Business

HBCU CARES appoints Dr. Brittany A. Holloman as executive director

HBCU CARES, a leading coalition committed to advancing the impact and innovation of Historically Black Colleges, Community Colleges, and Universities across Alabama, proudly announces the appointment of Dr. Brittany A. Holloman as its new Executive Director. Dr. Holloman brings over a decade of leadership in higher education. She most recently served as Chief of Staff at Allen University in Columbia, South Carolina, where she acted as senior advisor to the president, led key presidential initiatives, coordinated campus and community-wide strategic projects, and served as the university’s UNCF Transformation Officer. Her career also includes senior roles at Alabama A&M University and

How This HBCU Grad Is Pioneering Global Marketing And Media Campaigns For Billion-Dollar Body Care Brands

Eric Austin, a proud alumnus of Tennessee State University, is a dynamic force behind the global marketing and media initiatives of some of the top body care brands. For the past 25 years, he has been a pioneering voice for branding notable brands such as Pantene, Head & Shoulders, and Olay, among others. As vice president and marketing innovator at Procter & Gamble, Austin’s influence can be seen at all of these world-renowned companies within P&G’s portfolio. However, his success was not built overnight. He looks to his HBCU alma mater for shaping his vision and sharpening the skills he

Fizz Partners with Breakthrough Ventures to Connect Aspiring Founders at HBCUs with Capital and Mentorship

Fizz, the social media platform created by Gen Z for Gen Z to form authentic digital communities, today announces a new partnership with Breakthrough Ventures, a startup accelerator for young early-stage student founders. Fizz will provide Breakthrough Ventures with advertising credits to promote the accelerator on its platform. Through Fizz, Breakthrough will recruit founders to apply for its next cohort, with a focus on reaching aspiring entrepreneurs at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Gen Z isn’t waiting until graduation to start company building. Across college campuses, students are turning ideas into businesses. Fizz co-founders Teddy Solomon and Ashton Cofer are first-hand examples.

WNBA and Mielle Launch New HBCU Event Intern Program at AT&T WNBA All-Star 2025, Celebrating Third Year as Official Textured Hair Sponsor

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The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and Mielle, one of the fastest-growing Black-founded and women-led beauty brands, announced today an expansion of their third-year partnership to include a new Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) initiative. At the start of the 2023 season, Mielle made history as the first “Official Textured Hair Care Partner” of the WNBA and will continue to serve in that capacity and as an Official Marketing Partner. The WNBA and Mielle will launch the HBCU Event Intern Program at the AT&T WNBA All-Star 2025, which is a one-of-a-kind event internship experience that provides career development opportunities

Will tariffs drive more people to shop secondhand?

By Rachel Treisman Amid tariffs, trade wars and general economic uncertainty, many Americans are thinking extra carefully about how to spend and save their money. Consumer confidence tumbled in March, with the Conference Board’s Expectations Index — based on consumers’ short-term outlook on business, income and the labor market — dropping to 65.2 out of 100, the lowest in 12 years. And that was before President Trump announced a new round of sweeping tariffs, prompting retaliatory taxes from multiple countries — including China and the European Union — and fueling concerns about a possible recession. While he announced a 90-day delay this week, a 10%

Black small business owners brace for impact of President Trump’s tariffs

By Gerren Keith Gaynor President Donald Trump‘s Wednesday announcement of soaring reciprocal tariffs on U.S. imports has resulted in a slump in global markets and serious concerns among investors and consumers alike. The concerns are particularly felt by Black small businesses. “I’m concerned as to whether we’ll be able to survive this,” said Gladys Harrison, owner of Big Mama’s Kitchen & Catering in Omaha, Nebraska. Harrison told theGrio that despite opening the soul food eatery’s doors during the 2007 financial crisis and enduring the challenges of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, “Food prices were very reasonable.” She explained, “We could provide

EDPA celebrates Alabama HBCU Innovation Internship graduates with Day of Development

The Economic Development Partnership of Alabama (EDPA) graduated the third cohort of the HBCU Innovation Internship Program. The event, held at Innovation Depot in downtown Birmingham, was not one of pomp and circumstance but instead was a professional development opportunity for the graduating participants, as well as members of the incoming fourth cohort. Students had the opportunity to sharpen their networking and interview skills with group and one-on-one talks with professionals from Alabama Power and other area businesses and organizations. Graduating participants made presentations sharing highlights of their internship experience. For the second half of the day, the incoming fourth cohort had the chance to

As retailers drop DEI, some Black customers drop them

By Janelle Griffith Protests from conservatives and a new president in the White House who describes diversity initiatives as “illegal and immoral” have cleared the runway for private companies to roll back or completely abandon diversity, equity and inclusion commitments. Companies, including Target, Walmart, McDonald’s and Amazon, announced plans to scale back or cut DEI programs in their businesses, signaling to some Black customers that it’s time to rethink where they spend their cash. NBC News spoke to nearly two dozen Black people across the country about why they are boycotting certain companies and the impact that changes to DEI initiatives

U.S. retailers publicly scrap some ‘DEI’ initiatives while quietly supporting others

Several U.S. retailers that publicly scrapped diversity, equity and inclusion programs — including Target, Amazon and Tractor Supply — are maintaining certain efforts behind the scenes. The three retailers, while they’ve ended DEI programs on paper, have told advocacy groups and individuals they will continue to offer financial support for some LGBTQ+ Pride and racial justice events, as well as provide internal support for resource groups for underrepresented employees. These contradictions between public remarks to investors and those made to individuals or small groups illustrate the tightrope they’ve walked since U.S. President Donald Trump deemed some elements of DEI illegal and threatened possible investigations into firms that practice it. Advocates say DEI programs aren’t

Experian & HomeFree-USA award $40,000 scholarship to Fisk University team for solution to bridging credit education gap among young people

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Courtesy of Fisk University A four-student team from Fisk University took the top prize in the #IYKYK Pitch Competition (If You Know, You Know) for their business idea to make financial literacy and credit education a rite of passage for young adults, sponsored by Experian and HomeFree-USA. Nicknamed Team FinLit, Ansana Regmi, Destiny Marshall, Remilekun Ore and Sovit Lekhak earned a $40,000 scholarship for their proposal, “FinLit HQ.” It’s a personalized gaming experience for teenagers that helps them develop good financial habits and combat money dysmorphia. As they enter their early twenties, users move onto more advanced app-based credit education via gaming missions for real-world financial scenarios,

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