By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, Report for America Corps Member, msayles@afro.com BLK, the prime lifestyle and dating app for Black singles, is helping students and alumni come together to celebrate their historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). The app, owned by the Match Group, recently launched Homecoming Mode, a feature that lets users add […]
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
Local software engineer creates Melalogic to help Black people protect their skin from harmful conditions, like melanoma
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, Report for America Corps Member. msayles@afro.com In the summer of 2010, Avery Smith’s wife, LaToya Donita-Smith, found a raised mole on her scalp. She quickly got a skin biopsy, and a month later, she was diagnosed with stage II melanoma, a type of skin cancer starting in the cells […]
Posted inBUSINESS
Local chef set to open new restaurant in Southwest Baltimore
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, Report for America Corps Member, msayles@afro.com Chef Steven Leonard has run his catering business, Cast Iron Chef, for nearly a decade. From hosting private dinners to preparing and delivering to-go orders, he’s built a name for himself in Baltimore’s culinary world through word of mouth. Now, he’s preparing to […]
Posted inBUSINESS
AI-backed CEED is cultivating a digital ecosystem to help Black entrepreneurs and innovators procure ownership in the cannabis industry
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, Report for America Corps Member, msayles@afro.com The Community for Entrepreneurs Engaged in Development (CEED) is the newest platform helping Black people take their fair share of ownership in the billion-dollar cannabis industry. Founded by husband and wife Tre’Von Dorsey and Mercedes Teasley-Dorsey, the artificial-backed digital platform connects Black entrepreneurs […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Local residents connect to their ancestors, uncover family ties in St. Mary’s County, Md.
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, Report for America Corps Member, msayles@afro.com Before 2015, Angela Wilson had never heard of Sotterley Plantation. Now a museum known as Historic Sotterley (Sotterley), the tidewater tobacco plantation located in Hollywood, Md. stretched across 7,000 acres at its height. At one point, the grounds held nearly 93 enslaved people. […]
Posted inNational News
Uncovering the roots: How African Americans are tracing their lineage using DNA
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer,Report for America Corps Member, msayle@safro.com Founded in 2003 by Dr. Rick Kittles and Gina Paige, African Ancestry is the largest database of African maternal and paternal lineages across the world. With over 30,000 indigenous African DNA samples spanning 40 different countries, the company has helped more than one million […]
Posted inBUSINESS
Diamond’s Body Care donates 10 percent of its profits to cancer survivors
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, Report for America Corps Member, msayles@afro.com When Diamond Brown’s husband was diagnosed with cancer in 2008, he, like many others, had to undergo chemotherapy and radiation. The treatments left his skin dehydrated and inflamed, so the Detroit native took it upon herself to research plant-based ingredients that could quell […]
Posted inBUSINESS
Husband and wife entrepreneurs release YouTube game show ‘Do You Know Black?’
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, Report for America Corps Member, msayles@afro.com Husband and Wife team Darnell and Alyssa Gilet are not just business partners, they’re gamemakers. The couple always loved hosting game nights at their house, and one day, Alyssa decided to design her own Black pop culture trivia game for their friends to […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Baltimore by Baltimore festival is bringing Black Girl Magic to the Inner Harbor this weekend
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, Report for America Corps Member, msayles@afro.com The Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore’s Baltimore by Baltimore festival returns Sunday for its October series at the Inner Harbor amphitheater. This time, the music and makers event will be produced by international spoken word artist, activist and educator Lady Brion, a Baltimore native. […]
Posted inBUSINESS
BearWay Capital’s HBCU New Venture Challenge returns, deadline closes Oct. 12
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, Report for America Corps Member, msayles@afro.com BearWay Capital is bringing back its HBCU New Venture Challenge (NVC), a business plan competition for students from 41 historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) across the country, including those in D.C., Maryland and Virginia. One student or team will win $25,000 in […]
Posted inBUSINESS
Baltimore-based Mogul Printing helps entrepreneurs brand their business
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, Report for America Corps Member, msayles@afro.com Mogul Printing has been providing Baltimore area businesses with apparel, signage, paper products and custom merchandise since 2014. CEO Daryell Mack’s decision to open the printing shop arose out of a previous business endeavor. At the time, Mack led a street team that […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Women Elevating Women conference provides support to women looking to successfully grow and scale businesses
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, Report for America Corps Member, msayles@afro.com The multi-cultural, multi-ethnic Women Elevating Women (WEW) conference, sponsored by JPMorgan Chase, returned to D.C. this past weekend to bring women business owners and executives together to discuss and share strategies for success and economic empowerment. Launched in 2018, the conference cultivates a […]