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After years of working in tech, Brian Peret is dedicating his time to making the industry more accessible. Peret, a developer-turned-software-engineer originally from Milwaukee, WI, understood the importance of technology firsthand while attending graduate school in Tampa, FL. Ultimately, It was a nudge from his brother that first got him thinking about transitioning from the wet sciences (chemistry and biomedical engineering) to tech, but he didn’t make the pivot until the 2008 recession. “In a time when everyone else is losing their jobs and people are foreclosing on homes and losing their homes, I’m seeing computer programmers and developers gain wealth. That’s when I really realized that in technology, there is this entire industry that for those who can do the skills and do the job, there will always be a job for you out there. So that’s kind of what got me on board, and then that passion has just increased time and again,” Peret said during an interview with AFROTECH™. Peret’s...
Several scholarships supporting Black medical students in Cincinnati, OH, are under review, The Washington Post reports. The shift is influenced by a pushback against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts under the Trump administration. As AFROTECH™ previously told you, DEI programs, roles, and initiatives were dismantled at the federal level. This led corporations and universities to adjust their policies in response to pressure from conservative groups. In 2023, the Supreme Court also reversed its stance on affirmative action, effectively ending the consideration of race in college admissions, according to NPR. “I got into medical school in 1972, and I’m not ashamed to tell anybody that it was because of affirmative action,” Kenneth Davis, a former Black general surgeon who retired in 2020, told The Washington Post. “I wasn’t the dumbest guy in the class. There were the children of faculty, alumni, and donors, and some of them struggled a lot more than I did, so I say...
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...
At 79 years old, Patricia Sias Ellis has fulfilled a goal that was put on hold for decades. According to News 19, Ellis devoted her time to her family and job after graduating from high school. Meanwhile, her husband and son obtained degrees from Morehouse College. However, it wasn’t until a comment from her son that her interest in attending college resurfaced. While they were watching television, her son suggested she should go to college. Although the comment may have been made as a lighthearted joke, Ellis took it seriously, enrolled at Atlanta Metropolitan State College, and later transferred to Clayton State University on a part-time basis. “I always knew I wasn’t finished,” Ellis explained, according to the outlet. She added, “I just kept trudging along semester after semester, just doing the work.” Her time in college was not without its hardships. Ellis learned a 10-pound tumor was on her kidney. Yet, she continued her studies. “She lights up the room,” said Dr. Georj...
Shaquille O’Neal wants to sport a new hat in the coming years. O’Neal has established his footprint in various ways outside of his time in the NBA, which concluded in 2011 after 19 seasons. He walked away with four championship rings and career earnings totaling $286.3 million, notes Spotrac. He has since gone on to establish himself as a businessman and sports commentator, serving as a host of “Inside the NBA,” where he reportedly signed a contract extension with TNT that will earn him a $15 million annual pay day. As AFROTECH™ previously told you, O’Neal’s ventures over the years include his fast-casual restaurant franchise, Big Chicken, which operates in various states and even has a rewards deal with Carnival Cruise. He’s also the second-largest shareholder of Authentic Brands Group, a company that benefits from his name and likeness through merchandise and endorsements, in addition to those of other prominent figures such as Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Muhammad Ali, and...
High School senior Victoria Mathieu has many reasons to celebrate! The Bensalem High School student shared a video on TikTok of her seated beside her family while receiving a status update on her college applications. She applied to schools like Harvard University, Columbia University, Dartmouth College, Cornell University, Brown University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Yale University. To her surprise, she was admitted into five of them, in which the acceptance rates toggle between 3% and 9%, according to 6abc Philadelphia. Mathieu was waitlisted at Harvard and Dartmouth. “I did not expect to get into really into any of the schools at all. Once I saw my acceptances and everything, it was just like crazy, insane. I was just thanking God,” she expressed, per the outlet. @tori.math for all my black queens who think they aren’t capable of ivy league schools, let me be the one to tell you WE CAN DO IT!! don’t let people’s prejudices of black women dictate how far you reach for...
Angel Reese and Magic Johnson have more in common than just their love of basketball. Both Johnson and Reese have found success beyond the sport. In the business world, this has translated into significant achievements for the two: Johnson is now a billionaire , and Reese has established herself as a multi-millionaire student-athlete who successfully transitioned to the WNBA and now holds a multi-year partnership extension with Reebok. Furthermore, the pair share even more common ground: a vision for financially empowering communities. According to its website, the Magic Johnson Foundation’s mission includes providing economic empowerment in ethnically diverse urban communities, while the Angel Reese C. Foundation shares a similar mission, with a specific focus on girls. “The Angel Reese Foundation is dedicated to fostering equity for girls and underrepresented groups through innovative and impactful initiatives. Our main objective is to ensure equal opportunities for all girls in...
Howard University is not aligned with the Trump administration’s request to revert funding levels back to 2021. Why Federal Funding Proposal Was Made The Hill reports that the nation’s only federally chartered Historically Black College and University (HBCU) received a one-time payment valued at $64 million to support the construction of a hospital at the school. That hospital has been completed, therefore the Trump administration is not looking to provide that extra funding for the 2026 year. Trump also shares that he doesn’t intend to cut the federal funding budget for HBCUs that is already in place. “I got them more money than they ever dreamt possible, and they’re in great shape now,” Trump said referring to a 2019 bill that started allocating over $250 million yearly to HBCUs starting in 2021, according to the outlet. “They have long-term financing. Nobody did that but Donald Trump.” Howard University Responds Howard University is requesting that its budget for the 2026 year...
Harvard University professors are donating a portion of their salaries to the Ivy League after it lost federal funding. As AFROTECH™ previously told you, Harvard received two letters from federal agencies instructing it to discontinue its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) commitments. The letters stated that failure to comply could result in the loss of about $9 billion in federal funding. According to Reuters, some of the conditions included reducing the influence of faculty, staff, and students who are “more committed to activism than scholarship.” Additionally, the letters requested an external panel to audit these groups for alignment with “viewpoint diversity,” arguing that the university has “failed to live up to both the intellectual and civil rights conditions that justify federal investment.” The letters also flagged concerns about unchallenged antisemitism. While Harvard University did agree to address concerns about antisemitism on campus, it also stated, “These ends...
Curtis Lawrence III is set to graduate after making history at his HBCU. At 16 years old, Lawrence’s bright future was solidified after he was accepted into 14 esteemed colleges, which included Harvard University, Yale University, Howard University, Morehouse College, Morgan State University, and University of California Berkeley, as CBS News notes. He also received $1.6 million in scholarships at the time. “We’ve taught them from an early age that education is key to opening up the opportunities and having access to things that they want to life,” his father, Curtis Lawrence Jr., told CBS News. Choosing dual-enrollment for his last two years of high school, Lawrence III started taking both high school and college classes at George Washington University in Washington, DC, in 2019. Doing so at 14 years old, he made history as its youngest freshman, the Tallahassee Democrat reports. In 2021, he continued his studies as a junior at HBCU Florida A&M University (FAMU) and also made...
Nonprofit 826 Boston is willing to lose significant funding from the federal government to uphold DEI. The Massachusetts-based organization, which offers writing, tutoring, and publishing services for educational purposes, will no longer seek federal funding . In a letter, it confirmed that the decision follows the Trump administration’s directive for agencies to dismantle DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) programs if receiving federal grant and contracts. Standing on its mission to support students and reflect the diversity of its community, the nonprofit will withdraw its application to receive a $250,000 federal grant for the 2025–2026 AmeriCorps program year. The organization made this decision in order to uphold DEI in its hiring practices, according to CBS News. “826 Boston’s six Writers’ Rooms in Boston Public Schools are staffed with one full time Writers’ Room Manager and two AmeriCorps service members,” Executive Director Corey Yarbrough stated in a letter, per the...
A plan to empower Chicago, IL-based Black students is now being investigated by the federal government. According to ABC 7, Chicago Public Schools is being investigated by the Trump administration’s Department of Education — led by Linda E. McMahon — for allegedly using racial discrimination in its Black Students Success Plan. The plan is a five-year initiative that was announced during Black History Month 2025 to improve graduation rates and reduce suspensions for Black students, increase hiring of Black teachers, and “combat anti-Blackness” through its curriculums and professional development, notes Chalkbeat-Chicago. “Today’s action by the Trump Administration’s Department of Education, influenced by the right-wing group Defending Education, is yet another attempt to hinder the progress we are striving to achieve,” Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates commented in her statement, according to ABC 7. “Rather than using the Department to create opportunities for...
A lawsuit has been filed against the University of Alabama for offering race-based scholarships. According to WDHN, the Equal Protection Project, a national organization focused on “fair treatment of all persons without regard to race or ethnicity,” filed a lawsuit with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in regards to the school’s Norton-Textra Endowed Scholarship for minority students in English writing, which is awarded to African-American students enrolled full-time. The school received a letter on Feb. 14, 2025, from the Office for Civil Rights Acting Assistant Secretary Craig Trainor that stated higher learning institutions “have discriminated against students on the basis of race, including white and Asian students.” The office issued a call to action to end race-based preferences and stereotypes. “Proponents of these discriminatory practices have attempted to further justify them — particularly during the last four years — under the banner of...
President Donald Trump has signed several executive orders that will impact education. Historically Black Colleges And Universities According to a press release, an executive order by Trump establishes a White House Initiative on HBCUs and seeks to enhance the quality of education at these universities through private-sector partnerships, as well as institutional and workforce development in industries such as technology, health care, manufacturing, and finance. The initiative will also work to ensure federal and state grant dollars are more accessible and plans to launch a yearly White House Summit geared toward HBCUs to determine goals and establish partnerships. At the same time, the order establishes the President’s Board of Advisors on HBCUs, which will exist under the Department of Education and include changemakers in philanthropy, education , business, finance, entrepreneurship , innovation, private foundations, and HBCU presidents. “HBCUs are essential to fostering...
Howard University is on a mission to reverse the decline of Black male enrollment at Historically Black Colleges and Universities ( HBCUs). On Tuesday, April 8, 2025, the university hosted its third annual Kings of Campus Day, welcoming 150 young Black boys from the District of Columbia Public Schools and Prince George’s County Public Schools for panel discussions emphasizing the importance of Black men attending college, according to a LinkedIn post from Dr. Calvin Hadley. Hadley, the assistant provost for Student Engagement and Academic Partnerships at Howard University, said he created the event to show young males why they deserve a place at the HBCU and college in general, while urgently conveying to them how valued and needed they are. “If we are serious about increasing the number of Black males at Howard [and in higher education in general], we have to go back and contribute to building up the pipeline,” Hadley said via LinkedIn. “We are committed to this work and look...