?t=hWRHa_QgQOyS9RAvVDierw&s=19

Gauff has been regarded as a prodigious talent since she became the youngest player to ever qualify for Wimbledon in 2019, where she lost in the fourth round. In 2022, Gauff made it to the French Open finals. Since a first-round exit in July at Wimbledon, Gauff has won an impressive 18 of her last 19 contests.

At the U.S. Open final, she ignored dropping the first set to Aryna Sabalenka and delivered point after point in the following two sets. Gauff’s athleticism and toughness forced Sabalenka into uncharacteristic miscues along the way to winning 6-2 and 6-3 and winning the match in front of a raucous crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Gauff credited Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler‘s tenacity on the basketball court as an inspiration for her ability to flip a switch and lock in on her game.

Speaking to the New York Daily News, Gauff said, “I learned a lot watching him, everybody counting him out. … You have people that are talented and don’t have the mentality. He has the talent and the mentality. That’s something I learned from [him]. Honestly, that’s part of the reason I’d say that switch I had in the last couple weeks.”

The six-time NBA All-Star attended every one of Gauff’s U.S. Open matches.

“She’s so emotional in a good way,” Butler told ESPN. “She’s a champion, and I love that she’s from the city that I work in. I just like to be here to support her.”

by BLACK ENTERPRISE Editors

September 10, 2023

Viral TikTok Star Khaby Lame ‘Thrilled’ About Fortnite Collaboration

Khaby Lame, the social media sensation known for his “duh moment” wordless videos, is taking his other pastime–gaming—to a new level. The most-followed creator on TikTok is now featured as a character on one of the most popular games of the moment, Fortnite.

With over 160 million followers, it’s unsurprising that Lame’s impact would eventually transcend the app that made him a star. Now, he is unveiling his new feature inside the battle royale game’s fourth chapter, titled “Last Resort.” Players will be allowed to be Lame’s “skin,” as part of the “icon series,” while they break into vaults in part of the heist element of the game.

Lame, who is Senegalese-Italian, spoke to Variety about what this new venture means to him and his rise in the entertainment industry outside of his viral social media posts,

“I’ve been a big Fortnite fan for a long time. I started playing five years ago, and sometimes I posted videos on YouTube or tagged Fortnite in stories. I was thrilled about this game,” he said.

Lame, of course, took to TikTok to share an advertisement, revealing the animated version of himself in the game.

@khaby.lame My friend, maybe look around first? 🤲 #FortniteLastResort #Pubblicita #Ad ♬ suono originale – Khabane lame

The 23-year-old also made sure to reveal that he had “full input” on a lot of the details surrounding his character’s look and role to play within the latest installment. His elation at fulfilling a universal dream of being an “action hero” was made clear to his millions of fans, too.

Upon launch day, where thousands of avid Fortnite players were now able to become Lame during their gameplay, the social media influencer soaked in the moment and joined in the fun himself.

“On release day, I turned on the game and started playing. It was surreal. I just stared at my character for a good 15 minutes, to be honest,” Lame admitted. “I am so blessed, and I just took some time to enjoy the game and the experience.”

Surveillance Footage Shows Ta’Kiya Young In Store Before Fatal Interaction With Police

by BLACK ENTERPRISE Editors

September 10, 2023

Surveillance Footage Shows Ta’Kiya Young In Store Before Fatal Interaction With Police

The police shooting of Ta’Kiya Young, which has garnered national attention, has an update: Additional video footage prior to the Aug. 24 shooting was released by the Blendon Township (Ohio) Police Department.

The video shows the pregnant woman inside a Kroger as she places several bottles of alcohol in her bag. Young appears to wait in line for a few moments before leaving the store with two other women, setting off the alarms in the process, as confirmed by WOSU.

In response to the assumed theft, police stopped Young after she left the property in her black Lexus sedan. As reported previously, Young, 21, was shot through her windshield after trying to drive away. She and her unborn child later died at a nearby hospital.

Blendon Township is a suburb of Columbus.

What’s depicted in the video does not align with what Young family’s lawyers believed happened, according to a statement from the attorneys. While their lawyer claimed Young’s innocence, stating that she never left the store with the bottles on her person, the footage seems to show otherwise. In addition, the body-cam video shows that the police on the scene provided first aid to Young after one of the officers shot her.

Blendon Township’s Chief of Police John Belford released a statement after the controversy sparked by the unveiling of the footage.

“This was a tragic situation for everyone,” said Belford. “We recognize that these videos will create more discussion and even anger by people who have passionate feelings for or against the officer’s actions. But we’re simply complying with our promise of transparency and our obligation to release public records as required by state law.”

The family’s lawyer, Sean Walton, has not responded to comments since the new footage was released.

furniture maker, black furniture maker, historic marker

by BLACK ENTERPRISE Editors

September 10, 2023

North Carolina Home of 1800s Furniture Maker Thomas Day Now Historic Site

Thomas Day‘s legacy as a free Black resident will live on.

Day’s North Carolina home is now decorated with a historic marker, signifying that Day was a “Free Black cabinetmaker” in the city of Milton. His home doubled as his shop in the old Union Tavern, where he worked for a decade starting in 1848.

He was heralded for his expert craftsmanship and beautiful pieces. To preserve his history and legacy, volunteers have worked to ensure his home is rightfully displayed.

“By 1850, he is the largest furniture marker in the state of North Carolina,” shared one of the volunteers, Joe Graves. “By a factor of four times, so he was huge.”

Graves showed WUNC reporter Colin Campbell all of the instruments Day used to build his renowned furniture, including a saw to cut the veneer pieces for his creations.

Volunteers such as Graves want the site to grow, especially as it highlights the accomplishments of the historic Black residents within the town. With governmental assistance and oversight through the State Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, they will now be able to showcase and upkeep the “overlooked” site more regularly.

“We will be able to kind of tell that story, not only through the lens of one man, Thomas Day, but the broader story of free people of color across the state of North Carolina during the antebellum period,” Deputy Secretary Dr. Darin Waters said.

Despite being a free man, Day still faced racial discrimination and restrictions even as his business thrived, including his quest to marry a free Black woman from Virginia. Local legislation essentially prohibited free Black people from moving into North Carolina.

Historians believe that Day was “aligned” with abolitionists, but his story, especially the alleged use of enslaved labor as part of his operations, is still largely missing from most museums within the state. Now, with their management of the Thomas Day house, visitors can learn more of his nuanced history and the livelihoods of many other Black North Carolinians.