College basketball coach Leonard Hamilton is being sued for allegedly defrauding several players. According to Yahoo! Sports, former Florida State University (FSU) basketball players Darin Green Jr., Josh Nickelberry, Primo Spears, Cam’Ron Fletcher, De’Ante Green, and Jalen Warley have filed a lawsuit against their former coach. The players claim Hamilton owed them $1.5 million in total through name, image, and likeness (NIL) payments. They say he made promises of payments starting in April 2023, when he held a meeting and allegedly told the players they would receive compensation of $250,000 each. The money was expected to be disbursed by March 2024, but the players claim those funds never materialized even though he continued to assure them that they would be paid. “Every player on the 2023-24 FSU men’s basketball team roster relied on the promises that Hamilton made when they either decided to transfer to FSU or remain enrolled at FSU and play out the season,” the suit said, per...

Costco is doubling down on its decision to maintain its DEI policies. This comes amid several major companies retracting their commitments, such as Google. CNBC reported that Google had established new programs to empower Black staffers following the murder of George Floyd in 2020. At the time, its CEO, Sundar Pichai, stated the intention “to build sustainable equity for Google’s Black+ community, and externally, to make our products and programs helpful in the moments that matter most to Black users.” The company aimed for a benchmark of 30% of leadership being composed of underrepresented groups by 2025. However, in the years since, Google has fallen significantly short of that goal by reducing staff and shrinking programs related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), as has its parent company Alphabet. By mid-2023, DEI job postings by companies in general were showing a downward trend. Job site Indeed offered data that revealed a drop of 44% in postings compared to the...

Mexico is launching a new initiative to help migrants alert local consulates if they believe they are about to be detained in the United States. The country is developing a mobile app called “Alert Button,” which, in addition to alerting consulates, will also allow Mexican nationals who fear imminent detention to notify pre-selected family members and report the situation to its secretary of foreign affairs, Juan Ramón de la Fuente, ABC News reported . De la Fuente announced the app is intended for “emergency cases” and is expected to be available in January 2025, coinciding with the beginning of President-elect Donald Trump’s administration . The secretary also outlined additional protective measures, emphasizing that to deport someone from the U.S., “you need a court order, a final sentence of deportation or removal, and that is where the consular team will be very aware that due process is complied with,” according to ABC. Trump has repeatedly pledged to launch mass deportations...

Flowing with Blessings Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to supporting Atlanta’s homeless population, has teamed up with industrial design students from Georgia Tech to develop an innovative Mobile Laundry Bus, according to the university’s News Center. Founded by Nicky Crawford in February 2022, Flowing with Blessings provides essential services such as showers and clean clothing for those in need. Georgia Tech reported that Crawford’s commitment to alleviating the daily struggles of those they serve — by helping individuals preserve their cherished belongings and maintain personal hygiene without the stigma often associated with homelessness — inspired the creation of the mobile laundry bus. Crawford bought a school bus to convert it into a mobile laundry service, going to Georgia Tech for help with the process. The initiative, led by Steve Chininis, professor of practice at the School of Industrial Design, involved students Zaria Hardnett, David Hounyo, Lily Liang, Claudia Ross, and...

According to Jamé Jackson, whether you recognize it or not, you are a brand. Jackson, the founder of the entrepreneurship website and podcast “TheBlondeMisfit,” serves as LinkedIn’s community manager of community segments, overseeing over 17,000 individuals. Her tenure with the social networking platform for professionals has centered on scaling its video content and viewership. According to her LinkedIn, coaching, workshops, and initiatives have led to an increase of 0.05% in video creation and attracted VIP and executive clients from tech companies to the platform. “My contributions have positioned LinkedIn as a leader in video-first professional storytelling, further reinforced by my role in ramping the video tab beta to over 10 million members, resulting in a 16% month-over-month expansion within just 12 weeks,” she describes on her LinkedIn profile. Jackson joined the “Black Tech Green Money” podcast, hosted by AFROTECH™ Brand Manager Will Lucas, where she emphasized the...

For over a decade, Amazon has been committed to providing free legal services to communities in need. Pro Bono Program In 2014, David Zapolsky, Amazon’s senior vice president of global public policy and general counsel with 35 years of legal experience, launched a pro bono program. This allowed Amazon to scale its efforts to deploy free legal assistance. This initiative has played a pivotal role in breaking down barriers for underserved communities worldwide. “ Amazon employees were highly engaged in pro bono service long before the pro bono program’s formal launch, but our efforts have expanded greatly on a global scale with a more organized structure in place to help engage and support employees, encourage and facilitate partnerships with law firms and third-party organizations, and provide trainings and other resources for team members across the globe who have a passion for this impactful work,” Sean Croman, vice president and associate general counsel of Amazon’s Legal...

Community is essential for Black professionals. Among the annual events that center Black audiences, the AFROTECH™ Conference has rightfully earned the title of “Black tech Mecca.” Each year, leaders that have included Robert F. Smith, will.i.am, Beatrice Dixon (The Honey Po co-co-founder and former CEO), and Colin Kaepernick (Lumi Founder) have taken to its programing stages to offer industry insights. View this post on Instagram A post shared by AFROTECH (@afro.tech) In attending the AFROTECH™ Conference, attendees have the opportunity to explore the expo floor, which features over 200 tech and enterprise companies actively recruiting, product demonstrations, and event activations both within the conference venue and in the surrounding area. The conference has made its way to Austin, TX, in previous years but has transitioned to Houston, TX, for the 2024 and 2025 years. Transforming Your ATC™ Experience As An Insider Among the list of ATC 2024 attendees was Jade C. Williams, a...

Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™. Americans aren’t the only ones prepping for another tedious four years under President-elect Donald Trump. Since the results of the 2024 election projected Donald Trump as the winner, tech leaders from companies like Meta, Amazon, OpenAI, and others have shelled out seven-figure investments to Trump’s inaugural fund. According to CBS News, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has donated $1 million and plans to stream the inauguration on Prime. Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, will donate $1 million, along with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who delivered an optimistic statement about the President-elect’s election win. “President Trump will lead our country into the age of AI, and I am eager to support his efforts to ensure America stays ahead,” Altman said in a statement, per The Associated Press. Elon Musk, CEO of X, Tesla, and SpaceX, and general pop culture menace has been a lurking presence...

50 Cent is known for his forward-thinking, so was he ahead of the curve with Bitcoin? In 2014, it was said he was one of the first to embrace cryptocurrency in the music industry by TMZ. He agreed to accept B itcoin as payment for the album sales of “Animal Ambition,” NPR reported. He was driven by a desire to  “stay with [the] times,” mentioned CNBC. At the time it was said 50 Cent had received nearly 700 bitcoins, placing its value at more than $400,000. By 2018, Bitcoin’s value had reportedly surged and the bitcoin was worth between $10,000 to $12,000 per coin. This increase brought the estimated value of 50 Cent’s 700 Bitcoin to a range between $7 million and $8.5 million. “Not Bad for a kid from South Side, I’m so proud of me,” 50 Cent wrote in a now-deleted Instagram post, according to CNBC. “I’m a keep it real. I forgot I did that sh-t.” While Bitcoin’s worth was impressive at the time, its value has grown since. Benzinga reported that bitcoin’s value soared to $68,973 by...

Being in the right place at the right time paid off for Jade C. Williams. Williams, a product leader, says the technology sector found her. A proud Howard University alumna with a bachelor’s degree in economics, she originally aspired to become a business owner and CEO. However, her career took an unexpected turn when Deloitte, a consulting firm, reached out to her. In 2014, she joined the company as a business technology analyst and, within two years, earned a promotion to product management consultant. “That was my first exposure into tech and I did more tech advisory work on the business side for Deloitte. So that was the entry point to me for me doing product management and product advisory work across like Fortune 100 companies in the federal government,” she said during an interview with AFROTECH™. Williams earned two additional promotions before leaving after six years. Her following job opportunities would result from attending and being present at the AFROTECH™ Conference....

Kwame Christian leverages his expertise to inspire and equip professionals with the tools to succeed. Christian’s journey can be traced back to Tiffin, OH, where he was raised as a first-generation Caribbean American, often standing out as the only Black student in his classes. A defining moment in sixth grade shaped his path: being rejected and ostracized by peers on the playground. This experience ignited a deep desire for connection and acceptance. By high school, he channeled that drive into leadership, rising to become the captain of both the basketball and tennis teams. Reflecting on his journey in an interview with AFROTECH™, Christian admitted he adopted a “people pleaser” mentality, often prioritizing others’ approval over his authentic self. “I wasn’t my authentic self in many ways,” he said. “I still had really great connections, but when it came to difficult situations and difficult conversations, I would always agree, even if I disagreed, I wouldn’t speak up if I didn’t...

Several salon owners have been awarded a grant from Beyoncé. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the singer’s BeyGood foundation, in collaboration with her newly launched haircare line, Cécred, established a $500,000 annual fund. The initiative supports hairstylists in Atlanta, GA; Chicago, IL; Houston, TX; Los Angeles, CA; and New Jersey who meet specified criteria: They must be licensed for at least two years; have been in business for a minimum of one year; lease or own a suite, booth, or chair; and face financial hardship, according to the foundation’s website. Additionally, the fund includes a $10,000 scholarship opportunity for five cosmetology schools in the aforementioned markets. “Fostering talent, promoting professionalism, and supporting entrepreneurship within the hair industry is deeply important to us,” BeyGood commented on its website. “That’s why we’re partnering with Cécred to create the Cécred x BeyGOOD Fund, which celebrates the influence professional stylists have...

Seasoned tech executive Omar Johnson is leveraging his experience to revolutionize how brands market themselves. Raised in Brooklyn, NY, Johnson’s exposure to technology was initially limited to video games and consumer electronics. However, his inquisitiveness grew and ultimately helped him secure roles with major tech giants. “A lot of my curiosity was sort of like self-driven,” he told AFROTECH™ in an interview. Tech Journey Johnson’s interests also lay in marketing, leading him to earn an MBA from Emory University in 2004. Following a brief stint at Campbell Soup Company as an associate brand manager, he transitioned to roles with brands such as Coca-Cola and Nike. At the latter, he began as an assistant brand manager before being promoted to content manager of advising and innovation, which remained his focus. “Find the most important things that the company is betting on for the future and work on those things,” Johnson explained. “I always had that sort of lean when I was at...

Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™. TikTok is once again finding itself at odds with the U.S government as it fights to stay available here in the U.S. Previously, TikTok had to go up against The Commitee On Foreign Investment In The United States because the company’s ties to China through its owner Bytedance prompted some concerns by the U.S. government for national security. President Joe Biden signed a new law in April 2024 that would force the sale of TikTok to a U.S.-owned entity, or it will face a permanent ban here in the U.S. starting January 2025. TikTok then asked the Supreme Court to place a pause on the potential ban to hear its arguments on why the platform should be able to operate in the U.S. The Supreme Court will hear the start to its arguments on Jan. 10. Today, TikTok is a place not only to discover content but also to engage in commerce. TikTok Shop launched in September 2023 and has quickly become a mainstay...

Being Black is not a monolith, which is why the culture’s approach to gaming is not something that is one-size-fits-all. That said, Xbox is on a mission to revolutionize the industry by offering a variety of games that fit the many needs of those playing. Beyond those who play games, there is also a space for those who have an interest in creating them over at the Microsoft-led company. One of the latest games that stem from Xbox is South of Midnight, a spellbinding third-person action-adventure game set in the American Deep South. Designed to celebrate Black heritage and Southern culture, the project follows main character Hazel, who was created by Compulsion Game’s, Zaire Lanier, who serves as the writer and narrative designer on the game. “When creating Hazel, for me, it was important to not think of Blackness as a monolith,” she said during the “ WOVEN: The Power of Black Voices in Gaming” panel at Microsoft’s Black TechXcellence House during the AFROTECH™ Conference 2024.  ...