This Juneteenth, we want to celebrate some Black founders who have set out to uplift and support their communities. Commemorating 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 federal holiday
Braze is hiring on POCIT Mohammad Akhoundzadeh manages a team of Solutions Architects at Braze, a leading customer engagement platform. Originally from Afghanistan and raised in the UK, Mohammad discovered his knack for technology early in his childhood, solving household tech issues whenever the opportunity arose. A proud practicing Muslim, Mohammad is also the Vice President and Treasurer for Braze’s employee resource group, Muslims@Braze. He enjoys the collaborative aspects of his work as much as the technical and believes that fostering a community of like-minded peers at his workplace enhances
internXL has announced a partnership with FYI (Focus Your Ideas), an AI-powered productivity app for creatives co-founded by will.i.am and tech founder Sunil Reddy. The partnership aims to connect college talent, particularly from underrepresented communities, with career opportunities in the AI and prompt engineering industry. internXL and FYI Collaborate An initiative of Robert F. Smith’s Fund II Foundation, internXL is an AI-driven platform that matches top employers with skilled entry-level candidates. The platform’s s AI-generated recommendations consider the educational background, career aspirations, cognitive abilities, learning style, and personality to ensure a fair evaluation.
Crunchbase has announced the expansion of its Diversity Spotlight feature to include companies in Europe. This expansion will allow up to one million additional companies on Crunchbase to add Diversity Spotlight tags to their profiles, enhancing the visibility of diverse founders and investors across the continent. Crunchbase’s Diversity Spotlight Crunchbase introduced its Diversity Spotlight feature in 2020 to centralize and highlight data about companies with diverse leadership and the investors who fund them. This feature indicates diversity in an organization’s leadership team, including founders and CEOs for startups and managing
Ancestry.com has released a new collection of newspaper articles related to more than 183,000 enslaved people in the US. The collection is free to access and leverages an AI-powered search tool to provide millions of descendants of formerly enslaved individuals with unprecedented access to detailed historical records. Never-before-seen records Ancestry’s “Articles of Enslavement” collection comprises approximately 38,000 newspaper articles dating from 1788 to 1867. Many of these original newspaper articles contain never-before-seen information about enslaved individuals and fill gaps in historical records where courthouse and community documents have been lost
Social media influencers with darker skin tones and curlier hair textures earn substantially less than their counterparts, according to research from SevenSix Agency, a UK-based talent-management firm. Influencer Pay Gap: The Impact Of Skin Tone And Hair Type The report, published on June 4, surveyed 300 influencers of varying ethnic backgrounds, including Arab, Black, East Asian, Latinx, South Asian, and Southeast Asian, alongside their white counterparts. The findings show that influencers with a “deep dark” skin tone earn 44.63% less than those with a “light skin” tone. This pay gap
Brand new Techish! In this episode, host Michael Berhane is joined by TechCrunch reporter Dominic-Madori Davis to break down: HBO’s Movie Pass, Movie Crash (0:35) Will Smith was never cancelled (7:05) Edward Blum’s anti-DEI lawsuit against Fearless Fund (10:50) Listen on Spotify or Apple podcast also. Watch On YouTube Extra Reading & Resources Fearless Fund: Appeals Court Rules Against Grants For Black Women [POCIT] Conservative Activists Behind Supreme Court’s Affirmative Action Decision Sues VC Fund For WOC [POCIT] Pre-Seed Round Investing For Black Founders. [Michael Berhane] Plus you can connect with Dom on social media
Supermodel Naomi Campbell has joined the board of SpreeAI, a new startup seeking to transform the shopping experience with AI. Founded and led by John Imah, SpreeAI lets each shopper become a model through its photorealistic try-on tool. SpreeAI SpreeAI allows shoppers to upload a single photo of themselves to see a photorealistic version of trying on outfits, with their size reportedly detected at a 99% accuracy rate. The product integrates into new and existing websites or mobile apps, offering retailers a hassle-free way to elevate user interaction and supercharge
Black Radiance has launched its first augmented reality app, Beyond Radiant, to offer an immersive diverse experience for women of color. Established in 1993, Black Radiance is a brand that amplifies Black voices and celebrates heritage and perspective worldwide and in the community. They are on trend with the latest technology and offer a diverse range of colors and tones that uplift unique ethnic shades. Beyond Radiant Beyond Radiant, now available in all app stores, stands at the intersection of augmented reality technology, beauty, and empowerment. Unlike traditional beauty apps
Food critic and TikToker Keith Lee, also known as “The People’s Champ,” has partnered with Microsoft to amplify Black restaurants further. Lee’s viral food reviews continue to highlight Black and African-American-owned restaurants, and he uses his platform to connect with worldwide food lovers. Striving to place community at the center of his partnership, he is teaming up with Microsoft to help restaurants future proof their businesses with their AI-powered tool Copilot. Lee Partners With Microsoft Lee has partnered with Microsoft to provide restaurateurs with AI tools to help their businesses
