(NEW YORK – April 6, 2026) – Richard E. Pelzer II has spent more than three decades proving that community and commerce are not competing interests—they are, as he puts it, a superpower. As President and CEO of MEGA Personalities, the business development management firm he founded in New York City in 1994, Pelzer has built a career at the intersection of culture, creativity, and enterprise. His client roster reads like a who’s who of American cultural institutions: the NYSE Diversity Council, Sephora, Essence Magazine, the Apollo Theater, and the NYCxDesign Festival, among others. But what distinguishes Pelzer is not…

(NEW YORK – April 6, 2026) – Swannie Batista, MS, CP, doesn’t fit neatly into one category—and that’s exactly the point. She is a legal professional, educator, children’s author, entrepreneur, and, by her own account, a dedicated mom and wife. In every role she occupies, the through line is the same: equity, inclusion, and a firm belief that access to opportunity should never be determined by zip code or circumstance. Swannie’s professional footprint spans the legal and business worlds in ways few can claim. She is the co-founder of Paralegals FTC, Omnisign, and S&R Batista Group—three ventures united by a…

(NEW YORK – April 6, 2026) – Long before Taylor Varga was coordinating with the NYPD and helping manage one of the most iconic public spaces on the planet, they were standing in the spotlight on Broadway — earning the Best Actor award at the Jimmy Awards in 2013. That early chapter foreshadowed everything that would follow: a career built at the intersection of performance, production, and public life. Taylor’s connection to Times Square began not as a professional, but as a freshman intern at the Times Square Alliance in 2015. Something about the work — or perhaps the place…

(NEW YORK – April 6, 2026) – There are people who study injustice from a distance. And then there are people who lived it — who carry it in their bones — and chose to turn that experience into a weapon for change. John Royster is the latter. A justice-impacted individual, John Royster knows firsthand what it means to be swallowed by a system that was never designed to rehabilitate — only to contain. But where others might have been broken by that reality, John emerged with clarity, conviction, and an unshakable mission: the eradication of mass incarceration of people of…

(NEW YORK – April 6, 2026) – When you have spent years working alongside one of the most consequential civil rights voices in American history, you either fold under the weight of that legacy or you rise to carry it forward. Gina C. Williams chose to rise. A former corporate employee of the National Action Network (NAN), Gina had the rare distinction of working directly under the Reverend Al Sharpton — frontline warrior, living legend, and unapologetically controversial champion in the fight against racial prejudice and injustice. That proximity to power wasn’t a title. It was a calling. Gina answered…

Joe Manns Black Wall Street Awards Continues 2026 Tour Celebrating Excellence Across Communities (BALTIMORE COUNTY – April 5, 2025) — The Joe Manns Black Wall Street Awards continues its landmark 2026 season with Black Wall Street MILFORD MILL 2.0, set for Saturday, April 11, from 4 to 6 p.m., honoring one of the Baltimore region’s most formidable husband-and-wife legal teams — David and Tonya Baña. Now in its 15th year, the Black Wall Street Awards has become a national platform recognizing entrepreneurs, professionals, and community leaders who exemplify excellence, resilience, and impact. The Milford Mill installment underscores a continued commitment…

(New York, NY) — New York didn’t just inspire me—it sharpened my purpose. For years, my work has taken me to Harlem—specifically 275 Malcolm X Boulevard, just below 124th Street, home to the Harlem Business Alliance. That space, and the people in it, have played a meaningful role in our national push for Black economic empowerment. Leaders like Walter Edwards, Regina Smith, and Tasemere Gathers have stood with us for over 15 years as we’ve produced the Joe Manns Black Wall Street Awards across the country. Their consistency, their commitment, and their belief in the work have helped make New…

(NEW YORK — April 2, 2026) — In the heart of Manhattan’s Chelsea district, the Joe Manns Black Wall Street Awards will honor Baltimore-based fashion designer, author, and entrepreneur Jody Davis — founder of Jody Davis Designs — as she celebrates 15 years in business. The moment is both timely and intentional. “This is a natural progression,” said BMORENews publisher Doni Glover. “We honored Kevin Scott for his 25th anniversary. Now, it’s only right that we celebrate Jody. She runs her own enterprise — and she’s been doing it for 15 years. Given her love for New York and Chelsea,…

Honoree: Emanuel J. Stanley, 33° (BALTIMORE – April 1, 2026) – Emanuel J. Stanley, 33°, has built a life defined by service — to his country, his community, and a centuries-old tradition of Black excellence, brotherhood, and civic responsibility. As the 26th Most Worshipful Grand Master of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons of Maryland and Its Jurisdiction, Inc., Stanley served as chief executive officer of one of Maryland’s most historic and influential fraternal institutions, overseeing thousands of members statewide with international affiliations. On Saturday, April 11, 2026, from 4 to 6 p.m. at 8128 Liberty…

(NEW YORK – April 1, 2026) – Edward Harrison knows the criminal justice system not as an observer — but as someone who lived it for over four decades. A formerly incarcerated person who spent more than 40 years navigating in and out of the prison system, Edward Harrison carries a truth that no policy paper, no commission report, and no government study can replicate: the truth of a man who was there. What Edward witnessed inside those walls would shake the conscience of any taxpaying citizen — a system where the very people funded to serve as watchdogs became…