{"id":33363,"date":"2021-03-28T13:14:24","date_gmt":"2021-03-28T20:14:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=33363"},"modified":"2021-03-28T13:14:24","modified_gmt":"2021-03-28T20:14:24","slug":"a-powerful-kick-off-to-black-history-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=33363","title":{"rendered":"A Powerful Kick-off To Black History Month"},"content":{"rendered":"

How a team of volunteers orchestrated a moving event for a global audience.<\/span><\/h1>\n
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Tichina Arnold, right, with guitarist Rex Williams preparing for her Black History Moment performance to kick off Black History Month 2021 at ViacomCBS. Photo by Zenay Arnold.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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SUMMARY<\/h2>\n

In\u00a0Making It Work<\/a>, creatives and decision-makers from across ViacomCBS describe how they turned an idea into a reality. In this installment, we spoke to a few of the volunteers who organized this year\u2019s kick-off event: A Black History Moment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Thursday, March 25, 2021 – 11:00am<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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This year\u2019s Black History Month celebration at ViacomCBS was the most robust yet. Collectively, the Office of Global Inclusion (OGI), The Beat+ employee resource group, and brands including BET, Smithsonian, Paramount, Simon & Schuster, and VidCon hosted a lineup of more than two dozen live-streamed events. ViacomCBS employees had conversations with Robert Battle, artistic director of the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater; CBS Sports\u2019 James Brown; and Lonnie G. Bunch III, the first Black secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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An acceleration in digital technology was key to the month\u2019s success, and made live-streaming to thousands of homebound employees easy. But perhaps most remarkably, the backbone of these events was the work of volunteers\u2014 members of The Beat+ with full-time day jobs within the company.<\/p>\n

We spoke with a few of the volunteers who organized this year\u2019s kick-off event, titled \u201cA Black History Moment.\u201d Curated by Joshua Walker, an executive assistant in the CBS Network Entertainment Division, this series of virtual performances explored the nuances and beauty of Black history with poetry, music, and more. Among the performers were Cedric the Entertainer and Tichina Arnold from CBS\u2019 The Neighborhood, socio-cultural analyst Dr. Donald E Grant, spoken word artist Steven Willis, and The Chi\u2019s Yolonda Ross.<\/p>\n

An idea forms<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kydee Williams, manager in the Office of Global Inclusion:<\/strong>\u00a0Joshua Walker was the visionary. He had this idea that he presented to everyone back in December.<\/p>\n

Joshua Walker, executive assistant:<\/strong>\u00a0I started planning it back in November or December. I had the idea to have ViacomCBS talent and other artists perform these powerful works of art. My manager, Tiffany Smith-Anoa\u2019i, suggested that I reach out to The Beat+. I met with The Beat+, pitched the idea, and from there began putting it together.<\/p>\n

Marland Zanders, senior manager HRIS & operations:<\/strong>\u00a0At first, we weren\u2019t sure it was going to be the kick-off event. But as we heard more about what it was going to cover, and the amount of talent and people involved, we decided to position this as the kick-off. Then we secured [ViacomCBS President and CEO] Bob Bakish and [Executive Vice President, Global Head of Inclusion] Marva Smalls for opening remarks, and we knew it was perfect.<\/p>\n

Diane Robertson, V.P., CBS Studios Legal Affairs:<\/strong>\u00a0When Josh conceived this program, everyone immediately embraced it and was eager to play some part in it. I volunteered to introduce one of the presenters, and Josh assigned me to Yolanda Ross. The excerpt she read during the program resonated so powerfully with me. All the pieces of this program fit together so perfectly.<\/p>\n

MZ:<\/strong>\u00a0Josh was cultivating it and reaching out to those who could pull this together. I don\u2019t have the blessing of having the connections to all the talent that everyone else did. The heavy-lifting administrative stuff \u2014 that\u2019s my strong point. A lot of us were taking a step out of our egos and seeing how we could help to make this event to be the success that it could be.<\/p>\n

Organizing the show<\/strong><\/p>\n

JW:<\/strong>\u00a0We worked really quickly locking down talent and securing the times.Tiffany has a direct line with the talent and their PR and our shows. We\u2019ve worked with Dr. Grant a lot in the past, so that was a no-brainer request for us. As far as Steven Willis, the spoken word artist, I actually found him in my research of Black art. I reached out to him on Instagram. I also curated the pieces of literature and music that we used, because I wanted to tell a complete story. I wanted to tell a story about issues that I think are often overlooked but important when considering the nuance of Blackness.<\/p>\n

MZ:<\/strong>\u00a0We pulled together a run of show and decided when we were going to do the intros, who would do which segments, and which was the best fit for the person and their personality.\u00a0 We went through the step rehearsals, where we had to make sure that the timing was perfect. The IT teams did a great job on that. I was part of the team that helped with coordination, keeping each other accountable. Figuring out, if talent dropped out at the last minute, what would we do? We were worried about outside factors, too, like Tichina doing the national Black anthem on top of the building, with the wind and everything. It was really a collaborative effort, where no one person did the heavy lift, except for Josh, because he kicked off the idea.<\/p>\n

JW:<\/strong>\u00a0To me it was a no-brainer to use Tichina to close the program and sing the Black national Anthem. Also, when I picked the piece on American history, the tone felt very much like Cedric the Entertainer. When I read the piece the first time, I saw him reading it. It was also a no-brainer for me when it came to the piece that Yolanda read. I had specifically wanted Black female talent for Frederick Douglass\u2019 letter to Harriet Tubman, because of what it was and what I took from the piece.<\/p>\n

Tichina is formidable, and I think that people need to see more of her.\u00a0The Neighborhood\u00a0recognizes that. Their production team really went above and beyond for this. Originally, she was going to be singing in a room that they set up, but they really wanted to up the production value. So they changed to a location on the lot here in Los Angeles, in Studio City. They built a stage for her. It was incredible, and she looked great. She sounded great. It was something different\u2014it gets repetitive when you watch so many Zoom panels, and everybody\u2019s just sitting behind a computer. When you see something different, it breaks up the hour.<\/p>\n

A virtual setting<\/strong><\/p>\n

JW:<\/strong>\u00a0A virtual event is so different from a live event. There\u2019s so much more energy when you\u2019re live and in person. You can see the person and engage with them. So it\u2019s always hard in a virtual setting for the performer to keep their energy up. That\u2019s a struggle, but scheduling is also easier now. Everybody is doing this kind of event virtually. Everybody is home or should be home.<\/p>\n

MZ:<\/strong>\u00a0Really mapping out the timing was critical. We did two tech rehearsals where we made sure everybody\u2019s lighting was good. We made sure the sound was high-quality. We tested the bandwidth because if someone has no bandwidth, it could set the entire thing off. You could start getting distortion or feedback. We also wanted to be comfortable with the transitions, because this was being done via Zoom, then being broadcast in Workplace. The media department gave us best practices for Zoom, telling us the different configurations for the camera setup, the stuff in the background, how to check mics and give ourselves time if we needed to get more light in. I learned that I have to take my glasses off.<\/p>\n

KW:<\/strong>\u00a0It would be powerful to be in person and to connect with employees and to have that feeling of community. But at the same time, there is some sort of intimacy in the virtual world, right? Being in the comfort of your own home and watching these powerful speakers. You\u2019re face to face, technically, with the speakers. The impact did translate.<\/p>\n

MZ:<\/strong>\u00a0For Bob and Marva, we weren\u2019t going to be able to get them locked in for that time, so they actually did recorded segments. Having the benefit of some recorded segments made it a little bit easier. As I finished my intro, I was a nervous wreck! But even as I was reading it, I was seeing the comments in Workplace, saying \u201cGreat job, Marland! You sound great.\u201d That instant feedback gives you a boost. Then watching my colleagues go through their pieces\u2014there\u2019s a certain energy and pride in that moment, seeing it all come together seamlessly, with everyone doing their part, hitting their mark.<\/p>\n

Inspiration comes alive<\/strong><\/p>\n

MZ:<\/strong>\u00a0As I was watching, I was realizing the power of words. I was watching the performers, seeing their energy, and reading their body language at the same time, seeing their passion. It was amazing. What I\u2019ll take from it personally is greater appreciation of what goes into coordinating something like this. It was an amazing learning experience. I learned what I\u2019m capable of, that I\u2019m able to step up and not fall apart. And even Dr. Grant has some of the same anxiety about hitting his cues.<\/p>\n

DR:<\/strong>\u00a0Dr. Grant is always very inspiring. I tend to hang onto his every word. I don\u2019t think I\u2019m the only one. His contribution really resonated with me, but they all were so powerful and moving.<\/p>\n

KW:<\/strong>\u00a0I got chills. The program as a whole was powerful, and Dr. Grant took it home. I don\u2019t know how he did it in the time that he had, but he took us on a journey through American Black history\u2014which is American history\u2014and a history of white supremacy, which is at the core of the issues that we have as a country. He related it to Blacks feeling inadequate in the modern day. He is a genius. I\u2019m still speechless.<\/p>\n

Reflecting the company\u2019s values<\/strong><\/p>\n

JW:<\/strong>\u00a0I think that what our department does to celebrate Heritage Months is incredible. We really put a focus on it, and are so collaborative in the work that we do, for such meaningful work. And to get the CEO involved with opening remarks felt really great.<\/p>\n

MZ:<\/strong>\u00a0ViacomCBS has committed to the promise it made when everything happened last year, shortly after the George Floyd murder and the Black Lives Matter events. It makes me very proud that I\u2019m here. As I talk about what we\u2019re doing to my friends and family, some of them are jealous. That\u2019s a wonderful feeling, when your employer or your company is doing things that people hear about.<\/p>\n

DR:<\/strong>\u00a0In the short time that the two companies have merged, there\u2019s been an enormous amount of commitment from the Office of Global Inclusion. Marva seems really committed to empowering the ERGs to really have an impact. I appreciate that. I\u2019m really thankful and excited about this direction we\u2019re taking, and really look forward to contributing to the impact I think that we are going to make. I\u2019m just really glad to see the commitment from executives at the very top supporting this, because otherwise these ERGs just become a box that is checked.<\/p>\n

KW:<\/strong>\u00a0We want people not to just watch the speakers and be like, all right, great event, now back to whatever I\u2019m doing. We want people to leave our events and say, \u2018What can I do? How can I push the needle forward?\u2019 That\u2019s the goal of what we\u2019re doing here. We are intentional about our choices in speakers. We try to get speakers who will urge ViacomCBS employees to learn more and make the world better.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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