A time when modern society pushed us to work 18-hour days, have 17 extracurricular activities, and have to juggle it all between a 9-to-5 job and a 6-to-midnight shift (apparently not). Really Unless you have four side jobs, dinnertime at the kitchen table is the central gathering place in any American household. This table was once not only a permanent home for your grandmother's 67-year-old KitchenAid mixer, but also the perfect spot for family meals, late-night homework sessions, and the occasional game of spades or uno.
Today, family dinners are on the decline. Become familiar The kitchen table of an average family. In fact, surveys show that while up to 84% of parents say family meals are important, only about 50% say they actually eat together most nights.
Yet before changes in American lifestyles led to shifts in household structure and extreme individualism, family meals around the kitchen table provided a special time to connect, share stories, news, and experiences, strengthen family bonds, and create lasting memories. But more than the open communication that took place around the table, it served as a springboard for discussing important topics, from addressing societal challenges to financial planning.
As such, the kitchen table has historically been an incredibly powerful wealth-building tool. For generations, “kitchen table talk” has served as a surefire way to indirectly and directly introduce financial concepts to younger members of the family, teaching them the language of business, finance, and wealth building in an up-close and personal way.
For Black families, this phenomenon continues despite the tradition of Black kitchen conversations that has continued for generations. In an era when opportunities for formal education were limited, the kitchen table became a space where Black families shared knowledge, history, and cultural traditions through oral storytelling. Elders imparted wisdom to younger generations, ensuring the continuation of traditions and equipping them to survive in a world where they often faced unfavorable odds.
While the tradition of families gathering together for meals on major holidays remains strong, busy schedules can make it difficult to have dinner every day. Black families, like all other families, are adapting to busy lives that mean even less time around the dinner table, fewer opportunities to share and impart knowledge, and even fewer opportunities to discuss business ideas, financial well-being, and wealth creation.
Like any other group, the Black community desires economic stability and wealth building. But for generations, systemic barriers have made financial literacy more difficult for Black Americans. First, traditional financial education may not resonate with Black cultural experiences, while historical and ongoing struggles with discrimination and economic hardships result in daily survival taking priority and less time and energy to devote to long-term financial planning. Due to the racial wealth gap, Black families often have fewer resources to impart financial knowledge and invest in financial education, and limited access to quality financial education in schools and financial institutions makes dinner table conversations a frivolous forum for financial conversations for many Black Americans.
But that's where the second annual Good Soil Forum comes in. This year's Good Soil conference, held June 13-15 in Dallas, Texas, was fertile ground for Black entrepreneurs seeking business growth and sustainability. The dynamic three-day event brought together visionaries and change makers in a collaborative atmosphere brimming with opportunity, perfect for an audience seeking to have the conversations that are being missed within the home due to shifting power dynamics and lack of opportunity.
The forum kicked off with a welcome reception, setting the stage for networking. Participants, ranging from those already experienced in entrepreneurship to those aspiring to start their own businesses, networked and shared experiences. This collaborative spirit continued throughout the event, with engaging breakout sessions on a range of topics, including “Wellness for Entrepreneurs,” which addressed the unique challenges faced by business owners, and “AI for Harvesting,” where participants explored the potential of artificial intelligence in streamlining operations, gaining valuable insights and improving customer experience. The forum also focused on topics important to entrepreneurs through workshops, including branding in a crowded market, securing capital and bridging the generation gap.
Beyond the breakout sessions, Good Soil 2024 featured inspiring speakers and hosts, including Potter’s House pastor TD Jakes, Emmy Award-winning actress and New York Times bestselling author and entrepreneur Tabitha Brown, MACRO founder and CEO Charles King, and perhaps the most anticipated speaker, Fearless Fund co-founder and CEO Ariane Simone.
“The biggest barrier for black women is access to capital. Even if you take race and gender out of the equation, it's still proximity. So the next thing we need is diversifying the investor pool,” said Ariane Simone, sitting center stage with Tashara Parker, a four-time Emmy-winning journalist and founder of Loud Women Lead.
The current center of the fight over affirmative action, the Fearless Fund, launched in 2020 to address the persistent funding disparities faced by black women-owned businesses. By focusing exclusively on black women applicants, the program sought to level the playing field in a historically unequal landscape. However, a lawsuit brought by Edward Blum, the political activist whose cases against Harvard University and the University of North Carolina led to the Supreme Court overturning affirmative action, challenged Fearless Fund's practices as discriminating against non-black entrepreneurs. The court upheld the lawsuit, ruling that Fearless Fund's racial exclusivity violated the Civil Rights Act of 1866.
The aftermath of the Fearless Fund case highlights the complexities of affirmative action. Still, Arians noted that her goal has always been to “create a more level playing field for people who have always been left out of the playing field.” The forum was a great opportunity to showcase Simone's commitment to imparting knowledge and expanding opportunity. With 15 minutes left, Tarasha Parker fielded questions from the audience, leading to a conversation about big money between black entrepreneurs, the kind of “kitchen conversations” that are hard to come by in black homes.
Simone offered practical, actionable advice to several business owners, including Mikayla Ulmer, 19, founder of Me and the Bees, Nikki Zeigler, executive publisher of HBCU Magazine, and several other Black-owned business owners, including a postpartum resort and hair care line that already brings in $14 million in annual sales.These conversations provided exposure to the kinds of discussions Black businesses and homes don't always get.
The event's Seed Capital Pitch Competition, sponsored by Wells Fargo, was also a flagship event. While it wasn't just about the money (though the $500,000 grant up for grabs was certainly an incentive), this Shark Tank-style competition gave aspiring underrepresented entrepreneurs a platform to present their innovative business ideas to a panel of expert judges. Not only did the competition award funding to the top ventures (winner Strands of Faith was awarded $200,000), it also provided mentorship opportunities for finalists, furthering Good Soil Forum's commitment to developing the next generation of business leaders.
But the Good Soil Forum wasn't just about business. The Harvest Moon reception provided an opportunity to relax, celebrate successes, and build lasting relationships. Participants left the event with new strategies, connections, and a renewed sense of purpose – the kind of learning that always comes at the family dinner table. With the momentum of this year's forum, the future looks bright for Dallas' entrepreneurial ecosystem. A TD Jakes team member said, “We hope to continue this every year around Juneteenth, making it a continuing push toward independence and financial freedom.”
Good Soil Forum is already gearing up for its 2025 event. Attendees can visit the Forum's website at https://www.goodsoilforum.com/event to register for updates and secure their seats at next year's event. Committed to fostering a vibrant entrepreneurial community, Good Soil Forum will continue to foster success stories in Dallas for years to come.
