Police officials in Plano, TX have issued an arrest warrant for Dallas Cowboys football player, Sam Williams.

According to TMZ Sports, police are looking for the Cowboys’ rookie defensive end to turn himself in because of his alleged role in a car crash last month.

The police department told the media outlet that the misdemeanor warrant is for reckless driving. A spokesperson from the department stated that “at this time, there is no plan to find and arrest” the 23-year-old rookie, but Williams “has been contacted to turn himself in.” But, the spokesperson did say that if Williams is stopped by police officers before turning himself in, “he would be arrested then.” Williams was involved in an automobile accident when he crashed his car, a Black Corvette, into another vehicle around 2:15 p.m. on Dec. 22 in Plano.

Girls night out is about to get a whole lot fancier.

Celebrity chef and restaurateur Nik Fields is gearing up for the grand opening of her business, Chic Chef 77 Bistro & Wine Bar, Arizona’s first Black-owned wine bar.

The entrepreneur, who is a Brooklyn native, planted the location in Phoenix, where she currently resides.

Fields’ vision was to provide an upscale site for customers to  introduce their taste buds to new drink options in a comfortable setting.

Chic Chef 77 will offer customers an international wine menu that includes a 200-bottle list. Additionally, the bar will have a food menu full of bar bites, cheese imported from Denmark, fresh Norwegian salmon, and farm-to-table vegetables grown by local farmers.

Customers with a sweet tooth will also be able to try one of Fields’ desserts, including a crème brûlée and an apple pie crumble with vanilla ice cream and salted caramel drizzle.

The location will also be available to host wine-filled events, such as “paint and sips” and private tastings.

 

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Chic Chef 77 will also feature an interactive Taste Makers series geared towards educating and introducing patrons to new wines. The series will include a table-side pour and an on-site sommelier to answer questions from attendees.

“We will have the owner of the wine on-site and house international wines from all countries, not just local and Italy, which is the traditional way,” Fields said.

“We have wines from Greece, Asia, Pakistan and Poland, but our focus is the majority of wines from Black-owned brands. We will have live music, including DJs, a violinist and poetry on designated nights,” she added.

Chic Chef 77 Bistro & Wine Bar will host its grand opening on Wine Down Wednesday, Feb. 8.

• News

by Diamond Jeune

January 12, 2023

A 17-Year-Old’s Courageous Act Earns Him Highest Honor in U.S. Army’s JROTC Program

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Cadet Second Lieutenant Kaheem Bailey-Taylor’s bravery and mission of wanting to help others recently earned the 17-year-old a Medal of Heroism, following his actions to save a friend’s life after last year’s shooting in North Philadelphia. 

The unthinkable event occurred in August 2022 when Bailey-Taylor attended a birthday party for a family member. Moments after leaving the festivities, gunshots broke out, and Bailey-Taylor headed back to the residence. 

News outlets reported that while assessing the chaotic situation, which left four wounded victims ranging in age from 15 to 18 years old, Bailey-Taylor briefly tended to the three individuals before helping a friend and JROTC classmate with life-threatening injuries from a gunshot wound to the stomach. 

While applying pressure to his friend’s wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding, Bailey-Taylor also kept the victim alert by talking to him before the paramedics came. When the ambulance arrived, Bailey-Taylor assisted the medical professionals and ensured his friend made it to the hospital safely. Because of Bailey-Taylor’s actions, his friend survived. In December of that same year, a teenage male was apprehended in connection to the crime. 

The following month, on Jan. 6, a special ceremony was held at the Philadelphia Military Academy to honor Bailey-Taylor. During the event, he was presented with the Medal of Heroism. According to the U.S. Army, this award is given to individuals that “perform an act of heroism” in a dangerous situation.

Following the ceremony, in an interview with Fox 29, Bailey-Taylor credited the JROTC for helping him obtain the skills to act promptly in any dire situation. He said, “If it wasn’t for ROTC, I probably wouldn’t have known what I was doing.” Bailey-Taylor’s mother and biggest supporter, Chantel Taylor, expressed how proud she was of her son, while sharing how grateful the victim’s mother was for his actions.

She stated, “‘Tell your son, thank you, he saved my son’s life. My son might not be here if it wasn’t for him.’ You know, he is who he is. That’s my shining star.”

Aside from being a shining star, Bailey-Taylor plans to graduate from the program very soon and pursue a career in homeland security.

• Business

by Sharelle B. McNair

January 12, 2023

To Be Successful and Black: Black Business Owners Kicked Out of Shopping Malls Across the Country

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There is something going on with Black entrepreneurs and America’s shopping malls.

Black business owners across the country are seeing a pattern of being kicked out of their rented spaces. In the prime of the holiday shopping season, Southpoint Mall in Virginia gave business owner Italia Talley a lease termination with no prior warning on Christmas Eve.

It was reported that it was because of Santa Claus displays in her store that showed a playful image of Santa being tied up by models, playing off the idea of “naughty and nice.” Talley said to The Shade Room that she was told those images shouldn’t be displayed. “He said ‘You can’t tie Santa up! You can’t tie Santa up with a rope!'”

Talley said business was good for the eight months she was there. However, because she was given less than a week to vacate the premises, she had to throw out many of her things. Her termination notice, obtained by one outlet, did not state why she was being evicted.

It seems to be a pattern of attempting to remove Black businesses from shopping malls as soon as they’re deemed successful.

In 2021, news spread of a barbershop in Charlotte, NC opening a space in the affluent Southpark Mall. A few weeks later, WCNC reported that mall management told owners, Damian and Jermaine Johnson, that their temporary lease would be terminated early. The mall said it was because they were in talks with a permanent tenant. After the news made the rounds on social media, reports came in that the business would be staying.

Up the road in Durham, another business owner experienced something similar. Last year, popular sneaker and specialty clothing store, Sir Castle Tees, was forced to close after the mall served him eviction papers without warning. Earning over $1 million in sales after only being open six months, owner Michael Phillips felt he was targeted for being good at what he does, and a shooting that caused a lot of chaos. “We are definitely the hot commodity because we do everything that everybody wants on the internet,” Phillips told ABC 11.

The source reported that the shooting happened nowhere near Phillips’ store. As for Talley, since news of her lease termination broke, mall management has asked her to come back to Southpoint, however, she’s not sure if she wants to make that commitment again.

This Black woman is stepping into the future of the prestigious museum that takes visitors on a journey through the past.

The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in downtown Washington D.C., has appointed its deputy director role to historian and author Michelle Commander.

According to The Washington Informer, Commander’s role will comprise of a spread of duties that include assisting and collaborating with the overall planning, development, and management of the museum’s activities. Responsibilities for Commander as deputy director will also involve supporting the work on the current Living History campaign, expanding the museum’s technologies, and leading the education and publications offices.

Extended expectations for Commander’s new role also call for the development of partnerships and the implementation of an educational and engaging environment among Smithsonian museums.

“With her wide-ranging work on global slavery, West Africa, and Afrofuturism, Michelle is deeply anchored in history with an understanding of how historic collections intersect with our contemporary world,” said Kevin Young, the museum’s Andrew W. Mellon director.

“She has a demonstrated record of embracing innovation to expand a museum’s reach to various communities,” Young added.

Commander is suited to move into her new role at the museum following her positions as deputy director of research and strategic initiatives at the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Schomburg’s associate director, and curator of the Lapidus Center for the Historical Analysis of Transatlantic Slavery.

The Black history scholar obtained her bachelor’s degree from Charleston Southern University. She expanded her studies, receiving master’s degrees from Florida State University and the University of Southern California, and a doctorate from USC. Commander has written books and articles, in addition to teaching at the University of Tennessee.

Commander replaces the recently retired Kinshasha Holman Conwill. The museum announced her exit in December.

Since 1934, the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder (MSR) newspaper has been committed to telling Black stories with honesty, integrity, and optimism.

When it originally started as two separate publications, the Minneapolis Spokesman and the St. Paul Recorder, founder Cecil E. Newman recognized the lack of positive news coverage around his community and single-handedly set forth to change that.

Now, 88 years later, Cecil’s granddaughter, Tracey Williams-Dillard, is the CEO and publisher, carrying on Newman’s legacy from the paper’s office in South Minneapolis.

The MSR is the oldest Black-owned newspaper in Minnesota and one of the longest-standing, family-owned newspapers in the country. In 2020, the pandemic presented new obstacles for the Black newspaper, forcing a quick pivot to stay afloat. “Less people were advertising in print, which meant less income, so we had to focus on driving advertising to the MSR website since the internet was where people were spending time when they didn’t leave their houses,” Williams-Dillard tells BLACK ENTERPRISE.

In fact, newspapers all across the country were forced to scramble and push their digital publication as streets, coffee shops, public transportation, and other public areas where newspapers are typically bought were suddenly deserted.

In addition to doing more through its digital presence, the MSR’s staff needed to start working from home, something different from the vibrant press offices of daily newspapers. However, the paper and its staff took the challenge head-on. “We learned how to shift to doing most of our editorial and layout processes remotely, which has been a successful change for our editorial and design team,” Williams-Dillard adds.

The MSR also prioritized keeping its readers aware of the latest, updated information on COVID-19, how to stay safe, and where to get vaccinated. The information was paramount for Black Americans who were initially infected and fell to COVID-19 at higher rates than almost all other racial demographics in the U.S.

“When we put the information out there, our goal is to keep it fresh and keep what’s going on right-now-relevant,” Williams-Dillard says. “Online has a lot more of a youth-oriented slant to it, because [youth] are digital. On our website, we try to have a balance for the younger readers and the older readers.”

Since the MSR’s first issue was released on Aug. 10, 1934, the newspaper has been a family business connecting readers to Minnesota’s Black community through its journalism.

“Multiple generations of involvement from family members, serving the community with honest journalism, has remained at the forefront of the newspaper’s mission. In terms of our integrity, it has taken us a really long way and allowed us to remain successful,” Williams-Dillard says. “From my grandfather down to myself, and my grandmother and my family in between, we all strived to make sure our values were held to high standards.”

Today, Williams-Dillard is proud to see first-hand that the MSR can add a worldwide pandemic to the things it has survived since its first issue.

“It feels good to see the other side,” Williams-Dillard says.

“I’m proud of being able to weather such a huge storm, especially considering how many businesses closed and are still closing today from the after-effects of the pandemic.”

In addition to celebrating the continued excellence of MSR, Williams-Dillard was also named one of AARP’s 50 Over 50 in 2022.

Learn more about how U.S. Bank can support your business now and into the future.

An NBA player took the time to reward a young basketball fan who, while waiting to get an autograph from him, had her basketball stolen from her by two people who were also at the arena.

According to NBA.com, Memphis Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant reached out to a young basketball fan to give her some gifts after two thieves took a basketball she possessed that contained the autographs of several professional basketball players. The fan, Ellie Hughes, had been collecting signatures for the past six years.

Hughes is an 11-year-old Memphis Grizzlies fan who attended a game against the San Antonio Spurs. The girl was waiting for her turn to speak to Morant when the thieves stole the basketball.

After learning about the incident through social media, Morant asked followers on his Twitter page if anyone knew who the young girl’s family was.

do anybody know the family info? https://t.co/mS4JCNKaZf

— Ja Morant (@JaMorant) January 11, 2023

The point guard got in touch with Hughes’ family and invited her and her relatives to Wednesday night’s game against the Spurs. He gave the girl his game-worn jersey and an unreleased pair of Ja 1 Nike shoes.

“Ja Morant gifted 11-year-old Ellie Hughes a pair of his Ja 1 sneakers and an autographed jersey after his 38-point game. Morant told her that she’s one of just a few people in the world who have the shoe. Hughes reportedly had her basketball stolen at the Grizz game on Monday.”

Ja Morant gifted 11-year old Ellie Hughes a pair of his Ja 1 sneakers and an autographed jersey after his 38-point game. Morant told her that she’s one of just a few people in the world who have the shoe.
Hughes reportedly had her basketball stolen at the Grizz game on Monday. pic.twitter.com/8p2QKAO8uJ

— Damichael Cole (@DamichaelC) January 12, 2023

“It’s something I pretty much love to do,” Morant said. “You touch somebody’s heart like that. A big fan of the Grizzlies for years. It’s moments like that that mean the most to them. Something they will never forget.”

Morant scored 38 points as the Memphis Grizzlies beat San Antonio 135-129 for their eighth straight win.

For many, the COVID-19 pandemic was a time when people were forced to pull back on their dreams to simply survive.

However, for Malobi Achike, the pandemic presented the opportunity to start her own business. Achike always planned to have her own business and focus on workplace equity, but what prompted her to take the leap was a world in turmoil. When COVID-19 happened she and her husband were both working from home and their son had to be homeschooled.

“The stress level and the impact of the moment was immediate,” Achike tells BLACK ENTERPRISE. So, she quit her corporate DEI [diversity, equity, and inclusion] job thinking, that she could take time to figure out her next steps. But before her two-week notice was up, she says, “George Floyd happened, and it was heartbreaking to watch that.”

As the summer continued and the Black Lives Matter movement dominated headlines, Achike noticed a lot of companies posting Black tiles and Black Lives Matter on their social media channels in solidarity.

“And that was the moment I knew I needed to do something about it. That was the day that DEI Directive was born.”

DEI Directive helps proactively operationalize an organization’s diversity, equity, and inclusion health so it can unleash the creative powers of an inclusive, diverse workforce and reap the benefits of a DEI-optimized workplace. Giving these organizations access to real-time and comprehensive data help expedite this process.

Achike knew the only thing harder than keeping a business running during the pandemic was starting a new business. She had to quickly figure out how to connect with and build trusting relationships with stakeholders, strategic partners, customers, and investors remotely.

“We knew pretty quickly that we had to get creative in how we engaged with, did outreach and interacted with our prospective customers, stakeholders and others,” Achike said. “Social media, particularly LinkedIn, became a huge part of our strategy and allowed us to find our ideal audience, form relationships in ways that were and felt authentic, and connect with these people in real-time and ultimately build that critical foundation of trust.”

Achike also got a boost from the U.S. Bank Business Access Group, which focuses on addressing access issues for under-represented businesses. As a new business with no established credit history, during a pandemic, it was difficult for DEI Directive to secure a business credit card with a decent credit limit.

“The U.S. Bank Business Access Group helped us navigate that process seamlessly and were ultimately able to secure our credit cards, which in turn, gave us the opportunity to build and establish a credit history for the business,” Achike added. “This was an incredible lifeline that allowed us to hire vendors and take on other expenditures that we otherwise would not have been able to undertake had we had to pay in cash. U.S. Bank was the first banking institution that provided that service to us, and being able to establish good credit for the business ultimately makes other financial transactions that much easier.”

U.S. Bank was an important resource for Achike when she started DEI Directive, helping it grow both business-wise and on a personal level over the last few years. Achike said the pandemic really forced the company into some challenging scenarios, but it also created an opportunity to figure out ways to work smarter, more creatively, and more efficiently.

“The pandemic also forced us to explore and seek out entrepreneur support organizations and community organizations, to leverage their services,” Achike said. “A lot of the resourcefulness that came out of the pandemic is simply going to stay with us. We will continue to adopt that lean methodology moving forward and as we grow.”

Learn more about how U.S. Bank can support your business now and into the future.

• Celebrity News

by Diamond Jeune

January 12, 2023

‘Today’ Host Al Roker Reveals His Children Gave Him ‘Strength’ During Health Scare

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Al Roker can be characterized as the epitome of strength and courage following his health scare that left him hospitalized and unable to work.  

Last November, the Today anchor was admitted to the hospital after suffering deep vein thrombosis related to his COVID-19 diagnosis. Cleveland Clinic describes the condition as a blood clot in deep veins. Most common cases are typically located in the “legs, thighs, and pelvis,” but they can appear in  the “arm, brain, intestines, liver or kidney.” 

The site states that the causes of deep vein thrombosis are various, including having an inherited genetic condition, obesity, limited mobility for an extended period, restricted blood flow in the deep vein, previously diagnosed with COVID-19. .   

Those suffering from this condition can treat it with blood thinners, compression stockings, or surgery. In Roker’s case, who had blood clots in his legs and lungs, he had to undergo a surgical procedure. Shortly after his surgery, Roker was readmitted to the hospital due to complications. Since then, the 68-year-old has returned home and to work.

 

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On Wednesday, Roker credited his wife, Deborah Roberts, and their blended family of three children, Courtney Roker, Leila Roker, and Nicolas Roker, on his excellent bill of health. During an episode of Today, Roker explained that when he was hospitalized, he didn’t know how bad his condition was or that his family was incredibly worried.

The weatherman described the little gestures 20-year-old Nicolas would do during his hospital stay.

While claiming that his children were his strength in that trying time in his life, Roker said, “Nick would walk by every 15 or 20 minutes and lean over, kiss me on the head and say, ‘I love you, Dad. I don’t know it’s it’s a guy thing, but as a dad, you just don’t want your kids to see you vulnerable. You’re supposed to be their strength. And in fact, they were my strength.”

Roker wrapped up the discussion by informing his co-workers that his family was the “best medicine” that helped him through the uncertainty.

When a Black woman is well-versed in a wealth of knowledge, the power will always be in her hands.

Former Powerhandz CEO Danyel Surrency Jones is venturing toward new business endeavors as she maneuvers her knowledge of business and leadership strategies as the newly appointed head of Amazon’s Black Business Accelerator (BBA) program.

Jones’ new role with the company complements her 16-year track record of cross-functional experience developing Fortune 100 & 500 companies. Her responsibilities with the company reflect a multitude of previous successes that include leading the company to launch in Amazon’s BBA & Champs Pembroke Pines and closing a multimillion-dollar tender offer and capital injection from Vanguard Holdings. Jones’s efforts allowed for further expansion of the brand into boxing, punctuating the 2022 World Boxing Council’s 60^th Anniversary convention in Acapulco, Mexico.

“I’ve always been a builder, and the chance to help other Black entrepreneurs achieve their dreams in business with the support of Amazon is equal parts thrilling and humbling,” Jones said.

“This role goes far beyond selling products and is a tremendous opportunity to aid in the building of legacies for Black entrepreneurs, which is deeply fulfilling at this stage in my career. I cannot wait to work alongside the brilliant minds at Amazon to amplify the stories and innovations that come from the Black community of entrepreneurs,” she added.

Jones was a highlighted CEO of the BLACK ENTERPRISE Amazon Small Business Superheroes in August 2022.

Powerhandz is an athletic training and rehabilitation product tech company that has expanded globally across 87 countries, introducing innovative methods for athletes and fitness enthusiasts across multiple sports to improve human performance.

“When you look at a company like Powerhandz, who only needs access to opportunity to grow, the biggest benefits that Amazon provides are reach and credibility,” Jones said at the time, adding that her initial mission to “impact the life cycle of a generation of athletes and disrupt the health and wellness statistics for the general fitness community.”