Wray & Nephew held their Wray Forward Pitch Night this week featuring a number of Black-owned businesses from AI music sampling to the world’s first Nigerian tapas restaurant in London. Wray Forward The Wray Forward Pitch Night saw six Black founders take to the stage to showcase their businesses and pitch to a panel of expert judges to secure grants to help their businesses grow. Part of the brand’s ongoing Wray Forward activity is in partnership with Foundervine – a program supporting Black businesses through funding, educational workshops, mentorship and
Luther C. McClellan, a member of the Memphis State Eight and the first Black graduate of the institution has passed away at the age of 83. A Historic Achievement McClellan made history in 1962 when he became the first African American to graduate from Memphis State University, now known as the University of Memphis. He was part of the Memphis State Eight, a group of African American students who integrated the university in 1959. This group included Rose Blakney-Love, Eleanor Gandy, Sammie Johnson, Marvis Kneeland Jones, Bertha Rogers Looney, Ralph
NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston will honor Black mathematician Dorothy Vaughan and the women of Apollo with events on the eve of the 55th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing. The highlight will be the renaming and ribbon-cutting ceremony on July 19 to dedicate Building 12 as the “Dorothy Vaughan Center in Honor of the Women of Apollo.” The Legacy Of Dorothy Vaughan Vaughan, a pioneering mathematician, human computer, and NASA’s first Black manager, will be remembered for her groundbreaking work and leadership. She headed the National Advisory
Ron Simons, a tech executive turned Tony award-winning Broadway producer, died at the age of 63. Simons left his job as an executive at Microsoft to pursue his dream of acting, later becoming one of the few Black theatrical producers on Broadway. “It is with heavy hearts that we share the unexpected passing of our beloved, blessed, and highly favored friend, Ronald Keith Simons,” Simon’s production company, Simonsays Entertainment, wrote on Instagram. “Funeral details will be forthcoming.” Simons died on June 12, 2024. A spokesman declined to say where he
17-year-old Emmanuela Ilok from Nigeria has been awarded full scholarships to study software engineering at some of the world’s most prestigious institutions, including Stanford, MIT, Yale, UPenn, Princeton, and Columbia. Academic Excellence and International Recognition Ilok’s journey to securing these scholarships began with her performance in the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) in Nigeria, where she was recognized as the top performer by the British Council, according to Punchng. Ilok’s mind led her to develop software that employs Machine Learning algorithms to detect breast cancer in women, achieving
Braze is hiring on POCIT Mohammad Akhoundzadeh manages a team of Solutions Architects at Braze, a leading customer engagement platform. Originally from Afghanistan and raised in the UK, Mohammad discovered his knack for technology early in his childhood, solving household tech issues whenever the opportunity arose. A proud practicing Muslim, Mohammad is also the Vice President and Treasurer for Braze’s employee resource group, Muslims@Braze. He enjoys the collaborative aspects of his work as much as the technical and believes that fostering a community of like-minded peers at his workplace enhances
Ronald Yancey, an engineer and the first Black graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology, presented his granddaughter Deanna Yancey with her master’s degree from the same institution nearly six decades later. Deanna Yancey recently received her master’s degree in electrical and computer engineering. A Legacy of Courage and Determination Ronald’s journey to Georgia Tech was marked by resilience. The school initially rejected him, leaving him to attend Morehouse College, where he majored in math and physics. Despite the absence of an engineering program at Morehouse, his determination did not waver. He
Black-owned music tech startup AudioStrip has won grant funding from the British government’s ‘AI in the Music Industry‘ Innovate UK fund. AudioStrip AudioStrip is a free online tool musicians use to split vocals from the backing music in audio files. It uses AI and Deep Learning, trained on large music datasets, to give users the best results and allow them to separate music quickly. The website uses the music source separation results from research. It is intended to make the AI models easier to use for musicians without requiring them to have
