Keke Palmer, Ryan Coogler, Lauren Ridloff, Daniel Kwan/Daniel Scheinert and More Discuss DE&I at Day 1 of ADCOLOR Conference

The annual ADCOLOR Conference began its first day of panel sessions yesterday (Friday 11/19), featuring impactful discussions from leaders across music, entertainment, film, advertising and other creative industries with speakers including actress Keke Palmer; Producer, Director and Screenwriter Ryan Coogler; Co-Writer and Co-Director Duo Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (The Daniels, “Everything Everywhere All At Once”); country singer-songwriter Reyna Roberts; actress Lauren Ridloff (AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” Marvel’s “Eternals”) and more.

• The State of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Justice 2022 Presented by ADCOLOR
  • Davianne Harris, Chief Client Officer and Head of Equitable Futures Practice, sparks & honey: “JEDI is not an add-on. We need to think more broadly when talking about equity and inclusion and future of it… we can’t look at it as extra credit any longer.”
• Cultural Intelligence: The Team Sport We’re Losing Presented by The Martin Agency
  • Daniel Kwan, Co-Writer and Director (The Daniels): Why do we think diversity and representation matters?… every one of us has a specific perspective and lived experience that everyone needs to see.
  • Kwan: How do we get to intergenerational love? The only way we’re going to do it is if our kids and the next generation are emotionally available for it… intergenerational love is the only way to take us out of the cycle of intergenerational trauma.”
• Balancing Act: Challenging the Status Quo to Build Equity and Belonging Presented by Google|YouTube
  • Ryan Coogler, Producer, Director and Screenwriter on Mentorship Within the Industry: “I had a phone call with Denzel this morning… oftentimes I’m in a place of not knowing what to do, so… especially with the Black community, it’s important to have those mentors.”
  • Keke Palmer, Actress on the importance of mental health: “You can’t change the world. Instead, think about what you can give – and for me, I can give joy… give what you can and only do what you can do.”
  • Lauren Ridloff, Actress, Marvel’s “Eternals” and AMC’s “The Walking Dead” on building a legacy: “If we put dreams out there and talk about it more, it can happen. I did not dream of becoming an actor, but it was important to me to bring more people like myself in to the industry, especially in TV and film… because they’re critical mediums that share ideas.”
• Tech Equity: Centering Black Innovation in Tech Presented by Tech Equity Collective, a Google Initiative
  • Valeisha Butterfield Jones, Vice President, Partnerships + Engagement at Google: “We talk a lot about having a seat at someone’s table, but not enough about building our own tables.”
• For Love and Country: Bringing Black Voices Back in to the Story of Country Music Presented by Amazon
  • Reyna Roberts, Singer-Songwriter: “I see myself as more than just a Black woman in country music… but I’ve grown to love the conversation so that artists feel like they have a place in country music. Hopefully these conversations will help future artists feel like they have a path to go down.”
• Being Branded by ADCOLOR
  • Miss Diddy, President, The Brand Group: “To be a Black woman in the world beyond business, and daughter of Black parents, and to have Black children, in the event I ever have any, I need to make sure the space I’m taking up in this world is even more meaningful, and that [brands] are not confused about where I stand.”

© 2022, Seth "Digital Crates" Barmash. All rights reserved.