August 5, 2024 • 39 mins
Ramses Ja and Q Ward talk live at the 2024 National Urban League Conference with Gen Z entrepreneurs about the importance of voting in this year's Presidential Election
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
This is the Black Information Network Daily Podcast, and I'm
your host, ramses Jaw. And sometimes the amount of stories
that make their way to us means that we simply
can't cover everything that comes our way. But from time
to time, a story just stays with me and Bill
compelled to share it with you and give you my thoughts.
And now one more thing, all right, Well, first off,
(00:26):
thank you to everyone who is joining us today. This
is kind of a special event for us, and we
have a special topic that we're going to talk about today.
Of course, I'm Ramsey's Jaw from the Black Information Network
and this is the one and only, the illustrious Q Ward.
(00:49):
And one of the things that we are coming to
terms with is that, indeed, we live in interesting times.
I'm a millennial, and I lived through nine to eleven,
(01:10):
and I lived through the two thousand and eight financial crisis.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
You know, I lost a home.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
I lived through the Obama administration, and I was able
to see Obama elected, but critically, I was able to
see the response to Obama's presidency in twenty sixteen. And
these major life altering, life changing events that happened compelled
(01:41):
me to engage in the political process and I always
felt invited and I felt welcomed.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
I felt like there was a.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
Possibility in the potential to shape my reality by engaging
in the political process. And another point that I want
to make for me growing up as a millennial is
that the messaging to me and my peers was meaningful
and it was direct. There was Twitter, there was MySpace,
(02:17):
once upon a time.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
Text.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
I think Obama was the first presidential candidate to really
incorporate texting and a lot of digital platforms into his messaging.
There was also, you know, we're the MTV generation. There
was also a lot of our heroes, the folks that
we looked up to, that were compelling us to engage
in the political process.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
The messaging was on point.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
Voter die comes to mind for those too young to
recall that it's definitely something worth looking into because it
felt like if you didn't vote, you were the oddball out,
and nobody wants to be that, especially when you're that young.
So everybody was mobilized and ready to vote. And this
is kind of the story that I had growing up.
(03:07):
And I'm joined, of course, on stage by someone who
lived through these same interesting times.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
Qward, so.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
Q talk to us a bit about whether or not
you would agree that the messaging has changed.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
That was directed at millennials.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
That doesn't exist, or it is somehow it's changed when
directed or maybe it doesn't even exist when directed towards
gen Z.
Speaker 4 (03:39):
Yeah, it's interesting that you say that the messaging has changed,
because I think the messaging is lacking. Gen Z is
our most culturally and ethnically diverse generation, our most ideologically
diverse generation, and our most intellectually diverse generation. There's diversity
in thought and diversity in the way that they live
(04:01):
out even their civic process, and for a lot of
our elected officials and our corporations, they're some messaging that's
lacking with regards to gen Z.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
So I don't know if it's.
Speaker 4 (04:14):
Just that the messaging is different or more that the
messaging is missing.
Speaker 3 (04:18):
And I think.
Speaker 4 (04:19):
That's a dangerous place for us to be because the
last time that there was a group that felt underrepresented
in this country and felt like they weren't being messaged.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
To, Donald Trump became the president.
Speaker 4 (04:31):
So it's important to be very intentional and very diverse
in our approach to our messaging to gen Z because
they are twenty one percent of the population the second
largest generational group in the US population. So we cannot
leave them out. We cannot ignore them, and we cannot
marginalize or belittle them either. We cannot talk down our
(04:53):
nose at them. We have to embrace them, figure out
how to reach them where they are, and implement some
very clear action steps for them because they want to
be involved, but they also want to know that their
voice matters and that there's going to be initiatives in
legislation put in place that's going to have a real
tangible effect on their daily lives.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
Now, there's something that I want to add right there.
We had a conversation recently Q and myself, and there
is a tendency for the current generation that holds power
to be self indulgent and self absorbed, if I'm being honest,
(05:37):
and it's very difficult to see beyond your own porch,
if that is your reality. You know, as you mentioned,
the people that do not have messaging coming to them,
they are vulnerable to extremism.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
You know, Historically, younger people have skewed more liberal.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
In terms of their politics, in terms of how they
see the world, and if the messaging isn't exactly where
they need it on their terms. They're vulnerable to being
influenced by extremist ideas, whether they be extreme liberal or
extreme conservative ideas. And one of the things that a
(06:20):
lot of folks aren't really appreciating is that again, you
can't they can't see past their own port.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
So again, the.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
Idea that we had the other day, or rather the
story we had the other day, was that if you're
to ask yourself, what's the number one way that folks
pay for items at the grocery store, what's the number
one way that folks pay for t shirts? You name it?
(06:49):
Is it a credit card? Is it a.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
Tap?
Speaker 2 (06:53):
You know, anything like that.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
Whatever your answer is in your mind, I can almost
guarantee that you'd be wrong. And you know the answer,
que because we discussed this, So go ahead and let
folks know the answer.
Speaker 4 (07:04):
So ironically, the polls showed that the most frequent way
that people pay for groceries and items in retail is
by check.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
But why is that?
Speaker 3 (07:14):
Because the people that are.
Speaker 4 (07:15):
Being polled are the people that still pay with checks,
and that speaks directly to our issue here.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
The messaging is not reaching those that it should.
Speaker 4 (07:25):
If only our parents and our grandparents are being reached
out to and message to and contacted for polling information.
Then the data skews to us being kind of lost
in what direction we should be going with our intentions.
So again that speaks to a very very clear and
defined issue. We need to figure out a better way
(07:48):
to message with and engage our next generation because they
will be the ones that save us from ourselves.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
Exactly exactly.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
Now here's a blind spot that I have noticed with
respect to gen Z. Now, we host this show, but
we also host our radio show, Civic Cipher, and in
both spaces we have had to confront the reality of
(08:19):
a genocide for all intents and purposes on the ground
in the nation state of Palestine and gen Z's reaction
to that. But in order to understand gen Z's reaction
to it, we had to understand where gen Z was
(08:39):
getting their information and for us, because we have to
we work in media, so we have to be on
all platforms. However, we found that the most engagement for
us took place on Instagram. You know, Facebook was for
folks a few years older than us, and then TikTok
(09:03):
was for folks a few years younger than us. But
TikTok was where a lot of these really graphic images
coming out of Palestine were being platformed places like Instagram.
They were being people were being deplatform for sharing those images. Again,
these are horrible, horrific images. I'll spare you the details,
but suffice it to say that when gen Z felt
(09:28):
passionately about what was going on in Palestine, we saw
what gen Z was capable of, and that whole moment
where we saw college campuses across the country shut down,
This is exactly what we want. This is exactly what
we've done, Q and I have done this, but this
is exactly what we want, and we want.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
These schools, we want these.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
Politicians, we want everyone who's involved with shaping the next
round of leadership this country to understand what these people
care about and meet them where they are, rather than
try to talk down to them, rather than to try
to change their mind. There was an entire missed opportunity
whose birthplace took place on TikTok, and the powers that
(10:16):
be just could not empathize or sympathize because they weren't
getting the same message.
Speaker 4 (10:20):
And I get it. I was very resistant to TikTok myself. However,
We cannot reserve these messages for just in house. We
can't just sit and speak into an echo chamber. Again,
as Ramsey said, we have to meet our young people
where they are. You know, even Ramses and I skew
old for what leadership would have looked like in the
Civil Rights movement. Yeah, these men and women were in
(10:43):
their twenties and they were trailblazing for us. So we
have to make sure that we prepare the generation behind
us to be able to take that leadership rein over now.
We don't have to wait until it's time for us
to expire. We can start to prepare them now exactly.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
And in doing so, we want to do our part
to make sure that we're listening to the next round
of leaders in this country. And so I'd like to
bring up to the stage a woman by the name
of Naomi. So please join us and grab the mic.
(11:23):
All right, Naomi, do us a favorite, tell us a
little bit about what you do, and I have a
question for you to answer for us.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
Let's turn that mic on.
Speaker 5 (11:35):
Okay, okay, amazing. My name is Nami Winston. I am
the founder and CEO of the Creative Representation Empire, which
is a community curated coloring book company with the hopes
of taking the loneliness out of childhood through educational coloring books.
I've also worked for the past three or four years
and the tech and entrepreneurship innovation space fantastic.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
So my question for you is what can gin Z
do to help gen z engage in politics? If we
can't save you, what can your generation do to save itself?
Speaker 5 (12:10):
You know, I love that question, and I think it's
something that has come really apparent as we've seen the
shifting political stances in the past few months, the past
week or so, and it's really been a parent that
we have to take our education and our knowledge in
our own hands. And I think that what we've really
seen in the education space is the declining literacy rates
(12:31):
and needing to meet our people where they are. It's
obvious that we've seen TikTok really emerge as a huge
superpower in storytelling and narratives and getting on the ground journalism,
using real people to get it done. And I think
that social media has played such a huge role in
us touching base with each other and communicating with communities
that we would't normally associate with or talk to. So
(12:54):
I think social media plays a really big part of that,
and I think that with my work with TCR, a
big piece is making education equitable and meeting people where
they are. Like I said, I particularly have a founder
that I work with and Detroit. Her name is Arabia,
and she has a company called Politics on the Go
and it's a really amazing app. They've won award. She's
a Ted Talk speaker and everything like that. But essentially
(13:16):
it is a digital app that will help people match
the initiatives that they really care about, to help them
match that with the politicians that are going to be
on their ballots. It also helps educate about really diving
down into the nitty gritty details of what is really
important in those policies to make sure people aren't voting
for something that they don't quite understand. And it's across
(13:39):
several states and yeah, she's doing really really great work.
So I really recommend people go check out Politics on
the Go.
Speaker 1 (13:45):
So do us a favorit real quick plug that one
more time, and let's make sure that our listeners have
a way to get more information on that.
Speaker 5 (13:53):
Yeah, so it is Politics on the Go. They also
call it Pogo. You can look it up on Google.
The founders as Arabia and they are founded in Detroit, Michigan.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
Fantastic you have.
Speaker 4 (14:04):
I just wanted to point out that this young lady
is a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Incorporated. I
just thought that would be important in this room.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
Okay, thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
I appreciate you taking the time to talk to us.
So I want to go back before we bring up
our next speaker, because that is exactly the issue I
think that causes voter apathy among gen z ers and.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
Voter ignorance will.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
Say that they're just not aware of, you know, what's
going because where they receive information is very different from
where you know. In the example that we discussed earlier
about you know, people using checks, the truth of the
matter is that it was a TV station that did
that poll, and the TV station pulled their listeners. So
(15:00):
there's viewers, That's what I mean to say. So TV
stations that view or sorry that pull their viewers, well,
who's watching TV? And then you can naturally conclude why
their number one answer for paying for things was checks
when we all know that that's just not true. But
what Naomi is doing is helping to meet gen z
(15:25):
ors where they are and get them the information where
they can receive it. And so rather than what I
saw taking place recently with our elected officials, with these
attacks on TikTok and so forth and so on, I'm
seeing now that there is a movement toward embracing that.
Speaker 4 (15:46):
I think with Pogo politics on the goal that she
brought up, the key factor is not just gen Z
has an issue with this thing called voter entitlement.
Speaker 3 (15:57):
You see people pushing back.
Speaker 4 (15:58):
You know, I'm not going to keep voting for this
party just because I always have?
Speaker 3 (16:03):
What are you doing for me?
Speaker 4 (16:04):
So the fact that that app points out specific issues
and shows you what legislator is working going something that
might be important to you, I think that solves a
big problem, like you said, with regard to voter apathy.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
All right, now we have another voice that we want
to hear from. She goes by the name of Tyler.
Make your way to the stage, please. Black life is essential.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
I love that. Go ahead and pop that mic on.
All right, so do us the same favor.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Introduce yourself a little bit and give us a little
bit of your background, because I have a question for.
Speaker 6 (16:35):
You as well, okay, So I am Tyler Simone, aka
the Sauce Boss. I own a connoments company called Sienna Sauce,
and I just opened up my restaurant last year called
Siena Wings. I'm twenty years old, so this is my
first election that I'll be voting in and I'm really
excited to be here. So thank you for having me
National Urbanly.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
All right, Well, you mentioned that this is your first
time voting, So let me see how I want to
ask you this. What is important to you as a
first time voter slash business owner slash gen zer.
Speaker 6 (17:18):
Okay, so I'm going to break this up into my
different intersectionalities. Okay, So as a black woman starting there,
I feel like for future generations to see a black woman,
you know, have a black job as the president of
the United States. Yes, I want to be able to
(17:38):
tell my kids that, hey, I was a part of
getting this woman elected, the same way our parents say, like, oh,
I was a part of this, and I was a
part of helping Obama get elected when he did. And
so even talking backstage, there was a mindset, especially in
my generation, that we'd probably see a white woman or
a non woman of color become president. Before we'd ever
(17:58):
see a black woman women possibly become president, and so
now there is a culture shift if this is able
to happen, which I'm definitely gonna be a part of
making it happen, that these are things that are possible
and these can become norms rather than like once in
a lifetime events. On the business side of this, I've
(18:19):
already seen how a lot of these policies have been
affecting us. We want a Fearless Fund grant last year,
which was an amazing opportunity. It was a woman in
Color women of Color grant from Tory Birch, and we
were super excited to have won it. We're super excited
to be a part of Fearless Fund, but there were
(18:40):
technical issues in getting us our funds because they're in
a lawsuit right now because that grant was specifically dedicated
to women of color in excluding intentionally excluding non women
of color. But now that's become an issue, and so
we're already seeing the implications that a lot of these
policies are having on our minority owned businesses that are
(19:02):
already struggling for resources and can barely raise regular capital
because of maybe low credit scores. When you're trying to
start off and build your business, you're building it off
of your own personal debt, and so different things like
that are already impacting us, and now we're seeing it
even worse as we come up to twenty twenty four
(19:23):
and all of those there was I was in a
session earlier today about DEI and somebody mentioned that there
was fifty billion dollars dedicated in twenty twenty and only
two hundred and fifty million of it has actually been dispersed.
So when you think about that, you can see how
(19:44):
people are not caring anymore. People don't care. And it's
really sad to say, but I feel like my generation
we have this time to really come into the game
and make our voices heard, tell what we want well,
we want to change, especially reproductive rights that have been
taken away. I'm in Texas, so you know, I'm not
(20:07):
even on none of that, But if I was, as
a woman that's sexually active, I would be afraid for
myself to be in that environment. So there is a
lot on steak at steak in this election, and I
think that's why it's so important for you to not
only engage yourself like, oh, I did my part, but no,
we did our part because we're not going back so
engaging our community, holding our parents accountable, holding our grandparents accountable.
(20:31):
It's a family field day to the polls. We're all
going together, and I'm ready, Like on TikTok they said
we're gonna do k I voted, because I'm ready to
put that and I'm ready to say that I voted.
And that's something that we should be a proud we
should be proud of. And it's not like I'm dragging
my feet to the polls like I was going to
be last week with Biden. It's going to be like, no,
(20:53):
I'm proud to show up for another black woman and
I'm proud to be here today because this is our future.
Speaker 4 (20:58):
There we go, there we go, and now y'all see
what these need to be our leaders?
Speaker 1 (21:01):
Guess yes, absolutely, Now now before you go, because you
dropped a lot of knowledge and you're the sauce boss,
So make sure that you let the people know how
they can keep up with you and follow your leadership
as it continues to evolve.
Speaker 6 (21:16):
So if you guys have your phones right now, please
take them out. You can follow us on social media.
Our instagram is Siena Sauce, so that's sie Nna and
then sauce. You can put it on everything. It's a
gluten free, no high fruittose corn starve everything sauce.
Speaker 3 (21:33):
So for my.
Speaker 6 (21:34):
Vegans in here, that et honey. We got you, and
thank you guys so much again for having me. You
can also follow my personal instagram. It's going to be
in the bio of our business page. And I look
forward to seeing you guys again and me on more stages.
So if you guys have any company events, let me know,
because I do speak.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
We don't do what we can to get you as
much platform as you deserve. SYS.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
So you know, we were going to have a very
different conversation today, uh, but in our planning stages, a
major announcement took place, obviously with Joe Biden, uh, confronting
a reality that he was conflicted about and now stepping
(22:26):
aside and passing the torch to Kamala Harris, which that
was even up in the air. And thank God for
black women. You know we always say on this show,
what do we always say on the show?
Speaker 3 (22:38):
You the closest thing on this earth to God.
Speaker 4 (22:41):
Is the black woman there we go, so amen, Amen, Church,
We'll get it.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
But listen.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
An article came out that said, actually, Chris Thompson, the
show's producer, sent this over to us and it said
that initially we knew that black men's support of Joe
Biden was eroding. We saw that and that was problematic.
But later during Joe Biden's campaign, we saw that that
(23:13):
started to become true of black women. Not to the
same degree, but it was concerning. And right after that
there was some discussion on if Joe Biden drops out,
who would replace him as the Democratic front runner, and
black women said exactly what we needed them to say.
(23:37):
If you skip over Kamala Harris, we are out. And
I think that was the right messaging to deliver up
the ladder, and it would have been the right move
because that we all know, everyone here listening to this
show knows that black women have not only been the
backbone of the Democratic Party, but black women have been
the backbone of the United States of America. And to
(24:06):
step over the highest black woman to ever hold office
in the history of this country in favor of the
next whoever would have been an insult on the highest order,
and we would have had to have stood with black
women in challenging that decision. Now we're living in the
(24:28):
reality that black women have paved the way for us
to live in because by their messaging up the ladder,
the Democrats knew that they could not overlook Kamala Harris.
She had to be the torch bearer. And here we are,
so again, we're having a slightly different conversation, but I
think it's a better conversation. And another thing I think
(24:50):
is that Kamala Harris lends herself to the type of
enthusiasm that we had in electing Obama. She lends herself
to the type of connectivity that we plugged in with
the Obama campaigns and the messaging. And that's what I
(25:16):
want to talk to our next guest about. So Cleveland,
why don't you make your way to the stage.
Speaker 2 (25:23):
We can give him another round of the clause.
Speaker 1 (25:24):
Let's get it, my man, all right, let's get to it.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
Is it a Michael, let's pop that mic on.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
Okay, So, do us a favorite same thing, tell us
a little bit about yourself, a little bit about what
you do, and then I got a question for you.
Speaker 3 (25:41):
Okay, great, I'm happy to be here.
Speaker 7 (25:43):
I'm Cleveland Spears. I'm a native of New Orleans, so
I'm happy to have the National Urbanilyue Conference in my hometown.
And I'm an entrepreneur. I own a company, an an
advertising agency, the Spears Group, and then we also own
another business, which is a festival in Love event production company.
Speaker 2 (25:57):
Absolutely. Okay, so this question is going to be right
up your alley.
Speaker 3 (26:03):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (26:03):
I appreciate that. I'm not gonna You're not gonna do
any funny business here.
Speaker 1 (26:08):
Plus you're the expert. We've been talking a lot about
messaging and getting people excited, and now that we're in
we've had this twist in the last week.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
Talk to us about how.
Speaker 1 (26:28):
Politicians can tailor their messaging and their marketing to gen Zers.
Speaker 7 (26:35):
Well, thank you for that question, because one, I'm the
only non gen Zer on this discussion today, so weigh
and from a different perspective.
Speaker 3 (26:45):
And so when we started.
Speaker 7 (26:46):
Planning this discussion, this was not the discussion we were
planning to have at that point, it was it was
still you know, Joe Biden, prior to the the him
stepping back and and uh and engaging Kamala Harrison and
so what I think is going to be important in
this process. There's that initial energy that that we're all
seeing and feeling right now and is evident and fundraising.
(27:07):
But if we're talking about gen Z, I think something's
gonna be important for for Vice President Harris and her
campaign is gen Z. And our research says that and
I don't mean this in a in a negative way,
but they believe themselves more than any previous generation.
Speaker 3 (27:25):
And so what I mean by that.
Speaker 7 (27:27):
Is her ability to engage UH surrogates that are also
in gen Z. It's going to be extremely important. You know, uh,
Kamala Harris will probably have more star power, UH and
political and celebrity star power than the most recent candidates
in history. She'll have the current president of the first Lady.
(27:49):
She'll have the Obamas, the Clintons, and and and the
list can go on and on. And I would venture
to guess that it proped to gen Z in particular.
It probably won't matter as much as tell us, well,
are other people in the gen Z generation that I
may not even know who they are, but they're on TikTok.
(28:10):
They have followers and people trust them and value their opinion. Sure,
and so to engage that audience. I think building out
a robust program of gen Z surrogates is going to
be pivotal to kind of engaging the gen Z audience,
activating and mobilizing them and getting them to the post.
Speaker 1 (28:28):
Okay, okay, I love that, and that's about what I
expected to Now, before you get out of here, I
need the same thing from you, because I know that
you have a lot more to offer this conversation.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
Do us a favor.
Speaker 1 (28:39):
Make sure that you let folks know one more time
what it is you do how they can get a
hold of people.
Speaker 3 (28:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 7 (28:43):
Well, like I said, I'm native here of New Orleans.
We have a company called the Spears Group, and so
we are a full service marketing and advertising creative services.
I see the Spearsgroup dot com and then on all
of the socials we are at the Spears Group LinkedIn Instagram, Facebook.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
All of those perfectly. Okay, all right, thank you brother. Okay,
So there was something really interesting.
Speaker 1 (29:10):
That I found out about maybe two nights ago, and
Cleveland just mentioned it just now when he was on
the stage. Now, this is not a given, but I feel,
you know, we've been at the National Urban League Conference
here for a couple of days now.
Speaker 2 (29:29):
We've been black since Sunday at.
Speaker 8 (29:32):
Least, so we feel the electrification of Black women with
respect to Kamala Harris top to bottom, left to right.
Speaker 1 (29:47):
When it comes to gen Z, I feel like black
women are down to support that cost, the Kamala Harris
cost getting her into office, black women specifically, but critically.
I read an article about the Swifties, and the Swifties
(30:11):
are organizing too because they want Kamala Harrison office. And
so just the candidate changes the optics of the narrative entirely.
But also the messaging that Cleveland was talking to us
about it feeds into those other channels where the gen
Zers are located. There was a story that came out
(30:33):
about I believe it was Charlie XCX saying that Kamala
is brat, And for me that doesn't mean anything. Kamala
is brat, but to gen Zers that means a whole lot.
Speaker 2 (30:47):
That's a big co sign.
Speaker 1 (30:49):
And you know, these aren't the only folks, and these
aren't the only folks that gen Zers have cultivated a
trusting relationship with. Where folks from my generation we still
kind of looked up to the Anderson Coopers and so forth.
You know, people that have these legacy platforms gen Zers
(31:11):
are content with Charlie XCX putting a weird green you know,
mem up and saying Kamala is bratt and they're like, Okay,
that's who we're voting for. So leaning into the next
generation and leaning into their mind state what it is
that they want, what they care about, because that that
was a big mistake with the Palestine thing, and leaning
(31:37):
into the full understanding that they will lead us at
some point in the future and should be leading us now,
or at least in part, I think, is the best
thing that anyone in the political stage could do.
Speaker 4 (31:48):
I think for those of us who are not gen Zers,
the stakes of these last couple elections have us a
little bit heightened in our reaction to them, and what
we've done that's kind of a mistake, is an effort
to try to get our youth to understand what's at stake.
(32:09):
We very aggressively are trying to get them to do
the right thing.
Speaker 3 (32:14):
Well.
Speaker 4 (32:14):
Gen Z in a lot of cases are contrarian by
nature and don't like fingers wagged at them telling them
what they must do. So instead of providing proper education
about those steaks. We're just saying do this because we
said so, and they naturally are resistant to that. So
with these stakes being this high, trust me. I understand
(32:36):
every time I hear the words Project twenty twenty five,
and every time I see our former president's face, it
elicits a very strong emotional reaction from me. I have
to calm myself and try to remain professional. However, in
our messaging, we have to do more in the way
of educating the generation after us, because it's not that
(32:57):
they won't listen to us, but speaking to them with
contempt and we're being condescending, then yeah, they turn their
ears off and they go plug into Taylor Swift and
Charlie XCX. So if we're going to communicate with them,
and we want that communication and that messaging to be effective,
we have to be welcoming. We have to be educational.
(33:18):
We have to teach them and with our arms around them,
not waving our fingers at them. Because they are active,
they do have outcomes that they want. So let's help
them understand how their decisions and how the people that
they elect will affect their daily lives in a tangible,
real way. And I think we'll have a far easier
(33:39):
time not just getting their attention, but helping to get
them to show up and vote. Right, that apathy and
that kind of contrarian in nature come from the way
that we approach it.
Speaker 3 (33:52):
We get it. This thing cannot go the other way.
Speaker 4 (33:55):
Right, That outcome is the worst possible outcome from us.
But we have to figure out a way to deliver
that message in a way that doesn't isolate and alienate
gen Z and help them know that we're all on
the same team and they're not beneath us. They're not
less intelligent than us, they're not less informed than we are. Right,
and then if there's areas where we need to teach
and educate, let's collectively do that. Because again, twenty one
(34:19):
percent of the US population belonged to gen Z, the
second largest population group in our country.
Speaker 3 (34:25):
So let's make sure that we do.
Speaker 4 (34:27):
A more effective job of engaging them and understanding that
they are not just children, even though they are younger
than us, These are young adults and we have to
treat them that way.
Speaker 1 (34:38):
I think your point is well made, that was well said.
As always, I have a bit of personal experience with
that because I am a father to an eighteen year
old who it will be voting in his first election.
And despite living in my home with me, this activist
(35:04):
extraordinary with all of these you know, googleable things that
he can show his friends. It is very easy for
him to feel disconnected from the political process, but very
much connected to his reality and how the political process
can shape his reality. And you know, you know, not
(35:24):
to pick on anyone, because you know he was the
guy we needed, I suppose at the time. But your
point is well made. You know, they'll plug into Taylor Swift,
they'll plug into whoever before they plug into somebody who's
a million years old, who doesn't look like them, doesn't
talk like them, doesn't sound like them, and is not
making any effort to meet them on their terms. They
(35:47):
already feel disconnected. They feel like, well, how am I
ever going to buy a house? You know, I lost
a house in the two thousand and eight financial crisis,
and I thought that the leadership in this country abandoned me.
They can't even buy a house. You know, I bought
my house when I was my son's age. That is,
he's like ten years of saving and working hard, and
(36:10):
then I might be able to have a down payment,
which is a tough reality, and not a lot of
kids are as fortunate as my son, And so it
is possible for us to write this ship. It is
possible for us to engage, you know this twenty percent
of the population, and it is possible to appeal to
(36:31):
their sensibilities because what they want is not too dissimilar
from what everyone else wants. It's just when we approach
them for going about producing their reality or the reality
that they want to live in, in a way that's
different from the way we'd go about producing it, they
feel marginalized, They feel shunned, they feel expelled. And this
(36:55):
is coming from someone who has been on the very
college campuses at the pro Palestinian protests and engaged with
these folks with microphones and cameras. So I know this
to be true. I know that they're there. They recognize
that this is the only way we engage in a democracy.
But who do they vote for if one side is
bad and the other side is bad?
Speaker 3 (37:16):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (37:17):
I think the important thing that will important message that
we'll get across before we wrap is that this is
a zero sum, binary electorate. Someone's going to be president,
so we cannot abstain, and we cannot afford to have
an entire generation of young people abstained.
Speaker 3 (37:36):
Either.
Speaker 4 (37:37):
Someone is going to be president the day after that election.
It's going to be this incredible, fiery candidate that we
have now. But even before her, we had a decision
to make and we have to effectively engage our young
people for us to come out on the right side
of that decision, because I'm scared to even think about
(37:59):
the other outcome could be.
Speaker 1 (38:01):
Well, we have a little bit of a ways to go,
and we certainly have more conversations to have. As always,
thank you Q for being the other half of my brain.
Speaker 4 (38:13):
Thank you to the Urban League for having us. Yeah,
thank you to iHeart and the Black Information Network. Thank
you for you guys for spending some time with us
having this conversation.
Speaker 1 (38:19):
Thank you to Naomi, to Tyla, and to Cleveland for
sharing their thoughts as well. And thank you to you
and as always, if you have some thoughts, this conversation
will continue. If you have some thoughts you'd like to share,
you can reach out on all social media. I am
at ramses Jah.
Speaker 3 (38:34):
I am q Ward on all socials as well.
Speaker 1 (38:36):
And you can hit the red microphone talkback feature on
the iHeartRadio app. We will keep the conversation going and
until we do peace. This has been a production of
the Black Information Network. Today's show is produced by Chris Thompson.
Have some thoughts you'd like to share? Use the red
microphone talkback feature on the iHeartRadio app. While you're there,
be sure to hit subscribing down. With all of our episodes,
(38:58):
I'm your host ramses Jah on all social media. Join
us tomorrow as we share our news with our voice
from our perspective right here on the Black Information Network
Daily Podcast
This is the Black Information Network Daily Podcast, and I'm
your host, ramses Jaw. And sometimes the amount of stories
that make their way to us means that we simply
can't cover everything that comes our way. But from time
to time, a story just stays with me and Bill
compelled to share it with you and give you my thoughts.
And now one more thing, all right, Well, first off,
(00:26):
thank you to everyone who is joining us today. This
is kind of a special event for us, and we
have a special topic that we're going to talk about today.
Of course, I'm Ramsey's Jaw from the Black Information Network
and this is the one and only, the illustrious Q Ward.
(00:49):
And one of the things that we are coming to
terms with is that, indeed, we live in interesting times.
I'm a millennial, and I lived through nine to eleven,
(01:10):
and I lived through the two thousand and eight financial crisis.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
You know, I lost a home.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
I lived through the Obama administration, and I was able
to see Obama elected, but critically, I was able to
see the response to Obama's presidency in twenty sixteen. And
these major life altering, life changing events that happened compelled
(01:41):
me to engage in the political process and I always
felt invited and I felt welcomed.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
I felt like there was a.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
Possibility in the potential to shape my reality by engaging
in the political process. And another point that I want
to make for me growing up as a millennial is
that the messaging to me and my peers was meaningful
and it was direct. There was Twitter, there was MySpace,
(02:17):
once upon a time.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
Text.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
I think Obama was the first presidential candidate to really
incorporate texting and a lot of digital platforms into his messaging.
There was also, you know, we're the MTV generation. There
was also a lot of our heroes, the folks that
we looked up to, that were compelling us to engage
in the political process.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
The messaging was on point.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
Voter die comes to mind for those too young to
recall that it's definitely something worth looking into because it
felt like if you didn't vote, you were the oddball out,
and nobody wants to be that, especially when you're that young.
So everybody was mobilized and ready to vote. And this
is kind of the story that I had growing up.
(03:07):
And I'm joined, of course, on stage by someone who
lived through these same interesting times.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
Qward, so.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
Q talk to us a bit about whether or not
you would agree that the messaging has changed.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
That was directed at millennials.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
That doesn't exist, or it is somehow it's changed when
directed or maybe it doesn't even exist when directed towards
gen Z.
Speaker 4 (03:39):
Yeah, it's interesting that you say that the messaging has changed,
because I think the messaging is lacking. Gen Z is
our most culturally and ethnically diverse generation, our most ideologically
diverse generation, and our most intellectually diverse generation. There's diversity
in thought and diversity in the way that they live
(04:01):
out even their civic process, and for a lot of
our elected officials and our corporations, they're some messaging that's
lacking with regards to gen Z.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
So I don't know if it's.
Speaker 4 (04:14):
Just that the messaging is different or more that the
messaging is missing.
Speaker 3 (04:18):
And I think.
Speaker 4 (04:19):
That's a dangerous place for us to be because the
last time that there was a group that felt underrepresented
in this country and felt like they weren't being messaged.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
To, Donald Trump became the president.
Speaker 4 (04:31):
So it's important to be very intentional and very diverse
in our approach to our messaging to gen Z because
they are twenty one percent of the population the second
largest generational group in the US population. So we cannot
leave them out. We cannot ignore them, and we cannot
marginalize or belittle them either. We cannot talk down our
(04:53):
nose at them. We have to embrace them, figure out
how to reach them where they are, and implement some
very clear action steps for them because they want to
be involved, but they also want to know that their
voice matters and that there's going to be initiatives in
legislation put in place that's going to have a real
tangible effect on their daily lives.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
Now, there's something that I want to add right there.
We had a conversation recently Q and myself, and there
is a tendency for the current generation that holds power
to be self indulgent and self absorbed, if I'm being honest,
(05:37):
and it's very difficult to see beyond your own porch,
if that is your reality. You know, as you mentioned,
the people that do not have messaging coming to them,
they are vulnerable to extremism.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
You know, Historically, younger people have skewed more liberal.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
In terms of their politics, in terms of how they
see the world, and if the messaging isn't exactly where
they need it on their terms. They're vulnerable to being
influenced by extremist ideas, whether they be extreme liberal or
extreme conservative ideas. And one of the things that a
(06:20):
lot of folks aren't really appreciating is that again, you
can't they can't see past their own port.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
So again, the.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
Idea that we had the other day, or rather the
story we had the other day, was that if you're
to ask yourself, what's the number one way that folks
pay for items at the grocery store, what's the number
one way that folks pay for t shirts? You name it?
(06:49):
Is it a credit card? Is it a.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
Tap?
Speaker 2 (06:53):
You know, anything like that.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
Whatever your answer is in your mind, I can almost
guarantee that you'd be wrong. And you know the answer,
que because we discussed this, So go ahead and let
folks know the answer.
Speaker 4 (07:04):
So ironically, the polls showed that the most frequent way
that people pay for groceries and items in retail is
by check.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
But why is that?
Speaker 3 (07:14):
Because the people that are.
Speaker 4 (07:15):
Being polled are the people that still pay with checks,
and that speaks directly to our issue here.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
The messaging is not reaching those that it should.
Speaker 4 (07:25):
If only our parents and our grandparents are being reached
out to and message to and contacted for polling information.
Then the data skews to us being kind of lost
in what direction we should be going with our intentions.
So again that speaks to a very very clear and
defined issue. We need to figure out a better way
(07:48):
to message with and engage our next generation because they
will be the ones that save us from ourselves.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
Exactly exactly.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
Now here's a blind spot that I have noticed with
respect to gen Z. Now, we host this show, but
we also host our radio show, Civic Cipher, and in
both spaces we have had to confront the reality of
(08:19):
a genocide for all intents and purposes on the ground
in the nation state of Palestine and gen Z's reaction
to that. But in order to understand gen Z's reaction
to it, we had to understand where gen Z was
(08:39):
getting their information and for us, because we have to
we work in media, so we have to be on
all platforms. However, we found that the most engagement for
us took place on Instagram. You know, Facebook was for
folks a few years older than us, and then TikTok
(09:03):
was for folks a few years younger than us. But
TikTok was where a lot of these really graphic images
coming out of Palestine were being platformed places like Instagram.
They were being people were being deplatform for sharing those images. Again,
these are horrible, horrific images. I'll spare you the details,
but suffice it to say that when gen Z felt
(09:28):
passionately about what was going on in Palestine, we saw
what gen Z was capable of, and that whole moment
where we saw college campuses across the country shut down,
This is exactly what we want. This is exactly what
we've done, Q and I have done this, but this
is exactly what we want, and we want.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
These schools, we want these.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
Politicians, we want everyone who's involved with shaping the next
round of leadership this country to understand what these people
care about and meet them where they are, rather than
try to talk down to them, rather than to try
to change their mind. There was an entire missed opportunity
whose birthplace took place on TikTok, and the powers that
(10:16):
be just could not empathize or sympathize because they weren't
getting the same message.
Speaker 4 (10:20):
And I get it. I was very resistant to TikTok myself. However,
We cannot reserve these messages for just in house. We
can't just sit and speak into an echo chamber. Again,
as Ramsey said, we have to meet our young people
where they are. You know, even Ramses and I skew
old for what leadership would have looked like in the
Civil Rights movement. Yeah, these men and women were in
(10:43):
their twenties and they were trailblazing for us. So we
have to make sure that we prepare the generation behind
us to be able to take that leadership rein over now.
We don't have to wait until it's time for us
to expire. We can start to prepare them now exactly.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
And in doing so, we want to do our part
to make sure that we're listening to the next round
of leaders in this country. And so I'd like to
bring up to the stage a woman by the name
of Naomi. So please join us and grab the mic.
(11:23):
All right, Naomi, do us a favorite, tell us a
little bit about what you do, and I have a
question for you to answer for us.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
Let's turn that mic on.
Speaker 5 (11:35):
Okay, okay, amazing. My name is Nami Winston. I am
the founder and CEO of the Creative Representation Empire, which
is a community curated coloring book company with the hopes
of taking the loneliness out of childhood through educational coloring books.
I've also worked for the past three or four years
and the tech and entrepreneurship innovation space fantastic.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
So my question for you is what can gin Z
do to help gen z engage in politics? If we
can't save you, what can your generation do to save itself?
Speaker 5 (12:10):
You know, I love that question, and I think it's
something that has come really apparent as we've seen the
shifting political stances in the past few months, the past
week or so, and it's really been a parent that
we have to take our education and our knowledge in
our own hands. And I think that what we've really
seen in the education space is the declining literacy rates
(12:31):
and needing to meet our people where they are. It's
obvious that we've seen TikTok really emerge as a huge
superpower in storytelling and narratives and getting on the ground journalism,
using real people to get it done. And I think
that social media has played such a huge role in
us touching base with each other and communicating with communities
that we would't normally associate with or talk to. So
(12:54):
I think social media plays a really big part of that,
and I think that with my work with TCR, a
big piece is making education equitable and meeting people where
they are. Like I said, I particularly have a founder
that I work with and Detroit. Her name is Arabia,
and she has a company called Politics on the Go
and it's a really amazing app. They've won award. She's
a Ted Talk speaker and everything like that. But essentially
(13:16):
it is a digital app that will help people match
the initiatives that they really care about, to help them
match that with the politicians that are going to be
on their ballots. It also helps educate about really diving
down into the nitty gritty details of what is really
important in those policies to make sure people aren't voting
for something that they don't quite understand. And it's across
(13:39):
several states and yeah, she's doing really really great work.
So I really recommend people go check out Politics on
the Go.
Speaker 1 (13:45):
So do us a favorit real quick plug that one
more time, and let's make sure that our listeners have
a way to get more information on that.
Speaker 5 (13:53):
Yeah, so it is Politics on the Go. They also
call it Pogo. You can look it up on Google.
The founders as Arabia and they are founded in Detroit, Michigan.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
Fantastic you have.
Speaker 4 (14:04):
I just wanted to point out that this young lady
is a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Incorporated. I
just thought that would be important in this room.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
Okay, thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (14:15):
I appreciate you taking the time to talk to us.
So I want to go back before we bring up
our next speaker, because that is exactly the issue I
think that causes voter apathy among gen z ers and.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
Voter ignorance will.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
Say that they're just not aware of, you know, what's
going because where they receive information is very different from
where you know. In the example that we discussed earlier
about you know, people using checks, the truth of the
matter is that it was a TV station that did
that poll, and the TV station pulled their listeners. So
(15:00):
there's viewers, That's what I mean to say. So TV
stations that view or sorry that pull their viewers, well,
who's watching TV? And then you can naturally conclude why
their number one answer for paying for things was checks
when we all know that that's just not true. But
what Naomi is doing is helping to meet gen z
(15:25):
ors where they are and get them the information where
they can receive it. And so rather than what I
saw taking place recently with our elected officials, with these
attacks on TikTok and so forth and so on, I'm
seeing now that there is a movement toward embracing that.
Speaker 4 (15:46):
I think with Pogo politics on the goal that she
brought up, the key factor is not just gen Z
has an issue with this thing called voter entitlement.
Speaker 3 (15:57):
You see people pushing back.
Speaker 4 (15:58):
You know, I'm not going to keep voting for this
party just because I always have?
Speaker 3 (16:03):
What are you doing for me?
Speaker 4 (16:04):
So the fact that that app points out specific issues
and shows you what legislator is working going something that
might be important to you, I think that solves a
big problem, like you said, with regard to voter apathy.
Speaker 1 (16:15):
All right, now we have another voice that we want
to hear from. She goes by the name of Tyler.
Make your way to the stage, please. Black life is essential.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
I love that. Go ahead and pop that mic on.
All right, so do us the same favor.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Introduce yourself a little bit and give us a little
bit of your background, because I have a question for.
Speaker 6 (16:35):
You as well, okay, So I am Tyler Simone, aka
the Sauce Boss. I own a connoments company called Sienna Sauce,
and I just opened up my restaurant last year called
Siena Wings. I'm twenty years old, so this is my
first election that I'll be voting in and I'm really
excited to be here. So thank you for having me
National Urbanly.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
All right, Well, you mentioned that this is your first
time voting, So let me see how I want to
ask you this. What is important to you as a
first time voter slash business owner slash gen zer.
Speaker 6 (17:18):
Okay, so I'm going to break this up into my
different intersectionalities. Okay, So as a black woman starting there,
I feel like for future generations to see a black woman,
you know, have a black job as the president of
the United States. Yes, I want to be able to
(17:38):
tell my kids that, hey, I was a part of
getting this woman elected, the same way our parents say, like, oh,
I was a part of this, and I was a
part of helping Obama get elected when he did. And
so even talking backstage, there was a mindset, especially in
my generation, that we'd probably see a white woman or
a non woman of color become president. Before we'd ever
(17:58):
see a black woman women possibly become president, and so
now there is a culture shift if this is able
to happen, which I'm definitely gonna be a part of
making it happen, that these are things that are possible
and these can become norms rather than like once in
a lifetime events. On the business side of this, I've
(18:19):
already seen how a lot of these policies have been
affecting us. We want a Fearless Fund grant last year,
which was an amazing opportunity. It was a woman in
Color women of Color grant from Tory Birch, and we
were super excited to have won it. We're super excited
to be a part of Fearless Fund, but there were
(18:40):
technical issues in getting us our funds because they're in
a lawsuit right now because that grant was specifically dedicated
to women of color in excluding intentionally excluding non women
of color. But now that's become an issue, and so
we're already seeing the implications that a lot of these
policies are having on our minority owned businesses that are
(19:02):
already struggling for resources and can barely raise regular capital
because of maybe low credit scores. When you're trying to
start off and build your business, you're building it off
of your own personal debt, and so different things like
that are already impacting us, and now we're seeing it
even worse as we come up to twenty twenty four
(19:23):
and all of those there was I was in a
session earlier today about DEI and somebody mentioned that there
was fifty billion dollars dedicated in twenty twenty and only
two hundred and fifty million of it has actually been dispersed.
So when you think about that, you can see how
(19:44):
people are not caring anymore. People don't care. And it's
really sad to say, but I feel like my generation
we have this time to really come into the game
and make our voices heard, tell what we want well,
we want to change, especially reproductive rights that have been
taken away. I'm in Texas, so you know, I'm not
(20:07):
even on none of that, But if I was, as
a woman that's sexually active, I would be afraid for
myself to be in that environment. So there is a
lot on steak at steak in this election, and I
think that's why it's so important for you to not
only engage yourself like, oh, I did my part, but no,
we did our part because we're not going back so
engaging our community, holding our parents accountable, holding our grandparents accountable.
(20:31):
It's a family field day to the polls. We're all
going together, and I'm ready, Like on TikTok they said
we're gonna do k I voted, because I'm ready to
put that and I'm ready to say that I voted.
And that's something that we should be a proud we
should be proud of. And it's not like I'm dragging
my feet to the polls like I was going to
be last week with Biden. It's going to be like, no,
(20:53):
I'm proud to show up for another black woman and
I'm proud to be here today because this is our future.
Speaker 4 (20:58):
There we go, there we go, and now y'all see
what these need to be our leaders?
Speaker 1 (21:01):
Guess yes, absolutely, Now now before you go, because you
dropped a lot of knowledge and you're the sauce boss,
So make sure that you let the people know how
they can keep up with you and follow your leadership
as it continues to evolve.
Speaker 6 (21:16):
So if you guys have your phones right now, please
take them out. You can follow us on social media.
Our instagram is Siena Sauce, so that's sie Nna and
then sauce. You can put it on everything. It's a
gluten free, no high fruittose corn starve everything sauce.
Speaker 3 (21:33):
So for my.
Speaker 6 (21:34):
Vegans in here, that et honey. We got you, and
thank you guys so much again for having me. You
can also follow my personal instagram. It's going to be
in the bio of our business page. And I look
forward to seeing you guys again and me on more stages.
So if you guys have any company events, let me know,
because I do speak.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
We don't do what we can to get you as
much platform as you deserve. SYS.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
So you know, we were going to have a very
different conversation today, uh, but in our planning stages, a
major announcement took place, obviously with Joe Biden, uh, confronting
a reality that he was conflicted about and now stepping
(22:26):
aside and passing the torch to Kamala Harris, which that
was even up in the air. And thank God for
black women. You know we always say on this show,
what do we always say on the show?
Speaker 3 (22:38):
You the closest thing on this earth to God.
Speaker 4 (22:41):
Is the black woman there we go, so amen, Amen, Church,
We'll get it.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
But listen.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
An article came out that said, actually, Chris Thompson, the
show's producer, sent this over to us and it said
that initially we knew that black men's support of Joe
Biden was eroding. We saw that and that was problematic.
But later during Joe Biden's campaign, we saw that that
(23:13):
started to become true of black women. Not to the
same degree, but it was concerning. And right after that
there was some discussion on if Joe Biden drops out,
who would replace him as the Democratic front runner, and
black women said exactly what we needed them to say.
(23:37):
If you skip over Kamala Harris, we are out. And
I think that was the right messaging to deliver up
the ladder, and it would have been the right move
because that we all know, everyone here listening to this
show knows that black women have not only been the
backbone of the Democratic Party, but black women have been
the backbone of the United States of America. And to
(24:06):
step over the highest black woman to ever hold office
in the history of this country in favor of the
next whoever would have been an insult on the highest order,
and we would have had to have stood with black
women in challenging that decision. Now we're living in the
(24:28):
reality that black women have paved the way for us
to live in because by their messaging up the ladder,
the Democrats knew that they could not overlook Kamala Harris.
She had to be the torch bearer. And here we are,
so again, we're having a slightly different conversation, but I
think it's a better conversation. And another thing I think
(24:50):
is that Kamala Harris lends herself to the type of
enthusiasm that we had in electing Obama. She lends herself
to the type of connectivity that we plugged in with
the Obama campaigns and the messaging. And that's what I
(25:16):
want to talk to our next guest about. So Cleveland,
why don't you make your way to the stage.
Speaker 2 (25:23):
We can give him another round of the clause.
Speaker 1 (25:24):
Let's get it, my man, all right, let's get to it.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
Is it a Michael, let's pop that mic on.
Speaker 1 (25:36):
Okay, So, do us a favorite same thing, tell us
a little bit about yourself, a little bit about what
you do, and then I got a question for you.
Speaker 3 (25:41):
Okay, great, I'm happy to be here.
Speaker 7 (25:43):
I'm Cleveland Spears. I'm a native of New Orleans, so
I'm happy to have the National Urbanilyue Conference in my hometown.
And I'm an entrepreneur. I own a company, an an
advertising agency, the Spears Group, and then we also own
another business, which is a festival in Love event production company.
Speaker 2 (25:57):
Absolutely. Okay, so this question is going to be right
up your alley.
Speaker 3 (26:03):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (26:03):
I appreciate that. I'm not gonna You're not gonna do
any funny business here.
Speaker 1 (26:08):
Plus you're the expert. We've been talking a lot about
messaging and getting people excited, and now that we're in
we've had this twist in the last week.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
Talk to us about how.
Speaker 1 (26:28):
Politicians can tailor their messaging and their marketing to gen Zers.
Speaker 7 (26:35):
Well, thank you for that question, because one, I'm the
only non gen Zer on this discussion today, so weigh
and from a different perspective.
Speaker 3 (26:45):
And so when we started.
Speaker 7 (26:46):
Planning this discussion, this was not the discussion we were
planning to have at that point, it was it was
still you know, Joe Biden, prior to the the him
stepping back and and uh and engaging Kamala Harrison and
so what I think is going to be important in
this process. There's that initial energy that that we're all
seeing and feeling right now and is evident and fundraising.
(27:07):
But if we're talking about gen Z, I think something's
gonna be important for for Vice President Harris and her
campaign is gen Z. And our research says that and
I don't mean this in a in a negative way,
but they believe themselves more than any previous generation.
Speaker 3 (27:25):
And so what I mean by that.
Speaker 7 (27:27):
Is her ability to engage UH surrogates that are also
in gen Z. It's going to be extremely important. You know, uh,
Kamala Harris will probably have more star power, UH and
political and celebrity star power than the most recent candidates
in history. She'll have the current president of the first Lady.
(27:49):
She'll have the Obamas, the Clintons, and and and the
list can go on and on. And I would venture
to guess that it proped to gen Z in particular.
It probably won't matter as much as tell us, well,
are other people in the gen Z generation that I
may not even know who they are, but they're on TikTok.
(28:10):
They have followers and people trust them and value their opinion. Sure,
and so to engage that audience. I think building out
a robust program of gen Z surrogates is going to
be pivotal to kind of engaging the gen Z audience,
activating and mobilizing them and getting them to the post.
Speaker 1 (28:28):
Okay, okay, I love that, and that's about what I
expected to Now, before you get out of here, I
need the same thing from you, because I know that
you have a lot more to offer this conversation.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
Do us a favor.
Speaker 1 (28:39):
Make sure that you let folks know one more time
what it is you do how they can get a
hold of people.
Speaker 3 (28:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 7 (28:43):
Well, like I said, I'm native here of New Orleans.
We have a company called the Spears Group, and so
we are a full service marketing and advertising creative services.
I see the Spearsgroup dot com and then on all
of the socials we are at the Spears Group LinkedIn Instagram, Facebook.
Speaker 2 (29:00):
All of those perfectly. Okay, all right, thank you brother. Okay,
So there was something really interesting.
Speaker 1 (29:10):
That I found out about maybe two nights ago, and
Cleveland just mentioned it just now when he was on
the stage. Now, this is not a given, but I feel,
you know, we've been at the National Urban League Conference
here for a couple of days now.
Speaker 2 (29:29):
We've been black since Sunday at.
Speaker 8 (29:32):
Least, so we feel the electrification of Black women with
respect to Kamala Harris top to bottom, left to right.
Speaker 1 (29:47):
When it comes to gen Z, I feel like black
women are down to support that cost, the Kamala Harris
cost getting her into office, black women specifically, but critically.
I read an article about the Swifties, and the Swifties
(30:11):
are organizing too because they want Kamala Harrison office. And
so just the candidate changes the optics of the narrative entirely.
But also the messaging that Cleveland was talking to us
about it feeds into those other channels where the gen
Zers are located. There was a story that came out
(30:33):
about I believe it was Charlie XCX saying that Kamala
is brat, And for me that doesn't mean anything. Kamala
is brat, but to gen Zers that means a whole lot.
Speaker 2 (30:47):
That's a big co sign.
Speaker 1 (30:49):
And you know, these aren't the only folks, and these
aren't the only folks that gen Zers have cultivated a
trusting relationship with. Where folks from my generation we still
kind of looked up to the Anderson Coopers and so forth.
You know, people that have these legacy platforms gen Zers
(31:11):
are content with Charlie XCX putting a weird green you know,
mem up and saying Kamala is bratt and they're like, Okay,
that's who we're voting for. So leaning into the next
generation and leaning into their mind state what it is
that they want, what they care about, because that that
was a big mistake with the Palestine thing, and leaning
(31:37):
into the full understanding that they will lead us at
some point in the future and should be leading us now,
or at least in part, I think, is the best
thing that anyone in the political stage could do.
Speaker 4 (31:48):
I think for those of us who are not gen Zers,
the stakes of these last couple elections have us a
little bit heightened in our reaction to them, and what
we've done that's kind of a mistake, is an effort
to try to get our youth to understand what's at stake.
(32:09):
We very aggressively are trying to get them to do
the right thing.
Speaker 3 (32:14):
Well.
Speaker 4 (32:14):
Gen Z in a lot of cases are contrarian by
nature and don't like fingers wagged at them telling them
what they must do. So instead of providing proper education
about those steaks. We're just saying do this because we
said so, and they naturally are resistant to that. So
with these stakes being this high, trust me. I understand
(32:36):
every time I hear the words Project twenty twenty five,
and every time I see our former president's face, it
elicits a very strong emotional reaction from me. I have
to calm myself and try to remain professional. However, in
our messaging, we have to do more in the way
of educating the generation after us, because it's not that
(32:57):
they won't listen to us, but speaking to them with
contempt and we're being condescending, then yeah, they turn their
ears off and they go plug into Taylor Swift and
Charlie XCX. So if we're going to communicate with them,
and we want that communication and that messaging to be effective,
we have to be welcoming. We have to be educational.
(33:18):
We have to teach them and with our arms around them,
not waving our fingers at them. Because they are active,
they do have outcomes that they want. So let's help
them understand how their decisions and how the people that
they elect will affect their daily lives in a tangible,
real way. And I think we'll have a far easier
(33:39):
time not just getting their attention, but helping to get
them to show up and vote. Right, that apathy and
that kind of contrarian in nature come from the way
that we approach it.
Speaker 3 (33:52):
We get it. This thing cannot go the other way.
Speaker 4 (33:55):
Right, That outcome is the worst possible outcome from us.
But we have to figure out a way to deliver
that message in a way that doesn't isolate and alienate
gen Z and help them know that we're all on
the same team and they're not beneath us. They're not
less intelligent than us, they're not less informed than we are. Right,
and then if there's areas where we need to teach
and educate, let's collectively do that. Because again, twenty one
(34:19):
percent of the US population belonged to gen Z, the
second largest population group in our country.
Speaker 3 (34:25):
So let's make sure that we do.
Speaker 4 (34:27):
A more effective job of engaging them and understanding that
they are not just children, even though they are younger
than us, These are young adults and we have to
treat them that way.
Speaker 1 (34:38):
I think your point is well made, that was well said.
As always, I have a bit of personal experience with
that because I am a father to an eighteen year
old who it will be voting in his first election.
And despite living in my home with me, this activist
(35:04):
extraordinary with all of these you know, googleable things that
he can show his friends. It is very easy for
him to feel disconnected from the political process, but very
much connected to his reality and how the political process
can shape his reality. And you know, you know, not
(35:24):
to pick on anyone, because you know he was the
guy we needed, I suppose at the time. But your
point is well made. You know, they'll plug into Taylor Swift,
they'll plug into whoever before they plug into somebody who's
a million years old, who doesn't look like them, doesn't
talk like them, doesn't sound like them, and is not
making any effort to meet them on their terms. They
(35:47):
already feel disconnected. They feel like, well, how am I
ever going to buy a house? You know, I lost
a house in the two thousand and eight financial crisis,
and I thought that the leadership in this country abandoned me.
They can't even buy a house. You know, I bought
my house when I was my son's age. That is,
he's like ten years of saving and working hard, and
(36:10):
then I might be able to have a down payment,
which is a tough reality, and not a lot of
kids are as fortunate as my son, And so it
is possible for us to write this ship. It is
possible for us to engage, you know this twenty percent
of the population, and it is possible to appeal to
(36:31):
their sensibilities because what they want is not too dissimilar
from what everyone else wants. It's just when we approach
them for going about producing their reality or the reality
that they want to live in, in a way that's
different from the way we'd go about producing it, they
feel marginalized, They feel shunned, they feel expelled. And this
(36:55):
is coming from someone who has been on the very
college campuses at the pro Palestinian protests and engaged with
these folks with microphones and cameras. So I know this
to be true. I know that they're there. They recognize
that this is the only way we engage in a democracy.
But who do they vote for if one side is
bad and the other side is bad?
Speaker 3 (37:16):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (37:17):
I think the important thing that will important message that
we'll get across before we wrap is that this is
a zero sum, binary electorate. Someone's going to be president,
so we cannot abstain, and we cannot afford to have
an entire generation of young people abstained.
Speaker 3 (37:36):
Either.
Speaker 4 (37:37):
Someone is going to be president the day after that election.
It's going to be this incredible, fiery candidate that we
have now. But even before her, we had a decision
to make and we have to effectively engage our young
people for us to come out on the right side
of that decision, because I'm scared to even think about
(37:59):
the other outcome could be.
Speaker 1 (38:01):
Well, we have a little bit of a ways to go,
and we certainly have more conversations to have. As always,
thank you Q for being the other half of my brain.
Speaker 4 (38:13):
Thank you to the Urban League for having us. Yeah,
thank you to iHeart and the Black Information Network. Thank
you for you guys for spending some time with us
having this conversation.
Speaker 1 (38:19):
Thank you to Naomi, to Tyla, and to Cleveland for
sharing their thoughts as well. And thank you to you
and as always, if you have some thoughts, this conversation
will continue. If you have some thoughts you'd like to share,
you can reach out on all social media. I am
at ramses Jah.
Speaker 3 (38:34):
I am q Ward on all socials as well.
Speaker 1 (38:36):
And you can hit the red microphone talkback feature on
the iHeartRadio app. We will keep the conversation going and
until we do peace. This has been a production of
the Black Information Network. Today's show is produced by Chris Thompson.
Have some thoughts you'd like to share? Use the red
microphone talkback feature on the iHeartRadio app. While you're there,
be sure to hit subscribing down. With all of our episodes,
(38:58):
I'm your host ramses Jah on all social media. Join
us tomorrow as we share our news with our voice
from our perspective right here on the Black Information Network
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