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Stephen and Ayesha Curry are taking action to increase the literacy rate for children through their Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation. ABC7 reports that the Currys have unveiled the first of 150 Little Town Libraries that will be spread out across Oakland, CA — with an aim to provide 30,000 books to the youth. The libraries are chosen by partners in the community such as Oakland Literacy Coalition, Oakland Public Library, and Black Cultural Zone. First up for the installments was Franklin Elementary. The power couple’s foundation — launched in 2019 — is all about providing kids and families in Oakland, the Bay Area, and across the U.S. with the resources necessary to excel. Their latest initiative is working to combat the statistic of one in three children reading at grade level by the end of third grade in addition to the low levels of Black and Latinx elementary students reading at grade level. According to the outlet, “only 15.4% of Black and 12.5% of Latino/a elementary students are...
When it comes to taking action in supporting women, Nike’s Jordan Brand has held a steady streak. History was made in June 2021 after Michael Jordan and his brand unveiled their “WNBA Family” campaign, which marked the most-ever WNBA players to endorse the brand at once, AfroTech previously reported. “The world needs female voices, and we can’t ignore that or else we’re not growing,” Jordan previously shared in a statement. “The Jordan Brand is committed to giving women a platform to amplify their voices, which influence, inspire and push culture forward. These amazing athletes are defining a lot of things about Jordan Brand and leading a true conversation that’s impacting culture and our communities across the globe.” The brand’s dedication to advancing women has yet to cease as right before Women’s History Month comes to a close, it has launched its inaugural global Women’s Collective, Hypebeast reports.
Erik Murray began his journey in commercial real estate in 2004, and 17 years later, the same thought crosses his mind: There’s not enough diversity. The lack thereof drove him to envision the possibility of him creating his own company to create what he wanted to see within the industry. Owing gratitude to becoming one of a few from his background to get his foot in the door, Murray was dedicated to finding a way to pay it forward in bringing more who looked like him into the space. “It’s almost a secret that is kept from us,” Murray told AfroTech. “Even though I grew up in a highly educated, middle-class, Black family, my mom and dad always kept saying, ‘Son, you have to be a doctor or a lawyer.’ No one said you can be a real estate broker. You can be a real estate developer.” He continued: “So, I made it my goal that once I ‘learned the game,’ I was going to build a firm that was not only Black-owned but went out of our way to create pathways and opportunities for other aspiring...
Michael Jordan and the Jordan Brand continue to make power moves within the Black community. PR Newswire reports that the Oakland Black Business Fund (OBBF) has been selected as the inaugural recipient of Michael Jordan and the Jordan Brand’s Community Grant. The initiative is part of the organization’s Black Community Commitment Grant Program and will be used to fund OBBF’s mission to build peer-to-peer relationships within Black business owners, Black technical assistance providers and tech companies. OBBF aims to offer a sustainable growth model for underserved and under-funded businesses coming out of the Bay Area. “OBBF has had the opportunity to partner with some of the country’s leading companies and financial institutions to support Black entrepreneurs in the Bay Area while addressing systemic biases that perpetuate the funding gap for Black businesses,” said OBBF Co-Founder Trevor Parham in an official statement. “We are grateful to the Jordan Brand for their support as we...
Black Americans are faced with two pandemics — COVID-19 and racism. Due to this, a lot of businesses have been forced to close or currently face the brink of extinction. Elisse Douglass and Trevor Parham are two entrepreneurs that have decided to give back during this time by helping local business during the pandemic. In June, they established the Oakland Black Business Fund which was created to aid Black-owned businesses in the Bay Area with a goal of $10 million. Their relief efforts also include a $1 billion investment fund that will help other Black entrepreneurs nationwide survive the economic fallout from the pandemic, Crunchbase reports . The fund first started after Douglass created a community-oriented crowdfunding site for businesses that had been affected by the Black Lives Matter protests. According to Crunchbase , after bringing in $100,000 in less than a week and a half, Parham shares that they had more money than they originally set out to make. “We immediately...