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Flau’jae Johnson is making a difference off the court by helping wipe out $5 million of debt for 5,000 Louisiana families. On March 14, 2025, global data and technology company Experian announced that the Louisiana State University women’s basketball guard would serve as spokesperson for its initiative to help relieve impoverished families following reports of record-high consumer debt. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Louisiana has one of the highest poverty percentages in the country. Johnson will promote financial literacy and share her experiences managing finances as one of the leading college athletes with a name, image, and likeness (NIL) deal , per a news release. “You know what’s bigger than basketball? Financial empowerment,” Johnson said in an Experian commercial. “Finances are tough, and Experian is helping the next generation pursue their dreams. … Money isn’t everything, but you need it to live a good life. The Experian app can help you save time and money, build...
Southern University’s College of Nursing and Allied Health is breaking barriers and making history in remarkable ways. According to WBRZ-2 News, the Baton Rouge, LA-based Historically Black College and University has achieved a significant milestone by welcoming the largest cohort of Black male nursing students in its history — 33 individuals. “The diversity of males in healthcare is very important for us,” said nursing student James Rodgers. “So to be a part of something like this is legendary for us.” Student Ray Washington added, “I think now other males, younger black males, older males having the opportunity to see what we’re doing here is only going to ignite a fire in them and say we have the opportunity to decide our own story and not allow the world to make that decision for us.” The students are determined to transform the face of healthcare while challenging stereotypes . Their commitment goes beyond caring for their peers; they aspire to make a lasting impact on their...
Six-year-old Taurian Collins is among the most intelligent in the world. KNOE-8 in Monroe, LA, reports the young Louisiana student began reading at just 2 years old. Remarkably, he also triumphed over challenges with both speech and hearing at the tender age. “He wasn’t really talking. He was ‘mama, dada’ and that was a little iffy. I don’t think he was saying 10 words,” Taurian’s mother, Jessica Collins, told KNOE-8. After a visit to the pediatrician, Jessica would learn her son needed his adenoid glands taken out and tubes placed in his ears, areas that can often become inflamed due to sinus or allergy issues, per Mayo Clinic. Within three months, Taurian showed great improvement. “He has not stopped talking since,” she expressed. Taurian’s aptitude for learning was not only displayed within the confines of his home, but at school as well. Due to his results on tests, he applied and was accepted into Mensa, a high-IQ society. As AFROTECH™ previously told you, the organization...
Beyonce’s hit song “Diva” defines the term as a female version of a hustler. This cultural reference and meaning gives literal context to New Orleans, LA, native and entrepreneur Britni Ricard. Her journey hasn’t been easy, but she has turned all her “Ls” into lessons. This holiday season, Ricard is paying it forward by covering the rent of all the tenants in a 10-unit apartment building she owns.
Have you ever wanted to support your favorite HBCU, but didn’t have the means or the wherewithal to do so? This “spare change” app will help you do just that! AfroTech previously spoke with Dominique King — founder of the I Heart My HBCU app — who leveraged this technology to make donations to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) easy (they can be done in as little as 60 seconds) back in December of 2020. “When creating this app, it was important for me to encourage HBCU Alumni to support all HBCUs. Users can easily adjust how much or how little of the spare change they share to their five favorite HBCUs,” she said in a statement about the I Heart My HBCU app. “I Heart My HBCU became the first platform where users could donate spare change to any of the 104 HBCUs in one place.” King first launched her groundbreaking app in 2017 and became one of an elite cadre of Black female tech entrepreneurs in the space. A graduate of Howard University, King’s first goal was to...
Louisiana will soon get its first Black-owned birth center! According to KATC News , Baby Catcher Birth Center is on schedule to officially open its doors at the end of July and will become the first Black-owned freestanding birth center in the state. Lafayette native, Shatamia Webb says that one of her biggest fears, when it came time for her to give birth , was arriving at the hospital and not being able to come home so she decided to have both of her children at home. Now, she’s on a mission to help all future parents not only feel more confident when it comes to delivering their bundle of joy but informed about the options they have when it comes time to do so. Webb is currently a midwife and has conducted home births for the last four years. For her and her staff, it’s all about mothers knowing “what to expect going in at every stage of the journey.” Staff at the center will provide insights for mothers on topics that include breastfeeding education, nutrition, labor support,...
Alexis White is a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) student who has just made Louisiana history. According to KNOE News, White — a graduate of Grambling State University — is the first person in the entire state to ever get a degree in cybersecurity. White will be interning at the Clinton Global Initiative University before she goes on to the rest of her career. The HBCU student says her entire journey to success almost didn’t happen. The day before she was set to interview with the Clinton Global Initiative, her grandmother fell ill — and White almost didn’t want to go to the interview for fear that she would miss out on her grandmother. “So, the next day she actually passed away. So I didn’t get a chance to tell her but she knew what I was doing, and so after that, I got the email saying that I had gotten the position, the cybersecurity position with governance, risk, and compliance. So just to say, I am so happy that I was able to get that position and to make my...
Serial entrepreneur Sevetri Wilson has made history with New Orleans tech startup, Resilia . The software as a service (SaaS) platform raised $8 million in its Series-A round of funding, making it the highest VC raised by a female-founded tech firm in Louisiana, announced Business Wire . The funding round was led by Mucker Capital and Callais Capital Management with participation by Cultivation Capital. “We spotted Resilia early-on, and have been impressed with Sevetri’s leadership and her team’s ability to identify market needs, move quickly, and expand their products to serve the complex needs of grantors and grantees,” said William Hsu, co-founder and partner at Mucker Capital, who also joined Resilia’s board. In 2016, the Louisiana-based founder created Resilia, named for resilience, to help nonprofits scale their philanthropic efforts through technology. The platform expedites the process of incorporating and applying for tax exemption. Also, it offers resources to reduce costs...
Magic Johnson has made a six figure pledge to commemorate a trailblazer. On May 9, 2025, Xavier University held a ceremony to commemorate Norman C. Francis, the first Black president of the Historically Black College and University (HBCU), who also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush, notes WWLTV. Francis previously attended the school before pursuing a law degree at Loyola University New Orleans, LA. Upon returning to his alma mater, he wore various hats, beginning as the dean of men, then advancing to director of student personnel services (1963), assistant to the president for student affairs (1964), assistant to the president in charge of development (1965), executive vice president (1967), and president (1968), a position he held for 47 years, the university’s website mentions. On campus, Francis was responsible for the construction behind most of the buildings across four decades. He also helped establish a core curriculum that positioned...
Acclaimed filmmaker Ryan Coogler, best known for writing and directing such smash hits as “ Black Panther ,” “Creed” and “Fruitvale Station,” has been making waves recently with his new movie “Sinners.” For those who don’t know, “Sinners” has already garnered over $70 million at the box office , despite having just released on Apr. 18. The film also had a very modest marketing push and very little studio support, making its success even more impressive. While “Sinners” has been drawing plenty of eyes from the general public, the behind-the-scenes story of Coogler’s Warner Bros deal has also enraptured creators, filmmakers and Hollywood film buffs alike. In fact, financial analysts have predicted that the “Sinners” deal could be worth millions for generations to come, while some studio insiders have expressed concern that the deal will destabilize the future of the industry if other filmmakers attempt to replicate it. In order to understand exactly what terms are established by Ryan...
A resource for minority-owned businesses may be impacted due to a new round of federal job cuts. Inc. reports new changes are underway at the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), which was first established in 1969 by former President Richard Nixon. Under former President Joe Biden’s administration alone, the MBDA helped provide 23,000 jobs and $3.2 billion in contracts to minority enterprises, the outlet notes. The Trump administration sent an email on April 17, 2025, stating that federal grants to the agency, which operated about 38 business centers, were being dismantled, as the administration believes the funding is “no longer consistent with the agency’s priorities and no longer serves the interest of the United States and the MBDA program.” President Donald Trump’s orders will be a drastic hit to many Black and other entrepreneurs of color. Louisiana’s business center, which worked with hundreds of businesses, was told the MBDA is “repurposing its funding allocations...
Five-year-old Maddox Lopez is following in the footsteps of his sister, who was inducted into high-IQ society Mensa, in 2024. With an Einstein-level IQ, Maddox already understands times tables and is a member of Mensa, an organization that requires participants to take an approved intelligence test and score within the top 2% of the general population, its website states. Maddox now joins his sister, Declan, in the organization, which requires an IQ of 130 or more, ABC7 New York reports. “Maddox is all about math and coding, and he finds back doors on video games and programs, where Declan is just like an intellectual who loves to learn anything,” their mother, Meachel, told the outlet. That’s not all. Both Maddox and Declan join their father, Delano, who is also an educator and member of Mensa. However, he credits his children’s intelligence to his wife. “She was doing a lot of extra work with the kids. Even once they started back to school after COVID, she had a whole schedule up,...