Meet the 21-Year-Old HBCU Grad Creating His Own Dessert Company

For Kolby McNeal, sweets were a big part of his upbringing, along with football. After graduating from the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff, the HBCU entrepreneur decided to create his own venture dedicated to the tasty desserts he loved so much.

Sweets in a Jar L.L.C. launched in Little Rock, Arkansas, as an on-the-go homemade dessert company. Known as “Cakes” among his peers, the student-athlete entered the university on a full football scholarship and worked hard to grow his creative passion into a thriving business. From a child, McNeal enjoyed creating sweets—from Vanilla Bean Crème Brûlée to experimental cakes based on his favorite treats—in between football camps and school. His first business was a sandwich-making business in middle school to raise money to buy a moped.

McNeal’s HBCU experience is deeply intertwined with his baked goods, and their names often pay homage to different cultural traditions. His first significant sale came after he started selling “Krim & Kreme,” his version of the red velvet cake as a nod to his fraternity, Kappa Alpha Psi, and the ladies of Delta Sigma Theta Inc.

“My college experience has been amazing. It’s nothing like having the type of support that pushes you to pursue your dreams and gives you the foundation that you need to get there,” says McNeal. “When my coaches and teammates found out that I loved baking, they were my best customers.”

Another popular pick is “I Got the Keys” Key Lime Pie based on a television appearance he made in middle school baking his version of a key lime pie.

He also uses his desserts for good causes. When McNeal found out his older brother was diagnosed with epilepsy a few years back, he created his “Honeybun Kane” cake, based on his brother’s favorite snack growing up, with all the proceeds going to help those suffering from the illness.

“It has indeed been incredible to see the amount of support that I have received. My fraternity brothers, my teammates, my coaches, really my whole school. I guess they don’t call us ‘The Pride’ for nothing,” says McNeal. “I particularly enjoy when older women support me that are around my grandmother’s age and tell me that I give them a run for their money.”

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Bloomberg Really Just Wants to Stop and Frisk Everybody: Democratic Candidate Defends Muslim Surveillance Program

In today’s episode of “nah-but-seriously-y’all-ain’t-really-voting-for-that-guy-right?” former NYC mayor and democratic (although I’m not sure anyone has told him yet) candidate Mike Bloomberg, in a PBS interview that aired on Thursday, adamantly defended a heavily criticized surveillance program that targeted…

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Meet the 21-Year-Old HBCU Grad Creating His Own Dessert Company

For Kolby McNeal, sweets were a big part of his upbringing, along with football. After graduating from the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff, the HBCU entrepreneur decided to create his own venture dedicated to the tasty desserts he loved so much.

Sweets in a Jar L.L.C. launched in Little Rock, Arkansas, as an on-the-go homemade dessert company. Known as “Cakes” among his peers, the student-athlete entered the university on a full football scholarship and worked hard to grow his creative passion into a thriving business. From a child, McNeal enjoyed creating sweets—from Vanilla Bean Crème Brûlée to experimental cakes based on his favorite treats—in between football camps and school. His first business was a sandwich-making business in middle school to raise money to buy a moped.

McNeal’s HBCU experience is deeply intertwined with his baked goods, and their names often pay homage to different cultural traditions. His first significant sale came after he started selling “Krim & Kreme,” his version of the red velvet cake as a nod to his fraternity, Kappa Alpha Psi, and the ladies of Delta Sigma Theta Inc.

“My college experience has been amazing. It’s nothing like having the type of support that pushes you to pursue your dreams and gives you the foundation that you need to get there,” says McNeal. “When my coaches and teammates found out that I loved baking, they were my best customers.”

Another popular pick is “I Got the Keys” Key Lime Pie based on a television appearance he made in middle school baking his version of a key lime pie.

He also uses his desserts for good causes. When McNeal found out his older brother was diagnosed with epilepsy a few years back, he created his “Honeybun Kane” cake, based on his brother’s favorite snack growing up, with all the proceeds going to help those suffering from the illness.

“It has indeed been incredible to see the amount of support that I have received. My fraternity brothers, my teammates, my coaches, really my whole school. I guess they don’t call us ‘The Pride’ for nothing,” says McNeal. “I particularly enjoy when older women support me that are around my grandmother’s age and tell me that I give them a run for their money.”

from Black Enterprise https://ift.tt/2TqgTFP

Report: Washington D.C Has The Highest Intensity Of Gentrification In The U.S

Gentrification has ravished America’s largest cities, leaving many low-income and marginalized people on the outskirts unable to afford the high cost of living in their neighborhood. And no one has been hit harder than the country’s capital city, Washington, D.C.

In 2019, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, a research and advocacy group of 600 community organizations that promote economic and racial justice, released a damning study showing the influx of gentrification has changed the makeup of the nation’s capital and how it has disfranchised the native population. The report showed that roughly 40% of D.C’s lower-income neighborhoods experienced some form of gentrification between 2000 and 2013.

This puts it just behind New York City and Los Angeles for the highest number of gentrifying neighborhoods. Nationally, at least 135,000 African Americans and Hispanics have been forced out of their neighborhoods due to increase of gentrification in their communities.

But the District ranked first in the “intensity of gentrification” based on the percentage of lower-income neighborhoods being reshaped by new residents. It is also the black residents there who have been the hardest hit by the effects of gentrification, with more than 20,000 African Americans moving out of their neighborhoods during that time.

“You feel it and you see it,” said Jesse Van Tol, chief executive of the NCRC. “It’s the visibility and the pace of it.” Van Tol said gentrification has followed a national move back to cities, particularly among affluent workers who had historically left the bigger cities for suburban neighborhoods.

D.C, also known as Chocolate City, has historically been known for its thriving black population that has shaped the local culture of the city. This effect has caused serious effects on the city’s makeup moving toward more predominantly white, affluent newcomers.

“The tens of thousands who have migrated to Washington, D.C., over the last five years live in a city that rolled out the proverbial red carpet for their arrival,” Sabiyha Prince, an activist with the group Empower DC, wrote in an essay accompanying the report. “Infrastructure has been altered, public property has been privatized, the will of voters has been rescinded, minority-owned businesses have been shuttered, and the bodies of people of color have been stopped and frisked to accommodate and enhance the respective presence and comfort of newcomers.”

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Disney+ is Bringing Back ‘The Proud Family’

What’s old is new again! It has been announced that the animated series, The Proud Family is making a return to the new streaming service Disney Plus according to Deadline.

The original series creator/executive producer Bruce W. Smith and executive producer Ralph Farquhar are bringing it back along with co-executive producer and story editor Calvin Brown. The family-sitcom will have a new take and will also see the return of the original cast. The animated show debuted on the Disney Channel in 2001. The latest version will be titled The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder.

“In our minds, the show never really went away, as we still had tons of stories left to tell,” original series creator/executive producer Bruce W. Smith and executive producer Ralph Farquhar said in a statement to Deadline. “It’s the perfect time to bring back this show, and we can’t wait to take fans, old and new alike, on this journey with us.”

The new show will still center on the story of a young woman named Penny Proud and the never-dull happenings of her family, parents Oscar and Trudy, twin siblings and grandma Suga Mama. The show will feature the original cast from The Proud Family reprising their roles: Kyla Pratt as Penny, Tommy Davidson as Oscar, Paula Jai Parker as Trudy, Payton as Suga Mama, Karen Malina White as Dijonay Jones, Soleil Moon Frye as Zoey Howzer and Alisa Reyes as LaCienega Boulevardez. Cedric the Entertainer will also return as Uncle Bobby.

Hug ‘em! #TheProudFamily: Louder and Prouder, an all-new Original Series, is coming soon to #DisneyPlus! And the best part? The original cast is reprising their voice roles. pic.twitter.com/94VbDL2FG9

— Disney+ (@disneyplus) February 27, 2020

“The show’s humor and relatable stories are as relevant with audiences today as ever,” said Agnes Chu, SVP Content at Disney+. “Our audiences have loved rediscovering their favorite episodes of The Proud Family, and we’re excited Bruce, Ralph, Calvin, and the returning cast are creating new stories for their new home on Disney+.”

You can currently watch episodes of the original 2001-05 Disney Channel series, The Proud Family on Disney Plus.

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