Beauty Foundation Set THE INNER-CITY NEWS - March 29, 2023 - April 04, 2023
by PAUL BASS
plained to a reporter, in the below video, what that was all about.) Layla raised her hand immediately in the question portion to ask about the “process for getting your product in stores.” She has more than a passing interest in that question. She has always dreamed a career as both a make-up artist and beauty products designer, she said. She hopes next month to launch her first line of lip glosses and eye shadow palettes. She’s calling the business Strawberry Xpress; orders are in for the materials for the first batches. “You go, girl!” Culpepper told her with a high-five when learning after the talk about the business. ESUMS Principal Medria Ellis-Blue invited Culpepper, a friend since their undergraduate years together at Howard, as part of a series of talks by leaders in science, the arts, business, law and social justice. Inspired in part by a Fulbright fellowship in Singapore last Summer, EllisBlue had her team survey students about their life goals and career dreams. The speaker series grew from the survey results. Before the students headed to their next classes, Culpepper offered a preview of a cream foundation currently in testing with a planned 2024 launch. She handed out product samples … Layla was excited to take home the tube of Kiehl’s, and more excited to have heard Culpepper’s story. “It was inspiring to see somebody succeed in the field I want to succeed in,” she said, “how she started from humble beginnings.” Her family, too, has had financial struggles, she said. She, too, sees a bright beauty future worth chasing.
New Haven Independent
A budding beauty products entrepreneur scored a bottle of Kiehl’s creme de corps body lotion — along with inspiration from an elder whose heels she could picture inhabiting. The budding entrepreneur, ninth-grader Layla Travers, gained that lift Monday at Engineering and Science University Magnet School (ESUMS). She and 16 fellow seventh through 11th graders spent a class session hearing from a visitor from the upper echelons of the beauty biz, L’Oréal General Manager and Brand President Erica Culpepper. Culpepper offered the students tips on chasing their dreams. Raised by her grandfather in Memphis, Culpepper recalled working hard every summer to make sure she had enough money to continue her studies at Howard University, then, with the help of networking and focus and vision boards, climbing the rungs of the beauty industry at Johnson & Johnson and Maybelline and then L’Oréal. She offered tips on pursuing internships through companies’ social media platforms. She spoke of helping change the industry paradigm to “show people of color a vision of beauty they can be proud of.” She told stories about bringing successful products to market like Magic Shave, originally marketed to older Black men, then retooled for other markets when “all these young girls” posted viral TikTok videos about it. Layla sat rapt throughout Culpepper’s presentation. “You know the influencer Mikayla?” Culpepper asked. “I remember that!” Layla responded. “She lied.” (After the session, she ex-
PAUL BASS PHOTO L'Oréal Exec Erica Culpepper with ESUMS ninth-grader Layla Travers.
… and huddled with the students for the group photo.
Lamont’s Gun Proposals Move Out of Judiciary Committee by Hugh McQuaid Ct News Junkie
Lawmakers on the Judiciary Committee voted Tuesday to advance a proposal from Gov. Ned Lamont which would broaden Connecticut’s ban on certain semi-automatic rifles, prohibit the open carry of firearms, and strengthen restrictions on untraceable “ghost guns.” The committee approved the bill on a partisan vote after several hours of debate during an afternoon meeting. The panel advanced the proposal just a day after a school shooting in Nashville where a shooter killed six people including three children. Legislators cited that incident at times during Tuesday’s debate. Rep. Steve Stafstrom, a Bridgeport Democrat who co-chairs the panel, pointed to the Monday shooting as well as the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown as he introduced the bill. “We don’t need to go back any further
than yesterday to see that gun violence continues to be a scourge on our nation,” Stafstrom said. “There are families throughout a community in Nashville that are struggling to pick up the pieces today just like there are communities all over the country.” The bill passed by the committee contains other concepts from Lamont including a provision raising the age to purchase guns from 18 to 21 as well as elements of a separate bill proposed last month by the mayors of Connecticut’s largest cities. Lamont reflected on the Nashville shooting during a Tuesday morning interview with Catherine Shen on WNPR’s Where We Live. “What the heck is going on?” Lamont asked. “I don’t remember this growing up, these types of shootings in schools, targeting the most vulnerable, targeting nineyear-olds.” He touted Connecticut’s current gun laws and his proposals before the Ju-
diciary Committee. “We’ve gotta keep going. I want Connecticut to continue to be a leader here.” Most of the Judiciary Committee’s threehour debate on the bill consisted of Republican opponents arguing against Lamont’s proposals and unsuccessfully attempting to amend the language. Sen. Rob Sampson, R-Wolcott, said it was unfortunate that proponents used the Nashville incident as justification for more stringent firearm policies. “It’s a real shame that it seems like any time there is a tragedy, it seems like the goto answer is more gun control,” Sampson said. “It also seems to be the response to the day-to-day violence and murder.” At one point during the meeting, Republicans tried unsuccessfully to split the bill in two in an effort to vote in favor of elements they approved of. Rep. Doug Dubitsky, R-Chaplin, argued the firearm provisions would not address
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gun violence in Connecticut, which he said was largely perpetrated by a small number of repeat offenders. “Section after section after section of this bill have absolutely nothing to do with solving that problem,” Dubitsky said. “[The bill] bans open carry of firearms. Other than that it makes some people uncomfortable, who cares? It’s not a source of crime.” Following the meeting, Lamont released a statement applauding the committee’s action. He said the elected officials had a responsibility to implement policies to keep Connecticut residents safe in their homes, schools, churches and neighborhoods. “These policy proposals represent a fair, commonsense balance that respects the rights of Americans to own guns for their own protection and sportsmanship while also acknowledging that we must take actions to protect the people who live in our communities,” Lamont said.
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