Connect with us

Business and Finance

Placing ‘community over competition’ grew Broccoli City into a can’t-miss festival

Published

on

There’s something very special about being in a space you possibly can tell was created for us, by us — and after I say “us,” I mean Black communities. On July 27 and 28, the annual Broccoli City Fest showcased the ability of self-affirming space within the nation’s capital, commonly often called “Chocolate City.” Combining music, art, culture, and community to create an immersive experience for fans and artists alike, the festival left the streets of Washington, D.C., buzzing with an infectious energy.

The music festival draws tens of 1000’s today, but Broccoli City began as a streetwear brand. While hosting parties to advertise the merchandise, the label concurrently created a protected space for Black people to return together and have a good time. Quickly realizing attendees were more concerned about the events than the apparel, the team focused on hosting more community celebrations; with the assistance of local party promoters, the primary Broccoli City festival attracted roughly 5,000 attendees when it launched in 2013. Broccoli City co-founder Brandon McEachern describes that inaugural event because the “first big-ass day party.” 

“(At the time), we used a lot of the elements that we still use today, like the vendor marketplace, (which was created) because we wanted to make sure that the community was entwined,” McEachern told theGrio. “What we really wanted to do was create that community-centric event, but make it fly and popping, with artists that (transcend) that typical local band.” 

Having sold out the capital city’s Audi Field this 12 months with a crowd rumored to number over 50,000, Broccoli City Fest has equally develop into a showcase for the entertainment industry. With previous hosts equivalent to award-winning artists Jazmine Sullivan, Erykah Badu and Summer Walker, this 12 months, buzzy headliners like Megan Thee Stallion, Victoria Monét and Gunna added to the festival’s ongoing allure for attendees and artists alike. 

However, Broccoli City is greater than just a festival. Built on the pillars of impact, innovation and empowerment, even amid the brand’s catapult into the mainstream, McEachern and festival co-founders Marcus Allen, Darryl Perkins and Jermon Williams are staying true to their mission, creating progressive entertainment experiences alongside impactful spaces that commemorate culture and supply opportunities to spark meaningful change. 

“It’s really just about creating these moments yet again for us (Black communities) and getting us together,” McEachern explained, adding that authenticity, transparency, and responsiveness to feedback are the driving forces behind all of their events. 

Just because the festival and ancillary events have grown to host hundreds of thousands of attendees over the past decade, the Broccoli City brand has expanded to incorporate skilled conferences and job fairs like Broccoli Con, community service through its nonprofit, WeChipN, and other activations aimed to drive community engagement. According to Williams, who works closely with the festival’s communication team, the organic and relatable messaging of Broccoli City is a component of the organization’s magic. 

Recommended Stories

“The strategy so far has been to allow that content to move organically and really use the entertainment side to push and elevate the impact side,” Williams told theGrio, adding, “Because there are really two sides to the organization … we recognize that, yeah, people come for the entertainment, but how can we leverage that and use it to push our mission forward?” 

Putting the audience first, Broccoli City prides itself on not only giving attendees an array of options but additionally anticipating their needs. That intentionality was evident in all facets of this 12 months’s festival, from venue changes that made it easier for all ages to access and revel in the genre-diverse lineup of performers to Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, highlighting the importance of voting to the array of multisensory experiences spread throughout Audi Field.

Other Black brands are essential partners in creating the Broccoli City vibe; along with the festival’s customary marketplace showcasing local Black-owned businesses like Dreams of Triumph, international brand activations were equally curated. For instance, a section of Black-founded hair company Shea Moisture’s booth was a mini hair salon offering touch-ups and styling for attendees along with goodie bags and water. Similarly, Hennessy, informally often called Black people’s most beloved spirit, offered seating, charging stations and item customizations for festival-goers to enjoy while sipping on cognac cocktails. And when attendees got hungry, they’d an array of local Black-owned culinary selections on-site within the festival’s “Food Village.” 

“We really were pushing for just this new experience,” McEachern said, explaining how strategic the festival’s planning was this 12 months, right down to probably the most minute details, amongst them a scented body oil dispenser in one among the ladies’s bathrooms. As a Black woman who knows the unspoken cardinal rule to never be ashy, it was not only a nice surprise but a reminder that Black women play a large hand within the success of Broccoli City. 

“Our core demographic is —and when I say that, I mean our (Black) sisters…most of our team is young, African-American, and multicultural women,” McEachern told theGrio. Williams agreed, adding, “The majority of journalists who cover (Broccoli City Fest) are Black women.”

With this in mind, the Broccoli City team considered the assorted ways the festival couldn’t only cater to its core demographic but additionally pour back into them. Leading as much as the festival, Broccoli City hosted a private dinner honoring women in music and media. The “Breakthrough Women in Music and Media” dinner celebrated a lineup of female music and media trailblazers like Kimberly Wilson and Janelle Gibbs, who “embody resilience and defy the odds at every turn.” Driven by the organization’s mission to foster community, the intimate female-led space also shined a light on the plethora of girls leading and managing the assorted elements of the social enterprise, including Broccoli City chief of staff Jacqueline L. Alston. 

This nuanced, inclusive and deeply attuned approach has allowed Broccoli City to proceed fostering and growing the community-driven space that blossomed in 2013. Whether dancing together with fellow attendees in the group or participating in the assorted activations, when walking through Audi Field there was undoubtedly an energy radiating throughout the weekend. As attendee Jamesha Rosado noted, “there was definitely a sense of community and likelihood” of connecting with like-minded people at Broccoli City; whether through mutual or skilled connections or a easy compliment, the environment was welcoming and friendly.

A glimpse into Broccoli City Festival 2024

Victoria Monét performs at BroccolI City Festival at Audi Field in Washington D.C. July 28, 2024 (Photo by Jarrett Lampley @wessywoo)

A glimpse into Broccoli City Festival 2024

Hennessy brand activation at Broccoli City Festival 2024 at Audi Field on July 27, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Brian Stukes/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)

A glimpse into Broccoli City Festival 2024

Megan Thee Stallion performs at BroccolI City Festival at Audi Field in Washington D.C. July 27, 2024 (Photo by Jarrett Lampley @wessywoo)

A glimpse into Broccoli City Festival 2024

Kaytranada performs at BroccolI City Festival at Audi Field in Washington D.C. July 28, 2024 (Photo by Jarrett Lampley @wessywoo)

A glimpse into Broccoli City Festival 2024

Rep. Jasmine Crockett (TX-30) speaks on stage throughout the Broccoli City Festival 2024 at Audi Field on July 27, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Brian Stukes/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)

A glimpse into Broccoli City Festival 2024

Issa Rae speaks on stage throughout the Broccoli City Festival 2024 at Audi Field on July 27, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Brian Stukes/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)

A glimpse into Broccoli City Festival 2024

A general view from the Broccoli City Festival 2024 at Audi Field on July 27, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Brian Stukes/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)

A glimpse into Broccoli City Festival 2024

Victoria Monét performs at BroccolI City Festival at Audi Field in Washington D.C. July 28, 2024 (Photo by Jarrett Lampley @wessywoo)

A glimpse into Broccoli City Festival 2024

Megan Thee Stallion performs onstage throughout the Broccoli City Festival 2024 at Audi Field on July 27, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Brian Stukes/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)

A glimpse into Broccoli City Festival 2024

Taner Adell performs on stage throughout the Broccoli City Festival 2024 at Audi Field on July 27, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jarrett Lampley @wessywoo)

A glimpse into Broccoli City Festival 2024

Victoria Monét performs at BroccolI City Festival at Audi Field in Washington D.C. July 28, 2024 (Photo by Jarrett Lampley @wessywoo)

The goal is to maintain going and growing. Ultimately, through the ethos of “community over competition,” McEachern hopes to see Broccoli City develop into an “incubator” for the following generation of young innovators. 

“I want to keep seeing young people grow,” he said. “I would love to take (the festival) to different cities, all that stuff, but I think my main thing is understanding that the Lord blessed Jermon and I, and Marcus and everybody else (on the Broccoli City team) to be somewhat of mentors for (Black communities and others). I just want to be somewhat of a stepping stone (and inspiration) for young people.” 


Haniyah Philogene is a multimedia storyteller and Lifestyle author for theGrio covering all things culture. With a passion for digital media, she goes above and beyond to search out recent ways to inform and share stories.

This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Business and Finance

Fuze Fund Opens $30M VC Fund to Lower Ranked Entrepreneurs

Published

on

By

Utah Black Chamber Of Commerce, Conference, entrepreneur


Fuze Fund, a Black-owned enterprise capital firm, has launched a $30 million fund called Fuze Venture Growth Fund I, LP, in hopes capital gap amongst starting entrepreneurs– according to the press release.

The platform is designed to provide capital, strategic support and resources to support minority, veteran and women-led startups, subject to approval by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Early on in its subscription journey, the corporate opened the door for accredited investors to come on board not only with a financial contribution, but in addition to join a growing system that gives founders with mentorship in hopes of achieving long-term success.

“At Fuze Fund, we are guided by the belief that innovation knows no boundaries. However, we have seen that too many talented founders from underrepresented communities have been sidelined due to a lack of access to funding,” said Fuze Fund founder and managing partner Dr. TJ Breeden. “Our goal is simple: ignite potential. We don’t just support start-ups – we invest in people, communities and the next generation of breakthrough ideas.”

Breeden served as leader of Emerging Entrepreneurs, Inc., a nonprofit organization providing entry-level training in underrepresented communities with veteran and minority populations.

“When I led Emerging Entrepreneurs, Inc., I saw firsthand how difficult it was for underrepresented founders to access the funding and support they needed to succeed,” Breeden explained of his time at Syracuse University. “Even though several years passed and I continued my doctoral studies at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the hope of launching the fund never left me. Less than four months after defending my doctoral dissertation, Fuze Fund and its flagship venture capital fund were established in the fall of 2021 and in the middle of the pandemic.”

Research shows that minority founders received just 1.1% of enterprise capital funding in 2022. It’s a percentage dropped to just 1% in 2023.

For the founder, providing capital is simply step one, because the whole ecosystem needs to be transformed. “Our goal is to create a comprehensive ecosystem where diverse founders receive the guidance, resources and partnerships they need to confidently navigate and scale growth,” Breeden said.

Currently a part of the “American Speakers Program” sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Breeden hopes to expand his program to U.S. embassies and consulates all over the world. The goal could be to collaborate with leaders, officials and experts in the sector in hopes of beginning a conversation on issues affecting business owners.


This article was originally published on : www.blackenterprise.com
Continue Reading

Business and Finance

The 2024 presidential election raised billions of dollars

Published

on

By


Billions of dollars have been paid out from people around the globe on voter betting sites equivalent to Polymarket, hoping they will money in on the following US presidentreports.

Platforms equivalent to Polymarket, which should not open to upside from the US, have recorded over $3.6 billion in bets on the 2024 presidential election, with $1.5 billion placed on current President-elect Donald Trump and 1 $1 billion for Vice President Kamala Harris. Bets on election leads to swing states have popped up, raising greater than $270 million on Polymarket and greater than $120 million on legal sports betting platform Kalshi, one other sports betting app.

The highest betting volume was recorded in Pennsylvania, raising $47 million across each platforms. Michigan and Georgia were in second place, and the remaining states were in the highest fifteen states with high trade volume. Swing stock betting on each Polymarket and Kalshi accounted for nearly half of the full stock trading volume. Experts equivalent to Dartmouth University economics professor Eric Zitzewitz should not surprised by the bet on swing states because voters consider them a very powerful within the election. “There’s not quite a bit of interest within the query, ‘Will Republicans win Alabama?’ or “Will Democrats win California?” he said.

“People are kind of interested in the states that will decide the election.”

According to , a bet on Polymarket from a user named “Theo” netted greater than $28 million for Trump to secure the White House for a second term, winning 312 electoral votes to Harris’ 226. The election results helped the user win almost $83.5 million using 11 different accounts on different platforms.

While Polymarket operations were halted within the states by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in 2022, CEO Shayne Coplan said plans have begun to return. But with “Theo,” there was skepticism. France’s gaming regulator has launched an investigation into the compliance of Polymarket’s policies with its regulations.

Zitzewitz believes betting in swing states provided an interesting perspective on the 2024 election cycle because incoming bets gave voters an early idea of ​​which candidate was leading in comparison with traditional polls. “People who trade the markets trying to make money have a very strong incentive to seek out the most up-to-date news so they can catch up with others and thereby make some money,” Zizewitz said.

“As a result, markets tend to move immediately upon receipt of information.”

People are closely watching the election results, and the four-time indicted businessman has begun to fill his cabinet with allies. Trump also secured the general popular vote, unlike what he did in 2016 against former first lady Hilary Clinton, despite winning more electoral votes.


This article was originally published on : www.blackenterprise.com
Continue Reading

Business and Finance

No, the battery factory boom in America is not ending – construction of the largest factories is on track and thousands of jobs are planned

Published

on

By

The United States is experiencing the largest-ever boom in investment in clean energy production, driven by laws corresponding to the bipartisan bill Act on infrastructure investments and employment and Act on reducing inflation.

They have these rights used billions of dollars government support to drive private sector investment in clean energy supply chains across the country.

For several years, one of us, Jay Turner, and his students at Wellesley College have been tracking clean energy investments in the U.S. and sharing the data on the website The big green machine website. This study shows that since the Inflation Control Act went into effect in 2022, firms have announced 225 projects with a complete investment of $127 billion and the creation of greater than 131,000 recent jobs.

You can have seen on the news that these projects are in danger of failure or significant delays. In August 2024, the Financial Times reported this. 40% of over 100 projects he assessed that they were delayed. These include battery production, renewable energy and metals and hydrogen projects, in addition to semiconductor manufacturing plants. The technology industry magazine The Information recently warned of this 1 in 4 firms left from government subsidies for investment in batteries.

Workers assemble electric vehicle battery packs in Spartanburg, South Carolina. New battery manufacturing plants in the state will help move the supply chain closer to U.S. electric vehicle factories.
BMW

We checked all 23 battery cell factories announced or prolonged since the Inflation Reduction Act was signed into law – just about all of them are gigafactories that are expected to supply greater than 1 gigawatt-hour of battery cell capability. These factories have one of the highest employment potentials of all the projects supported by the Act.

We wanted to search out out whether the U.S. clean energy production boom was about to fizzle out. Most of what we learned is reassuring.

The largest battery factories are on the right track

While exact investment amounts are difficult to find out, our study shows that planned capital expenditure will likely be $52 billion, which would supply 490 gigawatt-hours of battery production capability per yr – enough to place about 5 million recent electric vehicles on the road.

While not all 23 firms have announced hiring plans, the facilities are expected to create nearly 30,000 recent jobs, with projects primarily in the U.S. Southeast, Midwest and Southwest.

We desired to know whether these projects were progressing as planned or whether there have been delays or problems.

To do that, we first contacted local and state economic development agencies. In many cases, local and state tax incentives support these projects. Where possible, we’ve got tried to substantiate the status of the project through public data Or formal announcements. In other cases, we looked for messages to see in the event that they existed construction proof Or hiring.

Our study shows that 13 of 23 projects are on track, with total planned capital investment exceeding $40 billion and production capability of nearly 352 gigawatt hours per yr. Importantly, they include most of the largest projects with the largest investments and expected production.

Our calculations show that 77% of total planned capital investment, 79% of proposed jobs, and 72% of planned battery production are on track, meaning the project is more likely to be accomplished roughly on time and overall as expected. result. level of investment and employment.

Three projects are on the bubble. These have shown progress but have experienced delays in construction or financing.

Five others show deeper signs of distress. We do not yet have enough information to attract conclusions about the two projects.

An example of an ongoing project is the Envision AESC battery plant in Florence, South Carolina. His the scale has been enlarged twice because it was first announced in December 2022. It is now a $3 billion investment with the goal of producing 30 gigawatt-hours of batteries per yr supplies the BMW factory in Woodruff, South Carolina.

In early October 2024, South Carolina Secretary of Commerce Harry Lightsey visited the Envision i facility published a video. Construction of the plant began in February 2024, and 850 employees are working six days every week to finish the 1.4 million square foot facility by August 2025. Once full production begins, the project will likely be accomplished expected to rent 2,700 people.

The 2024 elections could end or speed up the boom

However, much depends on what’s going to occur in the upcoming elections.

Our data suggests that the real risk facing these projects and projects like them is not sluggish demand for electric vehicles, as some suggest – in fact demand continues to grow. It’s not the local opposition that did it either it only slowed down just a few projects.

The the biggest risk is policy change. Many of these projects are counting on advanced manufacturing tax credits approved by the Inflation Reduction Act through 2032.

During the campaign, Republicans are promising to repeal key laws under Biden, including the Inflation Reduction Act, which incorporates funding for grants and loans to support clean energy, in addition to tax incentives to support domestic manufacturing.

While an entire repeal of the Act could also be unlikely, an an administration hostile to scrub energy redirect unspent funds to other purposes, slow the pace of grants or loans by slow project approvals, or find other ways to make tax incentives tougher to acquire. Although our research focused on the battery industry, concerns concern investments in wind energy AND solar energy too.

So will the great U.S. boom in clean energy production soon come to an end? Our data is optimistic, but the policy is uncertain.

This article was originally published on : theconversation.com
Continue Reading
Advertisement

OUR NEWSLETTER

Subscribe Us To Receive Our Latest News Directly In Your Inbox!

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

Trending