- 2 days ago
'On Strike' Brought To You By McDonalds
Kenyatta Victoria, Essence GU Writer
Marley Dias, Author, Activist & Producer
J. Simmone, Media Specialist & On-Air Personality
Kamarie Brown, Education Advocate, McDonald's Change Leader"
Kenyatta Victoria, Essence GU Writer
Marley Dias, Author, Activist & Producer
J. Simmone, Media Specialist & On-Air Personality
Kamarie Brown, Education Advocate, McDonald's Change Leader"
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00at this point y'all we have been kicking it all day okay all day long so if there's nothing else
00:07that can be taken from the testimonials that we just heard we know and we're convicted in the
00:12fact that there is equity and transparency when it comes down to your career always share what
00:18you're doing when you know you're in a safe space you know that the person can help you okay so i
00:23really do hope that everybody downloaded that app and even if you don't know what you're gonna do
00:28with it yet get it anyway because a good idea might hit you and you don't want to miss your blessing
00:32amen all right get that coaching get that good coaching okay so we're getting closer to the last
00:41panel of the day but don't worry we're not at the end just yet soon we're about to get into performance
00:47time y'all ready for the performances all right not yet i still want the commotion now disrupt the room
00:52disrupt the room right not yet but it's coming so in this next conversation we'll be joining our
00:59partners at mcdonald's to take you straight to the front lines for the fight for education plus we'll
01:06also check in to see what other issues you should be paying attention to as we get ready to head into
01:12the 2024 presidential election season that's important raise your hand if you know that you're
01:18registered to vote okay cool remember there's equity and transparency hands down raise your hand
01:23if you need to register and you or you need more information on registering it's cool it's cool we're
01:29gonna get you right today we're gonna get some straightening okay and nothing to straighten it out
01:33your vote counts so at this point i would love to invite essence girls united writer kenyatta victoria
01:42to spin the block on the stage and she'll be coming back here with her panelists but before she does
01:48let's check out this quick message from our partners at mcdonald's
02:12bye
02:17bye
02:21bye
02:30bye
02:35Ba-da-ba-ba-ba, we loving it, there it goes, that was the commercial, okay, yes, clap
02:47for the commercial, y'all, that was it, all right, so again, at this time, I will invite
02:55Kenyatta Victoria and her panel to spin the block on the stage.
03:05Yes, hey, y'all, how y'all doing, y'all doing good, I love that, love that, thank you so
03:11much, Rachel, all right, so first of all, I'm super, super excited for this panel, I'm
03:16super excited to just be talking to these girls today, so first we have on the stage,
03:20we have Ms. Kamari Brown, everybody say hi, yes, first of all, I want y'all to know, because
03:27I'm going to read this off the card, because this is serious, like, she is a McDonald's
03:32change leader, and she is the youngest black woman student to ever be elected to the LA
03:36County School Board, can we get up for that, that's some serious stuff, and next to the
03:44stage, we have, you know, the founder of the 1,000 black girl books, and the youngest person
03:49to ever be on Forbes 30 Under 30, Ms. Marley Diaz, yes, and last but never least, we have
04:00my CAU sister, she is a media specialist, and an on-air personality, Ms. J. Simone,
04:06awesome, awesome, so first of all, thank you guys so much for just being a part, and thank
04:19you for just being a part of such a great conversation, so first, I would like to start
04:23off and ask you guys, you know, each of you, how have you feel like education has impacted
04:30your life and your activism journey, and we can start with Marley.
04:35Hi, everyone, so as you've heard, I'm Marley, I'm the founder of the 1,000 black girl books
04:41campaign, and education has and will always be a tool for freedom and freedom work, and
04:48what I do, so I started the 1,000 black girl books campaign in fifth grade as a 10-year-old
04:53who just loved to read and didn't see black girls reflected as the main characters in
04:57the books that I was assigned, even though my beautiful mom, who is here today, would
05:01give me every single book with a girl that looked like me, so I could notice that there
05:04was educational discrepancies between my curriculum and my home, and she encouraged me to do something
05:09about it, so that has led to now using education in the form of being an author, publishing a
05:14book called Marley Diaz Gets It Done and So Can You with Scholastic in 2018, executive producing
05:19and hosting a Netflix series in 2020 called Bookmarks Celebrating Black Voices, which I
05:24helped write the curriculum for, and being the national ambassador for the National Education
05:29Association's Read Across America campaign for the past two years, so education is everything,
05:34education is everything. I believe that literacy is freedom, and I think that me and these other
05:38panelists really demonstrate how much curiosity and the desire to learn can build educational
05:44opportunities for other people and form those bridges, so I'm really grateful to be on the stage
05:48with you all today. Yes, I feel the exact same. What's popping, y'all? It's your girl,
05:55Jay Simone, that's J-S-I-M-M-O-N-E, and I completely agree with what Marley has said, like, just being
06:02in this room alone, like, the black excellence speaks for itself. Truly phenomenal women sitting
06:07on this panel with me as well, and I would say what I do really comes from a place of positivity
06:12and optimism. You know, I've dealt with firsthand kind of getting lost in the negativity or, you know,
06:18problems that arise with education, and so I really try to make sure that on my campus, the illustrious
06:24Clark Atlanta University, I strive to create those places for uplifting minority voices, really making
06:32sure that the overlooked are heard, and having those spaces where we can come together, like today,
06:38and have these conversations, talk and connect with each other, support black businesses, like,
06:43this is what we need to do, and that's what I strive to do on my campus.
06:47And you do. Hey, y'all, what's good? My name is Kamari Brown. I'm from L.A., and I don't know,
06:56I just be feeling like that is in itself, it's just, it's just, that's a story, right? But for me,
07:03education was always just an escape, like, it literally was the only thing that I had that I
07:08knew that I could excel in, and I was just, like, me, I went to Crenshaw High School, and that school
07:15was a school where it's like, it's so much potential in the school, but we had no type of resources,
07:22we had no type of people pouring into us, and so for me, I just, I'm like, wow, like, we're just
07:27going to skip over, like, greatness, just because we go to a school in the hood, we go to a school
07:32that's ghetto, we go to a school where these, you know, kids are loud, but we, like, loud with a
07:36purpose, and so for me, that's where I kind of, like, felt, I found my passion, I found my passion
07:41by being loud in the room, showing up to school board meetings. Then I went further, I'm like,
07:45okay, this ain't enough, y'all don't hear me, I want to sit on your board, and so then I applied,
07:50and I made history by becoming the first African-American student board member, and so
07:57then from there, I was just, like, it's just been, like, doors opening left and right, but,
08:02yeah, education, it literally, like you said, it's everything, like, it's literally everything,
08:07but, yeah. Yes, I love that. Can we clap it up for that one more time? Yes, and so I want to start
08:13this conversation with, you know, student loans are a thing, and Marley and Kamari, I know you guys are
08:19both in school currently. I wanted to know, how did you guys get through that conversation of,
08:25you know, you know, loans are going to be looming over your heads, you know, that's going to be a
08:29burden. How did you guys get through, you know, just understanding that you're investing in
08:33yourselves with your education, and we can start with Kamari. So, for me, I always told my mom and
08:38them, I'm like, I am not going to school if I have to pay for it, or if y'all have to pay for it,
08:41because I believe that burden should not, school should be free, like, please make some noise if school
08:45should be free. Like, it should be super free, like, extra free. Um, and I told every, I told
08:53literally my whole family, like, I know my goal was to always go to college, but I promise you,
08:57I'm not paying, or y'all not paying. And so, thankfully, I got a full ride to the number one
09:02HBCU Spelman College. Um, but as far as loans, in that whole conversation, just talking about it
09:10is just uncomfortable. Like, why do we even, like, what is that? Why do we have loans? We already go
09:15through stuff in real life, and now y'all just finna make us do, like, more? Like, no, can't we just go
09:20to, can't we go for free? Like, please? Um, but yeah. Yeah, I'd say for me, um, on a personal level,
09:28I go, I'm a student at Harvard studying sociology in African and African-American history.
09:33Yes. But that tuition is, it's, it's, it's, I'm not even, I, I glitched out. I can't even talk about
09:40it. So student debt and the student debt relief plan and our, our president's decision to block
09:45student, the student debt relief plan is really important and near and dear to my heart. I come
09:49from a family of educators and from public educators, and I believe that in this country, we oftentimes
09:54frame a lot of people's experiences as a result of individual action. And in the case of student loans
10:00and student debt, like you're saying, we live in a world where having a college degree
10:04is necessary. So to then put people in the position of first not knowing how to apply to school,
10:09not having free online resources to learn how to get into college, to then have to do financial
10:14forums and figure out taxes that your parents probably never explained to you. Now, and then
10:18to go to the school and know that you're going to be financially trapped and be stuck in a
10:21rat race trying to break yourself out of those experiences is foul. It's cruel, it's unusual,
10:27and it's a punishment that particularly black women and marginalized groups have to face
10:31knowing that a degree is the only way for us to get our names and resumes into these offices.
10:36So on a personal level, the student debt plan is, is very frustrating for me as a person
10:40that goes to a very expensive college, but also on a societal level, I think that the, the
10:45ideas and the conversations over the dinner table that I'm sure we've all had with our parents
10:49is like, why are we the sad ones in this conversation? Why are we the stressed out ones? When our country
10:54has billions and billions of dollars and my school particularly has $52 billion that could
10:59make me going to school be completely free as a black woman that does activism work. So
11:03I completely agree with my panelists and just saying that education is so important. Being
11:07able to pay for that education is important, but also making sure that we remove the blame
11:11from individual families and communities and making that decision for their child is really,
11:16really important as a cultural shift to understanding that the way college is set up is a wrongdoing
11:21of the system, not a wrongdoing of the people. You know, speak on it, speak on it.
11:26Yes, speak on it. Come on, gems. Yes. Yes, get the hashtag going. Okay. And so Miss J. Simone,
11:35you know, you do it all, you do it all, girl. You have your, you got, you got your hand on the pulse.
11:39Oh, okay. Thank you. Yes. And so what would you say is like your biggest impact when it comes to just
11:45education and entertainment and how do you see those two going hand to hand with your journey
11:51through activism and education? I would say my biggest active, like trying to make sure that
11:57there are spaces for us and really trying to promote what I go through. I mean, I'm plus size.
12:03That's not what industry standard is. I'm black. That's not what industry standard is. Now I'm trying
12:08to break into this industry and going to HBCU that puts me at a disadvantage. So I'm trying to change
12:14with those things that people would say, oh, you're not going to get it. You're not going to succeed.
12:18What those things would be and change it by using social media. So I post when I want to post.
12:23People may not like it, but I do it. And the people that do like it know what I'm supposed
12:27to be doing and they like my content. So we continue to grow and we continue to build.
12:31And that's really what I try to do when I'm now talking about education and really making sure that
12:36black girls that are coming behind me and the next generation knows that they can be just as
12:40as unapologetic as me and they can see themselves wherever they want to be as well. And now on my
12:46campus and talking about entertainment, making sure that there's that space. Like today, you know how
12:52many girls didn't know that this was going on? And I had to tell them, no, you need to be there,
12:5710 a.m. You need to see these panels. You need to be in the room with change makers and people who can
13:04have that networking opportunity for you. So just making waves in that way and then also spreading that
13:10education, providing opportunities and making sure that there is that space for us to succeed.
13:15Absolutely. And so, you know, as we, yes, you can clap it up. Because you dropped the gems.
13:20Exactly. Exactly. And so going into just that conversation of just education and finance is
13:26another thing that is really, really big when it comes to just school in general, whether it's the
13:30HBCU or PWI, is the housing.
13:34Mm-hmm. And so I want to start, I want to start with you, Jason Moe, just about
13:40housing and what you feel like could be done better when it comes to just making sure students
13:46have somewhere to stay so they can experience that campus life and get, you know, every opportunity
13:51that they want. Well, I would say I've really been through some uphill battles when it comes to
13:57residential housing. I mean, at Clark specifically, they really don't allocate those dorms for
14:03upperclassmen. So for me, once I was no longer underclassmen, I was thrown to the wolves and really had to
14:09live that CAU motto of find a way or make one and find and secure my off-campus student housing.
14:15But I would say really making sure we are talking to alumni and finding those resources.
14:20And even at Clark alone, there's a housing center that I knew nothing about until last semester.
14:26It's not something that people boast openly because they don't want to give
14:30out those resources and those funds. They want to keep it and put it other places. But we need it.
14:36We want it. And it should be something that we fight for, for us to have. And so making sure that
14:40more people know that those resources are there from student forums and finding roommates to finding
14:47those managed, university managed listings and making sure that people know about them. Because there's
14:52not much. It's more of a, if you know, you know, and that's not fair. That's not right. So that's
14:57what I would say could be changed. Absolutely. Kamari? Um, for me, I, my first year was the only
15:03year I stayed on campus. I had to go, I had to go quick. Um, but I just feel like a lot of the time,
15:09I think my first question was when I, when I stayed on campus, I literally asked like my RA,
15:16where does the money go? Like, where does the, we don't have AC, we don't have this, that, and a third.
15:21And I think a part of the issue is a lot of times people just try to blame it on it being an HBCU.
15:27And that in itself irritates me. Like we cannot continue to just, oh, you're at HBCU. You know,
15:33okay, we are HBCU and we deserve luxury like the rest. So I feel like just, I don't know,
15:41housing in itself just stresses me out. Everybody needs somewhere to stay. Y'all know,
15:45y'all over admitting people don't do that no more. You got people sleeping outside in tents.
15:49We don't need that. We need to just let us, let us, let us rock. You feel me? Um, but yeah.
15:59Marley? Well, I think that the college residential housing crisis speaks to a larger housing crisis
16:05that we have in our country. I mean, where I'm from, I'm from West Orange, New Jersey, and there's
16:10like tons of fancy, fancy apartment buildings that people that are basically completely empty that people
16:15can't afford. And there's a lot of issues of being able to not find space because if people are
16:19interested in taking lower, uh, lower income communities, adding nicer housing, pushing up
16:24the prices so the people that live there can't live there anymore. And then we lose the actual physical
16:28space for people that are being displaced to live in. So when it comes to the context of college campuses,
16:33and particularly the conversation between HBCUs and PWIs, is that HBCUs and most, even, even state colleges,
16:41do not have large enough endowments and were not given large enough land grants to have enough space
16:46for the amount of people that they're supposed to teach and to train. So if you have a Spelman and
16:51you have a CAU, they, the Rockefellers, um, gave the, the, gave Spelman the plot of land and they didn't
16:56give enough land for all the, all the people that come in through that school. They simply did not give
17:00enough resources. And it's the fact that it's a century old white, um, billionaire family that provided the
17:06resources to Spelman and not within our own community that leads to these tensions that we see in,
17:10in today's times. So when the school was founded, there was enough space for what they imagined of
17:15a university, but today we don't see enough space because as a state and as a country, as a county,
17:21Atlanta's not given enough resources to provide and to train the next generation, uh, the most
17:26illustrious of the HBCUs and they're not given those resources. So I think that it was, it reflects a
17:31larger environmental challenge of us losing space in our country, especially in metropolitan areas.
17:36It reflects the student debt crisis, people not being able to have enough financial freedom,
17:40they are swallowed in debt and paying for rent on top of school, on top of all these things. And it
17:46reflects the dynamics between endowments. So Harvard, people stay on campus all four years at Harvard.
17:51It's a very common thing. You're not supposed to leave campus, but I'm paying a ridiculous amount
17:55of money in one of the most expensive cities in the country to do that. And it's incredibly
17:59financially disempowering. So what we need to do is get money back into the hands of students. We need to get
18:04money back into the hands of the people that own these lands. And we need to stop building and
18:08building up our country for places that people cannot actually live. So that's my thoughts. That's
18:13my thoughts on it. Yes. Yes. Absolutely. Well, before we get started and, you know, take questions from our
18:22lovely, beautiful audience, I want to close this out by just asking you guys, what are you most excited for
18:29when it comes to just giving back to the community, when it comes to education? And I'll start with you,
18:34Kamari. For me, I think I was doing, I think it was like the little picture thing outside. Oh,
18:40no, it was the speed mentoring. And somebody said, just paying it forward. And just not forgetting like
18:46where you came from. There's this bird called a Sankofa bird. And it's like something that I live
18:50by. My favorite, my actual favorite thing ever. Yes. And I just try to like live like that,
18:55just you like literally looking back and not forgetting where you came from. I cherish where
18:59I come from so hard. I'm from South Central, Los Angeles. And you know, everybody hears stuff
19:04about LA, all these movies is ghetto is this center. But for me, it's just like it's a diamond in the
19:09rough. And you just cannot forget where you came from. And just remember to pay it forward. So that's my
19:16biggest thing. Just paying it forward. Yes, Jay. Yes, I would have to say making sure that we are
19:24breaking those glass ceilings. We are shaking the table. If they do not give us a seat at the table,
19:29we will bring a folding chair and we will be there. So I just feel like that's what I'm most excited for,
19:34making sure that there's a space for us. And if there's not one, we will make it and truly live in
19:39my, I gotta say it again, find a way or make one. That motto just speaks to me as something that I will
19:44continue to pour out and pour into other people, because I feel like that's not something we are always told.
19:49We're told, oh, sit straight, stand up, cross your legs, do this, do that. But what if I don't want
19:54to? What if I want, what if I want to be different, you know? And that's what I'm gonna do. And that's
19:58the message that I continue to share and promote. Period. Absolutely beautiful responses out of both
20:04of you. I can't speak anymore to the principle of Sankofa and how much that means to my life. But
20:08I think going on that thing, I would really just like to be the reason why somebody else does a good
20:13thing. I would just really, really appreciate that. I think the work I do touches a lot of kids
20:19that are now just coming to be like 16, 17 when I, versus when I started my campaign at 10. And I
20:25really am excited and feel encouraged by the new generation of people that want to make change.
20:30And I guess just through that, I want to advise them very heavily to follow the principles of Sankofa
20:36and remember that us as examples, we are standing on someone else's shoulders who are standing on
20:40someone else's shoulders, who are standing on someone else's shoulders. And if we don't look
20:44back to those fifth or sixth shoulders, we will not be able to find the solution for the problem
20:48that we're seeing today. So I'm not solely the answer. And I can't solely be the inspiration
20:53because I've been inspired by so many people. But like, I want everyone to know who Ida B. Wells is,
20:58and I want everyone to read her pieces on lynching because she is the first original black
21:02journalist and black female journalist. And like, people don't read that. So I really want to be the
21:06reason why other people do good things. And I want to encourage them down a path of curiosity
21:10that leads them to realize that you don't know everything, but you can certainly try.
21:13Absolutely.
21:17All right. Anybody have any questions that they want to ask our lovely disruptors on stage?
21:21Yes? Yes? No? Yes, ma'am?
21:30Okay, so this is a question for Kamari. So you go to Spelman, and you said you got a full ride. So I
21:37know someone that's also trying to go to Spelman. If you don't mind, would you delve into how you were
21:43able to get a full ride, things that they might need to do as a non-traditional student? And yeah,
21:49just any advice? For sure. So I got my, I got my full ride through UNCF Jordan Wings. So first of all,
21:58just tap into UNCF. There's like so many hidden scholarships that not a lot of students know about.
22:05I still apply like to scholarships to this day, even if I do have a full ride. But just for sure,
22:11like logging, just go to UNCF.org. That's like the biggest advice I can like probably give you.
22:18But yeah, there's like tons of money that a lot of students just miss out on just because they don't
22:22know to go to UNCF.org. So for sure that's. Hi, my name is Zaria. I am a sophomore at Spelman College,
22:33period. And I am here today on behalf of the Therapy for Black Girls podcast. I interned there.
22:39So I was wondering if each of you could share one affirmation you have for other black women who want
22:45to be change makers and community organizers?
22:47Let's start with Marlee. Like the Sankofa bird, I look to my past so that I can be my best today
22:55and every day. Ase. The biggest one that I tell myself every day is you are enough. I feel like
23:03a lot of people say it, but they don't believe it. And so that's something I wake up, I wash my face,
23:07I look in the mirror, I say you are enough, you can do it, you can keep thriving. And that's just the
23:12affirmations I continue to say over and over. And I believe it and I want everyone else to.
23:17For me, stand on business and stand on it hard, like hard, like hard, like what Tim's on like,
23:24yeah, just stand on business. That's yeah, that's it.
23:27I'm standing on business. Ten toes down. Ten toes.
23:31Thank you guys so much. Period. Well, thank you guys so, so much again,
23:35like y'all are all disruptors and y'all own right. So are you.
23:39Thank you. I thank you guys so much. You guys are really doing it.
23:43You guys are really doing it. And you know, continue to just guide the next generation,
23:48continue to be that voice. And again, thank you so much, everyone for watching. And we will see
23:53you guys for the next segment. So you guys stay tuned and let us know where we can follow you so
23:57we can stay connected. I am Marley Dias on X or Instagram.
24:02On all social media platforms, Jay Simone, that's J-S-I-M-M-O-N-E.
24:10I have two Instagram pages. My first one is I am Kamari Brown and the second one is just Kamari.
24:16Period. Well, thank you guys so, so much. Again,
24:20we appreciate you guys. Thank you for coming to GU Summit. And I am Kenyatta Victoria from Essence
24:24Girls United. Thank you. Thank y'all.
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