"Black in Business"

Did you know that a black person, Garrett Morgan, invented a three-way stop light, and that one of his inventions, a smoke hood, also made him a hero after a local rescue?

I also recently learned that Elijah McCoy, a black mechanical engineer and contemporary of Booker T. Washington, held the most patents of any black inventor of his day. Although the story is contested, he also might have been "the real McCoy."

As a white person writing about black experiences, I feel completely unqualified. In order to write this article with any sense of fairness and insight, I interviewed Savannah Edwards, a young black woman (photo above) who has spoken up and educated herself about the experience of being black in America. She also happens to be my niece. I do not know how to capture our interview here, the breadth and scope of her perspective, and her piercing commentary on certain aspects of “the way things are.” Reading about the people on Wikipedia's List of African-American Inventors and Scientists opened my eyes to just how hard it has been to be "Black in Business." In a way, every successful black person is in business, consisting of themselves as a brand and often a trailblazer, or one of a very small group of similarly successful black people. To any forward movement, there is the added weight of being the first this or that, and representing such a broad collection of people included in the word “black.”

As I understand it, the black experience is wide and varied, and there is no one definition of what “black” is. As Edwards pointed out in our interview, after describing herself as a multi-racial black woman who is light-skinned, she can only speak “from who I am and where I come from.” Paraphrasing from my notes, she went on to say, “First of all, nobody asked to be the way they are. When you are born black, you are born into a world that already dislikes and maybe hates you. On top of that, you may also experience being born into poverty, psychological trauma, PTSD, and cycles of addiction. Being successful at all is beating the odds. Then, once you have a seat at the table, now you have to keep the seat by making everyone happy who welcomed you in the first place. If you are Black, Latino, or Asian, you become the face of your community, good or bad. So now you are also trying to be the savior of a super broad community.” I would add to this that some black innovators and artists have also decided to or had to create their own tables, like Augusta Savage's art studio in Harlem, where everyone was welcome.

As Shelley Latham says in her article A History of Innovation: Pioneering Achievements of Black Engineers, "the stories and breakthroughs of black (people) represent the very best of American ingenuity. ...they often lacked formal education, financial backing, and a receptive audience for their ideas due to racial bias. These systemic roadblocks make their achievements even more remarkable."

"Black in Business" is such a huge topic with so many inspiring stories, that I decided to touch briefly on the following categories: Black Women Astronauts, A Black Business Polymath, An Up-and-Coming Black Businesswoman, and A Local Black Business.

Mae Jemison is quite the entrepreneur, although she is perhaps more well-known for being the first black woman in space in 1992. Overall, Jemison was the 20th woman to go into space.

The second black woman in space, and 41st woman overall, was Stephanie Wilson in 2006. "That perspective of one earth, one humanity, is one that we definite appreciate having," she says in a video about the Artemis Team. Wilson still works for NASA, and most recently was the voice for Mission Control during the first all-female space walk. Although not strictly a businessperson, being an astronaut automatically launches a person into a career of public speaking and mentoring, along with frequently writing a book and managing the personal resources that come from fame, so I deemed that worthy of being included here.

Joan Higginbotham is the third black woman to go to space, also in 2006, and occupies the 46th place on the list of women in space. One of her hobbies is motivational speaking. I was looking for the fourth name when I came to the end of the list of 65 women. There is no fourth name, not yet at least, as of March, 2021.

For my next category, A Black Polymath in Business, I chose Alicia Keys. She has also been called a modern-day Renaissance woman. Apparently I live under a rock, because I only recently discovered who she is through her Masterclass. She is a 15-time Grammy Award-winning artist/songwriter/musician/producer/arranger/instrumentalist, mentor, philanthropist, actress, a New York Times best-selling author, a film and television and Broadway producer, an entrepreneur, and an activist. Her most recent endeavor is a beauty business called Keys Soul Care. What I admire most about Alicia Keys is her depth of feeling and the way she chooses action over despair.

In June of 2020, she performed her song, "Perfect Way to Die," at the BET awards as a tribute to those who have been victims of police brutality. Later in 2020, she announced her partnership with the NFL to create a $1 billion endowment fund to support black businesses and communities. In her own words, "As an artist, I’m always thinking about how can I use my platform to further racial equity. This fund is one of the answers and our goal is to empower Black America through investing in black businesses, black investors, institutions, entrepreneurs, schools and banks in a way to create sustainable solutions.”

Describing her non-profit, She is the Music, as part of her acceptance speech for the Icon Songwriter Honor in 2018, she said, "We want to create a model for change that effects women across all industries. We deserve the utmost respect, and so many of these women across industries are telling our culture that time is up on double standards, and it is it’s over for pay inequity and colleagues who are at best disrespectful and at the worst unsafe — so it’s over for that.”

For up-and-coming black business icon, I chose Aventer Gray. She has had many roles: co-pastor, entrepreneur, reality star, podcaster, mentor, and philanthropist. I first heard her name connected with the dance ministry at Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas. She also starred on the reality show, The Book of John Gray, along with her husband for three seasons. She and her husband later moved from Texas to South Caroline to pastor Relentless Church. She has a passion for dance and a passion for education, and has come up with innovative ways for both of these things to be included in her church’s programming. In 2019, Aventer Gray launched a lifestyle brand called Aventer Gray Co. & Harmony Reign. Her brand launch party stood out because "it included an Empowerment Panel that engaged in discussions of being a woman in different spheres of influence," according to FirstLadyB. She has had many ups and downs, but I expect to see great things from Aventer Gray.

My favorite local black business is a clothes boutique called Kristen Boujee. The owner has faced more than her fair share of hardships. She had an online presence but her physical location was relatively new when the 2020 COVID shutdowns occurred. She was able to briefly reopen, then the mall where she is located closed its doors due to structural damage from an unexpected snowfall. I have not been able to find out what her next step is, although I hope that she will persevere and be able to find a new physical location. She was able to stay in business despite COVID, but I am concerned about how she will overcome this latest challenge. Thankfully, her website is still up and running. She has great taste and finds unique clothing pieces in all sizes. My favorite leggings came from there, along with a sweater and jeans that I love.

I chose the categories and women by myself, but my discussion with Savannah Edwards was a light for the way. She and I spoke of Billie Holiday, Rihanna, Colin Kapernick, and Marilyn Monroe. Edwards expressed frustration with the societal expectation to “play nice” even when systemic racism is blatant, complex, and slow to change. Her firm belief is that “the Civil Rights time never ended. We are still in it.” As she and I ended our discussion, which was like a master class in and of itself, Edwards asked a question, “Yes, there may be black businesses and black people earning good money, but what do they own? Do they own the company or the team or the rights or the building?”

A rocket's speed starts off slow, then becomes faster and faster. That is my hope for America, that although it took us a long time to reach this point, perhaps it will not take us so long to arrive at a peaceful place of business, safety, and support for each and every human being. Because I believe that is what America is ultimately about, that it doesn’t matter so much where you came from, but where you are capable of going if someone believes in you. America has come a long way for black in business, but as a country we are not back in business, not yet.