A Black venture capital firm, Fearless Fund, has been sued by a conservative activist. The man, Edward Blum, played a role in the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2023 decision to reject affirmative action in college admissions. According to Reuters, American Alliance for Equal Rights, a nonprofit led by Blum, alleges that the Fearless Fund is practicing unlawful racial discrimination. The claim states that the firm is “violating Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, a U.S. law barring racial bias in private contracts, by making only Black women eligible in a grant competition.” Blum’s Affirmative Action Stance Another group led by Blum had brought forth a lawsuit opposing affirmative action, which had initially been struck down by a lower court, per Reuters. The group appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, and the resulting ruling in June found race-conscious student admissions policies used by Harvard University and the University of North Carolina to be unlawful.   View this post...

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Robin and Andrea McBride have done what most would consider unimaginable within the wine industry, but for them, like most big moments in their lives… every step of the process has been pretty kismet, according to Robin. In 2005, the McBride sisters started their wine journey when they began importing grapes from New Zealand (called Aotearoa by the indigenous Maori people) . By 2009, they began to cultivate juices together, and before they knew it, in 2017, the sisters began producing wine straight from their respective homes in Monterey, CA, and New Zealand under the McBride Sisters Collection label that they are known for today. When recalling what makes her most proud of this journey, Robin honed in on their initial vision and mission for entering the wine industry, and that was “changing the perception of wine being elitist and exclusive.”

Women’s History Month may have concluded, but Black Girl Magic is still alive and well. Shannon Jackson made history in the Benson neighborhood of Omaha, NE by opening Heavi Hitters – the first Black fully woman-owned and operated barbershop . “We’re all different ethnicities, and we’re all women,” said Alia Jackson, a cosmetologist and professional makeup artist. “It’s given our clients, a different perspective of life, being in a male-dominated world,” hairstylist Ayanna Carfield said. According to local news outlet , KETV 7, the full-service barbershop has seen consistent growth since opening in 2019. Because of that rapid growth, Heavi Hitters ran out of space, which led to their move to their current spot-on Maple Street in the Benson community. Jackson and her team of cosmetologists are making sure that their space is inclusive for all no matter their background. This level of inclusivity is seen even in the type of services that Heavi Hitters offers. Heavi Hitters is not your...

Women-focused private equity fund Alitheia IDF has raised $100 million to support “gender-diverse businesses” in Africa. This news follows just one year after raising $75 million, TechCrunch reports. Participating investors include the African Development Bank, Bank of Industry Nigeria, FinDev Canada, Dutch Good Growth Fund, and the European Investment Bank. Closing the round, European Investment Bank (EIB) committed $24.6 million. The goal of the funding is to combat the present financial gap for women-led businesses in the continent. According to a report, “Female single founders and female-only founding teams have raised less than 1% of the total raised on the continent this year so far.” “Globally, women have tremendous purchasing power as consumers and controllers of household economics. In the same vein, women entrepreneurs have a significant presence in Africa’s SME sector with African women making up 58% of the continent’s self-employed population. However, despite this...

Black women entrepreneurs are killing it left and right across all work fields! However, the unfortunate reality is that when some are first starting out, they’re not allotted an adequate amount of funding and investments to fully help bring their visions to fruition. Capital One Business has taken action to be a part of changing this by championing Black woman-owned businesses in partnership with Boss Women Media — an organization that provides women with resources to actively pursue their dreams — for their Black Girl Magic Pitch Competition. The pitch competition was announced in a Capital One press release along with their Black Girl Magic Digital Summit. “At Capital One, we celebrate the powerful impact women of color have on the workplace, economy and broader society,” said Celia Edwards Karam, Chief Audit Officer at Capital One in the press release. “We are thrilled to continue our partnership with Boss Women Media to host this year’s summit, and motivated by our opportunity...

Because Black mental health matters too! According to NBC15, Joanna Johnson and Afiya Hooker are the boss ladies behind  Mobile, Alabama’s first Black, women-owned, community health center. After offering counseling services at their own practices, the ladies wanted to take it a step further to offer more help through the Yin Yang Wellness Center. “Mental health in the black community is very stigmatized,” said Hooker, a licensed professional counselor and co-owner of the center. “I am very proud that at my own private practice. I have 97 percent BPOC clients but we still have a lot of work to do.” While the center is open to men and women of all ages and backgrounds, one of the main goals for opening the center was to provide a safe space for Black people and to destigmatize the narrative around the Black community and mental health. Not only does the Yin Yang Wellness Center offer therapy , but they also offer case management, group counseling and even serves as a donation center...