Black Women Entrepreneurs On The Rise

by: April D. Byrd

We suppose the reports are just catching up with the facts because, Black Women have been taking charge for a while now. Over the last 17 years to be exact, according to a report by KTHV. An increasing number of minority women are starting businesses 6 times more than the national average. There are more than one million African-American female business owners in the U.S.

At this time the rise may be becoming too phenomenal to ignore. According to Bruce James Dean of Business at Philander Smith College: "As more and more African-American women obtain higher degree levels they are more likely to start their own business because they feel that they are better prepared to do so."

James issued that "one of the greater issues with not being successful for minorities and women in general is being under-capitalized when they start their business ventures". However, thanks in part to social online tools crowdfunding, millennials and minorities are overcoming the gap. One recent example is Demajali West, a young women who greatly exceeded a $17,000 Kickstarter campaign goal, for her original "hookie-do" trademark.  Many women still face obstacles in the work place dealing with double-standards, office politics, etc and have decided to take matters into their own hands.

A recent report released on the State of Black Women in 2014 revealed that black women led in labor participation rates, and were overwhelmingly likely to work, even as mothers of small children. Little Rock's KTHV, interviewed entrepreneur Cushina Scott  for a recent women's week segment,  Scott stated: " at the end of the day I'm all about women empowerment, she has everything, she can have everything. She can be what she wants to be."

We concur.

check out Scott's KTHV Interview below:



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Lauryn Hill Pens Letter to Fans: The Battle Between Business and Artistry

Lauryn Hill’s name has stayed in the news and blogs in recent years for everything but the music that we all loved and appreciated. Her recent tax troubles have gone public as she was set to face jail time for owing almost $1 million to the government. Everyone has harshly criticized her decisions. From the outside looking in, she was the womyn who could have anything that she wanted yet continually made poor decisions in her absence from music to her relationships. While I can’t speak on what is happening in her personal life, I do think that we all need to give Ms.Hill a break when it comes to the struggle between artistry and the music business.

No matter what type of artist you are – singer, painter, comedian, etc.- there is always going to be a battle between being true to your art and getting the payment and business respect that you deserve. Especially in the music business, people see these artists flashing their money and fancy homes so we believe that their life and decisions are easy but really sometimes they have to sacrifice their art and what they truly want to do in order to remain financially successful. There are some artists that are just not willing to do this, Lauryn Hill being one of them and anyone remember Dave Chappell running away from his multi-million dollar deal because it felt like too much of a departure from what he originally thought he wanted?

Lauryn recently posted to her Tumblr account, a letter to her fans to explain her issues with her taxes and her new deal with Sony. I think that she brought up a lot of interesting points that echo that struggle between artistry and capital. Check out what she had to say here:

It has been reported that I signed a new record deal, and that I did this to pay taxes. Yes, I have recently entered into an agreement with Sony Worldwide Entertainment, to launch a new label, on which my new music will be released. And yes, I am working on new music.

I’ve remained silent, after an extensive healing process. This has been a 10+ year battle, for a long time played out behind closed doors, but now in front of the public eye. This is an old conflict between art and commerce… free minds, and minds that are perhaps overly tethered to structure. This is about inequity, and the resulting disenfranchisement caused by it. I’ve been fighting for existential and economic freedom, which means the freedom to create and live without someone threatening, controlling, and/or manipulating the art and the artist, by tying the purse strings.

It took years for me to get out of the ‘parasitic’ dynamic of my youth, and into a deal that better reflects my true contribution as an artist, and (purportedly) gives me the control necessary to create a paradigm suitable for my needs. I have been working towards this for a long time, not just because of my current legal situation, but because I am an artist, I love to create, and I need the proper platform to do so.

The nature of my new business venture, as well as the dollar amount reported, was inaccurate, only a portion of the overall deal. Keep in mind, my past recordings have sold over 50,000,000 units worldwide, earning the label a tremendous amount of money (a fraction of which actually came to me).

Only a completely complicated set of traps, manipulations, and inequitable business arrangements could put someone who has accomplished the things that I have, financially in need of anything. I am one artist who finds value in openly discussing the dynamics within this industry that force artists to compromise or distort themselves and what they do, rather than allowing them to make the music that people need. There are volumes that could (and will) be said.

MLH

  

Hampton University Bans Cornrows and Dreads

It's not the first time we've seen an institution of some type try to place boundaries on what people can and cannot do with their hair.

Remember the post I did a few weeks ago about the flight attendant who was forced to hide his dread under a terrible wig in order to keep his job because his natural hairstyle was harming the company's image?  

http://thetruthaccordingtotrey.blogspot.ca/2012/07/would-you-hide-your-hair-to-keep-your.html

Well, this time its Hampton University.  They have created a rule for its male business students:  No dreads or cornrows.

The mandate was put in place in 2001 and only applies to a specific group of students enrolled in a leadership course within Hampton's five-year M.B.A. program.  The Dean of the Business School believes that the hairstyles will prevent students from securing corporate jobs.

Maybe he's right?? Maybe in corporate America the 'old boys network' frowns upon those hairstyles...SO WHAT!  What ever happened to freedom of choice?  

I wonder if people think that this natural hair movement is some kind of political stance as it was also viewed in the 70s?  Are people afraid of our afros, dreads and cornrows and somehow disguise it as something that 'for your own good?'

I see what the Hamptons University is trying to do: make their students employable once they leave the walls of academia, BUT banning a hairstyle is not the way to achieve that! 

The question I have is this:  Was this ban justifiable? Are cornrows and dreadlocks truly unprofessional?  How much does (or should) your hair be a factor when applying for a job? 

I would love to hear from the professional men with dread out there!

Share your thoughts and comments with me.  Join the discussion!