Do you know why Black History Month is in February? Well—fun fact—it’s because of Frederick Douglass and President Abraham Lincoln. Douglass, the famed abolitionist, was born on February 14, and Lincoln was born on February 12. So, as a way to pay homage, February was named Black History Month.
Today, it is one of the most, if not the most, celebrated cultural heritage months in the U.S. as noted by LaGarrett J. King, an associate professor of social studies education at the University at Buffalo.
Here at Worth, we celebrate by highlighting our Black Worthy 100 members. They include Wawa Gatheru, founder of Black Girl Environmentalist, Artis Stevens, CEO of Big Brothers Big Sister, Kate Kallot, founder of AI company Amini, rapper and free speech activist “Killer Mike” Render, Slutty Vegan restaurant founder Pinky Cole, seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton, and many more.
With Gatheru and Kallot acting as innovators and pioneers in the AI and climate spaces, we find it fitting to share some stories that fit within their respective fields. For AI, Sean Captain, our executive editor, questions how AI-added job cuts will affect delivery giants such as UPS, FedEx, and DHL. After “UPS announced it is cutting 12,000 employees this year from its over 500,000-person workforce,” Captain writes, “[UPS] says that AI will help make up for the staffing cuts.” But there may be a “rosier” outlook for DHL and FedEx employees. At DHL, “the company has had only fairly small, surgical layoffs in recent years,” writes Captain. While at FedEx, automation plays a key role, whether it leads to staff cuts is yet to be determined…
As for climate, Amanda Ogle finds the intersection between science and travel. Viking Cruises has created an Antarctic trip where passenger tickets help fund the onboard environmental research. The science is focused on testing microplastic levels in the Drake Passage, analyzing Antarctic weather, and studying creatures of the deep. Ogle writes, “microplastics notwithstanding, Antarctica is arguably the last pure place on Earth, as it’s largely unexplored and unknown.”
As a reminder, registration for April’s Techonomy Climate West conference in Silicon Valley is open. You can still use code ClimatePre100 to get $100 off, but for a limited time. We invite you to preview the event, as we recently added a list of topics you can expect.
