Luke Lawal Jr. is an HBCU graduate and an entrepreneur. He is the founder of multimedia company HBCU Buzz and $HBCU coin via Rally, a social token and NFT platform that allows users to launch their own digital economies and keep 100% of what they earn.
Lawal’s $HBCU coin will be the first cryptocurrency available to the HBCU community in the metaverse. A metaverse is a form of virtual reality that enables users to interact and experience things as they would in the physical world.
His journey started 10 years ago when he founded HBCU Buzz, which became the leading news outlet in the Black community. With $HBCU, he believes HBCU students, alumni and supporters deserve the opportunity to learn about and participate in cryptocurrency from a trustable source.
“In our second decade, we are excited at the opportunity to educate students and alumni on the numerous benefits and advantages of understanding crypto. $HBCU seeks to pioneer a new space, this time in the metaverse. As a former student, proud alum, and avid HBCU supporter myself, the $HBCU coin is minted with purpose and consideration for each niche audience,” he told HBCU Buzz.
$HBCU coin will allow students to gain knowledge on the operation of the crypto sector while potentially building shared value with $HBCU holders allowing alumni and supporters the opportunity to continue their support for and connection to Black colleges, beyond graduation, Lawal said.
According to the HBCU alum, his vision and mission are to develop a virtual campus experience for students and also give them access to buy unlimited merchandise as well as access free giveaways. Users will also have access to events like homecoming and access to study materials on cryptocurrency.
$HBCU coins holders will be categorized into three, and each category will include a tailored educational workshop, access to exclusive virtual events, Rally Rewards, NFTs, and exclusive trades on cryptocurrency.
“As a Black creator, the future of crypto intrigues me. Being able to create one of the pilot coins in the marketplace for both the educational and minority communities, is a part of my purpose. The HBCU experience is life-changing as is, and I wasn’t sure it could be topped, but it just got even better!”
Lawal has a degree in biochemistry and has previously worked as a pharmacy tech at Kaiser and a political lobbyist at Washington DC before turning to entrepreneurship. According to him, he moved from lobbying to pursue entrepreneurship because Blacks were no longer welcome following the election of Donal Trump in 2016.
“I remember when John Lewis did his No Fly, No Buy sit-in I was trying to support that. But after the 2016 election, if you were Black on Capitol Hill it hit you hard. I would never forget the day that [Donald] Trump was inaugurated. I went into my office and decided I’m leaving. Two weeks later I moved. That was the push that I needed,” he told Cassiuslife.
