Five years after the disastrous Hurricane Maria, another destructive storm has hit civilians living in Puerto Rico, exposing the vulnerability of the island’s electricity system. Hurricane Fiona, which first struck Puerto Rico on Sept 18, has already caused severe damage to the island’s economic development. According to the Washington Post, President Biden agreed to issue a major disaster declaration earlier this week. The storm brought an average of 10 to 16 inches of rain across Puerto Rico, killing four people. Since Sunday, 1.5 million people living and working in Puerto Rico
Justine Skye is expanding her business endeavors, and we are very much here for it. The musician, known for sporting some of the sleekest tresses in the business, has partnered with Black-owned artificial intelligence wig brand Parfait. Parfait, founded by Isoken Igbinedio, is an AI and facial recognition-powered beauty technology that has created a community where beauty and tech co-exist. According to its founders, Parfait was founded to solve two problems: AI biases in tech and the fragmented wig buying process for millions of Black and brown women. “It was
“Done is better than perfect” is Tanya Sam’s mantra. Real Housewives of Atlanta star Tanya Sam has said goodbye to reality TV and hello to the tech world. Since leaving reality television in 2020, Sam has worked to become a key figure in female entrepreneurship, particularly within the tech space. Prior to her transition into the tech industry, Sam was a nurse working in oncology and hematology before she first appeared on the hit Bravo series. “I was a registered nurse for 10 years,” Sam previously explained in an interview with Page
Elijah Muhammad Jr has officially made history as the youngest Black college student in Oklahoma after enrolling in three courses at Oklahoma City Community College as a freshman. According to KFOR News, Muhammed Jr. isn’t the only person in his family beating records. His older sister, Shania Muhammad, also made history this year as the youngest to graduate from college with two associate degrees from Langston University and Oklahoma City College. Elijah Muhammad Sr, the siblings’ father, revealed that Muhammed used his sister’s success to help motivate him to excel further in his
Brazil-based startup, Gen-t, is an organization at the forefront of medical evolution. The startup, founded by Lygia da Veiga Pereira in 2021, is a company built on advancing science and medical technology. Gen-t’s mission is to diversify global genomic data to help fasten medical breakthroughs and make novel discoveries based on different phenotypes. Despite being new, the organization has managed to raise $2 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Eduardo Mufarej. “The field keeps saying that we need diversity, but most of the diversity in the world is in countries with
San Francisco-based communications company, Twilio, has announced that they will be cutting 11% workforce to help restructure the company after a period of rapid expansion. In a memo to employees, Twilio CEO, Jeff Lawson, clarified that all staff cuts will be made through an “Anti-Racist” and “Anti-Oppression” lens which took many by surprise. Despite right-wing publications such as Daily Caller, describing the move as “race-based,” Lawson’s actions come at a very critical time for POC workers who more times than not, are forced to suffer the brunt of staff layoffs and redundancies.
As Africa’s tech ecosystem grows, the demand for talent is soaring. For young Africans, digital skills have become ever-more important and attractive. In 2021, according to the Africa Developer Ecosystem Report (pdf), Africa’s developer community grew by 3.8%, bringing the total number of developers on the continent to 716,000. The average local developer in Africa is seven years younger than their global counterpart and has up to three years of experience. The pandemic drove increased adoption of remote work around the world, leading to international companies recruiting African developers at
Disney’s latest live-action remake, The Little Mermaid, has been engulfed in controversy ever since the casting of singer Halle Bailey was announced. The film’s trailer has been flooded with 1.5 million dislikes from angry “fans” – despite YouTube removing the dislike counter, the numbers are still available through an extension. During a recent appearance at the D23 Expo, Bailey herself reacted to the release of the clip and called the moment “surreal.” “I’m so excited about this film,” she said. “You know being here today is so surreal. I definitely
Racial justice group, Color of Change, has unveiled its first-ever “Black Tech Agenda” roadmap to help implement policy changes to address “systemic discrimination.” According to a press release, the program is designed to undo the bias and discrimination created by most prominent tech companies and their products. The Black tech plan aims to set an affirmative vision on creating tech policies that center around racial justice, ensuring racial bias is rooted in the digital lives of Black people and everyone on the net. Color of Change, launched in 2005 by James Rucker and Van Jones,
Thanks to a grant from Michael Jordan and Jordan Brand, Next Gen Personal Finance (NGPF) will provide high schoolers with access to life-changing personal finance education. The grant was made through Michael Jordan and Jordan Brand’s Black Community Commitment (BCC), an initiative committed to supporting businesses that commit to building racial equality, and social justice and providing students with greater access to education. The high school program will be modeled after NGPF’s highly successful Finance Equity and Empowerment (FEE) grant program, which NGPF first launched in 2020 to increase financial
