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Charles Barkley is making a difference in his hometown of Leeds, AL. According to Southern Living Magazine, he’s donated over $3 million in scholarships to the graduates of Leeds over the years. Plus, he also donated laptops and cleaning supplies, worked to ensure students would have Wi-Fi hotspots, and gave every school system employee $1,000.
When the phrase “Black Girl Magic” enters the chat, Atlanta’s Spelman College is usually a part of the conversation. Ranked as the top HBCU in the nation, Spelman has a 141-year history of educating Black women, and NBA legend Charles Barkley has taken notice. Recently, the former basketball superstar revealed that he would pledge $1 million to the historic institution for women.
Getting to the bag has been a part of Spelman College alumna Rosaline “Roz” Brewer ’s story. Appointed as the CEO of Walgreens in March 2021, Roz has now become the highest-paid female chief executive officer, according to a recent Equilar study. Brewer’s salary was $28.3 million, with $20.2 million of that compensation in stock awards. According to CBNC, Equilar looked at the largest 100 companies by revenue that filed 2021 proxy statements by March 31. Although several companies have not submitted proxy statements, the data found did provide insight into how things are shaping up for top executive women. According to the data, nine women CEOs are among the top female earners. This was an increase from six in the prior year. However, there were no women in the overall top chief executives. Nevertheless, Brewer ranked 14 overall among the highest-paid CEOs. “It is discouraging to see how underrepresented women are at the top and how overrepresented they continue to be at the bottom...
Atlanta’s University Center (AUC) will soon have a space fit for the next rockstar! Today Rockstar Energy has announced that it will team up with Cortez Bryant, a renowned talent manager known for working with greats like Drake and Nicki Minaj. He is also the co-CEO of the record label Blueprint Group and will now play a pivotal role in helping to spearhead the launch of Atlanta’s next destination for Black artists, Rockstar Culture Labs. “The Rockstar Culture Labs is an exciting next step for Blueprint Group, which has been dedicated to educating, supporting, and amplifying the next generation of creative artists,” said Bryant in an official release shared with AfroTech. “Partnering with Rockstar Energy to open this space in one of the country’s most happening music communities gives us another platform to create incredible opportunities for Atlanta’s Black artists.
Spelman has recently entered a partnership to bring more women of color into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The Historically Black College and University (HBCU) has teamed up with SMASH, a STEM racial justice nonprofit focused on addressing inequities in education, according to a press release. The collaboration is kickstarting a new social change-focused program for 25 female high school students, who will be offered the opportunity of “building computer science skills, accessing career mentorship, completing college preparatory workshops, and more.” “SMASH x Spelman is coming to fruition at just the right time. As technology becomes ubiquitous across all aspects of our society, the voices, experiences, and expertise of Black women are critical to the creation of a more equitable future,” said Tamara Pearson, Director of the Center of Excellence for Minority Women in STEM at Spelman College in a statement. “A future where technology is leveraged for the...
Claudia Walker is an educator paving the way to ensure financial literacy is accessible to children. Before Claudia Walker entered the education field, she worked on Wall Street as a financial analyst. The educator and Spelman grad would often share with students her experience working in the money capital of America and attending a Historically Black College and University (HBCU). Claudia Walker quickly noticed an unsettling trend, many students were not exposed to finance or HBCUs. Aiming to resolve the knowledge gap, she launched publishing company HBCU Prep School in 2020, to normalize the world of investing and higher education. “Oftentimes when I ask my students about investing their response is, ‘Oh, that’s something rich people do.’ I want to dispel that myth, and the notion that investing is something that cannot happen or should not happen within the Black community,” Claudia Walker told AfroTech. She continued: “That has been my mission in all the work that I have done...
Samuel L. Jackson and LaTanya Richardson Jackson have given back to somewhere that holds a special place in their hearts. The married couple donated $5 million toward the renovation of Spelman College’s John D. Rockefeller Fine Arts building, the historically Black college’s largest alumnae donation in its history, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Others joined the two in supporting the arts building. According to the outlet, George Lucas and Mellody Hobson, their friends, donated $10 million, the Bank of America donated $2 million and descendants of John D. Rockefeller donated $300,000. The contributions totaled to $17.3 million, which will help to keep the historic Spelman arts alive for the next generations of students to come. “Renovation talk has been going on since I arrived at Spelman over seven and a half years ago,” said chair of the Theater and Performance Department Aku Kadogo. “You don’t really believe it until you see it, so I’m excited that this is happening.”
These Black startups are groundbreaking on their own — and they have the added benefit of being founded by HBCU graduates. Despite the lack of diversity within the tech industry, Black pioneers continue to set the industry on fire. Innovative approaches and insightful strategies provided by Black leaders in tech widen representation and opportunity for technological advancements. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have showcased great rapport for graduating Black students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). They play a great part in the success of Black leaders by providing support systems, opportunities, and resources for them to thrive. And recent studies reveal that HBCUs are incubators for thriving Black talent. A study conducted by Bloomberg (via TurningPoints ) reveals that Howard University produces the lion’s share of Black founders — which is why schools like Clark Atlanta, Morehouse, and Spelman are receiving $1.5 million in...