Caster Semenya has lost her appeal to Switzerland's Federal Supreme Court against the restriction of testosterone levels in female runners.

Calling itself America’s oldest and largest trade group for Black businesses, the National Business League has aggressive growth plans for the future.

The Washington, D.C.-based business advocacy group aims to boost its current membership from 120,000 to over one million black business owners and professionals in the next five years. It aims to achieve that by launching a national membership drive through its 365 local league chapters starting in January 2021.

Dr. Kenneth Harris, the NBL’s president and CEO,  said the organization plans to use its robust digital platform, growing social media apparatus, and significant strategic partnerships throughout the country within the public and private sectors to help reach the national goal.

The membership strategy comes as the NBL just celebrated its 120th anniversary. The group was founded on August 23, 1900, by the iconic Booker T. Washington.

With the special occasion come and gone, the NBL reports it is poised to streamline the integration of the nation’s 2.6 million Black businesses into the global marketplace using technology. It proclaims Black-owned businesses generate $150 billion in annual revenue in the United States while supporting 3.56 million jobs here. This advanced shift into the digital age will be absolutely critical in the post-COVID-19 era, Harris said in a news release.

“Booker T. Washington’s vision is more relevant today than it was 120 years ago, as a new generation of unapologetic Black leadership takes the helm,” he said.  “The revolution won’t be televised; it shall be digitized.”

In line with its mission, here are some collaborative programs that the NBL is hosting or taking part in to advance Black businesses:

• The NBL is backing Med Week 2020, a virtual event led by the National Minority Business Development Agency that runs from Sept. 13-19. Get more details about the event here.

• As part of its newly formed partnership with Comerica Bank,  the NBL will host a Black Capital Access Program Monthly COVID-19 Economic Recovery Webinar Series. The event will help entrepreneurs gain tips and resources on how to become bankable and investable from financial services experts. The first virtual seminar will occur Sept. 17. For more information, visit here.

• The NBL begins its annual National Black Supplier Conference on Wednesday, November 18, 2020. This year will mark the  NBL’s first virtual national conference. It will include panel discussions, workshops, and matchmaking with over 100 corporations looking to provide contracting and procurement opportunities for Black businesses in America and globally. The event is free to all Black businesses affected by COVID-19.  The event will be presented by American Express, General Motors, Comerica Bank, Fiat Chrysler, DTE Energy, Ford, MPS Group, and Toyota.

The wine industry has been known for being notoriously white but there are many examples of Black entrepreneurs who have not only been able to enter the market but also find ways to thrive. These twin sisters have found a way to integrate culture with their love of rosé wine to create a new brand.

Nichelle and Nicole Nichols are the founders of Guilty Grape, a newly launched wine brand of rosé packaged in the micro-vineyards in Napa Valley at an affordable price. “As Black women and wine lovers, we became increasingly frustrated with the lack of Black representation and inclusion within the wine industry,” said the sisters in an email interview with BLACK ENTERPRISE.

“From marketing efforts to the type of wines being offered to our community (typically sweet wines), we noticed that the African American market was an afterthought in wine. Our culture deserves more, so we decided to join the other small groups of Black industry disruptors by starting The Guilty Grape to include those overlooked consumers.”

Coming from an entertainment background, the sisters wanted to create a brand that offered representation for other Black women who like to indulge in wine with their own business aspirations. “There is no easy access point into the wine industry, but it was abundantly clear that our mere presence was disruptive to the norm,” they added.”Between being young, Black, female, finding the right resources, and building the right relationships —there were many hurdles.”

The brand plans on expanding its collection to include Chardonnay and Cabernet options at a later date.

Nigerian author, Irenosen Okojie, has won the AKO Caine prize for African writing.

The Caine Prize is an annual literary award for the best original short story by an African writer, whether in Africa or elsewhere, but published in the English language.

Ms Okojie was announced the winner of £10,000 (approximately N4.8 million) award prize on Monday afternoon at a virtual unveiling on YouTube, for her short story "Grace Jones."

Earlier in May, a five-writer shortlist was released for the 20th edition that featured stories that "speak eloquently to the human condition through a diverse array of themes and genres". It was virtually graded by the judging panel.

The shortlisted authors for this year's prize are from Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda and Tanzania. Three out of the five writers are Nigerians. One has dual citizenship (Namibia, Rwanda).

Ms Okojie was among the three shortlisted Nigerian writers. Others are Chikodili Emelumadu for his short story, 'What to do when your child brings home a Mami Wata' and Jowhor Ile for 'Fisherman's Stew.'

Organisers of AKO Caine Prize postponed this year's award ceremony due to the coronavirus pandemic, citing safety of authors, staff, guests and partners as their topmost priority.

But on Monday afternoon during the virtual award ceremony, Ms Okojie's "Grace Jones" was pronounced the winning short story of the year for its "radicality of logic, time and place" and praised as "risky, dazzling, imaginative and bold."

"Grace Jones" was published last year in Ms Okojie's book, "Nudibranch," her second short story collection and her third book, following her debut novel "Butterfly Fish" and her first collection "Speak Gigantular."

It tells the story of a Grace Jones impersonator and deals with questions of trauma and identity as well as pleasure and escape.

The story chronicles the psychological and behavioural changes of the main character, Sidra, a young woman who becomes a celebrity impersonator who is wracked with guilt after her whole family dies in a fire that destroys their London flat.

The chair of the judging panel and director of The Africa Centre, Kenneth Tharp, described the journey of Ms Okojie's main protagonist Sidra, a young woman who has moved to London from Martinique as an "exquisite and seamless movement between the exploration of the universal experiences of unspeakable suffering, pleasure and escape, and the particular experience of being black and African in a global city such as London."

"It is intense and full of stunning prose; it's also a story that reflects African consciousness in the way it so seamlessly shifts dimensions, and it's a story that demonstrates extraordinary imagination. Most of all, it is world-class fiction from an African writer," Mr Tharp said.

As the Black Lives Matter protests continue, he added that the story "offers a salient exploration of what it can mean to embody and perform blackness in the world."

Elated

Reacting to why she chose the story's subject matter, the Nigerian writer said it was important for her to write experimental fiction that centres on a black woman.

"I write weird experimental fiction. And I think it's really important to centre experimental fiction by a black woman like myself, because for a long time, I felt like I was operating on the fringes. People were often quite surprised by my writing, just in terms of subject matter and style," she said.

"I'm really passionate about centring the stories of black women and people of colour. It's important to show their lived experiences," she said. "But I like to do it couched within these darkly fantastical worlds, pushing the boundaries of form, ideas and language, so the reader has a different experience."

Ms Okojie also said she had always found the actual Grace Jones "hugely inspiring", and wanted to explore "this idea of trying to subvert the pain of the past by hiding under a different character".

The Nigerian author said the award has given her confidence as a black and female experimental writer.

She is currently writing a second novel, but she said she finds the process of short story writing "feverish", and filled with a "sense of urgency."

Other notable Nigerian writers who have previously won the AKO Caine prize for African writing include Lesley Arimah (2019) for "Skinned"; Tope Folarin (2013) for "Miracle" ; Rotimi Babatunde (2012) for "Bombay's Republic"; Segun Afolabi (2003)for "Monday Morning" and Helon Habila (2001) for "Love poems".

Mutare, Zimbabwe — Women's rights campaigners say new law will help ensure girls have equal rights to an education

Zimbabwe has made it illegal for schools to expel pupils who get pregnant, a measure women's rights campaigners said would help tackle gender inequality in the classroom and stop many girls from dropping out of school.

A legal amendment announced last week seeks to reinforce a 1999 guideline that was patchily implemented, and comes as school closures due to coronavirus raise fears of a rise in sexual abuse and unwanted pregnancies.

Many parents of pregnant girls, or the girls themselves, decide to quit schooling due to the pregnancy, and schools do not always do enough to encourage them to stay, officials say.

"I'm expecting every parent and guardian and everyone else to understand that every child must be assisted by all of us to go to school," Cain Mathema, the education minister in charge of schools, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation on Monday.

"Every child whether boy or girl... has a right to go to school in Zimbabwe," he said.

In 2018, 12.5% of the country's roughly 57,500 school dropouts stopped attending classes due to pregnancy or marriage reasons - almost all of them girls, according to Education Ministry statistics.

Priscilla Misihairwabwi-Mushonga, an opposition lawmaker who chairs a parliamentary education committee, said making the previous guidelines into a law with possible sanctions would make the rules more effective and address gender disparities.

"In circumstances where the pregnancy was a result of kids of the same age, the boy would not be necessarily expelled from school," she said.

"It was also a double tragedy for the girl... as in most circumstances, it was not a consensual sex but some sort of abuse by some predator older than her. So, she has been traumatised and raped then she is further traumatised by being kicked out of school."

Nyaradzo Mashayamombe, founding director of advocacy group Tag a Life International and leader of a consortium of organizations that pushed for the law, said she feared lockdown measures may have caused a spike in unwanted teen pregnancies.

"We are in a dangerous time where children have been out of school for a long time. Most of them are not even attending radio and television lessons," she said, calling for the government to ensure the new law is enforced.

Pregnancy is just one of the reasons that girls in Zimbabwe could fail to return to classes after coronavirus restrictions are lifted, said Sibusisiwe Ndlovu, communications specialist at Plan International Zimbabwe.

Poverty and early marriage will also stop some from resuming their studies, she said, welcoming the new legislation as a step in the right direction.

"This amendment is crucial in fulfilling the access to education right for all children - especially girls," Ndlovu said.

However, campaigners in the southern African country say girls will still need extra support to continue with their studies even if they keep attending classes while pregnant.

"Social support and financial resources are required for girls to fully utilise this window of opportunity," said Faith Nkala, national director of education nonprofit CAMFED Zimbabwe.

"Especially girls from marginalised families, who will need the additional support to remain in school, and to come back after giving birth."

In an effort to specifically support Black women-owned small businesses, Visa is extending their partnership with IFundWomen through a new series of grants and educational resources. Ten $10,000 grants will go to Black women in the U.S. to help them run and grow their businesses.

Through this program, Visa is committed to providing Black women entrepreneurs with access to the capital, coaching, and connections they need to grow their businesses during this challenging time.

The program criteria are as follows:

• Must be a Black women-owned business
• Must be located in the United States
• Must have a minimum annual revenue of $24K or more
• Must have been in business for 2+ years
• Must be a business that has a product or service in market and generating revenue
• Must be a growing business
• Must be a consumer product or service (B2C)
• Must have a compelling digital presence and supporting media

“The $10,000 is not a random number,” says Suzan Kereere, Visa’s global head of Merchant Sales and Acquiring told Forbes. “For many entrepreneurs, when they look for seed funding or funding to go from proof of concept to launch, the sweet spot is about $10,000. The $8,000 to $14,000 range is the amount of capital you need to get an ordinary small business off the ground. One of the reasons so few businesses make it into the venture capital stage is the majority will need about that much capital to get started. We’ve got to give them the kind of capacity and elasticity they need that works at the scale the majority live in.”

Nationwide — Nevaeh Thomas, an 11-year old girl from Kansas City, says that she was racially harassed and assaulted by a 12-year old boy while playing outside. The boy allegedly began calling her racial slurs and then knocked her unconscious when she told him “my Black is beautiful.”

Thomas was playing outside an apartment complex near a school on a Friday night when an older boy, who was unnamed, called her racial slurs. Thomas spoke up for herself, saying “my Black is beautiful.”

In response, the boy beat her with a pole until she went unconscious. Her mother, Brandi Stewart, told WDAF-TV, that Thomas “suffered from a concussion. She has stitches inside and outside of her cheek, she lost her tooth.”

More than that, Stewart mentioned that “her feelings are more hurt because of the act of, the racial act, not so much of the scarring.”

Their neighbors were also shocked and concerned because of the attack.

“That poor little girl didn’t do anything and now she’s been hospitalized and beaten and for what? Because she’s Black?” said Blair Murphy, a neighbor who runs a daycare center in the area.

“It’s kind of concerning because I have children that are different races. My son is a Black boy and you never know what’s going to happen,” said Serena Mabin, another neighbor.

Meanwhile, the boy has been charged with felony aggravated battery in connection to the incident. He may also face additional hate crime charges, according to Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe.

Nationwide — At a time when the state of the world is extremely uncertain and fragile, Patrice McLaurin is providing a silver lining by dismantling racist biases against Black children, with a current emphasis on Black boys. Owner of Khemrah Publishing, a boutique publishing house located in Buford, Georgia, McLaurin uses this platform to serve as an author and image activist. Her literary works are cultivating the brilliance of Black children, one book at a time.

According to McLaurin, some of the most important work that needs to be done in the Black Community is the shifting of racist and biased propaganda against Black people. “Unfortunately,” states McLaurin, “any disparaging caricature that can be placed upon a person has been used as an identifying persona against Black folk.”

Part of McLaurin’s cause as an image activist is to dispel these effigies by reinforcing positive imagery. After the violent deaths of Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis, Michael Brown, and Tamir Rice, McLaurin’s passion was amplified and it birthed literary works that would give Black children and their counterparts, an opportunity to see the value in their existence. “Oftentimes, a book is a child’s first introduction to an outside world,” states McLaurin, “so it is important that their books humanize all of those who exist in it.”

McLaurin’s first children’s book, Have You Thanked an Inventor Today?, chronicles the school day of little boy as he uses the inventions of Black people throughout his day. It provides the practical perspective that we all utilize the genius of a black mind, daily, and affords ALL of its readers an opportunity to learn about the rich contribution of Black People to this nation. It includes brief biographies about each inventor as well as activities that promote reading comprehension and retention.

Have You Thanked a Kidventor Today? is the second installment in McLaurin’s image activism, as it highlights inventions created by a group of inventors who are rarely discussed, children. This book includes a glossary and fun science experiments that promote innovation and higher-level thinking.

McLaurin’s latest title, I Am Because I Choose, is a wonderful social-emotional learning tool that encourages children to take ownership of their choices and behavior. One of the most dynamic elements of the book is its cover, which boasts a little black boy who stands tall as an audacious superhero!

To note, McLaurin’s books also provide an alternative to a disturbing trend in children’s book diversity that quite possibly contributes to the literacy gap that exists between black boys and their peers. According to the most recent statistics released by the Cooperative Children’s Book Center, only 11.9% of children’s books have black children as their protagonists. Moreover, of the books that are written about black children, historically, very few of them have featured black boys. Rather than complain about this problem, McLaurin decided to provide a solution. “If you want to help bridge the literacy gap that exists for black boys, allow them to see themselves positively reflected on the pages of a book,” she says.

While the work that McLaurin produces for children is admirable, her existence as a Black woman and author of children’s books, is quite the defiance to the status quo based on diversity statistics. In keeping with that defiance, she continues to champion her overarching goal, “To raise the vibration of our children and this nation, one book at a time.”

McLaurin’s books are available at PatriceMcLaurin.com or anywhere that books are sold.

Follow her on social media:
Facebook – @thankaninventor
Instagram – @patricemclaurin
Twitter – @mclaurinwrites