![]() These feelings can prevent underrepresented people from getting involved at all. Lack of representation in business-or in any situation-can create intimidation, fear, and reduced confidence. Black entrepreneurs still face barriers to small business ownership How do communities, policymakers, institutions, and allies create greater accessibility to entrepreneurship for Black people? First, we should understand the barriers-including the historical context behind them-and the benefits to breaking them down. “How are we a part of history but we're not represented in the artifacts?” The BLK MKT Vintage founders curate artifacts of Black history and provide cultural context for them in the antiques market. “When you go into antique stores, you look around and don’t see yourself represented,” she says. This was Jannah’s experience when she launched BLK MKT Vintage. In doing so, they have created representation in industries where, before they entered them, they did not see many faces that resembled their own. The panelists-successful founders and community role models in their own rights-have all overcome some of the barriers to entrepreneurship frequently faced by many Black business owners. They were joined by moderator Mandela SH Dixon, CEO of Founder Gym. Taking the stage alongside Jannah were William Adoasi, founder of Vitae London and Gwen Jimmere, founder of Naturalicious. This critical mass of folks of color is so important. She and a panel of her peers have gathered here to answer one important question: why does the future need more Black businesses? The Shopify-hosted panel kicked off the first day of AfroTech 2019-a four-day gathering of more than 6,000 Black entrepreneurs and tech professionals, aimed at driving conversation, building community, and “scaling collective power.” But on a November evening in Oakland, California, she sits on a stage facing a packed room, ready to look ahead. When it comes to her antiques business, Jannah is usually looking to the past. “Our ancestors paved the way for us to get here.” Jannah Handy, right, was one of three business owners taking the stage at AfroTech to discuss the future of Black business. “We sometimes forget that there is a historical context for the work that we're doing,” she says. It was watermelon, after all, that created early economic opportunities for formerly enslaved Black people who grew and sold the fruit-and it became a representation of freedom.īut for more than a century, the watermelon has been used as a negative stereotype of Black people-a racist symbol of untidiness and laziness. ![]() For the co-owner of BLK MKT Vintage, it’s a symbol of perseverance, prosperity, and self-sufficiency. It might be a repeating pattern on her nine-year-old’s slippers or pajamas. Often, Jannah Handy’s wardrobe will include a small reference to something seemingly innocuous: the watermelon. ![]()
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