Fawn Weaver established a scholarship to carry the torch of excellence surrounding Nearest Green. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, Weaver is the CEO and co-founder of Uncle Nearest, a whiskey brand valued at over a billion dollars. The brand was born after she came across a 2016 New York Times article while traveling in Singapore. The article featured an image of Jack Daniel alongside a group of men, with Nathan “Nearest” Green—known as Uncle Nearest—positioned in a way that ensured he wouldn’t be overlooked. In 1864, Green, who was enslaved, began teaching Daniel how to make whiskey in Tennessee. Daniel went on to sell whiskey throughout Lynchburg, TN, and the business formed into the popular brand Jack Daniel’s. Green’s role had been lost over time despite him being the master distiller at the Jack Daniel Distillery and the first African-American master distiller on record in U.S. history. As a whiskey maker, research shows he became the wealthiest African American in Lynchburg,...

Entrepreneur Victor G. Harvey is behind what could be Florida’s first Black-owned distillery. According to a press release, Harvey has secured a $2.45 million loan issued by Fort Lauderdale’s Community Redevelopment Agency to create the Victory Entertainment Complex project, which will house various Black-owned businesses. The venture will cost about $6 million to build, and Harvey plans to support the rest of the cost through his personal investments. The two-story, 15,000-square-foot facility is projected to take 16 months to complete and will include a restaurant, cigar bar, whiskey lounge, event space, a rooftop bar, lounge, and a craft distillery named The Old Sistrunk Distillery, which Harvey believes to be the first Black-owned distillery in Florida. The craft distillery will include products from his company Victor George Spirits, such as VG Vodka, which is available in 44 states at retailers like Total Wine, Kroger, and Trader Joe’s. “This will bring the Black community a...

Uncle Nearest is making history as the fastest-growing Ameri­can whiskey brand ever, according to Forbes. As AFROTECH™ previously told you, Fawn Weaver serves as founder and CEO and established the company to honor “Nearest” Green, a formerly enslaved man who taught Jack Daniel how to make whiskey. The company has since received significant backing, even in the midst of Weaver’s clear stance that she has no intention of selling the business, which has grown to include a 458-acre distillery with the world’s longest bar (518 feet). Products are now featured in over 30,000 stores, bars, hotels, and restaurants in 12 countries. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey (@unclenearest) By November 2023, Weaver had raised $225 million in individual support. Per Forbes, the business is backed by 163 individual investors, providing an average check of $500,000 a person. “The most difficult thing in starting any business. It’s always the capital,” Weaver told...

Whoopi Goldberg is investing in the culture. Variety reports the EGOT winner (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards) has become an equity investor in Blkfam, a family-focused streaming platform that “entertains, educates and celebrates Black American family-friendly content.” Larry Adams, founder of the streaming service, pushed forward with the venture after seeing “a ton of R-rated content” from popular streaming services when looking for Black programming for his family. “Black culture and content is so often stereotyped, siloed or written off, so I wanted to create a platform where my kids and I can be entertained without having to face those same daily biases,” Adams told Variety. “By curating authentic content — proven through data and AI — primarily from Black storytellers, we’ve built a service reflecting true inclusion and diversity, where Black parents and children especially can feel holistically represented.” In 2023, Adams reached out to Goldberg to gauge her interest in...

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...