Nonprofits Must Prioritize Black Staff Dignity Over Funding

This is the posture our founder leads with and it is the posture Level is built on. Putting Black women on is not a moment. It is a model. When Nikoa Milton Gulstone talks about access, capital and participation, she is not speaking in theory. She is describing the framework we operate from every day. We believe community is strongest when it moves beyond encouragement and into coordination. When information becomes infrastructure. When proximity becomes ownership. When support becomes capital allocation. The instinct to turn toward each other in uncertain markets is powerful. At Level, we formalize that instinct. We create structured pathways for women to invest together, to fund founders together, to share diligence, opportunity and risk in ways that build long-term economic power. Community is not just connection, it is collective action backed by resources. We are proud to be led by someone who understands that winning alone is small and building systems that allow many to win is the real work. That is the standard and that is the strategy.

Today is Black Lives Matter Day. It’s important to reflect on the phrase “Black Lives Matter” and what it truly means. It isn’t a trend or a talking point. It isn’t something we acknowledge for a day and move on from tomorrow. It is a reminder. A reminder that dignity should never be conditional. That equity requires intention. And that humanity is NOT up for debate. Recently, I saw a post from @Kyle Cronk I just had to save: “If your organization isn’t listening to Black women… you don’t have a culture problem. You have a leadership problem.” Yep. Because in many workplaces, Black women are quite literally: • Expected to carry emotional labor without authority • The first to name the issue • The last to be credited • Among the most educated in the room And still questioned. When Black women speak up, it’s rarely impulsive. It’s informed. It’s observed, measured, and rooted in lived experience and pattern recognition. Ignoring that insight doesn’t just silence a voice. It creates blind spots. Black Lives Matter is not just about statements. It’s about systems. It’s about who is heard, who is believed, and who is followed. Strong cultures don’t just celebrate Black women; they listen to them, resource them, elevate them, and they follow their leadership. The reflection matters, yes. But what we actually do after reflection matters more. Black Lives Matter is not just a moment; it is a long-term commitment. And real leadership shows up in the consistency that follows.

Nobody talks about the Black woman who built a bank from scratch in 1903 — inside a system that wouldn't even let her open an account. Her name was Maggie Lena Walker. She didn't do it by being the loudest person in the room. She didn't do it by performing for people who didn't want her there. She did it by being so strategically brilliant that the system had no choice but to reckon with her. Born in Richmond, Virginia — the daughter of a formerly enslaved woman — Maggie Lena Walker built the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank from the ground up. At a time when Black people couldn't access financial institutions. When Black women were told their place was nowhere near a boardroom. When the system was designed to keep people like her out. She didn't leave. She didn't wait for permission. She built her OWN table inside a system that said she couldn't. Sound familiar? 122 years later, Black women are STILL building tables inside systems not designed for them. Still told they don't quite have the right... presence. Still overlooked, underpaid, underestimated. Maggie Lena Walker knew what so many of us are still learning: Sometimes, the most revolutionary thing a Black woman can do is refuse to be moved. Stay. Build. Lead. Disrupt from the inside. That's not just Black history. That's our blueprint. #BlackHistoryMonth #BlackWomenLead #LeadingHerIntrovertWay #MaggieWalker #BlackWomenInCorporate #BlackWomenLeaders #IntrovertLeadership #BlackExcellence

I CAN’T be less Black, but you CAN be less racist!🙃 That’s it… This phrase is still ringing in my ears 3 months after Illiyin Morrison dropped this at the Black Maternity Matters Celebration event during a brilliant keynote last November with BCohCo Ltd | B Corp™ Representation Matters Ltd Black Mothers Matter & Health Innovation West of England . Racism can be dismantled, my identity cannot change. If you perpetuate or benefit from systems of inequality & oppression, anti-racism is your business, it is your duty. Educating yourself on history, systemic racism, etc is your duty. Examining your privilege, challenging and unlearning your own ingrained prejudices and working to change racist systems and institutions around you is your duty. Speaking up, calling out, validating and believing Black people and their experiences, is your duty. And before you ask a Black person, why are you still going on about racism or enslavement or the legacy of colonialism as if it’s a thing of the the”past”, pause and take a look at the state of the world and essentially EVERY sector and statistic. Respectfully 🫆 #AntiRacism #Inclusion #RaceandIdentity

2026 marks 100 years since Carter G. Woodson established Negro History Week, which became Black History Month. But here's what the research reveals that MSW programs often skip ⤵️ 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻. Mutual aid networks. Community organizing. Protecting vulnerable populations. Challenging systems of violence. Building structures of care when institutions refused to serve Black communities. That wasn't charity. That was strategy. That was systems thinking with a liberation lens. And yet, when the profession talks about its "founders," it centers white settlement houses that excluded Black people. It celebrates frameworks built on proximity to power, not justice. What I've learned from studying this history: Black Social Work didn't start with degrees or licenses. It started with survival, resistance, and the refusal to let people be disposable. This month, I'm sharing what the research shows about the Social Work lineage that gets erased—and why it matters that the profession reclaims it. Because if we don't know where Social Work actually comes from, we'll keep replicating systems that were never built for liberation in the first place. 🗨️ What would shift in the profession if it centered Black organizing traditions as the foundation of Social Work, not an afterthought? Let's discuss in the comments below! #BlackHistoryMonth #SocialWork #Leadership #SystemsThinking

At a time when access to banking and financial resources was intentionally denied to Black communities, Maggie Lena Walker did not wait for permission. She created a seat at the table for herself and for others. She became the first Black woman to charter and serve as president of a bank in the United States, building financial institutions rooted in service, sustainability, and collective economic empowerment. Her work was not just about transactions. It was about transformation. Walker understood that ownership, structure, and access to capital were the foundation of generational progress. She created systems that allowed families and small businesses to save, borrow, invest, and grow in an economy that often excluded them. True innovation does not just generate wealth. It creates pathways. It builds bridges where barriers once stood. Access to capital remains one of the most critical factors for small businesses today. The question is not just whether opportunities exist, but whether we are building systems that ensure more people can reach them. #blackhistorymonth #maggielenawalker #blackwomenleaders #financialhistory #blacklegacy

Black History Month is a reminder that conversations about money can’t be separated from history — or from intersectionality. Financial systems have long excluded Black communities, and for Black women in particular, barriers weren’t just about gender or race, but the combination of both. That history still shapes access, opportunity, and financial safety today. Conversations about money often focus on individual behaviour, while ignoring how history and systems shape financial realities. For Black women, long-standing exclusion has not only limited access to wealth and opportunity, but has also shaped how money stress is internalized and experienced. When financial struggle is framed as a personal failing, we miss the broader context — and reinforce shame that never belonged there. This month is a reminder that Black women’s work and contributions have existed within systems that denied them equal access, safety, and recognition. As a community, our support can be practical — and it shouldn’t be limited to a single moment or post. Thank you to Tia Upshaw™ Award-Winning/ Intl Business Coach /Author/Serial Entrepreneur/Motivational Speaker/ Upshaw for the shoulder tap encouraging us to acknowledge and celebrate this month. Let’s be intentional about seeking out and supporting Black-owned and Black-run businesses, and about creating a ripple effect that extends well beyond this month. If you’re looking for a place to start, Tia is sharing daily highlights of Black women-owned businesses in her series, "Celebrating Black Women in Business".

Not all innovation comes in the form of a product. Some innovations redesign systems. Meet Marian Wright Edelman. Marian Wright Edelman is the founder of the Children’s Defense Fund, a powerful advocacy organization that has shaped national policy around child welfare, education access, and poverty reduction. As the first Black woman admitted to the Mississippi Bar, she used her legal expertise not just to practice law - but to transform how the nation protects its most vulnerable children. Her work reminds us that: Innovation can be legislative. It can be structural. It can be justice-centered design. This series honors Black women whose ideas - whether technological, scientific, or systemic - reshaped opportunity and expanded who gets protected, funded, and seen. 💡 Follow along as we continue spotlighting Black women whose leadership changed the trajectory of communities and the country.

At Citizens, we’re proud to spotlight Black‑owned businesses and the meaningful impact they have on their communities this #BlackHistoryMonth. Meet Danielle Hughes, founder of The Pose Experience and Detroit’s first mobile “selfie museum.” What began as a passion for helping people feel joyful and confident has grown into a space where everyone can feel seen and celebrated. For Danielle, entrepreneurship is about honoring the women who came before her, including her grandmother, and creating opportunities for others to shine. 👉 Explore her story: https://spr.ly/6042huZH2 #CitizensColleague

At Citizens, we’re proud to spotlight Black‑owned businesses and the meaningful impact they have on their communities this #BlackHistoryMonth. Meet Danielle Hughes, founder of The Pose Experience and Detroit’s first mobile “selfie museum.” What began as a passion for helping people feel joyful and confident has grown into a space where everyone can feel seen and celebrated. For Danielle, entrepreneurship is about honoring the women who came before her, including her grandmother, and creating opportunities for others to shine. 👉 Explore her story: https://spr.ly/6042huZH2 #CitizensColleague