Jay-Z said in 2005, “I’m not a businessman, I’m a business man.” Well, it seems he’s taking his business back to his old stomping grounds in the Marcy Projects located in Brooklyn, New York.
Alongside Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, Jay-Z is launching The Bitcoin Academy which will teach people about bitcoin.
The announcement was made on Jay-Z’s rarely used Twitter account when tweeted, “Shout out to @Jack. #Bitcoin Academy, starting in Marcy, a place that taught me so much, is hopefully the first of many. The simple goal is to provide people tools to build independence for themselves and then the community around them.”
He continued, “Thanks to the teams at @Blocks and @ShawnCarterSF and educators @CryptoPlug3 and @BlkBTCBillions for all the work to make this happen!”
The Bitcoin Academy hopes to provide free in-person and online education classes teaching potential students about bitcoin. While it is currently focused on the Marcy Houses, they plan to expand to other neighborhoods in New York City soon. The classes will be offered from June 22 through September 7, according to the academy website.
They will also serve dinner to people attending the classes, a MiFi device (portable wifi), a one-year data plan and smartphones. Get this, when the program is over they can keep all of the devices they were given.
The classes will be taught by Najah J. Roberts from Crypto Blockchain Plug and Lamar Wilson from Black Bitcoin Billionaire.
In a statement, Gloria Carter, Jay-Z’s mother said, “The Shawn Carter Foundation has always been about providing educational access and opening doors of opportunity to underserved communities. No one should be left out or behind.”
She continued, “We truly appreciate the partnership with Block and Jack Dorsey to bring financial, specifically bitcoin education to the Marcy residents, where I spent many years raising my family.”