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Live Nation wants the artists to have a choice. In a statement released by the company’s CEO — and obtained by Revolt TV — it was revealed that the concert promoter is leaving the onus on the artists, themselves, to issue a vaccine mandate at their concerts. “It has been great to see events make such a strong return across the U.S., with demand for concerts and festivals continuing to outpace expectations,” wrote CEO Michael Rapino, in the announcement. “We are working to ensure we are reopening in the best way possible for staff, artists, crew, fans, and communities at large. Our teams have worked together to put new processes in place so artists doing shows with Live Nation in the U.S. can require all attendees and staff to be fully vaccinated or show a negative test result for entry where permitted by law. We know people are eager to return to live events, and we hope these measures encourage even more people to get vaccinated. That is the number one thing anyone can do to take...
A Black woman has just won $302,000 in Delaware’s vaccine incentive program. According to the local ABC affiliate in Delaware, Sophie Poindexter got entered into the lottery after signing up for the COVID-19 vaccine. The Newark, DE native was automatically entered into the program, which is called DE Wins! “They told me, ‘You’re going to need to sit down for this because you’re the big winner,'” she said to the outlet. Poindexter also said that she plans to use some of the money to book a trip. Congratulations are in order, then, for Poindexter! Delaware is one of many states that have a vaccine incentive program. The ABC affiliate in Missouri is also offering a similar vaccine incentive program, where residents of the state who get the COVID-19 vaccine are automatically entered to win cash prizes. Prizes in Missouri include $10,000 cash or $10,000 toward an education savings account. 900 winners total will be selected to win that money. And the National Governor’s Association has a...
Things aren’t looking good for minority-owned small businesses — yet. According to a new report released by Alignable, 53 percent of all minority-owned small businesses couldn’t afford to pay their April 2021 rent. The poll was conducted by Alignable, and surveyed 8,943 small businesses from March 27 to April 5. What they revealed, was that covering the rent remains a major obstacle for nearly one-third (31 percent) of all small business owners in the United States. But for minorities, that percentage is much higher: 53 percent of minority-owned SMBs could not afford to pay their full rent on time. Last month, 67 percent of all minority-owned small businesses couldn’t afford to pay their rent on time. So, while the number has certainly improved, it hasn’t done so by much, and once again, Black business owners are getting the short end of the proverbial stick. The fact that more than half of minority-owned businesses can’t pay their rent also indicates that the PPP (Payment...
Celebrity chef Nik Fields isn’t the type to let the increasingly precarious foodservice industry deter her from her dreams. The thought of working in a restaurant became a precarious one due to governmental restrictions on indoor dining, and due to increasing safety concerns thanks to the pandemic. And, certainly, there’s no shortage of headlines detailing how the once-thriving restaurant industry — long a staple of such major metropolitan cities as New York, San Francisco, and Miami — is in imminent peril . But, none of that stopped Nik Fields from fulfilling her dreams and her vision. “When you’re visionary, driven by passion, and when an opportunity presents itself — you have to follow through with it!” she said. That’s why “Nik the Chic Chef” — as her clients know her — was unafraid to take on the most ambitious undertaking of her career: her own restaurant. Chic Chef Co., Cafe & Marketplace is a unique urban chic upscale restaurant concept in the trendy historical area of...
Coronavirus vaccine trials are underway and the presidents of two prominent HBCUs are urging you to participate. In a letter published in The Advocate , the presidents of Dillard and Xavier University — Walter M. Kimbrough and C. Reynold Verret, respectively — explain that they are already participating in the Ochsner Health System’s current vaccine trial. During the study, they have each been injected with the experimental vaccine and are “monitoring and reporting any symptoms and side effects.” Currently, they are both well. Given the devastation of COVID-19 on the Black community, Kimbrough and Verret urge students, faculty, staff, and other HBCU institutions to volunteer in one of the many trials in order for the vaccines to be understood among a diverse group. In short, they want the medicine to work for Black people just as well as it will for others. “Today, there are many regulations in place to assure the ethical execution of medical studies, including oversight by human...
The coronavirus pandemic pushed 45.7 million Americans to file for unemployment benefits at some point during the crisis, but some U.S. companies have not seen a negative impact on business as usual. The Census Bureau surveyed small business owners on the effects of the pandemic. LendingTree researchers analyzed the results to determine where business owners are feeling minimal ramifications. Business owners in the South and Southeast were most likely to report no negative effects resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak. Key findings States where the COVID-19 pandemic has had minimal impact on businesses Methodology Key findings Louisville tops our list with 17.9% of business owners reporting no negative effects on operations. About 3% of entrepreneurs in Louisville say the pandemic has had a positive impact on their business. Virginia Beach takes the No. 2 spot — 16.6% of business owners have not been negatively impacted . Phoenix rounds out the top three with 16.1% of business owners...
By this point, the economic effects of the coronavirus aren’t news. If anything, there’s been so much coverage surrounding the topic that it’s hard to ascertain the right thing to do. From job loss to quarantine retail therapy, you may feel like your financial life has been in a tailspin since March. So we put together this post offering several simple steps to help you navigate the coronavirus outbreak and the havoc it may have wreaked on your personal finances. 1. Cut spending When lockdown first went into effect, many of us thought we’d be spending dramatically less — after all, quarantine means we can’t blow our paychecks (or blow off steam) at the local bar or take a luxurious vacation. And while certain types of spending are down, others have risen — including money spent on video streaming, food delivery, gaming, and alcohol, according to a New York Times analysis of data from Earnest Research . If you find yourself with less disposable income these days, it’s important to...
We’ve all felt the impact of COVID-19 on our personal lives, both financially and emotionally. But for small business owners, the pandemic packs an extra punch. According to a survey performed by the National Federation of Independent Business , about half of small business owners said they’d be unable to continue operations for more than two months without help. Impacted entrepreneurs are experiencing slower sales, supply chain disruptions and, of course, concerns about employees contracting the illness — and that’s all on top of figuring out how to keep their doors open. Fortunately, there are steps small business owners can take to help their companies come out of this quarantine on the right side of the proverbial dirt. Just as you use masks and hand sanitizer to help you survive the pandemic personally, here are some tools to help your business make it out alive, too. 1. Apply for emergency funding The coronavirus has led to unprecedented economic pressures — which is part of...
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Minority Health (OMH) is partnering with the Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) to fight the coronavirus in minority communities. According to a press release , HHS has granted MSM $40 million for The National Infrastructure for Mitigating the Impact of COVID-19, a three-year initiative designed as a response to racial inequities in healthcare. The aim is to work with community-based organizations to deliver information, healthcare, testing, and other resources to residents in communities “hardest hit by the pandemic.” Additionally, new joint efforts by both institutions will strengthen the strategies by which this data is passed. “Underlying social determinants of health and disparate burdens of chronic medical conditions are contributing to worse COVID-19-related outcomes in minority and socially vulnerable communities, and this partnership with Morehouse School of Medicine is essential to improving our overall...
This past Saturday (May 16), platinum-selling rapper Ludacris queued up Instagram Live for Verzuz , a digital celebration of Black music and artists commissioned by producers Swizz Beatz and Timbaland. While he “battled” St. Louis’ own Nelly, the Atlanta star highlighted his latest business venture, KidNation . The kid-centric “fun, safe, and educational media platform” aims to ensure the safety of children when schools reopen by encouraging hygiene. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ludacris (@ludacris) Through five simple steps—wet, lather, scrub, rinse, and dry—and “Stay Clean,” a kid-friendly campaign, Luda and KidNation encourage handwashing as a primary defense against COVID-19. “Make sure you wash your hands, it’s the best way to avoid getting sick,” the visual PSA starts. The three-minute music video is complete with animations, a hip hop beat, and energetic, young rappers and dancers. Most adorably, the lyrics double as tips not only for handwashing but also for...
On Feb. 14, 2020, Africa recorded its first confirmed COVID-19 case in Egypt. According to the World Health Organization (WHO ), the virus reached the continent via travelers from Asia, Europe, and the U.S. As of last week, WHO reports that cases in Africa have risen to over 30,000 with nearly 1,400 deaths. While some doctors saw Africa as nothing more than a testing lab for COVID-19 vaccines, citizens of Africa have honed their intelligence and innovation to create inventions that aid in the reduction of the virus within their continent. Check out these three Africa-based inventions that are contributing to COVID-19 solutions. RESPIRE-19 Portable Ventilator According to Face2Face Africa , Usman Dalhatu, a 20-year-old mechanical engineer student at Ahmadu Bello University in Nigeria, invented and built a local ventilator. With the help of his partners, Dr. Yunusa Muhammad Garba of the Human Anatomy Department, Gombe State University, and Aliyu Hassan, a graduate of Mechatronics...
As the national shortage of vital supplies continues, companies are pivoting their products to contribute to COVID-19 relief efforts. According to BlackNews , Vanessa Braxton, founder of Black Momma Vodka , has decided to utilize the alcohol she has on hand to produce and distribute thousands of bottles of hand sanitizer. As the first Black woman to own and operate a nationally distributed vodka in the country, Braxton is using her company’s materials for the greater good. Black Enterprise shared a press release statement from Braxton: “We are changing with the times and we have to be ready to shift how we are serving our community and consumers in the midst of this crisis. If I didn’t own a distillery and manufacturing facility I would not have been able to pivot so quickly from producing vodka to making hand sanitizer. We are ready to evolve and reinvent our business to work with government agencies and hospitals, to protect those on the frontlines of fighting this pandemic.”...
It’s no secret that COVID-19 has been disproportionately impacting the Black community. However, pediatric surgeon, Ala Stanford, not only began to worry about the death toll of African Americans in the Philadelphia area, according to NPR , but she took action. “In Philadelphia, African Americans represent 44 percent of the population, but at last check, 52 percent of the deaths, for me, that was unacceptable,” Stanford told NPR. As a native of North Philly, Dr. Stanford heads a medical consulting firm and private practice in Jenkintown, PA. She is also on staff at Abington-Jefferson Health. Dr. Stanford’s worries grew as the death toll continued to rise, and the myth that Black people were resistant to the COVID-19 virus continued to circulate throughout the Black community. She posted a video in an attempt to debunk the myth where she explains how the historical mistrust of the medical field should not deter Black communities from practicing safety guidelines such as proper...
Black and brown communities have been hit hard with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, ravaging neighborhoods across the country. However, medical professionals are working vigilantly to develop treatments for the illness. According to NBC News , Black scientists from Meharry Medical College have reportedly been developing an antiviral drug for the virus, and hope to test the treatment in the next two weeks. Meharry Medical College — founded in 1876 in Nashville, TN — was originally built to teach enslaved Africans how to practice medicine and assist underserved communities, as reported by NBC News. For years, Meharry has had a hand in producing over 4,800 Black doctors, 83 percent of whom work in Black or underserved communities, NBC News reports. Dr. Armen Henderson, a Meharry alum, has been helping to test the homeless community in Miami, FL — for COVID-19 — since March. The Florida doctor was recently racially profiled in front of his home before going to volunteer, as...
Eighteen-year-old Kehlin “King” Farooq II had one wish for his birthday — to supply the masses with hand sanitizer. The aspiring engineer is the founder and creator of GermAtize , a hand sanitizer company located in Houston, TX. Farooq’s idea to create a hand sanitizer came about in 2019 after his mother, a pharmacist, began to have early conversations with her colleagues about the coronavirus. Not even a full calendar year later, COVID-19 has made its way to the United States, leading stores to quickly sell out of much-needed necessities, including hand sanitizer. Observing the lack of hand sanitizer, Farooq approached his dad and explained his idea of developing his own hand sanitizer product. His father reached out to a friend who owns a laboratory, and the rest is history. GermAtize is now a reality. According to its website, GermAtize is a hand sanitizer and soap that kills 99.9 percent of germs in 30 seconds or less. Check out how Farooq’s father took to his Twitter to spread...