The hit ABC series “Abbott Elementary” may be fictional, but it’s making a real-life difference for teachers.

Quinta Brunson, star and creator of the sitcom, revealed in a recent interview with NPR’s Fresh Air, that the studio production team and ABC collectively agreed on allocating some of the show’s marketing money to help real teachers.

“We chose to put the marketing money toward supplies for teachers,” Brunson said. “It’s about being able to make those kinds of decisions that really excite me, things that can really materially help people.”

Brunson also opened about the inspiration behind the series, in which she plays a second-grade teacher at an under-resourced, predominantly Black elementary school in Philadelphia. She makes note that the school’s environment in “Abbott Elementary” is not unlike what her mother experienced. As the daughter of a teacher, she witnessed her mother work at a school for 40 years that lacked sufficient resources, but continued to love the job.

“Despite it getting harder, despite teachers not having all the support they need, despite kids growing even more unruly than they’ve been in recent time … she still loved the job,” Brunson said of her mom.”The beauty is someone being so resilient for a job that is so underpaid and so underappreciated because it makes them feel fulfilled.”

Additionally, the former “A Black Lady Sketch Show” actress explained to Fresh Air that she named the series after her 6th grade teacher, Ms. Abbott.

“I was scared to go into the real world or what I looked at as the real world at the time, and [Ms. Abbott] just took me under her wing,” she said of the educator, Mrs. Abbott. “She was an incredible teacher who put her all into it, making sure that her students felt special and were ready for the world.”

In her continuous efforts to support teachers, Brunson recently surprised 3rd grade teacher, Xiomara Robinson of Comegys Elementary School, on Good Morning America Philly.

While this was absolutely amazing, and Surprising Xiomara was beyond words- I’ll continue to strive to make sure that all underfunded schools and classrooms are FULLY funded and that teachers like Xiomara are paid more ❤️@fundPHLschools is a great org working toward that goal!

— quinta brunson (@quintabrunson) February 28, 2022

For the first time since the coronavirus pandemic appeared over two years ago, there will be no rules or protocols for a major sports league.

• Entertainment

by Wendy Medina

March 4, 2022

Alicia Keys Introduces New Graphic Novel ‘Girl On Fire’ Featuring A Black Girl Superhero

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Alicia Keys’ fifth studio album hit Girl On Fire is now embodied by the new graphic novel of the same name. Girl on Fire tells the story of 14-year-old Lolo Wright from Brooklyn, who soon discovers she has telekinetic superpowers, on top of the craziness of navigating high school.

The R&B star announced via her Instagram of her new work, co-written by Andrew Weiner and illustrated by Brittney Williams.

“She’s from [Brooklyn, New York]. She discovers these incredible powers that she never knew she had. This is definitely a story for us about the superpowers we have inside of us that are yet to be revealed,” Keys shared on an Instagram post.

The coming-of-age novel follows Lolo in her attempt to protect her city all while attending high school. This Black girl superhero not only shows her amazing abilities, but empowers Black children everywhere that it can all be done.  

“When I wrote ‘Girl On Fire,’ I knew I was writing it for that girl in the way back row who needed someone to tell her there’s nothing you can’t do, that nothing is impossible,” Keys shared in a statement, per Rated R&B. “When Andrew and I came up with the idea of translating the song into a young adult graphic novel, I knew that I wanted it to be about a girl coming to realize the strength she’s always had. There’s a little Lolo in all of us…”

The 15-time Grammy Award-winning artist sets her own hometown as the novel’s backdrop, highlighting the strength within when one’s life is changed in an instant.

“Get ready to fall in love with Lolo,” Keys captioned her Instagram post. “Get ready to fall in love with NYC. Get ready to discover that there’s more than what you even imagined inside of you! This is a book for everyone!”

Girl on Fire has been released March 1, available where all books are sold.

• Entrepreneurship

by BLACK ENTERPRISE Editors

March 4, 2022

Formerly Incarcerated Black Entrepreneur Launches New Company Called 2nd Chance Fitness

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Meet Secoy Reeves, a 33-year old ex-marine who was formerly incarcerated, but is now the founder of 2nd Chance Fitness, a personal fitness company that specializes in weight management, muscle gain and overall health and wellbeing in and around the greater Nashville, Tenn. metropolitan area.

Reeves served two years in state prison for drugs and weapons charges but is now using the second chance he has been given to pursue entrepreneurship.

Reeves comments, “Fitness is a lifestyle for me because it allows me to push myself further every day, which in turn allows me to continually grow mentally stronger. I love to see when people decide to make changes in their life and stick with them, just as I have done. It is a beautiful thing to see people reach their goals and give me the privilege to assist in doing so.”

His company, 2nd Chance Fitness, embraces support, accountability, education, and a customized approach to make it easier for his clients to reach their personal health and fitness goals. Even more, his company is certified by the International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA).

Recognizing the busy lives that most people have, his company has recently introduced updates to make the programs more accessible. In addition to early morning and evening in-person training, an online personal fitness program has also been launched that provides greater flexibility.

“We’ve all made excuses before when it comes to exercise. It’s nothing to feel bad about. We do all have busy lives, and the pandemic did throw everyone’s routine out of whack,” Reeves adds.

“But, spring and summer are just around the corner, and now is a perfect time to get the ball rolling again.”

This article first appeared on Blacknews.com. 

• News

by Atiya Jordan

March 4, 2022

11-Year-Old Apopka Boy Handcuffed For Allegedly Stealing A Bike, Mother Speaks Out

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The mother of an 11-year-old  boy, handcuffed and detained by Apopka Police for allegedly stealing a bike by force, demands better officer training after her son is left emotionally scarred.

According to WFTV Orlando, the incident occurred in Apopka, Florida, last week following a robbery call. The Apopka Police Department said officers responded to the scene where they identified 11-year-old Jamir Bradford for allegedly punching a person and stealing someone else’s bike.

But Bradford’s family denies the allegations. A video of the incident shows his family pleading for the police to let their beloved go at the scene.

“He’s scared! He’s scared, he’s scared. That little boy’s scared,” a bystander from the video yelled out.

The young boy’s mother, Melani Brown, argues that her son was taking a ride on his own bike around the neighborhood when a truck driver pulled up to him and accused him of stealing a bike. Brown said responding officers later questioned him at a park and handcuffed him. After the officers evaluated the bike for serial numbers, they released him to his mother. There are no charges against Bradford, as per the news outlet.

“He was arrested, handcuffed, and charged with robbery and battery for riding his own bicycle,” Brown told WESH 2 News, adding that the incident has taken a negative toll on her son. Brown also said she wants officers to receive proper training in handling minors.

“He said, ‘Mommy when I seen the officer with his hand on his gun, I wanted to run.’ I said, ‘For what? You did nothing wrong,’” Brown said.

Brown believes that there are still pending charges against her son, although charges cannot be found in the system when checking with the juvenile court.

“How do charges just disappear?” John Barnett, a national civil rights activist, asked on behalf of the family.

Apopka Police announced the launch of an administrative review of the incident.

• Entrepreneurship

by Derek Major

March 4, 2022

Brianna Roberson Fell In Love With Coffee Shops After College, So She Brought One To Her Hometown

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When Brianna Roberson graduated from college, she moved to the Midwest for a job in corporate America. Like many of us, she fell in love with a tried-and-true friend of the morning commute.

“That’s when I learned about good coffee and espresso at local coffee houses,” Roberson told BLACK ENTERPRISE. “I found that to be my safe haven to learn about the community in the city I lived in, to get information and new friends. That’s why I enjoyed that experience, the coffee house, but then after a couple of years, I realized we don’t have that experience in my hometown.”

That thought led Roberson back to her hometown of Waynesboro, Georgia, to open the Soulbean Coffeehouse, a coffee shop that is also the hub for the community. In addition to delicious coffee and food, it hosts religious services, open mic nights, and live music.

When Roberson first thought of opening a coffee house, she had intentions to be patient and take her time developing her business plan. But as the pandemic dragged on and virtual learning became a staple of education, Roberson saw one significant community need.

“Being in rural Georgia, a lot of our students didn’t have Wi-Fi, and we didn’t have a central space within our city limits that offered free Wi-Fi to our students,” Roberson said. “So a lot of kids couldn’t do their homework assignments or their lessons at home during the pandemic.”

However, Roberson began to run into issues. For starters, although government intervention in the pandemic meant money was being given out, it was more for existing businesses than startups.

“The banks weren’t willing to give new loans to new businesses in the food and beverage industry because people were defaulting on their loans even after two or three months,” Roberson said.

As a result, Roberson was forced to do much of the work by herself and dealt with several setbacks, including a labor shortage that forced her to work for two months as the coffee house’s only employee. She also ran into issues with the city health inspector, who never established a coffeehouse in the city.

However, none of it stopped Roberson, and others took notice and pushed her to make others notice, pushing her to apply to the 2021 Take It To The TOP National Entrepreneurship Challenge hosted by the Black Women’s Roundtable, an arm of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation.

The challenge focuses on investing in Black women and girls’ entrepreneurship, social innovation, and business leadership skills. Connecting TOP participants to resources and mentorships to launch, grow, and sustain successful minority women-owned businesses. Roberson entered the challenge with her coffee house, and when the winners were announced, she was a bit surprised when she didn’t hear her name called.

The reason she didn’t hear her name was that it was the last one called as she won the $25,000 grand prize, and it came at the right time as she’s about to remodel another location and the landlord of her first location is trying to push her out.

For Roberson, it’s just another challenge she has to overcome.

“I do believe that if I wasn’t a Black woman, it would be easier to approach, but I had to really convince our city officials that this was a good product and something that is needed in the community,” Roberson told BLACK ENTERPRISE. “I’m not going to say that it was easy. There were a lot of days where I was ready to quit before I won this challenge. This is hard. I’m convincing everybody just to stay in operations, and other business owners don’t have to do that, it’s challenging, but I’m still here.”

• Lifestyle

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

March 4, 2022

Da Band’s Freddy P Blames Diddy For Mental Health Issues — Admits Contemplating Suicide

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It looks like he made the band but didn’t make out in life the way he anticipated.

In an Instagram post earlier this week, one of the members of Da Band, the collective of artists who were put together during the second season of the reality TV series, MTV’s Making the Band, aired his grievances against music mogul Sean Combs. He expressed having mental health issues and blames it on being in the series and the treatment he received at the hands of the Bad Boy founder.

Going to Instagram and reposting a clip another user posted, Da Band’s Freddy P acknowledged that the way he was treated made him never want to rap again. He feels his talent was snatched away from him, and all he was doing was chasing a dream.

“God knows if I was @diddy I would’ve done WAY MORE FOR THESE KIDS.. Any real ninja would’ve.. You start out JUST CHASING A DREAM. Then it QUICKLY GET SNATCHED AWAY.. Made me NEVER WANT TO RAP. God gone have the last laugh. My talent was given to me to touch hearts and homes an it was silenced. You silenced Gods plan. Everyone who ever took part will depart horribly from 🌍

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Freddy P (@imfreddypee)

During Freddy P’s season of the show, one of the most famous scenes was members of Da Band—Freddy P, Sara Stokes, Dylan Dilinjah, Chopper “Young City,” “Babs,” and E. Ness—walking across New York City’s Brooklyn Bridge to Junior’s (known worldwide for its cheesecakes) to grab some cheesecake for Combs.

In a later post, the former rapper tells his followers that he’s been through a lot and has contemplated committing suicide several times this year alone.

“I done pictured my brother walking in, finding me dead. I cried a few times thinking about leaving my son, because you just gets tired of life. It’s like, no matter what you try to do, you just gotta keep battling. N***as got they foot on your neck, n***as wanna see you fall. It’s these n***as like Puffy, he my main motherfuckin’ reason why I really hate f*ckin’ life, dog. People don’t even understand.”

In the post, he tagged Combs.

• Lifestyle

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

March 4, 2022

Aariel Maynor Pleads Guilty to Fatal Shooting of Jacqueline Avant

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The suspect arrested in the shooting death of music executive Clarence Avant’s wife, Jacqueline, has pleaded guilty to the charges levied against him.

According to KTLA, the man arrested in the shooting death of Jacqueline Avant has pleaded guilty to murder Thursday.

Thirty-year-old Aariel Maynor is accused of killing Avant, 81, and shooting at her security guard during a break-in robbery at the Beverly Hills home on Dec. 1, 2021. Maynor pleaded guilty to one count each of first-degree murder, attempted murder, and possession of a firearm by a felon, as well as two counts of first-degree residential burglary with a person present.

He faces a maximum sentence of 170 years in prison and will not be eligible for parole.

“This crime continues to shock the conscience. Mrs. Avant’s death was a tragic loss felt by our entire community,” DA George Gascón said in a written statement. “In this case, the defendant is facing 170 years to life in prison and is ineligible for elderly parole. Our Bureau of Victim Services will continue to be in contact with the family and their representatives to offer trauma-informed services.”

Maynor is scheduled to be sentenced later this month on Mar. 30. The judge has discretion to sentence him up to 170 years to life in prison.

Music legend Clarence Avant’s wife of 54 years, Jacqueline, was killed in a home invasion on Dec. 1.

According to TMZ, the incident happened in the Trousdale Estates, located near Beverly Hills. Police officials said the Beverly Hills Police Department received a phone call about the break-in at 2:30 a.m. The dispatcher was told that someone had been shot. By the time police officers arrived, Jacqueline had been rushed to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

A security guard was also shot, TMZ reported, but Clarence was not injured.

According to CBS Los Angeles, police officials arrested Maynor on Dec. 2. Maynor’s vehicle was seen on various surveillance videos heading eastbound out of the city shortly after the fatal home invasion.

On the same night of the killing, Los Angeles Police Department’s Hollywood Division police officers were notified about a shooting and burglary in the 6000 block of Graciosa Drive at about 3:30 a.m. Maynor was discovered in the home’s backyard, suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in his foot.

• Women

by Derek Major

March 4, 2022

Jasmine Jordan Is Working To Make Sure Younger Generations Are Connected To Her Father’s Sneakers

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Jasmine Jordan, the daughter of NBA legend Michael Jordan, is using the power of her platform to ensure that younger generations continue to value her father’s sneakers.

Jordan is currently a field representative for the Jordan brand’s sports marketing division according to Essence, but she also uses her social media to promote and celebrate Black female athletes in the WNBA.

The six-time champion’s daughter told Essence the first pair of shoes she fell in love with were Sketchers that lit up when she walked, but as she grew up, she got into the shoe culture that her dad made famous.

“My collection really started to go from there, but having those light-up sneakers definitely made me feel I was a part of a culture that was just one of its kind. It’s exciting to see how it’s evolved since then.” Jordan told Essence.

Despite his last game being played 19 years ago, Jordan sneakers are still the most popular athletic shoe brand on the market today and are largely credited with creating the sneakerhead culture and it’s large resale market. Many of the sneakers that bears his name still go for hundreds to thousands of dollars today.

The Jordan brand has also started signing athletes outside of the NBA. Last season it signed 11 WNBA players and Dallas Cowboys Quarterback Dak Prescott, the first quarterback the brand has signed.

Jordan was a big part of the brand’s roster expansion in 2020 and told Yahoo News that the brand wanted to make sure in addition to giving women athletes a spotlight, the brand wanted to support their lives and careers.

“Once we started to expand the roster, [we were] having the conversations of, ‘We say we’re Jordan Family, we’re offering white-glove service to tier 1 athletes. Let’s make sure that is felt when we bring these ladies on board too,’”

She also knows most of the children that are getting into sneakers today, were not allowed to see her father play, but the legacy it carries is just as important as it was then and she’s working to keep it that way.

“We’re at that point where those who are buying our sneakers, understanding our purpose and what we’re doing, they didn’t see my father play,” she added. “Furthering his legacy and cultivating it where it still resonates with the youth — and providing different spins to it — is what I want to do.”

• Men

by Derek Major

March 4, 2022

Campaign For Black Male Achievement Founder Shawn Dove Joins New Profit As Managing Editor

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New Profit, national venture philanthropy organization has announced Shawn Dove has joined the non-profit as a managing partner.

In his role Dove, the former CEO of the Campaign For Black Male Achievement (CFBMA), will be part of a leadership team member and advisor to social entrepreneurs across New Profit’s network. He will also use his experience in community organizing to co-curate New Profit’s efforts to create a new era of justice, opportunity, trust, and collaboration among minority entrepreneurs.

Dove is part of New Profit’s accelerating its effort internally and across its partner network, which focuses on addressing systemic injustices exposed by the pandemic and the 2020 deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others. Dove said in a statement he’s excited to join New Profit and support the role it plays in helping social entrepreneurs.

“I am thrilled to join the talented New Profit team, because we have an essential role to play supporting social entrepreneurs who are catalysts for healing, renewal, and equity in communities everywhere,” Dove said in a New Profit release.

“My personal ethos is that there is no cavalry coming to save the day in Black and Brown communities; we are the iconic leaders we have been waiting for, which is aligned with New Profit’s philanthropic commitment to build coalitions to support breakthrough social entrepreneurs.”

The Wesleyan University graduate spent more than a decade at the CFBMA serving as a lead organizer of the Executives’ Alliance to expand opportunities for boys and young men of color. During Dove’s time with the CFBMA, it has built a network of more than 3,000 organizations from a litany of sectors, reaching millions with storytelling and research, and leveraging over $320 million in national and local funds to advance the Black male achievement movement

Dove was also an important figure in the launch of Former President Barack Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper Initiative.

“Shawn is a beloved and powerful leader, storyteller, and bridge builder and we are honored to join forces with him at this urgent moment in America,” New Profit Co-CEOs Vanessa Kirsch said in a statement.