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Featured·Founder Files

Kwanza Jones Has Always Been About Ownership. Now She Owns the Padres.

From Princeton to the Padres: the lawyer, Billboard artist, and impact investor is now the principal owner of a Major League Baseball franchise, and the first Black woman ever to hold that seat.

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The BusinessAnalysis

Black America Lost Most of Its Farmland. These Farmers Are Taking It Back.

A century of discrimination erased all but a fraction of Black farm ownership in America. A new generation of growers, from Petersburg to Houston to Acton, is rebuilding it acre by acre.

Sencera Yvonne2026-08-23
The Business

Texas Strips HUB Status From 15,000 Firms. The Owners Answer in Court.

Texas removed Historically Underutilized Business certification from more than 15,000 women and minority-owned firms. A landmark lawsuit followed, and a judge has reinstated the first businesses while the case heads to trial.

Culture

The CROWN Act Made Natural Hair a Protected Class. The Beauty Industry Is Still Catching Up.

When California passed the CROWN Act in 2019, it was the first law in the country to explicitly protect natural hair. More than 20 states have followed. The beauty industry is finally paying attention.

Founder FilesProfile

Kwanza Jones Has Always Been About Ownership. Now She Owns the Padres.

From Princeton to the Padres: the lawyer, Billboard artist, and impact investor is now the principal owner of a Major League Baseball franchise, and the first Black woman ever to hold that seat.

Sencera Yvonne2026-08-24
The Business

Two Historic Black Banks Merge Into the Nation's Largest.

Optus Bank and Mechanics & Farmers are combining into a $1.27 billion institution, the largest Black-owned bank in America. Two century-old missions, one balance sheet.

The Drop

Ruka Puts Braiding Hair on Sephora's Shelves.

Ruka Hair becomes the first Black-owned hair-extensions brand at Sephora, and the first extensions brand the retailer has stocked in more than 20 years. Online August 4, in stores August 14.

CultureAnalysis

It's Black Business Month. Here's How to Actually Show Up.

August is National Black Business Month, founded in 2004. Beyond the hashtag, the ask is simple, and it is year-round: move your dollars, and keep moving them.

Sencera Yvonne2026-08-01
Culture

They Were Told They Wouldn't Fit In. So They Built the Convention Everyone Wants Into.

Dream Con, the anime and gaming convention founded by RDCWorld's Mark Phillips and Affiong Harris, grew from 800 people in Waco to more than 32,000 in downtown Houston. It is the blueprint for what Black nerd culture looks like when it owns the room.

Culture

Black Beauty Is a $9 Billion Market. Black-Owned Brands Have Never Held More of It.

The numbers are better than they were. They are not good enough. A look at where ownership in beauty stands -- and what still needs to change.

The BusinessAnalysis

Why the Padres Were for Sale, and What the Jones-Feliciano Era Can Do for Them.

A family estate fight put a $3.9 billion franchise on the market. The new owners inherit a win-now roster, a more disciplined checkbook, and the highest price ever paid for a baseball team.

Sencera Yvonne2026-08-27
The Business

Rich Paul Built Klutch Into a $7 Billion Powerhouse. Now He's Looking Beyond.

The agent who started with one client, LeBron James, now represents more than $7 billion in contracts across four sports, and is planning what comes after agenting.

The Business

The NFL Hired 10 Head Coaches This Year. None Were Black.

Another cycle closed with no Black head-coaching hires. Just three of the league's 32 teams will open the 2026 season with a Black head coach.

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