Does our culture drive the television, film and media industry or does the TV, film and media industry drive the culture?  That is a question that has been on the mind of Corey for many years.  In this time of serious concern about racial equity, Corey feels the entertainment industry has an important obligation to highlight more diverse stories from a more diverse range of artists and creators to help drive change.  He remembers in college, a new friend admitted that he was the only Black person she knew personally and that the only Black people she saw on TV were playing criminals. 

He points out, “More Black writers need to have an opportunity to share their stories. You need Black, Hispanic, and Asian development executives and producers because they are the ones that are making the decisions on how the characters are cast, which scripts are being approved and what the scenes should be about. If they don’t have a sense of the culture and an understanding of it, then it’s going to be one sided… Too often, you’ve got a person who’s sitting behind the desk who’s reading this script, and because they can’t relate to that script, that script doesn’t get green lit.” As a human resources executive in the cable television industry, Corey has a unique viewpoint.  

Born in Franklin, Tennessee, he moved to Atlanta 24 years ago shortly after graduating from Tennessee Tech.  Now 51, he and his wife live in East Atlanta, and they have two daughters in middle school.

How often do you feel like racial discrimination affects you? For me, I would say maybe once or twice a year and again, I’m not necessarily tracking it on a regular basis. But if I just think about things that I have experienced, I always feel like there was one that stands out at least once a year that I go, “Oh my God.” I just either saw that or I experienced it or got exposed to it. I’ll be honest and I’ve had this conversation with other African Americans and I can relate to them, meaning that a lot of times people don’t realize the racism piece is always on our minds.  So then most people here would think, hey, this person has said something and at the end of the day, their intentions were never to come across as being racist or inappropriate, but we immediately will go to that because it’s what we’ve been living with.

It’s hard sometimes to distinguish, did they really mean this? Because they said it this way, and it really could be offensive to an African American. Or maybe they just had wrong choice of words, and that was not their intent. I try to make sure I know the person first. Let’s say I’m talking to you and I’ve known you for years and you said something that rubbed me the wrong way. I think I know you enough to know that– I’m going to give you the benefit of a doubt, because I know your heart and I know that your intent was not to say or do something that would be disrespectful. For you, I might just not even think about it. It may not even cross my mind because I know you, but if I don’t know you and it comes across, then I’m immediately going to think through, “Was that a racist comment? Do they mean it? Do they not mean it?” Or maybe you just don’t know and I need to take time to educate you.

I was recently talking to a white female friend on these issues, and I made a comment to her that sometimes you can tell in a person’s attitude that they don’t either care about you or have never spent much time with somebody like me and they’ll be very disrespectful. Her comment to me was, “Corey, how could somebody be disrespectful to you because you’re so nice and because you’re so outgoing?” I said to her, “That’s the thing that you don’t understand is that regardless of how nice you are, there are some people who will just come at you with these preconceived notions of who they think you are. That comes across in terms of their spirit, how they speak to you, how they look at you. They’ll cross you out before you even start the conversation.”

Have you or your family member experienced police brutality? No one in my immediate family. Thankfully, no.

Has law enforcement ever pointed a gun at you, for example? No. Thank the Lord, no.

What is it that you wish white people understood about your experience as a person? You know for me what it is? It’s just the acknowledgment of the fact that we are still struggling. I think that’s the big thing for me. I think it’s easy for people who are not Black to see somebody like Obama, other political figures and Oprah and say, “Black people have really made it.” They’d say, “There’s no discrimination because if there were, Obama wouldn’t have been President.  If there were, people wouldn’t go and watch Oprah Winfrey or buy all her books.  She’s loved by everybody.” The success of President Obama and Oprah is barely enough to say we made it. You still have other people who are not at their level and who are still experiencing everyday challenges, and if you talk with them about their experiences and the people they’re interacting with, you would say it is still a challenge.

Now the argument to me is always, “Hey, but they obviously got through the challenge to get to where they are.” And I say, “Yes, but every situation is different.” Maybe they had a person who helped them navigate barriers to get them to where they are. There are some people who just don’t have that support system because they’re in an environment where they’re not valued by others.

They don’t have an advocate or they meet the wrong person who’s not as open, and who doesn’t see them as a person they want to help. From my view, things are better than when my dad was my age, but I don’t think we can say, “Oh my God, we have made it. It no longer exists. We’re all good.” I don’t think we can say that yet.

Would you say we are seeing progress on issues of race from your parents’ generation to now? My dad is 94 and my mom is 82. I think I’m seeing some progress in my generation. Not so much with my parents’.

I’ll be honest. I do have hope with our millennial population. With them, I see more of a coming together, celebrating the differences. I see the younger generation and I see the number of friends they have in college and I see their acceptance of other cultures.  I see them having different relationships.

I see more interracial dating, than when I was in school. I feel like their generation is like, “Hey, we’re all heading out– I like the way you dress, I like that your hair is different and I like that your music is different.” They’re all happy-go-lucky. I feel like my generation is still stuck in the past. There’s just a lot of things that we’ve been dealing with and pain and we’re not there. That’s what gives me hope is that we can continue to have that generation function like they’re functioning now.

Do you think this moment of recognition by the United States is going to stick? Or is this just another passing chapter? And why? I think this one’s probably going to stick… I think that because there are so many different types of people who are joining the fight and the protests, I think you’re starting to hear about it… It’s going to be here to stay because it’s not just African Americans or Blacks fighting for justice right now. Other people are joining the fight.  When everybody starts to join, that to me makes history.

What advice do you give white friends who want to be helpful in promoting racial equity? Do what it is that you can do. Not everybody can go out and protest. You don’t have to feel pressured to post something on Facebook. If you do, that’s fine. I appreciate that, but at the end of the day, do what you can do at home.

Spend time exposing your kids to diverse images with the books they’re reading and the shows they’re watching. Expose them to other kids who are different. Make sure that you teach them to first look at a person’s heart before they judge them. To me, that’s the most powerful thing that you can do more than posting something.

Make sure that your kids are exposed and spending time with somebody of color on a personal level and not just in passing. It’s not enough to just say hello at church once a week. There’s no real personal connection in that. Have you invited this person to your house? Have you sat down with them over coffee or lunch to understand who they are as individuals? And don’t just focus on the Barack Obama’s of the world… You’ve got people who are just good hardworking people who are honest and they want the best out of life. They may not be the wealthy people you’re accustomed to, but they’re the nicest people you ever want to meet.  Take time to understand their struggles and what they’ve experienced. 

For people in positions of power, take time to advocate for a person of color when they get passed over for a promotion they were clearly qualified for. You have the ability to change the course of their career.  If you’re the one giving the promotion, check yourself and ask, “Hey, am I making this decision through the right lens? Are there any biases?”

“Am I being objective and taking race out of it?” That’s where I think power is, right?

Have you worked with any non-profits in this space that you recommend? Yes, it’s called INROADS (see https://inroads.org to volunteer or donate).  They’re a non-profit organization and they’re nationwide. There is an affiliate here in Atlanta. They specialize in helping African American, Hispanic and Asian students to have careers in corporate America, specifically in engineering, computer science or business.

The organization was started in 1970 to address the fact that there was a lack of African American and minority presence in corporate America. They still exist today and they bring students from high school [and college], they teach them about business, about corporate America and then they partner with all these different corporations across the city and they provide corporate internships for those students.  As long as you stay in college and you keep your grades up, the plan is when you intern with that company for four summers and after graduation, that company makes a commitment to bring you on full time. I still love working with them when I can just because I like to go in there and do a presentation on some kind of business related topic like interviewing skills. 

I always say go back to where you think your strengths are. Some people are better at protesting and being activists. There are some people who are on the corporate level, who might say, “Hey, I’m a corporate executive. I could give my time to working with a non-profit and holding sessions on Saturdays to teach them corporate etiquette.” Just take that talent and utilize it.

How do you feel about being someone that white people frequently come to for advice on race? I’m going to tell you right now, I’ve told people– I’m probably the right guy to ask, meaning that I don’t get offended when people ask me questions about race. For me, this is what I love. I wish people would be more comfortable and say, “You know what? I just don’t get it, can you help me understand?”

I have some Black friends who are not comfortable having this kind of conversation because part of them feels like, “You know what? I’m not the answer. Number one, I don’t want to talk about it because I don’t think you’re sincere about it.”

How do you know if you don’t ask me? I want you to get comfortable so we can share. When some of these folks reach out to me, I’m just like, “I will call you in five minutes. You want to talk, let’s chat it up.”

I had a few people, maybe like three or four that reached out to me via email and said, “Hey, can we chat?” Or, “Hey, I can only imagine what you’re going through right now. Let me know what I can do, How’s your family.” I appreciated them doing that. I quickly have said to those people, ‘Hey, I should not be the only African-American or Black person you talk to. I’m not the spokesperson for all.”

Even as Black people, we have different opinions about everything that is going on right now. It’s going to be a diverse opinion within our race about what’s happening and what we should do or not do.  To answer your question, I welcome it. I love having this dialogue and nothing that you could ask me would offend me at all. I told people, the only thing that would offend me is if somebody ever used the N-word with me. Short of doing that, I say ask away.

Any other advice on what white people should do and not do on the issue of racial equity? I think it’s been great to have people like you, who look like you, who are joining the fight. I hate saying this, but I feel like if we didn’t have you guys on the frontlines with us and if the images we saw on TV were just African-Americans who were walking in the streets protesting, I don’t think it would probably get the attention that it’s getting right now.

Having you with us has brought awareness. I think if we didn’t, it would just be another, “Hey, you know what? They should be happy with what they have. Why are they so upset? Why are they complaining?”

I will say to you and friends who may ask, I don’t want you to always walk around feeling guilty about what other people are doing… Black people are not going to look at every white person and assume that you are a racist. 

Don’t beat yourself up that you have to go out do what everybody else is doing to help solve this problem. Like we used to say back home, get in where you fit in. Just figure out where you can make the most impact and do it. That’s it.