2-YEAR ANNIVERSARY REFLECTIONS

When we decided to start our journey as entrepreneurs we planned on it being difficult, but we could never have predicted the challenges we would face to make our business sustainable and viable.

Five months into our venture, the pandemic brought everything to a complete stop. All scheduled workshops were canceled. We didn’t want to give up on our goals, so we used this “downtime” to develop the Uprooting Bias Online Challenge. Then the George Floyd murder happened and so many companies reached out to ask us for training. But when we conducted our interviews to assess the organizational goals and overall strategy the training would support, it was clear that most organizations lacked the capacity and understanding to make meaningful change. As such, we proposed a comprehensive approach to assess and baseline the current state of their efforts, create a plan to advance DEI, and support the implementation. We found that most organizations were not ready to consider and invest the necessary resources to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in a sustainable manner.?

We started working with a few who were ready to embark on the journey of sustainable change and we have continued to find more organizations that are willing to work toward long-term change rather than short-term, feel-good DEI initiatives that do nothing more than check a box.?

This last year of our entrepreneurial journey has been particularly challenging. As women with children, the weight of the pandemic has impacted us heavily. For about six straight months, the level of intensity was greater than we could manage without sacrificing part of ourselves in the process. This was driven by personal losses and heartbreaks, but also the rewarding task of leading change. We faced predictable, yet discouraging and disappointing experiences due to the lack of courage and ability to honestly address racism and sexism in organizations, industries, and in our society.?

This summer, the founding team has been looking at our operations and growth to ensure we can honor ourselves in the process of building a social impact first business venture. We are taking inventory of the things that we invest in and asking ourselves tough questions as we envision our future. Inevitably, we have to ask ourselves whether the results were worth the sacrifice. I have come to the conclusion that it has been worth it because as a majority women of color-owned business we don’t have any other choice. We must sacrifice to overcome, lift ourselves and our communities, break barriers for our children and grandchildren, change systems, cultures and organizations that see us as a risky investment, and honor and carry on the legacy of a better future. I would rather this progress was not so heavy on the backs of all women of color, but because it is our lives and the lives of our families and our beloved communities we will endure the sacrifice for a more equitable future. Some of us will succeed and some of us will succumb, but we will all be united in the fight for equity, equality, and justice.?

We are at the very beginning of our journey, but we know that if the foundation we have built is strong enough to hold in the middle of a pandemic it will continue to evolve and grow. We want to say thank you to all our advocates: Without you, the doors of opportunity would have not only been closed but locked for us.