On Saturday, April 14th, Sistahs In Business (SIB) held their very first expo in Newark showcasing black women entrepreneurship. Hundreds of men, women, and children, gathered in the Ramada hotel at eight in the morning to learn the importance of business ownership and making the most of your money.
The event kicked off big with keynote speakers, author
and life coach Lynn Richardson and rap legend Mc Lyte. Both speakers came with plenty of jewels to educate current business owners and those aspiring to start their businesses.
Richardson brought some much-needed truth to the audience, advising on how to stay within your budget and spending lane. ” Buy the bag within your budget, not the bag you know you can’t afford. You should not be carrying a five hundred dollar bag if you don’t have five hundred in the bag daily”, said Richardson.
The guest had plenty of bags to chose from amongst the many retail vendors at the expo. SIB provided space for over seventy vendors offering a variety of services from clothing, beauty products, food, and more.
The founder and CEO of the SIB expo, Aisha Taylor Issah was the leading lady behind the event. Issah who is also a professor, minister, and entrepreneur, spoke about how the idea of the expo developed.
“What inspired me to start the SIB expo was the challenges that I faced as a woman of color owning a business. I started a career consulting business back in 2005 with my sister and we had some challenges in terms of being able to get the word out about what we did. . . I began to talk to women of color and they were experiencing some of the same challenges even now with social media. God gave me the vision to start an expo for women of color that allowed them to come in at a lower price point, reach a wider audience, and also to be more inclusive with different types of businesses”, said Issah.
Newark, New Jersey was the first, but not the last stop for the Sistah’s In Business Expo. SIB will be holding their next event at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA on July 14. They will also be hosting events in Columbia, South Carolina on August 11th and Atlanta, Georgia on October 13th of this year.
“We’re already looking for larger venues for next year. . . We wanna do really well on the east coast, then go over to the west coast, and then international! We gonna take it over!”, stated Issah.
Information for any upcoming events can be found on www.SistahsInBusinessExpo.com
January 1st marked the 214th anniversary of the Haitian Revolution. Haiti is one of the only slave revolts to free themselves from bondage and become the first black free nation. Not only were they able to free themselves, they also helped Venezuela, Columbia, Ecuador, and Dominican Republic fight for their freedom.
The slave revolt began in August 1791 under the leadership of a Jamaican voodoo priest named Boukman. Boukman and mambo Cécile Fatiman worked together and held the first Voudou ceremony at Bois Caima to initiate the start of the Haitian Revolution. The priest taught their followers how to use herbs and other natural resources to fight off their enemy’s. Boukman and about two thousand followers went around the northern part of Saint-Dominique and began to poison overseers, burn down plantations, and kill off white’s and mulattos that would oppose their freedom. It is said that Boukman asked all followers to cast aside the God given to them by their oppressors, and to call upon a God that would be in favor of their interest.
So, it’s been a while since I’ve been on the writing scene giving my two cents. I’ve kinda been out of the loop, so caught up in the everyday hustle of life and living that I’ve been neglecting to stop and document anything. Upon hearing that Savage released a decent album, I decided to give it a listen, in an attempt to keep myself well rounded in the hip hop music scene.
When it comes to discussing the subject of abortions and a woman’s right over her body, things can get heated real quick. No independent woman wants to be dictated on what she can and cannot do with her body. At one point of my life, I was that modern woman who understood her rights. I was pro-choice and all for women being able to determine whether or not they choose to go through with an unwanted pregnancy, but have changed my opinion on the matter. Now before you get your panties in a bunch, I’m not saying women should not have the rights over their bodies. If a woman is raped I do believe she should have the option to choose if she wants to bring that child into the world. However, I do believe that black women should re-evaluate their use of abortions and get an understanding of how it affects the community.
We’re almost halfway through the first week of January, this month often symbolizes a fresh start for many. Around this time people begin setting New Year’s resolutions to better themselves. They start saving money, dieting for summer bodies, and getting rid of no good friends that somehow made it through the entire previous year. If you log into any social media site early January you’re bound to see people declaring how much they plan on changing their lives and no longer involving themselves in destructive behavior they probably just committed less than 48 hours ago. It’s no secret that old habits sometimes die hard, so keep calm and develop a winners mindset. With a winners mindset, you’re destined to succeed against all odds because winners never quit. If you set goals last year that were not reached, try again this year and stay positive about your journey.
If you don’t know me well let me just tell you that some things in my life are new to me and I’m still learning, so pardon me. I’ve recently picked up a few hobbies one of them being my new collection of stones. Over the past few months, I’ve managed to purchase a quartz, an amethyst, and my newest discovery an African bloodstone yoni egg. Please excuse me in advance for getting a little graphic with ya’ll but I feel the need to tell this story to help my fellow experimenters. I bought the bloodstone yoni egg a few weeks ago but have been a little hesitant to use it because I’ve always been reluctant to stick things in my coco tunnel. I don’t even use tampons so sticking a stone up my yoni was a little bit different. But you know me, I’ll do anything to achieve inner peace.
J cole just dropped another classic, 4 Your Eyes Only is undeniably gratifying Hip-Hop from start to finish. Cole delivered the much-needed lyrical perspective providing a microscopic look at what it feels/ sounds like to the struggle in black communities. He used his fourth album to highlight universal issues black men face today, no matter how much money he may have. The introduction track For Whom The Bells Tolls set the emotion for the entire album.
For years Jersey City, New Jersey has been a lost treasure on the decline with old abandoned factories, mediocre malls, and unkept houses. For over a decade big financial companies and New York residents have been slowly flocking to the downtown area looking to escape New York’s high rental cost. Since Mayor Steven Fulop took office Jersey City’s forgotten slums finally began to undergo some change, but not the change many have expected. Bergen-Lafayette and Greenville sections have now become a magnet for Jews interested in creating a new Chassidishe community in an effort to escape Brooklyn’s high cost of living.
Two weeks ago I received devastating news. My cousin shot and killed his wife and was found dead in a parking lot three days later. The news came as a surprise, no one expected this from him. This cousin was always spending time with his family, always smiling, in fact, every time I saw him he was in good spirits. I can’t remember a time when I’ve ever seen him participate in an argument or even angry. So when I heard the news I was beyond shocked. I harbored so many questions about the incident. What caused this? How will it affect the children? Why is this a recurring theme within our communities?
