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Black Business Talks ft. RICE Stakeholder MT Strickland of Metric Mate



Learn more about our amazing RICE Stakeholders with Black Business Talks each and every day in August, in honor of National Black Business Month. Our next installment of the interview series is with Metric Mate CEO, MT Strickland and hosted by Ashley Scott, RICE Internal Communications Manager.

Business Talks is a double entendre rooted in entrepreneurship as a form of social activism and how Black-owned businesses have something powerful to say.

Think of all the industries and products Black people have created: Hip-Hop, Jazz, Black haircare, modern light-bulb filaments, laser-eye surgery, traffic lights, the protective mailbox, the first home security system, and innumerably more.

Each invention, whether tangible or experiential, has made a meaningful statement. All of our lives are intertwined with the inventions created by Black people just like US, yet we often question our efficacy in this nation WE built.

Our innovation and ingenuity have spoken for us even when mass media and political leaders have tried to silence us and erase our history. Black Business always talks, loud and clearly!

Many of our civil rights leaders learned towards the apex of their journey that for our voices to be heard, we required capital. It’s only right—we live in a capitalistic society, therefore money talks!

However, if we take the wisdom and genius we innately are, combine what our civil rights leaders did to collectivize the people, and apply knowledge from capitalism, we will own the stage. This is why Black entrepreneurship is a form of social activism, and we MUST circulate our dollars, create safe spaces, and build up our entrepreneurial confidence.

Know this: your Black Business Talks everywhere you go. And RICE is a springboard for your entrepreneurial journey no matter where you are in the process.

– Michael Cortez, RICE Evangelist, and Creator of Black Business Talks with Ashley Scott, RICE Internal Communications Manager

This limited series was produced and edited by Just Eldridge Media.

Learn more about the Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs at www.russellcenter.org

Purchase your Build Black Business shirt at russellcenter.myshopify.com

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