For Entrepreneurs Who Dare to Stand Up for Social Justice!
Whether you’re passionate about making an impact in the world or simply looking for inspiration, this story promises to offer valuable insights into the power of social entrepreneurship.
Have you ever felt the need to make a difference in the world but didn’t know where to start?
Throughout history, there have been countless heroes and heroines who have stood up for what they believed in and fought for change. And while their efforts may have seemed small at times, they all made an impact in their own way.
This holds true for an entrepreneur whom I’d like to introduce you to. This entrepreneur has always been passionate about social justice, and he found purpose through activism which, ultimately, helped him start a business.
If you haven’t already figured it out by now, the entrepreneur I’m talking about is myself.
Before I tell you any more stories about other social entrepreneurs, I want to share my own story and how my experiences with activism laid the foundation for the business I run today.
While it might seem like the two things don’t go together — activism and business — you might actually be surprised to learn that there are a lot of entrepreneurs like me out there. You might not hear from them every day on the CNBCs or Bloombergs or Fox Newses of the world. But, believe me, they’re out there.
So let me be the first to share what motivated me to become an activist, how I used that experience to launch a communications firm for justice-motivated companies and nonprofits, and why communicating about social justice is so critical today.
Whether you’re passionate about making an impact in the world or simply looking for inspiration, this story promises to offer valuable insights into the power of social entrepreneurship.
So let’s take it back to my childhood, which began in the Bay Area…
I grew up in a household where we heard a lot about the .
My parents went to San Jose State back in the heyday…around the time that John Carlos and Tommie Smith (both San Jose State alumni) .
I always had a lot of respect for the stories my parents shared about their activism because I understood that, although I grew up in an era where people of color got to experience a lot more freedoms than previous generations, those freedoms came with a sacrifice.
That’s partly why I’ve always been an activist.
Years later, when I was a student at UC Berkeley, that activism would shape my career path. But I had no clue that my activism and my parents’ influence would lead me to a higher calling.
You see, when I got to Cal, I swore to myself that I wasn’t going to join a protest.
Cal is known for so many great things. But because of its , it feels like there is a protest on campus for something every day. It can get played out real quick.
I always wanted to make a difference, but not by just complaining about stuff all the time.
Then, one day, the student newspaper ran a racist ad, and that changed everything for me.
In essence, the ad listed 10 reasons why reparations for African Americans should never happen. The ad was nothing more than an attempt to spark controversy and prop up another white, conservative man who was trying to make himself feel relevant.
What the student newspaper and the guy behind the ad didn’t realize was that moment would spark a resistance.
Because of , which banned affirmative action in California, the Black student population at Cal dwindled to less than 3%.
As a Black student, it was easy to feel like it was you against the world.
So when that ad was published, a large group of us got together and organized. But we didn’t just want to do another protest that would get ignored. We wanted people to stop and think about what was really going on.
On the day of our action, a group of students, dressed in all black with black masks covering their mouths, walked into classrooms throughout campus and stood silent on the walls, handing out flyers to educate people about the plight of Black students at that time.
Another group of students, dressed in all black and wearing black masks, blocked the main entrance of the campus and stood in silence as people had to walk around them and wonder what was going on.
Another group of students, which I was a part of, marched to the student newspaper and demanded that they give us our own space in the paper to tell our story since, at that time, no one seemed to get what it meant to be a Black student at a predominantly white institution.
Then I had an idea…
After that protest, I kept thinking, “Why not keep telling our story so that more people understood what life was really like for Black people and all people of color on campus?”
I decided to join the student newspaper, hellbent on changing things from within the system.
That stint at the student newspaper turned into a decade-long career as a journalist, where I covered everything from racism in a Bay Area suburb to city council and school board meetings to a pipeline explosion that left eight people dead and a quiet neighborhood changed forever.
I eventually transitioned into working for nonprofits and helping them put together strategic communications strategies so they could fight for social justice and help their communities thrive.
Now I’m doing something I never imagined when I was in undergrad. I’m helping business and nonprofit leaders who have created solutions to address some of the world’s most pressing issues. I help them grow their online presence and I show them how to thrive in the 21st century so they can focus on spreading a message of hope to the masses.
In short, I help justice-motivated businesses and nonprofits advance racial equity and social justice by stepping in as their digital communications manager.
And I love what I do.
We’re moving to a world where the future of business is social entrepreneurship. But most of the people I work with aren’t just in business to make themselves look good to some shareholders in an annual report. They’re committed to creating a world where everyone has what they need to thrive, no matter their race, class, gender, physical ability or ZIP code.
Translating that mission into a professional website, social media post or article isn’t always that easy, especially if you’re a tech-challenged social entrepreneur. But the cool thing is all those technology-driven things can be accomplished with a strategic roadmap and ongoing professional support.
Why am I sharing all this deeply personal information with you?
Becoming an activist has shaped my life in ways that I never could have imagined. Through activism and storytelling, I learned the importance of standing up for what you believe in and using your voice to affect change. Mastering the art of storytelling and heeding the call to become an activist has given me a sense of purpose and a drive that led me down the path I’m on now — running a business that aligns with my values and ideals (I can’t believe I’m saying this in 2023, but that is still the exception — not the rule — in the business world.).
So whether you’re an aspiring entrepreneur or simply looking for ways to make a positive impact on the world around you, here’s my biggest takeaway so far: Taking action is key.
When we come together around shared values and fuel those desires with the principles of business, we can achieve great things and create meaningful change. But it requires fearlessness, and you can’t be afraid to stand up for what’s right and speak out against injustice, especially when it comes to people of color.
You never know where that might take you!
