20 Years in the Game

In this episode of the Production Prism podcast, host Torrance Hill sits down with Kenia Thompson—storyteller, producer, and host of the Black Issues Forum on PBS North Carolina. Kenya shares insights from her 20-year journey in the television and production industry, emphasizing the deep human connection at the heart of storytelling.

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:00

What's up everybody? I'm Torrance Hill and you are locked in to the Production Prism Podcast. Today we are interviewing Kenya Thompson, host of Black Issues Forum, producer, and an amazing storyteller. Today we're going to talk about her journey in the industry, the importance of storytelling, and much, much more. I hope you enjoy. I always like to go back to the stuff that we worked on together. Because like when I first when I first met you or even heard about you, at first I just thought you were a host.

SPEAKER_01 0:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 0:36

And then like I think.

SPEAKER_01 0:38

What was that? The educational summit?

SPEAKER_03 0:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 0:41

That was the first thing.

SPEAKER_03 0:41

Yep. Okay. I thought you were just a host.

SPEAKER_01 0:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 0:44

And then, you know, I spoke to Cornell and he was just like, I don't know, Cornell. Kenya does a lot.

SPEAKER_00 0:49

Like, like what?

SPEAKER_03 0:51

Um, but a lot of me knowing you now is host, producer, editor. You shoot. I shoot. Yeah, you shoot. Because yeah, you told me about you had a production company. I have a production company.

SPEAKER_01 1:07

I don't take very many clients that much. If I do, you're special.

SPEAKER_03 1:12

Yeah. Special? Hey, hey.

SPEAKER_02 1:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:17

But but prior to all of this, like, were you always in this industry? What what were you doing prior to television?

SPEAKER_01 1:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:25

I started out in television news.

SPEAKER_03 1:27

Really?

SPEAKER_01 1:28

So in college, mind you, I switched my major six times. I started out at in in nursing, okay? And then it went between nursing to English to psychology to all the few things in between. And then I took a production class and I fell in love with editing and video. And I was like, people can do this. And it just started from there. I got an internship at what used to be WB22. Uh, now the CW has taken over that station. Uh and I started at a very small news station that only had one newscast, 11 p.m. But it was the best place to learn because we had all day to tell stories and go get stories, to, you know, play around with cameras. And I did everything. Anything they asked and anything they didn't ask, I did. So I got to learn, you know, the workings of a TV student station. And then we shut down, but then I went to WRAO. And I got there and I just I drowned. It was like going from Rocky Mount to New York City. And I I couldn't take it. And I didn't get fired. I quit. Found a job where I felt more comfortable. I had no voice. And um, you know, it was a hard decision because, like I said, it was something that I really enjoyed. Like I found joy in it. But, you know, trauma will show its face.

SPEAKER_03 3:06

Yeah. What was the, I mean, what was the part or the thing that brought you the most joy? Because you went from a small station. And I've been at small stations before, like small little stints. I'll come in as a contract or something. And that small station vibe is it's lit. It's dope. I don't care what nobody's. I'll take a small station over the massive big ABC. ABC. I don't know you. You ain't know me. I don't care about you. You don't care about me. Yeah. But outside of that, like Phil, what was that? What was it that you liked the most?

SPEAKER_01 3:41

It was connecting with people. Still is. And I think if you look at all the career paths that I had ventured, those six major changes, they all dealt with connecting with people. So I think I would have been a great nurse, right?

SPEAKER_02 3:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:54

Because it was about people. And I think as I've learned today, and I'm a very empathetic person, and I think it's about the person. And so when you talk about being a storyteller, that's an intimacy. It is it's about connecting with the human. And that's what I enjoy the most.

SPEAKER_03 4:12

Yeah. Yeah. And it's, you know, it's kind of crazy to hear that at one point you were studying nursing, among other things. I would have never thought that. No. You see me as a nurse? No, no, no, no. I mean, you're kind, you're great. Yeah. You know, but I mean, you you a production dog.

SPEAKER_01 4:30

Oh, I appreciate that.

SPEAKER_03 4:32

I mean, we filmed it was it was the 4th of July weekend. We was filming 4th of July weekend. Like, you was filming before I even got on location. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:43

Yeah, we had another, yeah, we had a previous. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 4:46

And even still, we filming the whole days, and it's hot. Yeah. I'm talking about like a million degrees outside. It's hot. Skillet.

SPEAKER_00 4:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 4:54

And can you just like I'm I'm doing what I do, getting a story and that drive.

SPEAKER_00 5:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 5:01

And that's why I can't see you as anything else, or have wanting to be anything else, because you're so committed.

SPEAKER_01 5:07

I appreciate that. I don't even see it like that, honestly. I just see it as, again, it's it's joy. It's an enjoyment.

SPEAKER_03 5:15

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:16

I tell my students all the time, you know, tap into the passion. Because once you find it, nothing can deter that that moment of joy, that space of joy, right?

SPEAKER_03 5:29

So what would you what would you call yourself? You know, I mean, I I kind of told everybody all the mini kits that you wear.

SPEAKER_00 5:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 5:38

But what would you call yourself in this industry?

SPEAKER_01 5:40

Similar to the conversation we had before, I am a storyteller. I I can't see myself as anything else. I'm an empathy builder. Um, I like to say that I build bridges to empathy through stories. And you know, that means connecting people in spaces they never thought they would have been connected. And that connection can be to an idea, to a culture, to a subject matter, whatever the case may be. But, you know, opening eyes for folks that either didn't want them open or just had a veil over them.

SPEAKER_03 6:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:18

You know?

SPEAKER_03 6:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 6:20

Yeah. I particularly enjoy your storytelling.

SPEAKER_01 6:22

I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_03 6:24

We I know we worked on some things together, but I remember you had sent me a package and I think it was about the hurricane.

SPEAKER_01 6:33

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And Western, yeah, Helene. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 6:36

And it just because I I felt the I felt the I wanted to help them.

SPEAKER_01 6:43

And that's all I it wasn't the best production. Cornell and I I asked to go. I said, I don't care if I don't have an audio guy. I just need Cornell. I asked for Cornell specifically because I knew he'd be down for whatever I asked.

SPEAKER_02 6:58

Cornell that dude.

SPEAKER_01 6:59

And we got in my truck and I had him put the camera out the sunroof. And I I drove slow and I said, let's just capture the devastation. Right. And then we manned on the street it and we went to various areas and I approached folks, told them what I was doing, and we just got interviews. And while again, it wasn't probably the most polished piece. Again, we had no audio guy. We captured the rawest stories. Yes. And that is what resonated. That thus far has been the most highest performing viewer, analytics, whatever of black issues form, I think of its time, or at least in my time. Yeah. And that speaks volumes.

SPEAKER_03 7:47

It does. And it and it just to kind of segue into the conv into this other conversation about gear. I mean, for me, it it doesn't mean that you have to have the latest and greatest.

SPEAKER_02 7:58

No.

SPEAKER_03 7:59

So how I mean, would you still be able to tell your stories without, you know, the most expensive, most brand new pieces of equipment?

SPEAKER_01 8:07

Indeed. Um, I she's not a client, she's a friend, but over this past week, she I didn't have the bandwidth to help her out with this documentary that she wanted to create. But I said, you have the power in your hands. You have a cell phone. And what I'll do for you is if you capture the stories, and I know she's a great storyteller because she's a theater girl. And I said, if you capture the stories, I'll, you know, guide you through how to frame up your cell phone and all that, and do a, you know, a mic through your phone. I'll edit it for you. And she captured the stories with a cell phone and a lapel mic hooked into her phone. It wasn't the greatest, but people were locked in because the heart was captured from each individual.

SPEAKER_03 8:55

Yeah, and that's and that's the importance. And that's kind of like why I even asked that question or even hinted towards equipment, is because I feel like we have to get to the point where as storytellers that we're encouraging either young storytellers or even old storytellers a lot, that it is not the equipment, it's not the gear. Don't let that stop you.

SPEAKER_01 9:17

No, I would say as long as you got good light and clean audio, you're good. Good. You're good. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 9:25

So um, I want to dive into more of your storytelling mine.

SPEAKER_00 9:29

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 9:30

Um, so what's is there a rule like around like TV storytelling that you like to break?

SPEAKER_01 9:40

Gosh, there are a lot of rules that I break. Um, what can I say to not get in trouble?

SPEAKER_03 9:50

I was doing that earlier. I was like, ooh, I was like, ooh, let me not.

SPEAKER_01 9:53

How can I not get in trouble? But I think people that know me, especially like I'll just me and Deb go back and forth all the time. So my executive producer, Deborah Holt Noel, uh PBS, North Carolina. The GOAT. The GOAT. She is great. She is one of the original hosts of Black Issues Forum, and she's a great storyteller. We just tell stories differently. And so oftentimes, you know, she'll suggest a thing, and I say, you know what, I'm not gonna do that. Because that's not how I tell stories. And I think I know this isn't specifically answering your question because I honestly can't think of a thing that I've broken, but I always try to stay authentic to what feels real to the story. And I know she does as well. It's just our approach is a little different. Um, you know, I may not sugarcoat a thing, right? Where she finds a more eloquent way to say it. And I think because of where we are with technology and access to information, people can see through what's not real. And so when we talk about telling stories and being authentic with those stories, I want to make sure that people feel safe, but to be truthful and no longer sugarcoat a thing.

SPEAKER_02 11:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:16

And I think where I am and um, you know, the kind of stories that they tell is a bit sugarcoated. And I'm tired of sugarcoating shit. Excuse my language.

SPEAKER_03 11:29

No, because it's you touch on two really important things is that as producers, we do approach things differently. Because you and I, we may get the same exact story.

SPEAKER_01 11:40

Yeah. Well, even the fashion forward piece that we worked on, right? Yeah, I was like, no, it should be done this way. You were like, oh yeah, you know, I don't know. Yeah, and it's okay. It made the differences.

SPEAKER_03 11:50

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 11:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 11:51

Because at the end of the day, we're we're two different people.

SPEAKER_01 11:56

Exactly.

SPEAKER_03 11:57

We've experienced the world from two different backgrounds, and lenses, yeah. Lenses.

SPEAKER_00 12:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 12:02

Um, and then on the sugarcoat thing, I'm with you. I there were things about that piece that we worked on, the fashion forward piece that I felt like was getting thrown under the rug.

SPEAKER_00 12:18

I agree.

SPEAKER_03 12:19

Because folks didn't want to ruffle feathers. And I don't and I don't know how high up that goes.

SPEAKER_01 12:27

Right. But we gotta be afraid to I mean, we have to stop being afraid to ruffle feathers.

SPEAKER_03 12:32

Yeah. Because I'm the type of person, I'm the type of producer. I'm gonna tell black stories.

SPEAKER_01 12:38

Unapologetically.

SPEAKER_03 12:39

Unapologetically. And the only way you're gonna get me to stop is because I'm dead.

SPEAKER_01 12:43

Yeah, I agree. I think that's the beauty of hosting black issues for them. And while I hate the name, um, I do love the fact that we can unapologically unapologetically talk about the the problems that exist for us and talk about white people and talk about other people who continue to perpetuate those problems without being looked at like, I can't believe you said that. Yeah. Right? Like they join in on the conversation. And I've never had that freedom. I've always had to sugarcoat.

SPEAKER_03 13:18

Yeah. And that's not, that's not a way to tell a story to me.

SPEAKER_00 13:22

No.

SPEAKER_03 13:23

Because I feel like if we can't sit in a room and we can't discuss, like, hey, these are some wrongdoings, as well as hey, these are the positive things that's happening in the same type of energy without sugarcoating anything, what are we doing? Yeah, we're just playing a game.

SPEAKER_01 13:39

Exactly. I always say, you know, if something bothers you about this topic, then you need to go look in the mirror. Look in the mirror. Because nobody said you did a thing. I ain't say torrents did it. Right, right. So what's the problem?

SPEAKER_03 13:54

If I'm sitting there getting hot and bothered about it, like, oh man, you need to go check yourself. Somebody want to go figure it out. Yeah, have some inner reflection.

SPEAKER_01 14:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 14:04

Yeah, no, I I I love that though. And I appreciate, you know, your willingness to be open about it because it is hard as us as producers, especially on the especially for me on the contract side. I'm always having walk on eggshells to do it. It's harder as a contractor. Like, I don't want to um, I don't want to sour our relationship.

SPEAKER_01 14:25

Indeed, because this is my livelihood.

SPEAKER_03 14:26

Yeah, so it's like, hey, I'm gonna try to call me back.

SPEAKER_01 14:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 14:29

So like, yeah, you already do that. It's like, okay, I'll do it. Yeah, I can only fight. I always see it as like I'll I'll do a pushback and see like how the person reacts. Yeah. What a client. Test it out. Yeah. If they're like, oh okay, yeah, we we get that. But if it's like, hey, they put up their shield and their sword, I'm gonna lay my stuff down.

SPEAKER_01 14:51

I'm like, no, no, no. But then I think that that is also a great opportunity to ask yourself the question is this the kind of client that I want to continue working with?

SPEAKER_02 15:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:02

And that's a hard question as an entrepreneur. It is because again, these clients are your livelihood. So you let go of one that could literally be, you know, sometimes $100,000 a year that you let go. So, but you balance that with do I morally feel okay with working with this kind of client? Does this negate the purpose of why I'm here to tell stories?

SPEAKER_03 15:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:30

And that's that's that's a tough question. And he, you know, either answer is not wrong. Because I get it, you gotta make that money because we are in a world where we need to make money. Yeah, you gotta make that money.

SPEAKER_03 15:41

So and but you said, but it's important to think of purpose. You know, like what what is your purpose?

SPEAKER_00 15:48

What's your purpose?

SPEAKER_03 15:48

Because we can always chase the dollar.

SPEAKER_00 15:50

Exactly. But what's the purpose?

SPEAKER_03 15:52

What's the purpose?

SPEAKER_00 15:53

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 15:54

I wanna um I keep talking about us working together, and the last time we worked together was on a series. Um and you may have more experience with this than than me as far as the pilot versus the series. Yeah. Because usually the pilots are pretty expensive. Yes. Um, I mean, how do you manage that client expectation when the rest of that series gotta be produced on a tighter budget?

SPEAKER_01 16:23

Yeah, so ironically, I am the client because the the series pitch was my idea. Granted, you know, PBS would fund it and back it up. So, um, but I, you know, I I came with up with an idea, an evolution of Black Issues Forum, essentially, where we'd be more inclusive to the minority lens. And that's what you know you got to help us with was that pilot episode. And I think that was, and this I think it was a $15,000 budget just for one episode, $2646, right? That was a lot of money, and that was a push to get that. Yeah. So to your point, I mean, if you broke it down, like if I had to reassess expenses, I'd say every episode would be about $30,000. Double. So how do you, in this economy, with federal funding being cut to public television, how do you that I'll tell you right now, I hadn't heard a thing because I'm pretty sure they're like, we don't know where this money's gonna come from.

SPEAKER_03 17:36

Who we're gonna get that?

SPEAKER_01 17:37

Yeah. So, you know, I've kind of been exploring because there is money though.

SPEAKER_03 17:43

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 17:43

I've been exploring who can I tap into? Who in my network, in my community, can I tap into who this aligns with their mission? And I think that that's the biggest thing is making connections. Um, what's his name? Oh, he he hosts uh it's gonna kill me. Anyway, this guy he hosts the show, and I can't remember, it's with PBS, but he essentially interviews like all the chancellors, need him, Needham Cubane, I think is his name. I'm probably butchering it. He knows everybody.

SPEAKER_02 18:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:19

PBS does not pay for his show, he finds funders for his show, and he doesn't even have to show a proof of concept, he just tells a person a thing and they're like, Yeah, I believe in you, so I'll give you the money every season.

SPEAKER_03 18:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:35

Every season.

SPEAKER_03 18:36

And this is this is what I want to touch on. Cause a lot of people, when they think about whether it's docuseries, um, television series, story, they think that they're gonna go to like a PBS.

SPEAKER_01 18:50

I know.

SPEAKER_03 18:50

And that PBS is gonna come out with racks.

SPEAKER_01 18:53

It's so hard when people like reach out to me and say, hey, how do I get PBS to I'm like, uh, listen, yeah, I'll tell you, you can try. Yeah, but it likely won't happen. We are public TV.

SPEAKER_03 19:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:08

Right? People don't realize that.

SPEAKER_03 19:10

Yeah. And PBS is great. PBS is great. I love working with them.

SPEAKER_01 19:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 19:14

But I know that there are folks that have, you know, sustaining shows that they do the lab work to get the finances. Yeah. Now I haven't had experience with it. I want to figure out how to do it.

unknown 19:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 19:26

Because much like yourself, I have some stories. I'm thinking, like, I want to tell these stories. Yeah. But can I actually get the production budget that I need to really tool this off? Yes. Yeah. Not call in favors. Like I called you a few times, like, hey, uh, can I get a favorite?

SPEAKER_01 19:44

It's okay.

SPEAKER_03 19:44

I got a little budget, but can the rest be off of uh Riku? You know, to try to avoid that.

SPEAKER_01 19:51

I think that that's you know, it's about building credibility. Nobody's just gonna give you money. No matter you know how much we want someone to just trust us enough. It's about building credibility. It's about, I think, to being strategic about what the content is. Because I can create content that I want. Yes. But does it fit and align with what's currently happening? Because we know that people create marketing plans and business plans with a theme. And usually those themes trend on what's happening currently in society. How do we figure out how does my content align with their themes, their mission, their value statements? And will they find purpose in supporting something like that? It takes a little research, it takes time, um, it takes intentionality. And then again, it takes creating connections and resources.

SPEAKER_03 20:54

Yeah. Because you know, instantly, what I would think, like if I'm listening to this right now, before you stated that, I would think, oh, if I got a great idea, I can just go find anybody to back this.

SPEAKER_01 21:05

Our great ideas are our great ideas, not everybody else's. That's very egotistical of us to think that our great idea is great to anyone else.

SPEAKER_02 21:14

Yeah, it is.

SPEAKER_01 21:16

We take so much ownership in our stories and our ideas that when someone says, Yeah, it's cool, we take offense.

SPEAKER_02 21:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:27

But it's your baby. No one loves your baby as much as you do. No one thinks your baby's as cute as you do. Right? Yeah. But they gotta learn to love it.

SPEAKER_03 21:39

Wow. No, and that's to me, I don't know how to navigate that space. I don't know, a lot of people won't. Maybe I can I can start to unravel that in some other episodes. But with that mindset, it it kind of leads us to how. How a TV producer has started to evolve over the years. Because I'm pretty sure there was a time where if you were a producer, you can probably go to a station.

SPEAKER_00 22:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 22:13

And you can probably find that backing. And this is me all speaking off of I haven't researched this, but how has television producing changed over the years? Um, or even just now, in in your perspective, the expectation of what we should be able to do?

SPEAKER_01 22:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 22:31

And no.

SPEAKER_01 22:32

So I have a unique journey because, like I said, it's been 20 years since I was in television. Yeah. My opportunity at PBS should never have happened. Never. When I left television in 2007, eight-ish, I never went back in. So, and I left as a uh a desk editor.

SPEAKER_02 22:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:57

I was not a producer. Over the years, I dabbled with my own production company, my own storytelling, but never through a television station. So I missed a lot of critical years of knowing what it really meant to be a television producer.

SPEAKER_02 23:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:15

When the opportunity at PBS came around, it was someone that just wanted to take a chance on me, Deborah Holt Noel. Right. I will say, however, the ingenuity and the um, you know, I don't know what the word I'm looking for is, but just the gumption that I had to create the stuff that I did on my own is what attracted her. Like, so you did all of this on your own. And I think for me, the title producer just meant a jack of all trades. And as I've learned now in television, it's also it's become that too in mainstream TV, because they've cut out so many roles that producers find themselves doing so much. And if you think about the integration of social media and online content, now there's a lot to juggle. So, you know, naturally so, because of the evolution of technology and AI and the development of all those things, producing has become a lot more involved. Um, I'm glad I kind of missed actually being in television during that development, because I'm sure it was probably frustrating and annoying to figure out to not get paid more, but to have to do more. Um and again, to have to adhere to a station's policies and ideologies and not really having a voice of your own, I'm sure it was probably a bit frustrating for many. But, you know, producing, you gotta see it all. You gotta be able to see it all.

SPEAKER_02 24:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:49

Uh, and I think people don't realize that often, you know, how much goes into producing.

SPEAKER_03 24:56

Yeah. I agree. I think I think it's it's it's it's overlooked. It's undervalued. Like you find a good producer, yeah. Um, it's not it's not that, it's not common, it's not easy work. You know, you you have some of the old guard producers that they are just straight up producers.

SPEAKER_02 25:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 25:16

That's all they do. Yeah. But you get folks like yourself, myself, a few others. Um Jack of all trades.

SPEAKER_01 25:24

Yeah. You gotta be. You got to. You have to know it. Even if you don't do it, you gotta know it.

SPEAKER_03 25:30

You gotta know it. You gotta know it. You gotta know it. Because at the end of the day, you're gonna be held responsible for that because you're on a tight budget.

SPEAKER_00 25:37

Yep.

SPEAKER_03 25:37

You got a tight deadline.

SPEAKER_00 25:38

Yep.

SPEAKER_03 25:39

Everything's just smaller now. That's how I feel. It really is. Budget's tighter, deadlines are tighter, the expectation because of like you said, the social media and what's going on, the expectation to get things out quicker.

SPEAKER_01 25:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 25:52

Oh, it's real.

SPEAKER_01 25:53

And the multiple platforms and formats that things are needed. You have to forward think like that goes to how do we shoot this, right?

SPEAKER_03 26:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 26:01

Uh it's it's just it goes into so much.

SPEAKER_03 26:04

It does. And even does it go into your storytelling? Do you allow like the things that you're seeing on social media, the or even just in in television, does that start to change what you decide to tell your stories on?

SPEAKER_01 26:20

Um, maybe not what I decide to tell my stories on, but the perspectives or how I tell the stories, because, you know, as we all know, things trend and you want to be on trend. And if there's ever a time that you can like meet a trend where it's at, that gives your story more visibility potentially. So sometimes, yeah, there is a bit of taking what's trending and weaving that into the story, but I don't want that to ever water down the story or to distract from what the true intention of telling that story is. So I'm not huge on that, on trying to socially trend, but I I do take into consideration what's happening.

SPEAKER_03 27:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:03

Yeah. I mean, you have to. You have to.

SPEAKER_03 27:06

You say we we work in an industry where we're passionate about it, but we want to continue to stay in the industry and continue to get paid. And part of that is being relevant. Yeah. You know, I can't I can't try to force an idea on a station, a client, or anyone, and just say, well, because I think it's great. Right. Or I think that this is relevant.

SPEAKER_01 27:26

Yeah. Like they gotta see it too.

SPEAKER_03 27:28

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 27:29

So um we talked a little bit about your younger self navigating through the industry, being a pro, you know.

SPEAKER_01 27:39

Um I don't know about a pro, but all right.

SPEAKER_03 27:44

I'm gonna unplug your mic at this point. Um, but what I mean, what would be some advice to get to your younger self? Like as you look back at your career now, is there anything you would tell yourself?

SPEAKER_01 27:56

Gosh, I want to get to know her, honestly. Yeah. Um, I've been to therapy. And part of the reason why I got out of television was because I I, like I said, I couldn't find my voice. Um, I had the thoughts and I had the ideas. And I guess if there was something I could tell that person in that in that conference room during production meetings, is your ideas are worthy. They're good. And I didn't have the confidence, right?

SPEAKER_02 28:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:28

But every journey is as it should be. And as much as I would have loved to have stayed in television, this is exactly how it should have happened. Yeah. And it's it's been a beautiful journey of figuring out my voice, still figuring it out. Um, who I want to be, who do I want to represent myself as, and what means the most to me, you know? And again, it's just people.

SPEAKER_02 28:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:56

So I I would just tell her to keep keep going. Because there were times I just didn't want to. I felt very lost and confused because I had this passion, but I was working in a space that wasn't in alignment with that. But I always wove it into my roles. So every time I got a role, which was typically in the communications department, I'd always say, Hey, don't you think it'd be really cool if we told this story? And they're like, Yeah, but who's gonna do that? And I was like, I'll do it. So, like I worked for a self-publishing company, and I my job was to travel to conferences and um trade shows and have a booth, right? And so I started telling stories of the authors that we published the books of. So when I was in every city, I'd find the authors that lived in those cities, I'd go interview them. And then this was when the internet was starting to get big and social media, and we just published the stories. So it was the author behind the book, you know? And it was cool. Yeah, it was cool, yeah. So, you know, just started all your your ideas are good and they're worth it. Yeah, they're worth the time.

SPEAKER_03 30:00

It is, yeah, yeah. That's beautiful. Yeah, I've I've had to I've had this a similar experience being in in certain rooms where I'm maybe one of of many uh black people, yeah, black men, yeah. Um and just being able being able to create those opportunities for yourself, I think that that's important. Um you validating yourself that that's important too. Yeah. But I think something that I really want folks to take away is that if you are in those spaces where you're in a television station or production, whatever, where you feel like you don't have that voice, start to be intentional on creating that.

SPEAKER_01 30:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 30:48

You know.

SPEAKER_01 30:49

Um I think one thing I've learned over the years, especially in hosting Black Issues Forum, sometimes I get really discouraged. Um, given the state of where things are. Uh, because content is so black focused, it feels like there's no progression. You know, from uh this Martin Luther King day.

SPEAKER_00 31:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 31:13

Um I this past episode was about MLK and I listened to not the I Have a Dream speech, but the How Long Not Long speech that was given um in Birmingham, Alabama. And I listened to the words and I thought to myself, we are no further along. And it can be really discouraging because I ask myself often, probably every week, honestly, why am I doing this? Like who's watching? Who's listening? Who cares? And while it's not my responsibility to know or you know, to be obligated to know who it heals or who it helps or who it hurts, I do get sometimes um the understanding or the knowledge that someone found benefit from the story.

SPEAKER_02 32:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:14

And I have to keep reminding myself that even if it's just one person who gets something from it, that's all that matters. Or one person different, one person better, you know, than we were before. And I think that's what keeps me going is just helping that one person.

SPEAKER_03 32:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:36

But it can be discouraging.

SPEAKER_03 32:38

It can be.

SPEAKER_01 32:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 32:39

But it's still important, like you say, it's just we get into we get into that mindset of you know views and followship and all that stuff because it's always in our face. But like you said, at the end of the day, it's impact is one person.

SPEAKER_00 32:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 32:58

It's it's an individual.

SPEAKER_00 33:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 33:01

You know, you can be impacting someone while you're on set. Someone in that room can be impacted. And that's the that is the progression. That is the progression forward.

SPEAKER_00 33:11

You're right. Yeah. So I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 33:14

Just keep pushing. I don't know what's next, but yeah. Just keep riding the way.

SPEAKER_03 33:20

Keep riding. So where can our viewers um either view some of your work or if you just want to push in the black issues forum where you can't?

SPEAKER_01 33:28

I was gonna say most of the content now is black issues forum content. So PBSNC.org, you can download the PBS video app on any app store application. We also are on YouTube under PBSNC Black Issues Forum. Um, and then on Instagram under PBSNC.

SPEAKER_00 33:47

Cool. So yeah. Yeah. It's great. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 33:51

Thank you.