It’s easy to lose sight of hope right now.

 

Even with the chance of life beyond the pandemic beginning to emerge, we’re still dealing with so much loss — people we care about, disrupted communities, businesses, possibilities…

 

And as solutions bubble up, an old and tired truth is coming along with them — the road forward will be harder and help with be shorter for Black people.

 

But I still have hope for us, specifically as independent workers.

 

That’s not some ambiguous, hope detached from reality. I have hope because the systems and processes that have been such a burden on us in the past…a lot of them are being disrupted (at least for now), and disruption means opportunity.

 

For Black freelancers, I see an opportunity to get a head start in new careers that are just starting to take shape…this is in spaces where we already have a leg up, such as marketing, education, consumer goods, government, healthcare…and the countless ways those intersect with other fields.

 

But I think we’re going to have to rethink some things to tap into our collective wisdom and what we’re learning as a new world emerges. That’s why I always encourage people to talk to other freelancers…and to pay attention to where the money resides. That’s where we find the substance that drives real hope.  

 

 

 

 

Megan