Starting a business is one sure-fire way of securing economic stability. During Jim Crow, Black Americans were forced to get creative with how they sustained themselves especially since most lucrative jobs were reserved for white workers. They also had to work twice as hard to get half as far since, culturally, they didn’t have the luxury of passing along generational wealth. Join me as we shine a Historical Spotlight on the Burdines Store, a successful Black American owned department store in Miami.

Skype used to have a firm hold on the virtual conferencing market until the 2020 pandemic forced companies like Google, Zoom, and Microsoft to create competing products. When everyone had to shelter in place, businesses were forced to embrace new methods of communication with customers and employees. Families that were spread out used some creative ingenuity to maintain close relationships, but none of that would have been possible without some key technological advancements decades prior. Join me as we shine a Historical Spotlight on Marian Croak, the Black American woman who originally developed the voice over IP technology that drives video conferencing.