Skip to playerSkip to main content
On this segment of ESSENCE Live we sit down with Brittany Packnett, vice president of national community alliances for Teach for America and April Reign the creator of the viral #OscarsSoWhite.
Transcript
00:00We're honoring 100 woke women across various fields, from the celebrities who use their
00:08platforms to raise awareness to the everyday women who started the Black Lives Matter movement.
00:13And joining us are two women from that list.
00:15Please welcome in-studio creator of the viral hashtag, OscarSoWhite, April Rain, and VP
00:22of National Community Alliances for Teach for America, Brittany Packnett, also joining
00:27us via Skype.
00:27Hey, ladies.
00:28We're thankful that you guys show up, but there's also this thing of your safety.
00:33Have you ever been concerned about your safety because of your activisms?
00:37It happens from time to time.
00:39I know there are others who are definitely literally on the front lines of the Black Lives
00:44Matter movement and the women's movement that are dealing with those issues all the time.
00:48For me, I think it's mainly just because of those regular trolls.
00:52And so you sort of have to put precautions into place.
00:55Like, they're very often, I won't tweet that I'm at a place until I'm about to leave that
00:59place so that I don't give a lot of notice.
01:02But, you know, there's something about women, especially Black women, who are hyper-visible.
01:08And so we have to be just smart about what we're doing, what we're seeing, where we are,
01:13and, you know, just being very mindful of our surroundings at all times.
01:16How would you suggest that more people can get involved with a cause that's close to their
01:20heart?
01:20You know, it's really easy.
01:23I mean, Oscar So White started with one tweet.
01:26I think the most important thing is to pick what you're passionate about and speak out about
01:31it.
01:31You know, I have an obscene number of Twitter followers now.
01:34I didn't two years ago when this started.
01:36But I was factual.
01:39I was consistent.
01:41I was passionate.
01:42I was authentic.
01:43And I think if you do those four things, if you have those four things in mind, that
01:47you can do anything that you want to.
01:49You know, it's different now because we have social media.
01:52So you literally don't have to stand on a corner with a soapbox anymore to get your point
01:56across.
01:57You can go on social media, whatever platform you choose, and really make a difference.
02:02And so I encourage everyone that feels strongly about something to speak out with their voice
02:08and to make it heard.
02:09Thank you, April.
02:11Brittany, you know, we did two cover shoots.
02:12One was in Los Angeles.
02:13One was in New York.
02:14Brittany, tell me about the sisterhood you felt at the New York cover shoot.
02:19It was incredible.
02:20We were in the room with the women who led the Women's March, Tamika and Janae and Carmen
02:27and Linda.
02:29Joy Reid was there.
02:30And we got to sneak a peek at some of the L.A. pictures.
02:34And so certainly it was a moment of sisterhood.
02:37I think we were all excited and completely humbled to be in the space.
02:42But then to be in the space with people that you really respect, people that you've built
02:45friendships with, and who really have each other's back virtually and in person as we
02:50continue to do our work, it means so much.
02:53Those were really special moments that I will take with me for my entire life.
Comments

Recommended