Dove has joined a campaign to bring natural and protective Black hairstyles to the emoji keyboard. Partnering with London-based youth nonprofit RISE.365, the brand is calling on the Unicode Consortium to approve four new emoji designs representing afros, braids, cornrows, and locs. The push comes as Unicode prepares to review new emoji proposals this month. The #CodeMyCrown campaign The #CodeMyCrown campaign, backed by global pop star Mel B, is challenging the lack of representation of Black hair among the nearly 4,000 emojis currently available. While over 90 percent of the
Over the past year, we’ve seen no shortage of deception: some of it clever, some of it outrageous, and some of it deeply revealing. We’ve seen fake identities used to expose bias, deepfakes spread like wildfire, and high-profile figures go to great lengths to hide the truth (or rewrite it entirely) From a lying ex-husband and cross-country Uber pranks to investor fraud, corporate lawsuits, and social media misinformation, here are ten stories to catch up on this April Fools’ Day. 1. 10 years for scamming investors – or not Carlos
On March 11, 2025, United Negro College Fund (UNCF) partnered with TikTok to champion HillmanTok University for using social media to transform education and motivate the Black community. HillmanTok at Capitol Hill HillmanTok educators like Dr. Leah Barlow, Shyia Simmon, CPA Thurman Brooks, Gyllian Carter, Kyra Brown, and Denise Francis went to Capital Hill in Washington, DC, for a special reception to commemorate the educators and meet with members of Congress, according to a TikTok news release viewed by AFROTECH. “UNCF is proud to partner with TikTok to amplify the transformative
Vince Martin, Founder and CEO of Atlanta-based Upsides Network LLC, has announced the launch of his new platform, BlackShares. The platform aims to bring the Black community together for social and professional networking, as stated in a press release. The company is calling for a boycott of X, Threads, Bluesky, and LinkedIn and suggests switching to BlackShares to support a Black-owned platform instead. The platform will allow experts to be paid for their knowledge, encouraging wealth within the Black community. Putting money back into the community Black consumers’ collective economic
Kendrick Lamar’s startup pgLang is number 15 on Fast Company’s list of the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2025. The multidisciplinary creative communications company was founded by Lamar and  filmmaker and record producer Dave Free in 2020. The company establishes itself as a hybrid model in the creative spaces, operating across different industries and platforms such as music, film and live events. This year, they creatively directed and co-produced the Super Bowl halftime show where Lamar performed his number 1 hit “Not Like Us.” pglang’s influence The creative agency has
The Nigerian parliament recently passed a resolution banning pornographic websites with immediate effect. The decision follows a motion presented by lawmaker Dalhatu Tafoki, who raised concerns about the accessibility of explicit content and its perceived impact on societal values, particularly among youth. Concerns over moral decline According to Peoples Gazette, Tafoki highlighted the psychological and social risks he believes are linked to exposure to pornography, citing global research by psychologists and sociologists. “Renowned psychologists and sociologists worldwide have issued strong warnings about the psychological, sociological, and mental consequences of consuming pornographic content,”
Elon Musk’s Starlink is facing significant backlash in Lesotho over local equity. A rights group called Section 2 wants Starlink to give 30% of its ownership to Basotho citizens before obtaining a license to operate, according to TechPoint. The group voiced its concerns to the Lesotho Communications Authority, stating that the licensing deal is unfair since there is no local ownership. They also highlighted that other telecom providers in Lesotho, like Econet and Vodacom, have local shareholders, so why should Starlink receive special treatment? Starlink faces similar issues in South
Create Labs Ventures is collaborating with TONL, a Black-owned stock photography company, to launch the first-ever AI-powered image-generator exclusively trained to create a Black-owned stock photo library, Femi Magazine reports. This partnership aims to tackle biases in AI image generation, where models trained on white-dominated datasets often produce inaccurate or offensive depictions of Black, Brown, and other marginalized communities. communities. By leveraging TONL’s diverse collection, it aims to create more authentic, representative images. Black Representation in Stock Photography TONL was founded by Nigerian-American social entrepreneur Karen Okonkwo and Ghanaian-American Joshua
Cheersy, a digital platform connecting engaged couples with quality day-of wedding coordinators, secured $550,000 in a pre-seed financing round led by Kerry Washington. Other angel investors and advisors include Jennifer Gilbert, Founder of Save the Date®, Elizabeth Cutler, Co-Founder of SoulCycle and Peoplehood, and Christina Tosi, Chef and founder of Milk Bar. A digital wedding marketplace for couples Cheersy Founder and CEO Amy Shack Egan founded Modern Rebel, a NYC-based full-service wedding planning business. After it received strong demand, she wanted to build a digital marketplace where couples could experience the unique wedding
Meghan Markle has announced her new podcast about female founders. It will debut on April 8, exploring her journey as an entrepreneur and conversations with other female founders, as stated by People Magazine. The podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder, produced by Lemonada Media, follows Meghan’s Netflix series With Love, Meghan and the launch of her lifestyle brand, As Ever. Meghan Markle’s new podcast “I’m so proud of what we’re creating, and the candid conversations that I’m able to have with other female founders as we unpack the twists and
