The American Geophysical Union (AGU), one of the leading science organizations in the world, has elected Dr. Brandon Jones as its first Black president according to Forbes. Dr Jones graduated from Lincoln University, a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) with a degree in biology. He also has a master’s degree and a doctorate in Marine Sciences from the University of Delaware. AGU’s first Black president Speaking with Forbes, Dr Jones says his vision for the AGU is to “continue to develop the elements of future adaptiveness and maintain a
In this episode, Michael and Abadesi dive into why Gen Z want to be in the office, tools like Replit that make app-building a breeze for entrepreneurs. They also look into the rise of on-demands security services aka “Uber for Guns,” and what it means about the state of the world. Finally, they tackle the ethics of investing—should you back a company that doesn’t align with your values? Chapters 00:00 Gen Z and Remote Work 04:32 Why Replit Is a Game-Changing App Builder 08:29 New Protector App Wants to Be ‘Uber for
Sustainable fashion has become more popular in the past few years, with more consumers acknowledging the damage fast fashion does to the planet. In a worldwide survey by Statista, over one-quarter of consumers said they had made a significant change toward buying more sustainable products. Additionally, fashion lovers are realising the benefits of investing in pieces, so more individuals have started renting their clothes. In 2025, the US clothing and apparel rental market was expected to be worth $1.5 billion, according to IBIS World. It makes sense; why spend hundreds of dollars on
HBCUvc Alumni Fellows invested over $10 million into Black-founded startups and organizations, according to the organization’s 2024 Annual Impact Report. Black entrepreneurs still struggle to gain capital. In 2024, Black-founded startups received just 0.48% of total US venture capital, from 1.3% in 2021 and 0.5% in 2023, according to Crunchbase. This decline comes at a time when the country is facing a vast overturn in DEI initiatives. HBCUvc aims to create a smooth pipeline of investors, supporting its program participants from their first exposure to venture capital through hands-on experience and,
Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’s privately funded space venture, announced its next flight into space with an all-female crew. In a press release on Thursday, the firm shared that Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyen, Gayle King, Katy Perry, Kerianne Flynn, and Lauren Sánchez will take a 10-minute flight to space from a West Texas launchpad this spring. This mission will be the first time since Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova’s solo flight in 1963 that an all-female crew will be on a human-crewed spaceflight leaving Earth, according to Blue Origin. The all-female crew
Last week, a federal judge temporarily blocked President Trump’s executive orders to cut federal support for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, ruling that they likely violate the First Amendment and other constitutional protections. Judge Rejects Trump’s DEI Crackdown AP News reports that US District Judge Adam Abelson in Maryland issued an injunction on February 21, preventing the administration from terminating or altering federal contracts tied to DEI. Baltimore officials and three organizations brought the lawsuit, arguing that Trump’s orders unlawfully suppress free speech and overstep presidential authority. Abelson agreed
British police forces are using AI crime prediction tools that disproportionately target Black and racialized communities, a new report from Amnesty International UK has revealed. According to Amnesty, nearly three-quarters of UK police forces rely on predictive policing, which uses past crime data to estimate where crimes might happen or who might commit them. The 120-page report, “Automated Racism – How Police Data and Algorithms Code Discrimination Into Policing,” argues that these predictive systems reinforce racial bias instead of improving public safety. “These systems have been built with discriminatory data
Apple says it is fixing its speech-to-text tool after some users found that their iPhones transcribed the word “racist” as “Trump.” The issue first gained attention through a viral TikTok video and has since been widely shared across social media. “We are aware of an issue with the speech recognition model that powers Dictation, and we are rolling out a fix today,” a spokesperson said in a statement on Tuesday. Was it just a glitch? Apple suggested that the problem stemmed from the Dictation system’s difficulty distinguishing words with an
Nigeria is suing Binance for $79.5 billion in economic losses, which it alleges were caused by the cryptocurrency exchange’s actions in the country, and $2 billion in unpaid taxes, according to court documents seen by Reuters. Nigerian officials condemned Binance for Nigeria’s currency problems and detained two of its executives in 2024 following cryptocurrency websites emerging as preferred platforms for trading the local naira currency. Binance is one of the most significant crypto exchange currencies globally but is not registered in Nigeria. It did not respond to a request for
Being Black or Brown in tech is one thing; being Black, brown, and queer in tech is another. Being a minority in the tech space can be isolating; now imagine having intersecting identities. The tech space is still very white and male, as only 3% of the UK tech workforce is Black, according to Tech Talent Charter Diversity in Tech Report 2023. While only 2-3% of tech employees identify as LGBT+, as stated by Women Tech Network. So, just existing as a Black or brown queer person in tech is
