What's On Today - Thursday

Outdoor Afro, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to reconnecting Black communities with nature, is making waves with its mission to address a long-standing disparity in swim education. The organization has been spreading the word about their Making Waves program, which provides swimming scholarships—or “swimmerships”—to Black children, teens, and adults across the country, according to a report shared by journalist Phillip Lewis on June 24.

The initiative aims to tackle a troubling and persistent issue: Black Americans are significantly more likely to drown than their white counterparts due to their inability to swim.… Read more

In a significant move toward advancing inclusivity in technology, Howard University and Google Research have unveiled a new dataset designed to enhance how automatic speech recognition (ASR) systems serve Black users. The collaboration, part of Project Elevate Black Voices, involved researchers traveling nationwide to document the unique dialects, accents, and speech patterns commonly found in Black communities, features often misinterpreted or ignored by current AI systems.

The project spotlights African American English (AAE)—also known as African American Vernacular English, Black English, Ebonics, or simply “Black talk”—a culturally rich and historically rooted linguistic form.… Read more

For decades, Nike was the premier name in sneakers and sportswear. Through the Jordan brand, the company had become synonymous with Black cool. In recent years, though, the allure of the brand has cooled with sales steadily declining. A recent earnings report revealed that while Nike’s sales decline appears to be reversing, the company expects to take a $1 billion hit due to the Trump administration’s ongoing tariffs.

According to CNBC, the company announced the news during an earnings call with investors on Thursday.… Read more

NBA star and activist Kyrie Irving has donated $50,000 to a fundraiser launched to support the creation of a youth center honoring the legacy of Tamir Rice.

Nearly a decade after 12-year-old Tamir Rice was killed by Cleveland police, his name continues to echo, not as a headline but rather a call to action. This week, NBA star point guard Kyrie Irving answered that call with a powerful donation of $50,000 to the Tamir Rice Foundation, bringing a grassroots fundraiser to over $85,000, a huge step closer to its $110,000 goal.… Read more