All results
AT&T has adjusted its policies around diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). According to a Dec. 1 letter shared on X, the company had been examining recent executive orders, Supreme Court rulings, and direction from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). This has informed AT&T’s decision to dismantle “DEI-related policies.” The company also stated plainly that it “does not and will not have any roles focused on DEI.” The letter further said AT&T will remove DEI training and career development as well as internal and external messaging to comply with the EEOC. “AT&T has always stood for merit-based opportunity, and we are pleased to reaffirm our commitment to equal employment opportunity and nondiscrimination today,” the letter mentioned. “Consistent with applicable law, our multi-pronged approach allows employees to thrive in an environment free from invidious discrimination.” AT&T’s announcement follows its November 2024 agreement to purchase wireless spectrum...
Miami Art Week, the international art fair held annually, returns to Miami Beach, FL, from Dec. 1-7, 2025. This year continues to highlight the importance of Black art , thanks in large part to efforts spearheaded by architect Neil Hall. At Art Basel in 2008, Hall noticed a lack of representation for Black art galleries and artists, according to the Miami Herald. “It astounded me because the diaspora has so much creativity all over the world, and I didn’t see it,” Hall said, per the Miami Herald. “I decided that it was not acceptable.” A few years later, Hall and several friends hosted a Black-centered art fair in an empty parking lot in the historically Black Overtown neighborhood, known as the Harlem of the South. That event would become Art Africa Miami, reports the Miami Herald. While Hall no longer presents Art Africa in Overtown, his efforts to elevate the Black art scene during Miami Art Week have inspired others to carry on the mission. Across Miami, Black curators continue...
Tabitha Brown is clearing the air about her partnership with Target. As AFROTECH™ previously told you, the retailer rolled back on its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) commitments in early 2025, a move that helped fuel a consumer boycott that remains ongoing. While Target was not the only major retailer to scale back DEI efforts, many critics focused on the company because of its previous push to support Black-owned businesses and other minority groups. Brown is among those business owners whose products are sold at Target stores. She is under a licensing deal with the retailer, and her haircare brand Donna’s Recipe — launched in partnership with Gina Woods — is shelved in the store, as AFROTECH™ previously told you. Brown made a discreet Instagram post on January 24, not mentioning a single word, but the implication that she was referencing the retailer was evident. During an interview on iHeartPodcast’s “Not My Best Moment” hosted by KevOnStage, Brown shared how Black...
Dillard University has joined the growing list of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to earn philanthropic donations from MacKenzie Scott . The New Orleans, LA-based HBCU has received a historic $19 million contribution — the largest single gift in the university’s history, according to a news release. The contribution follows a $5 million donation in 2020 from the MacKenzie Scott Foundation and underscores Scott’s continued investment in HBCUs nationwide. “If anyone ever doubts the difference one person can make, look no further than MacKenzie Scott and how her generosity will resonate across generations,” Dillard president Dr. Monique Guillory said in the news release. “This gift will strengthen the university at a moment when our mission has never been more urgent.” The unrestricted gift will enable Dillard to accelerate key strategic priorities, including enhancing student success, expanding scholarship opportunities, and strengthening institutional...
The Black Business Hub in Madison, WI, is on a mission to create a “Black Renaissance” by expanding opportunities for Black-owned businesses in the area. Opened in August 2024 through the Urban League of Greater Madison (ULGM), the Hub aims to provide a home and launchpad for Black entrepreneurs , offering everything they need to succeed in one place, The Daily Cardinal reports . The Hub is a $25.5 million, 80,000-square-foot facility run by ULGM. Home to everything from coffee shops to beauty salons and office suites, it equips small business owners with the skills and resources needed to launch and grow their companies, strengthening their overall presence in the community. “We’re looking for them to get a strong start, build a strong economic base, and then go out,” Dr. Ruben L. Anthony, Jr., president and CEO of ULGM, told The Cardinal. “We’re not looking for the businesses to stay here forever.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Urban League Greater Madison...
Stacey Abrams believes proponents of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) will need to be better at communicating achievements and advances if it’s to be protected. The Mississippi native’s sense of advocacy was shaped by her parents, who defied their economic circumstances by choosing to do good for others, she told AFROTECH™ in an email Q&A. This aligned with the family motto, “Having nothing wasn’t an excuse for doing nothing.” “Purpose and power are not dictated by where you are but instead by how you situate yourself in a given place and moment,” she explained. Reflecting on when she first understood the importance of standing in her truth and advocating for others, she shares that she was in second grade and defended her classmate against a bully. “I defended a Vietnamese girl against a White kid who felt comfortable using his size and race as validators. I stood up to him — it helped that I was as tall as he was — and I was able to show Julie and others that we had the same...
Governor Greg Abbott and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick have ordered an investigation into alleged financial mismanagement at Texas Southern University (TSU), one of the nation’s largest Historically Black Colleges and Universities . Abbott announced Monday, Nov. 10, 2025, that he directed the Texas Department of Public Safety to investigate after State Auditor Lisa Collier reported significant “deficiencies in oversight, contracting, processes, and reporting” — affecting “hundreds of millions” of state funds. He also asked the Texas Comptroller’s Office to help the Texas Rangers “fully analyze” the university’s finances. “The Texas State Auditor uncovered significant financial and operational issues with Texas Southern University’s accounting procedures, alleging the potential misappropriation of hundreds of millions of dollars,” Abbott said. “Waste, fraud, and abuse will not be tolerated. TSU’s Board of Regents and all university officials must fully cooperate with these investigations...
This program’s funding efforts to increase Black representation in medicine is being targeted by legal experts. The Washington Free Beacon reports Franklin County’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Columbus, OH, has been funding the Made for Medicine program since 2023. It has invested more than $600,000 in the program, which is designed to increase Black representation in medicine by providing middle and high school students who “identify as African American or Black” with resources such as special courses, labs, and research opportunities. The program does not permit applications from non-minorities, although it is affiliated with the Columbus Medical Association, which is “committed to Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access for all.” “Do I have to identify as African American or Black in order to participate?” a question on the FAQ page read, according to the outlet. “Yes. Due to the dearth of African Americans and/or Blacks in the medical field, we are specifically...
Long before she became one of the world’s most generous philanthropists, MacKenzie Scott was a struggling writer learning lessons of compassion and craft from her mentor, the late Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison. Scott received billions following her 2019 divorce from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Since then, she has donated vast sums to advance Black health care and support schools, food banks, housing, and education initiatives nationwide — including $1.07 billion to Historically Black Colleges and Universities. According to Stay Inspired News, Scott’s connection to the Black community traces back to her time studying creative writing under Morrison at Princeton University. Morrison’s mentorship shaped Scott’s voice as a writer and taught her to empathize with people’s struggles and dreams — a perspective that continues to guide her philanthropy. Their correspondence, which includes a 1992 post-college graduation letter where Scott admitted she was struggling to pay rent...
After 32 years at Black Entertainment Television (BET), former CEO Debra Lee continues shaping culture and business. Today, she sits on the boards of Warner Bros. Discovery, Marriott International, and Procter & Gamble — but her legacy at BET remains untouched. At AFROTECH™ Conference 2025, Lee reflected on how her leadership from 2005 to 2018 helped define generations of Black entertainment, from shaping beloved programming to setting new standards for representation. Lee began at BET as the company’s first in-house counsel, building the legal department from the ground up. She later — and unexpectedly — became president and chief operating officer, succeeding founder Bob Johnson. “When people started writing articles, ‘Debra Lee is the heir apparent,’ it really shocked me,” Lee recalled. “I thought I was just going to continue to do the work, and Bob would get all the credit. That’s the way it went. No big deal. And it wasn’t until Bob left and I became CEO that people started...
A former Paramount executive has filed a lawsuit alleging age and racial discrimination , claiming the company’s diversity push led to his firing after 30 years. Joseph Jerome, who is white, filed the lawsuit in California federal court on Oct. 31, 2025, according to The Hollywood Reporter. In the suit, Jerome, who worked at Paramount from 1994 to 2024, alleges he was one of three CBS Media Ventures (CMV) attorneys terminated and replaced by younger employees from minority groups. At the beginning of 2024, CMV reportedly had an approximately even split of white and minority attorneys, the lawsuit states. However, all those laid off from Jerome’s division were reportedly white and over 50 years old. The complaint states that a 25-year-old Black law school graduate and former CMV intern assumed Jerome’s position as the senior vice president of business and legal affairs and production counsel for Entertainment Tonight, while younger Asian attorneys whose prior roles were eliminated...
International Business Machines Corp. ( IBM ) is facing a lawsuit alleging it discriminated against Black executives when it terminated them to align with the Trump administration’s push to eliminate federal diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. Former IBM executive Zena Washington filed the 15-page lawsuit on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. According to the suit, Washington, who spent 26 years with the company before her dismissal in February 2025, held various roles in product management and engineering, most recently serving as director of product management for data and AI . According to the lawsuit, Washington “was viewed as an excellent employee” and consistently received positive performance reviews and bonuses. She was also selected for an IBM program that prepares employees for senior executive roles. “This is further evidence that until her termination, IBM viewed the plaintiff as one of the most highly valuable employees with strong potential to go into a C-Suite...
Former CBS producer Trey Sherman is accusing his employer of only laying off people of color on his team. The Wall Street Journal reported that nearly 2,000 Paramount employees were being laid off, including those under CBS. The company’s chief executive, David Ellison, said the layoffs were to address “redundancies that have emerged across the organization,” while also removing roles that don’t align with the company’s “new structure” that will prioritize growth. Sherman, who is Black and served as an associate producer for canceled “CBS Evening News+”, per New York Post, took to TikTok to reveal that the show had been canceled and every producer on his team who was laid off was a person of color, while those who found new roles within the company were white. He claimed that he had personally asked each white person on his team if they had been laid off, and they each said no. “Every person who gets to stay and will be relocated within the company is a white person,” Sherman...
Debra Lee sees great opportunity in the digital landscape. The former CEO of BET acknowledged during a conversation held at AFROTECH™ Conference 2025 that it’s hurtful to see Black programming under attack. In the past two years, various shows rooted in the culture were cut, such as “61st Street,” “South Side,” and “Sweet Life: Los Angeles,” and in June, it was announced that CBS and NBC were canceling a number of Black-led shows, including “Poppa’s House,” according to the Nubian Message. “It’s very hurtful to see the progress we’ve made in Black programming and programming targeted to the Black community, but also programming we hope all people will watch,” Lee told AFROTECH™ in an interview . “It’s very hurtful to see that under attack. And I think it’s really necessary in our society for groups to understand each other.” Photo Credit: Ismael Quintanilla III She explained, “I think the numbers show that there’s an audience for it. When you look at the movie ‘Sinners’ or you look...
In a move marking the first major round of Target layoffs in over a decade, incoming CEO Michael Fiddelke announced that the company will cut 1,800 corporate jobs for an 8% reduction in its corporate workforce. According to CNBC, Fiddelke shared the news in a memo to employees at Target’s Minneapolis headquarters on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. He said the retailer is focused on regaining growth after four years of roughly stagnant sales. “This spring, we launched our enterprise acceleration efforts with a clear ambition: to move faster and simplify how we work to drive Target’s next chapter of growth,” Fiddelke wrote. “The truth is, the complexity we’ve created over time has been holding us back. Too many layers and overlapping work have slowed decisions, making it harder to bring ideas to life,” he continued. A Target spokesperson reportedly told CNBC that the eliminated roles include about 1,000 employee layoffs and roughly 800 positions that will not be refilled. Affected employees...