The concept of black creators not getting the spotlight they truly deserve has been an ongoing battle in Hollywood. Nigerian-American tech mogul, Fola-Sade Ogunmokun had an initial vision to create a news source for the black community. The killing of 17-year-old Treyvon Martin, showed how the American judicial system let american citizens down and that ignited a spark in the then newsroom assistant and new mom. After hearing newsroom banter about the prosecution being correct, Ogunmokun knew that the media was missing something – the black perspective. From there her platform, Unskrypted was born off the premises of her wanting to build a network of her own showcasing the stories, worries, fears and success of the black community. “We needed a news source we could trust and that’s what i wanted Unskrypted to be, stated Ogunmokun.”
The name is a combination of the two words – unscripted and encrypted. Ogunmokun stated unscripted- refers to the fact that much of Black culture and history has been stripped away or missing from writing. The word encrypted refers to an encoded language that lives in the Black community. “From our head nods, slang, ebonics and other ways that we communicate it is proof that we have a form of encrypted language between the black community.”
The initial vision for Unskrypted was to be a news source for the Black community and a safe place where information was accurate and authentically black. Nearly eight years after the start of the platform, Unskrypted has evolved into so much more than an outlet for news. Ogunmokun focus wasn’t so much about the narratives found in the news, but the narratives that are oftentimes left out of the media. As the business model blossomed, Unskrypted still strives to have news on the network but the company’s current day focus is on the ability to share a variety of content on the platform.
As a hybrid of a traditional television network and a streaming platform offering free content to viewers, the company produces original black content from across the diaspora all while integrating a marketplace for businesses to advertise and directly buy from. The company’s agenda is designed to empower the black diaspora. Ogunmokun stated the best part about the platform is that it’s 100 percent free. The pandemic has honed in on the importance of staying connected by socializing through virtual experiences, while quarantined at home. “So many of the other platforms are offering monthly subscriptions, and we don’t want to add another subscription bill to anyone’s pockets. For all of that we might as well go back to cable, but we’re not, we are going to Unskrypted.”
The company offers a unique live chat aspect during programming. It allows the users from various locations to come together as a community to experience shows together. “We don’t compare! Other available networks either are taking on the OTT (over-the-top) model where they have content running 24/hours for viewers or they have content that you have to pay a monthly subscription for in order to watch at your own leisure. No one has developed a clean way to incorporate live chats, social media, polls, and interactivity the way Unskrypted has.” She stated, the company takes pride in the content creators that have joined the network.
While Unskrypted is redefining the narrative of the black community in programming through the use of cooperative economics, empowered leadership, and accurate information – there are an endless number of issues to tackle within the black creative space. I asked Ogunmokun how she was able to narrow the focal points down to those three areas and she stated it all stemmed from the main complaints that she heard from friends in the entertainment industry.
“Black creatives aren’t being paid their worth. We’ve seen Shonda Rhimes leave ABC, to accept a $300 million- dollar deal. We know about the issue with comedian Monique being offered $500,000 despite other comedians being offered millions. There’s even instances where hosts on the same shows are receiving million dollar differences and the main difference between them is race and/or gender. In order to combat this, I wanted to come up with a model to really heighten how black creatives are compensated.”
Unskrypted Founder, Fola Sade Ogunmokun
Black women represent .0006 percent of total tech venture funding that’s been raised since 2009. With the majority of the funding raised in 2017, digitalundivided reported that the $427.7 billion in funding shines light on the hustle that women of color have to do in order to prosper in a larger playground. Ogunmokun stated she felt overlooked as black woman in tech. “Being a Black woman, tech founder is rare but receiving funding for this startup was even rarer. I had to work a full-time job and be a single parent, all while bootstrapping this business.”
Studies done by the NAACP have indicated the black dollar circulates at six hours in the black community compared to 28 days in the Asian community, 19 days in the Jewish community, and 17 days in the white community. Ogunmokun states that in order to help pay creatives their worth and increase the circulation of the Black dollar in our community its necessary to focus on cooperative economics as one of the main principles of her company.
Ogunmokun believes the real issue stems from empowered leadership in reference to black disparities in media where creatives aren’t given the same space and power to share more narratives that reflect the black community in an authentic manner. She expressed, “The American population is made up of thirteen percent of Black people, yet less than one percent of all network stations are owned and operated by Black people. The power of the show isn’t in our hands, they’re in the hands of the person paying for the content.” She stated that Unskrypted looks to empower the leadership of their creatives by working with them alongside brands to get the work done and making sure they have what they need to continue to create.
The company strives to make sure that no matter if it’s a documentary, news story or a fictional show, they’re using accurate information on their platform in order to reduce further narratives that will hold the black community back. “The whole notion of Fake News has greatly affected our community and its time that we are able to amplify stories, information and content that we believe in and that’s factual.”
When it pertains to mainstream media and the lack of original Black content being brought to television channels and streaming platforms, Ogunmokun believes that the lack has never been derived in black creativity but more so a barrier to entry when it deals with black creatives.
“Like many of my peers, we look to find stories that compel us, to see faces that feel relative and watch shows that are relatable. The black community needs a space to be their full authentic selves. A place where they can learn to navigate business opportunities amongst one another and build networks and creative centers for black people around the globe. We are more connected than we are not, and it is time that we redefine our narrative together.”
