It is an understatement to say that the Black community has been experiencing a roller coaster of emotions over the last three months, seeing the most string murders go public on media.
Personally, I've had my ups and downs feeling powerless at times in my attempts to try to be part of the solution. Through some volunteering work, I've been doing for local organizations like the Jamaica Association of Northern Alberta (JANA) and the Federation of Black Canadians (FBC) I have been feeling there is more that I can do, and there's more that can be done to support the Black community.
Talking through the Pain
Over this period, I've been consistently having conversations with a few friends of mine, Keenan Pascal, Courtney Remekie, Karim Broodhagen, about solutions and ideas. We would talk about how at times, how we feel paralyzed due to the lack of influence on situations, witnessing police brutality in the protest for equal rights and seeing the next murder being broadcast throughout the media due to the lack of change.
Focusing on keeping our own families safe while balancing our work and careers, we decided to come together to see if there's more we can do to help the community around us. In each of our respective industries — media, cannabis, technology, and law — we were witnessing similar conversations about the Black community without own voice. We realize that there are so many more opportunities, and there is so much more value that we, as black individuals, can offer the world around us and decided to take action.
Bringing Value to the Table
We are currently building a platform to engage and organize black business owners, professionals, non-profits, and people within a searchable database. There have been people before us who have tackled this problem within the community, but we think we can find a more suitable solution through some strategic partners and connections. We are already one month into the process, and we feel that this project will help connect the Black community in Canada better with new opportunities.
I've stressed the importance of how we own our own platforms to control our narrative, and I'm happy to be part of a team that's helping bring us to fruition.
Below are some quick takeaways.
- If you know any Black Business owners, professionals, organizations, freelancers, or entrepreneurs in Edmonton please share this post with them
- If your are interested in learning and want to be kept in the loop please sign up here.
- If your are an ally and interested in seeing how you can help please sign up here.
I will be sharing this journey in the creation of this new platform, so please check back soon to see whats new!