ThriveDX, a global leader in cybersecurity education, and BlackGirlsHack, an international cybersecurity training nonprofit increasing diverse representation in cybersecurity, have launched the BlackGirlsHack Scholars Program. The Scholars Program will enable a cohort of 25 individuals associated with BlackGirlsHack to receive the support and benefits needed to complete the program successfully and secure new cybersecurity employment. Helping Black Women and Girls Thrive In Cyber The BlackGirlsHack Foundation was founded by Tennisha Martin, a Black woman from Washington, D.C., who has worked in the IT and Cyber Space for over 15 years. The nonprofit
Asmelash Teka Hadgu, the visionary behind startup Lesan, is changing the game for language translation, especially for Ethiopian Languages. Acknowledging the limitations of popular translation systems like Google Translate and Facebook, Lesan is on a mission to create language-specific technologies. Translating ‘low-resource’ Languages In an interview with Rest of the World, Hadgu explained that it has become urgent to create language-specific technologies because Google Translate and ChatGPT don’t fit the mark. AI translation models are known to be more accurate for ‘high-resource’ languages like English and Mandarin, and it was recently
Buffalo Massacre Families Sue Meta, Reddit, Discord, Alphabet, And Others For Role In Radicalization
The devastating 2022 Buffalo mass shooting has sparked a legal battle to hold social media companies responsible for their platforms’ role in radicalization. Two lawsuits, launched by the victims’ loved ones, are seeking accountability from tech giants such as Facebook, Reddit, and Alphabet, alleging that the algorithms and content on these platforms contributed to the racist attack that resulted in the deaths of ten Black people. How social media shaped the attack Payton Gendron, an 18-year-old white male, was fueled by white supremacist ideology as he carried out a murderous
Following reported disputes and a lawsuit, Greenwood and The Gathering Spot have announced that they are resolving their outstanding issues as they continue to uplift Black and minority communities. What happened? Last May, The Gathering Spot, a private membership network focused on the Black community, was acquired by Greenwood, a digital banking platform. However, earlier this month, there were reported disputes between the two companies, including reports of a lawsuit filed by The Gathering Spot co-founders Ryan Wilson and T’Keel (TK) Petersen against Greenwood co-founder and CEO Ryan Glover and board
Blair Matthews, a Howard alumnus from Zanzibar, and Giuliana Zaccardelli founded a digital health startup with a mission to provide fertility services to families. Zuri Fertility Zuri Fertility was launched in honor of Infertility Awareness Month as a personal digital fertility clinic in June, Zuri meaning good and beautiful in Swahili. They provide personalized fertility care with an online questionnaire to meet each individual need, a home testing tracker for both partners involved, a message center, and a larger community for the couple to get support from others. It also
Maria Watkins, a 64-year-old HBCU graduate, and former social worker, founded RightThereCorportation and has launched the first ever Black-owned app, RTC ProTech, with a 24/7 call center to minimize police brutality and hate crimes. RTC Protech App RightThere Corporation advocates that both innocent citizens and police officers return home safely. While they support Law Enforcement in their duties to serve and protect communities, they are firmly against police misconduct and the lack of transparency between the Police Departments and the community, along with the lack of de-escalation training. “All individuals
Isaac Hayes III has launched Fanbase, a social media platform designed to enable Black creators to cultivate their audiences and monetize their contributions effectively. An often-observed reality in the social media world is the lack of acknowledgment and monetary reward for Black creators, even when they are the originators of significant trends. A notable instance is when the viral TikTok renegade dance was mistakenly attributed to TikToker Charli D’Amelio, overlooking the actual creator, Jalaiah Harmon. Unfortunately, this extends beyond viral dances. From fashion trends and online ideas to music, the
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s recent halt to Affirmative Action in college admissions, 13 Republican attorney generals have turned their sights towards corporate diversity programs, with tech giant Microsoft amongst their targets. The Lead-Up Tech industry titans such as Apple, Microsoft, and Uber are facing potential legal ramifications as Republican state prosecutors target their workforce diversity programs. This comes in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, a tragic event that catalyzed these companies to publicly commit to enhancing diversity within their ranks. Their ambitious commitments include plans to
A trio of Black fraternity members have teamed up to create Greektory, an app to help members of Greek organizations connect, interact, and collaborate. Building relationships through Greektory Greektory founders Ronard Green, Matthew Plunkett, and Bruson Ovil, all members of prominent Black fraternities, wanted to bridge communication gaps within and between chapters. Their digital app is aimed at networking, event planning, and community engagement. For example, the networking feature enables users to filter members based on information gathered during onboarding, such as industry, location, and year they joined the organization.
The ALIVE Podcast Network and Riverside.FM have partnered to launch the Riverside Black Creative HUB – Powered by ALIVE. Drawing on the expertise of both companies, the new platform aims to empower Black creatives to form a community and innovate. The home of Black voices The ALIVE Podcast Network is the first Black-woman-owned podcast network to build its own tech stack with production, distribution, and training to help Black podcast creators monetize, amplify and maintain ownership of their content. “ALIVE is to Podcasting what Tyler Perry Studios is for film
