We seek to end poverty, patriarchy, and White Supremacy by building a billion-dollar social business
Why a "social business"?
The social sector, as it operates today, is not equipped to solve the pressing problems of Black America and Poor America
As valiant as their efforts are, we can no longer put the burden of ending poverty on the doorstep of resource-strapped human services organizations. If we as citizens care about creating a society where everyone has access to opportunity, it’s time for us to be bold.
We can't continue to wait on incremental change
“A social movement that only moves people is merely a revolt. A movement that changes both people and institutions is a revolution.”
―
This is still America
The founding fathers built a system that prioritized White shareholders. They also built a system where Black people were three-fifths a person. This was done after centuries of genocide of indigenous peoples. This is America. We are all cogs in the system that the founding fathers designed for us.
Public pleas for change have consistently been ignored
The National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders was an 11-member Presidential Commission established by President Lyndon B. Johnson to investigate the causes of the 1967 race riots in the United States and to provide recommendations for the future.
Their report, issued in March 1968, argued that the riots were caused in large part by poor neighborhood conditions and limited labor market options facing Black Americans as a consequence of racism and rampant discrimination in housing and labor markets. These factors underlay the development and maintenance of the northern black “ghettos”, where residents endured extreme segregation, limited housing choices, concentrated poverty, and poor schools (Kerner, 1968)
White backlash to the findings of this commission helped to lay the foundation for the law-and-order campaign that elected Richard Nixon to the presidency later that year. Instead of considering the full weight of white prejudice, Americans endorsed rhetoric that called for arming police officers like soldiers and cracking down on crime in inner cities.
This continues today.
We need a scalable solution, yesterday
The Kerner Commission report is a framework that can serve as a starting point to self-fund our efforts. Their recommendations embraced three basic principles:
- Mount programs on a scale equal to the dimension of the problems
- Aim these programs for high impact in the immediate future in order to close the gap between promise and performance;
- Undertake new initiatives and experiments that can change the system of failure and frustration that now dominates the ghetto and weakens our society.
Things will stay the same until we change our collective approach
Black America must diversify its approach by investing social and political capital in our own institutions. We cannot continue to rely solely on American systems still built to maintain the standards set during slavery.
The financial success of "the chosen few" in our village is not good enough
A privileged few may have enough money to shield themselves from systemic racism, but true freedom escapes all of us.
- Are our children free to play in the park with a toy gun like other Americans?
- Are we free to walk home at night with Skittles and an iced tea like other Americans?
- Are we free to speak our mind to a police officer like other Americans?
- Are we free to vote without having to deal with adverse circumstances?
- Are we free to protest for our human rights like other Americans?
- Are we free to breathe easy as we pass the police parked on the side of the highway?
You don’t search your entire life for something you already have. And we’ve been searching, and searching, and searching.
Money is needed to fund substantive change
“We have the courage in our ranks, we have the skill and capacity. We lack most desperately funds to organize and educate. To do a major job we need your help in this struggle for citizenship. Our common desire for Constitutional rights can be realized now if contributions reach us now.
Your investment in Negro suffrage will yield dividends in a vibrant democratic life for both Negro and White, Jew and Gentile. I hopefully await your supporting hand to launch to the next great surge forward.”
―
The "social business" has the power to transform our modern economy
Profit can fund change.
The Black America Foundation is the face of a social business ecosystem that intentionally centers the needs of Black America and is designed to create an environment for us to succeed through market-based, community-based, and advocacy based initiatives.
The Black America Foundation uplifts our community by fostering economic prosperity, addressing the root causes of criminal injustice, closing the Black-White health and wealth gap, eliminating external education barriers and doggedly fighting against our political and moral adversaries with unguarded honest candor while still promoting joy, love and happiness. The Black America Foundation pools funds from social investors around the world to create spaces and opportunities that promote and explore Black excellence.
The Black America Corporation is a revenue generating enterprise that sells social products to generate revenue to fund the work of The Black America Foundation.
Ken Jones
Founding Campaign Director
Ken Jones, is a seasoned social sector fundraising and business strategy consultant. He was raised on the West Side of Detroit by his grandmother and graduated valedictorian from Northwestern High School. He matriculated to the University of Chicago and completed his undergraduate studies in Economics in 2006. While at Chicago, Ken was heavily involved with campus politics and served as the president of the Organization of Black Students in 2005.
In his short career, Ken has raised over $20 million dollars for education, foster youth, the Catholic church, hunger, and wishes for kids with critical illnesses. Ken is the Team Leader at From Lothrop Street, a Black business startup ecosystem designed to help Black folks and poor folks thrive in America and all around the world. The vision of From Lothrop street is to create a new economy powered by independent business artisans. Ken is also the co-founder of the fundraising campaign software firm, Above Goal which powers the work of fundraising consultants.
In January 2019, Ken was featured in Advancing Philanthropy, the magazine published by Association of Fundraising Professionals, where he interviewed Steve MacLaughlin of Blackbaud and Ross Hendrickson of Bloomerang and offered his own advice on how social sector organizations can build a data-driven fundraising culture.
Black.Radio
Black.Radio is the first social product of The Black America Corporation. The flagship show, Good Morning Black People, premiered on January 7, 2019. Nineteen episodes were produced and released in January 2019.
Production of Good Morning Black People will resume once the Winter membership goal is met. Download The Black America Foundation app to be the first to know about future shows.
Substantive change for Black lives is a balance of activism, fundraising, direct political advocacy, systems building, community organizing and media representation.
Impactful change requires intentional collaboration. Together, we can solve our complex problems
The Black America Foundation proactively partners with organizations already doing good work without intentionally duplicating efforts. No-one has all the necessary knowledge – No-one can sustain change alone. In true collaboration, we acknowledge that the solution can only be created if we work together.
How can we drastically change our generational narrative?
Hyper-masculinity and Paternalism
Transphobia and Homophobia
Intra-Village Distrust and Adversarialism
Engage the entire village on how to build community and family structures since we have only fought together. Learn to live together so we can thrive together.
Hopelessness, Helplessness, Worthlessness and Inferiority
Provide opportunities so the hopeless have reason to hope
Help those that need to be helped
Affirm the worth of all in the village
Disprove the notion of inferiority in ignant fashion
An Absence of Economic Prosperity
Increase our wealth by pioneering a shared-wealth business model, building hustler micro-economies, investing directly into our neighborhoods and intentionally originating and engineering new Black domestic economies and spaces. Train and fund a new generation of business owners focused on providing phenomenal hospitality options.
Financial Under-Servicing
Address the financial under-servicing in our communities by promoting the existing #BankBlack movement and making stake investments in Black-owned banks.
Juvenile Delinquency
Curb juvenile delinquency by offering year-round paid youth fellowships.
Isolation of the Incarcerated
Address the incarceration-poverty problem by employing prisoners, paying market wages, and pushing for reforms to reconnect the incarcerated to the village.
Police Misconduct and Lack of Accountability
Lessen the need for traditional policing by organizing and/or funding neighborhood clubs. Test and pioneer new public safety models.
Recidivism
Reduce recidivism by aggressively funding programs for the formerly incarcerated.
Legal Predators
Combat the legal predatory environment by developing a corps-style fellowship to offer premium legal aid assistance.
Unconscious Racial Bias in Police Departments
Help the law enforcement community manage their unconscious bias and recognize Black humanity by creating a training company to provide law enforcement training.
Racial Health Disparities
Increase access to care by creating vertically integrated care-delivery models to serve the urban and rural poor. Reduce the reliance on emergency room healthcare by using the concierge primary care medical practice model to increase health and well-being. Operate community health urgent care centers as an entry point.
Negative Police Encounters
Decrease negative police encounters by partnering with Flex Your Rights to develop police life-defense courses for our youth and adults.
Infectious Violence
Save lives by adopting and funding Cure Violence's vision for stopping the spread of violence.
Primary Care Doctor Shortage
Address the shortage of primary care physicians in our neighborhoods by providing student loan pay-off bonuses to attract the best medical talent.
Mental Health Stigma
Reduce the stigma of mental health in our communities by exploring the online and mobile therapy model as an entry point and community mental health centers as the destination point.
Unhappiness
Create spaces where we can breathe easy and fully be ourselves in professional and recreational settings. Create new technologies, products, and services where our needs as customers are front and center.
Gun Violence
Reduce gun violence by funding moonshot projects to develop a robust market for non-lethal self-defense products. Publicly and happily fund opponents of the National Rifle Association.
Chronic Stress
Strengthen our village by partnering with the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence to elevate the study of mindfulness in our community spaces. Increase resilience. Improve emotional control.
Lack of Fully Resourced Community Spaces
Help strengthen communities by opening, operating, and renovating community and recreation centers that provide academic coaching and mentorship.
School Attendance
Increase attendance rates by providing local emergency housing and employment for parents of school-aged children. Decrease absence rates by developing community ridesharing networks.
Systemic Racism
Work to eliminate systemic racism by funding the creation of a Black American Legislative Exchange Council to draft and share model city, state, and national legislation for distribution and adoption.
Environmental Racism
Address systemic environmental racism by funding organizations and candidates fighting for environmental justice.
Digital Divide
Address the digital divide through the creation of sliding scale connection products.
Hunger
Curb hunger and decrease food deserts by partnering with community centers and expanding sliding scale grocery stores.
Lack of Media Representation
Build a Black Public Broadcasting System that will intentionally and simultaneously celebrate our togetherness and individualness.
Unaffordable Housing
Create programming and institutions to accelerate Black homeownership. Expand emergency housing.
We must be fearless
Even though we’re taking the advice of dominant society – the “go solve your own problems” advice – we will still be judged. We’ll be accused of reverse racism. We’ll be accused of segregation. Some will say that it’s racist to intentionally direct efforts toward one group of people.
Racism is a system. White Supremacy is that system. Black Supremacy has never existed. So reverse-racism does not exist.
What could our Wakanda look like?
The Beginning
The Midwest Plan
Refining the Foundation Model
The Midwest Plan is the first project of The Black America Foundation and aims to be the beginning of a Black Marshall Plan. Initial funds raised will be used to accelerate existing work and fuel ideas to create opportunity in important midwest centers like Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Flint, etc.
As the capital of Black America, Chicago will be the first proving ground for our special blend of market-based, community-based, and advocacy-based initiatives.
In the next phase of this project, community leaders will be assembled to serve as advisors to the Black America Foundation. They will be supported by a global management consulting firm. Fundraising efforts will be supported by a strategic fundraising firm.
You are a Benefactor.
Consider making a mustard seed commitment to financially support this important effort.
Thank you again on behalf of Team Black America for making Black.Radio a great success.
Just like our grandmothers used to do when a neighbor had a need, when they would take money out of their own pocketbooks for someone else, when the strong women who raised us would leverage the resources of the community to help an individual, to support each other – this has always been our culture, and we want to come together to lift each other up and to have this support and impact on a larger scale. On a nation-wide scale. We believe it’s not only possible, it’s inevitable if we work together.
So our question for you is, are you in? We know you’ve been disappointed before. We know you are probably skeptical (hell, we all skeptical). The truth is that we have real, statistical economic power, and this is the time to put in work. Our approach to creating wealth is different. We believe in partnership vs. employment, an economic model of sharing. And it starts with each of you being willing to test this hypothesis with us, to say, “Yes, we can do this together.” It starts with joining Black.Radio as a Benefactor at any level.
If that seems like a big commitment, think about the hours of labor a Habitat for Humanity homebuyer puts in as their house is being built. Think about their sweat equity, and what the return is on that investment. The return on investing with us will be worth it because our problems are not insurmountable. Our freedom guarantees that. And as we walk deeper into the freedom we have in this country, as we give, as we work to foster growth and change and joy in our communities, we firmly believe that we will overcome them. Together.
There can only be one America. There is only this one house, and it needs Chip-and-Jojo style renovations. This is our moment as Americans to come together, and work with each other, to help resew our now fragile American fabric.
Thank you for your thoughtful consideration.
Start your journey to Black America
Stop 1: If you made it here you are at Stop 1. Congratulations! You just finished reading The Black America Foundation case for support. Thank you for taking the time to read our story, we hope that you will continue on the journey to Black America.
Stop 2: Read the detailed frequently asked questions below to understand the roots of our organizational philosophy.
Stop 3: If you have questions send them to welcome@blackamericafoundation.org and your unique question will be answered publicly, below, in our growing FAQs section. You can also engage with Ken directly on social media.
Stop 4: Be heard by sending your thoughts and ideas to welcome@blackamericafoundation.org. We are eager to engage with you. What did the case for support miss? What would you add to it? What do you wish could get taken out? In your opinion, what biases are over-present in our case for support? Are there areas where you perceive this case lacks perspective? Does this case have blind spots? What would have made this more effective for you personally? What are we not considering? How can we make this more effective so that it reaches its intended goal? Why are you ending your journey to Black America?
Stop 5: Share The Black America Foundation case for support with at least one another person and personally ask them to join you in making a commitment to the Black America Foundation.
Final Stop: Together, make a monthly financial commitment to support Black.Radio, our first social product.
Black.Radio Benefactor opportunities for mega-shareholders, corporations, foundations, and nations.
we are grateful
LUSTRUM COMMITMENTS ONLY
we are grateful
LUSTRUM COMMITMENTS ONLY
We are grateful
LUSTRUM COMMITMENTS ONLY
we are grateful
LUSTRUM COMMITMENTS ONLY
Prepare a letter on organizational letterhead with the USD value of your total Lustrum Commitment. Please include your annual schedule (e.g. the month The Black America Corporation can expect annual payment) for paying toward your Lustrum Commitment. This detail is needed to formally register your commitment. You will receive an annual invoice for payment.
Email hello@fromlothropstreet.com and instructions will be provided to you on where you can send a notarized copy of your commitment via Federal Express. Please include your first annual payment.
We got this
So let's do this
By providing your cell phone number you consent to receive periodic campaign updates from The Black America Foundation. Text HELP for help, STOP to end. Msg & Data rates may apply.
Together.
FAQ
Most frequent questions and answers
The social sector faces many challenges but the primary issue for many organizations is the lack of a recurring revenue base.
What does this mean? Many financial supporters of social organizations make what we would call, “one-night stand gifts”. What is a one night stand gift? A supporter writes one big check and the organization never hears from them again. While we’re certainly not against one-time big checks (welcome@blackamericafoundation.org if you want to send one), these one-time big checks don’t help social organizations with what they really need, revenue predictability. Revenue predictability is needed so that our social organizations can adequately plan for the future.
While financial supporters of social organizations certainly have the prerogative to write that big check, we want financial supporters across the sector to consider more dating and marriage and less one-night stands. What our social organizations need is a recurring revenue base. The perfect “social investor” in our eyes is one that makes a monthly commitment while also making sizeable gifts from time to time.
Our Founding Campaign Director has worked in every part of the sector. (e.g. program, volunteering, nonprofit strategy consulting, board, nonprofit fundraising consulting, capital campaigns, board leadership). The commonality in all of his social sector experience was the lack of a true recurring revenue business model. This is the baseline for most businesses, yet revenue development departments in social organizations often don’t function this way.
Consider some of the fundraising challenges that the sector faces:
- The traditional annual giving model is less effective for social organizations without a primary earned revenue source and recurring financially stable constituent base
- The traditional portfolio-based major giving model, alone, is laborious and not predictable enough for social organizations to adequately plan for the future and incrementally achieve their ultimate visions.
- Special events are inefficient, usually result in a financial loss when staff time is considered, and the “major gift” revenue that often follows the event could be made in more efficient ways
- Current direct mail tactics are timeworn and appeal to an aging demographic, though we believe internally there is an opportunity for resurgence
- Digital nonprofit marketing is outdated and has not kept pace with newer inbound and content marketing developments
- Planned giving is the biggest opportunity in fundraising yet far too many organizations have not yet created robust programs, and those that have only focus on blanket marketing efforts
- For many, applying to modern foundations is akin to playing a cruel labor-intensive lottery
- Consistent cuts in government funding have made this revenue source unreliable.
- Social organizations have not adequately appealed to the bottom lines of businesses to drive revenue.
- Social organizations with brand recognition can more easily secure unsolicited one-time donations, but have a tough time securing a second donation
- Social organizations that struggle with everything mentioned above are typically bad candidates for capital campaigns, what many see in the sector as a fundraising solution, because they do not have the most important thing that a campaign needs to succeed, an existing base of committed supporters.
These are the challenges the entire sector faces. There’s an old saying in some African American communities that is often applied to the broad-stroke disparity of nation’s economy: when America catch a cold, Black America gets pneumonia.
The deck is already stacked against social organizations that serve the neediest citizens. These social organizations are not positioned to move the mountains our society desperately needs moved.
The goal is to build a sustainable revenue generating institution.
We believe that this important institution should be built to last and in order for this to occur, reliable predictable revenue is needed. This revenue reliability will allow flexibility to plan for the future and provide breathing space to focus on the vision and take the long view.
The social sector currently faces challenges because it doesn’t have the space to explore big ideas because many organizations have to start all over at $0 each year. This is not predictable. It’s not stable. It’s not designed to freely explore big ideas like the private sector. The social sector should boom as if it were Silicon Valley since social sector unicorns provide actual social benefit.
Further, social sector organizations are discouraged from being opportunistic in their revenue seeking whereas business has much more flexibility.
Finally, the social sector discourages performance based and percentage-based commission fundraising. This has arguable merit in traditional social sector fundraising, but The Black America Corporation is charged with generating revenue from the sales of social products and functions as a business. Businesses excel when there is flexibility to pay affiliates, independent marketers, and originators based on performance.
Social investments made directly to The Black America Foundation during fundraising tours are tax-deductible and will follow standard social sector AFP fundraising guidelines.
If you would like to learn more about the challenges the social sector faces click below to listen to The Above Goal Podcast with Ken Jones, a short five-episode series about the sector recorded last Summer.
The Black America Ecosystem is a moonshot project to end poverty and White Supremacy.
The “social business model” is one that The Black America Foundation is pioneering. PBS is the closest model based on our research. As a frame of reference you could think of us as a Black PBS on steroids.
The mission of this ecosystem is to generate money. Lots of it. The deployment of that money and the mechanics of how it is deployed is a conversation for the community and the experts because it is essentially the building and rebuilding of community institutions from scratch.
Both. It has to be about both.
A social business is one that exists for the sole benefit of generating return for social organizations, whereas traditional businesses exist to generate return for shareholders.
First, remember that this is an ecosystem and The Black America Foundation receives its largest share of revenue from The Black America Corporation. When the foundation is operational it will accept money and will occasionally raise money on fundraising tours.
Today, you are purchasing a social product by becoming a Benefactor of Black.Radio. Your purchase of this social product will benefit the foundation. By joining Black.Radio you will support a brand with a very explicit cause. The uplift of Black people. As a Benefactor you will enable the production and creation of fresh content aimed at elevating our community. By purchasing a social product your dollar goes even further because it supports the building of a full ecosystem designed for us to thrive.
The vision is to build an ecosystem specifically designed with Black America in mind.
We have concluded that the best way to create this ecosystem is to build each block separately. The foundation is the face and most important part of the ecosystem because it interfaces directly with communities. The corporation is the revenue engine of the ecosystem, and radio is a media property modeled after PBS.
No. You can download The Black America Foundation App on Google Play. Apple users can listen to the first month of Good Morning Black People on Apple.
It includes an opportunity to work together to solve our pressing problems. It includes the chance to change our generational narrative. It includes an opportunity to explore and showcase the entirety of our community. Your dollar is speech. As a member of Black.Radio you will contribute monthly to an initiative committed to substantive social change.
Prayerfully, your membership includes you personally feeling humbled to be a part of something bigger than just you.
No. Black.Radio is a social product and project of The Black America Corporation. Social products offered by The Black America Corporation are not tax deductible.
Those that are only interested in social investments can contact us directly at welcome@blackamericafoundation.org and we we will provide more information about how you can make an unrestricted tax-deductible gift to the foundation.
First, consider making a commitment to this effort as a Benefactor. The most important thing that you can do at this stage is make a monthly commitment so the ecosystem can build a sustainable recurring revenue base.
Second, send your feedback on this draft case for support (what you’re reading) to welcome@blackamericafoundation.org, we want to hear from you. This is a live document.
Third, consider joining our email list and connecting with us on the digital conversations we will soon facilitate.
Finally, when we come to your city while on a fundraising tour consider participating in your city or regional campaign.
Yes. We don’t require that you notify us of your legacy contribution. If your gift qualifies for the Diamond Circle (Individuals that commit more than 50% of their estate to The Black America Foundation) or The Black Diamond Circle (Individuals that commit 100% of their estate to the Black America Foundation), please consider notifying us so that we can include you in celebration events and opportunities to network with other circle members.
No. You are free to publicly celebrate being an 8 Benefactor, or not.
The Black America Foundation does not publicly acknowledge social investments. The Black America Corporation does not publicly acknowledge benefactors. The mission is always front and center at The Black America Foundation. Not executors. Not benefactors. Not social investors.
Disclaimer: Supporting projects as a benefactor of The Black America Corporation or making a social investment to The Black America Foundation, may not absolve you of your real or perceived “sins” in the eyes of the public. While we are grateful to all benefactor and social investors, we urge you to reconsider your contribution if generating “ROI” or increasing “brand value” is the only goal.
Yes. The Black America Foundation is governed by leaders that work on the front lines for change.
Social investments to the The Black America Foundation.
Social products offered by the Black America Corporation.
No one can morally “own” an entity like The Black America Corporation. This is freedom, not a transfer of ownership.
Ken Jones is the current Executor and 100% legal owner of The Black America Corporation LLC, a registered entity in Delaware. This registration was necessary to build initial business infrastructure. The Black America Corporation is currently a client of The Agency, a From Lothrop Street house brand.
A follow-up question might be, well, who owns The Black America Foundation? No one person can legally “own” a public charity. Read this well-written article for more information about foundations.
During the next phase of this project succession, trust, legal, tax, audit, risk and business strategy experts will be consulted to help craft a solid structure worthy of this vision for the future.
It isn’t. This sector is full of amazing dreamers and visionaries that work tirelessly for causes that they are passionate about.
First, the traditional social sector was not designed to be a solution to all of societies ills and should not be tasked with trying to ambitiously solve all of societies ills. Some would argue that it’s the job of the government to do this, others would say it’s the private sector. The social sector is still caught in the middle of this decades long debate.
Second, a general apathy toward Black America and Poor America suspends success for most social organizations trying to make an impact in our neediest communities.
Finally, our goal is not to indict the social sector but change it for the better. We want to pioneer new ways to generate sustainable revenue for causes.
We can no longer depend on a social sector fundraising model to serve the least among us when that same model is only able to generate incremental funds for real change. Black America and Poor America simply does not have the time to wait.
Great question! First, keep in mind that the foundation is the face of an ecosystem that presently includes a digital radio network and a corporation. The innovation is in the ecosystem model. The Black America ecosystem prioritizes generating sustainable regular revenue by offering social products.
This ecosystem is designed to avoid the common fundraising limitations that are faced by traditional social sector organizations.
When performing our root-cause analysis we tried to ask “why” until we knew “why”.
The “why” to discriminatory lending practices may be that the economic system was built with Black Americans in mind.
The “why” to criminal sentencing may be that the criminal system was built with Black Americans in mind.
The “why” to school to prison pipelines may be that education systems were built with Black Americans in mind.
The “why” for lack of healthcare and maternal/fetal death rates, may be that nothing was built for us.
Many Black Americans stumble daily over all the “why’s”, which is why we insisted on listing them out fully as a conversation starting point in the building of this ecosystem.
We are convinced that there is talent in our communities with bright ideas on how to address the root causes of our generational narrative, the goal of the foundation is to source those ideas and fund them vigorously.
The Agency is a From Lothrop Street house brand that shares in the success of driving revenue for businesses. The Black America Corporation is the only social benefit cause/company in The Agency’s portfolio.
The Black America Corporation is a revenue center, meaning it gains revenue from social products like Black.Radio or Class.
The individual social product brands in The Black America Corporation portfolio are profit centers meaning these projects are responsible for revenues and costs.
Social venture projects of The Black America Ecosystem (e.g. community centers, fellowships, physical spaces) are cost centers funds for these social venture projects can be disbursed from the corporation or the foundation depending on the nature.
The Black America Corporation itself will maintain a product-focused functional structure. The management of revenue generation for social products of The Black America Corporation will be led by teams and directed by strategists, all hired by The Agency which manages The Black America Corporation brand.
The Black America Foundation, on the other hand, is a standard social organization run by a board. Internally, our team has jokingly referred to the foundation as a spending center. 
The Black America Foundation will be led by an exceptional group of transformational governing leaders directly tasked with solving local and regional problems. This may include creating new programs when needed, funding and trench partnering with organizations and talent already doing good work, fostering local partnerships, and mobilizing the weight of the foundation to make larger and/or real-time impact when needed.
The benefit of this structure is again that it is built with long-term sustainability in mind.
Note: Some nuances of this planned business infrastructure may change after experts are consulted.
The Agency is a From Lothrop Street house brand that shares in the success of driving revenue for businesses.
The Black America Corporation is a current client of The Agency. The Agency manages The Black America Corporation brand. There are no employees.
The Agency is powered by task-providers, service-providers and strategists hired on a contract or retainer basis to work directly on projects designed to generate revenue for clients. Depending on the nature of the project, team members may receive incentives, bonuses, royalties, project profit sharing, and performance bonuses based on their individual contributions and achievement.
Racism is a system. White Supremacy is that system. Black Supremacy has never existed. So reverse-racism does not exist.
Here is a brief reminder of some things Black Americans have been told:
- Black Americans have been told to solve their own Black-on-Black crime issues first, and respect will follow.
- Black Americans have been told that since they were born in America they’ve won life’s economic lottery and that they should take advantage of it.
- Black Americans have been told, even when they hold their dead children in their hands, that they don’t know how good they got it.
- Black Americans have been told that they have nothing but opportunity in America.
- White Americans have told Black Americans that they are tired of being blamed, tired of Black Americans having a victim mentality, and generally tired of dealing with a people who only want something from others.
- Whenever Black Americans tell White Americans about their actual lived experiences, in America, White Americans tend to get defensive. Tears flow, because who wants to believe they are an unwitting oppressor? The common refrain from White Americans when this accusation is made is that they are colorblind, don’t oppress anyone, and don’t intentionally hold anyone down. The usual recommendation of White Americans is that Black Americans should go focus on themselves.
- Black Americans have been told that no one can solve this problem but Black America.
This initiative will seek to ease the pain and poverty in our communities instead of continuing to wait for substantive political change that may never come.
The American relationship with the Negro has always been rocky. But many have hung in there. Through slavery, Jim Crow, water hoses, Ronald Reagan and, surprisingly, Donald Trump, they’ve hung in there. Some White Americans say that Black Americans are whining and that Black Americans should shut up while White America makes it great again. The response is sometimes to call these White Americans ignorant bigots, but siblings fight, and we are fellow Americans living in one house.
And this house – it’s beautiful and historic and full of potential – but it’s also unsafe. The foundation, the wiring, the support beams – sometimes it seems like our arguments are about paint colors and marble vs. granite, when the whole thing is liable to fall down or burn down around us. Because it’s not about taste and culture or skin color – it’s about respect and safety and community and empathy. Plus, we still need to have a national conversation about that attic full of monuments to White Supremacy that still needs to be cleaned out.
Things are at a boiling point. This house can feel pretty unbearable at times, and some Black Americans have considered bailing. It is our belief that for the vast majority of Black Americans this is a non-starter. These Black Americans will never leave. They will not give up on this place. Their ancestors have worked too hard on America for them to give up on it. They could never dishonor their legacy by leaving. They can’t.
Racism is a system. White Supremacy is that system. The system was created as a tool to build the Southern economy. Laws, regulations, customs, etc were all built with “Negroes” in mind.
White Supremacy, in America, is a system that was created to uphold the social, political, and economic system of American chattel slavery.
This system was built long before we were born. White people are a beneficiaries of that system. Many have had the perpetual question about what to do about that system.
Allies either help dismantle the system or they don’t.
Sadly, systems are designed to last forever. Supremacy was originally taught as a means to uphold a system. Now, that system simply cycles. It cycles socially, politically, economically, legally, and mentally.
We are now left with this system and substantive efforts were never made to pull White Supremacy out of America by the roots.
MLK argued in his final book, Chaos or Community: Where do we go from here, that we need a revolution of values. So the rest of the racial journey we would argue are about changing hearts and minds and having truthful and candid conversation about the legacy of slavery in our country.
Here are three other recommendations we offer:
Disassociate racism from ignorance and prejudice. People aren’t racist, institutions are racist.
Fight ignorance and prejudice with every fiber of your being. Start with your network. Start a book club. Start a movie night. Have candid truthful conversations about race with other White people.
Finally, we’d say that the movement for racial justice needs actors more than it needs allies. You have the opportunity to act in your community right now by mobilizing your peers. If you have the chance to personally communicate or collaborate with a Black person you can be a good ally by simply listening, putting your personal emotions on the back burner, and being fully receptive and responsive as they describe their real lived experience.
Next Steps
This vision requires financial resources.
Securing those financial resources is the next step.
“The nation has been warned by the President’s Commission that our society faces catastrophic division in an approaching doomsday if the country does not act. We have, through this non-violent action, an opportunity to avoid a national disaster and to create a new spirit of harmony.”
Please send the maximum contribution in this crisis year that your circumstances permit. While we are engaged in our Washington project we will also be continuing our far-flung work in voter registration, citizenship education and other activities. We can, together, write another luminous moral chapter in American history. All of us are on trial in this troubled hour, but time still permits us to meet the future with a clear conscience. Please mail your check today to fill tomorrow with optimism and hope.”
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Will you be down with us on Day 1?
CREDITS
57 Podcasts
Atlanta, GA
57 Podcasts is a full service production and management company focused on helping podcasters, and their sponsors, be heard and seen through the power of uniquely branded audio and video content. 57 Podcasts is led by Shaine Freeman an award-winning entertainment journalist/publisher and Grammy-nominated musician.
Brown Buddha is a team of diverse and talented creators who are deeply passionate about stories. Specializing in sound design, voice-over, and video. Their award-winning team guarantees utmost accuracy and quality with everything they do.
Brown Buddha is responsible for the Good Morning Black People show art and genre-breaking meditation piece. Brown Buddha also provided consulting services on this project.
NAS is a Brazilian record label that is rethinking urban contemporary music. They believe that we were born to connect music production with other cultural expressions of our time, escaping from the traditional and meaningless so called “genres”, and creating histories with sound, smell, and imagination.
Castelan, curator and host of NAS, is the head music curator for Good Morning Black People. You can hear his mixes every weekday morning during the #woke segment.
House Of Renji is a haven to young creatives and visionaries who look to bring their dreams to reality in unconventional ways.
The House is as a creative platform that specializes in recording and producing, distribution, touring, marketing and management.
HOR distributes artists into major music stores such as iTunes, Spotify, Pandora, and Tidal, as well as the video platform VEVO. Boasting the talent of recording artists Emmitt James, Genesis Renji, and music producer Golden Child, the House is growing into the media powerhouse it can be.
Genesis Renji worked as a music broker and connector securing music content for Good Morning Black People. Genesis Renji’s full album, S.I.N.S: Stories I Never Shared is featured on Episode 4 of Good Morning Black People.
Golden Ticket Management builds the brands and businesses of entertainment professionals across the industry.
Andre Mehr aka “Cutty Dre” is a Producer, Engineer, and Talkboxer. He graciously opened his vault for the background music that you hear during commercials on Black.Radio.
The Good Morning Black People theme song, Electric Love, is a song off of Dre’s upcoming album. Dre has pure talent for producing great music of all genres.
Total Gain Productions is all about the people! They know that business in not all about dollars and cents; it’s about the people and their art! Specifically the ones who create the art, and those who consume it.
Total Gain Productions
Tucson, AZ
From inception to completion, Brat eliminates the overflow, bypassing the need for a thousand clicks to last beyond the latest trends. Here are the passionate answer seekers, unafraid of asking questions to steer the collaborative effort in pursuit of a lasting brand and greater aesthetic. A team of advisors, creative directors, strategists, artists, and writers united in media spanning projects that synthesizing the creative, business and technological into one clear, precise and constant vision. BRAT is responsible for creating logos for The Black America Foundation and Corporation.
SHUFE Media (pronounced shoe-fee) is a strategy and creative services agency based in Atlanta, GA. They focus on leveraging the medium of video using their “SVS” model to help brands and social media influencers reach out to their audience in a way that will maximize profits while building consumer engagement. They work with brands, small business and social influencers nationally and internationally. Their primary focus is on business strategy, various video solutions and social management. They are a one stop shop for all of your video needs.
Socionado is a social media talent brokerage firm that matches top-tier vetted social media strategists and managers to marketing leaders and business owners. Socionado is a recent winner of the TechSquare Labs Atlanta Startup Battle.
This multi-year project has been a global effort powered by task-providers, service-providers, and strategists from all around the world including Brazil, Pakistan, Turkey, Croatia, Argentina, The Philippines, Thailand, Serbia, Spain, Cyprus, India, Argentina, Portugal, and the United States.
A very special thanks to our inner core team!