The school posted its message on Instagram informing students and parents of its new rule. They expressly forbid popular style; slick hair intricately designed around the “edges” of the forehead and temples. The school asserted the style was not a “neat” or “school-ready” look. They also stressed that appearing polished without the trendy style was a way of “upholding standards.”
“Please be advised that the wearing of ‘edges’ is now officially banned on campus. Remember, curtains belong in the house, not on foreheads! Let’s keep our looks neat and school-ready. We appreciate your cooperation in upholding our standards of excellence as we continue honoring the legacy and inspiring the future!”
Multiple users are speaking out about the policy change. In support of the institution, an X user who hints at a connection to the school states that “outsiders” would not understand the necessity of the policy.
@BLJ stated: “No St. Andrew High School for girls slander allowed. Our school produces LEADERS, nation builders…. Several rules will look crazy to outsiders, but they help us to focus. Unless you’ve been in the bathrooms on the main building, DON’T ASK WHY they banned edges at the school lol”
No St. Andrew High School for girls slander allowed. Our school produces LEADERS, nation builders…. Several rules will look crazy to outsiders, but they help us to focus. Unless you’ve been in the bathrooms on the main building DON’T ASK WHY they banned edges at the school lol
@Kimmykimkim spoke out against the policy, claiming the education of girls in the institution was being put in jeopardy: “Why am I seeing a child being sent home from school for having baby hair/edges. Fix this because it is ridiculous in 2025 children’s right to an education is being violated.”
St. Andrew High School for Girls, located in Kingston, Jamaica, is a leading all-female secondary institution founded in 1925. The school was established in partnership between Jamaica’s Presbyterian Church and the Wesleyan Synod.
Guided by its mission “to equip students mentally, physically, spiritually and socially to live a ‘Life More Abundant,’” the school provides education grounded in Christian values, academic excellence, and broad personal development. However, while the school’s mission is admirable, it has yet to be proven that certain hairstyles hinder students’ growth and academic excellence.
ELEVATING YOUR EXCELLENCE: Jamauri Bogan Inspires As The Youngest Black Community Developer In Western Michigan
Bogan's work stands out in an industry where Black and Hispanic developers make up less than 1% of all real estate development companies.
A few years ago, Jamauri Bogan was known for his performance on the football field as a star running back for the Western Michigan University Broncos. Today, he is a visionary leader in real estate development, tackling some of the most pressing challenges facing his community. As the founder of Bogan Developments, he is building a legacy focused on transforming formerly redlined areas into vibrant, inclusive neighborhoods.
Bogan’s work stands out in an industry where Black and Hispanic developers make up less than 1% of all real estate development companies. He is the sole minority-led affordable housing developer in Kalamazoo and a trailblazer in Southwest Michigan. His journey began with a real estate license and a role at Hollander Development, where he quickly advanced from an intern to a partner in the new firm, Edison Community Partners.
“Legacy developers built the cash reserves and the balance sheets, so they’re able to borrow from banks, pool funds, and use tax credits that I wasn’t able to,” Bogan said, highlighting the significant barriers he faced. These challenges—including discrimination, wealth inequity, and limited access to capital—often prevent Black developers from providing large-scale solutions for their communities.
Despite these obstacles, Bogan persevered. His experience with Hollander Development led to three significant Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) awards from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA). These included a 70-unit senior housing project with Mt. Zion Baptist Church, a 92-unit mixed-use development in Battle Creek, and a 45-unit permanent supportive housing project for individuals in recovery in Kalamazoo.
Zone 32: A Community-Driven Solution
After earning his MBA in less than five years while breaking records as a football star, Bogan founded his own firm. Bogan Developments’ flagship project is Zone 32, a $4.7 million mixed-use development on a former brownfield site in Kalamazoo’s Northside neighborhood. The project combines workforce housing with commercial space, an early childhood education center, and childcare facilities.
Bogan saw the urgent need for this type of project firsthand. With a shortage of nearly 8,000 housing units and a low high school graduation rate in Kalamazoo, Zone 32 was designed as a solution to multiple community problems. Despite the project’s immense price tag and the lack of traditional investors, Bogan personally signed off on the debt, demonstrating his unwavering belief in the deal and its impact. “In this industry, remember, you don’t make a dollar until the building is complete, and the first person moves in,” he said.
He assembled a team of experts and secured grants and loans from organizations like the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and the Kalamazoo County Foundation, which provided a crucial impact investment loan. This commitment was more than just a financial boost: it was a vote of confidence in Bogan and his mission.
A New Chapter in Leadership
Bogan’s dedication to community transformation extends beyond his development projects. He serves on several influential boards, including Community Homeworks and the Kalamazoo Foundation for Excellence. He is also a partner in Kalamazoo Forward Ventures, a collective of leaders who have committed a “whopping ‘$50 million capital investment’ for underrepresented businesses and founders.”
As the youngest partner in this ambitious group, Bogan’s role is to ensure the real estate fund addresses the housing crisis head-on.
“There’s a shortage of housing, and when we look at the overall landscape of BIPOC-, Black-, women-owned development companies around the country, there’s less than 1%,” the young, passionate mogul told BLACK ENTERPRISE. “And, so, we have to figure out a way to move the needle to make a difference. That’s why we created a real estate fund to address the housing shortage here in Kalamazoo.”
Through his leadership, Bogan is not just building buildings; he is creating meaningful change and empowering the next generation of leaders. He is dedicated to creating innovative, inclusive, and impactful projects that offer communities the promise of a better tomorrow.
Bogan’s journey began with a foundation of discipline as a student-athlete at Western Michigan University. He was deeply committed to community service, which earned him the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Humanitarian Award in 2019.
Even in college, he had a clear vision for his future, setting his sights on the real estate development industry. He launched Nekton Investments with a teammate. This early venture taught him crucial skills in fundraising and networking that he would later apply to his own firm.
Bogan Developments is now a key player in revitalizing underdeveloped and formerly redlined areas in Kalamazoo, with more than $2.5 million in investments to date.
His success led to a partnership with the City of Kalamazoo, which in 2020 tapped Bogan for the challenging task of redeveloping brownfield sites in the Northside Neighborhood, one of which became the Zone 32 project. This project is a testament to his belief that real change is achieved when a community’s needs are met with thoughtful, community-driven solutions.
He is a key advocate for youth and future leaders, serving on boards like the Western Michigan University Athletics Advisory Board and the Western Michigan University Foundation Real Estate Committee.
Bogan’s work is a true example of how one person can leverage skill and passion to create lasting, worthwhile social and economic impact.
High Price To Pay: ‘Double Tax’ Cause Of Decline In Black Women Homeownership
Black women's progress in work and homeownership is not keeping up with inflation.
Black homeownership is facing renewed decline, this time from the disproportionate wage and employment penalties affecting Black women.
In a recent Forbes column, Daryl Fairweather, an economist at Redfin, examined the “double tax,” describing how Black women bear both elevated unemployment rates and structural pay disparities. The disproportionate representation puts Black women at greater risk of being shut out of homeownership. The examination noted that as employment among Black women declines, so does the overall Black homeownership rate.
Supporting that trend, new data from Real Estate Mortgage Professional shows homeownership among Black Americans fell to 43.9% in the second quarter of 2025. The figure is the lowest level in nearly four years. Unemployment among Black women climbed to 6.3% in July, up from 5.5% in 2024, while job growth nationwide fell well below projected expectations. This combination of economic setbacks is jeopardizing the Black wealth-building pathway that homeownership traditionally offers.
Unfortunately, current trends are not the only barriers faced by Black women. Historical barriers compound these current-day challenges. Decades of discriminatory practices, including redlining, predatory lending, and systemic undervaluing of Black neighborhoods, have only increased the racial wealth gap. These legacies mean Black households reliably carry less savings and equity, putting them at a disadvantage when seeking mortgages or making down payments. Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman wrote about the declining opportunity offered to Black women in her new book, The Double Tax: How Women of Color Are Overcharged and Underpaid.
“Black women, in particular, face challenges in the workplace in terms of low promotion and high turnover, and we often deal with occupational segregation, which pushes us towards career paths that pay us less,” Opoku-Agyeman told Forbes. “This means that in the bad times, these compounded costs of racism and sexism often get worse, especially if the jobs that Black women find themselves in, such as the federal workforce or diversity, equity, and inclusion, are being targeted for cuts.”
Experts suggest intentional, equity-focused interventions are needed to counteract these entrenched disparities. Ideas gaining traction include offering targeted down-payment assistance for first-generation buyers and Special Purpose Credit Programs (SPCPs) that allow lenders to extend more favorable loan terms to historically disadvantaged groups. These types of support have shown promise in helping more Black families access and sustain homeownership.
Ultimately, the combination of economic strain and historical exclusion makes the “double tax” a prevalent barrier to the American dream of owning a home. Without strategic, systemic policies, this essential avenue for building generational wealth risks slipping further beyond reach.
U.S. Adds Just 22,000 Jobs In August As Black Unemployment Rises
As the job market continues to slow, unemployment among Black workers continues to rise.
U.S. job growth slowed in August, adding just 22,000 positions, while Black unemployment surged to its highest point since late 2021.
According to data released on Sept. 4, the Wall Street Journal reports, private payrolls increased by just 54,000, well below the 75,000 economists had forecasted in a Dow Jones poll, marking a notable slowdown from July’s revised gain of 106,000.
The report caps a summer of sluggish hiring, highlighting a stagnant job market that’s leaving recent grads out of work and pushing Black unemployment to pandemic-era highs. In August, during Black Business Month, Black unemployment jumped to 7.5%, its highest since October 2021 (7.6%), following rises in June (6.8%) and July (7.2%).
With economists often view increases in Black unemployment as a “canary in the coal mine,” the downward trend signals a potential slowdown in the broader job market.
“The most vulnerable people tend to get laid off first, and unfortunately, that tends to be Black Americans, and that’s something that is very disturbing in and of itself,” said Diane Swonk, chief economist at accounting firm KPMG US.
“The year started with strong job growth, but that momentum has been whipsawed by uncertainty,” Robinson said.
Black Americans make up roughly 13% of the U.S. workforce. A decline in their employment can significantly impact both Black communities and the broader economy, as their buying power is projected by Nielsen to reach $2 trillion by 2026, up from $1.7 trillion in 2024.
“When unemployment rises in our communities, it has a rippling effect across entire industries. Not just retail. Housing, health care—the impacts are across the board,” said Joyaa Cole, founder of Joe and Monroe, a Black-owned candle business in Houston.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) is urging Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to address the sharp increase in Black unemployment, particularly among Black women. Pressley called the rate for Black women “a glaring red flag” for the overall health of the U.S. job market.
“When the rest of the country gets a cold, Black folks get pneumonia,” Pressley said.
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 17: Former wide receiver Randy Moss reacts prior to the NFC Wild Card between the Los Angeles Rams and the Arizona Cardinals at SoFi Stadium on January 17, 2022 in Inglewood, California. The Rams won 34-11. (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)
Randy Moss Completes Cancer Treatment, Returns To ESPN
The NFL legend and ESPN analyst was diagnosed with stage 2 bile duct cancer last year.
Almost a year after announcing that he had cancer, NFL legend Randy Moss is celebrating the end of his cancer treatment.
According to People, a smiling Moss, 48, rang the bell to commemorate completing the care for the diagnosed stage 2 bile duct cancer. Afterward, he stood before the hospital staff, nurses, and doctors at the Atrium Health Levine Cancer Institute in Charlotte, NC.
“I want to thank everybody here at this hospital for welcoming me to be a part of their family, of their extended family,” Moss said in the video. “I’ve told y’all this before, but you do a great job of taking care of people, and I know it’s an emotional moment, but I thank you all. God bless you.”
The football analyst completed his treatment just in time to start the new NFL season at ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown on Sept. 7. His co-workers called his return the “one that we and all football fans everywhere had been waiting to see.”
“All my treatment is over, ringing the bell, now I’m back with the family, man,” he said on the show per People.
Moss was the 21st overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft when the Minnesota Vikings selected him out of Marshall University.
He played for five NFL teams mostly with the Vikings. He also suited up for the Oakland Raiders, the New England Patriots (where he starred for a legendary undefeated 2007 team that lost the Super Bowl to the New York Giants), the Tennessee Titans, and the San Francisco 49ers.
A six-time Pro Bowler and four-time All-Pro selection, Moss was known for his electrifying, gravity-defying catches. He ended his career in 2012 with 15,292 receiving yards and 156 touchdowns.
Moss was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018.
Charleston White Shows His Anti-Black Colors At Mississippi HBCU
White made it a point to call student participants "poor" before storming off Tougaloo's campus.
Charleston White, internet agent provocateur and YouTuber, disparaged an HBCU while visiting for a structured debate.
While at Tougaloo College in Mississippi, White appeared to have an outburst while debating with students. During his mini-rant, White expressed his disdain for Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Video clips circulated online show White dismissively stating, “F** racism, I don’t believe in racism. I don’t give a damn about no HBCU, I went to a white school.”
Before that, the energy in the room seemingly shifted, prompting White’s voice to slightly rise while lecturing the students about coming up with solutions to issues as opposed to debating issues, though he was there to do just that.
White left the stage as his security responded to perceived threats.
“All y’all debating poor, get some G*dd*mn money,” he said as he departed.
He also spoke about his regret in attending the event.
“Ya’ll got a college-educated street n***a talking street talk, I wasted my time,” he said.
The incident is consistent with a string of contentious encounters for White. After years behind bars, he re-emerged as a speaker of sorts and social media figure. He founded Helping Young People Excel (HYPE).
Eventually, White began testing boundaries with harsh critiques of hip-hop culture, race relations, and Black institutional legacies. White’s stances often spark controversy.
Despite the furor that often follows him, White continues to maintain a platform built on polarizing commentary juxtaposed with his “community empowerment” agenda. His ability to attract attention even when that attention is negative leads one to wonder: Who thought his presence was a good idea at an institution of higher learning?
Though White often speaks about the responsibility of the Black community and the different paths to upliftment, his parting words prove he is not a firm practitioner of what he preaches.
“F**k my people. I don’t give a f**k about my people.”
The G-Unit mogul made the announcement Sept. 8 on Instagram.
“I now have the rights to PAID IN FULL, I’m developing it into a premium TV show,” 50 Cent wrote of the 2002 cult classic movie. “If you like God Father of Harlem, your gonna love this. Cam set to Executive produce alongside me, if you want in, get at him, I’m out of the country.”
Produced by Azie Faison, Damon Dash, Jay-Z, and Brett Ratner, Paid in Full is loosely inspired by the real lives of drug dealers Faison, Rich Porter, and Alpo Martinez. The film follows Ace (Wood Harris) as he climbs the 1980s Harlem drug scene while battling with friends-turned-rivals plotting his downfall.
Cam’ron played Rico, inspired by Martinez, while Mekhi Phifer portrayed Mitch, based on Porter. Dash, who served as a driving force on the film, has often shared how he secured the role of Rico for Cam’ron. As a result, Dash has since voiced disapproval of Cam’ron collaborating with 50 Cent on the new series.
“Cam just made a post, major announcement,” Dash said in a short video. “I wanna congratulate him for making 50 his new boss. So, congratulations, Cam, 50’s your new boss.”
“U really turned into a chatty patty damn..tagging me every post,” he said. “Ni**a get cut out of tv series everyday B, u be ight. U only doing this for clicks, this the most action u got in ya Chanel EVER. You welcome. For now on my lil ni**a. Lolol . Go to the store for me real quick.”
Trump Downplays Domestic Violence As A ‘Little Fight’ In Defense Of D.C. Police Takeover
Trump reduced domestic violence cases to "little fights" that occur at home.
President Donald Trump seemingly made light of domestic violence as he defended his takeover of D.C. law enforcement.
Trump downplayed acts of domestic violence as “much lesser” crimes. He suggested that D.C. officials exaggerated crime rates by including these types of incidents. Trump made the unfounded claim as he emphasized the alleged “success” of reducing violence in the nation’s capital.
While making a speech at the Museum of the Bible on Sept. 8, he referred to domestic violence as an innocuous “little fight.” The Neighborhood Talk shared footage of Trump’s commentary.
“…Virtually nothing and much lesser things, things that take place in the home, they call crime. They’ll do anything they can to find something. If a man has a little fight with the wife, they say this was a crime, see? So now I can’t claim 100 percent. But we are … a safe city,” alleged Trump of D.C.’s reported crimes.
As the offensive comment garnered immediate backlash, a spokeswoman attempted to mitigate his statements.
“President Trump’s Executive Order to address crime in DC even specifically took action against domestic violence,” said spokeswoman Abigail Jackson. “While President Trump is making America safer, the Fake News is whipping up their latest hoax in real time to distract from the Administration’s tremendous results.”
However, advocates and local organizations against domestic violence found the President’s words to be worrisome, especially as they continue to spread awareness on the severity of many cases. Dawn Dalton, executive director of the DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said the nonprofit receives around 12,000 calls a year from domestic violence victims. Dalton also noted an uptick in the intensity of violence against victims, including homicide.
“The frequency and harm of domestic violence is not paid enough attention to, and remarks such as the president’s underscore that reality,” explained Dalton to TheWashington Post.
Trump, however, has seemingly excused domestic violence before in his previous term. In 2018, he brushed off the accusations of his former staff secretary, Rob Porter, who resigned after two of his ex-wives alleged physical and emotional abuse. Trump also faced initial blowback as he entered the political arena with his infamous “grab her by the p–y” comment.
“Instead of being serious about reducing crime by addressing and reducing domestic and intimate partner violence, he is now suggesting we reclassify horrific forms of interpersonal violence as not criminal at all — just as a ‘little fight,’” added Cynthia Miller-Idriss, an American University professor and author of “Man Up: The New Misogyny and the Rise of Violent Extremism.” “This takes us back to the Dark Ages.”
As Trump’s surge over D.C. has passed the one-month mark, it could potentially extend until the end of the year.
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 03: New York Attorney General Letitia James presents the findings of an independent investigation into accusations by multiple women that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed them on August 3, 2021 in New York City. Independent investigators Joon H. Kim and Anne L. Clark concluded that the Governor sexually harassed multiple women. (Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
NY Attorney General Plans To Intervene In Texas Abortion Pill Access Lawsuit
The decision comes a month after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued a New York county court for refusing to file a six-figure judgment against a doctor accused of prescribing abortion drugs to a Texas woman.
New York Attorney General Letitia James says she will intervene in a legal fight brewing over the ban on abortion pills in Texas.
James’s decision comes a little more than a month after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued a New York county court for refusing to file a six-figure judgment against a doctor accused of prescribing abortion drugs to a Texas woman, Houston Public Media reports.
“I am stepping in to defend the integrity of our laws and our courts against this blatant overreach,” James said in a news release. “Texas has no authority in New York, and no power to impose its cruel abortion ban here.”
Texas has some of the strictest abortion laws in the country. It almost entirely bans abortions and imposes heavy penalties on people who violate its abortion laws. State law prohibits nearly all abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected. There are exceptions for medical emergencies that threaten the life of the mother if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest.
Doctors who perform abortions in violation of the law face felony charges and potential imprisonment.
Texas Sues NY Doctor Over Abortion Pills
Abortions are still occurring in Texas because of the availability of mail-order abortion medication through telehealth providers in states with abortion shield laws, which is why James is jumping into the legal fight with Texas.
In December 2024, Paxton sued Dr. Margaret Carpenter, accusing her of mailing abortion pills from New York to a woman in Collin County, Texas. Carpenter is the co-founder of the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine, which ultimately gets abortion medicine to women in states with shield laws.
In February, a Collin County judge ordered Carpenter to stop providing abortion pills to Texans and pay more than $113,000 in penalties and fees. Then, in March, Acting Ulster County Clerk Taylor Bruck refused to file the judgment in New York, citing his state’s shield laws, which were passed in 2023 following the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Shield law protections exist in over 20 states and legally protect health care professionals from living in states with abortion bans.
Paxton then sued Bruck, arguing in court that New York’s shield laws violate the U.S. Constitution’s full faith and credit clause, requiring states to respect “pubic acts, records, and judicial proceedings.” As for James, she plans to submit legal filings arguing that New York has the right to safeguard its residents and courts against “out-of-state overreach.”
“Our shield law exists to protect New Yorkers from out-of-state extremists, and New York will always stand strong as a safe haven for health care and freedom of choice,” said James.
This comes as the Texas legislature advanced a bill that allows private citizens to sue anyone who manufactures or distributes abortion drugs to or from the state.
Yeleen Beauty Makerspace Opens D.C.’s First Manufacturing Hub For Small Beauty Brands
The hub will provide production equipment and technical support, as well as training programs.
Yeleen Beauty Makerspace has changed the game for small beauty brand owners in the Washington, D.C. area.
The makerspace now reigns as D.C.’s first-ever manufacturing hub for independent beauty brands. In the 3,000-square-foot facility, brands can scale their operations. It aims to help entrepreneurs elevate their business from their backyards, hosting the entire business process.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony took place on Sept. 8, with local leaders in attendance at the historic event. The founder and CEO of Yeleen Beauty Makerspace, Rahama Wright, emphasized the business’s role in bridging the manufacturing gap that limits diverse beauty brand owners.
Manufacturing access is the missing bridge for so many promising beauty founders,” said Wright, founder & CEO of Yeleen Beauty Makerspace, according toFOX4. “Today, we turned that bridge into a runway—where production equipment, technical support, and training meet a community committed to inclusive growth.”
The venture will particularly help Black beauty brands thrive by developing more products and increasing customer awareness. As Black entrepreneurs endure systemic barriers to accessing capital, homegrown efforts like these hope to provide new opportunities within the beauty sector.
With support from the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, Wacif, JPMorgan Chase, Inspire Access, BRED, and SEED Commons, emerging entrepreneurs can address capital needs sooner and more efficiently while using the manufacturing equipment. Participants can also store their items in the facility, and even attend business classes and programs as they build supplier relationships.
“What excites me about the Yeleen Beauty Makerspace is the access to professional equipment—like filling and labeling machines—that would otherwise be outside my budget. This space will allow me to scale, save time, and reach more people with products that truly make a difference,” shared Alicia Blair, owner of vegan hair and skin care company, HerSolBeauty.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and established entrepreneurs in the area also took part in the festivities. While learning more about beauty manufacturing in scrub-making classes, Mayor Bowser announced the Fast Beauty Initiative. The initiative will fast-track the training of barbers and cosmetologists, enabling them to begin their careers sooner.
“This is what investing in and believing in our community looks like—a hub where beauty entrepreneurs and small beauty companies can manufacture locally, collaborate, and scale beyond their home kitchens,” said Mayor Bowser. “This is exactly the kind of innovation we’re proud to support through our DC Locally Made Manufacturing Grant, and we can’t wait to see all the DC success stories that begin at Yeleen Beauty Makerspace.”
