Fearless Fund Has Spoken . . .

Black Women are worth the fight!

 

By now you should have heard about the legal case between Black woman-led Fearless Fund and American Alliance for Equal Rights (AAER), the case where AAER falsely claims “race-exclusive programs like the one the Fearless Fund promoted are divisive and illegal.” There is nothing illegal about funding Founders from diverse backgrounds.. There is nothing illegal in hiring employees from diverse backgrounds, it actually benefits organizations and supports innovation, creativity and productivity. AND, “companies with a diverse workforce are 35% more likely to experience greater financial returns than their respective non-diverse counterparts.”

 

So, why are we still talking about it. In an interview with CBS This morning, Fearless Fund CEO, Ariana Simone gives us our marching orders. When asked what she would tell someone who is facing these types of challenges, she tells us “If they stand by their beliefs, they should stand by their beliefs,” and that’s why Connections Multiplied Too, and specifically me as Founder and CEO need to keep up the fight. Black women are worth the fight! I believe in US! I believe in the work we lead. I believe in our ability to lead with excellence, passion and commitment to mission and people. I believe we deserve the space to celebrate our uniqueness, heal from the work trauma we face, build our network and skills to build greater and stronger network AND grow and develop in our personal and professional skills.

 

But that’s me, what about you? What do you do with this gain? What do you do when WE WIN? For me, I won’t stop confronting the barriers to fundraising for our programming. I won’t stop myself from entering rooms that contain the table that I should be at or even lead. I won’t stop fighting for each and every Black woman who experience bias of microaggression in the workplace. I won’t stop coaching Black women traversing their leadership journey. The curriculum for Black Women in Nonprofit Leadership and Black Women Leading in Education includes a session on the importance of sisterhood that should be healing. Not only the sisterhood of BWNPL and BWLE cohort participation, but also sisterhood in community. We need to heal, lift as we climb and be the resistance for our success. The work continues. The fight continues. The WINS will continue.