In a major first, The Atlanta Hawks and its NBA G League affiliate, the College Park Skyhawks, have announced that they have promoted Tori Miller to the title of general manager of the Skyhawks. With the move, she becomes the first woman to hold the title of general manager in the history of the NBA G League.

Miller, who has been the assistant general manager of the Skyhawks for almost a year, started working in that position on July 30, 2019. She began her tenure with the organization as manager of Basketball Operations three seasons ago while with the Erie BayHawks.

The University of Miami graduate is a native of Decatur, Georgia, and has spent time as a Basketball Operations intern for the Phoenix Suns prior to her time in the G League.

Last year, she explained to NBA.com what kept her going in her rising career. “It’s pretty simple. My motivation is that I believe in making the impossible possible. I think that mindset creates opportunities. That’s what I always revert back to and keep fighting. I know I want to be a game-changer,” she said. “You have to believe in making the impossible possible.”

She also knows that her success will build a bridge for others to follow behind her. “It means the world. I didn’t realize the magnitude. I receive about 10 or so messages every two weeks from girls looking to break in. They let me know that they see me and it means the world to know that I’m making an impact on their lives,” she pointed out. “That’s something that motivates me because it’ll be easier for the next girl that sends out her résumé for that basketball operations internship. It won’t be thrown out because she’s a girl. I can be someone who can break the mold and create a path for others looking to break in.”

The public relations game can swallow you if you don’t have the passion to make things exceptional, particularly for your clientele. But when your first major client is Aretha Franklin, it’s safe to say that you’re on the path to success.

Gwendolyn Quinn has been in the entertainment industry for over 25 years and continues to lead with passion. She had previously launched the platform Global Communicator, which featured various behind-the-scenes communications professionals who would otherwise not be acknowledged. Now with the changes in the world taking place, Quinn felt it was time to relaunch the brand to showcase those who are continuously working for the good of their companies and clients.

Quinn spoke to BLACK ENTERPRISE about the purpose of her work.

What has changed for you and your approach to continue to carry the passion to do the work you do?

I’ve been in the entertainment industry for more than 25 years. In 2001, I started GQ Media and Public Relations, now renamed Gwendolyn Quinn Public Relations.

The majority of my clientele was made up of recording artists. The recording industry started its shift to more advanced digital technology, which eventually led to a decline in record sales.

In 2002, my first marquee client was Aretha Franklin, who I worked with at Arista Records. I was fortunate that I had already started building relationships beyond the music and entertainment industries.

As a result of the diverse list of clients and projects that I obtained, my media contacts expanded outside of entertainment, which presented opportunities for our clients.

I hope to continue to take on projects that I am passionate about and expand my client’s media presence. I still get excited when I see my clients secure earned and unexpected media.

You’ve just relaunched Global Communicator magazine. What led you to relaunch the brand and what should we anticipate with the current edition?

In 2004, I launched Global Communicator. The publication was a brand extension of the African American Public Relations Collection (AAPRC), a former community of Black PR professionals across various professions.

I relaunched the premiere issue on June 17. The e-publication features publicists, journalists, marketing and advertising executives, and content creators. We will continue to highlight professionals in the areas of social justice, race relations, criminal justice reform, healthcare, and the upcoming elections.

There is a powerful group of Black PR professionals in a wide range of fields including politics, corporate, education, entertainment, sports, performing arts, fine/visual arts, book and magazine publishing, fashion and beauty, community relations/public affairs, healthcare, government, non-profit, faith-based, and special events.

When I looked back on what I helped to create more than 15 years ago, I realized that not much has changed regarding the state of Black PR professionals. Though many PR representatives’ careers have grown, we are still not considered for key jobs and projects across a wide range of professions.

My purpose for relaunching Global Communicator is to document our stories. Many of us have known each other for decades, and then there are others who only have a peripheral viewpoint of each other. I want people to read about the top communications experts, and learn from them, and be inspired. Legacy matters.

With the current state of the world, how has the surrounding atmosphere affected the way you do business? 

I have been working from my home office since I closed my doors in New York nearly 10 years ago, so not much has changed in the way I conduct day-to-day business. I love my work-at-home set up because I can set my schedule accordingly. And though there are changes in how business and events are conducted due to the pandemic, the news cycle never stops.

The resurgence of racial relations and the #BlackLivesMatter movement has brought civil rights and social justice issues front and center. It’s good to witness how many corporations want to seek change and are making an effort toward equity, diversity, and inclusion, but only time will reveal the outcome.

What suggestions and advice would you give to anyone who wants to become a successful entrepreneur?

I often said I should write a book for entrepreneurs on “What Not to Do When Starting a Business.” Starting a business is one of the best things that has happened to me, I never saw myself as an entrepreneur. After I formed my company in 2001, the first seven years, I said countless times, “I can’t do this. I need to find a job.”

Though starting my company was daunting at times, I did like the freedom of having control of my time. I had the freedom to explore and pursue creative ideas with my clients that I probably would have never been able to pursue if I was still in a structured corporate environment. As an independent firm, we secured several book deals, marketing opportunities and corporate partnership deals, and concert tours for our clients.

I do, however, recommend that potential entrepreneurs read books on how to start a business, and read Black Enterprise and other business publications; and attend business conferences and seek out mentors.

• News

by Selena Hill

July 11, 2020

Protests Erupt in Detroit Following Fatal Police Shooting of 20-Year-Old Hakim Littleton

---

Police officers arrested eight people during a protest in Detroit Friday night over the police shooting of a 20-year-old black man.

Chaos broke out in the neighborhood of San Juan near McNichols Road on the city’s northwest side as dozens of people began yelling at police and throwing bricks and bottles at them following the fatal shooting of Hakim Littleton, reports The New York Post. Two officers were injured.

Police Chief James Craig said the shooting was justified, noting that police dashcam video apparently shows that Littleton pulled a gun out of his pocket, aimed at an officer, and opened fire, the Detroit Free Press reported. In response, three officers returned fire. Littleton was pronounced dead shortly after. The dash cam footage was released earlier on Friday.

Craig said messages on social media incited the protest by misleading the public into believing Littleton was unarmed. “We needed to get the facts out,” he said. “It’s always tragic when a police officer has to use force.” Craig added, “This knee-jerk reaction to not knowing facts is a problem … It’s to incite others.”

Police say Littleton’s family has accepted the account given by police. “They weren’t happy,” Craig said, “but they believed what we said, and I greatly appreciate that.”

He went on to explain why Littleton opened fire on the officers. “When Mr. Littleton was walking in the opposite direction, he heard that his friend was being detained, then he walked toward the officers,” Craig told reporters. “Some comments were made. He was angry about his friend being arrested, and that’s when he pulled out his weapon.”

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan agreed that the shooting was justified based on the video. “Public confidence requires citizens to be able to judge for themselves the actions of our officers. The video is clear that the officer was suddenly and unexpectedly fired upon. I commend Chief Craig for moving so quickly to release the video publicly,” Duggan said.

ThirdLove, the third largest e-commerce intimates apparel brand in the U.S., has launched a new program called The TL Effect, where it will provide monetary support, fundraising assistance, office space, mentorship, and exposure to women of color entrepreneurs.

“We are dedicated to creating a future where founders reflect our country’s demographics,” the company stated in a blog post, “but as a female-founded and led company, we are very aware that we have a long, long way to go.”

“As a brand that embraces diversity, equality, and inclusion, we have spent the past few weeks brainstorming ways the team could make a difference and help influence this moment of change taking place in our society,” CEO and Co-Founder Heidi Zak said in a press release.

ThirdLove will choose a business to participate every quarter. Its strategy for investing in women of color entrepreneurs includes:

• Stimulating growth with a monetary grant provided to each company.
• Increasing capabilities by dedicating a portion of ThirdLove’s office space—when its San Francisco headquarters reopens—to the entrepreneurs to use for meetings, workspace, and photo shoots.
• Raising brand awareness by amplifying the product/service on ThirdLove’s social and blog platforms and sharing any content ThirdLove creates, so the entrepreneurs can leverage on their own channels.
• Raising capital with the assistance of ThirdLove’s co-founders, who will help them navigate fundraising (if they decide to go that route) so that they will have a more equitable opportunity at scaling the next billion-dollar idea.
• Creating a mentoring program where the entire ThirdLove team can donate their time and knowledge to help in various aspects of the business (product development, production, supply chain, marketing, creative, finance, etc.).

To qualify for The TL Effect, applicants must be women of color with a U.S.-based consumer-focused early-stage startup that has an existing product or service who has not received venture capital funds.

“ThirdLove believes that if we can contribute to the success of more female founders of color, they will be able to hire others, and impact the world, and then mentor others over time,” the company said in an email to Black Enterprise.

Women of color entrepreneurs can apply here. The deadline is July 31.

• Lifestyle

by Selena Hill

July 11, 2020

Oprah and Lionsgate to Adapt the NYT’s ‘1619 Project’ Into Films, TV Programming, and Other Content

---

Oprah Winfrey, Lionsgate, The New York Times, and Pulitzer Prize winner Nikole Hannah-Jones have joined forces to adapt “The 1619 Project” into an expansive portfolio of films, television shows, documentaries, unscripted programming, and other forms of content.

Released in August 2019, “The 1619 Project” is a groundbreaking investigative project created and spearheaded by Hannah-Jones that details the impact of American slavery from the arrival of the first Africans to Virginia in 1619 to modern-day racism. The critically acclaimed series includes well-researched essays that examine the transatlantic slave trade and how the legacy of slavery has shaped all aspects of society, from music to law to education to politics. It includes contributions from Black authors, essayists, poets, playwrights, and scholars.

“From the first moment I read ‘The 1619 Project’ and immersed myself in Nikole Hannah-Jones’s transformative work, I was moved, deepened and strengthened by her empowering historical analysis,” said Winfrey in a press statement. “I am honored to be a part of Nikole’s vision to bring this project to a global audience.”

Winfrey and Hannah-Jones will produce the adaption along with Caitlin Roper, an editor of “The 1619 Project” and Times Magazine’s head of scripted entertainment. Hannah-Jones will also recruit Black creative voices to help develop the series.

“We took very seriously our duty to find TV and film partners that would respect and honor the work and mission of ‘The 1619 Project,’ that understood our vision and deep moral obligation to doing justice to these stories,” Hannah-Jones said in a press statement. “Through every step of the process, Lionsgate and its leadership have shown themselves to be that partner, and it is a dream to be able to produce this work with Ms. Oprah Winfrey, a trailblazer and beacon to so many Black journalists.”

Calling it “one of the most impactful and thought-provoking works of journalism of the past decade,” the NYT says its five-part podcast, “1619,” will also be adapted into multiple forms of content and entertainment.

“For many Americans, ‘The 1619 Project’ was a great awakening and a true history that you probably never learned in school,” said Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer. “For others, the project was a fresh analysis of the historical record by one of the world’s leading media authorities. We’re proud to partner with The New York Times, Nikole Hannah-Jones and Oprah Winfrey, a creative talent with unparalleled stature, to amplify Nikole’s voice and reach across our worldwide platform to marshal all of our top creative relationships to translate her vision into a canon of storytelling for a global audience.”

According to the news release, “The 1619 Project” was one of The Times’ most widely read pieces of journalism in 2019. It has also been adapted into a series of books with One World, a division of Penguin Random House.

Move over Betty Crocker. Former professional baker Marla Pruitte of Mary Alice Cakes has launched a crowdfunding campaign to help her bring her cake mix to store shelves so consumers can #BuyBlack in the baking aisle.

“I grew up in a family of exceptional cooks and bakers,” Pruitte says on her crowdfunding site. “My great, great aunt Mary Alice Sain was the matriarch of our family and was well known for her baking. She was a kind, gentle soul and opened her home and kitchen to so many. This is a tribute of love to her.”

The Atlanta-based company, which a 100% woman- and black-owned business, is raising funds to launch its cake mix, starting with its flagship Perfect White flavor, based on Pruitte’s best-selling wedding cake flavor from her days as owner of Sweet by Design Cupcakery in Tennessee.

Although Pruitte owned the bakery for only two years, making the decision in 2013 to re-enter the workforce for the financial stability of her family, she enjoyed her time as an entrepreneur and walked away with a lot of new knowledge.

“Owning a storefront bakery was one of the best experiences as a business owner,” Pruitt said in an email to Black Enterprise. “It taught me a great deal about operating an actual brick and mortal, dealing with consumers on the front line, customer service, and creating experiences.”

Most importantly, “It gave me an opportunity to put my finger on the heart of the baked goods industry,” she says.

After having the worst year of her life in 2019—Pruitte totaled her car, losing her ability to work as a contractor and forcing her and her twin sons to move in with family—she is ready to make a living from her baking skills again. But this time, she knew she needed to “come out of the kitchen.”

“I realized that in order to make a larger impact in the industry I had to create a scalable product that was more widely available to anyone, not just my regular or walk-in customers,” she says.

Pruitte believes she has found her solution in a commercial cake mix—a huge market that’s only getting bigger, and one in which there’s little diversity.

“The cake mix industry is experiencing trending growth, even now, and especially in the U.S. The [global] valuation is estimated to be $1.54 billion in six years,” she says. “Currently there is not a Black-owned cake mix line in super store and big box retailers. Part of my mission is to bridge the gap in racial and gender disparities in this industry.”

Pruitte found a manufacturer for her cake mixes through a Google search. She’s now in the initial stages of securing a consultant who will help her connect with retailers to get the product on shelves. The investment she’s seeking is primarily to help her meet the large minimum initial order required by the manufacturer.

“I thought I could order a much smaller quantity to do some old-fashioned marketing and pounding the pavement,” Pruitte says. “This has pushed us beyond our financial bandwidth.”

She’s seeking $18,000 on Kickstarter to cover the order and also boxes, packaging, inventory, shipping costs, and marketing and development.

Not being afraid to ask for help financially is one of the lessons Pruitte leaned from her first go-round as an entrepreneur: “I started my first business with very limited finances, actually with an unemployment check, but I learned people are willing to help and invest.”

Pruitte is counting on the success of this campaign to “bring Mary Alice to life fully” and to help the company become the “home baker’s answer to made-from-scratch taste in a box.”

“I really have enjoyed this process of taking my personal recipes I used in my bakery and creating a formula for mass production,” she says. “I am certain that it will taste just as good as making it from scratch.”

The arts isn’t for the weak or the uninspired. Having the creativity to express one’s inspiration is needed in order to be successful. Amy Andrieux, the executive director of MoCADA (Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts) in Brooklyn, New York, took an interesting road by working in the media field to land a dream situation that suits her creative soul.

BLACK ENTERPRISE got into the mind of Andrieux long enough for her to express what it takes to do her job and what she has planned for many years at MoCADA.

How long have you been working at MoCADA and what is your role?

I’ve been working at MoCADA since August 2018. After working at Steve Stoute’s Translation L.L.C. and United Masters (which came after an international role working at Red Bull Media House), I took a break from working corporate media and advertising jobs to focus on my creative endeavors. When I picked up an amazing opportunity to do freelance writing for a big fashion magazine, I emailed all of the artists, musicians, designers, culture makers, and creatives I knew to keep me in the loop of what they working on. MoCADA reached back and I was so inspired, I wrote a full year strategic plan and sent it over. A week later, I was hired by the board as a consultant. Six months later, I was voted in as executive director.

I am responsible for keeping the MoCADA cultural engine alive, from expanding on our three arms of programming, including exhibitions, education, and community and now MoCADA Digital, to the business side of things like fundraising, networking, and creating opportunities to build more visibility for the artists we work with across the African diaspora. I have huge goals set for the next 20 years of MoCADA.

As a curator, what type of skills are needed and how has your background helped you obtain such a position?

As a native New Yorker, who grew up here during the ’90s, it is pretty hard not being a culture kid. So art, film, music, fashion, and social movements that empower marginalized people have always been fascinating to me. I dived into art pretty early. I made my own and even attended weekend art classes at Fashion Institute of Technology when I was in high school. But as a first generation American, art wasn’t a practical job. So I always did art on the side (curating and exploring), while I maintained a day job in media. While I don’t fit the traditional mold of what makes a curator in NYC, that’s what afforded me a way in. I’m a marketer by trade, and passionate about uplifting Black culture and connecting the dots of the diaspora in every way. Thinking differently, being innovative, and putting our people first got me the job.

What drives you to be successful in what you have done and are doing?

My mother used to say that I’m never satisfied, and at one point I used to believe that. I actually think there’s just so much more for me to learn, and challenges I want to conquer. I’m also a professor at New School University, Parsons School of Design, so I value education and also sharing what I’ve learned with the next generation and learning from them.

I’ve been blessed and lucky to explore so many roles and to have a longevity in the creative space internationally. I’m the “put your head down and hustle hard” type. So when I’m inspired, I go hard and that’s most of the time. I think I learned to leverage that and other skills and interests that make me a one-of-one, from some of the good and hard people that I’ve worked for and with over the years. It has also made me never accept less than what I know I can give or get. I just want Black people to be free and to express their innate creativity however they choose. And I like being a part of that process.

What do you think is the next trend in the arts that we should prepare for?

The thing about any type of art is not to follow the trend, but to be ahead of it. But because of COVID-19 closures, I’m hoping that we will see a rise in Black artists in the experimental world of AR/VR, and art that goes beyond just one or two mediums that can be used to create it. Artists have already been venturing into this space of participatory design, like how do you create an experience where the audience gets to contribute to how it is experienced, remembered, and how it evolved? I want to see more of this.

I firmly believe that the work Black artists create holds so much more weight culturally. While there have been artists who have creating beyond the white gaze already, I think more artists are moving in this direction on a greater scale right now. And this speaks volumes to the value we place in our culture and our networks moving forward. So I’m paying attention to how that is taking us along a path toward Afrofuturism and how that connects to ideas about and from the past.Think Octavia Butler. Terence Nance. Mickalene Thomas.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to succeed in the field of arts and entertainment?

Go hard or stay home. But whichever way you choose, be sure to find and hone your own voice because that is what you sets you apart from the pack.

If you are a fan of late ’80s-mid ’90s hip-hop, then you should be familiar with the name Fu-Schnickens. If not, you may have heard NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal on one of their songs, “What’s Up Doc? (Can We Rock).” Being involved in hip-hop as an artist set group member Roderick “Chip Fu” Roachford on the road to being a successful entrepreneur in education.

Roachford started a program named M.A.A.T.H. (Music Appreciation, Art, Time, and Healing) that has been gaining interest in several education programs due, in part, to the connection with hip-hop, which resonates with students more than many subjects.

BLACK ENTERPRISE was educated about the type of curriculum that M.A.A.T.H incorporates and where the program is headed. We got the opportunity to speak to Roachford about the program and what’s in M.A.A.T.H.’s future.

How did your background in hip-hop help you on your quest to become an entrepreneur?

A. Being involved in hip-hop, I traveled extensively year-round and always asked about how kids in the countries I traveled to related to hip-hop. I researched if there were any curriculums in the school systems that used hip-hop as the foundation when teaching, and none of the schools had it. All they knew was what they saw on television or heard on the radio. This led to me wanting to bring that missing piece into the schools and the idea for M.A.A.T.H (Music Appreciation, Art, Time, and Healing) was born.

B. Having a strong background and career in hip-hop helped me to create the curriculum because of what I learned on my own from being a well-rounded and respected artist in the industry. And because I was able to ask some of my colleagues in the business certain questions first before actually creating the program. When it was time to present, the principals or teachers knew my history as an artist and allowed me to make the presentation.

Could you explain what M.A.A.T.H is and how it’s been helpful to those who are involved in the program?

M.A.A.T.H ( Music Appreciation, Art, Time, and Healing) was created because I wanted to build several programs that can help kids on all levels from middle school, high school, and college along with kids with special needs and adults that have autism. The program first began in housing and we joined PHC (Public Housing Communities) then several suspension sites reached out because the kids from housing started spreading the word about the program. Since then, M.A.A.T.H has been taught at 12 different schools and continues to grow.

The workshop/curriculum is designed to (1) Encourage young people to find their inner voices through various forms of musical expression including but not limited to rap, song, and spoken word. (2) Educate aspiring artists about the intricacies and complexities of the music business. (3) Provide an inspirational, motivational, and therapeutic outlet for all participants. Some of my former students are now facilitators at different schools and were paid through the program. In some schools, we partnered up with different teachers and helped them create new ways for kids to study, by creating songs to well-known music that had the study material in the songs and the success rate was incredible.

What motivated you to start M.A.A.T.H?

I was motivated to start M.A.A.T.H by my mother (Romania Roachford). She had a center for kids with special needs in Brooklyn called The AYAH daycare center. I saw how hard she worked to make this dream come to life and she believed that if you teach them all together, kids would be motivated by one another and it worked. I started putting the ideas together by watching her and I started in two schools before her passing to cancer. Her passing fueled me, even more, to make sure I continued the legacy on a higher scale, which helped me to include adults with autism and help them transition into living normal lives and introduce the curriculum to as many schools as possible.

Is there any plan to expand and/or start other programs?

I have already been asked for my curriculum to be used around the world by GHHG (Generation Hip Hop Global). I will be partnering with different companies and introducing my program in different cities that are having problems with engaging teens. We think by partnering up, we can learn more and help these places provide that platform and therapeutic outlet that’s needed.

What is it about hip-hop that allows the world to heal, elevate, and uplift people?

Hip-hop is a culture, it’s more than just music, and has been around for more than three decades. But it gave many people around the world the courage and helped them to find their voices to speak up about racial injustice or the harsh reality of some people’s lives. This voice or story is more than an American story, it became the voice worldwide and brought countries together that faced the same problems as we did. Seeing that we had the same problems around the world, other countries related to how we healed and helped to elevate one another and borrowed the same concepts. That’s the power of hip-hop.

• Politics

by Selena Hill

July 10, 2020

Reps. Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib Announce The BREATHE Act, Calling For Defunding Police, Reparations, and Universal Basic Income

---

In wake of the nationwide calls to end police brutality and systemic racism, two progressive members of Congress are throwing their support behind a bill that proposes to overhaul the criminal justice system. Drafted by the Movement for Black Lives, the BREATHE Act comes in response to the ongoing protests demanding justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and other Black men and women killed by police.

In a press conference Tuesday, Reps. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Rashida Tlaib of Detroit announced the BREATHE Act. Under the bill, The Movement for Black Lives, a coalition of more than 150 organizations, is calling for sweeping reforms, including the elimination of government agencies like the Drug Enforcement Administration and the use of surveillance technology.

“I think this moment calls for structural change and transformative change in ways that we haven’t seen in a very long time, said Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors, reports The Associated Press. “We see this opportunity to push for the BREATHE Act as a part of what we’re calling the modern-day civil rights act.”

The bill is broken into four sections that focus on reforming federal institutions and policies. The bill would also end life sentences, abolish all mandatory minimum sentencing laws, and close all federal prisons and immigration detention centers.

According to The Detroit Metro Times:

The first calls for divesting from police agencies like the DEA and ICE, banning surveillance technology, ending civil asset forfeiture, ending life sentences and mandatory minimum sentences, closing federal prisons, and decriminalizing and retroactively expunging both state and federal drug offenses, among others.

The second section calls for incentives for states to shrink or close detention facilities, removing police from schools, abolishing police gang databases, eliminating court fees and forgiving all court debts, repealing all juvenile offenses, and creating new intervention programs that would send specialists other than police to respond to 911 calls, among others.

The third section calls for social equity in communities, including equitable funding for all schools, closing youth detention centers, developing school curricula critical of colonialism, more wraparound services for students, promoting environmental justice, providing safe access to water, creating pilot programs for universal basic income, providing access to education for undocumented immigrants, and modernizing all public schools, among others.

The fourth section calls for reparations for those incarcerated including enfranchisement to vote, creating a public financing program for campaigns powered by small dollar contributions, incentivizing states to increase voter turnout, allowing undocumented immigrants to vote in local and state elections, and holding officials and police officers accountable, among others.

Although the bill has won support from Reps. Pressley and Tlaib, no members of Congress have said that they plan to introduce it. Still, Cullors said she is hopeful it will gain support.

“We are a generation that wants to make sure that the needs of all Black people are met,” said the activist. “We believe the BREATHE Act is that legislation. It’s an act that is pushing us to look at the future of this country, an act that is mandating and demanding a new future and policies that are courageous and visionary.”