Lesson 53: Assumptions
On the last day of Black History Month, we remember W.E.B. Du Bois and his work The Souls of Black Folk. He writes about the “double consciousness” of Black Americans: we see ourselves both as who we are and who the world says we are. While we strive to advance ourselves and look into a telescope of possibilities, the foul breath of systemic racism fogs the lens. What bothers me is the assumption we are breathing on the glass instead.
I grew up in Atlanta, which U.S. News reported in 2020 as having the second biggest income inequality gap (only behind San Juan, Puerto Rico). The city was the heart of the civil right movement 60 years ago. Multiple Historically Black Colleges and Universities call this city home. Georgia State, although not an HBCU, is also in Atlanta and ranks first in the country in degrees awarded to African Americans. Yet, more than 1 in 4 Black households live below the poverty line in Atlanta. We must not assume that we are not doing the work to close the racial wealth gap. We have been doing the work for generations.
The dilemma Black MBA students face is seeking career opportunities, like our non-Black classmates, and while also fighting systemic racism and uplifting our communities along the way. How do you become a consultant and do the work? How do you become an investment banker and do the work? How do you pursue Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition, like myself, and do the work? My classmate, Aishat Agboola, will join Wall Street after graduation to work in Investment Banking, but along the way she leads the advancement of immigrant communities at the non-profit, The Diaspora Organization. She is doing the work while seeking her own career opportunities.
Stories like Aishat’s inspire me because I wrestle with my pursuit of owning a business and closing the racial wealth gap. How can you run a profit maximizing business that also empowers communities of color? Through a trade school, I have discovered a way to utilize my MBA training to deepen my commitment to lifting up communities by equipping people with skills that transform lives for generations. In The Souls of Black Folk, W.E.B. Du Bois wrote about higher education, “The function of the university is not simply to teach bread-winning.” He suggests whether training MBA or trade school students, these organizations have a responsibility to team more than how to make money. You must teach students how to contribute to society.
My vision is to leverage my influence as a Black business leader to pursue economic justice. This journey will help close the racial wealth gap, which will be my contribution to society. I am not here to wipe clean a lens that we did not cloud. Instead, we are building a new telescope altogether. Through this lens, we will see possibilities that transcend the limitations imposed by others' assumptions. The double consciousness that Du Bois described need not be just a burden; in the hands of determined entrepreneurs, it becomes our most powerful tool for seeing what others cannot.
This is Lesson 53: Assumptions. Next week is Lesson 54: Commitment.
