Once again Morehouse College is bringing innovation to the classroom. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the Historically Black College and University (HBCU) made history in 2022 for being the first college to offer classes in the metaverse. Less than two years later, it is now poised to disrupt the education landscape for the better through the launch of reportedly the world’s first fully spacial artificial intelligence (AI) teaching assistants. Muhsinah Morris, a senior assistant professor in education and metaversity director at Morehouse College, developed the technology in spring 2021 with the assistance of faculty such as Ovell Hamilton, Ethell Vereen Jr., and Tanya Clark, she mentioned on LinkedIn. She also benefited from a partnership with VictoryXR and received backing from Southern Company, Qualcomm, Meta, Unity, the National Science Foundation (NSF), and T-Mobile. “I am so proud of Morehouse College Metaversity Faculty and MetaHouse Scholars who keep this work going full...
Adobe is one of the latest companies to give back to Historically Black colleges and Universities ( HBCUs ). On Sept.14, during its annual Adobe for All week, Adobe announced its partnerships with Bowie State University, Winston-Salem State University, along with a Hispanic-serving institution (HSI) — San José State University, Fortune reports. The three universities will each receive a $1 million donation under Adobe’s new Anchor School Program to “provide students with training, career readiness programs, internships, financial assistance, and digital tools.” “It’s a deep, focused partnership, and it really allows us to expose students to careers within the tech industry,” Brian Miller, Adobe’s chief talent, diversity, and inclusion officer, told Fortune . As previously reported by AfroTech, #AdobeForAll has developed an inclusive culture within the company by “creating a network of employee groups to serve its diverse workforce.” Their donation announcement also shared that Adobe...
Healthcare professionals deserve their flowers now more than ever, especially this group of Black doctors. Last Spring, ER and trauma physicians Reuben C. Rutland, Airron Richardson, Michael A. McGee, and Gregory Primus united to open the first Black-owned urgent care facility in Chicago. Premier Health Urgent Care is located in the city’s Hyde Park neighborhood, an urban community that can benefit immensely from local and affordable health resources. Relief for the Southside “We live in the neighborhood and recognize when our children were injured or sick there was no urgent care nearby,” Dr. Richardson told ABC7 . “You had to go to a completely different neighborhood several miles away.” This group of co-founders developed the idea for Premier due to the healthcare gap in the area. As a result, they offer proper care and support to those in need, as well as alleviate the growing strain on neighboring healthcare centers. The facility not only provides urgent physical care but also...
Lloyd understood the importance of being a student of the game when he entered the music industry as a child. Industry Journey The R&B crooner is known for hit songs such as “You,” his “biggest earned streamed song.” He spent a lot of time in the studio learning from those who paved the way such as Dallas Austin, Gerald Busby, Tricky Stewart, as well as Joyce Irby, a mentor of his who signed him to Atlanta-based teen pop group N-Toon in 1997 when he was just 10 years old, noted Foxy 107.1/104.3. “She basically just poured a lot of time and love into me so that I wouldn’t make kinda the same pitfalls in the beginning. So by the time I was 18 years old, I was really headstrong. I knew exactly what I wanted. I knew exactly how to find my sound, and I wasn’t gonna let anybody tell me what I already knew, “ Lloyd said following a performance on the Coca-Cola Stage at the Convention Center during the 2025 Essence Festival of Culture, held in his hometown of New Orleans, LA. Photo Credit:...
TikTok creator Anayka She was once severely underpaid by her agency. The beauty creator and artist from Brooklyn, NY, who has amassed 1.7 million followers on TikTok, took to the platform to discuss compensation in comparison to white counterparts such as Bran Flakezz, born Brandon Edelman. He shared that he earned $768,000 in 2024 as a content creator. He currently has 1.1 million followers on TikTok. It is widely known that Black individuals have to work ten times harder just to see half the success of their white counterparts. She reveals that while being managed at Carter Agency, which is led by Josh Popkin, she was misled about her earnings from brand deals. “The head of Carter Agency, Josh Popkin, this is what he would do. He would tell you that the brand deal was $2,000. It was actually $10,000,” she explained in a TikTok video. “He would take that $8,000, then take the 20% fee off of the $2,000. And guess what? He was targeting Black women mainly. When we all found out and...
Tyrre Burks’ background in sports gave him an upper hand as a business founder. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, Burks is the founder of Player’s Health, a platform offering solutions including insurance, an athlete safety suite with education and training, injury management forms, incident reporting, compliance forms, and tools to support name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals, geared toward sports organizations, teams, leagues, and clubs. The inception of Player’s Health dates back to Burks’ time as a former college athlete who turned pro. Becoming an athlete was a means of escaping the realities of living on the Southside of Chicago, IL. “I had a choice and sports was one of ’em or the streets. And luckily, I chose football; I chose wrestling. I chose every sport that I could choose to keep me out of the streets. And that kept me safe. It kept me out of the streets, and it kept me out of trouble. And that led to college and professional football,” he said during a podcast...
Mikal Bridges’ life and legacy with the NBA can only be described in one word: consistency. The 27-year-old ball player has never missed a single game in his six seasons with the league, brought multiple teams to the playoffs , and has even claimed to have eaten the same Chipotle meal every single day for over a decade. While it’s hard to believe the young small forward can maintain such a stringent day-to-day discipline, he’s been making waves over the years with his on-the-court performance and easy-going demeanor. If you’ve been following NBA news in recent weeks, you’re likely familiar with the ultra-reliable player, as he recently secured himself a position on the New York Knicks with a high-profile trade. Since Bridges has been so consistent and successful in his NBA career, many fans and viewers are curious about his salary and overall net worth. According to Clutch Points , Mikal Bridges touts a jaw-dropping $20 million net worth as of June 2024, with more millions sure to...
A historic Black-owned beach in South Carolina is quickly becoming one of the hottest luxury vacation destinations in the states, and it is currently the only incorporated Black beach to sit in the U.S. During the early 1930s, Atlantic Beach was founded by a group of Gullah Geechee as a haven for Black people who were not allowed to occupy the same beaches as white people in South Carolina. Defying Jim Crow laws, the strip of primarily Black-owned coastal properties, dubbed “The Black Pearl,” broadened the enterprises of coastal Gullah Geechee people. A host of hotels, restaurants, nightclubs, and novelty shops were developed just miles from Myrtle Beach. Now, two trailblazing founders are on a mission to continue honoring the rich history that makes up the area. Although they are business partners, Tiffany Bailey Lash, Ph.D., and Tashni-Ann Dubroy, Ph.D., MBA, have a relationship that is rooted in sisterhood. Together, the HBCU alums and friends are on a mission to revitalize and...
Justin Shaifer, “Mr. Fascinate,” is enriching the minds of the younger generation. The Southside Chicago, IL, native raised in a single-parent household is dedicating his life towards educating the youth in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). “I was one of the kids that was really disengaged from STEM because it wasn’t really perceived as cool,” he told AFROTECH™ in an interview. “So it’s really important to engage your kids’ curiosities. Showing kids role models of people in STEM that look like them is a huge part of creating that intrinsic motivation that can make kids understand that a future in STEM is possible.” Among his efforts includes Fascinate Media, which he founded in 2016 to create educational content using cutting-edge technologies such as 3D effects, virtual production, and Generative AI at his Los Angeles, CA-based studio space, Fascinate House, his LinkedIn mentions. His content has impacted millions and can be viewed on his social media and...
Vic Mensa has come to the rescue of a Black-woman-owned business in his hometown of Chicago, IL. On March 13, 2024, the rapper made a stop by Da Book Joint. Self-described as “Your African American book source,” the bookstore has been in operation since 2007,” according to its website. “We are particularly interested in books targeted at the youth,” the website wrote. “We are looking to play our part in the development of the youth of the country, and we do so by providing a healthy selection of books and titles for them to select from.” To help keep Da Book Joint’s doors open, Vic Mensa presented the bookstore with a check for $7,200. “We are thankful,” Da Book Joint shared in an Instagram post. “We are honored. We are grateful. We are truly living a dream right now. Thank you so much to @vicmensa and his entire @93boyz team for blessing us today by covering our rent for an entire year.” It continued, “Thank you for seeing our mission and helping us stand in our purpose. You are...
Educator Raioni Madison bid farewell to the classroom walls to further her dedication to her community. She would make the brave step in 2019. Despite her departure, Madison’s mission remained intact. She tells AFROTECH™ that education runs in her bloodline. Her grandmother, a single mother living in New York who raised four children, was also an educator, and her mother is a high school science teacher. 3D Girls Madison has shifted her full-time focus to 3D Girls Inc., a nonprofit she established as a personal endeavor in 2012 during her time at Kansas State University in Manhattan, KS. Her decision was prompted by the disparities she observed in other nonprofits. “I was just evaluating some of the organizations that were in my community. And I found that a lot of other nonprofits were inactive or under-resourced and that bothered me. ‘Why don’t we have this?’ or ‘This program is on the north side of town; why don’t we have access to things on the south side of town,'” Madison told...
Perhaps there is no off-limit terrain for Shaquille O’Neal, who is also taking over the seas! Among O’Neal’s various business ventures, he founded Big Chicken, a fast-casual restaurant that debuted in Las Vegas in 2018. While the the former basketball center has multiple ventures, he says he only pursues opportunities that he believes can change people’s lives, he previously told AFROTECH. “I try not to base everything on a monetary value,” he said. “I get a lot of deals. ‘Wear the shirt, put your name on it, we’ll sell it.’ I like investing in things that’s going to change people’s lives. I heard Jeff Bezos say that once, and that’s how he invests. So, I follow the strategy, and it’s been working very well for me.” Launching Big Chicken makes perfect sense for O’Neal. He grew up eating various chicken dishes made by his mother, Houston Press reports. “This is my creation—Excuse me, this is my mama’s creation. Coming where we come from, me and this little guy had to eat chicken a...
By Freada Kapor Klein, Founding Partner of Kapor Capital and Allison Scott, CEO of Kapor Foundation The Supreme Court’s decision banning affirmative action in higher education on June 29, 2023, is part of a larger series of organized attacks on momentum and progress towards racial equity, particularly in the tech industry–including the lawsuit and recent injunction against Fearless Fund, for alleging racial discrimination and temporarily halting the VC firm from awarding its grants exclusively to Black female entrepreneurs; lawsuits against Perkins Coie and Morrison Foerster for their diversity law fellowship programs; the overturning of the Small Business Association’s focus on minority businesses; 13 State Attorneys General threatening Fortune 100 companies regarding their DEI programs and initiatives; legislation in Texas and Florida banning DEI offices in higher education and restricting related courses; backlash against organizational diversity statements; and tech diversity...
Rappers often flaunt a life that the average person can only dream about. From private jets to jewelry that costs as much as some people’s homes, these artists are enjoying the lifestyles of the rich and famous — and making sure that we all know it. And it seems like every day a new artist emerges sharing tales of their wealth and glory. One of the somewhat newer yet still established artists on the scene is Lil Baby . His star rose exponentially in 2017 and since then he has been a fixture on the award circuit and in countless songs, collaborating with major artists like Kanye West, The Weeknd and Lil Durk. So, with lots of wins and plenty of songs that reached the top of the Billboard charts, how much is Lil Baby’s net worth? From Trouble to Success Lil Baby, born Dominique Armani Jones in 1994, is originally from Atlanta, Ga. Not much is known about his childhood except that Dominique and his two sisters were raised by a single mom after his dad left when he was two years old....
When many people think of Black, fictional couple goals — “Dwayne Wayne” and “Whitley Gilbert” of “A Different World” likely come to mind. Now, there is a monster-sized list of why one can argue how those two are not goals. However, no matter where you land on the side of loving or hating the roller-coaster relationship between Dwayne and Whitley, what made them so iconic was the portrayal by real-life actors Kadeem Hardison and ’90s “it” girl Jasmine Guy. The on-screen love story between the two actors made the allure of attending an HBCU even more appealing to students already locked in on the idea of Black colleges. Hillman University was a fictional place, but “A Different World” made it seem real and brought HBCU culture to the homes of millions each week. And Dwayne and Whitely were at the center of that television magic. While Hardison deserves his flowers for the work he did on the show, Guy brought something unique and special to the character of Whitley that made her the...