Page 31 - Florida Sentinel 5-14-21

National
This 6-Year-Old Is The Youngest CEO Of
3 Georgia Men Who Chased, Shot Ahmaud Arbery Plead Not Guilty To Hate Crime Charges
GREG MCMICHAEL, TRAVIS MCMICHAEL AND WILLIAM "RODDIE" BRYAN
A Black-Owned Business To Have A
Distribution Deal With Walmart
Black girls are making his- tory at every turn. The latest record-setting prodigy is 6- year-old Lily Adeleye, who recently became the youngest Black CEO to have products on the shelves at Walmart. Her brand, Lily Frilly, now has four new bow designs being sold at the retail giant. “I’m super ex- cited,” Lily said to Essence Girls United. She continued by saying that her “absolute fa- vorite” bow from the collection is the “Gold & Glitter” one.
The line of hair accessories is being sold at over 1,000 stores across the country.
This landmark deal is the second of its kind for Lily, as her popular line is also sold via Target’s website. WWD reports that Lily Frilly is set to bring in almost $2 million this year. She also sells backpacks, lunch boxes, clothes, slime, note- books and other hair acces-
LILY ADELEYE
sories, with her bows being the most popular item, making up 70% of sales.
Lily’s mother, Courtney Adeleye, says Lily Frilly is quite literally a dream come true. “She woke up out of her sleep and was like, ‘I have the name for my next project,'” Courtney says with a laugh, mentioning how she recorded the unbelievable moment so people could see it for them-
selves. “For a kid to wake up...and this is the first thing they say—that has to already be inside of you.” The youngest Adeleye’s entrepreneurial spirit comes naturally—Lily is from a lineage of driven busi- nesswomen (Courtney is the founder of multi-million dollar haircare brand The Mane Choice and Courtney’s mother was an “entrepreneur to her core”).
Three Georgia men pleaded not guilty to federal hate crime charges Tuesday in the death of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25- year-old Black man who was chased and shot while jogging near his home, according to online court documents.
Greg McMichael, a 65- year-old former police officer; Travis McMichael, Greg McMichael's 35-year-old son; and William "Roddie" Bryan appeared in front of U. S. Magistrate Judge Ben- jamin Cheesbro for their first court appearance since they were indicted on the fed- eral charges.
They are charged with vio- lating Arbery's civil rights and attempted kidnapping. The father and son were also charged with using firearms during the commissions of a crime.
Members of Arbery's fam- ily thanked their supporters and the federal government outside the courthouse Tues- day.
"This is a very emotional day for the family," family at- torney S. Lee Merritt told reporters. "This is the first time that they've shared a courtroom with these three murderers."
On Feb. 23, 2020, the McMichaels armed them- selves, got into a truck and chased Arbery while he was running on a public street in the Satilla Shores neighbor-
AHMAUD ARBERY
hood of Brunswick, Georgia, according to court documents. Bryan, their neighbor, joined the chase, used his truck to cut off Arbery and took video on his phone of Travis McMichael shooting Ar- bery three times at close range with a shotgun.
Arbery's death, along with those of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, who were killed by police, fueled months of racial justice protests around the country.
The McMichaels and Bryan, who are all white, were arrested last May — more than two months after the fatal shooting — following a storm of public outcry after video of Arbery's death was made public. They were also charged with murder and ag- gravated assault in Georgia; they pleaded not guilty to those counts as well.
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