Gas Prices Soar Nationwide As Iran War Disrupts Global Oil Supply
U.S. gas prices have risen to to a national average of $3.45 a gallon.
If you have noticed hikes at the gas pumps, currently geopolitical conflict is to blame.
Gas prices have seen a significant jump in the past week, jumping to a national average of $3.45 as of March 8, according to AAA. The increase stems from the recent eruption of conflict in the Middle East, particularly between Iran and Israel.
With travel and trade disrupted across the critical region, oil supply shortages have also skyrocketed crude oil prices to $90 a barrel. However, the news should not shock many, as geopolitical conflict can often disrupt the price.
“The last time the national average made a similar weekly jump was back in March of 2022 during the start of the Russia/Ukraine conflict,” according to AAA.
While crude oil barrels remain on the rise, so do the tensions between Iran and Israel, with its tied ally, the U.S. Due to this, trade has also been strained, particularly through the Strait of Hormuz.
Located off the coast of Iran, the major shipping route will be closed off to all ships belonging to the U.S. and Israel. A spokesperson for Iran’s Revolutionary Guard confirmed the new restrictions to the The Wall Street Journal.
“We did not close the Strait of Hormuz and will not, but we will target ships belonging to the U.S. regime and the Zionist entity transiting the Strait of Hormuz,” shared the spokesman.
As for President Donald Trump, he remains unconcerned about gas affordability for Americans. He emphasized his belief that price will go down.
“I don’t have any concern about it,” he told Reuters. “They’ll drop very rapidly when this is over, and if they rise, they rise, but this is far more important than having gasoline prices go up a little bit.”
However, federal officials have launched a plan to resolve the gas price hike before affordability becomes an issue. Alongside a 30-day waiver on sanctions toward the sale of Russian oil to India, the president also intends to use Navy personnel to escort cargo ships through the Persian Gulf as necessary.
“President Trump and his entire energy team have had a strong game plan to keep the energy market stable well before Operation Epic Fury began, and they will continue to review all credible options and execute on them when appropriate,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told Time.
With no ceasefire on the horizon, Americans should expect to pay more at the gas pump for the foreseeable future.
Only 10 And Already In College: Whiz Kid Wraps First Course At San Bernardino Valley College
Honey Cooper is not your ordinary 10-year-old.
A 10-year-old gifted student is finishing her first art class at a local college in California.
Honey Cooper showed her above-average intellect at a young age. Although technically a fourth-grader, Honey has proven her collegiate prowess as she finishes a design class at San Bernardino Valley College.
In Art 120, the two-dimensional design course is usually meant for co-eds wanting to establish careers in art. While it could be considered a daunting class for the tween, her mother told the Los Angeles Times that Honey is more than up for the challenge.
“Even though they might be young, they still always need to be challenged. And this is a new way for them to be challenged,” said Mia Cooper.
However, Honey has more talents under her child-size belt. The GATE-identified student, a term used for academically gifted children in California’s school system, reads at a high-school level. She also loves other art disciplines, such as performing.
School officials began to notice Honey’s higher calling as her mother, a parliamentarian for the San Bernardino City Unified School District, often brought her to district meetings. An assistant superintendent in the district began to witness Honey’s intellectual capacity. From there, she and Honey’s mother began the process to get the 10-year-old to college.
Her participation in the class is a rare feat in itself. Honey was only able to attend by a special admit enrollment authorized under California law. With the regulation, Honey is allowed to attend the college-level course.
“Any student, regardless of age, can petition for admission as a special admit with parental permission and demonstrated academic readiness,” said Paul Bratulin, director of marketing and public relations at San Bernardino Valley College. “It is rare, but it does happen.
Despite her youth, her professor had no intentions of watering down the course material. However, Honey has become a welcome student in the class. As the course closes out, she is preparing to submit her final portfolio and end the monumental semester.
“I really like the college course,” said Honey. “We’re learning that lines can be anything and working on this with a family portrait collage project.”
However, her journey also represents the possibilities for students like her. T
“San Bernardino Valley College was founded 100 years ago on a simple but powerful belief: that higher education should be accessible to anyone who is ready to learn, regardless of background, age, or circumstance,” added San Bernardino Valley College President Gilbert Contreras. “Honey Cooper’s story is an inspiration to us all, and we are honored to play a role in her educational journey.
Barber-Scotia College Wants 144,000 Women To Donate $1.44 To Help HBCU Stay Open
The North Carolina institution was one of the first to serve Black women scholars.
Barber-Scotia College, an HBCU in Concord, North Carolina, is calling on thousands of women to donate a small amount toward its future.
According to HBCU Gameday, the school has launched a grassroots campaign with the 144K Collective to hold its doors open amid financial woes. Barber-Scotia is calling upon 144,000 women to gift $1.44 toward the HBCU to keep it afloat.
Founded in 1867, Barber-Scotia initially aimed to educate Black women scholars. As it now tries to maintain operations, it has called upon the very demographic they once served to help them carry on.
Its legacy as a Black women-serving institution is another reason why advocates are fighting for its preservation. Its establishment came at a time when academic opportunities for women, especially Black women, had limits.
The initiative, launched during Women’s History Month, capitalizes on the occasion to celebrate women’s empowerment and achievement. This small donation allows women to take part in a ground-breaking effort to sustain one of the nation’s storied institutions.
“There’s no better time to be a woman and to make an impact,” explained Kirbie Speights, secretary of the 144K Collective, to WCNC.
The school has emphasized a need for more than payout. It has called on its overarching community to volunteer to fix some on-campus structures as well. For those willing to dedicate more of their skills and time, the HBCU has ample opportunity to give back.
“If you want to take over handling the maintenance of the grass or the campus, I would receive that,” said Barber-Scotia President Chris V. Rey. “If you have access to individuals that can fix the roof—I need it all here in Barber-Scotia right now.”
The school also has plans to regain its accreditation, lost in 2004. With their decades-long mission to restore Barber-Scotia to its original vision, the North Carolina HBCU hopes this latest effort will breathe new life on its campus.
“We’ll submit an application to them,” Rey added about regaining accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). “They will send reviewers to the campus to make sure that we are an actual campus…and they will look at our finances to make sure that we are fiscally sound to operate as a college.”
For women looking to support this lofty cause, HBCU supporters can head over to the donation website to make their contribution.
Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis To Hit The Stage With ‘Nothing But Hits’ Vegas Residency
The producing duo will begin their 'Nothing But Hits' residency this April.
Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis are hitting the stage to perform their classic discography for the first time ever.
The R&B songwriting and producing duo have announced their “Nothing But Hits” Las Vegas residency, taking place at the Voltaire in the famed Vegas resort, The Venetian, The Minnesota Star Tribune reports.
Fans will be able to witness the minds behind classic hits like Janet Jackson’s “That’s the Way Love Goes,” “Nasty,” as well as the duo’s top ten hit for Boy II Men, “On Bended Knee.” The residency is scheduled for six performances on April 17–18, 22, and 24–26.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers expressed their gratitude for performing their famed catalog for their own audience, appearing on Live with Kelly and Mark to relay the exciting news.
“We’ve been fortunate to do so many incredible things in our careers,” Jimmy Jam said in a statement. “But we’ve never had the chance to perform our catalog live. Being able to share these songs—and the stories behind them—in a space like Voltaire is going to be special.”
The duo is known for creating record hits for A-list artists, including Usher, Mariah Carey, Toni Braxton, and Michael Jackson.
In their multi-decade career, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis have co-written 41 Top Ten hits on the U.S. Billboard charts. Notably, they worked as long-time creative partners with Janet Jackson, co-producing and co-writing her hit 1986 album, Control.
Now, the group will travel back in time to showcase all the songs that have resonated with R&B lovers throughout the generations. As for the residency’s name itself, the group hopes to live up to the title, promising attendees a fun-filled performance of truly “Nothing But Hits” from their award-winning discography.
“The show will feel like traveling through the soundtrack of your life,” Lewis added. “It’s not just the music — it’s the memories and moments connected to it.”
The duo also hinted to Good Morning America that some famous guests would be appearing at the Las Vegas shows, including Ruben Studdard and Shanice Wilson. Tickets are available on Voltaire’s website.
Bernard LaFayette, Civil Rights Strategist Who Helped Pave Way For The Voting Rights Act, Dies At 85
"He was one of the great teachers of nonviolence in our time," Martin Luther King III said of LaFayette.
Bernard LaFayette, a key strategist in the Civil Rights Movement who laid the groundwork for the historic Selma voting rights campaign that helped lead to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, has died at age 85.
LaFayette died March 5 of a heart attack, according to his son, Bernard LaFayette III. His decades-long career in activism, education, and nonviolence training left a lasting impact on America’s Civil Rights Movement.
With news of LaFayette’s death, Martin Luther King III, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s son, wrote on X: “I am saddened to learn of the passing of a dear friend and one of my father’s trusted colleagues, Bernard Lafayette Jr…He was one of the great teachers of nonviolence in our time, dedicating his life to bringing the practice of nonviolence to people at home and abroad. He helped train new generations in the philosophy of nonviolence alongside my mother at the King Center and through his work with communities and leaders across the world.”
I am saddened to learn of the passing of a dear friend and one of my father’s trusted colleagues, Bernard Lafayette Jr. My heart goes out to his wife and family.
He lived with a quiet courage and often worked behind the scenes. His efforts to help organize the Freedom Rides and… pic.twitter.com/g8VWDCJLkh
— Martin Luther King III (@OfficialMLK3) March 6, 2026
Although the images from “Bloody Sunday” in March 1965 when state troopers violently attacked peaceful voting rights marchers on Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge in Alabama shocked the nation and pushed Congress to act, LaFayette’s behind-the-scenes organizing work in Selma started years earlier.
In 1963, he was appointed director of the Alabama voter registration campaign for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). While many activists believed Selma was too dangerous to organize in, LaFayette insisted the march move forward anyway.
He and his former wife, Colia Liddell, helped Slema residents build a movement there through community organizing, training, reports The Guardian. There was constant danger.
On the same night civil rights leader Medgar Evers was assassinated in Mississippi in 1963, LaFayette survived an assassination attempt outside his Selma home. As he arrived home from a voter-registration meeting, he was ambushed and beaten by two men who had faked car trouble to lure him. Luckily, a neighbor arrived with a rifle to defend him. Still, LaFayette urged calm and asked is neighbor to not shoot his attackers, PBS reports.
Born in Tampa, Florida, he traced his mission to fight injustice to an incident from childhood. At age seven, he watched his grandmother fall while trying to board a segregated trolley after paying her fare at the front. The moment that stayed with him for life. “I felt like a sword cut me in half, and I vowed I would do something about this problem one day,” he wrote in his memoir, according to PBS.
He later attended the American Baptist Theological Seminary (now American Baptist College) in Nashville, where he roomed with future congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis. Together they led the student-led nonviolent protests that resulted in Nashville becoming the first major Southern city to desegregate its downtown lunch counters.
LaFayette also joined the Freedom Rides of 1961, a series of nonviolent, interracial bus trips through the American South organized by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) to challenge segregated interstate travel. During the campaign he was beaten in Montgomery, Alabama, and later arrested in Jackson, Mississippi, eventually serving time in the notorious Parchman prison along with hundreds of other activists.
After the successes of the Selma campaign and the passage of the Voting Rights Act, LaFayette continued organizing in Chicago and later worked closely with Martin Luther King Jr. as national coordinator of the Poor People’s Campaign in 1968.
LaFayette later expanded his work internationally, teaching principles of nonviolence in places including South Africa, Nigeria, and Latin America.
LaFayette is survived by his wife, Kate Bulls Lafayette, and his children, including Bernard Lafayette III and James Lafayette Sr.
Minding Our Own Business: How Women-Led Savings Clubs Built The Black Middle Class
Black women remain the unsung architects of the global Black middle class, turning collective drops into an ocean of opportunity that no bank could ever provide.
In honor of International Women’s Day, we recognize the undocumented venture capitalists of the African diaspora.
While traditional banking institutions historically shuttered their doors to immigrant communities, West Indian and African women were busy engineering their own financial infrastructure. Through informal savings clubs known as “Susu” (West Africa) or “Partner” (Caribbean), these women-led micro-economies provided the essential liquidity that transformed back-room dreams into the first wave of Black-owned brick-and-mortar establishments across the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States.
The “Susu”—derived from the Yoruba word “esusu”—operates as a Rotating Savings and Credit Association (ROSCA). The system is elegantly simple: a group of trusted individuals contributes a fixed amount of money into a central pool at regular intervals. Each month, one member receives the “hand,” or the total sum collected.
Unlike predatory lending in the West, the Susu is interest-free and built entirely on social capital. According to research from the University of Oxford (2021), these lifelines were not just “rainy day” funds; they were strategic financial instruments used to bypass systemic “redlining” and credit bias in the mid-20th century. For many Caribbean “Windrush”-era nurses in the UK or West African entrepreneurs in New York, the Susu was the only viable path to a down payment on a home or a storefront.
The transition from informal saving to commercial ownership is the hallmark of the “Circular Diaspora” economy. In the 1960s and 70s, the emergence of Black-owned grocery stores, barbershops, and hair salons in cities like Toronto, London, and Brooklyn were rarely the result of a bank loan.
Instead, it was the “Partner” system—as it is known in Jamaica—that acted as the primary engine for capital. Women organizers, often referred to as “Bankers,” managed these pools with a level of fiduciary rigor that rivaled formal institutions. As noted by the Black Business Network (2023), these women-led collectives funded the initial stock, lease deposits, and equipment for businesses that served as cultural hubs for the community. By “circulating” the dollar within the diaspora multiple times before it left the community, they created a self-sustaining economic loop.
The transition from a community “hand” to a commercial empire is best personified by women who recognized that collective saving was a form of political and economic defiance.
Daphne Steele, the first Black matron in the NHS, became a legendary figure in the UK’s West Indian diaspora by organizing “Partner” circles among Caribbean nurses. The Guyanese healthcare professional’s leadership ensured that many of the first Black families in South London had the deposits required to purchase homes during a period of rampant housing discrimination.
Across the Atlantic, Rosemary Brown, the first Black woman elected to a Canadian provincial legislature, frequently advocated for the recognition of informal economies like the Susu as valid financial tools for immigrant settlement. The Jamaican-turned-Canadian’s work highlighted how these women-led pools funded the first generation of Black-owned pharmacies and clinics in British Columbia.
Similarly, the legacy of Maggie Lena Walker provided the blueprint for the “Bankers” of the diaspora. As the first Black woman to charter a bank in America, she famously transitioned her community from informal mutual aid to the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank, proving that when Black women pool their resources, they don’t just survive—they build institutions that outlast their founders.
These systems are part of a global lineage of financial resistance. In South Africa, the Stokvel emerged as a critical survival mechanism. While historically tied to community needs, these clubs evolved into sophisticated investment vehicles led predominantly by women. According to the National Stokvel Association of South Africa (NASASA, 2024), these collectives now manage billions of rands annually, moving beyond simple consumption to purchase land, fund university tuition, and launch retail franchises.
Similarly, in the Somali diaspora across the UK and the US, the Ayuto serves as a silent engine for female entrepreneurship. Somali women, often navigating the intersection of being refugees and religious minorities, utilize the Ayuto to fund everything from home-based catering businesses to established textile shops. As documented in the Journal of Diaspora Studies (2022), these systems function on “Xeer”—a traditional communal ethical code—where the “hand” received is considered a sacred debt of honor, ensuring a default rate that is statistically lower than that of many commercial micro-loan programs.
These are not merely financial transactions; they are ancestral echoes of West African communalism that survived the Middle Passage and flourished under the pressures of Jim Crow. In the Black diaspora, the “Banker”—almost always a woman of high standing and iron-clad integrity—served as the community’s de facto Federal Reserve.
According to data presented at the Global African Investment Summit (2023), these women-led “Box” or “Sou-Sou” networks served as the primary bridge between migrant workers and property owners. In the mid-20th century, Black women in the UK and Canada often held multiple jobs in healthcare or domestic service.
By pooling their “hand,” they could bypass the “No Blacks, No Irish, No Dogs” housing signs of the era. The Susu provided the lump sum needed to buy the Victorian terraces of Brixton or the brownstones of Bed-Stuy, which later became the literal foundations for Black-owned bakeries, record shops, and law firms.
In the Caribbean, the act of “throwing a hand” is a sacred contract. It is an economic manifestation of Ubuntu—“I am because we are.” This “Circular Diaspora” economy proved that Black wealth was never a matter of lacking resources, but rather of lacking access to traditional institutional gateways. As highlighted by The African Diaspora Network (2024), by creating a closed-loop system, these women ensured that the capital earned by a Caribbean nurse in Toronto stayed within the community to fund a niece’s tuition or a neighbor’s grocery startup.
This legacy continues today in the “Haggler” traditions of Jamaica and the market women of Ghana and Nigeria.
These entrepreneurs use the Susu to weather the volatility of global markets, proving that the most resilient financial architecture is one built on the bedrock of Black sisterhood. They remain the unsung architects of the global Black middle class, turning collective drops into an ocean of opportunity that no bank could ever provide.
Black Hollywood Excellence In Focus At AAFCA Special Achievement Awards Luncheon
Among the honorees was Nikkole Denson-Randolph, AMC Theatres’ senior vice president and U.S. chief content officer.
Hollywood’s most influential voices gathered in Los Angeles for an afternoon dedicated to honoring the leaders shaping film, culture, and representation at the 9th annual African American Film Critics Association Special Achievement Awards Luncheon. Held March 1 at the Los Angeles Athletic Club, the AAFCA event celebrated executives, advocates, and powerbrokers whose work continues to expand opportunities for Black storytellers across the entertainment industry, according to a press release sent to BLACK ENTERPRISE.
Among the honorees was powerhouse talent agent Lorrie Bartlett, who received the Salute to Excellence Award. During her acceptance speech, Bartlett reflected on the importance of perseverance in Hollywood.
“This collective group reminds me that excellence is not just about achievement, but endurance,” Bartlett said while accepting the honor, Ebony reports. “We do not have to chase excellence. We should just embody it.”
Bartlett also emphasized the lasting cultural importance of Black storytelling.
“We will continue telling our stories, expanding the world’s vision of us and reinforcing the fact that Black creativity is and always will be essential to the story of humanity,” she added.
The afternoon’s celebration also honored Nikkole Denson-Randolph, AMC Theatres’ senior vice president and U.S. chief content officer, with the Spotlight Award. Denson-Randolph has helped reshape theatrical distribution, including championing major concert films, such as “Taylor Swift: The Era Tour” and “Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé.” Reflecting on the broader meaning behind representation in the industry, she spoke about the impact of seeing more diverse voices in decision-making roles.
“When you don’t always see yourself reflected on screen or in the boardroom, you understand the power of changing that,” Denson-Randolph said.
She also highlighted the importance of supporting independent films and projects that amplify unique perspectives.
“It’s always been about voice and perspective, stories that may not have the biggest budgets, but carry the deepest truths,” she said, adding that the financial success of diverse content demonstrates its broad appeal.
Additional honorees included Michelle Satter, senior director of artist programs at the Sundance Institute, who received the Film Advocate Award, and renowned entertainment attorney Nina Shaw, who was presented with the Legacy Award.
Meanwhile, Sony Pictures Classics Co-Presidents Michael Barker and Tom Bernard accepted the Karen & Stanley Kramer Social Justice Award on behalf of the studio.
The luncheon drew a strong roster of presenters and industry leaders, including Jurnee Smollett, Ava DuVernay, Debra Lee, Charmaine DeGraté, and Karen Kramer, alongside AAFCA President and Co-Founder Gil Robertson IV, who hosted the ceremony.
Closing out the program, Shaw addressed ongoing challenges facing diversity and equity in the industry, warning about recent rollbacks targeting policies designed to address historic inequality. Despite those challenges, she made clear that the fight for meaningful representation in Hollywood is far from over.
The annual luncheon once again underscored AAFCA’s mission: celebrating excellence while pushing the entertainment industry toward a more inclusive future.
The service at House of Hope Baptist Church on the city’s South Side lasted more than five hours and blended fiery speeches, gospel music, and personal tributes to the man whose activism shaped American politics for more than six decades, The Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Among those paying tribute was Chicago native and NBA Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas. During his remarks, Thomas drew a standing ovation when he declared that five presidents were in attendance, including Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris.
“I would also like to honor the five presidents who are sitting here today: President (Kamala) Harris, President (Hillary) Clinton, President Bill Clinton, First Lady Jill Biden, President Biden, and Chicago’s own Southside President Barack Obama,” Thomas said, USA Today reports.
The moment underscored the extraordinary political weight of those who gathered to remember Jackson, who died Feb. 17 at 84 after years of declining health. The longtime activist had battled serious neurological illness in his later years. Originally diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2017, it was later confirmed that Jackson had Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, a rare, fast-progressing brain disorder that affects movement, balance, and eye movement.
Former presidents Obama, Clinton, and Biden, as well as former Vice President Harris, all gave remarks. Throughout the ceremony, speakers recalled Jackson’s activism, from leading protests and boycotts to running historic presidential campaigns in 1984 and 1988.
Thomas used his tribute to highlight Jackson’s profound impact on his own life and the broader Black community. He also compared the civil rights leader to another global icon of freedom.
Netflix And Meghan Markle End ‘As Ever’ Partnership
Meghan Markle's initial launch of 'As Ever' saw great success selling out in 1 hour.
Netflix has ended its partnership with “As Ever,” a lifestyle brand launched by Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex.
Markle’s brand was previously introduced under the name American Riviera Orchard and debuted with products such as jam, teas, flower sprinkles, and scented candles. Initially launched with support from Netflix’s consumer products division, the entities are parting ways. The decision follows the non-renewal of Markle’s lifestyle television series “With Love, Meghan,” which aired on Netflix as part of the partnership with Prince Harry and Markle’s production company, Archewell. Netflix frames the change as a natural progression.
“Meghan’s passion for elevating everyday moments in beautiful yet simple ways inspired the creation of the As Ever brand, and we are glad to have played a role in bringing that vision to life,” Netflix said in a statement shared with The Hollywood Reporter. “As it was always intended, Meghan will continue growing the brand and take it into its next chapter independently, and we look forward to celebrating how she continues to bring joy to households around the world.”
Meghan Markle’s brand As ever has cut ties with Netflix, who supported the Duchess of Sussex with the company’s launch.
“We have experienced meaningful and rapid growth and As ever is now ready to stand on its own,” a spokesperson said. “We have an exciting year ahead and can’t… pic.twitter.com/lvJwRr4TKs
The brand’s initial launch saw great success, selling out in one hour. However, the public interest was not enough for Netflix to continue the partnership. A spokesperson for As Ever expressed gratitude to Netflix for its support and said the brand remains in good standing and will continue introducing new offerings.
“As ever is grateful for Netflix’s partnership through launch and our first year,” a spokesperson for the brand told People. “We have experienced meaningful and rapid growth, and As Ever is now ready to stand on its own. We have an exciting year ahead and can’t wait to share more.”
Although the consumer product agreement has been severed, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex maintain a production relationship with Netflix through Archewell Productions. That agreement allows the couple to develop television and film projects for the platform. The lifestyle venture is one of several business projects Markle has pursued since she and Prince Harry stepped back from official duties as members of the British royal family in 2020.
HBCU-Educated Innovator Debuts AI Tool That Predicts Best Departure Times For Travelers
Ke’Shawn Alexander, a two-time HBCU graduate, used his STEM background to create SkySpot.
Meet Ke’Shawn Alexander, a two-time HBCU graduate who turned his lifelong passion for STEM into an AI-powered travel intelligence tool that gives travelers a single, optimized departure time recommendation.
A native of Washington, D.C., who now lives in Atlanta, Alexander says his love for travel was often complicated by the traffic-clogged highways leading to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, AFROTECH reports.
After spending countless trips calculating parking availability, TSA wait times, and traffic routes, Alexander used his STEM background to create SkySpot—an AI-powered trip-intelligence platform that tells travelers exactly when to leave for the airport to arrive at their gate on time with a single optimized departure recommendation.
“I’m combining traffic data, TSA variability, some airport data heuristics, and then the different transportation options to actually deliver that recommendation,” Alexander said of the new platform.
Building the app felt like a natural step for Alexander, who developed an early passion for STEM. His grandmother was a mathematician, and his uncle worked as a drafter for NASA. His educational background includes attending a STEM-focused middle school, earning a bachelor’s degree in general science from Morehouse College, and a second bachelor’s degree in engineering from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.
Now with SkySpot, Alexander is showcasing his STEM expertise through a practical trip-planning platform that helps travelers determine whether it’s best to drive to the airport or use ride-sharing services like Uber or Lyft. The platform also integrates with Google Maps and Apple Maps, automatically pulling a user’s location and the airport’s coordinates to assist with navigation.
Adding to its features is a risk indicator that categorizes airport and traffic conditions as low, medium, or high. Using TSA data and real-time traffic APIs, the tool helps travelers gauge how busy conditions may be before heading to the airport.
“Right now, travelers rely on too many apps,” Alexander said. “You’re cycling through maybe three to four applications to figure out how to plan a trip, whether it’s going to Delta to get your ticket and look at your flight information, then going to Google apps or the ride share [apps] to get some other information. Then maybe ParkMobile, if you’re driving, you’re not parking on site. For me, it’s just offering people a way of convenience and a certainty that they’ll be able to get from their house to the airport on time.”
As part of the app’s beta launch, Alexander is introducing a limited rollout at major travel hubs, including Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport, O’Hare International Airport, and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.
“We’re building a smarter way to get to the airport,” he wrote on LinkedIn. “SkySpot predicts your full journey from home → gate and tells you exactly when to leave.”
