Life?!

June 24, 2021 by Ikeranda Smith in black, education, generational wealth, purpose, queer, personal growth

If I could be honest, I haven’t always been aware of my blackness. It was something that I witnessed all of my life along with the perils of watching others carry the burden of being black, but me…I never understood my blackness. My parents were born during a time where there was no way in the hell you could not be aware of your blackness. It was a time when you dare not be conscious of your blackness. A period where, “are you out of your mind, you’s black!” type of era. It was obvious that they didn’t want to live being black + now explain it to me what it was going to represent to me when clearly I had not lived their working day as of yet.

Thriving While Black

December 07, 2020 by Ikeranda Smith in black, careers, financial freedom, generational wealth, life, purpose

In this season of my life, I am beginning to recognize the subtleties that connect trauma to lack. I understand that finding my worth was paramount to so many other things in my life. Truthfully, it is my natural instinct to struggle as a black woman just because of the historical narrative attached to what it means to be a black woman. So much of my healing has been unpacking my lack + the narrative surrounding how I view myself in a world that diminishes my very existence. Its complicated! My mother lived in a constant state of scarcity due to the effort that was exerted on something she didn’t understand …her worth.

US: GENDER

May 27, 2019 by Ikeranda Smith in black, black middle class, education, careers, financial freedom, generational wealth, history, leadership, people of color, personal development, personal growth, wealth, white fragility, women of color

To understand gender one must consider the position of black women. The mere fact that we are the most under represented + under paid; yet the most educated informs us that the roots of sexism are founded in the same economic + political institutions that serve the foundation of racism. Daily we crawl from under the heartbreaking backdrops as we illuminate this earth shattering persona just to gain respect. Often assumed to be a single mother despite being betrothed while her relationship suffers as she over extends her participation to compete with women who have the luxury of not being in the labor force. It’s complicated! Overwhelmed with the realization of having to choose between being a mother or a wife in order to survive undermines the well-being of black families. Historically devaluing black women reinforces autonomous women while simultaneously promoting broken homes.

US: CLASS

May 20, 2019 by Ikeranda Smith in careers, history, love, LGBTQIA, personal development, race, wealth, financial freedom, generational wealth, black middle class

While watching the movie US, it was the typical backdrop for a traditional black family forced to keep up with their wealthy counterparts as they venture down the rabbit hole. Progress is foreign to black people largely due to the story of race. Most black people consider themselves middle-class; yet only 42% of us own homes. While most of us are doing substantially better than our parents + grandparents; we carry the generational lack that keeps us enslaved. While racism was central to our story, today the picture is extremely more complicated. Although we have an annual spending power of 1.2 trillion, our households have only held a median of $11,000 of wealth. Leaving us only two options: buy up the block or be a business on the block.