Beyoncé Announces Recipients Of HBCU Homecoming Scholars Award Program
Photo via: Getty Images After paying homage to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) during her historic Coachella performance in April, Beyoncé pledged to donate $100,000 to four HBCUs through her Homecoming Scholars Award Program. Google soon after matched her $100,000 donation, increasing the number of recipients from four to eight. Here are this year’s winners: Allana J. Barefield (Xavier […]
Abby Dione: The First Black Woman To Own An Indoor Rock Climbing Gym In The U.S.
All photos via: Melanin Base Camp When Abby Dione bought Coral Cliffs Climbing Gym in Fort Lauderdale, Florida back in 2011, she became the first Black woman in the United States to own an indoor rock climbing gym. Her passion for climbing not only led her to making history, but empowered her to provide a space where she can […]
Mississippi Cowgirl Aspires To Become The First African American Woman In The National Finals Rodeo
Photo via: Sherry Anderson Natchez, Mississippi native LaBrelah Hutchins’ life-long dream is to become the first African-American woman to qualify for the National Finals Rodeo. At the tender age of eight months, Hutchins first mounted a horse in the arms of her mother on their family’s home farm. Now as a competitive barrel racer, the 23-year-old’s […]
Dr. René Shingles: The First African American Woman Inducted Into The Athletic Trainers Hall Of Fame
Photo via: The Morning Sun The National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) recently inducted 30-year athletic training veteran, Dr. René Revis Shingles, into their Hall of Fame. Earning the prestigious acknowledgement makes Shingles the first African American woman to receive the honor. “While I may be the first, my goal is to ensure that I […]
Shonda Rhimes Is Developing Eight New Series For Netflix
Photo credit: Matt Baron/Rex/Shutterstock In a major announcement made last August, Shonda Rhimes decided to leave ABC Studios to develop original content for Netflix. Now with a multi-year production deal under her belt, the television powerhouse has revealed the first eight projects that she’s developing for the streaming giant. It includes the adaptation of Isabel Wilkerson’s “The Warmth of Other […]
The Princess Of Wakanda Scores Her Own Comic Book Series
Photos via: Marvel On Tuesday, afrofuturist writer, Nnedi Okorafor, took to Twitter to announce that she’s writing Marvel’s new solo comic book series starring “Black Panther’s” Shuri. Okorafor, both a Hugo and Nebula Award-winning science fiction author, has contributed her literary talents to the “Black Panther: Long Live the King” and “Wakanda Forever” series. Now she and Leonardo Romero, an Eisner Award-winning artist, […]
Chance The Rapper Is The New Owner Of Local News Site ‘Chicagoist’
Photo credit: Daniel Boczarski/ Getty Images With a strong commitment to bring positive change to his hometown of Chicago, Chance the Rapper is known for putting his money where his mouth is. From donating $1 million dollars to Chicago Public Schools (CPS), to raising a total of $2.2 million for 20 CPS, to now acquiring the local Chicago […]
Black Girl Magic: This 12-Year-Old Just Earned Her Bachelor’s Degree
Photo via: Jimalita Tillman Dorothy Jean “DJ” Tillman is far from your average 12-year-old as she just earned her Bachelor’s degree from Albany, New York’s Excelsior College on Friday, July 13. “My child care provider, Miss Mary, first noticed, she said, ‘You got a special baby that you need to understand that this baby been here […]
Legendary Makeup Artist Pat McGrath’s Cosmetics Line Reaches $1 Billion In Value
Photo via: patmcgrath.com Even without any formal training, Pat McGrath blazed her own trail as one of the world’s most influential makeup artist. Now the cosmetics beauty brand, Pat McGrath Labs, that she launched in 2016 is valued at $1 billion dollars. According to Fashionista.com, “On Monday, New York City-based investment firm Eurazeo Brands announced that it had […]
Queen Latifah Becomes The First To Partner With Essence Fund For Black Creators
Photo credit: Bravo/Getty Images Queen Latifah’s production company, Flavor Unit Entertainment, has teamed up with Essence Ventures, the parent company of Essence Communications, to help financially support Black creators in a big way. The Essence Creators and Makers Fund is sent to invest $20 million in capital in African American creatives. The multimillion-dollar initiative was announced at this […]