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Building Wealth: Shaquille O’Neal Pays For 15 Friends To Earn Master’s Degrees
12-Year-Old Elijah Muhammad, Jr. Becomes Youngest Black College Student In Oklahoma
Twelve-year-old Elijah Muhammad Jr. has become the youngest Black college stu- dent in the state of Oklahoma, according to KFOR News in Oklahoma City. Muhammad, who is home-schooled and cur- rently a senior, also began classes this week as a freshman at Okla- homa City Community College.
The college freshman is ma- joring in cyber security and is taking three classes to start — computer technology, computer hardware and computer operat- ing systems. His older sister, Shania Muhammad, made history in May as the youngest to graduate from college in the state with associate degrees from Langston University and Okla- homa City Community College — Summa Cum Laude — at the age of 14. “You don’t have to go through all 12 grades to be at a collegiate level,” she said.
The siblings’ father, Elijah Muhammad, Sr., said that his daughter’s accomplishments help to encourage his son to ex- ceed as well.
“When he sees her accomplish certain things, he’s like ‘I’m up next and I can do it,’” he said. “We are the cheering section for our scholars.” The siblings’
ELIJAH MUHAMMAD, JR.
mother, Atashia Muhammad, is an associate professor at Langston University and was on hand to give her daughter her diploma at the graduation cere- mony. “It was a special moment,” said Mrs. Muhammad.
The cyber security major said that he and his sister compete with each other but added that she helps him with his studies. “We have a bunch of competi- tiveness,” he said. “But she really helps me out with a lot of my studying.” Muhammad, who will surpass his sister by the time he graduates college at the age of 13, also noted that his fellow stu- dents were surprised by his young age.
Former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal shared why he paid for several of his friends to earn their master’s degrees during an appearance on the Be Better Off Show.
The basketball champion and serial entrepreneur spoke about his principles for build- ing wealth as well as about the power of education during the program on Sept. 5.
O’Neal said that once dur- ing a business meeting, the people he was meeting with greeted him but immediately began talking with the G.O.A.T.‘s accountants and lawyers because they didn’t think that he understood the language of business.
The meeting prompted him to get his master’s degree at the University of Phoenix, which is mostly an online col- lege, but he wanted to learn in person. After the school told him that in-person classes were only for classes with 15 or
SHAQUILLE O’NEAL
more students, he decided to pay for 15 of his friends to join the class and earn their mas- ter’s degrees also.
“I noticed that every time I’d go to a business meeting that the guys who we’re doing deals with would be like, ‘Hello Shaq, how are you doing?’ And then they would turn away and look at my lawyers and my accountants and all those guys,” he said. “So, I said, ‘Oh, you guys don’t think I’m in charge. You guys don’t think I
understand the lingo. So I went and got my master’s from the University of Phoenix.”
“The University of Phoenix is an online program mostly,” he continued. “But I went to the head officials and said, ‘I don’t want to do it online. I want somebody to teach me in a class. And they came back and said, ‘Unfortunately, we can’t set up a classroom for one guy. You need 15 people. So, I paid for 15 of my friends to get their master’s.”
Stacey Abrams Embraces Sports Betting In The Peach State As Polls Show Her Trailing Governor Brian Kemp
Georgia Democratic guber- natorial candidate Stacey Abrams has embraced sports gambling as she trails Gov. Brian Kemp in the polls with two months left before the election.
NBC News reports that pol- icy watchers believe the move by Abrams indicates yet an- other difference between her and Kemp. The Fair Fight founder’s campaign has re- leased a series of 15- and 30- second advertisements running during college football games focusing on her support for sports betting in Georgia while bashing Kemp for his opposition to sports betting in the state.
Abrams’ campaign spokesperson, Alex Floyd, told NBC News the “latest ads on sports betting are meant to
STACEY ABRAMS
draw attention to what Geor- gians already know: Gaming is
happening in our state, but right now we are missing out on millions in revenue that could fund expanded access to higher education.”
Another round of advertise- ments is on the way. Kemp has opposed sports betting since a Supreme Court deci- sion made it legal for states in 2018. In his opposition, Kemp has said the decision to legalize sports betting is not up to him.
“This is the thing about my position on that: it hasn’t changed,” Kemp told re- porters at the state Capitol in August, according to WABE. “I’m at the same place I’ve al- ways have [been]. To be able to do that here, it’s gonna take a constitutional amendment. It doesn’t really matter what the governor thinks, you can’t veto a constitutional amendment.”
A new excuse to cancel plans will be available this September with the launch of a new streaming platform.
Riqua Hailes Turner an- nounced the newest space for diversity storytelling with the launch of the Black Women Network. The network, which will be known as theBW, will serve as a platform to uplift the voices of Black women film- makers.
Created by, funded by, and dedicated to Black women, the streaming platform is the first of its kind, entrepreneur Hailes Turner reveals in a re- lease.
“My goal with theBW is to create a high fidelity streaming app dedicated and created for black women by Black women,” she says. “By creating a first-of- its-kind platform, my dream is for us to continue to gain equity in the entertainment industry by creating and owning our narratives.”
According to People, the net- work will be available on all
major streaming platforms. Six pieces of original programming are among the features the net- work will provide.
The network has set a lineup of shows for theBW launch to include The Undoing, a talk show hosted by Kayla Wanakee that focuses on con- quering adversity; Boss AF, a series starring Bloomingdale’s shoe designer, Jess Rich; and Pretty for a Big Girl, follow- ing the world of magazine pub- lishing. Additionally, the lineup involves a weekly showcase for upcoming filmmakers to sub- mit their projects to the net- work, as well as Conversation & Constellation, an interview series surrounding an astrology theme.
The Black Women Network Is The First Streaming Platform Created By Black Women For Black Women
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