Business Archives

Colin Kaepernick gets in on Wall Street’s hottest trend

February 11, 2021

By Allison Morrow, CNN Business SPAC-ERNICK Colin Kaepernick, the activist and former NFL quarterback, is the latest high-profile investor to get in on the SPAC craze. A SPAC, or special purpose acquisition company, is a very trendy way to take a company public. Rather than go through the expensive, time-consuming process of an IPO, private companies can merge with a SPAC, aka a blank-check firm, which exists solely to raise money by listing on a stock exchange. Kaepernick will serve as co-chair of Mission Advancement Corp., which is seeking to raise about $250 million to invest in socially conscious consumer

Sneakers designed in honor of Obama to go on sale for $25,000

February 10, 2021

Business/Sports

By Chandelis Duster, CNN They’re not the Air Obamas, but one sneakerhead with a lot of cash will have an opportunity this week to purchase an exclusive pair of basketball kicks made in honor of the 44th President. The unique pair of Nike Hyperdunks will be sold on the website of Sotheby’s auction house Friday at 4:44 p.m. ET, a nod to Barack Obama’s status as the 44th President, for $25,000. The pricey white sneaks feature a dark blue signature Nike “swoosh” with dark blue detailing and the presidential logo on the tongue flap. The numbers “44” in blue and

Aunt Jemima finally has a new name

February 10, 2021

Business

By Chauncey Alcorn, CNN Business Quaker Oats is releasing a new name and logo for its “Aunt Jemima” products, finally retiring the racist stereotype that has adorned its pancake mixes and syrups for decades. The name “Aunt Jemima,” long criticized as a racist caricature of a Black woman stemming from slavery, will be replaced with the Pearl Milling Company name and logo on the former brand’s new packaging, according to parent company PepsiCo. “We are starting a new day with Pearl Milling Company,” a PepsiCo spokesperson said. “A new day rooted in the brand’s historic beginnings and its mission to create

A Black woman will be the world’s top trade official for the first time

February 6, 2021February 6, 2021

Black History Month/Business/Politics

By Hanna Ziady and Charles Riley, CNN Business The path has been cleared for Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to become the first woman and the first African to lead the World Trade Organization after South Korea’s candidate pulled out of the race for the job. Yoo Myung-hee, the South Korean trade minister, announced her decision to withdraw in a televised briefing on Friday. Okonjo-Iweala, an economist and former finance minister of Nigeria, already enjoyed broad support from WTO members, including the European Union, China, Japan and Australia. However, the United States, under the Trump administration, had favored Yoo, complicating the decision-making

Ken Frazier, one of the only Black Fortune 500 CEOs, is retiring

February 4, 2021

Business

By Jordan Valinsky, CNN Business Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier, who is currently one of the few Black CEOs of a Fortune 500 company, is retiring in June, ending a nearly 30-year run with the company. The pharmaceutical giant announced the change Thursday, naming Chief Financial Officer Robert Davis as its new leader effective July 1. Frazier has served as Merck’s CEO since 2011 and had made headlines in recent years for his statements on racial justice and his public tussles with former President Donald Trump. “On behalf of the entire Merck board, I thank Ken for his strong and highly

Bowie State University and LAIKA To Build First HBCU Stop-Motion Animation Studio

February 2, 2021

Business/Entertainment

The Oscar-nominated and BAFTA and Golden Globe Award-winning feature film animation studio LAIKA is best known for animated films like Coraline, Kubo, and the Two Strings, Missing Link. They are partnering up with Bowie State University to fund the first in the nation a stop-motion animation studio at Historically Black College and University (HBCU). This partnership is meant to improve the university’s animation program and provide a clear goal of creating a path to the industry. LAIKA’s contribution would finance renovations to Bowie State’s green screen studio to enable stop-motion animation development. “Laika is thrilled to be partnering with as

Sixteen HBCUs Join Google’s Career Readiness Program

January 29, 2021March 24, 2021

Business/HBCU Partners

Sixteen new colleges and universities have joined Google’s “Grow with Google HBCU Career Readiness Program” — an initiative tailored to prepare Black students for the workforce. Announced in October 2020, the program aims to reach 20,000 students during the current academic year. The program will be available to all Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) by fall 2021. The program is the result of Google’s partnership with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) — the nation’s largest non-profit exclusively representing HBCUs. It will provide digital skills workshops to Black students at HBCU career centers to better prepare them for future

Pandemic takes a devastating toll on minority-owned businesses

January 28, 2021January 28, 2021

Business/Opinion

Opinion by Rick C. Wade for CNN Business Perspectives Editor’s note: Rick C. Wade is senior vice president of strategic alliances and outreach at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, where he leads the Chamber’s Equality of Opportunity Initiative. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his own. Far too often, the opportunity to obtain an education, secure a job, access quality health care or provide for your family is still determined by the color of your skin. While the work to close the racial divide is not easy, it must be done. This is more than a moral mandate —

Google CEO to Meet With HBCU Presidents After Racism Allegations

January 20, 2021January 20, 2021

Business/HBCU Partners

Google CEO Sundar Pichai will meet with five presidents of historically Black colleges and universities next week after two former Google employees accused the company of racial discrimination, CNN Business reported. Last month, two Black former Google employees — April Curley, a diversity recruiter, and Timnit Gebru, an artificial intelligence researcher — tweeted that they were fired from the tech giant after voicing concerns about how few Black people worked at Google and how those employees were treated. Curley oversaw HBCU recruitment and said several of her superiors believed HBCU computer science graduates didn’t have the technical skills to work

TikTok is giving 10 colleges $10 million to boost minorities in health care

December 26, 2020

Business/HBCU Partners

The video social network website made the announcement Wednesday, saying that each school would receive $1 million to support both undergraduate and graduate scholarships for students pursuing careers in medicine, public health or other health-related fields. The ten schools benefiting are Xavier University of Louisiana, Tougaloo College, North Carolina Central University, North Carolina A&T University, South Carolina State University, Laredo College, University of South Dakota, Florida A&M University, Delaware State University and Virginia Union University. In a statement, TikTok said the gifts would help “ensure the success of future Black, Latinx, and Indigenous health heroes.” “We believe investing in the next