Cheri Pruitt

Black-led Fintech Meets An Untapped Need Among Consumer and Small Business Markets

KEY INSIGHTS Adoption of fintech among Black Americans has reached 82 percent. Twenty-two percent of Black Americans reported that before fintech became widely available, they rarely kept track of their financial information. A host of new fintech…

Twitter Hashtag Explores Open Conversations And Action For Black People In Tech

KEY INSIGHTS Forty-five percent of Black female workers face harassment in remote work.People of color are voicing their issues of employment and compensation on Twitter. Companies like Black Girls Codes are working to have one million Black girls…

Grant Program Leads Charge To Broadband Access For Rural Black Americans

KEY INSIGHTS Thirty-eight percent of African Americans report they lack home internet access, compared to 23 percent of white Americans.The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) offers up to $1.15 billion in grant and loan broadband…

Public And Private Industry Partner In The Fight Against Voter Suppression Laws

KEY INSIGHTS New pro-voter legislation takes down the previous suppressive laws Business leaders protest suppressive voting laws Studies show that local governments can significantly improve small businesses Between Presidential elections, increased…

Increased Diversity Among Policymakers Could Pave The Way For A More Competitive Tech Strategy For The U.S.

KEY INSIGHTS A report detailing government-led initiatives to strengthen the U.S.’ technology edge on global competitors doesn’t include a plan for increased diversity. People of color are 40 percent of the U.S. population but hold only 11 percent of…

Measuring Black Lives Matter’s Impact On U.S. Policy And The Rise Of Pro-Black Organizations To Effect Change

KEY INSIGHTS Organizations continue to partner with Black Lives Matter to invoke local and national change. Politicians answer quickly with policy reforms, but not all suggestions for reform have been implemented. 75 percent of Americans agree that…

U.S. Companies Align Political Giving With Social Issues And Voter Rights Legislation

KEY INSIGHTS Companies like Target and Amazon have made statements opposing new voter suppression laws and suspended funding to political organizations. Amazon cut $220,000 in political giving to politicians who objected the results of last year’s…

U.S. National Infrastructure Funding Could Ease Decades Of Neglect In Majority Black Regions

KEY INSIGHTS Southern states account for 35 percent of all U.S. zip codes but represent 44 percent of all at-risk zip codes.For decades, legislators have blocked laws that would bring economic prosperity for Black Americans. The $1.2 trillion…

Debt Collectors Just Got Further Jurisdiction For Contacting Debtors, Which May Have Greater Impact On Black Americans, But There Are Ways To Combat The New Mandates

KEY INSIGHTS The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau approved new rules that allow debt collection to contact debtors via social media platforms.In the U.S., 39 percent of people of color have debt compared to 24 percent of white Americans.The…

Advocates Call For Racial Equity Audits To Dismantle Decades of Systematic Racism In U.S. Organizations

KEY INSIGHTS Civil rights experts are calling for racial equity audits of government and financial institutions in the U.S. Several Wall Street banks have show BLM support but voted against transparency in the racial equity of their organizations.…

AI Can Bring More Equity To The Workplace And Consumer Markets By Implementing These Conditions

KEY INSIGHTS There are two million AI-related job postings in the United States. Black Americans have fewer AI-related job opportunities. Consumers could have more authority over AI-driven personal purchase algorithms in the near future. Brookings…

Certificate Program Fosters VC Investing Training For Aspiring Black Investors

KEY INSIGHTS In the first half of 2021, $1.8 Billion was invested in Black-led startups The number of Black investors could double by 2024 with help from CrowdBases’s Black Venture Capital organization Rodney Sampson and other program speakers have…

New App Inpathy Welcomes Everyone To Be Ok With Not Being Ok

KEY INSIGHTS The Black community is 20 percent more likely to have serious mental health issues and least likely to see mental health services A new Black-led social platform is launching with a hope of being a place for Black users to air their true…

Government Agencies Have Big Plans For Tech Legislation In 2022

KEY INSIGHTS Fifty-six percent of Americans believe there should be more tech regulation.Government agencies are actively working with the Biden administration to make tech-related pandemic relief policies.Agencies are preparing for the fiscal…

New Consumer Senate Bill Could Bring More Harm Than Good To Black-Owned Ecommerce Businesses

KEY INSIGHTS The new American Innovation and Choice Online Act promises better equity competition among Big Tech companies and smaller businesses.Almost half (45 percent) of consumers in the United States agree that companies should pledge to support…

The White House Asks Communities To Lend A Hand In Evaluating The Equitable Concerns Of Biometric Technologies

KEY INSIGHTS Facial analysis algorithms misclassified Black women almost 35 percent of the time.Seventeen of the highest performing verification algorithms had similar levels of accuracy at identifying Black women and white men.The White House Office…

Broadband Experts Urge Black State Legislators To Disperse Incoming Funds Equally

KEY INSIGHTS The federal government is providing $42.4 billion toward state broadband grants.30 states have a centralized office for broadband affairs.In 2022, state legislators will consider allocation for broadband from Build Back Better funding. ‍…

Meta’s Free Speech Guidelines Amplify White Americans And Suppress Black Americans

KEY INSIGHTS Facebook has undisclosed documents that outline how the platform protects the free speech for white Americans more than Black Americans.Several Black users are censored or blocked for combating racism. Companies’ regulations are in place…

Takeaways From The 2021 National Black Caucus Of State Legislators Conference

KEY INSIGHTS The 2021 National Black Caucus of State legislators (NBCSL) held interactive legislation sessions on topics ranging from disparities in healthcare to modeling legislative resolutions.Black state legislators are working on community…

Government And Digital Banking Agencies Create Financial Education Programs To Raise Wealth Among Black Americans

KEY INSIGHTS Thirty-five percent of Americans answered correctly on financial questions used in interest rates and investment diversification, the average number of correct answers was 1.8 out of 3. Black-led banks like Greenwood are increasingly…