Billionaire Tyler Perry Steps In To Pay Mortgage For 85-Year-Old Woman

PepsiCo representatives met with civil rights leaders from the National Action Network (NAN) after Reverend Al Sharpton threatened to lead a boycott over the company’s decision to scale back parts of its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives . After sending a letter to the food and beverage brand on April 4, 2025, outlining details of the intended boycott, Sharpton issued a statement on Tuesday, April 15, saying that he and several members of NAN had a “constructive conversation” lasting over an hour with PepsiCo Chairman Ramon Laguarta and PepsiCo North America CEO Steven Williams. During the meeting at PepsiCo’s global headquarters in Purchase, NY, they had a chance “to discuss our grievances over reports they were rolling back nearly $500 million in DEI commitments .” “We agreed to follow up meetings within the next few days,” Sharpton wrote. “After that continued dialogue, NAN Chairman Dr. W. Franklyn Richardson and I, both former members of the company’s African...

Entreprenuership is a risk that Monique Rodriguez was willing to take on. Business Risks Rodriguez is the co-founder of haircare brand Mielle Organics, which she launched with the help of her husband, Melvin. She shares on the “Black Tech Green Money” podcast, hosted by AFROTECH™ Brand Manager Will Lucas, that her earliest risk in her entrepreneurship journey was walking away from a stable position as a registered nurse. Melvin also took a leap, leaving his corporate role. Together, they trusted in what they believed was a vision from God and created a blueprint that ultimately led to success. “We didn’t just leave our jobs and say, ‘Oh, we don’t have a plan in place or we don’t have income.’ We had to have a solid plan in place to map out how we were going to get some type of income to still keep our bills afloat and food in our kids’ mouth. So we had to plan that out. But it was a huge risk of the unknown, of both of us turning away from our jobs,” Rodriguez mentioned on the...

Twin brothers and co-founders Oliver and Alexander Kent-Braham are now behind a multi-billion-dollar company alongside David Goaté. As AFROTECH™ previously told you, the siblings founded U.K. -based digital car insurance startup Marshmallow to combat “unfair insurance prices” for migrants. “We now help 100,000s of UK newcomers get a fairer deal on their car insurance every year. We do this by building our own technology, developing pricing and fraud models that let us cater to their unique experiences, and investing time in getting to know them on a deeper level,” a statement on the company’s website reads.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Marshmallow (@getmarshmallow) According to TechCrunch, Marshmallow made history in 2021 as one of two Black-founded startups in the U.K. to reach a $1 billion valuation. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the company raised $85 million in a Series B funding round with investors that included Passion Capital, Monzo, Investec, and...

Time management has always been a critical skill, but as workloads increase and efficiency becomes more valuable, artificial intelligence has emerged as a powerful tool for optimizing schedules, automating tasks and improving productivity. AI-driven solutions help individuals allocate their time more effectively, eliminating repetitive work and streamlining decision-making. Unlike traditional time management methods that rely on manual input, A I leverages data and automation to create more efficient workflows , ensuring that time is spent where it matters most. The analytics that come from consistent use of tools like Gemini and ChatGPT provide a clear picture of how time is being spent across projects and teams, enabling businesses to streamline operations and eliminate unnecessary meetings. Predictive AI technology anticipates peak work periods and adjusts schedules accordingly, helping professionals prepare for heavy workloads in advance. This is especially useful in industries...

The Trump administration has repealed a Biden-era policy that guaranteed a baseline wage for workers on federal contracts, cutting the federal contractor minimum wage down from $17.75 an hour. However, the move still leaves an Obama-era rule in place that puts the minimum at $13.30 an hour. With that single change, hundreds of thousands of private-sector workers employed by federal contractors are at risk of wage reductions up to 25% — a shift that will disproportionately affect workers without college degrees and those already earning near-poverty wages, the Center for American Progress reports. The Federal Contractor Minimum Wage: A Lifeline Now Lost The now-defunct regulation, established under Executive Order 14026, raised the federal contractor minimum wage in 2021 to $15 and indexed it to inflation, bringing it to $17.75 in 2025. It was designed to ensure that janitors, cooks, maintenance workers, and other federal contract laborers earned a livable wage. More than 327,000...

Black Mamas Matter Alliance (BMMA) is mobilizing support for Black maternal health. Black Maternal Health Week April 11–17 is Black Maternal Health Week (BMHW), an initiative created by the Black women-led, cross-sectoral consortium Black Mamas Matter Alliance (BMMA), with the intent of raising awareness and fostering community around the experiences of Black mothers and birthing people, according to information shared with AFROTECH™. Atlanta-GA-based BMMA traces its origins to 2013 when the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) and SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective (SisterSong) began constructive research on the obstacles Black mothers face in accessing health care. Once it had become its own independent entity in 2018, BMMA established Black Maternal Health Week and began working with up to 18 community-based organizations. That number has since grown to nearly 50. Black Maternal Health Week also intentionally coincides with National Minority Health Month,...

Being a founder is not an easy journey. James Oliver who is currently behind Kabila, a company connecting underserved founders to co-founders, capital, and community, had his fair share of challenges prior to the venture. In fact, his first startup, WeMontage, failed while he was also navigating the early days of fatherhood — his twin children were born prematurely at just two pounds each via an emergency C-section. As AFROTECH™ previously told you, some of his difficulties were launching his company as a non-technical founder creating software. Two days after his children’s births, he had to attend an accelerator, led by gener8tor, which was a two-hour drive from where he lived in northeast Wisconsin. Ahead of a presentation on demo day, Oliver was greeted by an angel investor group, and they were willing to invest $250,000. “I dropped to my knees and thanked God because everything I was going through at that time was really hard. So that was my introduction to being a parent and...

Dove wants increased representation in the digital world, leading the global personal care brand to launch a guide to help designers create characters with Black hair textures and protective styles for video games. “Code My Crown” — created with the help of Black game developers, artists, academics, and stylists — features instructions, personal insights, detailed references, and complete open-source code. “In the real world, there is an incredible variety of Black hairstyles. But this is rarely reflected in the gaming world,” said Lead Guide Contributor and Founder of the Open Source Afro Hair Library (Osahl) A.M. Darke in the guide.   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Prof. A.M. Darke (@prettydarke) Recent research indicates that 85% of Black gamers believe video games poorly represent Black hair textures, according to Dove. Additionally, around 80% of Black gamers report feeling excluded, discriminated against, or inadequate when they do not see accurate...