Crystal Nicole never imagined she could build a career as a content creator. Nicole’s foray into content creation started while attending the University of New Orleans, she told AFROTECH™. She studied civil engineering, a field encouraged by her mother, after originally aspiring to study fashion and design. Her mother believed there was no “true career” in those creative fields, ultimately steering Nicole toward a more traditional course of study. “She said, ‘You have cousins who are engineers, why don’t you look up engineering?’ I also am a math head; I love math. So it wasn’t a terrible idea … And I found the one sector of engineering that felt the most [like] design, and that was civil,” she told AFROTECH™. “I was like, ‘Oh, I’ll be designing buildings or highways instead of clothes.'” While pursuing her studies, Nicole was also navigating her natural hair journey. She had a relaxer for more than a decade and was going to a hairstylist every two weeks before she decided to go...
Simone Biles walked away from a Nike deal that paid her more than $1 million a month. Nike Deal As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the most decorated gymnast in history signed an endorsement deal with Nike in 2015, believing the brand was a great fit for women athletes. Nike has represented some of the greatest athletes in the world, including Michael Jordan, Serena Williams, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant, per the outlet. As an Olympian, Biles represented Nike at the 2016 Rio Games and was featured in its video and print advertisements, WWD reported. She was making as much as $1.6 million a month through the deal, according to Essentially Sports. In 2021, Biles made it clear why she decided to part ways with Nike just three months before the Tokyo Olympics. She wasn’t chasing a check. Instead, she was seeking alignment with her personal values, more support, and greater creative input, according to Marca. Athleta This led to her signing a long-term partnership with Gap Inc.–owned...
Content creator Khaby Lame has just made a major move that will ensure his global presence is long-lasting. Lame was the 10th-highest-earning creator of 2025, earning $20 million, according to Forbes. The TikToker, who was once a factory worker in Chivasso, Italy, has found success by creating content without saying a word, as AFROTECH™ previously reported. “You should not be in a rush to make money,” Lame said, according to Forbes. “Start by making the content you like.” Content creation has led Lame to work with major Hollywood studios and secure brand deals with Hugo Boss, Holafly, LEGO, Mr. Pink Beverages, and more, per AFROTECH™. He has at least 360 million followers across social media, and he is viewed as a “global-tier traffic entrance,” driving attention in many major regions at once, say industry observers, according to a Jan. 11 press release. Rich Sparkle Holdings, a Hong Kong-based company that also trades in the U.S. under ANPA.US, is looking to propel Lame’s brand...
Beyoncé Knowles may be a superstar, but she understands she’s not above losing. In a video on YouTube labeled “Self-Titled: Part 2. Imperfection,” the Houston-born singer admitted she didn’t have measured expectations around losing at the start of her career. Before Destiny’s Child, Knowles was part of Girl’s Tyme. When Knowles was nine years old, the group performed on a show called “Star Search.” She admitted in the video that, at the time, her dream was to win the show and land a record deal; losing was never an option. “At the time, you don’t realize that you can actually work super hard and give everything you have and lose. It was the best message for me,” she expressed in the video. “The reality is: sometimes you lose. And you’re never too good to lose. You’re never too big to lose. You’re never too smart to lose. It happens. And it happens when it needs to happen, and you have to embrace those things,” Beyoncé added. Beyoncé learned to become resilient, and is now the most...
IShowSpeed hit a major milestone for his 21st birthday. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, IShowSpeed, born Darren Jason Watkins Jr., caught the streaming bug while in high school, and he never looked back, even amid pushback from his mother after his first stream went viral with 30,000 views. “My sophomore year, I kind of gave up on school. I kind of gave up on everything that I had in my old life and just put everything on my stream. I streamed every day. I didn’t care about nothing else except YouTube streaming,” IShowSpeed said on the “Club Shay Shay” podcast with Shannon Sharpe. By the time he was 16, he had already become a millionaire, per AFROTECH™. Forbes reported that IShowSpeed’s streams started primarily around him playing video games such as “NBA 2K,” and in 2023, he took his streams worldwide, beginning in Europe and then Southeast Asia. In Indonesia alone, he made history during a single livestream, garnering 1 million concurrent viewers, the outlet noted. “When I...
The Education Department is changing its tune on the role of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in education. In February 2025, the Trump administration dismantled DEI-related programs, initiatives, and roles at the federal level, the Los Angeles Times reports . The same month, the Department of Education sent a letter to schools, discouraging them from considering race in college admissions, hiring processes, scholarship programs, and “ all other aspects of student, academic, and campus life.” The letter claimed that upholding DEI efforts resulted in discrimination against white and Asian American students. According to The Hill, K-12 schools were also notified that upholding DEI would result in a loss of federal funding, and were asked to sign a certification to show they would be compliant with the order. Inside Higher Ed reports that, soon after, groups of education unions, a national association, and a public school district challenged the Trump administration’s actions in...
The founders of whiskey brand Uncle Nearest have filed an emergency motion challenging the ongoing receivership of the company. The motion, filed Tuesday, Jan. 20, by Grant Sidney Inc. and married couple Fawn and Keith Weaver with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, requests an expedited evidentiary hearing over several days to determine if the receivership is still needed, according to the Moore County Observer. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, Uncle Nearest was placed under receivership in August 2025 after reportedly defaulting on more than $108 million in loans from Farm Credit Mid-America. The Weavers have attributed the default to former Chief Financial Officer Mike Senzaki, who allegedly inflated barrel inventory, leading to a $24 million credit increase, per the outlet. U.S. District Judge Charles E. Atchley Jr. appointed Tennessee attorney Phillip G. Young Jr. as receiver of the company. Young currently manages the Shelbyville, TN, distillery, as...
Coco Gauff has doubled down on her commitment to HBCU students. Gauff comes from a family of HBCU graduates, Tennis reports, but didn’t have a chance to follow suit, choosing her tennis career instead. She has secured numerous titles, including 2025 French Open champion, 2023 U.S. Open champion, and is the highest-paid women’s athlete for the third year in a row, according to Sportico. Yet, she told Tennis that if she weren’t playing the sport, an HBCU would be in her playbook. “If I didn’t play tennis, I would have loved to attend an HBCU,” she told the outlet. “I have family members on both sides, both my grandmothers went to HBCUs, uncle and aunt went to HBCUs, and growing up, just attending, going to HBCU Classic games and things like that.” Coco Gauff Scholarship Program Gauff donated $100,000 to the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) in 2025 to provide scholarships to HBCU students playing competitive tennis. This led to the launch of the Coco Gauff Scholarship Program, which...
Veteran media executive Michele Ghee is stepping into a new leadership role. Ghee has worn various hats in the media industry and has managed more than $1 billion in revenue throughout her career, according to Deadline. Her resume includes roles at CNN (director of multicultural sales); BET (vice president of national ad sales and later senior vice president); Ebony & Jet (CEO); and TheGrio (president), per her LinkedIn. Most recently, she served as chief content officer at Essence Communications and is founder of the tech and content agency Expectant Media. Ghee has now officially left her post at Essence as Expectant Media has been acquired by PlayersTV, the first athlete-owned media network and content provider, per Deadline. PlayersTV is backed by more than 70 athlete investors, including Chris Paul, as AFROTECH™ previously reported. Ghee will also assume the role of president of PlayersTV, effective immediately, Deadline reports. She had been serving on the PlayersTV board for...
A new bill has been passed that considers AI’s presence in small businesses. AI for Main Street Act Explained In October 2025, the AI for Main Street Act was introduced by Rep. Mark Alford (Republican for Missouri’s 4th District) and Rep. Hillary Scholten (Democrat for Michigan’s 3rd District). The bipartisan bill ensures that the Small Business Administration’s Small Business Development Centers will assist small businesses in adopting and evaluating AI by providing information, guidance, and training, per a press release shared by Rep. Alford’s office. The desired outcomes, outlined in the legislation, are to ensure small businesses understand best practices for using AI; can integrate it into business operations; and can plan for unexpected circumstances, protect data and intellectual property, improve cybersecurity, and increase customer trust, among others. In the press release, Rep. Scholten noted the legislation would ensure small businesses “aren’t being left behind” as new...
The Gates Foundation and OpenAI are committing $50 million to African health clinics. Horizon1000 Fortune reports that the companies have launched a collaborative initiative called “ Horizon1000 ,” which aims to leverage AI to improve healthcare across sub-Saharan Africa, beginning in Rwanda. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday, Gates described the initiative as a “ game-changer for expanding access to quality care,” according to the Financial Times. The $50 million commitment will provide funding and AI tools to improve workflows at 1,000 primary healthcare clinics by 2028, reports the outlet. The effort comes as sub-Saharan Africa faces a shortage of around six million healthcare workers, leaving many patients without adequate administrative support or care. The gap has contributed to increased mortality rates and could undermine 25 years of progress in global health, Fortune reports. In Rwanda, there is one healthcare worker for every 1,000 people, far...
Bristol Myers Squibb and Microsoft will partner for medical advancements in lung cancer. An agreement was signed that will allow biopharmaceutical company Bristol Myers Squibb to benefit from Microsoft’s AI-enabled radiology platform that can detect lung cancer in its early stages, Reuters reports. The drugmaker markets itself as a global leader in addressing complex diseases such as cancer and HIV, per its website . This agreement between the two will open doors for the deployment of radiology AI algorithms via Microsoft’s Precision Imaging Network — tools that have been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration , according to a press release. The network can analyze X-ray and CT images, which is helpful in detecting lung nodules sometimes difficult to recognize, the release added. The technology would also contribute to the improvement of radiologists’ workflows and be used by the majority of U.S. hospitals, per the release. “By combining Microsoft’s highly scalable...
Kevin James will return to his post at Morris Brown College as president. As AFROTECH™ previously told you, James was removed from his post by the college’s Board of Trustees just over a week ago “without providing specific cause or substantive explanation,” he shared on LinkedIn. Trustee Nzinga Shaw was appointed interim president. James became the 19th president of Morris Brown College on March 1, 2019, and brought 24 years of experience as an educator to the role, notes Fox5Atlanta. Under his leadership, James helped Morris Brown College regain accreditation in 2021 after losing it in 2002 due to debt and financial mismanagement, per a separate AFROTECH™ article. James also restored access to federal financial aid, grew enrollment from 20 to over 540 students, and established long-term financial stability, among other accomplishments, per his LinkedIn post. He described the timing of his departure as “troubling” in the post, stating that the university was nearing an...
Rapper Nas is behind a first-of-its-kind academic fellowship at Harvard University. Nasir Jones Hip-Hop Fellowship In 2013, the Nasir Jones Hip-Hop Fellowship was established at Harvard University through the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research. It is reportedly the first academic fellowship named after a Hip-Hop artist, according to the Ivy League school’s website. The rapper, born Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, is known for “his lyrical skill, social analysis and commitment.” His works include a debut album “Illmatic” (1994), followed by “It Was Written” (1996) and later the “King’s Disease” trilogy (2020, 2021, 2022). He also is investing $2 million to establish The Hip-Hop Museum in The Bronx, alongside the Resorts World New York City casino, as AFROTECH™ perviously told you. The fellowship reflects what Nas said he always recognized in Hip-Hop. It is a form of education. “One thing that drew me to Hip-Hop was the things Kurtis Blow was saying, the things Melle...
Latriece Watkins is among the newly elected leaders who are expected to drive Walmart Inc.’s next phase in retail. According t o a press release, Walmart is looking to improve in innovation, operations, and global enterprise platforms. As part of that strategy, the company announced several key leadership appointments, including Watkins, who was formerly the executive vice president (EVP) and chief merchandising officer for Walmart U.S. Watkins joined Walmart in 1997 as an intern and rose through the ranks to hold various leadership roles across Sam’s Club, Walmart U.S. merchandising, People, and U.S. store operations, the press release notes. She is credited with transforming the assortment strategy for Walmart U.S. Watkins has now been appointed as President and CEO of Sam’s Club U.S. “What I love about Walmart is simple—it’s a place where people matter and opportunity lives. It’s a company built on serving others and creating impact in communities every single day,” she said in a...
