August 10, 2025

Welcome to our weekly Sunday newsletter. This week we will highlight Google expanding their AI footprint in Africa and find out which celebrity couple is releasing a film this November.

Google Unveils Major AI Investments In Africa

Google has announced a major expansion of its AI initiatives in Africa, unveiled during an event in Accra, Ghana. Partnering with local researchers, developers, and organizations, the tech giant is launching programs designed to fuel AI innovation rooted in African perspectives. At the center of this effort is the new AI Community Center in Accra, which will host workshops, research exchanges, and events to bring together students, entrepreneurs, and creatives to explore AI solutions for Africa’s unique challenges.

Key investments include $25 million for the AI Collaborative: Food Security to support research on hunger and crop resilience, and $3 million for the Masakhane African Languages AI Hub to expand tools for over 40 African languages. Google is also committing $1 million each to the University of Pretoria’s AfriDSAI and the Wits MIND Institute to grow graduate and postdoctoral AI research. Seven million dollars will expand AI education, safety, and cybersecurity programs in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa.

To further strengthen Africa’s AI talent pipeline, Google will provide 100,000 fully funded Career Certificate scholarships to higher education students and support over 100 AI-powered startups through its catalytic fund initiative. These efforts build on Google’s record of training 6.5 million people across Africa, aiming to equip the next generation with the skills and resources needed to drive locally relevant AI solutions with global impact.

campus chronicles // hbcu edition

Morgan State University has developed an autonomous wheelchair to help people with disabilities navigate high-traffic areas such as airports, hospitals, and museums. Unveiled at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, the wheelchair uses AI, computer vision, cameras, and LIDAR sensors to guide users along routes at walking speed after scanning a QR code for access. Currently in a pilot program with the Maryland Aviation Administration, the wheelchair is patent-pending, with three operational units in testing before a wider release.

Billionaire Robert F. Smith’s Student Freedom Initiative has partnered with Live Nation Urban to launch HBCU AWARE FEST 2026, a cultural and educational movement will debut in Atlanta under the leadership of Mayor Andre Dickens. The festival aims to raise $100 million to support students at HBCUs, Minority Serving Institutions, and Tribal Colleges and Universities, addressing the heavy student debt burden that delays homeownership, family planning, and upward mobility for many Black graduates. Hosted in the Atlanta University Center, the weeklong event will feature live concerts, educational workshops, panel discussions, and community outreach, with proceeds funding equitable loan alternatives and holistic student support services. Organizers describe the festival as a national call to action, harnessing the power of music and culture to mobilize resources and uplift institutions that are the cornerstone of Black academic excellence.

black history in quotes 

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culture

This November, Amazon MGM Studios will release Sarah’s Oil, a film spotlighting the remarkable true story of Sarah Rector, an African-American girl born in early 1900s Oklahoma Indian Territory who discovered oil beneath land allotted to her. Starring Naya Desir-Johnson and based on Tonya Bolden’s book Searching for Sarah Rector: The Richest Black Girl in America, the movie follows Rector’s journey from rural childhood to becoming the nation’s first African-American female millionaire at just 11 years old.

Produced by Ciara and Russell Wilson’s Why Not You Productions in partnership with Amazon Studios, the film promises to bring her inspiring story to a new generation. Amazon’s Julie Rapaport called the project “a labor of love,” and Ciara urged audiences to “remember her name” and share her faith-based story with the world.

Our editor, Lisa D. Tinsley, would like to thank you for spending part of your day with KISA News Radio.

See you next Sunday.

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