August 2024

Lunchbag Linkup returns next month!

Thank you to everyone who registered and made donations so far 🙌🏾

We are making 200 lunches to support Elizabeth's House, Grassroots Crisis Intervention, and Montgomery County Coalition For The Homeless.

If you can't join us in person, consider making a donation.

Things are about to start unfolding for you in unexpected and beautiful ways. Finally. The road ahead demands bravery, an open heart, and unshakeable faith in your journey. Trust yourself. Trust fate.

- We The Urban -

Inspired by the item of the month, this month's is the Mocktail Club's Cuban Sidekick.

Mocktail Club's Cuban Sidekick​
​4 oz. Mocktail Club Havana Twist
1 large orange peel
4-5 fresh raspberries
1 handful of fresh cilantro
2 dashes of Scrappy’s Firewater Bitters
Splash of soda

Instructions:

Combine orange peel, raspberries, and cilantro into a cocktail shaker and muddle thoroughly. Add Mocktail Club Havana Twist, firewater bitters, and a generous handful of ice, and then shake for 10-15 seconds, or until the cocktail shaker frosts. Strain through a sieve into the glass of your choice. Garnish with cucumber and raspberries.

The First But Not Last: The Olympics are underway which means there are a lot of firsts happening! Lauren Scruggs made history after winning silver in women’s individual fencing, becoming the first Black American woman from the United States to earn an individual medal in an Olympic women’s fencing event. She is about to begin her senior year at Harvard University and has been mentored by Peter Westbrook, the first Black American to win an Olympic medal in fencing in 1984.

She's Out Of This World: 27 years ago, on July 15th, 1997, Missy Elliott released her debut studio album, “Supa Dupa Fly.” Almost three decades later, Elliott made history as the first hip-hop artist to have a song sent to outer space. ⁠On July 12th, NASA, working with Elliott, sent the lyrics from “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly),” along with an inspirational message from the platinum recording artist 158 million miles into deep space. Traveling at the speed of light, the message took about 14 minutes to reach Venus, the sixth largest planet, a nod to Elliott’s six studio albums.⁠ Check out Elliott's reaction.

Preserving Our Legacy: With the erasure of our history and neighborhoods, it's important to preserve as many Black historical sites as possible. Known as the first Black-owned and operated country club in the nation, Shady Rest Country Club was awarded a national preservation grant by the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Bridging The Literacy Gap: Black-owned bookstore, Semicolon Bookstore & Gallery, launched last month in the heart of Chicago's Magnificent Mile. With the opening of her store, Semicolon owner Danielle Moore is on a mission to close the literacy gap in the city. Check out her story here.

Adjust Your Crown: The Olympics kicked off last week and Mielle Organics is the official textured hair care product of the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games. Mielle Organics set up a salon in the Olympic Village, where athletes (and their families) can get their hair refreshed and rejuvenated just before competing. This comes one year after the brand made history as the first textured hair care partner for the WNBA.

She Got Game: Tiffany Tucker has been named the new athletics director at The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). She is making history as the first Black woman athletics director for the University. Before UMBC, she served as the deputy athletics director at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Tucker is a former star athlete, having played basketball at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill. According to UMBC, only seven percent of Division I athletic directors are women of color.

My Brothers & Sisters Keeper: With Atlanta being home to over a quarter of the state's homeless population, Nicky Crawford is using his retirement to make sure those who end up on the streets still have access to basic human necessities. With the help of a student-led engineering team from Georgia Tech, Crawford launched a fully functioning mobile laundry room meant to provide relief for so many living on the streets. The idea came about a few months into the launch of Crawford's Flowing with Blessings Inc. shower trailer. Check out his amazing story and support his organization here.

Where My Girls At: Jeanell English (an ex-executive at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) and Tanya Sam (tech-savvy investor and former RHOA cast member) recently launched Elizabeth & Minnie, an independent publisher dedicated to identifying and amplifying stories of Asian, Black, Indigenous, Latino, and Middle Eastern communities with an emphasis on women.⁣ In 2023, 90 books were adapted into television and film projects. Of those, more than 80% came from white authors, and 67% from men. English and Sam hope to leverage their expansive entertainment experience and network and invest primarily in books that have strong development potential for scripted and unscripted film and television projects.

Inspired by life and travel, Mocktail Club is perfect for people who want a healthier lifestyle and an alternative to alcohol but still want the kick. Mocktail Club offers five flavors and is non-GMO certified, vegan, gluten-free, and contains prebiotics and antioxidants.

For every can purchased, Mocktail Club will partner with Water for People to provide clean water access across the globe. 1 in 10 people lack access to clean water. 663 million people drink dirty water. 2.4 billion people lack access to lavatories. Through its sales, Mocktail Club will help women, children, and communities improve their health and move toward their potential by supporting lifetime solutions to safe water and sanitation. Each drink sale contributes to finding solutions.

Black People Need Sunscreen: I know our melanin is poppin' but to keep it that way, you need sunscreen! After launching Black Girl Sunscreen in 2016 to provide a product that caters to Black skin, founder Shontay Lundy recently announced that the company earned $1.1 million in its first three months on Amazon after removing bad actors from the platform who were profiting from the company’s name, image, and likeness.

Pay Me What You Owe Me: There's nothing like the sound of New Orleans music and musicians deserve to be compensated fairly. It's why the New Orleans City Council passed legislation to pay musicians a guaranteed $200 per hour when hired to play for city events. ⁠This move aims to address the financial struggles of local musicians, who often find it difficult to cover basic expenses. ⁠

She's Got The Power: Former Black Panther Party Chairman Elaine Brown raised $80M to open an affordable housing apartment complex in Oakland. Tenants will have access to the energy-efficient property’s free Wi-Fi, laundry rooms, fitness center, computer lab, community outdoor garden, onsite grocery store, and restaurant.

Creating Our Own Black Wallstreet: RUNWAY, a financial innovation firm created and led by seasoned investor Jessica Norwood, recently announced the launch of its first in-house integrated capital investment fund committed to investing $50 million into businesses, co-operatives, and grassroots organizations building wealth in Black communities in select regions across the United States.

What In The Episode of Scandal Is Going On?: You can't convince me that we're not living in a season of Scandal. These last few weeks have been wild. One thing we haven't seen is groups of people gather the way they have for candidates ever. After #WinWithBlackWomen hosted a Zoom call with 40,000 women and raised over $1M for the Harris campaign, 100,000 white women gathered on a Zoom call and raised over $8M, 20,000 Black men raised over $1M, and 180,000 people participated in the "White Dudes for Harris" rally. Check out how much they raised. Black women have always sounded the alarm, but maybe others are finally starting to pay attention and realize it's going to take ALL of us to fight for our humanity and rights.

Check Your Tampons: In a study by the University of California Berkeley, scientists assessed the levels of 16 metals, including arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, lead, and selenium in 30 tampons from 14 different brands. They found that metals were present in all types of tampons, whether bought in the US or EU/UK, with no category having consistently lower concentrations of most of the metals.

What Is It Really Worth? A new study has revealed that the median Atlanta home is overpriced. The way these housing prices are set up across the country, Atlanta isn't the only one! One economist attributes the inflated price to population growth in the area. Estimates from the U.S. Census also made the city the third-fastest-growing metropolitan area in 2023. Find out how this will impact the Atlanta housing market moving in the future.

No More Saved Seats: Last week Southwest announced that for the first time in the company's history, it will be shifting to assigned seating. The switch will allow Southwest to charge for premium seating. They will also introduce redeye flights. In a recent study, 80% of Southwest customers, and 86% of potential customers, prefer an assigned seat. It was not shared when the new changes would go into effect.

READ: The Black Tax: 150 Years of Theft, Exploitation, and Dispossession in America​
​A meticulously researched gem that explores the racist structures of local taxation that resulted in the legal theft of hundreds of billions in wealth and property from Black Americans over a century and a half. It chronicles the bravery of Black Americans who fought back against their treatment as second-class citizens while paying first-class taxes.

WATCH: Bel Air on Peacock​
​There are a few huge bombshells, like the return of Will's dad Lou (played by Marlon Wayans), the comeback of Fresh Prince icon Joseph Marcell (who played the original Geoffrey in the ‘90s series), the reveal of Carlton's new, complicated romantic interest, and the seeming deterioration of both Hilary and Jazz’s relationship and Viv and Phil's marriage. Will they all make it through? Season 3 drops on August 15th.

LISTEN: The Writings On The Wall​
​Hands down one of Destiny's Child's best albums, The Writings On The Wall turned 25 this year. Play the album and reminisce where you were when the "Bills, Bills, Bills," "Jumpin' Jumpin'," and "Say My Name" videos dropped.

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