When it comes to helping small-owned businesses, call on social media.

AfroTech reported that bookstore owner, Nia-Tayler Clark, has raised $20K, thanks to social media supporters. Before she was even able to open her business, BLACKLIT, in Dallas, Clark was threatened with eviction, and given 10 days to come up with $27,000.

On Jan. 22, she posted her story on Instagram, hoping to turn things around.

“After securing the building for the BLACKLIT Bookstore but not being able to open to the public for 4 months, we have fallen behind on bills and have been fighting to keep our head above water for the past few months,” Clark said.

“We just lost everything.”

 

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Her supporters heard her pleas. Two days later, TikTok supporters shared her donation page and got her where she needed to be. Shortly after, the HBCU alum shared an update with the good news.

“Long story short: I pick up my keys tomorrow! And, they gave me 10 days to raise the $7,000,” Clark shared in an update.

 

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The BLACKLIT storefront story started after Clark won a pitch competition during Fort Worth’s Global Entrepreneurship Week, according to Fort Worth Magazine.

She described her business as a monthly book subscription box featuring the work of Black authors and Black entrepreneurs. Her website states the company’s mission is to “help close the literacy gap, to increase representation, and to cultivate conversations that bring unity across racial divides.”

The website gave a descriptive moment of why she decided to start her business. “I literally had a student tell me “I don’t read Ms. I’m Black,” the former 10th-grade teacher wrote.

“It broke my heart; but, it also opened my eyes.” The money raised will not only help her keep her business open, but will assist in building a team, whom the Texas business owner told Fort Worth Magazine she needs. “It’s gotten us pretty far, but we need to hire.”

According to TMZ, Randy Gonzalez, one-half viral TikTok duo the Enkyboys, passed away after losing his battle with colon cancer. He was 35 years old. A close family source revealed that he passed away on Wednesday at a hospice.

The TikTok star had disclosed last April that he had been diagnosed with cancer six months prior. He expressed to his fans that the prognosis gave him approximately two to three years to live. He added that with chemotherapy treatment, it could extend his life expectancy to five more years.

The world came to know him through his interactions on social media with his young son, Brice. One of their most popular posts was of Brice acting as David Ruffin of The Temptations, which became a fan-favorite skit.

Through their posts, they brought awareness to colon cancer.

Brice secured a role in George Lopez‘s new sitcom Lopez vs Lopez on NBC. He plays the grandson of Lopez’s character, Chance. The comedian acknowledged the death of Gonzalez in an Instagram post on Wednesday.

 

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Gonzalez leaves behind his wife, Kimberly, and three children, son Brice and daughters, Lauran and Aubree.

• Business

by Stacy Jackson

January 26, 2023

Pinky Cole Makes Slutty Vegan Experience More Convenient for Customers With Drive-Thru

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Soon, Slutty Vegan customers will no longer need to leave their cars for their favorite meal.

Pinky Cole‘s $100 million empire is undergoing an upgrade to its Slutty Vegan fast food restaurant, building a drive-thru at its newest location, which is under construction in Columbus, Georgia.

According to VegNews, the new drive-thru outpost is set to open later this year.

Georgia customers who decide to use the drive-thru option during their visit will have access to the same menu that features the popular vegan burgers such as the Sloppy Toppy, One Night Stand, and Fussy Hussy. They will also still be able to order the Slutty fries and Skinny Dippers to enjoy on-the-go.

Reportedly, the Atlanta restaurateur has plans to expand her business beyond the existing seven locations with the newest outposts in Columbus, Harlem, NY, and Washington, DC.

The business ventures have been numerous for the vegan food chain owner.

As previously reported by BLACK ENTERPRISE, Cole celebrated was nominated for an NAACP Award for “Outstanding Literary Work” for her book Eat Plants B*tch.

Slutty Vegan expanded to Harlem, New York, last summer, opening her eighth outpost of the vegan chain, located at 300 West 135th Street.

“This is a full circle moment for me,” Cole said about the very special location.

“I had a restaurant a few blocks away that was destroyed in a grease fire. To come back to the place that helped me get started is such a big deal for the realization of my dream, and this quite frankly is my redemption story.”

Also, Cole filed trademark applications to run her business in the metaverse, a virtual reality that combines aspects of the digital and physical worlds.

The Black woman-owned vegan restaurant launched in 2018 in Atlanta to provide vegan options and food awareness to the community.

At Target, it’s all about finding the right clothing and accessories for affordable prices.

Target’s Future Collective is making another entrance into the store’s aisles by collaborating with NYC-based global contributing fashion editor-at-large for Vogue and stylist Gabriella Karefa-Johnson.

“This is a full circle moment. When Target came to me to talk to me about the Future Collective, I was like, 1,000% yes,” Karefa-Johnson said, according to Vanity Fair.

“I’m very invested in doing projects that feel authentic to who I am and my story, but also honor where I came from. I also was just so excited about being able to create clothing. I’ve done one very small collaboration before, but this was by far the biggest.”

Karefa-Johnson’s collection is all about mixing prints and textures, so Target shoppers can expect to find bold statement pieces with pops of color, everyday classic neutrals, and high-quality denim garments.

“For me, fashion should be about fun and it should be about joy. Getting dressed in the morning is one of the most joyous moments of the day for me,” she told Vanity Fair.

“The denim is super high quality and fab. Whenever I’m dealing with classics, I want there to be some twist, or something that turns it on its head. So having the printed denim, the oversized menswear shirt silhouette… I just love the idea of big on big. I think in general it’s the most stylish,” Karefa-Johnson said.

The new collection focuses on inclusivity with sizes that range from XXS-4X and 00-30.

“Learning from past experiences, I was like, ‘OK, this needs to be size inclusive, super accessible, because fashion can be daunting and it can be intimidating,’” she explained. “So I wanted people to be able to step outside of their comfort zone, maybe take some risks, but also not feel alienated by this collection.”

 

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Karefa-Johnson said she will always be a Target shopper.

“…Was before this collection, will be after this collection,” she said. “It felt like a very unique opportunity for me to connect with an audience that’s really reflective of who I was, who I still am.”

Pieces in the Target Future Collective with Karefa-Johnson are priced from $10 to $50. Shoppers can grab most of their favorite pieces from the collection for under $35.

According to People, the collection with the NYC stylist is its second round following its first launch with former fashion and beauty editor Kahlana Barfield Brown.

Karefa-Johnson is a global contributing fashion editor-at-large for Vogue and a former fashion director at GARAGE magazine.

Karefa-Johnson recently made headlines when she called Kanye West after he wore a “White Lives Matter”  T-shirt at Paris Fashion Week. In return, he went after Karefa-Johnson, a Black woman, with a nasty and unnecessary retort attacking her looks.

More concerns about the conditions at Bethune-Cookman University have come to light.

The financial status of the school’s football program has been questioned as student-athletes have stated that players have to share equipment.

A video posted on Twitter by Bethune-Cookman University football player Austin Yankowy, shows one of the players handing off his helmet to someone else as he comes off the playing field during a nationally televised game.

This video clip and the fact that a B-CU football player posted it gives more credibility to the students at the school wanting a change in the administration after NFL Hall of Famer, Ed Reed‘s offer to coach the football team was rescinded after he complained about the school’s condition.

Another NFL Hall of Famer, Edgerrin James, revealed in a recent Instagram post that there were billionaires willing to donate to Bethune-Cookman once Reed was leading the football team. Now, due to the administration “dropping the pass,” those donations may not take place.

After the school rejected Reed, the students decided to protest and call for the board of trustees to be replaced.

Last week, the HBCU announced that the former Baltimore Ravens player would no longer be hired as the football team’s next coach and it will continue its search for a head coach.

“Bethune-Cookman University has announced that it has decided not to proceed with contract negotiations with Ed Reed to become the next head football coach at B-CU [Bethune-Cookman],” the school said.

This action led the players on the football team to start a petition to advise the school to go back to the negotiating table with Reed.

• News

by Atiya Jordan

January 26, 2023

Virginia School Board Removes Black Superintendent After 6-Year-Old Shoots Teacher

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The Newport News School Board in Virginia has dismissed its superintendent following the shooting of a school teacher by a six-year-old student.

On Wednesday, a five-to-one vote prompted the decision to remove Black Superintendent Dr. George Parker III from his role, effective February 1, The Hill reported. The move for dismissal was prompted by the community of teachers and parents who called for Parker’s resignation or firing.

After the vote, Board Chair Lisa Surles-Law characterized Parker as  “a capable division leader who has served Newport News for nearly five years through some extremely challenging circumstances. This decision is based on the future trajectory and needs of our school division,” per 13News Now.

Parker, will depart his post with two years’ salary paid over 12 months, according to the separation and severance agreement. He can also be paid at his hourly rate at the time of his termination if the board “requests the Superintendent’s assistance in transitioning his duties to his successor, or for other purposes.”

According to police, 25-year-old Abigail Zwerner was teaching her first-grade class at Richneck Elementary School when she got shot by a student on January 6. .

Police Chief Steve Drew has described the shooting as “intentional,” adding that the boy had the gun “on his person,” and fired one round, per The Associated Press. Zwerner was struck in her hand and in her chest.

After the shooting, Zwerner spent nearly two weeks in the hospital before being released.

The community outrage began after Parker revealed that at least one administrator had been notified that the boy may have had a weapon on the day of the shooting. The student’s backpack was searched, and although no weapon was uncovered, police were not informed of the tip. The incident occurred hours later.

Newport News police confirmed that the first-grader’s mother legally purchased the 9mm handgun. However, she was uncertain how her son got his hands on the weapon.

At a school board meeting last week, teachers and parents poured in with complaints of the school board’s disregard of “repeated complaints about misbehavior” and “few consequences due to a misguided emphasis on attendance and other education statistics.” For instance, they claimed that students who “assaulted” classmates and staff were commonly permitted to remain in the classroom.

In addition, it was argued during the meeting that the shooting could have been prevented.

The family of Nipsey Hussle (real name Ermias Ashgedom) has an upcoming court date with the mother of Nipsey’s 14-year-old daughter, Tanisha Foster, to hammer out who will have guardianship over the child.

According to Radar Online, the battle for custody of the deceased rapper’s daughter, Emani Asghedom, will occur in Los Angeles on April 27. The two sides tried and failed to reach a deal in November.

Back in 2019, Hussle’s family–his brother Sam, sister Samantha and mother, Angelique—obtained guardianship of Hussle’s daughter. They claimed  Foster was an unfit parent who had a history of drug and alcohol abuse. The parties were then ordered to attend a mediation which failed.

Foster initially agreed that the family should get guardianship because of her “financial limitations” at that time. But, Foster returned to court last year asking for it to be dissolved.

T.I. and Tiny Harris cried foul after they learned a judge declared a mistrial in their intellectual property suit against toymaker MGA, Billboard reported.

On day five of the trial, Moneice Campbell, a former MGA customer, testified via videotaped depsosition that she would no longer purchase the company’s products because MGA “steals from African Americans and their ideas and profit off of it.”

Campbell also claimed that “hundreds” of social media users agreed with her and added that “people often steal from the Black community and make money off of it,” according to Billboard.

Judge James V. Selna agreed with MGA’s attorneys that the testimony was “inflammatory” and wouldn’t grant their client a fair trial.”

The trial started January 17 and has been highly anticipated given the context of the case. The lawsuit, filed in 2021, accuses MGA of “cultural appropriation and outright theft of the intellectual property,” stealing the look of former popular girl group, OMG Girlz.

Billboard reported the suit included side-by-side images, aiming to show each doll’s resemblance to the members of the group. The OMG Girlz responded with counterclaims also alleging trade dress infringement and unfair competition. They’ve sought damages and an order blocking further sale of the infringing dolls, according to Bloomberg Law.

“We are disappointed that the trial was cut short,” MGA said, “but look forward to vindicating our rights in the next trial.”

Selna prohibited such testimony to jurors earlier in the trial, ruling such statements “cultural appropriation” and “immaterial and impertinent” to the actual legal issues.

The OMG Girlz rose to fame in 2011 after being signed to Tameka “Tiny” Cottle Harris’ Pretty Hustle record label in 2009. Their colorful hair and eccentric clothing choices made them a popular act among young teen girls, with their looks constantly being recreated.

The same looks can also be seen, almost identically, on the L.O.L. O.M.G Dolls seasons 1-3 and dance dance dance collections. MGA Entertainment’s dance dance dance L.O.L Surprise doll collection also featured a main character called “Major Lady,” with physical looks similar to Harris.

The trial will have 31 dolls featured. A lawyer for the toy giant said there will be mini-trials so each doll can be explored fully.