I’m Rich: The Value in Community
To kick off the excitement for Homecoming festivities, Macro x Shea Moisture hosted activations with a day full of panels, one of which, I had the opportunity to be a part of. To my surprise, at the end of the panel, Macro x Shea Moisture awarded Darris Rushing, an amazing celebrity stylus and fellow subject, and I, $10,000 as an investment into our crafts. Unbeknownst to many, this wasn’t my first rodeo with Macro x Shea Moisture. Almost exactly a year ago, I first worked with Macro x Shea Moisture to showcase how I balance attending school while operating my own business in the “Watch Them Work” docuseries. While I came in to the experience ready to work, I gained so much more than a relationship with an amazing brand. I gained relationships with amazing people.
I remember how surprised I was when I first met Lis, Leeban and Zenzele, the three project members who worked with me closely to create the docuseries. Simply witnessing the organization, dedication and intention they all poured into the process made it unbelievable that they were all with a similar age range as me. I promptly learned that they weren’t just top notch at their job, but more importantly, they were amazing people. I wasn’t treated as a film subject, but as a friend. By the second day filming together, we were cracking jokes about how we may never see each other again and taking silly pictures of one another.
The moments I remember most are the ones after the long work days, the ones after carrying equipment all over and filming for literal hours. I can still see us grabbing food and boba in Koreatown, drinking apple juice in the park, riding Citi bikes around NYC and hitting a ma-and-pop store after my phone was ran over by a car (you read that right, a car). The teams gestures of kindness, willingness to be vulnerable and encouraging made the project not only easy but genuinely enjoyable. These actions translated into our work setting, allowing me to feel comfortable, and confident, knowing certainly that those filming me behind the camera, were supporting me every step of the way.
Months later in October of 2021, the docuseries premiered in Atlanta and Macro’s HBCU summit. The event provided me an opportunity to meet more amazing people behind the project, some of which, I still check in with today! Working with Macro’s team, taught me how a healthy community and team environment can inspire the work that needs to get done. It taught me the power of people with different backgrounds in relation to creativity. Lastly, it taught me the power we have in relationship to catapult one another into the confidence needed to show up in the creative space as ourselves.
Yesterday, almost a year since the premiere, I was given the opportunity to shortly reflect on my experience as a subject in the series. Amidst everything I experienced from the amazing opportunity, it was the people who made it happen, that came to mind first. I was ecstatic to share my experience with others from the Howard community. At the very end of the panel, the Macro x Shea Moisture team surprised us with a fat check. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, Moussa Bathily, Head of Experiential Marketing, shared closing remarks that completely shifted my focus from the check that had just been gifted. “This is not about the money”, he began. “This is about the inspiration that we want to give you, it’s about whats to come the next time we show up here. I want to see more Black creators on this stage. I want to see more dollars put into this initiative, but most importantly, I want to inspire other brands to join this journey”.
In that moment, Bathily’s comment reminded me just how important community is. If it were not people like him, Stacey King, Lis, Leeban, Zen and others, none of this would have been possible. It’s not about the brands or the capital they generate, but the people behind them. The decision to pour into Darris and I was made with intention. There is truly so much value in a community that encourages and invests in one another. Of course, $10,000 is an immense blessing, but it means so much more when coupled with the shared laughs that made me evermore confident to be my authentic self, offline calls about the next steps in my career, quick check in’s and the invaluable lessons I’ve learned along the way.
I am so grateful to Macro x Shea Moisture for pouring into me in every aspect possible. From here, I hope to invest in others in the ways they have invested in me. Thank you for gifting me with the richness of community.