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Brandon and Shaleeza Collins have received special recognition as IHOP franchisees. The couple are proud owners of an IHOP restaurant in North Baton Rouge, LA, through an opportunity made possible by Brandon’s parents, Ella and Larry Collins. The two had been the original owners before selling the location to Brandon and Shaleeza in 2023, a news release mentions. “There were no sit-down restaurants, and they wanted to make sure that that need was fulfilled and to create a legacy for their family,” Shaleeza told Black Enterprise. Brandon added, “This legacy wasn’t just for the kids; it was a legacy for the community. We’re in North Baton Rouge; there’s not much here. There’s no economic development that happens here. Our IHOP is still the only national franchise, sit-down restaurant in North Baton Rouge — to this day.” Since taking on the restaurant, Brandon and Shaleeza have provided mentorship and career pathways for both the surrounding community and their family members. The...
New York has always been a central part of Robert Cummins’ life and career. As a music executive in the 1990s and early 2000s, the Brooklyn, NY, native worked alongside New York’s finest such as Jay-Z, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Mary J. Blige, The Notorious B.I.G, and also discovered Foxy Brown. After finding great success in the music business, the former executive vice president of MCA Records went on to pivot into hospitality and business.
Keke Palmer has no regrets about being the breadwinner for her family. As previously reported by AFROTECH™, Palmer earned her first $1 million at just 12 years old as a child actress . At that time, her parents, Sharon and Larry, also hired a business manager to help oversee her finances. “They wanted me to know that they weren’t the ones controlling my money. They had heard these stories, and my mom said ‘I don’t want money to come in between me and my child,'” Palmer said on the “Club Shay Shay” podcast. Her parents would remain her backbone as she found her footing in Hollywood. Her early acting footprint included roles in “Barbershop 2: Back in Business”, “Akeelah and the Bee,” and “Jump In!” In 2008, she landed her own show on Nickelodeon with “True Jackson, VP” and her “life was changed after that,” she told People. “I was happy my family, we came to California for me to pursue my dreams I got my own show, right. H oney, my parents at their best made $40,000 a year growing...
Angel Reese plans to retire her mother. Reese, born in Randallstown, MD, on May 6, 2002, to Michael Reese and Angel Webb Reese, has grown into an influential athlete, already making her mark in the WNBA by holding the record for most single-season rebounds — before being surpassed by A’ja Wilson. Reese’s athletic genes come from her parents , both of whom played basketball in college. Her mother, Angel Webb Reese, played for the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) and was inducted into its Athletics Hall of Fame, notes Today. She also had a professional career in Luxembourg. Michael Reese played at Boston College and Loyola University (Maryland) before competing overseas in Luxembourg, Austria, and Portugal, mentions USA Basketball. “My whole family played basketball. My aunts played basketball, my brother plays basketball, my grandparents played basketball. So, it kind of was like, ‘You’re gonna do this,’” Reese told Just Women’s Sports. Unsurprisingly, Reese picked up...
A teen has passed away following ongoing interaction with an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot. The New York Times reports that Sewell Setzer III developed an attachment to a chatbot from Character.AI named Dany, inspired by the “Game of Thrones” character Daenerys Targaryen. The 14-year-old would engage in countless conversations with it, developing an interest that fluctuated between platonic and romantic. He sent dozens of messages and began to disassociate from his real-life passions and responsibilities, per the outlet, losing enjoyment in playing “Fortnite” with his friends and in Formula 1 racing . Instead, he would spend hours in his room conversing with Dany. At school, his grades began to drop, and he started getting into trouble. “I like staying in my room so much because I start to detach from this ‘reality,’ and I also feel more at peace, more connected with Dany and much more in love with her, and just happier,” Sewell wrote in his journal, according to the outlet....
Christopher Cunningham, an entrepreneur based in Tampa, FL, now owns an entire block, Bay News 9 reports. Initially aiming to purchase just one building, Cunningham was offered the chance to buy the entire block at 9513 N Nebraska Ave. He now operates two businesses there: True Value Hardware and his water restoration company, Dry 24 “From the inside it looks really small but there’s actually 1.88 acres here,” he explained to the outlet. “Initially, I was just looking at buying the store. I got a chance to talk to Mr. Chelle, and he said, ‘You can buy the store, but you gotta actually buy the whole block.’” Cunningham, now the proud owner of five buildings on the block, hopes to see greater support for Black-owned businesses in Tampa, where 24% of the population is Black, per ABC Action News. “I think it’s important in the city of Tampa — Tampa is 24% Black — that there are more Black businesses and that the corporate partners and the people who receive tax dollars, the private...
Being open about her mistakes in love turned Reesa Teesa into an Internet sensation. Born Teresa Johnson, the New Jersey native has had people on TikTok tuned into her 50-part series, “Who TF Did I Marry?” — millions of viewers to be exact. Released in February 2023, the first part from the series, which details the deception and turmoil she experienced with her ex-husband, “Legion,” has 39.4 million views, as of this writing. What’s more, Reesa Teesa’s followers on TikTok jumped from 8,000 before the full series to now, 3.6 million, as of this writing. @reesamteesa Who TF Did I Marry- Part One #pathologicalliar #reesateesa #fypシ #fyp ♬ original sound – ReesaTeesa Reesa Teesa’s popularity skyrocketing in a short period had people online sharing theories about how much she’s pocketed from her transparency. However, in an interview with The Cut, she cleared the air on the speculation. While social media may have believed that Reesa Teesa raked in $100,000 through TikTok’s creator...