A$AP Rocky, Roc Nation School of Music, Sports & Entertainment at Long Island University (LIU) — A$AP Rocky Announces Roc Nation School Scholarship

by Selena Hill

October 7, 2026

A$AP Rocky Launches Full-Tuition Scholarship At Roc Nation School

A$AP Rocky is giving one young leader a full-tuition path to the Roc Nation School at LIU.

A$AP Rocky is backing the next generation of entertainment talent.

The artist, entrepreneur, actor, and fashion icon announced a four-year, full-tuition scholarship for one first-time freshman attending the Roc Nation School of Music, Sports & Entertainment at Long Island University (LIU). The scholarship is designed to give a student more than a college education. According to a press release shared with BLACK ENTERPRISE, the recipient will study at the Roc Nation School while gaining access to an environment that connects classroom learning with real-world opportunities across the entertainment industry.

“I’m a big believer in creating your own lane and giving people the opportunity to do the same,” A$AP Rocky said in a statement. “There are so many talented young people with ideas, ambition and something important to say. This scholarship is about helping one of them turn that vision into something real.”

For aspiring entrepreneurs and creatives looking to build careers in music, sports, entertainment, and related industries, the scholarship offers a potential route into an institution built around those fields. Applications are currently open and close Dec. 15, 2026. Eligible applicants must be first-time freshmen seeking enrollment at the Roc Nation School for Fall 2027. Application details are available through LIU’s application portal.

The scholarship adds to a broader effort by artists and entertainment leaders to support students at the Roc Nation School.

Other artists with established partnerships include DJ Khaled, Megan Thee Stallion, NBA All-Star LaMelo Ball, and Grammy Award-winning engineer and producer Young Guru, who have also established scholarships for students at the school. Young Guru additionally serves as director of the Music Technology, Entrepreneurship & Production program.

Founded by hip-hop mogul Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter, the Roc Nation School opened at LIU Brooklyn campus in Fall 2021. The school offers programs designed to prepare students for careers in entrepreneurship, music, sports business, management, performance, and other areas taught by university faculty, industry leaders, and guest lecturers.

The school also provides Roc Nation Hope Scholarships to 25% of enrolled students, allowing recipients to graduate with four-year, full-tuition support; these scholarships go to academically competitive, New York-based first-time freshmen with the highest financial need.

For students hoping to turn creative ambition into a career, Rocky’s scholarship adds another opportunity to make that lane a little more accessible.

film festival, Jamaica, master classes, The Negril Universal Film Festival (NUFF), Jamaica Film and Television Association (JAFTA) — Photo by MCK: https://www.pexels.com/photo/sea-dawn-sunset-beach-14667382/

by Ida Harris

October 7, 2026

Cinema Meets Paradise: The Negril Universal Film Festival Brings ‘NUFF’ Screen Magic To Jamaica’s 7 Mile Beach

The annual gathering addresses a pivotal moment for regional entertainment.

The Negril Universal Film Festival (NUFF) returns to the iconic Seven Mile Beach from Oct. 8–11, 2026. The four-day event, hosted at the Skylark Negril Beach Resort, will transform Westmoreland’s world-famous shore into an open-air cinematic experience, uniting international audiences, local creators, and industry luminaries to celebrate the trajectory of Caribbean and global visual storytelling.

The annual gathering addresses a pivotal moment for regional entertainment: bridging creative vision with commercial viability. Organized by the Jamaica Film and Television Association (JAFTA) alongside international partners, NUFF showcases 34 films from 13 countries and offers targeted master classes on emerging media, capital acquisition, and distribution networks.

Negril Universal Film Festival Will Merge Culture and Industry on Seven Mile Beach

With Jamaica’s recent introduction of a dedicated national film fund, the Negril Universal Film Festival reinforces Seven Mile Beach not merely as a resort destination, but as a catalyst for Jamaican cinema and international film festival screenings. By positioning projection screens against the tide of Seven Mile Beach, NUFF is bringing together artistic consumption with island culture. Attendees will engage with programming under the stars while accessing specialized educational panels during the day.

“Picture this: You’re on the Seven Mile Beach in Negril, and there’s a huge screen on the beach… You’re sipping your cocktails, and you’re watching cinema—regional and Jamaican cinema,” Nadean Rawlins, Negril Universal Film Festival (NUFF) Board Member and President of JAFTA, told Smile Jamaica TV. “You take that cocktail, you go up to the yoga deck, and you hear about vertical filmmaking, or you hear about how a director produces or directs his film. That is the Negril Universal Film Festival. It’s an amalgamation of cinema, industry, music… coming together and celebrating film.”

The 2026 program opens on Oct. 8 with a retrospective presentation of Stephanie Black’s Life and Debt, marking the 25th anniversary of the film that explores economic station. Subsequent nights highlight a tribute to musical icon Jimmy Cliff, Storm Saulter’s Possession, and the Jamaican premiere of Reggae Girlz, a film co-directed by Trish Dalton and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Caribbean Journal reported. The festival concludes Oct. 11 with the maternal health documentary Listen to Me, followed by a public policy discourse featuring Jamaican Health Minister Christopher Tufto.

Nadean Rawlins, Negril Universal Film Festival (NUFF) Board Member and President of JAFTA, joined Hyperlens Studios Co-founders Richard Lawson and Denee Busby-Howard to discuss the rise of vertical filmmaking, what filmmakers and audiences can expect from this year’s festival. pic.twitter.com/T2CdFNo97K
— Smile Jamaica (@Smilejamtvj) October 5, 2026

Industry Master Classes Will Be Available for Independent Filmmakers in the Caribbean

As Caribbean media ecosystems evolve beyond traditional models, independent filmmakers face unique hurdles in capitalizing production and monetizing intellectual property. NUFF’s daytime curriculum directly addresses these structural gaps through master classes led by global experts who will cover fiscal execution.

“My role in the master class is to tell [attendees] how to make money as an independent filmmaker,” said Denee Busby-Howard, cofounder of Hyperlens Studio. “And let them know that there’s available tools and resources that they can put in action right now.

Busby continued: “I’m talking about tax credits from their government. I’m talking about resources from investors and private equity. I’m talking about real resources and tools that can help them make those films and distribute those films.”

Veteran director Richard Lawson will deliver a class on short-form filming, pointing to vertical video formats as high-growth avenues for contemporary creators.

“So this is a new market that’s available for creators who otherwise would not get a chance to show us their wares, Lawson said.” “And we’re going to give them the way to think about it, the way to do it, how to direct it, how to write it, how to produce it.”

Beyoncé, flowers, fan, Tyler Fabregas — (Photo: Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Parkwood)

by Selena Hill

October 7, 2026

Beyoncé’s BeyGOOD Foundation Awards $50K Grant To Nonprofit Building Tomorrow’s Changemakers

The grant will help In a Perfect World expand youth leadership and education programs.

BeyGOOD Foundation is putting dollars behind the next generation of leaders. The organization, which was founded by Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, awarded a $50,000 grant to In a Perfect World, a nonprofit focused on youth education, creativity, social consciousness, and leadership. The grant arrives as community organizations continue working to expand educational and enrichment opportunities for young people.

Founded and led by Manuela Testolini, In a Perfect World works with young people through programs designed to develop leadership skills and encourage civic engagement. Its initiatives include Youth Ambassadors and REACH, which supports schools and educational resources. According to the nonprofit, its work has supported 35 school projects across eight countries, more than 500 high-poverty classrooms and 20,000 hours of youth-led service. The organization says its programs have reached 50,000 lives globally.

“On behalf of Mrs. Beyoncé Knowles-Carter and Ms. Tina Knowles, we are just grateful for you to be in this ecosystem now because, again, we see the good work you’re doing, and we know that you will continue to do it without a doubt,” said Allana J. Barefield, BeyGOOD’s digital editorial content manager, in a video shared on Instagram.

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For Testolini, the partnership represents an opportunity to take the organization’s youth programming to more communities.

“One of the things I’m most proud of is taking young leaders from the United States to Central America to build schools for indigenous communities there, to build with them,” Testolini said. She added, “They’re young leaders here, but how do they take what they’re doing across borders? How do they help other young people find their voice and have their place in the world?”

The $50,000 grant is expected to help In a Perfect World expand its programming to more young people. “This very generous grant is going to allow us to expand programming to hundreds more kids who need our support,” Testolini said. “Between all of the cuts to education, cuts to after-school programming, creative programming, we are so needed right now, and this could not come at a better time.”

The investment also underscores BeyGOOD’s focus on partnerships with organizations working directly in communities.

Since its launch in 2013, BeyGOOD has identified education, entrepreneurship, and community response as three core pillars of its mission. The foundation says its broader goal is to advance economic equity and help people access opportunities to create and thrive. The foundation says its community-response efforts include supporting grassroots organizations and investing in long-term resilience alongside community leaders.

Amazon, District of Columbia, settlement — Amazon is implementing a rigorous RTO vetting process for disabled employees requesting reasonable accommodation.

by Selena Hill

October 6, 2026

Amazon To Pay $8.25 Million After Lawsuit Over Prime Deliveries in Black D.C. Neighborhoods

The settlement will provide refunds to about 69,000 customers in Wards 7 and 8.

Amazon will pay $8.25 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the District of Columbia over delivery practices affecting customers in two majority-Black neighborhoods.

The settlement calls for $7.25 million in refunds to roughly 69,000 D.C. customers and a $1 million penalty paid to the District, according to D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb’s office. Amazon will also change its business practices under the agreement.

The dispute centered on ZIP codes 20019 and 20020, which cover portions of Wards 7 and 8 east of the Anacostia River. The lawsuit alleged Amazon excluded those ZIP codes from its in-house delivery network beginning in 2022 while continuing to charge residents the standard Prime membership price.

Customers in the affected ZIP codes had placed approximately 4.5 million Amazon orders since 2020, reports AfroTech. Prime membership currently costs $14.99 per month or $139 annually. The District alleged customers were not adequately informed that Amazon had shifted deliveries in the area to third-party carriers, including UPS and the U.S. Postal Service, contributing to longer delivery times.

Amazon has denied that the changes were discriminatory or deceptive and attributed the operational shift to safety concerns involving delivery drivers.

“There have been specific and targeted acts against drivers delivering Amazon packages,” Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said in a statement explaining that the company made changes to “put the safety of delivery drivers first.” She added, “The safety of our customers and the drivers delivering to them has always guided our operational decisions — full stop,” reports AfroTech. She added that drivers faced “specific, documented safety threats” in the affected ZIP codes and said Amazon adjusted operations to protect them while continuing deliveries through other carriers. “However, claims that our practices, at any point, were deceptive are false,” Nantel said.

Amazon also said the settlement does not constitute an admission of wrongdoing. The company said conditions have improved and that packages in the affected communities are again being delivered through Amazon’s Delivery Service Partners and Amazon Flex delivery partners. Meanwhile, for affected Prime customers, the agreement puts millions of dollars back in consumers’ hands while requiring Amazon to alter practices tied to its delivery operations.

Paramount, Skydance, George Cheeks, Warner Bros. Discovery — Photo by Wally Gobetz/flickr

by Sidnee Michelle

October 6, 2026

George Cheeks To Oversee Massive TV Empire Under Skydance

Cheeks will also oversee more than 50 cable networks in the U.S. and internationally.

George Cheeks is set to oversee one of the entertainment industry’s largest television portfolios as he takes on an expanded leadership role at Paramount Skydance following its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Cheeks will serve as co-chair and chief content officer of Skydance TV, according to a leadership structure announced Oct. 5 by Paramount Skydance Chairman and CEO David Ellison and incoming co-CEO Ynon Kreiz. The appointment will put Cheeks at the helm of a sprawling television operation combining major assets from Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery.

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His portfolio will include Warner Bros. Television Studios, CBS Studios, and Paramount Television Studios, along with the CBS Television Network, 27 local television stations, and Skydance’s global sports operations. Cheeks will also oversee more than 50 cable networks in the U.S. and internationally, including BET, MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, TNT, TBS, Discovery, HGTV, and Food Network.

The expanded role marks another major step in Cheeks’ career. He joined Paramount in 2020 as president and CEO of CBS and later served as co-CEO of Paramount Global before becoming chair of TV Media at Paramount.

During his tenure, Cheeks helped steer CBS as its programming expanded across broadcast and streaming platforms. Before joining CBS, he held several senior leadership positions at NBCUniversal, including co-chairman of NBC Entertainment and vice chairman of NBCUniversal Content Studios.

Cheeks will join an executive team overseeing an extensive collection of television and streaming assets. Casey Bloys is slated to serve as co-chair and chief content officer of Skydance’s direct-to-consumer business, overseeing original programming for HBO Max and Paramount+. JB Perrette will serve as co-chair and chief business officer across Skydance TV and its direct-to-consumer operation.

The appointments are contingent on Paramount completing its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The transaction is expected to close Oct. 6, after which the combined company is expected to operate under the Skydance name.

by Black Enterprise

October 6, 2026

‘Black Capital’ London Debut Connects Black Enterprises Directly With Investors

The high-profile summit aims to transform under-capitalized markets.

On Oct. 20, 2026, the United Kingdom’s financial and creative landscapes will converge at Elder Yard, Norton Folgate, for the inaugural launch of Black Capital. Founded by John Muleba, former creative strategist at Burberry, Alexander McQueen, and Louis Vuitton, the landmark platform bridges a persistent market disconnect by bringing founders, creative talent, investors, financial institutions, and government representatives into a single room. Strategically aligned with major autumn fixtures like Frieze London and the FT Africa Summit, the high-profile summit aims to transform under-capitalized markets into thriving engines of economic growth.

According to a press release provided to BLACK ENTERPRISE, the initiative addresses an urgent funding gap. While Black-led growth enterprises and the creative economy contribute billions annually to the UK economy, historical allocation remains disproportionately low. Black founders have traditionally secured less than 1% of UK venture capital. By showcasing scalable businesses, valuable intellectual property, and influential consumer brands, Black Capital establishes a direct, curated pipeline for growth enterprises seeking institutional backing.

“There was always a feeling that Black talent had to wait its turn and that opportunities for growth were scarce,” Muleba, founder of Black Capital, said. “For too long, the question has been who gets chosen to receive capital. I designed the concept of Black Capital to ask a different question: What happens if we bring the capital to us? We already have the ability and ambition to build companies of scale. Access was the only thing standing in the way.”

Why are investors targeting Black growth enterprises and the creative economy?

The economic rationale for participation is compelling. According to data from the British Business Bank, CREME, and NatWest, ethnic-minority-led businesses already contribute an estimated 25 billion pounds annually to the UK economy, with an untapped potential of 100 billion pounds. Furthermore, 71% of these enterprises intend to scale significantly, and 52% are actively willing to utilize external finance.

Simultaneously, the broader UK creative industries contribute 124 billion pounds in Gross Value Added (GVA) and support 2.4 million jobs. Although 74% of surveyed creator-economy organizations report robust sales growth, 48% cite access to finance as a primary barrier to expansion, with investment-ready creative firms requiring an average of 1.3 million pounds in funding.

“I believe in what Black Capital is building,” Karen Blackett CBE, founding trustee of The Black Equity Organisation said via a press release. “Connecting Black creative talent and Black growth enterprises directly with investors is how we move from representation to real ownership, and that’s transformative.”

Industry leaders emphasize that this challenge represents an underdeveloped asset class rather than a mere representation gap. Blackett notes that connecting Black growth enterprises directly with investors moves the ecosystem from superficial representation to genuine, transformative ownership.

Designed as an evidence-led program featuring keynote interviews—such as “Building Black Behemoths”—alongside specialized panels on media, fashion, art, and a dedicated focus on closing the funding gap for Black women, Black Capital moves past cyclical dialogue. By offering structured access to funding, the platform provides institutional investors with differentiated deal flow while granting Black founders the face-to-face capital connections necessary to scale sustainable operations.

Paramount Pictures, Channing Dungey, Skydance — Photo credit: Coolcaesar, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

by Selena Hill

October 6, 2026

Channing Dungey Is Set To Take the Reins Of MTV, BET, Nickelodeon, And More In Skydance Shake-Up

The veteran Black TV executive is poised to oversee an expanded cable portfolio as Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery combine under Skydance.

Channing Dungey is about to have an even bigger seat at the table.

The veteran television executive is poised to oversee Paramount’s cable networks, including MTV, BET, Nickelodeon, and Comedy Central, as Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery prepare to combine under the Skydance banner. The deal is scheduled to close Oct. 6.

Dungey, chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Television Group and U.S. Networks, would add Paramount’s cable portfolio to the collection of brands she already oversees at Warner Bros. Discovery. According to Deadline, the Paramount group includes the “core four” of MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, and BET, along with VH1, Paramount Network, TV Land, CMT, Pop TV, and Logo TV. Her existing Warner Bros. Discovery portfolio includes TBS, TNT, truTV, Turner Classic Movies, HGTV, Food Network, Discovery Channel, TLC, OWN, Cartoon Network, and Adult Swim.

The expanded role puts Dungey at the center of a major corporate restructuring in Hollywood, with George Cheeks, Paramount’s chair of TV media, positioned above her. Cheeks is expected to oversee the merged company’s television studios and linear networks, including CBS, while Dungey handles the day-to-day operation of the cable brands.

The move also represents another significant chapter in Dungey’s extraordinary career. She became the first Black executive to lead a major U.S. broadcast network’s entertainment division when she was named president of ABC Entertainment in 2016. She later joined Netflix before taking over Warner Bros. Television in 2021.

Her current studio operation has considerable reach. Variety reports that Warner Bros. Television produces more than 80 original series across more than 20 platforms, with credits including Abbott Elementary, Ted Lasso, Shrinking, The Voice and The Pitt. The division has secured 13 new series orders and 13 renewals this year, while The Pitt earned six Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Drama Series.

The broader merger is creating one of Hollywood’s largest entertainment companies, bringing together brands spanning Warner Bros., Paramount, HBO, CBS, CNN, MTV, BET, Nickelodeon, and more. The new company will be called Skydance, the name of David Ellison’s original production company.

Fannie Lou Hamer, mobile tour, digital upgrade — Photo credit: public domain

by Ida Harris

October 6, 2026

Fannie Lou Hamer Was ‘Sick And Tired’ Of Racism, And Sick And Dying Of Breast Cancer

Hamer was born on Oct. 6, 1917 and died March 14, 1977 at age 59

On Oct. 6, 1917, Fannie Lou Hamer was born in Montgomery County, Mississippi. She died March 14, 1977, at age 59, after aggressively fighting breast cancer. Starkly different from 2025, where advanced technology is used to successfully treat breast cancer and the current five-year survival rate for breast cancer is 91%, according to the American Cancer Society, survival in the 1970s was bleak.

The rate of survival was an abysmal 55% to 68% for women diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer and a mere 16% to 19% for advanced metastatic cancer. Hamer, a freedom fighter for Black rights, fought fiercely against white supremacy and failing health.

Hamer is heralded as one of the famed Mississippi activists coming out of Mississippi and the civil rights movement. The civil rights leader had a down-home, grassroots approach to fighting for equality in the Deep South and was very vocal about voting rights for African Americans. A woman of little means but great determination, Hamer mobilized hundreds of Black Mississippians to register to vote at a time when Jim Crow had the region in a chokehold. Hamer was harassed, threatened, jailed, and severely assaulted in her attempt to fight racism. She was even the target of an assassination attempt on Sept. 10, 1962, after racists fired 16 shots into a room where she slept. In 1963, she was arrested and brutally beaten with batons by two Black prisoners at the behest of racist police officers.

Even then, Hamer’s civil rights activism and leadership were not deterred. She went on to serve in several roles for civil rights and political organizations, including the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the National Women’s Political Caucus, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), and the Freedom Democratic Party. Hamer appeared in Harlem with the honorable El-Hajj Malik El-Habazz (Malcolm X) on Dec. 20, 1964, where she presented her notable speech “Sick and Tired of Being Sick Tired,” where she gave a raw account of the racism, voter suppression, and police brutality she endured. Hamer stated:

“Some of the things I’ve got to say today may be a little sickening. People have said year after year, “Those people in Mississippi can’t think.” But after we would work ten and eleven hours a day for three lousy dollars and couldn’t sleep we couldn’t do anything else but think. And we have been thinking a long time. And we are tired of what’s going on. And we want to see now, what this here will turn out for the 4th of January. We want to see is democracy real?”

Hamer returned to Mississippi after that powerful speech and continued to fight for civil rights. In 1968, she purchased over 600 acres of land in Ruleville to start the “Pig Bank,” a community farm and affordable housing initiative for low-income families. Hamer even helped start a Head Start program and pressed on with activism through the mid-to late 1970s until her health became grave.

Hamer was not just sick and tired of being sick and tired—she was literally sick and dying. She was diagnosed with late-stage breast cancer in 1976, which halted her activism. She died of breast cancer complications shortly thereafter.

by Selena Hill

October 6, 2026

2 Alabama Teens Mow 50 Lawns For Free And Learn A Lesson In Entrepreneurship

Ja’Torrian Taylor and Tevin Rice completed a community-service challenge and earned the equipment to grow their lawn-care business.

Two Alabama teens are proving that entrepreneurship can start with a lawn mower and a commitment to serve the community.

According to Upworthy, Ja’Torrian Taylor and Tevin Rice, the young founders of TJ & JT Mowing Service in Gadsden, Alabama, completed the 50 Yard Challenge created by Rodney Smith Jr., the founder of Raising Men & Women Lawn Care Service, also known as the “Lawnmower Man.” The challenge asks young people to mow 50 lawns for free for elderly residents, veterans, and people who cannot maintain their yards.

Their work caught Smith’s attention after he learned the boys were sharing an older mower donated by a neighbor. He traveled to Gadsden and gave Taylor and Rice a mower, blower, and trimmer to help them take their business to the next level.

“I’m heading down to Gadsden right now. These are good, hard-working kids that deserve some gratitude,” Smith told KMBC.

Smith framed the equipment as more than a donation. “Giving these boys lawn equipment is teaching them discipline,” he said. “If they tell someone they are going to mow a lawn, they need to mow the lawn.”

He also encouraged the teens to view the milestone as a starting point, saying, “Remember, this is not the end; it’s just the beginning.”

The opportunity reflects the broader mission of Smith’s nonprofit, which combines community service with youth development. Raising Men & Women Lawn Care Service provides free lawn care for elderly people, people with disabilities, single parents, and veterans while encouraging young participants to build responsibility, leadership, and work skills.

The 50 Yard Challenge uses a milestone system to keep participants moving toward the goal. Young people receive a white shirt when they begin, followed by orange, green, blue, red, and black shirts as they complete 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 lawns.

By mid-2026, more than 6,000 preteens and teens had signed up for the challenge, according to Upworthy. If participants complete all 50 lawns, the collective effort could amount to more than 300,000 free lawn cuts.

For Taylor and Rice, the payoff goes beyond completing a service challenge. The donated equipment gives their fledgling business the tools to serve paying customers while building on the work ethic they developed through giving back.

“This could be the beginning of a successful lawn service,” said Smith.

And just like that, a few yards at a time, two kids got a business lesson that money can’t buy.