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Pharrell Williams Clears Student Debt For Five NAACP Student Leaders

Five NAACP students will be leaving college debt-free, thanks to Pharell Williams. The iconic record producer and philanthropist kicked off his Something In the Water Festival in Washington D.C. on Friday, June 17. Just hours before the musical event began, Williams surprised the student leaders with the groundbreaking news during a panel pertaining to the Black student debt crisis at the St. Regis hotel in D.C, ABC 7 News reports. “For all of you on the stage, we are clearing your current student loan debt,” said a moderator during the event. Breaking: #SomethingInTheWater just announced they’re paying the student debt of all 6 panelists/NAACP members! #CancelStudentDebt pic.twitter.com/BqBS9AqIoc — NAACP (@NAACP) June 17, 2022

Samantha Dorisca

Jun 17, 2022

Black Doctors Make Up Five Percent Of Doctors In The U.S.  — But With This Data, That Number May Increase

Black doctors reportedly make up five percent of the country’s doctors, but some new data reveals this number may soon be on the rise. A new study shows , first-year Black students saw an uptick in enrollment totaling 21 percent since 2020, according to GBH News.

Samantha Dorisca

Jan 28, 2022

OneTen Pledges 3,500 Tech Scholarships To Support Underserved Black Talent

To provide a space for Black talent in tech, OneTen — a group of industry executives aiming to hire and build Black individuals to create an equitable and inclusive workforce — has launched its inaugural scholarship program to provide support for over 3,500 students over the next two years, a press release states. The program was created to spearhead underserved Black talent toward the tech industry — with a focus on four core tech competencies: digital marketing, business analytics, front end developer, and predictive analytics — despite not acquiring four-year degrees. “By investing in talent transformation, we can help remove the barriers to diversity in tech. By providing access to resources that are designed to nurture and develop people’s skills, we can help get more Black talent into the technology space,” Dennis Schultz, Executive Director of the BIT Foundation, said in a press release. As a contribution toward OneTen’s commitment, Udacity and Blacks In Technology will lend...

Samantha Dorisca

Oct 18, 2021

How ColorStack Is Working To Increase The Number Of Minority Computer Science Students

Increasing computer science enrollment for Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) students has to start with building community, and nonprofit ColorStack recognizes that. The National Center for Education Statistics reported that of the 79,598 computer science degrees awarded in 2018, only 8.9 percent of them went to Black students, and more than 50 percent went to white students. The lack of diversity bleeds into the tech workforce as well. Less than 10 percent of Google’s national workforce identifies as Black or Latinx, while nearly half of Apple’s global team is white professionals. These statistics are stark. That’s why Jehron Petty launched ColorStack, a nonprofit that runs community building, academic support, and career development programs for Black and Latinx college computer science students across the U.S. ColorStack runs a three-week virtual career-building boot camp, hosts a 12-week computer science program, puts on a three-day computer science summit, and manages...

Michelai Graham

Sep 16, 2021

The Coach Foundation's Dream It Real Initiative Announces Commitment To Support 5,000 Students By 2025

The Coach Foundation, the charity arm of the venerated fashion line, has announced its recommitment to minority students through the Dream It Real Initiative. In a press release announcement, it was revealed that the foundation — which was launched in 2008 — has committed to providing scholarships to more than 5,000 students through the initiative, in cooperation with its non-profit partners. In the United States, the program will support students from underrepresented communities by granting them four years of continued scholarship and mentorship through non-profit partners including The Opportunity Network and Bottom Line. Dream It Real’s global reach includes parallel programs in North America, China, Japan, and the United Kingdom. To seal their commitment, the Coach Foundation announced that from Aug. 9 to Aug. 16, five percent of their sales (up to $1 million) will be donated to the Dream It Real Initiative. In the U.K., five percent of their sales (up to 150,000 GBP) will go...

Largest Student-Run VC Fund In The U.S. Expands To Atlanta To Get Black Students High-Paying Jobs

The venture capital space is still struggling with its diversity problem, but this student-run equity fund is hoping to use its expansion plan to fix it. University Growth Fund (UGF) — considered the largest student-run equity fund in the country — has partnered up with Ally Ventures to announce that it is expanding its offices to Atlanta in an effort to usher more Black and Brown students into the underrepresented field of venture capital. According to a press release, the equity fund has established a company mission to provide “unique access to the highly-competitive and lucrative career track of venture capital through hands-on experience.” Now stationed in Downtown Atlanta — which is home to 26,000 Black and brown college students — UGF hopes to use its close proximity to the city’s top colleges and universities with diverse student bodies to turn things around for the VC world. “Only 2% of venture capital leaders are Black, making venture capital one of the least diverse...

Njera Perkins

Jun 10, 2021

PepsiCo Launches $40M Community College Program For Black and Brown Students

PepsiCo and its philanthropic arm The PepsiCo Foundation recognize the challenges in America’s educational institutions and the need for systemic change as it pertains to low-income students of color. For these students who are in pursuit of higher education, PepsiCo has announced a new $40 million scholarship and professional mentoring program to support Black and Hispanic community college students. According to a press release, the new $40 million initiative will start off launching in Dallas , Westchester , Houston , and Chicago. PepsiCo’s plan is to expand the program across 16 additional U.S. cities in the fall and hopes to support roughly 4,000 students over the next five years. “Education is a great equalizer that enables economic growth, upward mobility and helps build generational wealth that lifts up communities over the long-term,” PepsiCo Chairman/ CEO Ramon Laguarta shares in a statement . “With this program, we are creating a differentiated experience for students...

Njera Perkins

Mar 30, 2021

Minority Tech Students At Cal State East Bay Are Getting a Boost With This New Game Design Program

Oakland-based tech training program Gameheads has teamed up with some notable partners to launch a game design certificate program at Cal State East Bay this spring. According to a press release, the new program will be hosted through the university’s art and continuing education departments. In partnership with Unity, Oculus from Facebook and Niantic, East Bay’s game design certificate program specifically wants to attract students of color and low income students to participate. “This certificate program is a game changer in breaking down barriers to the tech industry that our students have faced for too long, and it’s possible because of industry leaders like Oculus, Unity and Niantic,” said Gameheads Executive Director Damon Packwood in a statement. “We thank them for helping create true diversity in tech.” Packwood said Gameheads has been committed to providing minority students with more tech education opportunities. This new program at East Bay will be co-taught by game...

Michelai Graham

Mar 24, 2021

Amaya Jernigan Makes History as West Virginia University's First Black Woman Student Government President

After more than 150 years since its founding, West Virginia University just elected its first Black woman as student government president, according to My Buckhannon. Amaya Jernigan, who hails from Waldorf, Maryland, will take over the post for the first time in WVU’s history. She will lead the university’s student body for the 2021-2022 academic year alongside Hunter Moore, who will serve as vice president. “I would like to thank every Mountaineer who has made it possible for me to hold this position. I am beyond grateful and will be forever thankful that you all were brave enough to pave the way for me,” Jernigan said in a statement. “Hunter and I, as well as everyone else elected today, have been asked to bring change to campus. We won’t let you down. We have to be the change we seek, and the ‘ACTION’ starts today.” Jernigan is a junior biology major and she served as a senator-at-large for WVU’s Student Government Association (SGA) prior to landing the presidential role....

Michelai Graham

Mar 15, 2021

17-Year-Old Shanya Robinson-Owens Receives $1M in Scholarships From 18 Colleges

High school senior Shanya Robinson-Owens applied to more than 25 colleges and in return received offers of more than $1 million — $1,074,260 to be exact — worth of scholarship money from the 18 schools she was accepted into, Good Morning America reports. Shanya — a 17-year-old Philadelphia native who currently attends George Washington Carver High School of Engineering and Science — told CNN that she didn’t have high expectations when applying to her respective schools, but was pleasantly surprised when acceptance letters started rolling in. “I didn’t expect to get this,” she said, “I knew about the scholarships, but I didn’t expect it to be this much, at all.” According to CNN, her family began counting her scholarship packages as she received her acceptance letters and started tracking her progress on social media via the hashtag #KeepingUpWithNya. “I didn’t know if I should cry, laugh, I didn’t know what to do.” – 17 year old Shanya’s reaction when she was awarded over $1 million...

Njera Perkins

Mar 8, 2021

Center for Black Educator Development Launches $3.1M Initiative to Uplift the Next Generation of Black Teachers

Our support for today’s generation of Black students is crucial to bridging the gap between educational achievement and equal opportunity. In order to do so, we must also uplift our Black teachers who are integral in making that happen. In an effort to support this cause, the Center for Black Educator Development has announced a new nationwide educational justice campaign to drastically increase the number of Black teachers entering the education field. With $3.1 million in new funding, the Center will launch the Black Teacher Pipeline (BTP) and the Black Educators of Excellence Fellowship — a program in partnership with the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) — to help recruit and financially support the next generation of Black educators across America. Funding for these initiatives was provided by the Laura and Gary Lauder Family Venture Philanthropy Fund, Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies, Spring Point Partners, Alice Walton through the Walton Family Foundation and...

Njera Perkins

Feb 25, 2021

CVS Health Foundation, UNCF Establishes $5M College Scholarship For Black Students Going Into Healthcare

CVS Health is following through with its commitment to social justice and racial equity in America with its latest educational initiative. Last week, CVS Health Foundation announced the launch of a five-year, $5 million scholarship program in collaboration with the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) — the nation’s largest minority education organization advocating for minority education — to help Black and brown college students pursue an academic career in healthcare. The new initiative — called the CVS Health Foundation Health Care Careers Scholarship program — is a part of CVS Health’s nearly $600 million plan to properly address racial inequity for disenfranchised communities over the next five years, a press release shares. “This scholarship will feed a robust pipeline of under-represented students, which will in turn strengthen the pool of talented college graduates ready for today’s and tomorrow’s workplace,” said David Casey — Senior Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer...

Njera Perkins

Feb 2, 2021

Ten Black Students Chosen As 2021 Rhodes Scholars Tie For Most Ever in a Single Class

The Rhodes Scholarship is the oldest and highest honor any student can receive for an international postgraduate program to continue their studies at the University of Oxford. For the second time in its 118-year history, ten Black Americans have been chosen as U.S. Rhodes Scholars, tying up the 2017 record for the most ever in a single class, according to Black Enterprise. There were a total of 32 Americans selected for this year’s Rhodes Scholars class, and according to a press statement from the American secretary of the Rhodes Trust Elliot F. Gerson, it’s one of the most diverse groups ever. “This year’s American Rhodes Scholars—independently elected by 16 committees around the country meeting simultaneously—reflect the remarkable diversity that characterizes and strengthens the United States. Twenty-two of the 32 are students of color; ten are Black, equal to the greatest number ever elected in one year in the United States. Nine are first-generation Americans or immigrants; and...

Njera Perkins

Nov 24, 2020

Leadership Program Previously Held at Princeton Goes Virtual for Black Youth

Black excellence is shining through the community even during a global pandemic. Although educational institutions across the country have temporarily closed, online learning has become the new method for teaching students. Even while following stay-at-home guidelines and social distancing practices, students can still get a quality education from distinguished schools and universities online to prep them for their futures. This summer, the prestigious programs for young Black girls and boys previously held at Princeton University have been canceled. Now, Jacqueline Glass-Campbell, CEO of At the Well Conferences, Inc., is introducing these two celebrated programs through her organization to provide a remote enrichment experience for students. #AllInTogether, a movement led by Rev. Toby Sanders for young Black men, was started to produce more Black male leaders in business, the arts, social justice, and science. It was also meant to instill values that will equip them to address...

Njera Perkins

May 5, 2020