Viola Davis is readily open to retelling her personal experiences with colorism in Hollywood, including the time when a director called her by his maid’s name.

On May 19, the Oscar and Emmy-winning actor attended Kering at the Cannes Film Festival for a compelling Women In Motion conversation, where she revealed an experience of micro-aggressions, Variety reported.

“He said, ‘Louise!,’” Davis began I knew him for 10 years and he called me Louise and I find out that it’s because his maid’s name is Louise,” Davis said. “I was maybe around 30 at the time, so it was a while ago. But what you have to realize is that those micro-aggressions happen all the time.”

In her recently released memoir ‘Finding Me,’ Davis talks about the scrutiny she faced over her beauty and looks from fellow Black actors in “How to Get Away With Murder,” due to her being darker-skinned. Yet, she won an Emmy for her historic leading role in one of the only series with a dark-skinned Black woman lead on television.

“I know that when I left ‘How to Get Away With Murder’ that I don’t see a lot of dark skin women in lead roles on TV and not even in streaming services,” Davis said, in conversation at Cannes. “And that ties into ideology and ethos and mentality, and that’s speaking in the abstract. Why aren’t you hiring a dark skin woman when she walks in the room and you say she blows you away? Create space and storytelling for her so when she thrives she’s not thriving despite of her  circumstance but thriving because of her circumstance.”

At another point, Davis further spoke about Hollywood’s limiting opportunities as a result of her race or talent not deeming her “pretty enough.” The issues are still ongoing, according to the actress.

“A lot of it is based in race. It really is,” said Davis. “Let’s be honest. If I had my same features and I were five shades lighter, it would just be a little bit different. And if I had blonde hair, blue eyes and even a wide nose, it would be even a little bit different than what it is now. We could talk about colorism, we could talk about race. It pisses me off, and it has broken my heart — on a number of projects, which I won’t name.”

Davis wants to take action through her production company JuVee Productions, which she established with her husband Julius Tennon. Her upcoming warrior epic The Woman King will reflect “all of the things that the world told me were limiting: Black women with crinkly, curly hair who were darker than a paper bag, who were warriors,” she said, as per The Hollywood Reporter.

• Technology

by Black Enterprise Shop

May 21, 2022

Never Scramble For Cloud Storage Again Thanks To This Bundle

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These days, you’re more likely to find a file cabinet as an exhibit at a museum than in someone’s house or at an office complex.

As computers continue to establish themselves in every walk of life, so have their storage capabilities. Everyone has made use of computer storage in some manner. Professionals store work documents and records on computers. Videographers save their files on their computers. City governments have even begun to migrate records online to the cloud. With many people working from home these days, sufficient storage is even more paramount.

More space means more videos, photos, files and music. Unfortunately, everything has a limit. There’s nothing worse than having to dump photos or videos because your device’s storage has reached its limit.

This bundle not only solves your storage needs but also protects your data from getting into the wrong hands. For a limited time, The Lifetime Backup & Security Subscription Bundle is available for just $89.99. That’s a savings of 97% from its MSRP ($3,799).

With Degoo Premium, you’ll have access to 10TB of secured backup space. That’s more backup space than Dropbox, OneDrive and Google Drive combined. Your data is protected by ultra-secure 256-bit AES encryption, and sharing and managing files is a breeze.

More than 6,500 users have rated Degoo Premium 4.5 stars on the App Store. More than 590,000 people on the Google Play Store have rated it 4.4 stars.

A lifetime subscription to KeepSolid VPN Unlimited is included in this bundle. It’s the best-selling VPN of all time. This VPN reliably protects your data on any public WiFi network, and it allows users to surf the internet without speed or bandwidth limits. Users have access to more than 500 VPN servers with more than 80 locations globally. It packs military-grade AES 256-bit encryption, and there’s extra protection with a kill switch on iOS, macOS, Android, and Windows platforms

It’s received acclaim as PC Mag’s “Top VPN” and Laptop Review Pro dubbed it “Best VPN for Laptop.” This bundle has a 5-star rating from 60 verified purchasers. “10TB of storage for the pictures I cherish the most and a solid VPN! Not to mention that the Degoo file storage does more than just save pictures and movies but all files that you would want stored for safekeeping,” writes 5-star reviewer Daniel S.

Give yourself peace of mind in knowing you’ll have more than enough space and purchase this bundle today.

Prices subject to change.

Another court case against comedian Bill Cosby will be taking place next week after his attorneys failed to have the case thrown out.

According to USA Today, a civil lawsuit filed against Cosby back in 2014, is expected to commence Monday with jury selection in Santa Monica, California.

The accuser is Judy Huth, who says Cosby groped her as a teenager at the Playboy Mansion in 1974. The case was delayed in 2015 after the legendary entertainer was arrested in Pennsylvania on sex-crime charges.

Cosby and his attorneys tried to have Huth’s lawsuit dismissed. “Plaintiff has a whole new story now: she claims that the incident happened in February and/or March 1975 –shortly before her 17th birthday,” according to a motion filed last week by Cosby’s lawyer, Jennifer Bonjean.

According to The New York Daily News, first met Cosby in 1974. The 37-year-old star approached the 15-year-old Huth and her 16-year-old friend, who watched him work on a film set. Huth claimed Cosby served her alcohol a few days later and took her to what she believed was the Playboy Mansion.

• News

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

May 20, 2022

Brooklyn Mother Arrested for Beating 9-Year-Old Daughter to Death Over Missing Tablet

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A Brooklyn mother is being held without bond after brutally beating her 9-year-old daughter to death inside of their Crown Heights apartment.

Shemene Cato, 48, was arraigned on Tuesday and charged with second-degree murder for brutally beating Shalom Guifarro, 9, and her 13-year-old sister for two hours before fatally injuring Shalom on Sunday, NY Post reports.

Cops finally showed up after the 13-year-old managed to sneak off and call 911. Police arrived at the apartment around 1 p.m. and found Shalom unconscious and badly bruised.

“A doctor at the medical examiner’s office determined that Shalom suffered multiple blunt force impact injures about the head and body, resulting in internal bleeding which ultimately caused the death of Shalom,” Brooklyn Assistant District Attorney David Ingle said.

The girl was attempting o escape the attack and crawled under the bed, Pix 11 reports. When Cato tried to pull her out from under the bed, one of the legs broke and the bed fell on the child’s head, prosecutors claim. The girl suffered multiple blunt force injuries to her head, face, and body and died of internal bleeding.

Cato was arrested Monday after the medical examiner ruled the girl’s death a homicide. Neighbors say they often heard yelling and screaming coming out of the apartment.

“I heard a lot of screaming and fighting from the apartment,” neighbor Jason Rahimzadeh said.

“I heard loud arguments at least 10 times, where they were screaming at the top of their lungs. The family kept to themselves.

Court records show police had visited the apartment 14 times in the past for domestic violence reports. However, most of the cases were Cato’s complaints of alleged harassment by her ex.

Neighbors say they witnessed Cato being volatile towards her kids.

“Their mother frequently cussed them out and wouldn’t let them play with the other kids on the block,” Bart Hubbuch, who owns the bar near the apartment, said.

BLACK ENTERPRISE’s Entrepreneurs Summit assembled a panel of experts for a discussion on “Finding Your Flavor: Building Business & Success in the Food Industry.”

Launching a business in the food industry isn’t always a piece of cake. Experts shared their journeys and strategies to launch and scale a food brand and provided insight into current and future food trends.

Speakers included Derrick Hayes, founder, Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks, Nahum Jeannot, founder and CEO, GoOats; and Tanya Hill-Holliday, owner/operator, McDonald’s, vice-chair, National Black McDonald’s Association Moderator.

Moderated by BLACK ENTERPRISE Senior Vice President/Editor-at-Large, Alfred Edmond, Jr., panelists explored the variety of avenues available for new entrepreneurs and how to build the team that will get you there.

For Hill-Holliday, owning and operating 12 McDonald’s franchises is no easy feat. But she remembers the days when she was working at the fast-food giant as a way through college.

What started as a job, eventually developed into corporate positions that helped open her eyes to the possibility of becoming an owner. Hill-Holliday worked around so many people who became owners that she decided to finally go after her piece of the pie.

“My drive was around that passion of ‘you’re doing it well for other folks, so do it for yourself.'”

Hayes shared how his late father served as inspiration to get himself out of the streets of West Philadelphia and start a business of his own. Using money from a disability settlement, Hayes relocated to Atlanta and eventually started a food chain representing his hometown.

Jeannot shared his journey from working as a chef to launching GoOats. He recalled the sacrifices he had to make, like selling his car and downsizing to a basement apartment from a condo so that he could afford to manage his business properly.

“Nobody is going to work hard at your dream. You have to do the work,” Jeannot said.

Panelists spoke candidly about their past struggles and how the setbacks shaped their future success in the food industry. A reoccurring theme was how they all had to change their mindset from thinking about working a job to running a business.

Looking back, Hill-Holliday doesn’t regret a thing.

“You gotta clean the toilets in order to own them someday,” she said.

She praised her journey for teaching her discipline, time management, money management, and the importance of giving others employment opportunities.

• entrepreneurs-summit

by Derek Major

May 20, 2022

Journalist And Entrepreneur Marc Lamont Hill Talks Social Media, Technology and The Fight For Racial Justice

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The second day of the Black Enterprise Entrepreneurs Summit began with a bang as a political commentator and entrepreneur Marc Lamont Hill discussed the motivation behind his new book, Seen and Unseen, Technology, Social Media and the Fight for Racial Justice.

“We were trying to figure out the moment George Floyd was killed,” Hill said.

“We were home, if you had a job, you were working from home and we were trying to figure out why the streets of Philadelphia, Minnesota, Atlanta and New York were on fire protesting this murder and I say that because Black death happens every day. Our sons, daughters, mothers and fathers are killed every single day. Sometimes by police, sometimes by vigilantes and sometimes by each other. But we die every day and every day does not spark the same outrage so why this moment?”

Hill was joined in the discussion by BLACK ENTERPRISE Senior Vice President and Chief Content Officer Derek Dingle. In addition to Hill’s book, the two men also discussed how Black people have always used the media to show the world what is being done to them. He cited examples such as Bloody Sunday on the Edmund Pettis Bridge and Emmitt Till‘s mother allowing Jet Magazine to photograph her son’s open casket after his death.

“She said I want the world to know what they did to my boy,” Hill said to the audience. “So the social media of the time, Jet Magazine, when that picture is put on the cover it has an impact that leads to the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and it’s not just the image it’s how the image is used. That’s a responsibility all of us have as business owners, activists and citizens. As Jesse Jackson told me, text without context is pretext, we need the context and so the context here is to show what the world is doing to us and Black folk have always been strategic about how we use technology and media to tell our story.”

The two men also touched on how Black business owners and entrepreneurs can sustain Black movements through time. During the Black Lives Matter movement, businesses across the country made equity pledges, promising to hire and promote Black men and women into management positions. However, two years later that talk has died down and the actual numbers are much lower than what was promised.

Hill discussed the topic using the bookstore he owns in Philadelphia, Uncle Bobby’s Coffee & Books.

“I think the first thing we have to do is invest in us,” Hill told the audience. “I own a black bookstore and I sell books at the best price that I can, but I promise you right now if you go to Amazon you’ll find my book at a cheaper price. But my store gives you some things that Amazon doesn’t.

“We have to begin with a fundamental commitment to us that’s not driven by economic logic. What I’m able to do at Uncle Bobby’s does not just sell books & coffee, we also give everybody a $15 minimum wage, even high school kids and most of our vendors are black and the farmers who produce our beans are from Haiti. Where you spend your money is a political act.”

Hill noted the hundreds of businesses who put out racial equity statements but wondered what exactly did those companies and individuals do?

“Everybody said they’re going to invest in diversity, equity and inclusion but what does that mean two years later? Did those companies hire a Black person or did they create internal mechanisms?” Hill asked. “Once the corporation makes a statement we have to keep our eye on them. It’s not enough for them to say ‘Ok we’re going to hire some black people,’ no, what are the outside mechanisms installed to ensure that there’s always diversity?”

Hill added that in order to move forward, Black people need long-term commitments to equity and diversity and we need to apply pressure and penalty when they don’t give it.

“Don’t be excited that your favorite influencer is on social media bragging about this company, that might make you feel good by proxy, but the deeper thing is how much have they invested in our schools, in our community gardens, in scholarships, because they speak out against the things they’re against.

“Now we need them to speak out against people in Buffalo killed in a supermarket, we need them to speak out against the assault on our education system and they can’t be short-term statements, they have to be long-term initiatives.”

• Lifestyle

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

May 20, 2022

Rihanna Fans Clown Chris Brown For Seemingly Congratulating Rihanna’s Baby Arrival

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Chris Brown seemingly tried showing his support to his ex Rihanna after news spread that she gave birth to a boy. But Rih Rih fans weren’t here for it.

The “Run It” singer took to his Instagram Story on Thursday to post what appeared to be a congratulatory message to Rihanna and A$AP Rocky amid news of the child’s birth in Los Angeles. The post, captured by BuzzFeed, included the word “CONGRATULATIONS” and a few emojis of a heart, prayer hands, and a pregnant woman.

While the post appeared to be Chris Brown’s way of extending an olive branch to his ex, Twitter was quick to clown him and rapper Drake for not being in Rocky’s position.

Chris Brown congratulating Rihanna on his Instagram story: pic.twitter.com/4Cuoy9NkIM

— Beyonce cult member (@soy_jeanne) May 19, 2022

pic.twitter.com/lQOUSz0513

— Señor Sanchez (@CeniorSanchez) May 19, 2022

There were many others who referenced Brown and Rihanna’s past domestic violence case. The singers dated for one year and broke up in 2009 after Brown was arrested for physically assaulting Rihanna, US Weekly reports.

He pleaded guilty to one count of felony assault and was sentenced to five years of probation, community service, and domestic violence counseling. After the brutal beating, Rihanna still referred to Brown as her “true love” in a 2012 interview with Oprah Winfrey and ended up dating the singer again that same year, Hollywood Life reported.

“We’ve built a trust again, and that’s it,” Rihanna said at the time. “We love each other and we probably always will. That’s not anything that we’re going to try to change. That’s not something you can shut off if you’ve ever been in love.”

But since their second and final breakup, Rihanna has moved on and never looked back. Now that she’s a new mom and planning a future with Rocky, Rih Rih fans aren’t letting their foot off Brown’s neck.

No one should be able to come back from beating someone up to near death

— Anna (@anna_alissa_) May 20, 2022

https://twitter.com/Officially_BW/status/1527440887818641416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1527440887818641416%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.buzzfeednews.com%2Farticle%2Fleylamohammed%2Fchris-brown-congratulates-rihanna-baby-asap-rocky

Has everyone just completely forgotten that Chris Brown beat the absolute shit out of Rihanna? Every time I see his name trending I feel like I lived in a parallel universe where he almost beat her to death and in this universe that just didn't happen?

— 16:9 (@HaleyxMariexx) May 19, 2022

There were others who defended Brown and commended him for congratulating his ex.

https://twitter.com/dodgers_0/status/1527452950993731585?s=20&t=JlE_OIIq_yoiB3acHKVIcw

https://twitter.com/effizzzyy/status/1527380706657062931?s=20&t=JlE_OIIq_yoiB3acHKVIcw

• Lifestyle

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

May 20, 2022

Nick Cannon Reveals Right Before Birth of 8th Child, He Had A Vasectomy Consultation: ‘I Ain’t Looking to Populate the Earth Completely’

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Entertainer and businessman Nick Cannon, who has been spreading his “love” around a lot lately has admitted recently that he has had a vasectomy consultation.

On a recent appearance with E! News’ Daily Pop earlier this week, the Masked Singer host admitted that after having seven children and expecting the eighth one now, he isn’t “looking to populate the Earth completely” which is why he had a vasectomy consultation.

While speaking to hosts Justin Sylvester and Loni Love, Cannon stated, “I don’t know if I would’ve designed it this way, but it’s one of those things when you’re blessed with the gifts of children—and as we all know, I’ve been through so much, I find solace, I find peace in my children and I find purpose.

“I already went and got my vasectomy consultation. I ain’t looking to populate the Earth completely, but I’m definitely looking forward to taking care and loving all the children that I currently have.”

The comedian and Wild ‘N Out creator was promoting his current mixtape, Raw & B: The Explicit Tape which has him dwelling on details from his personal life. He expresses to the hosts that being busy with his career in entertainment does not give him many opportunities to spend time with all his children which makes him feel guilty at times.

“I do have the guilt of not having enough time to spend with all of my children, as we all do because we’re working and constantly going. Especially right now when they’re younger. We was doing little league with my 5-year-old [Golden Cannon] this weekend. We got swim practice this week. I take my kids to school every morning. I FaceTime. Two weeks ago, [twins Moroccan and Monroe Cannon, 11] had their birthday party. We shut down Six Flags.”

Earlier this year, Cannon’s latest venture, The Wild ‘N Out Sports Bar and Arcade opened its doors in the heart of San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter, Fox 5 San Diego reported. The new two-story entertainment venue combines a restaurant, sports bar, and arcade, all themed around Cannon’s popular freestyle comedy show.

In March, according to The Sun, the talk show hosted by Cannon was canceled due to low ratings. The show was on the air less than a year, debuting last fall to dismal ratings. A source revealed to The Sun that Nick Cannon garnered a .4 through the season, reaching around 400,000 viewers.

The Black bird-watcher who went viral in 2020 after he was targeted by a white woman who accused him of threatening he is bouncing back with his own television show.

On Thursday, National Geographic announced Christian Cooper as the host of a new series called Extraordinary Birder, NPR reported. In the series, Cooper takes viewers into the “wild, wonderful, and unpredictable world of birds.”

“Whether braving stormy seas in Alaska for puffins, trekking into rainforests in Puerto Rico for parrots, or scaling a bridge in Manhattan for a peregrine falcon, he does whatever it takes to learn about these extraordinary feathered creatures and show us the remarkable world in the sky above,” the network said in a statement.

Cooper gushed over the opportunity. He has been watching birds since he was 10.

“I love spreading the gospel of birding,” Cooper told the New york Times.

Lifelong birder Christian Cooper (@blackburniannyc) will take us into the wild, wonderful and unpredictable world of birds in his new show, The Extraordinary Birder. pic.twitter.com/2ZwTlZ3JmN

— National Geographic TV (@NatGeoTV) May 16, 2022

Cooper was falsely accused of threatening a white woman who has since been dubbed “Central Park Karen.” The woman, Amy Cooper (no relation), was walking her dog in New York’s Central Park and witnessed Cooper bird watching.

Christian Cooper filmed the encounter that showed Amy Cooper calling the cops and falsely accusing him of harassing her.

“I’m in the Ramble. And there is a man, African American—he has a bicycle helmet. He’s recording me and threatening me and my dog.”

When later asked why he chose to record the incident, Cooper noted the irony while highlighting his natural passion for birds.

“Well, that’s a little bit of the irony, it had nothing to do with race,” Christian told CBS Mornings Gayle King.

“It was just a conflict between a dog-walker and a birder.”

Amy Cooper ended up having to temporarily surrender her dog and was fired from her job shortly after the incident, CBS reported. She was also charged with a misdemeanor that was later dismissed.

BLACK ENTERPRISE’s Entrepreneurs Summit was in high gear Thursday for the Entrepreneurs Summit Awards celebration.

The ceremony recognizes exemplary entrepreneurs who have blazed trails in their industries, dominated markets, and embody the spirit of legendary business icon and BLACK ENTERPRISE founder Earl G. Graves, Sr. This year’s illustrious winners received accolades for their business prowess, leadership, and track record of Black excellence.

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