In honor of Black History Month this February, Cold Call, the official podcast of Harvard Business School, is hosting its Black Business Leaders series, which highlights compelling African American protagonists across a range of cases in the MBA curriculum. In addition, Senior Lecturer Steven Rogers sits down to discuss his new course "Black Business Leaders and Entrepreneurship," which examines great business opportunities that have emerged from identifying underserved markets of black consumers, and the unique interplay between, and intersection of, race and successful entrepreneurial ventures.

The Entrepreneurship Behind Ebony Magazine

For more than seven decades, "Ebony" magazine has chronicled the most important African American issues of its time. Steven Rogers examines how the company faced the stark challenges in the rapidly changing media landscape of 2015.

Putting Diversity to Work

In theory, most companies would love to diversify their workforce. In practice, hiring specifically to increase diversity can cause a variety of cultural problems within an organization. Robin Ely explains.

A Remarkable Legacy of Firsts, Maggie Lena Walker

Maggie Lena Walker used her leadership of the Independent Order of St. Luke to form a bank, newspaper, and department store—all in the stronghold of the Confederacy. Tony Mayo discusses his case study about this pioneering African American woman.

Franklin Leonard, 'Black List' Mastermind

Using crowdsourcing to develop an annual list of Hollywood’s hottest unproduced screenplays, Franklin Leonard took the negative term “black list” and turned it into a coveted place to be. Henry McGee, former president of HBO Home Entertainment, explores a fascinating case about navigating the Hollywood film industry and taking success to the next level.

The Amazing Life of One of America’s Earliest Black, Female Entrepreneurs

Though not everyone may know her name, Madam C.J. Walker helped invent what have become staples of our modern country and economy: national sales forces, corporate social responsibility, and, yes, even basic haircare. Nancy Koehn describes Walker’s inspiring real life story of making good on her own unique American dream.

Black Business Leaders & Entrepreneurship

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A new course from Senior Lecturer Steven S. Rogers explores 14 new case studies all with black protagonists, including Ebony Magazine and Johnson Publishing Chairman Linda Johnson Rice. The course, its cases, faculty, and students examines the great business opportunities that have emerged from identifying underserved markets of black consumers and the unique interplay between race and successful entrepreneurial ventures.