Trust Black Women: Culture Is the Strategy

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  "name": "Trust Black Women: Culture Is the Strategy",
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  "date": "2026-03-17",
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      "details": "Kendrick Sampson is an actor, storyteller, and producer who leverages his platform and storytelling to shift culture for good.\r\rGrowing up in Houston and Missouri City (Mo City), Texas, Kendrick was immersed in a unique and deeply rooted culture of music and art that continues to shape his work today.\r\rHis most acclaimed and notable roles include \"Nathan\" on HBO's Emmy-nominated comedy series Insecure, \"Ethan\" in Prime Video's Something from Tiffany's, and his personal favorite, the surrealist satire I Am a Virgo from Boots Riley. Next month, Kendrick takes on his most iconic role yet: Quincy Jones in the highly anticipated Michael biopic, releasing April 24th. It is the first portrayal of the legendary music producer since his passing, bringing to life Quincy's transformative partnership with Michael Jackson.\r\rBeyond acting, Kendrick uses his platform to amplify transformational grassroots work in healing justice, including mental health, sexual health, liberation, and abolition. He co-founded BLD PWR, which encompasses a production company and a 501(c)(3) social impact arm dedicated to reimagining and realizing the liberated future we know our people deserve. Through BLD PWR, he works to organize Hollywood and shift culture, ensuring that nuanced Black, Indigenous, and marginalized voices, especially storytellers and their stories, are nourished, protected, and empowered.",
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      "details": "Mia Williams is a seasoned advocate, consultant, and community leader with more than 20\ryears of experience driving social and systemic change. Her career began in Child Protective\rServices, where she served as a social worker and later as a supervisor, always centering the\rdignity and wellbeing of the families she supported. Over the years, she has become known for\rher ability to name inequity clearly while also guiding institutions toward practical,\rjustice-centered solutions.\rFrom 2008 to 2018, Ms. Williams served as a subject matter expert examining disparate\routcomes for Black people and other marginalized communities. In this role, she focused on\rhow policies, practices, and systems disproportionately harm communities of color and worked\rto shift organizations toward equity-driven approaches. In 2019, she launched her work as an\rindependent consultant, partnering with entities such as the Houston Public Library and Region\r4 Education Service Center to build more inclusive, accountable, and community-responsive\rprograms and services.\rFor the last five years, Ms. Williams and her daughter have made intentional, powerful strides in\rthe reproductive justice space. Through both digital advocacy and grassroots (“glass fruits”)\refforts, they co-lead HOOCHIES of Houston, which stands for Humans Overthrowing\rOppressive Controlling Harmful Institutions with Effective Solutions. The organization brings\rprogramming directly to communities—particularly Black women—equipping them with\rresources, tools, and information to maintain their body autonomy in a state where that\rautonomy is severely compromised. Their work blends education, culture, and joy to challenge\rstigma and expand access to life-affirming information and care.\rMs. Williams also brings the perspective of a survivor and healer. As a 19-year triple negative\rbreast cancer survivor, she deeply understands the realities of health disparities, medical bias,\rand the urgency of advocacy in healthcare spaces. This lived experience fuels her bold and\raudacious commitment to the equity of Black women, especially at the intersections of health,\rbodily autonomy, and systemic oppression.\rMia offers not only professional expertise but also lived wisdom, movement-building insight, and\ra grounded, community-first lens. She continues to champion spaces where Black women are\rinformed, resourced, and empowered to define and defend their own bodies, lives, and futures.",
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  "description": "In today’s cultural and political landscape, Black women continue to lead movements shaping art, policy, health, and collective liberation, often without being trusted or protected. Trust Black Women Is the Strategy examines how culture operates as collective power and how Black women leaders intentionally design cultural interventions to shift narratives, influence public perception, and advance social change. Centering storytelling, media, and creative organizing, this conversation reframes culture as strategy, moving beyond symbolism toward lasting power and impact.",
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