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Loading the player… By Essence ·July 8, 2021July 8, 2021

True wealth is not simply the sum of our cash and assets, but is also the relational capital that exists in our families, communities and society — especially if you’re a Black woman. These relationships not only help us thrive, but also serve as our backbone and support through the good times, and the bad.

During a conversation at the 2021 Essence Festival of Culture Wealth & Power experience, several Black female entrepreneurs discussed how having support from family can make a difference when starting a business and why it’s important to be transparent when encouraging the next generation of entrepreneurs. Essence Senior News & Politics Editor Malaika Jabali moderated the conversation, which featured Personal Finance & Career Expert Mandi Woodruff-Santos, Founder of the Ayars Agency, Inc., Ashaunna Ayers, McDonald’s Owner and Operators Stephanie Oliver-Parrish and Chelsea Miles.

Woodruff-Santos kicked off the conversation by discussing how her family and her community has helped support her entrepreneur endeavors.  

“I really believe that the life partner that I chose, my husband, was such a blessing, I didn’t know that when I was 24, I met him that he would be so important to my career, but he has in his own way been extremely supportive,” Woodruff-Santos said. “Every time I had a big idea or I came to him with the big next career move or I’m going to leave this amazing job and go to an even more amazing job and I’m going to ask for this much more in salary, he was always the one to say ‘are you sure’, I know that sounds like he’s not supportive but it challenged me. It made me explain to him and defend myself and articulate why I thought I should earn more, why I should make that move and he was always just a constant pillar of support for me.”

Ayars says her faith in God has helped her through her journey as an entrepreneur. “I say all the time that my faith is my business partner,” she says. “I pray about every decision, every deal that I’m looking to explore, every opportunity that comes my way. I really rely on my faith as the thing to guide me into or out of certain decisions.”

Watch the full conversation above.

The ‘Living A Legacy: Women Entrepreneurs Reimagining our Future’ panel is presented by McDonald’s.

TOPICS:  EF21_WP McDonald's EF21

The post Living A Legacy: Women Entrepreneurs Share How Faith, Family And Community Shaped Their Journey appeared first on Essence.

Writers: J.M. DeMatteis and James Tucker / Artist: Ethen Beavers, Nick Filardi, and Francis Manapul / DC Comics

Another Justice League book? Yes, but hear me out, you’re probably gonna want to check it out– if only for nostalgia’s sake.

Justice League Infinity is a digital-first limited series that gives us new adventures from the Justice League team that we all fell in love with on Saturday mornings in the early 2000s. Featuring the core seven members of Batman, Wonder Woman, Superman, Martian Manhunter, Hawkgirl, Green Lantern, and The Flash, we get to pick up where we left off when Justice League Unlimited ended more than fifteen years ago. 

This isn’t something that starts the second that the final episode ended, though. You can tell some time has passed, but not too much where things feel unrecognizable. Think of it as a new season of the show, where there’s been a small gap in time, and we’re filled in on the changes early on to catch us up. 

Justice League Infinity #1 really does feel like reading an episode of the series, and I love it. That’s in large part because co-writers James Tucker and writer J.M. DeMatteis were producer and series writer respectively on the show. So they know these characters, what their motivations are, and how to make that shine better than anyone. Ethen Beavers on art does a great job of translating the animation style from the cartoon onto the page in a way that feels familiar and reminiscent, while still being able to add his own spin on things.

Justice League Infinity #1 deals with Amazo traveling the universe searching for the meaning of life, while the Justice League fights Granny Goodness and Kalibak when they crash The Flash’s birthday party. The issue is also narrated by and from the perspective of Martian Manhunter, who has since left the team to go and learn more about humanity in solitude. It’s a really solid issue one, and instantly and successfully drops you back into this universe as if you never left. 

I really like the implementation of Amazo, as his episodes on the original series were always so existential and somber. Even though he was fighting the Justice League, you couldn’t help but feel for him. While he isn’t an active part of the plot in Justice League Infinity #1, his actions are basically the inciting incident that gets this series going. And his use specifically is a prime example that this series is going to pull from its collective narrative to go forward. As a fan of the show, the payoff is really satisfying.

John Stewart’s love triangle with Hawkgirl and Vixen is also further explored in this first issue. As I’m sure you can remember, that was something that became a bigger and bigger storyline as Justice League Unlimited progressed through the seasons as well. 

All in all, if you’re a fan of the animated show, reading this book will make you happy. It’s new stories with the same version of the cast of characters that you know and love so well, shepherded by those who helped bring them to life back in the day. There’s a lot to love about this book. 

10 Multiversal Schisms out of 10

Enjoying Justice League? Check out BNP’s other reviews here.

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The last we saw of Loki, he had been pruned by Judge Renslayer but woke up in a world with four different versions of himself staring at him. Now, he’s trying to figure out where to go next, and in “Journey Into Mystery,” I got some of my favorite character moments for Loki and more.

**Spoilers for Loki episode 5 “Journey Into Mystery” lie within. Proceed with caution.**

This episode of Loki was interesting because it was filled with a lot of new characters all at once, and Loki having some of my favorite reactions to things. From character developments to just general reactions that Tom Hiddleston has in character, “Journey Into Mystery” is an incredible penultimate episode for the series—not only for plot but for each character, new and old, introduced to the show and the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Case in point: All the Loki variants backstabbing each other over and over again and Loki quickly realizing how exhausting it—he—can be.

When it wasn’t Loki getting fights with other Lokis or getting frustrated by different versions of himself, it was Loki finally opening himself up to help. Sure, we saw a bit of this in Thor: Ragnarok when Loki was willing to help his brother and not leave him in the dust or in Infinity War when he tried to defeat Thanos on his own but this was different. It wasn’t something he second-guessed or fought about. He just accepted help or explained what he wanted to do and that was that.

He realized that Alioth was his way either back to the TVA or back to answers, he told Classic Loki and Kid Loki what he wanted to do and listened to their advice but wasn’t going to be stopped. The interesting part though is that he also wasn’t going to backstab them. He was just simply doing what he thought was best with their help or not and when they offered to get him near Alioth, he took it. He even gets a new blade (with fire) from Kid Loki and accepts it happily, something that Loki would have never done in the past.

Maybe it’s because he’s dealing with variations of himself that he’s more trusting. But even then, they clearly don’t mind betraying each other, but still our Loki is now ready to accept whatever help people are going to give him and I’m incredibly proud of him. For years, we watched as Loki constantly tried to trick people or backstab them. We watched as he hurt those closest to him without seemingly caring. This Loki? He’s different and for the better.

It’s not the only character arc I enjoyed in “Journey Into Mystery,” though. I also loved the further development of my favorite new ship: Loki/Mobius/Sylvie.

When Sylvie realizes that Loki is alive, she prunes herself to escape the TVA and Renslayer, and realizes while in this world that they can probably get to the Time-Keepers, or whoever’s pulling their strings, if they get around Alioth. But before all that, she teams up with Mobius to first escape Alioth and find Loki.

And thus my deep dive into Loki/Mobius/Sylvie shipping has begun.

The thing is: I ship Loki and Mobius, and I also ship Loki and Sylvie, so I think that, in my wisdom, I’ve now just thrown it all together in one big love fest. It also helps that the show is also sort of doing that. While Mobius is talking to Classic Loki, Kid Loki, and Alligator Loki, Sylvie and Loki are sharing a moment and trying to figure out their plans. Loki gets cold and conjures himself up a blanket and makes it big enough that he can share it with Sylvie—you know, a dream romantic move.

And just when I think, “Okay, I guess my Sylvie/Loki shipping wins. Just a little sad about it not being Mobius as well,” I am gifted yet again.

Mobius decides he’s going back to try to free some of the agents of the TVA and tell them the truth. Loki is handed a TemPad from Sylvie, and he looks to it and Mobius and decides to stay with Sylvie to help her try to get past Alioth. The group quickly realizes that Alioth isn’t something to be defeated, but rather a guard dog protecting something which Sylvie thinks is the place beyond time where the Time-Keepers live. Loki decides he also needs answers and gives the TemPad to Mobius to complete his mission.

When Mobius is about to head back to the TVA, he gives Loki his hand to shake, and Loki looks down to it before shaking his head and wrapping Mobius up in a hug. Please sear this hug onto my brain.

To make my throuple-wishing heart soar, Mobius also looks to Sylvie and tells her that she’s “his favorite.” Why can’t they just all hug and kiss each other? This is maybe the best sort of development for Loki as a character. Throughout his time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he’s never really trusted anyone—not his family, certainly not Thor, and not any of the Avengers. He’s operated as his own agent, but now he has let two people count on him. He’s been there for Mobius trying to protect him and now he’s there for Sylvie. It’s a relationship formed by necessity, and it grew into one of appreciation and love. All three need each other in different ways and I just want another season of Loki with Loki, Sylvie, and Mobius freeing people of the TVA while in love with one another.

But with Mobius back at the TVA, Sylvie and Loki attempt to enchant Alioth. The problem though is that they need a distraction to do so. And in comes Classic Loki, even though he tried to leave and go his own way. (And this is after Kid Loki also gives our Loki a fun fire sword. A lot of people help Loki in this episode.) He uses his illusions to create a fake Asgard for Alioth to try and destroy while Loki and Sylvie work together and Loki learns that he too can enchant things like Sylvie. Literally, they’re holding hands. So I got a Mobius hug and a hand-hold in one episode. There is a Marvel God.

In the end, they succeed and a portal into this place where they think the Time-Keepers live is opened, and the end of the episode has us seeing Loki and Sylvie standing hand in hand about to head into this unknown world so who knows what the finale is going to bring us.

Anyway, here is footage of me trying to figure out how Loki is going to end:

(image: Marvel Entertainment)

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We need to talk about the Olympics and their outdated rules.

Despite her incredible 100-meter victory at the Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon, it was announced this week that sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson—the country’s fastest woman—would not be participating in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.

Shortly after those trials, Richardson tested positive for THC (the main active component of marijuana). While she shouldn’t need to justify the use of a non-performance-enhancing drug that is legal in the state where she used it, she has said that it helped her cope with the recent death of her biological mother.

The positive test came with a one-month suspension, which meant Richardson was going to miss the 100-meter race (even though her suspension technically ends right before the event), although she could still qualify for relays—except USA Track & Field unveiled its official roster Tuesday evening and Richardson isn’t on it, for any event.

Let Sha’Carri race. Stop persecuting Black and Brown marijuana users. https://t.co/9SayID6Z1R

— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) July 7, 2021

Brianna McNeal won the gold medal in 100-meter hurdles in 2016, but she too will be absent from this year’s Olympic games. McNeal has been suspended for five years after missing a drug test and “tampering within the results management process.” McNeal originally submitted documentation for an unnamed medical procedure but after being pressured to release more details, she revealed to the New York Times that she had had an abortion. She says she thought her doctor got the date of her procedure wrong so she changed the date on the paperwork by one day, hence the “tampering.”

Moreover, McNeal said she faced judgmental scrutiny from World Athletics, the governing body for track and field, who she says made it clear they didn’t believe her claims that she messed up the date because she was traumatized from the procedure. (While most people do not experience abortion as a traumatic event—contrary to the popular anti-abortion narrative—McNeal says she was feeling guilt and grief because of her Christian faith.)

World Athletics didn’t believe she was affected by the procedure because she “continued to post on social media and compete in the weeks afterward.” They also “chastised” her for seeking support from a spiritual advisor rather than a psychiatrist.

“I told them, ‘Oh, really? For me, growing up in the Black community, that’s how we cope with everything — we go to church and we talk to our pastor or spiritual adviser,” McNeal told the Times. “I just feel like they have not been compassionate at all.”

On Twitter, she wrote that she sat through hearings where she “listened to white European men tell me how my experience doesn’t match with their perspective” and that “instead of being met with some sort of compassion and understanding, I was being interrogated and stigmatized.”

Stand.
I want to thank my coach @CoachBoogieJ , my training partners, my husband, and Nike @nike for sticking by my side throughout this entire process. pic.twitter.com/ixSXaywxUW

— Brianna McNeal (@Bri_Rollin) July 2, 2021

There are so many more stories like this.

Simone Biles keeps seeing the goalposts moved as her incredible feats in gymnastics are repeatedly undervalued specifically because she is so skilled.

A swim cap made especially for Black hair was banned from the Olympic games because it doesn’t follow “the natural form of the head.” In reality, the fact that traditional swim caps don’t work with a lot of Black swimmers’ hair is thought to be a major reason why Black athletes are so underrepresented in the sport. (That ban is currently being reconsidered thanks to massive backlash.)

Multiple Black women have been banned from track and field events because they have higher-than-average, naturally occurring testosterone levels. High testosterone is a major boon for male athletes, yet women are penalized for it. The science is also still out on just how much of a benefit testosterone gives athletes.

From an article at Popular Science:

One study of professional male triathletes found no relationship between testosterone levels and performance. Another, looking at professional cyclists, found the same lack of correlation. Yet another, comparing cyclists, weightlifters, and controls to each other on a cycling test, found a negative correlation between testosterone levels and performance. A study of teenage weightlifters found no relationship between boys’ testosterone levels and their performance, and a negative correlation among the girls—meaning they performed better when their testosterone was lower.

Still, Christine Mboma and Beatrice Masilingi of Namibia, South Africa’s Caster Semenya, and the U.S.’ CeCe Telfer—the first openly transgender woman to win an NCAA title—have all been forced out of this year’s games because of their testosterone levels.

Oh, and the entire Nigerian women’s 4×400 relay team was disqualified for not placing cones in the right spot during trials.

Is it just me or is this feeling patterny… https://t.co/r5dtIpGERx

— Joy-Ann (Pro-Democracy) Reid 😷 (@JoyAnnReid) July 5, 2021

There are plenty of people who will respond to these stories with an argument that “rules are rules.” Sha’Carri Richardson especially is hearing that a lot. But rules change. Kim Gaucher, a Canadian basketball player, was told she could not take her three-month-old baby to the Olympic games because Tokyo banned athletes from bringing guests—including a breastfeeding baby.

The International Olympic Committee eventually said that Gaucher and other nursing parents could bring their babies—because rules change when they need to. The rules holding these women back are not rooted in science and they are outdated. Rules and laws around marijuana usage disproportionately affect Black people and people of color. Regulations around testosterone are based on unscientific, eurocentric views of gender. A swim cap was banned specifically because the people in charge of making these rules don’t understand the needs of Black athletes.

Black women have been dominating in the lead-up to the Olympics and it’s abhorrent that they are being so specifically targeted by these outdated rules.

every time i check what’s going on with the Tokyo Olympics, there’s another Black woman running faster than the speed of sound 🙌🏿 https://t.co/7bWfCAlwdJ

— Imani Gandy (@AngryBlackLady) June 28, 2021

(image: Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

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