Business
Rooted in 38126: ESports and video gaming breaks ground in ‘Soulsville’
NASHVILLE PRIDE — It’s a video gamer’s dream come true: a state-of-the-art video game lounge, complete with an eSports arena, eSports Academy, a student video game development training center, entrepreneurial training center, retail store, workspace and financial literacy center.
It’s a video gamer’s dream come true: a state-of-the-art video game lounge, complete with an eSports arena, eSports Academy, a student video game development training center, entrepreneurial training center, retail store, workspace and financial literacy center.
And it’s coming to Memphis, specifically Soulsville U.S.A., located in ZIP code 38126 and known as one of the nation’s poorest areas. A symbolic groundbreaking spectacle this past Saturday (announced that the LeMoyne-Owen College Community Development Corporation (LOC CDC) would build a franchised BraveDog Video Gaming Innovation Center (BDIC).
Residents, community supporters and elected officials converged on the site and cheered the highly anticipated project that will be housed across the street from the historic Four Way Grill at the corner of Mississippi Blvd. and Walker Ave.
“Although this is the poorest ZIP code in the state, it has endured because of the energy, the fight and goodwill of its people,” said Jeffrey Higgs, the project manager and executive director.
“They ran Ida B. Wells off this same corner. Isaac Hayes and Maurice White and Al Green used to hang out over at the Stax Recording Studio. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. ate at the Four Way Grill and our beloved college, LeMoyne-Owen College, is a 156-year-old institution. There is a lot of history here,” Higgs said.
“This project is about technology, change and our young people. They must always know we care about them and we care about their future.”
BraveDog Games CEO Dustin Mack, 28, co-founded the company with Isiah Reese.
“We as a company are ecstatic about this partnership, and we applaud executive director Higgs and LOC CDC for the amazing work they do in the community,” said Mack. “We envision LOC CDC and Greater Memphis becoming a catalyst for innovation within the video games and eSports industries. As a company, we are all fully committed to this initiative.”
The BDIC will be housed in nearly 2,000 square feet and is projected to have an estimated $15 million economic impact in South Memphis and the downtown areas.
“This is fantasy turning into reality,” said Mack. “We appreciate those individuals and corporate citizens who have already reached out to support this project financially. We invite others to join as well. Help us to save our young people.”
“I was a South Carolina kid who only had a single parent,” said Reese. “What food we did have, Mother would divide it between my sister and I while she would drink water. People ask, ‘Why do you grind so hard?’ I just tell them that I work so hard because I can still hear my mother’s stomach growling through the night.
“LeMoyne-Owen and this community means something special to us. LOC gave me my first job as an adjunct professor. I will never forget it.”
Reese cited youngsters as the reason why the games lounge is so significant.
“We can’t take them to Silicon Valley, so Silicon Valley will come to them.”
LOC CDC president Michael Minor praised the “spirit of cooperation and pure joy” from young people at the school who were on hand to cheer the plans for a gaming lounge.
“This facility will bring others into the community who don’t look like us,” said Minor.
There are just no losers here. The excitement of our young people means so much. This will be our own community place where we can gather and just fellowship with one another.
“One of BraveDog’s most important next steps is to bring together storytellers from racially diverse backgrounds to develop high quality video games that accurately and authentically reflect this community.”
Mack admitted that the concept of earning six figures seems unrealistic for children and teens that live on SNAP benefits and welfare.
“One of the most important ways to change the mindset of those who live in poverty is to help them see a way out of poverty and give them the tools necessary to build a better economic future,” Mack said.
“We will help facilitate these possibilities by working to get community residents on the payroll of large tech corporations as well as assist local entrepreneurs become prosperous business owners.”
This article originally appeared in the Nashville Pride.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024
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Bay Area
State Controller Malia Cohen Keynote Speaker at S.F. Wealth Conference
California State Controller Malia Cohen delivered the keynote speech to over 50 business women at the Black Wealth Brunch held on March 28 at the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center at 301 Van Ness Ave. in San Francisco. The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.
By Carla Thomas
California State Controller Malia Cohen delivered the keynote speech to over 50 business women at the Black Wealth Brunch held on March 28 at the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center at 301 Van Ness Ave. in San Francisco.
The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.
“Our goal is to educate Black and Brown families in the masses about financial wellness, wealth building, and how to protect and preserve wealth,” said ABWA San Francisco Chapter President LaRonda Smith.
ABWA’s mission is to bring together businesswomen of diverse occupations and provide opportunities for them to help themselves and others grow personally and professionally through leadership, education, networking support, and national recognition.
“This day is about recognizing influential women, hearing from an accomplished woman as our keynote speaker and allowing women to come together as powerful people,” said ABWA SF Chapter Vice President Velma Landers.
More than 60 attendees dined on the culinary delights of Chef Sharon Lee of The Spot catering, which included a full soul food brunch of skewered shrimp, chicken, blackened salmon, and mac and cheese.
Cohen discussed the many economic disparities women and people of color face. From pay equity to financial literacy, Cohen shared not only statistics, but was excited about a new solution in motion which entailed partnering with Californians for Financial Education.
“I want everyone to reach their full potential,” she said. “Just a few weeks ago in Sacramento, I partnered with an organization, Californians for Financial Education.
“We gathered 990 signatures and submitted it to the [California] Secretary of State to get an initiative on the ballot that guarantees personal finance courses for every public school kid in the state of California.
“Every California student deserves an equal opportunity to learn about filing taxes, interest rates, budgets, and understanding the impact of credit scores. The way we begin to do that is to teach it,” Cohen said.
By equipping students with information, Cohen hopes to close the financial wealth gap, and give everyone an opportunity to reach their full financial potential. “They have to first be equipped with the information and education is the key. Then all we need are opportunities to step into spaces and places of power.”
Cohen went on to share that in her own upbringing, she was not guided on financial principles that could jump start her finances. “Communities of color don’t have the same information and I don’t know about you, but I did not grow up listening to my parents discussing their assets, their investments, and diversifying their portfolio. This is the kind of nomenclature and language we are trying to introduce to our future generations so we can pivot from a life of poverty so we can pivot away and never return to poverty.”
Cohen urged audience members to pass the initiative on the November 2024 ballot.
“When we come together as women, uplift women, and support women, we all win. By networking and learning together, we can continue to build generational wealth,” said Landers. “Passing a powerful initiative will ensure the next generation of California students will be empowered to make more informed financial decisions, decisions that will last them a lifetime.”
Business
Black Business Summit Focuses on Equity, Access and Data
The California African American Chamber of Commerce hosted its second annual “State of the California African American Economy Summit,” with the aim of bolstering Black economic influence through education and fellowship. Held Jan. 24 to Jan. 25 at the Westin Los Angeles Airport Hotel, the convention brought together some of the most influential Black business leaders, policy makers and economic thinkers in the state. The discussions focused on a wide range of economic topics pertinent to California’s African American business community, including policy, government contracts, and equity, and more.
By Solomon O. Smith, California Black Media
The California African American Chamber of Commerce hosted its second annual “State of the California African American Economy Summit,” with the aim of bolstering Black economic influence through education and fellowship.
Held Jan. 24 to Jan. 25 at the Westin Los Angeles Airport Hotel, the convention brought together some of the most influential Black business leaders, policy makers and economic thinkers in the state. The discussions focused on a wide range of economic topics pertinent to California’s African American business community, including policy, government contracts, and equity, and more.
Toks Omishakin, Secretary of the California State Transportation Agency (CALSTA) was a guest at the event. He told attendees about his department’s efforts to increase access for Black business owners.
“One thing I’m taking away from this for sure is we’re going to have to do a better job of connecting through your chambers of all these opportunities of billions of dollars that are coming down the pike. I’m honestly disappointed that people don’t know, so we’ll do better,” said Omishakin.
Lueathel Seawood, the president of the African American Chamber of Commerce of San Joaquin County, expressed frustration with obtaining federal contracts for small businesses, and completing the process. She observed that once a small business was certified as DBE, a Disadvantaged Business Enterprises, there was little help getting to the next step.
Omishakin admitted there is more work to be done to help them complete the process and include them in upcoming projects. However, the high-speed rail system expansion by the California High-Speed Rail Authority has set a goal of 30% participation from small businesses — only 10 percent is set aside for DBE.
The importance of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in economics was reinforced during the “State of the California Economy” talk led by author and economist Julianne Malveaux, and Anthony Asadullah Samad, Executive Director of the Mervyn Dymally African American Political and Economic Institute (MDAAPEI) at California State University, Dominguez Hills.
Assaults on DEI disproportionately affect women of color and Black women, according to Malveaux. When asked what role the loss of DEI might serve in economics, she suggested a more sinister purpose.
“The genesis of all this is anti-blackness. So, your question about how this fits into the economy is economic exclusion, that essentially has been promoted as public policy,” said Malveaux.
The most anticipated speaker at the event was Janice Bryant Howroyd known affectionately to her peers as “JBH.” She is one of the first Black women to run and own a multi-billion-dollar company. Her company ActOne Group, is one of the largest, and most recognized, hiring, staffing and human resources firms in the world. She is the author of “Acting Up” and has a profile on Forbes.
Chairman of the board of directors of the California African American Chamber of Commerce, Timothy Alan Simon, a lawyer and the first Black Appointments Secretary in the Office of the Governor of California, moderated. They discussed the state of Black entrepreneurship in the country and Howroyd gave advice to other business owners.
“We look to inspire and educate,” said Howroyd. “Inspiration is great but when I’ve got people’s attention, I want to teach them something.”
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