Visible Figures - Volume #17
SVP on DEI & Liars, Karine Jean-Pierre Opens Up, HBD Oprah, and Mela Vitamins Partners with the WNBA
Hi there 👋🏾. Something about the start of the year compels me to get raw, so saddle up for sashimi. 🍣*trigger warning* This post involves descriptions of child abuse.
You lie.
Deceit is something I’ve been closely examining since recently rejoining the dating pool with wiser eyes. I see a common thread: abuse.
I first learned to lie out of fear from my grandmother’s hand. She was a pick your switch type of corporal punisher. Then my grandfather. He favored solitary confinement. And finally, my mother’s husband. He wins the award for Most Abusive to a Child Actor. He taunted me before punishment with repeated snaps of his belt. He once pinned me to the ground, beat me, and threw me up against the wall head first like a sack of dirty laundry. I was 10. My mother advised me to pray and trust in the Lord. I chose hyper-independence and over-achievement instead. It took me 7 years of therapy (credit: ex-wife) to get comfortable with telling hard truths especially when that terrified 10 year old rises in my gut. The journey continues.
Children are malleable and myopic. The art of lying is easily developed under persistent physical and psychological threat. Our president is an abused child (watch: Trump the Bully on PBS). The danger is he’s stuck in his trauma and his lies are viral.
The biggest lie many of us are currently grappling with is the end of the DEI show.
Here’s My Take:
I joined the DEI game in one form or another long before 2020. No regrets. We knew the post-George Floyd pledges were lies-in-waiting, so my team and I amassed the largest and most robust database of all the DEI pledges made by large corporations between 2020-2021.* We were far smarter, stealthier, and more tech-savvy than Robby Starbuck; anticipating the day of accountability. We don’t need the DEI brand. We need to heal, be honest to ourselves (and each other), armor up, and coalesce around a scalable strategy.
This year we are building a team, growing the brand (based on values-alignment and performance, not identity), and going on tour. Get in-formation!
What I’m Reading: What it Takes to Heal: How Transforming Ourselves Can Change the World by Prentis Hemphill - Prentis eloquently deconstructs the sources and manifestations of deeply entrenched trauma and what needs to be done to heal.
What I’m Watching (again): Blink Twice on Amazon Prime directed by Zoë Kravitz - I had a full body reaction to this movie. It is “Get Out for Women” (oversimplification). The use of color and humor, the reflections of Epstein and Maxwell, the cultural nuances, the ending…superb, Zoë!🏆
Bye for now,
*Access to the BlendScore 400 DEI Pledge database will be stored in the Visible Figures Library exclusively available to current members and paid subscribers
Things You Should Know 👀
Oprah Winfrey was born “Orpah” Gail Winfrey 71 years ago today (1/29/1954) in Kosciusko, Mississippi. Oprah has delayed delayed delayed producing a memoir. She’s not done working. Will she ever be? Kitty Kelley published an unauthorized biography in 2010. It’s heavy. I honor Oprah for her bravery to publicly heal while rising. She’s an OVF (original Visible Figure).
Karine Jean-Pierre, the very private former White House Press Secretary (Haitian, first Black, first openly queer, and longest serving female Press Secretary in US history BTW 👸🏾) shares her struggles balancing work and family in this touching Vanity Fair piece.
Ashley Harmon, founder and CEO of Mela Vitamins, partners with Azurá Stevens (LA Sparks) and Dana Evans (Chicago Sky) as brand ambassadors and investors. According to Harmon “More than 80% of Black women are vitamin D deficient, a condition linked to double the rates of heart disease, autoimmune disorders, and type 2 diabetes.” I love this for so many reasons! ✊🏾
The National Museum of African-American History and Culture (NMAAHC) has declared 2025 the year of the Black woman. Each month there will be a different theme. They’re honoring 12 facets of the brilliance of Black women in America.
Welcome (Re)New Members ⭐
Visible Figures is private network. Membership is by invitation only. Interested or want to refer? Tap here.
Yemi Adewunmi - Co-Founder & COO (Plural), Creative Director (Vantwerp), Fellow (Aspen Tech Policy Hub), University of Pittsburgh (BA Politics & Philosophy, Africana Studies, West European Studies), University at Albany (MPA Non-Profit, Public, and Organizational Management)
Kishau Rogers - Founder & CEO (Time Study), Faculty Member (University of Florida), EIR (Level Up Ventures), Owner (Websmith), Virginia Commonwealth University (BS Computer Science & BS Psychology)
Debbie Dickinson, Esq - Co-Founder & CEO (Thermaband), Lecturer (The Wharton School), Senior Associate (Fisher Phillips), The Wharton School (BBA Accounting), Harvard Law School (JD)
Jordan Taylor - Co-Founder & CEO (Medley), Board Advisor (Factor Fellowship), Chief of Staff (Mic), Associate (BCG), Harvard University (BA Economics), Harvard Business School (MBA)
Jacqueline Gilyard Jones - Founder (BioPower Enterprises), COO (Cottage Energy), Zero Carbon Electricity Lead (California Energy Commission), Georgia Institute of Technology (BS Materials Engineering), California State University-San Bernardino (MS Entrepreneurship & Innovation)
Kendra Bracken-Ferguson - Founder & CEO (BrainTrust Founders Studio), General Partner (BrainTust Fund), Author (The Beauty of Success), CEO (Carmell Corporation), Board Member (Cayton Children’s Museum), Chief Digital Officer (CAA-GBG), Purdue University (BA Communications), DeVry University-Keller Graduate School of Management (MBA)
Upcoming Events (4) 📅
Off-the-record, intentionally designed experiences for authentic connections with geniuses (see past events).
Boston Salon 02.02.2025 @ Grace by Nia
Walk-Ins Welcome How to Monetize your Brand w/Visible Figures 02.12.2025
ATL Salon 02.16.2025 @ Southern National
Winter Retreat @ the Annual NBS Summit 02.26.2025 - 03.01.2025 @ Private Residence (Keystone, CO)
A Number to Remember 👇🏾
92% of Black women voters voted for the democratic candidate in the last election, the largest of any race-gender demographic (NBC News Exit Polls). There have been letters, memes, and t-shirts speaking to the most loyal democratic voting bloc in America.