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Expanding Skincare into Total Wellness: Microbiologist Erin White Takes Therapeutics to Sisterhood

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Erin White knew nature worked and botanical extract would stop inflammation. To that end, Thomas Therapeutics’s line of products are blended to decrease the discomfort of irritated, dry skin. “They decrease inflammation and itch. They allow the skin to heal itself,” she said.
The post Expanding Skincare into Total Wellness: Microbiologist Erin White Takes Therapeutics to Sisterhood first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Published

3 years ago

October 13, 2022

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By Candace J. Semien, Jozef Syndicate reporter

Erin White has entered a phase where life is seeming to come full circle.

Yes, post covid, post surgeries, post career challenges, and during her turn into the forties, White—a 40-year-old Louisiana microbiologist—is living in a stage of life when you realize the path you are on is purposeful.

White excelled in math and science at McKinley Middle Magnet and Baton Rouge Magnet High. She earned a master’s degree in molecular biology and undergraduate degrees in microbiology and physics.

For years, she’s researched and dissected microscopic skin cells, studied cell cycle regulation, cultivated topogenic bacteria, and probed cancer cells—nearly three decades after her mother gave her a microscope.

“I still have that thing.” White laughs. “That is where it all began.”

The microscope that she received in elementary school became a harbinger for the work and purpose White carries today.

“Though my degrees are accomplishments, I only really ever mention one—the BS in microbiology. Had all gone to plan, I would have had a full BS in physics, not just a BA, and a doctorate in cell cycle regulation. Those two degrees represent failures to me; points in my life where I was showing signs of burnout and weakening mental health. These failures continue to drive me to succeed, push harder, and never accept less than, again.”

That desire is pushing White to use her aptitude for research and science to help others through her sootheURskin products at Thomas Therapeutics and her social enterprise Black Women’s Wellness.

“I have realized over time that I am a natural leader, though it is not a position I always race to occupy. I am sarcastic and have a dry wit. And, lastly, I am a good bit of a nerd,” she said. “I love the feeling I get from solving problems. I actually get giddy.”

White said she is most inspired by her maternal grandmother Bobbie June Simmons Thomas, the first Black teacher at Baker High School. “There were so many students that looked up to her. And I think that knowing this made her shoulders fall back and her head that much higher. She knew the trail she was blazing and the footprint she would leave behind. The blood that runs through these veins is most definitely that of dominion,” said White.

“I can only hope to make her proud,” she said. “My body of work is beginning to show my lineage—not to say that any of my ancestors were widely-known leaders, I mean, neither am I. But they were leaders in their own right.”

Through her therapeutic products—balms, soaps, tinctures— she is solving dermatological, beauty, and esteem problems for thousands who use Thomas Therapeutics.

It began when White returned home from college and noticed her younger sister’s eczema hadn’t cleared but had worsened. “She never really seemed to grow out of the childhood plagues of infection. She had eczema surrounding her eyes and inside her eyelids. It was inside her elbows, behind her knees, on every surface that experienced friction.”

As a researcher, White hypothesized. “There’s got to be a natural way to clear this up. So, we started the search for a natural, steroid-, and antibiotic-free remedy. We scoured the pharmacies and pharmacy departments of our local area. Everything contained a steroid: cortisone or hydrocortisone. Upon seeking assistance in dermatologists’ offices, we were loaded with topical steroid and antibiotic cream combinations or even oral medicines of similar content.

She began researching natural ways to treat and heal dermatitis. The end-product became the start of Thomas Therapeutics which was “not only moisturizing and hydrating but also anti-itch—allowing the skin to heal itself,” she said.

“There are several ways to decrease inflammation naturally, to decrease itch naturally and give skin its integrity back and balance its moisture,” she said.

She knew nature worked and botanical extract would stop inflammation. To that end, Thomas Therapeutics’s line of products are blended to decrease the discomfort of irritated, dry skin. “They decrease inflammation and itch. They allow the skin to heal itself,” she said.

With her microscope and research nearby, White–who is affectionately called Sensitive Skin Scientist–said she is at home in the organized chaos of her innovations lab. “(It is) where I belong. I am a problem solver and that is where I solve them.”

Even during the COVID-crisis, White stayed true to her focus. “While I am a soap maker, I did not jump to make hand sanitizers and other gimmicky products. I felt like it was just feeding into the fearmongering and taking advantage of what little was known versus what we did not know about the virus at the time. As a direct result, I had very slow sales during the beginning of the pandemic.”

“It gave me time to pause. It gave me time to reflect on where my business was going and whether I wanted to continue to have a business at all.” White said she learned to maintain discipline in all things and that feeling an emotion is a choice. “I am learning to take cues from my surroundings. I listen to my body. I listen to the Creator and creation. This has become an important practice for me simply because these are constants.”

Then, White’s mission expanded into Black Women’s Wellness, a social network for women across the world.

Jozef Syndicate: We evolve, and life circumstances shape us. Was there an event that shifted your journey?

White: The entire COVID-19 experience has shifted my journey and changed my trajectory. Between 2019 and now, we have experienced a global pandemic on a scale never before seen. In the Fall of 2020, I’d become fed up with “Say Her Name” and “I Can’t Breathe.” I was tired of being locked away with my outlets to the outside world telling me that this was no safe space to be Black or especially, a Black woman.

I participated in a virtual panel discussion on hair and skin health with the Urban League of Louisiana Young Professionals of New Orleans and was granted the ability to network online. But I felt there was something more that had to be done. It was too much to endure alone in my office or alone in my home. Feelings of rage, exhaustion, anger, and hurt were common to me. And I knew that other Black women felt them, too.

Jozef Syndicate: What did you do as a result?

White: In September of that year, I set up the inaugural Black Women’s Wellness Panel. I had experts in mental health, nutrition, financial health, maternal health, and even spiritual health. We logged on to the virtual platform the evening that a hurricane was actually terrorizing Baton Rouge. Reception and connectivity were horrible, but we trudged through a discussion on why we all of us were feeling these emotions. The differences that we had long been trained to hide were being revealed.

We talked about code-switching and professionalism, we talked about our hair and professionalism. We discussed the violence against us and our people. And in the end, we prayed a little, we meditated a little, and I think we felt a small sense of relief because we’d created a safe space for those discussions to occur. My mission was no longer just about skin health but also skin color. The ultimate goal is to breed confidence.

Jozef Syndicate: What has your journey been like that has led you to this day? Why is there a need for BWW?

White: In my personal journey, I have had to deal with feeling “less than.” I was never liked as a child—too dark to be a pretty or even a girl. I was a depressed child. Dark skin and even darker patches where eczema left its scars, oozing plaques that had yet to heal. I even had eczema at the corners of my mouth, making it painful and unsightly (in my own opinion) to smile. My hair was frizzy and natural until maybe middle school.

I remember the hot combs, curling irons, and rollers that marked holidays, school picture days, and other special occasions. I hated my hair. I hated my skin. I didn’t like myself. At every point of self-acceptance, there was a rebuttal from my father, but my mother and grandmother would build me up.

White: Black Women’s Wellness began because I realized that my childhood was not an anomaly. We need safe spaces for these discussions. We tiptoe around white fragility, racism, and inferiority complexes. We need spaces where explanations are neither required nor desired. We need spaces where Black women are beautiful in all of our shades, shapes, and sizes. So, I am creating that space. Black Women’s Wellness events evoke meaningful discussion, provide delicious healthy meals, and promote rest among a group that is so often overwhelmed, overextended, and overwrought.

Jozef Syndicate: What would you desire others to remember about you?

White: I would like to be remembered for my lineage and how I have made them proud. I would like to be remembered for the supportive roles I’ve played in the lives of friends and family.

The post Expanding Skincare into Total Wellness: Microbiologist Erin White Takes Therapeutics to Sisterhood first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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Poll Shows Support for Policies That Help Families Afford Child Care

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — New national polling shows persistent voter concern about the affordability and availability of child care for working parents, alongside broad support across key demographic groups for federal child care policies that help families afford care.

Published

1 day ago

March 2, 2026

Oakland Post

By First Five Years Fund

New national polling shows persistent voter concern about the affordability and availability of child care for working parents, alongside broad support across key demographic groups for federal child care policies that help families afford care.

The national survey was conducted by UpOne Insight on behalf of the First Five Years Fund from January 13–18, 2026.

Key findings include:

• Parents need help: 80% of voters say the ability of working parents to find and afford child care is either in a state of crisis or a major problem.

• This is an affordability issue: 82% believe federal child care funding will help lower costs for working families — including 69% of Republicans, 84% of Independents, and 94% of Democrats.

• And there continues to be strong support (62%) for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), a federal program that makes it possible for hundreds of thousands of families to afford safe, quality care for their children while parents work or go to school, including a majority of Republicans, 63% of Independents and 72% of Democrats.

• Support for funding child care programs remains strong: 75% believe child care funding should be increased or kept at current levels — including 75% of Republicans, 85% of Independents, and 97% of Democrats.

• 74% say funding for child care is an important and good use of tax dollars, including a majority of Republicans, three-quarters of Independents, and nine in ten Democrats.

FFYF Executive Director Sarah Rittling said, “Voters across the country are sending a clear message: federal child care and early learning programs work. These investments help parents stay in the workforce, strengthen families, and support healthy child development. They have also long had strong bipartisan support in Congress. At a time when affordability is top of mind for families, continued federal funding is essential to ensure child care remains accessible and within reach.”

First Five Years Fund works to protect, prioritize, and build bipartisan support for quality child care and early learning programs at the federal level. Reliable, affordable, and high-quality early learning and child care can be transformative, not only enhancing a child’s prospects for a brighter future but also bolstering working parents and fostering economic stability nationwide.

We work with Congress and the Administration to identify federal solutions that work for families with young children, as well as states and communities. We work with policymakers to identify ways to increase access to affordable, high-quality child care and early learning programs for children. And we collaborate with advocacy groups to help align best practices with the best possible policies. http://www.ffyf.org

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Trump’s MAGA Allies are Creating Executive Order Plan to Steal the 2026 Midterms

NNPA NEWSWIRE — The document that could lead to an executive order proposes using the claim that China interfered with the 2020 elections as grounds to “declare a national emergency.” The move would be an unprecedented step that would grant Trump new authority over the voting systems in the U.S.

Published

4 days ago

February 27, 2026

Oakland Post

By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Correspondent

A group of MAGA pro-Trump activists, who say they are working in coordination with the White House, are circulating a 17-page draft executive order that would claim without evidence that China interfered with the 2020 presidential election. Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential to President Joe Biden by over 7 million votes. Since Trump lost to Biden in 2020, he has repeatedly claimed that the election was “stolen” without evidence. The report of a group of “Trump allies” preparing an executive order to give Trump power over elections was first reported by The Washington Post.

The lies around the right-wing campaign that pushed falsehoods that the 2020 election was stolen was trafficked through right-wing media, particularly Fox News. Fox News was then sued for defamation for the claims by Dominion Voting Systems. Fox lost the case and had to settle for the largest defamation amount on record of $787.5 million in April 2023.

The document that could lead to an executive order proposes using the claim that China interfered with the 2020 elections as grounds to “declare a national emergency.” The move would be an unprecedented step that would grant Trump new authority over the voting systems in the U.S.

The story in The Washington Post arrives as Trump increasingly signals that he may take actions that would alter the result of the 2026 midterms. The Republicans are widely expected to lose as their approval ratings plummet as a result of a failing economy under Trump. Over 50 members of Congress have announced they will retire this year and not return in 2027.

The Trump Department of Justice, which now has a large image of Trump on the side of it, “sued five new states Thursday [Feb. 26, 2026] demanding access to their unredacted voter rolls — escalating a campaign that has been rejected by multiple federal courts and faces resistance from Republican-led states as well,” according to Democracy Docket, a group that works to protect voting rights.

Trump claimed back in late 2020, the last year of his first term, that he had the authority to issue an executive order related to mail-in voting for the 2020 elections — which he would then lose. But the Constitution states that control of elections lies with the states. As the GOP works to place hurdles in front of voting, Democrats worked to make voting easier.

In March 2021, President Biden signed an executive order calling on federal agencies to expand voting access as part of the Biden Administration’s effort “to promote and defend the right to vote for all Americans who are legally entitled to participate in elections.”

Trump’s focus is clearly on altering the November 2026 midterm elections. Trump’s polling numbers and the elections and special elections that have taken place around the U.S. over the last year clearly indicate that Republicans are about to be hit by a blue wave of Democratic victories.

Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent investigative journalist and the founder of Black Virginia News. She is a political analyst who appears on #RolandMartinUnfiltered and hosts the show LAUREN LIVE on YouTube @LaurenVictoriaBurke. She can be contacted at LBurke007@gmail.com and on twitter at @LVBurke

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PRESS ROOM: NBA Hall of Fame Nominee Terry Cummings Joins 100 Black Men of DeKalb County to Launch Victory & Values Initiative

NNPA NEWSWIRE — NBA Hall of Fame nominee and Basketball Legend Terry Cummings was administered the official member’s oath and ceremonially pinned during a special induction ceremony held on Friday, February 20th.

Published

4 days ago

February 27, 2026

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Cummings becomes an honorary member, joining other role model sports stars

NBA Hall of Fame nominee and Basketball Legend Terry Cummings has officially become an honorary member of the 100 Black Men of DeKalb County, marking a powerful new chapter for the 100 Black Men and youth development across the region.

Cummings was administered the official member’s oath and ceremonially pinned during a special induction ceremony held on Friday, February 20th. The moment signified more than membership — it marked the launch of the organization’s transformative new platform, the Victory & Values Initiative.

The Victory & Values Initiative is a groundbreaking youth development program designed to empower elementary and middle school students through a dynamic blend of sports, mentorship, and STEM exposure. The initiative focuses on building health, discipline, character, leadership, and access to opportunity — creating pathways for long-term academic and personal success.

“This is about more than sports,” said Cummings during the ceremony. “It’s about using the platform of athletics to teach life lessons, create access, and build the next generation of leaders.”

The induction ceremony also featured notable guests including NASCAR’s newest Star Driver, Lavar Scott and NASCAR Director of Athletic Performance, Phil Horton, who joined Cummings for a powerful Victory & Values Town Hall discussion. The Town Hall was moderated by renowned Sports Emcee John Hollins and focused on leadership, resilience, discipline, and the importance of mentorship in shaping young lives.

A “Day at NASCAR” for 75+ Youth

Cummings wasted no time getting to work. On his first full day as an honorary member, he joined his new brothers of the 100 Black Men of DeKalb County to host a “Day at NASCAR,” escorting more than 75 youth to a once-in-a-lifetime experience at EchoPark Motor Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway).

The youth participants received behind-the-scenes access including: an exclusive tour of Pit Row, access to the Garage Area and exploration of the interactive Fan Zone.

The experience culminated with a surprise meet-and-greet and Q&A session with NASCAR Superstar Bubba Wallace, who shared insights on perseverance, preparation, and breaking barriers in professional sports.

The day served as a living example of the ‘Victory & Values’ Initiative in action — exposing youth to new industries, expanding their vision for the future, and connecting them directly with high- level mentors and role models.

Building Leaders Through Access and Mentorship

The 100 Black Men of DeKalb County – a chapter of the largest, national mentoring organization in the county – continues to expand its footprint with programs focused on academic excellence, economic empowerment, leadership development, and health & wellness.

The launch of ‘Victory & Values’ represents a strategic expansion of the organization’s impact

intentionally integrating athletics and STEM to engage youth at an early age while reinforcing core principles such as integrity, accountability, teamwork, and perseverance.

“Our mission has always been to mentor the next generation,” said Vaughn Irons, President-Elect of the 100 Black Men of DeKalb County. “With Terry Cummings joining the brotherhood, along with partners in NASCAR and professional sports, we are creating unprecedented access and exposure for our youth. Victory & Values is about turning inspiration into structured opportunity.”

By connecting elementary and middle school students to professional athletes, executives, STEM professionals, and community leaders, the initiative aims to:

Increase youth exposure to careers in sports business, engineering, and performance science
Strengthen mentorship pipelines
Promote physical wellness and mental resilience
Build character-driven leadership at an early age

Open Invitation to Youth and Families

All youth are invited to participate in the Victory & Values Initiative, along with the other countless, impactful programs offered by the 100 Black Men of DeKalb County.

Parents and guardians seeking mentorship, leadership development, academic enrichment, and transformative exposure opportunities for their children are encouraged to connect with the organization.

As NBA Legend Terry Cummings’ induction demonstrates, Victory & Values is more than a program — it is a movement designed to build champions in life, not just in sports.

For more information about the Victory & Values Initiative or to enroll a student, contact: 100 Black Men of DeKalb County at Phone at 404.241.1338, info@100bmod.org or Tee Foxx at 404.791.6525,