I love watching Shark Tank. I am intrigued as entrepreneurs and inventors “shop” their idea around looking for a “shark” to invest in their product. Last Sunday I was tuned in as Keisha Jeremie shopped her delicious applesauce. I first learned of Sanaia Applesauce when Keisha sent Luvvie a package of this bottled goodness. Luvvie shared it on her Instagram and I started following Sanaia Applesauce’s page. I had the opportunity to sample the ginger and guava flavors and I was

Keisha walked into the Shark Tank looking like every bit of Black Girl Magic. Her red and blue ensemble was popping, she was poised, informed and articulate. As she explained the goodness which is Sanaia Applesauce I was excited to watch the Sharks fight over her. I just knew they would because her product is oh so good. But this was one of those rare occasions in which I was wrong. They didn’t fight over her. One by one they commended her but dropped out. I was in shock. How could they not want in on this? Then it happened, Kevin “I know everything” O’Leary stated he didn’t believe this business was Keisha’s passion because if it was she would’ve quit her day job and did the business full time. (insert shocked face)

All I could think to myself was “look at privilege on display, live and in living color”. Keisha wasn’t working for the fun of it, after all, not many people do that. Most people work because they have to. I know I do. If I even think about quitting and doing my passion full time I get a friendly “your mortgage is due in 5 days reminder”. Like most entrepreneurs we sacrifice sleep and fun to get our businesses off the ground in hopes that one day our passion produces enough income to sustain us. But Mr. O’Leary couldn’t understand that. That wasn’t his struggle. His mom was an investor and his stepfather was an economist. At a young age he traveled and enjoyed things that many others hadn’t. He lacked the ability to empathize with a woman who had to grind and hustle day in and day out to support her family and pursue her dream.

I thought I was disgusted by his comment but his fellow Shark, Robert Herjavec was apparently mortified by what he was witnessing. “I think that’s so unfair,” he told O’Leary. “I started my first company and wanted to be all in, but you know what? I had a mortgage. I had a child at home. I didn’t have that choice. I had to work 24 hours a day. She’s not asking for kumbaya. She’s just saying she has a family to support.”

Eventually Mark Cuban gave her a deal but the whole ordeal left my mind boggled. Kevin stood at his platform of privilege and condemned a woman that did not share the same platform. I began to think how powerful the privilege platform could be if it was used for good. I wonder how different this world would be if instead of saying “poor little humans that don’t have the luxuries and benefits I have” people would use their platform to impact meaningful change. Just this week Amy Schumer talked about her support of Rihanna for declining to perform at the Super Bowl and how she told her reps that she would not do a Super Bowl commercial this year. She acknowledged that to some it may sound like “a privilege ass sacrifice” but it was all she had. I see you Sis!

Amy couldn’t directly relate to the message behind the protest but she used her platform to support. That’s all any movement asks for…support. Keisha didn’t walk into the tank looking for sympathy. She wanted support. Me Too protesters aren’t looking for a hug. They are looking for support. Those taking a knee during the national anthem and boycotting the NFL aren’t looking for a hand clap. They are looking for support. So here is my charge to you, people of privilege, the next time you’re up on that platform give support. Do what you can to help others trying to better themselves and their communities. Whether we like it or not, whether we agree or don’t nothing changes the fact that..CMB

Always Clinking!

I hope you have your champagne glass, cup of tea, coffee or bottle of water because this is a lot and we need to unpack.

On September 27th, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee about a sexual assault she had encountered in the summer of 1982 at the hands of Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh.  I usually have CNN on during the work day to hear what is going on in the world and this day was no different.  During her opening statement Dr. Ford said something that caused me to look away from my computer screen and glare at the television.  With a quivering voice Dr. Ford said,  “I am here today not because I want to be, I AM TERRIFIED“.  In that moment her opening statement became more than a testimony to me.

I could not begin to imagine what Dr. Ford was going through as she sat in front of men with stoic faces who she probably knew didn’t believe her.  They didn’t care about her testimony or what she had to say.  To them this was a formality.  Dr. Ford recanted, in as much detail as possible, about the day she was assaulted and the impact it had on her life. I grew angrier by the moment.  Who in the world were these men to judge her?  To decide whether or not she was telling the truth? As the days went by Senators began to comment that while she MAY have been assaulted they did not believe Kavanaugh was her attacker.  (insert stuck face)

Through my anger and disdain I did not fail to see Dr. Ford for who she was, a victor and a champion.  She knew what she was facing but she still spoke her truth.  Death threats, media frenzy, judgment from people that didn’t know her from a can of paint, none of that mattered, Dr. Ford had found her voice.

People wonder why there is a a Me Too movement.  They wonder why assault victims take years to come forward and even say “if this really happened you should have said something years ago”.  Dr. Ford said it best, “I was too afraid and ashamed to tell anyone these details”.  We as a population of humans have failed our sisters and brothers. (Yes, men are assaulted too).  It is our job as a community to support victims and survivors.  It is not our duty to make them feel as though they did something wrong.  It wasn’t what you wore or what you said.  I don’t care if you drank a fifth of henney straight and was as drunk as a skunk.  You have the right to not be assaulted and we have a duty to stand with you if you are.

Dr. Ford’s testimony should be our war cry.  It’s time for us to stand up!  It’s time for us to speak truth to power, to speak out against injustices, and to stand up for those who can’t or won’t stand up for themselves.  We have a duty to help remove the shame that victims feel and to remind them that this is not their fault.  We have to find our voice too and when we do, we must use it.

After enough pressure, the Senate Judiciary Committee/White House called for a fugazi FBI investigation because they wanted the truth and to get to the bottom of this once and for all. (insert eye roll emoji)

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