Black August: Why Nipsey planned to use Crypto to build community & you should too.
This month as we commemorate the global fight for Black liberation through various mediums & revamp our monthly newsletter (after a sweet 4 month hiatus), it seems to be the perfect time to remind communities across the world why we aren’t new to this… we’re true to this. From the inspiration of unyielding spirits like George Jackson, Assata Shakur and Monster Kody we have gathered in community with the common cause of bucking the system and making the world a better, more sustainable place for all through education, engagement & empowerment.
On Nipsey,
Since disclosing his ownership of Bitcoin and his initial investment in Follow Coin Nipsey Hussle was a pioneer in displaying the vast opportunities that blockchain brings to the Black community. Fast forward a few years later with the advancement of decentralized organizing and smart contract tech, the 40acres DAO is leading a digital revolution that transcends technology in an effort to bring back true community & positive Black culture. In the first iteration of our DAO (Preseason), we have activated over 500 members across 5 metropolitan cities and 2 countries, built native applications that are culturally designed & coordinated on a mass scale to bring Crypto to the Community. The Marathon Continues and we are beginning to hit our full stride, stay tuned for Season 1 (launching Q4 2022) and get in the field.
On Black August,
This month we uplift and highlight the countless political prisoners, revolutionaries & martyrs that made sacrifice after sacrifice to stand up to systems of oppression. This is NOT a fight that was chosen but one born out of necessity and the power of hope that comes with a brighter day and more equitable world. In true Web 3 fashion, we continue to advance the efforts of those that came before us by memorializing their hard work on the Blockchain by promoting mutual aid, a higher collective consciousness & radically showing love by intentionally creating space to celebrate one another.
Community Updates
Since our last update we’ve expanded beyond conference by conference activations and dove down the rabbit hole of Re-Fi (Regenerative Finance) which is a spin on the novel De-Fi concept that provides new use cases and incentives for blockchain infrastructure. In the past few months we have:
- Raised $500+ through quadratic funding and member contributions to build upon our L.I.T.eracy Hubs Project
- Onboarded 50+ justice involved youth in partnership with local nonprofits by helping them create their crypto wallet and claim a complimentary NFT
- Facilitated in-person and virtual educational workshops targeted specifically at underrepresented demographics in the Web 3 Ecosystem
Through our efforts we are actively transforming the make-up of what Web 3 looks like in a major way, with both industries that serve as the backbone of fintech lacking diversity with rates as low as 1% to know that there are organizations like ours reversing this trend is how we ensure WAGMI!
In addition to our work in the Re-Fi space here’s some more work that we’ve been up to:
- Participating in NFT NYC through curated events in partnership with an emergent collective of Black led projects called the MERGE & speaking on official conference panels
- Hosted the NEAR ATX Hacker House and threw the livest Blockchain Block party known to man at Consensus 2022
- VIP Experience @ Midwest Con (A Black led crypto conference in Cincinnati facilitated by Disrupt.Art
- Forging deeper partnerships with organizations like BlackWeb3, Crypto Learn Lab, Gitcoin & NEAR ATX
The Monthly Member Come Up
40 ACRES And A DAO by OG Russ (Co-Founder/Chief Vibe Officer @ 40acres)
What’s good family? Let’s talk about the 40acres DAO! I know you’re probably like what is this, well let me put you up on game. 40acres DAO is A Decentralized Autonomous Organization built to create self-sustaining communities of color using blockchain technology. The Web 3 Roc Nation if you will… Shout out to Hov & Biggs. Now if any of that went over your head, I got you.
40acres is the mixing/melting pot for tech, culture, and community. The mission is to have a space dedicated to empowering, educating, and engaging with communities of color. We onboard as many black and brown creatives and professionals into Web3 as we possibly can. Why web 3? It represents the next iteration of the internet, the ‘creators’ economy and broader tech ecosystem. An internet where WE are in control.
The Plays
Engagement
This is a platform of open discovery where the advances in technology become more accessible to everyday individuals. We provide workshops, retreats, and networking events for multifaceted creatives. We’ve even curated a collaborative metaverse gallery. As a person of color, expect to be thrown into an atmosphere that welcomes your uniqueness and identity. This is a space to be proud of who you are. We’re a part of the reinvention of the social network. We invest in you. We educate you. We empower you all while you own your work.
Education
The largest obstacle for new people in the space is the steep learning curve, especially demographics that are on the losing side of the digital divide. In order to get more people in the space, there has to be an easy/contextual education process. So we’ve partnered with 101.xyz to streamline the education provided to the people that look like us. In our discord community, we host weekly workshops, and daily events to step hand in hand with the member learning experience. The goal is to invoke curiosity and instill a truly robust knowledge of Web 3 among our members.
Empowerment
Whether you are a newcomer to the space or Web 3 veteran, this DAO is for you. We create space for artists, businesses and consumers to meet and collaborate in both physical and digital realms. Imparting blockchain native tools to help you focus more on what you enjoy doing whether that be art, business or vibes. That can look like our minting fee scholarships for artists, our Artist Management Services or even our social impact initiatives that blend technology to instill change among our target areas of Education, Justice Reform and Economic Empowerment.
Benediction/Monthly Bounty Dashboard
If you feel passionate about contributing to and are actively looking for a cultural crypto community to build with, I invite you to complete this brief form and join our Discord server to have a conversation with some of our Key Contributors and core members.
This Web 3 native tool is our primary contact for decentralized organization and completing projects. We currently have 50+ open and active bounties available to our members which helps to build your stake in the community. For a personalized onboarding experience, feel free to apply for this onboarding task and start a conversation in the corresponding Discord thread to schedule a time that works best.
Contributor MVP
Shout out to our Co-Founder Catalyst for bringing home this month’s Contributor MVP! Some notable bounties he’s completed include:
- Creating a new survey to gather information on how to better serve the community (Complete using this link and claim this task on Dework to get a reward!)
- Completing the monthly resource aggregation to help members find new and interesting topics to dive deeper on
- Updating the Gitcoin grant with a progress report since grants round 14 to help our eligibility for the upcoming round 15 (Check it out here!)
New Tech/Integrations
Connect your wallet to our upcoming Coordinape Epoch (Launches Oct. 1) which allows you to form teams and ensure value flows to those that contribute most!
Shout out to our last Twitter Space with the Gitcoin DE&I Round participants! We got to chat it up with SheFi & Wonderverse and are currently testing a base in Wonder that members are encouraged to join as we weigh our options on which tech stack we’ll choose for Season 1. Community members are encouraged to join the 40acres base using this link.
Plug Talk
Music: FN Meka and the AI powered attack on Black Culture
Tech: Midjourney and the rise of AI Art
Entrepreneurship: Black Innovation Alliance Funding Opportunity
Get Connected:
If you’ve made it this far, you’re a real one!
At 40acres we believe that the Only way forward is together and we look forward to seeing your contributions shape the world of Web3! Be sure to leave a comment and let us know your thoughts on the topics discussed today and follow us for all future publications.
