Dropbox Exec Prioritizes Hiring People of Color, Gets Accused of Violating Civil Rights Act
A Dropbox executive who posted a tweet announcing her dedication to hiring more people of color is under scrutiny by critics who say she’s violating equal opportunity employment laws outlined by the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
On Wednesday, Dropbox’s Senior Director of Product Design, Jasmin Friedl,, announced that she would be “prioritizing” hiring people from “BIPOC” (Black and Indigenous People of Color) and “URM” (underrepresented minorities) communities, CBS Austin reported.
“First up, I care deeply about building teams that represent the communities we work in and the people we serve,” Friedl tweeted.
“I also deeply care about equity in hiring. Therefore, I choose to prioritize folks in our BIPOC and URM communities.”
But her move toward inclusion in the workforce prompted online critics, who called out those Friedl seemingly limited from being hired for the job.
“You do know that your prioritizing process is illegal, right?” one user asked in response.
“Have fun getting sued by the labor department,” another user tweeted along with a link to the Justice Department’s “Types of Employment Discrimination.”
In wake of the heightened racial tension in 2020 that came after George Floyd was murdered, more companies and organizations made diversity and inclusion a priority in their hiring practices, CNBC reported.
Research at the time from human resources consulting company Mercer found that 64% of workers in entry-level positions are white. Among the top executives representing companies across the country, 85% of the positions are held by white people.
The numbers reflect the large gap in minorities entering and being promoted in the workforce. The Economic Policy Institute found that women and minorities were earning less than their white male colleagues.
Meanwhile, companies and even educational institutions that have been prioritizing hiring more people of color have faced criticism from a community who feel these initiatives discriminate against white and Asian students.
Sports Journalist Jarrett Bell First Black Man To Receive Bill Nunn Jr. Writer’s Award
Jarrett Bell, a sports writer and columnist withUSA Today, has been selected as the 2022 Bill Nunn Jr. Award winner by the Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA) for achieving a long and distinguished contribution to pro football through journalistic coverage.
Bell, who has covered the NFL since 1981 and has been with USA Today since 1993, is the 54th honoree and the first Black journalist to receive the honor, according to a statement released by PFWA. He’ll receive his award in August.
🚨NEWS🚨@JarrettBell has been named 2022’s winner of the Bill Nunn Memorial Award, which is presented annually to a reporter who has made a long and distinguished contribution to pro football through coverage.
— Pro Football Hall of Fame (@ProFootballHOF) May 11, 2022
The award is named after Bill Nunn Jr, a celebrated sports writer and editor who worked for 22 years at the Pittsburgh Courier, one of the most influential Black publications in the United States. He began in 1948 covering HBCU events and athletes with the Courier and organized the Black College All-America team for the publication in 1950.
Two years later, Nunn became the Courier‘s sports editor and was the managing editor when the Pittsburgh Steelers hired him as a part-time scout in 1966. He was promoted to the Steelers’ assistant director of player personnel in 1970 and remained with the organization until his death in 2014.
In 2011, Nunn was an inaugural inductee into the Black College Football Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a contributor in 2021.
Bell, on his own path, continues to solidify his name and contributions into the world of pro football and journalism.
A Detroit native, Bell began in sports as a teenager at Olympia Stadium. Since then, he has edited and written for publications such as The Dallas Cowboys Weekly and The Dallas Times Herald.
According to USA Today, Bell has served as a member of the Hall of Fame selection committee, including the hall’s contributors committee, since 1997. He even played a part in the selection of the NFL 100 All-Time Team. The NFL columnist has also been the designated pool reporter for the PFWA at five Super Bowls.
From 2013 to 2017, Bell worked with ESPN as an NFL contributor, primarily serving as a panelist on NFL Insiders.
Bell has received multiple writing awards from the Pro Football Writers of America, including Dick Connor Writing Awards. He won a first-place honor from the Associated Press Sports Editors in 2020
Florida Rapper Rod Wave Allegedly Choked Ex-Girlfriend Until She Couldn’t Breathe
Last month, a rapper from Florida was arrested for allegedly choking his ex-girlfriend.
According to The Tampa Bay Times, the arrest warrant for St. Petersburg rapper Rod Wave was made public for the first time this week. He was apprehended after allegedly choking his ex-girlfriend until she couldn’t breathe on April 24.
The 23-year-old rapper, whose real name is Rodarius Marcell Green, faces a felony charge of domestic battery by strangulation.
Police officers received two 911 phone calls and responded to the victim’s residence in Osceola County. The woman told the deputies that Wave had entered her home and became physically aggressive with her.
The unidentified victim, whose name is redacted in court records, reportedly is an ex-girlfriend of the rapper. She told Osceola deputies that she was sleeping in her bed when she heard the front door open and Rod Wave came into her bedroom. After accusing her of talking to other men, the rapper choked her until she couldn’t breathe. He then left her home in his sports utility vehicle.
He came back and then accused her of taking his cellphone. He proceeded to kick storage shelves near the front door and then grabbed two photos off the wall and threw them on the front porch and sidewalk. After that, he left.
The ex told deputies she dated Wave for about four years, and they had two children. The children were home in their bedroom when this incident occurred.
According to the report, although she was bruised, the woman allegedly refused medical assistance. After police officers took pictures of her injuries, they searched the area for Wave but did not locate him.
About a week later, the rapper was arrested during a traffic stop in St. Petersburg. After posting $5,000 bail, he was released from the Pinellas County Jail on May 3. He has pleaded not guilty to the charge. An attorney for Wave declined to comment on Wednesday.
Actress Vivica A. Fox Under Fire for Calling Kevin Samuels’ Death ‘Karma’
On the Fox Soul show/podcast, Cocktails with Queens—actress Vivica A. Fox, one of the show’s co-hosts, made what some believe was an insensitive comment about the death of the controversial YouTube star Kevin Samuels.
Samuels died on May 5 in his apartment in the company of a woman who frantically attempted to save his life. His death was reported as a cardiac event.
“This man was a hypocrite, in my honest opinion,” said Fox on the show. The hosts were discussing comments by comedian Marlon Wayans who said that Samuels offered “healing through ‘nasty a** medicine.’”
“He really was,” Fox said. “I didn’t find anything about him to be healing. He insulted African American women on a consistent basis.” The 57-year-old actress, like many others, also commented on Samuels’ last video, where he called women over the age of 35 “leftovers.”
“To me, he was a shock jock,” she added. So, the fact that he keeled over real quick and was supposedly with a woman that we don’t yet know the nationality … rest in peace,” she added with an eyebrow raised.
Fox was not the only one of the co-hosts who disagreed with Samuels’ delivery or Wayans opinion on it. The show’s host, Claudia Jordan, said, “I’m gonna say this, and people can be mad at me if they want to. Just because someone passes on it doesn’t mean we can’t say anything honest or negative about you. We can’t be held accountable for the things that we said while we were alive?”
However, she later added, “I think he made some valid points. I think people are very unrealistic about relationships.”
One critic on Instagram wrote, “Gloating on someone’s death is tacky and shows you have no class!!” wrote a detractor on Instagram. “Who are you to judge anybody! You mad the things he said applied to you! Grow up!!”
On Twitter, another detractor wrote, “Vivica Fox hasn’t been relevant since the 90s. She is a leftover woman like Kevin Samuels said, and for her to be so happy about his passing, disguising it as karma. Explains why she’s been irrelevant for decades and still don’t have a man.”
Funeral services for Samuels have yet to be announced.
Black Woman Entrepreneur Opens Two Call Centers, Turns Financial Tragedy into Successful Business
Meet Jennifer Lang, founder and chief executive officer of Jennifer Lang Financial Services, LLC, a Black-owned agency based in Houston, Texas that sells life insurance policies nationwide. Her company has become so successful that she now has two call centers.
Jennifer, like most people, always thought that life insurance was something you needed for a funeral. However, once her mother became ill, she learned that it could be used for so much more.
At the time, Jennifer was working in New York as a corporate manager and an emergency phone call changed all of that. Her mother was being rushed to the hospital and Jennifer left New York for what she thought would be a two or three-week stay. Unfortunately, those weeks turned into ten years as her mother’s full-time caregiver.
Her mother required 24-hour care and being that Medicare doesn’t pay for long-term care costs, only 100 days, she hired home health care aides to assist with her mother’s activities of daily living (ADLs).
The yearly out-of-pocket cost was $35,000, so over this ten year period, her total cost was
$350,000. As she searched for ways to offset the out-of-pocket costs, she learned about long-term care products. However, like any insurance, it has to be in place before the need arises.
The desire to help people avoid this financial learning curve is what propelled Jennifer to obtain her life insurance license. She focused on teaching no stock market risk strategies that would provide life insurance backed solutions to help consumers cover the rising costs of long-term care.
As she started her company and began contracting with multiple life insurance companies, she launched a call center that would be able to offer life insurance quotes at competitive rates to help consumers nationwide, protect their future financial goals.
For more details, visit JenniferLangFinancialServices.com, call 877-487-8926, or visit her office at 440 Louisiana Street, Suite 900, Houston, TX 77002.
The NWBC is a non-partisan federal advisory council established to serve as an independent source of advice and policy recommendations to the president, Congress, and the Small Business Administration (SBA) on issues of importance to women business owners and entrepreneurs.
Williams, who also founded Babson’s Black Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership (BWEL) program, is one of the most influential women in American business, according to a release. She now will share her expertise with the NWBC, whose members have diverse expertise including entrepreneurship, finance, international business, lending and investment and corporate governance.
“I am grateful for this opportunity,” said Williams, who will serve a three-year term as a non-voting member of the council.
“The SBA and CWEL are committed to assisting women business owners at every stage of their life cycle—from startup, growth and succession strategies — with a focus on strategies that encourage women-owned businesses to participate in federal contracts as well as other opportunities available through federal agencies.”
Founders First CDC Commits $100K To Pennsylvania And New Jersey Businesses
The national nonprofit Founders First CDC has announced its second expanded “Job Creators Quest Grant for qualified businesses in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
The program will total $100,000 and be awarded to 30 minority and underrepresented businesses in the neighboring northeast states. Grant recipients will also receive a scholarship to a business accelerator program that includes leadership coaching and continuous business education.
To qualify for the Job Creators quest grant, businesses must have between two and 20 employees, be a service-based business, and be a for-profit company with annual revenue between $100,000 and $3 million.
The business must also be founded by an entrepreneur who identifies as a minority, a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, a military veteran, or is located in a low- to moderate-income area.
Each grant will range between $1,500 and $10,000 And will include a guaranteed spot in one of the Founders First accelerator programs. Recipients will be chosen based on their ability to maintain and grow their workforce and their commitment to creating premium wage jobs in their communities. In the past, funding has supported a wide range of businesses, including a transportation company and a high-tech human capital solutions group.
“Although Pennsylvania and New Jersey are two different states with unique stories to tell, their entrepreneurs are bound by the gritty determination needed to overcome challenges in business and life,” Shaylon Scott, executive director of Founders First, said in a release. “We’re proud to return to both markets in an effort to build long-term relationships and support the ambitious leaders who are inspiring their communities.”
Funding for this program was facilitated by a $1 million national grant from the Rockefeller Foundation and ADP in conjunction with Founders First Capital Partners’ recent $9 million series A financing accelerator supporting under-represented entrepreneurs and underserved communities across the country. JPMorgan Chase and the Kauffman Foundation are also partners in growing the program at the national level.
Additional national and regional partners include Black Enterprise, Spring Point, PIDC, The Enterprise Center, the Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership, ImpactPHL, Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey SBDC, 76Forward, University City Science Center, Juno Capital, the Temple University Small Business Development Center, Village Capital, West Philadelphia Corridor Collaborative, Philly Startup Leaders, and Technical.ly.
Here are three successful, innovative entrepreneurs who benefited from the Founders First financing/ accelerator model.
Angela McIver, Trapezium Math
Trapezium is an online math enrichment program dedicated to increasing the number of children who leave elementary school prepared to succeed in the most rigorous math programs in middle school and beyond.
Trapezium has spent more than a decade developing content aimed at building confident, fearless math learners and teachers at the elementary level. Trapezium is unlike one-on-one math tutoring because it addresses the whole learner through collaborative problem solving and team-building, including differentiated instruction, automaticity, instruction to mastery, and “technology-free” activities and lessons.
IyaSokoya Karade aka Coach Iya, Athletic Arts Academy
The Athletic Arts Academy (A3) is a fully equipped Olympic-styled, 10,500 square foot youth fitness center serving children age 2+, beginner to competitive levels, located in Orange, New Jersey.
A3’s youth training programs include gymnastics, figure skating, and dance. During the coronavirus pandemic, Coach Iya established the A3 Gymnastics Child Care Center L.L.C., a state-licensed program providing remote/virtual learning support and after-school care for school-aged children ages 6 thru 12.
Coach Iya’s professional gymnastics life began in 2000 as a substitute instructor during her daughters’ classes. Seeing a deficiency in safe, developmental, recreational programs in her home area, she opened her first gymnastics school, Karade Gymnastics School, in 2005. Subsequently, A3 in 2014.
Al-Nesha Jones, ASE Group
Al-Nesha Jones founded the ASE Group in 2016 to help individuals and business owners protect what’s most important to them through tax compliance, minimization of tax liabilities, sound record-keeping, and adequate insurance.
The ASE Group is a unique full-service accounting, tax, and advisory firm focused on empowering small business owners to build strong and sustainable businesses. ASE Group specializes in making the dollars make sense through solid recordkeeping, proactive tax planning, tax preparation, and year-round advisory support for entrepreneurs in the NJ/NY/CT/PA area.
ASE’s plans include launching a DIY bookkeeping course bundled with the support of an online community and CPA oversight. The course is being created for new business owners who understand the importance of sound financial recordkeeping but currently lack the resources to outsource their bookkeeping and advisory functions.
Annie Sneed-Godfrey, Water Works Laundromat
Located in Newark, New Jersey, Water Works Laundromat has provided laundry services to residents and businesses throughout Essex, Hudson, and Union counties since 2007.
The laundromat is owned by Annie Sneed-Godfrey and her husband, both proud graduates of Westside High School and Rutgers University, and are trained, corporate executives. Last April, Sneed-Godfrey and her husband opened Smart Sudz Laundromat, Their second state-of-the-art laundry facility.
The couple is now gaining traction as the preferred laundry partner for privately owned and operated senior care and rehabilitation facilities and opening new stores in other counties throughout New Jersey.
Ms. Juicy Baby, Now Moved ‘Out of ICU’, Is Ready To Go Home After Suffering A Stroke
Things are looking up for Ms. Juicy Baby.
According to PEOPLE, Little Women: Atlanta star Shirlene “Ms. Juicy” Pearson has reportedly been moved out of the ICU after suffering a stroke last month. The agency representing the reality TV star confirmed that she is on the road to recovery, despite her health setback.
“We are thankful to announce Ms Juicy has been moved out the ICU, however there is a new journey ahead of her for healing,” the statement read. “We can confirm that Ms Juicy did suffer a stroke.”
“Ms. Juicy is a very private person and wants everyone to know she is fighting and ready to go home,” the statement continued. “She wants to thank her fans for showing so much love and keeping her in their prayers.”
BLACK ENTERPRISE previously reported that a post on Pearson’s Instagram page revealed that she had been “stabilized in the ICU” on April 29. However, at the time, there were no further details about the hospitalization.
Pearson’s sister, Tanya Evans, has since set up a GoFundMe page to help with the piling “household and medical bills” as she recovers, as per WSB-TV. The fundraiser, which has a goal of $25,000, confirmed that Pearson suffered a stroke on Thursday, April 28, and has been in the ICU since. Evans also expressed that there is no definitive date for when Pearson will be released from the hospital or be able to return to work.
“Whatever you can give, we would deeply appreciate it. Thank you so much for keeping her and us all in your prayers; we are all truly thankful,” the fundraiser read.
Pearson’s friends, fans, and supporters have filled her comment sections with positive affirmations in response to the news update.
One user wrote, “There is only 1 Queen of Atlanta! Ms. Juicy Forever! Prayers!”
“We are happy to read the good news. We hope she recovers to the best of her ability,” another wrote.
“Yes! Thank you Jesus 😊I knew she was gonna be okay 😍😍,” a third user wrote.
EXCLUSIVE CLIP: Activist and Author Patrisse Cullors Speaks Out On Why She Stepped Down From the Black Lives Matter Movement On Fox Soul’s Hollywood Unlocked with Jason Lee
Black Lives Matter (BLM) co-founder Patrisse Cullors discussed her exit from the group and the movement on Hollywood Unlocked With Jason Lee.
In the interview, Lee asked Cullors if she missed being part of the BLM organization and movement.
“No, I Don’t Miss it,” Cullors quickly answered.
The BLM co-founder added that she’s proud of everything she and the organization accomplished while she was there but that it’s also important that leadership in the movement space doesn’t become stagnant.
“Yes, I’m very proud, I’m very very proud,” Cullors told Lee.
“Also, as someone who started several organizations, both for and non-profit, I don’t believe that the work, especially inside the movement space shouldn’t be led by one person forever. I think there should be leadership changes just like there is around presidents of a country And something as big as BLM, it’s important that leadership shifts.”
Cullors also noted how time-consuming being part of the BLM movement was and how it became such a big part of her life, it took away from the other parts of her life, which was something she needed to get back.
“I’m really am proud of the work that BLM grassroots is doing with Melina Abdullah and the team that’s on the ground,” “I think that work is really necessary but I’m also more than an activist, I’m an educator, I’m an artist, I’m an author and that kind of work inside BLM the way that I was it’s all-consuming and it’s hard to be able to do other things that want to be doing in my life.”
In a recent interview with the Associated Press, Cullors denied all allegations of financial improprieties saying the real issue was the organization was ill-prepared to handle the avalanche of donations they received during the 20202 summer.
The allegations against Cullors and the BLM Group include them using $6 million in donations to purchase a mansion for her private benefit. Cullors responded to the allegations on Instagram saying the space was purchased to be a safe space for Black people in the community. She also added the reason it wasn’t announced prior was due to the property needing repairs and renovation.
Cullors also said she left the organization at the right time because she was not in the right space to lead. While the BLM movement was celebrated through nation and worldwide protests, it soon became a target and Cullors said one of BLM’s biggest opponents was the New York Post, which wrote a barrage of articles blasting the organization and the movement which according to Cullors, put her in a dark place.
“I was not well mentally I was in a very bad place and I think that it was a responsible decision to step away.
“My biggest criticism for us and myself included is that we should’ve known we were going to be attacked,” Cullors added. “I wish we would’ve known because we could’ve put more in place, but there wasn’t enough in place to make sure that my mental health and physical safety could withstand what happened.”
