Black Business Roadmap: By Mikal Quarles and Byna Elliott, JPMorgan Chase Entrepreneurship is booming in Black neighborhoods across the country. 2021 saw the highest number of Black businesses created in more than two decades and accounted for 25 percent of all businesses founded nationwide. Owning a business is one of the fastest avenues to creating ...

By Dianne Anderson Coming to California in 2005, Kevyn Lee could hardly imagine the finely shaved iced fluffy Sno-Ball shop that he owns today. With no job, not enough money, and in the heat of his travels, he craved a little taste of back home, a New Orleans Sno-Ball where none were to be found. ...

By Dianne Anderson Career pathways, self-care and mental wellness resources, cultural awareness and human relations are a few topics local teens will ponder, along with other grown-up questions on their to-do list, like how to get a good job with the city. The new Teen Academy is set to launch at each of the Long ...

Tips for fueling business growth through planning and mentorship Black businesses are an essential part of the economy. As one of the fastest-growing segments of the U.S. economy, Black businesses contribute an estimated $200 billion to the national economy annually. Research shows that entire communities benefit when Black businesses succeed. They create jobs, close the ...

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Sr Natl Correspondent House members returned to the U.S. Capitol last Friday and, after some debate, passed the Inflation Reduction Act, major legislation that the Biden-Harris administration said would lower health-care costs, fight climate change, raise taxes on some large companies and reduce the deficit. President Biden signed the ...

By Dianne Anderson Collective voices that comprise 14 activist groups of the People Budget Conference rallied outside Long Beach City Hall last week, demanding equitable engagement for residents and voters to decide how their taxpayer dollars are spent. The People’s Budget Conference continues to press for community inclusion in this year’s $3.2 billion budget decision-making ...

By Tanu Henry California Black Media As the monkeypox virus outbreak spreads across the globe, Gov. Gavin Newsom says California will need to galvanize “forces” across regions and relax some state regulations and statutes to combat a disease that poses a threat greater than local authorities may be able to respond to effectively. “California is ...

By Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. and Jim Winston  2022 thus far has been a year of multiple socioeconomic and political challenges for all Americans across the nation. Yet for African-Americans and other communities of color, this year represents both challenges and opportunities from a business ownership perspective. In particular, for Black-owned media businesses there is a growing ...

By Dianne Anderson Writing out their frustrations, the youth of the UCLA Black Male Literacy Academy spent the last week pondering the regular prompts of their daily lives. The continuing pandemic, resulting in sickness or death in their families, and the financial strain are the reality of the times. Invariably, George Floyd and the endless ...

By Dianne Anderson Bigger screen TVs and top haute couture, all those luxury items of a few short years ago have now given way to new high-priced in-demand products – like dinner with protein. Jeff Williams of The Long Beach Center for Economic Inclusion, said while their food boxes have been seeing more fresh vegetables, ...