Our Story
Hi, we're Karen and John "Jay" Weaver, and we first began working on the idea for Strivers Row in the summer of 2006.
Why? Well, we got tired of attending conferences and simply talking about the many problems in disadvantaged communities, especially for youth aged 16-24. Two of the biggest issues which consistently came up were the lack of positive role models and the overwhelming negative images of people of African descent in the media. Even with the relatively recent explosion of Barack Obama on the political scene, many youth from disadvantaged communities are still unable to fathom success beyond the music and sports industry. Given the paths our own lives have taken, we wanted to help extend this realm of possibility and our mission became clear -
to help young adults discover positive role models from across the African Diaspora!
By using technology to recreate the helping village ethos and community pride that defined the original
Striver's Row, our goal is to provide an awesome peek into the lives of a global community of strivers with the hope that this glimpse would serve as an inspiration to those in need and a testament to those in doubt. This hope is reflected by the symbol in our logo - an Adinkra symbol called "HWE MU DUA" which denotes excellence and stresses the need to strive for the best quality, whether in production of goods or in human endeavors.
And who are we? Just two people who have grown increasingly concerned with the pervading "culture of mediocrity" as we've become older. We've been married thirteen years, been blessed with great educational opportunities, have two kids, both drive Fords, etc. etc. etc. If you're actually interested, you can read our bios by clicking one of these links:
And in case you were wondering, we named the site "Strivers Row" in honor of a real community in Harlem, USA where many succesful people of African descent have lived. If you want to find out more about our decision to call the site Strivers Row,
click here. And be sure to check out our
dedication page too. Keep on striving!
