#BlackExcellence: Salute to Colin Kaepernick
Whether you agree with Kaepernick’s actions or not, he has caused a dialogue that was a whisper after the Espy’s address by Dwayne Wade, Lebron James, Chris Paul and spearheaded by Carmelo Anthony to become a loud roar. The question about what role celebrities and athletes should play when it comes to social issues, injustices and even politics can be argued back and forth for centuries to come and there will likely never be a defining consensus. I personally believe that each of us has a responsibility to stand against injustice. We all have a voice that when used can impact someone no matter how big or small our platform.…
K. Scott Weddings: Infusion of Love and Culture
Often, brides who choose to tackle the task of planning on their own are close to pulling their hair out right up until the moment they walk down the aisle. I suppose that’s why God created wedding planners! One such godsend is Keisha Scott, owner of K Scott Weddings which is based in Greensboro, NC. Born and raised in Jamaica, Scott’s family moved to New York during her youth. As a young adult, Scott attended UCONN to study pre-med and eventually switched to nursing. As a nurse, Scott often found herself setting up and planning events around the hospital as well as at church. It wasn’t until she planned her…
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Mom, community activist, author, social media/marketing specialist and business owner are just a few of the titles that Chakara Conyers holds. Methodically building her brand by finding voids and fulfilling needs; she is successfully running multiple businesses simultaneously. Growing up in the Southside of Raleigh, Conyers’ didn’t live a life of luxury but it was filled with a strong sense of family and community. Today, Conyers is building a brand that’s deeply rooted in those same values. “I love writing. I love creating. I love marketing.” beams Conyers. She has managed to put each one of those talents to work, first as an author of two books, Hard Dreams and…
Vegan Flava Cafe: Flava is Essential
When a business is born out of pure happenstance, you know the product is good! That was the case for Vegan Flava Cafe. Yah-I Tafari and his wife, Ma’at Maakhera Amen, who is also co-owner, spent time traveling from state to state attending natural haircare shows to promote and sell her book, Whatz In Your Womb. Finding it difficult to locate vegan food on the road, they began to prepare their own. Always willing to share, they soon had people lining up for Amen’s book as well as a plate of vegan food with flava. The following year, they became food vendors at those same events as a result of…
In The Know: Biz Circle AT&T
As business owners, it seems that you often learn through trial and error unless you have great mentors or business advisors helping you along the way. Truthfully, there’s nothing wrong with a little trial by fire from time to time because we probably gain the most insight as a result of our failures. However, let’s try to avoid 2nd and 3rd degree burns…shall we? AT&T’s initiative is helping small business owners do just that. Its always nice to have information at your fingertips that can help you avoid various pitfalls, make informed decisions and discover opportunities you didn’t know existed. An added bonus is when those resources also create challenges/contest…
Chronicles Photography: Everybody Needs Picture
When you first meet the naturally beautiful Dawn Michelle Downey you’d probably expect her to be in front of a camera, instead she’s behind it. Born and bred in Brooklyn, Downey was given her first camera by her grandmother around the age of 7 and ever since that day she was always, “the girl with the camera” recalls Downey. As the owner/visionary behind Chronicles Photography, Downey uses her innate creativity to capture the moments that last a lifetime for her clients. Despite being the resident photographer among friends, it wasn’t until getting married and moving to North Carolina approximately 5 years ago as Downey recounts that “a close friend put…
Jeanmarie Tea Co: Creating Experiences One Cup At A Time
Nicole Allen, graduate of NC A&T, is an engineer by trade. By all other accounts, she is a God fearing, champion for young girls, whose always been an entrepreneur at heart. Born in New York but raised in North Carolina, Allen is a quintessential southern belle with northern savvy. She was the student on campus that was selling the sandwiches and snacks from the care packages her mom packed to fellow students to make extra money. So its no surprise that she is now the owner of a flourishing tea company affectionately named after her grandmother whom she adoringly refers to as “the love of my life” called Jeanmarie Tea…
JQ Sports PR: Growing Brands One Client at a Time
Jaquese “JQ” Smith knows her way around 94 feet of hardwood. She’s played at the collegiate level, coached and is currently 1 of 3 hosts on DNA sports talk radio. All of that aside, JQ’s passion lies in her ability to “Groom athletes for success” which was the goal she had in mind when she formed JQ Sports PR. With two high school athletes and her first professional client, JQ is well on her way to establishing her brand within the PR community. JQ Sports PR offers two levels of service. For student athletes, services such as SAT prep and guidance, community outreach, media coaching, recruiting exposure, academic/social media monitoring…
Fathers Forever: Bridging the Gap
A story I heard over the weekend, made me revisit a previous interview I’d conducted years ago. While it’s my belief that a single parent household does not always equate to a fatherless child as most of society would have us believe, I do know that a two parent household is certainly better than one. Although, I feel the statistics regarding fatherless children are skewed when it comes to single parent households, I do know that there remain far too many fatherless children for factors within and at times beyond the fathers control. Fathers Forever is a non-profit organization based in Raleigh, NC whose vision is “Bridging the gap between…
The Bath Place: From Necessity to Passion
As a young child, Kimberly Clayton Thigpen, possessed the entrepreneurial spirit. She and a childhood friend spent afternoons in the yard crafting homemade earrings and necklaces out of tree bark. They would round off the edges and drill holes in the center, eventually selling them to neighbors. As a young mother, Thigpen spent her early adult years working in the security that corporate America often provides. That is until 2009 when her husbands eczema prompted her to come up with a solution for his frequent flareups. Thigpen recalls the experience vividly saying, “The first time I made soap, I absolutely fell in love with it.” His need for relief from…
Launching July 4th
Welcome to The Color of Ingenuity! The Color of Ingenuity was created to support, promote and galvanize African American owned businesses while exposing consumers to the bevy of goods and services offered by them. Each week a business owner will be featured on the site as well as our youtube page. This is not a listing of businesses but an in-depth and insightful interview with owners. Along with weekly business features, we will also post relevant business industry information that can be helpful to owners and consumers alike. In addition we will pay homage to those who forged paths for current and future entrepreneurs. My hope is that while exposing…
