By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, Report for America Corps Member. msayles@afro.com When it comes to New Year’s resolutions, many people often include eating healthier and getting in shape on their list. While the intent to take better care may be there, it’s not always easy to adopt a new diet or workout routine and […]
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 inBUSINESS
Wells Fargo and Coalition for Nonprofit Housing & Economic Development create pay-it forward pop-up shops for holiday shopping
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, Report for America Corps Member, msayles@afro.com Wells Fargo has teamed up with the Coalition for Nonprofit Housing & Economic Development (CNHED) and Howard University Radio to unveil pop-up shops at small businesses in Washington, D.C.’s Wards 5, 7 and 8. The collaboration will use a pay-it-forward model, in which […]
Posted inBUSINESS
Breaking News: Whiting-Turner CEO to break ground on community hub at Mondawmin Mall
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, Report for America Corps Member, msayles@afro.com The CEO of Baltimore-based construction company Whiting-Turner, on Dec. 15 will begin groundbreaking on Mondawmin Mall’s Target, which has been vacant since 2018. CEO and President Tim Regan, who is privately funding the project, will also announce the name of the soon-to-be active […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Michelin star chef brings Ethiopian touch to Doro Soul Food
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, Report for America Corps Member, msayles@afro.com Executive chef Elias Taddesse, owner of Mélange, recently opened his new comfort food restaurant, Doro Soul Food, in Washington, D.C. The Michelin-star chef created the concept to infuse Ethiopian flavors into typical American soul food dishes. During its grand opening on Nov. 17, […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Scott administration plans next steps: Study finds minority and women-owned businesses are underutilized in Baltimore City contracts
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, Report for America Corps Member, msayles@afro.com Mayor Brandon Scott’s administration recently released the findings of the 2022 Disparity Study for the City of Baltimore, which was conducted by Tampa, Fla.-based MGT Consulting Group. This is the first time the study has been conducted since 2014 and much of the […]
Posted inMaryland Government
Maryland gets its first Black governor. What does that mean for the Black community?
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, Report for America Corps Member, msayles@afro.com In our country’s 246-year history, we’ve had just three Black governors. The first came in 1990, more than a century after Black people were granted citizenship and Black men were formally given the right to vote. Lawrence Douglas Wilder was elected as Virginia’s […]
Posted inArts & Culture
‘Team Dream’ launches Oscar campaign for Best Documentary Short, telling the inspiring story of two Black women who returned to swimming in their retirement
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, Report for America Corps Member, msayles@afro.com When Luchina Fisher’s documentary entitled, “Team Dream,” premiered to its first audience at the Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival in August, it received a standing ovation. The 16-minute documentary, which is a part of the Queen Collective program, followed the story of […]
Posted inBUSINESS
Test your knowledge of Black holiday movies and music this season with Black Holiday Trivia
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, Report for America Corps Member, msayles@afro.com When Nichole Footman-Kuykendall moved to Chicago several years ago, she began hosting holiday parties for her friends. Her guests, many wearing festive –but ugly– Christmas sweaters, for instance, would come ready to celebrate, but the newcomer hostess said she found it challenging to […]
Posted inBUSINESS
Alicia Wilson joins JPMorgan Chase as head of North America philanthropy
Alicia Wilson, the vice president for economic development and community partnerships for Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins Health System, has been named the first Black woman to head JPMorgan Chase’s North American regional philanthropy, where she will manage the firm’s local philanthropic plans across more than 40 markets in North America.
Posted inBUSINESS
Linking finance and technology can brighten financial transactions
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, Report for America Corps Member, msayles@afro.com Fintech has come to mean the integration of technology in providing financial services. The catch-all term includes digital lending and credit, as well as mobile banking and payments, and most recently, has encompassed the new world of blockchain and cryptocurrency. But, the roots […]
Posted inBUSINESS
Baltimore Black restaurant owners raise prices, modify menus to meet global supply chain crisis
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, Report for America Corps Member, msayles@afro.com If you’ve noticed missing menu items or higher prices at your favorite local restaurant lately, you’re not alone. Since the COVID-19 pandemic arose, lockdowns, labor shortages and increased consumer demand have resulted in a global supply chain crisis of shortages and increased prices. […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Survivor lodges $50 million lawsuit against Walmart, says complaints about manager were ignored
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, Report for America Corps Member, msayles@afro.com It’s been a little over a week since 31-year-old Walmart employee Andre Bing entered his Chesapeake, Virginia store with a 9mm handgun and killed 6 of his coworkers, before succumbing to a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Since the tragedy, overnight stocker Donya Prioleau, a […]
