African-American Policy Forum, Kimberle Crenshaw, say her name, author, book release

by Mitti Hicks

October 3, 2024

Professor Kimberlé Crenshaw’s ‘Groundbreaking Work’ Earns Her The Prestigious W.E.B. Du Bois Medal

Professor Kimberlé Crenshaw is a leading voice and scholar in critical race theory and intersectionality.

Professor Kimberlé Crenshaw, co-founder and executive director of the African American Policy Forum (AAPF), was awarded the prestigious W.E.B. Du Bois Medal from The Hutchins Center for African & African American Research at Harvard University. This award is the highest honor for exemplary contributions to Black studies, culture, and scholarship.

“Her groundbreaking work has shaped contemporary discussions around systemic inequality and continues to inspire activists and scholars worldwide,” an AAPF news release stated.

Professor Crenshaw is a leading voice and scholar in critical race theory and intersectionality. She has dedicated her career to addressing the complexities of race, gender, racism, and the law. Crenshaw’s studies and legal theories led to the formation of The African American Policy Forum in 1996. AAPF is on a mission to transform public policy that addresses educational censorship, defends American democracy, and ensures racial and gender justice through research.

“AAPF is an innovative think tank that connects academics, activists and policy-makers to promote efforts to dismantle structural inequality,” a statement reads on the website. “We utilize new ideas and innovative perspectives to transform public discourse and policy.”

In 2014, AAPF launched the iconic #SayHerName campaign to call attention to police violence against Black women and girls.

“Black women and girls as young as seven and as old as 93 have been killed by the police, though we rarely hear their names. Knowing their names is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for lifting their stories, which in turn provides a much clearer view of the wide-ranging circumstances that make Black women’s bodies disproportionately subject to police violence,” a statement on the initiative reads.

Then, in 2022, the organization convened the Freedom to Learn Coalition. The coalition is made up of leading civil rights, human rights, and social justice organizations, national teachers unions, students, parents, and others who united against the widespread attempts to limit antiracist education in U.S. schools and undermine democracy.

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

October 3, 2024

LVMH Sells Virgil Abloh’s Off-White Brand To Bluestar Alliance

The fashion world has concerns about LVMH selling Off-White to Bluestar Alliance.

LVMH decided to sell Virgil Abloh’s Off-White brand on the late founder’s 44th birthday, and the buyer has much of the fashion world concerned.

On Monday, LVMH announced that it will sell Off-White LLC to Bluestar Alliance. This brand management company oversees labels like Tahari, Bebe, and Scotch & Soda, Business of Fashion reported. The brand’s new owner has a reputation for acquiring distressed labels and licensing their names, which has sparked concerns about the luxury streetwear pioneer’s future direction.

“It seems as if the full-price luxury market has given up on the brand,” said Gary Wassner, chief executive of financing and factoring company Hilldun Corporation.

“If you look at [Bluestar’s] roster of brands, I believe their intention would be to license the Off-White brand into lower price-point categories.”

The acquisition comes at a crucial time for Off-White’s future in the wake of Abloh’s 2021 passing. The brand recently hosted its first-ever presentation at New York Fashion Week in September. CEO Cristiano Fagnani has also shared company goals of re-establishing Off-White’s connection with its core consumers, wholesale partners, and key collaborator, Nike.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Off-White™ (@off____white)

While it remains uncertain if Bluestar Alliance will maintain and invest in Fagnani’s goals for the company, Wassner thinks Bluestar is more likely to reposition Off-White towards a more accessible market through licensing. He noted the firm’s reputation for acquiring struggling contemporary designer brands like Catherine Malandrino and Nanette Lepore to license them.

Licensing makes brands more accessible and affordable, which benefits the average consumer but can undermine a luxury brand’s appeal to fashion connoisseurs and high-end clientele. Bluestar has made its focus on licensing very clear when acquiring other brands in the past.

“Our core business is licensing,” Bluestar Alliance CEO Joey Gabbay said about the brand’s acquisition of Scotch & Soda. “Once we got our arms around the brand, we had our partners come in and take over certain aspects of the business.”

Adding to the speculation, the company has also faced lawsuits from both Lepore and Malandrino, accusing it of business practices that allegedly cut the designers off from their own namesake labels after the acquisition.

According to Jessica Ramirez, a senior retail analyst at Jane Hali & Associates, LVMH’s decision to sell Off-White was logical. The brand had become an underperforming one following Abloh’s death. Unlike other luxury houses that have thrived under new creative leadership, Off-White struggled to regain footing after the founders’ untimely passing.

“Off-White hasn’t been the luxury brand that we knew,” she said. “It lost its way, unfortunately.”

by Kandiss Edwards

October 3, 2024

Domestic Violence Month Acknowledged By Between Friends Nonprofit

The nonprofit organization Between Friends is marking Domestic Violence Awareness Month with its annual candle lighting on Oct.1. The organization has been raising awareness of domestic violence for the last 26 years. Executive Director Verda Bhatti spoke to CBS News about the complexities of domestic violence.

Bhatti stated, “Sometimes it can be very physical, sometimes it can be only verbal, and sometimes it can be emotional.’

On Ohio Street Beach, Between Friends lights paper lanterns that represent all domestic violence victims. Bhatti expressed her hope that with each year, the number of lanterns declines, “But unfortunately, it doesn’t,” she says.

While domestic violence affects people of all genders and races, the issue is especially relevant to Black women. According to the Institute of Women’s Policy Research, 40% of Black women “will experience domestic violence in their lifetime.”

Domestic violence is more than just physical abuse at the hands of a partner. The U.S. Department of Justice lists the different forms of domestic violence. The DOJ cites intimidation, manipulation, humiliation, isolation, and attempts to frighten, terrorize, coerce, threaten, blame, hurt, injure, or wound someone as forms of abuse.

Over half of all Black women have experienced nonphysical domestic violence. According to the National Center for Victims of Crime, “53.8% of Black women had experienced psychological abuse, while 41.2% of Black women had experienced physical abuse.”

The Blackburn Center attempts to get to the root causes of the elevated harm inflicted on Black women. The organization lists “objectification and degradation of women in media, rape culture, harmful gender norms, the pay gap” and racism as causes for increased harm.

The objectification of Black women is a tale as old as time. The tale is still being told as terms that predate emancipation, such as ‘bed wench,’ are still being used to describe women. The use of that term and many others in the modern day only reinforces that, to some, Black women are seen as less than human. Objects or toys are to be used at the discretion of others. And like children, many do not consider using, abusing, and breaking a toy a bad thing.

The Blackburn Center proposed solutions for these causes, first acknowledging intersectionality. Paying attention to vulnerable intersections of Black women and working toward creating equity in their pay, depictions, and status would help dispel the notion that they are expendable.

If you know any current or former victims of domestic violence in need of support, reach out to the Blackburn Center at 1-888-832-2272.

Atlanta Georgia, education, Super Bowl LXII, Atlanta Wine and Jazz Festival, Build-to-rent

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

October 3, 2024

Will Atlanta Be Awarded Super Bowl LXII In 2028?

A decision is expected to be made on Oct. 15.

Atlanta is becoming a hub for everything dealing with entertainment, conventions, and, especially, sports. Now, the city could be hosting another Super Bowl.

According to Sports Business Journal, Atlanta may be in line to host Super Bowl LXII at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Owners from the NFL are meeting in Atlanta on Oct. 15 to discuss the issue, and it’s expected that the city will be awarded the big game then.

The decision will be determined not only by the owners but also, reportedly, by the NFL Fan Engagement & Major Events Committee, which wants the event to take place in the Southern city. Atlanta previously hosted the premier event in 2019, but Falcons owner Arthur Blank has made it well known that he wants it to happen again.

This would be the fourth time Atlanta would showcase one of sports’ grandest events. In 1994, the Georgia Dome, which is no longer in existence, hosted Super Bowl XXVIII. In 2000, Super Bowl XXXIV took place there as well. Nineteen years later, Mercedes-Benz Stadium hosted Super Bowl LIII. The Falcons have also played in two Super Bowls, including the 2017 Super Bowl, where they famously blew a 28-3 lead to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.

The next three Super Bowls will be played in New Orleans (2025), Santa Clara (2026) and L.A. (2027).

FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) recently announced Atlanta as one of 12 cities selected to host the 2025 Club World Cup Tournament next summer. The games will be played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

The stadium will be home to a number of important sporting events in the next several years, including the College Football Playoff National Championship Game in January 2025, the FIFA Club World Cup in the summer of 2025, the FIFA World Cup in 2026, and the NCAA Final Four in 2031.

by Stacy Jackson

October 3, 2024

New Report: Breast Cancer Rates On The Rise For Women 50 Years And Younger

According to the ACS' report, this year, more than 310,000 women in America will face an invasive breast cancer diagnosis.

A new report from the American Cancer Society has revealed a rise in breast cancer diagnoses in women 50 years and younger.

“Breast Cancer Statistics, 2024” published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians found that although breast cancer mortality rates have decreased by a total of 44% since 1989, an alarming uptick in breast cancer incidence has been found in women younger than 50, with an annual increase by 1% from 2012 to 2021.

According to ACS’s biennial report, in 2024 approximately 310,720 women will face an invasive breast cancer diagnosis while the disease will be a cause of death for around 42,250.

Angela Giaquinto, lead author and ACS associate scientist in cancer surveillance research, said that even with a steady decline in breast cancer mortality rates, “future progress may be thwarted by increasing incidence, especially among younger women, and consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as delayed diagnosis due to interruptions in screening.”

Breast cancer trails skin cancer as the most common cancer among U.S. women, and according to Dr. William Dahut, ACS chief scientific officer, “alarming disparities” remain particularly among Asian American, Pacific Islander, Native American, and Black women. For Black women, the group maintains a 38% higher breast cancer mortality rate than white women.

“These gaps need to be rectified through systematic efforts to ensure access to high-quality screening and treatment for every woman,” Dahut said.

In May, the ACS launched the VOICES of Black Women study to examine cancer and other health disparities faced by Black women in the U.S, the largest study of its kind that will span a minimum of 30 years. A diverse team of researchers will conduct the study with active input from participants who will complete surveys twice a year and provide insights throughout the duration of the study.

“The reasons for the increased prevalence of breast cancer in younger patients are complicated, multifaceted, and still being studied,” Dr. Christopher McGreevy, associate chief of breast surgery at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey, told Fox News Digital. McGreevy noted contributing factors such as obesity, delayed childbearing, environmental toxins or genetics. Some researchers attribute the cause to systematic racism, delays in diagnosis, and inadequate access to timely cancer treatment.

The report from the ACS examined cancer data from the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR), and the National Center for Health Statistics.

affordable housing, Washington State, Program, Historical Housing Discrimination, housing discrimination, property taxes, South Fulton

by Mitti Hicks

October 2, 2024

How U.S. Department Of Housing And Urban Development’s $22M In Grants Could Help Fight Housing Discrimination

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is trying move forward in ending racial discrimination in America’s housing system by funding more than $22 million in grants.

Nearly one year after a damning analysis found Navy Federal Credit Union rejected more than half of its Black conventional mortgage applicants; it appears the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is trying to move forward in ending racial discrimination in America’s housing system.

HUD is investing more than $22 million in fair housing organizations nationwide to support fair housing education, outreach, testing, and enforcement activities to address housing discrimination.

“At HUD, one of the cornerstones of our mission is to root out all forms of discrimination in housing so that no one is treated unfairly,” HUD Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman said in a news release. “To accomplish this mission, we work with local partners from coast to coast. The $22 million we are making available today will give even more support to our partners as they enforce the Fair Housing Act.”

HUD touts that the grant money will help organizations develop and coordinate education and outreach programs to inform the public about its rights under the Fair Housing Act and provide fair housing training for eligible organizations. The funds allocated to enforcement could be the most helpful.

More than $3 million will be allocated to eligible organizations to build their capacity to conduct fair housing enforcement-related activities or establish new organizations to engage in fair housing work, particularly in unserved and underserved communities. Over $9 million will be awarded to organizations to conduct testing, investigate violations, and obtain enforcement of the rights under the Fair Housing Act or equivalent state and local laws.

“HUD’s partnership with fair housing organizations is critical to ensuring fair housing awareness and enforcement of our laws,” said HUD Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Diane M. Shelley. “The grants made possible by this funding will strengthen this partnership and ensure that fair housing reaches all of our communities.”

TikTok, The Danish Deception, Black women

by Sharelle B. McNair

October 2, 2024

TikTok Star Arrested In Connection To Killing Of Louisiana Therapist

Mr. Prada 465, real name Terryon Ishmael Thomas, was arrested over the weekend.

Popular TikTok influence “Mr. Prada 465” has been arrested in connection to the killing of a therapist in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA Today reports.

Mr. Prada 465, whose real name is Terryon Ishmael Thomas, faces charges of aggravated criminal damage to property, resisting an officer, and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle in regards to the death of William Nicholas Abraham, according to a filed court affidavit.

Abraham’s body was found on Sept. 29 alongside Louisiana’s Highway 51 between the community of Fluker and the Village of Tangipahoa, roughly 60 miles northeast of Baton Rouge, where the therapist worked. Abraham’s body was wrapped in a tarp, partially hidden along the road. His death was a result of blunt force trauma and was ruled a homicide by a local coroner.

According to WBRZ, the 69-year-old’s family began to worry about his whereabouts after his roommate said the victim left his home on Sept. 28 to wash his car and go to the office to handle paperwork. After several hours, the roommate said he never returned. A blurry security image of a man was shared on Sept. 30 of the last known person seen driving Abraham’s car. As the story went viral on social media, user comments helped to identify Thomas.

@mr.prada456
#fyp
♬ I’M HIS, HE’S MINE – Katy Perry

According to USA Today, a warrant said Baton Rouge Police officer attempted a traffic stop of a black Lincoln MKZ about 50 miles southwest of where Abraham’s body was found. WBRZ said the car was registered to Abraham.

The officer attempted to pull the vehicle over after its license plate came back, showing the vehicle had been stolen. The driver backed into the police unit and fled the scene before crashing, an officer wrote in the warrant. The officer involved in the crash then identified Thomas, 20, as the involved party in a photo line-up.

Thomas was arrested in Dallas, Texas over the weekend. It is unclear when he would head back to Louisiana to face a judge or if he had legal representation. It is unknown if Thomas and Abraham knew each other.

The biography on Abraham’s website lists himself as a life coach, licensed professional counselor, motivational speaker, and author. Thomas has more than three million followers on TikTok and is known for quirky videos of himself modeling or engaging in odd skits with himself. His TikTok bio also shows that he hosts a YouTube channel but there are only two videos posted.

The most recent video was posted on Sept. 26: “What I Do After A Breakup,” which has more than 12,000 views. Comments on the video highlight that Thomas appeared to be off.

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

October 2, 2024

Megan Thee Stallion ‘Nervous And Excited’ About New Documentary ‘In Her Words’

'In Her Words" debuts Oct. 31 on Amazon Prime.

Megan Thee Stallion is “nervous and excited” about getting candid for fans in her new Amazon Prime documentary.

The Grammy award-winning rapper took to Instagram on Monday to announce the release of Megan Thee Stallion: In Her Eyes, coming to Amazon Prime on Oct. 31.

“Hotties, my documentary is out Oct 31st💜 I’m nervous and excited for yall to see it butttt it’s finally here 🥹,” she captioned the post.

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A post shared by Megan Thee Stallion (@theestallion)

Emmy award-winning documentary director Nneka Onuorah’s effort offers fans an “unprecedented” glimpse into the life of the “Savage” rapper as she shares her story on her own terms, People reports.

“Follow the Houston native’s journey on the road to stardom as she tenaciously navigates fame, grief, pressure, and success. The documentary unpacks Megan’s most vulnerable moments in a powerful way that allows fans to meet the real Megan Pete,” according to the synopsis.

The documentary has much ground to cover, as Megan’s career has been marked by significant events since the release of her debut album, Good News in November 2020, just four months after the shooting incident with rapper Tory Lanez. Following a lengthy legal battle, including a high-profile two-week trial, Lanez was convicted of shooting Megan and sentenced to 10 years in prison in August 2023.

On the music front, Megan’s feature-length documentary follows the release of her self-titled third studio album, MEGAN. After a legal battle with her former labels, 1501 Entertainment and 300 Entertainment, in 2023 she dropped the album under her own independent label, Hot Girl Productions.

Onurah won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Reality Program for her work on Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls. Her other works include producing the television mini-series Truth Be Told and the Black Girls Rock awards show from 2011 to 2015.

by Daniel Johnson

October 2, 2024

Fresh Start Program Student Loan Program To End On Oct. 2

If you miss the deadline for Fresh Start, you can consolidate your federal loans or initiate the process of rehabilitation.

As BLACK ENTERPRISE previously reported, the Fresh Start Program was scheduled to end on Sept. 30, but the program was extended until Oct. 2 at 3:00 a.m. EST, giving borrowers one last chance to return their accounts to good standing if they have defaulted.

According to CNET, the U.S. Under Secretary of Education James Kvaal announced that the program’s original deadline had been slightly extended.

Extended deadline! Until tomorrow, borrowers with defaulted loans have one more chance to get back into good standing. It can take as little as 10 minutes.

Go to: https://t.co/DR4zdNKF6s https://t.co/KNNNRKQfwU
— James Kvaal (@UnderSecKvaal) September 30, 2024

Student loans are considered defaulted when a borrower has missed payments for at least 270 days. When your student loans are considered defaulted, you can no longer utilize loan forgiveness programs or other federal loan benefits.

In an amicus brief attached to a defense of President Joe Biden’s original student debt relief program, the Legal Defense Fund argued that post-pandemic defaults would be a disaster for Black and other historically disadvantaged groups.

“The foreseeable wave of delinquency and default would devastate individual lives and communities, with particularized harms for historically underserved groups: irrevocably damaging credit, garnishing wages that families badly need for basic necessities, and foreclosing additional educational opportunities and economic mobility,” the LDF wrote.

It continued, “[The Biden administration’s] plan will meaningfully ensure that millions of affected borrowers are not economically debilitated by the protracted and pernicious harms of COVID-19 that have thrown them into unprecedented levels of financial distress, including borrowers of color who bear a disproportionate share of the financial burdens arising from the pandemic.”

Once a loan has been placed in default status, a borrower usually has two choices to escape: student loan consolidation or rehabilitation, both of which could take several months to complete.

The Fresh Start program currently replaces rehabilitation and offers some additional assistance that rehabilitation doesn’t. Fresh Start moves your student loan from default to in-payment status and transfers the loan from the Default Resolution Group to a different loan servicer.

It also allows for an update to your credit history, removing the loan previously recorded as defaulted from your history. In addition, you also become eligible for loan forgiveness programs and have access to federal repayment plans like an income-driven repayment plan or the graduated plan.

According to Mark Kantrowitz, a financial expert, and CNET’s money expert reviewer, “The Fresh Start Initiative is the best opportunity for getting student loans out of default. [Borrowers] will receive credit for months in default … from March 2020 to the date they were no longer in default due to the Fresh Start initiative,” Kantrowitz told the outlet. “They also get credit for qualifying payments made prior to going into default.”

If you miss the deadline for Fresh Start, you can consolidate your federal loans or initiate the process of rehabilitation. Consolidating your loans may reset your payment count to zero, which means you could make payments for an additional 10-25 years before you are eligible for forgiveness.

Rehabilitation, like the Fresh Start program, will remove a loan placed in default from your credit report, but you must first make nine full payments in 10 months to receive its benefits.

Uncle Nearest , whiskey, fawn weaver, barriers business

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

October 2, 2024

Fawn Weaver Gives Sound Advice To Beyoncé And LeBron James On Entering The Whiskey Game

The Black woman behind the best-selling African American-founded spirit brand of all time is advising Beyoncé and LeBron James on entering the spirits industry.

The Black woman behind the best-selling African American-founded spirits brand of all time had just five words in response to Beyoncé and LeBron James entering the spirits industry: “Take all of their money.” Fawn Weaver, the CEO of Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey and Grant Sidney, Inc. (GSI), gladly welcomed Beyoncé and LeBron James into the Black-owned spirits sector.

On Tuesday, the serial entrepreneur and investor took to Instagram to post a video filmed at her Nearest Green Distillery in Shelbyville, Tennessee, advising the “King” and “Queen” on their spirits endeavors.

“So many of you have been asking me, how do I feel about Beyoncé’s new whiskey partnership with Moet Hennessy? And how do I feel about LeBron’s new Moet Hennessy partnership on Cognac? We all around these parts in Tennessee, we have nothing but love for the king and for our queen,” Weaver said while picking up two crowns.

“But since y ‘all are entering the industry, I do have one piece of advice if you would like to take it. Take all their money.”

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A post shared by Fawn Weaver (@fawn.weaver)

Weaver and her diverse cohorts then hopped on their horses and rode off into the sunset while Warren G’s “Regulate” played in the background. In her caption, she explained her mindset further as “big spirit conglomerates” partner with big-name celebrities to push new whiskey and cognac brands that might not necessarily be completely Black-owned.

“All love and respect. 🙏🏽 Welcome to two of the greatest industries in the world—American Whiskey and Cognac.” Weaver wrote.

“To my #Village who have expressed concern over the past few weeks about what you perceive as some of the big spirit conglomerates trying to slow the growth of @unclenearest: Fear not, as I certainly am not. 🙏🏽 They haven’t been able to, and they will never be able to because of YOU.”

Weaver continued. “And they will soon learn what you already know: We are not playing checkers. We are not playing chess. We are playing Go. Expanding territory for every future generation.”

The bold and fierce video message received praise from viewers who loved how Weaver supported Beyoncé and LeBron James on their new spirits brands instead of sending shade.

“Collaboration over Competition. There is enough $$$$ for everyone. No scarcity mindset here,” one supporter wrote.

“Take it all,” added someone else.

The “Love and Whiskey” author founded Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey in 2016 after learning about the previously unknown master whiskey distiller, Uncle Nearest, a formerly enslaved man who taught Jack Daniel how to make Tennessee whiskey. Since its inception, Uncle Nearest has raked in accolades, including becoming the fastest-growing American whiskey brand in U.S. history, the best-selling African American-founded spirits brand of all time, and the Most Awarded American Whiskey of 2021.

But now Weaver will be sharing her territory as Beyoncé continues to promote her newly launched SirDavis American Whiskey. The whiskey is named after her great-grandfather, Davis Hogue, a Prohibition-era moonshiner and farmer in the American South. The “Cuff It” singer recently hosted a star-studded launch party in Paris that she shared on Instagram.

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A post shared by Beyoncé (@beyonce)

The launch party came on the heels of Hennessy announcing its limited-edition collection of V.S. & V.S.O.P, titled “Hennessy Limited Editions by LeBron James.” The limited-edition bottles celebrate LeBron’s influence on and off the court through an artistic portrait of the basketball legend in purple and orange. The iconic Hennessy Bras Armé is also reimagined through a sleeve showcasing LeBron with his signature crown.

“As an admirer of Hennessy and its iconic brand, I’ve always appreciated its commitment to basketball and how it celebrates the sport’s influence on and off the court,” LeBron said in a statement.

“I was fortunate enough to visit the Maison in Cognac a while back, and seeing the care and craftsmanship that go into creating each bottle was pretty incredible. This collaboration represents a shared sense of dedication and discovery coming to life for everyone to enjoy.”