We recently connected with Angela Majette and have shared our conversation below.

Angela, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Is there a historical figure you look up to? Who are they and what lessons or values have you learned from them?

I admire Charles Hamilton Houston, Esq., May Lou Allison Gardner Little, and Malcolm X and their works and philosophies inspire me to have the courage of my convictions. All three led by example and demonstrated their understanding of the importance of group economics to the progress of Black Americans.

What I like most about Charles Hamilton Houston and Malcolm X is that they didn’t mince words. Malcolm X recognized the power of capitalism in America, and saw it as a means of advancing the Black community. He focused his energies toward Black economic self-sufficiency and understood that economic independence, based on racial solidarity, was the foundation of the struggle for civil rights.

Houston was an attorney who said that a lawyer is either a social engineer or a parasite on society. He further believed that Black attorneys must be trained and prepared to anticipate and guide and the advancement of Black Americans and serve as business advisor to scattered resources possessed or controlled by Black Americans and provide more ways of circulating the Black dollar within Black communities.

I believe that these principles should not only be adopted by lawyers but by all professionals, particularly Black professionals so in 2019 I founded Black Connect (blackconnect.org) to provide a platform for professionals to connect with Black entrepreneurs and business owners to help them build sustainable businesses. One of the first programs that I developed was Black Connect’s Pro Bono Legal Services Program. As a legal analyst and small business owner (justwritelegal.com), I was well aware of the void that existed both in the provision of pro bono legal services and in the non-profit space with respect to Black entrepreneurs and small business owners.

Over the last 20 years, I have worked closely with dozens of entrepreneurs and business owners while collaborating with attorneys in business litigation, business formation, and transactional matters and having analyzed tens of thousands of business records, contracts, and litigation documents, I see first-hand that many of the legal issues that business owners find themselves faced with can be avoided or minimized with proper legal guidance from inception.

Small business owners also often fail to appear in legal proceedings and forego pursuing valid legal claims against others because they lack legal guidance. More often than not, business owners and entrepreneurs recognize the importance of attorney representation. However, they lack the funding to obtain the legal representation they need.

The lack of funding that Black entrepreneurs face can be directly attributed to the racial wealth gap and the the lack of access to capital, funding and other essential resources needed to sustain or grow their businesses. My goal was to create a national legal program that would help level the economic playing field for Black business owners around the country and help them avoid costly mistakes and build sustainable businesses. We now have around 30 partnering law firms around the country and have helped over 200 entrepreneurs obtain free legal assistance.

Mary Lou Allison Gardner Little withstood the blatant and brutal racism that Black Americans faced in the United States in the early 1900s to become an educator and pioneer. She valued education and she dedicated her life to motivating youth to greater horizons and enhancing the quality of life for women in the United States and abroad. My children’s book, The Pretty Poodle (theprettypoodle.com), is a tribute to her life and legacy. The book promotes literacy and encourages academic achievement.  It’s a work of historical fiction that is the tale of a young girl named Mary who learns valuable lessons that inspire her historic accomplishments later in life. I wrote the book to encourage children to work towards their goals and do their best, even in the face of adversity. The book’s messages of perseverance, family, values, and achieving goals are appropriate for all children and adults too!

Angela, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m originally from the Bronx, New York and I graduated from Herbert H. Lehman College of The City University of New York with a Bachelor’s degree in accounting and completed post-baccalaureate studies at Mercy College. I segued into entrepreneurship after I became mom because of the flexibility in scheduling that business ownership can provide. I was able to set my own schedule and still be fully engaged in my son’s childhood. My areas of business are diverse:

For the past 20 years I have owned a litigation management business (justwritelegal.com) wherein I develop litigation strategies for attorneys in New York and Florida and manage and negotiate contracts for business owners and entrepreneurs. I’m also the Co-Founder and President of Black Connect (blackconnect.org), the only national 501(c)(3) membership and chapter-based organization dedicated solely to eliminating the racial wealth gap in America by increasing the number and success rate of Black-owned businesses. We help entrepreneurs connect with one another and obtain legal assistance, mentors and funding. We also have a community-based podcast that is run entirely by members who serve as hosts, guest, producers, and research assistants (blackconnect.org/podcast). The Black Connect Podcast tackles the labyrinth of systemic barriers and social and cultural norms that fuel the racial wealth gap in America. We share different perspectives on the most pressing issues facing Black Americans today while providing a platform for our community members to hone their skills, gain exposure, voice their opinions, make new connections, promote their businesses and contribute to a worthy and urgent cause.

As a former educator I value education and in 2014, I wrote a children’s book, titled The Pretty Poodle (theprettypoodle.com), that promotes literacy and encourages academic achievement. I developed a digital workbook that contains reading and writing activities related to the story that’s included free with every purchase and The Pretty Poodle Author-Connection, which is an extension of The Pretty Poodle children’s book and The Pretty Poodle Workbook in that it supports literacy by connecting the student-readers with the author and facilitates dialogue that broadens the learning experience and fosters critical thinking, self-awareness, goal setting, and self-esteem. I visit elementary schools for author visits to speak with girls across the United States on the topics of college readiness, and career and personal goals. I was named one of Ten Dynamic Women of 2014 by The National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, Inc. and The Empire Federation of Women’s Clubs, Inc.

I am also partnering with a global toy company to produce a board game that I designed for children and adults (tic-tac-pro.com). Tic-Tac-Pro! is scheduled for release in 2023.

I love bringing visions to life and I have several other projects on the horizon but I’m most proud of the fact that I have used my talents and resources to help provide opportunities and encouragement for others. That’s what drives me. I set out to build Black Connect with very little resources at my disposal because Black-led non-profit organizations experience the same lack of access to funding as Black business owners. The bulk of philanthropic dollars are still donated to white-led non-profits, and that’s true even for funds that are donated to support the Black population. Major donors and grantors typically give the funds to white-led organizations instead of supporting under-funded Black-led organizations. But despite not having access to adequate funding In less than 3 years, our Black Connect team has made significant strides:

• We have established the largest national pro bono legal services program providing business-related legal services for Black entrepreneurs and small businesses in the U.S.

• Chartered 3 local chapters in New York City, Tampa, and Tulsa.

• Provided $25,000 in funding to Black-owned businesses with Order Fulfillment Funding and FeverPitch – Black Connect’s national pitch competition.

• Established 2 business mentoring programs

and
• Developed Black Connect’s business and social networking platform for our members – Blackconnect.com  –  that provides members with 18 features and tools that enable entrepreneurial activities and promote the socioeconomic growth and empowerment of the Black community such as e-commerce, crowdfunding, and digital courses and more. You can listen to the Black Connect podcast at Blackconnect.com/podcast.

And we’ll keep moving forward and doing the best we can with what we have to help other Black entrepreneurs bring their visions of business ownership to life.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I work in the legal field and litigation is a war that consists of many battles so my reputation is built on winning and although “winning” looks different for each case depending on the set of facts that you have to work with and the stage of the case, it always involves achieving the optimal outcome for the client through a careful analysis and application of the facts to the law. My attorneys call me a pitbull because when I get a case I sink my teeth into it and I am relentless in developing strategies and creating legal arguments that advance our clients’ interests. I would say that my reputation is built on my passion and consistency.

How’d you meet your business partner?

I met my co-founder of Black Connect when I gave birth to him! My son, Marshawn K. Dickson, Jr. and I founded Black Connect together. Marshawn attended a HBCU (Morehouse College) and he is also committed to the economic advancement of the Black community. In addition to leading the development of Black Connect, Marshawn is an entrepreneur in the real estate industry and a licensed mortgage loan originator in the State of Florida. You can reach Marshawn at [email protected].

Contact Info:

• Website: justwritelegal.com,
• Linkedin: linkedin.com/angelamajette
• Other: [email protected] blackconnect.org blackconnect.com theprettypoodle.com tic-tac-pro.com