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Kofi Siriboe Says Black Ownership Is Everything If You Value The Truth
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Kofi Siriboe Says Black Ownership Is Everything If You Value The Truth


Kofi Siriboe is beautiful. There's no question there, I mean...whew. And what's most beautiful about him, is how calculated he is when it comes to maneuvering throughout the culture. He knows what he expects of himself before approaching situations, he (mostly) understands how life works, and in areas where he feels he can learn more about himself, he takes that time to do just that: learn more about himself.

And now, he's taking on more than just being an actor. He's also venturing into the tech space.

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But why tech? How did he end up in a seemingly opposite end of an actor's spectrum? Well, for him, it's simple. As it turns out, he arrived because of acting. He tells Revolt:

"In 2016, I came out to New Orleans to start working on 'Queen Sugar,' and that was a big transition for me. I was 21 when I moved out here and looking back, I was mad young. I'd never made that much money in my life, and it's been a shift ever since. 'Girls Trip' came out 2017, and there were a lot of ups and downs in that transition. Mentally and financially, I had to adjust and learn a lot about being independent."

From here, he created We're Not Kids Anymore, a media and lifestyle brand.

"I thought to myself [that] I should create a timeline and it'd be dope to have a timeline of everything that's happened in the last however many years. I realized that's really some tech shit in order to do it correctly. I've always loved Photoshop and all the nerd shit. I was like, "Man, that would be really dope on some tech shit."

Additionally, the 27-year-old knew that he had to provide a platform to the culture to tell our stories, our way. And he took the time to epicly explain his stance on the matter.

"We can't afford to not tell our stories wholeheartedly. We can't afford to dilute our stories based off of people's perspective and perception. The only way to do that in a system like America is simply ownership. Beyond the financial element of all money and wanting to make sure I'm getting all my cuts and my splits, I just want to make sure the narrative is authentic."

He continued:

"If I got to go through four white people to say what I would say to you right now, somewhere along the way, the message is going to get diluted and it might change. Now, the people aren't getting the full story. Ownership is everything simply because if the truth is priority, then I can't afford for nobody to get in the way of that."

Whew.

To date, Kofi and WNKA are looking to be more that a media company or just another tech company. Their ultimate goal is to educate.

"I feel like one of our biggest goals is to rebrand education as something that's not boring or not cool. When was learning not fun? When was learning not cool? As a kid, that's all you want to do: absorb and learn. As Black people, the things we're given to learn aren't usually aligned with our truth. The bullshit I learned in school and the things that I've been taught, I'm like, 'Yo, that's trash. That's why I wasn't interested.'"

Protect. This. Man. No matter the cost.

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Featured image by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for Essence

 

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