The World is Changing… Just Not Fast Enough – 3 Ways to Empower Black Women Now
By Jody Bell
Over the past year, we have seen a spike in activism for racial justice across the globe. With the public taking steps to support, and encourage this long-overdue movement, we’ve both witnessed and vocalized the inequalities within our communities like equity, inclusion, and diversity.
However, as the Black Lives Matter Movement is no longer “trending”, the conversation about racial injustice, in Black women specifically, is dwindling. How can we pick up the momentum and re-start the conversation?
In the United States Black women have always been at the crux of both race and gender-based gender based discrimination, leading to a history of oppression and leaving them out of the feminist movement that many white women historically benefited from.
While the world is progressing, changes aren’t being made fast enough – even today Black women experience prejudice within healthcare, education, occupation, wealth, and more. This begs the question; what can we do to empower Black women now?
Educate Yourself
Regardless of your race/ethnicity, ensuring you are putting effort into understanding discrimination is the first step to combat it.
Explore what you may not know – Many school districts weren’t/aren’t transparent about Black history. To begin the process of education try exploring resource hubs which will give you lists of topics you may not have been exposed to growing up.
Organize – Once you have an idea of what you don’t know/would like to know, try organizing a schedule of how you want to shift through this information to educate yourself.
Educate others – While the process of education is ongoing, make sure you’re actively encouraging your friends/family to educate themselves on Black history. Share why it’s important, how to get started, and any resources/articles/books you found interesting.
2. Support and Encourage Financial Literacy
Currently Black women have 32 cents of wealth to every dollar that a white man has.
Wealth (and more specifically the wealth gap) is one of the major reasons why Black women continued to be oppressed. Historically, Black families don’t have as much accumulated wealth as white families, which has long term effects on potential future income and financial freedom. Students growing up in low-income families don’t have access to the same educational opportunities, and as they pursue a degree they may not have financial support leading to hefty loans. This goes on to affect what jobs they will hold in the future, thus determining their future income and the financial status of their family – to summarize it is a cycle of financial discrimination.
Making this worse is a lack of financial literacy education. In families with accumulated wealth, this education usually comes up naturally by being transparent with children about college funds, assets, and investment strategies. Low-income families aren’t exposed to this, so they need to actively pursue financial education just to get the knowledge that their peers were exposed to naturally.
So, do what you can to improve your own financial literacy by using free and available resources and speaking to your friends/family. Additionally, ensure you are spreading your knowledge – send helpful articles to your friends, offer to chat about finances, and emphasize the role that financial literacy has in fighting for equality.
3. Support Black-Owned Businesses and Entrepreneurs
While financial literacy is crucial in building wealth, entrepreneurship allows women to generate their own income on their own terms.
Given the mistreatment that many face in the workplace, this is an incredibly appealing option and the data reflects this; 42% of new woman-led businesses were owned by Black women in 2019.
So, as a consumer, here’s your opportunity to do your part in seeking out businesses started by Black women. Here’s a very brief list of some amazing businesses owned/operated by Black women:
KLUR – a natural skin-care brand curated around diverse skin tones, conditions, and types.
The Lip Bar – a vegan/cruelty-free makeup brand that challenges traditional beauty standards.
Kendall Miles Designs (KMD) – a designer luxury shoe company founded by 25-year old Kendall Miles Reynolds.
Additionally, you can help equip young Black women with the skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur through programs such as Girls With Impact - where over 60% of our graduates are girls of color. We provide these young girls with the tools and support they need to get a leg up in high school, college, the corporate world, and beyond. Registration for our academy is open, and you can additionally learn more about our mission and graduates by attending our International Women’s Day Concert on March 8th.
While this may seem like a ton of work between the education, changing consumer habits, and outreach, these are the steps needed to keep the conversation going. As citizens, it’s our responsibility to protect our neighbors and those who have historically been oppressed by the nation we call home.
Jody Bell (19) Girls With Impact’s Chief Editor and a program graduate. Girls With Impact is the nation’s only online, after-school, entrepreneurship program for teen girls, turning them into tomorrow’s business leaders and innovators.