Meet 25+ black influencers creating inspiring content on Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn.
If you’re looking for more career, business, tech, creativity, and culture to add to your social media feeds, you need to follow them.
Who would you add to the list? Share in the comments!
Arlan Hamilton @ArlanWasHere
Seen on the cover of Fast Company along with media mentions in dozens if not hundreds of other outlets, Arlan is the founder of Backstage Capital, a venture capital firm that has invested in 100+ companies led by underestimated founders.
“My name is Arlan. I’m a 37-year old Black woman from Texas, based in LA. Four years ago, I was on food stamps. Today, I have built a venture capital fund from the ground up, and have invested in 100 startup companies led by women, people of color, and LGBTQ founders.”✍🏾
— Arlan 👊🏾 (@ArlanWasHere) July 14, 2018
April Reign @ReignOfApril
April is Senior Director of Marketing for @FracturedAtlas, a nonprofit tech company that helps artists run the business side of their work. She also created the viral hashtag #OscarsSoWhite.
Consider me for topics related to race, politics & pop culture; #OscarsSoWhite & the power of social media; and the intersection of arts and tech when booking speakers for your school or org! Contact me through my website (link in bio). pic.twitter.com/Er24Wlb9Da
— April (@ReignOfApril) February 14, 2018
Angela Davis @TheKitchenista
Angela’s a.k.a The Kitchenista is a self-taught home cook, food blogger, recipe developer, food photographer sharing delicious soul food recipes on her blog and social media. Angela also live-tweets her cooking to an audience of over 63 thousand followers.
It's finally February! Happy #blackhistorymonth! In my latest post, I wrote about embracing foods I didn't always love, finding inspiration in Charleston from @chefbjdennis, and learning to keep things simple. I'm sharing my recipe for these smothered tu… https://t.co/dRarngRkuw pic.twitter.com/PXQB2PrUOo
— Angela (@TheKitchenista) February 1, 2018
Asiyami Gold @asiyami_gold
Gold is a renowned art director, blogger and visual storyteller. She documents her world travels through beautiful imagery on her Instagram and on her blog.
Bilphena Yahwon @goldwomyn
Bilphena is a Baltimore-based writer, researcher, organizer + womanist. Her Instagram is filled with gorgeous excerpts from her favorite writers, as well as pieces of her original work.
Courtney Quinn @colormecourtney
Courtney Quinn is a slightly color-obsessed fashionista and blogger. Her work celebrates out-of-the-box style, NYC, and did we mention, tons of color?
Elyse Fox @elyse.fox
Elyse is a filmmaker and creative producer who also has a killer Instagram presence. Her @sadgirlsclub account gives mental health advice and support to over 26 thousand followers.
Ellen McGirt @ellmcgirt
Ellen covers race and culture for Forbes Magazine through her daily newsletter, raceAHEAD and on Twitter.
For anyone who hasn’t signed up yet, crazy I know, you can get my daily dispatch on race and inclusive leadership here: https://t.co/gbIERuBFCo. Race and culture can be a tough topic, but we manage to do the work together. Please join us. #raceAhead https://t.co/Mn7Od6AKpL
— Ellen McGirt (@ellmcgirt) January 9, 2019
Garvin Reid @reidtweendaline
The self-proclaimed “photograpeneur” takes stunning photos across the world. His greatest talent lies in capturing the essence of a moment in a single shot.
Jenna Wortham @jennydeluxe
Jenna is a technology reporter and staff writer for The New York Times Magazine. She also co-hosts The New York Times podcast Still Processing. Her Instagram is filled with creative inspiration, cultural commentary and stunning photos of Jenna’s adventures.
Jamila Woods @jamilawoods
Jamila is an award-winning poet and vocalist. She was raised in Chicago, IL and graduated from Brown University. She’s also featured in our spoken word artists with inspiring careers because she simply does so much, so amazingly.
Jamila Rowser @jamilarowser
Writer and Instagram goddess Jamila Rowser plans to release a comic book called “Wash Day” that pays tribute to the beauty and endurance of Black women and their hair. Jamila also helps run Geek Girl Brunch, a global meetup group for geek women. She also founded Straight Outta Gotham, a project that highlights connections between hip-hop and geek culture.
John Henry @johnhenrystyle
John Henry sold his first company by the age of 21 and is now a founding partner of Harlem Capital, a venture capital firm on a mission to change the face of entrepreneurship by investing in 1,000 diverse founders over the next 20 years.
Kathryn Finney @KathrynFinney
Kathryn is the Founder of digitalundivided, a social enterprise that takes an innovative, transformative approach to economic empowerment by encouraging Black and Latina women to own their economic security through entrepreneurship. An Echoing Green Global Fellow and Eisenhower Fellow, Kathryn started digitalundivided after selling her company, The Budget Fashionista, one of the first lifestyle blogs.
As a person who has been underestimated my ENTIRE LIFE… @staceyabrams @TEDTalks really resonated with me: https://t.co/vOaALnDVAA
— Kathryn Finney (@KathrynFinney) January 30, 2019
Kelly Augustine @kellyaugustineb
With 70k+ Instagram followers and a recent appearance in Time Square for a Lane Bryant campaign, Kelly Augustine is a fashion professional with a focus on plus size fashion, Brown beauty and cosmetics, and NYC lifestyle. She has a Certificate in Brand Management Experience from Fashion Institute of Technology and a B.A. in Advertising & Public Relations from The City College of New York.
Kimberly Rose Drew @museummammy
Former Social Media Manager for NYC’s Met Museum, you can be assured that Kimberly Drew embodies the intersection between digital and art chic. But don’t take it from us, head to her Instagram for tons of insights about art, lifestyle, and culture.
HELLO I MADE IT INTO THE NEW YORK TIMES. https://t.co/qzwRLwi7EN
— kimberly rose drew (@museummammy) December 8, 2018
Kéla Walker @kelawalker
We’re so proud to have Kéla Walker among our FindSpark speaker alumni! The six-time Emmy nominated TV host and producer slays on the big screen as much as she does on the mobile screen! Her highly (and gorgeously) curated Instagram account has 58 thousand followers, who look to Kéla for health, beauty and lifestyle inspiration.
Kathleen Elie @consciousnchic
Kathleen’s expertise lies in helping followers make environmentally-conscious and ethical choices in beauty and style. On Instagram, Kathleen reviews tons of vegan and eco-friendly fashion and beauty products.
Maya Pope-Chappell @mayapopechappell
Who better to follow on LinkedIn than the lady in charge of making their content awesome? As Senior News Editor, Maya creates and curates content that empowers LinkedIn’s community of nearly 500 million job seekers.
Michaela Angela Davis @michaelaangelad
Michaela is a writer and activist on behalf of women of color. She’s also been a stylist for celebrities like Oprah and Beyonce. Her work and commentary focus on crafting a more representative vision of female beauty.
Naima Green @naimagreen
Naima is a Brooklyn-based photographer with an MFA in Photography from ICP–Bard, an MA from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a BA from Barnard College, Columbia University. Her latest project is Pur·suit, a deck of playing cards featuring queer womxn, trans, non-binary, and gender nonconforming people.
View this post on Instagram
It’s my birthday and I want nothing more than to make Pur·suit happen! 💣🔮portraits by @vadesofthesun
Netta Jenkins @netta.jenkins
Netta started her career in entertainment, university career advising, and is now a diversity and inclusion technology professional at IAC Apps. She has been featured in Forbes, numerous other publications, and is a frequent keynote speaker. She recently joined our panel for a FindSpark Employer Dialogue and can be found on LinkedIn posting real-talk D&I insights and positive career motivation.
Rashad Drakeford @rashaddrakeford
Global Head of Digital Editorial at Beats by Dr. Dre, Rashad has crafted his personal brand around the importance of being yourself and supporting black activism.
Saeed Jone @theferocity
Saeed co-hosts Buzzfeed’s AM to DM talk show. Go follow him on Twitter for pointed, witty, often hilarious commentary. He’s also author of Prelude to Bruise and the forthcoming How We Fight For Our Lives. Jones was also nominated for the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry.
I’m so happy for @bimadew! One of the best cultural critics in the game. GLOW UP, TURN UP, TWERK UP! pic.twitter.com/6zxNdw4vDc
— Saeed Jones (@theferocity) February 1, 2018
Steven Onoja @stevenonoja
Steven is a creative consultant, director, and photographer with an eye for stunning, symmetrical shots. His personal style takes us back in time with instances of bowler hats, typewriters and tweed jackets.
Tony Prophet LinkedIn
As Chief Equality Officer at SalesForce, Tony is committed to making the workforce and the whole world more inclusive of all races, religions, ethnicities, and identities.
Zinzi Clemmons @zinziclemmons
Zinzi is a writer and editor raised in Philadelphia. She studied at Brown and Columbia and recently published her debut novel, What We Lose. Follow her on Twitter for intelligent, thought-provoking commentary on race, culture, politics and more.
I wrote the foreword to @PenguinClassics new edition of Jean Toomer’s classic Cane, featuring a beautiful cover by @carefulblackgrl and a robust introduction by George Hutchinson, which you can read online here: https://t.co/G9dlQIqj5Y
— zinziclemmons (@zinziclemmons) January 2, 2019
Have someone you love to follow? Share in the comments! Want even more career and online presence inspo? Be sure to follow @FindSpark on Instagram.
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