• Lifestyle

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

October 6, 2021

Will Packer to Produce 2022 Academy Awards Show

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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organization that produces the Oscar Award ceremonies, has announced next year’s producer.

Academy President David Rubin announced that Emmy®-nominated producer Will Packer has been tapped to produce the 94th Oscars®. This upcoming production will be Packer’s first time being involved with the Oscars.

The show is scheduled to air live on ABC and broadcast outlets worldwide on Sunday, March 27, 2022.

“The power, the beauty, the romance of the imagery in movies has always attracted me. I’m fully embracing the challenge of bringing an ode to one of the most iconic mediums in the world to life. What an honor!” said Packer in a written statement.

I’d like to thank the Academy 🤯🕺🏾 pic.twitter.com/3P7lNltkDc

— Will Packer (@willpowerpacker) October 5, 2021

The talented Packer is the founder and CEO of his own film production company, Will Packer Productions, and Will Packer Media, a television, digital, and branded content company. He has produced, or executive produced many movies that have earned critical praise throughout the years. Films that may be recognizable include “The Photograph,” “Little,” “What Men Want,” “Night School,” “Breaking In,” “Girls Trip,” “Ride Along 2,” “Straight Outta Compton,” “No Good Deed,” “Think Like a Man Too,” “Ride Along,” “Think Like a Man,” “Takers,” “Obsessed” and “Stomp the Yard.”

Packer has also been involved in television production as well. His list of television credits includes “That Girl Lay Lay,” “Blackballed,” “Ambitions,” “Bigger,” “Being Mary Jane,” and “Uncle Buck.” Packer’s remake of “Roots” earned the producer an Emmy nomination.

Next year, the 94th Oscars will be on Sunday, March 27, 2022, at the Dolby® Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood. The event will be televised live on ABC and in more than 200 territories worldwide.

In September, Deadline reported, “Celebrity influencer,” Nigerian National “Ray Hushpuppi” will be the focus of a Will Packer-produced film that he will be doing in conjunction with Mo Abudu’s EbonyLife Studios as they are teaming up to develop an untitled project based on Evan Ratliff’s Bloomberg article, “The Fall of the Billionaire Gucci Master.”

Next month, Packer will be serving as the Jury President for the 2021 American Black Film Festival (ABFF) Live events in Miami Beach, Nov. 3–7, followed by a week of virtual events on abffplay.com from Nov. 8–14.

• Business

by BLACK ENTERPRISE Editors

October 6, 2021

Former Miss Houston, Lesha Wincher, Founder of E L L E É Salon + Spa, Shares Her Journey To Entrepreneurship

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From a very young age, Lesha Wincher knew she wanted to be an entrepreneur. Fast forward to present day, Wincher has done just that by opening her own business, E L L E É Salon + Spa, in Houston, Texas this month.

As a former Houston Texans Cheerleader and Miss Houston USA 2018, Wincher has always gravitated towards the beauty industry with a particular interest in the interconnectedness of inner and outer beauty. More specifically, Wincher’s passion lies in how beautifying the inside can consequently makeover the outside appearance.

Her experience in cheerleading, as well as pageants, gave her a unique lens into the beauty industry. Not only did she learn techniques to enhance her natural beauty for the stage, but she also felt firsthand how a beauty routine or treatment could restore her mind after grueling competitions and game-days. This experience, coupled with her passion to help others feel their best, ignited her interest to establish a new era of luxury in the Houston beauty market.

Wincher states, “I first envisioned the idea of a luxury salon & spa when the COVID-19 pandemic first hit Houston. I found it difficult to navigate different cosmetic appointments across town while many were closed or had different COVID policies. My mission was really for E L L E É to be a rejuvenating oasis in the middle of the urban buzz, where both women and men can unwind to experience unlimited luxury for mind, body, and soul.”

With the many challenges and steps it takes to become an entrepreneur, marketing is always a big play.

When asked about her marketing strategy in her beginning planning stages, Lesha stated, “I wanted to market from every angle possible. I had to envision myself as a consumer and evaluate what I see the most while consuming media on a daily basis. Evidently, with today’s large social media presence, we really took an aim on that. However, I also wanted to be sure that individuals who weren’t on social media would be able to hear and learn more about E L L E É salon + spa.”

With Houston being such a big city, Wincher aimed to create that luxury atmosphere that her guests could come in and unwind.

She shared, “E L L E É is going to offer everything in everyone’s price point so they can indulge at their comfort level while still being treated like royalty.”

While the modern design and efficacious brand partners like Biologique Recherche and ORIBE certainly don’t hurt the salon’s stunning curb appeal, the real draw of E L L E É, is the perfect balance of relaxation and luxury that you feel upon arrival. The talented staff will be catering to your every request with their unique, personal approach and vast treatment menu, so you’ll be sure to find your service soulmate and leave with an experience that exceeds your expectations.

E L L E É officially opened to the public September 24th and now resides at 707 Yale St., Suite 200 Houston, TX 77007. For more information and to book your future appointment, visit https://elleehouston.com

• Women

by Derek Major

October 6, 2021

Rochester Mayor To Resign As Part of Plea Deal For Campaign Finance Violations and Child-Endangerment Charges

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Rochester, N.Y. Mayor Lovely Warren agreed to resign Monday as part of a plea deal stemming from campaign finance violations and child-endangerment charges.

The deal resolves two separate state charges against the former mayor, campaign finance violations, and gun and child endangerment charges that Warren and her husband faced. The plea makes Warren’s resignation official Dec. 1, one month before she would’ve had to leave office after losing the mayoral primary in June to City Councilman Malik Evans.

Last September, Warren’s administration was accused of a cover up related to the death of Daniel Prude, a Black man who was suffering from a mental episode after ingesting PCP and walking naked in the streets on March 23. Police discovered Prude and held him face down on the pavement for more than two minutes and put a hood over his head.

A month later, Warren was indicted by a grand jury in Monroe County on two campaign finance violations related to her 2017 reelection campaign.

Earlier this summer, Warren and her husband, Timothy Granison, were indicted on gun and child endangerment charges after police found weapons in a raid of a home they shared in May, despite being estranged at the time.

Granison was also previously charged as part of what prosecutors called a drug trafficking ring. His charges in that case are separate from Warren’s plea deal, according to the New York Times. After his arrest in May, Warren said in a news conference she was the victim of a conspiracy engineered by the county prosecutor to discredit her on the eve of the primary.

However, Warren’s second term was enough to get voters to stop believing in her. In addition to her legal issues, Prude’s death led to citywide protests and the firing of Rochester Police Chief La’Ron Singletary, who said Warren told him to cover up Prude’s death. The area was also hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, with 150 news cases a day occurring in Monroe County.

Warren was initially elected in 2013, after stunning upsets in the primary and the general election over Democratic incumbent Thomas Richards, who ran on two third party lines. The victories made Warren, a lawyer and City Council president, Rochester’s first female mayor and the youngest in the modern era.

• Lifestyle

by Tai Saint-Louis

October 6, 2021

Taraji P. Henson Announces She’s Pivoting To Music, Working On Debut EP

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Taraji P. Henson is working on her music debut, she announced on Good Morning America on Wednesday.

She made the surprise announcement during an interview about her upcoming TV special, Muppets Haunted Mansion.

After airing a clip that finds her character Constance Hatchaway performing a duet with Pepé the King Prawn, Robin Roberts complimented the actress on her voice and asked if fans could expect to hear her sing in more roles, Henson replied, “I’m actually working on an EP. Surprise!”

She described the upcoming project as “feel-good music” and explained that she felt it was time to pivot in her career.

“I’ve done so many iconic roles, you know? [With] acting, it has to be something that excites me and challenges me,” Henson said. “Like Miss Hannigan in Annie, that’s musical theater, taking me back to my roots. So it’s about just continuing to challenge myself. I kept saying that music, I might have missed it because I became a mother so early on in college, but God has other plans for me. Because the music is just really falling in my lap. Like, it started with The Muppets, and through the Muppets, I booked Miss Hannigan, and it just keeps coming. So, Imma ride the wave. Why not?”

Henson is set to play Annie’s iconic nemesis in Annie Live!, airing on NBC on Dec. 2, which will only be her second role of the year. On Monday, she released the trailer for the second season of her Emmy Award-winning Facebook Watch series, Peace of Mind With Taraji. According to People, the new 10-episode season finds her discussing a range of topics from overcoming adversity to how society forces Black men to mask their emotions. She and host Tracie Jade will be joined a bevy of young voices, including Megan Thee Stallion, Chloe Bailey, Angela Simmons, and rising basketball star Karl Anthony-Towns, who lost his mother to COVID-19 last year.

Muppets Haunted Mansion will be available to stream on Disney+ starting on Oct. 8. The kid-friendly Halloween special also stars Yvette Nicole Brown, Alphonso Ribeiro, and the voices of Craig Robinson and Skai Jackson.

Henson did not specify when fans can expect to hear her music debut.

• Lifestyle

by BLACK ENTERPRISE Editors

October 6, 2021

6-year-old Girl Makes History as Georgia’s Youngest Certified Farmer

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Who said kids don’t like their veggies?

Well, little Kendall Rae Johnson is using her love for produce to produce a garden and make history as Georgia’s youngest grower.

At just 6 years old, Kendall Rae has claimed the title as the youngest certified farmer in the state of Georgia.

With the help of her mom, Kendall Rae started a business called “aGROWKulture” and joined several organizations to make her foray into farming more official.

She joined Georgia Grown, a division of Georgia’s Department of Agriculture, and the Georgia Farm Bureau, GMA reports.

Now that Kendall Rae’s got her business buzzing, she can apply for grants or scholarships to help her farming business flourish.

“She started out in a patio garden and the patio garden grew from a little bitty something to, by the time her fourth birthday came, we had a full-fledged garden in our backyard,” Kendall’s mother, Ursula Johnson, said. “And then we moved, and now she has a farm.”

Kendall Rae got her green thumb from her great-grandmother Laura “Kate” Williams, her mom said.

After getting bit by the agricultural bug, Kendall Rae started to grow everything from okra, a southern staple, to carrots, cucumbers, squash, zucchini and strawberries.

The young farmer has made it a point to share her love for the craft through a monthly gardening club and she offers a subscription food box. Through spreading awareness Kendall Rae has helped other families and young aspiring agriculturalists foster a love for learning about food from farm to table.

Georgia state Rep. Mandisha Thomas is one of Kendall Rae’s biggest supporters and enlisted her help to support other young farmers in the South Fulton area. Her efforts resulted in Kendall Rae helping Thomas to raise some $85,000, according to the outlet.

Now Kendal Rae wants to raise funds for an outdoor agricultural science lab to begin composting but needs $10,000 to make the project a reality.

Hopefully Tyler Perry can help.

• News

by Ashantai Hathaway

October 6, 2021

Detroit Post Office to be Named After Aretha Franklin

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The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, is getting some R-E-S-P-E-C-T in her hometown of Detroit. A local post office will officially be named after the late great singer.

The post office will now be named the “Aretha Franklin Post Office Building.” It is just five miles away from another location named after the late star. Detroit’s concert amphitheater is also named after Franklin.

“Her legacy lives on in her music, in her family. But we have added to that list of her legacy: A post office with her name on it,” said U.S. Rep. Brenda Lawrence, a Michigan Democrat and longtime postal service worker.

Congresswoman Lawrence, who was also a longtime friend of Franklin, and also a former postal worker,  was behind the idea. She introduced the bill in Congress that led to the name change, which is being praised for its bipartisan support.

“Sometimes people wonder if Congress can come together,” the Democratic senator said to laughter during the dedication ceremony Monday. “Congress can come together when it comes to standing up and recognizing this amazing person, U.S. Sen. Gary Peters told AP News.

Franklin’s legacy lives on not only through her music, but a recent biopic, Respect, starring Jennifer Hudson shared her storied life and career. The movie earned 8.8 million in the box office during its opening weekend, according to the Detroit Free Press.  Hudson was handpicked by Aretha Franklin to play the role.

“It’s like, ‘Oh wow, Jesus, what am I supposed to do with this?’ How do you approach something so huge, of the magnitude that it is?,” she told The Independent. “And being a fan, I’m aware of that, which is what made it an even more personal project to me.”

Franklin died at the age of 76  from pancreatic neuroendocrine cancer on Aug. 16, 2018 in her Detroit home.

• News

by Ashantai Hathaway

October 6, 2021

White NJ Man Behind Viral Racist Rant Against Black Family Slapped With 22 Charges For Six Separate Criminal Acts Against Black Neighbors

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A White man who was arrested over the summer for his racist rant against his Black neighbors is still in jail and now facing new charges.

Edward “Cagney” Matthews, went viral in July for a racist confrontation in his Mount Laurel, New Jersey neighborhood for aggressively approaching a black neighbor and shouting racial insults at him, calling him a “monkey.”

During the rant, Matthews gave his address and urged people to “come see me” in the viral video. People listened and showed up at his house a few days later for a protest that lasted hours and eventually led to Matthews’ arrest.

In the latest development, Matthews is now accused of leaving a threatening note on a neighbor’s car and damaging their vehicle, Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina announced on Tuesday.

Matthews now has 22 separate charges since the video emerged in July 2. Charges include bias intimidation, harassment, criminal mischief, possession of a weapon (slingshot) for an unlawful purpose, possession of a controlled dangerous substance, possession of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to distribute, stalking, certain persons not to have weapons, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Attorneys in the case responded to the latest charges in a statement, “the report notes that MLPD generally viewed the complaints raised by Essex Place residents on a case-by-case basis, rather than taking a problem-oriented approach,”

“With a broader perspective on the situation in the community, MLPD might have been able to devise an effective solution and brought relief to the residents Mathews had victimized sooner than his July 2 arrest.”

According to the Burlington County Prosecutor “We empathize with the residents of Essex Place who were on the receiving end of Mathews’ conduct,” Coffina said. “No one should have to endure racial harassment anywhere, but especially not in their own neighborhood and even in their own home.”

• News

by Ashantai Hathaway

October 6, 2021

Michigan Nurse Faces Federal Charges for Selling COVID Vaccine Cards

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Authorities say a Michigan nurse abused her privileges and sold coronavirus vaccine cards over the internet.

According to investigators, Bethann Kierczak used Facebook to sell vaccine cards she obtained from Michigan Veterans Affairs hospital.

Federal authorities have charged Kierczak with stealing coronavirus vaccination cards from the VA hospital in Southgate, Michigan. The charges include, theft of government property and theft or embezzlement related to a health care benefit program, according to Mlive.

Authorities say she also used vaccine lot numbers required to make the cards appear legitimate and resold those cards for $150-$200, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Wednesday in the U.S. Eastern District Court in Michigan.

For over four months, the complaint states, Kierczak, 37, sold the cards across metro Detroit, using Facebook Messenger as a way to communicate with potential buyers.

“Regardless of whether an individual chooses to get vaccinated, we urge everyone to avoid turning to schemes like these to evade vaccination requirements,” acting U.S. Attorney Saima S. Mohsin said in a statement. ” . . . Selling these cards is a crime.”

Kierczak is just one of several cases that involve illegally selling coronavirus vaccine cards in an attempt to evade immunization requirements.

Since vaccines became widely available in the U.S., federal authorities say they have charged numerous people with selling the immunization records now required to enter schools, work and public spaces.

Federal authorities have also seized thousands of fake vaccination cards that were meant to be distributed across the country.

Authorities arrested Kierczak on Sept. 29.  The VA condemned Kierczak’s alleged scheme.

“VA’s COVID-19 safety protocols, including ensuring accurate vaccination records, exist to keep both veterans and VA’s healthcare workers safe during this global pandemic,” Gavin McClaren, acting special agent in charge at the VA’s Office of Inspector General’s Central Field Office, said in a statement.

Kierczak was released after paying her $10,000 bond. She is due back in court for a preliminary hearing on Oct. 22, court records state.