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00:00I am so excited for our next panel because it talks about something near and dear to my heart,
00:12which is making sure that the legacy that we are creating is passed down to our youth,
00:20that the next Tamron Hall, next talk show host in this audience gets his or her opportunity
00:27to make history. And the Disney company is investing in our future, in our children,
00:34and the next generation. I'd love to direct your attention to the screen. Take a look.
00:41All of life, destiny stands asking you to make a choice. Who will you be? I will be great. I will
00:51be fearless. I will be a dreamer. I choose to be 100.
01:01And our youth, our future, investing in dreamers. Let's talk about it, as we say on my show.
01:10And joining me first is Avis Lewis, VP of Human Resources, Walt Disney Imagineering,
01:16and Disney Parks International, and VP of Disney Signature Experiences, Tracy Powell,
01:24who is also the executive champion for the Disney Dreamers Academy. Let me just pause right now to
01:32tell you, I have two black female executives with titles so long, they did not fit on one card.
01:40These women are looking after our future and our legacy and providing an opportunity for our
01:49children not just to dream, but to make their dreams come true. So Essence family, please welcome them.
01:59Tracy, I have to start off with you. The Disney Dreamers Academy, it's a career empowerment program.
02:06I was here yesterday, and I had so many young people ask me about mentoring, and how do they get in the
02:12industry, and how do they get their break? This is, this is your legacy. This is your dream. This is your
02:18cause. Absolutely. And first of all, before we even get started, Tamron, can we just give it up to Tamron?
02:23She looks beautiful. Thank you. Oh my gosh. Well, I am so excited to be here on behalf of Disney Dreamers
02:30Academy. And you're absolutely right. It's all about making dreams come true. And just to tell you a
02:36little bit about how our young people can be involved, it's super easy. All they have to be
02:42is ages 13 to 18, and be able to be in the United States, and have a dream. And not only have a dream,
02:50but be able to understand and articulate that dream, so that we can help bring that to life.
02:55We are so excited about Disney Dreamers Academy, and I want to tell you a little bit about it.
02:59Disney Dreamers Academy happens at Walt Disney World every year in Orlando, Florida.
03:05And we bring down 100 high school students from around the country to be able to do one thing,
03:12like I said, and one thing only, and that is to dream. So if you have a son, a daughter,
03:19a niece, a nephew, a grandson, a granddaughter, encourage them to apply. It's super easy.
03:25All they have to do is tell their story. It's been 16 years now. Oh my gosh. I mean, 16 years. And
03:31when we think about how we got to where we are, it was mentoring programs. It was people who said,
03:38you can dream and be in this position. I have a three-year-old son, Moses. I want him to be able
03:45to reach his dreams. You've been doing this 16 years. Yes, 16 years. And you're absolutely right.
03:50It is all about the beginning. It all begins with a dream. And so that's what we want to encourage.
03:55We pour into these high school students, and we call them dreamers. And we have the opportunity
04:00over those four days on an all-expense-paid trip, if I might say so, for the dreamer, and then also
04:07a parent or a guardian. And they have an opportunity to come down and really pursue their dreams by all
04:15of the great programming that we have. Celebrities, such as Tamron and others, give up their time and talent.
04:21We have people in the career fields that they're interested in to be able to really jumpstart,
04:27to be able to make those dreams come true. Avis, before I get to you one more time, Tracy,
04:31the age, because this is all expense paid. This is a guardian within. This is a lifetime and life
04:38changing opportunity for our children. The age group again? Age group is 13 to 18. 13 to 18 years old.
04:47So Avis, you are the executive co-champion for Disney on the Yard. Can you share this initiative
04:53and why it's so personal for you? Absolutely. First and foremost, I am an HBCU grad.
05:00HBCU in the house! In the house! Woo! Woo! So a proud alumni of Bethune-Cookman University
05:06is where I got my start. Listen! Hey! Hey! Hail Wildcats! Yes!
05:13So, Tamron, the reason it's so important to me is
05:43we really want to be intentional and meaningful about how we show up. We want it to be authentic.
05:57A group of Disney employees, they help us think about how we want to be authentic.
06:13This weekend about black web, black legacy, how to create that. These are the building blocks
06:23for our children. Absolutely. Our own destiny. And we know what's done by Disney employees.
06:28Yeah. A few of them are from HBCU. Well, actually, I think we have a video to give us a glimpse
06:33of Disney on the Yard in action. Please take a look at it. Family, let's take a look.
06:37See you next week!
06:51there it is in action in action the color palette is intentional the name disney on the yard
07:14if you know anything about hbcu
07:21you
07:51you've influenced design houses for men and women around the world you started your career at 14
07:58yes yes i did 14 years old yes at 14 how does a 14 year old know to dream that big
08:06i i knew what i didn't want really early and um and i had like a singular sort of uh tunnel vision for a
08:14specific thing which was i wanted to be a sneaker designer yeah and um and that kind of quickly
08:21you know it didn't happen as i wanted i took the long way about it yeah i finally am now selling
08:27sneakers but um you actually attended this year's dreamers academy as a professional mentor
08:34there is not a relevant celebrity who doesn't rock what you create and there you were spending time
08:42with these dreamers what did that give back to you at this important point in your career
08:46it's i mean i like i was blown away i was just like gushing about it backstage um i i you know
08:53normally spend time with people my age i i didn't get a chance to spend time with teenagers and um
08:59you know they they are so inspirational so inspiring um they come from so many different walks of life
09:06and they truly are um you know our pathway out of all the things that ails our society right now and i
09:12think that they need a lot of love and care and a lot of attention and um i was just so proud of
09:17them and and uh the people that i met there and we're so proud of you to have one of the most
09:23important black designers in the world spend time with these young people it changes their lives
09:31can i just say tamryn just being part of dda disney dreamers academy we so appreciate it
09:36her be you being there just so our young people can see what can happen thank you awesome job thank
09:43thank you thank you so much and avis i know you have an announcement i do on behalf of the dis listen
09:49up family avis has an announcement on behalf of the disney company absolutely so because the next
09:57generation of storytellers are a part of our future i'm pleased to announce the new disney storyteller fund
10:04at the howard university this fund whoo right this fund will will give rise an opportunity to the
10:12next generation of black talent right so disney's has this ongoing commitment where we want to
10:18inspire yeah right and give opportunity to bring stories and characters to life and the way to do
10:23do that is to be a part of something that's groundbreaking yeah now this fund will provide
10:29a stipend over a five-year project allowing these black students right to have the opportunity to have
10:35their story anchored in storytelling be created in that funding and listen as an hbcu grad yeah i know the
10:42importance right of having that type of support when you're in college there's also a second part
10:47to this though okay so in addition to that uh we are committing a to creating a creative and
10:53collaborative space at howard university this space will be inside of the chadwood a bozeman college of
11:00fine arts and the kathy hughes school of communication okay the howard university none of this would be
11:07possible without their support and passion so thank you to howard university and quite frankly to
11:12anyone that inspires the next generation of black talent absolutely so kirby john i understand that
11:18your collaboration with both the disney dreamers academy and disney on the yard has resulted
11:25in another first in your life in all of our lives i'm so excited about this next thing can't wait yes
11:32yes yes it is it is a first and it's uh it's really um it's really an honor it's really an honor um
11:38uh disney invited me to uh design uh redesign um the drum major for the 75th anniversary of disney
11:47and uh we're gonna debut it today okay so the significance of this please ladies explain what
11:53we're about to see and why it is so big so the kirby who by the way has a really snatched green bag
12:02coming out in a couple days that i'm trying to get my hands on but kirby collaborated with ida mudrow
12:08ida where are you shout out to ida ida is an hbcu grad a disney employee and was in a marching
12:17band so collaborating with ida really brings this to you know um an authentic experience for us
12:24but in that partnership kirby i think it's fair to say you've established the first african-american
12:31or the established first african-american designer to design for mickey mouse so this is ladies and
12:37gentlemen the first african-american designer to design for mickey mouse so are you ready
12:46give it up give it up i think i hear them coming let's welcome official hbcu alumni drum majors
12:55wearing a kirby jean raymond design and our friend drum major mickey mouse
13:03we'll see you next time
15:12And to Mickey and the drum majors for what has to be the flyest interest of the day.
15:18Oh, okay, Mickey.
15:27Mickey is feeling it.
15:33Kirby, John, thank you so much.
15:35Pierre Moss' eyes.
15:37I love it.
15:37Tracy, it's the fit for me.
15:43Here we are.
15:46Remind everyone again how to find information on the Disney Dreamers Academy.
15:52Absolutely.
15:53Like, that wasn't enough.
15:54Again, to be a part of Disney Dreamers Academy, all you have to do is go to DisneyDreamersAcademy.com.
16:02That's DisneyDreamersAcademy.com.
16:04And make sure you're a young person, ages 13 to 18.
16:08Apply, apply, apply.
16:10Today, they can register.
16:11July 18th, they can actually apply and be ready for 2023.
16:16Yes.
16:17Can't wait to see you.
16:18And Avis, we look forward to more updates on the scholarship and Disney on the yard.
16:24Listen, fam, we challenge companies to invest in us.
16:27We challenge them to invest, more importantly, in our children.
16:32And here we have the Disney company doing just that.
16:35So if you have any child in your life that is of age for the Disney Dream Academy,
16:42I'm telling you, the only way that they become who we all are and who we want them to be,
16:49our ancestors' wildest dreams, is that they get a shot.
16:53So please look into it.
16:54Thank you so much.
16:55God bless you all.
16:56Hey, you going to apply for the Dreamers Academy?
17:00You going to do it.
17:01How old are you?
17:0311.
17:04You're almost there.
17:05But I love you so much.
17:07Now you need a Dallas Mavericks shirt.
17:10Other than that, you're cool.
17:11Thank you so much for joining us.
17:13Please give it up for Avis and Tracy, legendary women within the Disney company,
17:19and make sure we allow our children to dream as high as they want.
17:24Thank you, everyone.
17:26Bye.
17:43Bye.
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