Timi Ogundipe, the founder and CEO of Safe Resell, wasn't able to participate in the protests that followed George Floyd's death. He wanted to, but as the father of a newborn, he didn't want to risk the possibility of contracting Covid-19 in the large crowds. Still, he knew there was an opportunity to start a conversation and tell a story.
"I wanted to do my part and bring about some type of change," Ogundipe told Minne Inno.
This quickly led to the creation of Shed Some Light, Ogundipe's new podcast where people of color share their experiences with racial profiling, brutality and targeting at the hands of police officers. The podcast made its debut one week after Floyd's death.
"What happened to George Floyd could've happened to any one of us, and that's why we're so hurt," Ogundipe said in the first episode of the podcast. "We see us in George. We see this happening over and over, and we see what we're doing isn't working. So what can we do to show everyone this is bullshit?"
Ogundipe estimates he has experienced at least a half-dozen instances of racial profiling from the police. One of the first happened while he was in college. After leaving a party, he and his friends (three black men and one white woman) got in a car to drive home. During the car ride, there was an argument and the woman began crying. A police officer pulled up next to the car, saw the woman was upset and pulled them over. The officer tapped on the back window and asked the woman if she was alright or if she was in danger.
"At this point, I'm pissed off," Ogundipe said. "He said he thought it looked like we were up to no good."
The officer asked the woman if she wanted to press charges, but she declined. Ultimately, he let the group go with a warning but didn't specify at the time what that warning was.
"Looking back at it, it was a huge case of profiling, especially because the officer never spoke with the driver – just the people in the back seat," Ogundipe said.
"The people you see at work or on the street go through this every day," he added. "We're scared. If we get pulled over, we're worried we might die that time."
After coming up with the idea for Shed Some Light, Ogundipe began texting friends and fellow entrepreneurs to see if they would be interested in sharing similar stories. A dozen quickly jumped at the chance. Shed Some Light has now released two episodes and plans to continue releasing one new episode each week.
"I hope it will open up a dialogue through companies nationwide."
Safe Resell is a company creating a pre-paid, cashless online marketplace for reselling goods. He was motivated to start the company after getting robbed while trying to sell a phone through Craigslist.
"After that happened, I knew I couldn't call the police," Ogundipe said. "I grew up with the idea of not snitching, and if I call there's a chance they're going to do something to me."
He grudgingly accepted the loss and deactivated the phone. At the time he was building another startup but began formulating plans for a new company that would serve as a safer alternative for Craigslist. Eventually, this became Safe Resell. Ogundipe has been working on this company for just over two years and was recently accepted into the St. Paul-based Lunar Startups accelerator.
Lunar Startups, one of the Twin Cities' newest accelerators, supports entrepreneurs from underserved or underrepresented backgrounds. Companies from its current and previous cohorts are currently developing solutions to help rebuild communities, provide resources for schools and improve workplace culture.
Shed Some Light may have been created in the wake of Floyd's death, but Ogundipe hopes to continue conversations surrounding racial profiling and brutality far into the future.
"In general, I hope it will open up a dialogue through companies nationwide," he said.
Shed Some Light is available on Spotify, Google Podcasts and Anchor FM. Ogundipe is currently seeking people to share their stories on the podcast. Those interested in participating can reach out to shedsomelightpodcast@outlook.com.
