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00:00Hello, Essence Festival of Culture.
00:08I am Mara Schiavo-Campo, and we're here now to talk about a really, really important issue
00:13in our community, and that is the urgent need to address healthcare disparities that are
00:19affecting us, Black women, and also what we can do to advocate for ourselves when we are
00:25receiving medical care.
00:26So I want to start with some statistics that highlight the issue of these healthcare
00:30disparities, and they are stark, starting with maternal mortality.
00:35Black women are three to four times more likely to die during pregnancy and childbirth than
00:40white women, three to four times.
00:42More than 60,000 women a year suffer severe complications that may have lifelong effects
00:46on their health and well-being, and chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension,
00:51as well as mental health and substance abuse are all contributing to these problems.
00:54And now we're seeing how COVID-19 is exposing these healthcare disparities even further.
01:01So joining me now to discuss all of this is Dr. Robin Jones.
01:05Dr. Jones is a board-certified OB-GYN with degrees from Brown University and Temple University
01:10School of Medicine with specialty training at the Medical College of Pennsylvania.
01:15Dr. Jones is also an integrative health coach trained at the Duke University Integrative Medicine
01:19Center and the Jefferson Health Mirna Bryan Center for Mindfulness.
01:22Her industry experience includes over 15 years at Johnson & Johnson, where she is currently
01:28Senior Medical Director of Women's Health.
01:30And most recently, Dr. Jones has been on the front lines of helping to combat disparities
01:35when it comes to the COVID-19 crisis in the Black community through her volunteer work
01:39with the Black Doctors' COVID-19 Consortium.
01:42Dr. Jones, thank you so much for being here.
01:44Hi, Mara.
01:45I'm happy to be here.
01:46So I would like to talk about some of the ways that we're seeing these healthcare disparities
01:56manifest in the Black community.
01:57Now, I spoke about some of the statistics, but that's just a small slice of the full picture.
02:02How have you seen these healthcare disparities show themselves in the Black community?
02:08So healthcare disparities, it's not a new notion.
02:11We're just recently speaking more about it, but they've been aware when we think about
02:20healthcare disparities in the Black community is, what is it that is causing these disparities?
02:27And some of the things that have been looked at are what's referred to as the social determinants
02:30of health.
02:30And social determinants of health are where we work, where we live, where we play, where we
02:36learn, and where we age.
02:38And all of those things are related to how healthy we are, or even how we access healthcare.
02:45And if I was going to say something more about the social determinants of health, just a little
02:49more detail, let's take, for example, the fact that in the Black community, we're less
02:53likely to have continuous insurance or any health insurance.
02:57We may have inadequate access because of transportation or because of trust issues that we have with the
03:04healthcare system.
03:05We may be more likely to have serious underlying conditions, such as high blood pressure, diabetes,
03:11heart disease, obesity, asthma, all of which we've heard before.
03:15But those conditions do make a difference in how healthy we can be in the long run.
03:19There's also the stigma of systemic racism.
03:22So how does that fall into play with the social determinants of health?
03:27I mentioned previously about trust.
03:30We have a lack of trust reaching back generations in our healthcare system.
03:34And more recently, what we found is as we access the healthcare system, we're not heard.
03:39You know, we speak and we're not listened to.
03:42Perfect example.
03:43Serena Williams knew that she had a repeat of a condition.
03:46She'd already had a pulmonary embolism.
03:49And they really attributed her reaction or her response, her trying to tell them what was
03:55wrong with her to her pain meds.
03:57Said she was confused.
03:58Okay, that probably would not have happened had her skin been that of a white woman.
04:03The other thing that happens to us as black women particularly is stress.
04:09And stress impacts our immune system.
04:11And there's examples of that.
04:13There's a theory called weathering.
04:15And what happens with weathering is that there is a physiologic burden that we experience from
04:23the everyday stress of being black in America.
04:26It has to do with us being marginalized, not respected, not listened to.
04:33And that everyday stress impacts our wellness.
04:37In fact, it's been shown that for black women, regardless of economic status, if you take two
04:43women at the same age, one black, one white, we usually have seven and a half more years
04:49added to our age because of the stress we undergo, because of the racism that we experience
04:53every day and that we have to react and respond to here in the United States.
04:58There's also the environment.
05:00We're more likely to live in older housing, densely populated, more likely to have to take
05:05public transportation.
05:07And if we live in rural settings, there may not be any public transportation for us to
05:11access our health care system.
05:13We're also more likely to be in situations where the water quality and the air quality is
05:17inferior.
05:18And we all know about Flint, Michigan, and what's being done and not being done about
05:22that situation to this day.
05:24And then there's the whole thing with our community safety.
05:28There's more violence in the black community.
05:31There's, without goes without saying, the social and economic factors.
05:35We tend to overall earn less money.
05:37Our educational system is not geared to advance black people in the United States.
05:43And then just some basic healthy behaviors that we can do better at.
05:48But I think a lot of that is education, just diet, exercise, drug and alcohol use.
05:53All of that is related to our health and is part of the social determinants of health.
06:00I want to get back to stress in a moment because that is such a huge part.
06:04It plays such a big role in our health.
06:06And like you mentioned, there are so many unique aspects of being a black woman that lead to
06:09a more stressful life.
06:10But first, I want to touch on the COVID-19 crisis, which we're seeing right now.
06:14We're seeing record spikes in a lot of states.
06:17This is by no means over.
06:19When we talk about all of these health disparities that you just mentioned and the way that they're
06:23affecting the black community, how are we now seeing that play out within the COVID-19 crisis?
06:30I think the thing about COVID-19 is that it's taken the covers off the health disparities.
06:34As I said, they've been here for decades, but now we're really seeing it.
06:38In the United States, black people are 13% of the population and across the country, we're
06:4325% of the deaths.
06:45You take some states where we're six times our own population rate is our death rate.
06:51And that would be Kansas.
06:52Other states where we're five times, four times.
06:55You take cities like New York where we're three times as more likely to suffer death from
07:00COVID-19 as compared to others in the population.
07:03The other thing that happens with COVID is we are likely to have frontline jobs.
07:09So what do I mean when I say frontline?
07:11We're essential workers.
07:12We're delivering packages.
07:14We're working in supermarkets.
07:16We're driving transportation.
07:18All of those things are essential workers.
07:20We're also a huge portion of practical nursing staff.
07:24So we are more likely to be exposed to individuals that have COVID-19 and less likely to be tested.
07:30Access to testing has been a huge problem with COVID-19 ever since we've finally took action.
07:38So let's just to backtrack a little.
07:40China told the world about COVID-19 New Year's Eve 2019.
07:44World Health Organization declared a pandemic March 11th.
07:48And the United States declared a national emergency on March 13th.
07:52And subsequently, we shut down.
07:54Or most states did.
07:55There's exceptions.
07:56And we know that.
07:57And we're seeing the result of those that didn't shut down then or that opened too soon now.
08:03So the testing, what testing can do is let us know where the disease is.
08:07Because with testing, then we can do contact tracing.
08:11We can educate in terms of how do you self-quarantine?
08:14What should you be doing, not be doing?
08:17Sharing information with families.
08:19Making sure that you do have medical coverage.
08:21Giving you information about medical insurance so that in the light of COVID-19, you have all the tools that you need to really be able to survive this infection.
08:32And it is a matter of survival because we're the ones dying.
08:36Well, to that point, can we just be clear about one thing?
08:39How important is it to wear masks in preventing the transmission of this virus?
08:43So when we initially started talking about wearing masks, and I have a smile on my face, we really weren't so sure about what mask wearing could and couldn't do.
08:55The main reason for wearing masks still is prevention.
08:59There may be some degree of protection for the mask wearer, but really the main reason for wearing masks is prevention of transmission.
09:07And the difference between wearing the mask and not wearing the mask and preventing you from passing it on to someone else may be a difference of 0% to 70% prevention from passing on COVID-19 to someone else.
09:22We've heard over and over that it's passed in respiratory droplets.
09:25Well, respiratory droplets don't just come out when you cough and sneeze.
09:28They come out when you talk.
09:29They come out when you laugh.
09:31If you're talking louder, there's more respiratory droplets.
09:34And so that's how we're getting infected.
09:36So that mask contains the respiratory droplets.
09:41Right.
09:41So this should not be a political issue.
09:43Wearing masks protects others.
09:44Not at all.
09:45And I'm glad to hear you on that.
09:48So I'd like to turn to the focus of your work at Johnson & Johnson, because as we mentioned in the introduction, you've been there for a number of years doing some very important work.
09:56What is the primary focus of the group at Johnson & Johnson, and how are you tackling these issues of health disparities?
10:02So I work with the women's health team.
10:06And we have this vision of bettering the health of women for now and future generations.
10:11And how do we want to do that?
10:13We want to impact women by delivering some life-changing health care solutions.
10:18You know, the title of this refers to maternal mortality.
10:21And I think it's important that we speak to maternal mortality.
10:25Mara already shared that in this country, black women are three to four times more likely to die in relationship to childbirth.
10:34There's a number of reasons for that.
10:37Some of the risk factors are certainly if you enter a pregnancy and you already have chronic illness.
10:43But the reasons that women die, they die from cardiovascular disease.
10:47They die from hypertension-related diseases.
10:50And they die from hemorrhage or bleeding after you deliver.
10:54The number one cause is the cardiovascular disease.
10:59And in most instances, it can be prevented.
11:02And when I say prevented, the death from that disease can be prevented.
11:06So it's identifying it early enough.
11:09And it just so happens with the cardiovascular deaths.
11:11They can happen anywhere, certainly during the pregnancy, as well as up to 12 months afterwards.
11:18And what my team is doing, we're working on a project currently to really address maternal mortality in this country.
11:24We are the only developed country in the world where maternal mortality continues to increase.
11:31And we have the worst maternal mortality rate or death of moms in the world compared to other developed countries.
11:39And these are things that can be addressed and should be addressed.
11:41And a lot of it has to do with the social determinants of health and the fact that we don't have access,
11:45that we don't trust, that there are a number of factors in our lives that cause us not to get the adequate prenatal care
11:53and postpartum care that we deserve.
11:55So my team is working on that.
11:56We've also been a partner in developing the Equitable Maternal Healthcare Coalition,
12:03working with partners both in advocacy, in public health, as well as other universities.
12:11So we're working towards that goal really, really hard.
12:16And we're looking at different programs we can put in place and looking at specific counties
12:21where that maternal mortality rate is highest.
12:24In some of the states it's highest, and you'd be surprised.
12:26New Jersey's in the top five.
12:28And other states, which maybe are, they're still alarming, but maybe not so surprising
12:33because we're always hearing about inequities in the Deep South.
12:35And certainly Georgia and Alabama and Mississippi are in that top five as well.
12:41And talking about some additional support when it comes to closing these gaps in health care,
12:49what role do non-clinical workers like doulas and community health workers play in improving health outcomes?
12:57So let me explain what doulas are.
13:00Well, first of all, both doulas and community health workers are lay individuals who are either paid for what they do or they volunteer.
13:07Doulas work specifically in the arena of support for a pregnant woman during a pregnancy,
13:14specifically during childbirth, and to some degree postpartum after she delivers.
13:19And they're focused on the needs of the mother.
13:22So after birth, not so much the needs of the child, but the needs of the mother.
13:26Community health workers can provide what I would refer to as culturally competent information and support and outside of pregnancy.
13:38It could be for any medical condition.
13:40They are referred to as other names.
13:44They are recognized by the NIH as valuable.
13:47Some of the information about doulas and about community health workers are that doulas,
13:52since doulas have really become more popular in this country,
13:57a woman is less likely to have a child that's low birth weight.
14:01She's more likely to breastfeed.
14:04She's less likely to experience a complication related to the birth directly.
14:09And it may increase the mother's ability to understand just what it's like to be a new mom
14:16and taking care of yourself during the pregnancy as well as after the pregnancy.
14:23And those are certainly very, very important roles.
14:26As we wrap up this conversation, what do you want women to leave this panel with?
14:31What information do you want them to take away today?
14:34I think one of the main things is really taking care of ourselves and becoming our own advocates.
14:43It is important that we increase our health literacy through whatever means possible.
14:49And when I say that there's information available in libraries, there's information available on the Internet,
14:55there are resources through different community organizations, such as, for instance, the March of Dimes,
15:02Black Mamas Matters, they can provide information about pregnancy specifically.
15:09And then the Black Women's Health Alliance, for instance, can provide information about your own personal care.
15:14The other thing we need to do is we need to either be advocates in the community or supporting those who are advocates
15:21to really fight these health disparities, to really change the inequities,
15:26so that women and particularly pregnant women and moms don't have to go through the risk of maternal mortality
15:34because our system is changing and we as lay individuals can be supporting that system change
15:40by seeing what the policies are, advocating for policy, and advocating for change.
15:45And when you go into a health care professional's office, don't just listen to what they're saying.
15:52Ask questions.
15:53If you're not comfortable doing that by yourself, bring someone with you.
15:56It's really incumbent upon us as well as the health care system to share in giving us our best lives.
16:04And when we're speaking to this unique moment in history where social justice is taking center stage,
16:16and you talked about the stress and the effect of stress on Black women,
16:18you do specialize in integrative medicine.
16:20What takeaway can those watching take when it comes to the holistic approach to health
16:25and managing the stress of being a Black woman, of dealing with social injustice on a daily basis,
16:30what are the holistic ways that we can take care of mind, body, and soul?
16:33So holistic medicine, and I like to think of it more as integrative medicine,
16:39and that's the training that I have.
16:41It integrates conventional medicine, which is the care you receive if you go into a conventional hospital
16:47and you're being taken care of RNs and MDs.
16:50You are being treated with conventional medicine.
16:54Complementary medicine are the things such as mindfulness, acupuncture,
16:59botanical therapies, nutraceutical therapies.
17:03All of that is complementary, and together when they come, it's integrative medicine.
17:08And there are places for both in your wellness toolkit.
17:13One of the things that we need to do in this time, because we are experiencing so much stress,
17:19again, it's that whole self-care.
17:21And so we should be thinking about, are we resting?
17:24Are we getting enough movement or exercise?
17:27Are we eating well?
17:29And when I say eating well, you know, I know that in certain scenarios,
17:34what's available may not be the healthiest, but it's still making every effort to eat what's best for you.
17:40And I like to say, when you go into a supermarket, shop the outside aisles,
17:45because most things in the inside of the supermarket are made in a plant and don't come from a plant.
17:52So you want to be shopping the outside aisles of the outside perimeter of the supermarket,
17:58because that's where the foods are that are more natural,
18:01that don't have a lot of chemical additives that haven't been processed.
18:04The other thing you want to do is you want to look at, OK, what do I need to accept?
18:11Like, what's in my control and what's not in my control?
18:15A lot of what's happening during this COVID crisis in 2020 has been some year,
18:20and we're not even at July 1 yet.
18:23But a lot of it's not in your control.
18:26So one of the things you want to do is try to focus on what is in your control
18:30and also realize that you're not the only one going through this.
18:34It's not personal.
18:35It really isn't.
18:36We're all in this together.
18:38And if you're not personalizing it, that also helps you to suffer less impact from it.
18:43And realize that trying to have some inner sense of calm is going to be important,
18:50very important for you taking care of yourself.
18:53And the other thing to remember is for all of us as Black women, this ain't our first rodeo, OK?
18:59We have had crises in our lives over our lifetimes.
19:03And we are very, very resilient.
19:06And we sometimes are our best under a crisis.
19:09But always remembering, because we are the ultimate caregivers that we are, how important
19:14it is that we're taking care of self.
19:15Absolutely.
19:18Dr. Jones, very well put.
19:19We are resilient, but we're also kind of exhausted right now at this point.
19:22So self-care is very important and very necessary.
19:25Thank you for sharing this important information.
19:28Thank you for teaching us how to be our best advocates.
19:30And thank you for the work that Johnson & Johnson is doing around maternal health.
19:34I don't think there's anything that's more important than supporting Black mothers and
19:38Black babies.
19:39And thank you to Essence for providing this amazing platform to have this conversation.
19:44Have a great afternoon, everyone.
19:55One of the best parts of Essence Festival is the marketplace.
19:58And we're bringing it to life with Shop Essence Live all festival long.
20:03We're going to bring some amazing products, but then also supporting our small business owners.
20:14You can actually go to shop.essence.com to support.
20:18For three weeks, I walked a mile and a half to the post office to make sure my product got out.
20:24You are such an inspiration.
20:26When was the moment you decided to go full time?
20:29February of 2016, I left my six-figure job to start my company with less than $500.
20:37And whatever gift you have, I don't care what it's in.
20:40It's in the bag.
20:41Go for it.
20:42Can we pass the collection plate to quantity?
20:44And this is what I love about the community that we have at Shop Essence.
20:53You need to hire me because, well, to be honest with you, I'm just tired of staying at home.
20:59I am Professor Petty.
21:07What else can you do to improve your performance?
21:10You could try improv game.
21:11For example, a friend gives you a word, and you come up with a scenario based on that word as fast as possible.
21:17Snorkel!
21:17I'm Shiona Torini.
21:19I'm here to help you make the best first impression
21:22for an on-camera interview.
21:24Although I think you should take it easy on prints and patterns,
21:27I love working in colors, obviously.
21:30Hey, y'all. I'm Joy Marie.
21:31And I'm Courtney. And this is Job Log.
21:34The best advice I have for people
21:37dealing with any salary negotiation,
21:39say a number and be quiet and smile.
21:41That's that.
21:43Next question.
21:47Bye.
22:17Does it matter that the Ford Motor Company
22:24assembles more vehicles in America than anyone?
22:27Does it matter that we always stand ready
22:29to put over a century of American ingenuity
22:32and manufacturing capability to work,
22:34even when it means building respirators,
22:37ventilators, or face shields?
22:40Yes, it matters, especially for those for whom we build
22:44and for what we've been building for.
22:46Getting you, all of us,
22:48back to moving forward.
22:57Hello, everyone.
22:58I'm Shawn Robinson.
22:59And welcome to the new Power Suit panel discussion.
23:02We want to thank Ford Motor Company
23:04for bringing this powerful talk to the Essence Festival.
23:07And I personally want to express my appreciation to Ford
23:10for their generous donation of $25,000
23:14to support the Shawn Foundation for Girls
23:16to help underserved and underrepresented girls.
23:18And our partner Girl Up,
23:20a United Nations Foundation campaign
23:22that advocates for gender equality around the world.
23:25All right, let's get right into our discussion.
23:27The definition of a power suit is not one size fits all.
23:30It could be coveralls, aviator glasses,
23:33even boxing clubs to celebrate women making strides
23:36in traditionally male-dominated fields.
23:39We have three amazing sisters here today
23:41who are definitely trailblazers.
23:43Patrice Banks, an engineer and mechanic
23:46and author of Girls Auto Clinic Glove Box Guide.
23:49And Kelly Edward, the pilot and host
23:51of Travel and Leisure's Let's Go Together.
23:53And Clarissa Shields, professional boxer
23:56and two-time Olympic gold medalist.
23:59Hello, ladies.
24:00Hi.
24:01Hi.
24:02Hi.
24:03So, you know, you are leaders
24:07in what many would consider male-dominated fields.
24:11What attracted you to your field?
24:14First, Patrice, I'm going to start with you.
24:16Okay.
24:17Being a mechanic, I know you said
24:19you could not find any female mechanics
24:21when you were looking for one.
24:22Exactly.
24:23I called myself an auto airhead, right?
24:25Like so many women I felt taken advantage of
24:28when I'd take my car to a mechanic.
24:30I'd panic anytime something would happen.
24:32I felt like I needed a guy to help me, right?
24:35And I always waited until the last minute to do anything.
24:37And so that made me an auto airhead.
24:39And even as an engineer, it wasn't a very empowering position.
24:42And so I was looking for resources to educate myself,
24:45to empower myself.
24:46How can I make sure I feel good about the choices I make with my car?
24:49And I couldn't find them.
24:51I Googled female mechanic, and the first thing that popped up
24:54is your ten top stock images of women mechanics.
24:58And, of course, they have women, you know, in bikinis next to these muscle cars.
25:01I've seen those pictures before.
25:03And I thought, I can't believe there isn't more representation out here
25:07for women when it comes to their cars,
25:09helping them through the process of understanding the things that they need,
25:12why they need them.
25:14And that's kind of where it sparked.
25:16I started to go back to school at night and learn how to work on cars.
25:20And as soon as I was learning this information,
25:22I couldn't wait to share it with women.
25:24I love that.
25:25I love that.
25:26And, Kelly, I remember the first time I was on an airplane
25:29and I saw a female pilot, and I just lost it.
25:33I thought it was just amazing.
25:35What attracted you to the possibility of wanting to become a pilot?
25:41Well, by trade, I am an adventure travel journalist and explorer.
25:45And most travelers, like you said,
25:47they get on an aircraft to go to their destination.
25:50And so what I decided to do was take my adventures in my own hands
25:55and learn how to fly planes so that I don't have to necessarily go to LAX
26:00to travel across the world.
26:02I can go to Van Nuys or Santa Monica Airport,
26:05gas up the plane, and take off myself.
26:07And that type of power is something that is incredibly empowering to me.
26:14And I hardly ever see female pilots to this day.
26:17And when I do, I fan over them because it's just such a small anomaly in a number of us.
26:23Right.
26:24The community is very small, as you said, yes.
26:27Yes.
26:28And Clarissa, what about you?
26:30Boxing, male dominated.
26:32What attracted you to the profession?
26:34I was attracted to boxing just because I love the art of fighting.
26:39You know, I was getting into a few street fights and stuff like that.
26:44And when I walked in the gym and seen guys sparring inside the ring,
26:48I seen everybody working hard, everybody sweating.
26:51I felt like I was at home even though it was all males at the time.
26:55Right.
26:56Let's talk about the impact of gender and racial bias
27:01and how that played a role in your journey and how you overcame these biases.
27:07Patrice, I'm assuming that, you know, in your field,
27:11you know, a male dominated field like the one that you were in,
27:15there was probably a lot of gender bias.
27:18Absolutely.
27:19Even before being a mechanic, I was an engineer.
27:21And in my group where I worked, I was the only woman.
27:24I was the only black woman that worked in my group.
27:28And it was very few and far between people that you see look like us.
27:33But I actually used that to my advantage.
27:35There's not a lot of people who look like me in the room.
27:38And so I felt like that gave me a responsibility to speak up.
27:41It gave me a responsibility to make my voice be heard,
27:45to let them know that I'm here.
27:46This is what I think.
27:48And so instead of being afraid to, you know, sit at the table or lean in,
27:53like they said, I used it as an opportunity to say, hey, you're going to hear me.
27:57And I kind of gained that confidence just in my life over the years growing up,
28:04because even growing up, I didn't have a father.
28:07It was a single family home.
28:08And I had to really step up for myself and speak out for myself if I wanted to get things done.
28:14The first one to graduate from high school.
28:16And then I go to school for engineering.
28:17Nobody in my family knew what an engineer was.
28:19So I had to really learn how to be bold very early on.
28:23And it helped me in those spaces.
28:25I realized how it was actually my advantage, because when you don't look like anyone else, you stand out.
28:30But you got to be good.
28:31And everyone knows that when you're a minority, when you're black or brown, you have to be better.
28:36Right. You can't just stand out and then not show up.
28:39Right. And I stood out and I showed up and I made sure that my voice was heard.
28:43And it leads to people, you know, believing you.
28:47It leads to people thinking you're authentic.
28:49Right. And this is who you are.
28:50And they accept it.
28:51And then they actually admire it.
28:53And when I left DuPont to go work for myself into Girls Auto Clinic,
28:59so many people told me how they wish they had my courage to do this and to be the person that I was as an engineer.
29:05And I never thought that, you know, I was making such an impact on people just being who I was.
29:10And so when I get into the automotive field, of course, it's very male dominated, very white male dominated.
29:16And I took all of that energy and all that confidence with me.
29:19You know, I told them I'm creating a business here for women.
29:22I tell people I'm not an automotive company.
29:24I'm a female empowerment company.
29:26I'm here for women.
29:27And my goal is to create the services and resources and products that women need when it comes to their cars.
29:33And so now I don't even care what they think because I'm not here for them. Right.
29:37When you recognize the power of the groups that you create or the communities that you create,
29:42whether they're women or black communities, you know, you don't care what anyone else thinks of you.
29:47Yes.
29:48So it's being that bold, confident person, believing in yourself, speaking your voice, speaking your truth.
29:53And then, you know, finding your the tribe that has those same truths that you have right to support you.
29:59And then you don't care what other people think or what they're going to say or how they view, you know, your intelligence.
30:06When I first came in automotive, I didn't tell them I was an engineer and they definitely talked down to me and didn't think that I knew what I was talking about.
30:13And you're just a pretty girl in your heels. Right.
30:16And you're tight pants and you're just trying to be sexy.
30:19And I told them I'm not trying to be sexy.
30:21I just am sexy.
30:22It's who I am.
30:23I like to wear heels.
30:24I like to wear these black pants.
30:26And that should be fun.
30:27Yes.
30:28I'm a real woman.
30:29And my number one customer is women.
30:31Right.
30:32I'm paying attention to.
30:33So that's how I that's how I used it to my advantage.
30:36Yeah.
30:37Yes.
30:38And Kelly, I'm assuming that you can really identify with a lot of Patrice's experiences along the way.
30:45Absolutely.
30:46As a pilot, I, too, am in a very white male dominated field.
30:51African-Americans total for pilots are less than three percent.
30:57Less than one percent of black women are pilots.
31:01Mm hmm.
31:02Less than only one hundred and fifty black women are pilots in total, no matter what license you have.
31:06And so between the gender and the racial bias, I mean, it is ginormous.
31:12I cannot tell you how many times I show up to an airport court to get an airplane to leave.
31:17And people are confused that I'm the pilot.
31:20I've been asked, are you lost?
31:23Are you looking for something?
31:24Oh, my gosh.
31:25At some of these general aviation airports, you need to know the code to get in the door.
31:30To get in the door, for one.
31:31Right.
31:32To get on the airfield.
31:33To access the aircraft.
31:34No, sir, I am not lost.
31:35I am the pilot, Kelly Edwards, who called you and booked that plane.
31:39And so to see the astonishment, especially as I've traveled around the world, to have this brown face be the pilot.
31:45People are so thrown off.
31:48And for me, I use it as a moment to teach them and to share with them.
31:52A pilot is not necessarily your older white male.
31:55There are pilots who also fly these friendly skies and I am one of them.
32:00And so, like I said, I use it as a teaching moment all the time.
32:04And I show people that I'm not just a pilot who can fly one plane.
32:07I can fly several.
32:08You know, I'm a sea plane rated pilot as well.
32:11And so there's different levels to it.
32:13And I take the opportunity to take that same education that you did, all of those hours, put my life on the line to put a bird in the sky.
32:21And so, if anything, you should respect my effort and my time and my energy.
32:26What I put to learning is such a technical and mechanical thing.
32:30And my gender and my race should not affect that.
32:33Respect the work.
32:35Right.
32:36Marissa, how did your gender affect your journey and what biases did you encounter?
32:42Well, one of the main things with boxing that was like a big discrimination or that was kind of biased towards women was that we didn't know how to fight.
32:51And one of the lines that they used to say is like, oh, you know, she fights like a girl.
32:56And I never knew what that was because I was always the best boxer in my gym.
33:01So, I didn't ever go to gyms and people would tell me, oh, I can't fight or things like that.
33:07Guys would always tell me, you know, she fights like a man.
33:10You know, she's a good fighter.
33:12I don't feel like I dealt with any discrepancies in boxing until I turned professional, you know, with the pay gap.
33:19And just the network promotion on how they treat females, how they only promote, how they only used to promote our fights four weeks compared to the men's ten weeks.
33:31And, you know, women being the main event, things like that.
33:36But I've been on TV fighting the main event on Showtime, maybe six, seven, eight fights now and only have ten fights.
33:45And I fought the main event on Fridays, fought the main event on Saturdays.
33:49I've been able to make history.
33:51I think right now there's some discrepancies like the fight time, you know, compared to like our women's championship about our ten two minute rounds compared to the men's 12 rounds for three minutes.
34:04So that's like, you know, us doing 20 minutes of work versus 36 minutes of work.
34:09And I think that's why they pay us less and try to say that women's boxing is more easier, but it's not.
34:17So I'm just trying to get everything to be equal.
34:19But I feel like that's the only discrepancies that I go through.
34:22And, Patricia, you talked about, you know, role models and the fact that both of you ladies are such role models because you're being in that position.
34:33Even if you never talk to girls, you know, eye to eye, they see you in that position and that is enough for them to dream bigger.
34:44Now, support and family and friends and colleagues, mentors, it's a key part of the road to success.
34:51Patrice, who are some of your greatest supporters along the way?
34:56Yeah. So, you know, being an entrepreneur and a business owner is very difficult and you definitely need supporters.
35:03You need a team of people behind you. And I always were able to find those people through mentorship programs and networking.
35:10And some of my biggest advisors, my biggest fans are, you know, helping me make this business as big as we can get it right and help as many women as we can as possible.
35:21When you're an entrepreneur, you get a lot of support from family and that support that was really useful is like emotional support.
35:28It's the support that you need when you're having a bad day.
35:31You feel like I failed again and you came home and they make you feel like you matter.
35:35They make you feel like you are a success.
35:37But when it comes to running a business or having a career, you also need those career mentors,
35:42those people who have been there, who have done that, that can give you the advice that you need that you may not take and you may learn the hard way.
35:49But they're still there to say, OK, you know, how can we help you get through this?
35:54And so every time, you know, also that I'm changing or leveling up my business, I'm also leveling up my mentors and my supporters,
36:02which is constantly through networking and sharing what I want to do.
36:06Here's my mission. Here's my vision. Here's what I want to do and being really open about it.
36:10And you'll meet people along the way that want to support you and help you.
36:14So, you know, family is a great support that you always will have there in your life.
36:18But it's also very important to find those mentors in your career and the things that you want to do that are here just for you.
36:25Right. For you to be the best that you can be.
36:28And as you're leveling up, right, leveling up those mentors that you have, those supporters is really important.
36:34Yes. And Kelly, you were saying that in your profession, there are not many black female pilots.
36:41So who are those mentors along the way for you?
36:45Who are the people that really encourage you to pursue your dream?
36:48Well, what's interesting is as a young black woman in this space, I wasn't in the military.
36:55I didn't know any pilots prior to. So the thought of me wanting to become a pilot scared a lot of my friends and family.
37:01Oh, concern about me learning how to fly a plane because of obvious fears.
37:08However, I use that to fuel me more so to prove to them that it could be done so that they, too, in turn, could face the fears that they had.
37:19Because what a lot of people tend to do is project their fears on you.
37:23And that's something I didn't allow to happen.
37:25So I actually the naysayers to propel me forward when it came to the support that I could think of.
37:32You know, immediately it was my mom and my dad because they wanted me to do everything that they never sought out to do, never thought they could do or never did.
37:41And so between my parents and my grandmother, who was ironically my first passenger ever in a plane.
37:47Oh, my gosh, that's great. I love that.
37:50My grandmother said, listen, I want to go and fly with you. And her children freaked out so bad.
37:58We were up in that plane and my grandmother was taking pictures. She was asking me.
38:02She was so calm. It made, it let me know that everything that I worked hard for was so worth it because I would have the matriarch in my family be so proud of me.
38:14And just to share that, that that experience was I can't even describe it.
38:19But when it comes to, you know, mentors in the aviation field, it took me some time to find them, to be honest with you, because I kept going into places where people were always doubting or wondering why I was there.
38:32It was more like just looking at me and not necessarily always wanting to be of help, but more, why am I here?
38:39And so I had an uphill battle of, you know, being accepted in the aviation community in a lot of instances.
38:46There were a few times where I would go to a place and they would just be genuinely curious and happy to see me and say, hey, I've never seen a young black female pilot.
38:53I've never seen a black pilot. What are you doing here and how can I help?
38:56And the way for pilots to help each other, in my experience, is that they let you use their plane.
39:02They say, hey, here's my plane. You can gas it up. You can take it. Please bring it back to me.
39:06Or if you've never flown my type of plane before, I'd be happy to take you up.
39:10I through going to different places, you know, around the world, I was able to find two commercial pilots that are black males who have been flying for over 30 years.
39:20And so between the two of them, you know, they keep me abreast on everything I need to know what's going on in the the aviation space.
39:28And and I truly appreciate them because they had a journey of their own to be black male pilots on the level that they are.
39:36Mm hmm. Clarissa, tell me about your support group, friends, family.
39:41Did they try to discourage you along the way or were they encouraging you to pursue your dreams?
39:46My greatest supporters are not just my fans, but my family, my siblings in general, sisters, brothers, my mom.
39:58I believe that my dad is my biggest fan and I have my mentor and my best friends.
40:04And it's important to me because, you know, being on TV and things you have to put up, people feel like you have to put on a certain persona.
40:13And my friends and my family always, you know, be able to remind me to just be who I am, because there's so many people trying to make me be different all the time just because I had a stature in the success and trying to, you know, tell me how I should and shouldn't talk, how I should wear my hair, how I shouldn't, how I should dress what I, you know, compared to what I shouldn't wear.
40:36And my family and my family and my friends and my support is kind of just like rally behind my decisions, whatever I want to do.
40:44They're behind me and let me build my career the way that I want to without the judgment.
40:49You know, they're not afraid to tell me if I'm doing something out of line, but I feel like I'm my biggest critic and I'm trying to fight a whole different fight than just boxing as far as women's boxing.
41:01So I have a great support system and it's just important to just, so people can remain humble and never forget where they come from.
41:09I love that you had that mentorship.
41:11Okay, let's talk about self-care, taking care of oneself.
41:16It is an important part of success.
41:19What do you do to reset, recharge, you know, rejuvenate and, you know, make sure that you are the healthiest, both physically and mentally that you can be.
41:29Patrice, I'll start with you.
41:30Yes, so self-care is very important and I've learned that along the way as I'm going, being an entrepreneur, taking care of yourself, other people relying on you.
41:40So I have to show up healthy mentally, physically and emotionally.
41:44So I do little daily things for self-care, like meditate.
41:47I meditate every morning.
41:49I journal.
41:50Ever since I started journaling, has it helped me deal with a lot of those emotional feelings that you have will come up and they will show up in business.
41:57All of your flaws will come up and you have to deal with them.
42:00And that's one of the best ways that I've learned to deal with my emotional things is by journaling.
42:05And so that's a very important way to self-care, to do self-care with yourself, to be kinder to yourself.
42:11I learned how much to be kinder with myself when I'm journaling.
42:14And getting enough sleep, right?
42:17Giving yourself permission to get enough sleep is so hard when you feel like you've got so much to do and you have so many people counting on you.
42:25So I have to really schedule that stuff in.
42:29And you don't think about sleep as being something that's self-care often, right?
42:35And it's one of the most important things is getting enough sleep.
42:39And then most recently, I've really started to eat healthier, changing my diet, eating more fruits and vegetables.
42:46That's very important.
42:47My body is really important.
42:48I was very tired and lethargic in the middle of the day often, and I realized it was based on how I ate and I wasn't able to work as hard or show up with my energy if I wasn't eating properly.
43:00So just those things that, you know, I know it's not getting a manicure.
43:04I could literally run downstairs to my salon because I have a garage with a salon next to you so you can get your nails done while you wait for your car.
43:10And I can go down and get my nails done, you know, which is nice.
43:15But also just how do we take care of that mental, physical, emotional self?
43:19I'm even spiritual, you know, which is my meditation.
43:22And so it's daily practice.
43:23And then when it's too much, I take a vacation.
43:26I'm out.
43:27I got to go.
43:28And that leads me into Kelly.
43:30Kelly, a lot of times people go on vacation to relax.
43:33You do that for a living.
43:35So what is your way to just kind of unwind and be centered and just really, you know, tune out the rest of the world?
43:45Well, I am an outdoors woman.
43:47And for me, I think the best way to be centered with yourself is in the great outdoors.
43:53I do a ton of hiking.
43:55And my hiking is like a walking meditation for me.
43:59To hear, you know, the twigs and the rocks and the gravel underneath my feet as I'm walking, to hear the birds chirping, to feel the wind against my body and my face.
44:09It's something about that that's very therapeutic for me mentally.
44:13I also love to go flying.
44:17When you are in an aircraft, and I often fly by myself just because I don't necessarily want to just wait on someone to meet me there.
44:24I just want to go.
44:25So when you're in the air and flying, you can't think about what's going on on the ground that's bothering you because there's nothing going on in the cockpit.
44:36And that is a way that it allows me to leave any stress or drama down below me.
44:45And when I look outside of my aircraft window, I'm allowed to see the world in a more beautiful space, in a beautiful space.
44:55And so for me, just to fly up the coast from Santa Monica to Malibu to Santa Barbara, it's just lovely.
45:03I can't even share how many times, even when I take people, they say, oh, my gosh, I need to learn how to fly.
45:09This is so relaxing.
45:11I will learn.
45:14When I get my nails done there.
45:17Right.
45:17I was going to say, Kelly, Patrice and I will hop on with you.
45:22Whatever you're going to want.
45:22I'm a liar.
45:23That's how I want to do it.
45:25Well, those are my forms of self-care.
45:27Being outside and flying, those are two things that I do for myself that have proven to be invaluable.
45:31Wow.
45:33Clarissa, how do you relax and unwind?
45:36What is your self-care routine?
45:39I'd like to go home, no matter where training camp was at, where I was at, doing business.
45:43As long as I go home, that's a place for me to kind of reset and recharge and get some sleep.
45:49Then after I get some sleep, I love to reconnect with my friends and my family and then eat some good soul food.
45:54And then that kind of gets me, you know, lower it down instead of being up here, being the tight, high celebrity.
46:01I get to be kind of normal and regular for a minute.
46:05And then once I get time for another fight, I just go and find videos of guys and women who I admire.
46:11And I watch their videos and then I get motivated to fight back training.
46:15Well, ladies, I appreciate you sharing your time because one of the things that you have taught us today is to help us move out of our comfort zone.
46:25And that's what I just love because sometimes, you know, we have to face our fears, move out of our comfort zones, tune out the naysayers and just, you know, just really go for it.
46:39Live our dreams. So I want to thank you for joining us today and and sharing your stories and to help us reach higher heights.
46:48Thank you, ladies. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And we want to thank for for bringing this conversation to the Essence Festival and for once again,
46:57your donation of twenty five thousand dollars to support the Shawn Foundation for Girls.
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