Barry Lawson Williams, founder of the Black Corporate Board Readiness (BCBR) progam, has been honored with a $10 million endowment to advance Black representation on corporate boards. Increasing Black representation on corporate boards At a gala event on Friday, September 27, 2024, honoring Barry Lawson Williams’ efforts to increase Black representation on corporate boards, Santa Clara University’s Leavey School of Business announced a $10 million endowment for the BCBR program. The $10 million capital campaign will establish the Barry Lawson Williams BCBR Program Endowment Fund, ensuring the program’s sustainability, and
Ruby Jackson, a 23-year-old student midwife at the University of Brighton, has developed an app, “Melanatal,” to address gaps in the recognition of maternal and neonatal conditions on Black and brown skin. Her app aims to educate both clinicians and patients on how conditions such as jaundice, pre-eclampsia, and mastitis appear on darker skin tones, a subject historically underrepresented in medical training. Bridging the Knowledge Gap in Maternal and Neonatal Health Jackson’s inspiration for Melanatal came during her placement at a neonatal unit in Ghana, where she realized that key
Wells Fargo has closed and emptied the business accounts of Beautiful Curly Me without warning, according to its 12-year-old CEO Zoe Oli and her mother, Evana. Zoe Oli founded the company at age seven to boost confidence in young Black girls through dolls and other products and recently became the youngest CEO to have a toy line at Target. Account Closure Leaves Business in Crisis The closure of Beautiful Curly Me’s three business accounts has put a severe strain on the company’s operations. According to Zoe and Evana, Wells Fargo
The Black Founders Programme, by Digital Catapult and Sony Music UK, is back for its second year, supporting Black British entrepreneurs in creative technology. Ten new startups have joined the 2024 cohort, applying immersive technologies like virtual, augmented and mixed reality to creative industries. Supporting Black Deep Tech Innovation The initiative focuses on improving investment readiness through mentorship, knowledge sharing, and partnerships. Last year, over 80% of participants saw growth in investment readiness, securing key corporate partnerships and investor interest. This year’s cohort explores immersive technology in storytelling, music production,
Black students are over twice as likely to be falsely accused of using artificial intelligence (AI) tools to complete school assignments compared to their white and Latine peers, according to a new report from Common Sense Media. Released on September 18, the study reveals that while 10% of students from any background report their work being wrongly flagged as AI-generated, the figure jumps to 20% for Black students. In contrast, only 7% of white and 10% of Latine students face such false accusations. Biased AI Detection Tools The discrepancies in
Rapper and entrepreneur 2 Chainz has joined PepsiCo to launch “Taste of Tomorrow,” a new initiative aimed at addressing the underrepresentation of Black professionals in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) careers. Boosting Black representation in STEM Despite STEM fields experiencing rapid growth, Black professionals currently make up just 9% of the workforce. The “Taste of Tomorrow” initiative aims to break down the systemic barriers Black students face in pursuing STEM careers, such as limited access to advanced coursework and public programming. Rapper and entrepreneur 2 Chainz, a HBCU alum,
The United Negro College Fund (UNCF) has announced the launch of HBCUv®, a digital learning platform designed specifically for historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). The announcement came during the UNITE 2024 Summit for Black Higher Education, with six HBCUs signing on as founding members. A Platform Built by HBCUs for HBCUs HBCUv aims to provide a seamless digital experience that mirrors the supportive and culturally rich environment of HBCU campuses. The platform is the result of over 3,000 hours of research involving students, faculty, and staff and combines online
ImpactTulsa has secured a $3.6 million investment from StriveTogether, a national initiative focused on youth development, to place 15,000 more Tulsa youth on a path toward economic success by 2030. Empowering Tusla’s Youth ImpactTulsa was one of six organizations selected to receive this investment, which aims to support 4 million young people by 2030. A member of the StriveTogether Cradle to Career Network, ImpactTulsa is focused on bridging opportunity gaps, helping students pursue higher education, and facilitating lasting economic mobility. Their youth initiatives include student financial resources, a youth council empowering
Eastside Golf, the lifestyle apparel brand founded by two Morehouse College alumni has launched its debut collaboration with Nike. The highly anticipated footwear collection, part of their fall line titled Everyone’s Game, is another major milestone for the Black-owned brand. Olajuwon Ajanaku and Earl Cooper, both of whom are former members of Morehouse’s golf team are on a mission to inspire diversity within the golf community and reimagine how the sport is represented. Breaking Barriers With Nike Partnership At the heart of the Everyone’s Game collection are two new Eastside
Black and Latine enrollment in Yale University and Princeton University’s have remained relatively stable, while the proportion of Asian American students has fallen. This marks the first admissions cycle since the US Supreme Court banned race-based admissions in June 2023. Steady Black and Latine/Hispanic Enrollments According to the first-year class profile released by Yale’s admissions office, Black students account for 14% of the class of 2028 – unchanged from the class of 2027. Yale’s class of 2028 profile also shows that Hispanic/Latine students make up 19% of the freshman class,
