Abolitionist social justice work demands flexibility. Be ready to shift culture, manage unexpected departures, and prioritize safety, knowing your community supports you. #Abolitionist #SocialJustice #Flexibility #Adaptability #CommunitySupport

For Black women across the Washington metropolitan region, the changing employment landscape is about more than a paycheck. It can mean reassessing a career, redefining success and deciding what comes next.

The numbers underscore the challenge. Revised employment data show that approximately 251,000 Black women lost jobs between January and August 2025, accounting for more than half of the employment losses among women during that period, despite Black women representing just 14.1% of the female workforce. By the end of 2025, there were 113,000 fewer Black women employed than at the beginning of the year.

The impact has been particularly significant in the DMV, where federal employment has long provided economic stability and career opportunities for Black professionals. Maryland alone lost approximately 25,000 federal jobs in 2025, according to state employment data.

For DC Black MBA, those realities call for support that extends beyond helping women find their next job.

“I am focused on doing more and providing as many opportunities as possible for Black women to invest in themselves both professionally and personally,” said Dr. Carletta S. Hurt, president of the DC Black MBA. “We know that when Black women proceed and prosper, everyone benefits.”

That commitment is behind Leading with Intention by Investing in Self, a three-part, in-person workshop series hosted by DC Black MBA in partnership with Blu Topaz Inc. Educational Consulting.

The series builds on the chapter’s August Women’s Symposium, MastHERpiece: Designing a Life with Intention, which challenged women to see themselves as architects of their careers, wealth, wellness and impact. The new workshops take that conversation a step further, asking women to consider where they can work next and who they want to become next.

The series opens Oct. 22 with “Recalibrating Your Compass,” led by Geraldine P. White, Founder and CEO of Identity & Impact. White will guide participants through questions of identity, direction and purpose.

“You can be proud of what you’ve built and ready for something different. Both can be true,” White said. “Investing in yourself includes giving yourself permission to revisit an earlier definition of success and consider what you want your next chapter to make possible.”

On Oct. 29, Tonya Camille, creator of Me in the Making and Unstuck & Inspired, will lead “Successful, But Stuck: How High-Achieving Professionals Reconnect, Realign & Move Forward.”

Her interactive workshop will help women identify fears, limiting beliefs and recurring patterns that may prevent them from moving forward, while developing a concrete next step. “You can’t change what you won’t acknowledge, and you can’t transform what you’re unwilling to confront,” Camille said.

The series concludes Nov. 5 with nonprofit leader, author and consultant Tokiwa T. Smith leading “Rest is Revolutionary.”Her session challenges a familiar expectation placed upon Black women: that achievement and service to others must come at the expense of themselves.

Smith said Black women must recognize that prioritizing themselves, setting boundaries and making room for joy are not signs of diminished ambition. “I believe we thrive when we engage in self-care and community care,” Smith said.

For Hurt, the goal is to create space for Black women to move beyond reacting to an uncertain economy and begin intentionally determining what comes next.

A job loss can require a new résumé. A changing workplace may demand new skills. However, a life transition can also become an invitation to reconsider purpose, boundaries, entrepreneurship, leadership, rest and the meaning of success itself.

For more information, visit the DC Black MBA website (www.dcblackmbaa.org)/.

Based on reporting by Washington Informer.

For years, technology has been one of America’s fastest-growing economic sectors—and one where Black professionals remain significantly underrepresented.

In 2025, Black workers made up 12.7% of the U.S. workforce, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, but only 7.4% of the high-tech workforce, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Their share of high-tech employment had remained essentially stagnant since 2005. Black workers also represented just 5.7% of high-tech managers.

For Black women, the gap is even wider. A 2023 Kapor Foundation report found Black women represented less than 3% of the tech workforce, with even fewer in decision-making and ownership roles.

So, instead of waiting for the broader technology industry to solve its representation problem, could Black Houston build something of its own?

The answer: Yes—but not simply by drawing a line on a map.

Houston has the pieces

Dr. Reagan Flowers, founder of C-STEM and Education Consulting Services, believes Houston already possesses many of the building blocks needed for a Black Tech Corridor.

“What I have not seen is the intentionality to connect, capitalize, and organize assets into an ecosystem where Black Houstonians can create, own, and scale technology companies and participate meaningfully in the wealth those companies generate,” said Flowers.

She contends Houston already offers examples of what a technology ecosystem can look like.

The Texas Medical Center’s innovation infrastructure demonstrates the power of institutional partnerships, specialized facilities, and venture funding. The Ion District demonstrates how universities, corporations, entrepreneurs, real estate, and capital can converge. TXRX Labs shows the value of community-accessible maker and technical-skills infrastructure.

Flowers argues Black Houston can learn from all three without simply copying them. The goal, she said, should be a hybrid public-private-community ownership model.

Third Ward makes sense

If there is a geographic spine for such an ecosystem, Flowers points to Third Ward—particularly Emancipation Avenue. Its location is difficult to ignore.

Third Ward sits near Texas Southern University, the University of Houston, and Houston Community College, and connects to Midtown, the Ion District, and the Texas Medical Center.

UH already has a commercialization platform that takes innovations through invention, prototyping, licensing, venture creation, investor connections, and market expansion. Its Technology Bridge provides a large innovation park with laboratories, offices, and space for technology companies.

“To the west is Rice’s Ion District,” shared Flowers. “To the southwest is the Texas Medical Center and its health-tech commercialization engine.”

In other words, Black Houston would not have to build an ecosystem from scratch.

“The pieces are already on the board,” said Flowers. “They have not been organized around Black technology ownership and wealth creation.”

Is there already one?

Parts of a Black tech ecosystem clearly exist. Houston has Black technology professionals, Black-owned startups, STEM nonprofits, workforce development programs, minority business organizations, Black founders and investors, universities that produce diverse talent, and historically Black fraternities and sororities that support innovation.

But Kara Branch, founder and CEO of Black Girls Do Engineer, cautions against defining success by geography alone.

“I think the conversation needs to be bigger than creating a physical ‘corridor,’” said Branch. “A successful technology ecosystem should be measured by what it produces for the community—not simply where it is located or who occupies the space.”

Loretta Williams Gurnell, founder and CEO of SUPERGirls SHINE Foundation, agrees.

“I believe we have one, yet a successful Black tech corridor cannot simply be viewed as a geographic location. It must function as an ecosystem,” offered Gurnell.

That ecosystem would connect K-12 STEM education, colleges and universities, workforce development, entrepreneurs, startups, corporations, investors, innovation hubs, government, faith communities, and civic organizations.

The objective: Create a seamless pathway from classroom to career to entrepreneurship.

Ownership is the point

Why does Black Houston need a Black-centered technology ecosystem? Because access doesn’t automatically equal ownership.

“As AI, automation, cybersecurity, data analytics, robotics, and emerging technologies continue reshaping the economy, we must ask: Who is building the technology? Who owns the companies? Who owns the intellectual property? Who receives the investment capital? Who benefits economically?” pondered Gurnell.

Those questions matter because technology increasingly drives wealth creation.

Laolu Davies-Yemitan, founding principal of Five Woods Realty, similarly argues that participation alone is insufficient.

“If the Black community is going to capture a meaningful share of the wealth generated by the next generation of technological innovation, the pathway must increasingly include ownership—ownership of companies, intellectual property, real estate, investment capital, and the institutions that support entrepreneurial growth,”

– Laolu Davies-Yemitan, founding principal of Five Woods Realty

“If the Black community is going to capture a meaningful share of the wealth generated by the next generation of technological innovation, the pathway must increasingly include ownership—ownership of companies, intellectual property, real estate, investment capital, and the institutions that support entrepreneurial growth,” shared Davies-Yemitan.

Real barriers

Building the corridor—or innovation district—will not be easy. Capital is perhaps the biggest obstacle. Black founders receive a disproportionately small share of venture funding, making it harder to scale companies, hire workers, and conduct research.

Then there is fragmentation. Houston has organizations doing valuable work in STEM education, entrepreneurship, workforce development, and innovation, but many operate independently rather than as parts of a coordinated ecosystem.

Talent pipelines also require attention. Young people in underserved communities can face limited exposure to STEM, limited access to technology resources, mentorship, and professional networks, and limited knowledge of technology careers. Gurnell’s philosophy is straightforward: Exposure creates aspiration; information drives preparation; preparation creates access.

Digital inequity remains another challenge, including disparities in broadband access, devices, digital literacy, and training in advanced technology. And then there’s social capital.

“Deals are made through trusted relationships,” Gurnell said. “Therefore, those relationships have to be exposed, nurtured, and strengthened.”

Branch adds another warning: Houston cannot confuse activity with impact.

“There can be a lot of panels, events, programs, announcements, and conversations,” she said. “But doing the work means consistently showing up after the spotlight is gone.”

Build talent before buildings

That may be the most important lesson.

“The conversation should not begin with buildings,” said Gurnell. “It should begin with talent.”

That means investing in early STEM exposure, workforce readiness, mentorship, entrepreneurship, capital access, and collaboration among nonprofits, corporations, universities, philanthropies, government, and industry.

Branch points to Black Girls Do Engineer’s STEMXUS EdTech infrastructure as an example of building rather than merely discussing solutions.

“We don’t want a young person to simply hear that engineering, technology, or innovation are possible careers,” Branch said. “We want them to build something, solve a problem, use the technology, meet professionals, develop skills, and understand what their next step can be.”

Branch’s litmus test asks, did someone gain a skill, get a job, launch a business, discover a career, or secure capital or customers? Did a family gain access to opportunity?

From corridor to economy

Flowers suggests thinking beyond a traditional corridor and toward a Black Innovation District; one that connects Third Ward, TSU, UH, and HCC with the Ion, TMC, and Houston’s manufacturing and maker infrastructure.

Rather than competing with Houston’s existing innovation centers, it could become connective tissue between those institutions and Black Houston.

Gurnell envisions additional benefits.

“The greatest opportunity before us is not simply creating a Black tech corridor,” Gurnell said. “It is creating a Black innovation economy.”

The infrastructure for such a corridor/economy exists. The question is whether Black Houston can summon the intentionality, investment, collaboration, and ownership required to make it happen.

Based on reporting by Houston Defender.

“We want an end to the robbery by the CAPITALISTS of our Black community.” That was our position in October 1966 and it is still our position … However, many people have offered the community Black capitalism as a solution to our problems. We recognize that people in the Black community have no general dislike for the concept of Black capitalism, but this is not because they are in love with capitalism. Not at all.”

The Black Panther Party, as we begin to carry out the original vision of the Party. When we coined the expression “All Power to the People,” we had in mind emphasizing the word “Power,” for we recognize that the will to power is the basic drive of man. But it is incorrect to seek power over people. We have been subjected to the dehumanizing power of exploitation and racism for hundreds of years; and the Black community has its own will to power also. What we seek, however, is not power over people, but the power to control our own destiny. For us the true definition of power is not in terms of how many people you can control. To us power is, first of all, the ability to define phenomena, and secondly the ability to make these phenomena act in a desired manner.

We see then that power has a dual character and that we cannot simply identify and define phenomena without acting, for to do so is to become an armchair philosopher. And when Bobby and I left Merritt College to organize brothers on the block, we did so because the college students were too content to sit around and analyze without acting. On the other hand, power includes action, for it is making phenomena perform in the desired manner. But action without thinking and theory is also incorrect. If the social forces at work in the community have not been correctly analyzed and defined, how can you control them in such a way that they act in a desired manner? So the Black Panther Party has always merged theory and practice in such a way as to serve the true interests of the community.

In merging theory with practice, we recognized that it was necessary to develop a theory which was valid for more than one time and place. We wanted to develop a system of thinking which was good anywhere, thus it had to be rather abstract. Yet our theory would relate to a concrete analysis of concrete conditions so that our actions would always be relevant and profitable to the people. Yet, at the same time, it had to advance their thinking so that they would move toward a transformation of their situation of exploitation and oppression. We have always insisted on good theory and good practice, but we have not always been successful in carrying this through.

‘When the Black Panther Party defected from the Black community, we became, for a while, revolutionary cultists. One of the primary characteristics of a revolutionary cultist is that he despises everyone who has not reached his level of consciousness, or the level of consciousness that he thinks he has reached, instead of acting to bring the people to that level. In that way the revolutionary cultist becomes divided from the people; he defects from the community. Instead of serving the people as a vanguard, he becomes a hero. Heroes engage in very courageous actions sometimes, and they often make great sacrifices, including the supreme sacrifice, but they are still isolated from the people. Their courageous actions and sacrifices do not lead the people to a higher level of consciousness, nor do they produce fundamental changes in the exploitation and oppression of the people. A vanguard, however, will guide the people onto higher levels of consciousness and that way bring them to the point where they will take sterner actions in their own interests and against those who continue to oppress them. As I’ve said previously, revolution is a process, not a conclusion. A true revolutionist will not only take courageous actions, he will also try to advance the people in such a manner that they will transform their situation. That I, by delivering power to the people the true revolutionist will help them define the social phenomena in their community and lead them to the point where they will seize the time and make these phenomena act in a desired manner.

Therefore, as revolutionaries we must recognize the difference between what the people can do and what they will do. They can do anything they desire to do, but they will only take those actions which are consistent with their level of consciousness and their understanding of the situation. When we raise their consciousness, they will understand even more fully what they in fact can do, and they will move on the situation in a courageous manner. This is merging your theory with your practices. Point 3 of the original Ten-Point Program of the Black Panther Party is “We want an end to the robbery by the CAPITALISTS of our Black Community.”

That was our position in October 1966 and it is still our position. We recognize that capitalism is no solution to the problems we face in our communities. Capitalist exploitation is one of the basic causes of our problem. It is the goal of the Black Panther Party to negate capitalism in our communities and in the oppressed communities throughout the world.

However, many people have offered the community Black capitalism as a solution to our problems. We recognize that people in the Black community have no general dislike for the concept of Black capitalism, but this is not because they are in love with capitalism. Not at all. The idea of Black capitalism has come to mean to many people Black control of another one of the institutions in the community. We see within this characteristic the seeds of the negation of Black capitalism and all capitalism in general. What we must do then is increase the positive qualities until they dominate the negative and therefore transform the situation.

In the past the Black Panther Party took a counter revolutionary position with our blanket condemnation of Black capitalism. Our strategy should have been to analyze the positive and negative qualities of this phenomenon before making any condemnation. Even though we recognized, and correctly so, that capitalism is no solution or answer, we did not make a truly dialectical analysis of the situation. We recognized that in order to bring the people to the level of consciousness where they would seize the time, it would be necessary to serve their interests in survival by developing programs which would help them to meet their daily needs. For a long time we have had such programs not only for survival but for organizational purposes. Now we not only have a breakfast program for schoolchildren, we have clothing programs, we have health clinics which provide free medical and dental services, we have programs for prisoners and their families, and we are opening clothing and shoe factories to provide for more of the needs of the community.In a way our new position has the simplicity and completeness of a mathematical formula.

When the Black capitalist contributes to the survival programs and makes a contribution to the community, the community will give him their support and thus strengthen his business. If he does not make any contribution to the survival of the community, the people will not support him and his enterprise will wither away because of his own negligence. By supporting the community, however, he will be helping to build the political machine that will eventually negate his exploitation of the community, but also negate his being exploited and victimized by corporate capitalism.

So we will heighten the contradiction between the Black community and corporate capitalism, while at the same time reducing the contradiction between the Black capitalist and the Black community. In this way Black capitalism will be transformed from a relationship of exploitation of the community to a relationship of service to the community, which will contribute to the survival of everyone.

Original publication: Huey P. Newton, “Black Capitalism Re-Analyzed,” The Black Panther: Intercommunal News Service, June 5, 1971 (supplement). Archival scan: https:// cdn.filepicker.io/api/file/Mum1pt7RZ6jYSUs1kh2v?fit=max

The post BLACK CAPITALISM RE-ANALYZED I: JUNE 5, 1971- HUEY NEWTON appeared first on San Francisco Bay View.

Based on reporting by SF Bay View.

Doubts surfaced early in her media career, fueled by nasty comments and a fear of not belonging. But divine guidance and unexpected community support transformed her journey, leading to a profound sense of family. #FaithJourney #OvercomingDoubt #FindingCommunity #MediaCareer #Belonging

LeBrent Speed founded The Better Black Business (B3) Project to intentionally combine commerce and community for Black entrepreneurs and authentic allies. Just over two years in, the professional networking program has more than 100 members and is expanding to other cities.

On this episode of MSR On the Radar, Speed shares how a licensed minister who always aspired to work in business became BNI’s first Black regional director, and why he saw a need for more intentional Black networking spaces. He explains B3’s founding principle of serving over selling, defines networking as the intentional pursuit of impactful relationships, and talks about his nonprofit, The Better Black Business Initiative, which trains Black youth, next-generation allies and justice-impacted people to become entrepreneurs.

Speed also discusses his first book, “The Transformation Code: 5 Keys to Transforming Your Life and Impacting the World,” and how it grew out of one of the lowest periods of his life.

Watch the full conversation.