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Amen Rahh, widely known as “Principal Rahh,” is a nationally recognized educator and best-selling author from Compton, CA, who first gained attention after leading a South Los Angeles high school to a 100% graduation rate. However, his mission took an unexpected turn. One of his students, Keon — an unhoused teen in foster care — had been accepted to Tuskegee University but couldn’t afford the final $480 he needed to attend. “He thought, ‘If I can get this $400, I can get out,'” Rahh told AFROTECH™. “Tragically, he lost his life before he could.” Rahh learned the news while working on his doctorate at UCLA and says the loss changed everything. “At [age] 34, I left my job and started a tech company to transform education,” Rahh said. The company — Knowlej — is using fintech innovation to reimagine what’s possible for underserved students nationwide. The Classroom To Real Life Since its 2023 launch, the fintech app Knowlej has reached more than 30,000 students, according to Rahh. He...
In the latest twist to the nation’s student debt crisis, the U.S. Department of Education has quietly suspended student loan forgiveness under the Income-Based Repayment (IBR) plan, Forbes reports. According to the outlet, the department confirmed earlier this month that it paused processing student loan discharges for IBR borrowers. This includes those who’ve already reached their 20- or 25-year forgiveness milestone. IBR Is Not Part of the Court Battle — So Why the Pause? IBR forgiveness is not affected by the current lawsuits challenging other federal student loan programs, though it does — like them — determine a borrower’s monthly payment based on that person’s income and family size. According to Forbes, last year, several Republican-led states sued the Biden administration to block the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan, a newer income-driven repayment option. Federal courts responded by halting SAVE and forgiveness under two older plans, Income-Contingent Repayment...
Three Black women aim to close the racial wealth gap by building the access they want to see, launching culturally grounded, community-owned business schools by and for Detroiters. According to The Michigan Chronicle, Racheal Allen, Ebony Cochran, and Jessie Hayes are determined to build lasting infrastructure for the city’s overlooked entrepreneurs — proving that real business education isn’t just about profits; it’s about economic justice, shared knowledge, and long-term change. Ebony Cochran In June, Cochran — Michigan’s first Black woman to own a Little Caesars franchise, as AFROTECH™ r eported in 2022 — founded the Detroit Wealth Club, a 7,300-square-foot community business school on the city’s east side focused on entrepreneurship, credit literacy, financial planning, and real estate, The Michigan Chronicle reports. Offering educational programming, mentorship, peer accountability, and expert networks, Cochran calls it a movement — one she’s backed with $155,000 of her own...
Rep. Kathy Castor spotlighted Black-owned businesses in St. Petersburg, VA, on Juneteenth amid ongoing bureaucratic hurdles, such as limited access to capital, systemic bias , barriers to business networks, and discriminatory lending practices. Castor led a bus tour on Thursday, organized with the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA), visiting local businesses, including Community Tech House, Successful Futures Tutoring Services, and Central Station Barbershop and Grooming, according to The St. Pete Catalyst. “We want to spend our Juneteenth out there telling their stories and encouraging our neighbors to support them,” Castor said. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, exacerbating the digital divide in underserved communities , Lynn Harrell Johnson at Community Tech House repurposed her former salon into a tech hub . She now teaches coding, web development, and digital literacy, offering free laptops to those committed to using them. Johnson has a goal to hire more passionate...
Salt Lake City, UT-based Holladay Bank & Trust — located in a community with a Black population of less than 3% — is now Redemption Bank, following its acquisition by Redemption Holding Co. (RHC). Initially announced in 2023, the deal marks the first time a Black-led investment group has owned a bank in the Western U.S., according to The Associated Press. Redemption Holding Co. Chairman and CEO Ashley D. Bell, former White House policy advisor, cited the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in 2023 for the acquisition delay. “This process has undoubtedly taken longer than any of us anticipated,” Bell said. “However, we are grateful for the diligence of the staff at the FDIC, the leadership of the (American Bankers Association), and the renewed sense of urgency from the new administration this year, all of which helped bring everything together.” Redemption Bank is now the first Black-owned bank in U.S. history in the Rocky Mountain region and the only one in the “Black-banking desert,”...
The NAACP plans to sue Elon Musk ‘s Memphis, TN-based AI company, xAI, over concerns about air pollution stemming from a supercomputer facility allegedly operating gas turbines without proper permits. Represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), the NAACP filed its legal challenge on Tuesday as the Shelby County Health Department (SCHD) reviews xAI’s permit application, according to The Associated Press. Activists and opponents say the facility is polluting predominantly Black neighborhoods in South Memphis. The NAACP sent a letter to the SCHD and Memphis Light, Gas, and Water on May 29, demanding an emergency order to halt xAI’s operations or, at the very least, cite the company for violating clean air standards, AFROTECH™ previously reported. “While data centers are becoming more prevalent across the country, there is a growing need to guarantee transparency regarding environmental and climate concerns, the burden these centers have on communities, and ensuring...
Goodr will be bringing its free grocery store to the windy city. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, Goodr — the brainchild of Jasmine Crowe-Houston — is a sustainable food waste management company based in Atlanta, GA. Since its inception in 2017, the company has launched various initiatives, including a free grocery and clothing store at Atlanta’s McNair Middle School in partnership with rapper Gunna (2021). More recently, it introduced the Goodr Community Market at iVillage @ MLK (2024), which features a free grocery store and health clinic, with a goal of serving 600 families by 2026. “I have a lot of crazy good ideas to help people and I am so blessed when partners and my team join me to bring them to life,” Crowe-Houston said at the time. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jasmine Crowe Houston (@jasminecrowe) First P ermanent Location In Chicago Now, Goodr is scaling its mission to the south side of Chicago, IL, opening its grocery store model in a hospital. This will...
Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade, and Carmelo Anthony have teamed up to award several HBCU students with scholarships. The trio is behind the Social Change United Fund, which was created in response to racial injustice, pooling their collective resources to support communities of color, its website mentions. It aims to create equity in entrepreneurship, leadership, and innovation. “It started back in, I want to say, 2020,” Anthony told Fast Company. “It was a real moment. We were watching a moment in society and our community, and our country, and it’s right in front of our faces, and the world was watching. It was a moment where I had to figure out, ‘Da-n, what do I want to do?’ And I think everyone was asking that same question. We just talked, came together, and we founded the Social Change Fund United.” He continued, “What we did was create a really clear vision on what we wanted to do on strategy, how do we advance equity, how do we advance social justice, criminal justice reform,...
The U.S. Department of Labor has announced plans to implement a phased pause in operations at its nearly 100 contractor-operated Job Corps centers nationwide by June 30, 2025, according to a department press release. This marks a significant change that will affect workforce development for underserved youth. The decision to wind down the Job Corps centers follows an internal program review and stems from significant issues, including financial deficits, safety concerns, and underwhelming student outcomes. The residential career training and education program is focused on low-income young adults ages 16 to 24. Job Corps Closing: Breaking Down The Numbers The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration released a report in April 2025 that details the Job Corps program’s performance and return on investment. The average graduation rate is about 38.6%, according to the report, as cited by Fox News. Other findings show that the average cost per graduate was up to...
No matter who occupies the White House, Maryland Governor Wes Moore remains steadfast in his commitment to three core pillars for his state’s 6.2 million residents: work, wages, and wealth — and creating pathways for all three. At AFROTECH™ Conference 2024, Moore — Maryland’s 63rd and first Black governor — joined Blavity Inc. Co-Founder and COO Jeff Nelson for a powerful fireside chat focused on economic empowerment, youth engagement, public safety, and sustainable community development. The governor shared insights on building resilient, self-sufficient communities, equipping the conference room of innovators, entrepreneurs, and changemakers with tangible steps to create a lasting impact. Buy your AFROTECH™ Conference 2025 ticket now! Reflecting on his personal journey into public service, Moore shared that he didn’t come from a political dynasty — far from it. Now, he says he sees the world in two categories: Marylanders and future Marylanders. “I had to convince members of my...
Pharrell Williams is taking significant steps to address the equity gap in entrepreneurship through his initiative, Black Ambition. According to an April 14, 2025, news release, the nonprofit is launching the Fundable Founders Learning Lab, a comprehensive 10-week virtual program designed to support entrepreneurs across Florida, with an emphasis on those from underrepresented communities . With a $1 million investment from an anonymous donor, the initiative is part of a two-year effort to counter dwindling resources for small business owners by providing 500 Florida-based entrepreneurs with access to capital, mentorship, expert training, and a robust network. “Entrepreneurs are facing unprecedented challenges—from shrinking access to capital to dwindling community resources,” said Black Ambition CEO Felecia Hatcher. “This $1 million donation is more than just funding—it’s fuel for a new generation of fundable founders building bold, innovative solutions right here in Florida.”...
Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™. The turmoil over tariffs has taken center stage since President Donald Trump has started to make good on his campaign promise to Make America Great Again. His latest move is leveraging the tactic of tariffs to help bring back manufacturing jobs that he believes have been outsourced to other countries and should be available to people in the United States. However, having the goal of quickly bringing industrialization to a country has been tried elsewhere before. Mao Zedong of China, who formed the People’s Republic of China in 1949 and ran it until his death in 1976, tried what Trump is doing in the U.S. in China. It was called The Great Leap Forward and started in 1958. It aimed to change China from a country that relied on agriculture as its economic center to one that relied on industrialization instead. Similar to Donald Trump’s vision for industrialization, it included a focus on increasing...
The Trump administration has rescinded a historic settlement designed to improve wastewater treatment services for residents in majority-Black communities in Lowndes County, Alabama, where inadequate infrastructure has long led to raw sewage exposure. On Friday, April 11, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the termination of the 2-year-old agreement made with the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) under the Biden administration , describing it as an “ illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.” “The DOJ will no longer push ‘environmental justice’ as viewed through a distorting, DEI lens,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon. “ President [Donald] Trump made it clear: Americans deserve a government committed to serving every individual with dignity and respect, and to expending taxpayer resources in accordance with the national interest, not arbitrary criteria.” On Jan. 20, 2025 — his first day back in office — Trump had signed an executive...
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,...