by Dana Givens

June 1, 2020

This Black-Owned Sunscreen Brand Just Secured A $1 Million Investment Amid COVID-19

Black entrepreneurs have statistically always had more problems with access to venture capitalists to help garner the necessary capital needed to expand their business. According to previous reports, despite leading the pack in business creation and entrepreneurship, black women business owners receive 1% of all venture capital funding.

Previously, we reported about entrepreneur Shontay Lundy behind the Black Girl Sunscreen brand. News came out this week that the founder will be expanding her brand with a lucrative $1 million boost with the help of a new female investor.

Black Girl Sunscreen is the only black-owned sunscreen brand in Target and is now available in over 200 stores around the country. According to a new report published by Forbes, after spending months vetting potential partners, Lundy partnered with a new investor, raising her company’s valuation to $5 million.

Since the start of the COVID-19, or the novel coronavirus, pandemic, Lundy and her team have gone into overdrive ensuring that they had what they needed to keep the company afloat amid the public health crisis. While brick-and-mortar businesses have been temporarily closed under quarantine restrictions, the brand has managed to use its digital storefront to keep up with costs. Lundy still plans on launching a new product later this year.

In an interview with Forbes, Lundy offers advice to aspiring business owners to take advantage of free resources when they are pursuing investing opportunities. She states that her advice to entrepreneurs and “other minority businesses looking for funding is to take advantage of grants and available resources, participate in pitch competitions to learn how to sell your business and gain exposure, have buttoned-up financials; and put yourself in environments to meet investors/high-net-worth individuals.”

by Jeffrey McKinney

June 1, 2020

75% of Consumers Aim to Back Local Businesses More Extensively Post-COVID-19

Despite being battered by the coronavirus pandemic this year, small local businesses have gained consumers as a new ally to give them much needed future hope and support.

A robust 75% of consumers plan to back local businesses more extensively once limitations on non-essential businesses are removed in their areas, a new report shows.

That is among discoveries from a new survey paid for by Groupon and completed by OnePoll. It is encouraging news for restaurants, retail shops, clothing stores, salons and spas, and bars, places where people first are expected to spend money when it is safe to do so. The study done in early May surveyed 2,000 people to get a feel of their shopping plans post-COVID-19 lockdown.

Some 67% of those questioned are more hopeful now than when the pandemic initially started. And  Americans have been going out of their way to help small businesses. Some 86% of those surveyed report they continued to support locally owned businesses during the quarantine.

The study comes as states across America have started some type of reopening—including partially—in recent days. Some 57% of those surveyed know at least one business affected by lockdown restrictions.

So what are among the ways people favored small businesses during the quarantine?

  • Some 77% of respondents took an online class or took part in a virtual experience offered by a local merchant.
  • Sixty-five percent booked summer “staycations,” which included planning activities that are close to home and keep their kids entertained.
  • Around 65% boosted their takeout and delivery options from local restaurants.

Another welcomed survey statistic for small business owners perhaps is this: The average American plans to spend nearly $100 a week at local businesses post-COVID-19, up 16% from before the crisis. That could boost the local economy where people live, further helping small businesses.

A whopping 92% of small businesses have been negatively impacted by COVID-19, the National Federation of Independent Business reports. The survey findings offer small businesses a ray of hope.

“This crisis has disproportionately affected small businesses and our hearts go out to local merchants, who have often poured their life savings into their businesses,” Simon Goodall, chief commercial officer, Groupon stated in a news release.

“As some businesses begin to slowly and responsibly open back up, it’s encouraging to see that many Americans plan to continue to help their communities recover by supporting small, local businesses.”

This Natural Hair Entrepreneur Is Expanding Her Brand To Include Hand Sanitizer
by Dana Givens

May 31, 2020

This Natural Hair Entrepreneur Is Expanding Her Brand To Include Hand Sanitizer

Since the spread of COVID-19, or the novel coronavirus, pandemic, many entrepreneurs have been forced to make a complete pivot with their businesses to adapt to the new reality brought on by the viral outbreak. Gwen Jimmere is known for creating a highly successful natural hair brand with Naturalicious. Now Jimmere is moving from natural haircare to creating a new hand sanitizer in light of COVID-19.

Jimmere announced that she is expanding her brand into Naturalicious Hand Sanitizer, manufactured within her company’s Detroit-based headquarters. The alcohol-based liquid effectively kills 99% of germs, according to the WHO standards.

In a time where disinfectant products are low in supply—in addition to bleach, paper towels, and toilet paper—Jimmere plans to use the pivot to keep her business afloat during the viral outbreak. Customers have the option of purchasing a 2 oz size or 1 gallon available on her website.

 

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Happy Memorial Day Claymates!! I hope your day is full of socially distant-appropriate fun. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ As for me, I had my fun yesterday. My family and I went scooter riding for 3 hours through all of downtown Detroit — which might I add is the most beautiful place in the summertime. #dontsleep I attended a virtual baby shower and then went to my friends house for an evening of Moscow Mules and sh*t talking. 🤣 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Today, I’m getting to work in the office; our hand sanitizers are flying and we are finalizing the last of the Step 1 Gallons this week. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Thanks to major COVID-related supplier delays we were a couple days behind getting those out, so we are in the pocket knocking em out for y’all this week. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Enjoy this weather, be safe and have fun. You deserve it all, gorgeous! Love y’all!

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The New Normal: How Safe Are Beaches?
by Justin Barton

May 31, 2020

The New Normal: How Safe Are Beaches?

By Deena Beasley

(Reuters) – People are hitting the beach as coronavirus restrictions start to ease and summer begins in the northern hemisphere, but access might be limited and public health officials still urge caution, including continued physical distancing.

While rules vary across the world, here is what you would find at Los Angeles County beaches like Santa Monica and Malibu:

* Check local restrictions before heading to a beach.

* No lounging around on the sand. Use of the beach is limited to activities such as swimming, surfing, and biking.

* Vendors are not allowed, so bring everything you need.

* Both in and out of the water, stay at least six feet (1.8 meters) from others who are not members of your household.

* No gatherings – including athletic competitions or youth camps.

* Wear a face covering while out of the water if there are other people nearby.

THE BEACH IS GENERALLY LOW RISK…

Spending time outdoors is a low-risk activity in the era of the coronavirus. It has many benefits – as long as you keep your distance.

“People have been cooped up for several weeks now,” said Dr. Timothy Brewer, an epidemiologist at the University of California, Los Angeles. “Going to visit beaches or mountains are relatively lower-risk activities compared to being around people in an enclosed indoor space like a store or a theater.”

Brewer said there is very little risk of the virus being transmitted through ocean water.

“The advantage of being outside is that if someone does have COVID-19 and they are releasing respiratory droplets, the droplets will be rapidly dispersed.”

…BUT DITCH THE BARBECUE

The real change, experts advise, is to plan a beach outing around specific activities for a limited period of time during the day, rather than settling in for hours of food, socializing, or naps by the shore. In some place, picnicking and sunbathing may be prohibited. Orange County, California has banned the building of sandcastles.

“The important thing to remember is that the COVID-19 pandemic has not gone away,” said Brewer.

Even where more leisurely activities are permitted, avoid large gatherings or crowded areas of the beachfront, they say.

“If it is a nuclear family having a picnic that is perfectly fine, but don’t have a birthday bash,” said Dr. Neha Nanda, medical director of infection prevention with Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

(Reporting by Deena Beasley, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)

Biden Says ‘We Must Not Allow This Pain To Destroy Us’ of Violence in U.S. Cities
by Justin Barton

May 31, 2020

Biden Says ‘We Must Not Allow This Pain To Destroy Us’ of Violence in U.S. Cities

By Trevor Hunnicutt

(Reuters) – Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Sunday called for protesters against police brutality not to turn to violence as unrest flared in U.S. cities overnight.

Biden issued a statement just after midnight as protesters in several major U.S. cities vented outrage at the death of a black man shown on video gasping for breath as a white Minneapolis policeman knelt on his neck.

“Protesting such brutality is right and necessary,” Biden said in the emailed statement. “But burning down communities and needless destruction is not.”

He added: “We are a nation in pain, but we must not allow this pain to destroy us.”

Biden will face President Donald Trump in the Nov. 3 presidential election. Trump’s re-election campaign manager, Brad Parscale, on Saturday said that Biden should deliver a more forceful condemnation of violence.

Biden’s remarks echoed a statement on Saturday by prominent black civil rights activist and U.S. Representative John Lewis of Georgia.

Lewis, who in 1965 was beaten unconscious by Alabama state troopers during a march for voting rights, called for protesters to “be constructive, not destructive,” though he said he knows their pain.

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Night of Violence Across America Leaves Streets Scarred, Outrage Simmering
by Justin Barton

May 31, 2020

Night of Violence Across America Leaves Streets Scarred, Outrage Simmering

By Brendan O’Brien and Carlos Barria

MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) – Another night of outrage left stores looted and cars smoldering in many U.S. cities on Sunday as curfews failed to quell violence that replaced peaceful daytime demonstrations over the death of a black man seen on video gasping for breath as a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck.

In Salt Lake City, a man aimed a bow and arrow at protesters and was attacked by the crowd. Fires burned in the streets of Los Angeles. Protesters ripped apart an American flag in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Police fired rubber bullets and tear gas in many cities.

The sight of protesters flooding streets fueled a sense of crisis in the United States after weeks of lockdowns due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has seen millions thrown out of work and has disproportionately affected minority communities.

The closely packed crowds and many demonstrators not wearing masks sparked fears of a resurgence of COVID-19, which has killed more than 100,000 Americans.

Violence spread overnight despite curfews in several major cities rocked by civil unrest in recent days, including Atlanta, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Denver, Cincinnati, Portland, Oregon, and Louisville, Kentucky. Protests also flared in Dallas, Chicago, Seattle, Salt Lake City and Cleveland.

The clashes marked the fifth night of arson, looting and vandalism in parts of Minneapolis, the state’s largest city, and its adjacent capital, St. Paul. The state’s governor said on Saturday that he was activating the full Minnesota National Guard for the first time since World War Two.

About 170 stores have been looted and some burned to the ground in St. Paul, its mayor said on Sunday.

“We are seeing in St. Paul and obviously around the country this level of rage and anger that frankly is legitimate, as we see this horrific video of George Floyd being just suffocated to death,” Mayor Melvin Carter told CNN. “Unfortunately, it’s being expressed right now, over the past week, in ways that are destructive and unacceptable.”

While covering the protests in Minneapolis, two members of a Reuters TV crew were hit by rubber bullets and injured on Saturday night.

The administration of President Donald Trump, who has called protesters “thugs”, will not federalize and take control of the National Guard for now, national security adviser Robert O’Brien said on Sunday.

Demands for an end to police brutality have spread globally.

In London, hundreds of protesters took to Trafalgar Square on Sunday chanting “no justice, no peace.” On Saturday, a crowd descended on the U.S. Embassy in Berlin calling for the police officers to face justice.

The arrest on murder charges on Friday of Derek Chauvin, the police officer seen kneeling on Floyd’s neck, has failed to satisfy protesters. Three officers who stood by as Floyd died have yet to be charged.

Floyd’s name is only the latest to be chanted by protesters over the perceived lack of police accountability for violent encounters that resulted in the death of black men.

The issue ignited in 2014 with the shooting death of a black 18-year-old, Michael Brown, by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, where police fired tear gas at protesters on Saturday night.

(Reporting Brendan O’Brien and Carlos Barria in Minneapolis; Additional reporting by Peter Szekely and Maria Caspani in New York, and Susan Heavey in Washington; Writing by Lisa Shumaker; Editing by Daniel Wallis)

by Justin Barton

May 31, 2020

Biden Staff Donate To Group That Pays Bail In Riot-Torn Minneapolis

By Jason Lange and Trevor Hunnicutt

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Campaign staff for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden are advertising their donations to a group that pays bail fees in Minneapolis after the city’s police jailed people protesting the killing of a black man by a white police officer.

At least 13 Biden campaign staff members posted on Twitter on Friday and Saturday that they made donations to the Minnesota Freedom Fund, which opposes the practice of cash bail, or making people pay to avoid pre-trial imprisonment. The group uses donations to pay bail fees in Minneapolis.

Biden campaign spokesman Andrew Bates said in a statement to Reuters that the former vice president opposes the institution of cash bail as a “modern day debtors prison.”

But the campaign declined to answer questions on whether the donations were coordinated within the campaign, underscoring the politically thorny nature of the sometimes violent protests.

Bates instead pointed to Biden’s comments that protesters have the right to be angry but that more violence won’t solve justice problems.

President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign on Saturday said it was “disturbing” that Biden’s team “would financially support the mayhem that is hurting innocent people and destroying what good people spent their lives building,” in an email about the Reuters story that called for Biden to condemn the riots.

Trump, a Republican who has described himself as a “law and order” president, on Friday called protesters “thugs,” and on Saturday said states and cities must get “much tougher” on anti-police protests or the federal government will step in by using the military and making arrests.

Trump has also expressed sympathy over the case of George Floyd, who died on Monday after a police officer pinned him to ground by kneeling on his neck.

It is unclear how many people have been jailed after four nights of protests. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz on Saturday said many of those arrested have been from out of state.

Minnesota could be critical in determining the winner of the Nov. 3 presidential election.

The Democratic candidate in the 2016 election, Hillary Clinton, narrowly won the state by a 1.5 percentage point margin. Trump hopes to win the state this year and held a large rally in Minneapolis in October.

Trump has struggled to attract African American voters, with only 8% of African Americans voting for him in 2016, according to a Reuters/Ipsos Election Day poll. However, a nationwide decline in black voter turnout in 2016 was widely seen as contributing to Trump’s victory.

Biden’s campaign staff, in their Twitter posts, called attention to U.S. inequities based on race and income.

“It is up to everyone to fight injustice,” Colleen May, who identified herself as an campaign organizer for Biden in South Carolina, Wisconsin and Florida, said in a Twitter post that included an image of her receipt from donating $50 to the Minnesota Freedom Fund.

(Reporting by Jason Lange in Washington and Trevor Hunnicutt in New York; Editing by Daniel Wallis)

This Doctor Is Working With Whole Foods To Create Nutritional Classes For African Americans Amid COVID-19
by Dana Givens

May 31, 2020

This Doctor Is Working With Whole Foods To Create Nutritional Classes For African Americans Amid COVID-19

The spread of COVID-19, or the novel coronavirus, pandemic has devastated communities across the country. One of the groups hardest hit by the viral outbreak has been African Americans. Due to pre-existing health conditions and a history of racial discrimination within the healthcare field, the black community has been seeing higher rates of infections as oppose to other groups. Now, one doctor is teaming up with supermarket brand Whole Foods to offer free nutrition classes and resources to African Americans amid the public health crisis.

Dr. Akua Woolbright has always been passionate about healthy living, especially when it came to the African American community. When she began working with the Whole Cities Foundation, the nonprofit arm of Whole Foods, her mission was to help educate and provide resources to underserved communities. Since the COVID-19 pandemic started, she has committed herself to helping the black community fight back against the virus.

Woolbright recently launched the Let’s Talk Food initiative, a free nutrition education class where she teaches consumers how to decode food labels and how to construct a plant-based diet to help tackle pre-existing conditions. In an email interview with BLACK ENTERPRISE, Woolbright explains how seeing how a company medical immersion gave her the inspiration to create the class.

“I saw amazing transformations occur as Whole Foods Market employees completed our company’s intensive week-long medical immersions led by doctors using only food as medicine,” she wrote.

“Year after year, participants consistently lost weight and kept it off, got healthier and drastically reduced or eliminated their medications. I started teaching nutrition and culinary education classes around the country, and in 2012 moved to Detroit as part of the Whole Foods Market community relations team tasked to help bring the first national grocery store back to the city in 2013.”

Woolbright went on to explain that the class was an important way to help empower African Americans at high risk by educating them on how to reconstruct their diet to help them combat the virus. The classes cover a wide variety of health topics including the principles of optimal nutrition, eating for healthy weight loss, managing chronic disease, decoding labels, combating food cravings, eating on a budget in addition to a wide variety of cooking demonstrations and hands-on cooking classes.

“Stepping outside our comfort zone and taking our program out into the community helped us to learn from our students, establish trust and build rapport,” she explained.

“Through my work at Whole Cities Foundation, I offer a combined approach that emphasizes information, inspiration, and support. I provide the latest evidence-based, scientific information for disease prevention and control from both within traditional and alternative modalities.”

by Justin Barton

May 31, 2020

Biden Urged To Pick Black VP, Not Klobuchar As Minneapolis Killing Stokes Racial Tensions

By Joseph Ax and Richard Cowan

(Reuters) – Former Vice President Joe Biden is facing fresh calls to choose a black woman as his running mate amid rising racial tensions after this week’s videotaped death of an unarmed black man as a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck.

Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee to take on President Donald Trump in the Nov. 3 election, has promised to pick a woman. Several black candidates are on the short list, including Senator Kamala Harris, former Georgia gubernatorial hopeful Stacey Abrams and Representative Val Demings.

The death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, which has led to raging protests there and elsewhere, is the latest in a string of U.S. incidents involving unarmed black men, including the shooting of a jogger in Georgia in February and numerous high-profile police killings that gave rise to the Black Lives Matter movement.

Some African-American leaders and activists said a black woman on the ticket would help demonstrate to black voters, a crucial component of the Democratic base, that Biden is committed to addressing issues like criminal justice reform and police misconduct.

Several said choosing Senator Amy Klobuchar, a former White House rival also being vetted by Biden’s team, would have the opposite effect.

Klobuchar, a white moderate like Biden, previously served as the top prosecutor for the Minnesota county that includes Minneapolis, where Floyd died on Monday after a white officer knelt on his neck for several minutes as Floyd, who was also handcuffed, gasped that he could not breathe. Some black advocates said on Friday that Klobuchar’s record on police misconduct was disqualifying.

“Amy Klobuchar is an absolute no-go,” said Keith Williams, chairman of the Democratic Party Black Caucus in Michigan, a battleground state Biden hopes to win back after Trump’s 2016 victory there. “A black woman would give him an instant boost.”

Representative James Clyburn, the third-ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives, told reporters that while he respected the senator and thought she was qualified, “This is very tough timing for Amy Klobuchar.”

The powerful progressive group MoveOn called on Klobuchar to drop out of the running in a tweet on Friday, citing her record on police misconduct as a prosecutor.

Klobuchar on Friday declined to withdraw from consideration, saying she trusted Biden to make the right decision.

The officer charged on Friday with killing Floyd, Derek Chauvin, was involved in a fatal shooting in 2006, when Klobuchar was county attorney.

The senator said on MSNBC that reports she declined to prosecute him were “a lie” because the decision was left to her successor after her election to the Senate. She also defended her record, saying African-American incarceration rates dropped during her tenure.

The county attorney’s office confirmed in a statement that Klobuchar had no role in the 2006 case.

Biden, who served eight years as vice president for Barack Obama, the country’s first black president, saw his faltering campaign resuscitated in February in South Carolina, where he drew wide support from black voters after Clyburn’s endorsement.

Biden faced a barrage of criticism last week for saying on a black radio show that anyone who can’t choose between him and Trump “ain’t black.” Biden quickly apologized.

Black activists, elected officials and donors interviewed by Reuters were divided on whether the race of Biden’s running mate matters as much as her support for meaningful policing and criminal justice reform.

“Representation matters, it’s critical, but representation alone isn’t sufficient,” said Maurice Mitchell, the national director of the progressive Working Families Party.

Harris, a former district attorney and California attorney general, and Demings, the former chief of police for Orlando, Florida, both have law enforcement backgrounds that could raise concerns among activists.

“It’s going to be challenging to put a law enforcement person on the ticket with him,” said Steve Phillips, a prominent black Democratic donor, noting that young black activists have expressed skepticism about Harris’ record on criminal justice.

Representative Cedric Richmond, the former chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus and a prominent Biden backer, said there is one overriding consideration in choosing a vice presidential choice: “Making sure Donald Trump is not the president come Jan. 20 of next year.”

(Reporting by Joseph Ax and Richard Cowan; Additional reporting by Michael Martina; Editing by Colleen Jenkins, Cynthia Osterman and Leslie Adler)

Apple Music Is Launching Its First Radio Show In Africa With Nigerian DJ Cuppy
by Dana Givens

May 31, 2020

Apple Music Is Launching Its First Radio Show In Africa With Nigerian DJ Cuppy

The continent of Africa has become a major global hub for entertainment content with the popularity of Afrobeats and other cultural trends. With superstars like Burna Boy, Tiwa Savage, WizKid, becoming more and more popular globally, entertainment scouts are looking to Africa for new talent. Now, Apple Music is joining the ranks by establishing its first-ever radio show based in Nigeria.

The streaming platform announced today that they will be launching a new series called Africa Now Radio with Cuppy to debut this Sunday. The show is lead by Nigerian-born DJ and music producer Cuppy, who will host the weekly hour-long show where she will be playing a mix of contemporary and traditional African music ranging from hip-hop, house, kuduro, and more.

Prior to her new show, Cuppy has made a name for herself in the industry as one of the most-sought-after-DJs on the continent also serving as the resident DJ for MTV2’s Uncommon Sense with Charlamagne tha God. She also works as a philanthropist working along side nonprofit organizations to help displaced youth in Nigeria and across Africa.

“The show represents a journey from West to East and North to South, but importantly a narrative of Africa then to Africa now,” Cuppy said in a statement to the Associated Press. The announcement comes at the same time as Universal Music Group said they would be launching Def Jam Africa, a new division of the label focused on representing music talent in Africa to be based out of Johannesburg and Lagos, reports AP.

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