Living in a time where Black representation in media is still needed, we love to see the faces seated at this news station’s desk. BET reports that local Texas news station KCEN — an NBC affiliate — has a show where its hosts are all Black women. The show — “Texas Today” — is led by Jasmin Caldwell, Taheshah Moise, and meteorologist Ashley Carter, according to the outlet. Residents of Temple, Waco, Killeen, and surrounding areas are able to start their mornings by tuning into the show for the news. Although being a part of the trio herself, the hiring move from KCEN still feels surreal in a sense. “Growing up, I always saw all-white news anchors,” she said, according to BET. “I didn’t think that there would ever be Black newscasts. I knew there was always room for one, but I didn’t think that I would see three African Americans — male or female — permanently, all at one time. No way.” Being a part of a dream come true happened for Caldwell about five years after first joining KCEN,...
May 13, 2022
Plug In South LA has announced its third tech accelerator program focused on Black and Latinx communities. In a press release announcement, it was revealed that they are looking for startup founders focused on healthcare tech, c limate and sustainability, digital media, and educational technology. The benefits of the tech accelerator will include potential grants of up to $40,000 as well as possible seed investments and pilot partnerships. Mentors in the program will include leaders and executives from the California Health Care Foundation, Courtside Ventures, RareBreed Ventures, and Zeal Capital Partners, among others. “We are keen to help Founders secure capital and investment plus help them leverage the LA start ecosystem to develop traction and momentum around their company,” notes Derek Smith, founder of Plug In South LA, in the press release announcement. In addition to the new tech accelerator, Plug In South LA is known for Urban Tech Connect, a prominent annual business...
Feb 2, 2022
Dendreon Pharmaceuticals, a leader in the fight against prostate cancer, has announced a new partnership with Grant Hill. In a press release announcement, it was revealed that the immunotherapy company and the seven-time NBA All-Star and sports broadcaster have teamed up to launch Start Strong, a new initiative to help individuals make decisions with health in mind. Start Strong aims to empower the prostate cancer community to learn about the racial disparities within prostate cancer incidence in the United States and encourage patients to talk to their physicians about the best treatments for them. Statistically, one in seven Black men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. What’s more, Black men tend to be diagnosed at a younger age and with a more severe prognosis compared to other men. And for this reason, Dendreon enlisted the aid of Grant Hill to help spread the word. “Prostate cancer is a risk for all men, but it disproportionately impacts Black men. In...
Nov 18, 2021
In March 2021, AfroTech reported that Bruce’s Beach could be going back to the descendants of its original Black owners. On Sept. 30, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California made that a reality. According to Eyewitness News (via The Associated Press) , the beachfront property in question was purchased by Willa and Charles Bruce back in 1912. The Bruces turned the property into the first beach resort for Black families. The resort — which included a lodge, a cafe, and even a dance hall — naturally faced threats and harassment from its white neighbors. There was even an attempt to burn down the resort. Finally, in 1924, the city seized the property — citing eminent domain — and took the property from the Bruces. The campaign to return Bruce’s Beach to the Bruce family — whose descendants include Anthony Bruce, who has been very vocal about the injustice committed against his family (and rightly so) — was spearheaded by LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn. “I’m considering, first of all, giving...
Oct 1, 2021
Drake continues his “ certified millionaire ” streak with the announcement of his latest investment. Bloomberg is reporting that the rapper — who is enjoying a new wave of success with the release of his new album, “Certified Lover Boy,” which has just spent two weeks at the top of the Billboard charts — has thrown his support behind the Dave’s Hot Chicken franchise. He will join other celebrity investors, such as Samuel L. Jackson, in this latest funding round. “I tried the food and it was amazing. After meeting the founders and hearing their story, I jumped at the opportunity to invest,” Drake said in a statement. Founded in 2017, Dave’s Hot Chicken also counts Boston Red Sox capo Tom Werner amongst its cadre of elite investors. The story of Dave’s is a true rags-to-riches story: four friends teamed up and put up $900 of their own money into a small food stand in a Hollywood, CA, parking lot. But the game really changed for them in 2019 when the original investors behind Blaze...
Sep 20, 2021
Before he passed away, Kobe Bryant designed a watch known as — what else? — the Black Mamba. Today, that watch is said to be on track to sell for $10 million. According to Radar Online, the Hublot watch in question was signed and designed by Kobe Bryant, which he reportedly designed back in 2012, when he was a Hublot brand ambassador. But according to the outlet, the auction doesn’t just include the Black Mamba watch (which can fetch upwards of $250,000 on eBay and similar auction sites). Rather, the auction is positioning itself to be “the ultimate collector’s item” by offering other items tied to the late basketball legend. “A digital auction is gearing up to drop a Nike Zoom VII sneaker signed by the longtime Los Angeles Laker — but that’s not all,” reports the outlet. “We’ve learned the package also includes one of the three 18K rose gold Black Mamba Hublot Watches ever designed and signed by Kobe, as well as a custom-curated digital artwork designed by New York City-based...
Sep 17, 2021
On Sept. 3, 2021, Howard University experienced a cyberattack that has now brought more attention to an issue that has been overlooked. According to the initial report about the cyberattack, Howard reported the breach to both the FBI and the Washington, D.C. city government about the attack and said that they put in initial safeguards to prevent future attacks. “On September 3, 2021, the Howard University information technology team detected unusual activity on the University’s network. In accordance with our cyber response protocol, and to mitigate the potential for criminal activity, Enterprise Technology Services (ETS) intentionally shut down the University’s network to investigate the situation,” read a press release issued by Howard University. Thankfully, Black billionaire Robert F. Smith, considered the wealthiest Black man in America, has announced his latest Student Freedom Initiative (SFI) tour in an effort to provide more cybersecurity to Historically Black Colleges and...
Sep 16, 2021
You can now pay for your McDonald’s meal using Bitcoin …so to speak. According to Forbes, the fast-food giant is now the first-of-its-kind to accept Bitcoin as a form of payment in El Salvador. The move comes shortly after the Central American country announced that it accepts the cryptocurrency coin as a form of legal tender. The deal was made through the California-based payment processor, OpenNode, which has formed a partnership with McDonald’s to allow these types of transactions to take place. There are currently 19 McDonald’s throughout El Salvador, and payment using Bitcoin can be accepted in person, online, or through any delivery app. This is the first major corporation to accept Bitcoin in the country, but it certainly won’t be the last. A spokesperson for OpenNode confirmed to Forbes that they are currently in the process of onboarding several corporations who do business in El Salvador onto their Bitcoin platform. Just walked into a McDonald's in San Salvador to see if I...
Sep 13, 2021
A new law passed in Norway puts forth a very interesting social media rule. The law — which was passed earlier this month in the Norwegian Parliament— requires social media influencers to disclose whether they’ve manipulated the image in any way before posting. The Hill reports that this law was passed in an effort to combat body image issues faced by young people in the country today. If the photo has “a body’s shape, size or skin has been changed by retouching or other manipulation,” it must be marked as edited, according to Norway’s new legislation. What’s more, the new Norway law stipulates that celebrities and influencers must disclose if they were paid for the post, regardless of whether the photo in question was edited. “The measure will hopefully make a useful and significant contribution to curbing the negative impact that such advertising has, especially on children and young people,” said the Norwegian Ministry of Children and Family, in a statement provided to Vice. The...
Jul 16, 2021
Byron Allen continues to make boss moves in the media industry with his acquisition of a new ABC affiliate television station, KITV. According to a press release , the Allen Media Group — a division of Allen Media Broadcasting — has announced that it’s signed a purchase agreement for their possession of KITV-ABC 4 from SJL Broadcasting for $30 million. Broadcast television station KITV operates multiple satellite stations and translators which allow rebroadcast programming outside of metropolitan Honolulu. SJL Broadcasting is owned and operated by the Lilly Brothers — Kevin Lilly and Brian Lilly — and is a privately-owned American broadcasting company. “SJL is proud of the commitment of our KITV family to serve the Hawaiian community. Allen Media Group recognizes the investment in news and will build on our success,” CEO Brian Lilly said . In a written statement from Allen, the founder, chairman, and CEO of Allen Media Group, he stated: “Over the past year we’ve invested over $500...
Aug 21, 2020
What was supposed to be a joyous occasion turned out to be a day of mourning after the online community learned the news of YouTube star Nicole Thea’s death at age 24. Thea, who has nearly 77,000 subscribers on YouTube, was based in the U.K. and known for sharing many aspects of her life including her travels, beauty regimen, and relationship with fellow YouTuber, Global Boga. Two months ago, Nicole released a video revealing that she and Boga were expecting a baby. The two were planning to have a son, which they named Reign, and had been using their channel to share the progress of Nicole’s first pregnancy. Unfortunately, as Nicole was expected to give birth on Saturday morning, something went wrong. In an Instagram statement from Nicole’s family, it was revealed that both mother and son did not make it. She was 8 months pregnant. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Nicole Thea – QR2 (@nicoletheatv) Nicole had already pre-scheduled videos to go out and, according to her...
Jul 12, 2020
In a message from PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Ramon Laguarta, a letter from a long-time PepsiCo associate has inspired the company to ramp things up in terms of how much they do for the African American community. ” She was disappointed in some of PepsiCo’s past decisions and called us to action, saying: ‘PepsiCo at this time has an opportunity to look at our African American employees and community with wide-open eyes and heart, and to work hand-in-hand to address the plagues many of us all too often face each day.’ I couldn’t agree more,” Laguarta said in his open letter. And although the company has made great efforts in the past, they felt that now is the perfect time to do more. “Today, I am announcing the next step in PepsiCo’s journey for racial equality,” said Laguarta. “A more than $400 million set of initiatives over five years to lift up Black communities and increase Black representation at PepsiCo. These initiatives comprise a holistic effort for PepsiCo to walk the talk...
Jun 16, 2020
If quarantine has proven anything, it’s that Black people can be beyond innovative even under pressure. COVID-19 shut down a lot of things, but for this media personality, it’s still business as usual. Professional host Mouse Jones has taken over several mediums in the digital space since he first stepped foot into the industry. As a hip hop and cultural figure, he’s made it his business to be the voice of his generation, speaking on all things important to the Black community. His new nightly news podcast — “ Quarantine Nightly ” — is his latest venture where he reports on all things concerning Black culture that mainstream media omits. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Mouse Jones (@mouse_jones) In an effort to maintain his digital platform, the Trap Karaoke host created a new means of highlighting stories in our culture that people should know about. Podcasting, his preferred digital medium, largely attributes to Jones’ success as a host. “Podcasting is a vehicle to go...
May 19, 2020
Quibi is finally here! Add the new mobile streaming platform to your regular Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video rotation. Launched earlier this month, Quibi offers over 50 scripted and unscripted shows. Its first batch of content includes daily essential news programs, documentary, competition shows and everything in between. What’s more, they’ve got some much-anticipated shows in the pipeline. Though Quibi’s aim was to provide entertainment while folks are on the go, the subscription-based service can still be a treat for those of us safely quarantining indoors and looking for some good feels. As Rolling Stone reports , Quibi is currently offering free 90-day subscriptions to anyone who signs up on their website before April 20. With that said, here are the most uplifting shows you should try out while it’s free.99! “Thanks A Million” Yes, this human interest show will tug at your heartstrings. The idea is that A-list celebs pay it forward with enormous acts of kindness — in the...
Apr 10, 2020
Prior to the death of rapper Nipsey Hussle on March 31, 2019, he was working on a documentary involving the life and work of Honduran herbalist and healer, Dr. Sebi. Upon Nipsey’s untimely passing, fellow rapper and filmmaker, Nick Cannon, vowed to see the project through. “Where you left off, we gonna carry one! It’s a MARATHON, so I’m picking up the baton! Because they can’t kill us all,” Cannon said in a 2019 post eulogizing Hussle, real name Ermias Asghedom. “Now, Your message is my message! Your work is my work! I know you still rocking with us and your voice will never be silenced because to be absent from the body is to be present with the Most High!” https://www.instagram.com/p/BvtjyKBhkrz/ Now, a year to the date with the caption “As Promised”, Nick Cannon has released the trailer for “Strong Enemies: The Untold Case Of Dr.Sebi” on Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/tv/B-bCfSrBRQ7/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Dr. Sebi, born November 26, 1933, was vegan and believed in...
Apr 1, 2020