Hello World!
Our new Executive Director Deldelp Medina grabs the baton, and continues the marathon.
I kept on saying we have to rewrite the playbook to Aniyia every time she would tell me about her battle wounds from trying to raise funds in Silicon Valley. Every time she would hit a milestone requested by an investor using the minimal amount of capital and lots of sweat equity, her goal post was moved. So when she came to me for advice on the first Black & Brown Founders event, I was ready. She wanted to put brilliance at the center of her work. Brilliance and expertise that didn’t look like the usual tech conference stage. There was lots of reticence from the partners we were working with. Were our numbers exaggerated? Did we really need that capacity? Folks showed up ready, it was packed full of people, energy, and excitement. Aniyia said, “So, this is what it feels like to have product-market fit right out of the gate.”
Black & Brown Founders was launched.
Aniyia Williams is a friend, a colleague, a mentor, and a great dance partner. She uplifted me when I had some low and painful personal moments. She championed my leadership when no one else would. For that, I am grateful.
When we talk, it can be for hours. We talk about everything from history, to our families and the events that shaped them, to the economy and how it plays out in our lives and communities — not to mention our love of art, design, and music. We have a full-on friendship that we cultivate in all interactions.
A lot of what you have seen, enjoyed, and learned from Black & Brown Founders pulls from our friendship. Our work, ethos, common understanding, love, and admiration for each other have been intertwined since the beginning. We’ve sat next to each other, banging away on our computers creating something that did not exist before. We (including many of you) created magic in the process.
From the beginning, we tacitly agreed that we would bet on our community and relationships. We know and love so many brilliant folks who have created great tech and tech-enabled solutions. We kept on seeing how they were ignored, discounted (both in who they are and in their capabilities), or dismissed. That pain we have witnessed and felt enraged us, but more importantly, it energized us to create mechanisms for change.
Aniyia transformed that pain into power, launching other organizations such as Zebras Unite, the Black Innovation Alliance, and Black Tech for Black Lives. In order to be successful, all require coalition building. This is something Aniyia is great at doing: getting folks around a (virtual) table to advance the economic future of the Black community. She understands that in doing so, she is advancing it for all of us.
Aniyia was very intentional in the framing of Black & Brown Founders. She made it clear to me that she wanted Latinx participation and advancement to be a central part of her work. She built relationships and friendships within our communities to make that framing a solid reality. She sought relationships with Latinx folks who are committed to advancing a Black economic agenda.
I’m sharing all of this because I need to be precise. I, too, have and will continue to advance the economic future of the Black community. Showing up to do that work is not an “instead of” or to the detriment of the Latinx community.
Black & Brown Founders was founded with the intent to create equity through entrepreneurship for both of our communities. To recognize our differences and similarities. To engage, uplift, and promote our economic advancement. To be anti-racist, anti-colorist, pro-LGBTQ rights, and intergenerational in our work.
Francesca Escoto and Syreeta Martin also made a commitment to Black & Brown Founders, and have been integral in creating and launching our programs like Bootstrapping Bootcamp and CHROMA. They, too, have been a part of many conversations about our personal lives, how systemic issues affect us, and the changes we want and are willing to create.
Francesca is also a longtime friend, and we have seen and experienced a lot together. Her brilliance and creativity are exceptional. Syreeta has a talent for clarity and delivery, and our relationship is one that is filled with mutual admiration. Both of these women are beacons of light for me while we traverse our COVID realities. Realities that have been painful since, despite our work, we are not exempt from the systems that work against us.
I look forward to continuing to work with all three of these remarkable women — Aniyia, Francesca, and Syreeta — in a different capacity to create a community that is unparalleled. I am grateful for their vote of confidence in my leadership.
Now it is my turn to ask our community to continue to engage us.
To our donors, sponsors, collaborators, and community partners: thank you. I will ensure that you can feel proud of your decision to support and build with BBF.
To our community members: we have always aimed to meet your ambitions, help you grow your business, and find solid economic ground to stand on.
That is the work I am committed to doing.
During these times when we have had to send condolences to so many of you and follow up on your health prognosis, and hear your fears of losing all your economic gains, we are determined to continue our work of uplifting you.
We know that our work is but one piece in a larger puzzle, but it will be the best piece we can craft.
Learn more about Black & Brown Founders at blackandbrownfounders.com. Donate here to support our work.
