As a platform, we are greatly aware of our responsibility to not only inspire and be a career resource but inform and educate on topics that matter on a human level. And while we may do so imperfectly at times, we are stepping up to make the effort. Create & Cultivate is dedicated to making space for Black voices, but more importantly, we are committed to educating white people on how to be better allies and proactively anti-racist from the boardroom to the dining table, and beyond.
We acknowledge we have to do the work, to take accountability, to have the hard conversations, and call it out when we see it in order to become the change we want to see. Today, we share nine powerful Black female voices, educators, speakers, and activists you should follow on Instagram who are facilitating important discussions on anti-racism, diversity, and inclusion to motivate people to change their beliefs and address issues of race and racism to resist and dismantle oppression.
These women are on the front lines of racial justice work and we acknowledge that the responsibility is on us as white allies to use their tools to initiate critical conversations and stand up against racial injustice.
Layla F. Saad, Author, Speaker, and Teacher
Instagram: @laylafsaad
Website: laylafsaad.com
As a globally respected writer, speaker, and podcast host on the topics of race, identity, leadership, personal transformation, and social change Layla F. Saad is a must-follow. Her New-York Times best-selling book, Me and White Supremacy, first ran as a free digital workbook in conjunction with a month-long Instagram challenge during the summer of 2018. It quickly became an international cultural movement being downloaded by 100,000 people in just six months. The published version of her book is currently sold out everywhere (but she is working with her publishers to re-stock online stores ASAP) so in conjunction with following her on Instagram, we highly recommend buying the audiobook version and watching her IGTV series that answers some of the questions you may have about what the book is about, how it started, and how it’s laid out across the 28 days.
Brittany Packnett Cunningham, Activist, Educator, Writer
Pod Save the People Co-Host, NBC News, and MSNBC Contributor
Instagram: @mspackyetti
Website: brittanypacknett.com
As a leader at the intersection of culture and justice, Brittany Packnett Cunningham is a true force in the space and has become a sought-after voice in the work of social change and empowerment. (If you haven’t watched her 2019 TED Talk on Confidence, then we suggest you watch it below ASAP. ) She is a tireless activist, an “unapologetic educator,” organizer, writer, and author of the forthcoming book, We Are Like Those Who Dream, with One World, co-host of the 2019 iHeart Radio Best Political Podcast, Pod Save The People, NBC News, and MSNBC Contributor and former Director’s Leader and Fellow at Harvard’s Institute of Politics exploring social change and intersectional activism. It’s little wonder President Barack Obama cited her as a leader, whose "voice is going to be making a difference for years to come."
Blair Amadeus Imani, Advocate, Historian, Organizer, Public Speaker, and Author
Instagram: @BlairImani
Website: patreon.com, and blairimani.com
You may know Blair Imani from her TED Talk “Queer & Muslim: Nothing to Reconcile” but the public speaker is also an outspoken advocate and activist, a critically-acclaimed historian, and the author of two historical books: Modern HERstory: Stories of Women and Nonbinary People Rewriting History (2018) and Making Our Way Home: The Great Migration and The Black American Dream (2020). Her non-profit organization, Equality for HER provides resources and a forum for women and nonbinary people to feel empowered. Blair uses her platform and social media presence to organize and create awareness about injustices in Black, Queer, and Muslim communities.
Ijeoma Oluo, Writer, Speaker, and NYT-Bestselling Author
Instagram: @IjeomaOluo
Website: ijeomaoluo.com
If you haven’t already, add Iijeoma’s New York Times Best-Seller, So You Want to Talk about Race to your list of must-reads. This eye-opening book breaks down America’s deep racial inequality and the systemic oppression faced by minorities every day while highlighting the detriment complacency. It’s a call to action, urging white Americans to have honest conversations about race, racism, and white supremacy. Named one of The Root’s 100 Most Influential African Americans in 2017, one of the Most Influential People in Seattle by Seattle Magazine, one of the 50 Most Influential Women in Seattle by Seattle Met, and winner of the 2018 Feminist Humanist Award by the American Humanist Society, Oluo’s work focuses primarily on issues of race and identity, feminism, social and mental health, social justice, the arts, and personal essay. Go follow her and buy her book ASAP.
Rachel Elizabeth Cargle, Public Academic, Writer, and Lecturer
Instagram: @Rachel.Cargle
Website: rachelcargle.com
Activism and academic work are rooted in Rachel’s work. She provides intellectual discourse, tools, and resources that explore the intersection of race and womanhood both on her social media platforms and as a lecturer teaching students and faculty on the topics of unpacking the racist histories of various American systems, affirming in the black experience with tools of language, concepts, and cultural systems. After a successful fundraiser in 2018, she launched The Loveland Foundation which provides Black women and girls access to therapy support nationwide. She is also the founder of The Great Unlearn, an online self-learning collective that aims to provide knowledge, empathy, and action.
Whembley Sewell, Executive Editor, Them Conde Nast
Instagram: @WhembleySewell
Website: them.us
As the executive editor of Conde Nast’s Them, Whembley Sewell is giving LGBTQ+ people everywhere a platform. She is also one of the youngest people ever to hold such a title at the media giant but even at her young age, she has significant digital chops including Discovery Communications, Refinery29, Teen Vogue where an endorsement from Anna Wintour led to her current role. The brand has already seen significant growth with Sewell at the helm and it’s easy to see why. “Part of what we do is make sure that everyone can be the most informed person, regardless of how they identify, about things specifically going on in the LGBTQ community,” she told the Coveteur.
Monique Melton, Anti-racism Educator, Podcast Host, Author, Speaker
Instagram: Moemotivate
Website: moniquemelton.com
The first thing you see when you enter the landing page of Monique Melton’s website is this question: “Do you have the courage and confidence to identify and eliminate racism?” If you benefit from white privilege, now is the time to not only ask the question but step up to the cause, to shift the narrative, and dismantle the system that gives you that privilege. As an educator, speaker, and host of the Shine Brighter Together podcast, Melton is facilitating the important discussions on anti-racism and diversity by breaking it up into tools of identifying and eliminating. “We can’t eliminate something that we don’t know how to identify, and we can’t identify something that we don’t call out and say what it is,” Melton told Forbes. “When you get to that place where you’re willing to listen and learn then you can remove some of the defenses that you’re going to have up when you’re uprooting beliefs.”
Adwoa Aboah, Activist, Model, and founder of GURLS TALK
Instagram: @AdwoaAboah
You probably know Adwoa Aboah from the runways of major designers and her many magazine covers including Vogue, i-D, and TIME magazine, but the supermodel is also an outspoken activist on depression and addiction which she shares openly through conversation and community as the host of Gurls Talk podcast. In an industry where people often choose to remain silent, Aboah has actively chosen to speak up and out against violence on people of color, abortion, sex education, sexual health, and mental health, and uses her Instagram account to share her advocacy.
Tamika D. Mallory, Social Justice Leader, Advocate, and Activist
Instagram: @Tamikadmallory
Website:
If you don’t know Tamika’s incredible work by now, then we suggest you start. As a consistent fixture in the civil rights movement for nearly 20 years, Tamika’s focus has been on civil and human rights issues. She has done extensive work around equal rights for women, economic empowerment, gun violence, criminal justice reform, and police accountability and she continues to be a significant force amongst government officers, policymakers, and other community advocates. Her tireless work to the cause has landed her on the 2017 Time 100 Pioneers list and Fortune’s 2017 list of the World’s Greatest Leaders.
This list is just the beginning and we will continue to update it over time.