A Chicago, IL, soul food restaurant saw a boost in customers after receiving a visit from Jay-Z.

In 2020, Aurora James shook up the business world with a disruptive idea. As previously reported by AfroTech, the designer founded the Fifteen Percent Pledge following the murder of George Floyd to demand corporations to commit 15 percent of their shelf space to Black-owned businesses. Now, nearly three years later, it appears that James’ call for action has paid off.

Heinz has become a restaurant and household staple for decades. Now, the beloved brand continues to work toward a greater cause by teaming up with Southern Restaurants for Racial Justice to equip Black restaurant owners with the resources needed to win big. Thanks to a partnership between Southern Restaurants for Racial Justice, Heinz, as well as a plethora of bakers, chefs, and restaurant owners to offer grants that range between $15,000 and $25,000 to Black-owned food establishments as they work to scale and grow their businesses, a blog post revealed. “I really want to make sure that these Black-owned restaurants are seen, heard, and can build these legacy businesses,” said Southern Restaurants for Racial Justice Founder Cheryl Day. “From the heart, I want to make sure they are sustainable and that we’re offering what they need.” Heinz Black Kitchen Initiative is back for year 2 of championing and supporting Black-owned restaurants, eateries & food initiatives with our partners...

Ciearra Baker probably never thought she’d become known as the “Vending Machine Mom” when she made a Christmas Eve post on Facebook. The single mother from St. Louis, MO, quickly went viral when she posted a photo of her children with a rather unconventional “present.” “Let’s not handicap these kids making their lives easy,” wrote the woman who would become known as the Vending Machine Mom. “I’m not buying toys my kids most definitely will understand. Life is not easy and making the right choices with money & etc… So I came up with the idea to invest in a vending machine for the kids as Christmas gift #Young bosses in the making 👌💪🏽👏🏽🤑 MERRY XMAS!” Some commenters thought the idea was a good one. “I love this so much! I started selling candy at school when I was little to make my money and now I’m 24 and have a small business and I love it!” wrote one woman. Others, however, weren’t as welcoming to the idea. “Not you shaming other parents for getting their kids gifts instead of...

About a year ago, Google fired their star artificial intelligence (AI) researcher. Now, she’s bounced back with a firm of her own that received $3.7 million in funding from the MacArthur Foundation, Ford Foundation, Kapor Center, Open Society Foundation, and the Rockefeller Foundation. We are @DAIRInstitute — an independent, community-rooted #AI research institute free from #BigTech 's pervasive influence. Founded by @timnitGebru . https://t.co/t7UyaVfmVH — Distributed AI Research Institute (@DAIRInstitute) December 2, 2021 The Washington Post tells the story of Timnit Gebru, a prominent artificial intelligence computer scientist who just founded Distributed Artificial Intelligence Research Institute (DAIR) . The institute, according to the outlet, “aims to both document harms and develop a vision for AI applications that can have a positive impact on the same groups.” And there’s no better person to lead that charge than Gebru, who was instrumental in noting that facial recognition...

It seems that “whatever you need, you can get that Black” is the apparent mood for Google and its second annual #BlackOwnedFriday campaign, which features Grammy award-winning artist T-Pain and pop sensation Normani. The shoppable film is giving 50 Black-owned brands their flowers and will highlight over 100 products from beauty to home goods and more. The musical project will allow users to shop and connect with businesses in one click. Essence reports, the partnership felt organic for T-Pain because he has always advocated for Black-owned businesses long before it became popular. “I was thrilled when Google reached out about the second annual Black-owned Friday,” T-Pain said, according to Essence. “Last year, Google partnered with the U.S. Black Chambers, Inc. to reimagine Black Friday as ‘Black-owned Friday’ — a day to celebrate and support Black-owned businesses. This year, I’m proud to join Google and the U.S. Black Chambers, Inc. for another year of encouraging shoppers to...

When John “JP” Petty was promoted to an executive level at Wieden & Kennedy, he couldn’t help but shout out his Historically Black College and University (HBCU) alma mater, Lincoln University. According to Petty, the education he got from the acclaimed HBCU was indeed second to none — but in actuality, he got so much more, too. “Without Lincoln, I wouldn’t have gotten to know myself ,” he told AfroTech. “That’s where I came to my full realization of self, as a Black man — and how it helped me find my place in this world. It was there that I realized I didn’t have to be an athlete, or a rapper, to be a success in this world. I could do it on my own terms, in my own way — so, yes, I fully recommend that anyone who can, should absolutely attend an HBCU. It was very necessary for me, and it can be very necessary for you, too.” Until now, Petty has served as head of social for W+K’s New York office, where he has been integral in building a robust social practice, as well as helping to...