This Juneteenth, we want to celebrate some Black startups that have set out to uplift and support the Black community. What is Juneteenth? Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, the day more than 250,000 enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas, finally learned that slavery had been abolished – two and a half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. The first Juneteenth was observed in 1866 and has been celebrated by Black Americans ever since. It is often referred to as the country’s second independence day and became an official
The dating app for Black singles, BLK, has introduced its new Father’s Day campaign “BLK DAD ENERGY.” The campaign aims to become the epicenter of Black fatherhood. It gives single fathers a community to talk, share stories, and spread love through its digital hub. BLK DAD ENERGY includes multiple sections for members to utilize, such as “Girl Dads” for fathers who want to better their relationships with their daughters and “Dating Dads,” a segment for rebuilding Black love in one’s life. For example, ”Girl Dads” features segments and videos with
In the next few days, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to decide whether or not colleges and universities can continue to consider race in their student admissions process, a practice known as affirmative action. The ruling results from the Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) lawsuits against Harvard and the University of North Carolina (UNC), which saw the court have oral arguments last year. The conservative majority court appeared ready to eliminate admissions, with race being a factor in decision-making, despite being in law for almost 50 years. Many have
The Indianapolis African Quality of Life Initiative (IAAQLI) has pledged to give $300,000 in grant support for Black people in tech. As a result of this funding, tech companies such as TechPoint, InnoPower, and Sagamore Institute are now seeking companies in Indiana to provide apprenticeships in tech to low-income Black adults. The IAAQLI is funded by a $100 Million Lilly Endowment, Inc. grant to build collaborations and partnerships to elevate the quality of life of African Americans in Indianapolis. According to Building Indiana Business, the two-year pilot apprenticeship program is
Early-stage investor Black Seed has raised £5 million ($6.25 million) with aims to create a Black Silicon Valley in London. The South London-based venture firm raised the money as an inaugural fund to invest in and support Black founders by investing in seed-stage startups. Founders Karl Lokko, Cyril Lutterodt, and founding member Yvonne Nagawa launched Black Seed to address the lack of funding Black founders receive in the UK. According to Techcrunch, the firm will focus on early-stage investing, serving as a kind of “family and friends” round for those
The regulation and ethics of AI image generators have been a topic of conversation for several years, with EU lawmakers considering proposals for safeguards to address some of the issues. In March, more than 31,000 people signed an open letter calling for a six-month pause in AI research and development to answer questions about regulation and ethics. Recently, the free-to-use graphic design tool Canva came under fire after DEI Thought Partner Adriele Parker prompted its text-to-image app to generate a Black woman with Bantu knots. An error appeared and told
Retail technology consultant Jessica Couch is launching an AI-generated fashion tech platform with co-founder Bo Hu Yang, aiming to help stylists and stylish people to monetize their influence. The AI-powered platform, which officially launches in October, is a personalized fashion discovery engine that matches people to products based on fit and style. How does Looks work? Stylists, can tag and post their looks on the platform and share them with their community. The stylist will get paid whenever someone buys an item that they post. The platform incentivizes peer-to-peer relationships
The Google for Startups Black Founders Fund is back for the third year after it launched as part of Google’s $175 million commitment towards racial equity. The fund has also expanded to Brazil, Europe, and Africa, and last year it announced its first-ever Latino Founders Fund in the US. It aims to support Black and Latino founders using technology to solve some of society’s biggest problems. The European fund launched with a $2 million grant fund that has since doubled to $4 million, with 40 Black-led tech startups across Europe
Co-founder of Flair AI, Mickey Friedman, has announced the company has generated thousands of composable human models in various poses to sell the target company’s beauty products. Friedman said they are helping to “speak to the audience’s diversity and reflect the target market.” Flair AI, founded in New York, is an AI design tool for branded content, allowing users to generate high-end product photography in minutes for CPG (consumer packaged goods) and beauty Brands. Friedman posted that companies can “target different demographics and represent your audience in marketing campaigns,” which had
Following Elon Musk’s announcement to buy Twitter in April 2022, many users, particularly Black users, opposed it. Some have found other platforms, such as Mastodon, Spill, and Bluesky. Bluesky, however, has recently raised some alarm bells after a moderation policy change following a death threat against a Black woman left many questioning the safety of the platform. What is Bluesky? Bluesky is a decentralized social app that started off as a project by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey in 2019 when he was Twitter’s CEO. Dorsey chose Jay Graber to lead
