Source: WENN

Since February, the family of slain civil rights icon Emmett Till has been speaking out against YMCMB rapper Lil Wayne over song lyrics that compared their deceased relative’s brutal murder to sexual acts performed on a woman. The Till family even penned an open letter to the rapper, letting him know that hearing about his insensitive lyrics was like reopening Emmett’s casket. Still, there was no formal acknowledgement of the controversy made by the rapper. Earlier this week, we told you that the Till family would be seeking further action against Wayne, promising to turn up the heat on companies that sponsor the rapper to drop their deals with him. I suppose those were the magic words because this morning Wayne issued a written apology to the Till family. His letter in its entirety reads:

“Dear Till Family:

As a recording artist, I have always been interested in word play. My lyrics often reference people, places and events in my music, as well as the music that I create for or alongside other artists.

It has come to my attention that lyrics from my contribution to a fellow artist’s song has deeply offended your family. As a father myself, I cannot imagine the pain that your family has had to endure. I would like to take a moment to acknowledge your hurt, as well as the letter you sent to me via your attorneys.

Moving forward, I will not use or reference Emmett Till or the Till family in my music, especially in an inappropriate manner. I fully support Epic Record’s decision to take down the unauthorized version of the song and to not include the reference in the version that went to retail. I will not be performing the lyrics that contain that reference live and have removed them from my catalogue.

I have tremendous respect for those who paved the way for the liberty and opportunities that African-Americans currently enjoy. As a business owner who employs several African-American employees and gives philanthropically to organizations that help youth to pursue their dreams my ultimate intention is to uplift rather than degrade our community.

Best,

Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr.

Lil Wayne”

What do you think of Wayne’s apology?

The Beyonce Pepsi can.

Beyonce and Pepsi have signed off on a deal estimated to be worth $50 million that will make the two brands partners, not just for commercials, but for the entertainer’s creative endeavors.

Pepsi announced today — through a press release and an article in The New York Times — that Beyonce will be a “brand ambassador” for Pepsi, appearing in a new set of ads for the soft drink brand as part of the “Live For Now” international campaign. Beyonce has been in Pepsi ads since 2002. The ads will begin airing after she performs at the Super Bowl, which Pepsi is also sponsoring.

But the relationship goes deeper than that. Pepsi will also be supporting the promotion of Bey’s next album, which will be released at some to-be-determined date in 2013 and sponsoring Beyonce’s world tour next year. There will also be a variety of other creative projects like live events, videos, and other Pepsi/Beyonce doings supported by a Creative Development Fund. There’s already a hashtag for the partnership: #LiveForNow. The limited edition cans (above) will be available starting in Europe in March. And you’ll even see a cut out of the image below at your local supermarket.

“For Pepsi, the goal is to enhance its reputation with consumers by acting as something of an artistic patron instead of simply paying for celebrity endorsements,” the NY Times reports.

These sorts of partnerships are nothing new. What’s different is how elaborate they’ve become, intertwining with a performer’s activities so that they’re associated with many aspects of an album, book, or other work. The Times talks about the partnership between Bey’s hubby Jay Z and Microsoft for the release of his book Decoded. And, you’ll recall, Pepsi partnered with Nicki Minaj for ads and other sponsorship opportunities. (There was some drama related to that deal and Minaj’s judging spot on American Idol, which is sponsored by Coke. A quick check of the Pepsi website shows no sign of Minaj.)

As women, we know an awful lot about the glass ceiling and the struggle for equal space in the boardroom, but there’s also a phenomenon known as the pink ceiling that’s been used to describe the behavior of women who do actually make it to the top of their profession and then try to keep other women from reaching their level. It’s basically the crabs in a barrel mentality in the office.

Thankfully, a new study is showing there’s more myth than truth to the practice they call “Queen Bee” syndrome—not that Queen Bey or is it King B now? Anyway, research conducted by Catalyst shows most women don’t actually view their female subordinates as competition to be moved out of the way. In fact, they see less experienced female coworkers as potential talent and are actually more likely than men to try to nurture that talent through informal or formal mentorship.

For the study, “High Potentials In The Pipeline: Leaders Pay It Forward,” Catalyst’s researchers followed the careers of 742 “high potential” male and female MBA graduates who worked in a number of different fields from 2008 to 2010. The researchers questioned the graduates about the career help that they had received over the years, including both informal mentorship and sponsorship, which usually involves working with a high-powered professional who actively pushes for their sponsor’s career advancement. The survey also asked whether or not they were helping the next generation of employees advance themselves.

What they found was that many of the men and women currently involved in talent development had been thoroughly curated by someone else. Of those surveyed, 65 percent of women who had received career support went on to return the favor to the next set of talent, compared with 56 percent of men. Out of the women who said they were developing talent, 73 percent said they are developing other women, which means we basically have each other’s backs like good feminists should.

Gail Evans, professor of organizational behavior and author of “Play Like a Man, Win Like a Woman,” thinks this study reflects a generational change that’s going on in the workplace.

“I think there certainly were Queen Bees around when the workplace was about scarcity for women,” she said. “You ended up with women who were older who had given up a lot to get to those [leadership] positions. Their life was the job and their deep belief was ‘I had to work hard, I had to give up a lot, it was tough to get here and the way in which I mentor younger women is to toughen them out.’”

I’ve definitely been on the receiving end of that tyrany and don’t ever want to go back. Christine Silva, the lead researcher on the study, said she’s excited about the positive trend her research shows and what it means for the next league of women leaders.

“The act of paying it forward is so powerful for the person doing it, the person being developed, and the organization itself. I hope women hear that and think ‘this is something I can do proactively for my career.’”

Have you had female professionals actively try to help you excel in the workplace or have you been a victim of the pink ceiling? Are you a mentor yourself?

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