This Juneteenth, we want to celebrate some Black founders who have set out to uplift and support their communities.
Commemorating Juneteenth
Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, the day more than 250,000 enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas, finally learned that slavery had been abolished – two and a half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation.
The first Juneteenth was observed in 1866 and has been celebrated by Black Americans ever since.
It is often referred to as the country’s second independence day and became an official federal holiday in 2021 after nationwide protests against police brutality following the murder of George Floyd.
As we commemorate Juneteenth and the struggles of our ancestors, many Black tech founders are making it their mission to support and uplift their communities.
We want to acknowledge some of these founders and celebrate their commitment.
Isoken Igbinedion – Co-Founder and CEO of Parfait
Isoken Igbinedion is the co-founder and CEO of Parfait, a Black beauty tech company that provides custom wig products for Black and brown women.
Parfait, powered by AI and facial recognition technology, also aims to provide solutions for AI biases in tech.
Igbinedion’s goal is to create a visionary company that brings a marginalized community into the future, as she believes that beauty should be accessible to everyone.
Arian Simone – CEO and Founding Partner of Fearless Fund
Arian Simone founded Fearless Fund in 2019 with Keisha Knight Pulliam and AYana Parson to invest in pre-seed, seed level, and series A women of color founders building scalable, growth-aggressive companies.
For nearly four years, the fund has awarded multiple businesses the funding and tools to succeed and grow across various industries.
Despite facing a legal attack from conservative group American Alliance for Equal Rights, Simone has continuously fought back against lawsuits and appeals courts.
She recently wrote in a statement, “We must keep up this fight for the next generation of girls who deserve to grow up in an America that lets them realize their dreams instead of outlawing them.”
Tamar Huggins & Talia Grant – Founders of Tech Spark AI
Tamar Huggins and her 13-year-old daughter Talia Grant founded Tech Spark AI eight years ago to improve the education experience of Black and brown students across North America.
Tech Spark is Canada’s first tech and design school committed to empowering young girls and children of color through innovative tech programming.
The company recently launched a new product, Spark Plug, which aims to be a Black-owned alternative to ChatGPT. It allows users to translate class literature text into modern languages, including African American Vernacular English (AAVE).
Charley Moore – Founder of Rocket Lawyer
Charley Moore founded Rocket Lawyer, an online legal technology company that aims to make the law more straightforward and affordable for businesses, families, and individuals.
Moore, a business lawyer representing tech companies, saw a gap in the market that originated from his early memories of his father attempting to navigate confusing business contracts on his own.
He founded Rocket Lawyer to address the same problems his father faced: a lack of accessible legal advice and representation.
The online platform uses both AI and access to legal professionals to offer affordable and reliable counsel.
Kevin Dedner – Co-Founder and CEO of Zeteo Health
Kevin Dedner is the co-founder and CEO of a digital health platform, Zeteo Health.
Zeteo Health is a healthcare organization dedicated to revolutionizing access and engagement in healthcare, combating medical mistrust, misinformation, and healthcare disparities.
They aim to offer reliable, inclusive health information and tailored interactions to diverse patient communities.
Dedner also founded Hurdle, a digital mental health platform that aims to remove barriers to care for people of color.
Jilea And Jamie Hemmings – Founders of Nourish + Bloom
Jilea and Jamie Hemmings founded Nourish + Bloom in 2022. Their goal is to reduce the nation’s food deserts and make eating healthy and convenient.
Nourish + Bloom is reportedly the first 100% AI-powered supermarket to be open for business 24/7, offering a range of essentials from produce to toiletries and a deli of prepared foods.
The store also operates without cashiers, utilizing a digital AI assistant named Rosie.
Although they were declined by Shark Tank investors, the Hemmings are sticking to their mission. Their goals are to flood communities where large-scale grocery chains won’t even think about opening tech businesses and train people in these communities to run stores that mostly run themselves.
Feature Image Credit: Fearless Fund
