Business & Innovation

Emma McIntyre/Getty Images/MICHAEL KAPPELER/AFP via Getty Images This week, we're revisiting an exploration of hair braiding gone wrong. Online, women looking to get box braids have gone viral with their complaints about confusing pricing structures, minimal care, and poor customer service. Brittany Luse chats with public historian and YouTuber Jouelzy to get an overview of the tension. Then, Jessica Poitras, legislative counsel for the Institute of Justice, joins the show […]

Dark & Lovely, a leading hair care brand for Black women, has announced a collaboration with the popular life simulation video game, The Sims 4, to address the lack of diversity in the gaming industry. The partnership aims to create new tools for Black gamers to express themselves in virtual worlds and raise awareness about the importance of representation. As part of the collaboration, Dark & Lovely released a social […]

Akima Connect In a world where technology is rapidly transforming the way we live, work, and connect, a new online platform is making waves by focusing on the unique needs and aspirations of Black women. Meet Akina Connect, the brainchild of visionary entrepreneur Leigh Higginbotham Butler, who recognized the necessity for a safe space where Black women could come together to learn, grow, and support one another. Born out of […]

RuPaul Launches Allstora, an Independent Online Book Marketplace Empowering Authors and Underrepresented Voice Emmy Award-winning host and drag performer RuPaul has made a groundbreaking move in the world of e-commerce with the launch of Allstora, an independent, author-owned online book marketplace. Boasting a catalog of over 10 million titles, Allstora aims to revolutionize the industry by introducing a profit-sharing model that promises to double authors' incomes on book sales. Cofounded […]

As the highly anticipated Obama Presidential Center continues to take shape, the Obama Foundation has revealed exciting updates on the project's progress. President Obama recently visited Chicago for a first-hand look at the groundbreaking "Power of Words" digital media exhibit, set to be a centerpiece of the Presidential Center's Museum. The "Power of Words" exhibit, a two-story prototype, showcases how the power of words manifests through speeches, voices, songs, and […]

Photo by Solen Feyissa on Unsplash In a significant development that could reshape the social media landscape, the U.S. Congress has introduced the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, targeting TikTok, the wildly popular video-sharing app owned by Chinese company ByteDance. The bipartisan legislation, backed by President Joe Biden, aims to address national security concerns by forcing ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a nationwide ban. The bill, […]

Within the dynamic and ever-changing realm of artificial intelligence (AI), a cadre of Black innovators is making remarkable progress, steering the direction of AI technology toward a future that is inclusive and equitable for all. Highlighted by TIME magazine in its TIME100 AI list for 2023, ten Black pioneers are at the helm of this pivotal shift, with an impressive representation of nine women among them. Their contributions are pivotal, […]

Image generated by MidJourney According to a recent TechCrunch article, a provocative new online game is sparking discussion around the cultural biases inherent in artificial intelligence systems like ChatGPT. Developed by advertising agency McKinney, "Are You Blacker Than ChatGPT?" quizzes players on nuanced aspects of Black culture and challenges them to demonstrate greater knowledge than the popular AI chatbot. As Meghan Woods, a copywriter at McKinney and one of the […]