Give Black, Give Back Changemaker Series: Mignon Francois

Give Black, Give Back's Changemakers Series highlights individuals dedicated to furthering the progress of our community by uplifting and empowering those they are committed to serving. Learn more about Give Black, Give Back at www.BlackGivingBack.com
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As a kid, Mignon used to be teased because of her large hands and long fingers. When thinking about her life’s journey, Mignon reflected that God had a dream for bigger than she could have ever imagined. She started off being what she already was…”a giver”; always being what she saw her mother do, sharing her means with others.

Her earliest memory of philanthropy came when she was 5 years old living in Denver, Co. One Saturday, her family came home from church and the only food they had left which was red beans and rice in a crockpot. A church member named Cora Mae Fishburn knocked on her family’s apartment door and gave her mother a card with a check and two $50 dollar bills (the money back then in 1979 with today’s inflation would be equal to $1,200 in today’s economy). Mignon’s mother bought them a pizza for Valentine’s Day with the money; that blessing got them through the week. Mignon never forgot that moment of “giving”.

Fast forward to Mignon’s family moving to Nashville from New Orleans during the early evacuation days during the flooding in New Orleans in August of 2008. Her younger children were enrolled in school at Head Magnet and parents were asked to buy or send baked goods to their children’s home room. The purpose was for fundraising bake sales after school with the funds being donated to help the large of number of students affected by the flooding locally and the increased number of families who relocated to the city from other cities as well.

When people began to rave about her cupcakes, especially her original basic flavors of wedding, strawberry, carrot, coconut and the ever popular “red velvet” cupcakes her desire to use her God given talents / abilities, she thought she may be on to something. Although she had only baked from boxed recipes with no formal culinary or baking training, Mignon would use profits from the sale of her cupcakes to groups for meetings (fraternity & sorority, birthdays, weddings & special occasions) to experiment with family recipes she created from healthy ingredients. She baked cupcakes by the dozens weekly and gave them away for free to her neighbors, friends and complete strangers (many of whom were tourist who found their way on her Germantown home with its bakery in what would have been her living room area).

Those same neighbors, tourist and friends soon began making their way to the renovated house that served as the bakery and primary resident of and her family for years seeking to “purchase” not only her staple of original flavors but, the expanded, seasonal flavors that have been added to the menu such as: German chocolate, Key-Lime, pumpkin,

Her grandfather worked on the Whitney plantation in Louisiana which happens to be the same plantation where the former Mayor of New Orleans, and current President and CEO of the National Urban League Marc Morial’s family worked and farmed.
She embraces her biracial heritage.

For the past years The Cupcake Collection has “baked goodness” into the Nashville community and is spreading joy”!

People don’t care about what you do, people do care how much you care.
She wants to be like philanthropic “hero” Ms. Cora Mae Fishburne.

Lesson learned during the pandemic: we must learn to produce and grow our own food when products are not available or higher than normal at the grocery store; grow your own food. Healthier and you can self-sustain.

Involved with some land purchased outside off New Orleans where her family are growing organic food which are helping in “Theriot Farms”.

She’s a visionary and a visionary’s job is to write the vision and make it plain; preparing the next generation to take over her business so she can do other things. Always ties scripture back to what she is doing in her life.

When she gave her hands to God, HE blessed her & she has “baked goodness” into our community by spreading “joy”.

Aspiration – F.H. Jenkins is the only Black Private School in Middle Tennessee. Would love to have a part in training up a generation of young black kids who are equipped spiritually, educationally, vocationally and technically to be able to compete for local jobs her in the “It City” or anywhere in the nation.

A favorite quote from Maya Angelou : “If you want to live, leave a legacy. Make a mark on the world that cannot be erased”.