Bayard Rustin Institute — photo credit: Leffler, Warren K., photographer; cropped by Beyond My Ken (talk) 09:59, 25 November 2010 (UTC), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

by Sidnee Michelle

June 11, 2026

New Bayard Rustin Institute Will Train Future Civic Leaders

This a permanent educational initiative aimed at teaching future generations the organizing strategies and principles of nonviolent activism.

The National Civil Rights Museum announced on June 9 the launch of the Bayard Rustin Institute. This is a permanent educational initiative aimed at teaching future generations the organizing strategies and principles of nonviolent activism championed by the late civil rights leader, Action 5 News reported.

The institute, housed at the Memphis museum, will use historical records, educational programming, and leadership training to examine Rustin’s influence on the Civil Rights Movement and contemporary social justice efforts.

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Museum President Dr. Russ Wigginton said the institute is intended to serve as more than a tribute to Rustin’s legacy.

“The Bayard Rustin Institute is not a commemoration, but a blueprint for the tools Rustin used to accelerate change,” Wigginton said, according to the outlet.

The institute is centered on the museum’s recently acquired Rustin Collection, which contains correspondence, documents, and other records detailing Rustin’s work as a civil rights organizer and human rights advocate. Museum officials said the archive will be accessible to researchers, students, and educators.

Rustin, a close adviser to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., played a key role in advancing nonviolent protest strategies during the Civil Rights Movement. He is widely recognized as the chief organizer of the 1963 March on Washington, a task he completed in less than two months. Museum leaders have said Rustin’s contributions were often overlooked because he was openly gay.

Several programs are scheduled to begin this year under the institute’s umbrella.

Among them is the Rustin Social Change Fellowship, a six-month leadership program for young people focused on nonviolent activism and community organizing. The institute will also partner with MICAH, a Memphis-based advocacy organization, to incorporate Rustin’s organizing principles into civic engagement and leadership training efforts.

In addition, the museum plans to launch the Rustin Lecture Series in fall 2026. The program will feature discussions with scholars, activists, elected officials, faith leaders, and others examining Rustin’s influence on modern movements focused on democracy, civil rights, and social change.

Museum officials also announced plans for a traveling exhibition exploring Rustin’s life and legacy, which is scheduled to debut in 2027.

America's Workforce Academy, Meta, trade skills, National Urban League — (Photo:Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

by Sidnee Michelle

June 11, 2026

Meta’s $115M Workforce Training Initiative Offers Education In Skilled Trade To Build Data Centers

The program, called America's Workforce Academy, will launch in Louisiana, Ohio, Indiana, and Texas.

Meta announced a $115 million workforce training initiative that will provide free skilled-trades education and employment opportunities for participants in four states as the company expands the infrastructure needed to support artificial intelligence technologies, Fox Business reports.

What is Meta’s new workforce initiative?

The program, called America’s Workforce Academy, will launch in Louisiana, Ohio, Indiana, and Texas. Meta said the initiative is intended to help address growing demand for workers needed to construct and maintain data centers and related facilities tied to the company’s AI investments.

“The AI revolution is bringing change but also historic opportunities. Skilled workers electrified rural America one pole at a time. They manned the factories that built the arsenal that won World War II. Now a new generation will pour the foundations and lay the fiber that secures American strength in this new age,” Dina Powell McCormick, Meta president and vice-chairman, said according to the outlet.

What trades are taught in America’s Workforce Academy?

Participants will receive specialized data center training in four core technical trades:

Fiber-optic installation

Electrical work

Welding

Plumbing

According to Meta, graduates will earn industry-recognized credentials through the National Center for Construction Education and Research and will be connected with employment opportunities supporting data center construction projects.

The announcement comes as technology companies continue investing billions of dollars in artificial intelligence infrastructure, escalating demand for skilled construction and technical workers. Experts have warned that labor shortages could complicate efforts to build new facilities as companies race to expand computing capacity.

How much does the program cost?

Meta said the academy will cover training costs and provide support services intended to help participants complete the program. The company did not immediately disclose how many workers it expects to train through the initiative.

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The program will be developed in partnership with organizations including the National Center for Construction Education and Research, the National Urban League, the Associated Builders and Contractors, and commercial real estate services firm CBRE. Meta said the partners will assist with recruiting participants, delivering training, and connecting graduates with employers.

Company officials said the effort is part of a broader strategy to build a pipeline of workers capable of supporting the rapid growth of AI-related infrastructure across the United States.

landlords, rent stabilized, Summit Properties, Pinnacle Group, Mayor Zohran Mamdani — Photo by Steve Strang/Unsplash

by Sidnee Michelle

June 11, 2026

Tenant Victory: Back Rent Forgiven In More Than 5,000 NYC Apartments

The rent relief marks a significant victory for residents who organized for years around conditions in the buildings.

Thousands of tenants living in more than 5,000 mostly rent-stabilized apartments across New York City will no longer be required to repay years of unpaid rent after the buildings’ new owner agreed to forgive millions of dollars in arrears, Gothamist reports.

Summit Properties, which acquired a 93-building portfolio from the bankrupt Pinnacle Group in March 2026, recently reached an agreement during discussions with the Union of Pinnacle Tenants, an organization representing residents in buildings across four boroughs.

“If residents stay current on their rent, we won’t pursue arrears,” Summit spokesperson Jordan Barowitz told Gothamist. He said the company is still determining how many tenants owe back rent, but estimated the total debt amounts to millions of dollars.

Tenant advocates said many residents fell behind on rent after enduring years of unsafe living conditions, while others struggled to make monthly payments because of financial hardship.

The rent relief marks a significant victory for residents who organized for years around conditions in the buildings.

“It is a big victory,” said Vivian Kuo, a representative with the Union of Pinnacle Tenants who lives in a Summit-owned building in Harlem’s Hamilton Heights neighborhood. “This is real direct monetary redress of people’s issues.”

Kuo said tenants experienced persistent problems, including collapsed ceilings, heat outages, and darkened hallways, after utility service to common areas was interrupted because of unpaid bills.

“Your home should be safe, and there are certain basic standards — heat, hot water, ceilings and walls that don’t have massive holes, doors that lock, a fire escape you can actually escape from,” Kuo said. “These are things that we should have.”

The portfolio became a focal point of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s housing agenda shortly after he took office. City officials sought to intervene in the bankruptcy proceedings, citing nearly $13 million in unpaid taxes and fines owed by Pinnacle to the city.

A federal judge rejected the city’s effort to delay the sale in January, allowing Summit to complete its $451 million purchase in March 2026.

As part of commitments made during the bankruptcy process, Summit CEO Zohar Levy pledged to invest $30 million in building improvements over five years and address thousands of housing code violations. Company officials said approximately 3,500 violations were corrected by June 1.

Barowitz said Summit “fixed hundreds of apartments, cured thousands of violations, and exceeded our commitment.”

Tenant organizer Jesse Ryan said residents expect the company to address thousands of additional violations identified during city inspections this spring.

“They’re not new issues, they’re newly recorded,” Ryan said. “We believe those new numbers aren’t a reflection of new issues, but rather the record-keeping catching up to reflect the picture of how many issues there are in these buildings.”

unemployment, Americans, jobless, entrepreneurship, Self-Employment Assistance program, unemployment benefits — (Photo: courtneyk/Getty Images)

by Selena Hill

June 11, 2026

Jobs Report Shows 172,000 Jobs Added In May With Unemployment Down At 4.3%

Months after President Trump replaced the Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner, the agency reported stronger-than-expected job growth and a stable unemployment rate.

Less than a year after President Donald Trump removed Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Commissioner Erika McEntarfer following a disappointing jobs report, the agency under acting Commissioner William J. Wiatrowski is reporting stronger-than-expected employment gains.

The U.S. economy added 172,000 jobs in May, significantly surpassing economists’ expectations of roughly 80,000 jobs, according to the latest BLS employment report released June 5. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.3%, signaling continued resilience in the labor market despite ongoing concerns about tariffs, inflation, and economic uncertainty. Meanwhile, average hourly earnings rose 0.3% in May and were up 3.4% from a year earlier.

“This is a labor market that is stronger than it was last year and is looking pretty darn solid, despite high energy prices and higher inflation generally,” said Gus Faucher, chief economist at PNC, according to CNBC. “There’s no indication that the labor market needs support.”

The report arrives amid continued scrutiny of the agency following Trump’s dismissal of McEntarfer in August 2025, hours after the BLS released a weaker-than-expected employment report that included substantial downward revisions to prior job-growth estimates. Trump accused the agency of producing inaccurate data and replaced McEntarfer with longtime BLS Deputy Commissioner William J. Wiatrowski, who has served as acting commissioner since her departure, reports Reuters.

According to the May report, hiring was led by the leisure and hospitality sector, which added 70,000 jobs. Local government employment increased by 55,000 positions, while healthcare added 35,000 jobs, reports AfroTech.

The latest figures also included upward revisions to March and April payroll gains, reinforcing signs that the labor market has regained momentum after a period of uneven growth earlier in the year. Analysts noted that May marked the third consecutive month of solid job creation, a trend that could influence upcoming Federal Reserve decisions on interest rates.

While the stronger-than-expected report eased fears of a slowing labor market, economists continue to watch wage growth, inflation pressures, and global economic developments that could affect hiring in the months ahead.

Martha's Vineyard sign, A Juneteenth Chef's Table Experience — photo credit: via istock

by Black Enterprise

June 10, 2026

The ‘Black Chef Series’ Is Turning Juneteenth Jubilee Into A Movement On Martha’s Vineyard

This is not just a dinner ...

As the nation prepares to celebrate Juneteenth, a momentous upscale culinary event on Martha’s Vineyard is reminding residents and visitors that honoring this historic moment means investing in cultural equity.

There is something profoundly radical about a Black chef standing at the head of a table and saying: “This food has a story, and tonight you will hear it.” On June 19th and 20th, at MV Salads in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts, that act of radical grace will take center stage. The Black Chef Series, founded by Chef Lance Knowling, is bringing together an intimate gathering of 20 guests per evening for A Juneteenth Chef’s Table Experience — a seven-course dinner rooted in Black culinary heritage, reimagined through ingredients sourced from Martha’s Vineyard, and paired with wines and mocktails curated by Stephanie Browne of Sipping Sense. This is not just a dinner. And it is important that we say that plainly.

The Politics of the Black Table

For generations, the Black kitchen has been the most undervalued room in American culture. Black recipes fed presidents who would not have let us sit at their tables. Black culinary traditions traveled across the Atlantic in the memories of enslaved people who were stripped of everything else, and yet — they remembered. They grew, seasoned, smoked, and simmered their way through survival. And still, for too long, that legacy has been appropriated, anonymized, or simply ignored. What Chef Lance Knowling and The Black Chef Series are doing in Oak Bluffs is reclamation. It is the deliberate, intentional act of placing Black culinary heritage at the center, not as a footnote, not as inspiration quietly borrowed, but as the main course, in every sense of the word.

Martha’s Vineyard Is Not an Accident

The choice of location speaks volumes. Martha’s Vineyard, and Oak Bluffs in particular, has been a sanctuary for Black excellence for well over a century. The Oak Bluffs community has long served as a gathering place for Black intellectuals, artists, professionals, and families — a place where Blackness was never something to be diminished or explained. To host this experience here is to situate it within a living tradition of Black joy and ownership. When the ingredients come from the land, from the waters and the soil, the food carries that history, too. Every plate becomes a kind of homecoming.

Storytelling as Sustenance

What sets this experience apart is the presence of Sharisse Scott-Rawlins, storyteller and immersive artist, alongside award-winning Chef Herb Wilson. The deliberate pairing of culinary artistry with narrative art is not incidental — it is the whole point. African Americans have always known that food and story cannot be separated in Black culture. The way ingredients, recipes, and techniques are passed down is itself a story. The spices carried from West Africa, the techniques passed through Jim Crow and sharecropping and the Great Migration, these are not embellishments to the meal. They are the meal. By bringing a storyteller to the table, The Black Chef Series honors what elders have always known: that feeding someone is an act of love, and love always has something to say.

A Moment Worth Making

Twenty seats. Two evenings. $250 per person. The investment is worth it: a meal conceived with intention, ingredients sourced with care, wine pairings designed by a Black woman entrepreneur, and a room where every detail has been constructed to honor who we are and where we come from. Diners are not simply paying for dinner. They will be supporting a vision of Black culinary excellence that refuses to be small. In a world that consistently undervalues Black art, Black culture, and Black business, presence at this table is itself a statement.

Where & When

MV Salads, 55 Circuit Ave, Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts, on June 19 & 20, at 6:30 PM EST.

Black workforce, retirement, mentorship, AARP — Proud to say we're open for business. (Getty Images)

by Kenneth Meeks

June 10, 2026

Rising Cost of Living Pushes Seniors Out of Retirement! Will You Be Ready to Return to the Workforce?

Reginald Porter specializes in helping seniors back to work

According to an AARP survey, 7% of retired Americans 50 years or older are returning to the workforce due to “economic necessity.” In February 2026, the survey also found that 41% of retired Americans were weighing the option to “unretire,” just to keep up with the rising cost of living. And while most just want to make money, oddly enough, only a mere 14% said they were returning to stay active.

In 2023, Reginald Porter, Jr., founder and CEO of RSPorter Consultancy, spoke at BLACK ENTERPRISE‘s XCEL Summit for Men (then known as the Black Men XCEL Summit), explaining that there was a constituency of people between the ages of 50 and 55 who were approaching retirement, but were actively looking to transition into another field of work, too. Nearly three years later, we find the trend continues.

When Porter sat down for a Spotlight interview with Black Enterprise Senior Multiplatform Content Producer Ashlei Stevens, he offered insight into his strategy to help retirees return to the workforce. In this accompanying clip, Porter says a key element to his strategy is finding mentorship. And a mentor isn’t necessarily an older, more seasoned person that most career-minded people think of; a mentor can be someone younger, especially in this rapidly changing world of technology. And as we approach the 10^th anniversary of the XCEL Summit for Men, BE reminds African American men that mentorship has changed. So, as you progress in your career path, he says success is being willing to adapt to people, technology, and the environment.

Justice Department, medical school investigation, civil rights act — Photo by DNY59/Getty Images

by Sidnee Michelle

June 10, 2026

DOJ Launches New Civil Rights Inquiry Into Medical School Admissions

The department announced June 4 that its Civil Rights Division will examine whether the schools violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

What is the DOJ medical school investigation?

The Justice Department has opened civil rights investigations into 15 medical schools over allegations that their admissions practices may unlawfully consider race. This expands the Trump administration’s effort to enforce the Supreme Court’s ban on race-conscious admissions in higher education, Higher Ed Drive reports.

The department announced June 4 that its Civil Rights Division will examine whether the schools violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin at institutions receiving federal funding.

Federal officials did not identify the schools under investigation.

What sparked the new DOJ medical school admissions probe?

The announcement follows recent federal findings involving medical schools at Yale University and the University of California, Los Angeles. The Justice Department said those investigations concluded that admissions programs at the schools gave unlawful preferences to Black and Hispanic applicants.

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said the department will continue scrutinizing admissions policies that may conflict with federal law.

“Under this Justice Department, we will continue to protect American students from discriminatory and illegal preferences in admissions,” Dhillon said in a statement released June 4.

She added that admissions decisions should be based on merit and that medical schools should focus on preparing qualified physicians to meet the nation’s healthcare needs.

What legal precedent drives these civil rights investigations?

The investigations are part of a broader federal effort to ensure compliance with the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 29, 2023, decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard. Since that ruling, federal officials have argued that some institutions may still be considering race in admissions decisions despite the court’s prohibition.

How are these schools subject to federal law?

The 15 schools named in the latest investigations receive federal funding and are therefore subject to Title VI requirements, according to the Justice Department.

The department said the inquiries remain ongoing and emphasized that the opening of an investigation does not constitute a finding of wrongdoing.

DOJ officials did not provide a timeline for completing the reviews, and the schools involved had not been publicly identified as of June 9.