Power Talks | A Sit-down with Influential Creators in Collaboration with Walmart

Google+ Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr +

Black creators can agree, there is power in being seen, heard and appreciated for your craft. In a world that often tries to diminish our light or make the playing fields uneven, it feels good to have places and spaces where you can simply be your authentic self. That is only part of the reason why EBONY, in collaboration with Walmart, decided to honor some of the most influential creatives of this generation during the 2024 EBONY Power 100.

These men and women spark change and push boundaries. They don’t merely entertain for clicks and follows—they educate, advocate and open doors for others. We recently had the opportunity to delve deeper into three of our honorees’ origin stories, learning more about the process it took for them to arrive at the level we see them at now. Host and The Lip Bar founder, Melissa Butler—someone who also knows a thing or two about being influential and creative—sat down with content creator and community advocate Keith Lee as well as stylists Wayman Bannerman and Micah McDonald for this episode of Power Talks.

Host Melissa Butler sits down with Micah McDonald, Wayman Bannerman and Keith Lee.

“For me, it’s about using the power you’ve been blessed with in the way that you’re supposed to use it,” Lee shared when asked what it means to be an influential creator.

“It’s a privilege and a mandate. It’s such a responsibility to not just create for yourself but to create for everyone who comes in behind you. To create opportunities and become someone’s North Star. That’s the influence you want to have through your creations. Just do it for something more that you,” McDonald added.

Despite being social media and culture-shifting powerhouses of the present day, things didn’t necessarily begin for the three creators that easily. Lee opened up about life as a former MMA fighter, something he saw as his forever career. That is until his tribe—his wife and sister—gave him the nudge to step out of his comfort zone.

Food critic and community advocate, Keith Lee.

“That was my number one identity, my whole life, that’s all I thought I would do. I was a professional fighter at the age of 18,” Lee candidly said. “But it was a seamless transition because food has always been number one in my life when it came to fighting. So my whole life, I was pretty much studying for this, and it became the perfect catalyst for being a food critic.”

“My sister and wife always had a vision. They are the ones that put the battery in my back and gave me the confidence to even get in front of the camera. I initially just started it [my page]for my social anxiety. So to be here is a huge milestone for me and it speaks volumes to them being by me, trusting the process and believing in God.”

As for styling duo Bannerman and McDonald, their journey can be credited to destiny. What started as a conversation expressing their interests at a random Friday night party in Harlem ultimately blossomed into two insanely talented folks coming together in the name of their common love—fashion.

Stylists Wayman Bannerman and Micah McDonald.

“Micah posed the question why don’t we go after our dream together instead of losing it to an opposing force? Within that same year, a client that we both put on our vision board earlier that year, we acquired.”

As our host so eloquently put it, collaboration over competition any day. These dynamic stories are further proof that when we come together, whether with strangers turned business partners or even family, there’s no limit to what we can truly achieve. Lee, McDonald and Bannerman are true testaments to what can happen when we remain our authentic selves while consistently pushing the boundaries—and for that we, along with Walmart, take pleasure in honoring these young, Black creative pioneers for the work they’re doing and continue to do.

Source link

Share.

About Author