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A Black-led development is underway to revolutionize the Crenshaw, LA. Los Angeles Times reports that siblings Jamial Clark and Bridgette Reed are guiding a $24 million project. They secured the land from their parents, Henry and Lucretia Clark, who originally purchased it in 1995. Lucretia owned a hair salon , and the couple also rented out their building. This led to the establishment of a wig shop, shoe repair shop, frame shop, and a social services provider. The building had been a staple in the community, and now the siblings are looking to build on its legacy with new plans. “I invested over $100,000 of my money just to keep things going and to keep bills paid and the mortgage paid, ” Jamial told the outlet. “ Selling was never going to be an option, even though we got to a point where we had to think about it .” The land, situated at the corner of Crenshaw Boulevard and 54th Street, will be developed into a six-story apartment building with 48 units, with plans to include...
Real Gs really do move in silence. After months of waging multiple campaigns and building a massive coalition of hundreds of local/Black community organizations to defeat development partners of Donald Trump and Jared Kushner, Downtown Crenshaw Rising (DCR), quietly raised over $28 million from philanthropists and an additional $6 million in letters of intent from impact investors to support their bid to buy the iconic Crenshaw Mall, reports PR Newswire. “Through Downtown Crenshaw, we are showing that it is possible for Black people to collectively control Black spaces, beat outside gentrifiers and create a new just model of redevelopment that uplifts communities like Crenshaw without uprooting long-time residents and merchants,” said Damien Goodmon , Board Member of DCR and a descendant of L.A.’s historic Blodgett family in a news release. Despite the financial support from a who’s-who of philanthropists and socially responsible investors, community support, and offering the...
Nipsey Hussle’s mantra , “The marathon continues,” lives on through his older brother, Blacc Sam, who has opened a restaurant near the late rapper’s Marathon Clothing store in Los Angeles, CA . Blacc Sam — born Samiel Asghedom — is the permanent administrator of his brother’s estate. In an interview with CBS News Los Angeles, he said Marathon Burger, which had its grand opening on March 1, 2025, reflects Nipsey Hussle’s dedication to uplifting the community around him. “I think [the] Marathon brand, created by Hussle, was kind of like to inspire and to just motivate, and it just means to keep going,” he said. “It’s not a race, it’s a pace, do it on your own. …Anything that we can continue doing in that spirit is always a blessing.” Marathon Burger, located on Melrose Avenue, serves its famous Wagyu beef burgers and wings. The restaurant also offers vegan-friendly options such as a plant-based burger, a portobello mushroom burger, and a grilled vegetable salad. View this post on...
Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™. The heart of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is about creating equitable access to opportunities, but unfortunately we are seeing the ladder of opportunity be systematically pulled up ever since President Donald Trump started his second term. Once he was sworn in, a slew of companies in the private sector, including large tech companies like Amazon and Meta, rolled back their previous commitments to DEI, with some in the financial sector like banks JPMorgan Chase and Citi Group following suit. This focus on the rollback of DEI is not only impacting the private sector but the world of education as well. Through Critical Race Theory (CRT), which started as a legal topic back in the 1970s and 1980s at Harvard Law School, Derrick Bell argued that racism appears in policies, even when these policies seem neutral. He stated that they are not just on the individual level but are present institutionally...
Nearly 630,000 Fortnite players were reportedly “tricked” into making purchases through the game and will receive a refund. According to a press release, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has reportedly accused Fortnite developer Epic Games of leading gamers to make “unwanted purchases” by carrying out tactics through its game button configuration. “For example, players could be charged while attempting to wake the game from sleep mode, while the game was in a loading screen, or by pressing an adjacent button while attempting simply to preview an item,” the press release from the FTC read. It had also been brought to light that Epic Games had allowed minors to accumulate charges without parental approval and blocked gamers who filed disputes of unauthorized charges, preventing them from obtaining items they had purchased. For these reasons, the company received an order from the FTC to refund players in December 2022 who had been subjected to these “unlawful billing practices.” The...
Maryland’s first Black family-owned wine company is expanding! As AFROTECH™ previously reported, Boyd Cru Wines is led by married couple Matthew and Jon’ll Boyd, who pursued separate career paths for over a decade before collaborating on a shared business venture in the wine industry. For over a decade, Jon’ll worked in the event planning industry, while Matthew built his career in the pharmaceutical and chemistry sectors. In the wake of COVID-19 in 2020, Jon’ll’s industry came to a standstill, leading to a greater focus on what became Boyd Cru Wines in April 2023. “I think the pivotal point for us came right about during the pandemic because that, of course for me, brought my event planning business to a very quick and fast halt as you can imagine with people not being able to gather,” Jon’ll told the Washington Business Journal. “It afforded us an opportunity to delve deeper into the wine industry, and simultaneously, I think at that time, I was seeing that there was some shifting...
Jaden Hunter had a stellar finish, graduating with a 4.5 GPA from Crenshaw Arts Tech Charter High. Now, Hunter will be on his way to study mechanical engineering at Berkeley. He plans to work for NASA or SpaceX when he completes his higher education. “I felt good because my hard work paid off. All the long sleepless nights I took in, stuff like that, it finally paid off,” Hunter told ABC7.
In our current world of online connections and virtual meetups, popular dating app Tinder is no stranger to bringing people together. The platform has found success by offering choices and allowing members to connect with others who are also seeking new possibilities. Now, Tinder is fostering new connections with a commitment to driving diversity, equality and inclusion within the company and highlighting initiatives in the Black community. Realizing the importance of these efforts, Tinder is amplifying and increasing the voices of employees of color — and the voices of others in the same communities as its members. Tinder is powered by people who want to get things done. In this spirit, the company went to the drawing board and began crafting solutions of its own. Eager to make an impact, Tinder has focused on investing in inclusive culture training, internal panels, conferences and, most importantly, mental health advocacy. Inclusive Culture Training Tinder has done the important...
NBA Hall of fame legend and business mogul, Magic Johnson, is known for his investment endeavors. His latest addition to his investment empire is Naturade, a Black-owned natural health products company, founded in 1926 and acquired by best friends and Duke University alumni, Kareem Cook and Claude Tellis. Witnessing many of their family members succumb to diet-related illnesses, Cook and Tellis decided to acquire Naturade in 2012 after successfully launching Healthy Body Products, a healthy vending machine company in 2002. With the help of Magic Johnson and other NBA stars like Grant Hill, they’re well on their way to accomplishing their goals of providing natural plant-based foods and products to urban communities across the nation. “Magic Johnson has been tracking us and watching what we’ve been doing for a few years and he decided to become a significant equity owner,” Cook told WholeFoods Magazine. Cook explains that the vision of Naturade aligns perfectly with Johnson’s track...
A year ago today (Mar. 31), Crenshaw-bred rapper Nipsey Hussle, born Ermias Asghedom, was gunned down in the parking lot of his Marathon Clothing retail store. The Los Angeles shopping plaza, owned by Hussle, was not only a symbol for the Grammy award-nominated emcee’s rise, but it was also an emblem of his love for his neighborhood and motivation toward increased economic growth in the Black community. By age 33, the prolific artist and businessman made historic and unprecedented strides toward success. In 2013, the All Money In record label founder launched the Proud 2 Pay campaign to promote his $100 mixtape, “Crenshaw.” In 2017, he collaborated with tech innovator Iddris Sandu to establish The Marathon Clothing flagship as an app-driven “smart store” to offer his fans exclusive content and products. By February 2018, Hussle co-founded Vector90 , a co-working space and STEM education incubator to promote intellectual discovery and diversity in tech. In addition, Nipsey Hussle...
Before the untimely death of rap legend and entrepreneur, Nipsey Hussle, he and longtime business partner, David Gross set out to launch their economic empowerment initiative, Our Opportunity . In efforts to keep Hussle’s legacy and vision alive, Gross is continuing to carry out the duo’s vision. In 2019, The LA Times reported Hussle’s vision for Our Opportunity was centered around fighting gentrification by using federal tax codes called opportunity zones to rebuild Black communities in his hometown of South L.A. and across the nation. Gross described opportunity zones to Complex , as “the biggest tax gift ever written into a new tax code.” He went on to explain when investing in opportunity zones located in inner city areas the investor is legally exempt from paying capital gains taxes on the real estate for two years. Gross launched the Investor Challenge to spread the word about Our Opportunity. The challenge’s step by step instruction encourages participants to open investment...
Rapper Nipsey Hussle’s death profiled his charitable efforts and business endeavors as key elements to the late musician’s legacy. An emotional Instagram post from longtime friend and business associate David Gross revealed Hussle planned to expand his businesses past South Los Angeles and open a resort and casino in Las Vegas in 2020. Gross penned the tribute to his late friend Tuesday, and several photos of the two accompanied the caption that detailed their intentions to open The Virgin Las Vegas. “We always planned to tell the story behind these pictures but didn’t get the chance to because we were busy executing on the next idea, and each successive opportunity got bigger and bigger,” a portion of Gross’ remarks read. View this post on Instagram A post shared by David Gross (@david.a.gross) Per his statement, Gross and Nip were slated to become partial owners of the hotel, which The Star Advisor writes is scheduled to open in November 2020. “This is the meeting a couple months...
Rapper Nipsey Hussle died Sunday after being shot outside of his clothing store in Los Angeles, but his life and legacy go far beyond the words he put on wax. Born Ermias Asghedom, the 33-year-old was at the highest point of his music career. His 2018 debut studio LP, Victory Lap, received a Grammy nomination for Rap Album of the Year. For many, the Grammy nod was just a confirmation of what a lot of folks already knew. Hussle — who started making music in 2005 — made a name for himself releasing mixtape after mixtape, gaining notoriety both nationally and in his hometown of Los Angeles. A lot can be said about Hussle’s rap career and how he was on his way to greater heights musically. But outside of the recording booth, he was committed to fighting inequality and solving age-old problems that held back the people in his community. Hussle was a staunch advocate for diversity in technology. Before Victory Lap dropped, he opened the doors to Vector 90, a co-working space and STEM...
This story originally posted in 2018. Nipsey Hussle recently appeared on radio host Big Boy’s The Neighborhood to discuss his new STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) initiative. Too Big To Fail will be a STEM center and maker space for youth in Los Angeles’ Crenshaw neighborhood. The rapper plans to launch the academy with his business partner and real estate developer Dave Gross. The 32-year-old said that he hopes the space can be a “bridge between Silicon Valley and the inner city.” The Los Angeles native doesn’t plan to stop in California, saying that the first school will be “a model that we’re going to scale.” The duo has plans for STEM academies in other cities, such as: Atlanta, D.C., and Baltimore. The ultimate goal is to create “a resource network across the country” that students can tap into for knowledge-sharing and networking. To find out more about the initiative and how you can help, visit Too Big To Fail’s website .