culture

Never forget where you came from. That’s what Grandma taught us, right?Everyone has a certain sense of pride about where they're from. Whether you think your hometown is the greatest city in the world or secretly hate it—you won't let anybody else talk bad about it. You feel like that criticism is a right of expression reserved for people that grew up in the same area you did.If someone ever wants to visit, you're the first person to offer to show them around. You say things like, "Let me show you what my city is like for real." Why? Because you want to leave that person with a good impression about a world that's deeply personal to you—something that established your foundation and helped shape the perspective that fuels how you see life. Your hometown is just that—yours.No matter what town we come from, that sense of pride and ownership is something we all share. So, why does it seem we can be so reluctant to understand other people's point of view that was developed by their experience growing up? Why should we care about someone else’s foundation?The answer is simple: it gives more insight to who you are and what you stand for. Not only does it make them feel like you care but it also opens their ears and minds towards your perspective. It disarms whatever wall has been built that blocks someone from hearing what you have to say.Barack Obama spoke to this during his chat at the University of Chicago, his first public address since leaving office. A young pharmacist recounted the first time she met the Former President as a then Senatorial candidate.I remember the first time I met you I tapped you on the shoulder and said, ‘"Hey Mr. Obama can I get a picture?’" You said no and at first I was like “oh no” then you said “No, not until you tell me your name”. And you extended your hand to shake mine. That moment made a young girl feel like her voice mattered, allowing her to be open-minded to what the candidate postured at the speech that day.That moment made me focus on a couple of the 44th President’s quotables at the University of Chicago that resonated and reaffirmed why it matters to engage with people different from you.“When you talk to individuals one on one there’s a lot more that people have in common that divides them”When we take the time to engage with people with different backgrounds and values, it has the power to expand your outlook and more thoughtfully form your beliefs. Genuine sit-downs not only humanize the ideals of a person; they also stretch you personally. We often default to our comfort zones in times of contentment and times of conflict, yet our comfort zones are rarely challenge our conventional wisdom. “We learn more by listening to understand rather than listening to respond.”Have you ever been in a conversation and had that comeback on-deck like Big Papi Ortiz in the bottom of the ninth? This was likely before you even took the time to understand why the person in front of you had this particular point of view.  Listening to respond creates a contentious environment that prompts the ego to take over. You just want to make sure you’re heard. Listening to understand opened the door for empathy—an opportunity to settle on common ground while maintaining different viewpoints.People never forget a moment that you took a genuine interest in them. That’s something I’ve seen hold true first-hand in these first two months of international cultural exploration. Each interaction has been met with sincere gratitude, simply because I cared about learning more about their personal story and what makes them prideful about where they're from. But, I am also grateful that they opened themselves, their families and homes up to exchange with me and chat about what makes them prideful about their home.Just because we open our minds and hearts to someone else’s point of view, perspective or culture doesn’t mean we’re forgetting where we came from. It doesn’t mean we pulled a Shea Moisture and tried to quell the uproar with a Pepsi.We always know where home is. And within the process of sharing a little of our home and being willing to allow someone to share a little of theirs is how we create an ever-growing, extended family. In this week's episode of Extended Family, we have a chat with a Croatian millennial about media, politics and how it effects her community, take a trip to Dubrovnik to learn about Game of Thrones and how the locals have dealt with the explosion in tourism, and take a deeper look into what inspired a tech pioneer to build a start up community in his small hometown of Split.To become apart of the Extended Family, join the daily journey on Instagram...

Only one percent of advertising executives are black women, according to the Interpublic Group.And part of that one percent? Agency head Carol H. Williams.Williams started her own agency in 1986, and last night she was honored by her peers, becoming the first black woman creative to be inducted into the American Advertising Federation Hall of Fame.Williams has had a long and storied career — she started in the advertising business in 1969, a time when there were even fewer faces of color than there are today. So few, in fact, Williams recently told The New York Times, that one colleague felt it appropriate to ask her, “Don’t you think black people were much happier when they were slaves?”Shaking off the casual racism and ignorance of her peers, Williams focused on her work, rising through the ranks at ad agency Leo Burnett, and bringing them a string of successes for clients like Disney, Pillsbury and Secret. In fact, it is Williams who is responsible for the cans of Pillsbury frosting that line grocery shelves, and for Secret’s iconic tagline, “Strong enough for a man, but made for a woman.” While a creative, Williams says her business outlook was integral to her success. “In those days, I saw people would execute a project because they enjoyed executing the project and the project was just that to them. Whereas when I would execute a project, it impacted the bottom line.”That mind for business helped her to launch her own firm, Carol H. Williams Advertising. Started in a small office in Oakland, the firm has grown to include 40 employees across three offices in New York, Chicago and Oakland, with Disney, Buick, Wells Fargo and the United States Army among its clients.Williams’ agency has been lauded for its nuanced approach to inclusivity. In developing its creative, it asks clients “Whose eyes are you looking through when you view the world?”The question, Williams says, is important because she’s noticed all too often modern corporations seem to believe, “‘If they see themselves in a commercial, they’ll buy the product.’” Rather than simply tossing a few people of color into a commercial, she feels that in approaching consumers of color, companies must make their ads “about the messaging and how that messaging is delivered.”For those nodding at Williams' words, and hoping that events like the recent Pepsi tone-deaf roll-out and Williams’ induction will mean doors in advertising will start to open for people of color, or black women specifically, Williams is not overly optimistic. “If you’re asking ... if next month or next year, agencies are going to start to say, ‘Hey, I think we need to really start bringing in more African-American women,’ I really don’t think it’s a turning point in that regard. There are a lot of cultural changes that need to happen within the corporate agency climate in order for that to occur.”Still, the trail Williams has blazed is a strong start. As is the platform she has given black creatives at her agency. And, while skeptical things are going to change in a hurry, Williams feels there is some hope. Whatever the future, she plans to continue to show “that there are African-Americans and African-American women who are competitive in this space and can...

The sound of Sampha's vocals over piano keys, Lupe Fiasco called it sacred geometry, and Mos Def made it simple mathematics. Beyoncé called it Lemonade and earned millions. The art of expression that combined truths about the systematically arranged set of laws of our culture, or the knowledge we've gained about our own mortality; science. By the fruits of their labor, black artists have explored these truths and shared the intricate details of the past, present and future. While we often consider science a field for STEM majors or a headline clip about discovering a new planet, it has also shaped black art as we know it. These seven artists of multiple disciplines are alchemists, using art informed by science to share interpretations of blackness, society and culture. 1. Jean-Michel Basquiat Photo: thesquirrelreview.comFun fact: Basquiat drew a lot of his inspiration from medical books! Many of his paintings featured bare outlines of the human skeleton or the skull mixed in with Basquiat's poignant humor and cultural references. His famous painting "Untitled Skull" in 1981 and in 1982, draws on this fascination with human anatomy, while commenting on race and culture. Even with his death at just 27, Basquiat has continued to inspire artists to question and even dissect the imperfect science we use to inform our beliefs. 2.  Janelle Monae Photo: pitchfork.comThis electric lady made a splash on the music scene not only because of her style, but the sound of her music. But did you know that she's also a huge science fiction fan? Not only has she expressed being a fan of Octavia Butler, one of the few black female science fiction writers, but her album art for ArchAndroid was inspired by German artist Fritz Lang's silent movie Metropolis. If we look back at albums like ArchAndroid or Metropolis Suite I , we see the mash-up of technology and culture even when Monae decides to drop a single like "Q.U.E.E.N." Consequenceofsound.com called her "Not Your Average Sci-Fi Fan," and I'm inclined to agree. We love Monae because she's sci-fi themed storylines with the jazz, funk and R&B vibes often missing in a pop-dominated music industry.3. Muhammad YangaiPhoto: muhammadyungai.comHow do artists get people to finally see something? Sometimes they use humor,  alter the thing we think we are "seeing" or sometimes they just show us who or what we are missing. Muhammad Yungai chose to utilize the western tradition of portraits to share the image of prominent African American figures like Mae Jamison. Her contributions to the STEM field as both an astronaut, doctor and scientist. Yungai mentions that when he paints a portrait he isn't just painting the person, but he's painting their spirit. With the help of artists like Yungai we can always put a black face to the names of people with tremendous contributions to society.4. Doreen Garner Photo: doreengarner.comYou might have seen Doreen Garner's work at HBO's HeLa Project pop-up art show based on The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. While the exhibit gave us a sneak peek into the upcoming HBO movie based on the science nonfiction best-seller, artists like Garner add unique twists and interpretations on the legacy of Henrietta Lacks. But this isn't the first time  Doreen Garner has shown that art and science can go hand in hand. Dorner's work, as Wave Hill cultural center put it, "identifies, mines and exploits the tissues that bind the sexual and grosteque—the artist directs an oppositional gaze toward fetish, objectification and racism." Her interpretation of race, gender and sexuality has not only been seen in "Reliquary for Henrietta" featured in HBO's pop up exhibit, but in artwork like "Neo (Plasm)," using how we perceive nature and turning it on its head. She adds an intensity mixed with an aesthetic beauty—like using hair weave, condoms and glitter on the same piece—that causes a good kind of confusion; one where you rethink what you're seeing. 5. Kimberly M. BecoatPhoto: kimberlymbecoat.squarespace.comWhen asked about her inspiration for her painting entitled " Soon Henrietta Come Hela" Becoat said, "The importance of Henrietta Lacks goes past being just a woman—she was a black woman." In an in-depth interview, she describes Lacks' legacy along with the idea of ownership. Even as bursts of colors show that Lacks has been at the cornerstone of scientific discovery,  the agency that a woman should have over her body was taken away; in this case, it's Lacks' tumor cells without her knowledge. This work of art, in particular, speaks to how science can also be a vehicle for reconnecting with our history. 6. Zoe Buckman Photo: zoebuckman.comThis London native is known for using her creations to explore ideas of feminism and equality. Provocative, playful and sometimes with a touch of avant-garde,  Zoe Buckman interrogates the realities of women. Buckman utilizes the female form as well as the female sex organ to challenge body shaming to making us think deeper about the challenges women face. She's stitched those issues onto clothing in "Every Curve" and her series Mostly It's Just Uncomfortable, also seen at HBO's The HeLa Project, responds to the consistent attacks on Planned Parenthood. Using themes of anatomy and discrimination, Mostly It's Just Uncomfortable features a glowing uterus with boxing gloves and gynecological instruments; each item underscores women's fleeting access to sexual health and how that impacts a woman's agency over her body. 7. Saloma Asega Photo: Kearra GoppeeAfrofuturism; the wedge between technology, science and history. Afro-futurist artists like Saloma Asega work fast forwards to a time where blackness and its varied expressions have also evolved and changed. Best seen through "Iyapo's Repository" which features artifacts from the future, the museum allows viewers to contemplate the future for people of African descent. Asega's other projects like "POSSESSION" searches deeper into the connection between culture and innovations in technology through researching virtual reality and Caribbean superstition/religion. Best explained as a peek into a black future, Asega creates an alternate reality inspired by asking "what if."There is no threshold that black art cannot cross. Whether it's thinking light years ahead, exploring now or challenging the status quo, their work is only a microcosm of what we already know. Black artists are the archaeologists, historians and even scientists creating spaces for our voices to live on. This article is sponsored by the new film, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, premiering April 22, 2017, on...