Founders of Kansas City gentlemen’s club Blakk Co. to create a space for women of color
Christina Williams and Tamela Ross, founders of Kansas City gentlemen’s club The Blakk Co., will soon open a similar space dedicated for women of color.
The Blakk Co. started as a response to the murder of George Floyd, a needed safe space for men of color in Kansas City to foster community. Since the club opened its doors in June 2021, however, Ross and Williams have wanted to provide a similar space for women.
Since Blakk Co. launched, women have been the club’s most vocal supporters: buying memberships for the men in their life, purchasing retail ranging from company shirts to moisturizers and accompanying men to social events, Williams said.
“Its equally important to us to celebrate the women in our community,” Williams said. “We had to take time and evolve the company after we opened. We’ve always wanted to bring in women. We just needed to find the right way to honor them.”
Ahead of Women’s History Month, the company’s team, made up predominantly of women of color, came up with the idea to do a series of events under the acronym B.O.S.S Up — Black-Brown Owned ‘Sispreneur’ Series. Every Wednesday night in March, Ross and Williams opened the Blakk Co. space at 3634 Main St. to Black and brown female business owners to network with other women of color in industries ranging from beauty to real estate.
The five events drew nearly 500 women throughout the month.
At one event, Arvelisha Woods, a co-owner of Mattie’s Foods, said the night kicked off with a collective scream from the women in attendance — a release of stress and frustration, but with community.
“For small business owners sometimes you need to just holler. I didn’t know how much I needed that personally,” Woods said.
“It’s amazing to be with sisters and to not feel judged and release some of the build up that comes with being a business owner and being a Black woman and all the other hats we wear.”
After the events’ success, Ross and Williams announced they would open a membership-only social club for women of color on May 1. The club will operate out of the same space. While the cub’s payment plans vary, membership fees start around $39 per month with a $99 sign-up fee due at the time of purchase, according to their website.
“Women of color are making waves in so many different industries. We didn’t want to highlight just one. It will take us years to cover all of them,” Williams said.
But that’s a task Williams and Ross said they are happy to take on.
‘Bringing us women together’
On the last Wednesday of Women’s History Month, the event focused on the culinary industry and at least 50 women gathered to share their experiences as restaurant entrepreneurs.
India Pernell, who co-owns Mattie’s Foods with Woods, sat beneath a neon sign that read “We Are Culture.”
It was her second time attending The Blakk Co.’s Wednesday night events. The first was geared more toward educators, but she said she learned about grants for Black women that could be help her restaurant.
At this last Wednesday event, she was on the panel alongside Woods.
“There’s not any other spaces I know of that are bringing us women together and pushing us to have those conversations,” Pernell said.
Sitting on the panel beside her, Amber Smith, who owns a farming company called Farms By Amber, said it was very rare for her to see Black and brown women come together, connect and share ideas able to grow a business.
“We’re often so busy hustling and grinding we don’t get a chance to talk about restoration and strategic planning so that we don’t run ourselves ragged,” she said.
“Just to be able to pick up the phone and say ‘Hey sis I was thinking something through can you help me’ or can you support me in the midst of my anxiety or depression when I really want to quit.’”
Shafeeqa Small, who moved to Kansas City from Dallas during the pandemic and runs a plant-based collective of culinarians, turned to Smith and told her she’d be interested in sourcing food from her farming business.
“To see other Black and brown women being excellent about what they do has made me want to give more thought to how I want to enter this market and the partnerships I want to build,” Small said after connecting with Smith.
“Any dollars that I have whenever I am hungry, this is where I’m going to send it.”
Women of color will be able to sign up for The Blakk Co.’s social club starting May 1 to access programming that builds on the B.O.S.S Up networking sessions and the current offerings to men of color ranging from lectures to movie nights and other social events.
This story was originally published April 5, 2022 at 12:01 PM.
