The Black Lives Matter movement has brought many deep-rooted societal issues to the surface not least of all, how under-represented, under-searched and under-funded Black people’s work, creativity, and businesses are. In 2018, Dell Gines authored a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kanasas City where he drew on a famous quote by Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn. It goes something like this, “An entrepreneur is someone who will jump off a cliff and assemble an airplane on the way down.” Gines adds to this “But for Black women entrepreneurs, they do it with only a toothpick and a napkin.” What Gines means is that Black women entrepreneurs lack funding, capital, and resources to launch a business.
Yet many Black creators are not only at the forefront of technology, business, fashion, beauty, entertainment, and non-profits—they use their businesses to celebrate Black identity, solve problems for their communities and infuse Black culture into their business ethos. Here are 5 Black female founders and that are celebrating Black culture and identity through their work.
Joy Fennell Founder and CEO of The Joy in Beauty and the All Black Everything Summit
Joy Fennell is a top fashion and celebrity makeup artist, and founder of The Joy in Beauty, whose work has graced New York Fashion Week runways for some of the world’s top designers. She has worked with major brands like Valentino, Bibhu Mohapatra, Oscar de la Renta and Carolina Herrera along with beauty brands like Maybelline, L’Oreal and Target. More recently, Joy has found joy in celebrating Black identity through the all Black Everything Summit, a bi-annual digital event to give Black creatives resources and support. The summit was born out of the Covid-19 pandemic to engage with the Black community. Her vision — to create a platform that brings together Black artists both creatively and economically and provides resources to ensure they are negotiating from a power of strength.
Tracy Garley, founder and CEO Zarkpa and Culture in a Bowl
Tracy Garley is an American entrepreneur from the West African country of Liberia. She is also the founder and creator of Zarkpas, a West African clothing and lifestyle brand, Culture in a Bowl, a West African catering company, City Girl Big Dreams and GoFunderHer.com, two sister internet technology companies that help women and girls in over 150 countries. While all of Tracy’s companies are founded with a purpose, Zarkpas celebrates the colors and uniqueness of West African fashion. Zarkpas was the first retail clothing store to open after the city of Detroit filed for bankruptcy. Tracy’s goal — to bring back energy and vibrancy to the economically depressed downtown core. Through creative events and pop-ups where she collaborated with other entrepreneurs, like a “Positive Tea Party” and “Sip & Shop,” Tracy was able to generate buzz and positivity to help businesses start opening back up. Tracy’s work is both a love letter to her West African heritage as well as the city she calls home.
Sharon Chuter, founder and creator of Uoma Beauty
Sharon Chuter is the Nigerian born founder and CEO of Uoma Beauty, a radical and forward-thinking makeup brand for the modern woman, inspired by her Afro heritage. The collection is innovative, aesthetically pleasing and considers concerns of women with all skin types and shades. Sharon is also the social media sensation behind #pulluporshutup, calling for beauty brands who have donated to Black Lives Matter, to publicly release the statistics on Black executives at leadership levels. The campaign hopes to create an independent diversity board for beauty companies with representatives from marginalized groups. The campaign took the social media world by storm calling for brands to stop being performative and go beyond “PR stunts.”
Meena Osei-Kuffour, founder of Vintage Royalty
Meena Osei-Kuffour is the founder and artist behind Vintage Royalty, a jewelry and lifestyle brand inspired by her Ghanian heritage. The sculptural pieces are at the forefront of statement acrylic jewelry, a growing trend in 2020. Meena began her business in 2008, after making jewelry for her friends in college. The collections have evolved over the years but Meena’s message has remained the same — to curate each item to celebrate the wearer’s individuality and unique sense of style.
Jewel Gould, founder of Balanced Women
Balanced Women is a non-profit aimed at helping women from all walks of life live a balanced life while shouldering many of life’s responsibilities. The organization curates spaces and initiatives to help facilitate this and has recently launched a program called Sister Sister to assist the community with both essential needs as well as tools and resources to help fulfill economic dreams and potential. To support the global push towards ending racism, hatred and brutality, the organization’s recent funding will be dedicated to the lives of Black women who are working for their families and communities. The funding is expected to help women realize their dreams and lead meaningful and purposeful lives.
