Driver’s Seat: Female Auto Shop Owner Empowers Women, Gives Back To Community

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Driver’s Seat: Female Auto Shop Owner Empowers Women, Gives Back To Community

Hilda Mera’s story defines the classic immigrant experience: She came to the U.S. with nothing — but worked hard and became a successful businesswoman.

In eight years, Mera and her husband Jose Masache transformed a rundown building in Newark, New Jersey, into a thriving enterprise — S&A Auto Repair — that had gross sales of $400,000 during an economically challenging pandemic.

“Our gross revenue increases 10 to 20 percent each year,” Mera said. “My goal is to get to $1 million.  Knowing myself, I know I can do that.”

Mera emigrated from Ecuador at 19 — and worked as a cleaning lady.  Today, she teaches women about cars and how to drive their own businesses.

“Dreams come true if you put in the time,” she told Zenger.

“It’s not just about doing business. It’s about giving back to the community. We don’t just want to be business owners, we want to be someone people can look up to and say: ‘This person came from Ecuador with nothing. Look at what they’ve realized for themselves and their family.’”

A standout

Being a female owner of an auto-repair shop breaks stereotypes. There were 19,236 female auto mechanics (2.1 percent of all such workers) and a total of 130,174 women in the automotive repair and maintenance field in 2018, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Mera, a mother of three children, is happy to defy expectations. Believing that investing in herself meant investing in her future, she attended classes to learn English and eventually earned an associate degree in accounting from Essex County College in 2012.

After working various jobs, she and her husband decided to start a business that would be an asset to the community. Masache always wanted an auto-repair shop, but neither knew how to kick-start a business.

Operating on faith, Masache took auto-mechanic classes at night in New York for 13 months before completing a six-month apprenticeship as a mechanic. Then one day, he came home and told his wife: “I found a place.” And S&A Auto Repair was born.

Hilda Mera and her husband Jose Masache opened S&A Auto Repair eight years ago in Newark, N.J. (S&A Auto Repair)

“We were nervous, but we decided to go for it,” Mera said. “Thank God I had a good credit score. We used credit cards that allowed up to 16 months before charging interest. That’s how we purchased the equipment and everything that we needed.”

The shop offers a variety of repair services for brakes, engines, transmissions, alternators, struts and shocks, and antilock braking-systems, along with tune-ups and computer diagnostics. But the principals still lacked specific business knowledge.

In 2015, Mera found her way to Rising Tide Capital, a nonprofit based in Jersey City, New Jersey, that offers business development services to young entrepreneurs. The information and instruction she received, earning a Community Business Academy certificate, proved invaluable. It also made her determined to succeed.

“I always say Rising Tide Capital is the door that opened the rest of the doors for me,” Mera said. “Since then, I haven’t stopped.”

In growing her business into a staple of south Newark, Mera was named among the top 100 leaders in Transportation and Automotive in 2020-21 by the International Transportation and Automotive Summit. “I believe there’s a reason why I was recognized,” Mera said. “I’m just going to ask God for wisdom and accomplish whatever He wants me to do.”

No one is more grateful than her husband.

“Without her, the business wouldn’t be what it is right now,” Masache told Zenger. “Having her drive and her vision have been a blessing.”

The couple made it a priority to give back to the community by empowering women intimidated by interacting with mechanics. Too many women have come to Mera with stories of being ripped off for unnecessary repairs. Mera and her husband invite women to be hands-on in the repair of their cars, explaining what is being done and why.

They also hold educational seminars, so women understand their cars — how to check fluids, the lighting system, brake system, tires, battery and other basic maintenance.

Workshops held at S&A Auto Repair teach women how to care for their cars.  (S&A Auto Repair)

“I’m a woman, and I don’t like anybody trying to take advantage of me,” Mera said. “Unfortunately, most women don’t know anything about cars, and a lot of mechanics take advantage of that and don’t tell the truth.”

She remembers one telling story.

A mechanic told a woman she needed to replace her transmission, a job that costs thousands. “The lady came here in tears and asked me how much is a new transmission,” Mera said. “I told her to let my husband look at the car and listen to the noise. It turned out to be a piece of loose metal. Nothing was wrong with the transmission. That really upsets me. When women come to the shop, they are hands-on. We want them to look at the car and touch the car and see what we’re doing.”

S&A Auto Repair is at 168 Clifford Street in Newark, N.J. (S&A Auto Repair)

It’s also important to Mera to leave a legacy.

She and her husband plan to open a tire shop this year and utilize that space to hold workshops during off-hours. “Everything is getting better because I have a purpose. I’m going to do things honestly and do the right thing,” she said.

Mera also has gone from being a student to an instructor at Rising Tide Capital, sharing her experiences and knowledge as a Latina entrepreneur and business owner. “I want to be a role model for women who want to do something but might be afraid,” she said.

“I’m here to let them know not to be afraid, and that we can do whatever we can, if we want to.”

Edited by Fern Siegel and Matthew B. Hall



The post Driver’s Seat: Female Auto Shop Owner Empowers Women, Gives Back To Community appeared first on Zenger News.

Gary ‘G7’ Jenkins Serving A Life Sentence In The Music Industry 

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Gary ‘G7’ Jenkins Serving A Life Sentence In The Music Industry 

Peeling back the layers of Gary “G7” Jenkins’ musical talent could be an endless process. Jenkins — also known as Lil G from famed R&B group Silk — is back in the studio working on his solo album, “G7 No Parole,” a title which symbolizes his devotion to making music.

His first single, “That’s My Baby”, provides authentic R&B lovers with a sense of relief by delivering offering a sound that’s seemingly absent from today’s genre. Feeling as though his supporters have waited long enough, Jenkins plans to release “G7 No Parole” before the holiday season.

With more than 30 years in the industry under his belt, Jenkins admits that life keeps him connected and inspired to continue using his gifts.

Zenger News talks with Jenkins about “G7 No Parole,” his collaboration bucket list and which Verzuz battle he enjoyed the most.

Percy Crawford interviewed Gary Jenkins for Zenger.

Zenger: What an honor: The new single is available. It provides a sound I’ve been missing. What made “That’s My Baby” the lead single?

Percy Crawford interviewed Gary Jenkins for Zenger. (Heidi Malone/Zenger)

Jenkins: Man… just the way we started putting that thing together, my dude, producer extraordinaire Mr. Jhot Scott. He was playing a track, and he wanted me to add some guitar to it, right. When the beat came on, I strapped on my guitar, I started listening to it, and I said, “This dope.”

So, I started doing my little riffs or whatever. The more I got to playing the song, the more I started grooving to it, and then lyrics started popping in my head. Soon after I got the guitar part laid, I said, “Put the microphone up. Let’s go.” I didn’t even put it down on paper. I went right off my head. I wrote the song, did all the vocal parts and it just came together. It was so fire the way it just came together.

Zenger: Sounds like when a baseball player knows he got the perfect swing, or when that basketball player leaves his hand in the air after a shot.

Jenkins: Yes! I had done some other stuff, too, but when we started that one, and it started coming together, I got a feeling, man. I said, “This is the one.”

Zenger: It’s that R&B that’s not afraid to tell a woman how you feel about them, and we miss that. Trust me.

Jenkins: That was my intent and that’s what you can expect to hear from me, because I’m taking it back to true R&B. Ninety-five percent of R&B is about who?

Zenger: The women.

Jenkins. The women. There you go. And with music today, some of it I like, some of it I love, and some of it I’m not crazy about. Our music used to uplift the women. We used to praise the woman and make her feel like she wanna give you those panties (laughing).

Zenger: I could thank you for many nights during my younger days (laughing).

Jenkins: (Laughing). It was all about that. Women appreciate you more, the more that you show them that you appreciate them. The more that you show them that you see who they are.

Gary “G7” Jenkins recently released the single, “That’s My Baby” (Courtesy of Gary Jenkins)

Zenger: When I watch you speak about music and obviously through your vocals, that passion is real. What’s the driving force behind that 30 years later?

Jenkins: Life! Not everybody is afforded this opportunity. I thank God every day for every instrument that he’s allowed me to play, for giving me this voice and for allowing me to continue to have the same voice and to keep it safe and proper. Music is my life. I’m calling my album, “G7 No Parole.” G is the seventh letter of the alphabet, I’m the seventh child, and seven is the number of completion.

And I said, “No parole,” because I’m sentenced to life in music. I’m not getting out. That’s the whole process behind my whole album, to bring real raw music back to the way it used to be back in the day. From the ’70s, to the ’90s, up to the 2000s. You know what that era was.

Zenger: Now that you are serving this life sentence, what’s the creative process to “G7 No Parole”?

Jenkins: You can expect instruments, collaborations, my writing abilities, my production abilities, along with Jhot, other fire producers, Wally Morris, Chip. I’m trying to do it all. I got a couple of rappers on there that I will be giving an opportunity to later on with my company and bringing them along. I have a live band that I plan on doing some things with called Salty Suga. I got some big ideas. I’m bringing that whole vibe back.

Zenger: You are a musical cheat code because not only do you have the voice, but you also play several instruments, and are an amazing writer. What makes you branch out and not do it all yourself?

Jenkins: I’m one of those who likes to spread the wealth. I believe that there is room in this industry for everybody. I believe there is power in numbers. Somebody can always do something a little different than you and give you a different feel. Some songs just hit me like that, and I have to go ahead and do it right then. Or Jhot will tell me, “You need to play that, bruh.” Sometimes I’ll call him in quick and be like, “Put your flavor in for me.”

Zenger: Are we going to have to wait on “G7 No Parole,” or is it coming soon?

Jenkins: I’ve had the people waiting long enough. That’s why I did the single release and the video on Sept. 7. Shout out to Jazsmin Lewis, who was my leading lady. And to Free Boogie, who shot the video for me. He called himself “Quarantine Tarantino.” It was a great experience. I’m probably going to do one more single after “That’s My Baby,” and then I’m planning on having the whole project ready for Nov. 1, or maybe sooner, like the end of October.

Gary “G7” Jenkins, also known as Lil G from the legendary R&B group, Silk. (Courtesy of Gary Jenkins)
Gary “G7” Jenkins, also known as Lil G from the legendary R&B group, Silk. (Courtesy of Gary Jenkins)

Zenger: Who would you like to share the studio with that you haven’t worked with yet?

Jenkins: Stevie Wonder! Yes lawd! Also H.E.R. 

Zenger: It’s crazy how many legends name H.E.R. as someone they would like to work with or whose music they love. She’s special.

Jenkins: She’s real special. You got some other ones out there; Summer Walker is good. There’s just something about H.E.R., though.

Zenger: Did you still enjoy the process of creating “G7 No Parole”?

Jenkins: Ah man, yes! Anytime I’m able to put my creative juices out there in the synergy, I’m right with it. It’s something I can’t get rid of. I can’t put it away. Sometimes it will wake me up while I’m sleeping. I did this song in Memphis, it’s called “I Am Amazing.” You can see it on my social media. There was a young lady, Tenia, and she had cerebral palsy. Her dad asked me to come over to the house and sing “Happy Birthday” to her. They had the news channel down there in Memphis. I just took to her.

I adopted her as my little niece. Her mother is a gospel singer, JustTina. Something came to my mind—  I said, “We need to do something in honor of Tenia.” I said, “I’m going to do a song.” I came home to Atlanta, and I was in the bed sleeping. At about 5 in the morning, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I woke up and the words just started flowing. I started writing them down. I went downstairs to my studio and started putting it together.

Zenger: Great story. However, I can’t let you go without bringing up these Verzuz battles.

Jenkins: (Laughing).

Zenger: You already know where I’m going with this.

Jenkins: Jodeci (laughing).

Zenger: Silk Verzuz Jodeci. Do you enjoy that?

Jenkins: That’s what I’m talking about, man. I’m digging them, dog. They are fire.

Zenger: I love the R&B Verzuz battles because it went from being a competition to a celebration. That seems to have started with the R&B side of things.

Jenkins: That’s it right there! It did become a celebration. That Isley Brothers/Earth Wind & Fire Verzuz was the beginning of that — it was amazing.

Zenger: It has been an extreme honor, the single is amazing, and I’m sure the entire project will follow suit. Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Jenkins: Tell everybody to keep up with me on my social media pages. My website will be up really soon.

Edited by Matthew B. Hall and Stan Chrapowicki



The post Gary ‘G7’ Jenkins Serving A Life Sentence In The Music Industry  appeared first on Zenger News.

Shawn Porter On Being ‘The Dictator Of The Ring’

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Shawn Porter On Being ‘The Dictator Of The Ring’

Two-time welterweight champion Shawn “Showtime” Porter wants to be the first man to knock out undefeated three-division title winner Terence “Bud” Crawford.

Porter, who will challenge for the WBO’s 147-pound title owned by the switch-hitting Crawford (37–0, 28 KOs) on Nov. 20 on ESPN+ Pay-Per-View from The Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas, recently caught up with Zenger News.

Porter (31–3–1, 17 KOs) discussed his split-decision victory over current WBC champion Yordenis Ugas in March 2019 and his subsequent split-decision unification loss to unbeaten southpaw IBF/WBC titleholder Errol Spence in September 2019.

In addition, Porter also sheds light on why a fight with eight-division champion Manny Pacquiao did not materialize in advance of the Filipino superstar’s unanimous decision loss to Ugas last month and talks about an undisclosed left hand injury he suffered before earning a unanimous decision victory over Danny Garcia (September 2018) for the WBC’s vacant crown.

Zenger: How do you plan to defeat Terence Crawford?

Porter: Like with Errol Spence Jr., it’s going to take everything that I have and all of my experiences in order to beat Terence Crawford. Replaying the Spence fight in my mind, I know there are things I left out of the ring. I also know from an intellectual standpoint, I was a step or two ahead of Spence.

I think the same thing happens in this fight with Terence Crawford. I think we’ll be able to find something, whether it’s counterpunching, aggression, or boxing from the outside. We will be able to find certain things that are going to work for us for a significant portion of the fight, making adjustments as we go.

Zenger: How do you see the fight with Crawford going?

Porter: Everybody feels that my style is based on aggression and speed, but my style is solely based on being the dictator in the ring. Sometimes my style of dictating may be going forward, and sometimes it may mean going backward.

But I can assure you of one thing, and that’s that you will see one person controlling the fight with Terence Crawford and that will be me. For anyone who doesn’t see that, look at the fight with Errol Spence Jr. and Keith Thurman and Danny Garcia.

Those guys were forced into fighting out of positions they had never been put in before, and that’s because of me. I told y’all that I was going to do it, and I did it. My record speaks for itself. I dictate what happens and how the fight goes.

Everybody’s always reacted to Terence, but just like with Errol Spence Jr., prior to me, he was always the dictator. I don’t think that’s something he’s had to deal with as a professional — being forced to react.

Zenger: How does the Crawford fight end?

Porter: I really do see myself being able to — like I did against Errol Spence — put him in uncomfortable situations that he’s never been in, forcing him to react, being able to overwhelm him, and, ultimately, to stop him.

Two-time welterweight champion Shawn Porter (left) lands a right hand on IBF/WBC champion Errol Spence during his split-decision loss. ”I see myself being able to — like I did against Errol Spence — put [Terence Crawford] in uncomfortable situations, and, ultimately, to stop him.” (Premier Boxing Champions) 

Zenger: What separated you from victory against Errol Spence?

Porter: It was clearly the 11th-round knockdown. I hate when people try to convince me that it wasn’t a knockdown. I ask people, ‘Did you enjoy the fight?’ Some people say, ‘Yeah, I enjoyed the fight, but you should have won.’

After the 10th round, I went back to the corner saying to myself, ‘Somebody’s gotta get knocked down and that’s going to decide the fight. I’ve gotta knock him down.’ I wasn’t thinking knockout, I was just thinking, ‘I gotta knock him down.’

I knew that would be the separation between winning or losing that fight. Errol ended up getting the knockdown, and I tell people, ‘I was more upset that I got knocked down than I was not getting my hand raised.’ I knew that that was going to be the separation.

Zenger: It seems as if Manny Pacquiao has mentioned Mikey Garcia, Errol Spence, and, ultimately, Keith Thurman as potential opponents, but never really you — why not?

Porter: I don’t think that Manny, himself, has ever mentioned my name, but I do know that there have been interviews where he’s been asked, ‘What about Shawn Porter?’ and ‘Would you fight Shawn Porter,’ and it was always, ‘Well, we’ll see,’ or, ‘We’ll think about it.’

There was a tendency to look at everyone else’s name, but my name wasn’t really pushed forward. The reason why is because if you think about it, I sparred with him in 2010 and 2011. They saw what I had back then, and they see what I have now.

I do think that, with all due respect, they know that I’m better than I was back then. Sparring is sparring, and we all know that, but sparring me was always a challenge. So I think they know that if they had a challenge with me in 2010 and 2011, you can just imagine what it would be in 2021.

Zenger: How difficult was it to train for, and ultimately, defeat Danny Garcia, post-surgery on your broken left hand minus the full complement of sparring in camp?

Porter: The training camp that I had for Danny Garcia was so far beneath the typical training camps that we’ve usually had. I don’t think people would even believe it if they heard it, especially if they watched the fight and think about what went on in camp while watching the fight.

Sparring, hitting the bag and all of that was second to the things I was dealing with. Without going into too much detail, there was the battle of the injured finger, but there was an even bigger battle that was internal, emotional and mental with my dad.

It was not the typical training camp, but I was able to do some things from a mental standpoint to keep everything together and to not be denied the WBC title. Eventually, I will go into detail, and when I do, I think it will bring a lot of motivation to people.

“Yordenis Ugas is an avoided fighter,” said two-time welterweight champion Shawn Porter (right), who earned a split-decision victory over the current WBA champion in 2019. “People don’t want to deal with a hard night with Yordenis Ugas.” (Premier Boxing Champions)

Zenger: Is Ugas an avoided fighter?

Porter: Ugas was avoided. I’ll keep it real. The IBF mandated the fight between myself and Ugas. But at that time, my dad and I weren’t really clicking on certain levels, and he didn’t want me to get into the ring with Ugas because maybe things weren’t going to click between him and I in the corner.

My dad felt like Ugas was a threat given the risk-reward factor. But for me, the reward led to a unification bout with Errol Spence Jr., so there is no telling what would have happened if I had decided not to take the mandate. But he is an avoided fighter. People don’t want to deal with a hard night with Yordenis Ugas.

Zenger: How difficult was the fight with Ugas, and what game plan earned you the victory?

Porter: My dad said, ‘Move on him and out-box him, he does not have the feet that you have and he can’t catch you.’ That’s what we decided to do for the entirety of that night. With Ugas, he never forced me to do anything else.

He was plodding and he walked into shots. He stood in the middle of the ring telling me to come at him. I didn’t oblige. So the fight carried on, and it stayed the exact same way for 12 consecutive rounds. He learned from that.

Someone close to him told me that he said, ‘I was confused for the first six rounds of the fight.’ If you’re confused for the first half of the fight, then you probably lost the fight.

Someone else close to him said, ‘I knew you were going to box like that.’

They said, ‘I told him that, and it gave him problems.’ The thing is we knew exactly what we needed to do to beat him, no one else expected it, and when they didn’t expect it, their minds were blown by what we were doing.

Yordenis Ugas (right) defended his WBC welterweight title by unanimous decision over eight-division title winner Manny Pacquiao after having lost to a split-decision to two-time champion Shawn Porter. “I don’t think that Manny, himself, has ever mentioned my name” as a potential opponent, said Porter. (Premier Boxing Champions)

Zenger: How impressive was Ugas’ victory over Pacquiao?

Porter: What I learned about Yordenis that I didn’t know is that he can box. He has real boxing skills, and I had not seen that in any fight before we fought — not until he fought me and Pacquiao. In the fight with Pacquiao, he did something that they weren’t expecting.

I was very impressed with what he did against Manny Pacquiao. Yordenis Ugas is an avoided fighter, and now it’s going to be difficult because he has a belt. That’s the only reason people are going to want to get into the ring with him — because now, they have to.

Zenger: How do you want to be remembered, given your impressive resume?

Porter: Like the ones with Errol Spence, Keith Thurman and Danny Garcia and, hopefully, Terence Crawford, the Ugas victory was a fantastic fight.

Hopefully, people think it’s a classic because that’s a goal for me as a fighter — to have those battles and the moments in those fights that will last a lifetime.

Edited by Stan Chrapowicki and Matthew B. Hall



The post Shawn Porter On Being ‘The Dictator Of The Ring’ appeared first on Zenger News.

Richard ‘RichRel’ Reliford Seeks To Ease Racial Tensions With His Music And His Message

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Richard ‘RichRel’ Reliford Seeks To Ease Racial Tensions With His Music And His Message

Growing up in suburban Chicago, Richard “RichRel” Reliford experienced the good, bad and the ugly. However, his faith won’t allow him to focus on the negative. Instead, he uses that energy as teachable moments through his Mission1Race foundation and his music to bring people together and gain an understanding as to why to not hold on to hatred.

On Sept. 24, he will be releasing his “SonShine” album, which features songs meant to uplift spirits with music that everyone can enjoy. “RichRel” opens up to Zenger News about a trip to Africa that changed his perspective on life, the creative process behind his new album and much more.

Percy Crawford interviewed Richard Reliford for Zenger.

Zenger: How did, Mission1Race become your mission?

Percy Crawford interviewed Richard Reliford for Zenger. (Heidi Malone/Zenger)

Reliford: I don’t push my faith on anyone. But it’s hard for me to separate the love of God and therefore the love for people that drives me. I’m a mission-driven person. It would have to go back to my youth of me being born and raised in the Chicago suburb of Bolingbrook, and experiencing the beauty of diversity and the brutality of racism. I had friends and coaches who are awesome, but also experienced physical, emotional and verbal abuse because of racism. So, that dichotomy is always there. I’ve seen it in sports, in the southwest suburbs in Chicago, in America and in my ministry.

All of a sudden, I joined World Vision [a global Christian humanitarian organization] and two things happened. First, I visited Africa, and it blew my mind because we have been misled about what Africa is. Just having freedom in the ’60s in Uganda, which is run top to bottom with Africans, it blew my mind. It kind of took some of the anger off of me and made me realize, we’ve been lied to. It didn’t make me pro black, but it made me less volatile because my history didn’t start on a ship. I can let some of that go.

I’m in South Africa now on another trip, and that’s when it really broke me. I experienced a post-apartheid [situation], and I thought to myself, this is way more intense than I thought, and this is not just domestic, this is a worldwide problem. People are believing a lie that we are of different value, and/or better or less than, when everyone should just be thankful for with who and how they were created.

I can’t tell this in any short way. I come back to the States, and I’m getting off of a stage, spreading a message because we’re World Vision. We are preaching and inviting people to partner to help extreme poverty. But what God was doing was giving me a voice and my message. It’s about hearing clearly from God. My question I would ask the audience is, “How many times have you clearly heard from God?” I would ask old and young. And the number I would get, Percy, it’s only a handful of times that we really hear from God. And God pressed this on me, what’s our responsibility when we do? Because it’s precious and rare. Shame on us if we don’t do it wholeheartedly. I get off the stage and God was like, “I’m glad you said that because I got something for you to build.”

He gave me the seed for Mission1Race in 2010. While working with a non-profit and doing other things, I started submitting the paperwork to create that organization. When God told me it was going to start with a 250-mile run from San Diego to Santa Barbara, I did what every good person in the Bible does: I started negotiating. Wait, did you say, run part of it, and then bike part of it? “No, you are going to run, from mission to mission. I am reclaiming the story of these historic missions on the coast, and you’re going to tell people that we are uniquely the same.” We are unique, so we don’t have to assimilate. Be black, be Hispanic, be white.

Let’s just say I get a chance to talk to someone who I feel is walking in bigotry and hate. One goal is to stop it and build systems to stop it, but I really want a racist not to be racist. I didn’t say I want to round them up and muffle them. I actually want to ask them, “What in your heart has lied to you that you can judge me? Or be a sexist, or homophobic, go down the list, think you’re better than a person because they served time in prison?” I’ll challenge all of that with Mission1Race. It’s challenging the value of humanity from the false degrees of separation. That’s what fuels me. I can’t separate that mission from my music. Whether you call it gospel or not, whether it sounds churchy enough or not, it depends on the song. I’m also not trying to alienate people.

Zenger: This mission to abolish inequality isn’t just about race for you.

Reliford: It’s tough, but God has built me for this. I have always kind of been an outcast. I’ve never fit in any of the boxes. I did football, but music was actually first for me. My father was a by-ear blues guitarist. I was making tracks and beats talking about a different subject matter because I didn’t grow up in the church coming up in Chicago. If I tell you some of the hooks I had then, it wouldn’t be the same album. I have been doing that all of my life.

I play the guitar on “My Always Love.” That’s my heart, that’s my passion, bringing folks together. And that’s not weakness. I know that doesn’t sound militant enough for some people, but calling someone to be one with you is actually more than just give me my rights and my respect, and leave me alone. I don’t want a new separate but equal. I want to a right-next-to-and-equal. I want in the same building and equal. I want in the same program and equal. We gotta be careful because right now it’s like we’re trying to build this separate society. No, we’ve been there. We don’t want that.

Richard “RichRel” Reliford seeks to break down barriers between the races. (Courtesy of Richard Reliford) 

Zenger: You played Division 1 football at the University of Akron. Does part of the togetherness you’re calling for stem from that?

Reliford: You just hit it: sports, and athletics. If you look up the word, community, one definition is, though we are many parts, we are in harmony and are one. No one’s asking anyone to destroy that. Community says, you don’t have to be in close proximity and all the same. Instead, you share common interest, causes and ideas, and that builds an affinity towards a person and those walls come down.  Sport does that. If a classroom is run right, it does that, and the diversity of a team does that.

I can’t tell you that the white man is the problem for everything. Do you know what the problem with that is? You would have to throw out Coach Guernsey, my youth football coach, who was one of the nicest men to me in my life, who mentored me. I would have to throw out the three people that introduced me into gospel. God was very intentional about the fact that, “That’s not your story, Richard. Be proud to be black and be who you need to be, but you love on these folks, don’t go left because it’s not real.” Anytime you take a paintbrush and say, “all of these people or all of that, or everyone from here,” it’s usually wrong.

Zenger: Absolutely! Your album, “SonShine,” seems to have something for everyone on it. I guess it follows your goal to spread diversity. Was that intentional?

Reliford: It was. My first performance ever was, ‘SonShine.’ Shout out to The Tabernacle Church in South Southaven, Mississippi, and Bishop Vincent Matthews, who is the head of all missions for The Church of God In Christ. Using a very traditional denomination like that, you would think it would not be a match. And yet this man is such a movement-minded man, I had to give him his props. He invited me to come out to this event on July 3 and 4, performing on Saturday and then saying a message on Sunday.

The song was “SonShine,” which came from brokenness. “SonShine” is because the enemy didn’t want me here. I went through some struggles in my life very recently that actually had me praying for death. I was saying, “I’m ready to go.” There is some spiritual truth when God says, “The sun is coming up tomorrow.” The lie that the enemy tells you is, “It’s always going to be like this.” No, the sun will come up tomorrow means God is still running things and there is still hope. I did a testimony in church and did the song, and God reminded me why he gave that to me.

Every song is eclectic because of Rickey Lumpkin II, a producer I work with. I want to prop him out because I’ve made a lot of music, until this phase of my life, and it’s all about the collaboration. I have a ton of songs that are unreleased. I would go to Rickey, and he would say, “I’m feeling that one, I’m not feeling that one.” That was very humbling for me. All of those songs had stories. God gave me gifts. “Good Friday” was actually written on Good Friday, while I sat outside a mall on my MacBook. “SonShine” has something for everyone because I’m all over the place and because of the diverse person I am.

Zenger: Tell us about the event you have lined up for Sept. 24, the release date of “SonShine.”

Reliford: The event will be a fundraiser concert. Here is where you will see the marriage between Mission1Race and RichRel. It’s branding, we have apparel, and my intention is, if I can pull people together, why not have a cause? I’ve done Iron Man, marathons and all that, but that was because of World Vision at the time. If you’re going to do something that’s entertainment, for me attaching it to a cause where there is so much need is a must.

Edited by Matthew B. Hall and Stan Chrapowicki



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Togolese College Student, Burgeoning Luxury Brand Owner Finds Success Via Social Media  

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Togolese College Student, Burgeoning Luxury Brand Owner Finds Success Via Social Media  

A college student from the West African nation of Togo has a side hustle that is starting to set fashion trends.

Hogoe Elimiera Ivana Kpessou’s luxury womenswear brand HK — named after herself — is “an empire of uno [one]” for now. But the entrepreneur-designer is motivated toward greater success. For her, that means a better life for her family and her country.

So far, the traffic to her website has been steadily rising, climbing to the hundred thousands, with total revenue nearing $500,000. She began only last year.

Though Togo has a long history of political turmoil and is among the world’s poorest countries, Kpessou has established a path for herself through her business success.

An HK saddlebag modeled by Richard Awumi. (Fiifi Abban) 

“I can’t ‘Kumbaya’ my way into having a better life for my extended family back home. The issue isn’t a lack of love, its resources, it’s capital.

“Contrary to popular belief, the best way to achieve that [stability] when it comes to dealing with a country like Togo is money,” said Kpessou, now a student at Florida State College in Jacksonville.

“I’m trying to build a name for myself in such a way that everyone knows who I am. So that when I am in my country, I don’t have to feel this threat — that they’re just going to make me disappear. It’s sad to say, but that’s the point of change when it comes to interacting with my country.”

Into the world of fashion

In the world of fashion, the HK brand is rising at a time when independent black brands are hitting the spotlight. Designs from Brandon Blackwood, a Jamaican and Chinese designer from Brooklyn, New York, began popping up in fashion news feeds and social media with his “ESR” bags, engraved with “End Systemic Racism.”

Blackwood flourished in 2020 when Kim Kardashian posted a photo holding one of his signature tiny bags.

Telfar bags, created by Liberian-American fashion designer Telfar Clemens, gained in popularity when the New York Times dubbed 2020 “The Year of Telfar.” Clemens appeared on “The Wendy Williams Show,” telling viewers he had been building a brand since he was 15. Now high-profile women, including Williams, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) and Oprah, are shown with his bags on social media.

With brands like Telfar and Brandon Blackwood rocketing seemingly from nowhere and grabbing the limelight, the fashion world may be primed for Kpessou’s luxury brand.

She started out with a small business that sold plants and some of her poems to make ends meet as a college student. When the pandemic hit in 2020, she decided it would be a great time to start her own brand. With zero design experience and  little business or marketing experience, she spent the past year establishing her womenswear business online and learning what it takes to produce luxury fashion.

She designs her handbags, swimsuits and accessories and sends them to manufacturers she finds through Ali Baba, a wholesale site used by many small businesses to turn their designs into products. Quality control and shipping are up to Kpessou.

Though problems arise — like the time the shipping company lost 100 of her handbags — she perseveres.

Initially, Kpessou recognized that as a young woman, she began at a disadvantage in the world of business.

“I have to do a lot of random talking to a bunch of people, not knowing what the heck I was saying, pretending I knew what I was doing, like I was some big shot company,” she said. “I was really secretive about my gender and age … just because I didn’t want people to catch on that I was younger,” she said. “Because what if they lie to me and say [the price of the product] is $20 million, and I fall for it? So my first main manufacturer didn’t know I was a woman until they saw my picture on Whatsapp.”

Now, Kpessou works with manufacturers from Peru, Italy, and Brazil for various projects. While her mastery of several languages helps her, she still has to rely on intermediaries for manufacturers in places like Italy. She practices her Spanish language skills when working with a small, family-owned manufacturer in Peru.

“I’m working with smaller manufacturers simply because I can afford to pay. I don’t want to be that person who is so caught up in money that I don’t pay people their asking price,” she said.

“I don’t like exploiting people. … because I’m making that sacrifice is the reason why I do work by myself, because at the end of the day, there’s always going to be some kind of exploitation. If you’re not exploiting someone else, you’re exploiting yourself. For me, I can live more with my own hardship than screwing other people over.”

Kpessou promotes herself on Twitter, where she also finds supporters.

Hogoe Kpessou’s original design for the bee bookbag modeled by Alison Lee. (Kat Tarbet)

Many of her pieces are inspired by meaningful insects:

The bee emblems on the bag reflects attracting sweetness; the luna moth reflects rebirth; and the fireflies represent a guide. As she increases sales, she plans to use her HK logo more often.

The study of luxury brands

Brenna McCormick, graduate program director and brand and marketing strategist at Emerson College, studied the history of how luxury brands are established. She said the progress of HK, Telfar, and Brandon Blackwood are partially a product of social media.

“There is something really fascinating coming out of what is essentially the power of social media as it is revolutionizing the fashion world.”

She said fashion is about what we can see and what is accessible in terms of price and availability. When companies like Gucci destroy their own merchandise, it becomes less available by design, whereas HK works double time to meet demand.

Small businesses like HK should decide quickly what their business stands for, she said,

“You know what your values are, so you make sure that everything is in alignment. And then, when a big opportunity comes along, you’re in a space where you can say in your negotiations, this is why I built this business. This is what it stands for, and this is what needs to be also included in the contract,” said McCormick.

Another important aspect of a new brand, McCormick said, is price point. HK’s products are nowhere near the price range of older luxury brands, though they still sell at a higher price than standard fare.

“If she is positioning her brand as a luxury fashion brand, it is going to be inevitable that you … want it to be more expensive because the price is another signifier to the customers about the premium quality,” McCormick said.

“However, new age brands may be a subversion of these expectations. Telfar makes it a point to make his luxury products accessible to all, battling against scalpers and characterizing his business with this quote: ‘Not for you, for everyone.’”

Respect for her name

For Hogoe Kpessou, whose first name means “firstborn,” “gift from god” and “light” in Togolese culture, it hasn’t been an easy path. Her first name attracted the attention of school bullies when she was young and new to the United States, but today her brand carries her name for a reason.

“I felt like it was a duty to myself to use my name. Everyone is willing to pronounce Gucci and these European names when it comes to luxury,” she said.  “It would be disrespectful to me to not use that name.”

Edited by Judith Isacoff and Fern Siegel



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Combate Global And Univision Have Been A Winning Combination

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Combate Global And Univision Have Been A Winning Combination

A unique partnership between a mixed martial arts company and Univision, a leading Spanish-language television network, is making a strong showing in the Nielsen viewer ratings.

Combate Global, an MMA property that features primarily young Hispanic fighters, aligned with Univision in July, with the network acquiring what has been described as a “significant” equity stake in the company. Combate fights appear regularly in a late-night time slot on Univision and have quickly become the No. 1 Spanish-language program on late-night television, according to Nielsen data. Combate is also seen on Paramount+, which owns the English-language rights.

An estimated 350,000 viewers watched the first show on Univision  on April 9, airing in a 12:30 a.m. time slot. On Aug. 1, the Combate fight night attracted 946,000, edging a show on rival UFC the previous night, in the Nielsen ratings. It was the first time another MMA show had higher ratings over the same weekend an Ultimate Fighting Championship event was on ESPN.

“I sometimes don’t believe our numbers when they send them to me,” said Campbell McLaren, who founded Combate Americas 10 years ago and renamed it Combate Global earlier this year. “In four months, we’ve tripled the audience from where we started. It’s pretty spectacular.”

The most recent telecast, on Sept. 10, drew national interest with Alana McLaughlin becoming the first transgender woman to compete in a professional MMA bout since Fallon Fox in 2012. McLaughlin, 38, won her pro debut, beating Celine Provost by submission in the second round.

It’s the kind of forward thinking that McLaren — a co-founder of the UFC — has used to turn Combate into a unique attraction. Events such as “The Last Latina Standing,” an eight-woman tournament held in August, have drawn solid ratings.

“We’ve created the first new audience for MMA since the inception of the UFC,” McLaren said. “It’s passionate; it’s fun; it’s entertaining, and it’s a different group of faces than what you’re seeing on other TV sports.”

Combate Global CEO Campbell McLaren. (Combate Global)

Univision is happy with the early returns as well. When Univision, which prides itself as being the home of soccer, sought to add another sport to its programming, it viewed Combate Global and its stable of young Hispanic fighters as a natural fit. McLaren built Combate with Hispanic fighters from the U.S., Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, France and Spain, among other countries. Many of the fighters have only a few bouts.

“We’re very happy with the results so far, and we’re just starting,” said Olek Loewenstein, Univision’s president of sports content. “It’s a great opportunity and a bet that we took that already is paying off for us.”

Univision began buying the rights to Combate fights nearly four years ago, but “it wasn’t family,” McLaren said. The relationship went to another level with the signing of a five-year rights deal and Univision acquiring an equity stake.

Combat sports have become a valuable property with the emergence of streaming video. Endeavor-owned UFC, the market leader, is a key component of Disney’s ESPN Plus, and Univision hopes Combate can enhance its future streaming services.

Still, a network buying an equity stake in a sports franchise is rare. Normally, television networks pay a hefty rights fee for a certain amount of years and must renegotiate or lose the sport to another network when the contract expires. Univision sees buying an equity stake in Combate Global as a better business model.

“We wanted to partner with an MMA company and do something bigger than a straight media deal,” Loewenstein told Zenger. “Media networks throughout the years — and especially with larger properties — have had this relationship where we are the rights holder and the sport is the rights owner and there’s a great relationship for a certain period of time. The moment the rights deal is done, all that vanishes. The audience follows the sport, and everybody goes their own way if the deal is not renewed.”

Owning an equity stake in the company not only gives Univision added incentive to build the Combate brand but assures the network it will benefit should another network ultimately pay a sizable amount for the rights fee.

“I want to be part of the growth of the property and reap the benefits when it’s established,” Loewenstein said. “If there’s a third party that wants to buy the rights for Combate for an absurd amount of money, I will make money if I’m an equity partner even if I don’t have the property on air.”

Olek Loewenstein, Univision President of Sports Content. (Univision)

McLaren, a television producer, is accustomed to creating MMA success stories. He was an original founder of the UFC, producing UFC 1 through 12. He says Combate succeeds because it doesn’t compete for the same fighters or audience that UFC attracts.

“I realized the potential for an audience that’s very different from the UFC’s audience,” McLaren said. “That’s what we’ve built with Univision’s help. The average age of our audience is 27 and 60 percent female at times.  We’ve had an all-woman tournament and an all-woman card. We’re younger, more female, and multi-cultural, and it’s on a Spanish network. It’s a new approach that’s visually different.”

Univision’s commitment is evident with the construction of a state-of-the-art studio for staging events with no crowd in attendance. Built during the onset of COVID-19 and located in Miami, the studio stages not only televised MMA bouts but also a wide assortment of multi-cultural content.

“We decided to create a unifying experience for the television audience with a unique studio,” Loewenstein said. “For us, it has become a great asset. It not only allows us to do the fights, but we do interviews the day before for social media and other ancillary content. We’re seeing how we can expand the use of the studio for other things.”

McLaren has scouts searching Mexico, France, the Dominican Republic and Spain for young male and female fighters trying to break into MMA. Being able to offer them a chance to appear on Univision is an added incentive.

“I’m finding folks that are very young, and we’re putting them on a network they all know,” McLaren said. “Their families can throw a party and watch. We give people who don’t have a lot of opportunities an opportunity. It’s a chance to be on TV, be in the limelight, develop a career and make some money.”

Univision Studio La Jaula is home to all of Combate’s fight productions during COVID. (Combate Global)

Combate has a special event scheduled for midnight ET on Nov. 12, when it will stage a one-night, eight-man, single-elimination tournament pitting fighters from the United States against Mexico. American fighters will be on one side of the bracket and Mexican fighters will be on the other. The winners of the two brackets meet in the finals. It’s similar to the winner-take-all tournaments that UFC featured in its early years when fighters needed to win three bouts on one night. It follows a USA vs. Mexico soccer match on Univision.

“There’s nothing like an eight-man tournament,” McLaren said. “It’s almost like a separate sport.”

Considering how successful the partnership has already been, McLaren sees nothing but good things ahead for Combate Global and Univision.

“This is a perfect storm in terms of the audience we’ve gone after,” he said. “I’m looking at Combate and thinking what is it going to look like in three years? What is it going to look like in five years? I’m in the fourth quarter of my career and to have found this, every day is a great day. From a business point of view, this was a great deal that’s very good for both sides.”

Edited by Stan Chrapowicki and Matthew B. Hall



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TSU Falls to Jackson State in The Southern Heritage Classic

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TSU Falls to Jackson State in The Southern Heritage Classic

The Tennessee State (TSU) Tigers headed to Memphis to take on Deon Sanders and the Jackson State Tigers in their annual matchup in the Southern Heritage Classic on Saturday. The game was tight early, with the Tigers defense holding the Jackson State offense at bey, eventually keeping the game tight with the score 10-7 at halftime. After halftime though, the Tigers just could not get it going offensively while Jackson State found their rhythm to the tune of 28 points, as they took control and won the game 38-16, dropping Tennessee State to 0-2 on the season and boosting Jackson State to 2-0 on the young season.

Jackson State played against Tennessee State at the 2021 Southern Heritage Classic
Jackson State played against Tennessee State at the 2021 Southern Heritage Classic

Even in victory though, Jackson State head coach Deon Sanders was not happy. “We ended horribly. We ended like hot garbage. We didn’t finish. We didn’t put the exclamation point at the end of the sentence. We got complacent. We want to dance and be in joy on the sidelines and we still got a game going on. And then we put the second unit in it to finish it out and they go out there and fumble the ball and then the defense goes out there and gives up a deep ball and then we forgot to go out there on the onside kick team because we over there taking pictures on the sidelines. That’s not championship football. That’s not acceptable.”

As far as TSU Headcoach Eddie George, he had a message of positivity for his team. “I look at the positives in the situation. The fact that we cut down on our penalties and we only turned the ball over once. We just have to go back to work. This is not going to be an overnight success, it is going to be a long process.”

There was an additional buzz because it was the first time two former NFL players coached two HBCUs against each other in a football game.

TSU Football Coach Eddie George
TSU Football Coach Eddie George

Jackson State was led offensively by freshman quarterback Shadeur Sanders who went 30/40 for 362 yards and three touchdowns on the way to being named Southern Heritage Classic MVP. Defensively, Jackson State was led by Florida transfer James Houston with 4.5 sacks.

Tennessee State was led offensively by quarterback Jeremy Hickbottom, who was 9/15 for 138 yards and 1 touchdown.

Tennessee State plays Kentucky State next Saturday, September 18th in the John Merritt Classic from Nissan Stadium at 2 pm CST.

 

Shawn Porter: I Do Feel That I’m The No. 1 Welterweight In The World

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Shawn Porter: I Do Feel That I’m The No. 1 Welterweight In The World

Shawn Porter just might be the last man standing in the welterweight division.

The two-time champion has displayed an unrivaled resiliency at 147 pounds, repeatedly bouncing back from defeat against A-list rivals and being involved in premier fights.

Porter, aka “Showtime” (31–3–1, 17 KOs), has overcome losses to former and current champions Kell Brook (2014), Keith Thurman (2016) and southpaw Errol Spence (2019) and is now being considered for the division’s premier clash: a bout with switch-hitting, three-division and WBO 147-pound champion Terence Crawford (37–0, 28 KOs) pending a Sept. 14 purse bid or a deal reached in ongoing negotiations between Tom Brown’s TGB Promotions representing Porter and Top Rank CEO Bob Arum on behalf of Crawford.

Arum confirmed to Zenger that an announcement is expected this week that Crawford-Porter could happen on Nov. 20 at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas.

“If we’re able to put it together, the Mandalay Bay is where it will be, and that’s the correct date. It’s correct that we’re talking to both sides, and we’re making progress,” said Arum. “We hope to conclude a deal sometime early next week, in which case we’ll be able to announce it at the end of the week. If a deal is reached, that is the venue and the date that we want.”

Crawford has said he’s “been looking for a challenge for years,” and Porter is happy to oblige.

“The best thing about me is I’m constantly fighting and beating the top guys in the division,” said Porter, 33. “My mindset is to stay healthy, continue getting into the ring with the best guys in the world and putting on the best performances. Right now, in terms of the caliber of the opponent and timing, Terence Crawford is the pinnacle. It doesn’t get any better than that.”

“At one point in time it was Errol Spence, and, obviously, we know how our fight played out. But due to [Spence’s] injuries sustained in the [car] accident and his eye [injury], that decreases the intensity of what could happen in a rematch between us. If you’re talking about everyone who is considered to be the No. 1 guy at welterweight, there are things I’ve displayed consistently that translate into me being that No. 1 guy.”

“The best thing about me is I’m constantly fighting and beating the top guys in the division,” said Shawn Porter (left), who won the WBC’s vacant welterweight crown by unanimous decision over two-division champion Danny Garcia in 2018. (Amanda Westcott/SHOWTIME)

A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Porter is 7–2 (two knockouts) since facing Brook, having earned, and lost, the WBC’s 147-pound title. He is 10–3 with three knockouts over his past 13 fights, with seven of those victories coming against current or former champions.

“When we first signed with [Al Haymon] way back in 2010, the conversation was made very plainly to us that, ‘As long as Shawn is healthy, and you guys want to fight, we’ll get him into the ring,’” said Porter.

“When it comes to resiliency and staying power, there is no one in the division better than I am. My whole thing has always been that ‘until I’m done with this, I’m going to get the most out of it.’ My saying is to ‘Ride until the wheels fall off.’ I don’t feel as if my wheels are anywhere close to falling off.”

Porter’s run includes a split-decision victory over current WBA titleholder Yordenis Ugas and unanimous decisions over former two-division champions Devon Alexander and Danny Garcia, four-division title winner Adrien Broner and former champion Julio Diaz. Porter has also knocked out two-division champion Paulie Malignaggi and two-time champ Andre Berto.

“As my dad says, boxing is about ‘What have you done for me lately?’ When I look across the board at the division, I do feel that I’m the No. 1 welterweight in the world. I defend and support that with the [substance] of my resume and the guys I have faced,” said Porter, who is trained by his father, Kenny.

“One of my best friends from childhood said to me the other day, ‘I’m tired of seeing you fight the best guys every fight.’ But I’m in it to dazzle the crowd and to make the most money I can make, and that means fighting the best guys out there. I’ve never been like everybody else, and I don’t intend to start now.”

It was considered an upset and a disappointing effort by Porter in August 2014 when England’s Brook dethroned a 26-year-old “Showtime” as IBF champion by majority decision.

In a pre-fight poll by RingTV.com, all 21 boxing insiders had picked Brook to lose to Porter, who was 24–0–1 (15 KOs) at the time and was coming off that April’s fourth-round stoppage of Malignaggi, which followed his December 2013 unanimous decision over southpaw Alexander for the title.

Brook (who had a 32–0 record with 22 KOs and was 28 at the time of the fight) was an underdog making only his second appearance on American soil, having debuted in Atlantic City with a fifth-round stoppage of Luis Galarza in 2011.

Brook was seeking his fifth consecutive stoppage, his previous three victories coming in the eighth round over Carson Jones in July 2013, and, in 2014, in the fourth round over former titleholder Vyacheslav Senchenko in October and in the eighth round over Alvaro Robles in March.

The loss to Brook was a relative embarrassment for Porter, yet he rebounded in 2015 with a fifth-round non-title knockout of Erik Bone in March and his victory that June over Broner, who floored Porter in the 12th.

“There are things I’ve displayed consistently that translate into me being that No. 1 guy,” said two-time welterweight champion Shawn Porter (left), who earned a split-decision victory over current WBA champion Yordenis Ugas in 2019. (Premier Boxing Champions)

After falling to then-unbeaten Thurman (26–0, 22 KOs) via a “Fight of The Year Caliber” unanimous decision in June 2016, Porter scored a three-knockdown, ninth-round TKO of Berto (April 2017), a unanimous decision over Adrian Granados (November 2017) and defeated Garcia (September 2018).

Over his last 13 fights, Porter is 1–1 in bouts ending by split decision, having defended his WBC crown that way against Ugas in March 2019 before losing it that September to the unbeaten Spence, who scored an 11th-round knockdown while adding Porter’s crown to the IBF version he already owned.

But Porter is on the winning trek yet again, coming off a shutout unanimous decision over Germany’s Sebastian Formella, who entered at 22–0 (10 KOs) in August 2020.

“If you look over the resume, fight by fight, you will see that I’m able to consistently do different things in the ring to bounce back from defeat,” said Porter.

“There is no one in the division who has the type of versatility I bring into the ring in terms of speed, power, strength, conditioning and athleticism as an entire package. I’m the only person in the welterweight division who has that combination.”

Brook has been knocked out three times, being TKO’d by Gennady Golovkin in September 2016, dethroned by Spence in the 11th round in May 2017 and halted in the fourth by Crawford in November 2020.

Thurman defeated Garcia by decision for the latter’s first loss in March 2017 before earning a majority decision over Josesito Lopez in January 2019. But “One Time” has been out of action since July 2019, when he was dethroned by a split-decision loss to eight-division champion Manny Pacquiao.

Pacquiao lost last month’s unanimous decision to Ugas, a late replacement for Spence, who suffered an eye injury. Pacquiao represented Ugas’ fourth opponent since the Cuban boxer lost to Porter.

In December 2020, Spence scored a one-sided unanimous decision over Garcia in defense of his IBF and WBC belts, returning from a horrific car accident 14 months earlier.

But among all the aforementioned fighters, it is Porter who is, once again, being considered for the division’s premier fight against Crawford.

“In a fight between Terence Crawford and I, nobody’s ever seen him in the ring against someone at my level,” said Porter.

“Looking around the division, at this moment right now, in 2021, you won’t find anyone who is close. So, for me, I think Terence Crawford is the pinnacle.”

Edited by Stan Chrapowicki and Kristen Butler



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Haitians Concerned Over Lack Of US Assistance To Homeland In Crisis

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Haitians Concerned Over Lack Of US Assistance To Homeland In Crisis

A political crisis followed by natural disasters have left the Caribbean nation of Haiti — already one of the poorest countries in the world — without stability and crucial resources.

Haitians worldwide, including some 2 million in the United States, worry the situation will worsen for their homeland and its 11 million citizens.

Following the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in his home in the capital Port-au-Prince on July 7, gangs filled the leadership vacuum. As they increased their control of several cities and townships, including the capital, many were afraid to venture out or raise their voices in opposition.

Nearly six weeks later, a major 7.2-magnitude earthquake devastated the country, and three days later, Tropical Storm Grace left thousands of Haitians dead, injured or homeless.

Another challenge arising from these crises is educating Haiti’s children.

After the earthquake, Haiti’s interim prime minister Dr. Ariel Henry said on Sept. 2: “For the schools to open, we have a lot of work to do. We have to remove the rubble and build structures to accommodate the children.”

Schools are now scheduled to open on Oct. 4, pushed forward from the original start date of Sept. 6.

Then-President Haiti Jovenel Moise addresses the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 27, 2018, in New York City. (John Moore/Getty Images)

Uphill battle to recovery

While international aid, including food and medical care, make inroads in the uphill battle toward recovery, many Haitians in the U.S. fear what lies ahead.

Haiti native Pierre Nicolas, now a U.S. citizen based in Brooklyn, New York, said he and other Haitians want the people in their home country to enjoy some of the opportunities that enable Americans to realize their dreams, provide for their families and live in peace.

“Haitians, wherever they live, need to understand our country’s significance and place in history,” said Nicolas, a father of three boys who has made sure his children know “the truth.”

“I don’t expect my brothers and sisters to hold hands and sing songs like ‘Kumbaya.’ but if more of them knew the facts behind how Haiti gained its freedom — the first black country to successfully secure its independence in the Western Hemisphere — perhaps we’d stop promoting black-on-black violence within our own country and begin to take greater pride in who we are as a people,” Nicolas said.

“Despite our resilience, there have always been forces opposed to our survival. That’s something that I’ve made sure my sons understand. While they’ve enjoyed the comforts of home that middle-class Americans count as the norm, they have also witnessed the daily struggle to survive that remains prevalent for most Haitians. They’ve experienced this firsthand during yearly visits with their grandparents, who still live in Haiti.

“Maybe for now it’s all about survival. But one day I hope Haiti will realize it has tremendous natural resources [minerals, natural gas, wood] that could improve the quality of life for the masses,” he said. “We just need to make education a priority and opportunity for anyone who desires it. And we need leaders committed to establishing an economic engine that benefits all, not just a select few.”

Firefighters in Les Cayes, Haiti, take a break during search efforts for survivors in a collapsed building after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck on Aug. 17. (Richard Pierrin/Getty Images)

Jean-Marie Jean Pierre, who left Haiti during his teens for America — alone and unfamiliar with the English language — took advantage of every educational opportunity he could find, eventually earning an MBA and a Ph.D. in philosophy from Howard University in Washington, D.C., in 2001.

However, he says he still often feels like a man without a country.

“Life in Haiti was already precarious, even before the earthquake in 2010 decimated the country’s infrastructure and economy,” he said. “But with the recent assassination of our president — an event that hasn’t occurred on Haitian soil since 1915 — the level of political uncertainty has risen to dangerous proportions, and it’s a scary situation,” he said.

“Haiti has long paid the price for being the first black, independent country in the Western Hemisphere. Remember, Trump called us a ‘s..t-hole country.’

“As for answers to Haiti’s problems, those like me who understand the country because it’s in our DNA and who are educated, need to be included in discussions about long-term solutions. America needs to get members of the Haitian diaspora involved. But instead, the U.S. continues to support a government that also has America’s interests — sometimes before placing the needs of Haiti first,” said Pierre, a 23-year veteran with NASA, who last visited Haiti in 2010.

Response from the administration

Addressing whether the U.S. has forgotten about Haiti and the urgent pleas for assistance from its leaders, Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre spoke on behalf of President Joseph R. Biden during a phone call with a group of reporters on Sept. 9.

“We will continue to support fair and open elections in Haiti as well as provide assistance for its citizens, especially with medical resources as they attempt to recover from the latest storm and earthquake,” said Jean-Pierre, a native of Haiti.

“… The Biden administration believes that the restructuring of the government should be facilitated by the people of Haiti,” she said. “The U.S. supports a Haitian-led dialogue and believes that it’s their decision to assemble a team of leaders committed to maintaining the democratic process. A Haitian-developed solution to the nation’s problems and challenges is what the U.S. encourages and supports … .”

She refuted recent criticism of the administration that policies related to Haiti endorsed in the Trump administration have been maintained by President Joe Biden.

“When we saw the devastation endured by Haiti following the recent hurricane, we immediately went into action — that’s not what the Trump Administration would have done,” she said.

A State Department report on “U.S. Relations With Haiti” published on Jan. 6, 2020, at the end of the Trump administration,  details aid to the Caribbean nation since a previous major earthquake in 2010. The report includes U.S. aid totaling more than $5 billion and U.S. trade preferences for Haiti — the U.S. is Haiti’s largest trading partner.

Also, the report states: “Haiti’s transition to a strong democracy is important to the United States. Strong democratic institutions, in particular the holding of regular free and fair elections, can help guarantee Haiti’s democratic traditions and ensure a voice for the Haitian people in their governance.”

Assistance for Haiti

After President Moïse was assassinated, Haiti asked the U.S. and the United Nations to send troops to help maintain order, but the U.S. declined. Instead, President Biden sent senior officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security to help with the investigation.

“The United States offers condolences to the people of Haiti, and we stand ready to assist as we continue to work for a safe and secure Haiti,” the president said in a statement on July 7.

Elections for a new president and a constitutional referendum in Haiti, postponed since 2019, have been scheduled for Nov. 7.

A man walks through a flooded area as heavy rain brought by tropical storm Grace hit Haiti soon after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck on Aug. 17 in Les Cayes. (Richard Pierrin/Getty Images)

After the earthquake in Haiti, Biden stated: “Through USAID, we are supporting efforts to assess the damage and assist efforts to recover those who were injured and those who must now rebuild. The United States remains a close and enduring friend to the people of Haiti, and we will be there in the aftermath of this tragedy.”

Pleas from human rights groups

A total of 344 human rights groups sent a letter to Biden and his top officials on Aug. 30 urging the administration to halt deportation flights to Haiti amid the crises.

“Since February 1, 2021, the Administration sent at least 37 deportation flights to Haiti, even as your officials acknowledged internally that those being deported ‘may face harm’ on return and the COVID-19 pandemic raged,” the letter states.

“By March, the Biden-Harris Administration had removed more Haitians since taking office than during all of fiscal year 2020. Many of the deportees must return to neighborhoods controlled by gangs with ongoing kidnappings, in an already unstable environment now further overwhelmed by [the earthquake’s] calamity.”

Edited by Judith Isacoff and Fern Siegel



The post Haitians Concerned Over Lack Of US Assistance To Homeland In Crisis appeared first on Zenger News.

Crown Me Foundation Restores Women’s Femininity Within Communities In Need

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Crown Me Foundation Restores Women’s Femininity Within Communities In Need

Molding young minds is Danyel Nicole Black‘s passion.

Furthering education for women in need is her stated purpose. A second-grade teacher at Honey Island Elementary School in Slidell, Louisiana, Black understands the importance of instilling value in her students that can last a lifetime. She also knows that second-graders aren’t the only ones in need of her services.

Teenage and adult women are the focus of her Crown Me Foundation, centered on empowering broken women, or women having a hard time finding themselves. The foundation has grown exponentially in a short time, and Black hopes it will develop into a full-service mental and physical help center for women everywhere.

Zenger spoke with the founder to get an understanding of the foundation’s mission, the importance of women understanding their self-worth, and much more.

Percy Crawford interviewed Danyel Nicole Black for Zenger.

Zenger: Not only are you an awesome educator, but you have managed to start the Crown Me Foundation, which helps women in the Gulf Coast region in several ways. What made you decide to star Crown Me?

Percy Crawford interviewed Danyel Nicole Black for Zenger. (Heidi Malone/Zenger)

Black: Growing up, we all hear: Watch out for the red flags in dating and when you are courting someone to marry. But if you are raised by two red flags, you don’t know what that looks like, you don’t know what healthy feels like. Especially if you didn’t experience that healthy family dynamic growing up. So, about three years ago, I found myself in a very toxic marriage. They showed signs early on, but because I was raised to accept these things, I didn’t see it until 10 years later.

Once I got in that place where I was experiencing emotional abuse … it was passive-aggressive. It was the silent treatment, withdrawal and the quiet type of abuse that’s not as easily recognizable, yet it plays on your psyche just the same. I thought then, if I get out of this, I have to educate other women so that they don’t end up in this type of situation. It starts early with our girls because we have to retrain their brain to become healthier, especially in the society that we live in. It’s not enough of us healthy women raising children.

That’s one part of it. The other side of Crown Me is the femininity that women need to learn to re-embody because we’ve gotten so far away from that. It has become so damaging to the males in our community. We over function and they are under functioning because of our lack of femininity.

Zenger: I didn’t have a full grasp of what Crown Me was until I recently saw pictures of you donating clothes and giving women a day of glamour, and that goes toward what you just mentioned about gaining that femininity back. You have made a lot of what was just a simple gesture of presenting these women with the proper attire to feel like a woman again.

Black: Unfortunately, it takes us to go through dark places in our lives to realize the missing pieces. In my dark place, I realized that I wasn’t really taking care of myself. What made me feel good in that moment was my healthier female friends telling me that I was beautiful and telling me that I can still do the things in life that I want to do, that I can still be happy and pursue my dreams. And they would buy me little things like purses and bracelets as a pick-me-up, and it made me feel so much better about myself.

After that part of my life was finished, it catapulted me into my destiny, which is serving women in this capacity. It’s pampering them and adoring them and letting them know no matter where you are, you can still be beautiful. Even if it’s on a budget, you can still feel good about yourself. When you feel good about who you are, you tolerate less foolishness from the people around you.

It puts you on this path where you want to continue to evolve and grow instead of staying stagnant. On the surface, when you see Crown Me, the colors and everything are feminine, it’s very posh and inviting. Women want to be a part of it, and that’s what I want. I want to draw people in, but beneath the surface, it’s eradicating the toxicity that lives in our community, and it’s creating healthier women so we can build stronger families.

Danyel Nicole Black, founder of the Crown Me Foundation, ultimately hopes to have a center where women can come for physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual support. (Courtesy of Danyel Nicole Black) 

Zenger: This sounds like it’s more about self-confidence and inner peace as opposed to a materialistic mindset. Is that accurate?

Black: Right! It’s more about helping women to feel good about themselves. I want them to know that someone thought enough of them to invest in them. That can be knowledge, that can be compliments, pop-ups, giving them personal tips on how to dress, or makeup tips. Just focusing on building their self-love, self-security and self-assurance internally, so that it shows up on the outside and they can show up bolder and more confident in our communities and within their families.

Zenger: Everyone in Louisiana knows what the black and gold represents [New Orleans Saints], so tell us about your pink and gold movement.

Black: The pink and gold movement represents femininity and power. I chose those colors because pink is such a feminine color. When you see pink, you feel pretty. Not only in our culture, but across the board, all women have forgotten how powerful it is to not over function and overthink and over plan. Allow the masculine energy to do those things for us. We’ve forgotten how to do that. The pink and gold movement is a place for women to feel OK with feeling adored, feeling pampered. Sometimes when women get to that point where they have those feelings, they feel guilty for feeling good about themselves.

Zenger: You have conducted several events, pop-ups, donations, makeovers. What else can we expect from the Crown Me Foundation?

Black: A lot of what we do is on a need’s basis. On average, we are doing about 10 events a year. I really try to survey what’s happening in the community and see what the needs are of our women. I realize since the pandemic, we have not been able to get out, go places and dress up, which increases that feminine energy. Women have not been able to do that, and a lot of them are just letting go of that part of themselves. That was something I felt was truly necessary to bring back: dressing up and feeling good about yourself.

Zenger: Where can more information about the Crown Me Foundation be found?

Black: They can go to www.danyelnicoleblack.com and there is a Crown Me Foundation tab, where it will take you straight to the link to make donations.

Zenger: Where would you like the foundation to be in three to five years?

Black: My ultimate goal, and I’m hoping I can achieve it in three years, is for Crown Me to be a multimillion-dollar foundation that crowns women nationwide and all around the world. I would like to have a building where women can come get the support that they need. So if they are in these toxic situations, they will be able to get in contact with a counselor, a therapist, and it would all be under one roof. Help them work on their whole self, the physical, the emotional, the intellectual, the spiritual … I just want a building where women could come and get that whole body transformation in one place. I found that there is not one place like that.

Zenger: I appreciate your time. Continue to do great things with the Crown Me Foundation, and we think the world of you. Is there anything else you would like to add?

Black: I’m so glad to be on here with you, sharing my story. I would love to talk more in the future about Crown Me Foundation. We are on the move, it is growing and it continues to pick up momentum. We are opening memberships. We have an event coming up in December, which will be a High Tea, where we’re focusing on girls that are seniors in high school and freshmen in college age group. I find that that is a very pivotal age where they are very vulnerable. They often find themselves in difficult situations that can be prevented.

Edited by Judith Isacoff and Matthew B. Hall



The post Crown Me Foundation Restores Women’s Femininity Within Communities In Need appeared first on Zenger News.

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