Do We Really Want True Equity?

For the record, equity and equality are not the same things. If we are talking true equity, it means giving someone more than you, who has less than you, to elevate them to have the same as you. Are we all really ready to make this selfless sacrifice?Well, if 2020 has shown us one thing, it is that we are all truly in this together. There is an African quote that says, "The wealth of a family/community is measured by the state of the poorest group/member and not the richest one," meaning we are measured by the level of lack in our society.

We, as Businesswomen, Must Answer Our Civic Calling

As a fourth-generation business owner, I was raised with the understanding that business and civic duties were synonymous. And I think if we take an honest look at the essence of civic duties and business we find that, at the core, it's best when they both work in concert.

The 15% Pledge is Just the Beginning

Walking into a huge beauty store similar to Sephora can be overwhelming as you confront rows and rows of bright products promising clear skin and high cheekbones. But as the light dims and you adjust, have you ever stopped to think about whether that lipstick or blush was created by a Black-owned beauty brand? With August being National Black Business Month, we want to further uplift Aurora James's work on the 15 Percent Pledge.

"If I were white, I'd be a millionaire by now." — Finding Strength in my Family's History to Fight for Change

My father's uncle invented the first fully mechanized sugarcane planter in Modeste, Louisiana, in 1964. He marketed the machine during the civil rights era, selling them for $6,000 and making a $1,000 profit. While he was eventually able to get a patent, he ended up losing about $11 million due to unauthorized copies of his machine. My father's family history is not in history books. It is pulled together from a line of oral history and newspaper clippings; stories that are untold, underappreciated, and buried deep beneath the whitewashed history learned from school books. And as a mixed-race woman, I feel deeply connected to these tragedies.

Conglomerate Rage: A Black Woman CEO's Take On The Murder Of George Floyd

It's not about the riots; it's about persistent injustice. Black people in America often have to accept racism, economic exclusion, and unequal access to healthcare. On top of that, we are more susceptible to death in the pandemic. Given all these oppressive factors, it should not be difficult to believe the anger surrounding the murder of George Floyd. There is video evidence of four officers' involvement, and they weren't even arrested. This was simply the tipping point for a community that couldn't take it anymore.