Shashalee Forbes, sprinter, Sha’Carri Richardson, Tee Tee Terry, Shashalee Forbes

by Stacy Jackson

April 8, 2024

USA’s Sha’Carri Richardson And Twanisha Terry Carry Injured Jamaican Sprinter Off Track

Jamaican sprinter Shashalee Forbes limped off the track on the shoulders of USA rivals Sha'Carri Richardson and Twanisha Terry.

At the Miramar Invitational Meeting in Florida on April 6, Jamaican sprinter Shashalee Forbes sustained an injury during the final of the 100m event.

USA’s World 100m champion Sha’Carri Richardson and her training partner Twanisha Terry promptly came to Forbes’ side to support her as she walked off the track, according to SportsMax.

Twanisha Terry and Sha’Carri Richardson helping Shashalee Forbes today after she picked up an injury at the Miramar Invitational 👏 pic.twitter.com/U0SXGxPyY2
— RoriDunk (@FitzDunk) April 7, 2024

The Jamaican speedster, who had previously finished third in her 100m heat, took to Instagram to thank the Americans for their sportsmanship at Saturday’s invitational. “Today didn’t go as I expected. Picked up an injury during my 100m final,” she wrote, “Thanks to @canonlybeme__ and @itsshacarri, who ran to my rescue♥️🙏🏾.” She assured supporters that she will “be okay in the name of Jesus” and added, “I just got to do some recovery, and I’ll definitely be back stronger. 💪🏾 ❤️.”

Forbes’ spirit remained resilient as she left followers with a positive message: “Remember, pain is temporary, and scars do tell stories🤞🏾✌🏾.”

Terry wished Forbes a “speedy recovery” in the comments section.

Earlier this year, the Jamaican athlete spoke about her renewed dedication to dietary changes and focus for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

“I would say at this point, in the season, yes, I am in better shape compared to last year,” she told Daily Observer Jamaica and clarified that she stopped eating fast food and incorporated more protein and iron into her diet. “Once I am healthy, then anything is possible,” she added, speaking about her injury-free career at the time. “My training is going great so far because I don’t have any injuries at the moment—and, hopefully, I can carry on injury-free for the remainder of the season.”

Forbes’ dedication to the sport has already yielded impressive results, including a world-leading 7.03 seconds in the women’s 60m event earlier this year. Last season, she clocked a personal best of 10.96 seconds in the 100m at the World Athletics Championships, ranking her as the sixth-fastest Jamaican woman in 2023.

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

April 8, 2024

President Biden Recognizes KRS-One And Kurtis Blow At Lifetime Achievement Awards Ceremony

"On behalf of the American people, President Biden extends his heartfelt appreciation to you for your volunteer leadership, and he encourages you to continue to answer the call to serve."

President Joe Biden recently recognized two hip-hop legends.

New York City hip-hop luminaries KRS-One and Kurtis Blow were acknowledged by the president at the National Hip-Hop Museum in Washington, D.C., on April 4. The lifetime achievement awards were part of a ceremony honoring legends who contributed to the genre before it exploded worldwide: DJ Hurricane, Roxanne Shante, The Fat Boys (Kool Rock Ski), MC Sha Rock, Sweet G, The B-Boys (Donald D), and Queen Lisa Lee.

Biden recognized the rappers who were born Lawrence Parker (KRS-One) and Kurtis Walker (Kurtis Blow) in a letter to the two historic recording artists.

“As it is with Kurtis Blow, as it is with you, America’s story depends not on any one of us, not on some of us, but on all of us. On behalf of the American people, President Biden extends his heartfelt appreciation to you for your volunteer leadership, and he encourages you to continue to answer the call to serve. The country is still counting on you.”

With all the hoopla over the 50th anniversary of hip-hop last year, KRS-One, who was invited to perform at the Grammys, turned down the opportunity to do so, even at the request of fellow hip-hop legend LL COOL J. He reasoned that the organization hadn’t respected the genre for the first 49 years, and he did not want to participate now since he was never invited previously.

He explained why in a YouTube interview.

“So when I got the call, I immediately said, ‘Nah, nah.’ First of all, it’s the Grammys. You get no respect here. None. None, you have no respect here. Now, we respect your existence. We know you exist. And we know that you’re the Grammys, and we understand that, and we respect that. Your existence. But you ignored hip-hop for 49 years…You wait til the 50th year to want to call hip-hop’s authentic teacha? Nah, you don’t get that privilege. I refuse to show up.”

FINANCE, GOALS, WANTS IT ALL, TIPS, WORK LIFE , financial literacy, camp, kids, millionaire, webinar, BALANCE, FINANCIAL, job, day job, career

by Brittany Dandy

April 8, 2024

5 Tips For The Woman Who Wants It All

Originally Published Aug. 7, 2015

Running a business is hard work, and when it comes to juggling your entrepreneurial responsibilities with everyday life events, you may find that time and patience are spread thin—but don’t allow the burnout to become your new normal. Entrepreneur Ayo Ogun-McCants is a busy mother of six and manages to run her small business, Soultanicals, a body and haircare line while homeschooling all her children. She is also a dedicated wife and hard-core DIY’er who still maintains a healthy work and life balance.

Wondering how she does it all? After much trial and error, McCants has broken down her balancing tactic into five valuable tips for the women who want to do it all.

Check out her work-life balance tips below:

Ask for Assistance

Initially, I wanted to do everything. You’ve heard the saying, ‘If you want something done right, do it yourself.’ That was my motto. As my business grew, I knew that could no longer be the case as I began to burn out. My husband saw my frustrations and suggested that we seek within. So, I decided to incorporate my family into my dream. My husband and six children all played a role in the day-to-day dealings of Soultanicals and are now important assets to my business.

Develop a Predictable Routine

This was hard for me in the beginning because I always wanted to answer emails, pack orders, sponsor an event, and create marketing material on a whim. In return for doing things as they came in, I ended up forgetting things and still ended up missing important deadlines. Structuring my day has helped tremendously in setting boundaries, delegating, and managing efficiently.

Enjoy the Journey

Pacing yourself is key to enjoying the ride. Allow yourself time to go full throttle and time to step back. Balance is important for being in the moment and seeing your visions fully manifest.

Connect with fellow entrepreneurs

Building strong networks and relationships can be a great learning experience and inspiring, as they can act as a valuable sounding board when you need someone to relate to and exchange ideas with.

Become Someone’s Mentor

Not only can they learn from your successes and setbacks along the way, but you create a lasting impact on future legacies. Spending time shaping my children’s beliefs about what it means to ‘create their all’ is soulfully rewarding.

Smart Tips For Delivering A Top-Notch Executive Briefing

by Karima Mariama-Arthur, Esq.

April 8, 2024

Smart Tips For Delivering A Top-Notch Executive Briefing

Originally Published Aug. 13, 2015

Get ready. You’ll probably be asked to give an executive briefing at some point during your career. You might as well be prepared for it.

Briefings are really common in business, although you may be more familiar with their use in government and military settings. Their purpose is usually to inform, instruct, or facilitate action. Their common denominator? They are meant to be brief—there’s zero time for haranguing, rambling, or fillers. Your goal is to quickly and accurately make your point with absolute clarity.

Here’s how:

Know the purpose.

Before you do anything else, you must get clear on the purpose of your briefing. It guides your research, structure, and all facets of the delivery. Understanding the purpose also means knowing who will be in the room and why. So, what is your overall goal? It could be any one of these or more:

Inform.

Provide listeners with only the facts. Refrain from drawing conclusions or making recommendations. You should be keenly focused on key details that require immediate attention and action. The information may be complex and require an expert explanation, which may include research, statistics, case studies, or diagrams, etc.

Instruct.

In this scenario, you will provide step-by-step direction on a preferred course of action. Your instructions will include a strategic plan of action aimed at getting results. You will give guidance, recommendations, and draw conclusions.

Decide.

Here you will marshal data and provide information like above, except this time to get an answer to a question, elicit a decision, or prompt a course of action. Make sure to isolate and define the unique challenge you are facing.

Choose an appropriate structure.

No matter which structure you choose, organizing your content in a clear and concise manner is key. For example, you may choose to utilize a linear structure (issues, analysis, and recap/next steps), which is pretty common. However, this may not work for every topic. When it doesn’t, consider a nonlinear structure, where hierarchy may be more effective at dictating how issues and information are addressed. Some examples are: cause/effect, problem/solution, questions/answers, or maybe even a chronology.

Stand and deliver.

This is not a mechanical talk, be conversational. Your comfort level, however, is dictated by how well you’ve prepared in advance. Work out the kinks methodically. Think content fluency; which conveys technical expertise, as well as mastery of body language; which conveys confidence. Start strong, captivate in the middle, and conclude with impact. Be enthusiastic and engage in active listening. Be prepared to incorporate facilitation skills if any portion of your briefing requires it. Add pizzazz with compelling visuals. However, don’t use slides that are stuffed to the gills with a “script” and no white space. Use key phrases. Include fascinating charts. Bring handouts for the audience to reference. They can add tremendous value.

Even if you’ve never had the opportunity to give an executive briefing at this point in your career, you can benefit from using these tips when you’re called to action. So, get excited. When you’re asked to give the next executive briefing, you’ll be ready.

To your success.

Written by Karima Mariama

by Daniel Johnson

April 8, 2024

Jane Elliott, Renowned Anti-Racism Activist, Criticizes GOP’s Efforts To Restrict Race Discussions In Classrooms

Writings by Jane Elliott have also been banned in several states.

Jane Elliott, an anti-racism activist best known for her April 5, 1968, blue eyes, brown eyes experiment demonstrating that prejudice is a learned behavior, recently condemned Republican efforts to restrict discussions of race in classrooms.

Elliott, whose racism experiment is tied to the 1968 assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis, discussed her feelings about the murder of Dr. King and the larger implications of Republican policy on education with CNN.

“My whole body reacts to the horror that I felt when I realized that we had killed a man whose only aim was to make things better, not just for people that we call Black…but for people of all kinds on this Earth.” Elliott said.

Elliott told USA Today in 2017 that she saw the reactions from conservatives at the time as part of a larger backlash. “This is the response of white people to eight years of a Black man in the White House. That means that we didn’t make progress in the first place. We made people go underground and that’s what they did.”

She told CNN the efforts to ban her work from institutions of higher learning by conservatives is a high compliment. Elliott explained to the outlet that the attempts from conservatives to control education fit into a larger historical context of white Americans’ fear of losing their statistical majority.

“This whole thing is an effort now to guarantee that white people do not lose their numerical majority. The writings of…Jane Elliott are banned on college or university campuses, and I think that’s the highest compliment I’ve ever been paid,” she said. “That’s the best way to convince me that what I’m doing is right.”

Her famous exercise revealed that social roles shape how people treat each other, even when the role is assigned according to a student’s eye color. According to Elliott, some of her students turned on each other because of what the experiment assigned the children based on their eye colors.

Elliott remarked, “Within five minutes, I had changed that group of loving, kind, generous, thoughtful human beings into people who act the way people who are allowed to judge people unfairly on the basis of physical characteristics in this country do every day.”

Elliott also told CNN that America is not teaching its own history correctly. “We indoctrinate children with racism on a daily basis in the schools in this country. We do not tell the truth in this country.”

Elliott continued, “And that’s the reason a whole lot of pale-skinned people are scared, because their children might learn the truth and might start to act upon it…Education should make it impossible for you to accept the bigotry and the self-imposed ignorance of those around you.”

taxes, states, middle-income earners, study

by Nahlah Abdur-Rahman

April 8, 2024

Study Reveals Best And Worst States For Middle-Class Earners During Tax Season

As for middle-class earners, states with the least tax burdens varied by region and political affiliations.

With Tax Day coming April 15, a study has revealed which states take the most and the least during tax season.

WalletHub released the study in February, including state income taxes as well as sales and excise and property taxes for its analysis. For middle-class workers, the best states to live in take 4.98% to nearly 8.5% from their incomes. The publication determined the medium income level to be at $50,000.

Alaska ranked first with South Carolina closing the 10 best states for middle-income earners. The states ranged across the political scale and regions. New Hampshire and Delaware, in the Northeast to Mid-Atlantic, respectively, are both blue states in the top three.

As for the worst states to make a middle-class income, Hawaii collects 13.62% in taxes. New York and Illinois followed, with both over 12.5% in collections. Louisiana was the only Southern state in the bottom five, taking 12.05% in state taxes.

Surprisingly, many places with no state income tax did not rank within the top 10 of lowest burdens. Texas, Tennessee, and Florida varied in regards to their breaks for residents. While Washington state collects no state income tax as well, it ranked among the highest at 11.96% for middle-incomes. Florida and Nevada still held their place in the top 15 with the least taken.

The financial platform also noted that despite these varying ranges for middle-class Americans, the one-percenters remained the least impacted by Uncle Sam, according to Business Insider. The country’s wealthy individuals only pay 7.2% on average.

Furthermore, the best states for higher earners are almost identical in its top five with middle incomes. Alaska, New Hampshire, and Wyoming stayed in both levels, with Florida and North Dakota being new additions for wealthier individuals. Alaska kept the top spot at all three income ranges, proving itself as the best overall for lesser tax burdens.

RELATED CONTENT: 3 Tax Tis That Might Help At The Last Minute

by Daniel Johnson

April 8, 2024

Tiger Woods Will Play In The Masters Despite Ankle Issues

The Masters also added Woods to its press conference schedule.

The speculation regarding Tiger Woods’ participation in the 2024 Masters has ended.

The Augusta National Golf Club, which runs the Masters, lists all golfers it invites to participate in the tournament as competitors on its site unless it receives notice that they are not appearing. As NBC Sports reports, in addition to Woods’ schedule update on his website, the Masters added Woods to its press conference schedule.

This is the clearest confirmation that Woods, who has won the most PGA Tour events in history, will participate in the tournament where his storied career began.

The Masters, which runs April 11-13, is the first major tournament of the year on the men’s calendar. Woods is scheduled to appear in the press conference on April 9 at 11 a.m. EDT, just before Rory McIlroy.

There is some concern over whether Woods can walk the 7,555 yard course as his longtime friend and former teammate at Stanford University, Notah Begay, told USA Today on a conference call.

“He’s trying to formulate a strategy and approach that he can work within given the constraints that he’s presented with. And he’s got some constraints,” Begay said. “He’s got zero mobility in that left ankle and really has low-back challenges now, which he knew he was going to have.”

Begay said Woods told him personally at a junior golf tournament he hosts that his ankle doesn’t move. “So something’s going to take the stress,” Begay added. “I mean, the stress is going to transfer somewhere else.”

The question for Begay is not about Woods’ ability to play golf but his ability to ambulate after a 2021 accident, which almost cost him the lower half of his right leg. Woods has not completed an entire Masters since the injury, most recently withdrawing in 2023 due to a foot injury.

“He can play the golf. We always knew the question was going to be ‘Can he walk the 72 (holes)?’ That’s still up in the air. But can he recover, from one round to the next? That’s the biggest question that I really don’t know and he’s not going to know either until he gets out there and figures out whether the way he’s prepared for this year’s Masters is going to work for him.”

“I think playing on the weekend would be a win, a win-win,” ESPN golf commentator Andy North told USA Today. “He’s going to tell you that he’s there because he thinks he can win the tournament, but to be realistic, what he’s gone through, you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy. What he has to do to get ready to go out and try to play golf every single day is very, very difficult.”

heart disease, prostate cancer, Black men

by Daniel Johnson

April 8, 2024

Study Reveals Link Between Prostate Cancer And Heart Disease Among Black Men

Researchers are hopeful that the discovery will lead to treatments that will help improve the outcomes for Black men.

A new study presents a link between prostate cancer and a disparity in vascular health between Black and white men. Researchers at the Medical College of Georgia presented their findings at the American Physiological Summit between April 4 and April 7 in Long Beach, California.

As Physiology.org reports, there is already a well-documented racial disparity in prostate cancer outcomes between Black and white men, and the discovery of impaired micro vascular health implies that the Black men they studied who were suffering from prostate cancer are also at risk of heart disease.

Researchers are hopeful that the discovery will lead to treatments that will help to eliminate the racial disparity between Black and white prostate cancer patients and improve the outcomes of Black men.

Abigayle Simon, the lead author of the study, told Physiology.org, “Understanding how race impacts the time course of vascular health following diagnosis of prostate cancer will lead to more effective therapeutic strategies to reduce the cardiovascular burden associated with cancer.”

As NBC News reports, it is unclear whether prostate cancer is more common among Black men than white men, but it does seem more aggressive, according to Dr. Abhinav Khanna, a urologist at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.

According to Khanna, Black men are twice as likely to die from prostate cancer as white men. “Not all prostate cancer is lethal, but we have seen that black men do have a higher risk of dying from prostate cancer,” Khanna said.

This elevated risk could be because Black men are less likely to be screened for prostate cancer, according to a study published in Cancer, a medical journal, in 2022..

“If you have first-degree relatives who have prostate cancer, or even secondary-degree relatives, it increases your risk a little bit,” Dr. Adam Murphy, a urologist at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago, told NBC News. “And then there are related cancers that run in families like breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and other germline genetic mutations that can increase your risk, like Lynch syndrome.”

According to Murphy, the controversy around Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin illustrated the stigma around Black men’s sensitivity regarding prostate health. “The way that men engage with health care is very different than what women do because of a lack of having to go into see OB-GYN,” Murphy said. “And so men are oftentimes lost after they graduate from high school or college.”

Murphy continued, “I think what his action (Defense Secretary Austin) did was to kind of highlight the fact that even though he was duty bound to tell that fact, you know, to the White House, that same stigma persisted, that’s how strong it was.”

Racial Slur, University of Utah, NCAA Women's Basketball

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

April 8, 2024

Coeur d’Alene Police Department Confirms ‘Clearly Audible’ Racial Slur Used Against University of Utah Women’s Basketball Team

'While we’re still reviewing evidence, it appears the use of a racial slur occurred more than one time.'

An investigation was started after the University of Utah’s women’s basketball team was harassed with racial slurs in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, where the team played a game during last month’s NCAA Tournament.

Now, detectives there have confirmed that there is audio proof that “a racial slur occurred more than one time.”

According to a Facebook post by the Coeur d’Alene Police Department, investigators are still looking into the “racial incidents that occurred on March 21, 2024” against the members of the Utah Women’s basketball team, which had to stay in Coeur d’Alenen for its game against Gonzaga because of a lack of hotel rooms in the Spokane, Wasington, area.

The town is reportedly a safe haven for white supremacists, according to the Idaho 97 Project, a local public advocacy group.

The police department said detectives collected approximately 35 hours of video from area businesses. Although not all the video recordings had audio, the footage was being checked to gather information on suspects involved in the harassment. The video footage was also viewed “to establish a timeframe and continuity from the various video perspectives.”

Some of the footage provided proof of what Utah basketball players told police officers. Detectives are working to find more evidence of the incident.

The Facebook post stated, “We’ve identified an audio recording where the use of a racial slur was clearly audible. We’re working (to) determine the context and conduct associated with its use to determine if is a violation of the law. While we’re still reviewing evidence, it appears the use of a racial slur occurred more than one time.”

Detectives said they were trying to identify a silver car that was in the area at the time of the incident. They are asking for assistance from anyone who may have information related to the vehicle that is pictured below in the Facebook post call 208-769-2320 or visit https://www.tip411.com/tips/new?alert_group_id=22253.

Uzo Aduba Adapts To Motherhood And Helps Gen Z Embrace Their Smiles

by Jeroslyn JoVonn

April 8, 2024

Uzo Aduba Adapts To Motherhood And Helps Gen Z Embrace Their Smiles

Emmy Award-winning actress Uzo Aduba has teamed up with Colgate to inspire Gen Z to smile with confidence on their own terms.

Emmy-Award-winning actress Uzo Aduba has teamed up with Colgate to inspire Gen Z and young adults to smile with confidence on their own terms, even if the general public may find it “imperfect.”

Aduba, a recent mother, shares how important it is for her to instill confidence in the next generation. Having a distinct smile herself, Aduba is serving as an ambassador to Colgate’s new “My Smile is My Superpower” campaign.

An original music video premiered March 25. “The Beauty of Gaps” celebrates a range of smiles to a whistled take on the empowering anthem, “Roar.” Through this campaign, Colgate aims to show everyone once and for all that all smiles are beautiful smiles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cijxcgfm7Gs

It’s an important campaign for Aduba, who welcomed her daughter Adaiba Lee Nonyem in November and aims to show her and the Gen Z community the “superpower” in their diverse smiles.

“I have a gap, you know, and when I was growing up, I stood in a place where I wasn’t celebrating it as much as I do today,” she tells BLACK ENTERPRISE.

“It’s really exciting to be partnering with Colgate who has this incredible initiative of trying to get Gen Z generation excited about their smile. They’re in pursuit of what they’re calling a perfect smile, and they don’t know that they already have it because the definition of a perfect smile is the one you already own. And so I am really excited to be a part of it because I know that my smile is a superpower and I want for them to know it too.”

In the event her daughter develops a gap in her teeth, she’s lucky to have a mom who’s ready to set her on a path to self-love and acceptance.

“I want my daughter to know that she’s beautiful just as she is right now already,” she said. “If she has a gap or otherwise that her uniqueness, that individual smile that she possesses already is what makes her shine.”

As part of the initiative, Colgate is dedicated to reaching 250,000 children with resources promoting smile confidence through its Bright Smiles, Bright Futures (BSBF) program. The program aims to empower children and families to attain healthy and vibrant futures through educational materials, screenings conducted via mobile dental vans, classroom kits for teachers, and various other offerings.

Regarding propelling the next generation to greatness, Aduba offers some tips on motherhood she’s acquired since welcoming her daughter and supports our Culture Shift host, who made her big pregnancy announcement!

“You are going to love it. It is the most beautiful experience,” Aduba shared. “The moment it happens, it changes your life. You’re going to feel so many emotions, all of them beautiful. And you’re going to be great.”

Press play below to learn more about the “My Smile Is My Superpower” campaign, Aduba’s thoughts on motherhood, and her upcoming work on Shonda Rhimes’ The Residence.

RELATED CONTENT: Uzo Aduba Wins First SAG Award, Makes History