Kno. Media is leveraging the power of storytelling and community to provide a space for marginalized, misrepresented change-makers to authentically depict their own narratives. BABE Wine aims to be the wine for all people, all genders, all backgrounds, and all voices. Together, we partnered to celebrate womxn of color challenging the status quo to reshape and build the future — our future. 

Our inaugural micro-grant program is supporting two womxn of color creators who are building initiatives centered on uplifting other womxn. We’re honored to introduce our Empowering Her Micro-Grant recipients and share more about the powerful work they’re doing to empower other womxn of color: 

Meet Polly Irungu, founder of Black Women Photographers.  

“For too long, Black womxn photographers have been shut out of this industry. We’re here to change that.” 

Tell us about your work and community impact.

I am the founder of Black Women Photographers, a global community and database of Black women and non-binary photographers. I launched the platform with a COVID-19 relief fund in July 2020 that raised and distributed over $14K to Black women photographers across the globe. With the platform, I help get more Black women photographers seen and provide them with access to resources and opportunities that for too long we’ve been shut out of. I host events and workshops regularly to help empower Black women photographers to show up as their full selves and help with their personal and professional development.

Why is it important to uplift and celebrate other womxn through your work? 

Fostering a safe and inclusive community is core to the work that I do. I know I wouldn’t be able to pour into this community if it were not for the Black womxn who pour into my life daily. In this community, we know that someone else’s light does not diminish our own. We lift as we climb. It is not easy navigating a white male-dominated field. So, we constantly show up and celebrate ourselves and each other. We are stronger together, and we are all we got.

Describe how womxn will benefit from your participation in the Empowering Her Micro-Grant program through your proposed or existing project? 

We have a private Slack for the community, and in the Slack, I am seeing womxn share daily how this community has changed their lives for the better. Just yesterday, an Oakland-based photographer sent this to me: “Polly, Getty Images reached out to me for a paid year-long project, giving $2K a quarter to create content. This wouldn’t have happened without you. I swear you have changed the trajectory of my ENTIRE career.” With this Empowering Her Micro-Grant, I can continue my existing work and make sure that it doesn’t just stop there with this photographer.

What does Empowering Her mean to you and how do you feel you/your brand represent this? 

Showing up for ourselves and each other. Empowering Her means providing equity, access, opportunities for personal and professional development. That is what we aim to do with Black Women Photographers. Black Women Photographers not only empowers each member to dream bigger for themselves but gives them the tools to do just that. For too long, Black womxn photographers have been shut out of this industry. We’re here to change that. 

Meet Mia Street, founder of Sister Syllabus.

“Sister Syllabus empowers educators who are women of color to speak to power by providing a platform that amplifies our voices and helps educators navigate the intersectionality of culture, womanhood, profession, and identity.”

Tell us about your work and community impact.

As an award-winning educator, I began my career in education with Head Start and later with New Vision Learning Academy in Monroe, Louisiana. My journey in education led me to teach and develop a culturally responsive curriculum for special needs children for nearly 20 years. My work inside and outside of the classroom has helped to create equitable educational spaces. I am currently a specialist for my school district. It was in this position I realized that women educators of color needed a platform to share their experiences and give them a voice. This is why I came up with this project Sister Syllabus.

Why is it important to uplift and celebrate other womxn through your work? 

Sister Syllabus is a project that examines the experiences of women of color in education across the education continuum. This work aims to reveal the critical consciousness of women educators of color, across all domains of our lives. Our intent is to amplify our voices and help educators navigate the intersectionality of culture, profession, and identity.  

In the end, this project will produce a co-authored book and podcast that will share over 100 women educators of color experiences with battling sexism and racism all while championing the rights of the most marginalized groups of students.

We have interviewed over 60 women, as of now and will interview about 40 more. All have a powerful story to tell. This grant will allow some funding to help lift up this much-needed platform.

Describe how womxn will benefit from your participation in the Empowering Her Micro-Grant program through your proposed or existing project? 

Maya Angelou once stated that there was nothing worse than keeping our stories or lived experiences bottled up inside. Sister Syllabus allows educators from across generations to share their truth! The unfiltered, unapologetic, real, and honest truth about being a Latinx educator at a school board meeting and being assumed to be someone’s nanny. Sister Syllabus will share the stories of the first Black female principal, the only Asian educator at a campus, or the first Black female professor at Penn State who endured sexual assaults without recourse. Sister Syllabus tells these stories. 

What does Empowering Her mean to you and how do you feel you/your brand represent this? 

Empowering Her means making a way for our sisters to shine! To see our sisters and to be seen. To tell our stories! Who better to tell our story? Sister Syllabus empowers educators who are women of color to speak to power by providing a platform that amplifies our voices and helps educators navigate the intersectionality of culture, womanhood, profession, and identity. This project will only be as good as we expect because we have two amazing artists that will help to tell our story.  The book, Sister Syllabus will feature the artwork of Taylor Neely and the photography of Moe Cole, two artists, who through their work and alongside our words, will find a way to focus their lens on the beauty of our strength.