by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

August 16, 2023

Wyclef Jean Set To Host Inaugural Caribbean Music Awards In Brooklyn

A new awards show is launching in the city of New York.

The inaugural Caribbean Music Awards will take place on August 31, 2023, at the historic Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, with Grammy-winning Fugees member Wyclef Jean set to host.

Jean started hyping the awards show during his appearance on “Today With Hoda and Jenna” in July 2023. “The countdown starts now! It’s a special celebration of Caribbean music. We’re celebrating music that continues to connect the world through music, fashion, and a whole different level of energy,” he said. “Get ready to dance, laugh, wave ya flags, and make memories! Let’s come together, under one roof, and show the world the legacy of Caribbean music and culture.”

The Caribbean Music Awards will be produced and presented by Caribbean Elite Group, which oversees Caribbean Elite Magazine.

Billboard has reported that the Caribbean Music Awards will consist of 26 categories across several genres of Caribbean music, including reggae, dancehall, soca, kompa, and zouk.

Reggae recording artist Beres Hammond will be honored with an Elite Icon Award, and a Lifetime Achievement Award will be given to Trinidadian soca singer, record producer, and songwriter Machel Montano. The 48-year-old recording artist held the top position in 2019 on Billboard‘s Reggae Albums with his album G.O.A.T.

Artists hoping to receive awards include Trinidadian soca group Kes, which received five nominations, the most for the awards show. Masicka, Ding Dong, Montano, and Shenseea each have four nominations. Spice, Skeng, Dexta Daps, DJ Cheem, Kabaka Pyramid, Protoje, and Nailah Blackman are right behind them with three nominations each.

Performers slated to take the stage include Alison Hinds, Jada Kingdom, Dexta Daps, Kranium, Lila Ike, Nailah Blackman, Ding Dong, and Rupee. Presenters expected to appear are Spice, Baby Cham, and Toni-Ann Singh.

by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman

August 16, 2023

Pharrell Covers GQ’s September Issue, Talks Future Of Fashion

Multifaceted artist and visionary Pharrell Williams is currently gracing the cover of GQ’s September issue. In the interview, he discussed all things art, specifically fashion and culture. The cover story, “Inside Pharrell’s World – And the New Era of Fashion He’s Leading,” goes deeper into what drives his inspiration as he takes on his latest role as the creative director for Menswear at Louis Vuitton.

The feature article centers around Pharrell’s new venture. Through in-depth discussions with GQ’s style editor, Noah Johnson, Williams invites the journalist to chat in intimate settings such as his studio and Virginia Beach home.

He reveals that he never believed he would get the chance to work with the revered French fashion house in such a capacity. The hip-hop artist and producer details that he was shocked at being offered the role once held by the late Virgil Abloh. Louis Vuitton executives knew to honor Abloh’s legacy, the role had to be given to a non-conventional applicant.

Williams elaborated that the Off-White luxury fashion brand founder was “special.” Abloh’s impact on the brand is still felt and seen within Louis Vuitton’s current line designed by Williams. Williams said he and Abloh are “collaborating in spirit” through this shared position. The 50-year-old maintains that he will continue to “pay homage” to the groundbreaking designer and his impact on the overall industry, especially through Louis Vuitton.

As he explains his goals with the fashion house, the award-winning record producer says he hopes that his work will produce growth, but not just in a typical facet.

“Growth and taste, growth and setting the bar, growth and exceeding standards. The money follows that” he says. “We’re not going to just do things just to make money, or else we’ll just keep making the same belts and sh-t. That’s not what I was brought here to do. I was brought here to shake the tree. That’s how you get the sweetest apples.”

The full interview is available to read now and is expected to hit newsstands on Aug. 29.

by Iman Milner

August 16, 2023

Parents Sue Property Manager For Assaulting Children At Apartment Complex Pool

The parents of an 11-year-old boy in Greensboro, North Carolina, who was attacked while swimming as a guest at an apartment complex pool, have officially filed a lawsuit against the white apartment manager who incited the incident.

Robert Eury and Joella Lee-Eury filed a federal lawsuit against Kimberly Jennings for the physical, mental, and emotional toll the attack has had on their son, Jace Eury, and his 8-year-old sister, Jayla. The two children were visiting a resident of the apartment when they were approached by Jennings, who demanded they exit the pool. Allegedly, before they had an opportunity to leave, the parents claim she “poured soda over his head and struck him in the face multiple times because he and his little sister was swimming in a pool at the property she manages.” According to TMZ, Jennings then turned her attention to the 8-year-old girl whose hair she pulled before hitting her in the face.

The Eury’s claim the incident took a racial turn when the woman told their son, “he was acting like a real n*****.”

Jennings was arrested for assault immediately following the incident; however, the boy’s parents are now suing for discrimination, assault and battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. They are seeking retribution from the apartment complex, the real estate company that owns it, and Jennings herself. “What she did to him, if I put one finger on her, I am the one that’s going to be in trouble. And that’s just not cool. You hit my child; you hit both of my children. You’ve been harassing my children all summer long, and all they wanted to do was just swim in the heat. Just swim, enjoy themselves as children should,” the children’s mother said. Support for the family has poured in online and in the Greensboro community; however, the family still finds itself reeling from the attack. “The outpouring is great, and it makes you feel good that people are behind you, but it’s kind of making me angrier, like I’m angry,” their mother said.

by Sharelle B. McNair

August 16, 2023

U.S. Soldier Blames Racism and Abuse As Reason Behind Crossing Into North Korea

Since North Korea has confirmed that U.S. soldier Travis King is in their territory, the state-run and -owned Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) is revealing why he did it.

KCNA is blaming racism and abuse at the hands of the U.S. military as King’s reasoning for crossing into the heavily restricted North Korea border, NPR reported. According to the official Korean Central News Agency investigation, he was motivated by “ill feeling against inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination within the U.S. Army.”

KCNA said the troubled soldier decided to take refuge in North Korea or another country after being “disillusioned” by the status of American inequality.

BLACK ENTERPRISE reported King was recently released from prison in South Korea and was being escorted by the military to Incheon International Airport outside Seoul, where he joined a tour group headed for the joint security area instead of going to his gate. A tourist group member, Sarah Leslie, said she noticed a man “running what looked like full gas toward the North Korean side.” With the border being highly off-limits, Leslie and the rest of the tourists assumed King’s actions were a prank.

King is the first known American to be detained in North Korea since 2018; but since the end of the Korean War in 1958, several U.S. soldiers have crossed over into the country, sometimes being used in North Korean propaganda attacking the United States. America is often described by North Korea as a country of low moral standards and unchecked crime. One of North’s top foreign delegates recently called America an “anti-people empire of evils,” according to Business Insider.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had described King’s crossing into North Korea as done “willfully and without authorization,” however, his family isn’t buying the story. About a month after the incident occurred, King’s sister, Jaqueda Gates, said her family hadn’t received any information on her brother’s whereabouts, leaving the family curious if there is more to the story.

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

August 16, 2023

Beyoncé’s Foundation Donates $120K To Small Businesses In Atlanta

Beyoncé’s three nights of live shows in the city of Atlanta included some philanthropy as she donated $120,000 to 12 lucky small businesses.

The singer’s BeyGOOD Foundation surprised a dozen metro Atlanta small businesses with $10,000 grants as part of the singer’s Black Parade Route Small Business Impact Luncheon, Fox 5 Atlanta reports.

The event included a special fireside chat with Tyler Perry, who shared words of wisdom and encouragement to the small business owners, along with a special performance by Grammy Award-winning singer Le’Andria Johnson.

“Tears, joy, laughter, excitement filled the jam-packed Atlanta ballroom,” the foundation captioned a recap Instagram post.

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A post shared by BeyGOOD (@beygood)

The businesses that received the grants are KidStance LLC, Everything Digital Production, The Hardy Clinic, QTP LLC DBA Queens Tea Party, Visionful Solutions, LLC, Jazzy Jaye LLC, Moxie Group, Restore More, It’s Baked Baby, Youth-N-Action, Star Studded Production, and Battery Express.

“Truly blessed to have been in such a uplifting and empowering space. ✨💞 Tyler Perry prayed over our businesses…y’all?!?!” one attendee shared in the comments.

“Words can’t express the gratitude I have for being extended this opportunity to sit under the voice of such wise council!”

“The Holy Spirit moved in that space!!!! I watched the recording of Le’Andria ministering to us…tears again! The anointing…Whew!” added another.

The BeyGOOD Foundation has been hard at work with philanthropy efforts amid Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour, which has become the best-selling tour of her career. In addition to the $120K bestowed to Atlanta small businesses, Bey’s foundation has pledged $1 million in financial grants, and another $1 million in scholarships, to 10 different universities.

The Renaissance World Tour is expected to earn the decorated award winner nearly $2.1 billion, according to Forbes. The European leg of the tour earned the “Cuff It” singer $154 million. Stateside, the tour is helping local economies, with Beyoncé’s three nights in Atlanta adding $10 million.

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

August 16, 2023

University Of Chicago Settles Class-Action Financial Aid Lawsuit For $13.5M

The University of Chicago has settled a lawsuit that accused the school of conspiring with other educational institutions to restrict financial aid to students.

According to the Hyde Park Herald, the University of Chicago has settled a class-action lawsuit against it and 16 other colleges and universities. The lawsuit, filed by current and former students, alleges that a “cartel” of 17 schools engaged in a “price-fixing conspiracy” restricting financial aid packages to the students.

The Chicago school is the first of the 17 accused of this practice to settle. It issued a written statement about the settlement and said that the claims based in the lawsuit are “without merit.”

“The University of Chicago is committed to removing financial barriers for undergraduate students who are admitted to the College and is proud of the extensive financial aid we offer to students,” a spokesperson said. “We look forward to putting this matter behind us and continuing to focus our efforts on expanding access to a transformative undergraduate education.”

The settlement has to be finalized and validated by the judge in the matter, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly. The school has agreed to pay the students a $13.5 million settlement. The University of Chicago has also stated that it will provide documents and other information to plaintiffs to show the school’s financial aid practices.

Business Insider reported that the other schools involved in the lawsuit include: Columbia, Cornell, Duke, Georgetown, MIT, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Penn, Rice, Vanderbilt, Yale, Brown, Dartmouth, Emory, Caltech, and Johns Hopkins.

All 17 institutions are accused of artificially inflating tuition for more than 170,000 students over the past two decades.

The suit was filed early last year in an Illinois federal court alleging the schools, which are part of the now-dissolved 568 Presidents Group, had incorporated a shared methodology to calculate the students’ financial needs for the past 20 years.

“The 568 Cartel has explicitly aimed to reduce or eliminate price competition among its members,” the lawsuit said. “As a result of this conspiracy, the net price of attendance for financial-aid recipients at Defendants’ schools has been artificially inflated.”

The group was discontinued after this lawsuit was filed in 2022.

by Stacy Jackson

August 16, 2023

Jennifer Randle Becomes The First Chief Operating Officer For MaC Venture Capital

The MaC Venture Capital firm has made history by appointing its first chief operating officer, a Black woman.

The firm has appointed Jennifer Randle as the first person to take on this role in the company.

MaC Venture Capital has an extensive portfolio with investments in startups such as Spill, the Black-owned networking app and Twitter rival that launched in July 2023.

Marlon Nichols, co-founder and managing partner at MaC, spoke to AfroTech about the firm’s mission. “Part of our ethos is not to be a ‘diversity fund’ but to set an example,” he said. “If you truly invest without bias, you will end up with a very diverse portfolio and a high-performing one, because that’s what the world looks like.”

According to the outlet, Randle will transition from her position as executive vice president of finance and operations at The Chernin Group. Randle helped transform that company, which started as a family office, into a billion-dollar global investment firm.

With the same enthusiasm she held when beginning her career nearly two decades ago, Randle will now lead a company whose goal is to reflect the world as it is today

“I wanted to be able to take all the things I have learned over the last 20-plus years and help build a firm and be a part of something so amazing and special,” Randle told AfroTech.

A MaC representative highlighted the company’s commitment to diversity, saying over half of the company identifies as Black. Furthermore, more than a quarter of its members are women.

Although there is still progress to be made regarding the representation of Black women in the venture capital space, we’re seeing an increasing number of investors like Randle.

by Daniel Johnson

August 16, 2023

How Black Woman-Owned Activewear Company AQUA Waterproof Headwear Is Creating Change

Khadijah Robinson is revolutionizing activewear for Black women with her inspired fashion designs. As Robinson told CBS News Philadelphia, her choice to create a line of headwraps and turbans was born out of frustration.

“Just making life decisions around not wanting to get your hair wet is frustrating because we do spend so much time and money on our hair,” Robinson explained. “We don’t want to have to run from the rain, sit out at waterparks and pools. Based on that frustration alone I said there has to be a better way to do this.”

With this in mind, Robinson began to work on designs in 2014. However, it was not until 2021 that Robinson realized that she had actually created something special.

Robinson’s brand, AQUA Waterproof Headwear, has been featured on QVC and Empower Global, an e-commerce platform created by Sean “Diddy” Combs. According to CBS, Robinson is also in talks with Target. Robinson takes great pride in being a Black woman in business, “It means so much to be a Black woman-owned business,” Robinson told CBS. “From a young child, I knew I wanted to do something to motivate people, to uplift the community, to create jobs.”

Those co-signs have not yet translated into a significant digital footprint, but getting a placement in Target’s Black Beyond Measure program, which allows customers to see Black-owned or -founded products that the store carries in a central location will certainly help Robinson achieve greater visibility of her product.

AQUA does, however, have a sizable audience on Facebook, where they enjoy 829 followers and 771 likes, along with five 5-star reviews of various products. Likewise, the company’s Instagram has over 2,000 followers and emphasizes that the brand has been covered by outlets such as NBC, CBS, QVC, and HSN.

Robinson’s message to other aspiring business owners is one of hope, as she told CBS, “It is possible. You can have a dream. You can have an idea and you can bring it to fruition.”

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

August 16, 2023

NFL Star Ja’Maar Chase Files Restraining Order Against One-Night Stand For ‘Unhinged’ Threats

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase has been forced to take legal action against a one-night stand who’s spent the last two years allegedly harassing him and his family.

On August 15, the NFL star filed a temporary restraining order against a woman named Ambar Hunter, who he claims has made his life a living hell since their one night of fun in July 2021, TMZ reports. In the docs, Chase accuses Hunter of making “unhinged and disturbing” threats against him and his mother after he refused to continue their relationship past a one-night stand.

Hunter allegedly has tried to tarnish Chase’s brand and sponsorships through “calculated and ongoing harassment” she’s conducted online to her 18,000 followers. Chase says Hunter has falsified claims of domestic violence and of him being a deadbeat dad to a child they don’t share.

She also posted photos of his mother and leaked both of their personal cell phone numbers on Instagram. Screenshots show Instagram Story posts where Hunter calls out Chase for “putting your hands on a pregnant female” and leaving her “stranded” at a hotel, among other claims.

Chase claims Hunter posts photos of another person’s child and makes it seem like it’s his; she has refused a DNA test to determine paternity.

“Mr. Chase filed a restraining order in Los Angeles County in connection with Ms. Hunter’s ongoing harassment of Mr. Chase and his family since 2021,” Chase’s attorneys, Jason Lampert and Michael Goldstein, said in a statement.

“After exhausting every out of court remedy, he was left with no other option.”

The statement continued, “Mr. Chase intends to use all legal options to protect himself and family from this unwarranted harassment. We have no further comment while this matter is pending.”

Another screenshot shows Hunter accusing Chase’s mother of practicing voodoo and black magic and making her life “miserable.”

“As a mother yourself you should be ashamed,” Hunter wrote in one post.

Hunter’s Instagram page has since disappeared, as noted by the New York Post. Chase is entering his third season with the Bengals. The LSU alum was selected with the fifth pick in the 2021 NFL draft and is currently an All-Pro wideout.

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by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman

August 16, 2023

White Father-And-Son Start Trial Starts Allegedly Shooting At Black FedEx Driver

Located just over 50 miles south of Jackson, Mississippi, the town of Brookhaven has become the backdrop for a high-profile legal case involving two local white men accused of chasing and shooting at a Black delivery driver. This trial has garnered significant attention. The alleged victim, D’Monterrio Gibson, a Federal Express worker, claims a father-and-son duo harassed him while delivering a package to their home.

Gregory Charles Case and his son, Brandon Case, were indicted last November for the January 2022 incident. According to WGRZ, the District Attorney over the case, Dee Bates, told the jury how Gibson was in his authorized Fed-Ex uniform when dropping off the package at the house located on a dead-end street. As he returned to his unmarked vehicle that Fed-ex was renting for deliveries, Gregory Charles allegedly used his pick-up truck to prevent the then-24-year-old from leaving. Brandon allegedly came outside with a gun, pointing it at the delivery driver. As Gibson maneuvered his vehicle around the pick-up truck, he was shot at as he left the scene. It is alleged that Gibson was chased all the way to the Interstate 55 entrance before finally being left alone.

However, the defense attorney states the elder Case noticed someone outside the home that knew his mother and went outside to investigate further. The attorney argues that the men intended to inquire about what Gibson was doing, given the time and how dark it was outside.

“It was completely dark, completely dark, and somebody was in the wrong place,” shared Terrell Stubbs, a lawyer for the elder Case. “It wasn’t my client.”

The trial comes after a federal lawsuit against Fed-Ex, The City of Brookhaven, its police chief, and the two men was denied. The judge over the matter refused the suit, stating that while the Case men acted in a “deplorable” manner, there was not sufficient evidence to conclude Fed-Ex played a discriminatory part in the unfortunate incident. While Gibson remains out on workers’ compensation leave, there are still plans to sue the delivery company at the state level.

In the meantime, the criminal trial will continue with testimonies starting Aug.16.