Can Newark, NJ, become “the Black tech mecca?” A leader over at Audible seems to think so.

Not everyone gets the opportunity for a second chance at life, so Nyene Baker isn’t taking his for granted. The Trenton, NJ, native’s previous path of being in the system began when he was arrested at age 10 and found himself on probation in the sixth grade. By high school, he started to sell drugs and get involved in other illegal activity. Baker’s behavior at the time resulted in his parents sending him to Liberia. However, when he returned to the U.S., he found himself back in a life of crime.

Ice-T is joining the likes of Method Man as he ventures into the cannabis industry. Headynj.com reports the rapper and actor is set to open a cannabis dispensary in New Jersey.

Goalsetter is making sure the next generation of Black and Latinx Americans is free from the financial burdens that have held us back for so long! As previously reported by AfroTech, Vista Equity Partners’ Robert F. Smith and Goalsetter’s Tanya Van Court announced the “One Stock. One Future.” initiative in October 2021. The initiative served as a call to action for both organizations and corporations to build up young people of color and set them on a path to financial freedom. It kicked off after Smith gifted five shares of stock — equivalent to about 15,000 total shares — to nearly 3,000 students, educators and staff members at the Eagle Academies for Young Men, a network of public, all-boys schools serving young men of color in New York City and Newark, NJ, according to a press release. As this called for a celebration, those Black students, the Black Billionaire, Black tech entrepreneur, Black educator and young Black men from the Morehouse Class of 2019 all graced the NYSE...

Dr. Gemar Mills is on a mission to put an end to the school to prison pipeline. According to Because of Them We Can (BOTWC) ,  the New Jersey educator is on a mission to open up schools in order to destroy the need for prisons. A Paterson, New Jersey native himself, Mills learned early on that education would play a vital role in his success. School has always been a force in keeping him from heading down the wrong path and has been an anchor from some of the negativity he was surrounded by in his environment. Upon his completion of high school, Mills went on to attend Montclair State University pursuing a degree in computer science. However, his lack of funding to afford necessary items like a laptop led his mentors to recommend education as another option. Listening to the advice of those coaches and mentors, he soon switched his major to mathematics education and worked as a substitute teacher while in school. Once he completed his degree, Mills went on to be hired as a math...

Black women have been making headlines lately for their historical achievements, and Fabiana Pierre-Louis is no exception. Haitian-American lawyer Pierre-Louis is set to become the first Black woman to sit on New Jersey’s Supreme Court. Pierre-Louis — a partner at Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads — will become associate justice of the state’s highest court if her nomination is confirmed by the Senate, ESSENCE reports . According to Face 2 Face Africa , Pierre-Louis previously served in the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey for nine years as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and the Attorney-in-Charge of the Camden Branch Office, where she was the first Black woman to hold such a position in the District’s entire history, her page on Montgomery McCraken’s website states. NJ Gov. Phil Murphy nominated Pierre-Louis as his first pick for the state’s Supreme Court as he strongly believes she will sustain the legacy of John Wallace, the last Black justice on the...