• Business

by Andrea Blackstone

May 25, 2021

A Black and Woman-Owned Ice Cream Brand is Now Being Sold at Walmart

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There is a woman and Black-owned ice cream brand on the market. Creamalicious is moving up swiftly in the dessert world. The company was founded by Liz Rogers, who serves as the company’s president and executive chef, according to a Facebook post. Back in March, Evan Fay tagged Gianna Fay in a message announcing their partnership with a premium ice cream brand that takes Southern-inspired desserts and infuses them into ice cream. Evan also mentioned that Creamalicious is one of the first Black-owned ice cream brands in mass production to be sold nationwide.

“We are humbled and blessed to be a part of this game-changing company and to see our little ones OWNING their part of history 😊 Please take some time to check out and support Creamalicious Ice Creams FB, IG and website. Thanks!,” a tagged Facebook post read.

On Creamalicious’ Facebook page, a post said that each chef-prepared ice cream recipe represents the goodness of Southern tradition. Additionally, the flavors take you to a special moment in time.

“Whether it’s exchanging a wink with your aunt who’s making a fresh pie or playing outside until the street lights come on, Creamalicious will always represent a little fun, a little cool, and a lot of love. Cherish the moments. 🍨🤎 Get your favorite flavor(s) of #Creamalicious online today…,” the post informed.

The company’s Instagram page announced that the brand can be delivered right to your door with nationwide shipping. In another message, Instagram followers were informed that Creamalicious is now available at select Walmart store locations.

“#Georgia, #Alabama, #Ohio, and #SouthernCalifornia, you’re up first. You can now stop by your local #Walmart stores to pick up your favorite flavors of our chef-inspired “2-in-1” desserts. They’re oh so southern, and oh so Creeeamalicious! 🍨🍨,” the Instagram post said.

According to FOOD and WINE Creamalicious’ seven ice cream flavors can now be found at Walmart stores nationwide. Porch Light Peach Cobbler, Granma GiGi Sweet Potato, Right as Rain Red Velvet Cheesecake, Thick as Thieves Pecan Pie, Slap Yo Mama Banana Pudding, Uncle Charles Brown Suga Bourbon Cake, and Aunt Poonie’s Caramel Pound Cake are the names of the sweet treats.

“I love Walmart for taking a chance and partnering with me,” Rogers, who is a Cincinnati-based restaurateur, said. “It is a historic moment as Creamalicious is the first African American, female-owned national ice cream manufacturer in the history of the company.

• Arts and Culture

by Ida Harris

May 25, 2021

A Look at 6 Black Works of Art That Immortalize George Floyd on The One-Year Anniversary of His Death

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Sadly, the 25th of May marks the one-year anniversary of George Floyd’s death at the hands of an ornery, ego-driven Minneapolis cop, Derek Chauvin. The killing was captured by cellphone and shared across social and mass media, and was the catalyst for national and global communities to protest against police brutality and racial violence. On this day, across Black communities Floyd remains on our minds and in our hearts. 

However, this sentiment is not held by other individuals and it shows; particularly when it comes to honorific art that celebrates Floyd’s life and spirit. Just last week BLACK ENTERPRISE reported that a “violent white man axed a George Floyd memorial” in a fit of white rage. 

RELATED CONTENT: Violent White Man Axes a George Floyd Memorial, Community Quickly Rebuilds

—And in the wake of Derek Chauvin’s guilty verdict for the second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter of George Floyd, some people are finding it hard to deal. 

A mural dedicated to Floyd, in his hometown of Houston, has been defaced. 

According to thegrio, the hateful words, “niggers lives don’t matter” was spray painted across the face of the large scale painting that beared Floyd’s likeness. 

The mural, located in downtown Houston on Chartres and Bell street, was painted by Daniel Anguilu to lift community spirits. The mural had been targeted, vandalized and restored by Anguilu twice before. In a previous incident, someone scribbled “KKK” on the painting’s face. 

A mural in Phoenix, Arizona, that also paid homage to Floyd was vandalized in early April, BLACK ENTERPRISE reported. The eyes and mouth of the painting were crossed out with the letter “x” and the words “Fentanyl” was sketched across its subject’s forehead.

Black people stay putting their best foot forward and continue to lead with the Blackest of excellence, in spite of racism in most situations. The Black art community exemplifies this notion. Here are six Black works of art that center George Floyd, and their own brand of activism. 

Charly Palmer

Palmer is an exemplary painter whose artwork, for the most part is situated at the intersection of Blackness and activism. His 2020 TIME magazine cover is a testament to that, but so is this commission piece that hollers for criminal justice reform. It features 14-year-old George Stinney, who to-date, is the youngest person to be executed in the United States. His image is embedded in a copper penny that eerily examines how much the Black body is worth; Colin Kaepeenick kneels. Not on a football field but the asphalt in the hood, which at times is a battlefield; and at the center of it all Floyd outfitted as a warrior. 

Fabian Williams

Williams is a muralist who is quite familiar with the defacement of public art, particularly art that is political and bears Black faces. He’s known for creating honorific murals of Black icons in and around metropolitan Atlanta. He has painted Stacey Abrams, Kaepernick, Rep. John Lewis, but it was his mural of Martin Luther King that was vandalized numerous times. Williams’s Floyd piece is a critique and an indictment of the U.S. justice department and state-sanctioned violence. 

Faith Blackstone

Blackstone, a Minneapolis teenager and 2019 Human Rights Award Nominee, uses her art and advocacy to raise money and bring awareness to social justice issues. Blackstone’s winged portrait depicted Floyd as an angel. The drawing she created was sold as part of a GoFundMe, part of the proceeds were donated to the Floyd family. The image was also turned into tapestry and used as a casket cover during Floyd’s memorial and funeral service. 

Goldigold

Representation is a form of activism, and Goldigold is an activist in that vein. The artist’s portraiture work is committed to representing full-bodied Blackness. Goldigold uses a bold color pallet to amplify around the way girls and guys, the common folk who are superheros, and musical geniuses. The artist’s rendering of George Floyd falls in line with that sentiment, but also reflects an unresolved, topical issue in Black communities: police-killings and violence against Black bodies. 

Raphael Tiberino

Philly artist and educator, Raphael Tiberino has been an artist for over two decaded, creating dope art across mediums and genres including comics. Tiberino inked this incredible George Floyd piece with a pen and it is nothing short of breathtaking.

Whitney Austin

Austin, a North Carolina gallerist and artist paints with purpose: in the name of social justice. “Bloodline of Injustice,” the George Floyd painting she created went viral on Instagram and continues to gain attention. 

The death of George Floyd, May 25, 2020, has changed the way people talk about police reform and racial justice.

The year 2020 will be known for the outbreak of a disease, a presidential election that ended on a sour note, and a Black man who died from an overdose triggered by the police.

Millions around the world commented on his passing, but the conversation always narrows down to whether one was in favor of the police officers or an advocate for Black Lives Matter.

One thing is certain, inequality amongst races was a real problem before his death–and remains one 12 month later. .

A year before COVID-19 became the topic in every day life in February 2019, 78 percent of Black people said America had not done enough secure racial equality. Overall, 58 percent of Americans agreed, according to the Pew Research Center.

From June 2020 to September 2020, support for BLM dipped to due to sentiment about radicalization, but among Black people it was as high as 87 percent, according to an NBC News report using Pew Research shows.

RELATED CONTENT: Biden Hosting George Floyd’s Family at White House On One-Year Anniversary of His Death

“Black people were the ones that were sort of the most mobilized to learn more, to pay more attention and to take action in their own lives,” Juliana Horowitz, a senior researcher for the Pew Research Center, said

Throughout that summer, books about anti-Black racism and systems of inequality crowded the bestseller lists. There were new Black-led organizations and Black Lives Matter chapters, and policymakers pressured to take them into consideration. Half of the states. passed police reform laws that banned chokeholds and restricted use of force last May, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Furthermore, when the pandemic hit the United States, the first jobs to be eliminated or reduced were diversity-focused roles. However, Floyd saved those jobs as Black people and their allies did whatever they could to empower people of color and overthrow White supremacy.

“Before George Floyd, when the pandemic had hit, a lot of companies immediately laid off their diversity and inclusion teams,” Mandy Price, CEO and co-founder of Kanarys, a diversity, equity and inclusion specialist startup that helps other companies, told NBC News. “As companies faced economic uncertainty, many eliminated those teams or slashed their budgets.”

“Chief diversity officer in 2020 was the fastest-growing role” among C-suite positions,” Price said, adding that a report from LinkedIn showed the number of postings for chief diversity officers grew by 84 percent last year.

There is a renewed focused on supporting Black-owned businesses during the pandemic, and a growing campaign to believe Black women who have been victims of sexual assault and violence.

There are more appointed Black curators and program directors in fine art institutions, the New York Times reported, and there were nine people of color out of the 20 nominees for this year’s Academy Awards.

Georgia turned blue thanks to political organizations that connected with Black people.

As CBS reported, many are marching to Washington, D.C., to demand a sweeping police reform that includes a national database whenever an officer has used force, more funding for body cameras, a ban on all state officers from using chokeholds, and rolling back qualified immunity, which protects officers from getting sued for wrongdoings in civil court.

• Leadership

by Andrea Blackstone

May 25, 2021

A Black Woman Will Serve on the Missouri Supreme Court for the First Time

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The St. Louis Post- Dispatch reported that for the first time, a Black woman will serve on the Missouri Supreme Court. Missouri’s Gov. Mike Parson selected Judge Robin Ransom, 54, to fill a vacancy on the Missouri Supreme Court on Monday. The post opened, when Judge Laura Denvir Stith retired. She served on the bench for 20 years.

“Of course it is not lost on me the historic nature of this appointment, to be the first African American woman appointed to the Missouri Supreme Court,” Ransom said, according to The St. Louis Post- Dispatch.  “This is a very happy day for my mom, myself and my entire family.”

Despite the historic milestone that was reached, Ransom’s qualifications stood out. The Columbia Missourian added that during a press conference, Parson said that he has no doubt that Ransom will add valuable experience, perspective and balance to the court. He even tweeted that appointing a judge to the Supreme Court of Missouri is an important duty that he does not take lightly, but he also said that he was honored to name her as the newest member of it.

“I am confident that Judge Ransom will be a fair enforcer of the law, faithfully interpret the law as written, and reasonably consider decisions made at the trial and appellate level,” Parson said.

Parson’s press release provided background information about Ransom’s career. It said that she was appointed to serve on the Eastern District Court of Appeals by Parson in 2019. Ransom was appointed as a Circuit Judge for the City of St. Louis by Governor Matt Blunt in 2008. She also served for six years as a Family Court Commissioner in the City of St. Louis. Additionally, Ransom worked in the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and the St. Louis County Public Defender’s Office.

The Missouri Independent reported that Parson possesses 20 years of experience in judicial roles. Parson also said that Ransom’s professional career stands on its own merits.

“The reality of it is that she is the best qualified candidate for the Supreme Court and that is why she was chosen for that position,” Parson also said.

• Criminal Justice Reform

by Christian Spencer

May 25, 2021

White Woman Shot Up Black And Mexican Homes, Endangered Children; Wasn’t Charged With Hate Crime

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A white woman shot up two homes that belong to a Black family and a Mexican family. She was charged, but not for a hate crime.

South Carolina resident Mandy Fortson was found guilty of attempted murder and other charges and got sentenced to 20 years — 15 years in prison on the attempted murder charge and five years each on the other two charges, which will be served concurrently.

However, this is a lighter sentence compared to what she could have received if South Carolina had a law regarding crime laws.

RELATED CONTENT: MAN FROM MAINE CHARGED WITH HATE CRIME, ALLEGED ARSON OF BLACK CHURCH

According to prosecutors, Fortson, 48, used a revolver that was about a footlong to shoot at the backyard of her two neighbors in 2017. Children were inside both neighbors’ houses at the time of the shooting.

A Black man was struck by the bullets in the wrist and hip, according to the courts, but everything else was unharmed.

The incident did, however, scare the children.

Again, it is not clear why Fortson, a former paramedic for the Richland County, committed the act, but with the help of witnesses who testified that Fortson was the shooter, police were able to arrest her.

When police first approached Fortson, they noticed she had a sign that said “Forget about the dog. Beware of owner,” with the human figure holding a gun.

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott told The State newspaper: “This shows the need for a hate crime law.”

South Carolina is one of the three states that does not have a hate crime law, alongside Arkansas and Wyoming. The state has passed legislation for a hate crime bill, but it was adjourned by the state Senate, The State reported.

Hate crime bills provide steeper penalties for certain violent crimes committed against someone based on their actual or perceived age, political opinion, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, national origin or physical or mental disability.

• News

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

May 25, 2021

NRA-Backed Bill Passes in Texas Allowing Anyone to Carry Unlicensed Gun

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The prospect of ordinary citizens being allowed to carry unlicensed weapons is almost a reality in one state in the United States of America.

According to the Associated Press, lawmakers in the state of Texas have approved a bill that will allow anyone to carry a handgun without a license. This bill will also allow people to be able to carry an unlicensed gun without a background check or training.

This measure, which was approved by a Republican-dominated legislature on Monday, is being sent up to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. The governor has already stated that he will sign it despite the objections of law enforcement groups who say it would endanger the public and police officers.

The reasoning being floated around is that supporters of the bill feel it would allow the people of Texas to better defend themselves in public while also eliminating unnecessary impediments to the constitutional right for the citizens to bear arms. The state of Texas will be added to a list of nearly two dozen other states that allow some form of unregulated carry of a handgun.

Texas is poised to become the 21st state, including Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming, to allow law-abiding individuals to carry a concealed handgun without a government-issued permit.

RELATED CONTENT: Texas GOP Pass Legislation Banning Teachers From Discussing Racism

The National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) lauded the final passage of House Bill 1927 that allows law-abiding Texans to carry a handgun for personal protection without paying a tax or obtaining a license from the state.

“A right requiring you to pay a tax or obtain a government permission slip is not a right at all, that’s why the NRA is proud to have worked closely with state leaders and legislators to pass the most significant pro-Second Amendment measure in Texas history,” said NRA-ILA Executive Director Jason Ouimet in a written statement. “Our members worked tirelessly to provide the crucial grassroots support to make constitutional carry a reality and restore the rights of law-abiding Texans.”

Texas has allowed the people in the state to carry handguns since 1995 and has been reducing the cost and training requirements for getting a license for the last decade.

“We’d like to thank bill author Rep. Matt Schaefer and his staff for their relentless efforts to pass HB 1927 this session,” said Tara Mica, NRA state director for Texas. “We also thank House Speaker Dade Phelan, Senate sponsor Charles Schwertner, and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick for their leadership on this landmark legislation.”​

This new law will take effect on Sept. 1, 2021.​

For the uninitiated, the release of “Scary Movie” back in July 2000, which starred Regina Hall, Marlon and Shawn Wayans, Carmen Electra, and a host of others, was just a movie starring the Wayans brothers. For those in the know, it was actually a franchise started by Marlon and Shawn and directed by the eldest Wayans brother, Keenan Ivory Wayans. Keenan started the family business with his seminal variety television comedy series, “In Living Color” which debuted on the Fox network on April 15, 1990.

According to Atlanta Black Star, Marlon has stated that, although they started and starred in the first two movies in the franchise, it was taken away from them from the film’s distributors. Negotiations between them and Miramax Films’ Dimension Films didn’t go well and, according to Marlon, “they snatched it” from the Wayans.

The talented and youngest member of the Wayans clan (which includes sister Kim, the aforementioned Keenan, Shawn and Marlon, Damon, and now his son, Damon Jr.) appeared on Kevin Hart’s podcast, Comedy Gold Minds, to discuss the failed relationship that led to the Wayans not being involved in future sequels of the “Scary Movie” films.

“We didn’t walk away from a franchise, they didn’t want to make our deal and they snatched it,” Marlon said.

“They was like, they just did, Weinstein did some really terrible, like rape and pillage villages type of business,” he stated. “That’s just the way they did their business, so it wasn’t that we, we ever walked away from our franchise that we created, it was taken and us being the creatives that we are was like ‘alright, bet. F–k you, now watch what I create. The second one they rushed us into and by the third one they didn’t want to pay the money so they snatched it. We found out on Christmas that they hired somebody else to go do it, like n—a write a book about this s–t.”

He also added, “You can take that, we probably should sue for hundreds of millions of dollars because they probably owe us a s–t load of money, and maybe one day we will, but that, we didn’t walk away from our franchise, them n—-s took it.”

You can hear the full episode here:

• Diversity, Equality, Inclusion

by Derek Major

May 25, 2021

Black Enterprise Discusses Breakthrough Sickle Cell Therapy With Dr. Ted Love

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In another installment of his Beyond The Hype Zoom series, Black Enterprise Senior Vice President Alfred Edmond Jr. speaks with Dr. Ted Love, whose company is introducing a breakthrough therapy for sufferers of sickle cell anemia.

Love, the CEO of Global Blood Therapeutics (GBT) talked with Edmond about the disease which is caused by a mutation in red blood cells. One reason the sickle cell trait is prevalent among Black people is that it makes people more resistant to malaria, which is an issue in parts of Africa.

Symptoms include episodes of pain, swelling of the hands and feet, frequent infections, and even vision problems.

Love, who joined GBT in June 2014 as president and chief executive officer has a wealth of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. Before joining GBT, Love worked at Onyx Pharmaceuticals.

In the discussion, Edmond and Love talk about his early childhood career, his pivot to business and GBT, and his desire to treat sickle cell patients.

“When I was in medical school, I saw sickle cell patients come into the hospital and you could tell that people didn’t care about these patients the way they cared about other patients and there was this rush to be suspicious that their pain wasn’t real, that they were seeking narcotics or doing something inappropriate,” Love said. “That was very painful to me as a Black person and it was also painful to me because I was a small unimportant part of a big machine, so I never forgot that.”

Love also admits there is racial bias in medicine and it’s part of the reason he ended up at GBT.

“I can tell you there’s racial bias in medicine and I’ve seen it play out, so I basically said I emotionally want to do this if the science is right, so that drove me to look at the science of what the company is doing and I said ‘oh this is brilliant science'” Love said. “And that is a way of helping sickle cell patients, keep them out of the hospital, keep them out of medical centers, keep them at home, keep their cognitive function normal which allows them to have the life of other individuals.”

You can watch the full interview here.

• News

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

May 25, 2021

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison Will Lead Prosecution Against Police Officer Who Fatally Shot Daunte Wright

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Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who led the prosecution team that convicted former police officer Derek Chauvin, who killed an unarmed George Floyd last May, will lead the prosecution for the upcoming trial of a recently arrested police officer who fatally shot a Black man in Minneapolis.

In a press release from Ellison’s office, it was announced last week that the Minnesota attorney general has accepted a request to lead the prosecution against Kim Potter, a former Brooklyn Center police officer. Potter has been charged with second-degree manslaughter in the April 11, 2021, Brooklyn Center death of Daunte Wright. The shooting of the 20-year-old Black man in a Minnesota suburb appeared to be an “accidental discharge” by Potter, who drew her gun instead of her Taser during a struggle following a traffic stop.

The request for Ellison to lead the prosecution comes from Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman after the Washington County Attorney’s Office, who charged Ms. Potter, returned the case to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.

In a written statement, Ellison states, “Daunte Wright’s death was a tragedy. He should not have died on the day that he did. He should not have died the way that he did. His parents, brothers, sisters, and friends must now live the rest of their lives without him. His son, only two years old, will grow up without his father. I have privately expressed my condolences and sorrow to the family and expect to work with them closely throughout the proceedings.

RELATED CONTENT: Prosecutors Make Closing Arguments In Derek Chauvin Trial, Tell Jurors Believe Your Eyes

“I did not seek this prosecution and do not accept it lightly. I have had, and continue to have, confidence in how both County Attorney Orput and County Attorney Freeman have handled this case to date. I thank County Attorney Orput for the solid work he and his office have done, and I thank County Attorney Freeman once again for his confidence in my office. I appreciate their partnership as my office takes the lead on this case.”

Freeman has also released the following statement:

“The Attorney General, the Washington County Attorney, and I are following the protocol the five urban county attorneys signed last summer, which includes asking the Attorney General to take police use of deadly force cases. The Potter case is now appropriately in the hands of the Attorney General.”

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz released the following statement:

“I am glad that Attorney General Ellison is taking the case. The First Lady and I were grateful to host the Wright family at the Residence this week and have an opportunity to honor the memory of their son Daunte. We heard their desire to have the strongest legal team possible to bring their family justice. No verdict will bring Daunte back to his family, but I have full faith that Attorney General Ellison will build the best team possible to pursue accountability for what happened that tragic day.”

• Business

by BLACK ENTERPRISE Editors

May 25, 2021

Meet the New Faces Leading The Revolt

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During a highly-digital era where consumers are seeking empowering content more than ever before, REVOLT, the leading Black-owned content platform, is experiencing a pivotal moment of rapid growth.

Distinguished industry veterans Detavio Samuels, Chief Executive Officer, and Colin McIntosh, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Finance Officer, are successfully spearheading initiatives in an effort to establish REVOLT as the largest Black-owned media empire.

Detavio Samuels, Chief Executive Officer of REVOLT

Pulling from the lens of the Black community, Samuels and McIntosh continue to drive company initiatives and bring powerful and original content to the masses that further propels Hip Hop culture. The dynamic duo work alongside REVOLT’s diverse team members, including Cherisse McKenzie (Head of Content and Production), Angela Bundrant Turner (Head of Marketing and Public Relations), Mike Roche (Executive Vice President of Ad Sales), and James ‘JB’ Brown (Executive Vice President of Content Distribution), to further disrupt the media industry and provide cutting-edge content for the platform’s rapidly-growing audience. As an authority within the music space, REVOLT’s base climbed to over 60 million households and crossed one million YouTube subscribers organically, with continued rapid expansion.

Colin McIntosh, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Finance Officer of REVOLT

“With Black creativity driving the global economy and Hip Hop driving global culture, REVOLT is primed to be the leading Black-owned global media power,” said Detavio Samuels, CEO of REVOLT. “Our focus is growing rapidly, expanding digitally, positioning Hip Hop to dominate the video space, and transforming the global media landscape.”

The media company continues to prioritize talent-driven franchises, expand into untapped cultural categories, and forge strategic partnerships with likeminded players that share a commitment to breaking new ground in the space. REVOLT continues to drive the media industry and remain an authority in Hip Hop culture with its fresh and original content series, including Respectfully Justin, The Crew League and Sneakin’ In with Druski. REVOLT’s collaborations with rising talent and brand partners are at the forefront in educating millennial and Gen Z audiences within the Black and Brown communities worldwide while drawing viewers in with entertaining content that today’s digital generation craves.

REVOLT continues to produce entertaining content with influential members of the Hip Hop community to shine a light on important cultural topics. Under the new leadership of Samuels and McIntosh, REVOLT continues to rapidly grow as it carries out its mission in igniting change through the power of Hip Hop.