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The cannabis industry isn’t always inclusive, but this Black woman is working to change that one dispensary at a time. Founder Ariane Kirkpatrick built Harvest of Ohio to help improve the lives of others through the use of cannabis. After a conversation with one of her sons who used the plant to cope with anxiety, she knew that they could help others reap the benefits of a resource that has been equipped with a negative connotation within the Black community for decades. “I didn’t think that they would allow someone like me to be in this business, and they didn’t,” said Kirkpatrick during an exclusive interview with AfroTech. Eventually, Kirkpatrick was able to kick down the door. Now, she is the only Black woman in the state of Ohio to be vertically integrated within the industry. What this means is that she holds all three licenses to grow, dispense and sell cannabis. She holds a cultivation license, a dispensary license, and a processing license.
Ohio just opened its first Black-owned breast cancer center! According to a press release provided to AfroTech, The Kim Jacobs Breast Cancer Center opened its doors in an emotional grand opening ceremony on May 1, 2021. After the tragic loss of his mother to breast cancer, Lavar Jacobs told WKYC that this has been a dream since his mother passed away in 2009 at the age of 49. “I’ve always had the vision of the Kim Jacobs Breast Cancer Resource Center,” said Jacobs, according to WKYC. “She didn’t get to do everything she had planned. She deserves more of a legacy.” The Akron, Ohio native’s vision for the center also made history as it’s the first-ever Black-owned breast cancer center in the state of Ohio. As he’s also the founder of a nonprofit organization Not Just October — founded in 2014 — Jacobs emphasizes while wearing pink in October brings awareness to breast cancer and is a nice gesture, people are affected by the disease year-round. Courtesy of Lavar Jacobs Lavar witnessed...
“It’s our responsibility to remind people that this isn’t charity… this isn’t philanthropic.” Candice Matthews-Brackeen joins Will Lucas on the latest episode of AfroTech’s Black Tech, Green Money podcast to educate listeners on how to capitalize on this current moment in the venture capital space where investors are finally understanding the importance of investing in Black startups. Matthews-Brackeen is the General Partner of Lightship Capital, a Cincinnati-based venture capital fund that works to support underrepresented, early-stage, transformational businesses. During this episode, she reminds us that “it’s everyone’s responsibility to make sure that these good stories are being told.” She also says that for her and the team, it’s important “that we’re highlighting great founders doing great things.” “I have the weight of the world on my shoulders and I feel that it’s my responsibility to deliver a win,” said Matthews-Brackeen when asked about the challenges she faces as a...