Reading is one of the fundamental skills required for youth to excel academically. However, there has been a rising number of children who struggle with literacy skills. According to The Nation’s Report Card, only 33% of fourth-grade students could read at or above the basic reading level as of 2022. To be a part of keeping students motivated to read, Beanstack, formerly known as Zoobean, stepped in. Founded by husband-and-wife team Felix Brandon Lloyd and Jordan Lloyd Bookey, the edtech startup was created to not only support children’s reading growth but also grow their overall love for reading. The drive to launch the company stems from the founders’ background in education. In addition to Bookey serving as Google’s head of K-12 education outreach, Lloyd had worked in the public school system. He started out as dean of students at the SEED Public Charter School, where he was named Washington, D.C.’s “Teacher of the Year.” Then, in 2007, Lloyd was selected for Echoing Green’s...

A mental fitness startup co-founded by Pittsburg Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson has scored new funding. In 2018, Wilson (chief impact officer) founded the digital fitness company Limitless Minds with his brother Harry Wilson (CEO), a former med device and pharma sales leader; DJ Eidson (president), a former pharmaceutical and biotech sales leader; and the late Trevor Moawad, a mental conditioning coach named Sports Illustrated’s “World’s Best Brain Trainer,” according to the company’s website. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Russell Wilson (@dangerusswilson) The website also mentions that the Louisville, KY-based company started as a business coaching consultancy. Four years later, it created a digital platform called Club Limitless, which offers coaching, live on-demand mindset training, and performance tools to train users’ mental fitness. Over the years, some of Limitless Minds’ clientele have included Fortune 500 companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Workday,...

Megan Thee Stallion — née Megan Pete — is the epitome of a real “hot girl,” constantly soaring to new heights and trusting the journey throughout it all. In a recent interview with Billboard, the 26-year-old explained how much it means to now be the product of a historically Black-owned college and university (HBCU). Back in December 2021, the Texas native walked among her peers to accept her bachelor’s degree in health administration from Texas Southern University, a feat that she managed to knock out of the park all while becoming one of the world’s biggest rap superstars. “I really feel like I did something that was very prestigious,” she said to the outlet. The accomplishment hits different for the “Savage” emcee, who says that she is most proud to continue the HBCU legacy of all of the women in her family. “I feel like I’m making all of the women in my family proud,” Megan Thee Stallion expressed. “All the women in my family went to HBCUs. I’m just going down the legacy of...

Kevin Liles continues to make money moves in the music industry. In a recent press release, it was revealed that the independent label 300 Entertainment — which Liles heads up — has just been sold to Warner Music Group in a deal that’s reportedly worth $400 million. As part of the deal, Kevin Liles will be appointed Chairman & CEO across 300 and Elektra Music Group. And while the day-to-day operations of Elektra — which distributes Fueled By Ramen, Roadrunner Records, Low Country Sound, DTA Records, and Public Consumption — will continue to be run by Co-Presidents Mike Easterlin and Gregg Nadel. “At 300, we’re all about freedom – the freedom to create, the freedom to be intrapreneurs and entrepreneurs, the freedom to make music that changes the world,” he said in a statement provided in the press release. “Independence is in our DNA and the team at Warner is like family, which makes this a natural evolution for us to do bigger family business. It’s the perfect home for 300 artists...

Education was an important discussion in the household of Andres Martin, the founder of nonprofit HBCU Night. As a first-generation college student, Martin had the opportunity to be someone great. He was determined to make his mother, who had encouraged the pursuit of college within their household, proud. During the HBCU Night founder’s senior year of high school, one of the most pivotal years for a student prior to beginning college, he received a discouraging message from his guidance counselor. “With grades like these, you won’t even get into community college,” said the counselor. The words would resonate with the Connecticut-native but they would not shake his spirit. Developing a plan with his mother and aunt, they were able to strategize a game plan for Andres Martin to attend college. It was this decision that would lead Martin to Dallas, TX upon graduation where he would visit Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) such as Texas Southern, Prairie View A&M and...

Not long ago, TBS announced that they were taking steps to financially empower recent graduates of HBCUs. To do so, the network announced its TBS HBCU Cash Out program, which awarded $25,000 each to four lucky HBCU graduates. The money, the network said, was designed to help alleviate student loan debt for Black students. The network chose $25,000 as a prize amount because of a recent study released by the U.S. Department of Education’s White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans. According to the report, “Black college graduates have nearly $25,000 more student loan debt: an average of $52,726 in student debt, compared to $28,006 for the typical White bachelor’s graduate.” So, TBS decided to take action in the form of their Cash Out contest, which was a social media contest. From Feb. 8 – March 8, entrants creatively shared a 60-second video via Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube on how attending an HBCU is helping them achieve their goals. At the end of it...