by Selena Hill

August 27, 2026

Employees Say Hybrid Work May Not Be The Best Model After All

The workplace model once billed as a win-win is exposing new challenges around flexibility, culture, and career advancement.

Hybrid work was supposed to be the happy medium, giving employees more flexibility while preserving collaboration and company culture. But the model is not meeting expectations.

As companies continue to fine-tune return-to-office policies, hybrid work is creating new workplace challenges, including uneven access to flexibility, weakened relationships with colleagues, and concerns that employees who spend more time in the office may be promoted more quickly.

A recent analysis from Human Resources Director explores why the arrangement has not always delivered the balance workers and employers expected. For many professionals, the issue is not simply where they work. It is whether hybrid work creates a level playing field. Employees who regularly work remotely can face what workplace experts describe as a proximity bias — the possibility that workers who are physically present receive greater visibility, stronger relationships with managers, and, ultimately, access to opportunities. Meanwhile, employees who commute to the office may question whether the added time and expense are justified when much of their workday is still spent on video calls.

The hybrid debate also has implications for talent retention and company performance. Many employers adopted flexible work arrangements after the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that many jobs could be performed outside a traditional office. But flexibility without a clear strategy can create friction.

Companies must decide which employees can work remotely, how often teams should gather in person, and how managers should measure performance. Those decisions can become especially important when businesses are attempting to recruit and retain diverse talent. Companies need management practices that measure results rather than visibility, set consistent expectations, and ensure that remote employees are not excluded from conversations that influence their careers.

Hybrid work may not be the perfect compromise businesses once imagined. But as companies continue experimenting, the organizations that figure out how to combine flexibility with fairness could gain an advantage in the competition for talent.

Fannie Lou Hamer, mobile tour, digital upgrade — Photo credit: public domain

by Selena Hill

August 27, 2026

Fannie Lou Hamer’s Legacy Hits The Road Again With An Upgraded Digital Tour

A newly enhanced digital driving tour uses video, archival audio, and immersive technology to bring the civil rights icon’s legacy to life.

The story of Fannie Lou Hamer is getting a digital upgrade.

An enhanced driving tour dedicated to the Mississippi sharecropper-turned-civil rights leader has relaunched with new video, archival audio, photographs, and historical materials designed to bring Hamer’s legacy to a new generation of students, researchers, and travelers.

The project expands on Fannie Lou Hamer’s America, an educational initiative that includes a nationally broadcast documentary, K-12 curriculum, and digital resources focused on preserving and amplifying her voice. The updated tour takes visitors through locations connected to her life and activism in Ruleville, Sunflower County, Winona, and other communities, reports Mississippi Today.

Among the additions is the M.W. Stringer Masonic Lodge in Jackson, where Hamer and others launched the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party in April 1964. The tour also incorporates short videos featuring recordings of Hamer speaking and singing.

The original 10-stop digital tour launched in 2019. The refreshed version represents a broader investment in making civil rights history accessible through technology and cultural tourism. The project was funded by the Mississippi Humanities Council and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

“Mrs. Hamer’s story personifies the Mississippi Freedom Movement — how local people inspired and partnered with young activists to change the state and the country,” said Stuart Rockoff, the executive director of the Mississippi Humanities Council, in a news release, according to The Winona Times. “This driving tour will help people from across Mississippi and the world understand the vital role Mrs. Hamer played in the movement and her continuing relevance to the issues of justice we still face today.”

For Monica Land, Hamer’s niece and a producer of both the film and driving tour, the expanded format creates room to tell more of her aunt’s story.

“There was so much we couldn’t show in the film due to time and cost,” Land said. “So, the motivation for doing this was to see another aspect of Aunt Fannie Lou’s life explored.”

Land said visitors frequently ask where Hamer is buried and whether sites such as a statue or museum exist. The digital platform offers another way to answer those questions while preserving the physical locations tied to Hamer’s work. That includes the tour’s newest out-of-state stop, Atlantic City, where Hamer delivered her historic testimony before the Credentials Committee at the 1964 Democratic National Convention.

“By expanding the reach of the driving tour, we allow visitors to hear Aunt Fannie Lou herself describe what happened at that location,” Land said. “It preserves those places as living classrooms.”

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Long-time XCEL Summit for Men Host Ed Gordon Pays Tribute to Black Enterprise Founder Earl G. Graves Sr.

by Kenneth Meeks

August 27, 2026

Long-time XCEL Summit for Men Host Ed Gordon Pays Tribute to Black Enterprise Founder Earl G. Graves Sr.

A proud native of Detroit, Ed Gordon always knew he wanted to be a broadcast journalist. While he would mimic local newscasters when he was a junior in high school, it wasn’t until a college professor encouraged him to actually look into the profession. He did. He became a cub reporter at a local PBS station. And from there, he rose to be his hometown correspondent. While most African Americans have watched him make the leap to national prominence on BET News, he’s been a friend of BLACK ENTERPRISE for decades as a former host of the “Our World with Black Enterprise” television show and a recurring host at the XCEL Summit for Men. His message to young Black men is to “believe in yourself.” His pioneering work opened the doors in journalism for many more African Americans. As a 2024 XCEL Summit Honoree, Gordon returns to host the 10^th anniversary of the Summit this year. In this video clip from his acceptance speech that year, Gordon pays tribute to BE Founder Earl G. Graves Sr.

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MLB, uniforms — Photo by Bill Selak/Flickr

by Selena Hill

August 26, 2026

Padres Co-Owner Kwanza Jones Says Princeton Ignored Her Until She And Her Husband Donated $20 Million

The artist, investor, and Princeton alum told T.I. that her outreach was overlooked until she and her husband cut the Ivy League a large check.

Kwanza Jones says it took a hefty gift to get her alma mater’s attention.

The entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist recently revealed that Princeton University repeatedly failed to respond when she initially expressed interest in funding a major campus project. Years later, Jones and her husband and business partner, José E. Feliciano, made a $20 million gift to the Ivy League institution.

“No one got back to me,” Jones said during an appearance on T.I.’s ExpediTIously podcast. “I asked again. Waited a few months. Asked again. Still, no one got back to me.”

At the time, Princeton noted that the couple’s 2020 donation was the largest gift to date by Black and Latino donors. It supported the university’s efforts to expand access and inclusion for undergraduate students from diverse backgrounds. It also helped fund the construction of two dormitories, which were each named after Jones, a member of the Class of 1993, and her husband, who graduated in 1994. Jones, however, pointed out that the experience underscored how institutions can underestimate people who built wealth outside traditional networks or are not loud about their success.

When asked whether the donation finally got Princeton’s attention, Jones put it plainly, stating, “So, $20 million was just to get the answer.”

After receiving the couple’s gift, she said university officials asked her how they could identify more donors like them. She responded, telling them that they “left a lot on the table,” adding, “we’ve been here, but you haven’t seen us.”

Today, Jones’ presence is impossible to overlook. Earlier this month, she made history as the first Black woman to own a Major League Baseball team after she and Feliciano were approved to purchase the San Diego Padres. The transaction, which is valued at $3.9 billion, marks the largest franchise sale in MLB history, according to Yahoo Sports.

Under MLB governance rules, Feliciano serves as the Padres’ designated control person, while he and Jones jointly lead the ownership group. Major League Baseball said the couple will bring their shared experiences and long-term approach to the franchise’s stewardship.

“José and Kwanza understand the unique place the Padres hold in San Diego and the powerful bond between the club and its fans,” MLB Commissioner Robert D. Manfred, Jr. said in a statement. “We look forward to their leadership of the Padres and to working with them to build on the club’s strong foundation in a market that is so important to Major League Baseball.”

In a joint statement, the couple said, “We are a family first, and becoming owners of the San Diego Padres means joining an even larger one.”

The pair added that they are “committed to winning.”

“We have built our life and our work together, and we will bring that same shared purpose, commitment, and determination to our stewardship of the Padres,” they said.

Southern University — 2C2K Photography, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

by Sidnee Michelle

August 26, 2026

Southern University Board Chairman Pushes For Student Dress Code

Tony Clayton raised the idea during an Aug. 21 board meeting in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The chairman of the Southern University System Board of Supervisors wants its campuses to consider adopting a student dress code, citing to similar policies at historically Black colleges and universities, including Tuskegee University, the Louisiana Illuminator⁠ reports.

Tony Clayton raised the idea during an Aug. 21 board meeting in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and said he wants chancellors from Southern’s five campuses to discuss the proposal before the board’s Sept. 18 meeting.

“I walked around campus the other day. I think we need it,” Clayton told board members.

No formal dress code proposal has been introduced or approved for the public university system.

Clayton’s comments follow Tuskegee’s implementation of new student attire requirements for the fall 2026 semester. Tuskegee President Mark A. Brown told students that the private Alabama university’s dress code is intended to help prepare them for professional environments.

Under the Tuskegee policy⁠, students must arrive on campus prepared with appropriate attire for business meetings. The university prohibits revealing clothing in classrooms, the cafeteria, and official settings such as convocation. Bedroom shoes, bonnets, and durags are also prohibited in classrooms and the cafeteria. Faculty members are authorized to address students who violate the guidelines.

“The goal here is not meant to restrict you from enjoying the Tuskegee Experience, but to prepare you with a solid foundation for the workforce you will enter once you leave Tuskegee,” Brown wrote.

Some Tuskegee students have questioned the policy and how the university presented it publicly.

“I think that releasing it in the way that they did made it look like students were kind of walking around here looking any type of way, and that’s just not true,” junior biology major Serenity Mitchell told the Alabama Reflector⁠.

Tuskegee declined to comment to the outlet about the policy, which does not specify penalties for violations.

Campus attire standards vary among HBCUs. Hampton University and Fisk University maintain dress codes, while Howard University and Morehouse College have attire requirements that do not apply campuswide, the outlet reported.

For Southern University, however, a dress code remains only an idea under consideration. Clayton has called for system leaders to discuss the issue, but the Board of Supervisors has not adopted a policy.

Sandbach, Tinne and Company, Malik Al Nasir, slavery, The Slavery Abolition Act — Photo by Thato Moiketsi: https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-sitting-cross-legged-with-chain-around-hands-26800347/

by Sidnee Michelle

August 26, 2026

1847 Letter Reveals British Company Trafficked Enslaved Africans Decades After Abolition

"By process of deduction, we can see these are people illegally trafficked from Africa," Al Nasir told the outlet.

An 1847 letter provides new evidence that a prominent British company continued illegally trafficking enslaved Africans to Guyana decades after Britain outlawed the slave trade and after the company’s affiliates received taxpayer-funded compensation connected to abolition, The Guardian reports.

The letter was sent to the Liverpool office of Sandbach, Tinne and Company by Peter Miller Watson, who managed the company’s interests in Demerara, then a British colony that is now part of Guyana. Watson documented the arrival of the Parker, a ship in the company’s fleet carrying 324 Africans, including 123 children. The ship carried 115 adult men, 86 adult women, 82 children younger than 14, and 41 children younger than 4.

One man and two children died during the voyage, according to the correspondence.

Author Malik Al Nasir, whose research is detailed in the book “Searching for My Slave Roots,” argues that language in the letter indicates the Africans were illegally trafficked rather than indentured workers or Africans liberated from slave ships by the Royal Navy. Watson referred to the Africans as “cargo,” a term Al Nasir said was associated with enslaved people rather than liberated Africans.

“By process of deduction, we can see these are people illegally trafficked from Africa,” Al Nasir told the outlet.

British corporation continued the trafficking of enslaved Africans to Guyana 40 years after abolition

Letter written in 1847 to Sandbach, Tinne and Company’s Liverpool office reveals it engaged in practice after receiving taxpayer-funded compensation https://t.co/VPBVIe80t7
— Socialist Voice (@SocialistVoice) August 23, 2026

The discovery adds another layer to Britain’s history with slavery. Parliament passed the Slave Trade Act in 1807, prohibiting the slave trade in British territories. The Slavery Abolition Act followed in 1833, abolishing slavery across most of the British Empire.

By 1847, Sandbach Tinne and its subsidiaries had already received compensation for people they had enslaved before abolition. The British government compensated enslavers for their purported financial losses while formerly enslaved people received nothing. The taxpayer-backed debt used to finance those payments was not fully paid off until 2015, according to the outlet.

Sandbach Tinne and families connected to the company were major players in Demerara’s sugar trade. Al Nasir’s research also points to an 1847 missionary account describing continued illegal trafficking from areas including Angola as slave traders attempted to evade British naval enforcement.

The findings helped inspire Overwriting-Underwriting, a research initiative examining the financial networks behind enslavement and their lasting legacy. The project launched Aug. 23 at the Museum of Liverpool.

workplace surveillance, privacy, trust — AI-generated Image via Magnific

by Selena Hill

August 26, 2026

Your Boss May Be Watching: How Workplace Surveillance Is Reshaping The Future of Work

Employers are using more sophisticated monitoring tools, raising new questions about worker productivity, privacy, and trust

The next time you log onto a company laptop, clock in through an app, or use a work-issued phone, there may be more than a manager keeping tabs on your performance.

Employers are increasingly using workplace surveillance technology — often referred to as “bossware” — to monitor everything from keystrokes and web activity to location data, screenshots, and time spent at a desk, reports The Associated Press. The trend has accelerated as companies navigate hybrid and remote work using technology designed to measure how, when, and where employees work.

Employers say monitoring tools can help protect sensitive information, improve efficiency, manage distributed teams, and identify operational bottlenecks. However, the technology also raises questions about how much oversight is too much.

Employers have a range of options to track workers, from software installed on computers to GPS-enabled devices and AI-powered systems that analyze employee activity. However, some question whether technology will damage workplace trust. The U.S. Government Accountability Office has noted that while digital surveillance can affect more than productivity, it can also potentially influencing worker morale, stress, and the relationship between employees and management.

The technology itself is also becoming more sophisticated. AI is being integrated into workplace analytics, allowing companies to process larger amounts of employee data and potentially use those insights to evaluate performance and manage operations. But the growing use of automated systems also raises concerns about transparency and how data may influence decisions about promotions or layoffs. Experts have also raised concerns that employees with less power may experience the effects of surveillance differently than executives or highly autonomous professionals. They warn that although technology can generate more data than ever before, data alone does not create better management.

As workplace surveillance moves deeper into the AI era, companies will have to balance efficiency with transparency and ensure that monitoring employees does not come at the expense of the trust needed to keep them.

Biggie Smalls The Notorious B.I.G., estate battle — Notorious B.I.G. 1995 (Photo by Chris Walter/WireImage)

by Selena Hill

August 26, 2026

Biggie’s Son Says His Grandmother’s Will Was Altered Before Her Death

Christopher “C.J.” Wallace Jr. is challenging changes made to his grandmother Voletta Wallace’s estate plan just days before her death.

The business of protecting The Notorious B.I.G.’s legacy is facing another courtroom battle.

Christopher “C.J.” Wallace Jr., the son of late rap icon and R&B singer Faith Evans, is challenging changes made to his grandmother’s estate plan shortly before her death in February 2025.

According to TMZ, C.J. Wallace filed a petition in Pennsylvania alleging that a codicil signed 15 days before his grandmother, Voletta Wallace, died, dramatically altered her original estate plans. The filing claims that C.J. and his half-sister, T’yanna Wallace, were removed as successor trustees and co-executors and replaced by Wayne Barrow, a long-time associate and former manager of Biggie.

Under Voletta Wallace’s reported 2020 will, her grandchildren were set to receive personal assets including her jewelry, furs, Biggie’s music awards, a Mercedes-Benz SUV, and property in Jamaica. Her interest in the business managing her son’s intellectual property was designated for her foundation. Now, C.J. Wallace is questioning whether the late amendment accurately reflected his grandmother’s wishes.

The court filing alleges that Voletta Wallace was in declining health and taking multiple medications when the changes were executed. It also challenges the signatures on the documents as “facially inconsistent” and seeks to have the amendment invalidated, reports Complex. A
court has not yet ruled on the validity of the documents.

The dispute carries significant business implications because Voletta Wallace spent nearly three decades protecting and monetizing her son’s catalog, likeness, and intellectual property after his murder in 1997. She and Biggie’s widow, Faith Evans, were central figures in the management of Notorious B.I.G. LLC, the entity connected to the rapper’s business interests.

The estate’s value and future stewardship have become increasingly important following a deal with music publisher Primary Wave that valued Biggie’s catalog and related rights at more than $200 million, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The estate fight also follows a recent Delaware court victory for Barrow in a separate dispute involving Evans and control over portions of Voletta Wallace’s trust and the management of Biggie’s intellectual property. Court proceedings have affirmed Barrow’s role as trustee in that separate matter, while C.J.’s Pennsylvania challenge to the estate documents remains pending.

For the Wallace family, the latest legal battle is about more than personal belongings. It could help determine who controls part of one of hip- hop’s most valuable legacies, in addition to how the business built around Christopher Wallace’s name continues for the next generation.

Job search, Unemployed, Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs — Photo by cottonbro studio/Pexels

by Sidnee Michelle

August 26, 2026

Nearly 1 In 4 U.S. Workers Are ‘Functionally Unemployed’ New Data Finds

The institute's findings contrast with the federal government's official unemployment rate.

Nearly 1 in 4 U.S. workers were considered “functionally unemployed” in July, according to an alternative labor-market measure that counts people who are jobless, unable to secure full-time work, or earning poverty-level wages, CBS News reports.

The Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity reported Aug. 20 that its True Rate of Unemployment rose to 24.9% in July, up from 24.7% in June. The rate has increased for four consecutive months and is 1.3 percentage points higher than in March.

The institute’s findings contrast with the federal government’s official unemployment rate. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics⁠ reported that the unemployment rate fell to 4.1% in July, while the number of unemployed people remained little changed at 6.9 million.

The difference stems largely from how the two measures define employment. The Ludwig Institute classifies workers as functionally unemployed if they do not have a job, want full-time employment but cannot secure it, or earn less than $26,000 annually before taxes.

Women experienced a substantially higher rate of functional unemployment than men in July. The rate among women reached 31%, compared with 19.5% among men. Black workers had a functional unemployment rate of 27.3%, compared with 26.7% for Hispanic workers and 23.8% for white workers.

Official employment data also showed limited hiring in July. U.S. nonfarm payroll employment declined by 23,000 jobs, while employment estimates for May and June were revised downward by a combined 103,000 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Gene Ludwig, the institute’s chairman, said the four-month increase warrants attention if the trend continues.

“We shouldn’t read too much into a single month, but four months begin to tell a story,” Ludwig said.

Some economists caution against treating the institute’s measure as equivalent to the government’s unemployment rate because the two track different conditions. Gregory Daco, chief economist at EY-Parthenon, told CBS News⁠ that an unemployment rate above 20% does not correspond with other indicators of the U.S. economy.

401(k), ai exposure, retirement benefits — (Photo: JGI/Jamie Grill, via Getty Images)

by Sidnee Michelle

August 26, 2026

More Small Businesses Are Offering 401(K) Plans To Workers

About 31% of small businesses had active retirement plans in 2026, up from 19% in 2019.

Small businesses are increasingly offering retirement plans to employees, expanding access to a workplace benefit that has historically been less common among the nation’s smallest employers, HR Brew reports.

About 31% of small businesses had active retirement plans in 2026, up from 19% in 2019, a 64% increase, according to an analysis from payroll and benefits platform Gusto. The research examined private-sector businesses with two to 99 employees using payroll data through June 2026.

The growth has been particularly significant for hourly workers. The share with access to a workplace retirement plan rose from 21% in 2019 to 38% in 2026. Hospitality businesses tripled their adoption rate from 4% to 12%, while recreation and agriculture businesses increased by 147% and 122%, respectively.

“Most of that growth has been happening at very smallest employers,” Nich Tremper, head of Gusto Insights and a senior economist, told HR Brew.

Government policies have helped fuel the expansion. As of June, 18 states had enacted automatic IRA programs requiring many private employers to either offer a retirement plan or facilitate employee enrollment in a state-managed program, according to the outlet. The federal SECURE 2.0 Act also provides qualifying businesses with one to 100 employees with tax credits to help offset the cost of establishing retirement plans for up to three years.

But policy is not the only factor. Separate Gusto research analyzing payroll records from more than 500,000 small businesses found companies offering 401(k) plans had about 8% fewer first-year employee quits than otherwise similar businesses without them. Gusto noted the findings show an association and do not prove that 401(k)s directly cause lower turnover.

“It’s expensive to have to go back out into the market and find somebody new and train them, and then also all of the lost productivity while you’ve got vacancies,” Tremper told HR Brew.

The expansion could be particularly consequential for workers historically less likely to have workplace retirement benefits. Earlier Gusto research found 5.6 million more small-business workers had access to active retirement plans than in 2019. Access among Black employees increased 52%, while access among Hispanic employees rose 71%.

Still, Gusto found that more than half of small-business employees remain without access to a workplace retirement plan.