In 2018, Rotimi Kukoyi — a high school freshman at the time — was one of the gifted students selected to appear on the “Jeopardy!” Teen Tournament. Now, the star senior has gone on to excel even further after getting accepted into some of the top schools in the nation, according to ABC News.  

Imagine a café where you can get your daily cup of coffee and a history lesson at the same time. Catrice and Jakyra Hixon’s coffee shop — Melanin Café — does just that. The couple recently opened their café in Opelika, Alabama with the hopes to serve quality coffee while celebrating melanin and fostering a peaceful environment, The Associated Press reports . The café is even more of a family affair with Hixon’s sister, Crystal Slaughter, as part of the team as the café’s baker. Black history is cleverly taught through the café’s menu in that “every drink has a name associated with lesser-known Black contributors and landmarks.” “We learned about Black history in school, but we only got civil rights, Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks,” Hixon said. “I wanted to bring forward people we don’t really know about, people like inventors, scientists and doctors.” Their menu also puts a focus on the local Opelika history, such as a drink named after Dr. John W. Darden — Opelika’s first Black...

Because Black mental health matters too! According to NBC15, Joanna Johnson and Afiya Hooker are the boss ladies behind  Mobile, Alabama’s first Black, women-owned, community health center. After offering counseling services at their own practices, the ladies wanted to take it a step further to offer more help through the Yin Yang Wellness Center. “Mental health in the black community is very stigmatized,” said Hooker, a licensed professional counselor and co-owner of the center. “I am very proud that at my own private practice. I have 97 percent BPOC clients but we still have a lot of work to do.” While the center is open to men and women of all ages and backgrounds, one of the main goals for opening the center was to provide a safe space for Black people and to destigmatize the narrative around the Black community and mental health. Not only does the Yin Yang Wellness Center offer therapy , but they also offer case management, group counseling and even serves as a donation center...

Hall of Famer Charles Barkley recently revealed in several interviews that he has plans to sell off some of his NBA memorabilia to help provide funds for affordable housing in his hometown of Leeds, Alabama. Barkley told WJOX 94.5 that he wants to make a difference in his old community and believes the best way to do so is to sell off his valuables, including his 1993 NBA MVP trophy, his 1996 Olympic gold medal and more memorabilia from the 1992 Dream Team. “I don’t think I have to walk around with my gold medal or my MVP trophy for people to know I’m Charles Barkley, so I’m going to sell all that crap,” Barkley said on the Dan Le Batard show last Thursday. “That just clutters my house. I used to keep it at my grandmother’s house, but they all passed away, and I don’t want that stuff crapping up my house.” The eyesores in the neighborhood, or rotted-out houses Barkley knew of growing up, have good reason to become spaces for affordable housing. “I want to work with the city of...