Special to the AmNews
Chief Visionary Leader, Mutale Nkonde, states that 2015 is the year of the Black woman.
As the founder of Nkonde & Associates, a management consultancy firm in Brooklyn, N.Y. Nkonde has launched the campaign “Year of the Black Woman, 2015,” in part of a 365-year series of online and in-person events to sustain fiscal development in the African and Latino American community.
“Black women influence $680 billion of the $1 trillion dollars spent in Black households on consumer goods,” said Nkonde.
While casually speaking with friends about the achievements of African-American women, Nkonde coined the term “Year of the Black Women.” Commemorating both the triumphs of Madame C.J. Walker and her momentum to use wealth as a tool of economic prosperity.
“Black female millionaires today, I believe would behave like Madame C.J Walker.” Said Nkonde. She further explained “Closing the wealth gender gap will also help close the disparities we face. Black women are nurturers and we love our community.”
Though often kept in the dark, Nkonde states that a number of African – American women were spearheads of the Black led movements on police brutality in N.Y, Ferguson, MO, and on social media. The Millions March in N.Y.C was steered by organizers Synead Nichols and Umaara Elliot. The viral hashtag #BlackLivesMatter on twitter was co-founded by Ferguson leaders Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometi.
“In the towns of those stories and in the press it was never clear that Black female leadership was behind a lot of those movements,” said Nkonde
Despite the recent efforts to uplift the minority community, females are being left behind by the monetary success of their male counterparts. According to Ebony Magazines, 2014 Black Wealth Issue, The Millionaires Master Class, only 15 percent of Black millionaires are African-American women.
“The 335,000 Black millionaire’s that we have are predominantly men. Men who have made their money through entities of entertainment and sports,” said Nkonde
Nkonde states that by building a bridge between fiscal dependencies and economic management Black women will regenerate their profits back into the African-American community.
“We provide people with tips on how to build their businesses, on how to use social media to drive engagement, increase personal/business credit score and how to manage online business”. Nkonde stated. “If we share information, time, and space we can create an internal economy.”
In January of 2015, the video “The Year of the Black Woman” premiered on YouTube, showcasing the idea that African and Latino women should be affirmed through business and entrepreneurship. Nkonde’s first Book “Give Me Back: My Trillion: Black Women and the Money We Give Away” is being published nationwide in the March of 2015.