Because celebrating our wins is more important than ever.
- Cover girls. WNBA star Angel Reese and Olympic track and field phenom Gabby Thomas graced the cover of VOGUE for the magazine’s “When Sports Met Fashion” release. Decked in Versace and Tory Burch, Reese and Thomas shared how fashion has played a crucial role in their lives, with Reese proclaiming, “It’s always been both: Basketball and fashion.”
- Bringing home the gold. Actress Zoe Saldaña won her first Golden Globe for Best Supporting Female Actor – Motion Picture for her role in the hit film “Emilia Pérez.”
- Looking for a new social media home? With Black folks fleeing from Elon Musk’s increasingly hostile X and threats of TikTok bans still looming, Detroit-based Rahmaude Stringfield created Rueblur — a platform free from the limitations of traditional algorithms — to help redefine what it means to connect in the digital age.
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- Black history is American history. New York City Public Schools will launch the Education Equity Action Plan (EEAP), a groundbreaking pre-K-12 Black studies curriculum, in the 2024-25 school year. As the first of its kind in the nation’s largest public school system, the EEAP aims to foster a comprehensive understanding of race for over 1 million students and provide resources for educators nationwide.
- Building Black wealth. Greenwood — a Black-founded, Black-led mobile financial platform — is empowering the Black community with tools to build, sustain, and grow wealth for a brighter future. Inspired by the legacy of the early 1900s Greenwood District, the platform aims to address how the financial system continues to fall short of supporting Black folks.
- The Super Bowl just got Blacker. New Orleans artist Tahj Williams used Black Masking Indian methods of beading to build the Super Bowl LIX logo by hand. The stunning creation marks the first time the NFL has collaborated with a local artist on the creation of a Super Bowl logo.
- That’s how you do it. Fisk University junior Morgan Price became the first gymnast from an HBCU to score a perfect score — also known as a “perfect 10” — for her bar routine in a tri-meet at Temple University.
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- Get ready to shop. Winchel and Felicia Elibert are the first Black couple to open a shopping center in Fayetteville, Georgia. Just three months after Kingdom Corner’s grand opening, all of its commercial spaces are fully leased.
- Who said Black folks can’t swim? The Howard University swim team — the nation’s only Division I HBCU swim program — won the Men’s Northeast Conference Championship for the second time in 3 years. The women’s team also secured a 2nd place finish.
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- Making a difference. Comedian, actor, and writer Cedric The Entertainer partnered with the nonprofit Brotherhood Crusade to provide new Fiat cars to victims of the Altadena, California wildfires.
- Black women make history, together. Congratulations to actor and producer Issa Rae and music icon Tems on becoming the new San Diego Football Club owners. The move ushers in history as Tems becomes the first African-born woman to own a Major League Soccer team.
- Record-breaker. Denzel Washington’s “Othello” set four house records at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre in New York City, grossing $2.6 million in its first week and topping the Broadway box office.
- The sky’s the limit. Spelman College student Kamora Freeland makes history as the youngest Black woman pilot in the country and one of the youngest licensed aviators in U.S. history. She is licensed to fly a single-engine plane with up to 12 passengers.
- Learning knows no age. At just 13 years old, Joshua Suddith was accepted into Morehouse College. This incredible achievement breaks Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s record for the youngest student enrolled, who attended the HBCU at age 15 in 1944.
- Going, going, gone. LeBron James became the first professional athlete to receive his own Ken doll, and his signature figurines quickly sold out in retailers nationwide following the April 14 release. Barbie explained the choice in an Instagram post, saying: “LeBron emerged from humble inner-city beginnings to become a basketball legend and activist, vowing to give back to the community that raised him.”
- Innovators. The Atlanta legends of OutKast earned their rightful place in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, cementing André 3000 and Big Boi’s pioneering, Southern hip-hop sound in music history. Their induction represents a crucial acknowledgment of Black cultural innovation beyond traditional rock boundaries, showcasing hip-hop’s profound impact on music.
- Setting the stage. Known for her roles in “A Raisin in the Sun” and “Gypsy,” actress Audra McDonald has become the most Tony-nominated performer in Broadway history, with 11 nominations. McDonald is also the only performer to win top honors in leading and featured categories for both musicals and plays.
- Omaha’s first Black mayor. Defeating a three-term GOP incumbent in a key political battleground, Democrat John Ewing Jr. made history as the first Black mayor of Omaha.
- Rebuilding Black neighborhoods. As residents of Altadena work to restore thousands of homes lost in January’s devastating Eaton Fire, a coalition of Black architects, engineers, and other professionals has founded the Altadena Rebuild Coalition to help with the rebuilding effort.
- Viola Davis makes cinematic history. The award-winning actress’s films — including The Woman King and Fences — have grossed over $15 billion worldwide, making her the highest-grossing Black film actress in Hollywood history.
“Sinners” keeps reaching new heights. The hit movie, directed by Ryan Coogler, is scheduled to air on HBO Max on July 4, offering viewers the chance to watch in Black American Sign Language. It’s the first time a streaming service has interpreted a film into BASL, Warner Bros. says.
- Reebok unveils Angel Reese’s signature shoe. The Chicago Sky forward is the first WNBA player in nearly three decades to receive a signature sneaker from Reebok. “Just a kid from Baltimore, turning dreams into reality and hoping I can inspire young women and men everywhere to do the same,” Reese wrote on X. “The most brilliant diamonds take pressure, polish, and time. Reebok is back — and the diamonds are shining brighter than ever.”
Supporting HBCUs. In honor of Huston-Tillotson University’s 150th anniversary, Ross Moody, trustee and vice president of The Moody Foundation, gifted the liberal arts university a $150 million donation — the single-largest donation ever given to an HBCU. Huston-Tillotson’s president and CEO, Melva K. Wallace, said the donation is “truly going to help students.”
A win for HBCUs. Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has donated $70 million to UNCF, the nation’s largest private provider of scholarships to minority students, as it works to raise $1 billion for HBCUs. The gift is one of Scott’s largest single donations ever.
