Black Women Built Their Own Lanes, Now Those Lanes Are Under Attack
Black women continue to rise in entrepreneurship, but that success often comes with steep challenges, especially in a fragile economic climate. The current conditions under the Trump administration have created instability that is impacting the growth and sustainability of many ventures led by Black women. We’re seeing that play out in real time with Slutty Vegan founder Pinky Cole and Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey founder Fawn Weaver, both of whom are boldly restructuring their businesses to protect their legacies while pushing back against negative headlines and public scrutiny.
Today’s economy presents serious hurdles for business owners. Unemployment remains a concern, with February’s jobs report placing the overall rate at 4.4 percent, while Black Americans face a significantly higher rate of 7.7 percent. At the same time, inflation continues to drive up operating costs. Persistent price increases, rising labor expenses, and ongoing supply chain issues have made it harder for businesses to maintain profitability. In fact, about 46% of small business owners cite inflation as a top concern, often forcing them to raise prices while navigating tighter margins.
Pinky Cole’s legal battle explained.
During a March 31 appearance on The Breakfast Club, Pinky Cole opened up about the challenges that followed her rapid expansion of Slutty Vegan to 14 locations by 2022, at the height of the pandemic. That growth ultimately contributed to financial strain and a complex legal situation that saw her relinquish ownership of the company in February 2025, only to regain control just 43 days later.
As reported by BOSSIP, in March, she filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Georgia to restructure more than $1.3 million in debt, including approximately $1.2 million owed to the U.S. Small Business Administration and nearly $192,000 to the Georgia Department of Revenue.
Reflecting on what went wrong, Cole explained that scaling too quickly, combined with inflation and soaring operational and overhead costs, put immense pressure on the business.
“The problem is that when you grow that fast, sometimes you put basketball players on the golf course. You understand what I’m saying? So, you got people that do an incredible job in their skill set, but then you position them somewhere else and they can’t do what you need to do to take you where you need to go.”
To address the situation, Cole utilized an Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors (ABC), a process that allows a company to transfer its assets to a third party to liquidate and repay debts more efficiently than traditional bankruptcy proceedings.
“I did not own the company for 43 days. And the estate that took the company, they took the assets and they took the debt so that they can sell off the asset so that they can pay off the debt. And then they sell the business to somebody who wants to buy it,” she explained.
After regaining ownership, Cole faced additional challenges as creditors from the previous entity pursued legal action against her. The situation escalated when a creditor, Guardian Asset Management, seized her rental property and changed the locks, despite her not owing money on it. Cole believes the issue stemmed from the property being vacant for an extended period.
She ultimately prevailed in court. On March 26, a federal bankruptcy judge ruled in her favor after the creditor failed to appear, ordering the property returned and requiring the creditor to cover her legal fees.
“We’re taking some further action because that’s really some real reputational damage on somebody when you assuming that they lost they house. This is an investment property.”
She added, “It’s a learning lesson for me because I learn how this process works. But victory will prevail and I’m vindicated because… give me my stuff back.”
For Black women, entrepreneurship can be difficult.
For Black women, the path to entrepreneurship can be especially difficult. Despite being the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs in the United States, with Black women-owned businesses increasing by 13% between 2024 and 2025, they often face limited access to capital and legal resources.
Still, many continue to push forward, driven by resilience and the desire for autonomy and generational wealth amid today’s uncertain and unfair job market. Pinky Cole’s journey reflects that determination, having transitioned from a television producer on The Maury Show to a full-time entrepreneur in 2014.
That same resilience can be seen in Fawn Weaver, founder of Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey, who is also navigating legal and financial battles while protecting her company’s future.
Fawn Weaver is facing a similar battle with her company, Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey.
In March, Weaver secured a major victory in her dispute with lender Farm Credit Mid-America, which had accused her and her husband, Keith Weaver, of defaulting on more than $108 million in loans tied to their business. The allegations led to a court-ordered receivership in 2025, but Weaver announced on March 17 that the receivership had officially ended following decisive legal action, MadameNoire reported.
Weaver, her husband, and the company’s largest shareholder have since filed a lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court, alleging the lender engaged in a smear campaign by spreading false claims about the company’s finances, “despite possessing the records that contradicted every single one of those claims,” she told fans on Instagram.
According to a press release from Weaver’s investment firm, Grant Sidney, Inc., the lender’s accusations were allegedly made to shield its own internal missteps and deflect scrutiny over how it managed the credit facility supporting Uncle Nearest, Inc. Weaver also revealed that she has assembled “10 attorneys across New York, Atlanta and New Orleans” to review the case and pursue litigation.
Like Cole, Fawn filed for Chapter 11 protection to reorganize its debt while safeguarding employees, creditors, and shareholders. Through the Chapter 11 process, the company plans to continue operating while addressing its legal disputes and pursuing counterclaims against the lender.
“That filing immediately stayed the earlier lawsuit. Many who read the headlines are understandably concerned about the allegations of financial irregularities,” she continued. “Frankly, if I were just reading the headlines or only the bank’s allegations, I’d be concerned too, but that’s one of the reasons I approved entering Chapter 11…because Chapter 11 requires complete financial transparency. In that courtroom, no one gets to hide behind filings without evidence or accusations without proof, and the picture that has been painted about Uncle Nearest will now have to be proven through numbers that add up, not words.”
Court filings indicate approximately “$13,188,927 in unsecured obligations,” alongside a disputed loan balance of about $102.5 million. However, those liabilities are set against estimated enterprise assets of roughly $529 million, Weaver and her team argue.
Despite the controversy, Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey remains one of the fastest-growing whiskey brands in the country, with Nearest Green Distillery attracting more than 200,000 visitors annually and the brand maintaining its position as the most awarded bourbon and American whiskey for seven consecutive years, proving that even as the company’s legal battle escalates, Weaver’s standing as a successful entrepreneur is undisputable.
Pinky Cole and Fawn Weaver are navigating the tight realities of entrepreneurship in the public eye, but their determination to protect their businesses and legacies speaks volumes. Their journeys shine a light on a larger truth: Black women not only belong at the highest levels of entrepreneurship, but they also continue to thrive there, even in the face of adversity.
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Uncle Nearest Whiskey CEO Fawn Weaver Remains ‘Unshaken’ Amid Receivership Order