” We are the renaissance and the resistance “
ABOUT
KINNETEC is a family of brands committed to the liberation of Black genius.
We help Black millennials celebrate and elevate Black culture through technology, media and design.
We are the renaissance and the resistance – an exclusive beacon for our community, here to define a new generation of black excellence. We are KINNETTEC: made to move the movement.
THE CHALLENGE:
For centuries, white prosperity and white power have been built on the back of Black genius.
Our talent, creativity, labor and swagger have been appropriated and commodified without consent or just remuneration.
The resulting data are far too familiar. The median white family in the United States holds more than ten times the wealth of the median African American family.
THE OPPORTUNITY:
We envision a world where Black prosperity [and Black power] rivals Black genius.
We envision Black communities as incubators of human flourishing – places where kinship and connectivity give birth to boundless opportunity and peace.
We envision Black people experiencing a perpetual state of physical health, radiant love, ecstatic joy, and spiritual alignment – not as the acts of rebellion they are today, but as simple affirmations of our shared humanity.
In this world, Blackness no longer correlates with unfavorable life outcomes; melanin no longer predicts misfortune.
KINNETTEC
[kin-net-tec]
characterized by movement:
KIN – We are people of purpose, people of promise and people of color
NET – We are a community driven by our common welfare
TEC – We believe technology is the greatest tool for disruptive systematic change
THE KINNETTEC MANIFESTO
We reject the appropriation and commodification of Black talent, creativity, labor and swagger without consent or just remuneration. We insist on compensation for our contributions.
We reject monolithic and erroneous images of Black culture – images that singularly paint Black people as thugs, athletes, threats, rappers, disruptions, criminals and/or perpetually angry, and paints Black families as broken. We insist that Blackness be a white canvas.
We reject a programs-first approach to addressing disparities in the workforce ecosystem. The root causes of these inequalities are systemic, and pilots and programs simply don’t change systems. Instead, we insist on board and senior leadership representation, equitable funding and research-based recruitment practices. Until the workforce works for us, it works for no one.
We reject diversity initiatives that merely extend the practice of exploiting difference for economic value. Yes, diverse organizations perform better, but to the benefit of whom? When uncoupled from redistributed levels of access, ownership and power, this so-called business case for diversity shows itself to be unquestionably self-serving. Here’s the new business case: do the right thing or risk losing out on the $1.4 trillion dollar Black wallet.
We reject inclusion initiatives used as shrewd instruments for maintaining existing power structures and insist on the sense of belonging that ownership affords. We cannot be excluded from what we truly own.
We reject boilerplate corporate statements that lack detail and real accountability and insist on transparent metrics tied to performance evaluation, compensation and promotion.
We reject any initiative whose aim is to help Black people assimilate to and be accepted by dominant (white) culture rather than demolish said systems of domination.
Ownership over inclusion. Liberation over assimilation. Inclusion must be given. Liberation will be taken.
We help Black millennials celebrate and elevate Black culture through technology, media and design.