Gina Belafonte is someone who walks the walk and talks the talk. As the executive director of Sankofa, she’s combining the arts and activism to carry on her father’s legacy. Though initially starting out as an actress, Gina Belafonte is now focusing her efforts on the organization her father started and choosing to focus her efforts on larger social justice causes. But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t use entertainment to get her point across. On March 1, HB95 — a celebration of Harry Belafonte’s 95th birthday — will be a star-studded event that will take place at the Town Hall Theater in New York City. Proceeds will benefit Sankofa, whose mission “educates, motivates, and activates artists and allies in service of grassroots movements and equitable change,” per the organization’s official website. Their outreach is, of course, grassroots in nature — they work with local partners to amplify their message, but their amplification involves some of the biggest names in the entertainment...

Brooklyn Nets owners Joe Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai are trying something ground-breaking that’ll change the game for Black business-owners looking for financial assistance. According to CNBC, as part of their $50 million commitment to help minority communities, the sports owners have launched “EXCELerate,” a $2.5 million Black business loan program to help those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Funds for the program will come from the Tsai foundation’s Social Justice Fund — which was started last year to help resolve economic inequities in Black communities. “We know that there is no social justice without economic opportunity,” Tsai said in a statement, “which is why we are so excited to launch the Brooklyn EXCELerate Loan Program aimed at elevating Brooklyn’s BIPOC [Black, indigenous, and other people of color] business owners post-pandemic and doing our small part to overcome barriers this community faces in accessing capital.” What’s unique about the program is that instead of...