ShaCamree Gowdy

A third-generation Black family-owned plumbing business in Atlanta, GA, is making a difference by renovating outdated water heating facilities at a local homeless shelter. Head’s Plumbing, which has been in operation for over 40 years, is giving back to the community by providing Nicholas House residents with on-demand hot water, according to the Marietta Daily Journal. The family-owned business researched local organizations in Fulton County and saw the shelter as a way to broaden its support by assisting many families in need at once. “We were presented with an opportunity to do this through our vendor partner ServiceTitan,” Head’s Plumbing CEO Khadija Head told MDJ. “So I sat down with my brother Odari and told him that I didn’t want to do a single-family home — I wanted to do something that would touch a lot of people. The core of our culture, our community, and our future is a true family dynamic.” The three-story facility will have a separate tankless water heater installed on...

Snoop Dogg is rapidly losing social media followers after his appearance at President Donald Trump’s Crypto Ball. As of Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, the “Gin and Juice” rapper — Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. — has 88.1 million Instagram followers, a drop of 571,800, and 20.7 million on X, down 17,177, according to the New York Post. Snoop Dogg’s performance at the pre-inauguration bash on Jan. 17, 2025, drew significant backlash from people who pointed out his previous anti-Trump position and speculated that financial incentives may have motivated him to take part. “For all the hate, I’m going to answer with love. I love too much,” Snoop Dogg said, addressing the criticism on Instagram Live. “Get your life right, stop worrying about mine. I’m cool. I’m together. Still a black man. Still 100% black. All out till you ball out or till you fall out.”   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by snoopdogg (@snoopdogg)   Per another report by the Post, in September 2018, Snoop Dogg...

Welcome to HillmanTok University, where everyone is accepted, and TikTok is your classroom. Thousands of professors have taken their talents to TikTok, documenting their course offerings and allowing students, or users, outside the typical classroom setting to participate in the curriculum. The trend, known as “HillmanTok,” started with Dr. Barlow, an African American Studies professor, who utilized the social media platform to engage with her actual students. As her videos gained more traction, other minority professors followed suit. Now, teachers worldwide are helping students merge their love for TikTok with their desire to learn. TikToker @djneurospicy explained that the outpouring of support for Barlow’s efforts follows the decision of 92% of Black women who voted for Kamala Harris in the Nov. 4, 2025, election to not focus on Donald Trump’s second presidency. “Here’s how it goes: Trump becomes president, the 92% say they are minding their own business,” the TikToker said....

The Department of Defense (DoD) is terminating all diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. “The President’s guidance (lawful orders) is clear: No more DEI at Dept. of Defense,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote in a post on X. “The Pentagon will comply, immediately. No exceptions, name-changes, or delays.” The post included a handwritten note that said, “Those who do not comply will no longer work here.” The President’s guidance (lawful orders) is clear: No more DEI at @DeptofDefense . The Pentagon will comply, immediately. No exceptions, name-changes, or delays. pic.twitter.com/KwRtxYRIbG — Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) January 26, 2025 On Monday, Jan. 19, 2025, the first day of his second presidency, President Donald Trump signed a record number of executive orders — including one terminating all federal DEI programs, AFROTECH™ previously reported. The order mandated the closure of all DEI offices and placed all government employees in those offices on paid leave. Charles...

Allen Media Group has decided not to proceed with its initial plan to terminate or reassign nearly 100 local meteorologists following significant public outrage. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the media company owned by Byron Allen planned to eliminate meteorologists at over 36 local television stations and replace them with pre-recorded forecasts from a hub of The Weather Channel, which was acquired for $300 million in 2018. However, on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, NewsCast Studio reported that the media company reversed the decision aimed at streamlining operations and reducing costs. “While not all staff and meteorologists are safe, a majority will remain in their roles. Earlier today, employees were informed of their termination dates, but this afternoon they were told, ‘Allen will no longer hub the weather from Atlanta, and your job is still there,'” meteorologist Emily Pike of WMTW in Westbrook, ME, wrote on Facebook. WAAY in Huntsville, AL, and WTVA in Tupelo, MS, are two...

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon is not backing down from diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) commitments. According to Business Insider, Dimon confirmed that the financial services firm will continue to advance its DEI efforts and environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) policies despite pressure from the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC), a conservative nonprofit organization. The NLPC has proposed that JPMorgan reevaluate how executive compensation is linked to the company’s racial equity goal. “Bring them on,” Dimon told CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “We are going to continue to reach out to the Black community, the Hispanic community, the LGBT community , the veterans community.” In 2020, JPMorgan launched a $30 billion program to promote racial equity in personal finance, which included mortgage refinancing and partnerships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities . The bank also launched an “accountability framework” to...

BMW and Louis Vuitton’s 2014 collaboration is reportedly considered the most sought-after brand collaboration ever. Through its research, women’s online retailer Public Desire determined the top 10 collaborations by analyzing various factors, including original price, resale value , price growth, accessibility, and public interest. According to information provided to AFROTECH™, the company then calculated a composite score for each collaboration, which was ranked in descending order based on its performance across these criteria. With a composite score of 98.0, the BMX x Louis Vuitton collaboration, which produced highly exclusive luxury luggage, had the highest growth in resale value. When BMW announced the collaboration, Adrian van Hooydonk, senior vice president of BMW Group Design, highlighted the use of CFRP (carbon fiber reinforced polymer) in the company’s i8 sports car as an example of its “intelligent lightweight construction philosophy.” “BMW and Louis Vuitton share both...

Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group is terminating or reassigning all local meteorologists at its nearly two dozen stations nationwide, replacing them with a feed broadcasted to individual stations from The Weather Channel, which he also owns. According to CNN, the layoffs will impact at least 50 meteorologists at stations from Massachusetts to Hawaii. Carl Parker, a veteran storm and climate specialist at The Weather Channel, is leading the initiative, which will give some of the affected meteorologists new jobs at its Atlanta, GA-based hub, and others will have the option to stay in their current markets. The Weather Channel will deploy meteorologists during certain weather events. In a news release on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025, Allen Media said the “groundbreaking” operation “brings together world-class meteorological expertise, cutting-edge technology, and the most advanced forecasting tools to deliver superior weather content to local television station audiences.” “We are proud to...

Kevin Hart has taken over as CEO of his production company, HARTBEAT, marking the third leadership change in less than two years. According to Bloomberg, Hart stepped in just before Thanksgiving 2024 following a series of layoffs that impacted around 20 employees, nearly one-quarter of the company’s workforce. Shortly after the layoffs, CEO Jay Levine, Chief Financial Officer DJ Jacobs, and Chief Content Officer Brandon Smiley departed amicably due to disagreements about the company’s direction. HARTBEAT is a global, multi-platform media company dedicated to creating entertainment that blends comedy and culture. The company produces films, TV shows, audio series, and branded content. Founded in 2009, Hart merged his two high-growth, profitable companies, Laugh Out Loud and HartBeat Productions, to form the current entity in 2022, per a press release. HARTBEAT was launched with a $100 million investment from the private equity firm Abry Partners, which took a minority stake in the...

Jayden Daniels is using virtual reality technology to improve his performance on the field. According to Pro Football Network, the Washington Commanders quarterback has discovered a link between technology and football through an advanced VR tool that operates at 1.75 times the normal speed. The technology challenges Daniels with scenarios that unfold faster than he experiences in actual gameplay. “It moves faster within the VR than actual human beings…Once you get out there, everything slows down,” Daniels told The Athletic. “I know this is coming. I’ve seen this before, (and) it moved more than 20 times faster in VR.” Jayden Daniels made VR training a condition for any team drafting him. Now he’s NFL Rookie of the Year and 1 game away from the Super Bowl. His edge? Training his brain at 1.75x speed. The story of the first QB 2.0:🧵 pic.twitter.com/OndJs0Azme — Todd Jacob (@thetoddjacob) January 19, 2025 Daniels reportedly had a VR training requirement for any team that drafted him,...

TikTok will remain operational for at least another 75 days following an order from President Donald Trump. On Monday, Jan. 19, 2025, during his first day in office , Trump — who has the authority to delay the ban for up to 90 days — ordered the federal government to pause enforcing the law that would ban TikTok nationwide, according to Forbes. The move gives ByteDance, the China-based owner of TikTok, more time to sell a stake in the platform or reach a deal with Trump. After signing the executive order, Trump said he believes the U.S. is entitled to 50% of TikTok and warned China that blocking any deal he may make would be considered an act of “hostility” and lead him to impose tariffs ranging from 25% to 100%, per Forbes. On Sunday, Jan. 20, Trump had promised to sign an executive order on Monday rescinding the ban, prompting TikTok to restore service for its more than 170 million American users after it initially took the app dark the night before. STATEMENT FROM TIKTOK: In...

Amazon has updated its company policy and a section of its website that provides employment information, removing language that ensures protection for Black and LGBTQ+ employees. In late December 2024, the company removed statements supporting and advocating for transgender rights protections as well as expressing “solidarity” with Black employees and customers, according to The Washington Post. Amazon also removed language supporting laws to address misconduct and racial bias in policing, initiatives to protect and expand voting rights , and efforts to promote better health and educational opportunities for Black people. The sections titled “Equity for Black People” and “LGBTQ+ Rights” no longer exist in the company’s policy, along with all references to the term “transgender.” The “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” section now states that “inequitable treatment of anyone — including Black people, LGBTQ+ people, Asians, women, and others — is unacceptable.” A page once titled...

Charlamagne tha God has been inspired by his father’s entrepreneurial spirit for as long as he can remember. His father, who owned a fish market and a construction business, told him long ago, “When you get a business, don’t put your name on it. Because people [will] hate on it for no reason.” He’s kept that advice in mind on his journey. Born Lenard McKelvey, Charlamagne has established himself as a radio host, television personality, comedian, and businessman. One of his latest ventures involves expanding Krystal Restaurants. In an interview with AFROTECH™ , Charlamagne said franchising has always been a goal of his, and partnering with Krystal, a beloved Southern staple, was a great opportunity. “It just became one of those things that me and my wife wanted to do,” he told AFROTECH™. “This is one of those situations that just happened pretty organically. And I was with it. My wife was with it. You know, my financial team was with it. And we made it happen.” Charlamagne and his...

Rashida Jones is stepping down as president of MSNBC, marking a significant transition just days before President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House . USA Today reports that she will remain in an advisory role until March. Rebecca Kutler, a Jones recruit from CNN and MSNBC’s senior vice president of content strategy, will serve as the interim president. “I came to this decision over the holidays while reflecting on our remarkable journey and the many successes we’ve achieved together as a team,” Jones shared in an internal memo to staff, per USA Today. “This has been the most rewarding chapter of my professional career and I am immensely proud of what we have accomplished, which has been made possible only by you.” Jones was the first Black woman to head a major television news network when appointed in December 2020, AFROTECH™ previously reported. She succeeded Phil Griffin, officially stepping into the role in Feb. 1, 2021. Jones previously served as senior vice...

Meta is set to lay off over 3,600 employees, or roughly 5% of its “lowest performers.” In an internal memo posted on the company’s Workplace forum on Tuesday, Jan. 14, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said 2025 will be an “intense year” for Meta, and he wants to “make sure we have the best people on our teams,” according to CNBC. “Meta is working on building some of the most important technologies of the world,” Zuckerberg wrote. “AI, glasses as the next computing platform and the future of social media .” He said those affected by the layoffs will be notified by Feb. 10, 2025, or later for individuals outside the United States. “I’ve decided to raise the bar on performance management and move out low performers faster,” Zuckerberg said. “We typically manage out people who aren’t meeting expectations over the course of a year, but now we’re going to do more extensive performance-based cuts during this cycle, with the intention of back filling these roles in 2025.” He added, “We won’t manage out...