Why Was The <1% Club Founded?

I founded T<1C because I noticed a hard separation between certain companies and their ability to connect with Black professionals. When I was first hired in the field of Marketing I would uncomfortably notice that I was typically only one of a few, if not the only, Black professional in the organization.

Coming into the corporate space, this was something I hadn’t anticipated, my naive mind had thought that in going to a majority Black college, and graduating with a majority Black class in degree fields that aligned with mine, that I would see more Black or BIPOC faces when I arrived in corporate America. But where were they? Where did my peers go?

“Black professionals hold only 3.2 percent of all executive or senior leadership roles and less than 1 percent of all Fortune 500 CEO positions.”

Barriers for Black Professionals – SHRM

I could never anticipate the day that I would be pulled aside by a previous HR Manager to be told; “You know Claudia, you cannot just hire people because they are Black.” (I had just been promoted to Marketing Manager in my department and was tasked with hiring a brand new team.) I couldn’t hold back my laugh when I replied, the mask had come off; “I am not hiring people BECAUSE they are Black, I am hiring people that are in my network, and that I know have the skills to do the job, and as a Black professional, the people that I know, are also Black.”

There Has To Be a Better Way

I thought to myself – what a joke. Why was this organization so afraid of having people of color in their Marketing team? In a team of over 50 people residing in this little northern New Jersey warehouse, and as 1 of only 3 Black employees in the entire organization, what were they so afraid of?

Surprisingly this wasn’t even the first time I had been met with such an uncomfortable issue in a corporate environment, previously I had worked in the hair manufacturing industry, I was so excited because this was a product developed primarily (99.99%) for the Black community. Black trends were vital, products were named after the likes of Beyonce and Zoey Kravitz. Beauty supply stores were the primary customer for all of their products. That still did not matter. In a team of over 30 people I was 1 of 2 Black employees – for a product made FOR Black people! This is insane.

I tried a marketing agency – team of 30, 1 of 3 Black employees.

Smaller marketing agency – team of 11, 1 of 1 Black employees.

Certified financial planning organization – team of 28, 1 of 1 Black employees.

You may be thinking to yourself at this point, “God, what a job hopper!” But this had happened over the course of several years, of trying to make space for myself and for people like me in an area that never intended to make space for us.

Black Founded Organizations Are a Way Forward

I had all but given up hope until I found a very unique job opportunity to work with a small but mighty organization focused on DEI in the health space. I applied with everything I had, singing my own praise on how I had pioneered multiple DEI marketing initiatives, created equitable influencer teams, have been invested since joining corporate in the very ways in which I could uplift the Black community and provide us with the products and services we deserve, and I got hired.

Until I was in a Black founded organization, I did not have the opportunity to breath. I did not have the opportunity to unmask. I did not have the opportunity to unabashedly wear my curly hair big and proud. I did not have the opportunity to speak on how important it was that Black people are included. But here – I found my voice, I found people who I identified with, who had the same mission as me, to uplift our community, and it wasn’t until almost a full decade into my career, that I would go on to read Rachel Rodgers “Million Dollar Habits” whose words would put tears in my eyes and passion in my heart to create this very community when she said (boiled down) to stop trying to be like everyone else who is doing what you are doing, she had made her impression on the world utilizing her focus and what was important to her to create a new avenue. I knew that I didn’t fit neatly into the Marketing box. I am wildly passionate about my community, I care deeply about the people and businesses I surround myself with, and I was already a far cry from your A-typical, buttoned up, white man, A-list college grad, with a Fortune 500 at the top of their resume.

I knew, that just like Rachel Rodgers I was creating my own path, and that it would be unique, serve professionals and entrepreneurs that are like me, and most importantly that it would lift up my underserved community to showcase our talent, enhance our experiences, and to continue fostering a culture of new creators, marketers, business professionals, and entreprenurs that intend to do the same. So I welcome you, to my creation: The Less Than 1% Club.