SHOPPE BLACK, Author at SHOPPE BLACK

Prairie View A&M University to launch Toni Morrison Writing Program

March 22, 2021

2 mins read

Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU) President Ruth J. Simmons announced today that a Toni Morrison Writing Program would be established at PVAMU in honor of the writer and her former student, MacKenzie Scott.

The philanthropist, who is also a writer, donated $50 million to the University in October 2020; $3 million of her gift will be designated to endow the Morrison Writing Program.

The Writing Program will include a Toni Morrison Writer-in-Residence. Appointed annually, a different writer each year will have a one-year visiting appointment at Prairie View, where that individual will offer a seminar in writing.

The Toni Morrison Writer-in-Residence will hold public readings of the writer’s work and that of other writers to bring visibility to the importance of writing and the legacy of African American writers, especially those educated at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Morrison was a graduate of Howard University, an HBCU in Washington, D.C.

Emma Joahanne Thomas-Smith, Ed.D., PVAMU provost emerita, will oversee the Toni Morrison Writing Program. With decades of experience in higher education, Thomas-Smith previously led the University’s Honors Program and the Department of English and Languages.

“Faculty and staff of both the University and area high schools will share in the activities of the program and benefit from the Writer-in-Residence and other artists representing the full range of literary genres,” shared Thomas-Smith.

In addition, the Toni Morrison Writing Program will sponsor a high school writing contest. The winner of the competition will receive a college scholarship.

Source: inForney

Main image photo by Deborah Feingold/Corbis via Getty Images)

Master P Now Focused On Owning An HBCU Instead of an NBA Team

March 13, 2021

1 min read

A few days ago, Master P (born Percy Miller) took to his Instagram account to announce his desire to own an HBCU.

“So, y’all know I always wanted to own an NBA team, but now I want to own an HBCU. It’s so important that we educate the culture. This message is all about educating our people,” he said during the video clip.

“I was shocked when I Googled who owned and founded HBCUs,” Miller said. “We can’t change the past but we can change the future by investing in the next generation. They going to have to sell some of these schools to us, or fund it the same way other major universities are funded.”

During the video, Miller expressed that he once had a desire to attend Southern University, an HBCU in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He encouraged others to join the movement to ensure that the nation’s historically Black colleges are able to offer proper education to our children.

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Tony O. Lawson

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Lumu, a Black Owned Cybersecurity Startup Just Raised $7.5 Million

March 11, 2021August 20, 2021

2 mins read

Lumu, a Black owned cybersecurity startup yesterday announced that it has closed its Series A round of funding for the amount of $7.5 million.

The Miami based company offers a cloud based service that offers a cloud-based service that helps companies continually scan and react to data compromises in real time. They not only help companies prevent breaches, they also allow them to automate their responses.

Lumu Founder and CEO, Ricardo Villadiego

Lumu launched in February 2020 and already has 1,300 enterprise customers. In just over 12 months, the company said it has analyzed more than 55 billion metadata records and detected more than 11 million cybersecurity threats.

The investment round was co-led by SoftBank Group Corp’s SB Opportunity Fund and Panoramic Ventures. ISS former CEO Tom Noonan and Palo Alto Networks former CEO Lane Bess, are also part of the round. Lumu also announced that Dr. Paul Judge, Managing Partner of Panoramic Ventures and a member of SB Opportunity Fund’s Investment Committee, has joined the company’s board.

lumu

“While attackers have become adept at covering their tracks once inside the network, they also must themselves use the network to move around, leaving trace remnants behind that become obscured amidst all the network noise. The LUMU solution was purpose-built to sift through massive amounts of network metadata in real-time, detect the telltale signals of compromise, and illuminate those network blind spots with pinpoint accuracy,” said Lumu CEO, Ricardo Villadiego.

The company intends to use the funds for sales and marketing initiatives, and additional research and development.

Villadiego previously founded Easy Solutions, which was part of a $2.8 billion acquisition by Cyxtera in 2017.

Tony O. Lawson

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New Goldman Sachs Initiative To Invest $10 Billion In Black Women Over The Next 10 years.

March 10, 2021

2 mins read

Goldman Sachs has announced plans for its One Million Black Women (OMBW) initiative, a $10 billion investment in support of Black women over the next 10 years. The initiative is named for and guided by the organization’s goal of impacting the lives of at least one million Black women by 2030.

This is the largest ever investment to focus exclusively on Black women.

Speaking exclusively with ESSENCE, Goldman Sachs’ CEO David Solomon said, “Given all that’s happened over the course of the last year, we’ve done a lot of talking at the firm—and even more listening—to help us figure out how we can do more to end the racial inequity and the gaps that have existed in society for well too long.”

He added, “What we’re trying to do is to set up the infrastructure, the commitment, and the resources to have something that’s sustainable over a long period of time to really make a difference. If after six months from now people are going to say, ‘Okay, where’s the beef,’ the response is going to be, ‘We’re just getting started.’ There’s a tendency with these things for companies to make an announcement and then for it to fade away. If we had said $500 million, we would have done some good things for a year, but it wouldn’t have the tangible impact that we’re really trying to have… Impact comes with sustained effort over a long period of time. We’re very prepared for that.”

According to Margaret Anadu, Global head of sustainability and impact for Asset Management, “How we hire women, how we retain women, how we promote women, how we invest in their companies—this is a massive cultural issue with deep roots.”

Read the full story from Essence, here.

Africa Focused Flutterwave Now Valued at Over $1 Billion after $170 Million Investment

March 10, 2021March 10, 2021

1 min read

Founded in 2016, Flutterwave is a payment processing company that makes it easier to do business across the Continent by allowing users to make international payments in their own currencies.

Yesterday, the San Fransico based company announced that it has secured $170 million from a group of international investors as part of a successful Series C round.

The round was led by growth-equity firms Avenir Growth Capital and Tiger Global Management with participation from new and existing investors. The fundraise brings the total investment in Flutterwave to $225 million and values the company at $1 billion.

“We may consider the possibility of listing in New York or a possible dual listing in New York and Nigeria,” Flutterwave’s CEO and co-founder Olugbenga Agboola told Reuters on Tuesday.

This latest investment, made a year after Flutterwave announced a partnership with Visa and Worldpay, highlights the growing interest in the booming payments market in Africa.

Tony O. Lawson

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Black Woman Becomes First Boxer Ever To Become Undisputed Champ in Two Weight Classes

March 9, 2021

2 mins read

On Friday, March 5th, Claressa Shields became the first fighter, man or woman, to win an undisputed championship in two weight classes. She is now the unified WBC, WBO, IBF & WBA Super Junior Middleweight World Champion.

Claressa Shields

Shields (11-0, 2 KOs) said she was happy to have accomplished her latest piece of history in front of her family and friends in Flint, even if the pandemic meant a lot fewer fans in attendance.

Claressa Shields, left, defeated Marie-Eve Dicaire to become the undisputed junior middleweight champion. AP Photo/Carlos Osorio

“With Covid, we couldn’t have a full capacity. There are 300 here and that’s the capacity of the day, so we have a full house. We couldn’t have full capacity, but I know if we could have, we would have had 6000 people in here. I’m happy to have been able to do it here (in Flint). I started boxing here at Berston Fieldhouse at 11 years old. Never in a million years did I think I’d be on pay-per-view and fighting for an undisputed title and be one of the biggest stars in boxing. I just wanted to win an Olympic Gold medal. God has given me two Olympic medals. I have 12 championship belts now. It doesn’t feel real to say undisputed twice.”

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She has definitely earned the right to call herself GWOAT, “Greatest Woman of All Time”.

-Tony O. Lawson

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Verzuz Acquired By Triller, Equity To Be Shared With Performers

March 9, 2021March 9, 2021

2 mins read

Verzuz, the popular livestream music platform created by producers Timbaland and Swizz Beatz, has been acquired by Triller Network, the parent company of the Triller app.

Triller boasts more than 300 million users and premium content like the Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. fight, with a number of tech innovations related to advertising.

Financial details of the deal are undisclosed but it was announced that Timbaland and Swizz Beatz are now “larger shareholders” in the Triller Network, and that they have allocated “a portion of their equity in the Triller VERZUZ combined company to all 43 creatives who have performed on VERZUZ to date.”

Verzuz was launched in March 2020 as an Instagram Live series. Since then, the platform established integrations with Apple Music and Twitter and has boosted sales and streams for its featured artists.

Some of the artists becoming shareholders in Triller Network, including John Legend, DMX, Alicia Keys, 2 Chainz, Rick Ross, Too $hort, Patti LaBelle, Gucci Mane, Jeezy, E-40, Bounty Killer, D’Angelo, Ludacris, RZA, Nelly, Gladys Knight, T-Pain, Lil Jon, Jill Scott, 112, Kirk Franklin and many others.

In a joint statement, Timbaland and Swizz Beatz said, “By putting Verzuz in the Triller Network ecosystem and expanding the Verzuz brand to be side by side with the powerful Triller app, we will be able to continue to grow and evolve the music business as a whole, as we have been doing.”

Verzuz has also expanded into sports with its recent NFL collaboration, NFL Pro Bowl Verzuz. Future plans include more sport verticals as well as ventures into comedy and live events.

-Tony O. Lawson

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Best Friends Create The First Black Owned Bread Brand

March 8, 2021March 8, 2021

2 mins read

The search for a Black owned bread brand is officially over! Charles Alexander, Mark Edmond, and Jamel Lewis, three childhood friends from the southside of Chicago, have launched The Black Bread Co.

black owned bread company — Charles Alexander (from left), Mark Edmond, and Jamel Lewis, the founders of The Black Bread Company,

The inspiration for the company came after Mark tried, unsuccessfully, to find a Black owned bread brand on the shelves of his local grocery store.

“My wife gave me a grocery list, [and] at the top of the list was bread,” he said. “I wanted to buy everything that was Black-owned, and this huge bread aisle had absolutely no Black-owned bread. I literally was in the aisle for 35 minutes. Out of frustration, I left.”

Building on each other’s business skills, they were able to determine their company design, logo, create a website, select whole ingredients for their sliced bread, and hire a co-packer to help launch The Black Bread Company.

They went through numerous rounds of testing to make sure the bread was just right.

“There’s a certain level of pressure that comes when you’re starting something that’s never been done before,” Alexander said. “And the pressure for us was to make sure we got it right, and so we really took our time with the entire process.”

They currently offer honey wheat bread and premium white sliced bread but are looking forward to adding more products such as hot dog and hamburger buns, multi-grain bread, and brioche.

Since the company’s soft launch in February, it has received over 1,200 orders. They currently offer products online nationwide through pre-order. A bi-weekly or monthly subscription to the “Private Bread Club” is also available.

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If you’re in the Chicagoland area, you can also buy in store at Dill Pickle Food Co-Op in Logan Square and the Sugar Beet Co-Op in Oak Park.

Source: 6ABC News

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Black Owned FinTech Firm To Disburse $2 Billion in COVID Relief Grants

March 8, 2021March 8, 2021

6 mins read

Back in November of 2020, Lendistry, a Black owned Fintech firm was selected to administer $500 million in grants to small businesses, nonprofits, and cultural institutions impacted by the pandemic across California.

After successfully disbursing the grants on behalf of the California Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant Program, Lendistry has now been tasked with administering quadruple that amount, to the tune of $2.075 billion.

Lendistry will provide grants ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 for qualified small businesses and nonprofits, with $50 million allocated specifically for California nonprofit cultural institutions.

“The demand for funding has been immense, with small businesses and nonprofits reaching out for relief and support as they endure through this pandemic,” said Everett K. Sands, Lendistry’s founder and CEO. “During the initial funding rounds, we successfully connected small businesses and nonprofits with grants across all 58 counties in California, and we’re eager to use our platform to swiftly deploy this critical, additional funding so business owners can keep their lights on and serve their communities during this trying time.”

The latest round of funding was recently approved by the California legislature, and the relief program is being administered by California’s Office of the Small Business Advocate (CalOSBA), part of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz).

According to a recent press release, since the launch of the initial funding rounds more than 40,000 grantees have been selected to move forward, more than 350,000 grant applications have been successfully submitted, and 87% of selected applicants represent underserved and disadvantaged small businesses.

Demand for grant funding has far surpassed supply, and this latest financing for small business relief presents an additional and necessary opportunity for eligible applicants still seeking support.

The new funding will be distributed in four additional rounds, beyond the initial funding rounds Lendistry has already completed, in the following order:

New Funding Rounds:

Round 3 (waitlisted from Rounds 1 and 2): Friday, March 5th through Thursday, March 11th, 2021

- Eligible applicants: This is a closed round and only available to eligible applicants who were waitlisted in Rounds 1 and 2 – only existing applicants will be selected. If you were waitlisted, you do not need to reapply. New applications will not be accepted in this round.
- Eligible grant award: $5,000 to $25,000
- Details: This is a closed funding round; no new applications will be accepted

Round 4 (nonprofit cultural institutions only): Tuesday, March 16th through Tuesday, March 23rd, 2021

- - Eligible applicants: Only nonprofit cultural institutions with any revenue size that meet eligibility criteria found at CAReliefGrant.com
  - Eligible grant award: $5,000 – $25,000
  - Details: Eligible nonprofit cultural institutions must complete a new application even if they already applied in Rounds 1 and 2; grants will only be available to nonprofits that did not receive funding in Rounds 1, 2 or 3; grants will be prioritized based on the documented percentage revenue declines based on a reporting period comparing Q2 and Q3 of 2020 versus Q2 and Q3 of 2019

Round 5: Thursday, March 25th through Wednesday, March 31st

- Eligible applicants: current waitlisted small businesses and nonprofits not selected in Rounds 1, 2, or 3 and new applicants that meet eligibility criteria found at CAReliefGrant.com
- Eligible grant award: $5,000 – $25,000
- Details: Applicants not selected to receive a grant in Rounds 1, 2, & 3 do not need to reapply as they will be automatically moved into Round 5. New applicants will need to apply at CAReliefGrant.com

Round 6: Date to be announced soon

- Eligible applicants: current waitlisted small businesses and/or nonprofits not selected in Rounds 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 and new applicants that meet eligibility criteria found at CAReliefGrant.com
- Eligible grant award: $5,000 – $25,000
- Details: Applicants not selected to receive a grant in Rounds 1, 2, 3 & 5 do not need to re-apply and will be automatically moved into Round 6. New applicants will need to apply at CAReliefGrant.com

Lendistry is again providing application assistance through its statewide network of partners, consisting of fellow mission-based financial institutions, small business advisory and technical assistance providers, and State-supported small business centers to facilitate the application process in multiple languages and formats.

Grants will not be issued on a first-come, first-served basis and will be awarded after the close of each application round.

For funding rounds focused on small businesses and nonprofits (3, 5, & 6) the funding for California small businesses and nonprofits will again prioritize regions and industries impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, disadvantaged communities, and underserved small business groups.

For application assistance and more information on application deadlines, grant requirements, and eligibility, please visit CAReliefGrant.com.

Black Veteran Owned Eyewear Brand Inspires You To Pursue Your Vision

March 4, 2021August 20, 2021

2 mins read

SWAV Eyewear is a Black-owned inspirational eyewear brand that sells stylish sunglasses & frames to inspire you to never give up on the vision you have for your life.

SWAV is the world’s first inspirational eyewear company that creates products with a purpose.

The origin of the company began in 2011. While serving in the United States Air Force, company founder, Isaiah Fowler contracted malaria and almost died. He was in the ICU for nearly two weeks fighting for his life. It was then and there that he made a vow that if he survived, he would pursue his dreams fearlessly.

The company has been going strong since 2017 and has now launched its second collection of eyewear, the Trailblazer Collection.

With this new collection, the company is on a mission to illustrate what being a Trailblazer is all about. The gold quote located on the inside of the frames is a reminder to “Be The First.”

SWAV Eyewear