- 7 hours ago
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00...their lights, who continuously spread joy and let their lights shine.
00:05We're going to welcome to our stage Disney executives, Sybil Crump and Sivan Davis!
00:13Come on, ladies!
00:22Let me see you strut, ladies. Come on now.
00:25Make that power walk to the boardroom.
00:26Hey! Hey! Hey!
00:30We love it! We love it!
00:33Welcome out, Sybil!
00:35Thank you. Thank you for having us.
00:36Welcome, Sybil!
00:38Thank you. Thank you.
00:38All right. So, it is just an amazing thing to see women represented for such a national major company like that.
00:46And great to have you on the Essence stage today.
00:49Can you tell us a little bit about what you do, your titles, and all of the responsibilities that you have?
00:55Because we don't see this behind the scenes. We just come to the park and think that it all works.
00:58But you guys are there to handle business.
01:01Absolutely. So, I am Sybil Crump, the Vice President of Marketing and Commercial Strategy for the Disneyland Resort.
01:07Yes!
01:09Oh, you have a team! Wait a minute!
01:10That's right!
01:11I didn't know you had your own cheering squad.
01:12We came to play!
01:13Disneyland Resort is the happiest place on earth, located in California.
01:18And, you know, marketing is actually just the business of letting people know about your product.
01:22Right.
01:22And commercialization is how we make money. And we like to make money.
01:25I know, that's right. And what about you, Syvonne?
01:28Well, thank you, Deja. You know, my name is Syvonne Davis, Vice President of Marketing Strategy at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.
01:36Yes! Yes! Yes!
01:39But, you know, building on Sybil's comment, I believe my real title should be Walt Disney World Welcoming Chair.
01:47Really?
01:48And it's simply because my team and I, we're really focused on creating and extending the invitation.
01:55It's like advertising. We're inviting you to come and enjoy the experiences and then share your joy.
02:03And what does it mean for us to celebrate soulfully?
02:08Well, you know, I think that celebrate soulfully is an intentional invitation.
02:13And more importantly, it was created for us by us.
02:16And I will tell you, it was created by this beautiful woman to my left.
02:19So I think no one would be better to tell you about it than Syvonne.
02:25Go ahead, girl.
02:26I am honored.
02:27To work with Ms. Crum is just amazing.
02:31She is one of the people who has helped create the pathway for things like Celebrate Soulfully to come and to be.
02:38So I'm going to start there and just give that right back to you.
02:43I'm also going to give it to some of the folks in the audience.
02:45I know we're mindful of time, but I also believe in giving respect and acknowledgement where it's due.
02:52And so when I see people like Jill Estorino right there in the pink in the front,
02:56and I see others on the team from both the Disneyland and Walt Disney World teams want to take the moment to give them a shout out.
03:04But Celebrate Soulfully is exactly that.
03:06It's about celebrating black culture, black joy, black heritage, uplifting and showcasing a great talent.
03:14Because ultimately, people want to be seen and people want to feel seen.
03:18And that's what Celebrate Soulfully is at the heart all about.
03:22Love it.
03:22And so what does that look like, that celebration at Disneyland Resort?
03:26So at Disneyland, it's about uplifting musical celebrations.
03:29And it's during times that are really important for us.
03:32It's about, you know, you think about those milestone moments, whether it's Black History Month,
03:36you think about Black Music Month in June.
03:38But it's also throughout the entire year.
03:41We are celebrating our culture.
03:42We're celebrating our heritage.
03:44We're celebrating our music.
03:45We're celebrating our legacy.
03:47In fact, Walt Disney Imagineering did something really special with the Lincoln Theater.
03:52We have a special exhibit that honors the legacy of Frederick Douglass.
03:58And what's really great about that exhibit is that we know that Frederick Douglass was instrumental in helping to free enslaved people.
04:06Wow.
04:06And so we partnered with the National Geographic to tell that story in a really compelling way.
04:12And so what we love about it is that it helps every visitor that comes to Disneyland that comes in to see that exhibit to understand the true story of how Frederick Douglass really worked with Abraham Lincoln as a champion of change to change the course of American history.
04:28And in fact, I'd love to show you a bit of a clip because it's really powerful.
04:31Frederick Douglass never had a pair of pants or shoes until he was about six or seven years old.
04:41He would sleep headfirst in an old corn sack with his feet hanging out on cold winter nights to try and keep himself warm.
04:48Teaching the enslaved to read was illegal, so young Frederick secretly traded what little food he had in exchange for reading lessons.
04:58It just shows how much he understood how education was going to be his key to freedom.
05:04And a key to freedom it was.
05:07At the age of 20, Douglass made a daring escape and went north, settling in Massachusetts.
05:12There he soared from orator, the one cannot be truly free while the other is a slave, to newspaper editor, truth is of no color, and best-selling author.
05:28From that moment, I understood the pathway from slavery to freedom.
05:33He was the central voice of the abolitionist movement.
05:37He had this natural gift for communication.
05:39He was eloquent.
05:41He was charismatic.
05:41There wasn't a venue, a building, large enough to hold people who wanted to hear him.
05:52Wow, that's impactful.
05:53That's impactful.
05:55Now, Sivan, how does that celebration go for you at Disney World?
06:01You know, Deja, when Celebrate Soulfully started at Walt Disney World about four years ago now,
06:08and it was all about reflecting joy, reflecting joy in the people, reflecting joy in the culture, really reflecting the most magical place on earth.
06:19You know, as I think about how it has grown over the last nearly four years, it's grown to include not only black talent in the community, but also black talent in our employees, who we call cast.
06:33It's spotlighting great talent like our black chefs through our cooking with soul program, which is all about making sure you know where to find the best collard greens at Walt Disney World, no matter where you are.
06:47Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
06:48Yes, that's important.
06:49Hold on.
06:49Pause for a second.
06:50Did you say collard greens?
06:51Collard greens, jumbo.
06:52And Walt Disney World.
06:53And Walt Disney World.
06:54Who would have thunk, right?
06:55I love it.
06:56I love it.
06:57All right.
06:58Now, since we have all of the celebration going on and we're talking about joy, audience members, we have a little surprise.
07:04We love surprises.
07:05Yes.
07:06Listen, some people think surprises are just for the little kiddos.
07:09Baby.
07:10No, no, no, no.
07:11So, since you're spending time with us today, you've got to be Disney fans.
07:15Sybil, Syvonne, I want each of you to come over here and pick a number from our raffle.
07:20We're going to spin it around.
07:22Pick a number, pick a number, any number.
07:26All right.
07:27We'll spin it again.
07:32Okay.
07:33Uh-oh.
07:35All right.
07:36So, all the folks out there, you have a number on your chair.
07:41So, get ready.
07:42Get ready.
07:46Let's read that number.
07:47Let's go.
07:48Sybil, what you got?
07:49I've got 156.
07:51Number 156.
07:52Stay in your own seats.
07:54Where?
07:56156.
07:57156.
07:58Oh, my gosh.
07:59Okay, 156.
08:00See the people with the white gloved hand?
08:02The Mickey hand right there.
08:03They'll help you out.
08:05And next?
08:06264.
08:07264.
08:09Number 264.
08:11Anybody has that number.
08:14Anybody.
08:15Nobody has that one.
08:16Okay.
08:17Let's spin again.
08:18Come on.
08:19Big money.
08:20Big money.
08:21There we go.
08:22Ninety-one.
08:23Ninety-one.
08:24Ninety-one.
08:25Number 91.
08:26Oh, there you go.
08:27Right there.
08:28We have a winner.
08:29All right.
08:30Come on over here.
08:31See them waving?
08:32The white Mickey glove?
08:33All right.
08:34Now, have a seat, ladies.
08:35I'm not letting you go yet.
08:36I want to talk to you more about being an executive.
08:49How has it been, and how have you been able to use this influence, your seat at the table,
08:55as they say, Sybil?
08:56Well, I think it's about representing the voices of people who can't be in the room.
09:00And so, for me, it's the opportunity to create product that is created for us.
09:05Right.
09:06It's the opportunity to influence decisions that are important to people who look like
09:11me.
09:12It's the opportunity to create product for families that reflect my own family and my own experiences.
09:17I've been coming to the parks since I was born.
09:21Again, my family is from South Florida.
09:23All right.
09:24And so, I came to Walt Disney World as a kid.
09:26And most black families don't have that experience.
09:28And so, to be able to come as a child and to see this product reflected for people like
09:33me is really important.
09:34Representation.
09:35That's the word.
09:36That's the theme.
09:37Syvonne, when you see black families, what do you hope they take away and experience
09:42while they are there at the parks?
09:44Well, you know, one of my personal favorite quotes is from the incomparable Maya Angelou,
09:49and it ends in, you never forget how they made you feel.
09:53Yes.
09:54So, when I think about black families coming into Walt Disney World Resort, I want them
10:01to feel like they belong.
10:03That they're welcomed, they were invited, and their magic helps make Walt Disney World
10:11so magical.
10:12We love it.
10:13Now, it's time to bring out our gift recipients.
10:17Do we have them yet?
10:18Yes.
10:19Okay.
10:20Okay.
10:21Come on down!
10:22Woohoo!
10:23Yay!
10:24So, we love learning all about celebrating soulfully at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, and
10:31we're going to keep talking about it, and we'll tell them what they've won.
10:39Those are our recipients.
10:40Tell them what they've won, ladies.
10:41So, you will be coming to the Disneyland Resort with a family of four, and we would love
10:54to have you, and you will also be getting a trip to Walt Disney World for you and three
11:00other guests, so a family of four.
11:03All-inclusive paid trip.
11:04Wait a minute.
11:05Congratulations.
11:06Both of these ladies get both vacations.
11:09Wow.
11:10That is amazing.
11:11One each.
11:12One each.
11:13One will go to Disney World.
11:14One will go to California.
11:15It is going to be amazing.
11:17We cannot wait for that.
11:19Congratulations, ladies.
11:20Congratulations.
11:21Welcome.
11:22They just sat down in a seat and walked away winners, right?
11:25And ladies, thank you for sitting at the seat at that table and representing for us
11:30in the way that you have with Walt Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts.
11:33We appreciate it, and we can't wait to see what else you all bring to the table.
11:37Yes.
11:38Thank you, Deja.
11:56We'll see you next time.
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