The Blackbird House: Culver City's Black-woman-owned coworking space
We're celebrating Women's History Month with a trip to a local co-working space that helps support female business owners of color.
Black women are the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs in the United States, but the job isn't easy. They face disproportionate access to capital, and other biases in the business world.
This is not your average office space. This is The Blackbird House, a safe space for women of color to come together, support and network.
Entrepreneur Samantha Kaine just started using The Blackbird House in Culver City as her office space two months ago.
"I founded a nonprofit that advocates for fair and equitable pay for Black producers in Canada," said Kaine.
She pays just under $800 a month to share one of these more private office spaces with access to a yoga room, private meeting rooms, even a podcasting room.
She says this is the first place she's felt "at home" outside her own home.
"I really wanted a space where I could come and see women who look like myself, and engage with women who look like myself, and feel safe," said Kaine.
"This is my baby," said founder Bridgid Coulter Cheadle.
Coulter, actor Don Cheadle's wife, came up with this vision for a coworking space for women of color right before the pandemic hit in 2019.
"I did not see a lot of spaces built for us," said Coulter.
After going virtual for two years, she used her interior design degree and transformed this warehouse into the richly textured Blackbird House that opened last year.
"Black and women of color, and women, are the number one growing entrepreneur in the country. We create more businesses than any other demographic, with the least amount of resources and funding. And for me, I just wanted to create a space that challenged that," said Coulter.
In one of the back private offices, we met Dr. Nanaefua Afoh-Manin who works here when she's not in the emergency room.
"I'm here usually about six days a week," said Afoh-Manin.
She started her own organization to relieve student loan debt for minority health professionals.
"The beautiful thing about this is not a healthcare space. It's women who are doing media, who are doing fashion, doing education -- there's so many different types of businesses right under this roof," said Afoh-Manin.
A place Coulter wants to use for advocacy, inviting guest speakers and hosting discussions.
"What can we do to be part of the change? This is part of it," said Coulter.
A place, Samantha Kaine says, she's glad she found.
"There is a sisterhood here," said Kaine.
Blackbird House members can pay $35 for a day pass, up to more than $2,500 for a private office. It's about being inclusive, and also affordable to those who need it.
