Welcome to another episode of Unbossed, But Bothered where we don’t just bring our chair, we bring our voice, our truth, and our full selves. Today’s conversation, Not Your Token, Not Your Trend, is both timely and necessary. In the last 90 days alone, over 300,000 Black women have exited corporate spaces or been laid off, with unemployment climbing to 6.2%. We are witnessing a pivotal moment where our visibility is sometimes celebrated, yet our value is still too often reduced to a box checked or a quota filled.

But Black women are not a trend. We are the backbone, the innovators, the educators, the leaders and in today’s changing world, including the rise of AI and a shifting economy, our future demands intentional strategy, not symbolic gestures. Joining us is a woman who embodies that truth, Atasha James, founder of Legends Charter School in Washington, D.C., whose work in education and leadership speaks volumes about what it means to lead without compromise. This is more than a conversation, it's a call to action

This conversation made one thing crystal clear we are not here to be someone’s token, and we are not here to be part of a passing trend. We are here to lead, to build, and to transform every space we enter. The statistics may be sobering for hundreds of thousands of Black women leaving corporate spaces, unemployment on the rise but those numbers do not define our worth, our brilliance, or our power.

As we navigate a changing workforce, shifting cultural tides, and the rise of AI, our charge is to make sure Black women are not just present in the future but shaping it. So, let this episode be more than words you heard today. Let it be the spark that drives you to advocate, to innovate, to educate, and to stand unapologetically in your purpose. Because our value is not up for negotiation, and our time is now