Notes On Our Rebuild, Issue 4: A Braver Kind of Ownership

Alrighty, let's get into the steward ownership of it all...

You Had Me at Black and Martina Abrahams Ilunga

Sep 10, 2025

Hey Y’all,

Greetings from our new internet dwelling place!

One of my favorite quotes is actually a book title: “All the women are white, all the Blacks are men, but some of us are brave.” The book itself is a worthwhile and seminal anthology of essays; the title speaks to how Black women bravely created a movement, ideology and politic to address their own safety, wellness, and wholeness -- as well as that of their families and communities -- when the mainstream movements of the 60s and 70s did not.

It’s in this spirit that You Had Me at Black is moving forward - creating the thing we need in the world when we can’t find it anywhere else.

During a time of collapse, fear, and control, what does it look like to build bravely and freely? To build something that delights and clarifies vs. distracts? That embraces vs. shames? That fortifies vs. gentrifies?

In the first three issues of Notes from Our Rebuild, I shared a vision for You Had Me at Black as a home for our stories and storytelling that’s cultivated by the participation of our community as Patrons, Stewards and Storytellers. These contributions will support media, publishing and productions that bring to life and preserve our stories, and also create meaningful experiences for us to gather IRL. All of this is guided and shaped by our values of sacred self worth, wayward imagination, and radical connection.

Now all of this sounds nice, idyllic even. You might have heard similar intentions from other visionary thinkers. How many times have we gotten excited about something FUBU that ultimately fizzles out because values change, focus shifts, and the people at the helm move on?

As I explored how to bring the vision for this era to life, sustainability has been a top priority: doing this work in a way that is healthy and fulfilling for the team, that withstands the winds of change, and has a shot at longevity.

But good intentions aren’t enough on their own. In order for these commitments to be more than heartfelt gestures, they must be codified into the structure of how You Had Me at Black is organized and operated.

This is where steward ownership comes in.

Steward Ownership 101

Steward ownership is an organizational model where we are accountable to our mission and values, not just to profit. It allows for what we are building to belong to the community, by inviting the community to share in You Had Me at Black’s governance, and for storytellers to share in its profits.

Organizations who use this model cannot be bought out or sold off, because power, ownership and financial dividends are detached from one another. In a traditional business, the person with the most power is the person who owns the largest amount of shares and thus receives the greatest dividends. Here, power is tied to decision-making, or governance. Shares of the organization are not inherited, gifted or able to be purchased, even by me. In this way, the organization is effectively self-owned.

If you’re trained or versed in traditional business doings, this might sound counter-intuitive. After all, any business class will teach that the whole point is to maximize value for shareholders. Steward ownership asks us to hone in on a different point: You Had Me at Black does not exist to make anyone wealthy, but to tell and preserve our stories.

Now, steward ownership isn’t perfect or without its risks. Community-based decision making can get cumbersome and making this work within our country’s legal system can get complex. On the outside, this sort of structure is less attractive to investors looking for the biggest return and a big “exit” where they can cash in on the organization’s sale or going public.

But what draws me to this model is that steward owned organizations have more freedom to work long-term and grow at a more organic rate. They don’t give up control to people with big wallets but no stake in their community. They have more engaged team members, collaborators and stakeholders. And, they survive longer (60% after 40 years vs. 10% for traditional companies).

This fall, I’ll make an open call for stewards - those who are invested in You Had Me at Black’s future and interested in being a part of its governance. Together, we’ll explore how we might apply this kind of model to You Had Me at Black and create our first charter. It’ll be an opportunity for coalition and relationship building. More on that in the next issue of Notes from Our Rebuild, but for now…