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If you grew up watching classic sitcoms of the 1980s and 1990s, you’re surely already aware of Jaleel White. The former child star, best known for his breakout role as Steve Urkel on the ABC series “Family Matters ,” has grown to become a veritable superstar since he got his big break over 30 years ago. Those looking to find White in something a little more modern should tune into the Disney+ original series, “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew,” which premiered on Dec. 2. The show, which has already amassed tons of positive reviews from critics and general audiences alike, sees the beloved entertainer fighting against the forces of intergalactic evil in a galaxy far, far away, alongside the likes of Jude Law, Nick Frost and Tunde Adebimpe. Since Jaleel White has been all over newsfeeds lately, many fans have begun to wonder just how well the actor has saved his sitcom salary and diversified his financial portfolio. Luckily, we’ve got you covered, with a comprehensive guide to Jaleel’s life,...
Dedra Simmons walked away from the pharmaceutical industry to become the owner of a successful bakery. Simmons now leads Pookie Crack Cakes in Chicago, IL, alongside her husband Doug. Her dream of owning a bakery manifested at the age of six when she would bake from the comfort of her grandmother’s kitchen, the Chicago Reader reports. Throughout her life, Simmons baked at home for special occasions and during the holidays. Plus, encouragement from her family helped her business grow. Her brother, Shundell Johnson, firmly believed in her cakes, and she said that he would “go door-to-door to different businesses, beauty salons, barber shops, and he would sell the cake,” according to the outlet. In doing so, Simmons said it attracted more customers in her direction. Before opening her storefront in July 2023, she ventured to nearby restaurants to sell her cakes. Now, thanks to her storefront, people are flocking to try Pookie Crack Cakes, which offers sweet treats, including her...
Idris Elba has several business moves in the works to advance Africa. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the English actor has roots that trace back to Sierra Leone, his father’s native country. Elba was also granted citizenship there after he made a visit in 2019, BBC reports. At the time, he said the moment was “ the biggest honour I could get from my country.” “I’m no stranger to Africa: I’ve been in Africa, I’ve made films in Africa, I’ve championed Africa,” Elba explained to BBC. “But Sierra Leone, it’s a very different feeling because it’s my parent’s home. The welcome has been incredible, and I’ve plugged straight into that energy that I think Sierra Leone is rising with. The son of the soil is coming back to fertilise the soil.” Elba also announced plans to invest in the area and surrounding lands with his eyes set on its tourism and entertainment. “America or England cannot house my ambition. Africa can house my ambition, I can create another Disney here [and] I can’t do...
The Israeli government reportedly commissioned a campaign in 2023 that included social media accounts targeting Black U.S. lawmakers. The New York Times reported that, in October 2023, Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs paid $2 million to Stoic, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based political marketing firm, to push pro-Israel content on social media at a time when many Americans were concerned for Palestinian civilians during the war in Gaza. The outlet details that Stoic created fake accounts in support of Israel across X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram that focused on over a dozen majority Black and Democrat U.S. lawmakers, including Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York and U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia. ChatGPT was mainly used to create the fake accounts’ posts, which asked for the politicians to fund Israel’s military, per the outlet. In addition to fake social media accounts, Stoic reportedly created fake websites and articles. In May 2024, NBC News reported...
Something new is on the horizon when it comes to investing in companies that are often overlooked and underserved, and these Black founders are helping to lead the charge. According to Forbes , Westbound Equity Partners, a venture capitalist firm spearheaded by former nonprofit director Sean Mendy is on a mission to pour millions into companies led by Black, Latin, and diversity-driven founders. “We aren’t investing in underrepresented founders as this altruistic thing,” Mendy told the outlet. “This fund is about investing in the best companies and performance. Explicit impact is what we’re doing on the foundation side.” Since its inception in 2019, the firm formerly known as Concrete Rose Capital has managed to invest in over 40 startups as well as tap into what Mendy says is “the diversity opportunity,” which provides capital to underrepresented founders, especially Black and Latino companies. What’s more, there is a key focus on startups with goals of serving their communities....
British actor and DJ Idris Elba is planning to leverage technology to benefit a West African country. According to CNN, Elba is looking to build a “smart eco-city” on Sherbro Island, an island off the southwestern coast of Sierra Leone. Elba is acquainted with the area as his father was born in the country, and the English actor became a citizen himself after a visit in 2019, per BBC. The efforts surrounding Sherbro Island are being undertaken through a collaboration between Sherbro Alliance Partners (SAP), a U.K.-registered company, and the Sierra Leone government to improve the area’s economic state, the island’s website mentions. Elba is also co-founder of SAP, spearheading the venture. “At some junction, my business partner Siaka Stevens, the grandson of the former president, said, ‘Look, someone needs to cultivate Sherbro Island for tourism.’ That was seven years ago,” Elba explained to CNN. “Where we are now is that we partnered with the government to figure out a plan of how...
When Kendrick Lamar drops an album, he makes a splash! According to Pitchfork, the Compton native dropped “Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers” without too much fanfare or pre-album publicity, but the “thorny” double album — which features everyone from rappers like Kodak Black to rock legends like Beth Gibbons of Portishead — quickly became a trending topic on Twitter and gained both accolades and fanfare in equal measure. And that, really, has been the basis of Kendrick Lamar’s brand of Hip-Hop since he first exploded onto the scene in 2012. Though it would take until his third studio album — 2015’s “To Pimp a Butterfly” — for him to fully break into the mainstream, he quickly became the go-to artist for fans — and professionals — who were looking for a bit of funk, soul, and spoken word with their Hip-Hop. The RIAA reveals that he has several gold and platinum records, and this success in the music industry alone has helped him achieve a $90 million net worth ($15 million per year...
Idris Elba has built an estimated $30 million net worth as an investor, an entrepreneur, an actor, a spokesman for Booking.com, and even the voice of Fluke the sea lion in “Finding Dory.” But, perhaps, his most important role of all is being a father. Despite his continued high profile, Idris Elba always makes time for his children — like when he took his daughter to the “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” premiere in Los Angeles, CA, according to HollywoodLife. And he’s said that having children changed his life for the better, too. “More than anything you have to make time to be with your children,” he said, according to The Huffington Post. “It’s something I battle a lot because of my career, because as much as it’s nice to be busy and working, ultimately children don’t raise themselves. You’ve got to be there to help them and guide them through it. That’s one thing I try my very best to do. I love being a dad, it’s an important part of my life.” Let’s take a look at the two children who call...
Throughout the course of his career, Idris Elba has been many things. As AfroTech previously reported, the actor’s most recent title was “Knight.” In 2016, he was named an Officer of the British Empire (OBE) for his “services to drama.” He was granted the OBE in the New Years Honours, so his proper title is “Sir Idris Elba, People Magazine’s 2018 Sexiest Man Alive. ” He’s also been a producer, a director, and an investor in various projects such as a genderless skincare line. He’s inked a book deal with HarperCollins, negotiated a contract with Crunchyroll, and even proposed a way to hold social media trolls accountable for their actions. But before he did all that, he was involved in the cannabis business. And according to Complex, no less of an authority than Dave Chappelle, dropped the proverbial dime on the Internet’s favorite fantasy James Bond casting. As it turns out, Chappelle disclosed Elba’s previous side hustle on the ever-noxious Joe Rogan podcast, wherein the...
Not only is Lucky Charms loved by kids, but it also ensues nostalgia for older generations that reminds them of their own childhood. As the staple cereal sparks the power of vivid imagination, the fun has now been penned into a children’s book and is being introduced by Taye Diggs. BET reports that the actor and author has partnered with Lucky Charms for its first book, “The Magic Inside.” Touching on the importance of self-acceptance, the book will take readers into the story of Lucky the Leprechaun and his journey of celebrating his differences “all the while discovering he has magical powers.” “Magic lives in all of us, and by sharing more of Lucky’s story and his journey of self-discovery, we want to inspire families to find their own special magic,” said Mindy Murray, senior brand experience manager at General Mills, according to BET. “We hope The Magic Inside encourages a love of reading by immersing parents and kids in a fun, adventurous story about Lucky and his family!” As...
Idris and Sabrina Elba are a couple that balance the power of both loving and working hard together. In 2021, the Elbas signed a deal with Crunchyroll to executive produce an Afro-futuristic sci-fi animated series, as previously reported by AfroTech. The two entrepreneurs are now back with another business venture aiming to uplift spirits within the community. According to Vogue, the Elbas announced the upcoming launch of their new brand, S’Able Labs — a genderless skincare line targeted toward people of color. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Idris Elba (@idriselba) Its name plays on the lovebirds’ surname being spelled backward as “Sable.” Although the name was thought of by Idris, the idea for the wellness brand was sparked through one of their conversations regarding self-care during the heavy impact on social life due to the pandemic. “We realized quickly that there was no one doing it in the wellness space that looked like, spoke like or felt like us—there was no...
Idris Elba isn’t just a prince — he’s a real-life knight, as well. A little-known fact about the longtime Afro-British actor is that in 2016, he was named an Officer of the British Empire (OBE) for his “services to drama.” He was granted the OBE in the New Years Honours, so his proper title is “Sir Idris Elba, People Magazine’s 2018 Sexiest Man Alive. ” Thankfully for all involved, Idris Elba isn’t just a pretty face. In addition to having a successful acting career, Elba also performs as a DJ and an occasional R&B singer. He was also named one of top 100 of the most influential people in the UK of African/African-Caribbean descent for two years in a row, and he was also Essence Magazine’s sexiest man of the year in 2013. Above all else, though, Elba has made bank at the box office. According to Box Office Mojo, he is one of the top 20 grossing actors in the world. As of 2021, Idris Elba has grossed more than $9 billion in international receipts and more than $4 billion in American...
In today’s world, it’s no secret that social media is only a small reflection of what our reality truly looks like. From MySpace days to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and more, most modern social media platforms have been treated as highlight reels of our lives. But is this a realistic portrayal of the human experience? Artist and tech startup founder Ziarekenya Smith would say, not at all, considering most platforms today do not allow space for people to be fully transparent about both the good and bad events that happen in their lives. This is why he set out to change this with his platform Inpathy. Inpathy is described as a “first-of-its-kind online space designed to deliver the human experience to millions of people worldwide by encouraging transparency, normalizing moods and showing people, it’s okay to express yourself.” Per Smith, the goal of the platform is to “recreate the human experience” to foster a more balanced environment for interactions between people online. Prior...
FilmHedge, a Black-owned film fintech startup based in Atlanta, has announced that it’s raised $2 million in its latest funding round. According to Atlanta Inno, it was revealed that the $2 million will be used to grow the company — specifically, for hiring more people and to make their lending software available to film companies in the area. The funding round was led by WOCstar Fund, a New York City-based investment company. FilmHedge CEO Jon Gosier said “friends and family” helped him fund the rest of the project. Gosier said that he co-founded the company with Janelle Alexander and Mickey Vetter to democratize the film funding process. Film companies can get funding from the company at one of three stages: at the beginning (specifically, so they can hire a popular actor), toward the middle if they need extra cash due to circumstances beyond their control, or at the end if they need to do reshoots. The company can provide fixed-interest loans of up to $1 million, or lines of...