• News

by Atiya Jordan

April 20, 2022

N.W.A. Founding Member, Arabian Prince, Reimagines The Future of Healthcare With The World’s First Medical Metaverse

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Arabian Prince, one of the founding members of the hip-hop group N.W.A., collaborates with numerous health consumers and experts in medicine, business, and technology to launch the world’s first medical metaverse, known as MdDao.

Born Kim Renard Nazel, the Compton rapper describes himself as a technology nerd. Prince is no stranger to innovation, having taught himself how to code and use computers at 14 or 16. He is leveraging his career experience with programming electronic hip-hop and dance music to build a “photo-realistic, digital twin” of the U.S. healthcare system.

Currently, Prince uses Nvidia Corp.’s NVDA -2.94% 3-D platform Omniverse and Epic Games Inc.’s Unreal Engine to work on the first decentralized health and wellness metaverse, Market Watch reported. The infant stage was recently launched, offering exclusive memberships with perks and VIP privileges.

In creating what he calls a “digital twin,” patients can access healthcare organizations and portals to connect them to real-life or virtual doctors, get prescriptions, and seek feedback in an easier, quicker, and cheaper way than in real life. According to Prince, the metaverse will be the future of healthcare in which hospitals would one day be just for surgeries and physical examinations.

“I’m doing this to give connected services,” he told Market Watch. “There’s a lot of places — people in rural communities, people in the inner cities — that don’t have healthcare, that don’t have connectivity. But one thing pretty much everybody has is a phone. If we can make it so that you can interact and get healthcare directly from your smartphone — that’s kinda where we’re going with this.”

As a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), the metaverse will be represented with encoded rules on a Blockchain, controlled by organization members and not influenced by the central government.

“By taking advantage of a DAO, we will be able to harness the collective knowledge and innovative thinking of medical experts, healthcare professionals, patients, and individual users,” Prince said, per News Channel Nebraska Central.

“MdDAO will address the shortcomings inherent in our current healthcare system as well as design and construct a more personalized approach to health and wellness. The release of our membership NFT tiers is the critical first step on our path to redefining how we deliver and experience health and wellness. This is a pivotal moment. Join us to reimagine the future of health and wellness!”

“Our partnership and integration with the MdDAO project allows us to provide care without walls, boundaries, and barriers,” remarked Hoang Nhu, founder and CEO of Nouslogic Telehealth.

• News

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

April 20, 2022

After Scandal, Former Hillsong Atlanta Church Pastor Announces Relaunch Under New Name

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On Easter Sunday, the embattled  Hillsong Atlanta church officially relaunched as Story Church.

“We want to be a Spirit-filled environment,” Lead Pastor Sam Collier told his congregation Sunday. “Which just simply means this: we believe that God is still alive, and He’s still moving throughout our midst.”

Collier resigned from Hillsong in March because of the scandals plaguing the global megachurch, including Global Senior Pastor Brian Houston’s allegations of misconduct against two women, Christian Headlines reports. Aside from distancing himself from Hillsong, Collier said he was relaunching the congregation under Story Church.

On Sunday, Story Church received a blessing from Hillside’s interim global senior pastor Phil Dooley, who sent a video message wishing the best for the new congregation.

While holding its first service on Sunday, Collier introduced members of the congregation while inviting church members to attend a “family meeting” planned for next week. He also explained his decision to leave Hillsong.

“My intention was never to leave the Hillsong world,” he said. “It was something that was a real dream for us, and so I cried really hard on the way out.”

“But how many people know that sometimes the things God asks us to do are hard? It doesn’t mean it doesn’t come without tears, but we surrender to His will anyway.”

Noting how much of a “struggle” it was to resign from Hillsong, Collier shared his hopes for Story Church’s promising future.

“But here we are, and I just believe that today is evidence—you’re in this room today as a reminder to me and our team and to my wife that God is faithful.”

Houston, who founded HIllsong in 1983 with his wife, Bobbie, resigned from his role as global senior pastor. He initially stepped down from the church’s board last September after was charged with “concealing child sex offenses.” He also violated the church’s pastoral code of conduct by going into a woman’s hotel room for 40 minutes under the influence of alcohol and prescription drugs. This reportedly took place during the church’s annual conference in 2019.

In addition, Discovery Plus has aired a three-episode docuseries, Hillsong: A Megachurch Exposed, that details how the Australia-based global Evangelical church network has toed the “fine line between cult and culture.”

• News

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

April 20, 2022

Jacqueline Avant’s Killer Sentenced to 190 Years in Prison

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The parolee who pleaded guilty to murdering 81-year-old Los Angeles philanthropist Jacqueline Avant at her Beverly Hills home received three life sentences Tuesday.

Aariel Maynor, 30, will spend 190 years in prison for murdering Avant inside her home during a December 1 burglary, The New York Post reported. The sentence comes one month after Maynor pleaded guilty to murder and other related charges, including shooting a security guard who was not harmed during the attack.

Avant was the wife of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Clarence Avant and a well-known and respected philanthropist in the Los Angeles area. Clarence Avant, known as “The Godfather of Black music,” has worked with legendary musicians over the years, including Michael Jackson.

Clarence and Jacqueline Avant were married for 54 years.

Maynor’s extensive criminal record includes a 2013 robbery conviction that put him in prison for five years, a domestic violence incident in July 2013, and grand theft conviction in 2010.

After being released on parole in July 2018, Maynor was sentenced to four years in prison later that year for robbery with enhancements for being a prior convicted felon. He was released on September 1, 2021, and gunned down Jacqueline inside her home exactly three months later.

After the killing, Maynor robbed another home in the Hollywood Hills where he accidentally shot himself in the foot. Maynor was found with an AR-15 rifle at the scene of the second burglary, police said.

Investigators were able to link evidence from both crimes to Maynor as well as a jailhouse phone call where he bragged about killing Avant to a friend.

On March 3, Maynor appeared in court in a wheelchair and wearing a suicide-prevention vest, ABC 7 reported. He pleaded guilty to one count each of murder, attempted murder, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and two counts of residential burglary with a person present.

• Lifestyle

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

April 20, 2022

Allyson Felix’s Saysh Brand Introduces First-Ever Maternity Returns Policy For Women

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Allyson Felix continues to lead her apparel and lifestyle brand Saysh with a women-first approach. On Tuesday, Saysh announced the first-of-its-kind returns policy catered to women.

Saysh “Maternity Returns Policy” is an “intentionally sexist returns policy” aimed at showing women they never have to choose between being a mother and living the life they desire. Considering how much women’s shoe size can change during pregnancy, Saysh’s maternity returns policy allows previous customers who have purchased a pair of Saysh Ones a complimentary pair of sneakers in their new size if their feet change when they become expectant mothers.

The innovative returns policy will operate under a no strings attached honor system. Saysh hopes the disruptive policy will make a statement for other brands to follow Saysh’s lead.

Felix was inspired to create Saysh after Nike offered the most decorated US track and field athlete in Olympics history 70% less following her pregnancy.

“A huge turning point in my life was becoming a mother — it opened my eyes to so much,” Felix said. “As a runner, I have to pay attention to every little change in my body, and I went through a lot of change during pregnancy.”

Felix, who welcomed her daughter Camryn in 2018, explained her pregnancy’s toll on her body and how it impacted her endorsement deals.

“I didn’t even realize that my feet could grow that much. I was tired of begging brands to meet me where I was, as both an athlete and a mother, and I was tired of sacrificing comfort and style,” she said.

“So I decided to make my own rules. At Saysh, we hope this policy sets an expectation that women should never have to sacrifice being a mother for anything.”

Now all Saysh customers have to do is send the company an email, and Saysh or a wholesale partner will send them a new pair of sneakers free of charge. Saysh advisor Tiffany Beers and Head of Product Lauren Phillips created the maternity returns policy.

The maternity returns policy is a product-focused initiative that coincides with Saysh’s groundbreaking four-month parental leave policy that offers employees four months of full pay followed by a two-month transition period at part-time status after welcoming a child.

It’s all a part of Felix’s continued advocacy for women and maternal rights.

Candyman director Nia DaCosta, the first Black female director to debut a movie at the No. 1 spot at the domestic box office, has her next project.

According to Deadline, DaCosta will direct an adaptation of Ta-Nehisi Coates’ 2019 novel, The Water Dancer, for MGM, Plan B,  Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Films, and Coates’ Maceo-Lyn.

The Water Dancer was the debut for Oprah Winfrey‘s Oprah’s Book Club, which she premiered in partnership with Apple. The Water Dancer was named one of the best books of the year by Time, NPR, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, Vanity Fair, and Esquire.

Coates, who is perhaps best known for his award-winning non-fiction book, Me Against the World, will write the screenplay.

The book is about Young Hiram Walker, who was born into bondage and lost his mother as a child. Hiram almost drowns when he crashes a carriage into a river, but realizes he has a power he never knew he had as he is saved from the depths. He struggles to understand what he has.

DaCosta is currently doing post-production The Marvels. The Marvel movie, slated for a 2023 release, stars Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris,and Iman Vellani.

Last August, Candyman, filmed by Universal/MGM, grossed $20.4 million in its opening weekend, far exceeding the original projection of $15 million. DaCosta’s movie had the second-highest-grossing three-day domestic weekend box office for a Black female movie director behind Ava DuVernay‘s Disney movie, A Wrinkle In Time.

Before Candyman, DaCosta directed two episodes of Netflix’s Top Boy in 2019 and worked as a writer on the HBO series Industry. DaCosta is a graduate of the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University and the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London.

DaCosta’s film debut was Little Woods, which dealt with several highly debated topics such as access to healthcare, poverty, and the criminal justice system.

• News

by Atiya Jordan

April 20, 2022

Brooklyn-Based Artist Jade Purple Brown Designs Häagen-Dazs New ‘City Sweets’ Collection

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Graphic artist Jade Purple Brown, who expresses through her bold and colorful designs, has brought her undeniable talents to Häagen-Dazs’  “City Sweets” collection.

Inspired by popular street foods from cities across the country, the ice cream collection was released nationally on April 19. From churros to waffles, “City Sweets” offers your favorite grab-on-the-go treat and snack.

Combined with the company’s classic flavors, the new collection features Dulce de Leche Churro, Coffee Chocolate Brownie, Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel, Summer Berry Cake Pop, and Black & White Cookie. Three of the sweet flavors are also being sold as snack bars.

 

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A post shared by Jade Purple Brown (@jadepurplebrown)

To introduce the new flavors, Häagen-Dazs teamed up with the color-obsessed artist to design the new collection’s packaging. She committed to using her art as a form of creative expression by pairing the luxurious feeling of indulging the ice cream with her “signature style to create mouth-watering swirls that capture the vibrant spirit” of the products.

“Each flavor is translated in a way that feels abstract and unique. You see this in the winding curves of color that look like a churro, the round cloud-like shapes that look like a fluffy cake pop, or in the fluid swirling pattern that looks like when milk is poured into a fresh cup of coffee,” said Brown.

“Inspired by the creativity of Häagen-Dazs founding tastemakers who emigrated from Poland to the Bronx, we are continuing our work to uplift new voices and showcase diverse creators,” said Elizabeth Marquez, chief marketing officer at Dreyer’s, Haagen-Dasz’s parent company, according to Fox Business.

Häagen-Dazs also tapped the Brooklyn-based artist to work on its Tastemakers program last year. Her work helped propel the mission of spotlighting underrepresented communities and creatives.

“We were inspired by Jade’s work as a #ThatsDazs tastemaker in 2021 and immediately thought of her when considering who should design the City Sweets packaging,” Marquez added.

While showcasing her talent on these projects, Brown said, “it’s important for other up-and-coming artists to see that their art has the ability to take them to so many different places and that their own unique point of view holds importance.”

According to Food Business News, Häagen-Dazs has and will continue its efforts to uplift marginalized creative communities, including donating $1 million to organizations such as Hot Bread Kitchen, a nonprofit that supports women of color and immigrants in New York City’s food industry.

• News

by BLACK ENTERPRISE Editors

April 20, 2022

Black Man Shot in Back of Head by Michigan Police, Independent Autopsy Says

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A Black man who was killed by a Grand Rapids, Mich., police officer during a traffic stop earlier this month, sparking protests in the city, was shot in the back of the head, a forensic pathologist who performed an independent autopsy said on Tuesday.

During a news conference in Detroit, forensic pathologist Werner Spitz and attorneys for the family of Patrick Lyoya said the autopsy found the 26-year-old was shot once and that the police officer held his gun to the back of Lyoya’s head.

“That is now scientific evidence of this tragic killing where his family believes was an execution,” civil rights attorney Ben Crump said during the news conference.

Spitz said he found no signs of a struggle such as scratches or bruises on Lyoya’s body, noting that the only injury was a bullet wound.

He also said he did not know the caliber of bullet that was fired, but that it was a “powerful bullet” that killed the man.

The death of Lyoya, a Congolese refugee, outraged members of his family and touched off protests in Grand Rapids by activists who say it represents the latest example of police violence against young Black men.

Lyoya’s family is demanding that authorities dismiss the officer who shot him from the force and file criminal charges against him.

Grand Rapids police were not immediately available to comment in response to the independent autopsy findings.

Grand Rapids police officials have placed the officer, who has not been named publicly, on administrative leave, and have asked the Michigan State Police to investigate the shooting.

Kent County Chief Medical Examiner Stephen Cohle said in a statement that he performed an autopsy on the day of the incident and prepared a death certificate with the cause and manner of death.

He also said toxicology and tissue results were pending and may take 60 days to be completed and that the full autopsy report will not be made public until the State Police concludes its investigation.

“We have to investigate whether this was a class ‘driving while black’ case,” attorney Crump said, noting that the officer was traveling in the opposite direction of Lyoya before the stop.

Last week, police released videos of the incident taken from the dashboard of the officer’s squad car, from his body-worn camera and from a neighbor’s surveillance camera.

They show Lyoya stepping out of the car on a rainy street, seemingly confused and asking “What did I do?” as the policeman repeatedly asks for a driver’s license and orders him to get back inside the vehicle.

Lyoya appears to be complying, but then closes the driver’s- side door and attempts to walk away, resisting the officer’s attempts to handcuff him.

Following a short foot chase, the two men grapple on the lawn, at one point fighting over the officer’s stun gun, before Lyoya is shot.

The incident began after the officer stopped Lyoya over suspicions involving his license plate.

• Women

by BLACK ENTERPRISE Editors

April 20, 2022

Grantmakers for Girls of Color’s Black Girl Freedom Fund Invests Over $4M in 68 Organizations Focused on Black Girls’ Leadership

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Black Girl Freedom Fund, an initiative of Grantmakers for Girls of Color, announced its second round of grants totaling over $4 million to 68 organizations throughout the U.S. and territories whose work promotes and expands the leadership and organizing power of Black girls, femmes, and gender-expansive youth.

“An investment in Black girls and their leadership is an investment in our collective freedom,” said Dr. Monique W. Morris, president and CEO of Grantmakers for Girls of Color, and co-founder of the #1Billion4BlackGirls campaign, which aims to invest $1 billion in Black girls by 2030.

“We know that every issue is a Black girl issue, and that Black girls are the voice and the heart of many social justice efforts, and we must invest the time and resources to cultivate their capacity to lead.”

Black Girl Freedom Fund is investing over $4 million in this round of grantmaking to organizations that offer a myriad of programs and opportunities that center the leadership and organizing capacity of Black girls, femmes and gender-expansive youth. Some of their areas of expertise include: STEAM education, career opportunities, environmental justice and activism, financial and economic literacy, storytelling, sports and healing from historical and interpersonal trauma.

These 68 organizations were selected by the second cohort of the Black Girl Freedom Fund Grantmaking Council, comprising six Black girls and gender-expansive youth ages 14-22, who selected the grantee partners from more than 200 applications. They came together to define what leadership means to them and co-create the vetting process for funding.

“Black girls, femmes and gender expansive youth are innovators, change agents and culture creators deserving of recognition, investment and joy now,” said Cidra M. Sebastien, manager of the Black Girl Freedom Fund.

“Our grantee partners are amazing organizations that believe in the leadership and power of Black girls, femmes and gender-expansive youth, not solely for their potential futures but for who they are right now.”

The #1Billion4BlackGirls campaign and G4GC’s Black Girl Freedom Fund were launched in September 2020 to resource abundantly the braintrust, innovation, health, safety, education, artistic visions, research and joy of Black girls, gender-expansive youth and their families.

• Sports

by BLACK ENTERPRISE Editors

April 20, 2022

Meet the 17-Year Old Black Student Getting Paid $100K to Play High School Basketball

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At the age of 17, Bryson Warren earns at least $100,000 a year as a high school student-athlete through Overtime Elite, a New York-based company that recruits outstanding teenage basketball players around the world to play at its academy in Atlanta.

Warren, who is a native of Little Rock, Ark., was ranked by ESPN as No. 14 basketball player in his age group across the U.S. He has received offers from prestigious athletic programs since he was 14-years old. Most recently, he chose to sign with Overtime Elite, becoming the eighth five-star recruit and one of the top guard prospects.

As an athlete at Overtime, Warren still attends regular classes in the afternoon after training and practice on weekdays. He could get a high school diploma and eventually take college-level courses. At the same time, he would be earning at least $100,000 with on-court performance bonuses of over $1 million.

“Not too many 17-, 18-, 19-year-olds can say they made at least $100K,” Warren told CNBC.

“We’re just really getting a head start on life, just playing the game we love.”

Warren uses part of his salary to make a positive impact on the community by investing in a local co-educational AAU basketball team in his hometown in Arkansas which helps support kids from second to sixth grade.

Moreover, Warren is looking forward the most to reach his NBA dream. He hopes that joining Overtime Elite serves as a stepping stone for him to get drafted into the NBA one day. He is aware that the path he chose to take was not usual for teenagers like him, but he is confident that he would continue towards his success.

“You could see Overtime as a risk, or you can see it as an opportunity,” he says.

“This is the opportunity I chose, and it’s the one I’m going to live with, and I’m at peace now.”

Follow Bryson Warren on Instagram @hesifambryson.

This article first appeared on Blackbusiness.com. 

• News

by Atiya Jordan

April 20, 2022

DeKalb County’s First Public School for Black Students Is Closer To Preservation

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Community leaders seek public input for the anticipated preservation of DeKalb County’s first public school for Black students in Lithonia, Georgia. Two meetings will be held to stimulate ideas and engagement in shaping the historic site’s future.

The ruins of the Bruce Street School (also called the Lithonia Colored School, Lithonia Negro School, and the Old School Building) date back to the 1930s, while the current school structure dates back to 1938, as per the Arabia Alliance. The first graduating high school class included only three pupils from around 1943.

When the school closed in 1968, there were over a dozen elementary and eight high school classrooms. Although several outbuildings were lost to a fire, the granite walls built by quarry workers still stand today.

According to OCG News, DeKalb County, the City of Lithonia, and the Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance have been working collaboratively for months to shape the space’s conceptual design process.

The Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting and preserving the natural, scenic, cultural, and historic resources within the Heritage Area, is leading the effort to revitalize the site. They have retained Martin Rickles Studio, an Atlanta-based interdisciplinary design studio, to host community engagement sessions.

The alliance has provided funding along with DeKalb County District 5 Commissioner Mereda Davis Johnson to proceed with the project.

The final two meetings for community feedback are scheduled at the Lithonia Woman’s Club, 2564 Wiggins Street, 1-4 p.m. on April 24 and May 7.

Community members are invited to attend the first session, a presentation by the Design Team, and that feedback will help shape a more solid design scheme. The second session will call for additional input.

The final conceptual design will wrap up in June.