With the release of Jay-Z’s 4:44, the internet is buzzing with talk about Black wealth, establishing credit, and building ownership for future generations to come. Some critics feel Hov isn’t saying anything new and that we should already be striving for financial freedom, but it doesn’t hurt to hear these messages, which should serve as cautionary tales, a few more times. Particularly when gentrification is rapidly presenting itself as a threat to Black women entrepreneurs, the fastest rising group of small business owners.
Right now, Karisma Jay’s AbunDance Academy of the Arts is in the midst of a sudden uprooting from its established home in Lefferts Garden, Brooklyn, as another casualty of hyper-gentrification and sudden rising rents. As a result, Karisma is teaching her students in temporary locations as she searches for a new studio, refusing to give up on her mission to inspire and train students of all ages and from various socio-economic backgrounds.
AbunDance Academy makes the arts accessible through its hands-on instruction and partnerships with community organizations that provide after school programs centered on youth mentorship. A dance instructor since the age of 10, the now 29-year-old businesswoman shares her experience on what these sociopolitical threats to her livelihood have taught her.
Madame Noire (MN:) How were you notified that your dance studio was “up for grabs” and you were being pushed out?
Karisma Jay (KJ): Oddly enough, we were notified via email and given little time to either sign our “lives” away, i.e. pay double the rent, or move.
MN: How did this make you feel as a Black woman in business?
KJ: Well not only am I a Black woman in business; I am also a Black woman in non-profit business—which means that I am committed daily to serving my community. So when I received the email of doom, it felt like the rug was pulled up from underneath our community and more specifically our students.
MN: What has this ordeal taught you about business?
KJ: OWNERSHIP IS KEY! In this day and age, the only way we as a community can really survive and continue to thrive is through ownership and I don’t mean crabs in a barrel, every man for himself. I mean ownership that serves the community and enhances legacy. As the saying goes “Playing small doesn’t serve the world” and it truly is about global empowerment, enrichment, and security.
MN: What advice do you have for other Black business owners who are fighting gentrification?
KJ: United we stand. We must return to the very principles that our culture once depended on—concepts of the African and Caribbean “susu” where everyone comes together and invests. Then one by one the susu invests back into the investors. We also need community organizing and forming united fronts and supporting (rather than tearing down) our community leaders who really are for our community. This is how we can really conquer obstacles.
AbunDance Academy of the Arts is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization whose mission is to provide stellar arts programming to students who seek enrichment within the “AbunDance” that all of the arts provides. For more information go to abundancearts.org.
The post What This Brooklyn Dance Instructor Learned About Ownership After Gentrification Robbed Her Of Her Studio appeared first on MadameNoire.