Groom Guy, Salamander Hotel, Marriott Bonvoy — Photo by LanaStock/Getty Images

by Sidnee Michelle

August 27, 2026

Groom Guy Brings Black-Owned Luxury Grooming To Marriott’s Autograph Collection

Groom Guy, founded by Darius Davie and Matthew Sears in 2020, operates inside the hotel's spa.

Black-owned luxury men’s grooming company Groom Guy is expanding its presence in the hospitality industry after the Washington hotel where it operates joined Marriott’s Autograph Collection, AfroTech reports.

The Potomac Hotel, Autograph Collection, formerly Salamander Washington DC, officially debuted under its new name on Aug. 5. The 373-room property is owned by real estate investment firm Henderson Park, with Salamander Collection Founder Sheila Johnson remaining a minority partner. Pyramid Global Hospitality assumed management of the hotel as part of the transition.

Groom Guy, founded by Darius Davie and Matthew Sears in 2020, operates inside the hotel’s spa. The company opened at the property in April 2025, before it transitioned to the Marriott portfolio. Marriott now lists Groom Guy among the experiences available at The Potomac Hotel.

The development gives Groom Guy a presence inside a property connected to Marriott Bonvoy, something Davie said had long been a goal.

“Today marks a new chapter for Groom Guy. We started as a 300 sq. ft. pop-up shop with a simple belief: men’s grooming services could become the next revenue anchor in hotels,” Davie wrote on LinkedIn, according to the outlet.

Groom Guy provides services including haircuts, beard trims, and hot towel shaves. Since launching, the company has completed more than 8,000 grooming services and generated at least $720,000 in sales, according to AfroTech.

The company also offers services at IHG’s Yours Truly DC Hotel. Its expansion into hotels reflects a business model centered on positioning men’s grooming as an additional hospitality service rather than operating solely through traditional barbershops.

The Potomac Hotel’s transition also brings the property into Marriott Bonvoy, allowing eligible guests to earn and redeem points and access other program benefits. The hotel retains amenities including its two-level spa and Dōgon, the Afro-Caribbean restaurant led by chef Kwame Onwuachi.

For Davie, the hotel’s transition represents another step in Groom Guy’s effort to expand its model within the hospitality sector.

“Moments like this remind me that when one door closes, another really does open,” Davie said. “We’re proud to be part of this next chapter and even more excited for what’s ahead as we continue reimagining the role of men’s grooming in hospitality.”

YouTube, AI transparency, AI-generated work, AI slop — (Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic)

by Sidnee Michelle

August 27, 2026

YouTube, LinkedIn And Substack Crack Down On AI-Generated Content

YouTube, LinkedIn, and Substack have introduced or expanded systems this summer to identify, label, or limit the distribution of certain AI-generated content.

Major digital platforms are increasing scrutiny of AI-generated content, putting new pressure on businesses and creators to be transparent about how they use artificial intelligence in public-facing work, Inc.com reports.

YouTube, LinkedIn, and Substack have introduced or expanded systems this summer to identify, label, or limit the distribution of certain AI-generated content. The moves come as platforms grapple with maintaining authenticity while generative AI makes producing text, images, and videos easier.

YouTube announced on May 27 that labels for photorealistic or meaningfully AI-generated or altered content would become more prominent. Labels appear below long-form videos and as overlays on Shorts. YouTube also began rolling out internal detection systems in May that can automatically apply labels when it detects significant photorealistic AI use and creators have not disclosed it.

LinkedIn has taken aim at what it describes as “AI slop,” or low-effort AI-generated content lacking original perspective. On July 30, the platform introduced an option allowing users to flag posts that “seem like AI slop.” More than one million people have used the feature, and LinkedIn Chief Product Officer Hari Srinivasan said members are seeing 40% fewer views of content the company classifies as AI slop compared with several weeks earlier.

Substack has also added AI detection. Its Pangram-powered tool can estimate whether eligible posts, notes, comments, and replies were written by a human or with AI assistance. The feature applies to content published on or after July 21. Publishers can disable detection on individual posts.

The developments are raising questions about how businesses should communicate their own AI practices.

In the Inc. column, brand and AI strategist Amy Zwagerman argued that companies should establish public AI policies explaining where they use the technology, how human judgment factors into AI-assisted work, how confidential information is protected, and what customers should know about a company’s AI use.

Zwagerman said establishing those guidelines could allow brands to define their approach before platform-generated labels or detection systems shape consumers’ perceptions for them.

As platforms expand their AI oversight, businesses using the technology may face greater pressure to explain not only whether they use AI, but how and why.

Goodwill, donations, affordability, philanthropy — photo credit: SpiritedMichelle, CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

by Sidnee Michelle

August 27, 2026

Rising Thrift Store Prices Have Some Donors Rethinking Goodwill

Pricing has become a particular point of frustration.

Some longtime Goodwill donors are reconsidering where they give used clothing and household goods amid concerns about thrift-store prices and a desire to provide items more directly to people in need, Yahoo Life reports.

An Aug. 15 report found that some donors are turning to shelters, community organizations, smaller charity thrift stores, and other nonprofits instead of automatically taking unwanted items to Goodwill. Their concerns include how donated merchandise is priced and where it ultimately ends up.

Pricing has become a particular point of frustration. Some shoppers have encountered secondhand clothing, furniture, dishes, and other household goods priced near or, in some cases, above the cost of comparable new merchandise, according to the outlet. For donors who expect secondhand goods to remain affordable, those experiences have prompted questions about where to take their donations.

Goodwill Industries International says pricing decisions are made within its network of independent local nonprofit organizations rather than a single national pricing system. The organization says stores seek to price donations according to fair market value in their local communities while maximizing the value of donated merchandise.

Some donors, according to Yahoo Creators, are instead choosing organizations that can distribute goods more directly. Options include homeless and women’s shelters, recovery programs, veterans organizations, and community nonprofits. Others give to local charity thrift stores that raise money for organizations such as schools, churches, hospices, and food pantries.

Habitat for Humanity ReStores can also accept certain furniture, appliances, building materials, and other household items, depending on the location. Online community groups offer another avenue for people who want to give belongings directly to others.

Goodwill says revenue generated through the sale of donated merchandise supports employment and workforce-development services. In 2024, 151 local Goodwill organizations helped 142,000 people secure employment and provided support to 2.1 million people across the U.S. and Canada, according to Goodwill Industries International’s annual report.

The organization also reported keeping 4.4 billion pounds of donated goods in circulation in 2024.

For some donors, however, the debate over thrift-store pricing is changing a once-routine decision into a more deliberate choice about where their donations can have the impact they want.

Ageism, Older women entrepreneurs, funding bias — AI-generated image

by Selena Hill

August 27, 2026

Older Women Entrepreneurs May Be Business’ Most Overlooked Growth Engine

Research shows that age and gender bias can still prevent older women in business from gaining access to opportunities and capital.

The startup world loves a young disruptor, but experience may be one of the most valuable assets when building a business. Women entrepreneurs over 50, however, continue to face both gender and age bias that can affect how customers, investors, and business leaders perceive their expertise and potential.

That disconnect matters because research has repeatedly challenged the notion that youth is the strongest predictor of entrepreneurial success. A study from MIT researchers found that the average age of founders behind the fastest-growing new ventures was 45. The research also found that prior experience in a specific industry was a strong predictor of entrepreneurial success.

For Meryl Rosenthal, who became a solo entrepreneur at 50 after her co-founder left their consultancy, that experience became a competitive advantage.

“What helped me move forward was the combination of everything that had come before: work ethic, business experience, perspective, adaptability, and confidence,” Rosenthal told Fast Company. “I was able to step fully into my own voice.”

Yet, Julie Wing, a 65-year-old serial entrepreneur and aviation business owner, found that experience does not always translate into opportunity.

“You have to prove yourself a lot more as a woman, and an older woman,” she told the publication. “Men don’t have to prove themselves.”

Research from Boston Consulting Group and MassChallenge found that startups founded or co-founded by women received less than half the average investment secured by male-founded companies. Still, the women-founded or co-founded businesses generated 10% more cumulative revenue over five years. For every dollar of funding, those companies generated 78 cents in revenue, compared with 31 cents for male-founded startups in the study. That creates a business case, not simply an equity argument.

Older women can bring industry knowledge, professional networks, management experience, and a clearer understanding of the problems they are trying to solve. Those advantages can be especially valuable in an entrepreneurial environment where execution matters just as much as the original idea.

Shubhi Rao, who founded an AI company at 54 after leaving corporate America, said that investment decisions can also be shaped by familiarity. “When you cannot underwrite the future,” she said, “you study the past.” Yet, if the past has disproportionately elevated young, male founders, relying too heavily on familiar patterns may cause investors to miss viable opportunities.

California, High Schools, Fourth of July, raise money, grants, Businesswomen, Financial Literacy, broke — (Photo by blackCAT/Getty Images)

by Sidnee Michelle

August 27, 2026

California To Require Financial Literacy Course For High School Students

California became the 26th state to require personal finance as a high school graduation requirement.

California high school students will soon have to learn how to budget, manage credit, invest, and navigate other financial decisions before receiving a diploma under a statewide financial literacy mandate, The Good News Network reports.

Assembly Bill 2927 requires California public high schools, including charter schools, to offer a separate, stand-alone, one-semester personal finance course beginning in the 2027-28 school year. Completing the course will become a graduation requirement starting with the class of 2030-31, according to the California Department of Education⁠.

California became the 26th state to require personal finance for high school graduation, according to the Education Department. The law was approved in 2024 as part of a broader effort to equip students with financial skills before they enter adulthood.

The required curriculum covers 13 areas of personal finance, including banking, budgeting, employment and income, credit, loans, insurance, taxes, investing, consumer protection, and ways to finance higher education and workforce training. It also addresses how psychology can affect financial well-being and includes instruction on charitable giving.

The State Board of Education approved California’s Personal Finance Curriculum Guide on March 11, 2026, ahead of a May 31 statutory deadline. The guide is designed to help districts and educators develop courses that meet legal requirements.

“California is on track to deliver on the promise of personal finance education for every public high school student, which is great news,” State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond said. “These are critical life skills that will help them in their personal and professional lives.”

Schools are already preparing for the financial literacy mandate. As of May, 662 California teachers at 474 schools had completed more than 11,500 hours of personal finance professional learning through Next Gen Personal Finance, according to the Education Department. Twenty-one schools across 13 districts had also received grants to implement stand-alone courses ahead of the deadline.

The new requirement could also change how some students satisfy existing graduation standards. Beginning with the class of 2030-31, local education agencies may exempt students who complete the personal finance course from the state’s one-semester economics requirement.

Company culture, scaling up, — via istock

by Sidnee Michelle

August 27, 2026

How Companies Can Scale Without Losing Their Workplace Culture

Growth can make maintaining a cohesive culture more difficult.

Companies experiencing rapid growth can risk losing the workplace culture that helped drive their success as expanding teams, new departments, and additional layers of management create greater distance between employees and senior leadership, Fast Company reports.

Ron Johnson, a branding expert and keynote speaker, argues that businesses can counter those challenges by focusing on three areas: purpose, vision, and core values. In an Aug. 24 Fast Company column, Johnson described the principles as “brand anchors” that can help companies maintain employee engagement and organizational identity as they scale.

Growth can make maintaining a cohesive workplace culture more difficult. New employees may have less interaction with company founders, while additional managers and departments can complicate communication between executives and frontline workers, according to Johnson.

The first strategy is establishing a purpose that explains why a company exists beyond generating profits. Johnson cited Gallup research showing employees with a strong sense of purpose at work are 5.6 times as likely to be engaged in their jobs as workers with a low sense of purpose.

A clear vision, meanwhile, establishes where a business is headed. Johnson pointed to President John F. Kennedy’s 1961 challenge to land an American on the moon before the decade ended as an example of a specific goal capable of aligning people behind a shared objective. Research cited in the column also links clarity of organizational vision to job satisfaction, commitment, and employee engagement.

The third strategy centers on core values, which establish expectations for how employees operate while pursuing company goals. Johnson highlighted Southwest Airlines, whose stated purpose, vision, and employee promise are designed to reinforce its corporate culture and customer service standards. According to Southwest, the airline has ranked first in J.D. Power customer satisfaction among economy-class passengers for five consecutive years.

Johnson’s recommendations underscore a broader challenge for growing businesses: Expansion may require more organizational structure, but leaders must still communicate why the company exists, where it is going, and what it expects from employees.

by Selena Hill

August 27, 2026

Employees Say Hybrid Work May Not Be The Best Model After All

The workplace model once billed as a win-win is exposing new challenges around flexibility, culture, and career advancement.

Hybrid work was supposed to be the happy medium, giving employees more flexibility while preserving collaboration and company culture. But the model is not meeting expectations.

As companies continue to fine-tune return-to-office policies, hybrid work is creating new workplace challenges, including uneven access to flexibility, weakened relationships with colleagues, and concerns that employees who spend more time in the office may be promoted more quickly.

A recent analysis from Human Resources Director explores why the arrangement has not always delivered the balance workers and employers expected. For many professionals, the issue is not simply where they work. It is whether hybrid work creates a level playing field. Employees who regularly work remotely can face what workplace experts describe as a proximity bias — the possibility that workers who are physically present receive greater visibility, stronger relationships with managers, and, ultimately, access to opportunities. Meanwhile, employees who commute to the office may question whether the added time and expense are justified when much of their workday is still spent on video calls.

The hybrid debate also has implications for talent retention and company performance. Many employers adopted flexible work arrangements after the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that many jobs could be performed outside a traditional office. But flexibility without a clear strategy can create friction.

Companies must decide which employees can work remotely, how often teams should gather in person, and how managers should measure performance. Those decisions can become especially important when businesses are attempting to recruit and retain diverse talent. Companies need management practices that measure results rather than visibility, set consistent expectations, and ensure that remote employees are not excluded from conversations that influence their careers.

Hybrid work may not be the perfect compromise businesses once imagined. But as companies continue experimenting, the organizations that figure out how to combine flexibility with fairness could gain an advantage in the competition for talent.

Fannie Lou Hamer, mobile tour, digital upgrade — Photo credit: public domain

by Selena Hill

August 27, 2026

Fannie Lou Hamer’s Legacy Hits The Road Again With An Upgraded Digital Tour

A newly enhanced digital driving tour uses video, archival audio, and immersive technology to bring the civil rights icon’s legacy to life.

The story of Fannie Lou Hamer is getting a digital upgrade.

An enhanced driving tour dedicated to the Mississippi sharecropper-turned-civil rights leader has relaunched with new video, archival audio, photographs, and historical materials designed to bring Hamer’s legacy to a new generation of students, researchers, and travelers.

The project expands on Fannie Lou Hamer’s America, an educational initiative that includes a nationally broadcast documentary, K-12 curriculum, and digital resources focused on preserving and amplifying her voice. The updated tour takes visitors through locations connected to her life and activism in Ruleville, Sunflower County, Winona, and other communities, reports Mississippi Today.

Among the additions is the M.W. Stringer Masonic Lodge in Jackson, where Hamer and others launched the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party in April 1964. The tour also incorporates short videos featuring recordings of Hamer speaking and singing.

The original 10-stop digital tour launched in 2019. The refreshed version represents a broader investment in making civil rights history accessible through technology and cultural tourism. The project was funded by the Mississippi Humanities Council and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

“Mrs. Hamer’s story personifies the Mississippi Freedom Movement — how local people inspired and partnered with young activists to change the state and the country,” said Stuart Rockoff, the executive director of the Mississippi Humanities Council, in a news release, according to The Winona Times. “This driving tour will help people from across Mississippi and the world understand the vital role Mrs. Hamer played in the movement and her continuing relevance to the issues of justice we still face today.”

For Monica Land, Hamer’s niece and a producer of both the film and driving tour, the expanded format creates room to tell more of her aunt’s story.

“There was so much we couldn’t show in the film due to time and cost,” Land said. “So, the motivation for doing this was to see another aspect of Aunt Fannie Lou’s life explored.”

Land said visitors frequently ask where Hamer is buried and whether sites such as a statue or museum exist. The digital platform offers another way to answer those questions while preserving the physical locations tied to Hamer’s work. That includes the tour’s newest out-of-state stop, Atlantic City, where Hamer delivered her historic testimony before the Credentials Committee at the 1964 Democratic National Convention.

“By expanding the reach of the driving tour, we allow visitors to hear Aunt Fannie Lou herself describe what happened at that location,” Land said. “It preserves those places as living classrooms.”

RELATED CONTENT: THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT IS A BLACK BUSINESS ISSUE

Long-time XCEL Summit for Men Host Ed Gordon Pays Tribute to Black Enterprise Founder Earl G. Graves Sr.

by Kenneth Meeks

August 27, 2026

Long-time XCEL Summit for Men Host Ed Gordon Pays Tribute to Black Enterprise Founder Earl G. Graves Sr.

A proud native of Detroit, Ed Gordon always knew he wanted to be a broadcast journalist. While he would mimic local newscasters when he was a junior in high school, it wasn’t until a college professor encouraged him to actually look into the profession. He did. He became a cub reporter at a local PBS station. And from there, he rose to be his hometown correspondent. While most African Americans have watched him make the leap to national prominence on BET News, he’s been a friend of BLACK ENTERPRISE for decades as a former host of the “Our World with Black Enterprise” television show and a recurring host at the XCEL Summit for Men. His message to young Black men is to “believe in yourself.” His pioneering work opened the doors in journalism for many more African Americans. As a 2024 XCEL Summit Honoree, Gordon returns to host the 10^th anniversary of the Summit this year. In this video clip from his acceptance speech that year, Gordon pays tribute to BE Founder Earl G. Graves Sr.

RELATED CONTENT: XCEL Summit For Men Oct 2026 –

MLB, uniforms — Photo by Bill Selak/Flickr

by Selena Hill

August 26, 2026

Padres Co-Owner Kwanza Jones Says Princeton Ignored Her Until She And Her Husband Donated $20 Million

The artist, investor, and Princeton alum told T.I. that her outreach was overlooked until she and her husband cut the Ivy League a large check.

Kwanza Jones says it took a hefty gift to get her alma mater’s attention.

The entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist recently revealed that Princeton University repeatedly failed to respond when she initially expressed interest in funding a major campus project. Years later, Jones and her husband and business partner, José E. Feliciano, made a $20 million gift to the Ivy League institution.

“No one got back to me,” Jones said during an appearance on T.I.’s ExpediTIously podcast. “I asked again. Waited a few months. Asked again. Still, no one got back to me.”

At the time, Princeton noted that the couple’s 2020 donation was the largest gift to date by Black and Latino donors. It supported the university’s efforts to expand access and inclusion for undergraduate students from diverse backgrounds. It also helped fund the construction of two dormitories, which were each named after Jones, a member of the Class of 1993, and her husband, who graduated in 1994. Jones, however, pointed out that the experience underscored how institutions can underestimate people who built wealth outside traditional networks or are not loud about their success.

When asked whether the donation finally got Princeton’s attention, Jones put it plainly, stating, “So, $20 million was just to get the answer.”

After receiving the couple’s gift, she said university officials asked her how they could identify more donors like them. She responded, telling them that they “left a lot on the table,” adding, “we’ve been here, but you haven’t seen us.”

Today, Jones’ presence is impossible to overlook. Earlier this month, she made history as the first Black woman to own a Major League Baseball team after she and Feliciano were approved to purchase the San Diego Padres. The transaction, which is valued at $3.9 billion, marks the largest franchise sale in MLB history, according to Yahoo Sports.

Under MLB governance rules, Feliciano serves as the Padres’ designated control person, while he and Jones jointly lead the ownership group. Major League Baseball said the couple will bring their shared experiences and long-term approach to the franchise’s stewardship.

“José and Kwanza understand the unique place the Padres hold in San Diego and the powerful bond between the club and its fans,” MLB Commissioner Robert D. Manfred, Jr. said in a statement. “We look forward to their leadership of the Padres and to working with them to build on the club’s strong foundation in a market that is so important to Major League Baseball.”

In a joint statement, the couple said, “We are a family first, and becoming owners of the San Diego Padres means joining an even larger one.”

The pair added that they are “committed to winning.”

“We have built our life and our work together, and we will bring that same shared purpose, commitment, and determination to our stewardship of the Padres,” they said.