November 09, 2017

By Darralynn Hutson

Contributing Writer

 

More than twenty beauty, apparel, and health companies, both local and a far away as Canada, showcased their products and services at the Afrolicious Hair Expo LA 2017,last weekend. Dubbed Afrolicious, the conference and exhibit experience is dedicated to showcasing the beauty of African American natural and braided hairstyles, African-inspired apparel, and entrepreneurship.

 

 

It is organized by Rhonda Ray and draws top natural hair companies such as Miss Jessie’s, to local businesses including Luxe Therapy #luxetherapy, Bedroom Kandi Boutique Parties, Blessed Kiss Cosmetics, Mud Whipp Leave-in Conditioner and the “Save the Edges” movement #savetheedges, the first edge responder.

“After five successful shows in Los Angeles, I decided to do a tour and had great success with natural hair women in different cities wanting to come together and not only celebrate their beauty but share different hair and beauty techniques,” says Rhonda Ray. “This year, Afrolicious Hair will also be launching their new hair care products.”

 

 

 

 

 

The Afrolicious Expo educates and demonstrates natural hair and celebrates Black Beauty with a $1000 Rastafri / Kanekalon hair stylist competition. Firstlace and Best Dressed and Best Stage were presented to Kelsie Lyn who won $1900.00. Second place and Most Creative were awarded to Jakkia Scot, winning $900. Also included were local hair salon demonstrations and the Little Miss Afrolicious Pageant for girls, ages 5-to-12-years-old. Winner of the “Little Miss Afrolicious LA 2017 was Nathalia M. Jackson.

Los Angeles is the last stop of a four-city tour that stopped in Oakland, Houston, and Brooklyn this year.

 

October 26, 2017

By Kimberlee Buck

Contributing Writer

 

Since 2005, Taste of Soul (TOS) has remained the heartbeat of South Los Angeles by bringing together the Black community for a fun-filled day of all things soulful including food, live entertainment, community resources, from local businesses and organizations and so much more. As the festival completes its 12th successful year, none of this would have been possible without the help of key community members, and TOS partners Mother’s In Action, Brotherhood Crusade, the city of Los Angeles, the county of Los Angeles, Radio FREE 102.3 KJLH, 94.7 The WAVE, CBS 2/ KCAL 9, and African American Unity Center (AAUC).

“This family festival first began when I was mayor, and I couldn’t be prouder to be here with my friend and brother Danny Bakewell Sr., to celebrate the Crenshaw community that is the heart of South L.A. and the soul of Los Angeles,” said former Mayor of Los Angeles Antonio Villaraigosa.

 “This is an opportunity for those in Los Angeles who don’t come to South Los Angeles to realize what a great place this is. It’s called the Taste of Soul, so that’s a double entendre, cause it’s about the food, it’s about the music and it’s about the people.”

TOS sponsors Hyundai, City National Bank, Airbnb, McDonald’s, Kaiser Permanente, South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD), Metro, Bank of America, Ivie, McNeill & Wyatt Law Firm, Wells Fargo, Chase Bank, Plenary Infrastructure Airports, California Resources Corporation, Metropolitan Water District, West Basin Municipal Water District, Walsh/Shea, USC, Los Angeles World Airports, SEIU Local 2015, Brotherhood Crusade, Greyhound, Californians For Energy Independence, US Bank, Uber, Watts Health, AT&T, Nestle Waters, Comerica Bank, UCLA Health, UCLA, Charles R. Drew University, Walmart, Southern California Gas Company, Super Heroic, DaVita, Metro PCS, LA City Workforce Investment Board, Burden to Bear, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, City of Hope and Encore Capital Group also played a vital role in putting on this year’s festival.

Year-after-year Bakewell Media holds a Taste of Soul VIP Reception at the California African American Museum in Exposition Park the evening before Taste of Soul, as special thanks to all those who continue making TOS L.A.’s largest street festival.

“LA Metro has been a sponsor of Taste of Soul for many years and we are happy to sponsor this event said Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro) Metro CEO Phillip A. Washington.

“It’s incredibly important for us to partner with the Taste of Soul. We are a part of the community; we are building the Crenshaw rail line, which is almost 80 percent complete and will open in less than 24 months. We must partner with the community to bring jobs to the community, small and minority business participation to this project, and other projects around the region. This is a wonderful thing, and this is a wonderful event. It may be the largest block party in America.”

Ivie, McNeill & Wyatt (IMW) Law Firm joined by IMW partners Rickey Ivie, W. Keith Wyatt, Eulanda Matthews, Byron Purcell, and Rodney Diggs sponsored this year’s VIP reception.

 “Ivie, McNeil & Wyatt is so excited this year to be the sponsor of the VIP Reception that’s held the evening before Taste of Soul at the California African American Museum. We couldn’t be more pleased to be a part of this community event,” said Ivie McNeil & Wyatt Director Matthews.

The event brought together TOS Chairs, Mayor Eric Garcetti, City Council President Herb Wesson, Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson, and Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and Co-Chairs, Congresswoman Karen Bass, Councilmember Curren Price, Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer, Assemblymember Autumn Burke, Assemblymember Sebastian Ridley-Thomas, LAUSD District 1 George McKenna, KCBS- Channel 2, Pat Harvey, and IMW, for an evening of networking, good company,  and exquisite food and drinks, provided by LeSassier Catering, Nestle Waters and Pucker Up Lemonade.

In honor of the festival’s theme, “Salute to Motown”, reception attendees jammed to classic Motown hits. The evening’s entertainment didn’t end there. Guests were blown away when StarQuest 4 Kids finalist Jhala Angelique took the stage and showcased her vocal talent, all while lifting the spirits  of the audience during her performance of the song “Rise Up” by singer Andra Day. Toward the end of the night, guests worked their way over to the photo booth were they created mementos of the occasion.

The following day, in continuance of Bakewell Media’s gratitude, sponsors, partners, and elected officials, including Deputy Mayor Brenda Shockley (who represented Mayor Eric Garcetti), NNPA Chairman and Chicago Crusader Publisher Dorothy Leavell, and NNPA President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. were welcomed to lounge inside the Taste of Soul VIP Courtesy Tent, sponsored by Airbnb, Community Resources Corporation, and Californians for Energy Independence.

In the tent, city officials, organizations, notables, and business executives, were served cuisine from Mrs. Bea’s Catering, fabulous desserts from Serendipity Tasty Treats, with refreshments from Pucker Up Lemonade and Nestle Waters, and their very own DJ.

Leavell and Chavis describe the Taste of Soul family festival as a “wonderful event” and were proud to join the city of Los Angeles in the celebration of Black culture.

 “We’ve come all the way from Washington D.C. , the national headquarters of the National Newspaper Publishers Association to salute Danny Bakewell, Sr., the Los Angeles Sentinel, The L.A. Watts Times, and to salute Taste of Soul. I can’t think of a better place to be in the whole world than to be at the 12th annual Taste of Soul,” said Chavis.

“I think that Taste of Soul has grown not only to be the event that you need to be at in Los Angeles but a worldwide observance. People all over the world are getting a sense of importance of African American contributions to the culture of the United States. The thing that always impresses me about Taste of Soul, is the vibe among the people. You see so much diversity here, but yet so much harmony. You see so much of different cultures coming together, and so to me, what’s always so impressive about Taste of Soul is the unity, and the expression of striving for excellence. I hope the young people in this city will not only appreciate the Taste of Soul but take this positive vibration, and this day of celebration and make it last the whole year round.”

October 12, 2017 

By Freddie Allen 

NNPA Newswire 

 

Airbnb, the housing marketplace that connects travelers with hosts in 65,000 cities and 191 countries worldwide, is now on a mission to increase awareness about the company’s economic benefits in communities of color.

 

It’s part of an ongoing effort to increase diversity and eliminate discrimination on the platform that launched during the Great Recession.

 

In 2015, the company came under fire when Harvard researchers reported widespread discrimination by Airbnb hosts.

 

“Real Airbnb users of color said they weren’t surprised,” Smarter­Travel.com reported. “Black users shared stories of repeated cancellations and failed booking attempts, using #AirbnbWhileBlack on social media.”

 

Janaye Ingram, the director of national partnerships for Airbnb, said that since those revelations were made public, the company recruited former Attorney General Eric Holder and Laura Murphy, the director of the ACLU’s Washington Legislative Office, as consultants to examine the claims of discrimination.

 

The home-share rental platform implemented a “Community Commitment” pledge and an “Open Doors” policy, which allows anyone who feels like they’ve been discriminated against to issue a claim to the company.

 

“We will rebook guests immediately to another listing, begin investigating the claim of discrimination and remove the host from the community,” if the claim is proven to be true, said Ingram.

 

Ingram continued: “Racism exists in this world, but the company is striving to do everything that it can to prevent anyone from being discriminated against for their disability, race, religion, gender or sexual orientation. We’re continuing that work and it’s a lot of work, but we have a commitment to do it.”

 

Actor and humanitarian Danny Glover, who joined the campaign to highlight Airbnb’s success stories in communities of color, said that, “If we have an ally, if we have a company that is willing to be a part of the world that we all want to see, it’s important that we engage ourselves with that process.”

 

Glover continued: “[Airbnb] understands the position that they are in as a responsible company and as responsible citizens, as well. If [Airbnb] is willing to stand up and face those challenges in a way in which I think they’re capable of, then something special will happen here.”

 

Glover said that he’s met African American and Latinx Airbnb hosts that were able to make ends meet, help pay for college tuition and save for retirement; the hosts are also forming new bonds and communities for support.

 

Ingram said that the platform allows hosts to set their own rates and keep 97 percent of what they earn from their listings.

 

“Our typical hosts earns about $6,100 a year,” said Ingram. “Imagine having $6,100 extra dollars in your bank account; imagine what that means for your life, what that means for your family, what that means for your community.”

 

Airbnb hosts are starting to pop-up in communities, where there are no hotels, she added.

 

“Now, you’re bringing in tourists, who are frequenting these businesses and restaurants and becoming patrons of these businesses, so it’s an overall benefit for the community,” said Ingram.

 

This is a new brand of entrepreneurship, Ingram said.

 

“It’s important for people to understand that some Airbnb hosts are becoming participants in their own rescue,” said Glover, adding that their using social media and marketing tools to promote and build their businesses.

 

Ingram said that there are a lot of things that are happening that are positive, because of Airbnb, and the company wants to educate and engage people around those things.

 

Although much of the company’s growth has been organic, Ingram said that, now, Airbnb has to be more strategic and intentional about the alliances they form.

 

That’s why their reaching out to organizations like the NAACP and partnering with activists, like Glover, to really connect with communities of color.

 

“Danny is beloved in our community not just for his acting, but also for his activism and all of the great things that he has done to promote equity for the Black community,” said Ingram.

 

Ingram said that’s also why Airbnb connected with the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), a trade group that represents more than 200 Black-owned media companies, to announce its partnership with Glover; The “Lethal Weapon” actor penned an op-ed for the Black Press.

 

“We just want to create the opportunity to educate people and to allow them decide for themselves,” said Ingram. “Yes, we have had instances of people dealing with racism on the platform, but we’ve also done a lot to prevent it and we want people to know that.”

 

Ingram said that the Black Press will be invaluable in educating the Black community about the economic opportunities available with Airbnb.

 

“[African Americans] rely on the Black Press, we trust our press, because it’s part of our community,” said Ingram. “So, having a relationship with the Black Press is going to be important for Airbnb in conveying this message.”

 

Ingram continued: “As we continue to do this work, it will be increasingly important that we work in partnership and in tandem with the Black Press.”