Of all the work we’ve done over the past 14, years, the nearly 8,000 videos we’ve produced, nothing has been as consequential as our Black Lives Matter series, titled Our Voices Our Hopes..
I am grateful to Kirk McDonald and my other dear friends, along with so many new acquaintances, for having spoken so candidly and personally about what is like to be Black in our industry and for sharing their anguish and hopes in this time of racial injustice and social unrest.
Simply put, we’re having conversations we’ve never had before.
Several of the executives in the series speak of needing a “safe space,” a place where fellow people of color can freely share about who they are and to discuss difficult issues in their work experience.
Well, Beet.TV is now that “safe space.”
I hope that the series will help to foster understanding and progress. The series is far from over. We will produce more videos in the months ahead.
As a publisher, we are determined to bring more people of color to regular Beet.TV industry coverage. And we have made progress. Much more to come.
I am very moved by Kirk McDonald’s words about my work. I have published this short video on this page. Thank you Kirk, my friend, for opening the conversation. We all need to take a few steps forward.
Update: Since we published this video, Kirk has been appointed CEO of GroupM North America. Congrats Kirk.
Here is our series to date:
- Black Women: We Can Be Our Worst Enemy, Innovid’s Stephanie Geno
- Channeling Frederick Douglass: He Would Want Us All to Vote w/ Maria Weaver, CMO, Comcast Advertising
- Being Black in AdTech: “You Lose Bits of Yourself” w/Kerel Cooper, SVP Global Marketing at LiveInten
- People See Color in the Workplace — And that’s OK, NBCU’s Brian Norris
- Let’s Recognize and Celebrate Our Differences, Dish’s Sean Robertson
- “The Mask Doesn’t Work: Be Your Beautiful, Authentic Self,” Monique Nelson
- “We All Have to Develop Empathy” Now, IBM’s Kareem Yusuf
- Racial Diversity Programs Must Address Systemic Racism, Comscore’s Tershone Phillips
- “Our Voices and Ideas Are Suppressed in the Workplacew” w/ Kelle Coleman, SVP Brand Partnerships, Nielsen
- “We’re Not Allowed to Fail, We Have to be Perfect w/Cavel Khan, Chief Revenue Officer of Tumblr
- “Diversity Needs to Woven into the Fabric of Everyday Decisions,” Facebook’s Alvin Bowles
- Being a Black Woman in Silicon Valley: The Stereotyping is Exhausting w/ Kenya Hayes, Head of Comms, NA, Appsflyer
- “We All Play the Game.” We’ve Learned to “Code Switch” at Work, Christian Borges
- Kirk McDonald: Exhausted by the Turmoil, Positive about Changes Ahead’
- Andre Swanston Shares His Experiences, Lessons and Hopes for Society in this Beet Series Debut
This video is part of an ongoing Beet.TV series of interviews with men and and women of color, addressing their personal experiences and hopes for essential change addressing racial inequality. Please find additional videos here.
