Introducing the Cultural Leadership Fund

https://a16z.com/2018/08/22/introducing-the-cultural-leadership-fund/

by runesoerensen • 8 years ago

81 38 8 years ago

aphextron2• 8 years ago

To accomplish this, we created a new fund with Limited Partners who are exclusively cultural leaders including Sean “Diddy” Combs, Shonda Rhimes, Will and Jada Smith, Quincy Jones, Kevin Durant, Chance the Rapper, Nasir Jones, Charles Phillips, Edith Cooper, John Thompson, Robin Washington, Richelieu Dennis, Shellye Archambeau, and more. The fund was raised by our partner Chris Lyons.

This just depresses the hell out of me. This is the list of pre-eminent African Americans they could come up with to lead a Technology initiative. That's right black kids, you should look up to entertainers, business moguls, and basketball players. Those are your only role models. That is the heights to which you are capable of achieving. There's no such thing as black scientists, engineers, or mathematicians; that stuff is for white folk.

It's always the same. Every single "diversity" measure needs to be chaired by a hip-hop producer or a fashion designer. This is why blacks will never be seen as true equals in our society. We are a sideshow to these people, whose place in the world is to shuck and jive for their entertainment and mutual guilt appeasement.

Alex39172• 8 years ago

This is the list of pre-eminent African Americans they could come up with to lead a Technology initiative.

1) They're the LPs, they're not leading the initiative.

2) They're explicitly working with cultural leaders. Maybe you could count someone like Neil deGrasse Tyson, but the list is pretty short. We haven't really had scientists as legitimate cultural leaders since the days of Timothy Leary.

FLUX-YOU• 8 years ago

Maybe you could count someone like Neil deGrasse Tyson

No you can't because NDT doesn't represent business opportunity and consumer behav-- er, I mean "in other words, culture".

api• 8 years ago

Why is it that surprising that blacks who have succeeded would head up diversity measures to help other blacks succeed?

If the big vehicle for early black success had been engineering might you see a lot of black engineers heading up diversity efforts to get more blacks into acting, sports, and music?

splintercell• 8 years ago

This could be just me, but all the nerdy black people I know are more or less quite similar to their nerdy white/asian/hispanic counterparts.

Take NDT for instance, how many aspects of his personality are that different than Bill Nye.

michaelscott• 8 years ago

Not knowing the details of the intended operation I tend to agree with this view as this statement stands. Many names on the list know little of investment in tech and seem to merely "tick the necessary boxes" for the creation of an African American-focused fund, as seen by an SV investment group. Then again, maybe I'm just being cynical.

40acres• 8 years ago

This is a ridiculous view. Growing up people like Nas & Quincy Jones were idols even if I was never interested in making a career in music, simply because they made it. Representation in culture matters and to see these people held up as icons is not only inspiring to other minorities but often times these people give back; just look at LeBron James school that he opened in Ohio [0]. Chance The Rapper has also done lots of great work for youth in Chicago. [1]

This is an extremely short cited view and I think you're projecting your own insecurities as an African American onto A16z's initiative.

0: http://time.com/money/5354265/lebron-james-i-promise-school-... 1: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/watch-chance-t...

pythonslayer2• 8 years ago

The Lebron James school is great for the kids who get to attend. I am sure of that.

But, I find it interesting that so many overlook it’s dependence on a celebrity savior and shortcomings of addressing the charter school contentions contributing to the disparities in so many thousands of disctricts nationwide.

We need to repeatable dignified education systems.

ikeyany• 8 years ago

The point isn't that black entertainers can't contribute substantially in other areas.

The point is that black people are not associated with achieving fame through primarily academic routes. This reinforces the perception that black people can be famous...as long as they are society's entertainers first and foremost.

aphextron2• 8 years ago

Growing up people like Nas & Quincy Jones were idols even if I was never interested in making a career in music, simply because they made it.

My intention wasn't to denigrate the achievements of black entertainers. My point is that these people are constantly held up as the model of "making it", reinforcing the idea that "making it" in life is equivalent to "earning lots of money", regardless of what you spend your life actually doing.

Combine that with the astronomical odds of actually succeeding in those fields versus, say, just encouraging people to stay in school and strive for decent careers (as white parents/society teaches white kids), and this attitude becomes a huge contributing factor to African American poverty in my opinion.

femiagbabiaka• 8 years ago

I don't like caping for VC firms, but this irked me, so I've got to respond.

1) Since when have VC's been scientists, engineers, or mathematicians? I think they'd be horrible at it.

2) In the article, they go over a whole list of technical and non-technical people of color that they've funded:

So, when we started the firm in 2009, it made logical sense to us that as software eats the world and technology’s primary target audience becomes consumers we would focus on this unique talent pool. In the early days, this meant hiring African Americans in the firm and backing the best African American entrepreneurs such as Paul Judge, Tristan Walker, Diishan Imira, Donnell Baird, Steve Stoute, Ryan Williams, Debo Olaosebikan, and most recently Chris Bennett.

3) If you were expecting a VC firm to solve racism, you were always going to be disappointed.

mlevental• 8 years ago

1. it's a VC - what do you expect? do you think these people are really interested in lifting up the impoverished and downtrodden? what i'm saying is no duh they're going to marginalize black people - that you are surprised says more about you than them (maybe re-examine your idolatry of tech...?).

2. who do you believe would be appropriate /cultural/ black leaders? music, tv, and sports define culture today. what i think you underestimate is the extent to which these people have influenced mainstream culture (nas, quincy jones, shonda rhimes).

misterbowfinger• 8 years ago

It's always the same. Every single "diversity" measure needs to be chaired by a hip-hop producer or a fashion designer. This is why blacks will never be seen as true equals in our society

Hm, maybe in the short term, but I think the idea is that this fund will change that in the long term. Take Kobe Bryant's investment in Body Armor - it practically doubled his net worth, which means he has more funds to invest. If this fund is closely guided by a16z, it stands to reason that they'd benefit handsomely as well, thus hopefully funding more black scientists, engineers, and mathematicians.

The fact that current VCs worked in tech before is a red-herring - that hasn't always been the case. Those VCs ostensibly raised money from people who never worked in tech, and possibly knew nothing about "the business world". Have hope. This can definitely change.

Also, realize that raising money from Kevin Durant is materially better than raising money with the same terms from another VC. The marketing mojo is really effective.

shard9723• 8 years ago

I find it more depressing reading people like yourself who think that black people want the same things as everyone else. Maybe most black people don't want to be scientists or programmers? Maybe most of them want to be sports stars?

I say this an Australian and here we don't just expect aboriginals to stop hanging out in the bush and become a programmer. If that's what they want to do with their life, living the traditions of their parents that is admirable. To be honest I see it as disempowering to claim they aren't achieving much because they aren't enough aboriginal scientists or CEOs.

Why should it be the monolithic white culture that gets to decide what for blacks for success is?

forapurpose3• 8 years ago

It's hard to untangle the confused premises in the parent. What people want isn't dependent on their skin color. A person in the United States who has black skin has nothing at all to do with people in Australia who are aboriginals.

Maybe ...

If I understand correctly, the parent is saying that they have no idea. Maybe people with red hair like orange marmalade, but I don't know what I'm contributing by saying that.

they ...

An underlying problem is that word; it should be 'we'. We're not talking about Martians, but people in the same country and culture as the majority (plurality?) of readers. It says a lot about HN that the word is 'they'.

tptacek2• 8 years ago

I'd rather aspire to being Chance the Rapper than Ashton Kutcher.

forapurpose3• 8 years ago

I see the same thing; why aren't there more business leaders and technologists? Also this description bothers me:

African Americans invented all modern forms of music from jazz to blues to rock and roll to hip hop. In the United States, most fashion, dance, and language innovation has come from this relatively small community. ... / So, when we started the firm in 2009, it made logical sense to us that ... we would focus on this unique talent pool.

While it's true in one sense, it also defines African Americans by their skin color: Past cultural innovators had black skin, therefore current people with black skin are cultural innovators - "entertainers, business moguls, and basketball players", as you said.

Personally, I think the situation is simple: If you give people freedom and opportunity, they thrive - that's the American promise, the American dream, the American faith: in freedom. African Americans have only been given freedom and opportunity in a few fields, predominantly entertainment and sports, and so people have thrived where they could.

In fairness to the Cultural Leadership Fund, they are aiming to provide more opportunity in other areas:

The basic goals of the CLF are twofold:
* Connect the greatest cultural leaders in the world to the best new technology companies
* Enable more young African Americans to enter the technology industry

fipple2• 8 years ago

Well these are “cultural” leaders so they are going to be in pop culture and similar professions. The Ben Carsons and Lonnie Johnsons and Robert Smiths aren’t cultural leaders.

fipple2• 8 years ago

They needed black LPs with lots of money... engineer or doctor money doesn’t make you an LP at A16z. Where are they going to get them? There aren’t too many black startup founders or hedge fund managers. So they went where the money is. (I’m not sure if you’re aware that this list contains several tech executives such as John Thompson, former Symantec CEO).

fmitchell0• 8 years ago

Why does this seem like the VC version of "...but I have Black friends"?

On a less cynical note, I guess it has to start somewhere and these folks have demonstrated how to build a business and a brand. Well, maybe not Durant, but we'll see.

allenu• 8 years ago

The language used in the post just feels so mechanical, like "black people are great because they've contributed to culture a lot, and we want to get involved with more culture, so it's a good reason to get together with black people".

Maybe I'm alone in reading it this way, but it comes across as treating black people as this "other" that can only be approached through "culture" and not as neighbors, friends, and people you know and work with.

fastball• 8 years ago

I read it in the same way, and it just felt really off to me.

Also just factually incorrect. I'm fairly certain "most fashion" in the US has not come from the Black American community. A lot, sure. Most? Name me a top 10 fashion brand that is run / was started by a person of color.

toomanybeersies• 8 years ago

You're not the only one. It came across as cultural fetishisation to me.

protomyth• 8 years ago

Why does this seem like the VC version of "...but I have Black friends"?

Well, if some VC wanted to do a version of "...but I have Native American friends?", I don't think there would be many objections.

I think the worst thing in life is just being ignored.

LorenzoFernando• 8 years ago

From my point of view, this is a PC-washed way of folding Black wealth into the venture capital behemoth. I'm also pretty uncomfortable with the identification of "cultural leaders" with "media celebrities with plenty of coin". Yes, they are very accomplished people, but the term "cultural leadership" is a bit too strong o use primarily for folks who made their living catering to popular tastes.

DoreenMichele• 8 years ago

FYI for folks interested in diversity in VC, there is also Backstage Capital. I posted a few things about them to HN a few months ago and it didn't get serious traction. But it has been covered in such big name publications as Forbes.

https://hn.algolia.com/?query=backstage%20capital&sort=byPop...

http://backstagecapital.com

The founder is on Twitter under the handle @ArlanWasHere. She appears to use the same handle elsewhere, like Instagram.

matiasb• 8 years ago

It would be great if the fund collaborates with Latin America too.

erubin• 8 years ago

all of the fees and carry associated with the fund will be donated to non-profit organizations that enable African Americans to enter the technology industry.

if i were a founder, why wouldn't i be bothered by this? if i'm going to be working monomaniacally to make the a16z LPs rich, i want to be making the GPs rich too. if they're funding me out of the CLF, they won't be getting rich so they won't want to help out as much.

greenburg• 8 years ago

"Lock my body can't trap my mind, easily Explain why we adapt to crime. I'd rather die enormous than live dormant that's how we on it. Live at the main event, I bet a trip to Maui on it" Jay Z.

Introducing the Cultural Leadership Fund

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