Walk It Like I Talk It

There’s a lot of talk right now about corruption and how it’s impacting people’s lives.

But I don’t have to guess what that looks like.

I’ve spent the last 10 years building Buy From A Black Woman and helping over 700 businesses access funding, resources, and real opportunities.

I’ve seen what happens when systems work—and what happens when they don’t.

This episode connects those dots and explains why I’m running for Georgia Labor Commissioner.

Transcript

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This weekend I was in Augusta at the off soft rally, and he was talking about corruption money and how what's happening in Washington. It's hitting people's pockets every day. And I'm listening, but I'm also thinking, this isn't new. I've seen for the last 10 years, I've been building a leader organization, working with real people, doing real work. I from a black woman. We helped over 700 businesses generate more than $6.12 million in revenue. And this isn't just an idea I had in my head. This is evidence proof of things that I have done. We've helped people access funding and get certifications. We built something real and sustainable. These businesses were growing, they were getting support. Things were moving. And then it started to shift. We started seeing attacks on DEI. We started seeing resources being pulled back. People who were in places to help us no longer working there. Doors that were open, that had just opened were now closed. And then last winter, that number came over 300,000 black women pushed out of the work. And I'm looking at the number thinking, I know these women. I work with these. And this is just the number that was reported then. So what does it look like now? And also, we don't know the number of black businesses, small businesses, community-based businesses that have had to close also during this time. So listening to him on the stage talk about corruption and what's happening in Washington, I don't hear it as a politician speak it. I hear it as a person who has seen this play out. I've seen businesses lose opportunities. I've seen people be forced to figure it out on their own. I've seen what happens when workers do everything right and they still struggle. And I want to make sure we're understanding that this is not just black women. This is workers all across Georgia. People commuting hours to get to work, people trying to figure out childcare just to stay employed, people working multiple jobs and still behind. This is not a coincidence. This is a result of a system that is not built by people who actually support people. And the people who are working these systems have no idea what it's like to be a person in the system. The Labor Commission office is supposed to be part of the solution. This office touches millions of workers. It should be making sure people can access real opportunities who should be supported. But right now, most people don't even know this office, this election exists. And really because I've already been doing this work. I've built systems that connect people to real opportunities. I've seen what's work, I've seen how things don't work, and I figured it out and I've been able to navigate and make the system work successfully, not just for myself, but for hundreds, maybe even thousands of people. We don't need more conversations about what the problem is. We need people who know how to fix it. Work should work for everyone, not just when it's convenient, not when it looks good, but in real life for real people every day. My name is Nikki Porsche, and I'm ready to become Georgia's next labor commissioner because work should work for everyone, and that's what I'm working for.