Impact & achievements
Turning knowledge and materials into ownership.
A record of firsts in education and equity — and the outcomes that prove the model works.
The first
A national first in cannabis education
Founded Higher Learning Institutions (HLI) — the first Black-owned cannabis vocational and technical school in the United States, originally launched in Michigan.
Mission
Social equity by design
Built direct pathways to legal-industry ownership and high-wage trades for communities most harmed by cannabis criminalization.
Author
3 Day Mental Rewire
Authored a mindset-development workbook to help people reshape cognitive habits and daily personal vocabulary.
Community
Asset-based community building
Serves on educational and resource subcommittees focused on community redevelopment and generational wealth preservation.
Now
From classrooms to hemp energy
Extending the model into carbon-negative construction — hempcrete and cold-formed steel — and the supply chain behind it.
Current focus · BSL Development
Sustainable development, not just intentions.
BSL
Black Star Legacy Development
CFS
Cold-formed steel systems
Hemp
Hempcrete and bio-based materials
3D
Advanced construction methods
BSL Development is the active platform for residential and commercial development, sustainable materials, and project consultation.
The record, answered
Frequently asked.
Is Sammie really the founder of the first Black-owned cannabis vocational school?+
Yes. Higher Learning Institutions is recognized as the first Black-owned cannabis vocational and technical school in the United States, founded by Sammie Rogers Jr. and originally launched in Michigan.
What is the mission behind the work?+
Reversing the historic harms of cannabis criminalization by creating direct paths to legal-industry ownership and high-wage jobs for Black and Brown communities — now extended into the hemp green-building economy.
Where is Sammie based?+
Pontiac, MI, with work focused on sustainable development, hemp green-building systems, and community ownership.
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