Your Favorite POCIT Stories Of 2025
2025 made one thing clear: progress is rarely linear. Against a backdrop of DEI rollbacks and an especially challenging job market, the year revealed how quickly gains can be challenged.
Still, the pieces you returned to most weren’t just about what was taken away. They were about creativity, accountability, and agency. You showed up for stories of builders forging new paths, consumers demanding better from corporations, and individuals exposing systems that weren’t built with them in mind.
So, as the year winds down, here’s a look back at the ten most-read stories on POCIT in 2025.
10. Kai Cenat’s University For Streamers Immediately Receives 1M Applications
Coming in at number 10 was our coverage of Kai Cenat’s Streamer University, a weekend boot camp for aspiring content creators. Teased on Twitch and unveiled with a Harry Potter–themed Instagram post captioned “Enroll Now,” the project drew over one million applications within minutes, crashing the site. The free program ran in May on the University of Akron campus, with just 150 creators selected. Read more.
See also: Kai Cenat Rejects Amazon And Netflix To Keep Streamer University Independent
9. Aldi Quietly Removes DEI Language From Its Website
Early in the year, stories of companies scaling back their DEI efforts dominated our coverage, but the one that drew the most attention was Aldi US. The grocery giant quietly removed webpages outlining its DEI commitments, including its three-decade-long support for the United Negro College Fund, employee inclusion groups, internships for diverse students, and an internal DEI resource library. Also scrubbed were the “Aldinclusive” messaging and a corporate page detailing the company’s $5.5 million DE&I philanthropic fund. Read more.
8. Magic Johnson And Angel Reese Launch Financial Literacy Program
In May, Magic Johnson and Angel Reese launched Wealth Playbook, a financial literacy program for high school seniors in Baltimore focused on money management and long-term wealth building. The four-session program, held at Saint Frances Academy (Reese’s former high school), was a partnership between the Angel Reese Foundation, the Magic Johnson Foundation, Pull Up Neighbor, and Merrill Lynch. Read more.
7. This Fake LinkedIn Profile Exposed The Racial Inequity In Hiring
When a stranger told Aliyah Jones she “wasn’t corporate enough,” she began to question whether race was shaping her job search. So she created Emily Osborne, an AI-generated blonde-haired, blue-eyed white woman with the same CV, experience, and skills. Jones spent eight months applying for the same roles under Osborne’s fake LinkedIn profile, documenting the experiment in her now-viral Corporate Catfish docuseries. We think you can guess how it played out. Read more.
6. NAACP Responds To DEI Cuts With New Spending Guide For Black Shoppers
In February, the NAACP launched the Black Consumer Advisory to help Black consumers identify which companies genuinely promote diversity and inclusion. As more companies scale back their DEI efforts, the initiative served as a reminder that where money is spent still matters, and that Black consumer dollars carry real power. Read more.
5. Solange Opens Free Digital Library Of Rare Black Books
In September, Solange Knowles’ Saint Heron opened a free digital archival library of literature by Black and brown authors, poets, and artists. Many historically significant Black material survives only in fragile, localized collections, such as archives, small presses, or personal holdings. Even when preserved by larger institutions, access is often restricted to vetted researchers with the right networks or affiliations. With her library, readers can borrow rare and out-of-print books for up to 45 days, creating new pathways to access historically significant works. Read more.
4. Her Fake LinkedIn Profile Exposed Hiring Bias, Now She’s Turning Her Viral Series Into A Documentary
We’re back with Aliyah Jones, who went undercover on LinkedIn as a white woman to expose racial bias in hiring. After her Corporate Catfish docuseries went viral, she was flooded with messages from people sharing experiences of racism in the hiring process. She created submission forms for others to share their experiences, and in less than a week, 300+ people signed up. Now she’s expanding the project into a feature-length documentary titled. Being Black in Corporate America. Read more.
3. Mark Cuban Advises Black Women Founders To ‘Stop Looking For Funding’
Raising capital remains one of the biggest barriers for Black women founders. When ESSENCE asked Mark Cuban for his advice to Black female founders at SXSW in Austin, the Shark Tank investor said entrepreneurs should stop looking for funding and instead focus on building capital through sweat equity, starting smaller and growing slower if necessary, advice he has personally followed in his own journey. Read more.
2. Yale Juniors Raise $3.1M In 14 Days For Their New AI Social Network
In April, Yale juniors Nathaneo Johnson and Sean Hargrow raised $3.1 million in 14 days for Series, an ‘anti-Facebook’ networking platform using AI agents to make meaningful introductions between users who offer mutual value. Conceived in January and launched as an MVP with 100 beta users in February, Series gained momentum after a viral LinkedIn trailer drew major investor interest, including from former a16z investor Anne Lee Skates. Read more.
See also: The POCIT Innovators Index 2025
1. The Top 10 Richest Black People In The World 2025
In April, Forbes released its annual World’s Billionaires list, setting new records for both size and total wealth, and you took note. Of the 3,028 billionaires named, just 23 are Black, representing 0.8% of the total, with a combined net worth of $96.2 billion largely rooted in finance, energy, and technology. The rankings also shifted. Aliko Dangote reclaimed the top spot after being overtaken by David Steward last year, while Oprah Winfrey remained the only woman in the top 10. Alexander Karp, CEO of Palantir Technologies, appeared as a new addition. Read more.
