Long before Apple implemented color emojis, Katrina Parrott had devised the idea to create a diverse range of emojis for all skin tones. In 2013, Parrott had a lightbulb moment after her daughter complained she couldn’t send emojis that looked like her to her friends. Despite not knowing much about what emojis were – Parrott decided to invest her money into designing a diverse range of emojis. According to a report by BuzzFeed News, Parrott used all her savings to hire a software engineer, illustrator, and copyright specialist to launch
Kayla Austin has received a $25,000 grant from Pharrell Williams to help accelerate her gun safety start-up, My Gun’s Been Moved. Last year, the 19-year-old Howard University sophomore pitched her idea at Pharrell Williams’ Mighty Dream Forum and Black Ambition in Virginia. Her passion was awarded a $25,000 cash prize to help bring her business to new heights. Austin came up with the idea to launch a gun safety initiative at 12 years old after attending a youth program. “So, I found out that majority of shootings involving children and teens happen with a
A TV series about the rise of Black and Latine startup founders? A definite must-see. Founding in Color, a documentary series by Comcast Universal, has returned to our screens for its second season. The docuseries follows the journeys of 11 Black and Latine startup founders as they navigate the many complexities that come with launching a business as a minority founder. Throughout the series, each entrepreneur shares exclusive insights into the hurdles they have faced as underrepresented founders. The three-part series created by Comcast NBCUniversal LIFT Labs and REVOLT’s creative agency
To commemorate Black History Month, we have been spotlighting the pioneers in tech who have paved the way for up-and-coming Black technologists. For our latest edition, we have decided to spotlight the tech industry people making moves today. From making coding easily accessible for all to inventing the programming language behind platforms like Adobe – these are the pioneers you need to know today. Saron Yitbarek Saron Yitbarek is working to make coding accessible for all. So the entrepreneur and founder of CodeNewbie decided to create a way for everyone to code, no
If you don’t know Edward Tian yet, now is the time to get to know him. The 22-year-old senior at Princeton University has developed an app to counteract the abuse and misuse of the AI chatbot, ChatGPT. Who is Edward Tian? Tian is the mastermind behind the new tool GPTZero, which helps educators determine whether ChatGPT has written an essay or document. According to NPR, the entrepreneur never planned to create a sought-after program. After majoring in computer science and minoring in journalism at Princeton University, Tian planned to graduate from college and
Leading home building company, Taylor Morrison, has introduced a first-of-its-kind fellowship program to create impactful change across the public sector. In case it may come as a surprise, many board rooms remain irreflective of society today. According to reports, only 6.2% of directors are Black, compared to 13.4% of the country. The lack of diversity in the critical decision-making rooms is one of the direct reasons why many voices in the workplace go unheard. Taylor Morrison’s new initiative is looking to change that. Effective last week, the company’s fellowship program will offer board training
Employee resource groups (ERGs) are a powerful force behind many organizations. According to a report, 90% of Fortune 500 companies have implemented ERGs into their workforce to help support their wider DEI strategy. As a result, these groups – which employees often lead – have become essential to helping businesses stay on top of their DEI commitments. Black History Month can be a reflective time for organizations to look inwardly and examine their DEI strategy for the year ahead. To support HR teams and leaders seeking to learn more about
Kanarys, Inc. has raised $10.5 million in a seed funding round, making co-founder and CEO Mandy Price one of fewer than 20 Black woman founders to receive over $10 million in funding. Making history isn’t anything new to Price. In 2021, the entrepreneur became one of 93 Black women to raise $1 million in capital funding. The recent funding round brings Kanary’s total capital to date to approximately $10.5 million. The series A funding round was led by Seyen Capital and included Portfolia Rising America, Rackhouse Venture Capital, Revolution’s Rise
Twin sisters, Masego and Matlhogonolo Mphahlele, are the brains behind new digital X-Ray glasses aimed at improving the healthcare backlog in South Africa. After taking a close friend who sustained an injury to the hospital, the Mphahlele sisters devised an idea to create a product to make getting a scan 10x easier. At that moment, the X-Ray Glasses project was born. The powerful pair came together to design a product that would allow medical practitioners to modernize how they carry out scans. Additionally, the twins are also focusing on creating another
The discourse around Black hairstyles being seen as “too Black” for professional settings has grown over recent years but it’s 2023, why is hair discrimination still a thing? To help remove the negative connotations placed around natural hair and professionalism, Dove has partnered with LinkedIn and The Crown Coalition to make hair discrimination in the workplace completely illegal. Dove’s partnership with LinkedIn will help shed some light on The Crown Act, legislation prohibiting racial discrimination based on natural textures and protective hairstyles. The act, fighting to make hair discrimination illegal nationwide,
