For the thirteenth year, ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood shined a light on Black women in cinema and television. Genevieve Nnaji was in attendance fitted in a simple gown at the red carpet.
The Essence Black Women in Hollywood had the best of black Hollywood celebs with all our faves, from Yvonne Orji to Billy Potter and Kerry Washington and ‘Clemency’ star Alfre Woodard attending.
The luncheon held on Thursday,February 6,2020 in Beverly Hills.
Check out photos of her from the event:
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 06: Genevieve Nnaji attends the 13th Annual Essence Black Women In Hollywood Awards Luncheon at the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons Hotel on February 06, 2020 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images)
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 06: Genevieve Nnaji attends the 13th Annual Essence Black Women In Hollywood Awards Luncheon at the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons Hotel on February 06, 2020 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images)
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 06: Genevieve Nnaji attends the 2020 13th Annual ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon at Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel on February 06, 2020 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Leon Bennett/Getty Images for ESSENCE)
Over the past two decades, I have specialized in advising women in moments of transition. This has given me the unique opportunity to observe women’s financial practices and attitudes during the window in which they are most open and most vulnerable.
Oftentimes, this change happens as a result of divorce; however, women also face transitions in times of marriage, starting a new job, motherhood, widowhood, etc.
These are the top five financial pitfalls I have observed holding women back from a secure financial future:
1. Not using a budget: While creating and maintaining a budget is a commonly dreaded affair, the benefits of keeping track of your monthly expenses far outweigh the disadvantages.
Such benefits can entail saving for retirement, buying property, or having a college fund for your children. On the other hand, not using a budget can lead to overspending and credit card debt.
Uncontrolled debt not only batters your finances but may also generate enough stress to threaten your health. Health.com writes that debt can lead to problems such as high blood pressure, which can result in heart disease or stroke; an increase in anxiety; and depression.
2. Not having an emergency fund: According to a study by BMO Harris, among people with rainy day funds, men have saved nearly twice as much as women.
How can you leave an awful job, an abusive marriage — any sort of bad situation — if you don’t have money?
Save for an emergency cash cushion and aim to have at least three to six months of living expenses in the bank.
3. A man is not a financial plan: Every woman should be her own chief financial officer instead of waiting for her knight in shining armor.
Don’t wait for Prince Charming to carry you over the threshold. Be the one paying the bills and keeping track of your assets and what you owe.
Women are increasingly earning more and, according to New York Life Investments, $14 trillion worth of personal wealth is controlled by women, which is only to increase in the years to come.
That means that, not only do women have the financial means to support themselves, but now is also the time for women to take control of their finances.
Even if you are married, don’t hand over all control of the money to your husband “because it’s a guy thing.” That robs you of your power and financial security. You, too, can be the “money person” or ask to hold monthly discussions to look at the family finances. Schedule a “financial date night,” and make it fun.
4. The need to know all the right answers and doing nothing: In many situations, I try to have all the right answers before I proceed. It turns out that many other women do the same.
But waiting to have all the answers can derail us from reaching our financial goals. For example, some people do nothing by sitting on the investing sidelines or investing too conservatively.
TheSimpleDollar.com, a free online resource, explains that women often wait to invest, or don’t invest at all, thinking that they need to know more to make any investment. However, you don’t need to be an expert, and can always ask for help.
If you really want to be wealthy, put your money to work with a nice mix of stocks and bonds. Have your money work as hard as you do — that’s what investing is all about.
5. Saving too little: Numerous studies show that, on average, women have lower savings rates than men, putting themselves at risk of outliving their money. Although women are increasingly earning more, such statistics could be credited to ongoing gender wage gaps and women leaving their jobs to become stay-at-home mothers.
Don’t wait until it’s too late. Saving for your future should be just as much of a priority as paying off debt. Women can’t afford to only think short-term.
Stay consistent with a 10% yearly savings rate, which should include your individual retirement account and/or 401(k) plan contributions. Keep the money in an account you don’t have easy access to, so you can’t transfer it and it is constantly growing for your future.
Missing out on these opportunities from an early age only means you’re going to have to work longer or save more as you get older.
A helpful trick to easy saving is to set up automatic contributions to your retirement plan at work. You can also add the auto-escalation feature, which will allow your contribution to automatically increase 1% to 2% annually.
Empower yourself and take control of your finances. It’s never too early or too late to start.
Also, using different banks for your checking and savings account can help diminish impulsive spending. It can take almost three business days to transfer money to your checking account from a separate bank, which gives you time to reconsider what you’re using your savings for.
In this way, you’re able to keep track of the money you have in your emergency fund, your vacation savings, your wedding savings and any other savings goal you want to establish.
While many women may be guilty of making these money mistakes, it’s good to know you can bounce back and turn those bad habits around at any time.
Empower yourself and take control of your finances. It’s never too early or too late to start.
Ultimately, my money rule is simple: Spend less than you earn. Never give yourself an increase in standard of living — instead, increase your savings.
You’ll see the benefits pay off for your future and for your loved ones.
Melissa Roy is on the list of women making history by visiting every country in the world. On December 27, 2019, the 34-year-old visited Bangladesh—the birthplace of her late father and grandparents—and became the first woman of South Asian origin to travel to every country in the world. Though she doesn’t plan to apply for a Guinness World Record (“I’m doing this for myself,” she says).
Roy’s accomplishment is an unlikely one, considering that she rarely traveled as a child. She was born in the small Midwestern town of Monroe, Michigan, and grew up in Greenwood, Indiana. . “I never had a chance to travel growing up because, quite frankly, we didn’t have the money to do so.”
Despite the circumstances, Roy had a deep curiosity about the world beyond her small town. “I never understood how some people want to sit in their one little corner of the globe and not want to see something bigger than them,” she says. “I have an insatiable curiosity for the unknown.”
Here’s the story of how she did it.
What Inspired her:
Having visited 66 countries by age 29, I decided to challenge myself and set a goal of visiting 100 countries and all seven continents before my 30th birthday. I ended up celebrating the big 3-0 in Antarctica with one of my favorite animals, the gentoo penguins. It was also my seventh continent. After that, I decided to keep going, with the goal of visiting all the sovereign UN countries
How She Paid For It:
I am unusual in that I have no sponsorships or endorsements—I pay for all my travels out of my pocket. For the first decade or so, I would return to my home base in Hollywood, do various TV commercials, music videos, even background work, anything that would give me the flexibility to decide my own schedule. Meanwhile, I’d be planning my next trip on a shoestring budget. I was lucky to be in Hollywood at a time where I was able to make decent wages and even luckier that I made some wise investment decisions in the stock/bond market, allowing me to use my returns to fund my travels.
On Country Counting:
I became the first woman of South Asian origin to travel to every sovereign nation in the world when I visited my 193rd country, Bangladesh. As for the number of countries there are in the world, this is a big point of contention among travelers. I wanted to keep things as uncomplicated as possible and go with the list of actual UN members, of which there are 193.
On Why She in not Going for the Guinness World Record: I’m not going for a Guinness World Record because no record really corresponds to what I did—I wasn’t trying to be the fastest and I can’t be the youngest because that record is currently held by my friend Lexie Alford, who’s only 21 years old. I’m doing this for myself—and okay, maybe for bragging rights for my future grandchildren who can tell their friends how crazy their granny was!
Why Bangladesh: I chose Bangladesh as my final country to honor the birthplace of my late father, Subhash Chandra Roy (whom I’d seen for the last time on my sixth birthday) as well as all four of my grandparents. I wanted to try to find the village where my father was born but I thought it would be a shot in the dark because I didn’t know a single person in Bangladesh. Most of my family had moved to India after my father moved to the US, so I didn’t have any connections left in Bangladesh. Once we made contact, we went straight to the small village of Netrakona, and it was truly an emotional experience. Seeing the exact house where my father grew up was nothing short of powerful and moved me to tears. I had the privilege of staying with and meeting several of his childhood friends who were kind enough to share old photos and memories of him. I know he would have been proud of me.
Roy with her mother in Bangladesh, overlooking[+]
PHOTO COURTESY OF MELISSA ROY/INSTAGRAM @MAPPEDBYMELISSA
Mixed Emotions: When I arrived in my final country, I experienced a combination of feelings: the euphoria that accompanies the accomplishment of a lifelong goal; the sense of relief that all the hard parts (ie. the bureaucracy and all the necessary sacrifices) were finally over; and the bittersweet feeling that I would no longer be able to have that adrenaline rush of landing in a new country.
Best Experience: One of the highlights, of course, was reaching my final country with my mother by my side, whom I flew out to join me. Neither one of us had been to Bangladesh before, and both of our fathers were born there. This was also the first foreign country we had explored together as a mother-daughter duo. Seeing it as a symbolic homecoming to my roots and origins, I wanted to come full circle and end my journey where my family started—my ancestral homeland.
Meeting locals on Funafuti, Tuvalu, a Polynesian[+]
PHOTO COURTESY OF MELISSA ROY/INSTAGRAM @MAPPEDBYMELISSA
Her Advice for Other Women Who Want to Do This: My advice for women who want to do this is the same advice that I would have for anyone wanting to do this. It is possible—so get the word “can’t” and all the self doubts out of your mind and vocabulary. Honestly, though: If I can do it, I feel that anyone can. If cost is a hindrance, it is shocking how much you can save each month by cutting out things you don’t need (daily Starbucks, monthly manicures, personal trainers). I’ve often laughed at how much I save by traveling. Per month, it costs me more to live in one place in the States than it does to travel in most parts of the world.
At the pyramids of Giza, Egypt. PHOTO COURTESY OF MELISSA ROY/INSTAGRAM @MAPPEDBYMELISSA
On What’s Next for her:
I’m still not 100% sure what I want to be when I grow up, but I have been considering working with some NGOs with missions close to my heart and eventually starting my own. I am very passionate about women’s rights and empowerment of those that are vulnerable, which, let’s face it, are women, in most of the world.
Viola Davis will play former First Lady Michelle Obama in a new one-hour drama series called First Ladies that Showtime just picked up. The Emmy, Oscar and Tony winner will also serve as an executive producer.
The series will be executive produced by Julius Tennon, Oscar winner Cathy Schulman, Jeff Gaspin, Brad Kaplan.Produced by Showtime and Lionsgate Television.
Author Aaron Cooley, who created the series, will also write and executive produce.
The announcement was made today by Jana Winograde, President of Entertainment, Showtime Networks Inc.
In the East Wing of the White House, many of history’s most impactful and world-changing decisions have been hidden from view, made by America’s charismatic, complex and dynamic first ladies.
This series will display the personal and political lives of these enigmatic women.
The first season will be focusing on Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Ford and Michelle Obama.
“Throughout our history, presidents’ spouses have wielded remarkable influence, not only on the nation’s leaders but on the country itself.” said Winograde.
“First Ladies fits perfectly within the Showtime wheelhouse of drama and politics, revealing how much personal relationships impact both domestic and global events.
“Having Viola Davis play Michelle Obama is a dream come true, and we couldn’t be luckier to have her extraordinary talent to help launch this series.”
”For two decades, Melinda worked hard to keep a low profile. She enrolled her kids in school under her maiden name. She spoke out rarely. When she did begin to give interviews, she talked almost exclusively about her philanthropic work and this is still mostly the case. But more recently, Melinda is finding her voice, she is doing her own investing- she just published a memoir- The Moment of Lift and perhaps most powerfully, Melinda is sharing more about her own life.”
Melinda was recently interviewed by Jessi Hemphel for the Hello Monday podcast series and here are 4 things we took out from the conversation.
1. Have a career goal. It is instrumental to attaining corporate success. “I wanted to join a company that was changing the world. And when I eventually interviewed that spring before I graduated with Microsoft, I literally came out and I remember calling my parents, I was in Seattle, they were back in Dallas, saying, oh my gosh, Mom and Dad, if this company makes me an offer, I won’t be able to refuse it. They are changing the world and I want to be a part of that.”
2. Like Chimamanda says “Because you are woman is never a reason for anything.” Similarly, your gender should never be the reason why “you cannot” or “should not” rise up to the full height of your potentials. “They (Microsoft) hired 10 MBAs that year, which was their first “class.” And I was the only woman, the other nine were guys. And that didn’t seem that odd to me, honestly. Because in computer science, when I was studying it at Duke after freshman year, there were just so few women. And so when I would be in the computer lab, I was always coding with guys and I actually got really good at running teams that were all guys. I would sort of rise up. Even when I was coding in college, I would sort of rise up as the leader and manager. So when I got to Microsoft, it just didn’t seem that unusual to me. We were creating products that were changing the world. And for me the great thing was that at Microsoft it was very merit-based. And so my chance for advancement was so rapid there because I knew how to code, I knew how to run teams, I knew how to manage things when I came in. And so very, very quickly I moved out of product marketing into actually development of products where I was running the whole team and they just kept giving me larger and larger teams. And then by the time I left, I was in the consumer division running a team of many, many products, over 1700 employees.”
3. Always be yourself. Don’t try to fit into notions of how “a proper woman” should be or act or speak. Who made the rules anyway? Be yourself. “I loved it (working at Microsoft) at first, but then as I started rising in the ranks and I could see how aggressive the culture was, you had to go into every meeting knowing all your facts, you know, standing up for your point of view, being willing to argue it at the table. I knew how to play that game. I could play that game. I did that game, but I didn’t like myself very much. And so as I would go home and think about it more, especially about a year and a half, two years in, I thought, you know, I might just leave. And I had been told by consulting firm, and they stayed in touch with me that I would basically have a job offer there anytime I wanted if I got a couple of years experience. So I thought I might go and do that. And then I was at home and reflecting on it, I thought more and more. No, no, no. I love this company. I love building products. I love being on the front end. What I don’t like so much as the culture. And so what I decided to do was just try on being myself. I thought I’m going to just go in and be myself and if they don’t like it they can take it or leave it cause I’ll just leave that and go get another job.”
4. Have your female tribe. Women who affirm and validate your authenticity. “I surrounded myself with other women. I write in the book about one of my best friends, Charlotte Guyman. And I could see her working in her own style. She was a bit older than me. She had worked at HP and then gone back to business school and Charlotte was just herself. And I thought, well that seems to be working for her, so maybe I should do that. So I could often talk things through with her. I had other female friends I would talk things through about are you unhappy about this? What do you think about that? And then eventually I actually was working for Patty Stonesifer in the consumer division. She later came to work for us at Microsoft and Patty was somebody that I learned a tremendous amount from about how to push yourself and hold your ground, but also how to be yourself.”
The Star of 12 Years A Slave, Lupita Nyong’o was invited to the Harris Westminster Sixth Form, London to mentor young women on leadership and the importance of literacy in an event hosted by the National Literacy Trust in partnership with Lancôme.
Nyong’o, now a best-selling author, told the BBC she didn’t even like reading when she was young as the books were not about her personality and kind.
She believe books should be about all people, black and white and it should address all concern.
Last year, she released her book ‘Sulwe’ a children’s fiction picture book that addresses colorism in the Black community. It follows the story of a young girl who wishes for her dark skin to be lighter. The story is ultimately about colorism and learning to love oneself, no matter one’s skin tone.
While there, the Kenyan-Mexican actress spoke to the BBCabout the importance of literature and her own journey with reading books as a child.
‘I realized that books don’t have to be about White people, they can actually represent all people,’ the actress says describing her complex relationship with literature during childhood.
“When I was growing up I didn’t like reading but I was surrounded by books all ti mes and I did know how to read. But as I grew older I realized that with reading comes comprehension and confidence,” Nyong’o begins. “And I think those are two qualities that are really important as you get into the workforce and try find your place in the world.”
Intermittent snippets show the actress speaking to the young women about the roles reading and studying have played in her professional career when having had to play certain characters with specific capabilities.
Cutting back to the main interview, Nyongo’o continues, “When I was younger, one of the things that didn’t help my dislike of reading was the fact that not a lot of the books that I was reading were relevant to my immediate life, to my immediate world.” She adds that, “I realized that books don’t have to be about White people, they can actually represent all people.”
Towards the end of the interview, Nyong’o says simply, “When you are reading stories that have themes and characters that are relevant to your world, then you’re more likely to stick with [reading] longer because you can see the ways in which it is applicable to your life.”
20year old, Hannah Olateju at the tender age of 2, had four of her limbs amputated to save her life, after contracting meningitis.
Despite all, she has a lucrative career as a fashion and beauty influencer. Currently, on her platform, she intends focusing on motivating and inspiring others.
She documents her life experiences on her social media, with about 105,000 followers on Instagram, using her platform to boost self-esteem in others
“My childhood was extremely happy, I always remember laughing and playing around like a headless chicken, everything was pretty normal, and that transpired to me been a confident person.”
She is a body positive amputee, and wants people to treat others right, despite their disabilities.
“The only difference between me and you is that I have less limbs”, Hannah explains.
“I would say to people who do have a negative view of amputees and disabled people – get a life’
She will be receiving the President’s Award — which recognizes special achievement and distinguished public service — at the 51st National Association for the Advancement of Colored People NAACP Image Awards on Feb. 22 in Pasadena, California.
She is a high achieving, nine-time Grammy award winner, executive producer, fashion designer, actress; and a global advocate. In 2012, she founded The Clara Lionel Foundation (CLF) in honor of her grandparents, Clara and Lionel Braithwaite.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 11: Singer Rihanna attends the launch of her first visual autobiography,
In a statement released by the organization, Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP, commented on what sets Rihanna apart for the award.
“Rihanna has not only enjoyed a groundbreaking career as an artist and musician but has also distinguished herself as a stellar public servant. From her business achievements through Fenty to her tremendous record as an activist and philanthropist, Rihanna epitomizes the type of character, grace, and devotion to justice that we seek to highlight in our President’s Award.”
Johnson will present the award to Rihanna during the LIVE TV special on BET on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020, in Pasadena, California.
Previous recipients includes last year’s recipient Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter, Jesse Jackson, Lauryn Hill, Soledad O’Brien, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, and Muhammad Ali among others.
Winners for the 51st NAACP Image Awards will be revealed during the LIVE TV special airing on BET on Saturday.
Kim Kardashian West makes an amazing step for a woman we met years ago on reality TV. She changed her focus to prison reforms so dramatically?
On her kids, she said they see so much of how she studies, go to school like them and how she opens up to them about what she does. They’re so young now, but seeing their mom make a difference means everything.
As Kim matures, its obvious she’s realizing how her A-list status can make a real impact on the lives of others.
On UsMagazine, Kim explained, “They (her children) just see so much, you know, they see that I have to study, they see that I go to school, just like they go to school and we talk about little things like that. I have always been really open and honest with my kids about what I’m doing and what’s going on, and I think they’ll appreciate it, definitely when they get older.”
She said her kids have met people she has helped, thanks to her work.
Perhaps Kim wants her children to grow up in a world where they know it’s up to all of us to demand action when things seem unjust.
This is a good lesson that it’s never too late to embark on a new path.
Her father was an attorney, and as The Things reported, that was influential in sparking her interest in the area of law. She may not have followed this passion earlier, but she has now taken action and has followed in his footsteps.
Will any of Kim’s kids follow her lead? Which is a good example been laid out for them.
