At the most recent peak of racial injustice in the United States, the murder of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, I sat down and asked myself, “How can I make a difference? … How can I do more than donate to a cause? … How can I solve this problem? … What can I do with my power?”. Speaking with my high school nephew about his future aspirations, I remembered my own career planning experience and discovered the answers to these questions in the form of yet another problem that he, myself and everyone, especially people of color, face growing up – professional representation and awareness.
Black people account for approximately 12% of the U.S. population but occupy only 3.2% of the senior leadership roles at large companies in the U.S. and just 0.8% of all Fortune 500 CEO positions. Meanwhile, Black and Brown people make up 76.2% of the NBA and 47% of Billboard's top 100 artists of 2019. Racist gatekeepers hold back Black and Brown people from getting jobs and increasing our representation every day, but they are out of my control and not the only problem. I believe the biggest reason for this disparity is a lack of awareness that non-athlete, non-musician careers do exist, and are available to Black and Brown people to make great money, and are fun!
So, in June (2020), I started reaching out to Black and Brown professionals to see if they would be interested in being interviewed about their career journeys – in hopes of providing encouragement to today’s youths that they, too, could follow in the footsteps of these professionals. I was hyped by the love and positivity that I received from other Black and Brown professionals who saw the work that I was doing. By July I started posting interviews on The #BlackProfessionals Project’s YouTube channel and, so far, have 21 videos on the site with over 40 recorded in total.
In addition to posting videos, I also share inspirational stories and other great news about victories being made by Black and Brown professionals across the globe through LinkedIn. My ultimate goal is to build a network of accessible Black and Brown professionals where youths can comfortably learn and receive professional guidance on how to succeed in the professional world.