The Craft Beer Marketing Awards (CBMAS) announced the extension of their “Show Us Your Favorite Tattoo” charity category until May 1, 2023. This category is open at TheCrushies.com to anyone age 21+ who wants to enter their favorite tattoo for a chance to win a Global Crushie Trophy for themselves, and their tattoo artist.

Only $50 to enter your favorite tattoo with all proceeds donated to The Michael James Jackson Foundation (MJF Scholarships).

“We are helping literally change the face of American brewing,” said Garrett Oliver, Founder & Chair of MJF, and Brewmaster of The Brooklyn Brewery. “We sent more people of color to Siebel Institute of Technology last year, than had attended the entire previous decade – the MJF is about genuine and lasting change.”

The first 250 to enter their tattoo will automatically receive Post Malone’s WORLD PONG LEAGUE for free ($25 value) compliments of Spin Master Games.

“Post Malone’s WORLD PONG LEAGUE and CBMAS together makes a lot of sense, they go hand in hand!” Jason Gagnon EP/ Head of Creative Marketing for Spin Master Games.

“Tattoos are empowering, they look awesome, and they just make life cooler!” said CBMAS Co-founder Jim McCune. “Tattoos and craft beer are synonymous.”

The awards ceremony will be on May 8^th at the 2023 Craft Brewers Conference. For additional information, visit craftbeermarketingawards.com.

• Business

by Sharelle B. McNair

March 20, 2023

Viral TikTok Food Review Helps Black-Owned Chocolate Brand Sell Out In 33 Minutes

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TikTok food reviewer, Keith Lee, is truly doing the work of the Lord when it comes to Black-owned businesses.

Ella Livingston, founder and owner of Cocoa Asante, said that thanks to Lee, her business is through the roof. Cocoa Asante is a high-quality chocolate brand with roots tracing back to Ghana. Lee got his hands on some and shared a viral review with his 11.2 million followers – which led to her products selling out in 33 minutes.

@keith_lee125 #stitch with @cocoaasante Cocoa Asante taste test 💕 would you try it ? 💕 #foodcritic ♬ original sound – Keith Lee

Lee’s rave review lead Livingston to open her website for pre-orders. His review started off strong, giving her high compliments on her packaging and noting that it only took three days to receive his order. “This package screams luxury, money” Lee said. He gave her milk chocolate bon-bon product an 8.5 out of 10 score. But, fans could see the look of love on his face once he tried her Thai Pecan Caramel bon-bons. Before his score, he reminded viewers that he and Livingston aren’t working together, but a collaboration could come soon. “I’m telling you I’m about to eat this whole box,” he said.

“I love when sweets are balanced. It is salty, it is nutty, that chocolate got the perfect snap on it.”

After gaining an “influencer fan,” a grateful Livingston said she planned on retiring from her full-time job. “Cocoa Asante is forever changed because we got so many orders,” Livingston said. “I can now afford to pay myself something so that I don’t have to work part-time to bring in income for my home. So Keith you have officially retired me from being a teacher.”

@cocoaasante These results are unbelievable! Thank you everyone for the support!! @keith_lee125 #cocoaasante ♬ original sound – Cocoa Asante

The food reviews done by the popular TikToker have really put Black-owned businesses on the map. Earlier this year, Lee reviewed a small food truck in Las Vegas called Southern Taste Seafood. In less than 24 hours, the business raised $30,000.

• News

by Sharelle B. McNair

March 20, 2023

Florida Textbook Removes Reference of Rosa Parks’ Race To Adhere To ‘Stop Woke Act’

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Everyone knows that Rosa Parks was a Black woman who fought for Black people to have the right to sit where they wanted.

However, publishers are being asked to remove any reference to Parks’ race in Florida to comply with new state law. The Hill reports regulations require that race relations be removed from the lesson to get a Florida committee’s approval. The current lesson, issued by Studies Weekly, is described as “the law said African Americans had to give up their seats on the bus if a white person wanted to sit down.”

An early version of the study was changed to, “she was told to move to a different seat because of the color of her skin,” but then a second version was corrected to read, with race completely erased, read, “she was told to move to a different seat.”

The new social studies curriculum in the Sunshine State prompts the flagging of any topics considered as critical race theory, the hot topic of collegiate-level lessons used to explain systemic racism in the United States. Thanks to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida’s Department of Education mandates the teaching of Black history and critical race theory banned in Florida public schools.

However, in a statement issued by the department, lessons on the iconic civil rights leader and others have been encouraged, regardless of the law. “It would be impossible to teach about the significance of Rosa Parks without discussing her race,” the statement read, according to Business Insider. “Any publisher who attempts to avoid the topic of race when discussing Rosa Parks or topics such as the Civil Rights Movement, slavery, segregation, etc. would not be adhering to Florida law.”

The new standards were implemented last year after DeSantis signed the Stop Woke Act, removing thousands of books not approved by the state from school classrooms, even a grade-level textbook that claims to have mentioned slavery 189 times.

• News

by Booker Jones

March 20, 2023

Miami Beach Has A Curfew After After A Deadly Shooting

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Miami Beach is on lockdown after the city imposed an overnight curfew during spring break. This comes after two shootings occurred during the popular South Beach Spring Break. 

“In response to the two shootings and the excessively large and unruly crowds, and to mitigate dangerous and illegal conduct, the City of Miami Beach has ordered a state of emergency and an 11:59 p.m. curfew to take effect on Sunday, March 19, 2023, through 6 a.m. Monday, March 20, 2023,” a press release said. “The city will hold a special commission meeting on Monday afternoon to discuss potential restrictions beyond Monday.”

According to several news reports, violence broke out during a St. Patrick’s Day celebration during Spring Break. The shooting left one person dead and one person injured. 

“On Sunday, March 19 at 3:29 a.m. Miami Beach Police officers heard gunshots near 11 Street and Ocean Drive and found one male with gunshot wounds along the 1000 block of Ocean Drive,” Miami Beach Police tweeted. “The male was transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Unit, where he later died. A second victim was injured but treated and released on-site.”

Shooting Investigation: On Sunday, March 19 at 3:29 a.m. Miami Beach Police officers heard gunshots near 11 Street and Ocean Drive and found one male with gunshot wounds along the 1000 block of Ocean Drive.

1/4

— Miami Beach Police (@MiamiBeachPD) March 19, 2023

Some of the rules are as follows, according to the press release. 

• Commercial businesses must admit their last guests within a time frame that allows them to leave by 11:59 p.m. each night. Hotels may continue business operations past the curfew, provided they are servicing hotel guests only.

• Businesses other than hotels shall be permitted to continue to operate from 11:59 p.m. – 6 a.m. for delivery only. Takeout and pickup service is prohibited. • The curfew shall not apply to the provision of designated essential services, such as fire, police and hospital services, including the transportation of patients thereto, utility emergency repairs, and emergency calls by physicians, and the curfew shall also not apply to persons traveling to their places of employment to report for work and to return to their residences after their work has concluded.

• All City residents requiring access to or from their homes, guests requiring access to or from their hotels, and employees/service providers of business establishments requiring access, including normally scheduled deliveries and janitorial services, shall be permitted. Residents are advised to return to the City prior to 11:59 p.m., in order to avoid any potential traffic delays once the curfew has taken effect. Hotel guests entering the City after the curfew is in place, may be required to show proof of lodging (such as a hotel reservation). “

“Oh, give me a home where the buffaloes roam….” is not something neighbors of Rick Ross are singing.

According to TMZ, there are buffaloes roaming around—and away from—the hip-hop titan’s property and the neighbors are not exactly happy. In fact, one neighbor is frightened the massive buffaloes, which average 2,000 pounds, will harm one of their small children if they continue to roam in her yard.

The neighbor lives on a plot of land behind Ross’ property in Fayetteville, Georgia. TMZ obtained several photos and videos showing the buffaloes roaming freely on her property. They were recorded in her front yard after she returned home to witness the animals just walking freely on her property. The neighbor also took pictures of the buffaloes grazing on her property near a driveway full of parked cars.

She reportedly went to confront the rapper about the dangers of his buffaloes crossing into her property. Instead of getting the opportunity to speak to the rapper, she spoke to someone on this team and it became a verbal dispute. Nothing was resolved and she feels that the next step would be filing a neighbor dispute with the city.

When she tried calling the police,, she was told it was a civil dispute and nobody took a report.

 Rolling Stone reported that Ross was gifted the buffaloes last March from Darius Burton, his partner in the Ethika clothing line. Apparently, the animals came after Burton had a conversation with Ross at his January 2022 birthday party.

Burton said at the time, “I wanted to get him a giraffe, but he wasn’t ready for that commitment so he said, ‘Let’s start smaller, like a cow.’ I said, ‘Nah, everyone has cows, I want you to have something nobody in your state has, I’m getting you a buffalo.’”

D.L. Hughley’s eldest daughter, Ryan Shepard, is opening up about the “tumultuous” relationship she used to have with her famous dad.

The proud mother took to Instagram March 10 to share a candid video clip with Hughley and her daughter Nola. In the caption, Shepard got candid about her scarred history with her father and how her daughter helped mend their broken relationship.

“I’ve never publicly spoken about the fact that until very recently, my dad and I had a fairly tumultuous relationship,” she wrote.

“I thought I’d gotten myself to a place where I decided that I’d stop getting my hopes up that things would ever get better and just accepted what was.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Ryan Shepard (@brownsugarandbourbon)

But, despite their rocky past, Shepard shared how her daughter helped rebuild their father-daughter bond.

“And then, everything changed,” she continued. “Initially, we forged a deeper connection over Nola. But then, my dad stopped calling just to see her and started calling to check on me. We began having the most amazing conversations about anything, everything really.”

Now, through Hughley being a present grandfather to Nola, Shepard is finding healing for scars from her own childhood.

“I’m a late- blooming daddy’s girl and watching the relationship grow between Him (lol) and Nola keeps healing parts of the little girl in me that I thought I’d given up on,” she added.

“If you’ve found yourself in a difficult relationship with a parent, know that even if you can’t see it, it can get better.”

Last year, Shepard came to Hughley’s defense during his messy social media war with fellow comedian Mo’Nique. Shepard entered the chat after Mo’Nique called out Hughley’s past admission of not believing his daughter when she told him she had been sexually assaulted.

“Hi @therealmoworldwide I’m Ryan Nicole Shepard (D.L. Hughley and LaDonna Hughley’s eldest daughter),” Shepard wrote in the comments section of Mo’Nique’s since-deleted post.

“You’ve now publicly disrespected my mother—who I love and care for very much—and my baby sister—who I love and care for very much to get back at my father—who I love, respect and care for very much.”

https://twitter.com/lovelyti/status/1533203597571379201?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1533203597571379201%7Ctwgr%5Efc94df68fffa2a916d12653a24c0edb6363af8aa%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fnews.yahoo.com%2Fd-l-hughleys-daughter-says-161555264.html

Nice to see D.L. Hughley and Ryan Shepard putting pride aside to put family first.

On a recent episode of Earn Your Leisure, we learned from Nipsey Hussle‘s brother that clothing brand Puma contributes money to Nipsey’s children’s trust fund on an annual basis.

Before recording artist Hussle was killed in front of his Marathon Clothing store in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Los Angeles in 2019, he was involved in a deal with Puma. Six months after his death, Puma honored Hussle by releasing the collection he was personally working on.

“After everything, they came back to the table and made sure the kids was set up straight,” Hussle’s brother, Blacc Sam, told the podcast . “It had nothing to do with sales of clothes or the success of the capsules, just off the top every year they hittin the kids in the trust fund. They did right for Hussle.”

He also mentioned that Puma has been respectful of their collaborations. Instead of focusing on sales (Which have been good for Puma and the family), they are allowing the family to do what Hussle may have done himself.

“They allowed us to also do the collabs and do it the way we wanna do it. It’s not about selling a lot of units or printing up a lot of t-shirts and going wild. It’s just let’s do it tastefully, let’s come in with the Hussle way.”

The well-known and liked 33-year-old Hussle was killed in 2019 by a childhood acquaintance, Eric R. Holder Jr., who was recently sentenced to 60 years to life in prison.

A petition was started to rename the intersection of Slauson Avenue and Crenshaw Boulevard near Hussle’s store to “Nipsey Hussle Square.” On the day of his funeral, the City Council announced it would be renamed Ermias “Nipsey Hussle” Asghedom Square to honor the rapper and fashion mogul’s contributions to the neighborhood.

Michael B. Jordan wasn’t always a highly sought-after Hollywood star. He can recall the days of applying to fast food jobs as a struggling actor.

It wasn’t exactly smooth sailing for Jordan after his standout role as 15-year-old Wallace in The Wire, the acclaimed HBO dramatic series. The Creed III star remembered when people recognized him on the street for his onscreen role but had no idea he was struggling to make ends meet.

Times were so tough, Jordan applied to Jack In The Box with a fellow A-list actor to put some money in his pocket.

“Me and Sterling applying to Jack in the Box. You know what I mean?” he revealed on the “RnB Money” podcast.

He said the experience fueled his desire to succeed as an actor.

“And these n***as gonna know who I am. So it’s not like oh it’s just a random person. I was willing to take the L.,” he shared.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Black Effect Podcast Network (@blackeffect)

Fans applauded Jordan for sharing his humble beginnings as an up-and-coming screen star.

“This is so real. Appreciate the transparency,” one fan wrote.

“He gets it🔥🔥🔥 Working in the industry and the pride attached won’t pay these bills❤️,” added someone else.

Jordan got the last laugh years later when he became one of the most in-demand Black actors today. His recent directorial debut in Creed III proved to be a success with the film’s huge opening (the largest-ever in the U.S. for a sports movie) surpassing initial expectations, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The boxing flick did $58.6 domestically and raked had a $41.8 million start globally. Other credible films under Jordan’s belt include the Black Panther franchise, Without Remorse, Fruitvale Station (with director Ryan Coogler, a frequent collaborator), and Just Mercy. 

• News

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

March 20, 2023

Bent on Breaking Spirits: Spirit Airlines Apologizes After Surveillance Video Catches Worker Throwing Away Passenger’s Belongings

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Gate agents at New Orleans’ Armstrong International Airport have been suspended pending an investigation after cameras caught them tossing a man’s personal items into the trash, WWLTV reported. The airline also agreed to compensate the man for the belongings inside the bag.

Keyonne Brooks was headed back to Los Angeles from his uncle’s funeral in New Orleans on February 19 when he got into a disagreement with the gate agent over checking his large suitcase.

“She said that I’d have to reschedule my flight instead of doing a gate check, and I knew that was not true because of my travels with my nonprofit,” he recalled.

After speaking with a manager, Brooks agreed to pay an extra fee to bring the suitcase with him on the plane. But he ended up forgetting his small carry-on bag at the gate.

He was told to file a lost and found report, but when the suitcase never arrived, he asked the airport for the surveillance footage. That’s when Brooks was shocked to see the worker keep some of his belongings while throwing his life-saving medication into the trash.

The staffers were also seen taking cell phone pictures and laughing before throwing away his keys.

“There were my house keys, my car keys,” he said. “When I got back to L.A., I was not able to get into my home right away. I was not even able to start my car. Everything was halted until I paid locksmiths.”

Brooks is finding it difficult to watch the footage showing the workers tossing out his personal belongings.

“I still have not been able to watch the entire video because it’s just too gut-wrenching for me,” Brooks said.

“And knowing the medication that I had in there is very expensive, very hard to get, and I needed it. It’s taken a lot out of me. I’m just appalled at their behavior.”

Brooks has since hired an attorney after being told the airline and airport would only compensate him for half of what was lost. Despite the stressful ordeal, Brooks still plans on returning to New Orleans.

“Oh, I certainly want to come back to New Orleans, because my father lives there, and my siblings, but I certainly will never take Spirit Airlines again,” he said.

Tamar Braxton’s fiancé Jeremy “JR” Robinson is coming to her defense after one of his four baby mamas called out the R&B singer on social media.

Robinson and Tamar found love on Peacock’s “Queens Court” and have been going strong ahead of their engagement and the show’s premiere. But with Robinson being a father of five children by four different women, things were bound to get messy sooner or later.

Braxton recently found herself on the receiving end of a scathing Instagram rant by Robinson’s ex Anaston Jeni, with whom he shares a two-year-old son. Jeni issued the rant after the Grammy-nominated singer made mention of having a great relationship with her fiancé’s five kids and their mothers, Page Six reported.

“I have sat in silence for over a year, respecting everyone’s privacy while they disrespected mine,” Jeni wrote Friday.

“I’ve sat in silence while this person has come into my son’s life and caused nothing but chaos and unnecessary drama.”

Jeni said the Braxton Family Values star is “in no way a bonus or stepmom” to her and Robinson’s son and accused the singer of saying “demeaning, disrespectful, & outrageous things” about her co-parenting relationship with Robinson and has caused him “to miss visitation weekends and birthdays.”

Hours after Jeni’s rant, Robinson defended Braxton and tried to the peace between his fiancé and exes.

“@TamarBraxton has always been an amazing mother and spoiled my children with love!” Robinson wrote on his Instagram Stories.

“The mother’s [sic] of my children have been put in the public eye because of me and that’s unfair to them.”

“They have been nothing short of amazing to my children. Sometimes a difference of opinion with no conversation to clear up miscommunication creates a bad cycle,” he continued. “I want everyone to be peaceful and will do my best to foster that.”