Business

Black Business Spotlight: Junita’s Jar

MINNESOTA SPOKESMAN-RECORDER — Junita Flowers has been in the cookie business for the past 10 years. She first launched her successful Favorable Treats in 2009, but an abusive marriage and divorce left her picking up the pieces. Instead of giving up, she relaunched with a purpose.

Published

7 years ago

July 16, 2019

Stephenetta isis Harmon

By Stephenetta (isis) Harmon

Junita Flowers has been in the cookie business for the past 10 years. She first launched her successful Favorable Treats in 2009, but an abusive marriage and divorce left her picking up the pieces. Instead of giving up, she relaunched with a purpose.

Her new cookie imprint, Junita’s Jar, not only offers up sweet treats but also provides healing for women affected by relationship violence and prevention for others. Since launching last summer, she’s focused on expanding her reach and using the power of food to connect communities.

The MSR caught up with the cookie entrepreneur to talk about her mission-driven company and her plans to change the world, one cookie at a time.

MSR: So can you tell me a little bit about Junita’s Jar?

Junita Flowers: Our mission is to bake hope into every cookie purchased. We have three different flavors — triple chocolate chip, oatmeal peanut butter chocolate chip, and oatmeal raisin.

We are specifically focused on college students, because the 18 to 24 demographic is the largest impacted by relationship violence. And college students can impact change in our culture — sometimes faster than any other generation — because they’re willing to go against the odds and try things and support each other on a different level.

Ultimately, our goal is to reduce victim-shaming, create allies amongst peers, and then inspire students to take action beyond what we call our “Cookies and Conversation” event.

MSR: What does a Cookies & Conversation event look like?

JF: [Hosts] bring their friends together, they book the space. I bring in a panel of experts, I host the conversation, I bring in the cookies. I have someone that represents mental health talking about trauma, the impact of trauma on the brain, managing stress, and self-care. I have a medical professional [who] talks about what you can expect if you ever find yourself in a situation and what you can expect from the medical community.

And then I have a survivor who is no longer in trauma. If you go volunteer at a shelter, you’re meeting women in trauma and you sometimes don’t relate to them. But if you see a woman that’s now on the other side, you can kind of relate to her, like, “You had a regular relationship like I thought I had.”

We’re really trying to normalize, not so you can be okay with it but to let women know it can happen to any of us. One in four women [are victims of relationship violence]; that’s not just a stat, that’s real.

MSR: What inspired you?
JF: I am a survivor of domestic violence. It’s not a topic that I was necessarily passionate about, but I knew I was passionate about changing women’s lives and I didn’t want anyone to feel the way that I did. I knew that I wanted to create something different, something hope-filled. I didn’t want women to feel the way I did.

MSR: How does all this tie into cookies?

JF: Cooking was my emotional escape. During the craziness of the abusive relationship, I went back to what I knew and what brought me joy as a child — being in the kitchen. I am one of eight [children], and my grandmother used to come over every Wednesday to help my mom prepare meals, so we spent a lot of time in the kitchen making everything from scratch.

It was just the bonding that happened in the kitchen. And cookies are the thing that I decided to do. What fed me in the craziness is what now is going to feed my family and others — literally and figuratively.

Even though we sell cookies, I like to think that we’re a story-sharing platform. We use the cookies as an opportunity to spark conversation.

MSR: What’s next?

JF: I have my next C&C scheduled for August with a student nurses association, and then I have some conversations that I’m super excited about that are coming up that I’m hoping will lead me to my ultimate goal. I want every student-athlete that enters a college campus to go through our conversation series as a part of their orientation — sort of an education and prevention mechanism around sexual and domestic violence. So I’d like to partner with the NCAA.

MSR: Any other goals?

JF: Our tagline is “hope munches on,” so I would like to go around the world speaking and inspiring women — not just about relationship violence, but inspiring women to push beyond boundaries and pursue their purpose, because that’s an area where women tend to struggle the most. You could be 30 or 60 and still struggle with that whole thing around purpose.

MSR: Do you have any plans for retail?
JF: That’s sort of the next step as we build awareness and build our customer base. We’re at the University of Minnesota, in about five stores and the four bookstores on campus, and we’re in a store on Grand Avenue in Saint Paul. Once people are more aware of who Junita’s Jar is, we can have better success once we get on the retail shelves.

MSR: What advice would you give to someone who was looking to start a commercial business combining the social enterprise aspect?

JF: I think it all boils down to your why — why are you in business? How do you know if this is for you, if this is what you want to do? Think if you are really tapping into your “why.” You should dream about your why, research your why, plan your why, execute that why, celebrate that why, and then repeat it.

For more info, visit Junita’s Jar at junitasjar.com.

This article originally appeared in the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder.

Stephenetta isis Harmon

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Activism

At the event, 16 entities signed the EIP pledge, vowing to take steps to increase public contracting opportunities in their spheres for small and historically underutilized businesses. The pledge signees included Hub International, the Port of San Francisco, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, California High-Speed Rail Authority, the Port of Oakland, Robert Graham of Webcor Builders, Holder Construction, the Weitz Company, Sky Blue Builders, Hornblower, Swinerton, Luster National, Talson Solutions, Center for Community Wealth Building, and the Construction Contractors Alliance.

Published

1 week ago

June 24, 2026

Oakland Post

Toks Omishakin, secretary of the California State Transportation Agency, was one of the speakers at the event. Photo by Shellee Fisher Photography and Design.

By Calvin Naito, Special to The Post

On June 4, a national nonprofit named the Equity in Infrastructure Project (EIP) – which aims to increase public construction contracting opportunities for small and historically underutilized businesses – held a day-long event in downtown San Francisco to rally supporters and build momentum to its cause.

It was attended by more than 100 individuals from public agencies, private firms, and other organizations committed to increasing contracting opportunities with governmental agencies, thereby creating more competition and lowering public costs.

The EIP event was held the Hyatt Regency San Francisco in conjunction with BuildIT, which aims to increase contracting opportunities for LGBT-owned businesses.

At the event, 16 entities signed the EIP pledge, vowing to take steps to increase public contracting opportunities in their spheres for small and historically underutilized businesses.

The pledge signees included Hub International, the Port of San Francisco, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, California High-Speed Rail Authority, the Port of Oakland, Robert Graham of Webcor Builders, Holder Construction, the Weitz Company, Sky Blue Builders, Hornblower, Swinerton, Luster National, Talson Solutions, Center for Community Wealth Building, and the Construction Contractors Alliance.

Following the workshop, BuildIT hosted a VIP evening reception honoring EIP, whose principals – Phil Washington, John Procari, and Rick Jacobs – accepted the award.

The event also set in motion the coalition’s efforts to implement recommendations from EIP’s “Procurement for Prosperity: A Playbook.”

The Playbook is a practical guide for public agency leaders and procurement and contracting practitioners to grow the capacity of small and first-time contractors, strengthen competition, and deliver better value for taxpayers.

Toks Omishakin, Secretary of the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA), a long-time EIP supporter, also told attendees, “This is about commitment. This has been a life’s work. This is a tailwind moment.”

The event’s presenting sponsor was Hub International, one of the largest insurance brokerages in the nation, which was joined by partners Travelers Insurance and the State Compensation Insurance Fund.

After the pledge-signing ceremony, attendees participated in a workshop in which they examined the policies, practices, and programs needed to meet EIP goals, learned from practitioners, and identified next steps toward utilizing the Playbook.

Ingrid Meriwether, formerly of Merriwether & Williams Insurance Services (MWIS) and current president of Hub International’s Aligned Risk Management, MWIS, described the hard-fought lessons she and her MWIS team have learned over the last three decades administering contractor development programs (CDPs) for the City and County of San Francisco, Alameda County, City of Los Angeles, LA Metro, and other municipalities.

The CDPs help small and local construction firms win public infrastructure contracts with these government agencies. The program provides bonding assistance, contract financing, technical support, training, and other services to underrepresented businesses funded by public agencies who seek greater contracting participation with these firms.

Merriwether said programs like these “break down systemic barriers, create greater fairness, and save taxpayers money by enabling more competition. The contractor development programs have, cumulatively, over two decades, helped contractors access over $1 billion in bonding, supporting over $380 million in awarded contracts, and maintaining a loss ratio 250 times lower than the industry average – while saving participating municipalities more than $27 million in contracting costs as a result of enabling more competition.”

Rick Jacobs, EIP co-founder and co-chair urged attendees make plans to meet again in the near future “to continue building on this work, share progress on organizational commitments, and discuss how we can collectively advance the goals of the EIP pledge.”

For more information on the EIP and to access a copy of the Playbook, go online to https://equityininfrastructure.org/

Calvin Naito is communications manager for Equity in Infrastructure Project.

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Activism

Oakland Museum Presents Landmark Retrospective Celebrating Beloved Bay Area Artist Mildred Howard

“Poetics of Memory” coincides with a year of major recognition for Howard. In 2026, she received the California Arts Council’s 50th Anniversary Award, honoring artists whose work has shaped California’s cultural and civic life, as well as the Museum of the African Diaspora’s Artist Impact Award. In 2025, she was awarded a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship in recognition of her transformative contributions to American cultural life.

Published

1 week ago

June 24, 2026

Oakland Post

Mildred Howard. Photo by Christine Cueto for the Oakland Museum of California, 2025.

Special to The Post

The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) opened “Mildred Howard: Poetics of Memory,” the first major museum survey of Bay Area artist Mildred Howard, on June 12.

The exhibition spans five decades of Howard’s influential work, bringing together immersive installations, found-object sculptures, archival materials, and new commissions that explore memory, identity, and power in American life.

Howard was born in San Francisco in 1945 and raised in the East Bay, where she went on to study Afro-Haitian dance, make and sell clothing, and experiment with collage and sculpture.

Her multimedia art practice emerged from these experiences, later becoming associated with West Coast conceptual art, San Francisco funk, and a vibrant community of artists like Oliver Jackson, Betye Saar, and Raymond Saunders. Since the 1970s, she has used found materials and family stories to explore memory—both individual and collective.

At OMCA, visitors enter “Poetics of Memory” through a series of intimate galleries featuring Howard’s early mixed-media pieces and sculptures, along with a large video projection of a number of her public artworks.

Together, they emphasize Howard’s interest in everyday objects as powerful carriers of individual and shared stories. Highlights include collages that remix images of the artist herself; found-object sculptures like The History of the United States with a few Parts Missing (2007) that address omissions in dominant narratives; and public works like “Locks and Keys for Harry Bridges” (2001) that transform urban space into a meditation on access and labor.

This culminates in a richly detailed “studio” environment, where works in progress, archival exhibition flyers, historic photographs of Howard and her community, postcards from fellow artists, and other materials offer insight into her creative process and daily life.

The exhibition then opens into a high-ceilinged, dramatically lit space that brings together Howard’s signature immersive installations. On one end, “Crossings” (1997/2026) – a field of hundreds of ceramic eggs leading to an ornate mirror – suggests cycles of birth, motherhood, and transition, while drawing on the emotional echoes of the Middle Passage. On the other end, “Blackbird in a Red Sky” (a.k.a. “Fall of the Blood House”) (2002) – a red glass shack bordered by a pond – also uses reflection and transparency to draw viewers into the work and prompt consideration of themes of identity and home.

Howard’s newest video installation, “Moving Stills” (2026), repurposes never-before-seen family footage she took as a teenager on a train trip to the American South. Projected onto cascading layers of translucent fabric that stretch across an entire gallery wall, the piece immerses viewers in a layered meditation on memory, migration, and time.

The “Mildred Howard: Poetics of Memory” exhibit will be on display through Oct. 11 at the Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak St., Oakland, CA 94612. Museum hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with extended hours on Fridays to 9 p.m.

This story is sourced from the Oakland Museum of California press office.

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Alameda County

Ferry Fares to Increase July 1 as Ridership Hits Record Highs

The Oakland and Alameda routes will increase from $4.90 to $5.10, the South San Francisco route will go up from $7.40 to $7.60, and the Vallejo route will increase from $9.90 to $10.

Published

1 week ago

June 24, 2026

Oakland Post

Courtesy photo.

By Mike Aldax, The Richmond Standard

Starting July 1, the standard adult fare for the San Francisco Bay Ferry route between Richmond and San Francisco will increase to $5.20, up from the current $4.90.

Discounted fares for eligible passengers, including youth, seniors, people with disabilities, and Clipper START users, will rise to $2.60 from the current $2.40. Children under 5 will continue to ride for free.

The Oakland and Alameda routes will increase from $4.90 to $5.10, the South San Francisco route will go up from $7.40 to $7.60, and the Vallejo route will increase from $9.90 to $10.

The adjustments are part of a systemwide fare update approved by the agency’s Board of Directors, which is moving away from a flat 3% annual increase to route-specific pricing for the 2027 and 2028 fiscal years.

This fare update arrives as San Francisco Bay Ferry celebrates a historic May, transporting 301,270 passengers. The record-breaking figure represents an 8% increase over May 2025 and marks the third consecutive month of record-setting ridership.

Furthermore, it is the sixth month in a row that passenger numbers have exceeded pre-pandemic levels. Weekend travel has been a primary driver of this growth, with average weekend ridership seeing a 56% increase compared to pre-pandemic trends.

The agency states that the fare adjustments are necessary to ensure the long-term fiscal sustainability of public ferry services. By shifting to route-specific adjustments, the agency aims to offset rising operating costs while maintaining the high levels of service frequency and reliability.