DCP EP 100 It’s A Celebration, Okay?!: Deniese Davis
Transcribed by: Sydney Henriques-Payne
Completion date: January 26, 2022
Gerren Keith Gaynor: [00:00:03] Welcome to Dear Culture, the podcast that gives you news you can trust for the culture. I’m your co-host, Gerren Keith Gaynor, Managing Editor of Politics and Washington Correspondent at theGrio, [00:00:13][10.1]
Shana Pinnock: [00:00:13] and I’m your co-host Shana Pinnock, social media director for theGrio. And this week we’re asking Dear Culture, how are we defining the culture? It’s a celebration, Okay!? So, you know, we hit the milestone today, you know, I’m actually pretty proud of us, so I’m going to do. Being a Brooklyn native [makes bull-horn sound]. Listen, It’s DCP’s one hundredth episode and we are celebrating. I mean, low key. OK. High key, . I just be talking sometimes so I’m that much more grateful that you all, our dear listeners, Tune in and continue to listen to Dear Culture week after week. But for real? You know, G is literally the ying to my sometimes chaotic yang, whatever. And The Grio in particular, this podcast, has been the place where I’ve been able to be. I call it 100 percent self-actualized. So thank you, G, my lovely co-host, my brother, and thank you to our listeners for helping us reach this 100 episode milestone. Dear Culture is a love letter to Black folks, and being a coauthor of that love letter is pretty freaking powerful. If I do say so myself. [00:01:27][73.5]
Gerren Keith Gaynor: [00:01:30] Aw, Shana — Don’t make me cry, you know, I get pretty emotional. But but likewise, I would not want to celebrate 100 episodes of the culture with anyone else. You are just amazing. My amazing, fearless co-hosts who is also a balance to me. You know, it’s humbling that our experiences and our reflections really resonate with our listeners. I believe that the topics that we cover and the people that we have on the show mean something. DCP has continued to be a place where we highlight honor and amplify Black culture authentically. We try to bring guests to the show that do the same in their work and day to day lives. And today’s guest is no different. [00:02:09][38.6]
Shana Pinnock: [00:02:30] Yes. So if your group chat, because mine is, is still debating whether or not Isa should have ended up with Lawrence or Nathan — Low key, y’all if she had ended up with Nathan she wouldn’t have furniture — But you know, or if you found yourself quoting baby voice, Darius, turn your volume up. Our guest today is for you. Deniese Davis is the founder and CEO of Reform Media Group and started her career producing music videos, shorts and digital content, including the classic The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl, and, you know, a little show you may have heard of called Insecure. [00:03:02][32.1]
Gerren Keith Gaynor: [00:03:04] While you will also see her name rolling in credits as the producer for HBO’s Emmy nominated a Black Lady sketch show, Deniese is also making room for UP-AND-COMING media movers and shakers. As the co-founder of Color Creative Management Company focused on changing the landscape of media by creating a direct to industry pipeline for women and minority writers and championing diverse voices by building creative business brands. Deniese, welcome to Dear Culture. We’re so happy to have you. [00:03:34][30.0]
Shana Pinnock: [00:03:35] Awesome. Awesome. OK, so I’m gonna get us started. And you know, before anything else, I have to at least make sure we have, you know, like one fan favorite question about Insecure while we have you here. That was to be expected now. You know, the show is so amazing and so relatable in so many different ways. Very triggering in a lot of ways. I distinctly remember Twitter threads and Facebook arguments and things of that nature. But, you know, oftentimes I kind of feel like they am like we deserved a little bit more. I kind of want to know, how did how did Kelly and Amal start hating each other? You know what I mean? Like, what happened to Nathan? Like this? How does he handle his bipolar disorder? What happened to Aparna after that really awkward birthday dinner? Like, is Tasha. Still at Chase? What’s going on? You know, there’s a lot. And considering we spent a whole episode talking about, you know, Molly or Molly’s dog, poor little Flavor Flav that is Nathan lost, we spent a whole episode with them. So for our audience, I’m sure they want to know, is it possible? Are we getting an Insecure spinoff or two or three year? You know, know, any? [00:04:42][67.5]
Deniese Davis: [00:04:45] Mmmm, No. (Laughs) We have put this beautiful show to rest. And it’s funny you mention all of the loose ends because I think what makes us so the show special is, you know, the intent to also not tie everything up in about right because I personally think, OK, well, I’d be given all the answers to everybody’s like storylines and backstories, all the things you’ve been following, to me, I think people might have been left dissatisfied because the beauty of leaving it open is that it allows for interpretation of whatever you think those characters might have done. And we kind of live in the zeitgeist of that, so that way people can have arguments. They can, you know, give their input about what they feel like Kelly might be doing in the background or where where that tension started. And, you know, by not providing all the answers, it still makes you love these characters enough to want to know. But I just think, had you like you, give them everything. No one’s ever going to be happy, right? So to me, it’s better like putting that up there. But but no, the short answer is nah. There’s there’s no spinoff. [00:05:51][66.8]
Shana Pinnock: [00:05:55] All right fans, yall hear that. There’s no “And Just Like That” for us. That there’s OK? There’s none of that. [00:06:00][4.5]
Gerren Keith Gaynor: [00:06:03] I’m going to hold our hold just because of that. But but then these are also the co-founder. As we know, as we mentioned the top of the show, you’re the co-founder of Color Creative and Reform Media Group. You founded Color Creative with Issa Rae, and that’s no easy feat. Founding being a founder and general is like a lot of work. But on the other side of that is finding agency and also having influence and inspiring people like you’re doing with your companies. And I know me and Shana, we can relate to this. You also uplift the Black culture and hear on Dear Culture. I mean, we work at a Black owned media company on a podcast called Dear Culture, which we often say is a love letter to Black Culture. And I’m just curious about the origin story of the founding of Color Creative and Rebel Media Group — Reform Media Group. Sorry. I just wonder, like, what’s the origin story? What inspires you to to embark on this path? [00:07:00][57.1]
Deniese Davis: [00:07:01] So I love this question, you know, because obviously I’m super passionate about the work we do. And you know, the origin story is it’s funny where it just it just happens. So I’ve been working with Issa since 2012, I think when we met and in 2013, 2014, she kind of came to me. We did a new media workshop back in the day where we hosted a workshop and let a bunch of writers and digital creators come and kind of learn from us. And Issa met a young writer there by the name of Syreeta Singleton, who is now the showrunner of Rap Shit, Issa’s new show. But Syreeta Singleton came to this workshop that connected, and she shared a web series script with these so that she read and just thought it was hilarious. And she was like, You know, going to the script was so funny. But I saw it as more of the web series it to me, it feels like it should be a TV pilot. And I was like, Oh, that’s interesting. Know what are you thinking about it? And she was like, Is it crazy if we like, I don’t know, try to develop and finance this as an indie pilot. What have we did a couple more of those, right? What does that look like? And that started a conversation around, you know, I think, building a pipeline for How do you take these amazing voices we were discovering who were trying to do web series and digital content, but actually provide a pipeline for them to cross over into the television? Right? And so that was the impetus of Color Creative because we kind of started putting together a plan to produce these three independent television pilots in the summer of 2014. We wanted to go and get UP-AND-COMING diverse directors to help each of them and put together a whole production plan, and we went and shot that. And it was a crazy uphill battle because we try to go get funding. We couldn’t get funding and Issa ended up self-financing and we were just like, “We’re just going to do it anyways.” And to see that through and be able to premiere those products at Urban World and to be able to look at those initial group of writers and see where their careers have gone since then, it’s something we were very proud of. But more importantly, it was the birth of culture creative because also, in the spirit of doing it, we were like, we should call this something and Issa was like, “I like the name Color Creative,” and that’s kind of what we branded this company right? And so it started off with the mission and the intent to do pipelines. Pipeline building like that specifically for television writers. And then over the years, as we continued to do that type of work through the extension of supporting content on her YouTube channel or doing other events and networking mixers, one thing that stood out to us that someone in the industry actually came to us and called us out on because it wasn’t our idea, but they were like, You know, you guys are doing all this work and discovering talent. You’re incubating them, you’re putting them up on on their first jobs or first paid jobs or giving them opportunities or helping them find reps. Why don’t you guys just managing them? You’re basically doing the work as a manager. So it was the light bulb moment because we realized as we were passionate about the work, there was a business model that we didn’t think about, right? And it set us on the path. This is three or four years ago now, really actually four or five years ago to think about how to evolve the company into management first and into taking a step further and really supporting these creators, not just from a content based perspective, but from a career based perspective and for a long term into their careers. And so that’s the origin story. That’s been the trajectory. And I will share with you that as someone who considers themselves an entrepreneur, what I found is that, you know, the beauty of being a business owner, the beauty of starting doing a startup or what have you right is that you can start with one idea. And over time, that idea can just grow and blossom and change. And then you end up with the result that you might not have thought of from the very beginning. But as long as the core has always stayed the same, which is to be passionate about uplifting and supporting other talent, we’ve been able to build something that is beyond our wildest dreams. And again, we’re talking about seven years ago, right? And in a very different landscape in this town before OscarsSoWhite, before there was like this amount of opportunities and spotlight on diversity and what people were doing to help support Black talent. We were just like, we just we just did this little web series called Insecure. We were like, We just want to do this for others and to kind of be a part of that. That shit has been very exciting, but something I’m very proud of because I often think about –We could have not seen those pilots and we could have not started this company and not be able to be in the landscape today had we not seen that through. [00:11:21][260.0]
Gerren Keith Gaynor: [00:11:23] That’s amazing. I’m so — one, I have to say that I’m proud of you and Issa. I mean, I can only imagine, not just what it feels like to have this kind of success, but to have the impact that you’ve made. And I’m sure that so far has caused you to really reflect on on your life and where you want things to go. And as a follow up question, what kind of impact do you want to have on the culture with this, this incredible work that you’re doing and we’ll continue to do? [00:11:52][28.9]
Deniese Davis: [00:11:53] The first thing that comes to mind when you ask the question is obviously legacy, right? I think everyone thinks about that at some point in their career. What do I want my legacy to be? It’s funny because no pun intended but Insecure talked a lot about that in the last season, but it’s true. You know, I’m in my mid thirties and you get to a point where you’re able to look back and see the work you’ve done, see how far you’ve come and then look forward and see all the things you continue to want to do. And for me personally, you know, making an impact is so important because, you know, I’m a film school baby. I went to undergrad film school into grad school and got my masters in producing. And I can tell people when I started out and came out of grad school, I can only count on one hand how many other Black female producers look like me who have the career that I had emulated? And I remember being so disappointed in that and was like, Why is it only for Black woman who’s ever done this in this capacity? And I want there to be more of us. And as I continue on my own journey and as I build these companies and make these make certain content, I’ve always wanted to make sure that I’m providing a pipeline and a pathway for more Black female producers because I don’t want to be the only one. And more importantly, I don’t want this industry to look like it did when I first started either, right? And so I hope that my legacy and my impact will be opening doors will be helping to provide those types of opportunities for more of us. Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned in this industry, it’s that it’s not sometimes about resume or skill set, but it’s really about the relationships, right? That you that you build and those relationships that help open doors. And so I want to be that person to build a relationship with others and hopefully crack a door open or lock a door for them whenever possible. So that’s that’s really what it is to not be the only one to be able to look back and say, OK, I helped all these other careers kind of get born. And then to collaborate with them on top of that is really what I hope to do on the long end. [00:13:44][111.0]
Shana Pinnock: [00:13:44] I love that, and I also I just caught my reflection. I was like, Oh, wait a minute, this was not planned. I promise you, I promise it wasn’t. For those of us who are just listening, I am wearing my I’m rooting for everybody Black sweatshirt. And you know, that is a famous Issa Rae quote. So but you know, Deniese, I love what you’re doing. I love the dedication to making sure that this that you are shifting not just, you know, culture, but the industry in general. And you know, we’ve talked a little bit about your work as a co-founder, but you know, you’re also an executive producer. You know, you all you’re doing big things, big, big things. So for our audience, Deniese has worked on everything from Misadventures of an Awkward Black Girl and Burning Sandz to Minimum Wage and Insecure. You know, and a lot of these shows are pretty unapologetically Black. So my question to you would be, you know, I’m sure that you’ve had to overcome some challenges to get these unapologetically Black shows going. Can you walk us through some of like the wins and or battles you’ve experienced in creating these? I wouldn’t even call them shows, but like pieces of art that have impacted and shifted culture. And essentially, I’m wondering, like, did you expect to have this impact on culture the way that you have? [00:15:01][76.1]
Deniese Davis: [00:15:02] No, I didn’t expect to have an impact on the culture. And you know, the all the projects I’ve been associated with that I’ve stepped into it honestly wasn’t until, you know, I’m a few years into my career that I can look back and see the parallels, see the connecting dots and see how they’re all related. Because for me, I’ve always followed my gut in to the people I work with or the stories I want to help be a part of telling and followed my gut in that what speaks to me, what am I attracted to? What moves me that I’m like, “there’s nothing that can get in the way of me being a part of this”. And then it’s only after the fact that I realize like, “Oh shit, look at this. All these projects were super special, and they’ve all had their own moment and they’ve all I don’t have to be certain things are saying something about the culture, but it was never intentional. And I think that’s just because, again, I always follow my heart and just what I want to be a part of. But on the flip side of that, you know, there have been some amazing wins and things that I’m super proud to have done or to, you know, have had made a significant impact in my own life or my own career. And when it comes to the losses, you know, the interesting thing about what I do and what this business is is that there’s always going to be losses. It’s never been a straightforward path to, you know, this is easy, like everything is like unfolded the way it was supposed to. It’s like, No, actually, there has been quite a few. Times in my career that I’ve had to make a choice, right, and those choices stress me out so much so where I’m just like, Oh, this is it, this is where my career ends. But the choices that I’ve been forced to to make always set me up to say, “You know what? Win or lose, this is what I want to do. This is what’s best for me. This is what makes me happy, and I’m going to go ahead and decide based off of that.” Not because of the money. Not because of who’s involved. Not because of what it looks like right now, because of what it could do for me. But genuinely, what is going to make me happy to to say yes to this. To to spend my time and energy for however much time it takes to see this through? And I think by living with that, even when there has been losses, I’m still been OK with that decision. I’ve still been OK with that experience because I learned from them and I’ve learned incredible things and I’ve always felt like, OK, even though that that’s an L, it’s an an L that I take accountability for because I decided to go forward in that anyways, right? No one else decided that for me. And so this has always helped me kind of navigate, I think what you know is an insanely risky business, some something that you champion a project and think it’s going to be this big thing. And sometimes it’s not. Or, you know, you go and you invest some time in this certain creator talent and, you know, they never pop off. And so there’s always going to be ebbs and flows. But you know, you have to be able to take that risk anyways and know why you’re doing it. And I think that has been my guiding force. And you know, all of a sudden I look up and like you said, it’s impacted the culture and “oh, I didn’t realize that” I was just doing the work. [00:18:00][178.2]
Gerren Keith Gaynor: [00:18:02] Thank you for sharing that. But going back to Insecure Deniese, obviously, you know the the impact that Black Twitter had on the show. I mean, it was a trending topic every night. It came on and that the audience became like, this really active participants of the show. I’m curious to know what impact at all did those reactions and conversations have on how you develop the show or impacted behind the scenes of the show in any way? [00:18:33][31.2]
Deniese Davis: [00:18:35] You know, honestly, we we we really tried to make sure it didn’t. You know, we enjoy seeing the audience reaction. We enjoy reading the feedback and obviously interacting with everyone every Sunday night. But you know, at the core, I think what’s always made Insecure special is that it was always the story that he wanted to tell and the way the writers would build that out. And they always had a very clear, sometimes not so clear, but end goal in mind for every season that was truly wrapped around these characters, you know, real life situations, but also the story that they wanted to tell without influencing the online chatter. And I think for that reason, it continued to grow without going stifled, without filming like we were pandering to an audience because it wasn’t about, you know, we were making a show for us that we just hope people would enjoy versus we’re going to make the show for this audience because we want them to tweet. It was like, No, the hope is that if we focus on making the best show that we want to make, that they will interact with it regardless because they will respond and they will go along with us. And I think that has always been the separation because I’ve seen, you know, the show or content, I think again panders to what they think people want. Oftentimes, you’re not going to hit the mark because again, the biggest thing to remember is that Insecure isn’t for all Black people. We didn’t make it for a specific group. We just said we’re going to make a show that we would watch with our friends. And that’s where it starts, right? Because, you know, I think if you know you start making shows for the Twitter feeds like you’re not going to make everybody happy. But also, we made the show for us, and we still don’t make everybody happy, so it doesn’t matter. But it doesn’t matter what you do. So but it’s a great question, and people are always curious about that. And it’s like, Oh, no, we see them. But they we don’t often allow social media to influence the storylines and the stories that we intended to tell us about every season. [00:20:22][107.2]
Shana Pinnock: [00:20:25] And I’m so glad you touched on that because I know like there, there has to be some kind of responsibility. I mean, we we know that representation matters, right? Like in and especially for non-Black viewers and non-Black audiences, seeing certain aspects of Black culture that they may not be aware of, they may completely, you know, just it just flies right over their head. I want to know, like what were some of the conversations and choices around choosing what and specifically like how to share certain parts of authentic Black culture? And you know, that’s that’s the good, the bad and the ugly, right? Like, yeah, like how like, what were those kinds of those kinds of conversations about how you guys were going to do so as it relates to, you know, having non-Black viewers? Or was that even a conversation? Because if y’all are like, you know, “we don’t care about their gaze.” [00:21:18][53.0]
Deniese Davis: [00:21:21] oh, I mean, it wasn’t. A part of the conversation, and there’s there’s two things that’s got one. I think what lands is that we were always authentic from jump right from the pilot and authentic, and that we never would question is is too Black is ths not Black enough. We need to add more stuff right in any aspect of the show. It was always like unfiltered. We’re just going to go 100 percent into this and be authentic as possible without questioning it right? And I think that allowed us to kind of have that refreshing recognizability for for Black culture because it was just planted without feeling forced because for us, it was just like, we’re going to put it in there because that’s what we want, Right? The other side to that is, I think what the show did well is that it also never tried to explain the culture to non-Black people, either. We never wanted it to be over overserved or overdeliver. Like how to how to explain certain nuances about our culture to a white audience. It was never about that. Our show never does that. Our show again is just unapologetically Black. You get the joke or you don’t get the joke when I got time to sit here and explain it to you. We’re moving on. You know this neighborhood or the street that we’re showing, or this restaurant that we’re showing — you know it or you don’t. We ain’t got time to explain why it’s a Black owned business. You know what it is, right? Because you’ve been there in real life. And so again, it was just unapologetically authentic from every facet of the show. And I think by doing that, it actually allowed it to be a more relatable viewing experience for anybody, right? Because it really just allowed the ethos and the empathy of these characters and what they’re going through to be front and center because everything else in the background just kind of like that because nothing else was trying to force itself into every scene or force itself in every episode. It just was, and I think that is the beauty of it. So I hope that answers both of your questions. [00:23:11][111.0]
Shana Pinnock: [00:23:12] No, it does. And I appreciate your letting white people know how ridiculous they were calling it. I-wood. It is Inglewood! [00:23:17][5.1]
Gerren Keith Gaynor: [00:23:19] So, but getting back to the beauty of the show, I have to be honest. Like, I’ve watched the finale at this point at least five times and I cried every single time. And if I did not expect to get as emotional as I did watching the finale, and I think part of it was feeling so connected to the real life experiences of the characters, like navigating heartache and heartbreak and death and having enduring, enduring and loving relationship with your with your friend overcoming anxiety and self-doubt to some degree, because we all kind of walk with that for the rest of our lives in a way. But it was just so beautiful to see the way we saw that arc for many of the characters and for me, especially as a Black millennial and I know many of the of the audience of Insecure, I can relate. There was something very identifiable about each character and even as a Black queer person, while there was only one gay character on the show and he wasn’t quite a protagonist on the show. I still felt like I saw myself in Issa and I saw myself in Molly. It does bring the question about representation, like Insecure has been praised for just what it has done for Black representation and television, and is kind of bringing up this new renaissance for Black, for Black content creators and Black content. But I do wonder now that we’re at this place praising the representation of Insecure and we’re thinking about other shows in the industry. How do we ensure that this moment of representation also makes room for those in the intersecting identities of being both Black and Black and queer, Black and trans, or are Black and non-binary? How do we how do we get the industry to make more space for, for us, a part of the community? [00:25:13][114.9]
Deniese Davis: [00:25:14] Yeah, wonderful question. I think one thing I’ve seen just in the trajectory of our show, obviously is more more Black led content, right? More just representation across the board and saying, Oh, OK, let’s try this sci fi period. Whatever show called Love Craft Country, because we know that there’s a Black audience on HBO to watch it now, right? And a lot of that has a trickle down effect. And what I truly hope is that if nothing else, these lineup of shows over the last few years really show that an audience is there and they want to see themselves. They want to relate to these characters. And the truth is going to come from, you know, the executives and the business side being OK to green light them right. I think there’s a lot of shows in development. People forget about the process and that people will go and sell a show that picture show, they’ll sell a script and then it’ll develop for years, right? And the trick is to actually get the green light for it to become a reality. And I, for one, you know, as a young queer Black woman in this town, I know of a lot of queer Black stories that are in development. Now, whether or not they’ll actually get the green light is always. The Catch 22, and you’re just like one’s going to be —whose show is going to be the first one to do what Insecure did for this field, right? And I just hope that again, I think it’s going to come down to that one show that will be greenlit, that will be successful and that’ll continue to open the doors for people to say, Oh, we can do more Black queer trans stories and that’s OK. And look at the audience, right? Because this industry is so risk averse and that they only want to take risk when they feel like they have a good bet. And you know, it took Insecure people don’t think about in 2016, when Insecure premiered, we premiered the same year as Atlanta, and Queen Sugar was was either right before or right after us as well. And at the time, those were the three mainstay Black led television shows. In terms of Black creators, Black actors and things that were outside of it, right? So in that wheelhouse, I look at what’s happened since then, and there’s so many other Black shows, so much more that I can even count them on to you, and it’s incredible. Now, when it comes to queer stories, right? You had “Trans-parent.” Not our story. And I’m forgetting one. [00:27:32][137.7]
Shana Pinnock: [00:27:33] Pose. [00:27:33][0.0]
Deniese Davis: [00:27:33] Thank you. And in a lot of ways, what I hope is that a springboard of Pose comes from a story that’s centered around a Black queer character. And you also have Twenties, right? Let’s not discredit 20s, either, so you’re starting to see shows that exist that weren’t there before, and it’s just a matter of time where you’re like, OK, are these the springboards for the next 10 years of another 20 shows or ideas that are kind of come to life? So to answer your question. I think it’s coming. It is a renaissance at the moment in terms of what I’m seeing that is selling and things that are in development. But the harder battle is pushing for the green light and saying that some of these shows are actually being made and put on screen. And that’s going to be to me, the defining factor over the next few years, especially because they’re such an arms race for content with all these streaming platforms. So I do think it’s a possibility in a way that really wasn’t even there a decade ago. [00:28:26][52.7]
Gerren Keith Gaynor: [00:28:26] I’m holding out hope for sure. [00:28:27][1.1]
Shana Pinnock: [00:28:30] Yeah, definitely. So this is our last question for you, though I’m pretty sure I speak for myself and for Gerren. Like, we wish we could keep you here forever, girl. I got questions. But you know, obviously Insecure is one project of many, and clearly it’s not the end of the amazing work that you’re doing. So let our audience know like what’s next for you? What are you working on now and what kind of projects are you hoping that you’ll be able to be a part of in the future? [00:28:58][28.4]
Deniese Davis: [00:29:00] Great question. Well, most recently, obviously, I spent my year wrapping Insecure, and then I went to Miami for six months with Issa and produced Rap Sh*t with her, which I’m really excited about, and that’ll be on HBO Max, hopefully later this year. And you know, I I spent a good bulk of my career with this almost a decade, and obviously we have a wonderful company in partnership together. But you know, last year I made the incredible leap of faith to launch my own company, which is Reform Media Group, and that is been very exciting for me because I’m kind of moving forward in my own path as a producer and building that brand of like, OK, what are the stories I personally now want to tell? How do I bring them life? And that’s including, you know, television, film. And I think the newest medium that I’m excited to play in is docs and docu series, and I’m a big doc buff. I think that’s a wide open space in terms of certain stories of ours and our culture. That’s not being told because that industry is so predominately white and a lot of those companies are. And so, you know, I’m excited to go in and activate there and figure out what are the other stories I can help bring to life. I think the one thing I was most proud of is I did produce the Insecure documentary that accompanied the finale, and that was like my first step in the in the doc space. And I think getting a taste of that just made me more excited to say, “Oh yeah, like, I want to be able to bring things to our screens that we identify with and that we can relate to, and that starts conversations.” And so, yeah, across the board, I’m just excited for whatever comes next, whatever those projects look like. But I am kind of officially kicking off a new chapter in a lot of ways from from a producing career standpoint. So I couldn’t be more proud of that and continue to help build Color Creative as well. [00:30:44][103.9]
Shana Pinnock: [00:30:46] [makes air horn sound]. Listen, I love it. You got to get the air horn. [00:30:48][2.7]
Deniese Davis: [00:30:51] My pleasure. Thank you all so, so much. Seriously, this has been a joy. I can’t wait to see it come out and I’m happy to support, so thank you for having me. [00:30:57][6.3]
Gerren Keith Gaynor: [00:30:58] Obviously, Deniese, your future is bright. Thank you so much for joining us on Dear Culture and for the work that you’re doing for the culture and telling important stories. To learn more about Deniese and the amazing inclusive content she’s creating, you can tap into the color creative website at Color Creative Dot Co. That’s C-O without the M. And for more news and commentary on the culture,visit, the Grio’s website at W W W Dot the Grill dot com and follow our podcast on Instagram at Dear Culture Pod. [00:31:30][32.2]
Shana Pinnock: [00:31:40] We want to remind our listeners to support your local Black businesses and donate to your local organizations and religious institutions. The business that we will highlight this week is American Legacy Network Productions.
ALN Productions is a Black owned multi-media company developing films, documentaries, television and short form content. Founded by Rodney Reynolds, Sr. The American Legacy brand has developed and marketed products that celebrate and preserve African-American history and culture — from the magazine, American Legacy, to its Black history curriculum guide, board game and series of special events. To learn more about American Legacy Network, visit their website at A- L- N dot productions. That’s A-L-N, dot P-R-O, D-U-C, T-I-O-N-S.
The group has published a list of 50 plus Black businesses to support during the coronavirus pandemic. If you like your business to be featured. Email us at info at the grio dot com. That’s G-R-I-O. dot com. [00:31:48][8.4]
Gerren Keith Gaynor: [00:31:52] Thank you for listening to Dear Culture. If you like what you heard, please give us a five star review. Subscribe to the show wherever you listen to your podcast and share it with everyone you know, [00:32:00][8.1]
Shana Pinnock: [00:32:00] and please email all questions, suggestions and compliments. We love those two podcasts at the Grio dot com. The Dear Culture podcast is brought to you by The Grio and co-produced by Taji Senior Sydney Henriques-Payne and Abdul Quddas. [00:32:00][0.0]
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