Jamey Price

Motorsports photographer Jamey Price is also known for some incredible work he has created to help those in the Charlotte community. Being part of the QC Magazine team, Jamey has brought the beauty in a photograph to highlight the great things companies and individuals here in Charlotte are doing. For me, Jamey has been an incredible mentor in my photography career and I can’t thank him enough for the experiences and lessons I have learned along the way. I dropped the green flag here and asked him how he’s doing:

“I’m doing well. It’s been a hard year. As a freelance photographer, this has not been a lot of fun. But, at the same time, my wife and I have a young son and normally I’m traveling 180 days of the year so when I can suddenly be home from March 8th through July 3rd, I have never as a photographer, even in college, have never been home for that length of time in about ten years. It’s been hard when this is also your business, and when all of my income is based around sports — that has been difficult. I lost a lot of races where I made good money at but it’s also where I love to be. I love being at these racetracks. I have been able to be in Charlotte more and be at home with my wife and son and our dog. I have so many new clients in Charlotte that I have met recently and have done some work for so it has been a blessing in disguise. Some of the races are picking up again so it’s been nice to slowly get back into it.”

I wanted to see if anything was challenging with his photography during all of this or if there were any big takeaways: 

“Being diverse as a photographer and being able to put yourself out there to just shoot anything. For a while, I was taking photos of gardens for a landscape architect, so being able to put your creative eye on what you have developed towards anything new has enforced that I need to keep myself fresh and not saying no to everything. You never know when the rug underneath you can be swept away from your feet.”

I was interested in if and how the work has changed for QC Magazine during COVID-19.

 “We have tried to be a voice of positivity through all of this when there was a lot of negativity especially in the beginning where we are all under a stay at home order and bars and restaurants were closed. Charlotte was getting this cool vibe where the arts community was being built and it just felt like it stopped overnight. We tried to use social media to encourage people to go outside and enjoy the outdoors of what the city has to offer. I went up fishing and camping in the mountains with my friend J.P. We had the most gorgeous spring that we have had in a long time and maybe its because I've never been home this much and we really could enjoy that as a community and doing stuff that we wouldn’t normally do.”

With Jamey being from Charlotte, I wanted to see if the Black Lives Matter movements have made a different impact on him:

“It’s made a bigger impact, in 2016 I didn’t go out at all to be part of it and cover it. Seeing the Charlotte community rally together, all sides of the community, I grew up here so it has been cool to see all of us, all over the city, North to South West to East want to be involved and support brothers and sisters of all different skin colors, backgrounds, religions. You know, I have traveled the entire planet, I have seen so much of this world that most people don’t have the opportunity to see. I’ve seen countries where you do not have that freedom to protest or to speak what you’re passionate about and voice their opinion. To support people who voice that opinion is the most American thing that we can do, there are a lot of problems with this country but to just have that voice, to share it with others, and to debate it with others for the change, you can’t do that everywhere and it’s sad. When you see people voicing their opinion and what they think is right and what is right for equality and fairness it’s amazing.”

I asked him if he had any new goals with his photography as he continues with the rest of this year and years to come:

“It has taught me to just slow down a little bit and to enjoy the time at home — to make my work time, my work time, and to make my home time, my home time. It has been hard to do that in years past, where it was just a constant juggling act to pack your bag after a race and go to a different part of the world for another race and dealing with jet lag, so just wanting to focus on being home and watch my son grow up and spend time with my wife and time with my dog and just being with my family — I would very much like to keep that in some way.”

Any funny “Stay at Home” COVID stories?

“Well, my wife and I left the garage door cracked and we found out that there were two squirrels in the garage. So one night one of them ran into the house, my wife had the squirrel in the corner and my dog was helping, one ran back outside and another ran the other way towards the kitchen. I was holding our son and my wife had the broom pushing the squirrel out and it tried to jump up this little barricade we made to prevent it from the kitchen and I screamed and kicked it back in the garage. It made for a great video and a good laugh afterward.” 

Luciano Rivera

During one of the interviews in this series, David Butler gave some great advice — when you just have a conversation with someone, you never know what you will learn about others or yourself. Today I took that advice. Some of you that live near the Madison Park area may recognize Luciano Rivera — a gentleman that you can see waving at those who pass by every single day, twice a day. Whenever I'm lucky enough for our paths to cross, he always has a smile on his face as he waves to everyone. I started this series because community is important to me and it has shined even more in Charlotte than I ever thought possible the past few months.

This afternoon, I sought out to speak to Luciano and understand his story. As he was waving and smiling, I walked up and was welcomed me and our conversation with open arms. Luciano has been in Madison Park since 1991. During this time, he witnessed a terrible accident that led him and the person who survived that accident to stay in touch, and do their part in slowing down driver's speeds on the street. By doing so, it has made drivers more aware and cautious about the potential danger this road can cause if you’re not careful. Luciano continues to greet and smile every driver with two purposes — one, to slow drivers down so ensure the safety of everyone and two, to be kind and say hello with the simple gesture of a wave. 

Luciano continued to tell me stories of how he has built relationships with drivers and their families. He explained how a daughter asked her father if they could drive by to wave and say hello to Luciano before she went back to school this week. It’s amazing how a conversation with a stranger can lead you to have the best day because you made the effort to get to know someone else just by saying hello with the simple gesture of a wave.

Ohavia Phillips

A woman truly OHmazing. What a great and meaningful conversation with Ohavia Phillips. A journalist at heart, Ohavia leads with love and uses her passion for media to speak her voice to serve in communities and bring the important issues to all who need to hear and educate themselves to assist with the change that needs to happen. To open the conversation, I asked the oh so important question, “how are you doing?”

“Honestly, I feel like there has been such a major shift inside of me. I used to create content that was feel good, really positive and there wasn’t an uncomfortability about it and I’m calling myself out. It changed with Ahmaud Arbery, I remember waking up that morning, my Mom and I have coffee and watch the news together and I told her I don’t know what this feeling is but I feel like there needs to be content creation of this and then George Floyd was the spark inside of me. I had to go live and talk about this. I went on IG live, I had no script and I didn’t know what I was going to say but I had to get it off my chest, I was just frustrated. I was frustrated by people, not only here in our city, but beyond who we support and share their content and buy their march, buy their music and buy into their brand and they weren’t showing up for us. As a community that was mourning, as a community that wanted answers. Even at the very least and artistic expression or song where we could just release and a lot of our favorites we’re not doing any talking. I thought — Instead of complaining, I’m gonna say something. So while I was on IG live I said, I’m calling you out. It’s easy for some of you to be part of the communities when it relates to promo and when you get money from us but now, we need you as a person and you are nowhere to be found.”

“Now with Jacob Blake, it is a blessing is that he lived, and now passed living we need to make sure he lives. So who are the community leaders, who are the artists, and who are these people that will stand in the gap in these communities to make sure that we pull up and continue to pull up. So, here we are, back again. Some of my favorite responses I’m getting is “well, I’m doing stuff behind the scenes.” The truth is, if you’re doing the work behind the scenes then thank you. But then it goes to what point do we take that work behind the scenes and being secretly done and you’re showing your community like, “Hey guys listen, here’s what we have done, here is where our money, time or talents are going.” It’s a very fine line”

I wanted to learn more about Ohavia and what she does in Charlotte:

“I do all things media in Charlotte. God has blessed me and has opened so many doors where I can host and moderate events. I have my talk show, The OH Show where I highlight awesome people in the community who are using their gifts with purpose. With each show, we have a theme and I build the panel of people from the theme of the show. I’m a content creator and researcher and truly a journalist by heart. I wake up every day with coffee and read articles. I continue you to work with nonprofits — if it has to do with community, youth, or media, that is where you will find me.”

With this series, I ask how people are doing because it’s important to be a person who can just sit and listen to someone truly explain what they have been feeling and going through this past year. I asked Ohavia how COVID-19 has affected whats she's been doing:

“In the beginning it was tough, a lot of bookings have been canceled. But now, content is more intentional, everyone is home and able to view this content so views are up. It caused me to look at self — “Hey Ohavia, now with the attention of people how will you be a better Stewart and that is creating intentional content” So now we are good, everything is virtual so we are pulling up there.”

I asked if she has seen any difference this time around compared to a few years ago with the impact in protest and the calls for change and what those differences are: 

“Let's compare from 2016 to 2020. I will say this, people are defiantly stepping out of their boxes more and it makes me so proud and hopeful, a lot of young people in our city want to be heard so they are making sure there is a pedestal for everyone to speak or a pedestal for everyone to serve. There is no more lip service now there are a lot of young people that have stepped up to speak on what’s tough. A drastic change from 2016 to 2020 and we aren’t letting up, we are not letting this go quietly. 

Any advice or anything you would like to see continued from those in our community?

“Don’t stop pulling up. (I interrupted because I had to let her know how much I love that phrase that Ohavia uses daily, it’s the energy we need.) It is in every portion that you have been gifted with, if you’re an artist, grab your paintbrush, grab your design. If you’re good at making music, start recording stuff for us. If you’re good at making speeches, start writing and having a conversation. Let’s be honest, money talks. People got a lot of bread and they don’t want to talk. Take that bread and keep sowing, give it to your communities. But the biggest thing above all, don’t stop. With whatever it is you’re good at, keep doing it. Don’t let up, don’t let January come and god forbid another name comes and here we go again. People are gonna say well didn’t you go quiet from September to January? That’s why Jacob Blake is a lesson, it was a gut check. Are you still doing the service? Do you keep pulling up? How will you continue? How has he inspired you, his life and how will that inspire you to create? Keep leading with love and don’t stop serving.”

Christopher "YUNG Citizen" Williams

Christopher "YUNG Citizen" Williams is full of motivation and positive reinforcement for us all to join forces as a community to end systemic racism. It was inspiring for me to hear how Christopher has made such an impact on the youth of Charlotte. My initial thought was to ask him, "how are you?"

“I don’t know, man. I just take it one day at a time. Just with everything that has happened in the community and the United States, it’s a gray area for me. I always think, “will there ever be a change?” I just don’t understand why these things continue to happen. I haven’t seen more involvement from the community in a very long time until now. I feel like people are finding what their niche is and how they can contribute and help in their way. I’m not on the frontlines, we have people that do that — I’m on the backend trying to help the community. You don’t need to be out there on the frontlines, you don’t need to feel bad to not be out there, you can contribute and do your part to be involved in the community and help systematic racism.”

This response to me was powerful and I was curious how he makes a difference in Charlotte.

“For years, I have been doing work at West Charlotte High School. My cousin is the athletic director there and me and my homie Canaan Grier got involved with the football team. We started mentoring those kids every Thursday and then we are on the field with them every Friday night for the games. We’ve been doing this for about four years. We got involved with their lives and seeing where they come from. That’s what I’m passionate about. Mentoring these kids to make them understand there is a better life outside of where you lived. These kids came from very rough areas so we are there letting them know there is a way out. Football might not be the option for you but there are so many other ways to succeed. I still talk to some of these kids and a few have gotten scholarships.”

I asked if COVID-19 has made an impact on this work and if he had any takeaways personal or professional.

“Yeah, these kids aren’t in school so a lot of this stuff is virtual. Some of these kids are reaching out to see how I’m doing and vice versa. This football season looks like it will start in 2021. I’ve been introduced to the new coach which is great, my cousin has me heavily involved still.”

“With me being a hip-hop artist and a producer, COVID-19 has given me the time to just sit down and figure out what’s next for me as an artist. I have a studio at my house now so I don’t need to go to anyone's studio to work. Since COVID I’m staying at home and getting a tone of work done. I’m putting out more music and videos next month. Unfortunately, this has all happened but it gave me the time to do what I need to do.”

With the recent protests, I asked if he has seen a change in a more positive light?

“I have seen more diversity. There are more white folks that have woken up and are understanding that there is true racism going on. More white people are involved, I hate to say it like that but it’s the truth. Seeing that lets me know that change is happening and people are truly understanding. There are so many people asking, “What can I do?” and that makes me see the education. It’s all about education. Educate yourself to see where this all stems from. Understand the history and understand why there is poverty and how school systems work. We need to give the resources for these kids to have a successful future. We have to continue the work and continue the education.”

I asked if any personal goals have sparked since the start of this year and how the community can help get involved.

“As far as community, which I'm very passionate about, I just want more understanding and I want kids to have the resources they need and for them to have a successful future, they are the future, we need to set them up for success for we need them to believe in what’s going on. If anyone ever wants to help, we do this every week, come with me and talk to these kids. You have to be consistent, these kids trust you and you have to earn that trust. They would love to hear from different people and hear their own stories.”

Greg Jackson

What a moment to meet Greg Jackson today, the founder of Heal Charlotte — a nonprofit organization founded in 2016 with the mission of giving back to the Charlotte community. To kick-off the conversation, I asked Greg how he is doing.

“I’m okay, I’m doing alright. Considering everything going on in just this year alone, I’m okay. You’re blessed when you can walk in your purpose and do what you feel like you were born to do. I’m blessed on that note, I feel good.

I asked Greg to dive into more of how Heal Charlotte came together.

“In 2016, after the shooting of Keith Lamont Scott during the protests, a conversation I had with Captain Mike Campagna, we had no idea the conversation was being recorded, it went viral. It produced some results of us and CMPD implementing new training workshops for them and humanizing and empathizing with a community in a time of duress. We wanted to do more. My partner and I, Antwan Smith wanted to impact the community on a ground level and we started Heal Charlotte off of an event. One of my friends, her son passed away and we wanted to be there for her. Previously I was rapping and she was always there to support me and my music. We wanted to build her up and let her know the community was behind her. So we set up an event "Heal Charlotte a Night of Hip Hop" and people kept asking us about the name and logo and that’s how it came together. It was just us wanting to get a youth development program in my neighborhood. Just a couple of dudes wanting to get involved.”

We've all experienced struggles and ups and downs from COVID-19, so I was curious how this impacted Grey and Heal Charlotte.

“Man, if there were disparities in underserved communities before COVID-19 — you can only imagine it is magnified by a hundred right now. The work is spread out. Now we give free meals for the kids and families who need it. It’s not easy to get food, toiletries, and stuff like that so we decided to do Heal Charlotte care packages so we had to adapt to the times. We have changed our programming to help families when we understand what they are going through. We have provided hotel rooms for 20 families and making sure that people who were laid-off and who can’t afford where they are staying that they know they have some support bases.”

I asked if he has any new goals or has thought of any other ways to help.

“Yeah absolutely, especially with the school year starting back-up. We are starting to figure out events and how kids can be around, and socially gather but not putting them in situations where the virus spreads. We are currently looking for a space in the University area where we can bring kids in for three to four hours and have day programming to help with their curriculum. We want to have former and current teachers come in and give them an opportunity for a healthy and effective learning environment.”

I find that they are so many people in the community that would love to offer help but isn't sure where to start so I asked Greg what he looks for as far as a community looking to help those in need.

“We always say time, talent, and treasure. We need to capture and see the story. There is this overall perception of people living in these tent communities and people that are homeless that they are on drugs or their mental health isn’t right and I don’t think there are enough highlights on the families that are in tents. They work jobs and have kids because it’s hard to find a shelter. It’s changing that narrative and understanding who’s in these tents and I think that’s what’s stopping a lot of people investing in that help.”

We touched on the topic of the recent protests in Charlotte. I asked if he saw anything different or more impactful:

“I’ve seen a lot more awareness. The length of people's awareness was much longer than usual. This has stayed alive, it died down a little but it’s important to do the work because it keeps that energy alive and for people to understand they need to be aware and that they need to hold people accountable. The thing I am excited about are the younger kids, kids that are getting ready to go into their professions, they have a different mentality than the people that came before them. I had a chance to talk to 30 graduates from CMPD the other day and the mindset of everyone in there was completely different. They say it's not their job, it’s their purpose. They want to change and hold people accountable. It made me excited. This has impacted people's drive and it’s good — real good.”

“I want people to research, don’t read the headlines, read the facts. Do your due-diligence and walk in your purpose and do it with excellence.”

Finally, I asked if he has anything upcoming for Heal Charlotte that he'd like us to be aware of.

“We are launching a $10 million capital campaign next week — we are looking to buy a hotel and renovate it, use it for transitional living and turn it into a Heal Charlotte campus for social entrepreneurs and families that are in need and nonprofits that need a home. It’s going to be a ride. I want people to stay tuned in to our website and Instagram to get involved.”

To donate or to purchase a Heal Charlotte t-shirt visit: www.myhealcharlotte.com

David Butler

There are moments when having these conversations where I think to myself how grateful I am to meet such amazing human beings and David is one of them. David is an individual that I could immediately tell how genuine and a beautiful person he truly is. As a creative and Charlotte born and raised, we met to discuss COVID-19, social justice movements, and the importance of exercising our right to vote. So I asked, "how are you?"

“Overall, I’m well. I have been super focused at this point. What I do is centered around community, bridging gaps, and providing opportunities for those that look like me and are into the things that I’m into. I’ve been able to remain level through all of this, if anything, it heightens my energy to get the work done. In a general space, I am focused and fired up to take on the right opportunities that present themselves.”

David works for The Whitaker Group, as a Director for Community Initiatives. They are an internationally recognized black-owned boutique retailer based here in Charlotte. Outside of his 9-5, he is focused on The Hue House, an organization built to support black artists, black creatives, and entrepreneurs of color. Another business of his - Proper Context, formerly AWOL (A Way of Life), where he and his business partner focus on education and curriculum reform, and on top of everything else, he is an artist, photographer, and designer. I asked his experience (good or bad) within his businesses due to COVID-19.

“It’s created a lot of opportunities. The interesting thing about the work for Hue House — if you are already disconnected from a community, the digital divide just makes it that much more of a disconnect so there is that much more of a need for our services. As far as the retail space we have had to pivot quite a bit. It’s all about the reframe, a lot of things we do now are digital. You can be stuck on the way things were or you can innovate while the opportunity presents itself. Once we get back in person all of our digital stuff will be worked out so good reasons to stay optimistic.”

It showed how David and everyone he works with has been making the best of the situation. 

“That’s all you can do — it piles on, we’re in a new space with life and then the things that happened to George Floyd happened and now the whole world is on edge and then it causes this other element of a big awakening of a large number of white people that are now paying attention. It’s adjusting to a landscape and then adjusting to another landscape. It’s navigating those waters and that’s new for everyone. There’s a lot of education and a lot of conversation going on. It’s all just happening at once, globally, and we are all feeling the effects of it.”

I was glad he mentioned that because I read something that David said in an Instagram Live video, “Education and getting people on the same page is extremely important when you want to take action on social and political movements.” This resonated with me and why I love having these conversations and the importance of learning and growing as individuals. David elaborated a bit on what he meant from his comment:

“Once you take ownership and personal accountability and understand that this is your problem too — now that’s what progress looks like. We are now creating space to make those changes. It’s hard, it’s weird, it’s awkward but there has to be space for it. It’s our job to inform people to do the right type of work. It has to be part of our everyday life, you have to be able to call these things out. This is all one to one work, it’s having these kinds of conversations with one another. I was reading the book ‘Decolonizing Wealth’ and there was a quote at the end of it that stood out, “To reject the humanity in someone else it to reject the humanity in yourself.” So for me to treat you wrong then I have to acknowledge that I’m F*** up too. Again, that’s the work that has to be done, everyone understanding the human nuance layers and being open to making those changes.”

David made such a great point as we wrapped up our conversation and it ties into the importance of this year's election.

“It’s a long game, it takes one person at a time. For someone wanting to change ya know, it’s great that you feel good, it’s great that you’re learning and doing this, that and the third but this is how I need you to vote so we can start holding these leaders accountable. To stand with me in the street and protest and then go into the booth and go the opposite way, we are not complete in the circle. That is a whole other conversation. In the end, it’s about creating the environment and to bridge the gaps and have those conversations to drive the community forward.”

Aaron Dodge

Someone who brings personality to Charlotte and someone who brings a smile to all of our faces when it is needed. Hype man to TikTok dances, Aaron continues to shine a beautiful light on our city. He was kind enough to sit down and discuss his journey throughout COVID-19 and the emotions of Black Lives Matter. Like most of you who read these, I asked Aaron how he is doing:

“I’m feeling pretty good. Work has been a challenge — I work in video production so we are constantly around each other and we make videos for people and that has been a challenge but our team has been fantastic putting in processes for not only keeping us safe but our clients safe as well. My experience in Charlotte is drastically different than my parents in Columbia. Both of my parents are in their 60’s and my Dad has a few ailments that are triggering for the unknown of Coronavirus. Besides the grocery store and my sister's house, they have not been anywhere. They came up here for my birthday and we went out for some food at a restaurant and that was the first time they have been out in the last 90 days. We are seeing things that we will never forget and I will never forget the look on my parents face when we rolled up to the restaurant, it looked like they were going into battle. It’s been hard but I am so blessed to know they are not sick but it’s hard to see them concerned. When you look at your parents they are superheroes and then your Dad says “I don’t want to die from COVID” — it rattles your cage a little bit.”

So far Aaron was one of the first to speak about his parents and family during COVID-19. It hit's home with me because of what I went through not being able to see my mother, who was diagnosed with Breast Cancer at the start of this. The unknown is a scary thing with this virus. I asked if he had any takeaways that have stood out to him:

“Things can change real quick. This is a catastrophic cosmic shift, not only for us but for the whole planet. Every single day we are living history — we are in the middle of it and that’s weird. I wonder how we will look back on this ten years for now, what will our world be at that point? I miss a good handshake. If someone gives a good handshake on TV or a show I’m watching I get anxious. Another takeaway is how adaptive we are as humans. Everyone didn’t know how we are going to stay home as a country for 60 days but hey, we did it.”

Shifting to Black Lives Matter, Aaron was a big help for not only myself but many others who did not know what to say and how to react to it all. He was open and willing to learn and have those conversations we all shy away from and now he is continuing to learn every day. I asked if that was a hard thing to bring to his platform:

“It was very hard, I didn’t know what to say. Should I say, black people, should I say, people of color, mixed? But not saying anything was the worst. It took Garrett and Ohavia pushing me. When they were both saying things to their followers I felt like they were talking directly to me. At the end of the day if I could make one person feel comfortable to come forward, one person who was nervous to say something, actually say something, or help someone call a black friend to reopen a conversation, then it was all worth it. I went from being scared — to saying something to someone who was helping others have that conversation. I don’t know what I’m doing but I’m learning and I’m more than happy to be here to have the conversation to help you move forward. I want to be someone that people look up to in this city.”

Togetherness moves us forward. Based on what he has learned now, I asked if he learned anything new being at the protests back in June.

“The biggest thing was the coming together in our city. We are on to bigger and better things. It’s not going to happen overnight. A few of my black friends told me that you’re going to get burnt out because white people don’t know how to talk about social injustice topics for that long. I felt that. I got home from work and thought about what did I read today or what did I do push my viewpoint forward. It has to be small steps. Having one tough conversation a week is good, reading an article a week is good. Last week I read the John Lewis piece in the New York Times — what a legend. I said it on my Instagram, I had no clue who John Lewis was until he passed away, that’s terrible. Those are the kinds of people I want to learn more about and know about. I will continue to push my knowledge forward, I will continue to call myself out for things I don’t know and will continue to challenge other people to do just that.” 

Chase Price & Cody Hughes

Two masterminds behind a camera and two men I have learned a lot from and respect. Chase Price and Cody Hughes have become more than business partners but a solid support system as friends (you can tell when one knows what coffee to order for the other). Within the last year, they've teamed up to create RedefineU Media. As familiar faces in the Charlotte community, they bring the beauty of this city to people's eyes. We spoke a lot about the past few months and how the community came together to help one another and I asked, "How are you doing?"

Cody stated, “It all kind of flows together, business and personal. Right now we are doing great. Ourselves and the company are doing well. I feel like my mental and personal happiness is so tied to this business, so the business is doing well so I’m doing well.” Chase added “We are just going with the flow. You need to just keep going. The biggest word we always talk about is momentum.”

“When COVID started, Chase pulled the numbers and hit us with a number that can be the number that could end this. Just seeing the worst-case scenario possible, I went home that night and just hoped that it would not be real but knew that it could be realistic — and then what? We were stressed for a minute. We kept thinking about things we could do to keep the momentum and business moving forward.”

During quarantine, the two created puzzles out of their photography that sparked a lot of interest. “This honestly was one of the best things to have happened to us. We kept bouncing ideas off each other and that’s what led to the puzzle idea. If it picks up momentum then let’s roll with it. We got support from so many companies and people. That was when we were the most scared and that was the most refreshing feeling and we knew we would be okay. We’ll figure it out and make it happen,” Chase said.

Cody added, “It’s a lot easier to fall and fail alone but when you have someone, in one of the hardest business times — it kept the focus to bounce ideas off one another and gain the confidence that drives through. It’s okay to ask for help, we are all going through personal stuff that happens behind closed doors. This is what community support is about. People don’t need to buy something from you, but people go above and beyond because they want to help and we got that local support.”

Chase went on to say, “You can’t be afraid to try. Use your resources and don’t be afraid to try new things. Put it out into the world and the universe will tell you real quick if it will work or not. But it will never hurt to try.”

I asked them how the Black Lives Matter Movement made an impact on them. Chase responded:

“We want to be on the right side of doing good. It’s an easy choice. We wanted to go document and we wanted to be part of this. Instantly we thought about how we could be a resource and how we can contribute to this because we believe in it so much. This is history and we want to contribute and be with our community." 

“Something that I hope people took away from this is that if you don’t necessarily see someone helping, doesn’t mean they’re not. I knew plenty of people trying to contribute in their way. You don’t need to put it out there to be viewed as a good person. Let’s try to uplift the people that are doing the good.” Cody said.

As for their future goals?

“At the end of the day — when I’m retired from this if I can look back on it and say that we made a small impact on Charlotte, then that’s all I could ask for. We want to grow. We want to be able to do what we love to do on a bigger scale and make a bigger impact. We want to help Charlotte and the community — that’s a big win for us."

Charlotte Black Owned

When you meet individuals you can feel the energy, the true kindness and passion that radiate through them. Ashely, Maddy, Jeremy, and Jeff are one hell of a team. They are the owners of Charlotte Black Owned. They have the definition of squad goals. As a school social worker, hospital social worker, one being furloughed, and one studying Anthropology and Africana in school, I opened it up and asked the important question — How are you doing?

“It’s been mentally exhausting. For how everything could be to what it is, we really can’t complain, we’re still living and still in good health” Jeff said. Jeremy added “It could be much worse but doing this has brought a lot of life back into us. The stresses are there but they are manageable. This has been so positive, almost something of a distraction and a passion project to work on.” Ashley says “No matter how positive our movement is, there is always that fear and sadness that we will naturally feel with COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter”

Charlotte Black Owned is an Instagram page that has been a big help for people around Charlotte with doing their part and supporting black-owned local businesses. Seven weeks into it and already at 20,000 followers — here’s how it all started;

“One day we (Ashley and Maddy) we’re talking about how we should create a page and post about black-owned businesses. With all four of us being from Charlotte, we know there are racial divides and we were thinking about ways to blur out those lines.” Ashely added “We are committing full time to this and I can speak for all of us and say — we love it. It is taking up more of our time than expected but I think it’s great because we work well together. We are not even 2 months old yet. We are constantly trying to think of more impactful ways to support the community and grow.”

Their approach has been so genuine. You can see it with each post and interaction they have on their platform. They had a goal in the beginning to reach 1,000 followers and it has grown into much more.

Maddy went on to tell me “We sparked seven or eight other pages from different cities that reached out asking for advice on starting black-owned business support pages. We keep thinking about our goals and how far we already have grown. It just goes to show you that if you want to do something, do it — it can be 10 or 20 times better than what you could have ever imagined.” 

“It’s going to spark a lot inside of us to keep going. We wanted to bring something to make a change, protests die down and that drive that you have to make a change does as well and sometimes you don’t know where to start. There’s no better moment than now to make that change and help our community move forward”

Paige Hopkins

With these conversations it has been interesting to see the difference in how people are experiencing these situations and how they are absorbing it. Paige Hopkins has been in the thick of it, a new addition to the Charlotte Agenda team, her presence has felt natural. It feels like she has been there all this time. Paige has been reporting on the constant changes to our world these past few months and I asked how she’s doing;

“I feel alright. I have had a lot of family time and just enjoying the little things and just valuing your life. There are good days and bad days. I just feel generally tired — physically and mentally. It’s exhausting seeing images of protesters being pepper-sprayed and beaten, constantly watching the COVID death toll rise, and case number rise, all that sadness can just be tiring.”

Paige has been involved in broadcasting for several yeas and I asked how it all started. “I always wanted to be a journalist, the Today Show was always on in my house, NPR was on during car rides. I went to school and got a great hands-on experience with broadcasting. I enjoy telling peoples stories.”

We had a great dialogue about recent events in Charlotte and I asked if she has any personal goals on how to achieve more awareness as well as bringing the community in the city together. 

“I’m grateful to have this platform now where I can be more honest and I get to bring more of my personality to the table. To foster community it involves everyone coming together and everyone listening to each other. It would be great to see people continue to be open and willing to listen. It’s even hard for me sometimes. I’m trying to be better at being patient and appreciating the efforts of other people caring and those that are willing to learn.”

“I hope people don’t let these moments die down, not just with Black Lives Matter but also with COVID-19. We are getting into a lot of different and important topics many of us were not aware of. With both movements, it’s important to not let these moments pass because there is work to do.”

KDOT

You see when an individual shines through their energy, acts of kindness, and realism towards others. Khadijah is that individual. She is a DJ in Charlotte. I had the chance to sit and talk with her to see how she is doing, along with her businesses on a personal level during these times.  

“Overall, I’ve been okay. I feel prior to COVID I had a period of being in the house and being still and taking a break from everything. I feel like that was the preparation, spiritually for me leading to this point.”

“DJing is all about group gatherings, most of my year was planned out, and naturally, things were just added on. I’m aware of what is going on with COVID and I understand it. The reason I started DJing is that I realize how important music is and how powerful it is to impact someone for those two to four hours. When you have good music and some good energy — that can change someone's whole vibe. I’m not making the income that I’m used too but it’s humbling. I have been producing music for podcasts and YouTube clients and just focusing time on my own music. I pray about it and I feel like God will make a way for what's meant for me. I do this to impact people more so than making the money.”

“I’ve never been somebody who just wants to do one thing, I love learning and I like to do what my spirit is saying to do that day. I love to learn and I love to continually grow because if I’m not, to me, I’m not living, I’m just existing.”

I’m grateful for Khadijah because she is willing to have an open and honest conversation. We talked a little about the social justice movements and how that has made an impact on her.  

“I have always been very vocal about my emotions. I wear my heart on a sleeve — I try to be transparent as possible because it’s not about acting happy, that's not true happiest or true peace.” 

“We all have things that have impacted us, it starts with asking questions. It is okay to question things. It gets to the root of someone's pain so they can operate at a higher place. All humans desire to feel love. Every day is not going to be perfect and it’s okay. But if we are a little kinder to ourselves we can help other people it will move us forward.”

Garrett Tichy

I admire many people from afar that I follow on this platform. Those whom I have yet to meet here in Charlotte, Garrett is one of them. My primary purpose with these posts is to bring the community together so we can learn from one another. To me, Garrett represents just that — community and his love for bringing individuals together for the greater good.   

“Bringing people together in real life, that’s why I do coworking — creating space for people to come together. That’s why you see these protests and demonstrations become so powerful because you have a massive amount of people with shared values in spaces together to make a difference.”

Garrett has been an excellent resource for me to learn how to bake the most damn good-looking pie but also the ongoing social justice issues. He isn’t afraid to be transparent about learning and sharing the knowledge that people need to understand. 

“I am learning on the fly, and that is what I want to get across to people. The moment you have five followers — you can influence and educate. If someone is overwhelmed by the amount of work that needs to be done, I think that’s fine; it’s finding a way to ensure that it’s not so crippling that you don’t do the work to move forward. That’s why my approach has been to sprinkle in little bits of stuff. Social Media became toxic because we went from nothing to everything, and there needs to be a middle ground because we can’t absorb that much information that’s why you see a small number of thoughtful things on my stories.” 

“We all need to do things that feed our souls, and as long as we jump in for the right reasons and pushing the movements forward that we want to support, then it’s great to work.”

I wanted to touch base on how things have been for him and his coworking space, Hygge during COVID-19:

“We have taken such a beating; it is truly brutal. It was March 15th, I called the team, it was a Sunday, and I said we’re closing officially. It’s been tough. This is where hundreds of people call home, and there have been so many people that have been so kind. We (the team) have been less landlord and more part of the community, and there is shared mutual respect with one another, and it makes these times a bit easier.”

Rel Mariano

You sometimes meet people and you quickly understand the quality of the human being that is in front of you. 

I reached out to Rel Mariano to sit down and chat about him and his story. The iconic ‘From Charlotte With Love’ is worn on t-shirts and sweatshirts by folks all around Charlotte. Husband, father, musician, and entrepreneur, Rel has bigger intentions to make a name in Charlotte with true love. He talked to me about how being a father has changed his life in such a beautiful way. He is more driven and focused and see’s ’From Charlotte With Love’ being handed down to his son years and decades down the line. I got chills when Rel was speaking about a few things because he is genuine and wants the best for himself, his family and everyone in Charlotte. “You look for the positives in every situation, even in the bad.” This pandemic was a good thing for him to not only work his full time job but to grow the meaning of the message and finish his new album that will be dropping everywhere tomorrow (07/10). New Music Friday for all my Spotify people! The man stays busy. 

Rel, thank you again for the time. It was great to meet you. Charlotte is lucky to have a man like you in this city to spread the true love that a community needs to move forward, together. 

Coordinates Coffee

A 1975 vintage horse trailer turned into a traveling mobile coffee spot, yes please!

Joseph Keenan and Jasmine Koch have one thing in mind which is what I have heard and seen all throughout Charlotte during these past few months and that is, community. They have been connecting and bringing people and coffee together all around the Charlotte and South End areas in their first year of being open. 

I wanted to connect and see how things have been going for them during COVID-19. They are doing very well, having a mobile aspect to their business has allowed them to reach more people than if being a physical coffee shop. Since being featured on @cltblackowned they have seen all of the love and support from Charlotte who want to support local black owned businesses. 

To support, visit their instagram stories at the beginning of each week to see where they will be.