Hey everyone! It’s currently 10:13 PM in the Chicagoland area as I write this very first post! And now I’m not quite sure what to say! Actually, I am. I just don’t know how to say it.

The name of the blog is a play on Driving While Black, a term many of you have heard of before. If you haven’t, it refers to being pulled over simply because you’re…driving while black. Maybe your car looks too nice. Maybe you’re in the wrong neighborhood. Whatever the case may be, it’s a form of profiling. I decided to turn something negative into something positive, hence Success While Black.

The title can seem a little polarizing. Success While Black? That’s so racist. What if there was a “Success While White” blog? The NAACP would be all up in arms about it! 

I completely understand your view, but I still think this outlet is needed. Yes, some people would be offended by a Success While White blog. But in my honest opinion, there’s no need for it. Successful white people are everywhere – from the owners of basketball and football teams to founders of some of the largest corporations in the world. You don’t need to look too far to find white success stories. I’m writing this post from my MacBook Pro, which is owned by Apple, which was founded by the late Steve Jobs. My favorite boots are from Ralph Lauren. The current book I’m reading, Moral Intelligence, was written by Doug Lennick and Fred Kiel. Here’s something they all have in common, other than being very successful in different industries – they’re white. And that’s okay! There’s nothing wrong with being white. Please don’t think I’m saying that. I just think there’s not a very strong presence (or knowledge) of black success. It’s easy to get caught up in the negative stories on the news of black-on-black crime and police brutality and feel that there is no hope in the world. I think the Black Excellence tag trending on the internet is an excellent idea, and that’s what gave me the idea for this blog. An outlet to highlight black success stories in one centrally located place. And I really hope it takes off!

That’s what this blog is going to be about. Stories from around the country of black people making a difference and being successful in their own way. One thing that I do want to attempt to steer clear from are the successful black singers and athletes. Why? Because we’re well aware that blacks excel in entertainment. But that’s not the only way to be successful! There are black CEOs, entrepreneurs, community organizers, app developers, government officials, mathemeticians, scientists… the list goes on and on! You just rarely hear about them the same way you hear about LeBron James or Beyonce. There are many ways to be successful.

I also don’t want to focus on famously successful people. I think fathers that come home to their family after a long day of hard work are successful. I think the drug addict that changed his life around and is holding down a job is successful. I think the woman who quit her corporate job to teach in an underprivileged community is successful. Success comes in all shapes and sizes!

So here’s to black success. Here’s to recognizing that it’s possible to excel at something when you put in the hard work and effort. Here’s to realizing that the struggles and sacrifices generations before us made were NOT in vain. Here’s to remembering that we can all succeed. Here’s to a journey filled with uplifting stories of success, and how they’ve come to get to where they are. You can be successful too!

“Success is a journey not a destination. The doing is usually more important than the outcome.” – Arthur Ashe

Stay tuned!