BBQ Invite Activated: Angelina Jolie Joined Her Black Daughter for Spelman’s Homecoming Weekend
by Jeroslyn JoVonn

October 25, 2022

BBQ Invite Activated: Angelina Jolie Joined Her Black Daughter for Spelman’s Homecoming Weekend

Angelina Jolie was outside for Spelman homecoming weekend and Atlanta Twitter has been cutting up about it.

The Academy Award-winning actress was in Atlanta over the weekend to support her daughter, Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt, for her first homecoming as a college student. Jolie was low-key with no paparazzi or entourage while enjoying the festivities with her daughter, HuffPost reported.

The Eternals star was photographed hanging out with other parents, students, and attendees at the event.

“Angelina Jolie was really OUTSIDE with her daughter Zahara at Spelhouse Homecoming this past weekend. 🔥🔥🔥.” Followers captioned a post of photos showing Jolie enjoying the Spelhouse vibes.

A student doing community service was able to snap a photo with Jolie and Zahara.

Others applauded the Hollywood star for attending Spelhouse without any security or entourage.

https://twitter.com/_ethatsme/status/1583966574431834113?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1583966574431834113%7Ctwgr%5E02dafbd6f3eee0c54d9a095458972ec4ff327a96%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fnews.yahoo.com%2Flesson-non-black-folks-showing-193252976.html

https://twitter.com/briatheengineer/status/1583871577783140352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1583871577783140352%7Ctwgr%5E02dafbd6f3eee0c54d9a095458972ec4ff327a96%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fnews.yahoo.com%2Flesson-non-black-folks-showing-193252976.html

One video clip showed how “down to earth and beautiful” Jolie was while supporting her daughter at the homecoming event.

https://twitter.com/DaggerIsLove/status/1584186678138515456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1584186678138515456%7Ctwgr%5E02dafbd6f3eee0c54d9a095458972ec4ff327a96%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fnews.yahoo.com%2Flesson-non-black-folks-showing-193252976.html

Zahara is one of Jolie’s six children she welcomed and adopted while married to actor Brad Pitt. Jolie adopted Zahara from Ethiopia back in 2005, according to Yahoo.

The 17-year-old is completing her first year of college as a freshman at Spelman, and her superstar mom has been present during the transition. Jolie shared her excitement when dropping Zahara off at the prestigious all-women’s HBCU this past summer.

“Zahara with her Spelman sisters!” Jolie captioned the post.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Angelina Jolie (@angelinajolie)

“Congratulations to all new students starting this year. A very special place and an honor to have a family member as a new Spelman girl.”

Amid Jolie’s appearance at Spelhouse, some credited her composure during the event as an example of how non-Black people are “showing up in Black spaces.”

“I appreciate how Angelina Jolie shows up in Spelman spaces and doesn’t make it about her. (I kinda hate how we often make it about her.) There’s a lesson there for non-black folks showing up in black spaces.”

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

October 25, 2022

Brittney Griner’s Appeal of 9 Year Sentence Rejected by Russian Court

The situation regarding WNBA player Brittney Griner has taken a slight turn for the worst as a Russian court has rejected an appeal she recently filed.

According to NBA.com, Griner, who was sentenced to nine years in prison by a Russian court earlier this year for possession of drugs, had her appeal rejected as the court upheld the sentence given to her. The WNBA All-Star American basketball player was convicted on Aug. 4 after authorities in Russia said vape canisters that had cannabis oil in them were discovered in her luggage at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport.

The hearing took place via a video call from the penal colony where Griner is currently imprisoned.

On Tuesday, the Moscow region court ruled in favor of upholding the sentence imposed on her.

According to the ruling, the court stated that the time Griner spent in pre-trial detention will now be counted as 1.5 days in prison. With that calculation, it reduces her prison time to about eight years instead of the nine she was sentenced to.

The eight-time all-star center who was a member of the Phoenix Mercury was going back to Russia, where she had been playing for a Russian team during the WNBA offseason.

During the trial she confessed to having the canisters but she unknowingly packed them in her luggage. She submitted statements saying she was prescribed cannabis to treat pain.

At the time of the incident, Russia had just started a war with Ukraine and they sent troops into their region. It’s been speculated that Griner was arrested because America is an ally of Ukraine.

The pro basketball player was sentenced close to the maximum sentence of 10 years, which her attorneys argued was excessive. They presented cases that were similar where defendants received an average sentence of five years, with approximately 33% of them being given parole.

There were earlier reports that the United States had offered a prisoner exchange in hopes of having Briner returned to America. They have allegedly offered to send a Russian arms dealer, Viktor Bout, nicknamed the “merchant of death” in exchange for Briner and Paul Whelan, who is an American serving a 16-year sentence in Russia for espionage.

Rock Star Lenny Kravitz Teams With Cadillac To Design and Launch Futuristic Electric Vehicle
by Atiya Jordan

October 25, 2022

Rock Star Lenny Kravitz Teams With Cadillac To Design and Launch Futuristic Electric Vehicle

Lenny Kravitz is bringing the future of the auto industry to life.

The rock star and style icon was invited to collaborate with General Motors’ (GM) Cadillac to design and launch the ultra-luxury and futuristic Celestiq EV flagship brand.

Early last week, a video on Cadillac’s Twitter showed the “Let Love Rule” singer arriving at GM’s Global Technical Center in Warren, Michigan, where each production-spec, all-electric, and zero tailpipe emission 2024 Cadillac Celestiq will be hand-built. The price tag starts at $300,000.

Available by request only, cars can be ordered as early as later this year, followed by extremely low production in December 2023, according to GM. Customers can work with designers and a Cadillac concierge for desired customizations on the interior trim, exterior color, and other elements.

Kravitz stepped in to share his personal story about Cadillacs.

“My grandfather, he always had Cadillacs. He changed them out every few years,” the musician, actor, and AD100 designer told Vanity Fair.

“And he used to pile all of us in the back, like five or six kids, and he would take us out of Brooklyn. He wanted to expose the neighborhood kids to art, to the museums, to theater, to sports. So the Cadillac was his vehicle to put us all in, and take us to expose us to all of these wonderful things.”

As part of his collaboration, Kravitz will be sharing ideas for his own customized electric car. He is no stranger to creating residential designs out of his own conceptual creative studio, Kravitz Design Studio.

The designer wil work closely with Michael Simcoe, GM’s vice president of global design to implement his designs to the car’s interior.

“I definitely want it to have an edge that reflects me as well as having a timeless quality,” Kravitz said in the video teasing the car.

“Something you can look back at 40 years later and it still speaks.”

For 15 years, Kravitz has never had a car while living in Paris and has opted to get around on motorcycles. But that’s all going to change.

He wants his new car to be “sort of a nighttime vehicle going through the streets of Paris. I want it to just hover there at night. And I’m only going to go where you can park it right in front,”  Kravitz told Vanity Fair.

UNESCO, Pharrell Williams, Richard Mille, watch, black designer
by Stacy Jackson

October 25, 2022

Miami Welcomes Pharrell’s 5,000-Square-Foot Billionaire Boys Club Flagship Store

Luxury streetwear and cultural art have found a new home in The Magic City.

Pharrell Williams held a grand opening for his Billionaire Boys Club (BBC) at its new location in Wynwood, Miami. On Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022, the record producer welcomed celebrity friends and fans to the inauguration of the luxury streetwear brand’s flagship store.

According to Forbes, BBC ICECREAM was founded by the rapper and NIGO in 2003 and opened its first flagship in New York City’s Soho neighborhood in November 2007. The new store is a 5,000-square-foot space that houses products and art installations for customers to get an immersive brand experience.

“I’m very grateful that we have the opportunity to bring our flagship store to Miami. It’s going to be a place where people can come in to get inspired by the mix of fashion, culture, art, and design,” Williams said.

The retail space reportedly consists of environmentally-friendly materials throughout and is framed with the colors green and blue. Material textures like recycled plastics, glass, and wood panels are displayed throughout the store.

“Now, more than ever, we believe that curating brand physical experiences via brick-and-mortar shopping locations and in-store experiences are imperative to connect on a deeper level with our customers,” said Chief Strategy Officer of Billionaire Boys Club Matt Kaden.

Guests can shop the exclusive collaborative products provided by mainstay brands, including Billionaire Boys Club, ICECREAM, Billionaire Girls Club, Bee Line, Human Made, Adidas, MEDICOM, Comme des Garçons PLAY, and more.

“We curated brands thinking of what would be the best to complete BBC and ICECREAM’s existing products and taking into consideration the Miami location and lifestyle,” said Sarah Andelman, founder of French streetwear cult retailer Colette.

“We kept in mind what Pharrell would personally like to find in the job and will regularly be refreshing and updating the selection for Special Events.”

Celebrities in attendance included Flo Rida, David Beckham, Cruz Beckham, Trina, N.O.R.E., and music producer, London On Da Track.

Billionaire Boys Club ICECREAM is located at 2545 NW 3rd Avenue.

Ex-Minneapolis Police Officer J. Alexander Kueng Pleads Guilty in George Floyd Killing
by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

October 25, 2022

Ex-Minneapolis Police Officer J. Alexander Kueng Pleads Guilty in George Floyd Killing

As the next trial for the police officers present during George Floyd‘s murder was set to start, one of the officers made a deal to serve less time.

According to CNN, Minnesota police officer J. Alexander Kueng, who was about to stand trial with fellow police officer, Tou Thao, for aiding and abetting second-degree unintentional murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter in the killing of Floyd, changed his plea before it began. Kueng pled guilty to manslaughter, and prosecutors dropped the charges for aiding and abetting in the killing of Floyd.

The former police officer must serve, at minimum, 28 out of the 42-month prison term. Reportedly, no fine will be assessed to him, but he will pay restitution, which will be determined by the court.

“The plea by former Minneapolis officer J. Alexander Kueng demonstrates that justice takes time to be secured but that, in this case, various measures of justice continue to be delivered for the family of George Floyd,” attorneys Ben Crump, Antonio Romanucci, and Jeff Storms said in a written statement on Monday.

“We must never forget the horror of what we all saw in that nine-minute video, and that there rightfully should be both accountability for all involved as well as deep lessons learned for police officers and communities everywhere.”

Hennepin County Judge, Peter Cahill, stated that Kueng won’t be sentenced until after Jan. 24.

Robert Paule, Thao’s attorney, told the judge that his client and prosecutors have decided to go forward with his trial by stipulated evidence. Paule and the prosecution team will submit evidence to the judge instead of in front of a jury, since Thao waived his right to a trial by jury.

Reportedly, both sides will submit evidence and written and closing arguments to Cahill by Nov. 17. Judge Cahill will then have 90 days to issue a sentence based on the documents. If the former police officer is convicted of aiding and abetting manslaughter, then prosecutors will drop his second charge. Thao will remain jailed in segregation in Hennepin County until the decision is made.

Last month, according to The Associated Press, former Minneapolis police officer, Thomas Lane, who is already serving a federal sentence of two-and-a-half years in prison, received a three-year sentence in a plea deal he made on a state charge in connection to Floyd’s murder. In exchange for Lane’s guilty plea, prosecutors dismissed the murder charge against him.

In July, Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of killing Floyd, was sentenced to 21 years in federal prison for violating Floyd’s civil rights. On Dec. 15, Chauvin pleaded guilty and admitted that he kept his knee on Floyd’s neck, even after he stopped moving, which resulted in his death on May 25, 2020. He admitted to willfully depriving Floyd of his right to be free from unreasonable seizure, including unreasonable force by a police officer.

by Derek Major

October 25, 2022

Black Wall Street Business Center Launches to Give Minority Businesses a Boost

Minority businesses in Tulsa, Oklahoma have been given a leg up with the grand opening of the Black Wall Street Business Center.

The Tulsa World reports that the 2,200-square-foot facility will work to advance Black, indigenous, and minority businesses and entrepreneurship. The center is also the finishing touch of Sherry Gamble Smith, the Black Wall Street Chamber of Commerce President who was killed earlier this summer.

“The original vision was not just co-working, but incubation as well, being able to give businesses the resources they need to create sustainability and growth, depending on where they are in their process,” Lindsey Corbitt the executive director of the Black Wall Street Business Center told The Tulsa World.

“We are expanding off an idea that she had, that had begun to connect on and operate, which is Nest Collective, an accelerator program for entrepreneurs.

“From that concept, we noticed that some of those businesses needed more resources and loved just being in that environment with other entrepreneurs, which expanded the idea into a co-working space and shared offices so people can continue to utilize those resources that we provide.”

The business center pays homage to the Tulsa Greenwood neighborhood, which featured dozens of prominent Black businesses and flourished as a Black economic and cultural hub known as Black Wall Street until the Tulsa Race Massacre on May 31, 1921.

The Black Wall Street Business Center is located in Suite 800 at 1800 S. Baltimore Avenue and features three shared office spaces, 16 working desks, a seating area and a meeting room, free Wi-Fi and printing, and a kitchen with coffee, snacks, tea and water.

Shared offices can be rented for $400 a month and desks at $250 a month. The Center will be open five days a week from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

“Our goal here was to make minorities the focus,” said Corbitt, who also serves as interim president of the Black Wall Street Chamber of Commerce. “Of course, at the chamber, they target Black-owned businesses. Having a space they are comfortable in and made just for them is very important to us. So, the more access they have to business education, the better.”

TIAA CEO Thasunda Brown Duckett Talks Having a Strategic Retirement Plan After Her Father Missed Out on Savings
by Stacy Jackson

October 25, 2022

TIAA CEO Thasunda Brown Duckett Talks Having a Strategic Retirement Plan After Her Father Missed Out on Savings

The head of a leading financial services provider encourages people to have a strategic investment plan to avoid losing out on the full benefits of retirement earnings.

Thasunda Brown Duckett, CEO of the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA), provides investment and insurance services for employees in education, medicine, culture, and research. Working at the organization led her to realize that her father lost out on years of retirement savings.

Duckett stepped into the role as CEO at TIAA in 2021 and is reportedly one of two Black women CEOs of a Fortune 500 company. Duckett’s father, Otis Brown, missed out on years of benefits in retirement as a result of never taking part in any further retirement planning beyond his pension investment.

“The information his company was providing [about retirement benefits] didn’t connect with a man in the warehouse,” Duckett told Fortune during the Fortune Most Powerful Women Conference.

The Economic Innovation Group (EIG) found that 41% of Black American families had retirement savings, as compared to 68% of white counterparts. She stressed the importance of having a robust investment portfolio, as studies found a high number of Americans risk running out of retirement money because they aren’t diversifying their retirement investments.

“The Fed has been very clear,” Duckett said.

“It wants inflation down to 2 percent; currently it’s at 8.3 percent. A recession is looking likely. The question is, ‘How long and how hard?’ We don’t know.”

According to a recent interview with Barron’s, the retirement expert shared that Millennials and Gen Z should prepare for a shift in wealth as a result of the start of one of the greatest transfers of intergenerational wealth that is likely to take place within the next five years. However, they also need to prepare to face new headwinds when it comes to retirement savings.

“Compared with their parents and grandparents, younger generations have fewer options to save for retirement,” she said.

“Older workers may have had access to employer-sponsored, defined benefits (DB) or pension plans which helped set them up for financial success and provided greater access to lifetime income options. Today, few employers offer these types of plans, opting instead for defined contribution (DC) plans, if they’re offering a retirement plan at all. In fact, one-third of Americans today say they don’t have access at all to an employer-sponsored retirement plan.”

by Anne-Lyse Wealth

October 25, 2022

Meet Michael MacDonald, One of the Forces Behind the Earn Your Leisure Business Empire

The Earn Your Leisure (EYL) founders took the world by storm with a different approach, combining business, financial literacy, and entertainment to build a business empire. 

The company started in 2019 with what is now a Top 40 business podcast and has since expanded into a media organization; an online education platform, Earn Your Leisure University; and a one-of-a-kind festival, Invest Fest.

When discussing financial literacy, it is hard to miss Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings, co-founders of Earn Your Leisure. But, Michael MacDonald, the third co-founder of EYL, has been working quietly behind the scenes from day one to build the EYL brand and turn it into the success it is today.

Bilal, Millings, and MacDonald all grew up in New York City and have known each other since elementary school. Today, they are business partners in multiple ventures and have grown Earn Your Leisure to eight figures in revenue. It all started with a dream. Now these founders are taking Invest Fest to Europe, with plans to turn EYL and EYL University into publicly traded companies in the future.

I sat with MacDonald to discuss his journey as the third Founder of Earn Your Leisure. He shared the incredible odds he overcame to get to where he is today. “I grew up in the projects, on welfare, with a single mom and five siblings. I was in special education. I wasn’t supposed to make it,” MacDonald told BLACK ENTERPRISE.

MacDonald’s story is a testament to the belief that your start doesn’t have to determine how far you go in life. Here are my key takeaways from our conversation.

       Photo Credit: North 13th and Create

Overnight success takes 10 years

For many people, Earn Your Leisure blew up out of nowhere. But, for years, Bilal and Millings were in classrooms teaching the youth about financial literacy. MacDonald, the brain behind the visuals and EYL’s early content strategy, had been practicing his craft for years.

“I started making flyers for promoters in my neighborhood, getting $50 a flyer at 14 years old. I was doing graphic design throughout high school.

One of my friends and mentor taught me photography, and I was a photographer for ten years. Before Earn Your Leisure. I worked with DJs, influencers, and models to help them get off the ground and build their brands,” MacDonald said.

The three friends found success with Earn Your Leisure, but it wasn’t the first business they started together. “We started investing in real estate in 2008, but that didn’t work out. We tried a cloud business for DJs. We had a couple of small businesses.”

Years later, the trio started EYL without investing much money upfront. “We started the podcast with no money. We just invested our time.”

Photo Credit: North 13 and Create

Have a Clear Vision, Build the Right Team, and Get To Work

According to MacDonald, in 2017, when Bilal had around 300 followers, he shared his desire to build a financial literacy brand on social media. “He told me he wanted to build his Instagram to be the biggest financial literacy platform on the internet. I said, let’s do it and plugged him into different tools, doing photoshoots and videography work with him and building content. He started posting financial clips, and it was catching attention.”

When Bilal reached 40,000 followers on Instagram, people kept telling him to start a podcast.

“When Rashad (Bilal) asked me about it. I told him it was a good opportunity and how we could monetize it. So, we set up the podcast, and he was looking for a co-host. He thought, who better than Troy (Milling)? He talked to Troy every day. It made sense, and Troy was down with it.”

So MacDonald created the LLC, set up the podcast, the YouTube, and the trio got to work. In less than four months, the podcast had 5,000 listeners.

                                                                     Photo Credit:Jaylon “Quality” Cooper

Invest in Your Vision and Let Everyone Play Their Role

In the early days, MacDonald said, everyone had to sacrifice time and resources to make the vision happen. “I knew I was losing money on some other clients because I was dedicated so much time to Earn Your Leisure. But, I believed it wasn’t just about Rashad, Troy, or Michael, but that what we were doing would change the world, and financially our lives would change too.”

After the podcast’s success, MacDonald thought about launching Earn Your Leisure University and selling EYL merchandise. For the first 18 months, they didn’t take a dollar out of the company. Instead, they put all the money they earned back into the business.

They started selling EYL merchandise and built the ecosystem for EYL University. EYL University got to 4,000 members in less than a year.

Bilal, Millings, and MacDonald partnered with MG The Mortgage Guy on EYL University, and he handled everything real estate on the platform to further expand the EYL organization. Eventually, they started hiring people to help expand the company. Today, Earn Your Leisure employs 15 people. MacDonald shared that Earn Your Leisure went from earning $100,000 in its first year in business to Earn Your Leisure and EYL University being on track to hit eight figures in 2022, excluding Invest Fest, which is a monster in itself.

It is clear that the co-founders understand and respect each others’ roles on the EYL Team. “You need the talent. But you also need the systems and the machine behind the talent. Everybody has a role to play,” MacDonald said.

 

Be Consistent

MacDonald recalled the challenges, especially the first 18 months, when they were pouring all their time and energy but were not receiving any income from EYL. They had to remain consistent, regardless. Building a business empire like Earn Your Leisure requires consistency and sacrifice. MacDonald remembers wanting to go out on Friday night or to watch football on Sunday, but not being able to do those things for a long period. Instead, along with Millings and Bilal, he dedicated that time to Earn Your Leisure and turning their vision into reality.

“You can’t give up on your dream. It’s going to be ups and downs. There were times when I didn’t think I could do it anymore. But I kept going because I knew it would be bigger than anything we had ever done.”

Anne-Lyse Wealth is a certified public accountant, a financial literacy advocate, and a communications strategist for business leaders.

She is the founder of The ALW Communications Agency, which helps leaders amplify their brand through storytelling and PR, and the Plutus Awards-nominated Dreamoflegacy.com, a platform dedicated to inspiring millennials to build wealth with purpose.

Anne-Lyse is a freelance writer for Fortune Magazine, Business Insider, and Harvard Business Review Ascend, among other publications. She is the author of Dream of Legacy, Raising Strong and Financially Secure Black Kids, and the host of The Dreamers Podcast.

Global Ministry Leaders Sarah Jakes Roberts and Her Husband Sell Calabasas Mansion for $9.5M
by Atiya Jordan

October 25, 2022

Global Ministry Leaders Sarah Jakes Roberts and Her Husband Sell Calabasas Mansion for $9.5M

Pastor Sarah Jakes Roberts, the daughter of famed pastor T.D. Jakes, and her husband, Touré Roberts, are looking for an eight-figure deal to part ways with their luscious Venetian-style mansion in the San Fernando Valley community of Calabasas.

Dirt reported that the global ministry leaders of ONE Church had listed the 9,473-square-feet home for under $9.5 million. The asking price comes two years since the couple purchased the property for $4 million in 2020.

Photo:  Frontgate Real Estate

Dana Olmes and Jeff Biebuyck of Frontgate Real Estate are currently holding the listing on behalf of the couple.

Originally built in 2004, the California abode features a two-level living space with seven bedrooms and eight bathrooms. The listing confirms that the stucco and terracotta roof structure had been newly painted, and the inside of the house flashes with glamour. Boasting a lush mix of stone and marble floors,  the home is furnished with designer light fixtures and high-coved ceilings throughout.

Photo:  Frontgate Real Estate
Photo:  Frontgate Real Estate
Photo: Frontgate Real Estate

ATheamenities offer fitness options and entertainment for the entire family, including a movie theater room with leather recliners and a gym. Other comforts include an office, upstairs family room, two-double car garages, solar panel system, detached pool house with living room, fireplace, bedroom, bath, private back patio, and much more.

Photo:  Frontgate Real Estate

The daughter of renowned faith leader Bishop T.D. Jakes, Jakes Roberts is redefining what it means to be a modern woman of faith through her bestselling books, sermons, and viral messages. She joins her husband, Roberts, who is also a pastor, motivational speaker, and best-selling author, in leading the charge as a power couple in the faith and empowerment movement.

Jakes Roberts will now pick up her father’s mic as she takes over his popular women’s conference, Woman, Thou Art Loosed! transitions to Woman Evolve, the conference will fall under her ministry mantle, per a press release.

Photo:  Frontgate Real Estate

“Sarah Jakes Roberts, when you walk onto this stage, you are walking into your destiny,” Jakes told his daughter during the Woman, Thou Art Loosed! The Grand Finale at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta in September.

“After 30 years of Woman, Thou Art Loosed! and 45 years of preaching the Gospel, the time has come that I must decrease, and you must increase. This is not an inheritance; this is a calling. You are not standing on this stage for family legacy. This is not a favor, but a divine assignment that Woman, Thou Art Loosed! must evolve.”

For more information about the property, visit Frontgate Real Estate.

Pearl Milling Company Furthers Its Commitment to Uplifting Black Women and Girls, Awarding 17 Grant Recipients in Year 2 of P.E.A.R.L. Pledge Program
by BLACK ENTERPRISE Editors

October 25, 2022

Pearl Milling Company Furthers Its Commitment to Uplifting Black Women and Girls, Awarding 17 Grant Recipients in Year 2 of P.E.A.R.L. Pledge Program

 Pearl Milling Company, the pancake mix and syrup brand that has been creating memorable breakfast moments for over 130 years, today announced the 2022 grant recipients of its P.E.A.R.L. Pledge program.

This year, 17 non-profit organizations will be awarded grants to support meaningful services and education that promote Prosperity, Empowerment, Access, Representation and Leadership for Black women and girls in the U.S. A total of $1 million in grants will be awarded as part of Pearl Milling Company’s continued commitment to help uplift the Black community and PepsiCo’s broader Racial Equality Journey initiative.

“When we launched P.E.A.R.L. Pledge in 2021, we were incredibly inspired to see the breadth of organizations working to enrich the lives of Black women and girls across the country,” said Michelle McAlister, senior director of Marketing at PepsiCo.

“This year, we remain committed to our mission and are excited to move it forward as we look to help support this year’s recipients, and further the positive impact they are having across the country.”

“These organizations are critical and meaningful support systems in our communities, and we’re grateful to be in a position to help.”

The 2022 P.E.A.R.L. Pledge grant recipients have missions that address a wide range of subjects affecting Black women and girls including: homelessness, food insecurity, entrepreneur mentorship, mental health, breast cancer awareness and advocacy, and after-school programs. In addition to having a purpose that aligns with the P.E.A.R.L. Pledge mission and pillars, grant recipients were selected based on how they will use the funding to further their initiatives, among other criteria.

This year’s recipients represent 13 cities from across the Midwest, Northeast, Southeast and Southwest regions. They are:

Pearl Milling Company partnered with an external Advisory Council, seeking their expertise in areas such as racial and social justice and entrepreneurship in the grant recipient selection process. The Advisory Council includes entrepreneur, activist and author Eunique Jones Gibson, entrepreneur, TV host and public speaker Tai Beauchamp, and social entrepreneur and author Jasmine Crowe.

As P.E.A.R.L. Pledge remains a critical part of Pearl Milling Company’s purpose, it also plays a role in progressing PepsiCo’s Racial Equality Journey. P.E.A.R.L. Pledge is one of several initiatives contributing to PepsiCo’s more than $400 million investment over five years focused on increasing Black representation at PepsiCo, supporting Black-owned businesses, and uplifting Black communities in the U.S. P.E.A.R.L. Pledge adds to PepsiCo’s community investment to drive long-term change by addressing systemic barriers to economic opportunity for Black Americans.

To learn more about the 2022 grant recipients, visit the company’s website and follow along on Instagram.

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