Friday's Too Good Not to Share: 6.23.23

Every Friday, I share other great content (with some added context) to dive into over the weekend. These could be articles, podcasts, videos, Twitter threads, or other great newsletters.

In short, these are the most interesting of the interesting stuff I've come across.

Like what you’re getting from this newsletter Framed Perspective? Pass it along to a friend! 🧮

EARLY COMPUTER ART IN THE 50’S & 60’S

You think NFTs are new? They kinda are, BUT the notion of using computers to create art goes back to the early days of computing.

As they say, computers and creativity go hand in hand.

They're just biting off the originality of the 50's and 60's.

My favorite art from this period (as listed in this article) is from Desmond Paul Henry. Here's an example below.

Dive deeper into early computer art here. [19 mins]

Source: Amy Goodchild

Meet The Hollingsworths: The Family Behind 'Gracie's Corner' On Their Process, Their Impact, And Going From 100 Followers To A Million

At the sound of Graceyn Hollingsworth’s voice, my nearly 2-year-old drops everything he’s doing and comes bounding down the hallway, his feet smacking the wood floor with each unsteady step.

That’s the effect 10-year-old Graceyn has on her devoted audience. But they don’t know her by that name. To my son and millions of other children, she’s Gracie from the YouTube channel Gracie’s Corner.

Launched just three years ago during the COVID-19 pandemic, the channel was a response to the lack of representation her parents, Javoris Hollingsworth and Arlene Gordon-Hollingsworth, noticed in their children’s preferred programming.

Much like the author's child, Gracie has my little one in a chokehold. The Hollingsworths really made the most out of the COVID era.

Read the full article here. [4 mins]

Source: Essence

Who is driving Black business growth? Insights from the latest data on Black-owned businesses

Here's some new data on the state of Black-owned businesses in the US:

In 2020, Black people represented 14.2% of all Americans but only 2.4% of all employer-firm owners. Latino or Hispanic people represented 18.7% of the population and 6.5% of employer-firm owners, while Asian Americans represented 6% of the population and 10.6% of employer-firm owners.^[1] From 2019 to 2020, Black-owned businesses grew by 6,351 firms, or 4.72%—behind Latino or Hispanic (8.19%) and Asian American (5.33%) firms, but above white-owned businesses, which shrunk by 0.9%.

Black business growth was trending upward before the COVID-19 pandemic. From 2017 to 2020, the number of Black-owned businesses across the country increased by 13.64%—larger than all businesses in general, which increased by 0.53% over the same period. Black-owned firms brought in an estimated $141.1 billion in gross revenue in 2020—an 11% increase since 2017.

If Black business ownership continues to grow at its current rate (4.72%), it will take 256 years to reach parity with the share of Black people in America—a timeline that leaves racial wealth gaps entrenched. Reaching parity in 15 years would take a 74.4% growth rate; for 25 years, a 44.6% growth rate; and for 50 years, a 22.3% growth rate.

Read the full report here. [26 mins]

Source: Brookings

Leave today better than yesterday ✌️.

Weekend listen: