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Former Morehouse College President Dr. Robert Michael Franklin Jr. once called the institution the “International Headquarters for Black Male Excellence” during a school-wide address. As the president at the time and an alum, many could argue his opinion was slightly biased. However, the institution makes a solid case for the claim when considering notable alums like Spike Lee, P.J. Morton, Samuel L. Jackson, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Morehouse College, one of many Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), develops young Black men who impact industries and make waves across various sectors. One of those individuals in this emerging vanguard is Atlanta, GA-based creative Cam Kirk. Cam Kirk’s Big Move Cameron Kirkland, a native of Prince George’s County, MD, moved to Atlanta, GA, to pursue a business degree from Morehouse College. This decision, however, eventually led him from his initial goal of becoming a music executive and into visual storytelling. “I moved to...
Have you ever been on the hunt to find good-quality images of people of color but didn’t really have much luck? This founder is on a mission to help. To change that reality and showcase representation, Steve Jones launched a diverse media agency embracing the distinct and touching stories of minority groups overlooked by the media. The ideation for a media agency began in 2013. Jones’ career was small-business focused and aimed to help businesses build and execute high-impact experiences through engaging digital strategies. Over the tenure of Jones’ career, he noticed it was difficult to find great quality images of minority groups despite the heightened priority for diversity among people and corporations. “We go to work, we wear suits, we dress professionally, we have different styles, and different ways that we look. Yet, there was no place you could find these variations in looks and people,” Steve Jones told AfroTech. Once Jones closed his company, The Circl, in 2017, he...
Have you ever dreamed of starting a photography business? Well, if you’re waiting for the “perfect” time, understand that there’s no time better to start than today. You can earn part-time or even full-time income if you’re a skilled professional. However, no matter how talented you are at your craft, you’ll need to take the following steps to be successful. Draft a Business Plan Dedicate time to writing a plan for your business. There are plenty of business templates available online that you can use as a guide, some simple and some complex. At a minimum, yours should include what your niche is, what your sales and marketing strategies are, who your target consumers are, and how you’ll set yourself apart from competitors. You’ll also want to determine both startup and ongoing costs, outline how you intend to finance your startup costs and decide how you’ll price and package your photos to make a profit. Secure Startup Funding The good news is that you can start your photography...
As the Executive Director of the Virgo Abloh Foundation, Dana Loatman is preserving the late fashion designer’s mission of supporting underrepresented creatives. The New York native credits her time at Bowie State University, Maryland’s oldest HBCU , for sowing the seed of helping overlooked creators, a mission that has guided her career. “That’s where I got my passions really, for investing in our communities and minority communities and really ensuring that we have the same access that our counterparts have,” she explained to “Black Tech Green Money” host Will Lucas. Loatman’s career journey reflects this spirit, including seven years at the Obama Foundation, where she held multiple roles, including senior director, chief of staff, advisor to the CEO, and director of corporate partnerships. Her work helped secure more than $100 million from companies, including Apple, Nike and AT&T, targeting racial and gender equity and investing in future leaders, her LinkedIn notes. As the...
Innovative learning labs are being planted in southern underresourced cities to combat the digital divide. Ed Farm Launched in February 2020, Ed Farm, with the support of Apple and the Alabama Power Foundation, works to reach students, teachers and the workforce with the goal of establishing an epicenter for education technology, Ed Farm President Waymond Jackson told AFROTECH™ during the Future of Learning Summit 2025 on June 5. Photo Credit: Samantha Dorisca The organization initially focused on the Birmingham, AL area, launching with a partnership with Birmingham City Schools before expanding to Montgomery Public Schools and Atlanta Public Schools by 2021. Today, its efforts have scaled to Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and California, per The Business Journals. The arrival of Ed Farm came just weeks before the pandemic. “We were just working with one school district, which was Birmingham City Schools. What I continue to tell my team was that we positioned to be a...
Model and influencer Wisdom Kaye understands the power of using social media as a creative outlet. That realization led Forbes to name him one of its 2025 Top Creators, ranking him at No. 48 with reported earnings of $5 million. Kaye, a former electrical engineer, sometimes skipped classes to create content that allowed him to experiment with different ideas and styles in fashion. That experimentation has blossomed into a successful career as a content creator, earning the 24-year-old 13.7 million followers on his primary TikTok account alone (as of the time of this writing). In an interview with Forbes, he shared that his passion for making content dates back to childhood. “I started doing this essentially when I was a child,” Kaye told Forbes. “I mean, my earliest memory of making content — It was not really content, was for myself — but I had a Nintendo, and I would just make videos on my Nintendo…I was a kid just creating and trying to express myself artistically.” He also added...
Derek Lewis’ corporate experience gave him the upper hand in becoming a franchisee. Lewis had an extensive career at PepsiCo that spanned 35 years, and he managed multi-billion-dollar operations. He spent the first seven years in various sales roles before rising through the ranks to become Pepsi Bottling Group’s regional sales manager (2001–2004), followed by three separate vice president roles (2001-2008) and two senior vice president positions (2008-2019). He exited the company at the end of 2022 after serving as president of multicultural business at PepsiCo North America for one year. Franchisee Lewis is now occupied as a franchisee of Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks, with 10 traditional locations slated for Central Florida. He is projected to be the largest franchisee in the Southern Region of the United States, according to a news release shared with AFROTECH™. His locations have broken ground at Orlando’s Kia Center and Camping World Stadium, and most recently in Oviedo, FL. Leslie...
Here are some tips to consider to become a well-paid creative. The creator economy is projected to reach $500 billion by 2027, according to Sprout Social. If you are a creator, you don’t want to miss out on your piece of the pie. At NAB Show 2025 (National Association of Broadcasters) held in Las Vegas, NV, Rhea Allen, president and CEO of Peppershock Media, moderated a discussion that offers real-world strategies that can be applied by creators to increase your value and income. Niche Down And Specialize While it is OK to be a jack of all trades, it will be a better bet to narrow your focus on mastering one niche and to establish trust among an audience that will gravitate towards you for a particular subject matter. This can also be helpful as more companies seek expert commentary. “Companies tend to hire experts, and they’re more willing to pay for the expert,” Allen explained. “And so if you position yourself as the go-to person for a specific skill or industry, you naturally...
Usher is giving back to the place where it all started. The R&B singer, who is currently embarking on his “USHER: Past Present Future” tour, credits the Boys & Girls Club for fostering his artistry. For those very reasons, he has kept the volunteer organization close to his heart and has launched the Usher Raymond IV Spark Lab and Entertainment Industry Club, in partnership with his nonprofit, New Look, according to Billboard. The new content space celebrated its grand opening at the Joseph B. Whitehead Boys & Girls Club in Atlanta, GA. “I’m happy that the work that I’ve put in has led me to become an inspiration to so many people,” Usher explained to The Atlanta Voice. “The most important part of all of this starts with a spark. An idea. A concept that says, ‘I can have a definition and an idea of what I found passion in.’ And that’s really what New Look started. But the catch is it had to start somewhere before it became a spark. And what was that? The Boys & Girls Club.” The Grio...
DeMarcus Shawn has the formula for building a strong following across social platforms. Shawn is an online creator known for sharing humorous skits on TikTok and Instagram. His sense of humor has always been evident among his family since growing up on the outskirts of Chicago, IL. He also draws inspiration from them still today. “I was able to experience all different facets of life growing up through school, through family and just everyday nuances,” he mentioned on the “Black Tech Green Money” podcast. Today, Shawn is a full-time content creator, but his journey began in 2017 with a 9-to-5 role as a Starbucks barista. While there he decided to turn more of his attention towards content creation in 2021. It was then that he was able to sustain himself through earnings via TikTok and his photography business, as AFROTECH™ previously reported. “When I quit Starbucks, I already had money saved up,” he said, per the “Black Tech Green Money podcast.” “It was 2021, so I had money saved...
Being funny pays. Just look to TikToker DeMarcus Shawn as confirmation. Beginnings Growing up on the outskirts of Chicago, IL, he recalls always being funny, often creating skits or playfully imitating his family members. His humor translated well to the camera, and he would toss around various skit ideas with his two older brothers. With the rise of social media, leaning into it was natural for Shawn. Ultimately, he landed on TikTok as his breeding ground for content though initially his Instagram was geared towards his creative interests. @artbydemarcusshawn #fyp ♬ original sound – DemarcusShawn “I grew up doing music and learning how to sing and photography. I’m a guy that’s heavy on drawing and painting,” he told AFROTECH™. “ Those are my hobbies that I like to do. Outside of that, when I came into TikTok, it was more of what I’ve been doing with my siblings, but on a larger front.” Full-Time Content Creation Shawn was working on building his online presence while also employed...
HBCUs, an acronym for Historically Black Colleges and Universities , are a transformative educational experience. Getting to be surrounded by peers who look like you within walls that foster black excellence is a priceless gift. HBCUs exist to give Black Americans access to the education and opportunities they were once excluded from. Historical figures from Kamala Harris and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to Oprah Winfrey and Langston Hughes have each attended HBCUs. This lends to them making a major impact in culture and society. This is especially true for HBCUs in Texas. While states all over the country are home to over 100 HBCUs, Texas is home to nine of them . Whether you’re scouting for yourself or someone else, here’s what to know about each Texas HBCU and weigh your options. Top HBCUs In Texas: Prairie View A&M University Prairie View A&M University is the top-ranked HBCU in Texas for its academics, sporting impressive graduates like U.S. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee and...
Vonnya Pettigrew, Hon.D., is concentrating all her interests in one place — a property building located on Baltimore, MD’s Waterfront. But that’s just the start. The Baltimore Times reports Dr. Pettigrew comes from a communications background stamped by a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Maryland College Park. During her time in higher education she landed opportunities to intern under President Bill Clinton as a speech writer. She also interned for a television show. “It was a political show that was produced on Capitol Hill and filmed out of Reuters newswire, and so I fell in love with television and film,” Pettigrew told the outlet. Root Branch Media Group Pettigrew also learned scriptwriting and took her skills to create content for TV One and Discovery Channel. Now, she is investing in her own media empire. In 2006, she launched Root Branch Media Group, which she named for her family’s property in South Carolina. “When I established my business, I wanted it to...
Although Shante Frazier and Lauren Mitchell grew up in an entrepreneurial family, they never anticipated becoming entrepreneurs. Inception Frazier first worked as a consultant at PwC upon graduating from New York University in New York City, NY, with an MBA. At the time, her plan was to climb the corporate ladder with an overarching goal of becoming a partner at the company. Mitchell also worked as a consultant at Deloitte for six years, followed by an additional year at Grant Thornton. Their transition into entrepreneurship was triggered by Frazier’s opportunity to participate in a venture studio — a company that provides capital to launch startups — in the wake of COVID-19. While brainstorming a business concept, Frazier’s aunt suggested a rental company for weaves and hair extensions. After further consideration, Frazier recognized the key aspects that would be necessary to turn the idea into a venture, which included an extensive sanitation process and bringing Mitchell on...
The Jordan Brand has attracted some of the world’s greats to its brand. However, that should come as no surprise when considering who is at the helm, NBA legend Michael Jordan. It all began when his mother, Deloris, stepped in to ensure he took a chance on signing with Nike. “My mother said, ‘You’re gonna go listen. You may not like it, but you’re gonna go listen,” Jordan said in ESPN’s “The Last Dance” documentary, according to NBC Sports. “She made me get on that plane and go listen.” Jordan was originally looking to sign with Adidas, but he would make his commitment to Nike known when he signed to the brand in 1984 under a five-year, $2.5 million deal, Sports Illustrated reports. Immediately, Jordan’s presence and the staple Air Jordan exceeded expectations with sales reaching $126 million within one year. By 1997, the Jordan Brand began operating independently and also added apparel and accessories. T oday its annual revenue exceeds $6.6 billion, per Sportico. What’s more the...