Reconsidering Affirmative Action Leaves Universities Few Options To Increase Diversity
As the Supreme Court weighs in on race-based consideration for college enrollment, aka affirmative action, many institutions are finding themselves out of options to achieve the diversity their campuses need.
According to the Associated Press, states that now require race-neutral policies have seen a significant drop in enrollment among Black and Hispanic students, especially at historically white institutions. The Supreme Court is set to make a ruling on nationwide affirmative action, with a reversal marking a huge step back in university campus diversity. For example, Amherst College officials predict that an end to affirmative action would potentially reduce its Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous populations by half.
Colleges have already begun preparing for the staggering effects a decision of this magnitude could have on their enrollment by implementing changes elsewhere.
Some have chosen to include more written essays in their application process to further understand potential students’ backgrounds. While others have focused their attention on recruiting in underserved areas and admitting transfers from community colleges. Still, the issues affecting those with fewer resources could be further exacerbated by the Supreme Court’s ruling, and many insiders warn that even focusing on low-income students can end up canceling racial diversity. “Socioeconomic status is not a proxy for race,” Erica Sanders, the director of undergraduate admissions at the University of Michigan, said.
Sanders knows how a pivot to a race-neutral process can be fair. In 2006, Michigan rejected affirmative action, and the university has yet to recover from the hit Black and Hispanic enrollment took. Particularly, Black enrollments have continued to decrease, going from 8% of undergraduates in 2006 to 4%, according to the Associated Press.
And it won’t just be Black and Brown students who will take a major hit as the ruling can also force colleges to rethink legacy preferences and early admissions often given to white students, opting instead to return to an outdated focus on standardized testing.
Dream Team: Black Couple Opens First Ever Black-Owned Mattress Store in the Midwest
Black-owned businesses seem to be thriving in every part of the country, with a new mattress store in the Midwest adding to the number.
The Better Mattress store in Denver is the first black-owned mattress store ever to open in the Rocky Mountain area, Black Business reports. Owners Randy and Linda Davis opened shop with the goal of giving all Denverites a good night’s rest. When it comes to location, the storefront is retail gold: It’s just off Interstate 25 and surrounded by larger retail stores.
Seeing there were no other locally owned sleep shops in the area, the Davises decided to open their own in September 2022. The Better Mattress carries a variety of models for customers to create a better sleep experience — which is important to Randy, who has been in the industry for more than 30 years. “Comfort, support, and durability are the three pillars of a great mattress,” he said in a press release.
Customers can choose among more than 50 popular brands of mattresses, including Beautyrest and Perfect Sleeper. But the couple’s passion for quality sleep reached its apex when they were given the opportunity to collaborate with Therapedic on their own signature line. The Better Mattress sleep collection mattress features state-of-the-art cooling technology to help all types of sleepers get the quality rest the need. “Designing our own line allowed us to control the materials that go into the product,” Davis said. “What better way to ensure we check the boxes on bringing the best value and the most comfortable mattresses to our customers.”
The couple also had a hand in creating pillows, sheets, and adjustable beds to round out the collection.
During their grand opening weekend, the Davises gave free twin mattresses to the first three households that stopped by.
MAGA Rap? ‘Boycott Target’ Song Tops iTunes Chart As Anti-LGBTQ+ Amps Up For Pride Month
The anti-LGBTQ+ song “Boycott Target” found itself holding down the top honors on the iTunes music charts earlier this week; edging out big-time artists such as Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus.
Pride Month starts this weekend and bigots have already begun their assault on the LGBTQ+ community with the latest attacks being directed at retail giant Target for its push of Pride-related merchandise. The chain has had to significantly scale back its displays, reporting that employees had been threatened as a result of them, according to Newsweek.
The recent onslaught of boycotts and backlash aimed at companies that dare to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community has been widely shared across social media.
BREAKING REPORT: ‘Boycott Target’ TAKES THE # 1 SPOT on Apple iTunes for ALL MUSIC, knocking Taylor Swift to #2..
Florida hip-hop artist hip-hop artist Forgiato Blow, who has also been a proud supporter of Donald Trump as well as a “pioneer” in the subgenre of “MAGA rap”, released “Boycott Target” following a rallying cry from conservatives to cease all support of the large retailer.
Though brand support of the LGBTQ+ community is not new, this year companies like Anheuser-Busch and Disney have found themselves at the center of similar boycotts. According to NBC News, marketing analysts credit an increased focus on “vocal minority of far-right political commentators, conservative politicians, and religious legal groups” as fueling this trend.
The success of “Boycott Target” can be credited to consumers who are still willing to buy digital copies of songs rather than stream them; which played a significant role in its ability to take over the iTunes charts.
Songs that feature conservative political themes have faired well on the music app before as a large portion of the far-right are older. Only a small number of them need to buy the song in order to impact its performance on the charts, according to Newsweek.
Wall Street Is Banking On Halle Bailey’s ‘Little Mermaid’ To Boost Movie Theater Stocks
Movie theater operators are hoping to catch a big fish with the success of Halle Bailey‘s The Little Mermaid at the box office, according to Finurah.
With theaters trying to desperately recover from their COVID-19 losses in the era of streaming and on demand, many of the top operators are depending on this year’s blockbuster releases to help recover their plummeting stocks. According to Finurah, leaders of the pack, like AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. and IMAX Corp., have gained an average of 33% so far this year; while Cinemark Holdings Inc. is up 95% year to date.
However, TheLittle Mermaid is expected to make those numbers rise significantly.
“I wouldn’t normally expect one movie to necessarily move theater stocks in one direction or another,” said B. Riley Securities analyst Eric Wold. But given that children and families have been “underrepresented” at the box office recently, “this could be a key piece to driving confidence in the industry’s recovery.”
As it stands, the Halle Bailey remake has been the largest holiday release since Top Gun: Maverick brought in $160 million during last year’s Memorial Day weekend. Projections for The LittleMermaid, based on the beloved 1989 animated feature, were set between $120 million and $150 million for its opening weekend; the film brought in over $125 million domestically and surpassed April’s animated hit, Super Mario Bros.
With its current numbers, The Little Mermaid is the third-highest opening of any Disney live-action reimagining behind The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast, according to MovieWeb.
Even with the film’s projected global and domestic box office numbers, Wall Street analysts still fear that movie theaters will never be restored to their pre-pandemic glory. Domestic box office revenue is up 32% compared to last year in the second quarter, though still down 20% versus the same period in 2019, according to Roth MKM analyst Eric Handler.
T.I. And Tiny Lose $100M Copyright Infringement Lawsuit Against Toy Company
After a long trial over the likeness of L.O.L Surprise! dolls to the now-defunct group OMG Girlz, rapper Clifford “T.I.”Harris and singer Tameka “Tiny” Harris have lost their $100 million copyright infringement lawsuit against MGA Entertainment.
The former girl group—which consisted of Tiny’s daughter Zonnique Pullins, Bahja Rodriguez and Breaunna Womack—was known for its colorful hairstyles, eclectic fashion and distinct personalities. The Harris family felt these traits were directly copied by the popular doll company.
The group was formed in 2009; the dolls went to market a decade later from MGA. The couple originally served the company with a cease and desist letter in 2020; in response, MGA filed its own lawsuit.
In January, T.I. and Tiny’s lawyers accused the company of “racist cultural appropriation” as the style the group made their own was a direct reflection of the popular dress in the Black community at the time. The move resulted in a mistrial; however, the proceedings resumed this month, according to The Source.
A jury decided that the doll company had done no harm in creating the doll. The CEO of MGA, Isaac Larian, vehemently agreed, calling the move by the Harris family “a shakedown.”
“I’m not happy because I wasted a lot of time, energy—my employees’ time, energy—to deal with an extortion,” Larian said. “They knew from the beginning they don’t have a case, and they brought it anyways. And they picked on the wrong guy.”
For MGA, it was always a matter of actual ownership. An attorney for the company, Jennifer Keller, argued that the trademark for the name of the group had expired when the group formally disbanded in 2018.
“They actually abandoned it when they changed their name,” Keller said. Throughout the case, she argued that the group had not amassed enough fame or a following to have been copied, according to Marin Independent Journal. “These ladies were trend followers, not trendsetters,” the attorney said. “They never achieved liftoff.”
Thanks to Tiny, OMG Girlz were signed to Interscope Records. Their hit “Gucci This (Gucci That)” spent 13 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 R&B/Hip Hop charts in 2012.
Ne-Yo Reflects On Lessons Learned From Being Dropped By Columbia Records
R&B singerNe-Yo is the latest artist to open up about the hardships that come with being signed to a major label in the early aughts.
In an interview on Shannon Sharpe‘s Club Shay Shay podcast, the 43-year-old talked about his experience with Columbia Records, who originally signed him in 2000. Before he released his already recorded first album, the label failed to honor his contract and suddenly dropped him because he wanted to record songs that “kind of fit who the hell I am.”
Ne-Yo, who had only just begun his experience as a solo act, had no ideal how little control he would actually have over his creativity. “I went in under the impression that I had no control of anything,” he told Sharpe. “So I was kinda like a robot a little bit.”
There were also harsh lessons to learn about who fits the bill for everything related to introducing an artist to the world.
“You get a record deal, and they take you out to eat and they throw that credit card down at the end of the night,” Ne-Yo said to Sharpe. “What they don’t tell you is that’s your budget on that credit card.”
With his dreams seemingly deferred, the singer picked up his pen and after writing Mario’s 2004 hit, “Let Me Love You,” caught the ear of LA Reid and then-CEO of Def Jam, and the one-and-only Jay-Z, who signed him to the label.
Two years later, the singer would release his debut album In My Own Words to great success; selling over 300,000 copies in its first week and earning him his first no. 1 record as a lead artist with the single, “So Sick.”
Though he persevered, Ne-Yo says his first experience in the industry “left a very bad taste in my mouth about record deals, period.”
Chicago Chef Wants To Spice Up Your Culinary Career And Experience With These 5 Business Tips
She’s obsessed with food and all things tasty!
Chef Jessica Ashley has found a happy medium between her passion for the culinary arts and her love for gift-giving. Through her company, Boxed Expressions, Ashley has brought her professional food experiences to the gifting space, and she recently shared with BLACK ENTERPRISE how she is curating special, elevated experiences for clients across the U.S. while providing hands-on training experiences for culinary entrepreneurs and employees.
Boxed Expressions
Boxed Expressions is a women-owned, Chicago-based gift suite providing corporate and business accounts with elevated gifting and culinary training solutions.
Ashley said her vision to merge gifting and culinary experiences started after an “Aha” moment. “While searching for a birthday gift for a friend, I had an “Aha!” moment. I wanted to develop an easy and less hassle option for gift giving,” Chef Jessica wrote on her Instagram in April as she reintroduced herself. “My goal was to save time, remove stress, and curate beautiful, high-quality culinary gift boxes for people who enjoy an elevated experience.”
Boxed Expressions offers custom-designed gifts tailored to any business or brand’s needs, perfect for celebrating company milestones, rewarding top-performing associates, welcoming new hires, building new relationships with new clients or vendors, holidays, and even celebrating employee birthdays.
Example gifting concepts include gourmet candy, champagne, a cheeseboard kit, candles, tumblers, tea, coffee, custom notebooks, and more.
Haus of Experiences
Chef Jessica also has a sister company, ‘Haus of Experiences,’ where hands-on culinary experiences are curated to help professionals connect and share their experiences in the culinary space.
“I was inspired to create Haus of Experiences because of the amazing culinary products from Boxed Expressions that we use to curate beautiful gift boxes,” Chef Jessica shared. “I also love being around people and sharing my love for food with them. It was time for my staff and I to get back into the kitchen; this is where it all started anyway.
These experiences can be hosted at the West Loop-Fulton Market or from the comfort of any company’s headquarters, office space, board room, or home.
Chef Jessica’s advice for entrepreneurs
“Advice that I would give others who want to pursue this field as an entrepreneur is to ask for help,” Chef Jessica shared. “You can’t grow and scale a business by doing everything yourself. Burn-out is real in this industry because people want food… and if your food and the experience is really good, they want it all the time!”
She was a full-time entrepreneur when she started her custom cake business after graduating from culinary school. “There were many challenges that I overcame, such as learning how to manage my finances while also trying to be profitable. I now use the ‘Profit First’ method, and it’s a game-changer, leading and managing other staff members, learning to scale, etc…,” she explained.
From personal experience, Chef Jessica believes it is important for business owners to hire employees to handle day-to-day tasks while they can focus on the future of the business.
She said business owners looking to create something new in the culinary space should expand their knowledge about the industry. “Research the industry trends, study the behaviors of customers in that market, and determine your startup costs. Starting a business from scratch with no investment can be costly, so you want to be sure that you’ve done your due diligence upfront and your business idea will stand the test of time,” she said.
The Future of Boxed Expressions and Haus of Experiences
“Our future plans with Haus of Experiences are to expand to additional locations throughout Chicago to offer in-person culinary experiences and curated culinary gift boxes. With Boxed Expressions, our busy season is October-December, so this year’s goal is to invest more resources into marketing so that we can fulfill and ship more than 5,000 gifts; this number is more than what we’ve ever done in three months,” Chef Jessica shared.
The entrepreneur has already partnered with big-name companies such as McDonald’s, Williams-Sonoma, and State Farm, which she said are partnerships that have garnered major recognition for her companies. Working with these companies has challenged her to curate innovative designs. “For a small business like ourselves, we gain credibility with potential customers when we work with larger organizations. In the future, we have hopes to work with more ‘culinary’ celebrities such as Carla Hall, Marcus Samuelsson, and Tabitha Brown,” she said.
Chef Jessica’s grandfather at his Chicago grocery store. (Image Provided)
About Chef Jessica
Chef Jessica’s introduction to culinary arts began in high school at The Chicago High School of Agricultural Sciences, where she studied Food Science. She continued her studies in Agriculture Business at Florida A&M University and attended culinary school upon graduation.
“My obsession with entrepreneurship is truly in my bloodline and dates back to my great-grandfather; he owned a grocery/convenience store in Chicago,” said Chef Jessica, a fourth-generation entrepreneur. “In fact, my siblings and I were raised in a household where both of our parents were full-time entrepreneurs; we saw it all…the good and the bad.”
Derrick Jaxn’s Ex-Wife Da’Naia Charges Upwards of $5,000 For ‘Infidelity Recovery Bootcamp’ After Divorce
Da’Naia Jackson is fresh off the heels of divorcing Derrick Jaxn and wants women to shell out thousands for her infidelity coaching.
Da’Naia has been on a full press run about reclaiming her time in the wake of her public split from Derrick who had been caught in multiple cheating scandals throughout the course of their marriage. Now, after surviving Derrick Jaxn, Da’Naia is aiming to help other women survive the serial cheaters in their life.
On Wednesday, Onsite! took notice of the $4,997 Da’Naia is charging for her personal 1:1 coaching sessions that teach customers how to “profit from your pain.” Screenshots taken from Da’Naia’s website show the price points she’s charging for programs within her “Infidelity Recovery Boot Camp.”
According to her website, Da’Naia wants those who are interested to “Learn How I Recovered from infidelity,” and shares five benefits a customer will get out of enrolling in her online course. There are a number of services she offers including her “40 Days and Nights of Healing” for just two payments of $495 a month, a bundle that includes her book and three personal 1:1 sessions a week for two payments of 3499 a month, or just 1:1 coaching sessions for $4,997.
“I come to you as a witness in testimony who has experienced exceptional pain, trauma and bondage-emotionally, physically and spiritually,” she shares on the page after selecting a live coaching session with her via Zoom.
After catching wind of Da’Naia’s high-priced coaching, Onsite! and others accused the social influencer of trying to get one over on the vulnerable.
“Like Husband, Like Wife. Sis is barely healed herself yet trying to get some vulnerable women out of their hard-earned bucks,” the blog captioned its post.
“Whoever buys that needs to be arrested 😭,” one person wrote.
“This is why I can’t feel bad for her, she’s playing the victim when she knew the entire time & now she wants to capitalize from it,” added someone else. “Whoever pays for that bs deserves to be ripped off.”
Da’Naia’s Infidelity BootCamp comes six months after Derrick took to Instagram to announce their divorce after he was spotted at Art Basel in Miami with a mystery woman. The self-claimed “relationship guru” had long been accused of misleading his followers after he was exposed for being a serial cheater.
Ashanti Finally Seals The Deal With A Buyer For Her $2.2M Long Island Mansion
Cha-ching!
A buyer has reportedly cashed in on Ashanti’s 2-acre Old Westbury property in Long Island, New York. According to Finurah, the six-bedroom, 5.5-bathroom brick neocolonial mansion has been on the market for a year, and now real estate sites reportedly show a pending sale for $2.2 million.
The 42-year-old singer was born and raised in Glen Cove, Long Island, where the mansion was built in 1999. She snagged it in 2003 for $1.95 million.
A video tour of the home posted by The Real Estate Insider, shows off the interior and exterior details of the mansion that the “Foolish” singer called home for several years.
A circular driveway leads to the colonial that features a brick foundation surrounded by lush greenery. A luxurious chandelier dangles from the ceiling at the entrance before approaching two entryways on both sides of the home, one side leading to the living and family rooms, and the other holding the dining area.
Two floor-to-ceiling columns grace the entrance of the tiled kitchen, which features stainless steel appliances. A spiral staircase leads to the second floor, which holds bedrooms and bathrooms. French doors lead to the backyard where a pool awaits among the outdoor patio area.
Sealed by large brown doors, the keys to the mansion are ready for the new owner.
Ashanti originally listed her 5,345 square-foot residence for $2.198 million, as reported by Dirtin 2022. The artist was at the height of her popularity when she purchased the home years ago.
News about Ashanti’s listing follows rumors about the singer recently rekindling her romance with rapper Nelly. The pair began dating in 2003, the same year Ashanti bought her now-former manse, and dated on and off before calling it quits in 2013.
Aoki Lee Simmons Graduates With Degree from Harvard University
Aoki Lee Simmons is now a Harvard University grad!
The youngest daughter of Kimora Lee Simmons and Russell Simmons turned her tassel and graduated at the tender age of 20, AfroTech reports. She walked across the stage with a bachelor of arts degree with a concentration in classics after starting her collegiate career at just 16 years old.
The young scholar posted some pictures with a touching caption honoring the women in her life on Instagram.
“The women who could not always get their degrees right away but who made damn sure we got ours, This one’s for you,” Simmons wrote. “I must dedicate this degree to all the leading ladies in my life, because who am I If not their daughter, granddaughter, sister and friend? Who am I without who came before and beside? We go TOGETHER. Women, period.”
Her mother, grandmother, and big sister, Ming Lee Simmons, who graduated from New York University last week, according to People, attended the ceremony. Kimora expressed the pride she felt toward her daughter’s accomplishments all while being a full-time model. “Mama loves you soooo much my brainy beauty!,” she wrote on Instagram. “These are hard- fought tears anyone who knows us will know!”
The new Ivy League grad seems to be excited for the future and previewed what’s coming next.
“I’ll be in New York modeling, writing and working at my mom’s company,” Simmons said. “There are so many projects that I can’t wait to dive into, but it will be nice to take a breath!”
Her mom may have other plans for her up her sleeve.
“It’s nice to have a Harvard grad in the family, but it might be nice to have an attorney, too,” the Baby Phat founder said. “I’ve promised myself I’ll wait at least a week before I start gently nudging her in that direction, though.”
