Woman-led

Dominic Davis and Reggie Meade, The Future is Black (TFIB)

The Future is Black: Storytelling duo launches effort to inspire new generation of creatives, entrepreneurs

By Tommy Felts / August 20, 2021

The future is Black and Dominic Davis wants Kansas City to know it, he said, announcing the launch of a new campaign aimed at better connecting and supporting entrepreneurs and creatives of color.  “When one of us wins, we all win,” Davis said, detailing his decision to found The Future is Black (TFIB) — a storytelling…

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Myron McCant and Penny Dale-McCant, KD Academy

KC couple’s 15-year journey evolves into $4M 24-hour child care center in urban core

By Tommy Felts / August 18, 2021

A multimillion-dollar expansion for KD Academy is expected to upgrade the early learning and child care center’s capacity from 95 to 430 students at its new headquarters on Prospect Avenue — a redevelopment boon for the east side corridor and the extension of a family’s long-running mission. “Our goal starting out was to create a…

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Nika Cotton makes a drink at Soulcentricitea, which she opened on Troost Ave. last July. Cotton applied for a grant from the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, but did not receive any money. Photo by Zach Bauman/The Beacon

Beacon analysis: Restaurant relief funds flowed to whiter, more affluent areas of Kansas City

By Tommy Felts / August 18, 2021

Editor’s note: The following story was originally published by The Kansas City Beacon, a nonprofit, public-service journalism newsroom serving Kansas and Missouri. Click here to read the original story or here to sign up for the free Kansas City Beacon email newsletter. Local businesses received a total of $53 million from the fund, but few of those dollars flowed…

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Blakk men are more than what you see on the 9 o’clock news, says members-only social club

By Tommy Felts / August 17, 2021

Defining what it means to be a Black man is among the most important goals for a newly opened Midtown gentlemen’s club, Christina Williams explained, offering insight into what men of color are raised and called to be — but that society has often twisted into something unfair.  “It has nothing to do with color. It’s…

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Carlanda McKinney, Bodify

Bodify joins Tulsa accelerator with $70K investment, ‘knocking down a lot of dominoes’

By Tommy Felts / August 14, 2021

One of Kansas City’s most tenacious founders is in the midst of an intensive, six-month accelerator aimed at bringing her fashion tech startup to revenue without decreasing her ownership stake in the company. “Follow-on investment is nice, but you don’t have a company without revenue,” said Carlanda McKinney, founder and CEO of Bodify. “For me,…

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