00:00Hello Essence Men's Summit, my name is Caroline Wanga and I am the incoming
00:29chief growth officer at Essence Ventures and the outgoing chief culture, diversity and
00:38inclusion officer at the Target Corporation that is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
00:47As you heard me mention where I currently reside, I know that you know the connection
00:54this has to the murder of George Floyd.
01:01The senseless murder of George Floyd is something that all of us have to figure out how to process
01:08and act.
01:10But what I will tell you about being a Minnesota resident at the time that that happened and
01:16in the time that has happened since is that the opportunity to transition to Essence Ventures
01:27and take years decades of experiences working on equity for many groups came at the exact
01:36right time for me to process George Floyd's murder different than I've ever been able
01:47to when things like this have happened before.
01:51Because what I got to rest in was that my next role, my next adventure, my next experience
01:58is going to be unapologetically about Black community, Black culture, Black people.
02:05And for the first time in my career, I can do that.
02:10And so processing the last couple of weeks has had under it a spirit of encouragement just
02:21as much as I was enraged like the rest of you.
02:28As I transition into Essence Ventures, I am particularly focused on my perspective that Black men are an
02:38endangered species that needs the same efforts to conserve, to protect, and to preserve who
02:50they are in the human ecosystem.
02:54I commit as a Black woman, but also in my role at Essence, to support the foundation that Essence
03:05was built on for Black women, but make sure that we are including what needs to be done to empower
03:14and illuminate the health, the stealth, and the wealth of the Black man.
03:27Black men have carried so much for us over the course of history.
03:36And we're grateful for that.
03:40But I ask you for the time in this summit to give yourself some permission to heal, to be
03:47vulnerable, to support each other.
03:52Because how well you're doing becomes how well the world is doing.
03:58And what I promise and guarantee you is those of us Black women that see you and love you will
04:06stand watch to ensure that you are appropriately protected as you work through what you will
04:18discuss in the summit.
04:22The steadfast strength of your survival is what has me optimistic that we will be able to reverse
04:32the trend of what's happening to Black men across all of society.
04:39So on behalf of all of us, we see you, we love you, we believe in you, and we're proud of you.
04:52Enjoy your time today.
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