Henrietta Lacks’ family is suing a second company for unjustly profiting from her cells. Lacks was a Black mother of five who died of cervical cancer in October 1951 at 31. Following a tumor biopsy, doctors saved a sample of her cancer cells without telling her and passed them on to a medical researcher at Johns Hopkins University. Although most cells die quickly in the lab, Lacks’ continued to multiply and didn’t age. These “immortal” cells were named HeLa (after her first and last name) and were sent to labs
A new report from the President’s Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration and Shorelight Education has found that students from African nations and the Global South are more likely to have visas rejected. What did the report find? The data from the report was collected through public records requests and found that visa denials to study in the U.S. rose significantly from 2015-2022, especially for Global South countries. African students faced a visa rejection rate of over 50% in 2022, up nearly 10% since 2015. The report stated that in 2015,
This article was first published by Cheryl Lyn here. Many African American small business owners face challenges with funding due to post-pandemic hardship, inflation, and fierce competition. Yet black-owned businesses have been integral to the U.S. economy in the past and present. To help you out, we’ve rounded up a list of 20 places where you can seek grants and funding for your business in 2023. Backstage Capital What’s cool about Backstage Capital is that they intentionally back underrepresented founders, particularly those of color, female genders, and LGBTQ orientations. Founded in 2015, this private firm
Fearless Fund: VC Fund For WOC Responds To Racial Discrimination Lawsuit From Conservative Activists
Fearless Fund has responded to the lawsuit filed by the American Alliance for Equal Rights (AAER) after it accused them of racial discrimination. What happened? Conservative group American Alliance for Equal Rights, founded by Edward Blum, brought a lawsuit against Fearless Fund, which supports women of color who own small businesses. The lawsuit accuses Fearless Fund of violating Section 1982 of the Civil Rights Act of 1886, which bars racial bias in private contracts, by opening its grant competition to Black women alone. Lawsuits brought by Blum and the conservative group led
Seven former employees are suing Twitter – rebranded as X – alleging that the company’s mass layoffs unfairly impacted employees with protected characteristics, including Black employees. The Lawsuits The complaints were filed in federal court in Oakland, California, after claims that Twitter violated America’s Family Medical Leave Act, the Civil Rights Act and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. Omolade Ogunsanya is among the seven suing Twitter. According to the lawsuit seen by Rolling Stone, he alleged that his firing was “the product of unlawful race-based discrimination against Black employees.” Ogunsanya worked
Libbie Health, an AI-powered app that gives women of color tools to reduce anxiety, was announced the winner of this year’s Make It in Brooklyn pitch contest. Libbie Health The app was founded by behavioral health coach Colette Ellis in 2022 to address racial and cultural disparities in mental health care. It also aims to create positive health outcomes for women, BIPOC, LGBTQ+ and marginalized leaders. Ellis was trained in Emotional-Freedom Technique (EFT) tapping in 2013 and began building it into her client work. “If you’ve ever been in a situation where you smelled
Black-owned web3 social marketplace, Calaxy has launched its app, helping creators to monetize their content and connect with their fans. Helping Creators to Monetize Tech entrepreneur Solo Ceesay and NBA player Spencer Dinwiddie founded Calaxy in 2021 to build a new infrastructure allowing content creators ownership and equitable value exchange compared to the current social media landscape. It’s described as reimagining how people use social media, empowering more meaningful and fulfilling fan experiences. Despite the creator economy being one of the fastest-growing sectors of the internet, creators still need help to monetize with the rise of
An AI image creator, Playground AI, gave an Asian MIT graduate blue eyes and lighter skin when she asked it to turn her photo into a professional LinkedIn headshot. Rona Wang, who had majored in computer science at MIT, took to Twitter to share her surprise, adding to online debates about racial biases in generative AI. What happened? The Boston Globe reported that Wang uploaded an image of herself smiling and wearing a red MIT shirt to the platform, asking it to turn the image into a “professional” LinkedIn profile
Today, Robert F. Smith announced that Vista Equity Partners, his market investment firm, has surpassed $100 billion in assets under management (AUM)—the total market value of all its investments. Vista Equity Partners Smith is the wealthiest Black man in the United States, surpassing Oprah Winfrey in 2018 as the richest Black American. He founded Vista Equity Partners in 2000 to invest in businesses that use tech to promote economic equity, ecological responsibility, and diversity and inclusion. He recently announced plans to sell Apptio – a company that helps connect technology investments to business
Acclaimed filmmaker and founder of Array Crew, Ava DuVernay, is collaborating with Oscar-winning filmmakers Brian Grazer and Ron Howard, founders of the Impact network, to create the “largest hiring network” for the entertainment industry. Array Crew In 2021, DuVernay founded Array Crew, a searchable personnel database designed to connect below-the-line crew professionals. The database focuses on amplifying women, people of color and those from underrepresented backgrounds, connecting them with producers, studio executives and department heads. The database has gained the support of major studios and streamers, including Warner Bros.Discovery, Amazon Studios, Apple TV+
