Get The Scoop On The NIA Cultural Center's 5th Annual Emancipation Celebration of Juneteenth with Gospel Music

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The NIA Cultural Center Gospel Legends Unite: Karen Clark Sheard, Byron Cage & The Brown Four Take the Stage for NIA Cultural Center’s 5th Annual Emancipation Celebration

Join us Sunday, June 14, 2026, at the
historic The Grand 1894 Opera House in
Galveston for a celebration of Juneteenth
honoring freedom, faith, and
community through gospel music.

Galveston, TX – On Sunday, June 14, 2026, the NIA Cultural Center proudly invites the community to the 5th Annual Emancipation Gospel Celebration Concert, taking place at the historic 1894 Grand Opera House in Galveston, Texas, the birthplace of Juneteenth.

The event will run from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM and promises an unforgettable evening of gospel music, celebration, and cultural heritage.

Galveston will commemorate the 161st Juneteenth Anniversary next summer with events recognizing the heritage and impact of Black culture in America.

Central to this celebration is the 5th Annual Emancipation Gospel Celebration Concert, headlined by Four-time GRAMMY® Award-winner Karen Clark Sheard, a multi-Stellar and GMA Dove Award-winning gospel legend and member of the renowned Clark Sisters.

Karen Clark Sheard

Known for her extraordinary multi-octave vocal range, Sheard has inspired artists across genres, including Beyoncé.

Also featured in the lineup is Award-winning gospel artist Byron Cage, affectionately known as the “Prince of Praise.”

Cage has made a lasting impact on gospel music as a minister of music and through chart-topping live albums and radio singles.

Byron Cage

His iconic recording of “The Presence of the Lord Is Here” helped bring contemporary worship music to the African American church, solidifying his influence as a pioneer of Praise and Worship music.

The celebration will kick off with a performance by The Brown Four, a talented sibling group from Memphis, Tennessee.

The ensemble features Daelin (14), Daniya (13), Deanna (11), and Davion Brown (10), whose musical passion began at home, in church, and on local playgrounds.

The Brown Four

Checkout the video trailer below...

Black-Owned Travel Company Helps to Berngo Safaris Connect African Culture and Investment

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Berngo Safaris Brings Culturally Rooted African Travel, Relocation, and Investment Opportunities to the Black Community

Berngo Safaris, LLC, a Black-owned travel and consulting small business founded in 2023 by Bernie Waruru in Cedar Springs, Michigan, is reshaping how the Black community engages with Africa by offering culturally authentic safari travel, heritage experiences, and newly expanded relocation and investment services in Kenya. For Black travelers and families, Berngo Safaris is uniquely relevant because it is built on lived African experience, deep cultural knowledge, and an understanding of Black history, identity, and the desire to reconnect with ancestral lands.

The accompanying photos feature founder Bernie Waruru in studio portraits wearing Berngo Safaris-branded apparel, representing the face and leadership behind the company.

Founded by Bernie—an entrepreneur with decades of firsthand experience living, working, and traveling across East and Southern Africa—Berngo Safaris was created to bridge Africa and the global Black diaspora through trust, representation, and authenticity. The company curates private and small-group safari journeys across Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, and select emerging destinations, combining world-class wildlife experiences with cultural immersion and historical context often missing from mainstream tourism.

Black Entrepreneur to Mobilize 1,000 Women-Led App Businesses in 30 Days

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Black Serial App Entrepreneur to Debut New Book by Mobilizing 1,000 Women-Led App Businesses in 30 Days

In celebration of the March 10th release of her new book, I Have an App Idea: The Essential Guide to Building an App Without Tech Skills, serial app entrepreneur Amanda Spann has launched #CodeSwitch1000, an ambitious initiative designed to help start 1,000 women-led, app-based businesses and kickstart their journeys during the month of March.

The initiative comes at a pivotal moment. Following more than one million layoffs across public tech and corporate sectors over the past year, many professionals, particularly women, are navigating career uncertainty, stalled advancement, or reevaluating long-term stability.

#CodeSwitch1000 is positioned not only as a celebration of entrepreneurship, but as a practical response: a structured pathway for women and those who support them to build ownership, create scalable income streams, and solve real-world problems through technology. The campaign is supported by The Wave, a national professional network, and community partners including My Founder’s Keeper, UVI Research & Technology Park, RebrandLand AI, Entitled AI and Copper & Vine Studio.

“We are living through a moment where stability is being redefined. #CodeSwitch1000 is our response — turning readers of I Have an App Idea into builders,” says Spann. “The book delivers a clear, strategic sequence to follow; the initiative brings the community to activate it. Together, they equip professionals to transform lived expertise into scalable solutions and long-term ownership. Structure creates confidence. Confidence creates ownership. Ownership creates economic change.”

Book About White Village That Defended Black Soldiers

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New Book Tells Untold World War II Story About a White Village That Defended Black Soldiers

During World War II, when a white U.S. military police colonel ordered a British village to bar Black American soldiers from its pubs, local residents pushed back. Pub windows soon displayed handmade signs: “Black Soldiers Only.”

The act of solidarity infuriated white MPs. In the confrontation that followed, three unarmed Black soldiers were shot in the back and killed. Thirty-five were court-martialed. No whites were prosecuted. The US military made every effort to hide any public evidence of the event.

The largely forgotten episode is the subject of Colourblind (MJB Imprints, 2026), a forthcoming historical novel by Michael J. Barrington, based on documented wartime accounts.

“The story resonates strongly today, as conversations about race, military service, and historical memory continue to shape public discourse,” Barrington said. “Colourblind explores how racial divisions followed American troops overseas — and how, in one small English village, ordinary citizens chose dignity over discrimination.”

Forbes Spotlights Renowned Black Attorney Zulu Ali for Defending Marginalized Communities

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Forbes Magazine Spotlights Black Lawyer for Defending Marginalized Communities

Forbes Magazine Global Edition has spotlighted Attorney Zulu Ali, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, former police officer, and founder of Zulu Ali & Associates, LLP, recognizing his leadership at the intersection of criminal defense and immigration law — where the consequences of an arrest can extend far beyond the courtroom.

The feature highlights Ali’s mission-driven approach to defending immigrant, Black, and marginalized communities, particularly in cases where criminal charges can quickly trigger detention, deportation, or permanent separation from family.

“When criminal charges and immigration consequences collide, lives can change overnight,” Ali says. “Our responsibility is to protect not only a client’s freedom, but their future.”

Black Legal Leadership in the Inland Empire

Ali and his daughter, Attorney Whitney Ali, have grown Zulu Ali & Associates into the largest Black-owned law firm in California’s Inland Empire—a region where communities of color are often over-policed and under-resourced when it comes to legal representation.

Both attorneys have been recognized among the Most Influential People of African Descent in Law and Justice, an international distinction supported by the United Nations. Their work has also been featured in Essence, covered by The Shade Room, and recognized by the American Institute of Trial Lawyers.

Experience That Resonates With the Community

Ali’s background as both a former police officer and U.S. Marine Corps veteran provides a rare and powerful perspective. Clients facing the justice system often seek advocates who understand law enforcement from the inside—not just in theory, but through lived experience.

For non-citizens and undocumented immigrants, that insight can be critical. A plea or conviction that may seem minor can result in removal proceedings or long-term barriers to legal status.

Get The Scoop On Roy Wyatt's Revised Illustrated Guide to African American History

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Black Author Releases Revised Illustrated Guide to African American History

 Color in America by Roy Wyatt is an illustrated guide to African Americans’ pursuit of freedom and history in the United States of America. The book is a must-have for anyone wanting to learn about African Americans’ expansive history and culture. An excellent source of information, it makes a great addition to any household, library, museum, gift shop, church, school, or classroom.

African American history is a broad, massive, and intricate subject, with world-shaking events that have, in some instances, dramatically shaped American history. However, much of it has been reduced to a handful of people, memorable moments, and events.

Undoubtedly, most people remember courageous stories like the Underground Railroad, the famous “I Have a Dream” speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Nat Turner’s rebellion, or the plight of the Tuskegee Airmen. But do you know about Sojourner Truth, the first woman to ever sue and win a case against a white man? Or Benjamin Bradley, who built a working steam engine from two pieces of scrap metal and a barrel?

What about Cathay Williams, the first African-American woman to enlist in the military, when women weren’t allowed? Or Robert Carruthers, who invented the ultraviolet camera NASA used when it launched Apollo 16 in 1972? The black experience is simply too important to be reduced to only a few significant events to know and remember.

Get The Scoop On The Largest Black Children’s Book Fair in Dayton, Ohio, Launches 3rd Annual Event

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Largest Black Children’s Book Fair in Dayton, Ohio, When I See Me™ Children’s Book Fair Launches 3rd Annual Event

The third annual When I See Me™ Children’s Book Fair takes place Saturday, July 25, 2026 (11 am to 4 pm) at the Dayton Metro Library’s West Branch, in Dayton, Ohio, bringing together African American children’s authors, educators, families, and mental health professionals for a literacy experience that extends beyond traditional book fairs. The model responds to an ongoing representation gap in children’s publishing by creating spaces where diverse authors are visible, accessible, and directly connected to young readers.

Attendance at last year’s event doubled from the previous year, signaling growing community demand for culturally responsive books and family-centered literacy programming.

What began as a local children’s book fair has evolved into a broader literacy movement responding to persistent gaps in representation in children’s literature. The When I See Me™ Children’s Book Fair has raised more than $10,000 and placed books into the hands of over 1,000 children through its signature “A Book in Every Bag” effort — designed to ensure every child receives a book reflecting their identity and potential.

The book fair began after a young reader’s experience highlighted how rarely children encounter books that reflect their lives. Today, the initiative operates as a social-impact publishing model blending author visibility, family literacy, and book access.