SHOPPE BLACK, Author at SHOPPE BLACK

$80Mil and no Will? Here’s why I’m not surprised that Aretha Franklin didn’t have a will.

August 23, 2018August 23, 2018

7 mins read

We lost our beloved Aretha a week ago and, in addition to grieving the loss of the Queen of Soul, we are dumbfounded that she has a purported estate worth $80 million and no will.

As an estate planning attorney, I am not surprised that Ms. Franklin did not have a will. Seventy percent of Americans do not have wills. Why would someone with an abundance of wealth be any different from the rest of us?

One possibility is that Ms. Franklin had similar misgivings about our legal system as our other legend, Prince, who also did not have a will. In fact, lots of people have a significant distrust of the legal system. The Black community has especially great cause for mistrusting a system plagued by systemic racism.

Another possibility is that Ms. Franklin believed that her estate, despite the size, was simple. She was not married and had four kids as her heirs. They will each receive a one-fourth share of her estate. That’s simple. Yet another possibility, one that I often hear from people I educate about estate planning, is that planning for your death will hasten your death, i.e. if you talk about it, it will happen.

Any one of us who uses the aforementioned reasons as an excuse for not creating an estate plan is simply demeaning ourselves, whether we are wealthy or not, whether we are a celebrity or everyday person.

Systemic racism definitely exists in our legal system. The rationale that you should not have an estate plan because of this is actually ironic because, in failing to create a customized plan for yourself, you ensure that same system will dictate what happens to you and your stuff. Boom! For those of us who believe we have simple lives that don’t necessitate hiring a lawyer to create an estate plan, this is simply not true.

I have seen many “simple” or small estates become incredibly complex because our laws are not simple and a lot expense and conflict come up just because there was not a customized plan. And, finally, there is no proof that talking about or planning for your death will make it happen. I have never heard of anyone who has lived longer because they chose not to have a will.

So, protect yourself and your assets by getting an estate plan. A typical estate plan can cost less than $1,000 for single person and sometimes for a couple. If you pay way less or way more, you should probably consider the quality of what you are getting. The process should take 1-2 months or less. I usually meet with my clients to discuss their goals. Then I draft the documents and we meet a second time to sign them.

If they have questions or changes in between we discuss them. The documents you should have in your estate plan include documents that help while you are alive and documents for after you pass. Financial and healthcare power of attorney documents allow you to appoint someone to make decisions on your behalf while you are alive.

A “living will” is actually a healthcare directive in which you decide whether or not your life should be artificially prolonged if you are in a vegetative state or have a terminal, incurable condition. A will, on the other hand, is a document that appoints the person to settle your affairs when you die and allows you to decide who gets your assets and how.

Now, people are shocked that Aretha and Prince did not have wills. They had way more money than most of us, and they definitely had way more money than the estate tax threshold, which is around $11.18 million. So their estates will be taxed at approximately fifty percent (50%). A trust would have saved most if not all of those millions of dollars that our government will get. Trusts are also beneficial for planning for Medicaid assistance and for protecting family real estate over many generations. Black land ownership peaked in the 1920s and continues to decline because of that good ole racism, but also because of no estate plans.

I discuss each of the documents in an estate plan in this article on Shoppe Black. If you are still not convinced you need a will or power of attorney documents, then do one simple piece of research for me. Google the person in charge of estates in the county where you live.

This may be the clerk of superior court or probate magistrate. Find the currently serving person for where you live. Take a long look at them and ask yourself if you want them to be the person making the decisions about you or your estate. I think most of us will determine that we do not!

– Contributed by Mavis Gragg

Mavis Gragg is an attorney at the Gragg Law Firm, PLLC in Durham, North Carolina where she specializes in estate planning and estate administration. She is very passionate about maintaining and growing Black wealth through sound legal strategies and problem solving. When she is not being a justice girl, she can be found at an art gallery, trotting the globe, or on the dance floor.

SY Smith is THE Hardest Working Indie Artist in Show Business

August 23, 2018November 7, 2019

39 mins read

I’m going to go on and say it: Sy Smith is the hardest working indie artist in show business. Full stop.

Okay, to clarify of course there are a tremendous amount of uber talented grinders, movers and shakers out here on the independent music scene. You’ve got to be if you’re going to have a career in entertainment. So I use this distinction to make a point about this multi-hyphenated global trendsetting diva-singer-songwriter-producer extraordinaire.

We met over fifteen years ago in Los Angeles when she was gaining momentum as an unsigned a singer. In significant ways, she is one of the pioneers of the Indie Soul Movement that came about during the early 2000s, before there was even a movement.

That’s probably why she’s been dubbed “the Queen of Underground Soul.” About a year after the release of her first EP, a mutual friend introduced me to Sy Smith during her monthly showcase at a coffee shop called Lucy Florence in Leimert Park, near where I grew up. I’ve since marveled at how far Sy has come as the master of her fate truly realizing that the world is her oyster.

Long gone are the nights of slinging CDs from the back of her Ford Explorer after gigs at Temple Bar. These days she is the definition of “jetsetter” while on a never-ending world tour as a world-class entertainer in demand. A featured vocalist with Grammy Award-winning pop instrumentalist Chris Botti, with whom you can see her in the August 18th episode of PBS’ Great Performances, Sy exemplifies Diana Ross pomp-and-circumstance.

Botti’s sensational band sells out a residency at The Blue Note every Christmas season in New York City, which is how I know for sure that I can put Sy Smith and Diana Ross in the same sentence. You’ll also find her on stage with Sheila E. or her father, the legendary Pete Escovedo. She’s been featured in tributes to Ella Fitzgerald at Carnegie Hall (which I also saw and was blown away by) and the Kennedy Center.

She’s often in the studio with some of the illest cats to pick up instruments. Her tour credits read like a Who’s Who of notable musical artists across genre. She’s on local radio stations while her music plays on the Music Choice R&B Soul cable channel. Nevermind trying to keep up with Carmen Sandiego or figure out where Waldo is, Sy Smith is the one to follow!

As if her plate wasn’t already jam-packed with delicious opportunity, Sy is currently underway with her own national tour to promote her fifth studio album Sometimes A Rose Will Grow In Concrete. Released in February under her own label, Psyko! Records, SRWGC is receiving critical acclaim as Sy’s finest work.

It also marks the first album of her catalogue that was completely written and produced by the multi-talented artist, who is also an actress having appeared on stage, television and in film. Thoughtful and compelling as a musical storyteller, Sy is seen as a “21st century Roberta Flack” with the range of Minnie Riperton because of her whimsical mastery of singing, songwriting and hypnotizing her Syberspace audience.

Shoppe Black: So, the first quote that I’ll use to shape the interview is from the song “Moonlight” on Jay-Z’s 4:44 album:

“Y’all niggas still signin’ deals? Still? After all they done stole, for real? After what they done to our Lauryn Hill? And y’all niggas is ‘posed to be trill? That’s real talk when you behind on your taxes, and you pawned all your chains, and they run off with your masters, and took it to Beverly Hills while we in Calabasas, and my head is scratchin’ ’cause that shit is backwards.”

Can you talk about your very first (and only if I’m not mistaken) recording deal, and how it shaped your emergence as an independent artist starting your own label?

Sy Smith: My first record deal came about by accident, really. I was shopping around my writer’s catalog in pursuit of a publishing deal but everyone who heard it thought it was a demo. After months and months of telling people, “No! I’m a writer, not a recording artist…” I finally just decided to embrace it when Hollywood Records offered me the [record] deal. My experience there was eye-opening to say the least.

I learned a lot about how Black artists are treated (or mistreated) when the machine involved has completely segregated the “urban” acts. I learned how even the slightest bit of political speech from Black people is considered threatening and inappropriate by the white folks who run things.

I really learned a lot. But, most importantly, I learned to stay true to my vision of who I am, even if it means the rug will be pulled out from under me. I learned how to fly alone. My independent spirit probably wouldn’t be what it is without my experience as a signed artist.

SB: Speaking of Lauryn Hill, she gets a lot of shade these days from every direction (and justifiably so, to be clear)! But if there’s one thing that Ms. Hill has always had a knack for since the ‘90s, it’s dropping science and pearls of wisdom. She once said: “I had to confront my fears and master my every demonic thought about inferiority, insecurity, or the fear of being Black, young, and gifted in this Western culture.”

In your personal thought process, do you acknowledge your own limitations as a barrier to what you are further able to accomplish? Or use them as motivation to move past/around the perceived limitation?

Sy: What limitations?? LOL. Just kidding. I think I am pretty pragmatic about how I pursue my goals, even if the goals themselves seem lofty. I’ve never met a challenge that I didn’t see through to completion. At least none that I can think of. Sometimes though, I might say to myself, “This is something you can do. You’ll just need to put it away and learn more about it before you come back to it.” And then I’ll do just that.

I think I’m so used to people looking at me and making assumptions about what I can or can’t do… seems like I’ve made it my life’s work to prove people wrong [professionally, as an indie artist]. That’s kinda what Black Girl Magic is though, right?

SB: Diana Ross, one of your iconic heroes, said about chasing dreams: “You can’t just sit there and wait for people to give you that golden dream. You’ve got to get out there and make it happen for yourself.”

What are the most challenging (as well as gratifying) business decisions you’ve had to make as an entrepreneur?

Sy: Well, the most challenging was probably after my record deal was a wrap and I needed to decide whether or not I was going to continuing pursuing a career as a recording artist. I was jaded AF. I was depressed, chronically so. I was fed up. But I also had a story to tell. I had things I wanted to say, and I felt like I had a unique point of view. So I decided to release an EP back in 2001 [ entitled One Like Me].

That decision sparked the indie artist in me, long before there was an independent soul movement or anything. And that was one of the most gratifying business decisions I’ve ever made – the decision to take my music into my own hands, and release it on my own terms…

For every one of us [entrepreneurs] who do what we do, there are so many people who go to work everyday at jobs that they hate. It sounds strange when there’s an entire world for us. They’re afraid, and won’t leave their cities. The fear is taught, and we’re taught to be complacent [instead of following that entrepreneurial spirit].

SB: Michelle Obama famously said, “When they go low, we go high!” But she also encourages: “We as women, we have to understand that we know more, just even instinctively, than we think we do.”

How do you know where and when to draw the line? (In several contexts: draw the line with people demanding things of you; draw the line in knowing that it’s time to rest and having to turn down opportunity; draw the line with executing decisiveness as a businesswoman, or in any other instance.)

Sy: It’s really simple for me. Whenever something doesn’t FEEL good to me anymore, I stop doing it. Whenever something doesn’t feel “right,” I don’t do it. Being grown has taught me the beauty of “No” and I relish in that shit. Like, my default answer used to be “Yes” to everything. I thought that made me someone who’s easy to work with. Someone who works well with others.

Someone who people will call back for more all the time… But really, “Yes” to everything just burns you out faster. So, yeah, I take my time processing these days and say “No” without packing my bags for a guilt trip. And that came with experience. Growing up and maturing. My body was falling apart until I learned how to say “No,” and relish what “No” means for me in the long run.

SB: Another fabulous badass bawse and global trendsetter is Bozoma Saint John (Chief Marketing Officer at Endeavor Global Marketing) who has said, “I love sleep so much. That’s the one thing I won’t sacrifice. I really cannot.” She’s also commented on how great of a nap-taker she is, and how she’ll take a nap just about anywhere.

How do you manage and negotiate constantly being on the road with self-care. Does your ongoing travel affect your health and wellness? What impact does it have on your relationship with your husband (actor/director Shawn Carter Peterson), loved ones, or Djinji (her just-as-famous Red Standard Poodle)?

Sy: I wish I could take naps. My husband takes a nap everyday like a kindergartner and I can’t stand him for it! LOL! I’ve suffered from bouts of insomnia for as long as I can remember remembering, and it can border on debilitating if not checked. I’ve just been trying to consciously live a healthier life–mentally and physically.

For the last two years, I’ve been using an app called “Headspace” for a 10-minute daily meditation. I do this meditation every single day, usually at night right before I go to bed. Meditating like this is working wonders for my mind. I’m almost mad at myself for not having done this sooner!

As far as navigating my career and my family, you know… it’s just a matter of us both consciously checking in with each other. We do this especially when I’m home, in the mornings over morning coffee. We just sit and talk about stuff going on in our lives. And then it’s like, BOOM! We do a mental fist bump and we get back to work.

Sometimes we do impromptu things like meet for lunch or we take Djinji for walks together around the neighborhood or at the park… It’s all a matter of making that conscious effort to check in. And that meditation is also a mode of checking in. Only, it’s with myself.

Exercise and biking a lot helps me sleep late at night, as well. Until I had a big health scare, I was just allowing myself to suffer, and I learned from that experience. You HAVE to take care of your body, whatever that means. Balance is very important. You can’t do that [neglect yourself] for long periods of time and expect your body to hold up. [But that] means something different to every person.

SB: You are regarded as the Queen of Underground Soul, and the Queen of Media, Oprah Winfrey, states: “Challenges are gifts that force us to search for a new center of gravity. Don’t fight them. Just find a different way to stand.”

How do you deal with disappointments and challenges (either professional or, sometimes even more devastating, personal), and still be able to keep going (showing up on stage/in public as your full self each day)?

Sy: Man, I still don’t know the answer to this. Sometimes I look back on my performances and think, “That show was two days after Aunt Rita passed away.” Or “This video was shot the same day I found out that I needed emergency surgery.” Or something like that. And I wonder how I even made it through. But there’s something about the stage for me… When I’m on it, everything else around me in the world disappears, and it’s just that room and the people in it that exist. For that moment, we are the entire world.

I think that’s how it’s always been for me when it comes to performing. After performances though, when I return to life… I love hard, I grieve hard, I feel HARD. Which makes showing up in public a whole ‘nother show. That’s the part that can become thoroughly exhausting… being “on” even when you kinda don’t want to be. I think that’s why I am happy with how my career has turned out thus far.

I’m not a household name, and that’s okay with me. Means I can be anonymous to an extent and still enjoy the world. It’s no fun when TMZ shows up with cameras after shit like a dentist appointment to ask you a bunch of questions about a TV show you have nothing to do with (true story).

SB: Now for some fun questions! Your life in 5 movie titles! Choose a film that reflects each time period of your life: Your formative years (coming of age); Your HU days (You know!); Your early career/moving to LA; Your current chapter as a professional entertainer; and, your retirement.

Sy: First, this is a HARD question! Second, I really did have fun with it.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off: My coming of age was really about taking the reins and determining what my life was going to be. Whether I was going to live for me or live for my parents …which this movie speaks to in a way. It’s also about taking chances and being able to deal with the consequences. Definitely my coming of age title… Am I gonna sit around and suffer and live up to my dad’s expectations???

I really identified with that moment. [The characters] did have some pressure [from their parents]. It took some time [as an undergraduate] to figure out what I was going to do, and I had some coming of age moments with my family, especially with my dad. When I said I wasn’t going to grad school… Mom was a clinical social worker (among other things), with her own private practice. My dad’s Masters is in sociology… Behavioral Science was an easy choice because that was what my parents did. I excelled at it, but it wasn’t something I wanted to pursue.

The Wiz: I didn’t want to say School Daze because that wasn’t my HU experience. My life at Howard University was like being ejected from the world I know (though not unexpectedly) and coming into this completely new world that seemed a little foreign, at first, but quickly became familiar to me. I gained this motley crew of friends from all walks of (Black) life. And we followed our own yellow brick roads to graduation where that big voice boomed from the loudspeakers conferring upon us our diplomas, confirming that we’d completed our goals. Plus, song and dance numbers were regular occurrences at HU. LOL!

Go! : This movie reminds me of my early days in L.A. in a couple of ways. I first watched it during that time in my life, of course. But also, I kind of hit the ground running when I moved here, and in this movie, the main character is living kind of a mundane life when all of a sudden she’s forced to get moving, quickly. She improvises a lot to make things work out in the end, hilariously sometimes and dangerously sometimes. Which I think I did too. We make dangerous decisions when we’re young because we’re too naïve to be afraid. When I got to California, bam! I was on my own… I refused to call home and ask for money, so I hit the ground running.

(Sy also explains that she’s never had a full-time nine-to-five, except for a few months on Capitol Hill right after finishing her degree at Howard. Other than temping with an agency during her first few weeks in L.A., she’s been on the winding, upward hill as an indie artist.)

PeeWee’s Big Adventure: Sometimes my life seems pretty surreal, just like this movie. And the things I experience, not many people would believe ever really happened. Like in this movie. LOL! But it’s still the best ride I could ever have. Plus, the score of this Big Adventure is awesome. I think it would be the perfect score to my life. …Like one time with [trumpeter Chris] Botti, we had a show in Italy, a wedding reception at a castle in Tuscany. When we landed he was like, “We should go to [rock legend] Sting’s house…” In PWBA, he does really ridiculous stuff, but in a good way!

Big: I think when I retire, I’ll turn into a kid in a grown person’s body. I’ll try to do all the things I wanted to do, which will likely look childish to most grown people. But there’s a part of me that will never really grow up. I want to do leisurely things. I just want to go to the amusement park, because I can’t go today. Six Flags… Universal Studios… on a rainy Wednesday when all the children are at school, and get on rides with Shawn.

SB: Favorite Podcasts: I know you’re into them big time, particularly during flights or on the tour bus.

I live for true crime podcasts these days. This happened after that first season of Serial. I love these other podcasts: Undisclosed, Criminal, Sword And Scale, In The Dark, Suspect Convictions. There was a limited series called Dirty John, which was amazing. I also love This American Life, and Snap Judgment – both of which are storytelling type podcasts. And the science geek in me lives for RadioLab! For lighter moods, I just started listening to a podcast called Denzel Washington Is the Greatest Actor Of All Time Period with W. Kamau Bell. It’s pretty funny too.

SB: Apps you can’t live without (either that you love to indulge in, or that need to keep your demanding life efficient and moving forward)

Sy: “Words With Friends” cause I’m a beast. LOL! All the airline apps that I use – because, boarding passes. “Mobile Pass” for getting back into the U.S. without waiting in those long lines at immigration/customs. It will get you the same entry as Global Entry, but it’s free.

You have to be on WiFi [by purchasing it on the airplane] two hours before you land, and fill out the mobile pass while you’re online. “Headspace” for daily meditation. [It helps with] consciously making an effort to live in a healthy way. This is a circumstance where technology helps me get grounded. It’s like doing pushups, and you have to practice on focusing. But it helps me be mindful of what my mind is doing. All of the processes that go on in our mind, we really can take control of them.

SB: Whitney (who you’ve toured with), Michael and Prince. What has each taught you about being true to yourself in this industry, as an entertainer, as a creator, AND in terms of ownership?

Sy: Whitney, Michael and Prince all had a certain strength about them. They carried enormous loads, single-handedly, for many years and we never heard them publicly complain. They were fighters. They fought for ALL of us, but especially for Black entertainers. And they represented a spirit of freedom and liberation, especially as Prince and Michael got older, that I can really appreciate now.

These are the things I learned from them: How to maintain my freedom in an industry that literally wants us to work for free. And not only maintain ownership of things like masters, but ownership of my being – being self-defined in a world that feels like it can define me by my gender and ethnicity alone. I am a Black woman, yes. And that in itself is a damn GRAND being to be. But I’m so much more than even that. I fully and gladly embrace that truth.

(The conversation takes a sidebar with Sy recalling the moment she met Prince backstage at the Great Western Forum in 2011, where he was performing his “Twenty-One Night Stand/Welcome To America” tour. She was a part of Sheila E’s band, which was opening that night, and had stepped out of the green room for a moment. Sy would return to the room with Prince encircled by the family entourage as Sheila intimately made introductions. Stunned, she introduced herself to Prince, who replied, “I know who you are. I love your work.”

This led the discussion to how Prince was quietly and consistently stanning for Black singers, like Shelby J, Liv Warfield, Judith Hill and several others, for years. We then shifted to Michael Jackson and how, though his physical appearance was always in question throughout his life, he always celebrated Blackness, most notably with the “Remember The Time” video choreographed by veteran dancer Fatima Robinson. Sy reflects, “They [Whitney, Prince and Michael] owned their Blackness. You could really see it on display as they got older. But us, their audience getting older, we also had to recognize it.”)

SB: You’re touring all over the world, very much living a glamorous life–by all accounts. But there’s also something very charming and relatable about the love you share for your home in South Los Angeles with Shawn and Djinji. You’ve posted moments of dressing up for Halloween and passing out candy to the neighborhood children. Your wedding was in your backyard where you also host legendary cookouts for friends and family. You relish serene hikes in Kenneth Hahn Park not far from where you live. I also remember reading about your ancestral home in Tennessee called “Promise Land.” If I may quote you: “And now, thanks to my mother Serina Gilbert, who gave me 5 acres of property here in this Promise Land, this legacy will continue through me and my other relatives who still remain there.”

Something about this made me think of Master P’s interludes on Solange’s A Seat At The Table. He reminisces:

“…To being able to make Forbes and come from the projects. You know, ‘Top 40 Under 40,’ which they said couldn’t be done… Had twenty records on the top Billboard at one time. For an independent company. Black-owned company…! …You know, going to the white lady’s house where my grandmother lived at, and saying, ‘Look, you don’t have to work here no more Big Mama! We got more money than the people on St. Charles Street.’”

Contextualize what it means to have established the home that you share in L.A. and the home that you’re building in Promise Land? Especially as a Black woman who happens to be a professional independent artist.

Every time I walk into our modest backyard here in L.A., I think to myself, “Man! We have LAND in Los Angeles!” As modest as our 108-year old home is, there is something big about that. And I know it because everybody and their mama wants some of this ground. If they didn’t, real estate prices wouldn’t be soaring as they are.

But bigger than real estate, there is this: The idea of owning a little piece of the world for a little piece of time, and going down in the archives as one of the owners of this little house. I love the idea of being archived in this way, of being a small part of this history. For as long as this nation will exist and the history of it, Shawn and I will have a tiny little piece of history in those archives and that’s important.

A similar feeling is evoked when I think of the land my mother has given me in Tennessee. This is part of the same land my ancestors worked on, bled on, birthed on, learned on, built on–for more than 150 years! And now, by the grace of God and the fierce intelligence/foresight of my mom, I have a piece of it. I can’t explain the feeling of taking my shoes off and running around barefoot on my plot, which is just a huge field of grass and wildflowers next door to the historic one-room schoolhouse that my ancestors built in the early 1900s to educate themselves (even my mother attended Promise Land School).

But it’s the epitome of being GROUNDED. Barefoot on your own ground. That your ancestors passed on to you! A connection to something so much bigger. This is what ownership is. It’s a connection to something way bigger than money. It’s a connection to history. People are always telling Black folk to leave the history in the past. “Why don’t you just move on?” they say. We’re always scolded, “Can’t you just forget about it and move on?” We’re [literally] taught to leave it in the past; it’s all about now.

But it’s also telling us that we shouldn’t own our history. While at the same time, they build MONUMENTS and parks to their heroes and their history. Highways and entire circles with statues that we have to drive around. They don’t care if we move on or not, but they do care if we OWN our history. They don’t want that. Ownership means we can build monuments too. I’m proud to be an owner in Promise Land. That piece of Tennessee is a monument to my entire family. As small as it is, it’s huge to me. It’s huge to my family.

Keep up with Sy online!

FB: facebook.com/sysmithmusic

Twitter: @syberspace

IG: @syberspace

Website: www.sysmith.com

Online store: http://syberspace.bigcartel.com

Mai Perkins is Cali girl in a Bed Stuy world, with several blogs under her belt including Uberlicious.nyc and MaiOnTheMove.com. She is a contributing writer for the music publication Pop-Mag.com, and has written for Relevant and Bust Magazine. With an MFA in Creative Writing from Sarah Lawrence College, and an MA in International Affairs from The New School, she reps her beloved alma mater, Howard University, every chance she gets. As a poet and a non-fiction writer, she has just published her first manuscript, The Walking Nerve-Ending, available now on Amazon & Kindle.

Insta: @flymai16

Twitter: @flymai on Twitter

Nail Salon Brawls & Boycotts: Unpacking The Black-Asian Conflict In America

August 23, 2018August 23, 2018

13 mins read

As early as I can remember, my dad, an immigrant from Taiwan, would nonchalantly use the term 黑鬼 (hēi guǐ), Mandarin for “black ghost” and essentially the Chinese equivalent of the n-word, to refer to Black people.

From a young age, I understood that the racial discrimination perpetuated against Black people in this country was mirrored in the sentiments of members of my community — a community that also faces intolerance in this country.

There have been ways in which this racial divide has been represented by the victimization of Asians, from coverage of the 1992 Los Angeles riots to reports of targeted attacks against Asians by Black people. It could be argued that the violence is mutual, but in reality, the Asian community and Asian-owned businesses have much responsibility to bear when it comes to anti-Black violence.

On Friday, August 3, a dispute over an eyebrow wax became physical at New Red Apple Nails on Nostrand Avenue in East Flatbush, NY. According to a report in the New York Post, customer Christina Thomas was at the nail salon with her sister and grandmother when she received an unsatisfactory eyebrow waxing and refused to pay for the service.

The staff ended up getting violent with the three Black women, with employees hitting them with broomsticks, dustpans, and their hands. A Facebook video of the brawl went viral, which led to protesters trying to shut the down the salon, as well as other Asian-owned nail salons. It also led to a movement amongst Black women to patronize Black-owned businesses.

The New York Healthy Nail Salon Coalition was quick to condemn the violence of New Red Apple Nails’ employees, stating that “at no point, is any level of violence needed or justified,” while Asian American community organizations banded together to call out our complicity to Black oppression. “White supremacy is upheld when Asian American workers who are sometimes exploited with long days and low pay may unjustly take their frustration out with Black customers,” the statement read.

PHOTO: GARY LEONARD/CORBIS/GETTY IMAGES. A row of destroyed businesses after the Los Angeles Riots.

This incident does not stand alone. In fact, there is a long history of Black-Asian conflict in America, and tensions were especially high in the early 1990s in New York and Los Angeles. In 1990, the Flatbush boycott, also known as the Family Red Apple boycott, broke out following the assault of a Haitian woman by employees of the Korean-owned grocery in Brooklyn’s predominately-Black Flatbush neighborhood.

Black protestors called for the boycott of all Korean-owned stores. In 1991, convenience store owner Soon Ja Du shot and killed 15-year-old Latasha Harlins after she wrongly accused Harlins of trying to shoplift a bottle of orange juice from her South Los Angeles store; a security camera video showed the girl had money in her hand to pay for it. Du didn’t serve any jail time.

Harlins’ death is cited as a catalyst to the 1992 Los Angeles riots, in which Korean-owned stores were targeted, looted, and destroyed. Fast-forward to March last year, when Black community members in Charlotte, NC protested Missha Beauty store after owner Sung Ho Lim was filmed choking a Black female customer he suspected of stealing. These infamous incidents have become emblematic of Black-Korean conflict, which has been widely documented and researched.

“Although ‘Black-Korean conflict’ may have largely disappeared from front page headline news, the reality of racially-distinct immigrant small business entrepreneurs operating in poor, underserved minority neighborhoods persists as a formula for potential conflict,” wrote author Miliann Kang in The Managed Hand: Race, Gender, and the Body in Beauty Service Work. “The potential for misunderstandings and dissatisfaction remains high in service exchanges involving emotional and embodied dimensions across various social divisions.”

Each publicized incident called into question the anti-Black biases of Asian immigrants and Asian Americans. But the boycotts that followed were often xenophobia-tinged retaliations, depicting a sort of tit-for-tat cycle between communities. In the protests following the August 3 incident at New Red Apple Nails, “Where’s ICE?” was heard among the chants outside of a second salon blocks away, Beautiful Red Apple Nails, according to New York Post. An employee at Beautiful Red Apple Nails told the New York Times that the two similarly-named businesses are not owned by the same people.

In 1990, the Haitian woman involved in the scuffle that began the Flatbush boycott allegedly told the cashier, “Yon Chinese, Korean motherfucker. Go back to your country,” according to a report from The New Republic. During the ensuing protests, a Black teen bashed the skull of a Vietnamese resident with a hammer, as his accomplices yelled “Koreans go home.”

These sentiments mirror the xenophobic rhetoric often experienced by non-white immigrants, and call to mind, for Asian Americans, the 1982 murder of Vincent Chin, a Chinese man who was murdered by two white men who mistook him for Japanese. People of color often adopt the same an anti-immigrant mentality and buy into the fear of Yellow Peril created by white supremacy and nationalism — systems that make everybody complicit to them, including the oppressed.

Sociologist Tamara K. Nopper argued against depicting these Black-Asian conflicts as “mutual misunderstanding” in a 2015 article. “The use of ‘mutual’ misunderstanding suggests shared status or power, with each group contributing to each other’s vulnerability and suffering,” Nopper wrote. “The employment of the mutual misunderstanding framework suggests Asian store owners desire identification with and from Black customers across class and race lines. Yet many studies of Asian immigrant storeowners show they hold racist views of Black people and associate them with negative qualities purportedly absent among Asians.”

Asian Americans must admit and rectify the ways we uphold white supremacy, namely our anti-Blackness. Much like the U.S., Asian countries suffer from colorism and caste systems within their own societies. “Anti-Blackness is foundational to the creation of America,” said Diane Wong, an assistant professor and faculty fellow at NYU Gallatin, whose research has focused on the gentrification of Chinatowns and Afro-Asian solidarities. “It’s no secret then that anti-Blackness is reflected in Asian immigrant families, businesses, institutions and interpersonal relationships on a frequent basis.”

As a society, we have “progressed” from lynchings to viral videos of violence against Black people, from police killings and brutality to baseless accusations of criminality. In retail spaces, Black people continue to experience racism and antagonization. When Asians internalize and perpetuate anti-Black racism and violence, we are reifying our complicity and driving a deeper wedge between the minority groups.

It’s important to note that two groups are not equally positioned in larger structures of power, especially when one racial group is profiting off the other, which is oftentimes the case in these violent clashes between Black people and Asians.

“Race is certainly a factor, but it is not the only factor,” Kang, an associate professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, said in an interview. Kang’s research has focused on Asian-owned nail salons and their racially diverse customers. “Many nail salon workers are under pressure to work quickly and keep costs down, which does not create the best environment for building customer relations.

The potential for tensions is heightened by the intimacy of the service, which involves direct physical contact, and the fact that many of the workers and owners are immigrants who do not speak the language or understand the culture of their customers.” In these scenarios, the tension is stoked by economic stress: the salon workers who often work for low wages under poor conditions, and the mostly working class clientele who cannot afford to waste money on subpar service.

Kang stressed the importance of putting these largely publicized conflicts in context. “I have observed hundreds of interactions in salons in this neighborhood that were very cordial and where workers and customers were very respectful and appreciative of each other,” she said.

Our perspectives are largely shaped by the way Black-Asian conflict is covered in media. “There is a lot of misinformation when it comes to reporting on salient issues that affect both Black and Asian communities,” Wong said. However, when videos of Asian business owners and workers inflicting violence on Black customers go viral, when Asian American activists protest in support for Peter Liang, an NYPD officer who shot an unarmed Black man in a stairwell, the message received by the public is that Asians do not care about Black lives.

These acts of violence are only a microcosm of the conflict between the minority groups, moments when the tension bubbles up to the surface and pops. There have been many ways statistics about Asian American achievement and the “model minority” myth have been used as a wedge between Asians and other minority groups, most notably through Ed Blum’s anti-affirmative action lawsuit against Harvard.

Many Asian Americans have thrown their support behind ending affirmative action and in support of standardized testing in school admission, placing their own concerns ahead of the communities marginalized by these systems, namely Black, Brown, and indigenous peoples.

As a kid, I used to cringe when my dad, a self-proclaimed Democrat, would use slurs to refer to Black people, sometimes rolling my eyes and shouting “Daddy!” at him. Now, I realize that I must do more than just cringe. It is my generation’s job to undo the legacy of anti-Black racism within our communities and to resist complicity with white supremacy — and it starts with talking about it.

by TIFFANY DIANE TSO for Refinery 29

Chicago’s Eve Ewing will pen Marvel’s ‘Ironheart’

August 21, 2018

14 mins read

Fangirling over Eve L. Ewing is a new pastime if you’re an African-American female writing in Chicago. Ewing is an academic, a social media maven, a poet, a playwright. Now, she’s adding Marvel writer to her resume. Yes, Ewing is penning the upcoming Marvel series “Ironheart.”

For novices unfamiliar with the heroine, the title centers on Riri Williams, a black teen girl from Chicago who is a genius. She, like many superheroes, experienced a loss in her life when she was very young (her stepfather who had raised her and her best friend were both killed in a drive-by shooting), and she’s trying to cope.

Riri’s intellect is so incredible that she is able to re-create the Iron Man suit on her own, without all the resources of a Tony Stark (aka Iron Man). Stark mentors her and for a brief time she actually takes over as Iron Man and wears the suit. Riri eventually strikes out on her own in her own suit.

“Periodically I have to sit back and go, ‘Omigosh, I’m a Marvel writer’ — there’s nothing more implausible and more amazing that’s ever happened to me,” Ewing adds. “When you’re a writer, oftentimes you’re grinding away and there’s a short list where you can tell your mom, grandma or your brother and they fully understand what it is. But this is something where everybody gets it; everybody understands the pop culture resonance with Marvel – what it means and what it stands for, so it’s really exciting.”

In a world where goddesses are us, Afrofuturism is now , national youth poet laureates are making their mark, and sisters are gracing the September covers of many a fashion magazine this year, Ewing joining Marvel’s ranks is the jewel in the crown that is Chicago’s literary powerhouse. Along with Nnedi Okorafor, who is writing a new comic book series on Princess Shuri from “Black Panther” in October, Chicago is on the Marvel map.

“Chicagoans, we do it big, especially black women from Chicago,” Ewing said. “We do it real big.”

Ewing was touring for her poetry book “Electric Arches” in late 2017 when she saw an email from Marvel in her inbox. Titled: “Marvel calling,” she said she almost fell out of her chair. Asked about her reaction when Marvel welcomed her into the fold, she said, “It’s been like a recurring sense of wild emotions.”

It’s exciting for fans of Ewing, too. A campaign to bring her into the Marvel comics family began in 2017. Her fans started a petition to gather signatures to let Marvel know they wanted her to guide Riri’s path. The movement picked up steam on Twitter, where she has 165,000 followers. Ewing had the writing chops, she had the passion for pop culture, so make it happen, was the cry.

We talked to Ewing before her “Ironheart” news broke, in hopes of getting the scoop on what black girl magic she will weave into Riri Williams. The first issue will be on sale in November, according to Marvel. The interview has been condensed and edited.

… on Riri’s Chicago ties:

“She was born and raised in Chicago, but because she’s a superhero, her adventures take her all over the place. She also had a lab at MIT, that’s also kind of her headquarters. Her mom still lives in Chicago. I decided specifically that she’s from South Shore.

Previous writers put in so much, in terms of beginning her autobiographical details, but as a Chicagoan, I want to get down and dirty — like where did Riri go to high school? What bus does she take? Does she eat hot chips? These are the things that are really going to make her a full three-dimensional person. I’m really excited about putting in some of those little Chicago details.” (As far as where she went to high school, Ewing has decided she attended King College Prep.)

… on attending Wakandacon with her “Ironheart” news under her belt:

“You know how hard it was for me to be at Wakandacon and not tell people my news? I wanted to walk up to strangers and shake them and be like: ‘I’m writing a comic book for Marvel — just random people that I saw. It was so hard. Never have I been so tempted to break a secret and be like: Guess what? I have something amazing to tell you!’ But I couldn’t do that.”

… on how much the 2017 online campaign had to do with Marvel’s decision:

“When the campaign was launched, it was really humbling and really inspiring for me, because it made me realize how much it would mean to so many people to have me take on the story, but it also made me realize how upsetting and angering it is for a lot of people to think about black women and people of color more broadly moving into this space — that was eye-opening.

I’m really grateful for the support that people have shown me, but I also had to kind of step up to the plate as a writer and prove myself. The campaign was for me to work on ‘Invincible Iron Man,’ but when Marvel said we’re actually thinking about doing a solo title for Riri, that was like ‘Omigosh, this is the coolest thing ever.’ It’s really special, because this is a character that has some groundwork laid already but is still very new in terms of her role in the Marvel universe; it’s almost like getting into business on the ground floor. I get to play a role in really shaping who she is and who she’s going to become.”

… on the issues, storylines she wants to highlight for Riri:

“People don’t just gravitate toward Hulk or Captain America or Spider-Man because of their powers, the reason they say so-and-so is my favorite superhero is because of who they are as people and about what they stand for. So I think the really exciting thing is really building out Riri, not as just Ironheart, but who is she as a person?

Specifically, what does it mean to be a teenage black girl from Chicago? Somebody who has lost family members to gun violence, somebody who understands the realities of the community is going to bring something very different to questions about justice and who the good guy is and who the bad guy is and what you do about that.

She’s also a teenage genius and because of that, she skipped over a lot of social things — she went to high school when she was very young, she’s already in MIT, so Riri is not really great with her peers, she doesn’t really have any friends. Being a genius and knowing how to fix stuff and build amazing gadgets doesn’t necessarily make you a happy person. So how do you figure out how to use the power that’s available to you and how to connect with and be accountable to the people around you?”

… on her heroes when it comes to comic artists and writers:

“In terms of actual comics, Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman — those kinds of people are big influencers on the kinds of storytelling that I want to do. Maybe this is too wonky of an answer, but one of the biggest things that has been exciting to me as a writer, in superhero comics, bigger is better.

Go big, or go home. One of the most exciting things for me has been really pushing, pushing and pushing in a fight scene or when you’re thinking about a villain like just trying to ratchet the stakes up higher and higher — that’s something that in other forms of writing that I do, subtlety and those kinds of careful, quiet moments are something that I’ve gotten good at, but it’s now fun for me to be like, ‘No, now this huge, giant, crazy thing happened’ and mix that with the quiet moments of everyday life that make something feel realistic and moving.”

… on whether she’s intimidated now that she’s on Marvel’s roster:

“I’m absolutely intimidated. I think it’s definitely something where I feel the stakes. But I think the thing that has encouraged me is we have a really amazing artist who’s on board for the project — his name is Kevin Libranda, and his art is really incredible and really spirited. When I complete a script and see how he’s brought what I wrote to life, it reminds me that this character is fictional but she means a lot to a lot of people, including me. So I just try to focus on that and not be too intimidated. I definitely feel like I have to remind myself that it’s OK to not be perfect, and I’m often my own hardest critic.

eve ewing

I think that whenever you’re a black woman doing something, people are paying a little bit more attention and that’s a blessing and a curse, so I have to remember to keep it fun, and keep having a good time and keep exploring and stretching as a writer. That’s the thing about being a writer — my philosophy is, my job is to lay the groundwork for these stories, but a reader gives them meaning. A reader decides how a story is going to live in the world, and so I absolutely hope to meet some old Marvel fans and some new converts who might jump on board because they’re excited about this character. I’m definitely looking forward to that.”

… on one thing that you hope to add to the Marvel lexicon to show that Eve Ewing was here?

“There are heroes all around us, and anybody can be one. I love Shuri (from “Black Panther”), but I think it’s also exciting to have an ‘around the way girl superhero.’ Shuri’s a princess; Riri takes the No. 4 Cottage Grove bus to get places. I want people to feel there are superheroes all around us.”

Source: Chicago Tribune

Aretha Franklin left behind an $80 million fortune — Why Cash was King for The Queen of Soul

August 19, 2018August 19, 2018

4 mins read

Aretha Franklin, the “Queen of Soul,” left behind an $80 million fortune when she died on Thursday at age 76, according to Celebrity Net Worth.

Franklin, known for hits including “Respect” and “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” had an unusual policy when it came to her money: she often demanded to be paid in cash, as Money magazine reported.

David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker, noticed this quirk when he went backstage at one of Franklin’s performances in 2016.

“On the counter in front of her, next to her makeup mirror and hairbrush, were small stacks of hundred-dollar bills,” Remnick wrote. “She collects on the spot or she does not sing.”

UNITED STATES – JULY 01: Photo of Aretha FRANKLIN (Photo by Ebet Roberts/Redferns)

He noted that the cash went straight into her handbag, which stays “with her security team or goes out onstage and resides, within eyeshot, on the piano.”

Franklin’s friend, Tavis Smiley, said this practice was because of the time she grew up in.

“It’s the era she grew up in — she saw so many people, like Ray Charles and B. B. King, get ripped off,” Smiley told The New Yorker. “There is the sense in her very often that people are out to harm you. And she won’t have it. You are not going to disrespect her.”

“It is understood that this money shall be presented by the promoter or the designated person, directly to Ms. Franklin,” states a contract published by The Smoking Gun in 2010. “No one other than Ms. Franklin is to be given payment in any form on her behalf unless prior written authorization is received from our office.”

The remainder of the fee, anything beyond $25,000, could be handed over in the form of a check, according to Money.

Franklin, who won 18 Grammy awards, is known as a musical icon. Former President Barack Obama said she “helped define the American experience” — and one of her performances even brought the former president to tears.

She was one of the best-selling artists in history, with one industry estimate indicating she sold over 75 million records worldwide in her career, according to Business Insider.

But “the songstress never appeared on any Forbes ranking of the highest-paid celebrities, and we estimate that her income sat in the low seven figures annually over the last few decades of her life,” Zack O’Malley Greenburg wrote in a Forbes article titled, “Aretha Franklin Had The Respect Of Billions, But Earned Mere Millions.”

Greenburg said this was because Franklin was afraid of flying and limited her North American tours by choosing to travel only by bus, so her income from tours was lower than it could have been.

According to The New York Times, Franklin’s “commercial fortunes were uneven, as her recordings moved in and out of sync with the tastes of the pop market.”

Still, $80 million is certainly nothing to sneeze at. And no matter the details of her estate, many people will likely agree that Rolling Stone magazine had it right in 2010 when it called Franklin the greatest singer of all time.

Source: Insider

Black Owned $8 Lemonade Stand Embraces the Spotlight

August 18, 2018

5 mins read

Vicktor Stevenson can usually be found standing outside his high-end lemonade stand in the Mission District, working crowds like the mayor of Valencia Street — megawatt smile flashing with ease, answering questions with aplomb, posing for social media photos in front of the shop’s bright yellow facade.

Stevenson is in the throes of a spotlight unique to 2018. His shop, Gourmonade, went viral twice during July, its first month of business — once for its high prices and then for an incident with law enforcement at his shop that Stevenson views as racially charged.

For better or worse, Stevenson has been awash in attention. His stand is seeing increased patronage from the community, he says. The increase in sales comes as people are sharing photos and messages of support for the black-owned business on social media. He’s trying to use the spotlight to quickly expand his grassroots lemonade operation.

When Gourmonade opened in mid-July, the shop’s prices raised eyebrows: $8 for 16 ounces of lemonade, an amount Stevenson says is fair for a product made by hand each morning.

Stevenson, who previously worked in New York as a barber and hair stylist, came to imagine Gourmonade as Blue Bottle, but for a different beverage.

Located near the corner of Valencia and 20th, Gourmonade’s tiny storefront consists mostly of a large refrigerator, signage and menu boards. Stevenson charms curious passersby in his role as lemonade concierge. Glass containers shaped like a lemon are stored in a mini-fridge with clear sliding doors. Also on offer is an $8 “Jasmine Palmer” made with lemon juice, jasmine green tea and turbinado sugar.

On July 17, just three days after Gourmonade’s grand opening, the shop was thrust into the spotlight again. Stevenson, who is black, was checking the security system when he was approached by four police officers. One officer, Stevenson said, had his hand near his weapon. It was a little before 7 a.m., around the time Stevenson usually begins squeezing lemons.

The officers asked Stevenson to present his identification, he said, and told him that someone had called and reported a break-in. Stevenson posted about the incident on Instagram, spurring coverage from outlets including the Washington Post and Fox News.

As a black entrepreneur in a city with a rapidly diminishing African American population, Stevenson became the latest episode in a growing category of viral news: black people being policed while performing mundane tasks.

Even as Stevenson commiserated with supporters online, another set of internet commenters called his story “fake news,” claiming he lied or did something to warrant the officers’ attention.

“It’s sad because had I been shot at my place of business that day, people would have tried to find a way to say ‘But he did this,’ ‘But he did that,’” Stevenson said in a Facebook post at the time. “I’m black, I’m at my business, I’m literally minding my business, and somebody called the cops on me.”

Thanks to the boost in attention, Stevenson’s Instagram account for Gourmonade has grown to more than 9,000 followers.

It’s not all from his time in the viral news cycle: People took note in May when Stevenson sought funding for his business through San Francisco nonprofit Kiva, which lets people lend money in as little as $25 increments to impoverished entrepreneurs. It took only four days for Stevenson to secure a $10,000 loan, $2,300 of which went to signage and waterproofing his stand, while $3,000 went to refrigeration and another $1,700 toward lemonade production and transportation equipment.

In a similar vein, Stevenson recently started a Kickstarter campaign with a goal of raising $40,000. He said the funds will help expand his hours (the shop is currently open Friday through Sunday), and increase production capacity. So far he’s raised $3,574.

Last weekend, Stevenson was selling lemonade at the opening of San Francisco’s new transit center.

With a memorable first month of business under his belt, the road forward is clear for Stevenson: building a customer base in San Francisco. Those crowds that gather at his business are, more often than not, well-wishers.

“I got three hugs today from people already,” he said. “Everything is going well. Like I said, I’m just taking it one day at a time.”

Source: San Fransisco Chronicle

Black Attorneys, Lawyers & Legal Professionals

August 18, 2018March 18, 2022

5 mins read

In 2009, Black attorneys represented 1.71% of law firm partners. Today, Black attorneys represent 1.81% of partners.

According to the National Association for Law Placement 2017 Report on Diversity in U.S. Law Firms, “women and minority partners remain fairly dramatically under-represented in U.S. law firms,” with women minorities being the “most dramatically underrepresented group” of all.

Given this information, we felt it fitting to acknowledge some of the Black Attorneys, Lawyers, and Legal professionals who are the best in their field.

Black Attorneys, Lawyers & Legal Professionals

Ryan Stowe – Stowe Law Firm, PLLC (Salisbury, NC) Practice areas: Traffic violations, Criminal defense, DWI

black attorneys

Portia Wood – Wood legal Group (Pasedena, CA) Practice Areas: Estate Planning, Wealth Creation

Angel Murphy – The Murphy Law Firm (Upper Marlboro, MD and Oxon Hill, MD) Practice Areas: Family Law, Criminal Law, Personal Injury, Notary Services)

black lawyer

Ken Lanier – The Law Office of Ken Lanier (Decatur, GA) Practice Area: Personal Injury

black lawyer

Michael A. Walker – The Walker Firm (Pennsylvania, PA) Practice Areas: Criminal Defense, Personal Injury, Real Estate and Discrimination.

Max Elliott – The Law Offices of Max Elliott (Chicago, New York City) Practice areas: Estate Planning, Estate Administration, and Business Planning

black lawyers

Diane Butler – Law Offices of Diane Butler (Hawthorne, CA) Practice areas: Personal Injury, Probate, Estate Planning, Bankruptcy and more)

James Saintvil – Jayde Law PLLC (Washington, DC and Marlton, NJ) Practice areas: Estate Planning, Estate Administration, and Business Succession Planning

Sekou Campbell – Law Offices of Sekou Campbell (Philadelphia, PA) Practice areas: Corporate Law, Entrepreneurship and Startups, Intellectual property, Tax

Shavon J. Smith – The SJS Law Firm (Washington D.C. & Maryland ) Practice areas: Entrepreneurship and Startups, Non-Profits, Government contracting.

Ayanna Jenkins -Toney – Law Offices of Ayanna L. Jenkins-Toney (San Francisco, CA) Practice areas: Matrimonial and Family Law

Image result for Ayanna L. Jenkins-Toney

Pamela Price – Pamela Y. Price, Attorney at Law (Oakland, CA) Practice Area: Civil Rights

Jerome Carter – Carter Law Firm (Mobile, AL) Practice Areas: Civil Plaintiff, Matrimonial and Family Law, Wills, Trusts and Estates

Aimee Griffin – The Griffin Firm, PLLC (Washington, DC) Practice Areas: Wills, Trusts and Estates

Black Attorneys

Hughie Hunt II – Kemet & Hunt (Calverton, MD) Practice Areas: Real Estate, Matrimonial and Family Law, Wills, Trusts and Estates

Black Attorneys

William Jenkins – Jenkins & Roberts LLC (College Park, GA) Practice Areas: Business Formation, Wills, Trusts and Estates

Image result for William Jenkins attorney

LaKesha Shahid – Shahid & Hosea LLC (Montgomery, AL) Practice Areas: Civil Plaintiff, Employment Law, Matrimonial and Family Law, Wills, Trusts and Estates

Black Attorneys

Andrew Maloney – Maloney Law Group (New York, NY) Practice Areas: Corporate Law, Mediation / Arbitration, Real Estate

Kwaku Ofori – Ofori Law Firm, LLC (Silver Spring, MD) Practice Areas: Civil Plaintiff, Commercial Litigation, Real Estate

Joey Ofori

Natalee Drummond-Fairley -The Fairley Firm (Atlanta, GA) Practice Areas: Business Transactions, Civil Plaintiff

Ryan Hintzen – Franklin Square Law Group (Washington, DC) Practice Areas: Business Transactions, Employment Law

Image result for Ryan Hintzen

Fraline Allgaier – Allgaier Patent Solutions (Glencoe, IL) Practice Areas: Intellectual Property, Trademark and Patents

Michelle Thomas – M.C. Thomas & Associates, PC (Washington, DC ) Practice areas: Matrimonial and Family Law

Picture of Michelle C. Thomas

Darcia Tudor – Eastside Mediation & Arbitration (Kirkland, WA) Practice Areas: Matrimonial and Family Law

Image result for darcia tudor

Joe H. Tucker – Tucker Law Group (Philadelphia, PA) Practice Areas: Civil litigation, Complex breach of contract, Products liability and employment discrimination litigation

Black Attorneys

Marirose Roach – Roach Law (Philadelphia, PA) Practice Areas: Family Law, Foreclosure Defense, Sports & Entertainment Law, Estates & Asset Protection

Black Attorneys

George Edwards III – Edwards Sutarwalla PLLC (Houston, TX) Practice Areas: Corporate Law, Real Estate, Insurance, Retail Litigation

Shelice Tolbert – Tolbert & Tolbert LLC (Gary, Indiana) Practice Areas: Business Formation, Civil Plaintiff, Litigation and Insurance Defense

Johnny Hawkins – Law Office of J L Hawkins (Southfield, MI) Practice Area: Civil Plaintiff

Shevelle McPherson – McPherson Law Offices (Cherry Hill, NJ) Practice Area: Criminal Defense
E. Michelle Martin – The Martin Law Firm (Columbus, OH) Practice Areas: Civil Plaintiff, Criminal Defense

Alicia Howard – The Law Office of Alicia A. Howard(Memphis, TN) Practice Areas: Matrimonial and Family Law

–Tony O. Lawson

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British Rapper Stormzy to fund Cambridge Scholarships for Black Students

August 16, 2018August 16, 2018

4 mins read

British rapper Stormzy has announced that he is funding two scholarships for Black British students to go to Cambridge University.

The grime artist will pay the students’ tuition fees as well as a maintenance grant for up to four years of an undergraduate course.

Speaking on Thursday at his former school, the Harris City Academy in Croydon, south London, where A-level students were opening their results, Stormzy told BBC Breakfast: “If you’re academically brilliant don’t think because you come from a certain community that studying at one of the highest education institutions in the world isn’t possible.”

The 25-year-old, who won best album at this year’s Ivor Novello awards, has previously been praised for tackling social injustice, including advocating on behalf of victims of the Grenfell Tower fire. He is funding two places this year and two next year.

The move comes amid concerns about lack of diversity at the Oxbridge universities. Figures published in June showed some Cambridge colleges admitted no black students or accepted as few as one a year between 2012 and 2016.

stormzy

Stormzy said that when he was at school he had ambitions to study at Oxbridge but some people did not realise the option was open to them.

“I was always reminded by my teachers that I was destined, if I wanted, to go down that road and study at one of the top universities,” he said. “I diverted and ended up doing music so it didn’t happen for me. I thought I was quite a rare case in that I knew that was possible.

“That’s not always the case. When students are young, academically brilliant and getting great grades, they should know that’s an option.”

Last year he donated £9,000 to a crowdfunding initiative set up by a student from south-west London to enable her to study at Harvard.

He said he coasted through GCSEs – he got six A*s, three As and three Bs according to the BBC – but “didn’t do too great at A-levels”.

In 2016, when he was a guest speaker at the Oxford University Guild, Stormzy told students: “It was my dream to come to Oxford and study political science. I always thought Oxford is better [than Cambridge] anyway, it’s got a ring to it.”

By offering the scholarships, he is following a number of rappers, including Jay-Z and Nicky Minaj in the US, where the practice is popular. While the students will have to fund and organise their own College and University Cleaning during their time at Cambridge, the gesture from the grime artist will not go unnoticed.

The application deadline is 30 August for this year and is open to any black student with an offer to study at Cambridge, according to the BBC.

The students will be selected by a panel of university staff.

Source: The Guardian

Former inmate turns life around as optician, starts Detroit business

August 15, 2018August 20, 2021

5 mins read

A bad decision at 22 cost Detroit native Roby Davis his freedom. “I was involved in a robbery,” he said. “I have to say I knew better wound up going to prison.” But Davis was sentenced beyond the guidelines, up to 75 years behind bars.

“I could do better, I knew I could do better,” Davis said. “Normally I don’t take from people and (act like a) menace to society. It really bothered me.”

Davis spent the next two decades in prison – but he didn’t waste a moment.

“When I was in prison I took every class I could have, I went to college,” he said. “Whatever program they offered I did and graduated.”

After meeting certain criteria, Roby Davis entered the optical program at the Gus Harrison Correctional Facility in Adrian. Prisoners take classes there and learn highly technical skills and are trained in the optical lab. That is where they work and make eye glasses for every prisoner statewide.

“It provides a great trade for the inmates who get out,” said Matt Yeager.

Like Roby Davis, who eventually became a nationally certified optician. Matt Yeager was one of his instructors.

“He was a go-getter, he wanted it – you could just tell,” Yeager said. “He told me from the beginning when he got out he wanted to start his own business, start a non-profit to help kids get glasses. He said I am going to look you up – I said I will be waiting.”

Through appeals, Davis was released from prison in 2011. He did not let his instructors down.

Last year, Davis opened his own business – Rosedale Vision in Detroit.

“I am excited to come to work every day,” he said. “New clients get a new smile – our motto here is ‘Rosedale Vision seeing better.’ We like to say that to everybody get their glasses.”

Although many inmates have got out of prison and entered the work force as an optician, Davis is the first to run his own business using the skills he gained at the Michigan Department of Corrections Optical Lab.

“I am really happy for him, really proud of him,” said Jerry Johnston, optical lab instructor. “It is good to see that he is taking knowledge he gained while he was incarcerated and applied it in a real world setting and has the drive to do really well.”

Davis is doing so well – he has brought his 28-year-old son on board and trained him to do the same.

“I can’t even really say in words how proud I am – where he went, where he has been,” Roby Davis Jr. said. “He was gone 20 years. To me, I want to be successful too, I want to do the right thing. It is really important to me. I look up to my dad.”

“Students tell me frequently that because I have this felony I can’t get a job, I am not employable,” Johnston said. “No matter what I say, it falls on deaf ears a lot of times. But he is a success story I can take back and say see you can do this if you want this.”

Davis, now 49 is living his dream, back home, in the city he loves and now inspiring others – with his second chance.

“When you have your freedom taken you have a totally different perspective,” Davis said. “I value it now and before I didn’t. In retrospect I didn’t really know the value of life. Now I get an opportunity, I take every moment and I take it all in.”

Watch the video interview here.

Billionaire Patrice Motsepe to form South Africa’s first Black Owned Bank

August 15, 2018August 19, 2018

1 min read

Billionaire Patrice Motsepe is one of South Africa’s richest men. He’s also the first Black African on the Forbes list. In 2016, he launched a private equity firm, African Rainbow Capital (ARC), focused on investing in Africa. Last week, it was announced that ARC is set to acquire TymeDigital, a South African bank with a strong Fintech focus.

The acquisition would make him the owner of the first Black owned Bank in South Africa.

Targeted client segments include unbanked and underserved clients as well as small and medium enterprises. Competitive technology allows the bank to on-board clients with greater ease relative to its competitors and keep bank charges more affordable than what SA banking clients pay in general.

The sale of TymeDigital is still subject to regulatory approval and potential sale price adjustments – and as a result, the financial effect of the sale currently cannot be reliably estimated – however it is not expected to have a material impact on the group’s results, it said.