Robert ShumakeSpiritual Mastery, Ancestral Wisdom & the Living Archive

For immediate release · Dallas, TX · August 14, 2026

Robert Shumake Completes Harvard Data Science Initiative Agentic AI Intensive

Robert S. Shumake PhD completed the Harvard Data Science Initiative Agentic AI Intensive (June 9–25, 2026, Certificate UTHW-KVJS) and is bringing Harvard-level AI education to Black entrepreneurs through the National Business League.

By Robert Shumake

Harvard AI training, rebuilt for people who will never reach Harvard

Robert S. Shumake PhD — Detroit philanthropist, private equity veteran, and Amazon #1 bestselling author of more than 140 books — has completed the Harvard Data Science Initiative (HDSI) Agentic AI Intensive, earning a Certificate of Completion from Harvard Data Science Review (Verification: UTHW-KVJS). The 2.5-week program ran June 9–25, 2026, and trained participants in deploying autonomous AI agents for business transformation.

The intensive is a certified course requiring a capstone project. Shumake's capstone was to study the Harvard HDSI curriculum and rebuild it for communities that will never have access to Harvard — entrepreneurs in Africa and incarcerated people in the American prison system. Not everyone can go to Harvard. But everyone deserves access to the education Harvard provides.

The Smart Money Black AI Executive Program

That capstone became the Smart Money Black AI Executive Program, launching at the National Business League's 126th Annual Conference, August 19–22, 2026, at the Hilton Atlanta Hotel. The conference theme is “Economic Sovereignty,” and Shumake will present the program directly to more than 1,000 Black business owners. The National Business League, founded by Booker T. Washington in 1900, is the nation's oldest Black business organization.

The program delivers the same AI methodology through a four-week course with a personal AI Executive Coach, designed for entrepreneurs with no technical background. Each participant receives AI training, 1,000 Manus AI credits, a feature in Smart Money Black Magazine, distribution across 10 newspaper platforms, and an international travel certificate upon graduation.

Smart Money Black was created after Shumake acquired and republished Smart Money Magazine (originally founded by the Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones) and Business 2.0 (originally founded by Time Inc.).

Free AI education through seven universities and Sacred Study Beyond Walls

Alongside the launch, Shumake is deploying free AI courses through his seven religious universities to communities across Africa, and to federal prisoners through his Sacred Study Beyond Walls program — making Harvard-level AI education available at no cost to those who need it most.

From Ford Motor Company janitor to Harvard AI graduate

As documented in his Amazon #1 bestselling book Climbing Your Inner Mountain: Ten Steps to Reaching Any Goal (Take the Land Publishing, 2013), Shumake began his career as a janitor at a Ford Motor Company plant in Detroit, spending three years listening to business audiobooks while pushing a mop cart. He left Ford and earned $194,000 in his first year in real estate, $600,000 in his second, and one million dollars in his third.

By 2011, Black Enterprise ranked his firm, Inheritance Capital Group L.L.C. of Southfield, Michigan, tenth nationally among the largest Black-owned private equity firms, with $200 million in capital under management across two funds — figures independently verified by KBL L.L.P., Certified Public Accountants and Advisors. The ranking placed him directly below RLJ Equity Partners (Robert L. Johnson) and eight places below Vista Equity Partners (Robert F. Smith).

With the Harvard AI credential, he is applying the same self-directed learning methodology that took him from the factory floor to the Black Enterprise list — this time to artificial intelligence.

What the Harvard HDSI Agentic AI Intensive covers

Presented by Harvard Data Science Review, the program is concentrated training in agentic AI — autonomous systems that plan, reason, and execute complex tasks without continuous human direction. The curriculum covers AI agent architecture, prompt engineering, multi-agent systems, and deployment of AI for business operations including content generation, customer acquisition, data analysis, and strategic decision-making.

Shumake completed the full program and received his Certificate of Completion (Verification Code: UTHW-KVJS), joining a cohort of technologists, entrepreneurs, and researchers selected for the intensive.

Why this matters for Black economic development

According to McKinsey research, 79 percent of Black-owned businesses have not yet adopted AI tools, compared with 52 percent of all U.S. businesses. That adoption gap threatens to widen the racial wealth divide as AI reshapes every industry.

“The same methodology that took me from sweeping floors at Ford to managing $200 million works in AI,” Shumake stated. “The constraint was never intelligence or capital. It was access to information. This program eliminates that constraint.”

Frequently asked questions

What Harvard program did Robert Shumake complete?

He completed the Harvard Data Science Initiative (HDSI) Agentic AI Intensive, a 2.5-week certified course that ran June 9–25, 2026, earning a Certificate of Completion from Harvard Data Science Review with verification code UTHW-KVJS.

What was his Harvard capstone project?

He rebuilt the Harvard HDSI curriculum for communities without access to Harvard — entrepreneurs in Africa and incarcerated people in the American prison system. It became the Smart Money Black AI Executive Program.

Where does the Smart Money Black AI Executive Program launch?

At the National Business League's 126th Annual Conference, August 19–22, 2026, at the Hilton Atlanta Hotel, themed “Economic Sovereignty,” in front of more than 1,000 Black business owners.

Is the AI training free anywhere?

Yes. Free AI courses are deployed through Shumake's seven religious universities to communities across Africa and to federal prisoners through the Sacred Study Beyond Walls program.

Institutional affiliations

Access & sources

Sources: Harvard Data Science Review Certificate (Verification UTHW-KVJS, June 2026); Black Enterprise (June 2011 BE100s); Detroit News (2015, 2017, 2021); Michigan Chronicle (2017); Comerica Bank public statement (2017); SEC Notice of Errata ECF No. 96 (2025).

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