Black Dollar Index

This week in Black Culture Equity: 💰 David Steward is now the wealthiest Black person in America 📗 Mellody Hobson Debuts New Children's Book About Money ☕️ Kerry Washington invests in Spill App 👩🏾🎤 T.I. & Tiny win $71M lawsuit over OMG Girlz Likeness 👕 LVMH sells Virgil Abloh's Off-White 👖 ICYMI: Beyoncé Levi's Partnership Read and subscribe to the newsletter here:

I am honored to be named once again as one of Fortune's 2024 Most Powerful Women, joining a talented group of leaders who are making significant strides across various industries. From growing up learning the values of hard work from my parents, to leading a Fortune 100 company, my intention with every step is to lift others up. This recognition isn’t just mine, it belongs to the incredible women I’ve had the privilege to work with throughout my career and the next generation of leaders coming up. It underscores the importance of continuing to drive change, particularly for women and communities of color who face a retirement gap. At TIAA, our mission is to address these disparities and ensure a more secure financial future for all Americans. https://lnkd.in/dEFn_P8T #FortuneMPW

I know the Beyhive gonna come for me, but I just wanna talk. As a culture-driven marketer, this Levi Strauss & Co. x Beyoncé partnership is a DREAM. As a consumer, I just want us to interrogate a bit more so we can be as informed as possible. Informed > Influenced.

From finance to sneakers, business to gaming, read the latest Black culture and equity stories on: 🏦 TIAA’s Thasunda Brown Duckett and Kourtney Gibson leading the charge in finance. 👟 Jaylen Brown’s new sneaker brand, 741. 🕹️ Dark & Lovely’s award-winning collaboration with Ebonix and The Sims for better Black representation in gaming. 🚘 Stellantis’ commitment to supplier diversity. 🆘12-year-old CEO Zoe Oli facing challenges after Wells Fargo closes her company’s accounts.

This Week in Black Culture Equity: ⚽️ Magic Johnson Joins Washington Spirit as Investor 💵 Shaquille O'Neal Teams Up with Klarna 🔬 PepsiCo & 2 Chainz Boost HBCU STEM Programs 🧥 Nordstrom x Harlem's Fashion Row (HFR) Release Capsule Collections 🚚 UPS Driver Awarded $237M for Racial Discrimination Subscribe for more updates!

What’s happening with Fearless Fund and DEI in general can be complex. We asked ChatGPT to help analyze what some of the outcomes from Fearless Fund’s latest announcement mean… 🟢 Good News 🍋🟩 Neutral News (lime green) 🔴 Bad News Overall, there’s more good and neutral news than bad, which is...GOOD! What are your thoughts?

The latest in Culture Equity: 👕 James Jeter named Ralph Lauren’s first Black Creative Director. 🎨 Earn Your Leisure x UnitedMasters $50K Pitch Competition open for creative entrepreneurs. 👩🏾💼 Goldman Sachs’ One Million Black Women welcomes largest cohort. 📱North End Teleservices LLC named in U.S. Chamber’s Top 100. 💵 Fearless Fund shifts to Debt Fund loan program. Check it out and let us know your thoughts.

I had thoughts and questions about the latest Fearless Fund announcement.

SOUND THE ALARM 🚨 and SHARE! To GOD Be The Glory! It’s been over a year of being in a federal court case and now it’s finally dismissed! A few things that need to be clarified: 1. This is a WIN and positive outcome for the Fearless Fund and our community. 2. The US federal court of appeals stopped the Fearless Strivers grant program for Black women on June 3rd ruling suggesting we were in violation of the law. This program has not been operating since it entered the appeals process back in September 2023 and it was at its conclusion of the grant program when the court case began August 2023, it was designed to award 6 people in one year and it was at its end when the case began. 3. We strategically avoided a Supreme Court ruling (the deadline to appeal our appeal has passed) because a ruling not in our favor at the Supreme Court would’ve ended minority based funding across the country and that would not be wise, we have already seen the Supreme Court ruling for the colleges end affirmative action for all colleges in schools and admissions. 4. Elections have consequences, we have had 3 federal rulings in this process where 4 Trump appointed judges ruled against us, 2 Clinton and 1 Obama appointed judges ruled for us. The writing is on the wall of who wants this work to continue and who does not. Be sure to vote November 5th! 5. This work is important because the statistics for the underfunded are overwhelming and this is why we have invested millions of dollars and awarded grants to over 500. 6. Any false narrative floating that anyone is claiming we are not moving forward at the Fearless Fund is not true, what is true is that we are proud to announce our new debt fund (our loan program is live on our website) for under resourced entrepreneurs- male and female! 7. The one grant program the US appeals courts stopped was funding 6 entrepreneurs, this new program will touch over 3000 entrepreneurs, that sounds like a WIN to me. WE ARE STILL FUNDING WE ARE STILL FEARLESS! #FEARLESSFREEDOM

  Our cosmic LEGO collaboration with Pharrell Williams has landed! Inspired by Pharrell’s passion for space together with the LEGO Group we have embarked on a mission to inspire creativity and curiosity through LEGO play. ‘Over the Moon’ with Pharrell officially launches September 20th but you can pre order now. Working on this never-been-done before project has been one for the books and I could not be prouder of the team George Gilliatt, Fiorella Groves, Kevin Kafesu, Robert Zillen, Katy Woodrow Hill, Cecelia Adjei and many more. The collaboration will extend to Pharrell’s foundation, YELLOW, aiming to bring more creative play to kids worldwide through a new LEGO Build the Change challenge. Stay tuned for take off.