Supreme Court Rejects President Biden’s Student Loan Forgiveness Plan, Pledges To ‘Keep Fighting’
The Supreme Court has struck down President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan in a 6-3 decision.
Biden’s plan to clear up to $20,000 in loan debt for over 25 million borrowers was highly criticized across political lines; however, the President assured Americans “this fight is not over” on Friday afternoon. In a statement, The White House said the leader of the free world has plans to announce “new actions to protect student loan borrowers” and that the administration expected this outcome considering the amount of opposing viewpoints shared since the plan’s announcement in August 2022.
“I believe that the court’s decision to strike down our student debt relief plan is wrong,” President Biden said. “But I will stop at nothing to find other ways to deliver relief to hard-working middle-class families. My administration will continue to work to bring the promise of higher education to every American.” The disappointing outcome follows the court’s controversial decision on Thursday, June 29, to strike down affirmative action at Harvard University and The University of North Carolina, reversing decades of work to diversify higher education institutions.
With diversity efforts being affected on several campuses, financial needs can be yet another reason why minority students are unable to pursue post-secondary education. According to USA Today, supporters of the forgiveness plan believe Biden must act to get the bill pushed through Congress. “The Biden administration must use all other legal tools at their disposal to deliver student debt relief and fulfill his campaign promise,” said Braxton Brewington, spokesperson for the Debt Collective, a coalition of loan borrowers. “It won’t be acceptable for Biden to point to the Supreme Court as the reason he can’t deliver on relief − he’ll need to fight every step of the way.”
Loan payments for many have been on hold since the pandemic’s start but are expected to resume this summer at the latest.
Taxpayers Opposed To New Government Funding For Incarcerated People To Receive A Free College Degree
A government program that typically helps people who need financial assistance to attend college now assists prisoners in obtaining their college degrees while incarcerated.
According to The Associated Press, thousands of imprisoned people have gotten their degrees while behind bars due to the federal government’s Pell Grant program. The Pell Grant program is not a loan and does not have to be paid back by the people who enroll and are provided funds based on their inability to pay for college tuition.
Future recipients will be able to benefit from the government program after a 1994 ban on Pell Grants for prisoners was lifted, allowing incarcerated individuals to obtain a college degree on the government’s dime.
Now, the program is expected to help out many more prisoners. The Pell Grant program will expand in August 2023, giving approximately 30,000 more prisoners roughly $130 million in financial aid annually.
Of course, granting prisoners the chance to gain a college degree comes with controversy. Many people want to avoid seeing taxpayer money given to incarcerated individuals. Republicans opposed the program being used by prisoners when the Obama administration, through executive action, offered a limited number of Pell Grants to prisoners. Republicans believed the funds could be used to improve federal job training and re-entry programs instead.
After Congress voted to lift the ban in 2020, about 200 Pell-eligible college programs in 48 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico have taken advantage of it. With the recent expansion slated to take place, any college that wants to take advantage of the Pell Grant funding will be able to allow prisoners to apply.
The ones who want full rehabilitation while serving time can now come out with a better chance of avoiding recidivism through the Pell Grant program.
Maryland Snags The No. 2 Spot For Minority Entrepreneurs To Succeed
A study by lendio ranked Maryland as the second-best state for minority entrepreneurs to succeed, The Baltimore Banner reported.
Barriers to capital disproportionately hold back Black business owners and entrepreneurs, but Maryland helps minorities secure funding through the Community Reinvestment Act, lendio reported. The Banner reported that the east coast state supplies underserved business owners and entrepreneurs with more business loans than the national average through the federal program.
To be exact, Maryland provides $389 per capita versus the national average of $351 per capita, lendio shared. According to lendio, Community Advantage loan approvals in Maryland increased by 10.3% from 2021 to 2022. The program by the Small Business Administration (SBA) provides access to capital for small business owners and entrepreneurs in underserved communities.
Maryland also ranked as the second best place for Black business owners in a 2022 study by Merchant Maverick, BLACK ENTERPRISE previously reported. According to the study, Maryland “ranks first in percent of the workforce employed by Black-owned businesses (3.49%).” Black businesses in Maryland also averaged an annual payroll of $465,000. According to the study, the amount was the fourth-highest in the U.S.
On top of federal assistance, Black business owners and entrepreneurs told The Banner that education and community involvement contribute to Maryland’s high rank in the lendio study.
Linda Loubert believes education and exposure to entrepreneurship are among the factors responsible for Maryland’s high ranking. The associate professor of economics at Morgan State University specifically noted the strong presence of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the state. She told The Banner, “Having business schools and a lot of push to understand finances helps.”
Reciprocal relationships between communities and businesses can also help or hinder success. Jasmine Simms knows a thing or two about rallying behind her community to create successful businesses. The Banner reported the co-founder of the National Association of Mom Entrepreneurs has helped start more than 400 businesses in Maryland.
Black people in America have had to overcome a lot. One business owner believes Maryland’s success is partly owed to Black people’s inborn work ethic. Jasmine Norton, the owner of The Urban Oyster restaurant, said, “But it’s also our ability to survive. That is instilled in us before we go to school. We have always been equipped with those skills.”
BLACK ENTERPRISE reported that Black-owned businesses nationwide are estimated to receive $1 billion this year. The projection comes from an analysis by Creative Investment Research.
James’ company – which provides price assessments, analytics, and forecasts for organic and non-GMO agriculture – boasts customers like Perdue Chicken, Cargill, and Rabobank and worked as a conduit for a $100 million USDA fund for organic dairy farmers in need of financial support from the industry, according to AfroTech.
“We are excited to become part of Argus which presents a great opportunity to leverage their trusted brand, global reach and scale with our best-in-class sustainable agriculture offering,” James said in a statement. “Together, we will be able to broaden Argus agriculture insights both within the U.S. and internationally and enhance our existing product portfolio, better serve our customers, and accelerate product development into related markets.”
In addition to price assessments, Mercaris provides acreage estimates, supply/demand analysis, and facilities density mapping to customers across the agriculture supply chain in the U.S. – key factors in helping Argus to expand its reach and impact.
“We are pleased to further expand Argus agriculture capabilities in the Americas,” said Argus Media chairman and chief executiveAdrian Binks. “The development of sustainable agriculture is critical as the world embraces the transition to net zero. The integration of Mercaris into Argus will allow us to scale our offering and provide valuable new market transparency.”
Expansion is also top of mind for James, who sees the partnership as an inevitable part of the desire to see Mercaris grow. “As a founder, I’m always looking for ways to scale our impact, and this acquisition is a strategic means to accelerate the work that both companies do in the vital sectors of agriculture, energy, and other critical markets,” she said. “Startups are tough to build and grow, and taking Mercaris from idea to exit is something that I, and the Mercaris team, are proud of.”
Kool & The Gang’s George Brown Strikes Publishing Deal Worth Millions
Legendary songwriter and founding member of the Grammy-winning group Kool & The Gang, George Brown, has inked a lucrative partnership with Primary Wave Music, which is said to be multi-year and worth millions.
According to a statement released by the publishing company, the deal will include some of Kool & The Gang’s biggest hits, including “Hollywood Swinging,” “Jungle Boogie,” “Cherish,” and “Ladies Night,” along with other songs penned by Brown.
“I am very pleased to call Primary Wave my music partner and to join with dozens of other iconic artists and creatives in an incredible business family,” said Brown. “I look forward to collaborating with Larry Mestel and the entire Primary Wave team to further enhance my catalog and the Kool & The Gang brand.”
Brown is the latest in a slew of artists who are cashing in on their hits at a time when income has substantially slowed due to streaming services. Artists like Future, Justin Bieber, and John Legend have brought in millions from major deals for their catalogs in recent years. It’s become a popular way to ensure their music brings in money for years to come.
“As counsel to George Brown and Astana Music, it was my pleasure to initiate, negotiate and close this deal with Primary Wave,” Kendall A. Minter, a legal rep for Brown, said. “The alignment of a globally iconic artist and creative talent with an iconic, global independent music publisher and brand enhancer is a win-win for the entire music community and fans.”
Kool & The Gang are the most sampled band of all time, according to AfroTech, and their influence on music is firmly cemented. “Kool and the Gang’s influence on generations of musicians and fans around the globe cannot be denied,” said Samantha Rhulen, SVP, Business and Legal Affairs at Primary Wave Music. “A few of us from Primary Wave were excited to have been in the audience when they were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2018, and we are so thrilled to now be partnering with George Brown in 2023.”
Jan 6. Rioter Arrested For Targeting The Obamas’ DC Residence
A man identified as part of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol was arrested on Thursday in former President Barack Obama’s DC neighborhood; he was armed with various weapons and explosive materials.
Taylor Taranto, who had an open warrant for his involvement in the Capitol riots, was apprehended by the Metropolitan Police Department and federal law enforcement, according to CNN. He faces a fugitive to justice charge. “Arresting officers requested MPD’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Team to perform a vehicle sweep of the individual’s van near the location of the arrest,” the police department said. “There is no active threat to the community and this incident remains under investigation.”
Taranto’s car was searched on the scene, and arresting officers found firearms and materials to make Molotov cocktails; however, no direct threat to the Obamas was confirmed by officials.
The United States Capitol Police also joined in on efforts to arrest Taranto. According to CNN, Acting Assistant Chief for Protective and Intelligence Operations Jason Bell reported that Capitol officers “assisted in the investigation due to a concern for public safety and the potential for violence against Members of Congress.” The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces plan to continue a more thorough investigation into Taranto’s actions. The 37-year-old has been posting veiled threats to the right-wing social media site Truth Social referencing the location of the Obama’s DC residence. “Got them surrounded!”
Currently, Taranto is a defendant in a civil suit filed by the widow of former MPD officer Jeffrey Smith, who died by suicide in the days following the Jan. 6 attack. The lawsuit alleges that Taranto and David Walls-Kaufman were involved in a brutal attack against Smith on the day of the riots. Both men have denied involvement; however, they both admit to being in attendance.
The free, year-long national business accelerator equips entrepreneurs with a business curriculum, growth resources, and capital connections.
Though resilient minority entrepreneurs have reportedly generated some $700 billion in revenue, they still face barriers like operating in today’s often difficult and highly competitive economic climate. They deal with challenges like securing financing, scaling up, and other obstacles limiting their growth.
EY expects to have 30 entrepreneurs participating in the 2024 cohort class. The firm reports on average that 80% of EAN participants are Black, and 20% are Latino.
EAN’s 12-month program includes offering direct involvement and coaching from EY executives. It has a curriculum focused on key business topics like marketing, mergers and acquisitions, cybersecurity, and connections to potential investors, alliances, vendors, and customers. The platform includes assessments, access to online tools, networking events, and promotional exposure.
Each participant is linked to an EY executive who is their relationship ambassador. Further, cohort members have access to the EY entrepreneurial ecosystem, including over 11,000 leaders. Business owners can tap the EY Entrepreneurs Resource Library. They can gain membership into a growing community of over 300 EAN Black and Latino leaders, creating jobs and impacting their communities.
Further, it was reported EAN affiliated entrepreneurs had raised $25.7 million in funding since 2020.
EY EAN Program Director Nit Reeder stated, “We must continue to help companies and allies realize that working with emerging Black and Hispanic/Latino businesses is good strategic business versus charity.”
Past EY Entrepreneurs Access Network participant Nancey Harris, co-founder and COO of Vontélle Eyewear, reflected on the program’s benefits.
Nancey Harris, co-founder & CEO of Vontélle Eyewear
“In building Vontélle Eyewear, my business partner and I were hyper-focused on the ‘why’ and realized there was something missing in the market. Our purpose was personal, and we needed a network that understood our mission,” As a Black- and women-owned business, the EAN program provided the coaching and connections needed to help recognize our value and capitalize on it.”
To qualify, applicants must meet be Black or Latino business owners who are founding CEOs and majority owners of any privately held, for-profit U.S.-based company. The firm must be over two years old. Applicants will be informed of their acceptance starting in December, and they can apply here.
Anthony Mackie Defends Jonathan Majors Since ‘Nothing Has Been Proven About This Dude’
Anthony Mackie is speaking up to defend fellow Marvel Cinematic Universe star Jonathan Majors amid the abuse allegations being thrown at the actor.
Mackie is promoting his new Peacock original “Twisted Metal” and teasing his starring role in “Captain America 4.” While speaking with Inverse, Mackie became one of the first Marvel actors to speak out in defense of Majors who joined the MCU earlier this year when he made his debut as Kang the Conquerer in “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.”
“We’re a country that was built on ‘everyone is innocent until proven guilty,’” Mackie said. “That’s one of the staples of this country.”
“Nothing has been proven about this dude. Nothing. So everyone is innocent until proven guilty,” he added. “That’s all I can say. It’s crazy where we are as a society. But as a country, everyone is innocent until proven guilty.”
With Majors’s role of Kang being the new Thanos-like villain within the MCU, his character could potentially have a run-in with Mackie’s Captain America in a future Marvel film, as noted by Variety. Majors has seen a fall from grace after being arrested on March 25 in New York City following a domestic violence incident with a spouse.
The “Creed III” star was later charged with several counts of assault and aggravated harassment and was on the receiving end of a protective order from the 30-year-old-woman accusing Majors of the “minor injuries to her head and neck” she received treatment at a hospital for following the alleged assault.
Majors made his first in-person court appearance on June 20 where his attorney Priya Chaudhry claimed the legal team delivered evidence to the District Attorney proving it was the alleged assault victim who actually assaulted Majors, “and not the other way around.”
“The Harder They Fall” star has since started dating actress Meagan Good who accompanied him to his June court appearance. Most recently, Majors filed a counterclaim against his ex Grace Jabbari claiming he was the one assaulted during their March incident.
DEI Executives Discuss The Current State Of DEI At Black Enterprise’s Chief Diversity Officer Summit
During the summer of 2020, the words Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) couldn’t be avoided. However, in just three short years, its popularity has not only shrunk, but many on the right are attacking the term, calling it “woke” politics.
Fidelity Investments Head of Global Diversity and Inclusion Wendy John and Merck’s Vice President of the Global Diversity and Inclusion Center of Excellence Celeste Warren sat down with Black Enterprise Editor-in-Chief Derek Dingle to discuss the current state of DEI Wednesday during the BLACK ENTERPRISE Chief Diversity Officer Summit and Honors.
The panel started with Dingle asking John how the Supreme Court’s elimination of affirmative action programs at colleges and universities would affect corporate DEI programs. John said the decision would have a ripple effect impacting corporate offices.
“You’ve already started to see, in many cases, state public universities getting rid of their diversity officers on campus or consolidating those roles into other roles, and I think you will see corporations follow suit,” said John. “It has been the case already, starting late last year as companies considered layoffs, you saw an impact to the DEI office, whether that was suddenly DEI leaders getting additional work added to their scope that could potentially take their work away from DEI specifically or what we might consider dilution of the effort.
John added one thing she’s seen that will continue is the titles of DEI executives changing. She believes the Supreme Court ruling will empower some to challenge diversity programs within their companies.
Warren discussed how people use affirmative action as a buzzword for giving people opportunities to people who aren’t skilled enough, are inferior, or aren’t trained. However, Warren said it’s more about ensuring people of different backgrounds have equal employment opportunities.
“I hate the fact that people are throwing out the term affirmative action, and they’re lumping us all together because they don’t have the proper information, so we have to make sure we’re educating people because the naysayers basically saying you can’t do this, you can’t do that, and a lot of that misinformation gives rise to that narrative,” said Warren. “We have to fight back with education awareness and facts and data.”
In the aftermath of the death of George Floyd, which sparked a summer of Black Lives Matter protests, tech companies, fast food restaurants, and even hardware stores announced DEI initiatives. Many companies have stuck to those pledges. However, some, including Applebees, and Twitter, have pulled back on DEI initiatives, laying off staff and canceling programs. Additionally, many companies that created DEI initiatives didn’t hire people of color for those roles.
According to NBC News, a survey showed Black employees represent only 3.8% of chief diversity officers overall, while Hispanic and Asian employees make up less than 8%. In comparison, white employees account for 76% of chief diversity officer roles.
Other topics discussed during the panel included how external pressures affect chief diversity officers’ decisions and how to combat burnout while on the job. According to Warren, attacks on reproductive and transgender rights by Southern states have made her job harder.
“Just recently, the legislation that was passed in Texas against transition surgery, they’ve sort of said no, so now we have to think about what that means,” said Warren. “When Roe v. Wade was overturned, we had travel benefits for women that want to go to different places to think about abortion. The partnership that we have with our government affairs, state, federal, and global, has grown immensely over the past two years. We have to stay on top of what’s happening in each state because of the impact it has on our employees.
“If you haven’t developed a strong relationship with your policy organization, you need to do that, not from the standpoint of you just educating yourself but also helping them.”
John added that as a chief diversity officer, she has to stay current with the news and how fast things can change during a news cycle.
“I distinctly remember being up late one Saturday night, and when I woke up, there had been a shooting in California at the start of the Chinese New Year, and then all of a sudden, Sunday was about strategy with our communications team and corporate affairs.”
Supermodel Turned Super Mommy Naomi Campbell Welcomes Baby No. 2 At 53-Years-Old
Supermodel Naomi Campbell just welcomed her second child at 53 years of age and wants other women to know that “it’s never too late to become a mother.”
The famed fashion star took to Instagram on Thursday, June 29 to announce the birth of her second child, a son whose name she has yet to release.
“My little darling, know that you are cherished beyond measure and surrounded by love from the moment you graced us with your presence,” she captioned her post. “A True Gift from God 🙏🏾, blessed ! Welcome Babyboy. 💙🍼✨ #mumoftwo ❤️💙
“It’s never too late to become a mother,” she added.
The photo showed a woman holding the baby boy while another child’s hand reached to hold what appeared to be Campbell’s hand. The photo seemingly shows Campbell’s growing family that she chooses to keep out of the public eye.
Campbell has kept much of her life as a mother private after announcing the birth of her daughter two years ago. The famed supermodel has also kept her daughter’s name a secret and only posts glimpses of her daughter on social media.
She finally put her daughter on display when covering British Vogue in March 2022. Campbell donned a black two-piece with big natural hair while holding her daughter who looked off to the side. It was the first time Campbell posed alongside her daughter for all to see.
