Owner Of Black Men’s Haircare Brand Explains His Three Winning Strategies
by Derek Major

March 21, 2022

Owner Of Black Men’s Haircare Brand Explains His Three Winning Strategies

Michael James, the founder of Frederick Benjamin, a Black men’s haircare brand, previously worked at L’Oreal and noticed most barbershops don’t have a range of products for men.

That led James to create a line of haircare products for Black men. He entered the Target Accelerator Program and worked with the retailer to define how and where Frederick Benjamin fits into its portfolio.

“Who else better to tackle this aggressive market other than myself? – One, with the experience, but two and most importantly, first-hand experience as a man of color,” James told Business Insider.

Frederick Benjamin’s products are now available in 500 Target stores across the country. Now, James is sharing tips for small businesses working on getting national chains to notice them.

James’ first step for small businesses looking to get more eyes on them is to start small and test your product for feedback. James also suggested collecting data and information about what is missing from the market a small business is involved in and how your product can help fill the gap.

The second step is that even after your product hits shelves and gathers a following, don’t stop working on ways to upgrade and re-develop the product, collect feedback on your product, and don’t be afraid of criticism.

The final step is simple, don’t give up. Hear the advice and feedback from your customers, determine what’s relevant for your business, and ensure you have a strong circle you can rely on.

James knew the haircare of Black men was largely ignored by hair and beauty companies that advertise and market products to women. Additionally, James, who previously worked for Revlon, said he took note of several high-profile stories involving young Black men and racial discrimination surrounding their hair.

In 2019,  the Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair (CROWN) Act was introduced to combat racial discrimination in Black hair, including braids, dreadlocks, afros, and curls. The act has been passed in 12 states, including New York, New Jersey, Virginia, and Colorado, and the legislation was recently passed in the House.

Five Ways Small Businesses Can Navigate The Latest Fed Rate Hike
by Jeffrey McKinney

March 21, 2022

Five Ways Small Businesses Can Navigate The Latest Fed Rate Hike

For the first time in four years, the Federal Reserve boosted interest rates and is expected to do so six more times in 2022.

The Fed raised its federal funds rate a quarter-point on March 16, bringing it between 0.25% and 0.50%. That means small businesses—including Black-owned ones—could feel the sting in many ways. The Fed last raised rates in 2018 and just acted to battle inflation at a 40-year high.

The higher rates could fuel more costly business loans, greater credit card costs, and potentially weaken business activity. The latter could be especially true for small businesses selling big-ticket items that rely on financing as borrowing costs for consumers rise.

Thus, this new rising interest rate climate could bring pros and cons for small businesses.

On the plus side, businesses could still flourish as the economy remains quite strong, a key factor to why the Fed is acceptable with hiking rates, observers say. They maintain it too might take a while for the rate increases to impact the borrowing businesses do though they will be hit eventually.

On the minus side, rising interest rates could diminish cash flow and profits for small businesses if consumers cut spending due to interest rate changes. To boot, some companies might ponder price increases to help offset higher expenses they may incur.

BLACK ENTERPRISE offers tips to help small businesses deal with surging interest rates.

—  Examine shifting from a variable-rate loan — which moves in tandem with Fed rate increases — to a fixed-rate loan. It could help lower interest rate costs and perhaps establish a steady payment.

—  Inspect closely how efficiently you are operating your business. For instance, what about eliminating unread magazine subscriptions or switching to a bank that does not levy fees or offers a deal to win your business at a lower cost? Don’t be afraid to ask employees for their cost-cutting ideas.

—  Credit cards are among the first to climb as interest rates rise. Expert suggests paying down debt on high-interest credit card debt as quickly as possible. That perhaps is particularly true for new business owners who rely on credit cards to help finance their startups. Another option for entrepreneurs is to consider a balance transfer credit card but research it before doing so.

—  Make sure your financial status is as solid as possible. Entrepreneurs with strong business credit, for example, can sometimes gain lower rates than those without it. Robust revenues and credit can help small businesses potentially qualify for the most desirable business loans.

— Small business owners may do well to act now when it comes to financing or refinancing credit. With several more expected upcoming Fed rate increases on the way this year, acting quickly instead of waiting could potentially help lower borrowing costs.

Cleveland Browns Trade For Deshaun Watson Who Was Accused of Sexual Misconduct Receives Backlash
by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

March 21, 2022

Cleveland Browns Trade For Deshaun Watson Who Was Accused of Sexual Misconduct Receives Backlash

The latest controversy in the National Football League involves quarterback Deshaun Watson who was accused of sexual allegations by 22 women.

The Cleveland Browns are facing backlash after signing Watson who missed the entirety of the 2021-2022 football season due to allegations of sexual misconduct from numerous women.

According to NFL.com, after a grand jury decided not to indict Watson in the criminal investigation against him, he was free to negotiate with teams who sought his services after requesting a trade from the Houstons Texans before last season.

On March 11, a grand jury in Harris County (Texas) determined there was not enough evidence to charge the quarterback after several allegations from multiple women accused him of sexual misconduct arising from massage therapy sessions. Although he is cleared of the criminal charges, he is facing 22 civil lawsuits from several of his accusers. The NFL is still investigating the matter and most likely will suspend him based on information acquired.

It was reported by multiple outlets last week that several teams met with Watson, and surprisingly, the Browns emerged as the team he chose to resume his career. On Sunday, an official announcement came from team officials. The Browns gave up three first-round picks, a 2023 third-round pick, a 2024 fourth-round pick, and a 2024 fifth-rounder to obtain the controversial player.

In a written statement, Cleveland Browns’ head coach Kevin Stefanski said, “Our organization did a tremendous amount of background on Deshaun. We understand the concerns and questions that exist but are confident in the extensive work Andrew and his staff have done to feel confident about him joining our organization. It was important for us to meet with Deshaun in person as part of our team’s evaluation process, we had a candid conversation regarding his approach to coming into our organization and community.

“I’m looking forward to the opportunity to coach Deshaun; he is ready to put in the hard work needed to help our team improve and make a positive impact in our community.”

The backlash started immediately after the news was leaked last week that he was joining the team.

Black Business Owner Sues City of Decatur And White Cop Who Punched Him In The Face
by Wendy Medina

March 21, 2022

Black Business Owner Sues City of Decatur And White Cop Who Punched Him In The Face

Two years ago, 47-year-old liquor store owner Kevin Penn was a victim of an assault by a white Decatur, Alabama police officer after being mistaken for a robber and punched in the face. 

Now, the owner of Star Spirits & Beverages is suing officer Justin Rippen and the city of Decatur for the incident reports Alabama Local News. 

In a March 11 suit filed in the U.S. District Court, Penn alleges the assault is indicative of the Decatur police’s practice of excessive force, illegal seizure and false arrest, along with a violation of his Constitutional rights. He seeks punitive and compensatory damages.

Decatur police Chief Nate Allen confirmed that on March 15, 2020, Rippen was the officer seen on a viral surveillance video going to immediately punch a disarmed Penn upon entering the store. Penn was the one who called 911 after capturing a shoplifter and holding him at gunpoint.

The video clearly shows Penn setting down the weapon clip at the officers’ entry and things go left in an instant, leaving the liquor store owner tackled to the floor and handcuffed by three officers.

According to the nine-page suit, Rippen broke Penn’s jaw and knocked out a tooth, causing painful weeks of treatment as well as having his mouth wired shut. 

When asked about the excessive force, the police chief acknowledged that most cases with an armed suspect end with death, however, he simply offered, “I would much rather have a punch than an officer-involved shooting.”

The Sixth Avenue business owner was arrested on a misdemeanor charge on grounds of obstructing governmental operations.

Per the lawsuit, “It is well known in the Decatur legal community that Decatur officers frequently use these charges, commonly referred to as POP (piss off police) charges, without a legal basis.” It was only until the release of the surveillance video to the public that the city pretended to investigate, while Rippen was not reprimanded. 

Master P Shares His Family Legacy of Entrepreneurship On TV One’s UNCENSORED
by Jeroslyn JoVonn

March 21, 2022

Master P Shares His Family Legacy of Entrepreneurship On TV One’s UNCENSORED

Hip hop mogul Master P is opening up about his family’s legacy of entrepreneurship on TV One’s UNCENSORED.

While he’s been transparent about his rough upbringing in New Orleans and how it shaped him into becoming a platinum-selling rapper and businessman, Master P (real name Percy Miller) will share details about his life that he never shared before.

Master P’s 2020 five-part documentary, No Limit Chronicles, educated a new generation of hip hop fans on the rapper’s journey from the turbulent streets of Louisiana’s Calliope Projects, to becoming one of the most successful rap moguls out of the 90s.

While speaking with BLACK ENTERPRISE, the serial entrepreneur and former NBA player explained how UNCENSORED will give viewers a new perspective on his path to becoming a self-made millionaire.

“I think you’re going to get to learn a lot more in detail from me growing up in a Catholic school, to being an altar boy, and be able to understand who God is,” Master P said noting the details are something “I don’t think a lot of people understand that without, without God, I wouldn’t be here.”

The “Make Em Say Uhh” hitmaker talks in great detail about his late grandparents who he credits for “pushing me to be who I am today.”

“My grandfather was in the military and then he ended up baking food, starting his own business,” P recalls of his early introduction to entrepreneurship. “It just motivated me to get out to be who I am and see that if he could do this, in the conditions we live in, then I could do it too.”

Master P is the mastermind behind No Limit Records that started from $10,000 he received as part of a malpractice settlement the Miller family received after his grandfather’s death. What started as a record store turned into a record label that helped pave the way for a number of Black-owned labels that came after.

When looking at the legact of No Limit Records, Master P says the brand has now become “No Limit University” aimed at promoting “economic empowerment.”

“Every L is not a loss its a lesson,” Master P said. “Even through my failures, I got to get better. I got to keep doing something, I got to keep growing.”

“That’s what No Limit is all about. We can’t stop. It’s a marathon it’s not an overnight process,” he continued.

TV One’s UNCENSORED: Master P airs on Sunday, March 20th at 10 PM ET/9c.

Eve Cuddles Newborn Baby Wilde In New Video Posted By The Rap Star
by Wendy Medina

March 21, 2022

Eve Cuddles Newborn Baby Wilde In New Video Posted By The Rap Star

Eve Jihan Cooper, otherwise known as rap phenom Eve, welcomed her first child with husband Maximillion Cooper on Feb. 1 and is embracing motherhood.

A sleeping Wilde Wolf is seen being cuddled by the new mommy in an Instagram Story she shared earlier today of the newborn.

“Wilde, my precious baby,” she says to her baby boy in the post. “This is heaven. This is heaven right here.”

She shows off the little bundle of joy a bit over a month after the announcement that she had given birth to the healthy baby Wilde Wolf.

“Our Beautiful boy was born Feb 1st 2022,” Eve captioned the photo of her baby, swaddled in a fashionable woven basket. “Wilde Wolf Fife Alexander Somers Cooper. Words can’t describe this feeling.”

Back in November, the rap star shared news of their new addition to the family in a radiant post of her in all black, cradling her baby bump, where she couldn’t contain her excitement.  

“Can you believe it @mrgumball3000 we finally get to tell everyone!!!!! You all know how long we’v [sic] been waiting for this blessing!!! We get to meet our lil human February 2022,” she captioned the post.

The 43-year-old rapper married the British entrepreneur in June 2014 after dating for four years and is stepmom to Cooper’s four teen children from a prior marriage, Lotus, 19, Jagger, 17, Cash, 16, and Mini, 13. 

She shared in an interview with People, “It’s been now 10 and a half years I’ve been in their lives and they’ve been in my life. They’ve grounded me.” 

Although she admitted to it taking years to adjust to being a stepmom, she feels very lucky to have them in her life.

“I feel very, very lucky that I had my insta-kids — I call them my bonus children!”

We extend our congratulations on baby Wilde’s arrival.

Get Microsoft Office Home & Business For Mac For A Great Price
by Black Enterprise Shop

March 21, 2022

Get Microsoft Office Home & Business For Mac For A Great Price

The job landscape over the past two years has shifted significantly. Since the beginning of the global coronavirus pandemic, companies and employers around the globe have allowed employees to work from home to keep them safe.

Working and taking classes from home has been a welcome change for many, but the absence of work/school computers and their software can’t be understated. Microsoft Office has been a later in the workforce and academic arenas, but not every computer – such as Macs – can easily be fitted to accommodate it.

Help has come for Mac users in the form of a lifetime license to Microsoft Office Home & Business for Mac 2021. For a limited time, it’s available for just $49.99. That’s a savings of 85% from its MSRP ($349).

This software bundle is great for students, families, and small businesses that seek classic Outlook apps and email. It comes with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, and OneNote. Upon purchase, lifetime licenses are given to each program, as does free and robust customer service.

“It simplifies opening documents and graphs sent to me by others… nice to know it is for life! Microsoft Word and Excel are the best programs for using,” writes verified 5-star purchaser Abby W.

All that’s needed to run this bundle is a macOS that’s supported by Catalina, Big Sur, and Monterey. A minimum of 4GB RAM and 10GB of hard-disk space. Updates are released, so you don’t have to worry about your software being outdated.

Most of what we were once accustomed to has changed over the past two years, and that includes working and attending classes for school. Just because you might not be going into a physical office or classroom every day doesn’t mean your work or coursework should be more difficult.

Purchase this Microsoft Office bundle today.

Prices subject to change.

Lizzo Shames Texas Politics At SXSW For All It’s ‘Regressive Laws’
by Wendy Medina

March 20, 2022

Lizzo Shames Texas Politics At SXSW For All It’s ‘Regressive Laws’

“I’m proud to rep Houston, but I’m not proud to rep Texan politics right now,” said pop superstar Lizzo in a keynote conversation at SXSW last week. “We got a lot of other things that we need…there are people in charge who can change things on a systemic level and they’re letting us down.”

In a talk with radio personality Angela Yee at the yearly mixed media festival in Austin, Lizzo used her star status to speak on issues affecting Texas’ most marginalized.

Texas’ recent abortion ban became law last September, prohibiting abortions at the six-week mark, when most women still would not know they are pregnant. An embryo is not considered a fetus until 10 weeks. 

The Lone Star state also barred trans athletes from participating in sports, as well as direction from Gov. Greg Abbott to deem gender-affirming treatments for transgender youth as “child abuse” crimes that are to be investigated by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, reports the New York Times.

“There are very regressive laws being passed,” Lizzo continued. “They’re taking away the right for young children to have a chance to live authentically as themselves. It’s a violation of human rights. Trans rights are human rights.”

While the Rumors singer attended SXSW to promote her new Amazon reality series, Watch Out for the Big Grrrls, she’s always used her platform to advocate for issues considered taboo, and in this case provide those struggling with Texas’ restrictive bans to be seen.

“We got a lot of other things y’all need to be handling instead of y’all being in people’s homes telling them what to do with they body and being all up in they uterus…Because the abrotion ban is atrocious as well. Mind your business. Stay out of my body. This is not political. This is not political,” she said referencing her body. 

Watch Out for the Big Grrrls premieres on Amazon Prime on March 24.

Regina Hall Talks Her New Thriller ‘Master’ And Hosting The Oscars
by Yolanda Baruch

March 20, 2022

Regina Hall Talks Her New Thriller ‘Master’ And Hosting The Oscars

Regina Hall’s acting career shows no signs of letting up, which is remarkable for a Black woman in her 50s, an age where Hollywood tends to ignore older women for roles in favor of the upcoming ingenue actresses. 

Hall is defying the barriers of ageism in the film industry with her mastery to jump within genres ranging from comedic to dramatic in such projects like Think Like a Man and Barbershop: The Next Cut, to  Nine Perfect Strangers and the Showtime ’80s Wall Street throwback show Black Monday, to now horror, according to Entertainment Weekly.  

In her latest film Master, now streaming on Amazon Prime video, she plays Gail Collins, a Black dean of a haunted highly-esteemed Ancaster College, a predominantly white institution in New England. Hall’s character is promoted as the college’s first Black “Master,” the school’s title for the head of house that carries an interesting underlying racial dichotomy, according to Polygon. 

“I remember reading it and thinking it was such an interesting context for a thriller,” said the Girls Trip actress of the script by first-filmmaker Mariama Diallo. “Mariama was so smart when we talked, and she definitely had a vision. And I loved that she was a woman. You don’t get that many opportunities, white or Black or Latina, to have a female director,” according to EW.

Hall is very familiar with the world of higher education; she earned her master’s degree in journalism from NYU and held a position as an adjunct professor at the College of New Rochelle, according to Bustle.

“I was a professor for a short time,” reveals Hall. “My mother was like, ‘You just like to go to school!’ and I did.” So it’s unsurprising that she made her way back to the halls of academia for Diallo’s thriller.  

“When I heard that she had read the script and she was contemplating it, I was a little numb with disbelief,” admits the Yale graduate Diallo, 29, who drew inspiration from her film from her experience at the university. 

“I think we’re just reminding people what it does feel like to feel ‘other’ in a place. That can be can be anything like gender, age, race, sexuality, cultural. There’s so many ways that, as human beings, we may be unconscious of how we are making someone else feel,” said Hall of the film that explores the complex theme of race, Newsweek reports.

The film uses supernatural phenomena to illustrate the discrimination level that Hall’s character and first-year college student Jasmine Moore, played by Zoe Renee, must suffer through while at the university. 

While the film deals with serious issues, Hall still maintains her comedic edge as she steps into co-hosting the 2022 Academy Awards along with Wanda Sykes and Amy Schumer.

“We’re really excited to celebrate film and make fun of people, too,” Hall told Variety.

She continued, “I was like, ‘Do you think we’re going to have friends after?’ No, we’re going to. Hopefully, everyone will know anything that’s said or done; it’s all in fun. It is the point. It is one of the points of the night to be able to celebrate and for all of us to make fun of ourselves… To celebrate all the nominees and the movies and poke fun where we can.”

 

Atlanta-Based Company Zep Gaslights Employee After Reporting VP’s Use Of Racial Slur On Zoom
by Wendy Medina

March 20, 2022

Atlanta-Based Company Zep Gaslights Employee After Reporting VP’s Use Of Racial Slur On Zoom

A South Side Chicago woman has accused her employer, chemical goods company Zep, of discrimination after being prosecuted for reporting a racial slur used by the vice president, in a federal complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commision (EEOC), reports The Chicago-Sun Times. 

Adrienne Harmon-Beckwith filed the complaint following a November 2021 Zoom call with about a dozen fellow coworkers, in which she was the only Black employee on the call. She alleges that the VP leading the meeting repeatedly used a slur when referencing Black people. 

“He must have said it at least another four, five times. I was floored. It was a professional setting. Who does that,” Harmon-Beckwith said.

The Atlanta-based chemical products manufacturer has since retaliated against her for taking offense and reporting the racist language, asserting no slur was ever said and there were no further complaints by other employees. According to the complaint, Harmon-Beckwith was essentially dismissed by human resources when she first raised concerns, and subsequently offered a severance package for her departure once she couldn’t “get over it.” 

Harmon-Beckwith, who has been a sales agent for Zep for three years, claims she is the only Black employee at the company after the last remaining Black sales agents were laid off the previous year.

She and her attorney, Tamara Holder, spoke on the matter last Wednesday armed with copies of the complaint, however the names of those involved were redacted. 

“They didn’t take it seriously. They tried to shame me for speaking up,” she said.

Zep ultimately alerted Harmon-Beckwith that the vice president in question received a “serious disciplinary notice,” reports FOX 32 Chicago. 

Harmon-Beckwith says she hopes the company will view this complaint as a “teaching moment” to prevent it from happening again, despite the company’s pledge to exercise inclusive business practices.

This federal EEOC complaint is the initial step before Harmon-Beckwith takes the discrimination case to court.

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