In September, the number of unemployed Black workers increased by seven percent, according to the New York Times, raising concerns that Black Americans are being continuously overlooked and withheld from gaining work despite applying to positions en masse.
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) has been sounding the alarm since 2025 when anti-DEI policies began to directly impact Black women. In a statement earlier this month, Pressley said, “The state of our economy is failing Black workers, families, and futures — and this is a damning reminder of that,” following the release of unemployment numbers from the Department of Labor.
The attack on DEI continues to place a target on Black people, and AI is reshaping the job market with algorithms that decide who gets access to which positions and discriminating against applicants through automated rejections.
Charisse Morton is taking emerging technology in AI and creating a resource for her community. The Memphis native, a self-taught AI Automation Program Manager, is using the skills she’s learned in her AI journey and corporate knowledge to create a tool with a mission to pick up the momentum of the hiring process for job seekers through MatchMentum.
Matchmentum is an AI-powered resume-building resource designed to help job seekers align their resumes with job descriptions and better understand areas where their applications could be strengthened. Where the platform takes things further is by applying keywords to push resumes past the gatekeeping of online systems and into the hands of human recruiters.
Just as AI has infiltrated our social feeds, it has likewise flooded corporate America’s desks. Morton’s nine-to-five became the launch pad to creating her five-to-nine due to the prominent push to incorporate AI into her workday. With only two years of tech experience in FinTech at Self Financial, Morton recognized the need to learn. She went from being an infrequent user of AI tools to using Claude to create a structured, cost-efficient 12-month AI learning path to become an expert.
A class included in her learning plan required Morton to create an automation tool using AI. As she began to work on building the tool, she realized that all of her peers were either unemployed, underemployed, or recently laid off.
Unlike most major cities, Memphis lacks corporate job opportunities and has a median income of $51,736 per the U.S. Census. “The networking that people might use to get a job in most major cities, we don’t really have the jobs or the ability to do that,” Morton told EBONY. “So, the only way for us to break out, if we can break out, is to beat an ATS system,” she expressed.
Beta testing began in February 2026 with Morton’s inner circle. By May 2026 she began seeing results.
Workday is one of the largest applicant tracking systems (ATS) in the world and is utilized by 11,500 organizations worldwide, including 65% of Fortune 500 companies. The tool is currently being sued by a Black jobseeker, Derek Mobley, for unlawfully discriminating against qualified candidates based on age, race, gender, and disability.
MatchMentum doesn’t necessarily break systems, as most ATS systems don’t disclose all the proprietary details of their algorithm’s application evaluations, but research has shown that their keywords are used to parse resumes. This tool uses that tactic to properly align with the job posting to effectively communicate your qualifications.
The steps are straightforward: upload your resume and paste in a job description. The system then provides a job match analysis. The score is on a scale of 100% and informs users of their strengths accompanied with recommendations. One of the star qualities informs users of resume gaps.
Questions could arise if there is moral conflict of a Memphis native using AI, Charisse is fully aware of the environmental implications that comes along with this. As the city is in one of the biggest fights against Data Centers disrupting the citizens, Morton’s position is not that AI is without harm, but it is imperative to understand that usage comes with realities and responsibility. “The reality is that AI isn’t going anywhere, but be responsible with your usage,” Morton said. As a team of one, she encourages users to email her with any concerns or kinks users find so she can continue to learn and perfect the tool.
Having a tool designed by a Black woman with Black jobseekers in mind, when the number of us losing our rightful place continues to rise is essential. Finding ways to help each other while building community isn’t a new concept in Black culture and is almost required in our times of need. Morton is a reminder that if you build it, they will come. The MatchMentum platform also serves as confirmation to nurture the ideas that are born out of your curiosity and need.