Day: December 13, 2021

It’s the twenty-first century. One would expect a more accommodating society that is free from racial discrimination, stigmatization, oppression, and stereotypes. However, it is unfortunate that our society as we know it still struggles with this daily.

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, our country was thrown into chaos with the killing of George Floyd, recalibrating the Black Lives Matter movement as protestors took to the streets here and across the globe. The subsequent reactions to this nationwide protest clearly showed the place of racism in today’s society and how the US still struggles in moving past discrimination of any kind. For this reason, Christopher Scott felt compelled to launch I’m Black And, a clothing brand focused on and dedicated to serving as a positive and uplifting source for the Black community. Scott has been advocating for a more accepting business, entertainment, and social environment where everyone feels welcomed through this brand.

Chris Scott is a first-generation college graduate; senior dual engineer; local, national, and state multi-award winner; entrepreneur; and professional speaker. The company focuses on dispelling stigmas and stereotypes about the Black community. Chris was drawn towards advocating for inclusiveness because of his own life experiences, which brought on anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts. Overcoming these struggles gave him a new outlook in life. Therefore, he decided to take up the role of a mental health advocate, noting the stigma around therapy in the Black community. He understands that words are very powerful and can contribute to a person’s success or demise.

For Chris, growing up in a world where the names of Black people were synonymous with negativity, he knew something had to be done. Crimes committed against Black people have a way of being stereotypical and heavily politicized and stereotyped. Change was necessary.

Creating I’m Black And became an attempt to change the mindset towards Black people and for Black people. In sharing his experiences with being underestimated, Chris said, “I wanted to create a brand that caused a good feeling whenever black people saw it and said it, I’m Black And…. I was stereotyped and stigmatized by professors not believing that I could succeed in electrical engineering. I was congratulated for taking care of my son, because ‘most black men don’t take care of their kids.’” “I was approached for fitting the description of perpetrators in multiple store thefts, based on my skin color,” he shared. The brand became necessary to make Black people feel good about themselves from a healthy mental perspective.

I’m Black And is dedicated to empowering the black community. Its mission is to dispel stereotypes and stigmas through its apparel by using phrases that reach out to Black people and positively impact their mental health. Positive reinforcement, motivational phrases, and uplifting words can be found inscribed on every product.

Learn more about Chris Scott and the I’m Black And mission via its website.

Healthcare is an ever-important necessity that often gets overlooked by governments, pushing communities and private institutions to offer various alternatives to make it more accessible to everyone. Homecare is the sort of supportive healthcare that many people need, but unfortunately, many people do not have access to it due to a lack of resources and support. Fumi Ogunsemore hopes to change this, ensuring that her community is supported and people will receive the adequate amount of healthcare they deserve.

Fumi Ogunsemore has been a nurse since 2011. In 2017, she took her career one step further and started on a unique journey to establish her own company, Valley of Joy Home Care. She knows full well all the challenges that taking care of another human being brings. Her childhood has been rooted in taking care of other people, such as her parents and grandparents, which is why she finds value in what she can offer to others through her company.

With the ever-increasing costs of nursing home care, Fumi Ogunsemore realized how much of a privilege it was for people to have in-home care and how rare it was for certain parts of her community to afford it. Seeing this massive issue in the system, Fumi decided to do something about it herself, so she established the Valley of Joy Home Care to provide cost-effective home and community government-funded programs for the aging, disabled, and intellectually disabled. 

Valley of Joy Home Care also helps the medical professionals in her community through its extension company, Valley of Joy Medical Staffing, a company that helps nurses find jobs all across America. Fumi Ogunsemore heavily emphasized her company’s mission before she even started her company. “The mission from five years ago remains the same—to ensure that people who need medical care but don’t want to live in a home still receive the care they deserve in the comfort of their own homes,” shared Fumi.

The recent global pandemic has heavily ravaged the healthcare industry. With the abrupt changes in the global medical landscape, things have become far more difficult than they already were. With shortages of everything from PPE to personnel, the industry was shaken up. Patients often needed more help and support than they were equipped to handle. Instead of shying away from the situation, Ogunsemore sprang into action the minute she realized how much the demand for care outweighed the care available. 

That was the time when she founded Valley of Joy Medical Staffing, which started to help hospitals staff up during the shortages during the global pandemic. Even as she lost family members and nurses through the pandemic, Fumi continued to help nurses find jobs and hospitals find the staff they needed to continue their life-saving work.

Valley of Joy Home Care has been in business for over five years, and with the addition of their new endeavor, Valley of Joy Medical Staffing, the company has helped dozens of clients and placed hundreds of nurses across the country in trusted hospitals. They work alongside America’s biggest healthcare facilities across the country to assist in ensuring adequate staffing for their patients. 

To learn more about Fumi Ogunsemore and Valley of Joy Home Care, make sure to visit the company’s official website.