Podcast appearances and mentions of tom burrell

If you understand the concept of “scared money,” apply it to ‘change'. When addressing problems in the community, hold space for it all—respectfully. Discomfort presents opportunities to grow. Are you a true agent of change? Join us as we deconstruct the final chapter of “Brainwashed: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority” by Tom Burrell. We are Kiva and Kahawia. This episode features music from Libby Baeeloo. Visit AfroSoFly.comBecome a Patron! https://www.patreon.com/afrosofly

In a time where everybody is claiming to be “intentional,” what are you choosing to focus your energy on? Join us as we deconstruct Chapter 11 of “Brainwashed: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority” by Tom Burrell. We are Kiva and Kahawia. This episode features music from Libby Baeeloo.This episode mentions Dr. Joy DeGruy's Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome https://www.joydegruy.com/post-traumatic-slave-syndromeVisit AfroSoFly.comBecome a Patron! https://www.patreon.com/afrosofly

Send us a textTom Burrell is a McDonald's owner-operator with restaurants located throughout Central Kentucky including Bardstown, Campbellsville, Cecilia, Elizabethtown, Glasgow, Glendale, Greensburg, Hardinsburg, Hodgenville, Lebanon, Leitchfield, Munfordville, and Springfield, Ky. Overseeing 1,120 employees, the Burrell establishments reflect commitment to community. Tom embodies every aspect of McDonald's Values, from establishing a Culture of Care in his restaurants to empowering his teams to get involved in the communities they serve.For the Burrells, McDonald's represents a family tradition going back to Tom's father and continuing today with numerous family members, including brothers, sisters, nieces, and nephews, serving as operators. Tom's daughter, Audrey Burrell McIntosh, is director of marketing and communications, and son-in-law Scott McIntosh is general counsel._______________________________Find Tom Burrell onLinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-burrell-582747bVia email:tom.burrell2@gmail.comArticle Featuring Recent McDonald's Award:https://www.lanereport.com/168867/2023/10/central-ky-mcdonalds-owner-operator-getting-golden-arch-award/Article Featuring him:https://www.ctm-cpa.com/client-profiles/tom-and-kathy-burrell/_______________________________Show hosted by Landry Fieldshttps://www.x.com/landryfieldz'https://www.linkedin.com/in/landryfields/https://www.instagram.com/landryfields_https://www.youtube.com/@landryfields_www.novainsurancegroup.com859-687-2004Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/denniston/Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/denniston/Website:https://www.realtor.com/realestateagents/5847a67c9188290001d32d63_______________________________Show hosted by Landry Fieldshttps://www.x.com/landryfieldz'https://www.linkedin.com/in/landryfields/https://www.instagram.com/landryfields_https://www.youtube.com/@landryfields_www.novainsurancegroup.com859-687-2004

Skin Folk ain't always Kin Folk. We choose to connect and collaborate with Soul Folk. Join us as we continue to deconstruct, “Brainwashed: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority” by Tom Burrell. We are Kiva and Kahawia. This episode features music from Libby Baeeloo and Lewy Lotus. Visit AfroSoFly.comBecome a Patron! https://www.patreon.com/afrosofly

Leadership is a powerful skill; however, take time to decipher who you are following and for what reason. Join us as we continue to deconstruct, “Brainwashed: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority” by Tom Burrell. We are at Chapter 9, entitled, “Bred to Be Led.” We are programmed to be passive about change; to regurgitate misinformation and to be limited in thought. How willing are you to tap into your own power? Please THINK. This episode features music from Libby BaeelooThis episode mentions, “Media, Mind Control and You” by Faola Ifagaboyede. Here is the source to review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJn58A9IhXgThis episode mentions Brian Hypolite, @brianhyppoliteRemember to Do Your Own Research!Visit AfroSoFly.com

Mon nom est C. Befoune, et il y a 10 ans encore ma vie n'était que douleurs. Je me sentais pilotée par l'autorité familiale, incapable de prendre la moindre décision ; je semblais vivre la même relation amoureuse toxique, mais avec des hommes différents ; ceux supposés être mes amis contribuaient à mon manque de confiance en moi, et je n'avais absolument aucune visibilité sur le plan professionnel malgré mes diplômes et mon expérience. En bref, j'étais complètement perdue.Aujourd'hui tout est différent, je vis cette vie dont je n'osais rêver : mon indépendance est farouche, mes décisions ne sont pas questionnées, j'ai guéri de mes blessures et assaini mon rapport à l'amour, et j'ai travaillé pour des organisations dont je n'osais même pas prononcer le nom. Mon podcast te donne les outils pour y arriver toi aussi. Si tu ne sais pas par où commencer, alors je te tiendrai la main. Grâce à un accompagnement individuel ou en groupe au sein de Caramel & CO, je t'aide à trouver toi aussi de la clarté et à établir une feuille de route adaptée à ta situation et à ta personnalité unique. --Abonne-toi à ma newsletter et reçois toutes les semaines du contenu qui te permettra d'avancer dans tes réflexions, mais aussi tes actions à 360 degrés. --Dans cet épisode je parle de la belle vie : un bon boulot, de l'argent, une famille aimante, des voyages en jet privé, de beaux vêtements, des sessions de Spa à n'en plus finir, les enfants les plus beaux, les plus adorables, les plus sages… Tout cela semble être à notre portée mais on ne l'a pas. Pourquoi ? -- Ressources mentionnées dans l'épisode :Brainwashed: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority, par Tom Burrell

Too many of us get caught up in “symbolism over substance.” It's killing us, quietly. Join us as we continue to deconstruct, “Brainwashed: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority” by Tom Burrell. We are Kiva and Kahawia. This episode features music from Tommi Truthz. In Loving Memory of Demika Moore from Jamaica Queens, New York. Where is the call for justice when we are murdered by our own folks?! Visit AfroSoFly.com Become a Patron! https://www.patreon.com/afrosofly

Advertising Revolutionary: The Life and Work of Tom Burrell

Jason P. Chambers' new book 'Advertising Revolutionary: The Life and Work of Tom Burrell' spotlights the ad exec's influence on the industry's approach to marketing to Black Americans. He joined us to give insight into why he chose to highlight Burrell and why the book is important for this generation of advertisers.

When your frequency is low, your expectations aren't high enough. Join us as we continue to deconstruct, “Brainwashed: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority” by Tom Burrell. We are Kiva and Kahawia. This episode features music from Tommi Truthz and Libby Baeeloo. Visit AfroSoFly.com Become a Patron! https://www.patreon.com/afrosofly

Afriware Books owner reviews the book "Brainwashed" from her Facebook post. Here's the youtube link to the book signing with Tom Burrell in 2021. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nzingha-nommo/support

When you upgrade your thoughts, you upgrade your choices. Join us as we continue to deconstruct, “Brainwashed: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority” by Tom Burrell. We are Kiva and Kahawia. This episode features music from Tommi Truthz, Libby Baeeloo and Lewy Lotus. Visit AfroSoFly.com Become a Patron! https://www.patreon.com/afrosofly

Advertising Revolutionary: The Life and Work of Tom Burrell

We know the 5 Ws. It's time to redirect our focus to the H—HOW? How do we change? How do we evolve? Join us as we continue to deconstruct, “Brainwashed: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority” by Tom Burrell. We are Kiva and Kahawia. This episode features music from Lewy Lotus. Visit AfroSoFly.com Become a Patron! https://www.patreon.com/afrosofly

Brothers and Sisters, we have entered a so-called new year with a new book! It's interesting how relevant an unfavorable truth from the past can still be today. Join us as we begin to deconstruct, “Brainwashed: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority” by Tom Burrell. We are Kiva and Kahawia. This episode features music from Libby Baeeloo. Visit AfroSoFly.com

Philosophy: Prompt Engineering the Mind: https://clivethompson.medium.com/the-psychological-weirdness-of-prompt-engineering-3846755df50chttps://www.aswathkrishnan.com/2023/05/how-to-use-prompt-engineering-to-rewire.htmlNews: Obama, the embodiment of hope for some, the embodiment of fear for others: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/us/politics/donald-trump-vp.htmlIt's them dirty cops, them the ones you need to watch: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/30/us/rankin-county-mississippi-sheriff.htmlChristian values: https://www.newsweek.com/pastors-wife-brags-about-spanking-child-viral-video-1845237https://ffrf.org/component/k2/item/23730-what-s-wrong-with-the-ten-commandmentsClosing:  Not a handout, this is a hand up: https://www.seattleschools.org/news/show-me-the-money/

  McGhee Osse is a trailblazer in multicultural marketing communications. As the Co-CEO of Burrell Communications Group, one of the most highly regarded multicultural advertising agencies in the country, she has both witnessed and influenced the evolution of diversity advertising in the U.S.—and the world. In our conversation, McGhee shares how under-represented black and Hispanic agencies are in the U.S., and yet the spending power of these consumers is massive. While black advertising had its moment after George Floyd, Osse cautions us that “Black people are not dark-skinned white people.” To communicate effectively, you need to understand the demographics and consumption patterns of minority groups and learn to speak in a way that is both engaging and respectful. This episode will open your mind to the importance, and the essential practice, of multicultural advertising. Did you know that less than 2% of ad revenue is devoted to black consumers? Take a listen and find out why. About our Guest: McGhee Osse McGhee Osse is a nationally recognized marketing and advertising professional. She is Co-CEO of Burrell Communications Group, one of the leading and most highly regarded multi-cultural advertising agencies in the country with annual billings exceeding $200 million and a roster of clients that lead in their respective categories, such as Procter & Gamble, McDonald's, Coca-Cola, Kellogg's, Walmart, Toyota and Comcast. McGhee became an equity partner in Burrell Communications in 1996. In 2004 she and a long-time colleague purchased majority ownership of the company from its founder, Tom Burrell. With P&L responsibility and expertise in building brands, she has strategically grown revenue through value-based service and a consumer-focused approach. Innovations to her credit include starting the agency's Yurban marketing initiative, which targets youth and young adults; the introduction and development of the agency's “account planning” practice; and spearheading the agency's formal entry into the digital and interactive marketing arena. And most recently, she launched the agency's political consultancy and practice. WVU Marketing Communications Today: Marketing Legends is presented by the West Virginia University Reed College of Media, which offers renowned online master's degree programs in Marketing Communications.  

This week Tom Butta chats with Tom Burrell, SVP of Retention Marketing with DAZN. With online streaming quickly replacing cable and satellite services as more and more consumers “cut the cord,” DAZN has quickly to give its competitors a run for their money, and its users an amazing experience. Burrell provides an inside look at what technologies he and his team utilize to give DAZN users both engaging and unobtrusive interactions, with some of their newest features including real time sport messaging and the ability to follow your favorite teams even while you're busy. You'll also hear Burrell's thoughts around maximizing customer interaction within well-defined life cycle stages. Additionally, Tom Butta and Tom Burrell dive deep into what steps you can take when you know you are on the verge of losing a subscriber. Whether it's offering additional education about the product offerings or temporary discounts until favorite content is back, Burrell emphasizes the importance of engaging your customers no matter what stage they are at. —Guest BioTom Burrell is the SVP of Retention and Lifecycle Marketing at DAZN, an international over-the-top sports streaming service. In his current role, he is focused on retention marketing and keeping his customers engaged and subscribed. Tom has had quite the journey from data planning to CRM, where he has worked on both the agency and client side. He has led Customer, CRM, Data, Digital and Marketing Departments, Programs and Projects, consultancy & client side for over 20 years. His big superpower? Enabling brands to leverage data and advanced analytics to drive customer centric commercial growth across all stages of the customer lifecycle.Previously, he was based in the Middle East as Global CRM Director for DigitasLBi, after which he went on to become Head of CRM and Marketing at Man Utd. Most recently ,he headed up Customer Marketing at TalkTalk, before getting back to all things sport and moving over to DAZN.—Guest Quote“So, it's really really important to, in an organization like DAZN, make sure that you're dropping the right interaction to the right customer in the right way. Both to support them as a sports fan and getting the best out of the platform, but also to drive the success of our business commercially as well.” – Tom Burrell—Time Stamps *(00:49) Background on Tom Burrell*(02:55) Driving customer growth throughout the entire lifecycle*(06:36) How to build your playbook*(10:45) Learning through testing *(11:40) Why onboarding is critical to user numbers *(17:33) Showing customers all your value*(21:19 What tools does DAZN lean on*(22:46) Can one vendor do it all?*(24:48) Rapid Fire Questions—LinksConnect with Tom Burrell on LinkedInConnect with Tom Butta on LinkedInCheck out the Airship WebsiteWatch your next game on DAZN

In this episode, Joe is joined by retired Army Officer and entrepreneur Tom Burrell. Tom served as an Artillery Officer and after retirement entered corporate America. He discusses with Joe his journey in entrepreneurship and what led up to the founding of Atlas MKE. Atlas MKE is a public benefits company specializing in business to business marketing. Tom shares how the Army prepared him for Entrepreneurship and how refining processes learned in the military can be translated into success in the civilian world. Check out Atlas MKE here.      About Our Guest   Tom Burrell is an experienced executive who is transforming not only how businesses grow but also how they give back. Leading by example, Atlas MKE is an innovative service company that embraces a high level of corporate responsibility. 25% of Atlas MKE profits are given directly back to the community through local 501c partners. Tom views each business as an integral part of our global society. It's through that lens that Atlas MKE was founded - a company that exists to improve conditions for our communities, locally and globally. Atlas MKE is able to do that, and it starts simply by providing world class service. . Join the conversation on Facebook! Check out Veteran on the Move on Facebook to connect with our guests and other listeners. A place where you can network with other like-minded veterans who are transitioning to entrepreneurship and get updates on people, programs and resources to help you in YOUR transition to entrepreneurship.   About Our Sponsors Navy Federal Credit Union  Managing your money can be hard because of competing goals like growing savings versus Paying down debt or managing everyday expenses versus having fun.  Or what about those unexpected expenses that always come along. Navy Federal Credit Union takes the legwork out of savings and investing with a variety of choices. Want to supersize your savings earnings? They're offering some of their highest rates in 10 years. And, whether you choose savings or investments, you can make it easier by automating. Plus, their website has articles, tips and tools that make complicated subjects easier to understand. Check out Navy Federal's supercharged rates at navyfederal.org/saveandinvest. At Navy Federal, our members are the mission.     Hostinger There's never been a better time to start an online business and if you need a website for your ecommerce business you really only have two choices, pay a lot of money or try to do it yourself….which never works well unless you're a web designer. At least that's what I thought Until I discovered Hostinger. Hostinger has Everything you need to thrive online: you can Launch a website or online shop in minutes without technical or design skills. It's only $2.99/month, including a free domain name. Right now you can get  78% off website and hosting plans, plus 2 months free = get everything for just $2.99/month.  So check out Hostinger.com/VETERAN, use promo code VETERAN for an extra 10% off.      Want to be our next guest? Send us an email at interview@veteranonthemove.com.  Did you love this episode? Leave us a 5-star rating and review!  Download Joe Crane's Top 7 Paths to Freedom or get it on your mobile device. Text VETERAN to 38470. Veteran On the Move podcast has published over 460 episodes. Our listeners have the opportunity to hear in-depth interviews conducted by host Joe Crane. The podcast features people, programs, and resources to assist veterans in their transition to entrepreneurship.  As a result, Veteran On the Move has over 7,000,000 verified downloads through Stitcher Radio, SoundCloud, iTunes and RSS Feed Syndication making it one of the most popular Military Entrepreneur Shows on the Internet Today.

Kimbrough is a writer and an award-winning producer who started her advertising career as a Creative Secretary in 1974 with Burrell Communications Group. Kimbrough won first place at the Orlando Urban Film Festival for the short film, Raggedy Man, that she produced with longtime industry friends. Most recently, she served as Co-Producer on a documentary entitled Burrell: Advertising Revolution which highlights Tom Burrell and the positive impact his agency had on advertising targeted to the African American community. The documentary aired on PBS. Kimbrough is a Christian and an active member of her church, Murchison-Isom Temple CME where, Rev. Dr. Karen Walker-McClure is the pastor. At her church, she serves as Director of Creative Arts, a steward, and an usher. Kimbrough lives in Chicago, Illinois and is the proud mother of Crystal and proud grandmother of Tiffany and Ean.

Jason P. Chambers is an associate professor in the Department of Advertising at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He currently teaches courses on advertising history, classic advertising campaigns, and the foundations of advertising philosophy. His work has been published in books and both academic and trade journals in the United States, Asia, and Europe. Dr. Chambers recently completed a biography of advertising legend Thomas J. Burrell titled, "An Advertising Revolutionary: The Life and Work of Tom Burrell", and has other published books like "Madison Avenue and the Color Line: African Americans in the Advertising Industry" and "Building the Black Metropolis: African American Entrepreneurship in Chicago". EPISODE LINKS: Jason Chambers' Website: http://jasonpchambers.com/ "The Courage to Write": https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780805074673/thecouragetowrite OUTLINE: 0:00 - Introduction 0:40 - Chambers' history with "History" 4:70 - History of Race in Advertising 12:20 - The secret of Advertising 20:30 - Can 'Ethical Advertising' exist? 25:33 - "True Fans" 30:08 - Social responsibilities of a company 36:47 - Predicting human behavior 51:05 - The best way to learn 1:11:01 - Advice for young people

In a casual conversation with a friend in 2010, Dr. Gina Paige was introduced to a book with a bold title and an interesting premise—Brainwashed by Tom Burrell. In the book, Burrell takes the framework of advertising and marketing campaigns to explain the hundreds of years-long process of brainwashing Black people into believing their own inferiority. While she was already aware of this connection between Black people and racist advertising because of the research she did in graduate school, Gina found this premise enlightening and helpful in thinking about why her company, African Ancestry, did such important work for the Black community. Using cutting-edge genetic science, African Ancestry is able to reconnect African-Americans to their African heritage down to the specific people and place with just a sample of their DNA. In this episode, we talk about the significance of knowing who your ancestors are, the power of mitochondrial DNA, and the multi-faceted relationship between Black people and science. African Ancestry's Website Real Ballers Read website Real Ballers Read on Instagram --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/realballersread/support

It is the last day of Black History Month in America. Here at Edelman our theme has been Joy-full: Manifesting Wellness and Unity with programming that has prioritized self-care and community along with personal and financial health. As a bonus episode for this month, Dani Jackson-Smith talks with Dr. Jason Chambers author of Madison Avenue and the Color Line: African Americans in the Advertising Industry about the importance of understanding history.    TRANSCRIPT Dani Jackson Smith [00:00:01] It's all you are at work after hours and back at home exploring every layer, finding out what makes you uniquely you and letting that shine back out into the world. It's authentic 365, a podcast that takes a glimpse into how some of the most inspiring people among us express themselves and make magic happen. I'm your host. Danny Jackson Smith, VP at Edelman by day, community enthusiast and lover of the people always. Its the last day of Black History Month in America, and here at Edelman, our theme has been Joy-full: Manifesting Wellness and Unity with programing that has prioritized self-care and community, along with personal and financial health. As a bonus episode for this month, I'll be talking with Dr. Jason Chambers, author of Madison Avenue and the Color Line African-Americans in the Advertising Industry and note, he is also my former professor at the University of Illinois. Dr. Chambers, let's start with this Where are you from? Dr. Jason Chambers [00:01:02] I am originally from Central Ohio, a small town named London, Ohio, which probably most people have never heard of. But it's about 20 minutes outside Columbus, so it's almost right smack dab in the center of the Great State of Ohio. Dani Jackson Smith [00:01:14] When did you first start getting passionate about advertising? Dr. Jason Chambers [00:01:18] You know, I'm one of those weird people who always kind of paid attention to advertising. I can remember watching it, watching commercials on Saturday mornings in-between cartoons, back when kids still did such a thing. So I've always kind of had an interest in advertising. I've always been one who kind of paid attention to advertising. I always I grew up in the last heyday of the jingle, the advertising jingle. So I've always liked advertising in some form, some form or fashion, even from a very young age. Dani Jackson Smith [00:01:48] OK, so at what point did you say or begin to shift this passion for advertising into really digging into the history of advertising? Dr. Jason Chambers [00:01:58] That was something for me that came in graduate school. I'd always had an interest in media. For example, I edited a Black newspaper, Black student newspaper when I was an undergraduate, so I was always going to go either. You know, I was always going to be in some way shape or form connected to media, whether it was going to be journalism, whether it was going to be advertising, whether it was going to be something in the realm of of production. So I'd always had an interest in media. But I went to when I went to graduate school to get an advanced degree, advanced degrees in history. It really was a set of classes that I took that studied consumers and studied the way that people had evolved as consumers. And I combine that with an interest, a growing interest then of studying the history and the story of African-American business enterprises, African-American as business owners and a variety of industries, or African-Americans, as high level employees, executives and a variety of industries, so that the various things media and advertising and business, those interests kind of all came together into a study of African-Americans' participation in the advertising industry. What we have been able to do as business owners, as high level employees, how we had or had not been able to matriculate in the advertising industry. Those are those things all came together at that point. Dani Jackson Smith [00:03:18] And what really stood out for you in the research that was that you were beginning to do at the graduate level? Dr. Jason Chambers [00:03:26] I think the things that stood out for me, perhaps not so not so much in a good way, is the way that our story in advertising had really been obscured or ignored or overlooked. One of the things about history that you learn is that it's not that stories don't exist, it's that stories just haven't been told or stories just haven't been known. And so for much of advertising history, for much of advertising story was really a story of White men. We didn't even really, this is back in the 1990s, early 2000s, I got my Ph.D. in 2001, so I'm in graduate school in the 1990s. Back then, we didn't even really consider the story of women. It was still rare to consider the story of women White, Black or otherwise in advertising. So advertising was very much a story of what what had White men done in concert with other White men. So White men on the advertising agency side of things and White men on the client side of things, how the two of the two of those groups come together to form the relationship that we've come to know between advertising agencies and clients. So even in the landscape of women, we might have winch and one woman's name. If you'd studied advertising extent, the story of advertising extensively, maybe you heard the name of Helen Reese, or maybe you you'd heard the name of Mary Wells Lawrence. But other than that, you didn't get any story of the role of women in advertising that had been overlooked or not really told at that time. And certainly a company that would have been the story of African-Americans. And so based upon what I knew of African-American history, I can say with confidence that confidence that there is virtually no industry, none whatsoever. There is no industry in America that African-Americans have at least not tried to enter in some way, shape or form. You can't find one. Now, whether or not we were able to do so, whether or not we were able to be successful in doing so, that's a whole other question that's getting into the details. But in terms of whether or not we tried to be in advertising or whether or not we had tried to be in a particular industry, I knew that there had to be a story there and I wanted to find that out because even even if we were absent from the industry, let's just say the the stories of African-American absence and advertising were correct, then I felt that there had to be a story there as to why we had been absent. Why hadn't we've been able to operate in the area of advertising? Why had we perhaps chosen not to try to operate in the area of advertising? Because the the history of African-Americans in newspapers, the you know, that original form of print media, the stories of African-American newspapers go back as far as there's almost as far as there's been anything worthy of calling it the United States of America. So if we'd been in newspapers and it doesn't take a genius to see, you didn't have to be a genius publisher or editor to see the value of advertising dollars to your newspaper, then there had to be some. I knew there had to be have had to have been some effort for African-Americans to get into advertising. And I wanted to and I wanted to know what happened. Dani Jackson Smith [00:06:31] I am over here smiling because I remember sitting in your advertising history class as well as your race and ethnicity class at the University of Illinois and just learning so much. What was the journey like starting those classes? Dr. Jason Chambers [00:06:47] The advertising history class had been there even before I had arrived. That had been something that had been in some way shape or form, part and parcel of the of the department. Even, you know, almost from the very beginning, when it was founded by Charles Standage, the race class was a little bit different because the race and ethnicity class. Even back then, you know, you're still having to assemble a lot of, you know, disparate materials because, you know, we didn't have really an extensive there's not really an extensive historiography or is not really an extensive area of academic study that that it tried to capture the story of race and ethnicity, its connection to advertising, the role of African-American consumers, the role of consumers of any race or ethnicity. So trying to capture that and encapsulated into a class it and make it make sense, it was challenging. It's gotten it's gotten subsequently easier over the years. But you know, our respect for the industry's respect for consumers of various races and ethnicities is something that has ebbed and flowed over the years and depending upon how it's either ebbing or flowing, dictates the level of resources. In some way, shape or form dictates the level of resources that are available to use for instruction in some ways. Dani Jackson Smith [00:08:03] What year was it when you when you taught that class the first time? Dr. Jason Chambers [00:08:06] That would have probably been around 2006, 2007. Dani Jackson Smith [00:08:09] When I think about that class, which I still have the course packet for and I use as a reference and a resource. I think about then the journey to you as an author and the publishing of your book Madison Avenue and the Color Line, which I believe was three years later in 2009. Is that correct? That's correct. I'm thinking about what you just shared, you know, the lack of resource and a lack of information there. And how did you see creating Madison Avenue and the color line filling that gap? Dr. Jason Chambers [00:08:43] That's an excellent way to put it Dani, because that's exactly how I saw it was filling that gap because of the resources that were available that that purported to tell the story of advertising, you know, the books like the mirror makers or Soap Sex and Cigarets or a variety of other titles. And there aren't that many, but even the ones that tried to purport to tell the story of advertising in the United States of America, we were at best the story of African-Americans was at best a few paragraphs or, if we were lucky, a few pages. And so I saw myself as filling that gap to provide the story of, you know, African-American participation, to go back to the nineteen teens and see those first efforts of African-Americans attempting to combine a respect for a respect and a respectful treatment of African-Americans as consumers, but also to combine those with business enterprises. Because after all, advertising is a business to make money. But going back to the nineteen teens for people like a gentleman out of actually out of Chicago, Claude Barnett, who who one of his first forays into business was to try to run an advertising agency such, you know, loosely defined. Not something that we perhaps recognized this as an agency today, but, you know, the creation of artwork, creation of copy and and the placement of same for various businesses. So, you know, looking at his letters and his efforts to interest businesses around the country in, you know, targeting African-Americans as consumers and then obviously utilizing his agency in his own kind of knowledge of media and its knowledge of advertising to be able to do so. And so there are there are many stories like that from that 19-teens period forward African-American striving to found agencies or African-American striving to use their own expertise or interests and being artists or writers to find a place for themselves, musicians as well. To find a place for themselves in advertising. And so you know that book covers, you know, those various stories and so people whose names had otherwise been kind of lost to history. Claude Barnett at Branford and David Sullivan and and many others to tell the story of what they had had, what they had to endure to try to get into advertising, to try to impact and change the advertising industry, to try to impact and change out treated or even perceived of African-American consumers to get rid of some of the derogatory and stereotypical negative imagery connecting the advertising industry, connecting the civil rights movement to the advertising industry and things of that nature. And so that book does kind of all of those things in ways that no other source had done to that time. And so I really did see it and do see it. Still, even you know where we at 13 years later, I still see it in that way because as a as a resource, it still functions in that way because many of those names still aren't, you know, still aren't as widely known as I would, as I would prefer. Dani Jackson Smith [00:11:49] I think that's an amazing point because, you know, while we may know the Tom Burrell's or the Carol Williams, there's so much about our history, in particular our advertising history that many of us don't know because maybe we didn't have to take that class in school. Or, you know, it's not a priority on the journey, but it is really vital when we think about the work that we do moving forward. So before I go into talking about the work, let's take a pause to talk about authenticity, right? Because I think it's something really special about the connection between history, preserving history. And then, like you said, your your your passion that you've carried throughout to where you are today. And there is a through line there that I would like to explore around your passions and how that's carried through today. And maybe how that ladders up to maybe how you perceive or define authenticity for yourself. Dr. Jason Chambers [00:12:49] I heard it as described as an African proverb. Perhaps others have heard it described differently than that's fine when it comes to these types of things. But it's the proverb of only when the Lions have historians will the hunters cease to be heroes. And for me, that is an absolute truism of advertising. Advertising is the story told according to the people who are in power at the time. The people who are who are in power because they have the money or they have the time, or they have the resources to tell a particular story. And when it came or interested, even in telling a particular story. And so when it comes to the story of advertising for far too long, it's been the story of essentially of the genius of White men. And that is a it's it's simply incorrect. It, as I said earlier, it overlooks the role of women. It overlooks the role of racial minorities that overlooks the role of people of different gender identities, of people, of people of different sexual orientations like much but like much of our history, and it is exactly that much of our stories in a variety of categories. It is exactly that. And so it is it is an inauthentic telling of what happened. Right? It's a telling of a particular point of view. Again, the genius of White men. But it's an incorrect point of view, and it's a it's a point of view that damages everybody else, but it also damages them because, you know, it essentially says it leads them to from our own present time in twenty twenty twenty two to look back and consider that there was a point in the world in which, well, White men were simply masters of the universe, and that time just needs to come again. No, you weren't. And you never have been. That's the story that you've told yourself, and that's the story that's been replicated. But it's been done so because it has allowed you to overlook all of the contributions of everybody else that you'd rather ignore right to to hail your own genius and to justify your own continued positions of power. So it's an it's an inauthentic representation of what happened, but it's one that far too many people still want to celebrate the facts of history, not the story of history, but the fact of history don't bear that out, but you nevertheless want to continue to celebrate this inauthentic ideal. Again, much to your own detriment, let alone the detriment of the rest of the country. And so my my own purpose and my own role in this, as I see it, is to bring that authenticity, to bring those facts to light. And then we could we can encounter the facts and we can discuss the facts later. But to encounter them rather than to ignore them, I believe, is my role and really my my greatest contribution. Dani Jackson Smith [00:15:30] And how does that also play out? Let's say, like if you had to say, Hey, here's how I define authenticity. How would you define authenticity? Dr. Jason Chambers [00:15:39] I define authenticity as the truth, regardless of the consequences. The facts, regardless of the consequences. Telling the story of African-Americans in advertising, for example, doesn't mean that it's a story of un of unparalleled celebration. There's been fits, there's been starts, there's been successes, there's been failures. There's some places where things could have been done better, been done differently. But authenticity requires that. That truth telling it in it requires encountering both the the victories, as well as the failures of all of our various stories and looking at how they combine together into the tapestry that is, you know, that is America, that, you know, that is advertising in the United States of America. So I define authenticity as a way of centralizing truths. Right. And it's not individually defined Dani Jackson Smith [00:16:32] in your journey to live authentically and put out authentic work. What type of challenges have you come across? Dr. Jason Chambers [00:16:40] I think the biggest challenge is disbelief, right? Disbelief that that there actually was a people don't often don't often think that things that they haven't heard of must be can't be true or to say it a little bit more elegantly. We normalize that which we've been taught and anything that stands outside of that, which we've been taught. We put a certain filter on or people have a tendency to put a certain filter on to say, Well, that can't be true, because if it was true, then that's what I would have been taught. Well, no, not necessarily. And because then we get into the politics of storytelling, we get into the politics of history because those things, you know, those things are there as well. You know, we we strive for objectivity, but there really is no such. There really is no such thing because there's a there's a subjectivity in the questions that you even ask. There's a there's a subjectivity in the the resources that you choose to highlight, even as even as a writer. And so I think the, you know, one of those biggest things is has been again, that area of disbelief that that the African-American contribution could have been that great because people will say, Well, if it had been that great, then why haven't we talked about it more than White? Why haven't African-Americans be, you know, created greater and larger agencies? And why have there only been so few African-American CEOs of major agencies? Well, then we can get into. Well, I'm glad you asked. Now let's talk about racism and racist policies. And that's where that's where people hold their hand up and says, say, well, well, well, hold on a second. That's that's where I that's where I get off. And and my response has been, if you want to encounter the truth of the advertising industry, then you have to encounter the central truth that it is an industry that was founded and exclusion. It is an industry that was founded on keeping people out. Right. That's what Dr. Kennedy means when he talks about the idea of a person can be doesn't have to be racist to practice the practice and support racist policies. And as an industry, advertising has long been filled with racist policies that have been replicated without for a long time, without much question. Dani Jackson Smith [00:18:58] Now when we talk about, you know, responsibility who is responsible for ensuring that history is told correctly, Dr. Jason Chambers [00:19:09] Ultimately, I think it's I think it's all of us. But I have also been one who has said that as an African-American, as an African-American storyteller, if, if, if I want our stories out there, then I have to participate in their telling. Does that mean it can be only African-Americans who tell African-American stories or women who tell women's stories? Men who tell men's stories would have, you know, absolutely not. But I always felt a special responsibility to do so because I knew about so many of the distortions of history that were connected to African-Americans. You know, I'll give you a big one. You know the story of the happy slave ride that the happy slave, if you if you think about that, the happy and the the singing, the happy singing Darcie that was often used also Houston and for a long time in the advertising industry. But that myth of the Old South. It's such a...I'll refrain from blue language. It's such a lie, right? It is absolutely positively, unquestionably such a lie. But people still use it today. Right, the south, this in the south that it was better. This and it was better that. No, it wasn't. No, it wasn't. Factually, I can demonstrate it factually. No, it wasn't. It might have been better for a few, but I knew that and I know that. But if you're going to get around that and you're going to change that narrative, then you have to have people who are willing to push back against that type of narrative. And I always I always wanted to be one of those historians who pushed back. One of the scholars who pushed back, really. Dani Jackson Smith [00:20:47] I was reading the article that you were in in the Guardian and you say ethnicity is authenticity. Can you explain that? Dr. Jason Chambers [00:20:58] Well, what I meant by that, by that was in that piece, we were talking about the use of stereotypes. We're talking about the use of stereotypes like Aunt Jemima, the the expert Black cook, the happy, whether she was a happy slave or a happy former slave. She was so happy with her, even with her old slave holding family that even after freedom decided to stick around on Masta's Old Plantation and cook breakfast for Masta and his family. And so I said that that image was utilized in things like, you know, Aunt Jemima products or the smiling servants of Uncle Ben's or the smiling servants of Cream of Wheat, among many others. A number of others that were there are no longer sold or have been lost to history for a variety of reasons. But what I was saying in that phrase of ethnicity is authenticity is that stereotypes were used to provide a vision of authenticity of the product. And so if such an expert Black cook as Aunt Jemima offered her recipe of pancake, a pancake making to the, you know, to the Quaker company, for them, for the making of their Aunt Jemima pancake mix, then that image of this ethnic person, this Black woman was used to convey a sense of the authenticity of the product. Right. So the ethnicity itself becomes a marker of authenticity. So it becomes a marker of the truth or the value of the product in question. Dani Jackson Smith [00:22:27] From a historical standpoint, as we know, history repeats itself in certain points. Maybe what you you would see moving forward? Dr. Jason Chambers [00:22:36] I think the way that I would answer that, Dani, is that, you know, time is linear, but people are not right. People have a tendency to ebb and flow, will take two steps forward as we take one step back or two steps, two steps forward and then take three steps back. It's, you know, you liken it to somebody who's who's trying to get in shape, right? You know, we just came out of a few weeks past the new year now and, you know, past the point of, you know, New Year's resolutions, right? When people resolve that, this is going to be the year that they get in shape and they're all in on it for days and maybe weeks. But now as we enter February and you know, we just got 12 inches of snow here in Champaign a couple of days ago. Now we enter the time where it gets really hard. It's not as easy to get to the gym or it's not as easy to keep working out, or it's not as easy to to keep eating right. And so, you know, we maybe have the tendency to slide back into the comfortable. Well, that's what I mean. You know, the calendar has moved linear linearly. We've gone from January to February and life. But as people, we took a few steps in my my example here. We took a few steps forward. We took us a few steps towards getting in shape, but then we took a maybe a step back towards kind of backsliding into my prior behavior of bad eating or or, you know, sleeping in rather than getting up to work out. Well, I think I think the same thing, you know, with advertising, I think people can be and have been people can be earnest in wanting to do different or wanting to see change or wanting to see different voices and and faces and locus of power in front of and behind the camera. But my question is what? What happens when it gets hard? What happens when we're, you know, we're past the energy. And so I think that, you know, those of us who are interested in seeing continue change in this industry, we have to recognize that that there will inevitably be a feeling of, you know, well, we've done enough or we've we've we've tried long enough or we've we've invested enough. And when you know, when that happens, just like the person has to push through, you know, getting up to keep going to the gym, you know, we have to continue to push through and say, No, we haven't done enough. No, a few dollars here or a few months of attention doesn't outweigh, you know, a hundred plus years of racist policies in this industry. You know, something like the advertising industry that you know, the advertising industry. If I can speak about it historically for a moment. You know, we consider the advertising industry to have been born somewhere in the 1880s 1890s, and by that I don't mean that nothing like advertising had been around before. I'm talking about the foundation of agencies, agencies that have roles and offices and things that we might recognize today are copy media placement, what have you. That's a very much an 1880s 1890s kind of phenomenon when we first start to see that. And so as an industry, then we've been around for hundred and forty years. Right? So for the one hundred and forty years, the overwhelming majority of it has been spent with racist policies in place. The overwhelming majority of it has been spent striving to exclude anyone but White men and for a long time for much of that history. I'm talking, we're talking primarily Christian White men. We're the only ones who are welcome to enter. White men who came from exclusive institutions were the only ones that were welcome to do, couldn't be Italian or Jewish or or Greek and get a job, you know, and many agencies until the 1960s, even if you were a White man. So it's been an industry of exclusion for most of its history. That's what it is at its foundation. And so a few months or, you know, a few years can't change that or even a few investments can't change that. Not not overnight, because in historical terms, what we've experienced in the last two years has actually has been overnight. And if we allow ourselves to, you know, take our eye off off of the, you know, the various goals that we have, then I think that we will see a backsliding into traditional actions or to traditional behavior because that's what that's what it's been for most of its history. Dani Jackson Smith [00:26:42] What advice do you give for people to remain authentic, to keep pushing and not be on the sidelines? You know, I'm sure, as you say, like we take one step forward, two steps back. There's this ebb and flow of, you know, maybe people get a little worn out of of staying in the fight or staying at the at the head of keeping things moving forward. So what advice do you give? Dr. Jason Chambers [00:27:06] One of the biggest and best pieces of advice I ever got was to find you, find yourself a support group, find people and they can be in the industry or without. But you find yourself a network or a group of people of people or persons to whom you can vent. A network or a group of persons to whom and with whom you can yourself be. You can be authentic because there is a there is a relief in that right. It's like, Dr. Dubois said, all those many years ago, especially about being African-American and, you know, working in the in the broader White controlled world, which is that one ever feels is Tunis. When you're trying to push back or you're trying to push through policies that have been in place long before you, and many of which, even if they only exist as norms will be and perhaps will be in place after you that will wear you out and you will get the desire to retreat from the fight. Right. And I just I just want to go to work and be OK. I get that. That happens. So, you know, you take your strategic breaks and then, man, you got to get you got to get back in the ring, so to speak, because somebody somebody got in the ring for all of us, somebody got in the ring for me to and stayed in the ring for me to be able to operate in the way that I do in the academy to have a place it somewhere like the University of Illinois. There had been of time, which I wouldn't have been welcome here. There would've been a time which you wouldn't have been welcomed here unless unless we were sweeping and maybe not even then. So, you know, that's what we have to do until there is a time which we have to do it no more. Hmm. Dani Jackson Smith [00:28:42] Yeah. And I'm not good at sweeping, I'm so bad at it, so I think that's just a really good point. You know, in terms of someone opened the door for us, you know, our made the way so that we can be present and staying encouraged, leaning on each other to support each other and keeping the door open and making it, you know, nonexistent for the next group of people that come through. Why do you think learning about the history of advertising specifically around race and ethnicity at the college level before you get into the workplace is important? Dr. Jason Chambers [00:29:20] Oh, that's an excellent question, because I think if if we can establish that such a thing happened then or a variety of things happen, whether it's connected to race or ethnicity, racism, what have you, then when you get out there and you get told these things and when you're in your workaday world just trying to get the job done, I need to get I need to get home myself. Type of environment, then it's not such a surprise. It's not such an uphill struggle for a person to come to understand the impact of racism or a person to understand the value of African-American media, or a person to understand the importance of multiple representations, the importance of people, the importance to people to see themselves respectfully represented. It's it's not. It's not such a heavy weight to try to grapple with because instead of being new to you, it ticks something in your mind that you're like, Wait a minute, I have heard that before and that that that does make sense. It resonates with you in a in a in a way that something that's absolutely new and is asking you to change the way that you're actually doing business. It resonates with you in a different way and allows, I think, people to make change or to at least to accept change or not stand in the way of change, to accept it and in a much more nimble fashion versus something that you've heard for the first time or something that's completely new to you or some group that you'd never been told and you needed to account for or even considered before in a particular product category category, you're being told no, that's that's actually not the case. And so setting that intellectual foundation for people when they don't have necessarily money or time on the line, right, the money up their, you know, their job on the line or the time of doing something extra or doing something new. That, I think is is the value of providing that the people when they have when they're in that point, they're at that point in their life, when hopefully they're, you know, they have the opportunity to, you know, really intellectually grapple with new ideas that college is at least supposed to be for in part. Dani Jackson Smith [00:31:24] What have you seen from incoming students that feels new or feels inspiring or helps you to understand, like, Hey, the industry is changing. Dr. Jason Chambers [00:31:39] I think the biggest thing, Dani, is, you know, if I had to point to a single thing, it would be their acceptance of diversity has changed in the 20 years that I've been here. I started in Illinois in 2001 and the sense of diversity or cross fertilization of ideals that is really broken down is not to say that people don't still group themselves based upon race and based upon ethnicity and other factors, gender identity and the like. It's not to say that that isn't there, but the acceptance of Hey, people want to see representation. It's important to show people of different groups. It's important to show people of different faiths and ethnicities and sexual orientations. The the questioning of that has decreased significantly in the 20 years that I've been here. You know, in a classroom, it doesn't feel like such an it's it's not even doesn't feel it's not such an uphill struggle as it once was to convince people that, hey, there is a value in diversity. It's becoming and it has become more of an accepted part of it and an ideal. So if you if you'll allow kind of an example instead of maybe 15 years ago, a student coming in and I'm trying to talk to them about diversity and diverse representation in media and advertising, and then perhaps having an intellectual attitude of, well, you have to convince me of that now. It's more of a. Well, of course there is. Mm-Hmm. You know, of course, there's a value of courses and importance of representation because, you know, they're they've at least seen more of it. Right. So they don't, you know, they don't look at their, you know, televisions or video screens anymore and only expect to see White people. Right. But it's important for them to understand to me how we got there and what what is preceded where we are. Because without that, there's always the potential for backsliding. Right. So it's important for me to talk to them about the time you know that I was laying. I was laying on my couch, just watching TV on an afternoon in an afternoon and a Lexus commercial came on a commercial for Lexus cars and the couple driving the car was it was a Black man and a Black woman, and I fell off my couch because up to that point and this is only, you know, 20, 25 years ago, up to that point, we had never seen it. You know, they didn't. They didn't use Black people to advertise luxury automobiles. Right? And so then we then we can get into the why and we can and can get into the how we got there and we can get into why that was such an astounding moment just for a person, you know, not even really that much of a scholar at that time. Or at least I wasn't watching TV with scholarly intent, but it was so surprising to me. So what if we can talk about those things and they can understand the moments that preceded the ones that in which we currently exist. Then it's also important for them to see and understand that, hey, you know, again, time is linear, but people aren't. So there's always the potential for us to backslide into prior things that were easy, more comfortable. Maybe we feel make more money, whatever the case may be. Dani Jackson Smith [00:34:50] I love it. I love it. Yeah, I am. As you can say, I'm a I'm a fan. I'm a fan of knowing where you come from so that you can know where you're going, and also just so that you can see different perspectives. And I love that you shared that shift. Right. It seems like, hey, the work isn't as hard to convince people of the need of diversity right now or the value within a classroom. Dr. Jason Chambers [00:35:19] Yeah. And so I think that's well said. And the thing is, if I can give if we can talk about it and encounter it in the classroom, then when you're out there as a decision maker, when you're out there as a person who has power, when you're out there, even as a junior account representative or whatever, a junior client representative and you have to choose an agency or recommend one or, you know, you're in a hiring capacity, you know, then ideally you carry that, you know, that you carry that with you when you do have some measure of power, influence, control, what have you. That you, you know, you can make your make, you know, help help to foster change in your own, you know, your own corner of the universe, if you will. Dani Jackson Smith [00:35:56] How do you balance the workload as a professor? The dedication to, you know, being present and publishing articles, things like that and family life and things of that nature like how do you, you know, round it all out? Dr. Jason Chambers [00:36:14] I think the thing for me over the years, I have learned to compartmentalize and pick a time to turn things off, right? You know, to turn things mentally off, you know, pick pick things that allow me just to, you know, separate out the, you know, the scholarship part or the, you know, the work in the intentional, the story, the storytelling, your fact finding part of me, you know, to just separate that out and not to do it all the time that at some point and in some places, you know, you can't stay immersed in it all the time, you know, or or it will eat you up. Right? It really it really will. And again, to, you know, to find the area where I think my skills are most optimally used and to operate in that area to try to foster and drive change rather than try to operate in every single possible area of the universe. Right. Well, I've got I've got to try to change this and I've got to try to change that and that and that that'll wear you out. And so you can't do all things, you know, all things equally well. And so, you know, I've chosen to, you know, figure out the things that are most important to me, family first and then do those things, you know, the both the the majority of energy to those things and then, you know, divided accordingly, you know, to the other things that are that are important to me as well. Right. But you know, when you when you're younger, you think I have to try to be involved in every potential issue and you just you just can't do that, but you can, but you'll just wear yourself out and find yourself in hospital. Dani Jackson Smith [00:37:46] I think that's very well said because the amount of issues and the complexity of just managing an issue. Can take so much out of you as a person, right? So sometimes you feel like all right. And I definitely agree it is a is the graduating I mean, I'm late 30s now. I'm thirty eight. I just turned 38. So the me 38 versus the me at 21. Trying to understand like, how do you impact the world? How do you create change? How do you stand up for your community and maybe thinking like, OK, I can do it all. I can do, I can be on the front lines and I can tackle, you know, education and oh my goodness, we need to do something about real estate. And we, you know, there are a lot there are a lot of issues here. And I think when we think about systemic racism and the impact of systemic racism, we have to, you know, again, go back to the importance of community. And that's why we tap each other so well. You know, one person may be leading the charge from a real estate equity standpoint. You know, we can stand in this lane and lead the charge in diversity, equity, inclusion from education through time in the workplace, on the advertising side of things. And hopefully, we're in working together. We create a better society, you know, because you can't do it all by yourself. Dr. Jason Chambers [00:39:20] Yeah. No, no, no, absolutely. I think that's very well said. And it's like, OK, some, some sometimes it becomes, you know, how how can I combine an area that I'm, you know, maybe there's a way to combine an area that I'm interested in, you know, with, you know, with my own work. You know, you mentioned real estate a moment ago and I was reading the couple, you know the story and there's been more than one. So you know, the story of the Black couple who had White friends show their house and purport to be owners of their house and the, you know, the valuation of increased by a half million dollars? Right? And so it's it's it becomes, you know, you you want to tackle the financial inequities of things, right? You want it. You want to tackle the, you know, the role of home home ownership and fostering wealth in fostering the ability to build wealth. What have you and stuff like? You know, I as as a historian, you know, well, I want I want to dig into that. I went to that story, to be honest. It's not anything. It's like, Well, that's not really where where I'm at. And so, you know, are there ways to combine that interest with, you know, with advertising and with the way that we show home- with even the depiction that even the depiction of home owners? Right. So, you know, you look for ways to try to tie your interests together, your passions together, I think with your work has been one of the things that I've striven to do. But then at the same time, also find ways in places where it's like, You know what? I'm I'm turning it off, right? And I'm just going to I'm just going to vegge out. And sometimes I just I just think about, you know, a picture that that I keep of Dr. King. And he was shooting pool. And it's like, you know what, even there was even points where Dr. King turned it off and said, Nope, nope. Or at least for these 60 Minutes or whatever. I'm just I'm just thinking about pool. Dani Jackson Smith [00:41:10] I love it, I think that's a perfect way to end, you know, revolutionary civil rights activists or not. Sometimes you have to turn it off and just shoot pool. Yeah, that's it. These are the type of conversations, just real, authentic conversations that help us learn together and grow together. So thank you for sharing. Dr. Jason Chambers [00:41:30] You are quite welcome. I enjoyed the conversation as well. Dani Jackson Smith [00:41:34] And that's a wrap for this episode. Many thanks to you for watching with us. And until next time, keep it authentic all day. Every day. Shout out to our team behind the scenes Faith McIver, Emma Marie MacAfee, Trisch Smith, Denise Busch, Sarah Neil, Pamela Blandon, Emma Dowling, Ryan VandenBosch. Authentic 365 is brought to you by global communications firm Edelman.  

Lewis Williams is Chief Creative Officer at Burrell Communications, an African-American-focused, female-owned agency that started 50 years ago to address the interests of Black consumers. Historically, African-Americans often have not been portrayed favorably in the media. Burrell focuses on depicting African-Americans in a positive, realistic way. The very first national-scale client? McDonalds. Other big-name organizations the agency has worked with include Toyota, Walmart, Proctor & Gamble, Google, Major League Baseball and Coca-Cola. Majority-owned by Fay Ferguson and McGhee Williams-Osse, Burrell Communications maintains a strong partnership and affiliation with Publicis . . . and shares clients with other Publicis Groupe agencies. The agency maintains its independence, but the association with Publicis provides synergistic backup and resources. Early in his career, Lewis was often the only person of color in an agency. After working five years at Burrell, he left to pursue other opportunities at some large, high-profile agencies. Twenty years later, Fay and McGhee contacted him and offered him his current position as Burrell's Chief Creative Officer. Like many employees at this agency, Lewis was a “boomerang” -- working for Burrell . . . leaving . . . and then coming back. He credits his success to having great mentors, “following the green lights,” and the chip-on-his-shoulder, I'll-prove-I-can-do-it attitude that came from being an African-American raised in the South. Lewis has seen a lot of change. In 1971, brands were afraid to feature Black people in their marketing: “other” people might assume that the product was just for Black people. Early MTV required Black artists “to have a white person in the video.” Back then, there were a few who understood that consumers came in “all different shapes, sizes, and colors” and the issue was not about race . . . it was about reaching out to untapped audiences.  The one thing that will never change in marketing, Lewis says, is “telling great stories.” Story length varies, depending on platform – from as little as two words in a tweet, six seconds on Instagram, on up to a story line running though such an epic series as Game of Thrones. Lewis reminds us, “Every platform has a personality and expectations.” In this interview, Lewis explains why advertisers use the abbreviated, frustrating, 15-second version of an engaging 30-second spot . . . it's not just about media spend . . . it is also because that 15-second, less-complete story, like a film trailer, leaves you “wanting more.” Lewis has a passion for mentoring “young creatives and young people in the business.” The agency is working with The One Club for Creativity, “an international nonprofit organization seeking to inspire, encourage, and develop creative excellence in advertising and design,” and Oriel Davis, Spotify Creative Director, on a project to provide advertising training to young people. The first session was presented six months ago in New York and LA. The most recent session will involve 15 students in Chicago and 15 in Atlanta. Lewis is also serving on the public relations judging panel for the Clio awards. Lewis can be reached on his agency's website at: burrell.com, on LinkedIn as Lewis Williams, on Twitter, at @willmsl, and as Lewis Williams on LinkedIn. Transcript Follows: ROB: Welcome to the Marketing Agency Leadership Podcast. I'm your host, Rob Kischuk, and I am joined today by Lewis Williams, Chief Creative Officer at Burrell Communications based in Chicago, Illinois. Welcome to the podcast, Lewis. LEWIS: Hey, Rob. Thank you for having me. ROB: It's great to have you here. Why don't you start off by telling us about Burrell and about the agency's superpower? Where do you all thrive? LEWIS: What's really great about Burrell Communications, first and foremost, we are celebrating our 50th anniversary of being in business. When you think about being an African-American-focused agency – for any agency, any business, to be alive and well right now for 50 years says a lot about us. We were started in 1971 by our founder, named Thomas Burrell. He saw a need that African-Americans were being left out of the marketing conversation for big brands. So he started an agency to represent the Black consumer. Our philosophy is positive realism; we always want to depict African-Americans in a positive way in media, because so often in media, African-Americans were not portrayed in the best light. ROB: Absolutely understood. If you look at where the firm is today, what sorts of clients are typical for you? What does the typical engagement look like? LEWIS: It's really great. We have national clients. Started back in 1971. McDonald's was the very first client of the agency, and I'm proud to say they still are a client today. We've had them for 50 years. We have national clients; we have Toyota, we have Walmart, we have a lot of Procter & Gamble business. We really have mainstay clients. We've done work for people like Google, Major League Baseball. Coca-Cola is one of our present-day clients that we've had. As you can see, we've had really big-name brands. ROB: It's quite an impressive client roster. You yourself have been with the firm, it looks like, around 15 years. How did you end up at the firm and how has that journey with the firm emerged over time? LEWIS: It's an interesting story. We call ourselves boomerangs. That's an employee that was at Burrell, went away, and then came back. I'm a Burrell boomerang. I worked at Burrell for 5 years much, much earlier in my career. Had you told me that I would come back to be the Chief Creative Officer, I would've thrown my shoe at you. It's interesting; Tom Burrell himself, the founder, hired me. I worked there for 5 years, I went to other agencies – mainly Leo Burnett, which is a big one in Chicago. I was gone a good 15 years, and I got a call from Fay Ferguson and McGhee Williams-Osse – and I'm proud to say we are female-owned. Not only a Black agency, we're female-owned. I got a call after I'd been away from the agency for 20 years or so – not to date myself – and they said, “Hey, Lewis, we're looking for someone to lead the agency.” That was really special to me. You get hired by the founder, and one day you're sitting in his shoes. Because Tom was a creative himself. He wasn't an account guy. So I really looked at, wow, I'm going to step into the shoes of this advertising legend. Tom Burrell, again, he's in the advertising hall of fame. It was just a great honor to have a career that comes full circle and sit in the seat that I'm in today. ROB: That's certainly a privilege. You're unique in being a sizable agency of consequence, of lasting beyond the founder, and then also, as I understand it, still remaining I think independent. Is that right? LEWIS: Yes. We do have a relationship with Publicis, but we're the majority stakeholders. Fay and McGhee are the majority stakeholders. They have a very strong partnership and affiliation with Publicis. So we have strong backup and resources. We do a lot of work with the other Publicis agencies. We share some of the same clients. It's good synergy at work with Publicis and Burrell. ROB: That's very interesting. I would imagine that you have probably seen an offer or two cross your desk in your time there to become fully part of someone. I'm sure there's an intentionality in staying independent, because it would be very easy just to say yes to a check. LEWIS: Yeah, you can see a lot of the big agency brands – I worked at Leo Burnett, and Leo Burnett was a huge, huge independent agency. So was Fallon. This is not pushing anything against the big conglomerates and everything, the holding groups, the holding companies, but you do lose a little personality. You lose a little bit of that individuality and culture. When you think about that, this way we really can represent ourselves and in the community that we represent. Once you get totally acquired by a holding company, it's just a different game at that time. You've got to fit into an overall much bigger picture, and you've got the limitations and the decisions. You're going to have to go through a lot more hoops. Even though those decisions may be beneficial to the entire group, it may not be the best decision for you. I applaud us being able to hold onto our independence. But even now, with a great affiliation with Publicis Groupe, they have been a great partner in helping us attain some of the success we've been enjoying. So I think right now it's having our cake and eating it too. [laughs] ROB: You mentioned having boomeranged almost from a different era of advertising. When I see “Communications” in the title of a firm, a lot of times that also hearkens to an origin in a lens of public relations, but then also through advertising. Now the world is very, very different in terms of the marketing mix. How have you seen the mix of services evolve at Burrell over your first tenure, your second tenure, and so on? LEWIS: I'll tell you, Rob, you're right. It is such a different industry. It is an entire different industry. One of the things I love is to mentor young creatives and young people in the business, and that's what's kept me excited. This is no longer the industry I started in. It's an entirely different industry. Like you said, communications comes in so many forms – even to the point where you look at advertising agencies and marketing people – we used to always push things on you. “You've got to watch this commercial. I don't care.” But now, in this digital and social world we're in, and this on-demand world that we are, and the streaming and all of those things, everyone is a marketer. The influencers now. Creativity is coming from everywhere. It's just such a unique time to be in this “industry” – and I put quotes around “industry” because what is it now? It's a little bit of everything. All the lines are blurred, from the content makers, and even when you talked about public relations. You see the work I'm judging for the Clios right now. I'm on the judging panel for public relations. I mean, they're marketers. No longer are PR companies about, “The CEO said something wrong, so we need to fix it with a letter, with a press conference.” No, that's gone away. Everyone is touching the consumer in so many unique ways where you can't tell “what is what” now. ROB: Absolutely. The distinction between ad, print, digital – it certainly mixes together. LEWIS: Yeah. ROB: As the Chief Creative Officer, how has your creative process shifted? People don't think about it, but 15 years is right on the edge of pre- or barely social media. LEWIS: Yeah. How old is the iPhone now? The iPhone might be 14 years old. It's so funny, Rob – you know how you keep your old cellphones, because what do you do with them? I have my very first iPhone. It's this little bitty thing. It looks archaic. I remember seeing the iPhone for the first time, and it's like, oh my God, wow, we've gone to Mars. Now I look at my first iPhone 1 and I chuckle. [laughs] ROB: So how has the creative process shifted with these different devices, with different audiences, with different audiences on different devices? Your audience for the iPhone in 2007 was different from the audience today, which is like everybody. Every age group, every demo is in the iPhone audience now. LEWIS: This is how I approach it, Rob. At the end of the day, one thing that's going to never, ever change is telling great stories. Telling stories that are relatable. You tell a great story, it will engage people. Now, the thing is the length of those stories. Who would've ever thought – and I couldn't have told you 15 years ago – that I'd be able to create a story from beginning to middle to end in 6 seconds? A lot has to do now with our attention span and how we consume content. I remember Game of Thrones. I don't know if you were a Game of Thrones guy. ROB: I definitely watched some Game of Thrones. LEWIS: That was a whole thing on social media. You could only engage people for 2 or 3 seconds. But now, you can see what the event of Game of Thrones became. It became appointment television. It became hours on hours of content in the midst of where sometimes you could hold somebody for 2 seconds. That just shows you the power of the storyline. So what I tell my young creatives and all of us: it really is about the story. The story could be a tweet. Popeye's Chicken exploded with one tweet, and it was two words: “…y'all good?” That was a response in a tweet. So you can go to two words in a tweet, you can go to 6 second videos on Instagram, or you can go to a whole series like Game of Thrones. But at the core of that is: what is your engaging story and how is it connecting to the brand or the message you're trying to give? At the end of that, throw all that away. There's so many ways to tell that story, you have to be aware of the medium that you're telling that story in. Every platform has a personality and expectations. If you're going to tweet something, you've got to put on your tweeting storytelling hat. If I'm going to Instagram it, I've got to put on my more visual storytelling hat. If I'm going to Facebook it, I'm thinking about more communities. Television, a lot is still served in the same way, but a lot of this social influence is finding its way into television as well and how you tell those stories. You see it a lot with user-generated content on YouTube. So many brands. You see something went viral on YouTube; you see that clip in a brand commercial during the Super Bowl. All of this stuff is coming together, but at the very core of everything is storytelling and how that storytelling matches the platform. ROB: That “…y'all good?” – it's such a concise example. It's like the “Jesus wept” of advertising. LEWIS: [laughs] Yeah. ROB: “What do you mean, Jesus wept? Tell me the story here, man.” [laughs] Did you have any involvement in that Popeye's campaign, or did you have clients looking at that and how to respond? How did you react when you saw that, or perhaps were involved in it? LEWIS: I want to make it very clear, I was not involved in it. But it's something which you see and you say, absolute brilliance. ROB: McDonald's had to start thinking about it. They're getting to it, right? LEWIS: Yeah, they're getting to it. What you saw was the personality of a brand on Twitter. Social media has been very difficult for brands to navigate because social media is for us. It's not for brands. You controlled us with making us look at TV commercials and stuff, but now this is ours. I'm following my people, I'm following my friends, I'm following my influencers, and I'm following the brands I believe in. So when you come into my space, you've got to really understand who I am and what I'm about. A lot of brands still go into social media with brand voice, like here's Mommy and Daddy telling us what we think and always pushing themselves first. What Popeye's was able to do was create a personality and become a person. How many brands would say “y'all”? It took on the persona of a person, so it gets much more easily embraced. Many brands still struggle with their voice in social media. How do I still be a brand, but at the same time be very relatable to my consumer? That's a tough line to walk. ROB: It's absolutely tough. I'm thinking of one of the ads of the moment – and of course, the insurance companies always get deep into this world. I think what people tend to forget is they take a lot of shots on goal. They just happen to have enough budget that they can take a lot of shots with big ads. Maybe other brands need to think more about how they can take more shots at success with smaller ads. But I think the ad of the moment that I think is even cheated by shortening is, of course, the Geico Tag Team TV ad. The 30 second version, there's an element of storytelling there. And I will tell you – and this may just be me – when I see the 15 second version of the ad, I feel cheated. I don't know. LEWIS: [laughs] Rob, the reason why you feel cheated is because you love it, and you know there's more. It's like, “Wow, I want that experience.” The 30 second spot allowed you to enjoy and engage, and you really were into it. I smile every time I see it. Every time I see it, I smile. I love it. I don't look away. It's so engaging. When you only get a taste of that, you know there's more and you want more. But that's good, because now I've got you still wanting more. It's like, come off the stage with them wanting more, not saying, “Okay, we're finished with you.” But also, that 15 seconds has a purpose. It's just a reminder. You've got to fit into the media budget. You've got to make the media expand. I'll hit you with the 30 every once in a while, and then it's sort of like the preview. It's the trailer for the movie. You see the trailer for the movie and you go, “Wow, I want to see that movie again.” It just reminds you that the other content is out there, that you can go on YouTube and watch it as many times as you like, if you want to. That's the purpose of the 15. But that's a great way of telling you, when you really tell the story on that platform, and it's 30 seconds in a world where people tell you they only look at it for 2 seconds, it just reenergized Tag Team's career. People fell in love with nostalgia again and the music and so many things. It's so clever, the generations. It says so many things in that story. ROB: Lewis, you've kind of blown my mind with the 15 second ad insights on that, because you've left me thinking about film trailers and how some of them just try to be a bad summary of the story and some of them work harder to get you to want to see the rest of the story. Now I'm thinking about all of the ways that the 15 second cut of that Geico ad is just meant to leave me wanting more. I haven't thought about it that way, and I'll watch every 15 second ad through a different lens now. LEWIS: Yeah. It has to do with media spend. 30 seconds costs more than 15 seconds. I've got two dollars, I've got to stretch it for as much reach as I possibly can. ROB: Got it. I've seen at least a good article or two out there about the production of that ad, about the creative process, about giving room for ad lib and free flow, and even the career decisions around it that Tag Team made, of the ads they didn't do. They didn't do the “Soup! There it is” advertisement that they could've done. It would've been very natural coming off of the SNL Justin Timberlake skit (while we're tagging all over the media map here for a moment). Lewis, when you reflect on your journey, your career so far, and your time in particular with Burrell, what are some lessons you've learned that you might consider taking the time machine back and giving yourself some advice on what to do differently? LEWIS: I tell you, man, Rob, I don't know what to do differently. Some of that is personal or not. One of the unique perspectives I do have on this industry is that I am an African-American creative. That's been tough, being in this industry. There's a lot of movement to rectify that, not only with African-Americans, but women and all minorities and people of color in the advertising industry. That's always been tough to navigate. As far as doing things differently, just on the personal side, I wish I'd had someone to help me navigate a little bit more. One of the challenges of being in these situations is often, especially early in my career, I was the only person of color in the entire agency. But from that, you do learn a lot. You learn how to interact with people that are different from you. You learn how to not lose your culture. I think I navigated that pretty well, because being from the South, I could navigate being the only African-American in the room and not losing who you are. Personally, there's maybe speaking up quicker. I had this fear of losing my job if I actually said exactly what I meant. That came with experience, that came with confidence, and it came with success. You get that behind you, and then you can speak a little louder because people really want to know what you want to say. But my whole thing I say for anybody is, there's talent and there's work ethic. They need each other. They really do need each other, because I've run into a lot of talented people without the work ethic, and I've worked alongside people with stronger work ethic but who lacked the talent. It really takes both. Both can take you so far, but until they really meld together, that's when bigger success happens. For me, I had one of those lives that I followed the green lights. I didn't go against something. If it was a red light, I didn't try to force it. I just followed the green lights – and I had help. I had people that believed in me. I had mentors. I like to feel like I deserved the mentorship. Somebody looked at this kid and thought, “Wow, if I can help this kid out, I can take credit myself.” [laughs] That sticks with me. And I've always had an underdog mentality. First, being Black coming out of the South, being Black working at predominantly white agencies. Even working at Burrell, a Black agency, it still is a resource struggle. But when you're an underdog, Rob, you get a chip on your shoulder. You just want to prove everybody wrong and make them eat their words. Whatever they were thinking, I want them to eat it. [laughs] ROB: Probably quite a privilege for you now, where you are – you certainly probably don't know everything, but you know enough to help some other folks that are coming along. One thing I wonder, coming from the other side of the table, if I'm just freelancing a little bit on the history of the agency, I would imagine early on, a lot of folks were engaging you, saying, “Can you help us speak to your audience?” Was that the earlier era? LEWIS: Yeah, and it's interesting how it's changed. It's sort of like here we are, back again. In 1971, a lot of brands were simply afraid of featuring Black people in their marketing efforts. That's why we give huge kudos to McDonald's. They were one of the very first people to actually show Black people in national ads. At that time – you've got to think about back in the '70s – people were concerned, “Am I only saying that this is for Black people? I don't want to piss off other people.” Things like that. You've got to think about that. So that's very different. But fast forward now and what's going on contextually in the country now, you're seeing people of color everywhere push for that. That's been a very interesting thing from then to now. But there was a time that brands were afraid. They just didn't believe in it. But at the same time, you had people in the '70s that felt that it should be done, but it wasn't social pressure. They just understood that, listen, these are consumers. We're consumers, and we come in all different shapes, sizes, and colors. They didn't look at it from race. They're like, “Here's a consumer that we're not talking to.” I remember early on this whole stigma around women buying cars, that women were intimidated, and if a woman wanted to buy a car, she should bring a man with her, because “what did women know about cars?” I remember Subaru was one of the first commercials that had this young lady come into a dealership, and this dealer was talking to her like, “Oh honey, you don't need to know nothing about that engine. Here's this vanity mirror. It comes with a vanity mirror. That's all you need to know.” And she walked out and she went to a Subaru dealer, and he treated her entirely different. It showed women are customers too. The same thing with beer commercials. I worked on Budweiser, and I'll tell you, back in the day, if you were a woman in a beer commercial, you had on a swimsuit or you're a Bilbo. Now I saw this beer commercial where the woman comes home and takes off her bra to have a beer. You've got to understand consumers. It's really about marketing and making your brand engage with more customers, which takes you to the bottom line. Real quickly, I remember how things changed. MTV – I don't know if you recall MTV – was very forward-thinking. But if you were a Black artist, you had to have a white person in the video. I laugh about – go to LL Cool J's “Around the Way Girl” music video, and you have this white girl dancing. First of all, you're talking about an around the way girl. “Bad attitude and a Fendi bag.” You go, why is a white girl in an around the way girl… [laughs] ROB: I remember that. LEWIS: It's like, what is she doing there? But MTV said, “Unless you have a white person in your music videos, we will not air you.” It shows you how things have changed. ROB: Right. One thing I think a lot about in this sort of conversation, part of my imagination is – we've talked to niche agencies, cultural agencies, but some of these agencies, and I'm sure you all in particular – it's unqualified. You're getting the national campaign. What I think about, sitting on the other side of the table – you mentioned on your journey thinking about what you say; how do I think about freeing people up and creating enough room around the table for everyone to bring their whole selves to the ideas, and not cutting off the conversation way too early? Because even letting people go out of bounds I think is how you get to where you're going to go in bounds. If you're not even bringing your full self to the table, much less going out of bounds for yourself, you can't get to the best ideas. LEWIS: Rob, you're right. I call it stretching the rubber band. You've got to stretch that rubber band to know where you are. It's uncharted territory. You take these elements and you put them together. But you've got to know what's on the other side of the mountain because it does a couple of things. Do you need to go there? Does it reinforce your position that you are in, or tell you where you need to go? And you may not use that information right now because it may not be the right time. But you might use it next week or next year or 6 months from now. It just lets you know. Creatively, you would think that we should always keep that open as creatives. But sometimes as creatives, we become by nature very protective of our own ideas, or we get there and we stop. We get to a certain level. That's what I love about how the industry has changed. I give myself credit because I've been able to adjust. Some of us have just become stuck, and you stay there. It's like a musician whose music couldn't evolve or change. But if I'm a musician, I still have my unique sound behind how I'm able to change with the instrumentation or my message with the lyrics or things like that. But unfortunately, as creatives sometimes we get stuck and we just stay there. ROB: We just play the hits, right? LEWIS: Yeah, just play the hits. But to your point, you stretch that rubber band till it almost pops. You know, Rob, sometimes it might just break on you. That's okay. That's all right because you know you got everything out of it. It's interesting, too, this whole pandemic world. It has us doing things that we would not be doing as an industry. All of us, the whole country, are doing things that we could've been doing; the technology was there for us to do it, but we just didn't do it because we didn't want to explore. This forced us to do things we never thought about that were always there for us to do. ROB: That's right. We did a 50-day road trip vacation last summer from Atlanta to Utah and back in the middle of a pandemic. It was Zoom and it was phones and it was all that, but it was there for me 5 years before. LEWIS: It was, right. Exactly. Now we're going to have family reunions and nobody will have to travel. [laughs] We had a little family thing, about 20 of us on the phone together. We've never been together, but like you said, the technology was there. It was great to see the kids come in, all over the country, at one time. It was just a Zoom call for an hour. It was great. ROB: Lewis, this has been a distinct privilege. I'm glad to talk to someone with your perspective and experience and, let's really note, runaway success. When people want to connect with you and with Burrell, where should they go to find you? LEWIS: The agency is simply burrell.com. There's contact information and you'll see some of the work we've done. Me personally, I'm on LinkedIn, Lewis Williams. On Twitter, I'm @willmsl. LinkedIn, just Lewis Williams, you can get me personally. I like to engage with, like I said, mentorship. Right now we're working with The One Club, which is in New York, and we have a skill for young people who can't afford to go to the very expensive advertising schools. We're starting that in about two weeks. We have about 15 students in Chicago and 15 students in Atlanta. Oriel Davis, CD at Spotify, put this together. 6 months ago they had New York and LA, and now they've extended to Chicago and Atlanta. If I can be of any help, I'm always there. ROB: That's wonderful. I think anyone should definitely avail themselves of that opportunity. You've followed a great path for people to learn from. Lewis, thank you so much for coming on the podcast. Although we can do all this stuff over Zoom, we'll also do stuff in person sometime, I think. I'm going to get on an airplane at some point and see some people face to face as well. LEWIS: All right, Rob. Thanks for inviting me. I enjoyed talking with you. Have a good time on the golf course, man. ROB: Thank you. Be well. LEWIS: Be well. ROB: Thank you for listening. The Marketing Agency Leadership Podcast is presented by Converge. Converge helps digital marketing agencies and brands automate their reporting so they can be more profitable, accurate, and responsive. To learn more about how Converge can automate your marketing reporting, email info@convergehq.com, or visit us on the web at convergehq.com.

Over the past year, our clients have benefited immensely from the insights that digital dashboards provide. After you realize you want one, though, the next steps can seem daunting. However, with the right guides, they don't need to be. Following up on MI-GSO | PCUBED's Introduction to Project Management Dashboards podcast, Jami Anderson, Tom Burrell, and Brent Wagner return with newcomers Emily Grindstaff and Brianne Goodwin to discuss why you could benefit from a digital dashboard of your own. Read the full transcript here: https://www.migso-pcubed.com/blog/podcast/i-want-a-dashboard-now-what/ Learn more at: www.migso-pcubed.com/ MI-GSO | PCUBED on social media: LinkedIn | www.linkedin.com/company/mi-gso-pcubed/ Twitter | twitter.com/MIGSOPCUBED_off Instagram | www.instagram.com/migso_pcubed_official/ Facebook | www.facebook.com/MIGSOPCUBED/

In this episode we continue our conversation with Lee Kemp, a three time World Champion in Wrestling (1978, 1979 and 1982 all in the 74 kg weight class) and held the record for being the youngest World Champion. In addition to being a champion wrestler, Lee is a father, a wrestling coach, a public speaker, and an author. He learned many of the skill sets needed to navigate his life on the mat. A child of the 60’s, he was adopted at the age of 5, before adoption learned how to find his own contentment in the situation he was in. From a young age Lee learned how to focus on what’s important and tackle whatever he needed to get done. Our conversation with Lee Kemp resumes with Chris asking Lee a question about representation. Lee shares that there were other Black wrestlers that were successful before him and while Dan Gable was a direct inspiration he saw additional championship inspiration in Black wrestlers. Lee found representation and inspiration to one day own his own business working for Tom Burrell of Burrow Communications. He shares tremendous insight about race relations in the USA being further complicated by suppression of stories, like that of the mathematicians from Hidden Figures. When Lee’s family left Cleveland in 1968 they moved to Chardon, Ohio; this was almost an entirely White community. Growing up there Lee saw his family being accepted into this community and learned that mutual respect was possible. We ask Lee about what someone who wants to be a champion needs. Lee explains that putting your focus on someone else that is successful can help and that finding inspiration is a truly important thing. Listening is important, if someone like Lee tells you the steps that you need to take to truly become a champion it’s important to take the advice as a whole.  Being the best isn’t the only measure of achievement, for Lee going for something with all your heart is meaningful. After winning World Championships and global competitions two years running Lee was on track mentally and physically to become an Olympic champion, but in March of 1980 President Jimmy Carter announced that the USA would not be participating at the Olympics. Lee explains how that opportunity being taken away impacts him even now. 40 years later the 2020 Summer Games have been delayed and Lee speaks a bit about that showing how the grit to be world champion endures.   Impactful Moments During The Episode 00:00 — Intro 01:00 — Welcome back to Part 2 our conversation with Lee Kemp. 01:33 — Looking at what types of representation mattered to Lee. 03:49 — Representation making a difference on a professional level. 05:50 — Lee speaks about Tom Burrell, advertising and race. 06:59 — Seeing your own value and everyone seeing each other’s humanity.  07:53 — We’re all the same race. 08:39 — The examples that parents set.  10:10 — Leaving Cleveland and moving to Chardon in 1968. 12:09 — The respect Lee’s father received from his community. 13:24 — Lee speaks about the importance of listening and empathy. 15:22 — Putting yourself in the right environment to be a champion. 17:07 — Taking advice and finding motivations. 18:31 — Going for something with all your heart.  19:50 — A story of “Things not happening.”  21:04 — Resiliency and the Tokyo Olympics, lessons learned. 22:25 — Thanks to Lee Kemp and for listening to Part 2 of the Grit of Being World Champion Links: Learn more about Lee Kemp and pick up his book Winning Gold.  Watch the great documentary Watch Wrestled Away: The Lee Kemp Story | Prime Video. Learn more about Hacker Valley Studio. Support Hacker Valley Studio on Patreon. Follow Hacker Valley Studio on Twitter. Follow hosts Ron Eddings and Chris Cochran on Twitter. Learn more about our sponsor ByteChek.

Includes discussion of Alice Walker, Malcolm X, Zora Neale Hurston, Marcus Garvey, Tom Burrell, and Wallace Thurman. Dr. Webb is available for speaking, consulting, and coaching. Writing contest open now – April 30. Website: http://colorismhealing.com/ Instagram: @colorismhealing #colorism #colourism #colorismo --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/colorismhealing/message

Subscribe/Follow Michelle McKinney Hammond:YouTube - http://bit.ly/2EqUor5Facebook - http://bit.ly/2Fkzg7rInstagram - http://bit.ly/2AL2f0CTwitter - http://bit.ly/2mk59VBAmazon - http://amzn.to/2FmHmfMWebsite - http://www.michellehammond.com/SHOP MMH MERCH: https://teespring.com/stores/mmh-merchAs a bestselling author, speaker, singer/songwriter and television presenter, Michelle has authored over 40 books (selling over two million copies worldwide), including best-selling titles The Diva Principle, Sassy, Single and Satisfied, 101 Ways to Get and Keep His Attention, and Secrets of an Irresistible Woman. A gifted vocalist, Michelle has recorded four solo CD’s, It’s Amazing, Let’s Go In, Come Let Us Worship, and With Love. She co-hosted the Emmy Award-winning television talk show Aspiring Women for ten years and compliment 3D Woman for two years. She presently resides in Ghana, West Africa where she is the visionary for a music ministry called Relevance. They have released three Albums FOREVER, THE GREATEST GIFT AND FOR LOVE SAKE.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/michellemckinneyhammond)

My guest is Pepper Miller, a recognized market researcher, author, thought leader and Black American subject matter expert. Pepper holds nothing back as we get into issues on race, the advertising industry and our current racially charged environment.

In conversation with Carlo Pozella and Tom Burrell, Marsh. The importance of a growth mindset and the ability to adapt to changes has been highlighted as we navigate the new normal. In this episode we find out how a growth mindset can be applied through your everyday actions to positively impact your work and personal life.   Find more tools to help you shape your future: www.ipfa.org/future-leaders/ 

Tee & Ki discuss the top things that they are OVER in 2019. We discuss being over poor financial decisions, gender roles , the Trump clown crew, and more. In hindsight, with the coronavirus-19 frenzy perhaps 2019 wasn't so bad. However, here is an episode shedding light on the issues that bothered us most last year. In the midst of the crazy, let's make 2020 a good one ! As mentioned and promised by Ki, the book mentioned was Brainwashed by Tom Burrell. This episode (#2) was recorded in December 2019 and released on March 17, 2020.

Welcome back and thanks again for checking out the Blurred Lines podcast!! On this episode Blackline reads excerpts from Tom Burrell’s book “Brainwashed” which leads to a discussion about the insidious nature of racism in America and the far reaching implications on American society. Don’t forget to check out Blacklustre Clothing Company and thanks again for any and all support

The fire service is a para-military organization. But what does that mean? Are there things the military does that we should be doing? For this episode, we sit down with Lt. Colonel Bill Smith (United States Air Force) to talk about a couple of things that the military does much better than the fire service: professional development and recognizing our own people for their great work. Our military does an excellent job of setting the path for anyone within their ranks that wants to promote; "here's where you want to be and here's what you've got to do to get there." It's a pretty simple idea, so why do so many fire departments struggle with it? What lessons for the fire service are there in how the military fosters growth with their personnel? We also speak with Lt. Colonel Bill Smith about the hesitance of most firefighters to accept the recognition for "doing their job." The military does a pretty good job of it. They wear their medals on their Class A's to tell the story of their career; where they served, and what they've done. What lessons are there in that approach for all of us? Also with us is Capt. Tom Burrell who has known Lt. Colonel Bill Smith for a very long time, and who was instrumental in getting us this opportunity to sit down.

 Angela P. Dodson documents one of the longest, most hard-won struggles for civil rights in our country’s history. Her approach to this history is inclusive, detailing the contributions of activists from various movements, women and men, of different races, religions and politics who helped bring about the victory to secure the right to vote for women. She also documents women’s political gains since that milestone. This book, complete with beautiful photographs and illustrations, will help facilitate the conversation about how far women have come and where they are headed politically. Angela P. Dodson, CEO of Editorsoncall LLC.  and a contributing editor for Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, has served as senior editor for The New York Times and executive editor of Black Issues Book Review. She has written and edited newspaper and magazine articles, feature stories and books. She is married to Michael I. Days, editor for reader engagement and vice president of Philadelphia Media Network, and author of “Obama’s Legacy: What He Accomplished as President.” They live in Trenton, NJ.  She is a graduate of Marshall University and earned a master’s degree at American University. As an editor, Angela has worked on such books as “n Charge: Finding the Leader in You, by Myles Munroe, He Is Risen: Reflections on Easter and the Forty Days of Lent, by Richard Abanes, and Brainwashed: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority”by Tom Burrell.  

Tom Burrell was the first black man in Chicago advertising. He went on to change the way we think about ads, and the way advertisers think about us.

How do you get black people to buy cigarettes made for cowboys and antebellum-style beer? Turns out, you don't. On this episode: Tom Burrell, who transformed the ad industry with a simple motto, "Black people are not dark-skinned white people."

If you're a firefighter who thinks this episode sounds like it's going to be boring, then you're exactly who needs to listen to it. It's not a debate on the merits of a 2 1/2 handline, but it might be just as important to your longterm future in the fire service. We're very aware that most firefighters while at work prefer a computer that is on fire as opposed to reporting on a fire (and they might just let it burn.) None of us signed up to do reports all day. And we here at Combustible have often joked that the firefighter recruitment posters today should show a firefighter hunched over a computer. But while those sentiments about data are born from some very real frustrations, the fact that data is now a part of the fire service is indisputable. For this episode we sit down with Matt Hinds-Aldrich (NFPA) and Captain Tom Burrell (DeKalb County Fire Rescue) to talk about data; specifically why firefighters need to change how they view data in the fire service. We also talk about how fire rescue departments need to support their personnel with data, how data is shaping the fire service as we speak, and how to avoid when data is used as an enforcement tool. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter, and please take a moment to rate us on iTunes. Check us out on our website CombustibleThePodcast.com

Brainwashed: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority written by Tom Burrell, is a book about “the greatest propaganda campaign of all time”: the concept of black inferiority. In this episode, I discuss the book's theories on racial stereotypes and its exploration of the lingering effects of slavery on the Black psyche and community. Visit NoireHistoir.com for show notes and video.

An exclusive interview with Tom Burrell from the Black Farmer Agricultural Assocition. .     

We open with a rebroadcast of an interview with Tom Burrell, advertising executive and a member of the Black Think Tank for "A New Way Forward: Healing What's Hurting Black America." Visit stopthebrainwash.com Gerald Lenoir is the director of the Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI) founded in the Oakland/San Francisco Bay Area in 2006 to support fair and just immigration reform and to bring African Americans together with immigrant communities to fight for social and economic justice. He is also a board member of the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. He will be speaking to us about a teleconference series beginning January 27, 2011, 12 noon, PST. The first conversation is with Rhonda McGee, Professor, University of San Francisco School of Law. Call 1-866-931-7845. The code is 90147. Visit BAJI's Facebook page for international call-in information and for a list of the complete four part series final Thursdays, January-April.

Original Air Date: December 08, 2010: Tom Burrell, Marketing communications pioneer and Advertising Hall of Fame inductee Burrell revolutionized the image of African Americans in television and changing the face of American advertising. During his tenure as a top advertising executive, he coined the now-famous phrase, “Black people are not dark-skinned white people.” His award-winning work promoted positive and realistic images of blacks and acknowledged the purchasing power of the African American community. In 2007 Burrell founded the Resolution Project, theresolutionproject.us, a nonprofit organization that promotes intra-racial dialogue and community-based new media “stop the brainwash” campaigns. “Our task is to use propaganda to eradiate negative images and replace them with a bombardment of positive words and images.” He also plans to launch the New B's, a catalyst for stimulating thought and more dialogue. He lives in Chicago's South Loop area. BRAINWASHED: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority is his first book. Velina Brown, director, African American Shakespeare Company & Khamara Pettus, Cinderella up at the African American Art & Culture Complex, 762 Fulton Street, SF, December 3-19, 2010. Visit (415) 762-2071, http://www.african-americanshakes.org Also at the AACC is Nannette Y. Harris, artist, "Rhapsody in Blues" at the Sargent Johnson Gallery through January 2, 2011. There are 31 paintings from President Barack Obama to James Brown. We close with curator Malik Seneferu, whose "ZOMBIE: The Resurrection of Fela Kuti" is up through January 2, 2011, in the Hall of Culture; Gallery Hours: Tues - Sat; 12 Noon - 5 p.m. This exhibition is resurrect and celebrate the spirit of a composer, activist, pioneer, revolutionary...Fela Kuti.Born Olu-Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Oct. 15, 1938 in Abeokuta, Nigeria. Artist talk Dec. 9, 2011, 6 PM to 9 PM. http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/malik-seneferu.html?viewcomplete=true Music: We Insist: Freedom Now Suite

Tom Burrell, Marketing communications pioneer and Advertising Hall of Fame inductee Burrell revolutionized the image of African Americans in television and changing the face of American advertising. During his tenure as a top advertising executive, he coined the now-famous phrase, “Black people are not dark-skinned white people.” His award-winning work promoted positive and realistic images of blacks and acknowledged the purchasing power of the African American community. In 2007 Burrell founded the Resolution Project, theresolutionproject.us, a nonprofit organization that promotes intra-racial dialogue and community-based new media “stop the brainwash” campaigns. “Our task is to use propaganda to eradiate negative images and replace them with a bombardment of positive words and images.” He also plans to launch the New B's, a catalyst for stimulating thought and more dialogue. He lives in Chicago's South Loop area. BRAINWASHED: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority is his first book. Velina Brown, director, African American Shakespeare Company & Khamara Pettus, Cinderella up at the African American Art & Culture Complex, 762 Fulton Street, SF, December 3-19, 2010. Visit (415) 762-2071, http://www.african-americanshakes.org Also at the AACC is Nannette Y. Harris, artist, "Rhapsody in Blues" at the Sargent Johnson Gallery through January 2, 2011. There are 31 paintings from President Barack Obama to James Brown. We close with curator Malik Seneferu, whose "ZOMBIE: The Resurrection of Fela Kuti" is up through January 2, 2011, in the Hall of Culture; Gallery Hours: Tues - Sat; 12 Noon - 5 p.m. This exhibition is resurrect and celebrate the spirit of a composer, activist, pioneer, revolutionary...Fela Kuti.Born Olu-Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Oct. 15, 1938 in Abeokuta, Nigeria. Artist talk Dec. 9, 2011, 6 PM to 9 PM. http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/malik-seneferu.html?viewcomplete=true Music: We Insist: Freedom Now Suite, Triptych: Prayer/Protest/Peace

Tom Burrell, a 45-year veteran of the advertising industry and an inductee of the Advertising Hall of Fame, calls the marketing of the myth of Black Inferiority to justify slavery within a democracy "one of the greatest propaganda campaigns of all time." Marketing communications pioneer and Advertising Hall of Fame inductee Tom Burrell is credited with revolutionizing the image of African Americans in television and changing the face of American advertising. His award-winning work promoted positive and realistic images of blacks and acknowledged the purchasing power of the African American community. Burrell is the founder of The Resolution Project, a nonprofit organization that promotes intra-racial dialogue and community-based new media “stop the brainwash” campaigns. He lives in Chicago's South Loop area.