While many things have changed since the great Sojourner Truth gave this speech, many things remain the same.
In the United States when she gave this speech, women of African descent were at the bottom of the social scale in benefits and outcome, probably only rivaling Indigenous women in that last place marker. 150+ years later that has not changed. Fortune magazine says that black women are the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs in the country since 1997. Yet women have a harder time finding funding for their businesses than white males, or males in general. White women and other minorities have a better chance of finding funding than black women. In finding investors for our businesses, like many other markers, black women are at the bottom.
10 years ago I thought business was the answer to our problem in a small village outside of Kumasi, Ghana. Living the data in this article has been a completely different reality. Many of us watch Shark Tank on ABC, I did a blog post about my audition last summer, and each week we watch them tell at least one entrepreneur that they invest in the entrepreneur not the business. From the beginning of starting my cultural art and sustainable development social enterprise I've been challenged by why I should be in business. How my business is connected to safe water access. Initially my only responses were because I was connected. In those critical years of developing a business few people supported my business idea they didn't quite understand. Asking me, "How does art go with clean water?"
Until 2014, when the answer became- I will make ceramic water filters. That is how art will be connected to safe water. I learned about Potters for Peace's Ceramic Water Filter Project and could finally have a visualization of art creating and providing safe water. Also it would provide income for under/unemployed artisans. But with only 0.02% of venture capital funding being invested in companies founded by black women, it has proven harder than I honestly could have imagined. It has been frustrating because all of the lives I have not been able to reach haunt me. Especially after the big flood in Ghana a few years ago when I reached about $1 million in rejections by then.
Ghana captivated me from the moment I stepped off the plane June 2006. I've not stopped thinking about the country a day since. The country is the reason I became an entrepreneur. My husband and his family is what made the connection even deeper. It made the need for a business that could connect all of the cultural art talent of Ghana into solving development problems seem logical to me. But I came across people who were ignorant of the business opportunity in Africa but also the bias as presenting my idea as a black woman. That initially was only my own anecdotal experience until reports like Project Diane came out. And until last year when New Orleans Entrepreneur Week held sessions to discuss the impact here in New Orleans, a historically and majority black city.
New Orleans for me has been much like my Africa experience. A terrible irony that it became the realization that I needed to focus on safe water access right where I live, in the United States. I am not the only person to recognize its similarities to Africa and the Caribbean. It has been historically true. One of my favorite places to go to in the city is Cafe Rose Nicaud.
Partly because of their Coffee with a Smile, that has a shot of Jameson Whiskey. Mostly because of the story of Madame Rose Nicaud. A former slave turned entrepreneur in the city in the 1800's. Post-Katrina it faces the same struggles most black owned businesses in this majority black city, under-representation and under-investment.
I remain steadfast and hopeful that my entrepreneurial dream and persistence will lead to millions of people having a sustainable way to filter water. I have launched another crowdfund campaign in time for New Orleans Entrepreneur Week this year when I will be doing an interactive demo of my winning pitch from last year, my water depot. I will be giving free filtered water during my 4 hour demo and talking to attendees about using cultural arts to make sustainable development impacts in safe water access and economic development. I am also excited to announce my first water partner! Starting on March 18, 2017 I will be selling Sawyer Water Filters at Hollygrove Market and Farm here in New Orleans and I am making plans to make them available again at the new online store.
When I started this blog 6 years ago I could have never imagined it would be read in 10 countries. It makes me think of Frido Kahlo-
I know you are out there.
In the United States when she gave this speech, women of African descent were at the bottom of the social scale in benefits and outcome, probably only rivaling Indigenous women in that last place marker. 150+ years later that has not changed. Fortune magazine says that black women are the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs in the country since 1997. Yet women have a harder time finding funding for their businesses than white males, or males in general. White women and other minorities have a better chance of finding funding than black women. In finding investors for our businesses, like many other markers, black women are at the bottom.
10 years ago I thought business was the answer to our problem in a small village outside of Kumasi, Ghana. Living the data in this article has been a completely different reality. Many of us watch Shark Tank on ABC, I did a blog post about my audition last summer, and each week we watch them tell at least one entrepreneur that they invest in the entrepreneur not the business. From the beginning of starting my cultural art and sustainable development social enterprise I've been challenged by why I should be in business. How my business is connected to safe water access. Initially my only responses were because I was connected. In those critical years of developing a business few people supported my business idea they didn't quite understand. Asking me, "How does art go with clean water?"
Until 2014, when the answer became- I will make ceramic water filters. That is how art will be connected to safe water. I learned about Potters for Peace's Ceramic Water Filter Project and could finally have a visualization of art creating and providing safe water. Also it would provide income for under/unemployed artisans. But with only 0.02% of venture capital funding being invested in companies founded by black women, it has proven harder than I honestly could have imagined. It has been frustrating because all of the lives I have not been able to reach haunt me. Especially after the big flood in Ghana a few years ago when I reached about $1 million in rejections by then.
Ghana captivated me from the moment I stepped off the plane June 2006. I've not stopped thinking about the country a day since. The country is the reason I became an entrepreneur. My husband and his family is what made the connection even deeper. It made the need for a business that could connect all of the cultural art talent of Ghana into solving development problems seem logical to me. But I came across people who were ignorant of the business opportunity in Africa but also the bias as presenting my idea as a black woman. That initially was only my own anecdotal experience until reports like Project Diane came out. And until last year when New Orleans Entrepreneur Week held sessions to discuss the impact here in New Orleans, a historically and majority black city.
New Orleans for me has been much like my Africa experience. A terrible irony that it became the realization that I needed to focus on safe water access right where I live, in the United States. I am not the only person to recognize its similarities to Africa and the Caribbean. It has been historically true. One of my favorite places to go to in the city is Cafe Rose Nicaud.
Partly because of their Coffee with a Smile, that has a shot of Jameson Whiskey. Mostly because of the story of Madame Rose Nicaud. A former slave turned entrepreneur in the city in the 1800's. Post-Katrina it faces the same struggles most black owned businesses in this majority black city, under-representation and under-investment.
I remain steadfast and hopeful that my entrepreneurial dream and persistence will lead to millions of people having a sustainable way to filter water. I have launched another crowdfund campaign in time for New Orleans Entrepreneur Week this year when I will be doing an interactive demo of my winning pitch from last year, my water depot. I will be giving free filtered water during my 4 hour demo and talking to attendees about using cultural arts to make sustainable development impacts in safe water access and economic development. I am also excited to announce my first water partner! Starting on March 18, 2017 I will be selling Sawyer Water Filters at Hollygrove Market and Farm here in New Orleans and I am making plans to make them available again at the new online store.
When I started this blog 6 years ago I could have never imagined it would be read in 10 countries. It makes me think of Frido Kahlo-
I know you are out there.
Comments
Post a Comment