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Kendrick Lamar’s pgLang and Global Citizen Partner to Establish 1st Major Touring Circuit Across African Continent

Kendrick Lamar’s pgLang and Global Citizen Partner to Establish 1st Major Touring Circuit Across African Continent

By goodblacknews on November 3, 2023

K Dot is making his mark on the world of music yet again.

According to Variety.com, Grammy Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning artist Kendrick Lamar and Dave Free‘s company, pgLang, is teaming up with philanthropic organization Global Citizen to create a major music touring circuit across the continent of Africa.

The initiative’s kickoff event Move Afrika: Rwanda,  is slated to take place Dec. 6 with Lamar as the headliner.

Additionally, over the next five years, pgLang has committed to curating more “Move Africa” shows, with an expansion to producing shows in Rwanda’s neighboring countries by 2025.

To quote from Variety.com:

“Global Citizen has been operating on the continent since our very inception,” says Global Citizen co-founder and CEO Hugh Evans, whose organization is renowned for its all-star consciousness-raiser concerts. “We were honored to be there to celebrate Mandela’s 100th anniversary in 2018, alongside Beyonce and Jay Z and so many incredible artists.

The CEO noted that Lamar has a history with his org that goes back to first performing at a Global Citizen Festival back in 2016. “I sat down recently with Kendrick and the pgLang team, and whether it’s Kendrick, Dave Free, Anthony or their entire team, they all share this massive passion to see that touring across the entire continent would become as prolific as it has become across Latin America, across North America, across Europe, across Australasia and across so many other continents.

“pgLang are going to be involved in every aspect of this initiative. They’re going to be involved from a musical curation point of view, helping to determine which artists are involved following in Kendrick’s footsteps. But they’re also going to be involved creatively as well, thinking through the creative rollout of the campaigns over the years, the look and feel, and the global broadcast. They really have become partners in this endeavor. And personally, I can’t think of anyone better on the planet than Kendrick Lamar and pgLang to be the curator. Kendrick has spent so much time on the continent himself; he’s so passionate about it. So when they said that the first performance that he does on the continent will be with Move Afrika, it’s a huge honor for this initiative.”

“The most exciting thing, honestly, is the hunger I see from the artist community to achieve this dream. I don’t think this is Global Citizen’s dream per se; I think this is the world’s dream,” he says. “I think everyone has dreamed of doing this, and we’re just working to modestly try to create some scaffolding around it. In fact, probably not a week goes by when I don’t speak to an artist about their dream to do more across Africa.”

To learn more about Move Afrika, including how to obtain tickets for the December show, go to this Global Citizen page, or via text on WhatsApp at +250 790 008 555.

Apple Adds $25 Million to Racial Equity and Justice Initiative, Increasing Financial Commitment to over $200M since 2020

By goodblacknews on June 16, 2023

This week, Apple announced its Racial Equity and Justice Initiative (REJI), a long-term global effort to advance equity and expand opportunities for Black, Hispanic/Latinx, and Indigenous communities, has more than doubled its initial financial commitment to total more than $200 million over the last three years.

Since launching REJI in June 2020, Apple has supported education, economic empowerment, and criminal justice reform work across the U.S., with recent expansion to Australia, the U.K., and Mexico.

Apple launched REJI at a pivotal moment in the U.S., as protests against racial injustice in the wake of the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd and Breonna Taylor swept the nation.

“Building a more just and equitable world is urgent work that demands collaboration, commitment, and a common sense of purpose,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We are proud to partner with many extraordinary organizations that are dedicated to addressing injustice and eliminating barriers to opportunity. And we’ll continue to lead with our values as we expand our efforts to create opportunities, lift up communities, and help build a better future for all.”

Apple has reported that REJI’s education grants have reached more than 160,000 learners through in-person courses and out-of-school offerings, while committing over $50 million to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) to support science, technology, engineering, arts, and math opportunities.

With a focus on economic empowerment, REJI funds financial institutions — including venture capital firms, Community Development Financial Institutions, and Minority Depository Institutions — that support Black, Hispanic/Latinx, and Indigenous entrepreneurs and businesses.

As part of its expanding work, Apple also announced a new partnership with the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance (MBKA), a program of the Obama Foundation. Through this strategic partnership and funding, Apple aims to help close opportunity gaps faced by boys and young men of color by supporting training for community leaders and MBKA staff, expanding programming for boys and young men of color, and strengthening the MBKA network through targeted community impact microgrants. The program plans to train more than 500 leaders and engage over 50,000 youth across the U.S.

“Apple’s continued support of the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance empowers the foundation to develop and implement new initiatives that create opportunities for our young people,” said Valerie Jarrett, the Obama Foundation’s CEO. “Together, we are building a more inclusive educational system that nurtures creativity, fosters innovation, and transforms the lives of boys and young men of color across the country. We are grateful for their partnership and look forward to our continued collective efforts to ensure all youth can reach their full potential.”

REJI’s criminal justice reform grants are reported to have supported providing legal services, safe housing, identification services, healthcare access, and other vital reentry services for more than 19,000 justice-impacted individuals.

To combat systemic racism, REJI and Apple have partnered with several community colleges — including the Los Angeles Community College District, Delgado Community College in New Orleans, and Houston Community College — to implement programs to help incarcerated and paroled individuals learn new skills, prevent recidivism, and create economic opportunity for parolees and probationers.

Apple has also made meaningful contributions to various nonprofit organizations that advance equity and justice, including the Anti-Recidivism Coalition, Defy Ventures, Vera Institute of Justice, and The Last Mile.

To learn and read more about Apple’s Racial Equity and Justice Initiative, check out its REJI Impact Overview.

Philanthropist Jacqueline Avant Honored with Opening of Children and Family Center in Her Name

Philanthropist Jacqueline Avant Honored with Opening of Children and Family Center in Her Name

By goodblacknews on May 1, 2023

Activist and former U.S. Ambassador to the Bahamas Nicole Avant on Friday helped open the Jacqueline Avant Children and Family Center at the MLK Medical Campus in the Watts-Willowbrook community of Los Angeles, CA in memory of her mother.

“My family and I are thrilled and honored to celebrate the unveiling of the Jacqueline Avant Children and Family Center,” Nicole Avant said. “For over 50 years, my mom was dedicated to the mental and physical and spiritual health of the children and families in South Los Angeles and was on a mission to improve the quality of life for those less fortunate.”

Philanthropist and community leader Jacqueline Avant, spouse to legendary music industry executive Clarence Avant, was 81 years old when she was fatally shot during a home invasion in December 2021.

The three-story children and family center is a 50,000-square-foot facility that employs variety of programs to address the needs of at-risk children struggling with trauma, health and mental health problems. The first two floors of the center will be open to the community this summer, and the remaining floor is slated for completion by the end of the year.To quote from Marc Malkin’s Variety.com article:

The center opening and dedication attracted giants of the music industry, including Jerry Moss, Jimmy Jam, Phil Quartararo, L.A. Reid, Hollywood management powerhouse Benny Medina, real estate tycoon and former Los Angeles mayoral candidate Rick Caruso, actor Holly Robinson Peete and Nicole’s husband, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos.

Los Angles Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell opened the ceremony before handing the mic to Dr. Janet Arnold-Clark, who detailed the lifesaving and affirming work being done at the center.

With the opening of the center, Nicole and her family have turned their focus from tragedy to helping others. “My friend Dionne said to me, ‘The greatest way you can honor your mom’s life is to live to the fullest. That is what you have to do,’” she says. “Your job is to live to the fullest because you don’t know how long you have on this earth, no one does. Sometimes you have three months, sometimes you have three years, you just don’t know. People remember you by your good works. That’s what people remember.”

Jacqueline Avant’s assailant, Aariel Maynor, was sentenced to life in state prison with a minimum of 150 years, after pleading guilty to Avant’s murder.

To read more:

GBN GIVEAWAY: Enter by 2/28 for a Chance to Win the “Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody” DVD Blue-Ray… and More!

GBN GIVEAWAY: Enter by 2/28 for a Chance to Win the “Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody” DVD Blue-Ray… and More!

By goodblacknews on February 26, 2023

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

In conjunction with the 2/28 release of Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody on DVD/Blu-Ray, Good Black News is giving away one bundled prize pack, courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

The items in the prize pack include:

  • Blu-ray
  • Vinyl album
  • Karaoke mic
  • Kodak Printomatic Instant Camera  – with package of photo paper
  • Movie night popcorn set
  • Box of conversation hearts

 

 

To enter for a chance to win, send your first and last name and an email address with the subject heading “Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody Giveaway” to goodblacknewsgiveaways@yahoo.com from now until 11:59PM PST on Tuesday, February 28.

One entry per email, and GBN will announce the name of the winner in a post on March 1st, then contact them for a mailing address to receive their prize pack bundle.

Directed by Kasi Lemmons (Harriet, Eve’s Bayou, Candyman) and written by Academy Award® nominee Anthony McCarten (Best Adapted Screenplay, The Two Popes, 2019), produced by legendary music executive Clive Davis and starring BAFTA Award® winner Naomi Ackie, the film  — which is currently available on all digital platforms — is a no-holds-barred portrait of the complex and multifaceted woman behind The Voice.

From New Jersey choir girl to one of the best-selling and most awarded recording artists of all time, audiences are taken on a journey through Whitney Houston’s trailblazing life and career, with show-stopping performances and a soundtrack of the icon’s most beloved hits as you’ve never heard them before.

As it’s still Black History Month, GBN is taking the opportunity of this giveaway to highlight some Whitney Houston history that, unlike her timeless music, is not as well known.

Filmmaker Tyler Perry Donates $500,000 to New York’s Famed Apollo Theater

Filmmaker Tyler Perry Donates $500,000 to New York’s Famed Apollo Theater

By goodblacknews on June 14, 2022

According to variety.com, filmmaker Tyler Perry announced he’s donating $500,000 to New York’s famed Apollo Theater during the venue’s annual spring benefit gala yesterday.

Perry made the offer during his acceptance speech for the organization’s Impact Award, which was presented to him by Whoopi Goldberg.

“My studio [in Georgia] was once a former Confederate-owned army base where there were 3.9 million negroes and slaves at the time, and there were Confederate soldiers plotting and planning how to keep them enslaved,” Perry said.

“While now that land is owned by one negro and I know the importance of what it means to honor that and honor the history of what it has been, and what it has been and to redirect it and rechange it. So it’s very important to me that we all give and support, and with that said, I’d like to give a half-million dollars to make sure this place continues to grow and thrive.”

To quote Variety.com:

Perry concluded his speech by sharing that 98 percent of the people he paid last year with his $154 million payroll were Black. He then implored those listening not to give up on their career goals, using his own uplift of Black people in the industry as an example of the good that can come from Black people’s success.

“That is the power of us, that is the power of understanding our stories, our messages, whether who gets it or who don’t. Long as you walk you path, you understand who you’re talking to, you know your audience. If you’ve got a dream in this room, please hear me when I say this, do not give up on your dreams,” Perry said.

“If I would have given up, I don’t know who would have given that payroll, or if they would be in Hollywood, if people wouldn’t let them in the door. When you come to Tyler Perry Studios, you see the most diverse group of people who have ever worked in the industry, and for that I am grateful.”

Including Perry’s gift, the Apollo raised a record-breaking $3.7 million last night as comedian Kenan Thompson hosted the fundraising event.

Read more: https://variety.com/2022/scene/news/tyler-perry-apollo-theater-1235293971/#recipient_hashed=e4ade4bb4c820e62c1711f6b9f58ef75312251d8145e19a72a9f5413dbe0fb9e

Born On This Day in 1973: Producer and Philanthropist Pharrell Williams (LISTEN)

Born On This Day in 1973: Producer and Philanthropist Pharrell Williams (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on April 5, 2022

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

As Pharrell Williams takes his 49th orbit around the sun today, GBN celebrates the music and contributions to the culture and community made by this prolific and inventive force of nature.

To read about him, read on. To hear about him, press PLAY:

(You can follow or subscribe to the Good Black News Daily Drop Podcast through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, rss.com or create your own RSS Feed. Or just check it out every day here on the main website.) Full transcript below:

Hey, this Lori Lakin Hutcherson, founder and editor in chief of goodblacknews.org, here to share with you a daily drop of Good Black News for Tuesday, April 5th, 2022, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar” published by Workman Publishing.

Born April 5, 1973 in Virginia Beach, VA, prolific music producer, composer and artist Pharrell Williams (“Drop It Like It’s Hot,” “Get Lucky,” “Hollaback Girl”) has also excelled as a fashion designer (Billionaire Boys Club, G Star Raw, Adidas) as a film and television producer (Dope, Hidden Figures, the Amazon Prime series Harlem) …and, importantly, as a philanthropist.

In 2019 Williams offered “A-List internships” to 114 college-bound high school students to help set them on their career paths.

More recently, Williams co-founded the Black Ambition Initiative to fund Black and Latinx entrepreneurs in tech, design, healthcare and consumer products and services start-ups. So, let’s wish a “Happy” birthday to this “Beautiful” Neptune on his 49th trip around the sun.

To learn more about Pharrell, read his books, Places and Spaces I’ve Been and Pharrell: A Fish Doesn’t Know It’s Wet, as well as his 2016 children’s board book Happy, check out the 2016 documentary Pharrell Williams: Happy Go Lucky on Amazon Prime Video or Free Movies on YouTube, Pharrell’s interview on The Breakfast Club, his 2019 conversation with Rick Rubin on GQ’s YouTube channel, or his 2021 appearance on PBS’s Finding Your Roots.You can also check out the 2020 Netflix series Voices of Fire, Pharrell’s interview with Mark Ronson on The FADER Uncovered podcast, and Pharrell’ own podcast, OTHERtone.

And, it goes without saying, stream or buy any and/or all of the innovative, industry-changing music he’s produced and performed over the decades.

This has been a daily drop of Good Black News, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar for 2022,” published by Workman Publishing.

Intro and outro beats provided by freebeats.io and produced by White Hot.

Excerpts from “Frontin’”, “Happy,” “Beautiful” and “Brand New” by Pharrell Williams permitted under fair use.

If you like these Daily Drops, please consider following us on Apple, Google Podcasts, RSS.com, Amazon, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a rating or review, share links to your favorite episodes, or go old school and tell a friend.

For more Good Black News, you can check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

Sources:

(amazon links are paid)

Quote from Mary McLeod Bethune – Educator, Community Builder, Civil Rights Leader (LISTEN)

Quote from Mary McLeod Bethune – Educator, Community Builder, Civil Rights Leader (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on March 28, 2022

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

Today we share a quote from and some facts about the mighty Mary McLeod Bethune, educator, activist and founder of Bethune-Cookman University and the National Council of Negro Women.

This GBN Daily Drop is based on the Monday, March 28 entry in “A Year of Good Black News” Page-A-Day®️ Calendar for 2022:

You can follow or subscribe to the Good Black News Daily Drop Podcast through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, rss.com or create your own RSS Feed. Or just check it out every day here on the main website (transcript below):

SHOW TRANSCRIPT:

Hey, this Lori Lakin Hutcherson, founder and editor in chief of goodblacknews.org, here to share with you a daily drop of Good Black News for Monday, March 28th, 2022, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar” published by Workman Publishing.

Today we offer a quote from esteemed educator and civil rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune:

“Without faith, nothing is possible. With it, nothing is impossible.”

Born during Reconstruction in Maysville, South Carolina in 1875, Bethune was the 15th out of 17thchild of formerly enslaved parents Samuel and Patsy McIntosh McLeod, and the first of theirs born into freedom.

At an early age, Bethune pursued education any way she could, even if it meant walking eight miles each way to the only school around. After attending college in North Carolina and Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Bethune became a teacher herself.

She eventually started a school of her own in Daytona, Florida with husband and fellow teacher Albertus Bethune, that evolved into what is now Bethune-Cookman University.

In her lifetime, Bethune went on to become a national advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt as part of his “Black” cabinet, represented the NAACP at the founding of the United Nations in 1945, raised money to open the first hospital for Black people in Daytona, Florida, founded the National Council of Negro Women and co-founded the United Negro College Fund.

To learn more about Bethune and her legacy, read Mary McLeod Bethune: Building a Better World, Essays and Selected Documents edited by Audrey Thomas McCluskey and Elaine M. Smith, Mary McLeod Bethune in Florida: Bringing Social Justice to the Sunshine State by Dr. Ashley N. Robinson, and Mary McLeod Bethune: Her Life and Legacy by Nancy Ann Zrinyi Long.

Also check out the 2016 documentary Mary McLeod Bethune – African Americans Who Left Their Stamp on History, the Mary McLeod Bethune documentary posted by Gig Bag Media on YouTube, and cookman.libguides.com to access newsreels, videos and audio recordings of Bethune herself.

In fact, here’s a taste of her voice from a 1949 radio broadcast with Eleanor Roosevelt speaking on the importance of democracy, coalition and human rights:

[Excerpt from 1949 broadcast with Eleanor Roosevelt]

This has been a daily drop of Good Black News, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar for 2022,” published by Workman Publishing.

Beats provided by freebeats.io and produced by White Hot.

If you like these Daily Drops, please consider following us on Apple, Google Podcasts, RSS.com,Amazon, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a rating or review, share links to your favorite episodes, or go old school and tell a friend.

For more Good Black News, you can check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

Sources:

(paid links)

GBN’s Daily Drop: Journalist, Producer, Activist and Philanthropist Soledad O’Brien (LISTEN)

GBN’s Daily Drop: Journalist, Producer, Activist and Philanthropist Soledad O’Brien (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on March 17, 2022

[Photo via powherful.org]

by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (@lakinhutcherson)

Today, on St. Patrick’s Day, GBN Daily Drop podcast features journalist, producer, activist and philanthropist Soledad O’Brien, who in 2016 explored her Irish, Scottish and Afro-Latina heritage on the PBS show Finding Your Roots.

It’s based on the Thursday, March 17 entry from the “A Year of Good Black News” Page-A-Day®️ Calendar for 2022:

You can follow or subscribe to the Good Black News Daily Drop Podcast through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, rss.com or create your own RSS Feed. Or just check it out every day here on the main website (transcript below):

SHOW TRANSCRIPT:

Hey, this Lori Lakin Hutcherson, founder and editor in chief of goodblacknews.org, here to share with you a daily drop of Good Black News for Thursday, March 17th, 2022 — also known as St. Patrick’s Day — based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar” published by Workman Publishing.

Journalist and activist Soledad O’Brien not only celebrated her Irish, Scottish and Afro-Latina heritage as a 2016 guest on Henry Louis Gates’ PBS show Finding Your Roots, the honorary Delta Sigma Theta member also hosted the critically acclaimed 2007 Black in America CNN special.

The Matter of Fact with Soledad O’Brien executive producer and host also routinely pays it forward by mentoring college-bound women through her PowHERful Foundation… and through her super tight Twitter game where she often calls out shoddy, inaccurate and biased reporting in the media.

O’Brien is also a correspondent for HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel and produces the HBO documentary series Black and Missing, which streams on HBOMax.

O’Brien also hosted the 2021 BET series Disrupt and Dismantle, which sheds light on how systems are the root of injustice and what people can do to change them.

To learn more about Soledad O’Brien, you can read her 2011 book The Next Big Story: My Journey Through the Land of Possibilities, check out her website soledadproductions.com, historymakers.com, as well as other sources provided in today’s show notes and in the episode’s full transcript posted on goodblacknews.org.

This has been a daily drop of Good Black News, based on the “A Year of Good Black News Page-A-Day Calendar for 2022,” published by Workman Publishing. Beats provided by freebeats.io and produced by White Hot.

If you like these Daily Drops, please consider following us on Apple, Google Podcasts, RSS.com, Amazon, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Leave a rating or review, share links to your favorite episodes, or go old school and tell a friend.

For more Good Black News, check out goodblacknews.org or search and follow @goodblacknews anywhere on social.

Sources:

Rihanna’s Clara Lionel Foundation Donates $15M to Black, POC, LGBTQ+ and Women-Led Nonprofits Focused on Environmental Justice

Rihanna’s Clara Lionel Foundation Donates $15M to Black, POC, LGBTQ+ and Women-Led Nonprofits Focused on Environmental Justice

By goodblacknews on January 30, 2022

Music superstar and cosmetics entrepreneur Rihanna‘s Clara Lionel Foundation (CLF) recently committed $15 million to eighteen organizations working on climate change justice across the U.S. and Caribbean in partnership with #StartSmall, Twitter founder Jack Dorsey‘s philanthropic initiative.

The grants from the Barbados native’s foundation will support entities focused on and led by women, youth, Black, Indigenous, people of color and LGBTQIA+ communities.

Climate disasters, which are growing in frequency and intensity, do not impact all communities equally. Under-resourced countries, communities of color, and island nations are facing the brunt. To combat this inequity, funders like CLF are building partnerships with organizations, acknowledging their deep understanding of what is necessary to achieve climate justice in their own communities.

The announcement of this multi-million dollar donation comes barely two months after Rihanna was named a National Hero in Barbados. In the recent past, Ms. Fenty has donated $11 million to social justice organizations and gifted 4,000 tablets to youth in her native country to address the digital divide during the pandemic.

The entities supported by CLF’s latest philanthropic outlay are listed below:

Black Feminist Fund

Serving as the first global hub for Black feminist philanthropy and led by activists from across the African and Caribbean diaspora, the Black Feminist Fund (BFF) significantly increases the resources available to Black feminist movements globally, contributing to strengthening their sustainability and resilience and supporting Black women’s claim and access to resources, including land, food, water, shelter, work and income. 

Black Visions Collective

Black Visions Collective is a Black-led, Queer and Trans centering organization whose mission is to organize powerful, connected, Black communities and dismantle systems of violence. Black Visions Collective is led by the guiding belief that all Black people deserve autonomy, that safety is community-led, and we are in the right relationship within our ecosystems.

Caribbean Youth Environment Network (CYEN)

CYEN is dedicated to improving the quality of life of Caribbean young people by facilitating their personal development and full involvement in environment and sustainable development. CYEN’s work spans addressing youth unemployment, enriching climate resiliency, water resource management, notably their “Stay Alive and Thrive” Climate Action campaign to raise public awareness about the urgent need to mitigate and adapt to climate change across the Caribbean and around the globe.

Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation Launches $2M Grant to HBCU Scholarship Program

Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation Launches $2M Grant to HBCU Scholarship Program

By goodblacknews on January 2, 2022

The Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation announced a $2 million commitment to support scholarships for Black, African and African American students, including those at Morehouse College, Spelman College and 10 additional historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) through the United Negro College Fund (UNCF).

These scholarships are part of Ralph Lauren Corporation’s previously announced commitments to address systemic racism and racial injustice by creating more pathways for equity within the fashion industry and beyond, beginning with education.

“Students represent the best of the human spirit – passion, curiosity and boundless dreams,” said Ralph Lauren, Executive Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of Ralph Lauren Corporation. “When all students have an equal chance to succeed, their dreams become realities and inspire us all.”

“The Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation works to make the dream of a better life a reality by championing equity and investing in historically underserved communities,” said Roseann Lynch, Ralph Lauren Corporation’s Chief People Officer and Head of the Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation. “Our hope is that these scholarships will deepen pathways of access to education for our future leaders and help enable them to pursue their own dreams.”

“Morehouse has a common cause with partners like the Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation who believe that equity begins with education,” said David A. Thomas, Ph.D., Morehouse College president. “Through educational investments, which help elevate the creativity and professional competence of talented students of color, we today empower the innovators who will develop the fashions, products and services the world will demand tomorrow.”

“This new scholarship will allow high-achieving students in need of financial support to graduate with less debt, ready to step into their careers,” said Mary Schmidt Campbell, Ph.D., president of Spelman College. “We’re extremely proud to join forces with the Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation in its effort to increase equity and access in the fashion industry.”