December 15, 2021 • 38 mins
For the fourth and final episode of the four-part series, iHeartRadio’s Black and Inspired HBCU Celebration presents, Black Girl Magic. Actress, entrepreneur, activist Meagan Good and Reality TV Star Gizelle Bryant sit down with The Breakfast Club Host Angela Yee. This group of Black Women impacting the culture discuss the emergence and importance of HBCU women alumni empowerment across all industries.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thank you to Hondai, a proud partner of I Heeart
Radio's Black and Inspired HBCU Celebration as clers, Welcome to
I Heeart Radio's Black and Inspired HBCU Celebration episode. I'm
Agela Yer and I'm here with Megan Good and Gazelle
Bryant for an inspired conversation about topics important to the
(00:22):
black community. Alright, so let's give a warm welcome to
two people who I always enjoy talking to. Hi. Megan Good, Hi, Hi,
how are you feeling. I'm feeling good. I'm feeling good.
How are you? I'm great? Thank you, And of course
Gazelle Brian, Hi, Gazelle, how are you? Hi? Angela, I
(00:42):
miss you. Listen. I love the fact that we get
to sit here and have this conversation though, So I
just want to also, you know, give my best wishes
to your famili's as well before we get started. Thank you.
All right, so let's talk about this. Black women one
of my favorite top makes to talk about, of course,
because we know who we are and black women do
(01:04):
undeniably continue to raise the bar. It's been exemplified by
Kamala Harris, Vice President of the United States. How do
you guys feel about the emergence of HBCU women alumni
that are raising the bar in various different industries. Um,
I'll go first. It's making is trying to get that
together down there. Okay, okay, I you know, I genuinely
(01:29):
feel like it is about time. I feel like, you know,
hbc USE overall have been overlooked for so long. Um.
I remember when I went to Hampton and I would
tell people that I was going to Hampton. You know,
twenty plus years ago, nobody knew what it no nobody
knew what it was, nobody knew understood it. When I
(01:50):
would say that it's HBCU, people were like, what is that?
So now there is no question what Hampton University and
all these HBCUs are in the importance of the So
I'm just like, it's about deg on time. It's time
that we get our flowers. Yeah. For me, it's so
interesting because you know, I was already a child actor,
so I didn't go to college, and when I did,
(02:12):
Stomp the yard is really when I learned about HBCUs.
And you know, we went all across everywhere, you know, um,
with the movie and talking and learning and for me,
it was really kind of like a education, And um,
I think it is so important now because the education
is so different, because the community is so different, because
(02:33):
you know, just the love, the respect and the community.
It's just important that we have that and at that
showcase and that these people you know who have come
from ABC USE are in the world promoting the I agree,
And I feel like college is so great for networking too.
So the fact that we have so many black women
(02:54):
who are successful that have gone to HBCUs that encourages
other people to go. That encourages funding. Even if you
didn't go to college, you know, you can still support
because we do choose where we want our money to
go and who we went to support. So even like
my bus over here, I heard she went to Howard,
I mean to Hampton, Sorry, Giselle Hampton Hampton. Of course
(03:15):
she did, and she's amazing. She's amazing. Yeah, shout out
to THEA. So ladies, and I start with you, Megan.
Why is it so imperative for black women to understand
their worth and what they bring to the table. Okay,
we are the table and what ways can we be
more confidence in that area? Yeah? I think that, Um,
it's super super important for us to know our worth
(03:37):
and to know what we're capable of, and to know
that what we put into the world is so unique
to who we are, whether it's culturally rather you know
it's upbringing, but no matter what that is, it's very
very specific to our experience that is not like any
other experience. And so just knowing that we are capable,
knowing that sky is not even the limit, knowing that
(04:00):
we are unique unto ourselves and nobody can bring what
we can bring the way that we can do it,
and that is our contribution. And just making sure that
we know that is growing women, that young women know that,
that little girls know that. UM. I can't think of
anything that's more important than understanding your value and your
(04:20):
worth and what you can contribute. And again, those things
as a black woman are very very specific and very
unique to our experience. UM. And I think the way
that we can breed, you know, confidence in that space,
especially with the younger generation, is having conversations like this
is UM creating a safe place to just be able
to talk to each other, to pour into each other,
(04:42):
to acknowledge these things, to remind each other, to affirm
each other. UM. And the more that we do that,
you know, because what you say and how you speak
over someone, even if it's just pouring into them or
influencing or inspiring, can literally literally change their life and
change the course of their life in and what they
know that they can accomplish. And so, UM, I think
(05:04):
it really is just about pouring into them and and
knowing these things and discovering them more. Um agreed. Um,
I always look at it from the perspective of my daughters.
So everybody knows I have three girls. My oldest is
seventeen and my twins are fifteen. So the importance of
knowing who and what we are is important because um,
(05:30):
it's it's it's very clear that we're different, right, It's
very you know, when these little girls go to school,
it's very clear that they're different, Um, of the schools
that my children go to from everyone else in the class.
And so they've got to feel competent. They've got to
feel pride, they've got to feel self self respect, because
(05:51):
if they don't, they'll just, um, as they get older,
they won't know where they fit. Right. Women are so
special and so unique, and we have to take pride
in that and we fit where we are. And I
always say to my kids, like, it doesn't matter what
other people look like, what other people think, how other
(06:14):
people dress. We just got to be confident with who
you are, your skin, your hair, what how you pronounce words,
how you dress, because this is your walk and your journey,
and it's your responsibility to feel confident and so to
feel proud every day. I agree with both of what
(06:35):
what you both said, and I also feel like a
lot of times our contributions have been downplayed, and just
so often they try to make us feel like we
don't belong in certain spaces. We're not smart, we're not beautiful.
Even images that you might see in television and in
media a lot of times don't reflect who we are
in our diversity, and so I love the fact that
(06:57):
now we're seeing more of that. We're also in positions
of power where we can promote that even more. And
you know, even just the two of you being on
the platforms that you're on, directing, acting, being an entrepreneur,
all of those things are really important because I totally
believe that if you can see it, you can be it.
And when someone can see you doing those things and
(07:18):
a young black girl can see you, and then they
can see themselves and they have something to aspire to
it because a lot of times we don't even know
what's possible. Yeah, and so what both of you are saying. Like,
for me growing up, that was a really big thing
because I grew up in a predominantly white neighborhood. We
were like one of one black family for the longest time.
(07:38):
And the images that I saw, the conversations that I saw,
those are the things that shaped my world. You know.
Seeing certain actresses on television was like, oh gosh, she
looks like me, and like, that's possible for me, you know.
And then of course at those times you know you
watch like the true Hollywood stories or like whatever that
you hear them talk is individuals and as human beings
(08:01):
that are not necessarily acting in a scene, but telling
their stories experience, saying what they've experienced and what they've
come through and the odds that they've beaten. And that's
the chips that were stacked against them sometimes in life
in general, but a lot of times just because of
the color of their skin. And you suddenly realize how
powerful you are. And and it's the minute to not
(08:22):
look at it, like, wow, that's that's unfair because you know,
growing up, I go out for certain roles and they
would hire a girl who didn't look like me, and
I was like, why did I come in the room
in the first place. And I would feel like the
odds were, you know, stacked against me. And then I realized, like,
oh no, like that's my superpower. When I do get
a job. Everything was stacked against me and I got it. Anyways,
(08:46):
it means so much more because I had to work
so hard for it. It It tells me how powerful I
am that I constantly keep going through these hurdles and
coming out on the other side. And what's even better
than that is that I get to create opportunity for
the little brown girl behind me, so that she doesn't
have to work as hard, but she still want to
(09:06):
understand and she will find value, you know, in the
fact that her journey is different than everybody else's and
she's still gonna win, and she's still gonna see and
she's still going to be everything that God has created
her um to be. And and also to to what
you were saying earlier, like black women are the most
exotic women in the world and we're often told that
(09:27):
we're the least beautiful when an actuality, we are the
most exotic, and we are the backbone, and we are
the ones who carry, who love, who support, who create,
who are the backbone of so many things that we
never get acknowledged for. But that, you know, a part
of that is really our our superpower. And I love
(09:49):
that we're moving into a season where we can have
conversations like this and acknowledge that. Now, yeah, I I
um look always look at it like you know, when
Barack Obama on his first presidency, of course you know
that was just a monumental feat for all black people. Um,
but of course he was still a man. So to
(10:12):
see Kamala Harris be the vice president, that meant so
much more to my children, who are all little girls.
They're able to see, Okay, I can aspire to be
at one of the highest offices in the United States.
She looks like me, her hair is like mine, she
speaks like me. Um, you know me and um the
(10:32):
vice president in the same sorority. They know all about
my sorority. So that for them resonated so much more
than a Barack Obama, No, no shade to him that
was amazing. But again, women, black women are so overlooked
and um sometimes treated as if we're not a part
of the conversation. So at any time there's somebody that's
(10:58):
in a place that's aspirational, it just means so much more,
especially to all of our young ladies coming behind us.
I love that. And on that note, like I do
want to always encourage other women to support each other
because we needed the most for other black women, even
if it's something a small gesture, leaving a nice comment,
you know, reposting somebody's business, somebody's movies, somebody's show, and
(11:21):
keeping it positive because you know, we all know how
difficult it can be for us. We have our days
and sometimes something little like that can change somebody's whole
entire mood for the day, you know, because we I
feel like we get beat up on all the time. Yes, um,
you don't know how much. Like this was like two
weeks ago, and y'all don't think this is funny, but
(11:43):
I had posted something and they only Campbell like gave
me a smiley face in my comment. Do you know
I was good for like a week. I was like,
oh my gosh, you know, she acknowledged he our first
boll I didn't know she knew I existed. And secondly,
it was just like somebody, like a beautiful Naomi Campbell,
who was like a bad one, was acknowledging something that
(12:07):
I did that meant so much to me. And I
always try to People don't realize the smallest things carry
the most weight. Yeah, and that and that's twofold. You know,
the smallest things on the flip side too, when we
you know, when we don't look out for each other
and we don't protect each other, when we tear each
(12:27):
other down, you know, those those small things carry a
lot of weight too. And so we just have to
be conscious of of the journey that we're on. That
is a journey that's already different just because we're women,
but on top of that, because we're black women, and
I think that we have to be thoughtful about upholding
(12:48):
each other and loving on each other, um, because you know,
at the end of the day, it's tough, you know,
and um, we don't ever have to be in competition
with each other because, as you know, we are unique
into ourselves and nobody can do again what we can
do the way that we can do it and so
our only jobs. Love each other, support each other, help
(13:10):
lift each other, help lift each other win, you know,
because when we do that, we all win. Truly. Now, ladies,
moving on, how important is it that black women lead
the charge when it comes to politics, when it comes
to culture, when it comes to the society at large? Um,
all of them, because because actually all that works together,
I mean, um, politics, culture policy. Again. You know we
(13:35):
we are let's just talk professionally. You know, we don't
get paid the same. Um. We gotta fight for all
of our pennies. You know, we we definitely are going
to get paid as much as a white man, let
alone a man and a white woman. So you know,
from a professional standpoint, we're fighting. You know, we're fighting
(13:55):
for equal pay. From a political standpoint. From locally, we're
fighting to be you know, I'm fighting for my little
street and my little um gardens to be picked up.
I'm fighting for um to make sure my my little
streak is plowed. So it's our duty and our responsibility
to not just fall by the wayside or just be invisible,
(14:21):
so to speak. It's our duty and responsibility. It's my
duty as a mother to go into my children's high
school and fight for things that I feel like they
should be treated like everybody else. Um and they are.
But if there's ever a slip up, I'm up in
there because it's not just about my kids. There's kids
(14:43):
that moms aren't able to speak up or you know,
whatever the case may be. You especially somebody, all of
us are on this wonderful platform. We have to be
speak up and we have to have our voices be
heard because it is our responsibility for our culture and
for our community. And I'd say to like even on
(15:05):
like a smaller level, it's not a small level, but
it but it is. But just when we speak up
espect the way that we have been able to kind
of like shift things in the last like ten years.
You know, it's like all of a sudden, there is
more representation, you know, all of a sudden there is
and and and also just like with representation matters so
(15:27):
much because what is represented here is filtered out into
the rest of the world. But to have conversations about
you know, like having black hairdressers, you know, or people
who know how to map your complexion or know how
to do your hair so that you can do your
job and you can create something that goes out into
the rest of the world that some little girls gonna
(15:48):
see and see themselves in. You know, every time we
raise our voice, no matter what the issue is, rather
it's a smaller one like that which is still an
important one, or a much bigger one with politics and
and you know, changing law like whatever it is. When
we speak up, we begin to shift things. And um,
(16:08):
we have to continue to do that and also just
be aware of our power. Even if it's a small victory,
it shows what we're capable of when we keep pushing
and and in that sense, I think that we can
really um, as cliche as it sounds, change the world.
And now we're really starting starting to be here heard,
and we're starting to see the fruits of even if
(16:29):
it's just you know, speaking up about me too, whatever
it is, we're starting to see the fruits of the
labor of just pressing in and the power that we
actually do have. Megan, I'm gonna say this, and I
know you have, um probably lived this because you're you're
in this in the acting industry. UM. I did a
game show last week and when I got there, they
(16:51):
were like, oh, just I would really want to make
sure that you know you're you have proper glad, you know,
just hair and makeup that could do basically a black
um and because two days prior there was a black
contestant and the gland that they got for her was
white and they didn't know what to do with her
(17:11):
and she looked terrible, and I'm like, this is and
we're still like we can't get this right. We can't.
We can't figure this out. There's things that should not
be happening. That's like a no brainer. So yeah, we
always got to speak up. And even when we think
about policies, if you look at you know, healthcare for
black women and the maternal healthcare, the disparities that we
(17:36):
suffer from uh fibroids, black women suffering from fibraids, even
things like that, the Crown Act, being able to wear
your hair however you want to wear it. You know,
in the workplace, used to be a news anchor, you
have to have your hair straight no matter what. You
couldn't have braids, you couldn't have any type of other
hairstyle curly here. And so it's just things like that.
(17:58):
They're kind of microaggressions where you go into a space,
and they try to make you feel like you have
to conform to this white model of what you're supposed
to look like. You know, it is important to have
people who are making these policies, who are calling things out,
and people in society in general. And I do think
that social media has really helped to play a part
(18:18):
in that, especially during this pandemic, and you're seeing everything
that's been happening with Black Lives Matter, seeing stores carrying
more black brands and not putting them on the dusty
bottom shelf, you know, where we have to go get
our hair products, and and having like a section that
no one goes to or maybe it's behind the glass. Uh.
(18:39):
You know, it's just all these different things that we've
had to deal with. Even when I think about nutrition
and being able to have access to better nutrition and
juice bars and things like that in our neighborhoods, all
those things are really important, and so I do always
encourage people. Sometimes we don't even think about running for office,
but if you know somebody who you think would be
great in office, you should encourage them, you know, campaign
(19:02):
behind them from the beginning. Things like that are really
really amazing and do make such a huge difference. Yeah,
and we also have to get into our local elections
and help the people that we feel like ken win Um.
And I'm just gonna say right now, Angel, I think
you should run at some point. But I'm just gonna,
you know, keep that to the self or Jo. I'm
just gonna tell the people. But I think that you
(19:23):
would be great. But that's a side note. But you know,
I a lot of times, like when I was, um, younger,
I used to just be like, oh, you know, some
of responsibility. I'll just go vote, but I don't have
to like talk about it and call my girlfriends and
make sure they're voting and all that. No, we can't
do that anymore. It's time after that, everyone has to
be involved. It's just too much on the line. And
(19:46):
also just like educating, you know, educating and talking to
each other and talking about you know, who's up for
what and what this position actually equals in your community,
and and then just starting from there, like if you
change city by city and state by state, then you
really can change the world. These things are big and
(20:06):
so important, and it's something that I think a lot
of us. I mean, maybe I'm speaking for myself, or
really like discovering, um the magnitude of how important this is.
It's like, we want to change the world, and it
just feels like such a big fleet and it almost
feels impossible, but there are ways to do it, and
it's step by step by step by step. And you know, again,
(20:27):
when we have these conversations and we educate each other
and we speak freely about things that we should be
speaking freely about, even if someone disagrees with us or
doesn't like we have to say about it, these are
the time the kind of conversations that need to be
had so that we can actually see the change that
we're constantly feeling a way about and and constantly speaking about.
But like it's our responsibility to take action. And again
(20:51):
this is a part of that. Yeah, And to that point, Megan,
the reason why people try to convince you that change
isn't happening, or that your vote doesn't matter, or who
cares isnt office things will be the same, that is
voter suppression. And so I really admire what Stacy Abrams
did with a fair Fight and how she had people
really rallied up and the changes were made that we
never thought would happen. In Georgia, and so that is
(21:12):
a model that can work other places as well. And
so the reason why they try to convince you not
to vote, it doesn't matter. All politicians are bad. They're
all the same. You know, Democrats are just as bad
as Republicans, all kinds of and vice versa. You know,
I like to vote for people who I think can
represent me well. And I will never think that my
(21:32):
vote doesn't matter, because that's why they go so hard
to try to stop certain people from voting, and you know,
and to make sure that we don't run for office.
So it definitely does matter. So don't listen to all
of that hype. And there's also the stereotype of the
angry black women. I know, we've all heard that before.
That has dominated society's view of African American females. And
(21:55):
what way do we overcome this misperception of being overly angry,
overly aggressive, and what measures do you think should be
taken in the workplace to stop the perpetuation of the
angry black woman's stereotype. And let's start with you just that,
because I know, being our reality TV when it goes down, Yeah,
and you actually are pretty calm most of the time.
(22:15):
But but I do see that angry black women and
playing black women against each other, and then you express
yourself or if you take a stand on something, they
just dismiss you as angry. Okay, So there's a difference. Okay.
So in front of the camera, um, you know, obviously
the cast is all black, and we are there at
(22:36):
times that we are very angry, and so it has
nothing to do with the stereotype of the angry black woman, Okay.
But behind the camera, UM, I can tell you when
I first started Potomach and just dealing with the producers,
dealing with the network, there was conversations in which it
(22:57):
was very clear to me that they, like all black
women spoke like the women in Atlanta, right, because that
was the only frame of reference that they had for
black women, which was seven black women in Atlanta. So
you've talked to seven black women in Atlanta, and we
(23:17):
all like that, Like that's just not even that's just
conceptually not even proper. So it was behind the scenes,
having production meetings, having um to just talk about our contracts,
when the lawyers meet. All of that played into a
part of oh, they think we're all the same and
(23:42):
that's when I got I went into high gear and
and immediately and it is taking me. I want to say,
season five, they started realizing based off of just sitting
down and having conversations breaking bread with UM the powers
that be, and they started seeing, Okay, not all black
(24:04):
women are the same, UM, and we should not put
them in all one category. And no, they're not all
just walking around angry. And just because they stand up
for themselves does not equal angry. Just because they say
exactly what they want and they're direct about it, it
does not equal angry. It just equals we're confident, we
(24:25):
know how to speak, we know how to articulate our words,
and we are very clear as to our value and
our worth. So it took a while, but you know,
I'm gonna say, as far as Bravo is concerned, they
want to learn, they want to do better, and so
I don't have any issues with with where we are.
But it was a struggle, I'm gonna be honest. It
(24:46):
was a struggle for white people to realize that black
women are not angry all the time and we're not
all the same. Yeah, I mean, I think a big
part of that because that that's something that I really
haven't an issue with because you know, when it's a
white man and he expresses himself or he raises his voice,
(25:08):
you know he's strong, even if you don't like him.
But if it if it's a black woman, then you
know she's or she's difficult, or she's hard to work
with or whatever it is. Or you know, if you
have a moment and you get flustered, it's like, okay,
that's a normal thing for man. But when a when
a woman does it, just like, well can she handle it?
(25:28):
You know, could she handle the pressure or whatever it is?
And and it is a double edged sword, but I
think you know it does it does boil down to again,
a huge part of it is and and it seems small,
but it's not. Is simply happy his conversations consistently and
change narrative and changing the conversation and addressing these things
(25:50):
and making people think and maybe making them reconsider and
being unapologetic you know about who we are and you know,
not changing that to try to fit into the box,
to be perceived a certain ways so that you can
do certain things. I think that when that there was
a time where that kind of had to be done
in order for us to get here. But we're here now,
(26:13):
and the only way to really be the fullness of
who we are is to walk in it boldly and
unapologetically and change the narrative. And um, I think that
we were doing that slowly but surely. Yeah. And another
thing I want to say to that is I think
that in the past, there there are we have been
put in a situation in which there was fear and
(26:35):
speaking our truth, and there was fear and really talking
about what it is that we feel like we are
valued and we are in what we're worth. I remember
I had to have a conversation with the president of
Bravo and I, uh, well, I wasn't scared at the time.
I think I was more mad. But you know it,
you really have to put away would have could have
(26:59):
shut up? And am I going to get backlash for
what I say to the president of a company because
it's not about that, you know where any time that
I fight for my show, it's not about Giselle. It's
always about the team, and more importantly, it's about the
shows that will come behind us. The Real Housewives might
(27:20):
get cancer tomorrow, who knows, you know, the television industry
is real fickle. But it's not about that. It's about
we have to be treated as well as you all
have been treating everyone that's white. And because fair is fair, Megan,
(27:41):
how is the experienced directing when you have to be
the person that's in charge of all the moving parts?
You know? It's interesting? Is to is to that last
question and to this. I think in the beginning, you know,
part of me was very cautious because because I'm a woman,
because I'm a black woman, because I'm an actress, and
(28:03):
I really wanted people to see like I can do this.
I know what I'm doing. I have a point of view.
I may not know the name of the exact lens,
but I can tell you exactly how I wanted to look.
You tell me the name of the lens. You know
what I'm saying. And in the beginning, I think I
approached it one way, which was just like trying to
prove myself. And now I approach it in a way
(28:25):
where I'm very much aware that everything that I bring again,
it's unique to me, and that nobody else in the
world is me, just like I'm nobody else. And um,
when we lean into our power and what we uniquely bring.
That is the thing that makes all the difference. It's
the same as an actress. Somebody else can read the
(28:46):
lines the same as a way as me, but we're
not each other. We have different essences. We grew up
different places, had maybe some similar experiences, but maybe we
process them different and maybe it brought out something different
in us and create or whatever it is. And so
just leaning into all the uniqueness that we each have
as individuals is really our superpower with the authenticity. And
(29:09):
so now with directing, it's fun that, you know, i
might be doing a scene with someone and I'm trying
to get a little girl to cry and she's never
done it before, so I start crying with her, which
under many circumstances would be perceived as weak or are
you okay or whatever it is. But because I'm crying,
I can get this five year old girl to start crying.
(29:30):
And that's something that I can uniquely bring that it's
just me and it is just making, you know. And
so it's fun to explore all these different things as
a director and and U discover even things about myself,
and it's it's very cool to be able to speak
and actors language and to figure out how to you know,
make certain things happen. I'm a big problem solved for
(29:51):
person Um I hate no. I always like how let's
figure it out. Well, things don't usually get done that way,
so let's do something different. You know. That's how you
change the world. It's how you change history. That's how
you change like the standard. You know, let's make new
ones and continue to change them. And so um, yeah,
I really love directing a lot. I can tell. I
(30:13):
love how passionate you are about it. So I guess
that means we'll be seeing a lot more. Yeah, and
and and it's and to me it also is because
again and what we're talking about right now, I want
what I bring as a black woman to touch the
rest of the world because somebody needs to see if
(30:35):
that's what we're here for, is to help each other
on this journey of life and like what we put
into the world. And so this is my contribution. And oftentimes,
you know, my directing is is my artistic activism or
it's just you know, artistry, but it but some version
of it just by default of being a black woman,
it is artistic activism. You know. I love that artistic
(30:58):
activism like that gonna still you're gonna put that on
a T shirt? Right, Yeah, we're gonna now that What
is the pathway for as young aspiring women of color
who are attending HBCUs maybe they want to be part
of this ever growing media industry. What should they know?
What you say? And why, Um, that's tough that you
(31:20):
are going to get a bunch of nose And just
like everything I mean, once you get out of college
and put your your tiptoe into the real world, it's tough.
It's not for always saying anybody that wants gonna reality
television and just say right now it's I tell everybody
it's not for you because it's very difficult and m
(31:42):
only like you know, a miniscule amount of people can
just handle it all. But follow your dreams, follow your passions.
Don't anybody tell you that you can't fulfill whatever it
is that your dreams are. One thing I want to
say about HBCUs. When I first had my girls, I
was praying to God that they would come up on
their own and realize that they want to be a
(32:05):
part of a black college, just because you know, four
years with us and our people and how we think
and how we feel, and how we smell, and how
we walk and talk. It's just an amazing experience. But
it is like a very small nucleus. So enjoy it.
(32:26):
All those people that are in college right now, enjoy
it because once you step out of it's the real world,
and the real world is not a game. Another part
of that, I know I'm being long winded, but another
part of that is I didn't know how much networking
would happen to me just because I went to a
(32:47):
black college. The networking of it all has lasted my
entire life. Robin Dixon, who went to the University of Maryland,
regrets not going to a black college because of it.
Me being, um, you know, an AK a member of
sorority that has I've been able to network the heck
out of that thing. Right now today somebody, if a
(33:09):
young girl calls me for college student calls me or
get in touch with me, DMS me, whatever, and says
that they went to Hampton they pledged my sorority. Are
you kidding? I'll do anything for that girl. So it's
just I mean, I can't speak enough about black colleges.
It's just everything. Megan we can still go back to
college and get some degrees. What do you think, Look,
(33:31):
let's go that's a show in itself. Oh my god?
That what Megan? What advice would you give though? There's
a lot of young HBCU black women who are thinking
about being part of the growing media industry. What what
should they know? You think? And why? Well? I love
(33:51):
what she was just saying about the networking part of it.
You know, I think there is so much value in
community and people who are directly immediately connected to you,
just even in spirit, just because of where you've come
from and the thing that you understand that nobody else
understands unless they have that experience. And you know, I
would just say that, you know, going back to what
(34:13):
I was saying earlier, you are perfectly imperfect and you
are unique and nobody can bring to the table what
you can bring the way that you can bring it.
And so just knowing your value and knowing your worth
is unprecedented. And you know, choosing people in your circle
who are really going to pooring to you, who are
(34:35):
really going to tell you the truth, We're really going
to support you, who are going to love you unconditionally,
and um, knowing that if, if, if what you are
believing for and wanting to pursue is easily tangible, then
you're not dreaming big enough. So just keep dreaming and
knowing that. Um. And the crazy thing is, we get
(34:55):
scared with them dreams come true, but you know that
that they are very very possible and and absolutely likely. Um,
you just gotta do the work show up. I'm a
big believer of like faith without works is dead. You
could have all the faith in the world, but you've
got to meet God halfway by really really doing the
work and doing everything that's within your power. Um. And again,
(35:17):
you know that there's gonna be a lot of rejection
nine times out attend the answer is gonna be no
for one reason or the other. And those things will
make you question yourself from the inside out. But just
know that because you are you, when it's the right thing,
in the right situation and the right tribe and the
right all of that, it will lock in and that
thing will be unshakable. Because you've been authentic and because
(35:39):
you didn't change who you are to fit into any box.
You know there is quality and and there is quantity.
Quantities is the easy stuff. That's when you fit in
the box. You can get plenty of quantity, but the
quality is when you're authentic. So be all of who
you are, in all of your amazing nous and know
that your f and dope regardless, and you will find
(36:01):
your tribe and you will win. Yeah but can I
can I say, Angela? The tribe thing is key. Like,
you gotta have your people around you that are pushing you. Um,
you gotta push them. This is done, just work. One
way is two ways. You gotta push your friends and
they gotta push you. And if not, you gotta cut
them friends off because they will drag you down to
(36:22):
a place where you all want to go. So you
know your squad game. Make sure if that is time,
and don't be afraid to let people go because means
the right ways go, your life actually gets better. Right.
I definitely have been trying to make sure I'm intentional
about keeping the negativity away from me. People who try
to discourage you from being successful, A lot of a
(36:43):
lot of that is their own fair that they can't
do certain things. And you know, I know a lot
of us have loyalty to people that we're cool with
that we've grown up with, but sometimes those people are
just not meant to be in your life and on
your complete journey, and so I totally agree with that
because that energy, you know, you need those people that
(37:03):
are uplifting you, supporting you whatever it is that they
can do. They want to see you win and they're
genuine about it. So I definitely totally agree with that. Well,
you women, I just want to thank y'all because this
was very inspiring and uplifting. So this is an amazing
try for me to have been a part of today,
and I want to thank you, Megan Good, thank you,
Giselle Brian. You guys are both always so gracious and
(37:25):
amazing and I support everything that you both have going
on fully, and I think this is a great conversation
for a young black women to hear. This is black
and inspired. It's an HBCU celebration, So I know we
all have things to do. But thank you again so
much for joining me. We love thank you. Uh we
(37:46):
did hear as I broke up. We just got quiet.
I love you guys to thank you so much. Um
Antela ye and thank you for joining me and Megan
Good and Gazelle Bryant. But I Heart Radio's black and
Inspired HBCU celebration. For more of this podcast series, you
can listen on the I Heart Radio app, on Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your podcast m
Thank you to Hondai, a proud partner of I Heeart
Radio's Black and Inspired HBCU Celebration as clers, Welcome to
I Heeart Radio's Black and Inspired HBCU Celebration episode. I'm
Agela Yer and I'm here with Megan Good and Gazelle
Bryant for an inspired conversation about topics important to the
(00:22):
black community. Alright, so let's give a warm welcome to
two people who I always enjoy talking to. Hi. Megan Good, Hi, Hi,
how are you feeling. I'm feeling good. I'm feeling good.
How are you? I'm great? Thank you, And of course
Gazelle Brian, Hi, Gazelle, how are you? Hi? Angela, I
(00:42):
miss you. Listen. I love the fact that we get
to sit here and have this conversation though, So I
just want to also, you know, give my best wishes
to your famili's as well before we get started. Thank you.
All right, so let's talk about this. Black women one
of my favorite top makes to talk about, of course,
because we know who we are and black women do
(01:04):
undeniably continue to raise the bar. It's been exemplified by
Kamala Harris, Vice President of the United States. How do
you guys feel about the emergence of HBCU women alumni
that are raising the bar in various different industries. Um,
I'll go first. It's making is trying to get that
together down there. Okay, okay, I you know, I genuinely
(01:29):
feel like it is about time. I feel like, you know,
hbc USE overall have been overlooked for so long. Um.
I remember when I went to Hampton and I would
tell people that I was going to Hampton. You know,
twenty plus years ago, nobody knew what it no nobody
knew what it was, nobody knew understood it. When I
(01:50):
would say that it's HBCU, people were like, what is that?
So now there is no question what Hampton University and
all these HBCUs are in the importance of the So
I'm just like, it's about deg on time. It's time
that we get our flowers. Yeah. For me, it's so
interesting because you know, I was already a child actor,
so I didn't go to college, and when I did,
(02:12):
Stomp the yard is really when I learned about HBCUs.
And you know, we went all across everywhere, you know, um,
with the movie and talking and learning and for me,
it was really kind of like a education, And um,
I think it is so important now because the education
is so different, because the community is so different, because
(02:33):
you know, just the love, the respect and the community.
It's just important that we have that and at that
showcase and that these people you know who have come
from ABC USE are in the world promoting the I agree,
And I feel like college is so great for networking too.
So the fact that we have so many black women
(02:54):
who are successful that have gone to HBCUs that encourages
other people to go. That encourages funding. Even if you
didn't go to college, you know, you can still support
because we do choose where we want our money to
go and who we went to support. So even like
my bus over here, I heard she went to Howard,
I mean to Hampton, Sorry, Giselle Hampton Hampton. Of course
(03:15):
she did, and she's amazing. She's amazing. Yeah, shout out
to THEA. So ladies, and I start with you, Megan.
Why is it so imperative for black women to understand
their worth and what they bring to the table. Okay,
we are the table and what ways can we be
more confidence in that area? Yeah? I think that, Um,
it's super super important for us to know our worth
(03:37):
and to know what we're capable of, and to know
that what we put into the world is so unique
to who we are, whether it's culturally rather you know
it's upbringing, but no matter what that is, it's very
very specific to our experience that is not like any
other experience. And so just knowing that we are capable,
knowing that sky is not even the limit, knowing that
(04:00):
we are unique unto ourselves and nobody can bring what
we can bring the way that we can do it,
and that is our contribution. And just making sure that
we know that is growing women, that young women know that,
that little girls know that. UM. I can't think of
anything that's more important than understanding your value and your
(04:20):
worth and what you can contribute. And again, those things
as a black woman are very very specific and very
unique to our experience. UM. And I think the way
that we can breed, you know, confidence in that space,
especially with the younger generation, is having conversations like this
is UM creating a safe place to just be able
to talk to each other, to pour into each other,
(04:42):
to acknowledge these things, to remind each other, to affirm
each other. UM. And the more that we do that,
you know, because what you say and how you speak
over someone, even if it's just pouring into them or
influencing or inspiring, can literally literally change their life and
change the course of their life in and what they
know that they can accomplish. And so, UM, I think
(05:04):
it really is just about pouring into them and and
knowing these things and discovering them more. Um agreed. Um,
I always look at it from the perspective of my daughters.
So everybody knows I have three girls. My oldest is
seventeen and my twins are fifteen. So the importance of
knowing who and what we are is important because um,
(05:30):
it's it's it's very clear that we're different, right, It's
very you know, when these little girls go to school,
it's very clear that they're different, Um, of the schools
that my children go to from everyone else in the class.
And so they've got to feel competent. They've got to
feel pride, they've got to feel self self respect, because
(05:51):
if they don't, they'll just, um, as they get older,
they won't know where they fit. Right. Women are so
special and so unique, and we have to take pride
in that and we fit where we are. And I
always say to my kids, like, it doesn't matter what
other people look like, what other people think, how other
(06:14):
people dress. We just got to be confident with who
you are, your skin, your hair, what how you pronounce words,
how you dress, because this is your walk and your journey,
and it's your responsibility to feel confident and so to
feel proud every day. I agree with both of what
(06:35):
what you both said, and I also feel like a
lot of times our contributions have been downplayed, and just
so often they try to make us feel like we
don't belong in certain spaces. We're not smart, we're not beautiful.
Even images that you might see in television and in
media a lot of times don't reflect who we are
in our diversity, and so I love the fact that
(06:57):
now we're seeing more of that. We're also in positions
of power where we can promote that even more. And
you know, even just the two of you being on
the platforms that you're on, directing, acting, being an entrepreneur,
all of those things are really important because I totally
believe that if you can see it, you can be it.
And when someone can see you doing those things and
(07:18):
a young black girl can see you, and then they
can see themselves and they have something to aspire to
it because a lot of times we don't even know
what's possible. Yeah, and so what both of you are saying. Like,
for me growing up, that was a really big thing
because I grew up in a predominantly white neighborhood. We
were like one of one black family for the longest time.
(07:38):
And the images that I saw, the conversations that I saw,
those are the things that shaped my world. You know.
Seeing certain actresses on television was like, oh gosh, she
looks like me, and like, that's possible for me, you know.
And then of course at those times you know you
watch like the true Hollywood stories or like whatever that
you hear them talk is individuals and as human beings
(08:01):
that are not necessarily acting in a scene, but telling
their stories experience, saying what they've experienced and what they've
come through and the odds that they've beaten. And that's
the chips that were stacked against them sometimes in life
in general, but a lot of times just because of
the color of their skin. And you suddenly realize how
powerful you are. And and it's the minute to not
(08:22):
look at it, like, wow, that's that's unfair because you know,
growing up, I go out for certain roles and they
would hire a girl who didn't look like me, and
I was like, why did I come in the room
in the first place. And I would feel like the
odds were, you know, stacked against me. And then I realized, like,
oh no, like that's my superpower. When I do get
a job. Everything was stacked against me and I got it. Anyways,
(08:46):
it means so much more because I had to work
so hard for it. It It tells me how powerful I
am that I constantly keep going through these hurdles and
coming out on the other side. And what's even better
than that is that I get to create opportunity for
the little brown girl behind me, so that she doesn't
have to work as hard, but she still want to
(09:06):
understand and she will find value, you know, in the
fact that her journey is different than everybody else's and
she's still gonna win, and she's still gonna see and
she's still going to be everything that God has created
her um to be. And and also to to what
you were saying earlier, like black women are the most
exotic women in the world and we're often told that
(09:27):
we're the least beautiful when an actuality, we are the
most exotic, and we are the backbone, and we are
the ones who carry, who love, who support, who create,
who are the backbone of so many things that we
never get acknowledged for. But that, you know, a part
of that is really our our superpower. And I love
(09:49):
that we're moving into a season where we can have
conversations like this and acknowledge that. Now, yeah, I I
um look always look at it like you know, when
Barack Obama on his first presidency, of course you know
that was just a monumental feat for all black people. Um,
but of course he was still a man. So to
(10:12):
see Kamala Harris be the vice president, that meant so
much more to my children, who are all little girls.
They're able to see, Okay, I can aspire to be
at one of the highest offices in the United States.
She looks like me, her hair is like mine, she
speaks like me. Um, you know me and um the
(10:32):
vice president in the same sorority. They know all about
my sorority. So that for them resonated so much more
than a Barack Obama, No, no shade to him that
was amazing. But again, women, black women are so overlooked
and um sometimes treated as if we're not a part
of the conversation. So at any time there's somebody that's
(10:58):
in a place that's aspirational, it just means so much more,
especially to all of our young ladies coming behind us.
I love that. And on that note, like I do
want to always encourage other women to support each other
because we needed the most for other black women, even
if it's something a small gesture, leaving a nice comment,
you know, reposting somebody's business, somebody's movies, somebody's show, and
(11:21):
keeping it positive because you know, we all know how
difficult it can be for us. We have our days
and sometimes something little like that can change somebody's whole
entire mood for the day, you know, because we I
feel like we get beat up on all the time. Yes, um,
you don't know how much. Like this was like two
weeks ago, and y'all don't think this is funny, but
(11:43):
I had posted something and they only Campbell like gave
me a smiley face in my comment. Do you know
I was good for like a week. I was like,
oh my gosh, you know, she acknowledged he our first
boll I didn't know she knew I existed. And secondly,
it was just like somebody, like a beautiful Naomi Campbell,
who was like a bad one, was acknowledging something that
(12:07):
I did that meant so much to me. And I
always try to People don't realize the smallest things carry
the most weight. Yeah, and that and that's twofold. You know,
the smallest things on the flip side too, when we
you know, when we don't look out for each other
and we don't protect each other, when we tear each
(12:27):
other down, you know, those those small things carry a
lot of weight too. And so we just have to
be conscious of of the journey that we're on. That
is a journey that's already different just because we're women,
but on top of that, because we're black women, and
I think that we have to be thoughtful about upholding
(12:48):
each other and loving on each other, um, because you know,
at the end of the day, it's tough, you know,
and um, we don't ever have to be in competition
with each other because, as you know, we are unique
into ourselves and nobody can do again what we can
do the way that we can do it and so
our only jobs. Love each other, support each other, help
(13:10):
lift each other, help lift each other win, you know,
because when we do that, we all win. Truly. Now, ladies,
moving on, how important is it that black women lead
the charge when it comes to politics, when it comes
to culture, when it comes to the society at large? Um,
all of them, because because actually all that works together,
I mean, um, politics, culture policy. Again. You know we
(13:35):
we are let's just talk professionally. You know, we don't
get paid the same. Um. We gotta fight for all
of our pennies. You know, we we definitely are going
to get paid as much as a white man, let
alone a man and a white woman. So you know,
from a professional standpoint, we're fighting. You know, we're fighting
(13:55):
for equal pay. From a political standpoint. From locally, we're
fighting to be you know, I'm fighting for my little
street and my little um gardens to be picked up.
I'm fighting for um to make sure my my little
streak is plowed. So it's our duty and our responsibility
to not just fall by the wayside or just be invisible,
(14:21):
so to speak. It's our duty and responsibility. It's my
duty as a mother to go into my children's high
school and fight for things that I feel like they
should be treated like everybody else. Um and they are.
But if there's ever a slip up, I'm up in
there because it's not just about my kids. There's kids
(14:43):
that moms aren't able to speak up or you know,
whatever the case may be. You especially somebody, all of
us are on this wonderful platform. We have to be
speak up and we have to have our voices be
heard because it is our responsibility for our culture and
for our community. And I'd say to like even on
(15:05):
like a smaller level, it's not a small level, but
it but it is. But just when we speak up
espect the way that we have been able to kind
of like shift things in the last like ten years.
You know, it's like all of a sudden, there is
more representation, you know, all of a sudden there is
and and and also just like with representation matters so
(15:27):
much because what is represented here is filtered out into
the rest of the world. But to have conversations about
you know, like having black hairdressers, you know, or people
who know how to map your complexion or know how
to do your hair so that you can do your
job and you can create something that goes out into
the rest of the world that some little girls gonna
(15:48):
see and see themselves in. You know, every time we
raise our voice, no matter what the issue is, rather
it's a smaller one like that which is still an
important one, or a much bigger one with politics and
and you know, changing law like whatever it is. When
we speak up, we begin to shift things. And um,
(16:08):
we have to continue to do that and also just
be aware of our power. Even if it's a small victory,
it shows what we're capable of when we keep pushing
and and in that sense, I think that we can
really um, as cliche as it sounds, change the world.
And now we're really starting starting to be here heard,
and we're starting to see the fruits of even if
(16:29):
it's just you know, speaking up about me too, whatever
it is, we're starting to see the fruits of the
labor of just pressing in and the power that we
actually do have. Megan, I'm gonna say this, and I
know you have, um probably lived this because you're you're
in this in the acting industry. UM. I did a
game show last week and when I got there, they
(16:51):
were like, oh, just I would really want to make
sure that you know you're you have proper glad, you know,
just hair and makeup that could do basically a black
um and because two days prior there was a black
contestant and the gland that they got for her was
white and they didn't know what to do with her
(17:11):
and she looked terrible, and I'm like, this is and
we're still like we can't get this right. We can't.
We can't figure this out. There's things that should not
be happening. That's like a no brainer. So yeah, we
always got to speak up. And even when we think
about policies, if you look at you know, healthcare for
black women and the maternal healthcare, the disparities that we
(17:36):
suffer from uh fibroids, black women suffering from fibraids, even
things like that, the Crown Act, being able to wear
your hair however you want to wear it. You know,
in the workplace, used to be a news anchor, you
have to have your hair straight no matter what. You
couldn't have braids, you couldn't have any type of other
hairstyle curly here. And so it's just things like that.
(17:58):
They're kind of microaggressions where you go into a space,
and they try to make you feel like you have
to conform to this white model of what you're supposed
to look like. You know, it is important to have
people who are making these policies, who are calling things out,
and people in society in general. And I do think
that social media has really helped to play a part
(18:18):
in that, especially during this pandemic, and you're seeing everything
that's been happening with Black Lives Matter, seeing stores carrying
more black brands and not putting them on the dusty
bottom shelf, you know, where we have to go get
our hair products, and and having like a section that
no one goes to or maybe it's behind the glass. Uh.
(18:39):
You know, it's just all these different things that we've
had to deal with. Even when I think about nutrition
and being able to have access to better nutrition and
juice bars and things like that in our neighborhoods, all
those things are really important, and so I do always
encourage people. Sometimes we don't even think about running for office,
but if you know somebody who you think would be
great in office, you should encourage them, you know, campaign
(19:02):
behind them from the beginning. Things like that are really
really amazing and do make such a huge difference. Yeah,
and we also have to get into our local elections
and help the people that we feel like ken win Um.
And I'm just gonna say right now, Angel, I think
you should run at some point. But I'm just gonna,
you know, keep that to the self or Jo. I'm
just gonna tell the people. But I think that you
(19:23):
would be great. But that's a side note. But you know,
I a lot of times, like when I was, um, younger,
I used to just be like, oh, you know, some
of responsibility. I'll just go vote, but I don't have
to like talk about it and call my girlfriends and
make sure they're voting and all that. No, we can't
do that anymore. It's time after that, everyone has to
be involved. It's just too much on the line. And
(19:46):
also just like educating, you know, educating and talking to
each other and talking about you know, who's up for
what and what this position actually equals in your community,
and and then just starting from there, like if you
change city by city and state by state, then you
really can change the world. These things are big and
(20:06):
so important, and it's something that I think a lot
of us. I mean, maybe I'm speaking for myself, or
really like discovering, um the magnitude of how important this is.
It's like, we want to change the world, and it
just feels like such a big fleet and it almost
feels impossible, but there are ways to do it, and
it's step by step by step by step. And you know, again,
(20:27):
when we have these conversations and we educate each other
and we speak freely about things that we should be
speaking freely about, even if someone disagrees with us or
doesn't like we have to say about it, these are
the time the kind of conversations that need to be
had so that we can actually see the change that
we're constantly feeling a way about and and constantly speaking about.
But like it's our responsibility to take action. And again
(20:51):
this is a part of that. Yeah, And to that point, Megan,
the reason why people try to convince you that change
isn't happening, or that your vote doesn't matter, or who
cares isnt office things will be the same, that is
voter suppression. And so I really admire what Stacy Abrams
did with a fair Fight and how she had people
really rallied up and the changes were made that we
never thought would happen. In Georgia, and so that is
(21:12):
a model that can work other places as well. And
so the reason why they try to convince you not
to vote, it doesn't matter. All politicians are bad. They're
all the same. You know, Democrats are just as bad
as Republicans, all kinds of and vice versa. You know,
I like to vote for people who I think can
represent me well. And I will never think that my
(21:32):
vote doesn't matter, because that's why they go so hard
to try to stop certain people from voting, and you know,
and to make sure that we don't run for office.
So it definitely does matter. So don't listen to all
of that hype. And there's also the stereotype of the
angry black women. I know, we've all heard that before.
That has dominated society's view of African American females. And
(21:55):
what way do we overcome this misperception of being overly angry,
overly aggressive, and what measures do you think should be
taken in the workplace to stop the perpetuation of the
angry black woman's stereotype. And let's start with you just that,
because I know, being our reality TV when it goes down, Yeah,
and you actually are pretty calm most of the time.
(22:15):
But but I do see that angry black women and
playing black women against each other, and then you express
yourself or if you take a stand on something, they
just dismiss you as angry. Okay, So there's a difference. Okay.
So in front of the camera, um, you know, obviously
the cast is all black, and we are there at
(22:36):
times that we are very angry, and so it has
nothing to do with the stereotype of the angry black woman, Okay.
But behind the camera, UM, I can tell you when
I first started Potomach and just dealing with the producers,
dealing with the network, there was conversations in which it
(22:57):
was very clear to me that they, like all black
women spoke like the women in Atlanta, right, because that
was the only frame of reference that they had for
black women, which was seven black women in Atlanta. So
you've talked to seven black women in Atlanta, and we
(23:17):
all like that, Like that's just not even that's just
conceptually not even proper. So it was behind the scenes,
having production meetings, having um to just talk about our contracts,
when the lawyers meet. All of that played into a
part of oh, they think we're all the same and
(23:42):
that's when I got I went into high gear and
and immediately and it is taking me. I want to say,
season five, they started realizing based off of just sitting
down and having conversations breaking bread with UM the powers
that be, and they started seeing, Okay, not all black
(24:04):
women are the same, UM, and we should not put
them in all one category. And no, they're not all
just walking around angry. And just because they stand up
for themselves does not equal angry. Just because they say
exactly what they want and they're direct about it, it
does not equal angry. It just equals we're confident, we
(24:25):
know how to speak, we know how to articulate our words,
and we are very clear as to our value and
our worth. So it took a while, but you know,
I'm gonna say, as far as Bravo is concerned, they
want to learn, they want to do better, and so
I don't have any issues with with where we are.
But it was a struggle, I'm gonna be honest. It
(24:46):
was a struggle for white people to realize that black
women are not angry all the time and we're not
all the same. Yeah, I mean, I think a big
part of that because that that's something that I really
haven't an issue with because you know, when it's a
white man and he expresses himself or he raises his voice,
(25:08):
you know he's strong, even if you don't like him.
But if it if it's a black woman, then you
know she's or she's difficult, or she's hard to work
with or whatever it is. Or you know, if you
have a moment and you get flustered, it's like, okay,
that's a normal thing for man. But when a when
a woman does it, just like, well can she handle it?
(25:28):
You know, could she handle the pressure or whatever it is?
And and it is a double edged sword, but I
think you know it does it does boil down to again,
a huge part of it is and and it seems small,
but it's not. Is simply happy his conversations consistently and
change narrative and changing the conversation and addressing these things
(25:50):
and making people think and maybe making them reconsider and
being unapologetic you know about who we are and you know,
not changing that to try to fit into the box,
to be perceived a certain ways so that you can
do certain things. I think that when that there was
a time where that kind of had to be done
in order for us to get here. But we're here now,
(26:13):
and the only way to really be the fullness of
who we are is to walk in it boldly and
unapologetically and change the narrative. And um, I think that
we were doing that slowly but surely. Yeah. And another
thing I want to say to that is I think
that in the past, there there are we have been
put in a situation in which there was fear and
(26:35):
speaking our truth, and there was fear and really talking
about what it is that we feel like we are
valued and we are in what we're worth. I remember
I had to have a conversation with the president of
Bravo and I, uh, well, I wasn't scared at the time.
I think I was more mad. But you know it,
you really have to put away would have could have
(26:59):
shut up? And am I going to get backlash for
what I say to the president of a company because
it's not about that, you know where any time that
I fight for my show, it's not about Giselle. It's
always about the team, and more importantly, it's about the
shows that will come behind us. The Real Housewives might
(27:20):
get cancer tomorrow, who knows, you know, the television industry
is real fickle. But it's not about that. It's about
we have to be treated as well as you all
have been treating everyone that's white. And because fair is fair, Megan,
(27:41):
how is the experienced directing when you have to be
the person that's in charge of all the moving parts?
You know? It's interesting? Is to is to that last
question and to this. I think in the beginning, you know,
part of me was very cautious because because I'm a woman,
because I'm a black woman, because I'm an actress, and
(28:03):
I really wanted people to see like I can do this.
I know what I'm doing. I have a point of view.
I may not know the name of the exact lens,
but I can tell you exactly how I wanted to look.
You tell me the name of the lens. You know
what I'm saying. And in the beginning, I think I
approached it one way, which was just like trying to
prove myself. And now I approach it in a way
(28:25):
where I'm very much aware that everything that I bring again,
it's unique to me, and that nobody else in the
world is me, just like I'm nobody else. And um,
when we lean into our power and what we uniquely bring.
That is the thing that makes all the difference. It's
the same as an actress. Somebody else can read the
(28:46):
lines the same as a way as me, but we're
not each other. We have different essences. We grew up
different places, had maybe some similar experiences, but maybe we
process them different and maybe it brought out something different
in us and create or whatever it is. And so
just leaning into all the uniqueness that we each have
as individuals is really our superpower with the authenticity. And
(29:09):
so now with directing, it's fun that, you know, i
might be doing a scene with someone and I'm trying
to get a little girl to cry and she's never
done it before, so I start crying with her, which
under many circumstances would be perceived as weak or are
you okay or whatever it is. But because I'm crying,
I can get this five year old girl to start crying.
(29:30):
And that's something that I can uniquely bring that it's
just me and it is just making, you know. And
so it's fun to explore all these different things as
a director and and U discover even things about myself,
and it's it's very cool to be able to speak
and actors language and to figure out how to you know,
make certain things happen. I'm a big problem solved for
(29:51):
person Um I hate no. I always like how let's
figure it out. Well, things don't usually get done that way,
so let's do something different. You know. That's how you
change the world. It's how you change history. That's how
you change like the standard. You know, let's make new
ones and continue to change them. And so um, yeah,
I really love directing a lot. I can tell. I
(30:13):
love how passionate you are about it. So I guess
that means we'll be seeing a lot more. Yeah, and
and and it's and to me it also is because
again and what we're talking about right now, I want
what I bring as a black woman to touch the
rest of the world because somebody needs to see if
(30:35):
that's what we're here for, is to help each other
on this journey of life and like what we put
into the world. And so this is my contribution. And oftentimes,
you know, my directing is is my artistic activism or
it's just you know, artistry, but it but some version
of it just by default of being a black woman,
it is artistic activism. You know. I love that artistic
(30:58):
activism like that gonna still you're gonna put that on
a T shirt? Right, Yeah, we're gonna now that What
is the pathway for as young aspiring women of color
who are attending HBCUs maybe they want to be part
of this ever growing media industry. What should they know?
What you say? And why, Um, that's tough that you
(31:20):
are going to get a bunch of nose And just
like everything I mean, once you get out of college
and put your your tiptoe into the real world, it's tough.
It's not for always saying anybody that wants gonna reality
television and just say right now it's I tell everybody
it's not for you because it's very difficult and m
(31:42):
only like you know, a miniscule amount of people can
just handle it all. But follow your dreams, follow your passions.
Don't anybody tell you that you can't fulfill whatever it
is that your dreams are. One thing I want to
say about HBCUs. When I first had my girls, I
was praying to God that they would come up on
their own and realize that they want to be a
(32:05):
part of a black college, just because you know, four
years with us and our people and how we think
and how we feel, and how we smell, and how
we walk and talk. It's just an amazing experience. But
it is like a very small nucleus. So enjoy it.
(32:26):
All those people that are in college right now, enjoy
it because once you step out of it's the real world,
and the real world is not a game. Another part
of that, I know I'm being long winded, but another
part of that is I didn't know how much networking
would happen to me just because I went to a
(32:47):
black college. The networking of it all has lasted my
entire life. Robin Dixon, who went to the University of Maryland,
regrets not going to a black college because of it.
Me being, um, you know, an AK a member of
sorority that has I've been able to network the heck
out of that thing. Right now today somebody, if a
(33:09):
young girl calls me for college student calls me or
get in touch with me, DMS me, whatever, and says
that they went to Hampton they pledged my sorority. Are
you kidding? I'll do anything for that girl. So it's
just I mean, I can't speak enough about black colleges.
It's just everything. Megan we can still go back to
college and get some degrees. What do you think, Look,
(33:31):
let's go that's a show in itself. Oh my god?
That what Megan? What advice would you give though? There's
a lot of young HBCU black women who are thinking
about being part of the growing media industry. What what
should they know? You think? And why? Well? I love
(33:51):
what she was just saying about the networking part of it.
You know, I think there is so much value in
community and people who are directly immediately connected to you,
just even in spirit, just because of where you've come
from and the thing that you understand that nobody else
understands unless they have that experience. And you know, I
would just say that, you know, going back to what
(34:13):
I was saying earlier, you are perfectly imperfect and you
are unique and nobody can bring to the table what
you can bring the way that you can bring it.
And so just knowing your value and knowing your worth
is unprecedented. And you know, choosing people in your circle
who are really going to pooring to you, who are
(34:35):
really going to tell you the truth, We're really going
to support you, who are going to love you unconditionally,
and um, knowing that if, if, if what you are
believing for and wanting to pursue is easily tangible, then
you're not dreaming big enough. So just keep dreaming and
knowing that. Um. And the crazy thing is, we get
(34:55):
scared with them dreams come true, but you know that
that they are very very possible and and absolutely likely. Um,
you just gotta do the work show up. I'm a
big believer of like faith without works is dead. You
could have all the faith in the world, but you've
got to meet God halfway by really really doing the
work and doing everything that's within your power. Um. And again,
(35:17):
you know that there's gonna be a lot of rejection
nine times out attend the answer is gonna be no
for one reason or the other. And those things will
make you question yourself from the inside out. But just
know that because you are you, when it's the right thing,
in the right situation and the right tribe and the
right all of that, it will lock in and that
thing will be unshakable. Because you've been authentic and because
(35:39):
you didn't change who you are to fit into any box.
You know there is quality and and there is quantity.
Quantities is the easy stuff. That's when you fit in
the box. You can get plenty of quantity, but the
quality is when you're authentic. So be all of who
you are, in all of your amazing nous and know
that your f and dope regardless, and you will find
(36:01):
your tribe and you will win. Yeah but can I
can I say, Angela? The tribe thing is key. Like,
you gotta have your people around you that are pushing you. Um,
you gotta push them. This is done, just work. One
way is two ways. You gotta push your friends and
they gotta push you. And if not, you gotta cut
them friends off because they will drag you down to
(36:22):
a place where you all want to go. So you
know your squad game. Make sure if that is time,
and don't be afraid to let people go because means
the right ways go, your life actually gets better. Right.
I definitely have been trying to make sure I'm intentional
about keeping the negativity away from me. People who try
to discourage you from being successful, A lot of a
(36:43):
lot of that is their own fair that they can't
do certain things. And you know, I know a lot
of us have loyalty to people that we're cool with
that we've grown up with, but sometimes those people are
just not meant to be in your life and on
your complete journey, and so I totally agree with that
because that energy, you know, you need those people that
(37:03):
are uplifting you, supporting you whatever it is that they
can do. They want to see you win and they're
genuine about it. So I definitely totally agree with that. Well,
you women, I just want to thank y'all because this
was very inspiring and uplifting. So this is an amazing
try for me to have been a part of today,
and I want to thank you, Megan Good, thank you,
Giselle Brian. You guys are both always so gracious and
(37:25):
amazing and I support everything that you both have going
on fully, and I think this is a great conversation
for a young black women to hear. This is black
and inspired. It's an HBCU celebration, So I know we
all have things to do. But thank you again so
much for joining me. We love thank you. Uh we
(37:46):
did hear as I broke up. We just got quiet.
I love you guys to thank you so much. Um
Antela ye and thank you for joining me and Megan
Good and Gazelle Bryant. But I Heart Radio's black and
Inspired HBCU celebration. For more of this podcast series, you
can listen on the I Heart Radio app, on Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your podcast m
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