By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com While nurses, doctors, paramedics and other health care providers were rightfully praised for their frontline service during the COVID-19 pandemic, funeral directors became the forgotten heroes. Not only did they manage unprecedented death tolls, navigated social distancing protocols while still conducting funeral services and comforted families who couldn’t […]
Author Archives: Megan Sayles AFRO Staff Writer
Megan Sayles is a business reporter for The Baltimore Afro-American paper. Before this, Sayles interned with Baltimore Magazine, where she wrote feature stories about the city’s residents, nonprofits and initiatives. Her love of music inspired her to be a writer. At a young age she realized it was not the melody that she was so infatuated with, but the lyrics that made up the song and connected with listeners. Sayles grew up in Pasadena, Maryland, and is a 2021 graduate of the University of Maryland, where for her senior capstone project she reported on how the coronavirus and inequality intersected in Baltimore. She also worked as a staff writer and copy editor for campus publications, including Stories Beneath the Shell and The Black Explosion. Sayles teamed up with a partner to report on how the pandemic had put many more responsibilities on the oldest child in families. The Associated Press and other news organizations picked up her story.
Posted inTV and Film
Hollywood actors demand fair compensation and AI restrictions in SAG-AFTRA strike
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com Hollywood actors are battling the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) after contract negotiations came to no resolution in July. On July 14, SAG-AFTRA, which represents nearly 160,000 actors, dancers, stunt performers, voice over artists and other media professionals, went on strike. This move came a […]
Posted inBUSINESS
Hyundai and Kia face $200 million settlement for victims of viral vehicle theft challenge
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com Kia and Hyundai drivers across the country are still reeling from the effects of a viral TikTok challenge, which provided a detailed demonstration on how to steal certain Hyundai and Kia vehicles without push button starts. The automobile manufacturers agreed to a $200 million settlement to resolve a […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Governor Moore invests $11 million to revitalize West Baltimore
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com Revitalization dollars are coming to help improve the West Baltimore Corridor. Governor Wes Moore, alongside Senator Antonio Hayes (D-Md.-40) and Delegate Marlon D. Amprey (D-Md.-40), presented $11.4 million in state funds to the West North Avenue Development Authority (WNADA) on June 29. WNADA will use the bulk of […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Life Matters Wellness: treating the whole person with holistic counseling services
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com Before becoming an entrepreneur, Dr. Toni Boulware-Stackhouse spent more than 20 years working with unhoused populations. The Baltimore native worked in homeless services for several organizations, like Catholic Charities and St. Vincent de Paul of Baltimore. She also saw the effects of housing insecurity first hand as she […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
How we made it over: a look at how Black restaurants in the nation’s capital survived a global pandemic
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com When Prince George’s County native Olumide Shokunbi noticed there was an opportunity in the fast-casual restaurant space for African food, he quickly acquired an LLC for Spice Kitchen West African Grill. Shokunbi’s plan worked like a charm, and soon, he was well on his way to opening a […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
AFRO Spotlight on Black excellence: meet first-time restaurateur Deirdre Holliday-White, owner of D.C.’s Flavor Garden
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com Deirdre Holliday-White was inspired to open her first restaurant, the Flavor Garden, in Washington, D.C., out of personal tribulations. She initially started a career in hotel and restaurant management, but after graduating from culinary school at Stratford University’s Tysons Corner campus, the D.C. native discovered her mother was […]
Posted inBUSINESS
Harp Vision: providing natural body care products to remedy chronic pain
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com Husband and wife Tyron and April Harper suffered from chronic pain for years. Tyron Harper deals with fibromyalgia, a disorder that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says causes pain all over the body. April Harper has endometriosis—a condition in which tissue typically found in the […]
Posted inBUSINESS
Hotel Revival Baltimore names Ramond Sneed general manager
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com Prince George’s County native Ramond J. Sneed recently became the new general manager of Hotel Revival Baltimore, an art boutique hotel in the Mount Vernon neighborhood. The 43-year-old brings 21 years of experience in the hospitality industry with him. “Hotel Revival has a name for itself,” said Sneed. […]
Posted inBaltimore News
New Song Academy students win $13,000 to address food deserts
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com Four eighth-grade students from New Song Academy recently won big at the Philanthropy Tank Finals Event in Pikesville, Md. Aniya Ponton, Samahj Chestnut, Ryeona Watson and Logan Reynolds received $13,000 for their business pitch, an initiative to improve access to healthy food choices, called Bmore Fresh. The social […]
Posted inBUSINESS
Inside look: the AFRO speaks with Black businesses at the new Sycamore & Oak Retail Village
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com The Retail Village at Sycamore & Oak opened to D.C.’s Congress Heights community on June 14. The 23,000-square-foot community-led and sustainable development is now home to 13 local, Black-owned small businesses ranging from restaurants to apparel stores. The retail village is expected to create more than 100 jobs […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Vaughn Greene Funeral Services: a legacy of top-tier service in the Black community
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com Nearly three decades ago West Baltimore native Vaughn C. Greene established Vaughn Greene Funeral Services. The year was 1996. What started out as one location on the 5100 block of Baltimore National Pike has grown to six company locations— four in the Baltimore area and two in Philadelphia, […]
