Understanding the Plight of a Black Woman Founder

In a country where you are first judged by the color of your skin, followed by your gender — I was born with two strikes against me.

I am Black. I am a woman.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying this because I feel sorry for myself. No! I love being a Black woman. I’m merely stating a reality.

My reality.

You will never know what it’s like to be a Black woman — to walk in my shoes. Throw in there a founder of a tech startup who’s raising a $2M Seed Round, where less than 1% of Black women receive VC funding. My odds are not in my favor. Many would give up.

I have two strikes against me. I don’t work two times harder. I work twenty-two times harder than my White male counterpart, attaining only a fraction of what they’ve accomplished.

Imagine what that does to your psyche.

Due to the recent events that have transpired and the awakening of systemic racism that has plagued our country for hundreds of years — from friends to colleagues to corporations to investors — you ask the question…What can I do to help?

Believe me, I appreciate you acknowledging there is a problem. The first step towards fixing a problem is admitting there is one. However, in order to help, you must understand the problem, which starts with a history lesson. And even though you will never walk in my shoes, I ask that you walk alongside me and be a witness to the plight of a Black woman founder.

Let me break it down to you in a brief timeline that highlights some of the major turning points. Note that these are turning points and not necessarily game-changers because in many ways we are still playing the same cards from 400 years ago.

• In 1619: The first Africans were enslaved in America. Historians mark this as the beginning of slavery in America. If you keep hearing it’s been 400 years, this is why.
• In 1863: Nearly 250 years later, the Emancipation Proclamation was issued on January 1, 1863, by Abraham Lincoln to free slaves living in states, not under Union control. 2 1/2 years later on June 19, 1865, also known as Juneteenth, the last slaves in Texas found out they were free. Even though slaves were free, there were huge roadblocks for African Americans as they tried to start their lives in a country that did not accept them as a person. Racism, segregation, lynchings, and extreme humiliation occurred on a daily basis.
• In 1870: The 15th Amendment in the U.S. Constitution granted African American men the right to vote. However, there were many discriminatory practices that created challenges for African American men to exercise their right to vote and many did not.
• In 1965: The Voting Act of 1965 was passed. The African American right to vote was enforced at the local and state levels. Racial tension still existed and was extremely high.

Now, fast forward to today, the year 2020. The Black community faces many of the same challenges as they did 400 years ago. That’s right! The years have progressed but we’ve progressed very little as a country. The challenges have changed with the times but racism still exists.

Instead of lynchings, it’s police brutality — murder after murder after murder of unarmed Black men.

Segregation of people has transitioned to segregation on retail shelves. Blacks are allowed in the store to purchase products but our own products aren’t allowed in the store of the major retailers. Black-owned businesses average only 1% of the retail shelf space, yet the U.S. Black population is 12%.

Voter suppression existed back then and it still exists today. Yet now, voter suppression has extended to the corporate workplace. The lack of Black representation in senior-level positions as well as the lack of Black employees in corporations as a whole means Black voices are not being heard.

And then, there’s the continued banging on the doors of VCs as you raise money for your startup. A shameful figure of less than 1% of Black women are funded. Sound familiar? It should. Back in the day, it was extremely difficult for Black entrepreneurs to secure a loan. They had to create their own wealth and rely on their own networks to get ahead of the game. As a result, the Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma, known as The Black Wall Street arose, was burned to the ground due to jealousy and racism.

I firmly believe the only way we can overcome systemic racism is for those who want to help solve the problem (which is GREAT!), first need to understand the problem and why it exists. Kimberly Jones, sums up the problem in her emotional, powerful viral video, How Can We Win?

We are at a critical point in history where action must happen now. We are tired. We are hurting. We are fed up.

What we don’t need right now are opportunists. It’s appalling to see companies filled with all White senior executives using this opportunity to shed a positive light on their company, knowing they’ve done very little, if anything, for the Black community within their organization. Slapping a Black face on the homepage of your website when you’ve done nothing to promote or bring diversity to your company is unacceptable. Stop it!

I will conclude with this ask. I am one of the founders of Tanoshi, where we’re providing an equitable digital education for all kids around the world. We started raising a Seed Round. With that, I am launching a campaign “Action Must Happen”. I challenge you with this first action. Ask a Black woman founder the question — What’s your story? What steps did you take to get to where you are today? Really understand HERstory and see where that takes you. I bet you’ll be enlightened.

Next up, you’ll get to hear MYstory so stay tuned.

Post and tweet using the hashtag #ActionMustHappen. I will follow along with you on your journey.

Cheers, to change!

Lisa Love

Co-Founder & CMO, Tanoshi