Since Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012, the studio has been laser-focused on two of its biggest franchises: cycling up a whole deluge of Star Wars films, and getting going on a continuation of Indiana Jones. But now it’s working on a new project, wholly disconnected from supernatural treasure hunting or Jedi…
Days after Baton Rouge Police Chief Murphy Paul admitted that Blane Salamoni, the police officer who shot and killed Alton Sterling in 2016, should never have been hired, a Louisiana judge has ordered the city of Baton Rouge to release a psychological evaluation used in Salamoni’s hiring.
True to her calling card as one chosen to liberate the oppressed, singer/actor/activist Janelle Monae is back at it again (as if she ever stopped). Her aim? To empower women and those who identify as such via art, music, mentorship, and education. In partnership with Belvedere Vodka, Monae hosted ‘A Beautiful Future’ dinner—a sensory bouquet immersing guests in music, art, dance, and tech at Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art on the eve of her Lollapalooza performance.
“This collaboration is a convergence of our shared beliefs: optimism and the power of ‘the we, not me’ to bridge divides,” said Rodney Williams, president of Belvedere Vodka. It was the next level up from the Hidden Figures starlet’s Fem the Future grassroots organization and similarly-named series of brunches previously hosted in Berlin, London, and New York.
(Image courtesy of Belvedere)
“I think it’s important whenever you work with brands that they understand your vision,” says Monae, who in addition to playing an abolitionist master teacher in Harriet Tubman’s life story, was also recently announced to replace Julia Roberts as the headlining character in the psychological thriller, Homecoming. “When Belvedere heard that I wanted to highlight voices and put more opportunities in the hands of women they said, ‘How can we help?'”
(Image courtesy of Getty)
Aside from debuting a metallic collage-designed, limited edition bottle of Belvedere’s super-premium vodka—inspired by Monae—the event zeroed in on art, food, and the celebration of four individuals from Chicago whose work aligns with the theme of diversity, inclusion, self-expression, and “access to explore one’s passions freely,” explained Monae.
(Image courtesy of Belvedere)
The honorees included sexual assault activist Scheherazade Tillet, co-founder and executive director of A Long Walk Home, a nonprofit that uses art and film to raise awareness and end violence against girls and women; Nikki Roberson, fundraising director and community outreach liaison for Kicks 4 the City; LaForce Baker, founder and CEO of Moon Meals; and celebrated visual artist and architect, Amanda Williams.
“She believes in positivity and elevating other’s voices and these are ideas that as a brand we can champion and get behind,” said Carlos Zepeda, VP of Belvedere Vodka US.
Baker, the founder of Moon Meals, is one of those voices. Currently, his product is sold in 188 grocers across Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa and he projects it will be available in over 1,000 stores, including Whole Foods, CVS, and Walgreens by the end of 2020.
Moon Meals, he says, builds upon Monae and Belvedere’s Beautiful Future motif in three ways: by increasing access to quality meals on the South and West sides of Chicago, where food deserts are prevalent; by generating revenue for economically depressed neighborhoods; and by hiring and servicing women of color. “Our products empower our customers, which are predominately women, by giving them the nutrition they love, on the go, and without much sacrifice.”
The dinner was served at a stunning 90-foot-long table, attended by 80-plus cultural tastemakers, social justice influencers, and key Chicago business stakeholders with rousing music from DJ Rae Chardonnay. It featured five courses by Jason Hammel, chef of Marisol, a restaurant at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago.
Technology also took a center seat at the table. Running down the center for the full length of the table was an LED display monitor pumping messages of encouragement and inspiration. The first course of the five-course dinner included a plate with brightly lit headphones playing a special message from Monae’s alter ago, Cindy Mayweather, an android from the year 2719.
“Tech is a powerful tool. But I want to make sure that the bias is not there. That’s been a big concern of mine,” says Monae, who stresses that as technologies like artificial intelligence or voice and facial recognition are developed further, Silicon Valley should bring women and diverse voices to the table on the front end.
“Because when we’re not in the room and there is only one type of person in the room making these decisions, I think that it won’t be a beautiful future.”
Wendy Williams has always been a lightning rod for strong opinions—some good, some full-on foul. But when it comes to measuring her success, even her staunchest critics have to give Williams her due. After leveraging 20 years on the rise as a shameless radio shock-jock into an odds-defying decade as host of her eponymous hit talk show, Williams is an undisputed mogul.
With a net worth of at least $40 million (including an annual TV show salary of $10 million), according to Celebrity Net Worth, Williams’ mega-brand is built on a big personality that’s unafraid to express what she thinks and expose who she wants, while making no excuses along the way. Love her or hate her, there’s no one else like her, and her unapologetic authenticity has won her legions of rabid fans.
The Wendy Williams Show, now in its 11th season, averages more than 2.4 million daily viewers, making Williams rival Ellen DeGeneres as the No. 1 female host on daytime TV. Both the show and host have received multiple Emmy nominations and Williams was a 2009 inductee into the National Radio Hall of Fame.
Her empire has included production deals with Lifetime TV; fashion, jewelry, and wig lines; a book publishing company; and a philanthropic arm created to assist those struggling with addiction, as Williams openly admits she has. She is also the author of several books including “Wendy’s Got the Heat,” a 2003 memoir that made the coveted New York Times best-seller list.
Despite her notoriously strong personality, dogged work ethic, and unbridled ambition, toward the end of her autobiography, Williams pointedly advised women readers to “Know Your Place.” Summarizing her relationship with her then husband/manager Kevin Hunter, she wrote: “…my job is to make the house run smoothly. His job ultimately is to make me feel safe and protected. He is the man and that’s his primary job. I am the little woman.”
Williams has been called lots of things through the years but “little woman” has never been one of them.
After news of their marital split broke in April, it became clear that Williams had ceded decades of control to her man. Now 54, she’s facing a major transition—not just from wife to divorcee after 21 years, but from “show pony,” as she called herself in a June interview with TMZ, to power broker or—as her next memoir might couch it—from “little woman” to bad ass boss.
Used to spilling the tea surrounding other celebrities’ lives for her own professional gain, Williams hasn’t shied away from owning her own mess in the press. The news that Hunter was not only unfaithful but had possibly fathered a child with a mistress caused Williams to move from the couple’s New Jersey home to a sober house and triggered daily headlines that made her life and career look as if they were careening out of control. Emotional appearances on TMZ didn’t help. Nor did the fact that, with her TV show on hiatus, Williams didn’t have a chance to set the record straight daily and directly for her concerned fans.
Those fans were soon wondering if she could keep her business life thriving when her personal life was in shreds. Especially since Hunter was not just her primary and most trusted adviser, he was executive producer of “The Wendy Williams Show.”
No sooner did Williams file for divorce than Hunter was fired by Debmar-Mercury, the majority stakeholder of the show in which, Williams is quick to point out, she also owns a stake—and now executive produces. The decision was then made to close Hunter Publishing Co. as well as the Hunter Foundation.
Her new manager, Bernie Young, is unfazed by the closures, calling them necessary steps on the road to stabilizing Williams’ brand so it can grow from a stronger base.
Williams moved quickly to personally hire Young, a seasoned pro with a stellar track record. A former New York City detective, he launched a second career managing comics and wound up executive producing Rosie O’Donnell’s and Martha Stewart’s TV shows at their height. He had a candid two-hour phone interview with Williams before which, Young admits, he knew little beyond who she was.
“She surprised me,” Young says. “The conversation was all about her life and what she wanted to do, the things that started and failed, the dreams that came true and didn’t. She’s very smart, she understands where she is, and she has very definite ideas about where she wants to go.”
While they are in the midst of forging a very different type of manager-client relationship, the transition was clearly needed and Young says it’s going well. “We check in every day to make sure, are we speaking the same language? Can we look each other in the eye? Can we tell each other the truth and hear it? I always say, the truth can hurt but it doesn’t last,” Young says. “If we can survive that, there’s no limit to what she can do.”
Without criticizing her soon-to-be ex, Williams was as defiant as ever when she addressed an audience of entrepreneurs at Black Enterprise’s FWD conference in Charlotte in June.
“We had to clean the slate and start over,” Williams said of Hunter’s ouster. She proudly added that, at age 29, when she met Hunter, “I was already a property owner, I was already a radio star, I was already the boss of my own life … so, it’s not new. I’m just returning to that life but with a bigger platform—and I love it.”
Despite some personal fits and starts, within six weeks of hiring Young, Williams had already cut a new deal with Lifetime TV. While the specifics of the partnership are still being finalized, she and Young confirmed that she will executive produce a series of projects for the women’s network.
On July 27, Williams begins an eight-city tour called, “Wendy Williams and Friends Presents For the Record.” The show, which launches in Oakland, California, and ends in Atlanta in September, will feature several up-and-coming comedians. Williams will host and, between their sets, will take the stage to set the record straight about her year in the headlines, says Young.
“She’s got a story to tell and this tour allows her to tell her story, her way. I want the public to see this person for who she is. She’s funny, she’s real—sometimes a little too real—but she’ll tell hers as good as she’ll tell yours, and that’s what makes people relate to her and want to bring her into their homes every day” via their TVs.
Young hopes to get the comedy tour picked up by a network to air as a special, or kick off a new series.
“The goal is not to dwell on what she’s losing but on what she wants to build,” Young says. “She has a lot of talent and a lot of vision. My job is to listen and bring structure and organization to that vision so she can achieve what she sees.
“She surprises me every day,” says Young. “I think other people are going to be surprised too.”
-Editors’ note: This article originally appeared in the Summer 2019 edition of Black Enterprise Magazine. Order the magazine today.
Entrepreneur; 29; Co-Founder and President, New York on Tech
Twitter: @evinrobinson; Instagram: @evinrobinson
I’m the co-founder and president of America On Tech Inc. (currently operating as New York On Tech Inc.), an award-winning, early-pipeline technology talent accelerator on a mission to prepare the next generation of leaders by creating pathways into degrees and careers in technology. To date, we have worked with more than 1,000 students to deliver our tuition-free courses and help provide work-based internships and learning programs that promote the advancement of underestimated students into technology.
AOT’s work has been featured in Black Enterprise, Forbes, BET, CNN, People Magazine, Univision, TechCrunch, and other leading publications. AOT has also been awarded by Forbes 30 Under 30, Wells Fargo, and the Brooklyn Borough President’s Office.
Graduating from college holds the place as the proudest moment in my life. For me, this accomplishment was larger than myself. I remember it was Mother’s Day. The smile on my mother’s face as she congratulated me on graduating from Syracuse University is a moment I will forever treasure.
Those feelings amplified as I delivered a speech during the Multicultural Graduation Reception, a celebratory tradition on campus hosted by the Office of Multicultural Affairs. I was selected as a senior speaker. While delivering my speech on stage, I reflected on what I had overcome to get to that point. The challenges and unfavorable circumstances that were converted into a motivational desire to achieve everything I put my mind to is what I spoke about. While I graduated with honors and a fleet of awards, it did not come easy and it validated that I could overcome any challenge ahead.
While Brooklyn has changed drastically over the years, the neighborhood where I grew up still remains off the realtor’s list as a top pick. Reflecting back, I realized that limitations were placed on me before I had the chance to fully understand the opportunities the world had to offer. Similar to many low-income communities, you experience a lot of hardships and get placed into situations that test you in various ways. Through mentorship and a supportive family, I learned to turn those experiences into competitive advantages instead of disadvantages. The lessons learned and skills acquired in the struggle have assisted me in my pursuit and achievement of success, including with New York On Tech.
I don’t have one male role model, but rather a collection of mentors I’ve acquired over the years. From them, I’ve learned the importance of hard work, self-assurance, strategy, alliances, perseverance, and most importantly giving back.
The exploration and development of oneself toward becoming a better person—and supporting others in their exploration and development toward becoming better people.
“You have all the right ingredients, you just have to mix it right.”
This is something I was told while in college and it has stuck with me. It’s a statement and a nugget of advice I constantly come back to in my personal and business life. It helps me to look at things (including my work with America On Tech) from a proactive viewpoint, reassess, and organize plans of actions toward goals.
A large percentage of the males we serve through America On Tech Inc. (New York On Tech Inc.) identify as black males. For many of them, it’s their first time receiving coding and technical training, industry mentors, company site visits, and paid internships. Additionally, I volunteer often with my fraternity brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha and serve as a business coach and mentor to many black men.
Being a black man to me is a true example of perseverance. Despite all of the challenges we face, we still overcome them and continue to show our greatness at the highest levels possible.
Journaling while eating a good breakfast and listening to an entrepreneurial podcast while working out. I read a lot of autobiographies, history, business, and innovation books. For me, it’s important to understand the past, future, and proven methods and frameworks toward success.
BE Modern Man is an online and social media campaign designed to celebrate black men making valuable contributions in every profession, industry, community, and area of endeavor. Each year, we solicit nominations in order to select men of color for inclusion in the 100 Black Enterprise Modern Men of Distinction. Our goal is to recognize men who epitomize the BEMM credo “Extraordinary is our normal” in their day-to-day lives, presenting authentic examples of the typical black man rarely seen in mainstream media. The BE Modern Men of Distinction are celebrated annually at Black Men XCEL (www.blackenterprise.com/blackmenxcel/). Click this link to submit a nomination for BE Modern Man: https://www.blackenterprise.com/nominate/. Follow BE Modern Man on Twitter: @bemodernman and Instagram: @be_modernman.
