November 12, 2015
By Shannen Hill
Contributing Writer
All things afrolicious, from African hair scarves to organic beauty products, filled the room as hundreds of Black women came out the Los Angeles Convention Center to celebrate the fourth annual Afrolicious Hair Expo on Sunday, Nov. 8.
Hosted by Kim Coles, the expo incorporated health, beauty, mind, body and soul. With nearly 50 vendors, Black women throughout southern California came out to see which companies are out there making products for women of color. The expo wasn’t only about the products, but also about celebrating the beauty of Black hair and all things that make Black women unique.
“I wanted to incorporate music, fashion, hair and health,” said Rhonda Ray, founder of the Afrolicious Hair Expo. “I just wanted to bring all of the natural sisters in Los Angeles and Southern California together to celebrate their natural cells, their natural hair and their natural everything.”
Along with the various vendors, the expo also incorporated education of natural haircare. During the expo there was a panel, which included singer Goapele and actress Kim Coles. The panel also included YouTubers, models and entrepreneurs who all rock their natural hair. Each woman had a different hair texture along with a different journey, which is something that Ray wanted to showcase to show that Black women are unique in our different textures, yet still all connected.
“This event was fun, enlightening and empowering. I was glad to be a part of this because today is about loving yourself and loving on other people,” said Kim Coles. “There was so much connection and sisterhood. We as women hear stories about tearing each other down and today is about lifting each other up.”
The expo also featured a pageant for young girls who are natural. This was Ray’s second year incorporating the pageant and she says that it has become the most popular aspect. Many of the panelists spoke on how as little girls they always felt like the hair that grew out of their hair was different and that they needed to change it to look like the girls on television. Ray started the pageant for the young girls with natural hair to connect with each other and to also show them that they should be confident and proud that their hair is different.
“The little kids doing the pageant was super great because now all of these little girls with natural hair see all these grown women with hair that they can relate to,” said Lawrence Ray Parker II, the CEO and founder of Lawrence Ray Concepts, a natural organic line of hair products. “It helps to change that perpetuation of negative feelings towards natural hair because these girls don’t get any of that. They just see oh, my mom has beautiful natural hair and I have beautiful natural hair and it’s just a beautiful thing.”
The event not only brought together businesses in southern California, but vendors from northern California also came out to network and connect with the natural hair movement in Los Angeles.
“It was a really good decision to come. LA is opening up as a really good market for natural hair and we know that there is a need for natural hair products,” said Althea Cummings, co-owner of Curlee Natural Haircare Products, located in Oakland. “This was awesome for our company. We got a lot of great sells and we’ve created a whole new base of clients here.”
The event lasted all day, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Afrolicious Hair Expo has continues to grow and receive more attention every year and Ray’s goal is for the expo to fill the entire bottom floor of the Convention Center. For more information on how you can get involved in next year’s expo, visit www.afrolicioushairaffair.com.
November 05, 2015
By Michelle Faul
Associated Press
Nigeria will start selling and buying oil and gasoline directly to cut out middlemen and curb graft, the new managers of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. announced Tuesday night.
The major policy shift fits new President Muhammadu Buhari's plan to halt corruption endemic in the industry in Africa's biggest oil producer. The previous administration of President Goodluck Jonathan had ignored warnings from Central Bank Governor Lamido Sanusi that some $20 billion in oil sales over three years was missing from federal coffers, and instead fired Sanusi.
Nigeria produces 2 million barrels of crude a day, according to the corporation's website. Nigerians consume about 9 million liters (2.4 million gallons) of gas daily, almost all imported because local refineries are inefficient. One barrel of crude produces about 30 gallons of diesel or fuel.
A statement from spokesman Ohi Alegbe said the decision was made after a screening of previously used and prequalified petroleum product importers revealed almost all the 34 international and 10 local companies were middleman businesses.
The shift is "a major steer designed to enshrine transparency and eliminate the activities of middlemen in the crude oil exchange," said the statement from the corporation's new management. One of Buhari's first acts as president was to fire all the old managers.
Corruption that thrived under Jonathan's watch had favored officials being sold entire shipments of crude at favorable rates so they could pocket the profits. The U.S. Department of Justice warned Buhari earlier this year that one minister had pocketed $6 billion from oil sales.
The massive thefts came as oil prices topped $110 a barrel. Now Nigeria is in crisis, with halved prices for the oil that provides 80 percent of government revenue and Buhari has complained he inherited an emptied treasury.
October 29, 2015
By LISA LEFF
Associated Press
U.S. colleges will face new restrictions on using debit cards to distribute financial aid, and more people will have income-based options for repaying student loans under a pair of regulations given final approval by the Obama administration on Tuesday.
The rules first proposed by the Department of Education earlier this year require schools to provide students with more options for accessing their aid and expand eligibility for a federal program that ties monthly student loan payments to the borrower’s income.
The two-pronged approach builds on the administration's work to reduce the amount of debt college students accrue and make it easier for them to repay their loans once they graduate, outgoing Education Secretary Arne Duncan said.
“These regulations will help make sure student loan debt is affordable for all borrowers and bring overdue reforms to campus cards, a sector that too often puts taxpayer dollars and student consumers at risk,” Duncan said.
The first regulation takes aim at the debit and prepaid cards that a growing number of colleges and universities are issuing as student ID cards for use at campus stores and to give out aid and refunds. Federal officials estimate that more than 850 schools enrolling about 9 million students are dispersing nearly $25 billion in student loans and grants with campus-issued cards.
The cards and the accounts linked to them typically are managed by third-party financial providers under contracts that reduce costs or carry financial incentives for the schools, the Government Accounting Office reported last year.
The GAO and consumer advocates have warned that the convenience the cards offer has been offset in some cases by excessive user fees and by a lack of transparency about alternatives that might be more financially advantageous for students.
Once the new rules take effect in July 2017, campuses will be barred from instructing students to open a specific account for the purpose of receiving financial aid and will instead have to provide a list of choices that includes a student's preexisting bank account as the default option.
The other regulation finalized Tuesday will allow anyone who financed his or her education with federal loans to have their payments capped at 10 percent of their annual discretionary earnings. Previously, the most lenient income-based repayment schedule was available only to students who obtained their first loans after 2007. The change could benefit as many as 5 million people with outstanding federal student loans, the Department of Education said.
Under the terms of the expanded plan, students who took out loans as undergraduates would be eligible to have the balance forgiven after 20 years if they made a good-faith effort to stay current on their payments. Loans issued to graduate students would be forgiven after 25 years.
“Allowing all borrowers to enroll regardless of when they borrowed or how much they owe will help more struggling borrowers better manage their payments, including those who dropped out of school with low balances and are among the most likely to default,” said Lauren Asher, president of The Institute for College Access & Success.
Asher’s nonprofit research and advocacy group issued a report Tuesday saying that 69 percent of 2014 college graduates left school with outstanding student loans that averaged $28,950.
October 22, 2015
By Shannen Hill
Contributing Writer
The Taste of Soul celebrated 10 years of bringing hundreds of businesses to the Crenshaw community on Saturday, Oct. 17.
Since its inception, the festival that brings hundreds of thousands of people out has worked to showcase the different businesses in the Crenshaw and Black communities throughout the city.
“I started doing the Taste of Soul back in 2013 and it’s been a really good experience for me. It’s gotten me a lot of business. I’ve picked up a lot of references from doing Taste of Soul,” said Shawn Black, owner of Big Ronnie’s barbecue.
“It definitely shows unity for the Black community. You don’t see any problems out here. Everyone is being patient waiting in line. There’s great food, great entertainment. It’s just awesome all the way around.”
The festival, that’s reminiscent to a giant block party surrounding Crenshaw Blvd. and Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., isn’t just about the party it was built for community-based economic impact as well.
The Taste of Soul continues to benefit and build long-term relationships with different businesses.
“We’ve been here all 10 years and it keeps us visible in the community. We’re located in the community, so we like to stay prevalent relevant and we like to support everything that goes on in our community,” said Vincent Paul, sales and marketing manager of LRS Plumbing.
“It brings the neighborhoods out and shows that Black businesses are flourishing and that people should support Black business.”
One business calls the Taste of Souls its life line to keep their business going.
Another business, and TOS regular, notes that this year is especially beneficial for them.
“A lot of people think that we’ve closed so a lot of people have been looking forward to seeing us here because we’ve been closed since the end of May with our remodeling,” said Jessica Legaux, one of the owners of Harold and Belle’s.
“At a time when we’re closed, it’s having a huge impact on our business. This lets people know that we’re still here, we’re still in the community.”
The Taste of Soul also builds a network for different resources offered outside of the Crenshaw community.
“We were here last year and because of Taste of Soul, we were able to recruit 500 new patients to our center so I really appreciate being here every year,” said Desirie Thomas, staff member of Watts Healthcare.
Taste of Soul was more than food, entertainment and fun. One of the major participants of the Taste of Soul was LA County. They offered a variety of health and welfare community services to the public.
Every year, the Taste of Soul continues to grow and showcase what Black communities have to offer throughout Crenshaw Blvd. It circulates money and creates a network for many different resources throughout the community.
“We’ve gotten lots of business, lots of likes, lots of attention and people knowing us throughout the city based on this. It’s great for the businesses, it’s great for the community,” said Byron Purcell, a partner at Ivie, McNeill and Wyatt, the largest Black law firm in the city.
“Eleven years ago, nobody thought that this could happen and it’s growing every year. It’s a wonderful partnership and we want to do it for the next hundred years. You get clients here that stick with you, so it’s great.”
For more information about Taste of Soul, visit www.lasentinel.net and www.tasteofsoulla.org
Learn more on our Facebook and Twitter pages and download the Taste of Soul mobile app to see what businesses participated in the 10th Anniversary Taste of Soul Celebration.