Black Experience Archives - just bobbyt

Spotlight is on Black Creators

bobby.t — Thu, 17 Feb 2022 17:23:25 +0000

The spotlight is on Black businesses and entrepreneurs for Black history month 2022, and there is a reason for this theme.

The Sixth annual celebration of Black history at legislature

Last week as I sat down at the Alberta legislature, I was happy to celebrate Black History Month in person again, and it was a great event.

Hearing such great stories and examples of powerful conversations, led by MLA David Shepherd and John Cornish, reminded me of the importance of this year’s topic: the rise and empowerment of Black business owners and entrepreneurs in my province.

Supporting Black empowerment through entrepreneurship could lead to significant growth and opportunity for the Black community in Alberta.

Resources for black creators

Thankfully, different programs are now finally being activated. The Federation of African Canadian Economics (FACE) loan program, STORYHIVE Black Creators Edition, or some other program made for Black businesses, entrepreneurs, or creators. These Black serving programs provide services to help Black professionals gain more experience.

It has always been challenging to start as a Black entrepreneur, but the times are different now. Some organizations and programs have been created to help Black businesses grow.

Black entrepreneurs face many unique obstacles, such as access to capital and resources. The purpose of these funding programs is to help them with these challenges. Below are some programs :

Africa Center

The Africa Center is offering to support to all Black businesses.

“A community where Black entrepreneurs and small business owners are fully integrated and have the same opportunities to realize their dreams”

Africa Center’s Entrepreneurship Empowerment program seeks to build a sustainable ecosystem in which Black entrepreneurs and people of African descent can thrive.

The program will seek to do the following:

Stimulate and support business creation, scaling and expansion.
Develop and deliver programs for business skills development.
Provide relevant and timely business services to entrepreneurs.

I highly recommend checking out their website for more information.

The Federation of African Canadian Economics (FACE)

FACE is a national and bilingual Black-led non-profit organization focused on providing resources and information to the Black community across Canada with the aim of accelerating wealth creation for Canadians of African descent.This is a loan program that is ready to support your businesses if you are in need of a loan as a Black entrepreneur.

More details here.

black business face unique challenges

When we think about some of the challenges businesses face today because of the pandemic, they’re compounded within the Black community.When we look into specific industries, such as the technology sector or the cannabis space, we see patterns and not much representation of the Black individuals in either senior roles or ownership.This is due to systemic issues. This is why it is essential to know that the rise of Black business in 2022 is something that we all should be aware of if we are open to more diversity and inclusion within industries.

black businesses have history in alberta

Alberta is a province that has had a history of Black entrepreneurship in its roots which was refreshing to hear.On top of that, with the more significant topic of making history now or how Black history is now, a local rapper named OG Jonas, who had an outstanding performance was the first hip hop artist to perform in the Alberta legislature building, which is shocking as it’s 2022.I believe that because of some of the opportunities and challenges faced today, we are right now in the process of making history, and we need to be more present than ever.

2022 will be an important year for black creators

This pandemic compounded with the murders of Black and Brown people made 2020 and 2021 a very tough year.From these worldwide protests, many systematic issues have been brought to light pushing large companies to launch programs to support Black-owned businesses. You can check out initiatives from some of the biggest online platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, etc.Black Creators have a unique opportunity because many people, platforms, and organizations are open to hearing their stories, which was not always the case in the past.

Take the full advantage

The Canadian government has invested almost a billion dollars in Canada into both the Black business and not-for-profit sector.These programs have a runway of 24 to 36 months, and there are so many programs, resources, and opportunities for Black business owners and entrepreneurs. This is an unprecedented time that will be viewed in history.

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Importance of getting resources for creating projects

bobby.t — Mon, 13 Sep 2021 14:30:00 +0000

It doesn't matter if you own a highly operating business or a small café across the street, funding is required. There are many funding organizations that would love to support the project you have been working on. Look for as many opportunities as possible and apply for funds.

table of contents

why should you apply for funding?

Do I need funding as a small creator?

organizations for creators

NEW BLOG SERIES

YouTUBE Video

why should you apply for funding?

We have all experienced a roller coaster of challenges as creators. There are resources that you can access in your local region to help reduce these setbacks.

Let’s be honest no one likes to apply for grants, including myself; however, there are resources aimed at your specific needs, niche, and genre. To forgo the opportunity in applying is doing yourself and your audience a disservice.

So in case, you consider applying for funding, let’s get down t the basics.

Do I need funding as a small creator?

Funding is fuel to a business. It doesn't matter if you own a successful company or a small café across the street; funding is necessary. As a creator, you need resources like businesses to help launch successful projects and make them manageable. Imagine being able to work with a team of experts in your next project, having the latest equipment to better share your story, or access to paid marketing for your project!

To creators, this is where funding can make a huge difference that can make, or break a project.

organizations for creators

Many organizations support the creative community and i'm sure with the help of Google you would be able to find ones local to you, but I want to talk about STORYHIVE in Western Canada, which focuses on filmmakers in this blog.

STORYHIVE's Goal

“STORYHIVE wants to accelerate your creativity and development through funding, distribution and support from TELUS to help BC and Alberta creators move their career goals ahead. It is dedicated to supporting and amplifying local stories and voices”

STORYHIVE is essentially a platform targeting and trying to engage creators in Canada. So far through this initiative, they've successfully funded over 500 projects, they've engaged up to more than 18,000 creators, and they have already awarded $11 million since 2013.

2021 Black Creator Edition

What's really cool about this platform is that they teamed up with a Black Screen Office group. They announced a Black Creator Edition through which they're hoping to pump over $400,000 to fund black filmmakers between Alberta and BC. If you have ideas and stories to tell, this platform will give you all the tools you need to help you get your idea out there.

They make sure to provide you with the mentorship, the distribution and even a community you will be comfortable working. BSO is a huge deal, helping black filmmakers, creators, video makers, basically people to penetrate this industry.

STORYHIVE's goal with this Edition is to support capacity building for Black content creators in British Columbia and Alberta and empower the next generation of Black creators.

How does it work

This platform funds screen-based projects that capture the local communities in a very creative way. STORYHIVE supports stories that reflect its local areas’ culture, environment and society.

Once your projects are submitted, there's a chance that it may be featured on TELUS Optik TV through the Community Showcase program.

How to apply

Check this link here to learn more and apply STORYHIVE.com/apply

NEW BLOG SERIES

I am starting a journey of my own and want to share my process. One of the philosophies that I'm a big advocate for is this idea of building in front of people.

Over these next few weeks, in hopes of educating and sharing with people, I will be showing my process of applying for this particular grant.

Signup to newsletter if you want more tips and insights into this journey.

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There is Untapped Value in the Black Community

bobby.t — Wed, 16 Sep 2020 03:56:31 +0000

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!

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BLACK-OWNED MARKET IN EDMONTON

bobby.t — Tue, 04 Aug 2020 09:00:00 +0000

Over the past month, I have notice people in Edmonton are looking at a lot of activities and events with a black lens allowing events like a Black-Owned Market to pop-up.

It has been refreshing to see so many ideas come to fruition, such as the Black Teachers Association, kids music embracing black skin, emerging conversations in the cannabis space, and for the first time Edmonton's first Black-owned market.

I had a unique opportunity to sit down and chat with Ivan and Rochelle, who are the primary team leads behind Black-Owned Market YEG (BOMYEG). In this conversation on 360 Chat Podcast, I effectively heard firsthand about the lead up to this inaugural event and some of the challenges they face pre- and post-market.

Jeff Labine, Edmonton Journal

Ignacio said Black-owned businesses face numerous challenges to reach the broader public such as not having access to generational wealth and not being able to access additional funds such as loans because of systemic racism. She said she hopes the market helps to bridge some of those gaps by showcasing various Black-operated small businesses."

Read orginial article

Every day, I'm hearing a new idea or concept from a black entrepreneur coming to fruition, that likely would have never been supported six months ago now being embraced. I think it's vital for black people trying to bring ideas to reality to consider the two following points:

Community is Everything

It is essential to find yourself a community or group of people to work with to tackle projects. Without people, you'll be limited to your own expertise.

Black Lens will fade

This hyperawareness of anti-black racism will fade with time, but not completely disappear. With the current climate of businesses and, in general, people looking to support Black events — make sure you pack your activities with value for the end consumer, to have repeat success.

360 CHAT TAKEAWAYS

WORK WITH LINKMINDED PEOPLE
Find a group of people who have complementary skills to curate and start projects
Don't take shortcuts
It's vital to follow currents city and provincial rules and guidelines. People's health and safety should be your top priority..
Ask for Help
No one got anywhere significant by themselves. It's fundamental to ask for help; the worst thing that could happen is they say will say no.
Collaborate More
Specifically with people who are bringing something to the table. This will complement and help you run a smoother event, activity, and make the whole experience that much more enjoyable.

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