This year’s Black History Month theme, African Americans and the Arts, invites us to delve into a rich cultural heritage. This month, we will be celebrating the diverse artistic contributions of African Americans across multiple domains and spotlighting the intersection of Black arts and technology. The Origins Of Black History Month Harvard-trained historian Carter G. Woodson founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH) and announced Negro History Week in 1925. Woodson had hoped to raise awareness of African Americans’ contributions to civilization, and the event
Team Genius Squad, a toy brand created by 11-year-old entrepreneur and author Ava N. Simmons, has launched its new STEM toy line in Whole Foods Market stores. Team Genius Squad Simmons, also known as the STEM Princess, created Team Genius Squad to promote STEM awareness and encourage individuals to believe in themselves, identify their uniqueness, and pursue their goals. Last year, in 2023, the team decided to start in-person events and designed a STEM Mobile Lab to travel across the country. They then launched their own STEM toys, with 15
Aster has announced its $2.4 million pre-seed round to build a platform to enable women’s health providers to deliver materially better care. Aster The United States is the most dangerous and expensive high-income country for childbirth, especially for Black and Indigenous women. Black women face a nine times higher risk of maternal death than their white counterparts, regardless of wealth. The Aster app was created to help women keep track of their pregnancy, communicate with a care team on the app, and book appointments and remote monitoring. FiFi Kara co-founded the app after witnessing her
A group of Democratic lawmakers has called on the Justice Department (DOJ) to pause funding for predictive policing technology amid discrimination concerns. Predictive policing uses computer systems to analyze large sets of data, including historical crime data, to help decide where to deploy police or identify individuals who are purportedly more likely to commit or be a victims of a crime. In a letter released Monday, Sen. Ron Wyden, Rep. Yvette Clarke, and five other senators asked Attorney General Merrick Garland to halt all DOJ grants. The Concerns With Predictive Policing Technology The letter
Google has purchased Edlyft’s AI tutor – a generative AI co-pilot for college students studying computer science. Erika Hairston and Arnelle Ansong, two long-time friends, founded Edlyft in 2020 to support Black college students and adults enrolled in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses. Their digital platform connects learners to inclusive mentorship, online group tutoring, live and recorded sessions, and personalized study tools, enabling them to succeed in their classes and secure high-paying jobs. Over the past two years, Edlyft collaborated with Google through their Google Tech Exchange, teaching applied data structures to Historically
OpenAI has responded to Congresswoman Barbara Lee and the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) after they flagged the lack of diversity on its board. The CBC’s Letter In mid-December, CBC Chairs Rep. Emanuel Cleaver and Lee sent a letter to OpenAI to diversify its board after the ouster and return of CEO Sam Altman. Altman’s return led to the departure of the board’s only two women, Helen Toner and Tasha McCauley. Thus, the tech company had only white male members on its board. In the letter, the pair outlined A’s increasing advancement, which creates
UK-based Black-owned platform Sojo has become the first fashion repairs and alterations platform to achieve B Corp certification. Certified B Corps are companies verified by B Lab to meet high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. The B Corp Community is a global movement of businesses that provide leadership by demonstrating their commitment to people and the planet. There are over 7,800 B Corps worldwide, across 161 industries in 92 countries, with over 708,300 workers. Sojo achieved 86.8 points, above the B Corp pass mark of 80 and
Alinea Invest has received $3.4 million in seed funding just in time for the launch of their virtual AI assistant to help users with their investing needs. Alinea Invest After interning at Goldman Sachs, Eve Halimi and Anam Lakhani, co-founders of Alinea, realized the need for a female-focused investing app to guide women in making investments and managing their wealth. “The pain point we saw is that people like us who are young women, Gen Zs, children of immigrants, they have no idea where to start,” Lakhani told TechCrunch. “Financial literacy is a massive pain
Yesterday, the Los Angeles Times laid off more than 115 journalists, more than 20% of its newsroom. Several journalists of color have been affected by the cuts, which the Los Angeles Times Guild says the company could have prevented. LA Times Layoffs “The company has reneged on its promises to diversify its ranks since young journalists of color have been disproportionately affected,” said the Los Angeles Times Guild in a statement. “The Black, AAPI, and Latino Caucuses have suffered devastating losses. Voluntary buyouts could have helped prevent this, but that’s not
Uber has hired Snaps Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Oona King as their new Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer. Meet Oona King Oona King is a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) executive with over twenty years of experience. King has made her mark in several companies, including the Chief Diversity Officer at Channel 4 for over seven years, Global Director of Diverse Marketing at YouTube, and Director of Diversity Strategy at Google. She also became the second Black woman elected to the British Parliament in 1997 and was an advisor
