‘Little Women: Atlanta’ Regular Ms. Minnie Dies After Suffering Injuries in a Car Crash
Lifetime TV‘s Ashley “Ms. Minnie” Ross of the television show Little Women: Atlanta was injured in a car crash on Sunday evening and died from her injuries on Monday, according to USA Today.
The reality star passed away on Monday at approximately 10:30 p.m. at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, her publicist Liz Dixson told USA TODAY.
It is with profound sadness that we confirm on behalf of the family of Ashley Ross aka “Ms Minnie” of Little Women Atlanta has succumbed to injuries from a tragic hit and run car accident today at the age of 34. The family respectfully asks for their privacy as they grieve during this very difficult time.”
The 34-year-old reality TV star has died from injuries she suffered following a hit-and-run car accident when her car collided with another vehicle near the Old National Highway in Atlanta around 11 p.m. on Sunday. She was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, where she passed away on Monday.
Ross was one of the founding cast members of Little Women: Atlanta, a reality show on Lifetime based in Georgia, which chronicles the lives of women with dwarfism.
“Lifetime and the Little Women Family are deeply saddened to hear the tragic news of the sudden passing of Ashley Ross, our beloved ‘Ms. Minnie,’” the network said in a statement to USA TODAY provided by representative Theresa Black. “Our heartfelt condolences go out to her family and friends. Ms. Minnie was an amazing talent and a special part of Little Women: Atlanta. She will be dearly missed.”
She is survived by her mother Tammy Jackson, her aunt Veronica Deloney, her uncle John Deloney, and her grandmother Rose Deloney.
Black Leaders Pressure Gov. Gretchen Whitmer To Settle the Detroit ‘Right to Literacy’ Case
In 2016, seven students in Detroit filed a class-action suit against the state of Michigan asserting that education is a basic right and that they had been denied it. The Gary B. v. Snyder case proceeded to federal court and sought to invoke the Constitution. In a landmark decision, a federal appeals court has ruled that children have a constitutional right to literacy, dealing a remarkable victory to the students.
The 2016 complaint alleges that Michigan’s then-Gov. Rick Snyder and the state’s board of education denied Detroit students their fundamental right to literacy. It cites textbooks that were tattered, outdated, and in such short supply that teachers could not send work home. The suit also described school buildings that were in shocking disrepair: broken toilets and water fountains, leaking ceilings, and shattered windows. The complaint went on to describe a lack of air-conditioning that’s caused some students to faint and in winter, students regularly wore hats, coats, and scarves to class surrounded by horrid conditions with rats becoming commonplace in the building.
“You’re sitting down in the classroom, and you see rodents in a corner. Or you can hear things crawling in the books,” says Jamarria Hall, a plaintiff in the class-action suit, who graduated in 2017, according to NPR. “But the saddest thing of all was really the resources that they had, like, being in a class where there’s 34 students, but there’s only six textbooks.”
The complaint delivers a crushing assessment of these schools’ failure to educate students: Proficiency rates “hover near zero in nearly all subject areas,” it says. “Illiteracy is the norm.”
A group of black leaders are calling on Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to “claim her place in history” by negotiating a settlement in the landmark Detroit ‘Right to Literacy’ case including national civil rights attorney Ben Crump, Martin Luther King III, and Yvonne M. White, president of the Michigan State Conference of the NAACP. Together they joined Dr. Pamela L. Pugh to call on Gov. Whitmer to settle the case of Gary B. v Snyder and ensure equal access to education for African American children in Michigan.
In her letter to the governor, Dr. Pugh said, “the courts have now acknowledged that they and fellow Detroit students, like their counterparts in surrounding more affluent and mostly white neighborhoods, have a fundamental right to an education which at the very least guarantees them a basic right to literacy.”
“Gov. Whitmer cannot correct every injustice that life has heaped upon the black community, but she can walk through the door opened by the court and make sure their children have a reasonable education,” Crump said. “I am living proof that with an education, everything else is possible.”
Majority Of NFL 1st-Round Picks Have Black Agents For The First Time
History was made at the latest NFL draft! For the first time in National Football League history, more than half of the players selected in the first round of the draft were being represented by black agents, according to The Washington Post.
Seventeen of the 32 players who were drafted on Thursday night are being represented by black agents. This moment was noticed by NFL agent Nicole Lynn, who, just at last year’s NFL draft, became the first black female sports agent to represent a top-three pick when the New York Jets took defensive lineman Quinnen Williams.
She and 10 of her fellow sports agent colleagues, who include David Mulugheta, Damarius Bilbo, Tory Dandy, Jovan Barnes, and others, are all a part of the changing of the guard of respected NFL agents. They are helping players become more comfortable with a black agent representing them as well as the expected white sports agents.
“There’s always a struggle getting people comfortable with you doing the job,” Lynn tells The Washington Post, “and understanding that just because you don’t look like Jerry Maguire doesn’t mean you can’t do that job.”
The credit for the recent shift is owed to the late Eugene Parker, who some acknowledge as the “godfather” of black agents, for paving the way for them.
“Eugene set the tone for all black agents,” Lynn told the Post.
Parker, who died at the age of 60 in 2016, represented Hines Ward, Emmitt Smith, and Walter Jones, among others, and is often described as the first black “super agent.”
Lynn also said: “From my research, out of all the top black agents — David [Mulugheta], Tory [Dandy], myself, Chafie [Fields], [Damarius] Bilbo — not any of us have a single white player. I’m not talking about having a few white players. I’m saying not one. And between all of us, we’re talking about more than 150 players.
“And it’s not for lack of effort. I can’t get a white player, and I’ve tried. Literally my goal this year is to sign a white player. I want them to be able to believe in me because if we really want to change the way athletes view sports, we have to make everyone comfortable with us, not just people that look like us. The real test is to have people that don’t look like you buy in.”
Ultimately, the most successful black agents said they would like to be judged on merit, not because they are black.
This Black-Owned Construction Company Went From Broke To Raking In Billions
Owning a business can be a tumultuous journey filled with ups and downs. Many entrepreneurs have to create strategies to keep their accounts in order and deal with a fluctuating market. For this Georgia-based entrepreneur, his business represents a story of determination and how you can think of innovative ways to increase your revenue.
C. David Moody is the owner of C D Moody Construction, an award-winning construction company based in Lithonia, Georgia, and a BE 100s company, an annual ranking of the nation’s largest black-owned businesses. He opened his business in 1988 during a time where he and his wife were in debt, struggling to make ends meet, and working out of their bedroom. Today C.D. Moody Construction is a thriving large enterprise that has completed over 200 commercial projects worth almost $3 billion.
In addition to running his enterprise, Moody stays connected to the local community by planting seeds for future growth by mentoring the next generation of business leaders in Atlanta and teaching his kids the value of hard work and financial responsibility with his wife Karla. He feels that his kids will play a vital role in the business and wanted to provide the space for them to develop and grow.
“Every weekend we would go and look at all the job sites together as a family,” said Karia Moody, David’s daughter in an interview with Shoppe Black. “I grew up in construction. I always knew I wanted to go into it.”
The company’s growth coincided with rapid regional growth, and as Moody literally helped build 21st-century Atlanta, it’s emergence helped fuel Moody’s success. In September 2019, David Moody joined as a 49% partner on a $650 million mix of affordable and market-rate housing, restaurants, retail, offices, and a performing arts center.
Moody previously was identified as a construction partner but will now take on an ownership stake in the development if the deal is approved by the board.
16-Year-Old “TikTok Tutor” Goes Viral for Teaching Math to Peers in Quarantine
Before the COVID-19 quarantine, TikTok was viewed as an app for teens that many people couldn’t understand. Now, millions of people around the world are appreciating black culture and creating funny videos to keep themselves and others entertained while sheltering in place. Then you have 16-year-old Alexis Loveraz who is using the platform to tutor students in math.
More than 54 million students are home from school, leaving them and their parents to partner with teachers as they strive to finish the remainder of the academic year.
CBSNewYork originally reported that the high school junior has a 4.0 GPA and is passionate about helping others. While school is out, Loveraz took it upon himself to help others after being encouraged by his friends. On any given day he is helping students tighten up algebra, geometry, and chemistry.
As a result, he has been named the “TikTok Tutor” with more than 165,000 followers and 2.3 million likes on the platform.
In an interview with CBS2, he told Alexis Sanchez, “I was, like, really shocked. Things that they probably forgot like before COVID-19, this is like a refresher of what I’m, like, giving them out. It’s really cool because they understand it even better the way I’m explaining it to them.”
His mother is also proud of his ability to lead and give back to others. During the interview with CBS2, she said, “I’m excited about this. I know he can do this and more. I’m so proud that he helped a lot of people,” mother Likmilian Hiciano said.
How an Incurable Brain Condition Gave This Black Woman New Life as an Entrepreneur
Today Ashlyn Sanders is an entrepreneur, the founder of a medtech company called NeuroVice, which is in the final stages of clinical development of a medical device to help people who suffer from seizures.
But just a few years ago she was a grad student planning to go to medical school—when a medical crisis of her own sent her down a new path.
“I started graduate school back in 2014, and a few weeks into the program, I was diagnosed with a Chiari malformation. I was rushed into emergency brain surgery that night, and spent quite a bit of time in the hospital and then at home recovering,” she says.
Not only did Sanders spend weeks in the ICU, and have to walk with a walker for the rest of the year, but she also started to have seizures after her brain surgery.
“I was having multiple seizures, multiple seizures every week, sometimes multiple seizures a day. I’ve lived with them now for about six years. Having to live with those residual effects definitely impairs my quality of life.”
An Accidental Entrepreneur
The experience also left her with an idea: a device that could be placed in the mouth to prevent people from biting their tongues while they were having a seizure.
“When I came up with the idea, it just never left me. I’m a very spiritual person and I prayed about it. I felt like if I didn’t do it, nobody would do it,” she says.
So after getting her graduate degree, she put her original plan on hold to develop the device—named PATI (protector against tongue injury)—that could help the 3.4 million Americans living with epilepsy plus the many others who may experience seizures related to traumatic brain injuries, brain tumors, strokes, and other conditions.
“I didn’t think that I would ever become an entrepreneur,” she says, “and then a life experience happened that motivated me to solve a problem for other people.”
Sanders’ experience makes her uniquely qualified to design the product: “PATI is by a patient and for a patient. It’s something I believe a patient would have to start. My patient experience has really been critical in terms of understanding the diagnosis and how it impacts people’s lives.”
“Typically, physicians are concerned with how do we minimize your future episodes or how do we minimize your risk of falling,” she says. “But oral health is important if you live with these episodes day after day, and every time you seize there’s a possibility of potentially lacerating your tongue or injuring yourself orally.”
The device is currently in Phase 2 (of 3) of commercial development. By the end of this year, Sanders is expecting to have an initial patent issuance and to file FDA clearance paperwork. The product should be on the market by the end of next year or the beginning of 2022.
No Money, Mo’ Problems for Black Founders
Despite the product’s potential, Sanders has had a tough time when it comes to fundraising.
“When I first started the company I was a little naive to the path of resistance that occurs being an entrepreneur, especially one of color,” she says. “It’s horrifying that we are the group that has the fastest-growing number of startups but yet we’re the least funded.”
Sanders initially tried to raise money through grants and pitch competitions. She always got positive feedback, but never got any actual money.
“I remember being told that I would never raise a seed round because my startup wasn’t as competitive as others and that it had nothing to do with the fact that I was a woman or I was an African American,” she says.
“But the more I faced that resistance, the more I started to understand the landscape and how difficult it is for us.”
So Sanders began pursuing funding that was designated for minority entrepreneurs, becoming a finalist in the New Voices competition and raising an angel investment through Pipeline Angels.
It was retired NBA legend Charles Barkley, however, that gave the company the financial assist it needed.
“I saw him on Shark Tank. He was a guest shark and I remember him saying something to the effect of he’s interested in investing in entrepreneurs of color, or people who are in the life science or tech space. So, kind of on a whim, I wrote him a letter. I told him about my background, I told him about the traction we’ve gained, and I told him what I needed—which was a pretty significant investment to get this product to market,” Sanders says.
“It took I would say 6 months or so to hear back. I got an email from one of his representatives, inviting me down to pitch to not only him but his financial adviser, two physicians that were in the neurology space, and a trusted adviser of his,” she continues. “A few months later I got the call that he would invest, and I was completely ecstatic but also emotional. I’m so grateful for him to believe in me and the product’s potential.”
Black Girl Unicorn
Unlike many entrepreneurs, Sanders has an exit strategy already planned—before her product has even come to market.
“It just wouldn’t be a wise business decision to go and scale a one-product company that would require millions of dollars in the manufacturing infrastructure and the marketing infrastructure. It just doesn’t make sense,” she says.
So she has a list of about 30 potential companies she will be approaching about acquiring NeuroVice or licensing the product.
“A lot of companies, at least in the medtech space, are looking for unique innovations that have been de-risked through development, through FDA clearance. All of those things, in addition to a human factors study with real patients, will position us to say, ‘We’ve done all the initial legwork, all you have to do is commercialize this product at scale and put it on the market.'”
The device would represent a literal disruption of the industry: current seizure safety guidelines advise not to put anything in a patient’s mouth while seizing.
That is a risk Sanders is confident the company will overcome: “Changing the way we think about symptom management and empowering consumers to take control of their own healthcare is a really hard task, but it can be done with the right person at the helm and the right product.”
Her projections are also based on the unmet need in the market—there are around 12 million seizure-related 911 calls a year in the U.S. and 1.4 million emergency room visits—and other factors such as the lack of direct competition.
“I’m really excited about the multiple revenue stream indications,” Sanders says. “It’s going to be a consumer technology, an intervention for first responders, and an inpatient clinical intervention. The revenue potential is immense, not only in the domestic market but worldwide.”
And Sanders predicts that that revenue potential will translate to a huge valuation when she sells the company.
“I believe that I will be one of the first African American females to exit the company at a billion dollars or more. And I want to be that unicorn.”
I’m a McDonald’s Restaurant Owner. Here’s How My Team is Navigating This Unprecedented Crisis
I have been part of the McDonald’s community for over 30 years, beginning when my mom became an operator in the 1980s. Today, my sister and I operate 18 restaurants across Los Angeles and are proud to be a familiar and reliable presence in our hometown. Over the decades, my family, restaurant teams, and our communities have experienced a lot together, but COVID-19 is truly unprecedented. We are all navigating this together, and I have never been more proud, grateful, and inspired by the character and generosity of spirit shown by my crew members.
Nothing matters more than making sure our crew is safe, informed, and supported as we continue to serve meals to the customers and community who rely on us. As we look to government leaders and medical experts for continued guidance on the most effective safety measures, our restaurant managers and I are making changes as rapidly as possible. To date, we have implemented:
Wellness checks at the start of each shift
Gloves and masks provided for all employees
Plexiglass barriers in the restaurants and Drive-Thrus
Guides on the floor to ensure proper social distancing
Throughout these uncertain times, as an owner and community leader, I am committed to being a resource for my crew, alongside our team of managers. No one has all the answers when it comes to dealing with a public health situation that is rapidly evolving, but we will continue to communicate and provide access to information and resources to help everyone make the best choices for themselves and their families. If any of our crew members are not comfortable coming to work, they know that their job will be here for them when they are ready to return.
For those who choose to continue to work, we are recognizing their dedication by providing additional pay, a free meal during their shift, as well as an extra free meal coupon for each shift they work to share with their families. In the event that any of our crew is exposed to or comes down with COVID-19, they are eligible for two weeks of paid sick leave to rest and recover before returning to work. At a time when unemployment rates are skyrocketing, I am proud that we continue to provide our crew members a steady job and a reliable income.
The men and women I work with inspire me every day. Seeing their commitment to supporting their families, colleagues, and local communities motivates me. Recently, on behalf of our McDonald’s team, my sister and I delivered McDonald’s to several local hospitals as a small token of appreciation for our first responders and healthcare workers. Together with our crew, we are making sure that essential workers know they have a place to go for a sense of normalcy and a bite to eat served by a familiar face. All our restaurants are honored to provide for first responders and want them to know they can get a free Egg McMuffin® and coffee at our local restaurants or Drive-Thrus. And, if their shifts mean they’re going to miss breakfast, they’re welcome to pick up a free lunch or dinner later in the day. We’re here to serve them, while they serve our communities and save lives.
My leadership philosophy in one word has always been collaboration. This has never felt more true. Our teams and our communities are at our best when we listen to each other, problem-solve together, and support one another, particularly in the face of this historic crisis. We truly are all in this together, and I have never been more proud to serve our communities.
Clint and DeAnna Lewis Balance Faith, Family, and Franchise
Managing and building a successful business is no easy task. Building a successful marriage while building a successful business is even harder.
Clint and DeAnna Lewis are owners of five Wingstop and four Fatburger franchises and have made a commitment to growing their relationship as they do their joint business ventures. The recipients of the Million Dollar Store Club and Top Sales Increase awards, Clint, a certified personal financial analyst, has over 25 years of experience in financial planning and wealth management industry. DeAnna received a bachelor’s in Business Management and a master’s in Educational Counseling and has over 25 years of experience as a social worker. The Lewis’s have taken their learning and put it into a book entitled Faith, Family, and Franchise to help couples and singles navigate the path to business success and family wealth building.
Black Enterprise had the opportunity to discuss their new book,balancing business and relationships, and lessons to take away from COVID-19.
Why faith, family, and franchise?
We have a faith-based walk that we try to live every day. Our plan was always to build together as a family. I was already doing real estate investing so during the early 2000s before the bubble burst; real estate is very good to us. Once we found out that in my wife’s hometown of Bakersfield there weren’t a lot of eateries. We started to research and see what it would take to own a franchise.
There was such a myth out there that if you own a franchise you’re not a real business owner. The part of saying franchise is about educating people on what that means. From the day-to-day responsibilities including operations,payroll, etc.
How do you successfully balance the business of building a business and building your relationship?
It’s not easy but we work together well. One of the most important things is that we like each other. In the early stages of our relationship and then our marriage we made a pact that we will go ahead and get away every 90 days. This didn’t have to be an expensive getaway but something within the budget at the time. We would use this time to talk about our future, goals, and dreams that we share together. We were just really committed to building a solid foundation for each other, which in turn helps develop and grow our franchise business and most importantly our family.
What are two lessons from your book that you think are most important as we are going through the COVID-19 pandemic?
As a business owner, it is extremely important to know your numbers. Basically, this boils down to understanding your budget. Your overhead, payroll, materials, and other expenses have to be accounted for accurately.
If you are thinking about a new business startup or franchise, do your research. Also, talk to people within the industry you plan to start your business in. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. You would be surprised how many business owners will give you advice.
What three pieces of advice would you share with couples starting a business together?
Get to know each other. Have a real conversation. Don’t pretend with whomever you want to build your life with. Be vulnerable enough to share those areas of possible insecurities including finances, family, divorce, and career. This will create a solid footing for all the other things that come along.
2019 Finding Ashley Stewart Winner, Addlia Edwards, Uses Positivity & Resilience to Empower Her Community
The Finding Ashley Stewart finale on Sept. 14, 2019, was the day that changed Addlia Edwards’ life forever. As a loving mother and hairstylist from Rex, Georgia, Edwards had always dreamed of sharing her story to help others in her community and empower fellow women.
After being crowned as the 2019 brand ambassador for Ashley Stewart, Edwards has been doing just that — spending her year-long reign by giving back to the community and meeting young girls and women all around the nation (both in-person, and now virtually) to inspire them to follow their dreams, stay true to who they are, and strive for success just as she did.
From the life struggles that shaped her can-do attitude to receiving her crown, Edwards’ inspiring journey is representative of all that Ashley Stewart stands for — confidence, female empowerment, body positivity, and so much more. Black Enterpriseconnected with Edwards to discuss how her boundless resilience and positive mindset led her to win the crown at the Finding Ashley Stewart finale last September and what she plans to do next.
What prompted you to enter the 2019 Finding Ashley Stewart search?
Each year, Ashley Stewart, the leading inclusive lifestyle, fashion, and social commerce brand, hosts its annual nationwide Finding Ashley Stewart tour in search of the brand’s next ambassador—a woman who effortlessly embodies what Ashley Stewart stands for: kindness, resilience, confidence, leadership and, of course, fashion.
I’ve always supported the empowering movement, but never imagined that things would turn out as they did. After trying to get some of my other friends to enter, I joked with a friend and told her that I might enter. She said, ‘You really should.’ I told her, ‘There’s no way I would be chosen out of all those thousands of beautiful women.’ And she asked a great question, ‘What do you have to lose?’ I had absolutely nothing to lose! I had already lost it all! I had been praying for something new and exciting to happen in my life and I decided to take a leap of faith to see if this was the answer to my prayer.
How has your background influenced how you carried out your role as Ashley Stewart’s brand ambassador?
I’m no stranger to struggle and hardships. Throughout my life, I had no one to rely on other than myself. My strength and my self-confidence are what I fell back on time and time again to overcome my fair share of adversities, including homelessness and chronic illness. I am a fighter, but through it all, it has always been my passion to lift others up that continues to drive me to seize the next day ahead, and ultimately help and encourage others to fight and to embrace each and every day.
I think my positive outlook and effervescent personality always persevered and gave me the unwavering strength to keep moving forward. I am naturally hospitable. It was embedded in me to treat people kindly, the way I would want people to treat me, and to always be a positive influence no matter the circumstance.
How do you give back to your community? How has your platform helped you empower women across the country?
I’ve always been passionate about helping others and giving back to women who come from similar backgrounds. As a hairstylist, I provide hair services in women’s shelters and to underprivileged young girls.
I try to use the skills and life lessons I’ve learned through the years to spread positivity and confidence to fellow women and spread the message that they, too, can accomplish anything.
I speak to women in homeless shelters. I feed the homeless. I volunteer at my high school alma mater. I speak at different conferences and events, whether it be a mental health conference or women’s empowerment conference. I share my story with other single moms and future hairstylists!
As a part of my winnings, I get an allowance every month to shop at Ashley Stewart. I just recently started taking a portion of that allowance to randomly be a blessing to someone else. While in the Ashley Stewart Stonecrest location one day, there was a customer who was shopping for her birthday and another who had come in[to] the store for the very first time. I secretly took care of both of their purchases. It wasn’t what I did for them that was memorable, but it was their reaction that will forever stay with me.
I have big plans for the future and what I would like to accomplish as Ashley Stewart’s brand ambassador and beyond. I am working on a book and a women’s empowerment brunch. COVID-19 has made its entrance, but I will continue to be a light during this uncertain time. And I will continue to empower others, speak life into others, serve others, and do it fashionably while leaving a little sparkle wherever I go!
Black Business Owners Fear Federal Relief May Not Be Enough
The novel coronavirus pandemic has severely impacted small businesses around the country with many seeking federal relief to keep their workforce and operations afloat. Despite government stimulus incentives and loans through the broken PPP program, black business owners are uncertain that federal relief will be enough for them to save their business.
Kim Harris and her partners opened the craft beer bar and pub Harlem Hops in New York in 2018, which became a neighborhood hang spot. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, they were one of the many businesses impacted by the closures, bleeding money just to stay afloat.
Harris and her partners, all graduates of HBCUs, applied for funding in the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the $2.1 trillion bill that along with other relief programs, was designed to prop up small businesses and save jobs during the public health crisis.
“We applied for everything,” Harris told NBC News. “And [we] were denied for everything.”
As another round of federal funding, $484 billion, is set to come, some small business owners, are alarmed it may already be too late. On a recent New York Urban League conference call, J. Philip Thompson, the deputy mayor for strategic policy initiatives, said, “Most small businesses and especially black-owned businesses have, in a good economy, no more than two weeks of liquidity that they can rely on to keep them afloat.”
“If you use the money for your payroll, the loan is forgiven. What if a business has one employee or no employees? Which a lot of small businesses operating at capacity, black-owned businesses, they don’t have employees, so then you can’t get the loan forgiven so now you go into debt,” Evans-Hendricks, executive director of Harlem Park to Park, a business and cultural consortium of over 250 small business owners, said on the call. ‟It’s a mounting financial hole, which at some point you can’t dig yourself out of.”
