First Black Female AG Will Defend NFL In Racial Discrimination Lawsuit

First Black Female AG Will Defend NFL In Racial Discrimination Lawsuit


The National Football League (NFL) has hired former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to defend the organization against a class action lawsuit.

Lynch, the first Black female attorney general in U.S. history, will defend the NFL against former Miami Dolphins Head Coach Brian Flores’ class-action racial discrimination lawsuit.

The NFL has also hired another Paul Weiss firm lawyer in Brad Karp, who previously defended the league in its concussion settlements.

Lynch, a North Carolina native, has a wealth of legal experience. She’s currently representing McDonald’s against three high-profile racial discrimination lawsuits. In the past, she has represented Syracuse University in an independent review of its Department of Public Safety’s handling of bias-related incidents raised by students during the 2019/2020 academic year.

The Shaw University alum also worked for former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama and represented North Carolina State University in an NCAA investigation concerning money and other benefits allegedly offered to a former student-athlete in violation of NCAA regulations.

Flores, who the Dolphins fired in January, has filed a class-action racial discrimination lawsuit against the NFL and three of its teams, the Dolphins, New York Giants, and Denver Broncos. In his suit, Flores alleges the Giants interviewed him for their open head coach position to fill the Rooney Rule requirement and already knew they would hire Brian Daboll, a white coach.

There are currently two Black NFL head coaches in a league where 70% of the players are Black. Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin and Houston Texans Head Coach Lovie Smith, who was hired earlier this year. The Dolphins hired Mike McDaniel, who identifies as multiracial.

Flores’ suit also alleges that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offered to pay him $100,000 for each loss he incurred to secure a better position in the NFL Draft. Flores added when he refused, Ross painted him as a coach with “disdain and held out as someone who was noncompliant and difficult to work with.”

The Dolphins have denied the allegations, however, Pro Football Talk reported if the allegations are true, Ross would likely be forced to sell the team. Flores also alleged the Denver Broncos conducted a “sham interview” with him in 2019 for their head coaching position. A claim the Broncos denied in a statement.

Mahisha Dellinger Shares Her Journey of Launching CURLS, Mentoring Black Women Entrepreneurs + More

Mahisha Dellinger Shares Her Journey of Launching CURLS, Mentoring Black Women Entrepreneurs + More


CURLS CEO and Founder Mahisha Dellinger continues to propel the next generation of women entrepreneurs following the massive success of her pioneer natural haircare brand.

While appearing on BLACK ENTERPRISE’s “Hip Hop and Enterprise,” Mahisha recalls her journey to launch CURLS in 2002 while still employed full-time. She was feeling undervalued while working for a racist manager who targeted her and “made my life a living hell,” she explains.

“That’s when the wheels started to turn in not wanting to work so hard to have that experience happen to me,” Mahisha said.

The OWN host goes on to share how being a “newly natural mother” to her child inspired her to begin the process of developing her own natural hair product. Using her marketing degree, Mahisha knew how to conduct thorough research to determine the need for natural hair products.

She recalls the journey to getting CURLS into stores that came knocking after initially closing the door on her. Now the owner of a thriving beauty brand on shelves in major retailers like Ulta Beauty, Mahisha shares her experience when originally pitching to Ulta Beauty and working with a former buyer who told her that he didn’t see a need for her type of product.

Having mentored Black women entrepreneurs on her OWN show Mind Your Business with Mahisha, the beauty mogul offered advice to aspiring entrepreneurs including how to keep a full-time job while starting a business and why she thinks it’s best to “grow organically” before signing on with an investor.

Still on a mission to empower female entrepreneurs, Mahisha’s Women Making Millions Academy: Mastering the Business, The Money, & the Mindset has a lineup of virtual winter sessions aimed at guiding BIPOC women into sustained business growth that will position them as trusted leaders in their respective industries.

As a busy mother of four, Mahisha stressed the importance of having a supportive partner by her side and how she is helping her husband pursue a business of his own. She also shares how her entrepreneurial bug is rubbing off on her kids.

Press play below to catch the resourceful gems on entrepreneurship from CURLS founder Mahisha Dellinger.

HBCU Student’s Graphic Designs Featured In Both Target, JC Penney For Black History Month

HBCU Student’s Graphic Designs Featured In Both Target, JC Penney For Black History Month


When Florida A&M University student Kah’Milah Ledgester entered her first two design competitions, her determination landed her a nationwide opportunity.

Ledgester, a senior graphic design student, took a chance and submitted designs for Target’s 2021 HBCU design contest and JCPenney’s Young, Gifted, and Black design challenge.

Her designs triumphed. During spring 2021, Ledgester was notified that her creations would be featured on T-shirts in stores across the country during Black History Month of 2022.

“I always get a little excited because of the fact that I did the Target challenge, and I also did JCPenney and won both of them. It made me feel very good because I took a chance,” Ledgester of Adel, Georgia, told the Tallahassee Democrat

One of the HBCU student’s award-winning designs includes a “fruitful” woman with an abundance of interwoven green leaves and citrus fruits in her afro.

Inspired by Nina Simone’s rendition of “Strange Fruit,” Ledgester intended not only to show the vibrancy of Black women with fruit but to also highlight the “best thing we are able to do as Black women, and that is take that pain and make something out of it.”

Customers can find the T-shirt design in Target kiosks alongside other Black History Month-focused creations. It is also available online at Target.com.

“There are so many reasons why her artwork stood out,” said Tawnya Artisst, director of Multicultural Product Design and Advancement at Target, as per Tallahassee Democrat. “Her illustration was beautiful, and it was so unique. Her color use was joyful, and there was a clear story that engaged the judges. The more we learned about her thought process, the more we knew we were looking at a winning design.”

FAMU student Kah’Milah Ledgester’s award-winning design | JC Penney

Now on display at JCPenney stores nationwide, Ledgester created her additional design focused on a man and woman with afros, enriched with earth tone colors, looking upwards. The pair can be seen breathing life into the affirmations: “Just Breathe” and “Remember to Exhale.” This sentiment fits into the national retail giant’s Black History Month 2022 theme of “Black Health and Wellness.”

“Kah’Milah’s design stood out because her design was a thoughtful execution of a way for an individual to improve their mental health. She answered JCPenney’s ‘Young, Gifted and Black Design’ challenge prompt in a masterful way,” said Krystal Ellis, senior designer, Women’s for JCPenney, according to the news outlet.

In addition to her selections, Target pledged a $3,000 cash prize, a laptop, and a UX Design bootcamp course for Ledgester to continue to sharpen her design skills.

JC Penney awarded her $2,000 and an opportunity to receive mentorship through a program where she meets weekly with seasoned industry professionals.

Utilizing these new opportunities, the flourishing designer plans to monetize her prints.

Exclusive: Mother of Lincoln University Student Stabbed in Dorm That Left Another Student Dead, Shares Outrage Over Campus Incident

Exclusive: Mother of Lincoln University Student Stabbed in Dorm That Left Another Student Dead, Shares Outrage Over Campus Incident


In an exclusive interview, the mother of a Lincoln University student Eric Dickerson, who was stabbed in a campus dorm and who held his friend as he died in his arms from a stabbing in his neck Wednesday night, is speaking out to BLACK ENTERPRISE about the horrific incident that left her son traumatized.

On Wednesday, authorities were called to the Historically Black College and University after a report that three students were stabbed and one was left dead after a dorm brawl on Lincoln University’s campus, CBS News reports.

Erica Dickerson, owner of PrettyPettyBoutique.com and mother of one of the victims, Eric Dickerson, a senior at Lincoln U, says she is devastated and spent the night in the hospital crying and consoling her son.

“This is really heartbreaking. I’m hurt,” Erica told BLACK ENTERPRISE.

On Thursday morning Erica explained that her son witnessed the murder of his best friend Jawine Evans, 21. Eric also was a victim and was stabbed in the back, in the side, and in the arm by a woman who is rumored to be the mother of a student who was in a fight.

According to Erica, her son Eric heard a commotion and witnessed a fight in a dorm on Lincoln’s campus where he was lived and was set to graduate this summer. Erica said she was told a grown woman allegedly was seen wielding a knife and stabbing students — including her son.

Other sources report that the knife-wielding woman is rumored to be the mother of a student who called her up to the school to back him up after an argument went left. That report has not been confirmed by the police.

After hearing a commotion, Eric reportedly came out of his room as a fight was taking place between students. Erica says Eric was subsequently stabbed several times.

Erica Dickerson and son Eric who was stabbed on Wednesday at Lincoln U (Courtesy Erica Dickerson)

Eric’s best friend Jawine was stabbed in the neck, and was bleeding profusely in Eric’s arms as he held him.

“Eric saw that his friend was stabbed in the neck and he was trying to help. Putting pressure on it (stab wounds),” Erica said.

She said her son Eric didn’t even know he was stabbed three times.

A GOFUNDME has been set up to help the Dickerson family with mounting bills and costs.

Erica said her son Eric and Jawine were best friends who were inseparable, having traveled to Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Miami together sightseeing the world.

“He’s gone. He’s gone. I loved that boy.” Erica said in disbelief about Jawine who passed away from his injuries.

“This was their last year. They were supposed to graduate in a few months,” she said about the upperclassmen.

Erica said her son is home from the hospital after being rushed to Christiana Hospital in Wilmington, Delaware late last night. The incident was first reported at 9:30 p.m. Wednesday on the 1500 block of Baltimore Pike.

The distraught mom said her son called her from the ambulance as he was transported to the hospital.

On Thursday morning, Lincoln University released a statement on the incident offering “thoughts and prayers” to the victims and families impacted.

“We are deeply saddened by the incident that occurred on campus last night. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. We take the safety of our students seriously and are working with local authorities as there is an ongoing investigation. We have no further comment at this time,” the statement read.

Erica, however, wants more than thoughts and prayers and vowed to take action and file a lawsuit.

“Why was it so easy for her (suspect) to get up there?” the concerned mother asked about the alleged suspect.

“My son got stabbed in the neck. My son got stabbed three times,” she said.

According to its website, “Lincoln University was founded in 1854 as the nation’s first degree-granting Historically Black College and University, or HBCU.” As of this past fall, some 1,767 students were enrolled.

(Editor’s note: The story has been updated to reflect the correct spelling of Jawine Evans’ name)

Candace Owens’ Fans Are Big Mad She Praised the Blackity Black Superbowl Halftime Show

Candace Owens’ Fans Are Big Mad She Praised the Blackity Black Superbowl Halftime Show


Candace Owens had a moment of clarity for the culture and gave props to the stellar performers who rocked the star-studded Superbowl LVI Halftime Show — and in the process pissed off her faithful fans.

For a moment in time, the conservative firebrand waved the white flag and took to Twitter to actually say something nice about the blackity black concert that included Dr. Dre, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, 50 Cent, and Kendrick Lamar. 

But it quickly became clear that Owens’ conservative fanbase was not happy with her nod of approval to Black excellence during black History Month, given that she is the Queen of blasting Black folks for just about anything.

Her followers of mostly conservatives expressed the hate and actually disagreed with her sentiments, given that it had much to do about Black people. Others were equally shocked that she enjoyed something that is heavily associated with Black people.

Natlyn Jones Knocks Out Stereotypes with SheWarrior Athletic Wear


Natlyn Jones, wife of legendary boxer Roy Jones, Jr., champions the health and wellness of women as the founder of SheWarrior, a sustainable athletic wear brand. The entrepreneur and trained fighter challenges women to build strength inside and out by supplementing their workouts and daily lives with functional fashion.

Encouraging women to take a jab at their fitness goals is only half of the boxing promoter’s mission. Jones recognizes that women so often put the needs of their loved ones before their own. The mother of three focuses on how building strength and stamina can help women be assertive, strategic, and unapologetic.

(Image: SheWarrior)

BLACK ENTERPRISE spoke with the entrepreneur about her mission to empower women to raise a fist.

Tell us about the mission behind SheWarrior.

I’ve been in the gym for what feels like nearly my whole life. I remember looking across the boxing ring seeing other women look uncomfortable and unconfident while working out. I knew the struggle of finding athletic clothes that were practical, comfortable and fashionable. 

I always go right from my workout to pick up the kids from school. Then, I head to the grocery store and back to soccer practice. One day, I thought to myself, “I can’t be the only one,” Jones said about her busy lifestyle.

SheWarrior isn’t just a clothing brand. It is about women empowering women in their daily lives because we all know when we look good — we feel good.

Why was it important to make your athletic wear sustainable?

I wanted SheWarrior to not only make a difference in what women wear, but to leave a long-lasting impression on the Earth. Each style is made to order in the U.S. with 100% recycled materials. We dye the materials through a water-free process, so we can save water and reduce landfill waste.

Help us be the change with the Earthleisure brand giving you do-good, feel-good, look-good vibes all day long!

Did Roy Jones, Jr. provide any support or inspiration when designing for SheWarrior?

Roy is my biggest supporter. He has always stood by my vision and believed in my ability to create beautiful things in decor, fashion, etc. He’s not a visual person in the creative, artistic sense. Roy always tells me “That’s your thing, not mine. I can’t see it like you can.” He is there when I ask for an opinion, but at the end of the day he likes pretty much anything I decide.

Are there any initiatives SheWarrior is aiming towards in 2022?

In 2022, our goal is to continue to grow the SheWarrior community. We want to have as much of a positive impact as possible through product and messaging. We’re always striving to be better. SheWarrior hopes to empower many more people across the country this year. We have some very exciting projects in the works, and we can’t wait to share them with all of you!

(Image: SheWarrior)

Jones fights to change the status quo around strength in a male-dominated ring. The boxing promoter empowers women to embrace themselves, champion their personal victories and celebrate their bodies in her Earthleisure brand athletic wear. The founder of SheWarrior redefines what boxing means to women. Jones invites women into the ring to nurture and grow their fighting spirit.

In launching SheWarrior, Jones’s biggest challenge was ensuring clothing was sustainably made in the U.S. SheWarrior athletic wear is made to order to ensure the lowest possible impact on the planet.

Black Mompreneur and Her 4 Kids Launch Successful Gourmet Popcorn Brand


Meet Shaunese Alexander and her four children — Destiny, Trinity, Serenity, and Joshua — the founders of Popcorn Munchies, one of the fastest-growing Black-owned gourmet popcorn brands in the country.

Their Maryland-based company’s most popular specialty is their caramelized pecan flavor.

How they started out

It all started when the kids, especially Joshua, realized that they loved eating popcorn while watching movies at home. Their mom eventually decided to purchase a popcorn machine so that they could make popcorn similar to how it’s done in movie theaters. Shortly after, they were experimenting with recipes and landed on the best one, caramel. “It was so good,” Shaunese says, “that we decided to share it with neighbors, friends, and family. They loved it so much that we began receiving more and more requests to make it.”

When the pandemic began, the kids say they had no other choice but to stay home and be bored. But Shaunese did not let their valuable time go to waste. She encouraged them to perfect the craft, learn the entire process from start to finish, and start their very own gourmet popcorn business. Not long after, Popcorn Munchies was born!

Running a family business

When their business officially launched, they quickly began fulfilling nationwide orders via shipping and also making personal deliveries to local customers who happen to live nearby. So far, the business has been an overnight success with continuous orders.

For the children, it has especially been a blessing to work with their mom and also to see their hard work pay off doing something they love. And no doubt, the business lessons they are learning will turn them all into future entrepreneurs on a bigger level when they get older.

For more details and/or to support their business, visit PopcornMunchies4.com

Also, be sure to follow their brand on Instagram @Popcorn.Munchies

This story first appeared on blacknews.com.

Safeguard Your Child’s Mobile Activity With This Cell Phone Monitoring Program

Safeguard Your Child’s Mobile Activity With This Cell Phone Monitoring Program


If you’re a parent, there are more than enough things that warrant worry as you try to keep your children and their belongings safe. With nearly everyone having access to mobile phones, it’s a practice that has only become more challenging. Cell phones are no longer just a luxury, they’ve almost become a necessity as much of our lives revolve around them and the features that accompany them. Some schools have required them as a platform for learning-based apps, and they’re a convenient device that allows you to remain in touch with your children when you’re not physically around them.

Unfortunately, they can also invite unwanted dangers if they’re not properly protected and monitored.  Enlist the help of Highster Mobile Cell Phone Monitoring to help you in your efforts to keep your children safe and guarded when using their mobile devices. A lifetime subscription to this highly secure software is available for the low price of $69.99. That’s a savings of 30% from its MSRP ($99).

With Highster Mobile Cell Phone Monitoring, you can remotely track virtually anything on your child’s phone, including text messages, call logs, emails, photos and videos, browser history, among other activities.

There’s also a GPS tracking feature that allows you to view all locations of the targeted device within 50 feet on a Google Maps format. Additional features include a keylogger, remote uninstall, search alerts that notify you when pre-determined search terms are entered, and remote lock.

All that’s needed to access this program is a mobile device with Android 5 or later or iOS 7 or later. Updates are included with your purchase. Highster Mobile Cell Phone Monitoring has been featured in The New York Times, Medium, Tech Junkie, and other leading publications.

Even the most protective of parents are unable to be with their child 24 hours a day. When they’re not there, Highster Mobile Cell Phone Monitoring can step in and offer an extra pair of eyes along with robust security. Purchase it today for $69.99.

Prices subject to change.

Black Enterprise to Present Summit Focused On the Impact and Best Practices Of Corporate Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Efforts, Feb. 17


(New York, NY) February 16, 2022—BLACK ENTERPRISE will present its next Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Virtual Summit, on Feb. 17, in partnership with Toyota.

The latest installment of this groundbreaking virtual event will explore the state of African American recruitment, retention, and advancement in corporate America while examining how corporations are progressing—or not—toward implementing real changes in their respective workplaces, systems, and cultures.

The Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Virtual Summit features candid, engaging conversations with corporate leaders, as well as discussion on actionable solutions to systemic inequities in corporate America and broader society. The one-day event will delve deeply into critical issues facing corporations and African American professionals, ranging from the effectiveness of employee resource groups (ERGs) to the current status of corporate pledges made in the wake of the murder of George Floyd.

“We are approaching two years since many corporations made pledges to challenge systemic bias in the wake of George Floyd’s murder,” says BLACK ENTERPRISE CEO Earl “Butch” Graves Jr.

“Now is the time to take an unflinching look at what has actually been done to fulfill those pledges. With rare exceptions, Black people have been historically and chronically underserved by corporate D&I efforts. Our latest Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Summit will deal with this reality head-on, addressing what is working and what is not in terms of actionable and impactful solutions.”

Confirmed speakers for the Diversity, Equity & Inclusions Summit include Nationwide SVP/Chief Diversity and Talent Acquisition Officer Angela Bretz, McDonald’s VP/Global Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer Reginald Miller, The Diversity Org. Founder and CEO Joshua Pierce, JPMorgan Chase Head of Community Impact Alice Rodriguez, Walmart VP/Constituent Relations and Racial Equity Tony Waller, Creative Investment Research CEO Michael Cunningham, Comcast Cable President/Special Counsel to the CEO Steve White, Merck Global Co-Lead of the League of Employees of African Descent Penelope Morman, Toyota National African American ERG (BPG) Group Chair Charmin Spencer, and Verizon Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Workforce/Workplace Initiatives Natalie Renae Williams.

Registering for the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Summit will enable attendees to explore:

  • How chief diversity officers infuse DEI as a critical part of corporate cultures
  • Have business leaders effectively implemented the next stages of corporate equity commitments?
  • How employee resource groups, or ERGs, help facilitate real opportunities for Black executives
  • Has white allyship been effective in advancing Black talent?
  • …And MORE!

The Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Summit occurs from noon to 2:45 p.m. EST on Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022. For complimentary registration and more information about sessions and speakers, visit www.diversity.blackenterprise.com.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Interested press should contact Darcel Church via e-mail at churchd@blackenterprise.com.

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BLACK ENTERPRISE is the No.1 Black media brand, with more than 8 million monthly unique visitors. Since 1970, BLACK ENTERPRISE has been the premier business, career, investing, and wealth-building resource for African Americans. BLACK ENTERPRISE produces video and podcast programming, virtual and in-person business and lifestyle events, other digital media. Visit www.blackenterprise.com for more information.

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Getting Fired May Be The Best Thing For Your Career


Steve A. White, President, Special Counsel to the CEO of Comcast, is considered one of the cable TV industry’s most dynamic leaders. The oldest of three sons, he rose from humble beginnings in Indianapolis helping his single mother clean rooms at a local Quality Inn.to eventually becoming a corporate leader and board member of some of the nation’s largest companies. Among his crowning achievement included his 11-year stint as head of Comcast’s West Division where he led more than 30,000 employees, served 12 million customers and produced more than $18 billion dollars in annual revenues.

White, a speaker at the Black Enterprise Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Summit, has written a new book on his career journey complete with his guiding principles on how to achieve professional and personal success on your own terms: Uncompromising: How an Unwavering Commitment to Your Why Leads to an Impactful Life and Lasting Legacy.

 In the following excerpt, find out how his being fired as a young executive became a life-transforming experience and may offer you guidance on finding the “why” that gives you meaning and direction.

Why Getting Fired Was a Good Thing for My Career

The following is an excerpt from Steven A. White’s new book, Uncompromising: How an Unwavering Commitment to Your Why Leads to an Impactful Life and Lasting Legacy.

By Steve White

I’ll never forget the three words that were as comforting as a two-by-four to the bridge of my nose: “You are fired,” my boss said.

How could this be? How could he fire me? Yet that’s exactly what he did. He was fairly new to the role of being my supervisor, so I figured I was getting a pep talk, maybe some advice on how to jump-start my team, perhaps another promotion. But there was no pep in his talk and definitely no promotion.

In retrospect, it became clear that I had a lot to learn about leading people. I had found personal success early in my career by taking care of my supervisors and winning business for the company. Those assignments typically had one thing in common: I was responsible for my results, not the results of others.

So when I arrived at Ann Arbor on the heels of my latest promotion, I wasn’t fully prepared to lead a team. I figured I was the big cheese, and my ten direct reports would go to work making me look good. They didn’t, and who could blame them? I didn’t show them the way or give them the support they needed to do their best work. I didn’t understand that the most fundamental aspect of leadership is serving others. And that is why I was fired.

I wanted to crawl in a hole and hide from the world. I had never lived in the same room with failure, and I wasn’t sure how to treat him. But he wouldn’t go away. He just sat there laughing and saying, I told you so!

Then the phone rang. “How you doing, man?” It was Darnell Martin. He was a vice president in the distribution division, and I was in a products division, so he had learned through corporate channels that I had been released. As an older high-ranking African American leader in the company, he had taken an outsider’s interest in my career.

“How you think I’m doing?” I said, still frustrated and hurt. The next words from his mouth, however, changed everything. “I got you,” he said.

Darnell hired me for a temporary position and moved me to Chicago, where I watched and learned from Darnell and Gary (my new boss). They were leaders who took care of the people they led; they taught by example what it looked like to serve others. Soon I put those lessons into action.

I had no supervisory responsibilities in the job, and I had no quotas to hit. Instead, I was an individual contributor working on special projects, but my success was tied to my ability to work with other people in a collaborative fashion. The more I learned to serve the team around me, the more I learned what it meant to really lead. An uncompromising mindset about this approach to leadership became the basis of my fight.

The foundation for success in my early life was laid by people who encouraged me, such as my mother, my teachers, and mentors, but I had to get knocked down to find my fight. Once I found it, everything changed for one simple reason: my success became others-focused rather than self-focused.

For years, my why was all about escaping poverty, making money, and earning the trappings of corporate success. My goals and dreams weren’t necessarily bad, but they also weren’t particularly honorable. Your fight is what brings virtue, energy, and direction to your purpose for going through life. It’s what gives meaning to your why.

When we find our fight, our fight and our why become one and the same, and it changes our mindset and approach as we pursue our purpose. Meaningful success follows—as long as we never relinquish the power that comes from an unwavering commitment to why we exist.

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