The Fifteen Percent Pledge Gala took place on Feb.7-8 in Los Angeles this year and honored everyone’s favorite Mama, Tina Knowles.
The annual fundraising event kicked off with a block party at the Paramount Studios lot featuring black-owned businesses, Forbes reports. Guests are encouraged to get to know new brands as well as shop with their current favorites.
“When we first conceptualized this event at Paramount, I thought people would just come in and stay for an hour, but that’s not what we were seeing at all,” the organization’s founder Aurora James said of the block party. “Instead, people came in on Saturday morning, stayed all day, and will return on Sunday. So that part of it, for me, is so amazing. Our vendors came up to me last year and said, ‘Oh my God, we’re sold out! We’re selling out of stuff.’ That part brings me so much joy,”
Present at the fabulous gala were attendees like Chloe Bailey, Kelly Rowland, Law Roach, Olandria Carthen, Arya Starr and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex among others who all walked the Tiffany blue carpet before heading inside.
Now in its third year of existence, the gala honored creative visionary Tina Knowles for her commitment to Black businesses, women, and entrepreneurship.
“She’s done a fantastic job of centering black women for the entirety of her career. She has consistently believed in that representation from day one and has been a strong advocate for Black-owned businesses for years,” said James of Mama Tina, according to Black Enterprise.
“Ms. Tina is a real light for me, because sometimes we all get tired. She’ll tell me, ‘Come on, let’s go. We got to keep it moving.’ She’s served as an absolutely incredible role model for so many of us, and I’m honored to call her a friend and to be honoring her this weekend.”
A diverse group of entertainers, entrepreneurs, content creators, and influencers descended upon the annual gala. As the Fifteen Percent Pledge organization marches into its sixth year, the goal is still the same: to support the longevity of Black-owned businesses, especially amid an administration that has specifically targeted minority groups.
“We have a bigger task on our hands than kind of ever before,” James said. “I think that the administration has done a really good job of intimidating a lot of people who were starting to show up in some really promising ways, so that’s also made it hard for the organization, to be frank, because we don’t have all of the support that we previously had on the corporate side, and we’re a nonprofit. Every dollar we receive goes toward our programming and to supporting small businesses in America. I know the power of small business, and when we support all small businesses across this country, it makes for a stronger America.”
When it comes to measuring how much the Fifteen Percent Pledge has helped businesses grow, sustain, and evolve over the last six years, James knows it’s about more than just visibility.
“I think about who some of the founders are that I met in year one, and where they are now, like Danessa Myricks, who went through our first Sephora accelerator,” she said. “Absolutely incredible. She will be at the block party in person and is on our host committee. We put almost 1,100 black-owned brands onto the shelves of our retailers over the past six years.”
She continued,
“Our business is growing, and have we made some kind of difference on the American economic landscape? The answer to that is yes. I would love this organization to be able to continue on until we close the racial wealth gap, but if we end up in a situation where we can’t, I am still tremendously proud of the impact that we have had as one of the largest economic drivers for Black American entrepreneurs that has ever existed in this country.”
