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Jamie Foxx is not here for the anti-Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) narratives circulating in Hollywood . Foxx — born Eric Marlon Bishop — is the producer of Apple TV+’s “Number One On the Call Sheet,” a documentary that explores Black achievement in the film industry and the challenges Black women face in finding success. At the Los Angeles, CA, premiere on March 13, 2025, the Academy Award-winning actor emphasized the film’s importance, stating that it is more relevant now than ever. “Look what’s going on out there. They trying to erase everything we do… They talking about the DEI , affirmative action, we don’t need Black history . Why you picking on our history?” Foxx told Extra. “So, we just do more history. The more you erase, the more we replace. So, that’s all it is. We ain’t gonna be shy about it. Leave us alone. Let us enjoy. Let us all be American.” Since 2024, several high-profile companies have scaled back or eliminated their DEI programs , citing pressure from...
Kevin Hart is aligning himself with an initiative to support Black founders using artificial intelligence (AI). The AI Illumination Grant has been launched by the Fifteen Percent Pledge, a nonprofit advocacy organization founded by Aurora James. The initiative challenges retailers and corporations to allocate 15% of their shelf space to Black-owned brands. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, 29 retailers have committed to this pledge, benefiting 800 Black-owned brands . The Fifteen Percent Pledge is scaling its efforts to support Black entrepreneurs with the aid of Kevin Hart’s Hartbeat Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz’s (A16z) Cultural Leadership Fund. Eligible members of the Fifteen Percent Pledge’s Business Equity Community are invited to apply for a chance to gain insights on leveraging AI and compete for a share of a $35,000 grant pool—$20,000 for the winner and $15,000 for the runner-up. “It is specifically focused on ensuring that the Black founders that are a part of the 15%...
Denver, CO -based KT Winery, a Black, Asian-owned, and women-led wine company, has expanded its board of advisors to include Monique Rodriguez, founder of global beauty brand Mielle Organics , and Rachel Roff, founder of clinical skincare brand Urban Skin Rx . According to a March 13, 2025 news release, Kristin Taylor and Macie Mincey launched KT Winery in 2020 for the modern, health-conscious wine drinker and to address the lack of diversity representation in the wine industry. The brand is available in over 500 locations online and at select retailers, including Target and Total Wine, and on flights with major airlines. Rodriguez and Roff will provide strategic guidance to help shape the brand’s direction. “We are honored to have such notable female founders join the KT Winery board of advisors to provide their insight and guidance as we continue to grow another woman-led brand made for us,” said Taylor. As previously reported by AFROTECH™ , Rodriguez founded Mielle Organics in...
Google is doubling down on its move away from DEI goals. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, a shift away from diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) have been occurring across the nation. This has been seen in the venture capital space, with funding for Black-owned businesses being challenged in court. At the federal level, when he took office President Donald Trump signed an executive order to dismantle DEI-related “mandates, policies, programs, preferences, and activities” in the federal government, Business Insider notes. These changes, combined with political and legal pressures, have driven major companies to rethink their DEI initiatives. Some big tech companies, such as Meta, Amazon, and Google, have retracted their DEI commitments. “We’re committed to creating a workplace where all our employees can succeed and have equal opportunities, and over the last year, we’ve been reviewing our programs designed to help us get there,” a Google spokesperson told Business Insider in...
Student loan borrowers may be experiencing whiplash this year, as the rules and guidelines for repayment have continued to see massive sweeping changes. If you’ve been following along with political news in recent months, you’re likely already aware of the fact that president Donald Trump has plans to dismantle – and perhaps entirely abolish , the Department of Education. This is a far cry from Joe Biden’s economic plans , which included wiping out millions in student loan debt over the course of his term, and setting the stage for additional loan forgiveness down the line. Whether you’re a borrower concerned about your financial future, or just a passive onlooker questioning the economic impact of Trump’s many executive orders , you may be interested in what happens to unpaid student loans when and if the Department of Education goes the way of the dodo bird. Luckily we’ve got you covered, with a comprehensive look into the history of the Department of Education, what Trump is...
A venture capital firm founder has launched a lawsuit against PayPal, alleging that the company’s diversity and equity program excluded her because she is Asian. Nisha Desai, the founder of Andav Capital, claims she applied for consideration in a $530 million financial commitment PayPal announced in 2020 to support Black- and minority-owned businesses , TechCrunch reported. However, she asserts that she was overlooked due to her Asian heritage, as the program primarily focused on supporting Black- and Hispanic-led enterprises. “Funds majority-owned by individuals of other races, including Asian Americans, are not given equal consideration,” Desai stated in the New York lawsuit, per the outlet. “Worse, PayPal and its senior management have repeatedly trumpeted the program’s focus on race, bragging in statements and press releases that PayPal’s program is for some races and ethnicities and not others.” Desai claims that PayPal has violated Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866,...
For over a decade, Amazon has been committed to providing free legal services to communities in need. Pro Bono Program In 2014, David Zapolsky, Amazon’s senior vice president of global public policy and general counsel with 35 years of legal experience, launched a pro bono program. This allowed Amazon to scale its efforts to deploy free legal assistance. This initiative has played a pivotal role in breaking down barriers for underserved communities worldwide. “ Amazon employees were highly engaged in pro bono service long before the pro bono program’s formal launch, but our efforts have expanded greatly on a global scale with a more organized structure in place to help engage and support employees, encourage and facilitate partnerships with law firms and third-party organizations, and provide trainings and other resources for team members across the globe who have a passion for this impactful work,” Sean Croman, vice president and associate general counsel of Amazon’s Legal...
Concerns about the future have intensified as Donald Trump prepares to be sworn in as the 47th U.S. president. The Washington Post reports minority- and women-owned businesses have looming concerns over contracts, citing a potential loss of $70 billion in annual contracts amid legal disputes affecting government programs for “disadvantaged” firms. Within the Black community, legal issues were prevalent amid Fearless Fund’s ongoing litigation, which has now been settled. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the firm, led by founding partner Arian Simone, was sued by Edward Blum and his American Alliance for Equal Rights group in August 2023 over its Strivers Grant program. The $20,000 grant backed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Mastercard had been aimed at small businesses primarily owned by Black women, and the activist group accused the investment firm of “explicit racial exclusion.” The group had already been victorious in the Supreme Court over race-based affirmative action policies....
If you’re a Boston sports fan, you certainly recall the famed “Curse of the Bambino” which loomed over the Boston Red Sox baseball team for nearly a century. In 2004, the team finally reversed the long-held curse by besting the New York Yankees in a stunning seven-game upset before taking home the World Championship against the St. Louis Cardinals. As a pitcher for the Sox at that time, Pedro Martínez was integral to the success of the organization, and has since gone down in history as a Boston sports legend. Martínez is so impressive, in fact, that the superstar athlete has been chosen as one of several subjects for the new Netflix docu-series The Comeback: 2004 Boston Red Sox . Since Martínez is fresh on everyone’s mind, now seems like as good a time as any to take a look at his whopping net worth, which clocks in at over $70 million according to Celebrity Net Worth , and see what we can learn from his diverse portfolio. Through means such as his MLB salary, endorsement and brand...
Fearless Fund is claiming victory following a settlement that dissolved one of its grant programs. What Happened As AFROTECH™ previously reported, Fearless Fund had been in a legal battle with legal activist Edward Blum and his American Alliance for Equal Rights group over the firm’s Strivers Grant program — a Blum-led group had earlier challenged race-based affirmative action policies and won in the Supreme Court. The grant program, backed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Mastercard, supported Black-owned women businesses with $20,000 in funding, per information shared by “CBS Mornings.” The lawsuit, filed August 2023 in the U.S. District Court in Atlanta, GA, argued it was in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 to launch a grant program “open only to Black females,” labeling the move as “explicit racial exclusion.” As a result, several rulings and appeals have been issued. First, the grant program was permitted to continue operating under U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Thrash on...
College student Layla Wallace has secured a grant for her bakery business. Wallace started her Michigan-based business, Layla’s Cool Pops, when she was just 10 years old after being inspired by her fourth grade economics project in 2015, MLive reports. At the time, she did not have any proper knowledge of what it would take to run a business and be successful, but she is only becoming wiser in light of her steps in higher learning as a business student at Western Michigan University. “When I started the business, I didn’t know anything,” Wallace told the outlet. “I’m taking courses that are helping me develop my business, teaching me the fundamentals of how to function, develop, and grow.” In the meantime, Wallace continues to run Layla’s Cool Pops in Kalamazoo, MI. She sells cupcakes in flavors such as confetti, pink lemonade, red velvet, and lemon, among others, as well as cookie pops, cake pops, brownies, and pies. Orders are currently being fulfilled from her home, and the...
Kevin Johnson’s food venture is rapidly growing. As AFROTECH™ previously told you, the former NBA player who made headlines for becoming the first Black mayor of Sacramento, CA, is the founder of a restaurant venture named Fixins Soul Kitchen. He opened the first location in that very city, which is also his hometown, in 2019, notes Eater Detroit. “I grew up in Oak Park, so that was the poor part of the city of Sacramento, and like every city around the country, it was the underserved community,” Johnson told Eater. “I wanted to do our first Fixins in that neighborhood to prove that we could be successful in the neighborhood I grew up in.” Fixins Soul Kitchen has expanded and now has four locations in the following areas: Sacramento, CA (Oak Park) Los Angeles, CA (LA Live) Tulsa, OK (Black Wall Street) Detroit, MI (Paradise Valley) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Fixins Soul Kitchen (@fixinssoulkitchen) The restaurant’s menu items were inspired by various soul food...
Brent Faiyaz and his business partner Ty Baisden have invested in Black women-led S.T.E.M. companies. Through Faiyaz’s Lost Kids label, the artist entered into a 50/50 partnership with Baisden, who serves as his manager, Billboard reported. The agreement also allows both parties to operate various business ventures. “That was basically our handshake to one another in the beginning,” Baisden told Billboard. “Those projects and his tours are the financial seeds for Brent and me to go out and make individual investments.” Under Lost Kids, their most significant investments are in the real estate markets of Atlanta, GA, and Dallas, TX. The pair has also invested in at least 20 startups, including Athletic Greens, Therabody, Audio Shake, and Seed. “And the great thing is three of those four companies — Seed, Audio Shake, and Athletic Greens — are led by women,” Baisden told the outlet. The commitment to women-led businesses does not stop there. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the duo...
A college connection that birthed Topicals Founder Olamide Olowe changed the trajectory of her life. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, Olowe is behind the popular skincare company Topicals, which sells skincare products for people with chronic skin conditions such as eczema and hyperpigmentation. Founded in 2020, by 2022, it had become one of Sephora’s fastest-growing brands, selling one product every minute. Meeting Richelieu Dennis Olowe’s trajectory to founder was not her initial calling. In fact, she attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) on a full-ride scholarship to participate on its track team. Additionally, she was studying to become a doctor, she said during an interview on the “God Is My Creative Director” podcast. While there, she was introduced to another student, Rechelle Dennis, the daughter of SheaMoisture Founder Richelieu Dennis. “My freshman year, I’m standing there with one of my teammates, and a woman comes over to me and is like, ‘Hey, you...
Fearless Fund Co-Founder Ayana Parsons has parted from her leadership role at the venture capital firm. According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Parsons reveals that she stepped down as chief operating officer of Fearless Fund, co-founded by Parsons and CEO Arian Simone, in April 2024. “I have stepped back from the operations of the fund, so I’m not in the day-to-day, I’m not running it,” Parsons said, per the outlet . “But what I can tell you as it relates to me, is I’m a problem solver. I’m a changemaker. And so, I am pulling together people to talk about innovative and creative ways that we can continue to drive change and do it in multiple areas.” While the move was amid Fearless Fund’s lawsuit, Parsons emphasizes that her departure wasn’t due to the legal battle. As previously reported by AFROTECH™, Edward Blum and his American Alliance for Equal Rights group sued the Atlanta, GA-based fund in August 2023 for “explicit racial exclusion” by establishing a grant program...