Entrepreneur Aims To Open Detroit’s Only Black-Owned Grocery Store

An entrepreneur from Detroit is on a mission to increase representation when it comes to ownership in the area by opening up the city’s only Black-owned grocery store, Civil Eats reported.

‘Is Detroit Finally Getting a Black-Owned Grocery Store?’ via Civil Eats – https://t.co/vSQN2N0ASC pic.twitter.com/3WATLcFAvT

— soulPhoodie (@soulphoodie) April 4, 2019

Raphael Wright started his journey to bring this establishment to fruition two years ago after noticing that Black-owned grocery stores in Detroit’s underserved communities were non-existent; despite African Americans accounting for 80 percent of the Motor City’s population. He decided he wanted to change that narrative and began laying the foundation for the creation of the store. He unveiled a plan for a 5,000-square-foot market to be based in the Islandview community inside of a mixed-use development. He’s also been eyeing other locations in underserved communities.

Wright wants his business to be more than just an average bodega. In an effort to make healthy food options more accessible and affordable for these communities he plans on teaming up with individuals who are a part of Detroit’s urban agricultural landscape so the store can sell fresh food. He also wants the store to serve as a cultural hub and community meeting space. Wright says he wants to utilize his entrepreneurial endeavors to promote the importance of Black ownership and reinvesting in our own communities.

“It goes back to how you control your community. Whoever feeds you really controls you. And if we’re not in control of that—it’s bigger than just the economic consequence. We lose a piece of our culture, our history,” he told the news outlet. “You have fried chicken spots in the hood, but they’re [not owned by Black people]. Your grandmother cooked this food your whole life. Why doesn’t she have a chicken spot? There’s much more at stake when Black people don’t control food. There’s our health, our culture—everything is at stake when we don’t control the grocery store.”

As far as funding and securing capital—which can be a struggle for many Black entrepreneurs —Wright has invested nearly $50,000 of his own money towards the project and has raised $47,000 through a crowdfunding campaign. He also garnered $70,000 through other forms of funding.

Wright is a part of a wave of Black entrepreneurs who are making the effort to reclaim their communities through ownership. In January, an entrepreneur announced plans to open up the only Black-owned bookstore in Orlando.

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Source: https://newsone.com/3850249/raphael-wright-detroit-black-owned-grocery-store/
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Michelle Obama’s ‘Becoming’ Could Become The Best-Selling Memoir In History

Former first lady Michelle Obama’s memoir Becoming has inspired everything from curriculums to book clubs and the book’s popularity is continuing to grow. According to the Washington Post, the autobiography is slated to become the best-selling memoir of all-time.

Michelle Obama’s memoir ‘Becoming’ could become the biggest-selling autobiography ever. https://t.co/B2MPfAuUcd

— MSNBC (@MSNBC) March 27, 2019

The book—which was released in November—has sold over 10 million copies to date through print, digital, and audio purchases. It was a part of a two-book deal that the Obamas inked with Penguin Random House. Obama has been traveling across the country to promote Becoming and has left a trail of inspiration with every book tour stop. During the book tour, she has had candid conversations with individuals like Valerie Jarrett, Oprah Winfrey, Sarah Jessica Parker, and others.

Becoming was a record-breaking memoir right out of the gate. 725,000 copies were sold on the day it was released and that number rose to 2 million 15 days after it made its debut. Those numbers made it not only the fastest-selling book of 2018 but the best-selling hardcover book of last year as well. It also made buzz globally, topping best-seller lists in places like Greece and Britain. “I’m not aware, in my personal experience with Penguin Random House, that we ever sold 10 million units of a memoir,” said Penguin Random House Chief Executive Markus Dohle in a statement.

Obama has been humbled by the positive reception of her book and hopes that it will continue to inspire for generations to come. “I wanted to take people on a journey of a book,” she said at a recent book tour stop in Portland. “It’s so important for us to own our journeys. We are all this little girl just struggling to build a life.”

News about this milestone comes weeks after it was announced that her alma mater, the Whitney Young Magnet High School in Chicago, will be naming an athletic facility in her honor.

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Chicago’s Whitney Young Magnet High School To Name Athletic Center After Michelle Obama

#MichelleTaughtMe: Michelle Obama’s Book Inspires Curriculum For Black Girls

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Source: https://newsone.com/3849673/michelle-obama-becoming-best-selling-memoir-in-history/
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Homeless 8-Year-Old New York State Chess Champion Finds A Home

An 8-year-old chess champion who garnered national attention after winning the New York State chess champion title for his age division has finally found a home. Tanitoluwa Adewumi—a native of Nigeria whose family fled from Africa to the U.S. to escape the Boko Haram extremist group—has moved into an apartment with his loved ones, the New York Times reported.

Adewumi and his family came to America two years ago and had been living in a homeless shelter ever since, the news outlet writes. Despite the circumstances, the youngster didn’t let his family’s situation deter him from greatness. The third-grader quickly became enamored by the game of chess after learning how to play a year ago and started participating in competitive matches. He joined the chess club at his Manhattan elementary school and through the leadership of his coach Shawn Martinez he was able to reach new heights in the game. Cognizant of the youngster’s financial situation, the school waived the participation fees. Adewumi received free three-hour training sessions in Harlem. In his case, practice made perfect. He ended up winning the New York State Chess Championship title for the kindergarten through third-grade division.

The national attention that he garnered for himself and his school also put the focus on his family’s unfortunate situation. There was a GoFundMe campaign launched in an effort to help his family find a permanent home. To date, the crowdfunding campaign has raised over $200,000 in a week. The family has since moved into a two-bedroom apartment not too far from Adewumi’s school. They plan on using the money to create a fund called the Tanitoluwa Adewumi Foundation which will help African immigrants in the U.S. who are struggling to make ends meet.

“Anybody who is coming from Africa who is in the position we were in, we will help them. I want to release my blessing to others,” Adewumi’s father Kayode told the news outlet. “Anybody who is coming from Africa who is in the position we were in, we will help them.” Tanitoluwa hopes to one day become the youngest chess grandmaster. He has received scholarships from a few prestigious schools and was invited to meet former president Bill Clinton at his office in Harlem.

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These Chibok Schoolgirls Kidnapped By Boko Haram Are Now Getting Ready For College In The U.S.

How Chess Club Heals The Wounds Of Ferguson Students

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Source: https://newsone.com/3849218/homeless-new-york-state-chess-champion-tanitoluwa-adewumi-finds-home/
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Obama Portraits Help Break Visitor Record At The National Portrait Gallery

Last month marked a year since the portraits of former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama was introduced to the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. and the two vibrant illustrations of the couple have been a major draw for visitors. According to the Washington Post, the portraits of the Obamas were instrumental in helping the Smithsonian museum break a visitor record.

“Where are the Obamas?”: Paintings of Barack and Michelle brought a million more people to Portrait Gallery https://t.co/kVcuLhVxFt

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) February 26, 2019

The portraits—which were created by artists Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald—has taken the visitorship at the gallery to new levels. The Smithsonian American Art Museum ended 2018 with a total of 2.3 million visitors; an increase of a million more visitors than they had the previous year. Those who work at the National Gallery’s information desk say that they’ve never witnessed new paintings draw in so many people prior to the addition of the Obama portraits. Gallery volunteer Mary Francis Koerner says that visitors would typically ask to be directed to the portraits of the presidents but that question has changed over time. “Now it’s ‘Where are the Obamas?” she told the news outlet. “They have brought in so many people. After 4:30 there’s an uptick of the younger generation, and that’s who they come to see.”

While the Obama portraits are visually captivating, they hold deeper meaning beyond the surface. The couple selected two African-American artists to create the artwork; making them the first Black artists to receive presidential commissions. “Big museums like this are dedicated to what we as a society hold most dear,” Wiley said in a statement, according to the Denver Post. “Growing up as a kid in South Central Los Angeles, there weren’t too many people who looked like me on those walls. The ability to be the first African-American painter to paint the first African-American president of the United States — it doesn’t get any better than that.”

The National Portrait Gallery was created in 1962 and the tradition of adding portraits of outgoing presidents began in 1994.

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Barack Obama Lands Spot On Billboard’s Hot R&B Songs Chart

#MichelleTaughtMe: Michelle Obama’s Book Inspires Curriculum For Black Girls

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Source: https://newsone.com/3847549/barack-obama-michelle-obama-portrait-break-record-at-national-portrait-gallery/
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