Latest / The Breakfast Club / Ashley Allison on Owning The Root, Knowing Your Worth & Moving Without Apology

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Ashley Allison on Owning The Root, Knowing Your Worth & Moving Without Apology · The Breakfast Club

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Let's get, let's get, let's get to it, time to
• 0:01
  Speaker 1: do it. I'm the homegirl that knows a little bit
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: about everything and everybody.
• 0:05
  Speaker 2: You hear that exclusive? You don't feel alive out there, right?
• 0:07
  Speaker 2: Lauren came in hot. Hey, y'all, what's up?
• 0:10
  Speaker 3: It's Lauren LaRosa, and this is another episode of The
• 0:14
  Speaker 3: Latest with Lauren LaRosa. This is your daily dig on
• 0:16
  Speaker 3: all things pop culture, entertainment news, and all of the
• 0:20
  Speaker 3: conversations that shake the room, baby. If you did not
• 0:23
  Speaker 3: hear her cute little chuckle already, we do have a
• 0:26
  Speaker 3: guest in the room that we're going to do all
• 0:28
  Speaker 3: that with.
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: We're going to check in behind the scenes of the ground.
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: We're going to do everything.
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  Speaker 3: But first, I'm going to allow her to introduce herself
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  Speaker 3: to the lowriders that is our podcast community, Ashley.
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: Hello, lowriders. It's Ashley Allison here with my girl Lauren.
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: So tell them a bit about yourself, who you are,
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: where they can find your work.
• 0:43
  Speaker 3: And they don't even know, but they probably read one
• 0:46
  Speaker 3: of your babies every single day and watch as.
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  Speaker 1: Well, too.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: So I am Ashley Allison. I'm the owner of The Root.
• 0:54
  Speaker 4: So you can find The Root on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok,
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  Speaker 4: all of the platforms. And I'm also a CNN contributor.
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: I love that. I love that.
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: Back on the grind.
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: We check in behind the scenes of the grind.
• 1:08
  Speaker 3: So this is the part of the show I built
• 1:09
  Speaker 3: in because I don't really stop to check in on
• 1:12
  Speaker 3: myself as much as I should. So I'm like, if
• 1:14
  Speaker 3: I make myself have to do it at work, I'll
• 1:15
  Speaker 3: do it every day. I have to sit down and
• 1:18
  Speaker 3: really think, what am I feeling today? How am I feeling?
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: So how are you?
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: How are you checking in behind the scenes of your grind?
• 1:25
  Speaker 4: Um i am tired i'm not a morning person girl
• 1:29
  Speaker 4: i had to get up early and do glam and
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  Speaker 4: all that so i was like welcome to the party
• 1:32
  Speaker 4: struggle bus um so i'm okay i'm okay i am
• 1:38
  Speaker 4: i'm gonna take a nap today that's how i'm gonna
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  Speaker 4: i already have like my nap time a lot.
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  Speaker 3: I'm not mad at you people probably listening like she
• 1:46
  Speaker 3: gonna take a nap today that sounds like such an
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  Speaker 3: accomplishment it's just a nap no it is an accomplishment
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  Speaker 3: to be like I am going to sleep I know
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  Speaker 3: exactly what time it is and I am going to
• 1:54
  Speaker 3: feel not bad about it yeah cause somebody just texted
• 1:56
  Speaker 3: me that they were putting a meeting on my books
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  Speaker 3: and when I finish this I'm gonna text them no
• 2:00
  Speaker 3: you're not.
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: Because I'm going to take a nap. But that's very intentional, though.
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: It is.
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  Speaker 3: That is really intentional. And I'm learning to be okay
• 2:07
  Speaker 3: with that intention. And also to know that if I
• 2:09
  Speaker 3: do take that nap for, what, that 20, 30 minutes,
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  Speaker 3: I don't miss something that's going.
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: To alter my life in a way where I can't
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  Speaker 2: come back around.
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  Speaker 4: And you'll probably, if something is happening, you'll probably come
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  Speaker 4: back a little refreshed because you took care of yourself
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  Speaker 4: and allowed yourself to reset.
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: But talk a bit.
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  Speaker 3: About, like, okay, so behind the scenes of The Ground
• 2:25
  Speaker 3: You're Tired, you know you're going to prioritize feeling, you know,
• 2:28
  Speaker 3: taking care of yourself and getting some rest. So going
• 2:30
  Speaker 3: into the latest and into the conversation, talk to me
• 2:33
  Speaker 3: a bit about understanding the newsroom hustle, being at CNN
• 2:38
  Speaker 3: and prioritizing our newsroom with the root, but also understanding
• 2:42
  Speaker 3: and taking time for yourself. Because I don't think that
• 2:44
  Speaker 3: there's a real balance to be able to do that
• 2:46
  Speaker 3: in the world that we work in, like breaking news
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  Speaker 3: and media.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, I... I have a team. I think that I
• 2:56
  Speaker 4: know I can't do it all. And if I try
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  Speaker 4: and do it all myself, I will burn out. And
• 3:00
  Speaker 4: it's not a good use of my energy or actually
• 3:05
  Speaker 4: the platform's energy.
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  Speaker 2: So I have a team around me.
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  Speaker 4: We take shifts. Like when I sleep, they work. When
• 3:10
  Speaker 4: they sleep, I work. And I also like, you know,
• 3:15
  Speaker 4: prioritize what I'm eating. So like three weeks ago, I
• 3:18
  Speaker 4: just was like, feeling really sluggish, just like tired all
• 3:22
  Speaker 4: the time.
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  Speaker 2: And I was like, it's a perimenopause. Like, what is like,
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  Speaker 2: I'm like, I'm serious. I'm like, what is happening to me?
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  Speaker 2: I'm like, I would be in mid middle of.
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  Speaker 4: My sentences and just be like, uh, I don't remember
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  Speaker 4: what I was saying. And I was just like, I
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  Speaker 4: can't feel like this anymore. So I started to, like,
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  Speaker 4: reorient my diet. And I started taking some supplements. I'm
• 3:44
  Speaker 4: not going to give them a free shout out, but, like,
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  Speaker 4: these supplements are amazing.
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  Speaker 2: And I feel so much better. And it requires some intention.
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  Speaker 4: Like, I travel with a little mason jar where I
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  Speaker 4: can mix my supplements and stuff. But I'm like, if
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  Speaker 4: I don't take care of this body, this temple.
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: No one else will, right? And so.
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  Speaker 4: Part of how I am able to do all this
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  Speaker 4: stuff at the root is I'm taking care of myself.
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  Speaker 4: Because if I'm mid-sentence and can't remember my thought, I'm
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  Speaker 4: not going to be able to do the job as
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  Speaker 4: well as I'm doing. And it has a lot to
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  Speaker 4: do with, like, what I'm putting in my body, working out.
• 4:18
  Speaker 4: We were talking about the New York City Marathon.
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  Speaker 2: You did that, too?
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  Speaker 1: Girl!
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  Speaker 2: Let me tell you. I'll tell you my story about
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  Speaker 2: the New York City Marathon.
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  Speaker 4: So I ran the Marine Corps Marathon, like, six years ago.
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  Speaker 4: I started the New York City Marathon. I did not
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  Speaker 4: finish because at mile 13, I was, like, not feeling well.
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  Speaker 4: And all of a sudden, I, like, ran over and
• 4:39
  Speaker 4: threw up on a police car.
• 4:41
  Speaker 3: See, I heard throwing up is normal. I heard using
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  Speaker 3: the bathroom on yourself is normal.
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  Speaker 2: Well, those things happen.
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  Speaker 4: Yes. And if that happens, you need to check in
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  Speaker 4: with your body. And there was literally an older black
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  Speaker 4: lady that came over to me and she was like,
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  Speaker 4: you need to stop running right now.
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  Speaker 2: You need to, like, Not finish this race. And if
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  Speaker 2: it had been anybody else, I'd have been like, no, no, no.
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  Speaker 4: But again, if you don't love yourself enough to listen
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  Speaker 4: to your body, you know, people have heart attacks that
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  Speaker 4: way because like they deplete their electrolytes. So I'm going
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  Speaker 4: to run the New York City Marathon again.
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  Speaker 2: You heard it here first.
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  Speaker 1: Okay.
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  Speaker 2: And I'm going to finish it.
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  Speaker 1: I won't be there, but we'll be rooting for you.
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  Speaker 2: You can root for me on the side.
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  Speaker 3: Do I have to walk along with you if I
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  Speaker 3: root for you from the side or I sit in
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  Speaker 3: one place?
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  Speaker 4: Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: If I had to sit one place, I would. You
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  Speaker 2: can't walk with me for a half a mile.
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  Speaker 1: Listen, I prioritize. That's right.
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  Speaker 2: I'm learning to prioritize. Yes.
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  Speaker 3: And I know for a fact I need to be
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  Speaker 3: running alongside no marathon. I am not trained for that,
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  Speaker 3: but I would love to get to that point one
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  Speaker 3: day in life.
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  Speaker 2: Yes. Yes.
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  Speaker 4: And that's the thing is like I was we were
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  Speaker 4: literally talking about this is like I want to run
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  Speaker 4: this marathon again. Running a marathon seems so far away
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  Speaker 4: from where I am now because I haven't run in
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  Speaker 4: a long time. And it's like, how do I prioritize
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  Speaker 4: myself enough to just start so I can just do
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  Speaker 4: one mile? I don't have to do 26 miles tomorrow.
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  Speaker 4: I can do one mile and then two miles and
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  Speaker 4: then three miles and build up. And the other thing is,
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  Speaker 4: if I never get to 26 miles again, it's okay, too.
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  Speaker 2: Like, I can still love myself and still love running.
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  Speaker 1: You make this seem so easy.
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  Speaker 4: What?
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  Speaker 3: Like, just the way that you think about Just prioritizing things.
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  Speaker 1: And maybe we're just in different places in life.
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  Speaker 2: How old are you?
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  Speaker 1: I'm 34. Dang, I'm 34. I'll be 35 in a
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  Speaker 1: couple weeks.
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  Speaker 2: Okay, I'm 44.
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  Speaker 1: Okay.
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  Speaker 2: When I was 34, I was not this version of myself.
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  Speaker 2: And that's okay.
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  Speaker 4: But I have hit rock bottom before in my life
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  Speaker 4: when I could not pull myself out of the bed
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  Speaker 4: because I was so depressed and so sad and had
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  Speaker 4: no sense of who I was.
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  Speaker 2: And I did the work to build myself back up. Yeah.
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  Speaker 4: And then I never stopped filling my cup because I
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  Speaker 4: never wanted to get to just even I always wanted
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  Speaker 4: to be overflowing. And it does take time and it
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  Speaker 4: does take intention. But sometimes I don't want people to
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  Speaker 4: hit rock bottom.
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  Speaker 2: Like, you don't have to. And you're already doing it. Like,
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  Speaker 2: that's the thing. Like, you're already ahead.
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  Speaker 4: Of where I was at 34 because you are checking
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  Speaker 4: in on yourself. You are doing you're having these conversations.
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  Speaker 2: So I think a lot.
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  Speaker 3: Of us are starting earlier, like not even just black women.
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  Speaker 3: I mean, I speak as a black woman, but I
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  Speaker 3: know like, you know, just young black people, young people.
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  Speaker 3: Everything is moving so fast for us because we're able
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  Speaker 3: to create and amplify our opportunities for ourselves. Like if
• 7:27
  Speaker 3: you really, really want something, you can literally sit down
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  Speaker 3: with your phone and figure out how to do it.
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  Speaker 4: I mean, you're doing it, girl. I just want to
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  Speaker 4: say I follow you. You're doing the damn thing.
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  Speaker 3: But I just want to make sure that I'm doing
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  Speaker 3: the things now that is going to make it where
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  Speaker 3: like when I do decide to prioritize things that might
• 7:46
  Speaker 3: not be necessary. breaking news or whatever, I'm setting it
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  Speaker 3: up the right way. So I'm always interested in having
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  Speaker 3: conversations with people that are doing that. Like when I
• 7:53
  Speaker 3: heard you a year ago, uh, when you came to
• 7:56
  Speaker 3: the breakfast club and you were like, I'm buying the.
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: Route, I'm like, wait, like, huh?
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  Speaker 2: But I'm also a person of faith.
• 8:03
  Speaker 4: And I, I talked about this last year at the
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  Speaker 4: root is, and I'm a former teacher and I believe
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  Speaker 4: that people are given assignments and, um, It's like when
• 8:15
  Speaker 4: you were in school and you had a test, right?
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  Speaker 2: You had to study for your test. I have been
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  Speaker 2: studying for this moment.
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  Speaker 4: And the reason why I'm able to do these things
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  Speaker 4: is because I am following my divine assignment.
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  Speaker 2: I'm not supposed to.
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  Speaker 4: Be doing what you're doing because only you can do that.
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  Speaker 4: And no one can do what I do because there's
• 8:32
  Speaker 4: no other Ashley. And people think when you say things
• 8:35
  Speaker 4: like that, you have a big ego. I don't.
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  Speaker 2: I actually think if you're listening to this, you should
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: know that there's nothing that... You can do that. I
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: can't do that. I can do right.
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  Speaker 4: Like you have your own divine assignment and people think, oh, well,
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  Speaker 4: one person's lot in life is better than I don't
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  Speaker 4: think that I think everyone is doing should be doing
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  Speaker 4: what their calling is, what their purpose. And that takes courage, though.
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  Speaker 4: It takes courage for you to move from L.A.
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  Speaker 2: To New York.
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  Speaker 4: It takes courage for you to get on a breakfast
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  Speaker 4: club every day. It takes courage to speak your truth. But.
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  Speaker 2: The truth will set you free. I know that sounds cliche.
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  Speaker 2: It will set you free.
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  Speaker 4: And if you walk in your purpose, life doesn't get easy,
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  Speaker 4: but it gets free.
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  Speaker 3: But if I'm a person right now that is a
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  Speaker 3: content creator or a journalist, you know, writing for an outlet,
• 9:27
  Speaker 3: figuring out my bylines, what are those small steps right
• 9:30
  Speaker 3: now to take that help you figure out even, like, purpose? Like,
• 9:35
  Speaker 3: you know, I have a believer that, I don't know, like, purpose,
• 9:38
  Speaker 3: I'm still figuring things out on a day-to-day, but I
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  Speaker 3: think I take these moments of, like, solitude and, like,
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  Speaker 3: I hear God.
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  Speaker 2: Mm-hmm.
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  Speaker 3: He'll tell me like, you know, or my body will
• 9:48
  Speaker 3: physically reject something.
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: I won't be good at it. I'll be stumbling.
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  Speaker 4: You know?
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: Yes. Like, what are those things.
• 9:54
  Speaker 3: That, you know, you where you sit as the owner
• 9:56
  Speaker 3: of a major media outlet in a time where media
• 9:59
  Speaker 3: is being. challenged and pushed and poked so heavily and
• 10:03
  Speaker 3: a black woman doing it what are the things that
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  Speaker 3: you feel like you built those lessons that got you
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  Speaker 3: to this.
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  Speaker 4: Point try things like i know it sounds simple but
• 10:12
  Speaker 4: when i was a teacher i I would go to BCAT,
• 10:16
  Speaker 4: which is Brooklyn Community Access Television. And I took classes
• 10:20
  Speaker 4: on how to edit, how to shoot, how to write
• 10:22
  Speaker 4: my scripts because I wanted to be in media so bad.
• 10:26
  Speaker 4: And like, you know, in that day and age, it
• 10:28
  Speaker 4: was like I wanted to work at the Today Show
• 10:29
  Speaker 4: and be an NBC page.
• 10:31
  Speaker 2: And I couldn't get in the program. I didn't get
• 10:33
  Speaker 2: in the program either. But you know what? Oh, well.
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  Speaker 2: That's crazy. I tried to do that my first month
• 10:38
  Speaker 2: in L.A.
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  Speaker 4: Right.
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  Speaker 1: And like.
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: And look at us now. You know what I mean?
• 10:41
  Speaker 2: So I tried it.
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  Speaker 1: Right.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, it was like the bomb thing to do.
• 10:45
  Speaker 4: It was.
• 10:45
  Speaker 3: I felt like if you got into the NBC page program,
• 10:48
  Speaker 3: and for those of you guys who don't know, it
• 10:50
  Speaker 3: was like an internship, kind of like a work study program.
• 10:52
  Speaker 3: But if you got in and you interned with them
• 10:54
  Speaker 3: or PA'd with them, production assistant, there was like this
• 10:58
  Speaker 3: access to all these jobs within the NBC world. And
• 11:00
  Speaker 3: that was like, for me, I'm like, oh, I got to.
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  Speaker 4: Get in here.
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  Speaker 2: And I did not.
• 11:04
  Speaker 4: Yes.
• 11:04
  Speaker 2: I did not either.
• 11:05
  Speaker 4: And so but I was like, is that going to
• 11:07
  Speaker 4: stop me from doing this thing? So I went down
• 11:09
  Speaker 4: in a little access community access television.
• 11:12
  Speaker 2: Learned how to do it. I would cover sports. I
• 11:15
  Speaker 2: would go to like local high school cricket games and
• 11:17
  Speaker 2: cover them.
• 11:18
  Speaker 4: I would cover broomball. Like who even knows what broomball is?
• 11:21
  Speaker 4: Like I was trying stuff. And then I was like,
• 11:23
  Speaker 4: you know. I like this thing, but I kind of
• 11:25
  Speaker 4: want to make the news. Like, I kind of want to, like,
• 11:27
  Speaker 4: develop the stories. And so then I was like, I'm
• 11:29
  Speaker 4: going to go to law school. And I was the
• 11:31
  Speaker 4: last one.
• 11:31
  Speaker 2: I was like, I do not want to practice law.
• 11:33
  Speaker 2: And so I was like, you know what?
• 11:35
  Speaker 4: I'm going to try this politics thing. And so I
• 11:36
  Speaker 4: just tried the thing. And then I did politics. And
• 11:38
  Speaker 4: I was like, this is it. Like my I remember
• 11:42
  Speaker 4: my dad, he was like, I have never seen and
• 11:46
  Speaker 4: heard your voice the way you are. When I asked
• 11:49
  Speaker 4: the first time he heard me on a call when
• 11:51
  Speaker 4: I was working on the Obama campaign, he was like,
• 11:53
  Speaker 4: you love it.
• 11:54
  Speaker 2: He was like, this is it, baby girl. This is
• 11:55
  Speaker 2: like what you're supposed to be doing.
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  Speaker 4: But I would have never gotten there if I would
• 11:59
  Speaker 4: have just stayed a teacher and I didn't like doing
• 12:01
  Speaker 4: a teacher. If I would have just stayed doing the
• 12:02
  Speaker 4: journalism thing, I kept trying stuff until I found my thing.
• 12:06
  Speaker 2: And then it was kind of like all she wrote
• 12:08
  Speaker 2: on this thing.
• 12:09
  Speaker 3: How do you talk to traditional women in media, men
• 12:14
  Speaker 3: in media, whoever, that are also building out their own
• 12:18
  Speaker 3: content creation side of things when you have Instagram offering
• 12:21
  Speaker 3: six figures for people to come and make content exclusively?
• 12:24
  Speaker 3: YouTube doing the same thing as well. Netflix is vying
• 12:27
  Speaker 3: for these exclusive development deals with creators. Where should they
• 12:30
  Speaker 3: be focused? Should they be focused on getting that traditional
• 12:32
  Speaker 3: news and media newsroom experience? Or should you be developing
• 12:36
  Speaker 3: your own audience and going for those type of deals?
• 12:38
  Speaker 4: I don't think there's one cookie cutter answer for I
• 12:41
  Speaker 4: think it's really the talent.
• 12:42
  Speaker 2: If you are really good on Instagram.
• 12:45
  Speaker 4: And you get presented with the opportunity, I would say
• 12:48
  Speaker 4: read the fine print. Make sure you know what you're
• 12:50
  Speaker 4: signing up for. But I think those deals are fine.
• 12:53
  Speaker 4: I personally, the reason why I bought The Root is
• 12:55
  Speaker 4: that I do think there is something about having ownership
• 12:58
  Speaker 4: of your own content, ownership of your own IP. And
• 13:02
  Speaker 4: so I just would encourage... reporters or journalists or creators
• 13:07
  Speaker 4: to think about that when they are exploring it's like
• 13:09
  Speaker 4: how much of yourself are you giving away in this
• 13:12
  Speaker 4: deal is it going to limit what you can talk
• 13:14
  Speaker 4: about what you can say and if that's the case
• 13:16
  Speaker 4: and you're comfortable with it go for it but otherwise
• 13:19
  Speaker 4: i would say like don't just take the first opportunity
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  Speaker 4: that is um presented to you because you know there
• 13:25
  Speaker 4: might be something else that's out there that's better Do
• 13:27
  Speaker 4: you feel like as.
• 13:27
  Speaker 3: A person that sits at the helm of the group and,
• 13:29
  Speaker 3: you know, I know you have like your brand personally
• 13:32
  Speaker 3: as well, too, in correlation with that. Do you feel
• 13:34
  Speaker 3: like the media is forgiving at all to black women
• 13:37
  Speaker 3: in media who lead the conversation? Like how people are
• 13:41
  Speaker 3: with like Angie at Shade Room or but, you know,
• 13:44
  Speaker 3: I shoot, I would say even with me sometimes, like
• 13:47
  Speaker 3: I can't slip up at all.
• 13:50
  Speaker 2: Yeah. Like, yeah, it's hard. Like, I think that. I
• 13:54
  Speaker 2: hold myself to a very high standard.
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: We have to.
• 13:58
  Speaker 2: And I try and be very intentional with my words.
• 14:03
  Speaker 2: I do.
• 14:04
  Speaker 4: And I also know the internet can be an awful place,
• 14:08
  Speaker 4: but also it's not a real place.
• 14:11
  Speaker 2: And so I do.
• 14:13
  Speaker 4: Think that people get dragged easily.
• 14:15
  Speaker 2: They get canceled easily.
• 14:17
  Speaker 4: But I also think that, I mean, I have never
• 14:20
  Speaker 4: seen any bad stuff about My algorithm does not feed
• 14:23
  Speaker 4: me that stuff because I would not be here for it.
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: It don't matter.
• 14:26
  Speaker 3: None of it matters because every single day I get
• 14:28
  Speaker 3: back up and I'm like, okay, what didn't go well
• 14:30
  Speaker 3: yesterday is going to go better today.
• 14:32
  Speaker 1: I know this is like a divine thing for me
• 14:35
  Speaker 1: to be. I am here and people are like, whoa,
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: but I've been working for a long time.
• 14:40
  Speaker 2: And people don't know that.
• 14:41
  Speaker 3: They think you just pop out and you're like. And
• 14:43
  Speaker 3: it's totally fine. I do feel like I'm in a
• 14:45
  Speaker 3: season of. not reintroducing myself to people because it is
• 14:48
  Speaker 3: what it is, but I do like that God has
• 14:50
  Speaker 3: given me the opportunity to have done all these things
• 14:54
  Speaker 3: on like a more enclosed.
• 14:56
  Speaker 2: Protected space.
• 14:57
  Speaker 3: And now I'm out here and it's like anything and
• 15:00
  Speaker 3: anybody can throw things at me. And I've had to
• 15:03
  Speaker 3: like learn tougher skin, but I think I went through
• 15:06
  Speaker 3: a lot of the things then.
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: And I realized now like, Oh, yes, that was a
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: trial run.
• 15:10
  Speaker 2: It was preparing you right here.
• 15:11
  Speaker 1: I'd have bought the subscription.
• 15:12
  Speaker 4: Okay. Yeah.
• 15:15
  Speaker 2: No, that's right.
• 15:17
  Speaker 3: Well, I do want to say thank you, too. Like,
• 15:18
  Speaker 3: The Roots supports a lot of the stories that I break.
• 15:20
  Speaker 3: I know I text y'all all the time.
• 15:21
  Speaker 2: I know.
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: So I try to support back as much as I can.
• 15:25
  Speaker 4: I want to thank you because you always think of us.
• 15:28
  Speaker 2: And that means a lot.
• 15:29
  Speaker 4: I remember, like, the first time we met and then, like,
• 15:32
  Speaker 4: two days later, you text me, like, a story.
• 15:33
  Speaker 2: I was like, oh, she's, like, the real deal. You know?
• 15:36
  Speaker 3: Well, because the way I look at it, like, when
• 15:38
  Speaker 3: I was at TMZ, what I realized was, like, yes,
• 15:42
  Speaker 3: they could tell the story first, and yes, they can
• 15:44
  Speaker 3: be as accurate as they can be, but if don't
• 15:46
  Speaker 3: nobody know what's happening, it hasn't happened.
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: So, for me, it was always about, like, the relationships.
• 15:51
  Speaker 1: It's like, okay.
• 15:52
  Speaker 3: I understand that, like, you know, you have shows that
• 15:54
  Speaker 3: you're dropping at the root. First of all, I love
• 15:57
  Speaker 3: that you're doing the video content, like the spinoff shows
• 15:59
  Speaker 3: and the series and stuff. But you guys have shows.
• 16:02
  Speaker 3: You have stories. Y'all are having angles on stories that
• 16:04
  Speaker 3: I might see everywhere else. But if I can support
• 16:06
  Speaker 3: you and put it on a platform, somebody goes to
• 16:08
  Speaker 3: click it. And I know that matters for your bottom line.
• 16:10
  Speaker 1: And if you guys attribute it to me, that matters
• 16:12
  Speaker 1: to my bottom line.
• 16:13
  Speaker 3: And I really understood that because I watched in the
• 16:16
  Speaker 3: TMZ newsroom, like, The attribution and to be able to say.
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: That, you know, people trust you. Yes.
• 16:22
  Speaker 2: That is your.
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: That's your dollar. That is your coin.
• 16:25
  Speaker 2: You... Okay.
• 16:26
  Speaker 4: Like... Sometimes I think people meet folks and then like
• 16:30
  Speaker 4: they see them again and they get like sometimey.
• 16:32
  Speaker 2: We were at this conference in Florida. Oh, Accelerate Her. Yeah.
• 16:35
  Speaker 4: And I saw Lauren and I was like, I wonder
• 16:37
  Speaker 4: if she gonna act like she remembers me or not.
• 16:39
  Speaker 2: You were like, hey girl! Like, let's have a drink.
• 16:42
  Speaker 4: And you literally were like, yes! And then remember we
• 16:45
  Speaker 4: hung out in the lobby? We talked forever. First of all,
• 16:48
  Speaker 4: I was at Accelerate Her by myself. Shout out to
• 16:51
  Speaker 4: Miss Kim. I talk about her here on Kim Blackwell.
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: But I almost didn't go there.
• 16:56
  Speaker 2: It's such a wonderful experience.
• 16:58
  Speaker 3: It was a life-changing experience to see all of y'all
• 17:01
  Speaker 3: Black women who are wealthy, not just in finances, but in, like, wisdom,
• 17:05
  Speaker 3: but also just in.
• 17:06
  Speaker 2: Like, spirit. Yes. I've been telling people about.
• 17:09
  Speaker 3: That conference since the day I left. Like, I come
• 17:12
  Speaker 3: from family that feels like that. But to go on
• 17:14
  Speaker 3: a professional setting and get that, and it's black women, and, like,
• 17:17
  Speaker 3: y'all are, like, you know, and I mean, like, y'all
• 17:19
  Speaker 3: are really doing real business.
• 17:20
  Speaker 2: For real.
• 17:21
  Speaker 4: Well, the first time I went, that was the second
• 17:23
  Speaker 4: time when I saw you.
• 17:24
  Speaker 2: The first time I went was a year ago.
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: Wow.
• 17:26
  Speaker 2: And I was, like... the company was like struggling. I
• 17:30
  Speaker 2: hadn't done an acquisition.
• 17:31
  Speaker 4: I was like, something has to give, something has to give.
• 17:34
  Speaker 4: And I just remember being in that room and those women.
• 17:37
  Speaker 4: pouring into me and they didn't even know they were
• 17:40
  Speaker 4: pouring into me.
• 17:41
  Speaker 2: And I remember leaving that.
• 17:43
  Speaker 4: No, I was still on the property and getting a
• 17:46
  Speaker 4: call that was like a breakthrough call. And I was like,
• 17:49
  Speaker 4: I could only receive it because I had just had
• 17:51
  Speaker 4: those three days with those people.
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: Oh my God, yes.
• 17:54
  Speaker 4: You know?
• 17:54
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I didn't even know everything that happened to me
• 17:57
  Speaker 3: around that time. But I remember my biggest thing walking
• 18:00
  Speaker 3: away from that conference was like, I don't feel bad
• 18:03
  Speaker 3: about what's happening for me right now. Like at one
• 18:05
  Speaker 3: point I did feel like... well, dang, like, are you
• 18:09
  Speaker 3: supposed to be here? Like, there was a lot of
• 18:11
  Speaker 3: things that happened leading into you getting this role and, like,
• 18:14
  Speaker 3: how long you going to be here? Are you actually
• 18:16
  Speaker 3: helping people in life by getting on this microphone and
• 18:18
  Speaker 3: talking about people? And I was like, you know what?
• 18:20
  Speaker 3: Regardless of where I end up, how long this is
• 18:22
  Speaker 3: going to, I don't feel bad. Like, thank you, God,
• 18:24
  Speaker 3: that I'm here and I'm doing this because thank you. Like,
• 18:29
  Speaker 3: the gratitude.
• 18:30
  Speaker 4: Yes, and you were like, you just, yeah, I just
• 18:33
  Speaker 4: appreciate that because You encounter a lot of people, you
• 18:37
  Speaker 4: know this, like you encounter a lot of people in
• 18:39
  Speaker 4: this work that you do and you want to encounter
• 18:42
  Speaker 4: good people and you don't always.
• 18:44
  Speaker 2: But Lauren is a good one.
• 18:45
  Speaker 4: Like you, because I remember you being like, you're like, um,
• 18:50
  Speaker 4: could I send you stories to break?
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: I was like.
• 18:53
  Speaker 4: Say less I was like yes and then I was
• 18:55
  Speaker 4: like um can you go sit at our pod and
• 18:58
  Speaker 4: like do a recording you were like I gotta do
• 19:00
  Speaker 4: this meeting real quick and then I'm gonna go and
• 19:01
  Speaker 4: I was like bet and.
• 19:02
  Speaker 3: Like it just yeah girl I met my wealth management
• 19:04
  Speaker 3: banker that was the meeting I do remember I set
• 19:06
  Speaker 3: up a whole meeting I met this lady she's like
• 19:08
  Speaker 3: I'm from your bank I'm like let's sit down right
• 19:10
  Speaker 3: now cause I do I'm trying to like when I
• 19:12
  Speaker 3: say I and they talk about breaking curses and chains
• 19:16
  Speaker 3: and all these things in the family because I grew
• 19:18
  Speaker 3: up in so much love it didn't feel like a
• 19:20
  Speaker 3: chain or a curse I don't even like saying those
• 19:22
  Speaker 3: words but I do realize that you know as a
• 19:25
  Speaker 3: black person reaching success levels differently than a lot of
• 19:29
  Speaker 3: people in my family and some of it for the
• 19:31
  Speaker 3: first time it's a lot of things I'm figuring out
• 19:33
  Speaker 3: as I go so I'm always like you want to
• 19:35
  Speaker 3: sit down.
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: You want to talk can I ask you questions like
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: you're doing.
• 19:37
  Speaker 3: Things that I aspire to To do your owning legacy media. Like,
• 19:41
  Speaker 3: I don't know if people, you say that so.
• 19:44
  Speaker 2: Lightly, but that's not a light thing.
• 19:46
  Speaker 4: I do.
• 19:46
  Speaker 2: I do. And I I think because it all happened
• 19:48
  Speaker 2: so fast. Yes. I think I'm still comprehending it.
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: And it's succeeding. You said your numbers are going up.
• 19:54
  Speaker 4: Yes.
• 19:54
  Speaker 2: And I just... It is overwhelming sometimes, right?
• 19:58
  Speaker 4: And I... When I went on this vacation, it was
• 20:01
  Speaker 4: the first time I got to, like, really process what
• 20:04
  Speaker 4: had happened. Because, like, we closed the deal in six weeks. Like,
• 20:08
  Speaker 4: that's so fast. And she almost took me out. Like,
• 20:12
  Speaker 4: I was like, one night, I was like, you are
• 20:14
  Speaker 4: a G.
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: You are not. This is not going to take you out.
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: And in the midst of taking care of your mom, too.
• 20:18
  Speaker 2: Yeah. And I didn't know we shared that in common.
• 20:20
  Speaker 1: I found that out today.
• 20:21
  Speaker 2: Like, I'm a caretaker for my mom and my grandmother. Yeah,
• 20:23
  Speaker 2: that's my homie. Yeah. But, yeah, so you're... You're doing
• 20:28
  Speaker 2: it right. You're doing it right, girl. You are, too.
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: We are.
• 20:32
  Speaker 2: Aren't we? And we keep doing it. And we're not apologizing.
• 20:35
  Speaker 2: I had to get to that point. I'm not apologizing.
• 20:37
  Speaker 2: I am here. You are here.
• 20:39
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 20:41
  Speaker 2: So, I don't know if you know this, but I
• 20:42
  Speaker 2: used to teach yoga. I love big yoga.
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: When you said teacher, you meant yoga? I thought you meant, like,
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: school school.
• 20:47
  Speaker 2: No, I used to be a school teacher. Oh, okay.
• 20:50
  Speaker 2: Wouldn't that be wild if I was, like, walking around
• 20:52
  Speaker 2: being like... That's the L.A.
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: Thing. It's like, I was a teacher.
• 20:54
  Speaker 2: It was yoga. No, I did teach high school in Brooklyn.
• 20:58
  Speaker 4: But I also taught yoga for, like, six years in D.C.
• 21:03
  Speaker 2: And I used to, in my class... I used to
• 21:05
  Speaker 2: teach this class for black and brown.
• 21:07
  Speaker 3: Women, right?
• 21:07
  Speaker 4: It was, like, exclusively black and brown women. And at
• 21:10
  Speaker 4: the end of the class, I would just say, you
• 21:12
  Speaker 4: are sufficient.
• 21:13
  Speaker 2: You are enough, right?
• 21:14
  Speaker 4: And... I don't remember what prompted me to say that
• 21:18
  Speaker 4: one day, but like there was some it was the
• 21:20
  Speaker 4: first Trump administration and like something terrible had happened. And
• 21:23
  Speaker 4: when I tell you like the women just started weeping
• 21:26
  Speaker 4: because like you lay in Savasana and you're like at
• 21:28
  Speaker 4: the bottom and I just would like go press or
• 21:29
  Speaker 4: something like you are sufficient.
• 21:31
  Speaker 2: You are enough.
• 21:32
  Speaker 4: And as much as I was saying it to them,
• 21:33
  Speaker 4: I was saying it to myself also, because so many
• 21:37
  Speaker 4: things in the world try and tell us.
• 21:39
  Speaker 2: We are sufficient. less than they try and humble you.
• 21:42
  Speaker 4: They try and humble you yes but you are sufficient
• 21:45
  Speaker 4: and you are enough like.
• 21:47
  Speaker 3: You are sufficient you are enough and all of these
• 21:49
  Speaker 3: listeners are too much and ain't mad about it okay
• 21:52
  Speaker 3: and i'm just getting started period congratulations to you on
• 21:55
  Speaker 3: your media journey though i really do watch you and
• 21:58
  Speaker 3: everything that the root is doing and i'm like i
• 22:00
  Speaker 3: don't know if she even understands like people count traditional
• 22:03
  Speaker 3: media out like they make it seem like dot coms
• 22:07
  Speaker 3: are done and the root, I feel like, you know,
• 22:09
  Speaker 3: you coming in and changing and leaning.
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: Into different styles of content and all that. Like, I'm
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: happy to see it.
• 22:15
  Speaker 3: Y'all were one of the websites that like, I remember
• 22:17
  Speaker 3: when I was in the newsroom and I would just
• 22:19
  Speaker 3: need black stuff. Like, what are we talking about? It
• 22:21
  Speaker 3: would be, you know, the root Hollywood on lock shade room.
• 22:24
  Speaker 3: It was like, cause everything was kind of new. Like
• 22:27
  Speaker 3: I was working with ball alert, like just in passing
• 22:30
  Speaker 3: kind of intern with them one time before a conference.
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: Um, Shout out to Seth. Yeah, well, Robin, too, but 11-8.
• 22:36
  Speaker 3: I don't know if you remember Stephanie. She's a journalist
• 22:40
  Speaker 3: as well, but she was with Ball Alert at the time.
• 22:41
  Speaker 3: But I remember when all that Instagram, like, and Ball
• 22:45
  Speaker 3: Alert was, like, kind of first in the space of
• 22:47
  Speaker 3: Instagram and blogging and in Shave Room and in Karen Civil's.
• 22:50
  Speaker 3: And things have just transitioned so much that at one
• 22:53
  Speaker 3: point it felt like the dot coms just weren't as prevalent.
• 22:56
  Speaker 2: No. Especially us.
• 22:57
  Speaker 3: So you having the courage to go and grab one
• 22:59
  Speaker 3: of your own and being like, I know it's going
• 23:01
  Speaker 3: to spin the block. And as long as we're reputable,
• 23:02
  Speaker 3: people will be here with us.
• 23:03
  Speaker 4: Yes.
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: So much smart business foresight.
• 23:06
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 23:07
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, it's been hard. I'm not going to lie.
• 23:09
  Speaker 4: It's been like you have to release what's not serving
• 23:13
  Speaker 4: you anymore and really go for it. And so when
• 23:16
  Speaker 4: I say we're just getting started, we literally are just
• 23:18
  Speaker 4: getting started. Like year one was a stabilization year, testing
• 23:22
  Speaker 4: it out. figuring out we still have our web team
• 23:24
  Speaker 4: they're writing all the stories um and then we move
• 23:27
  Speaker 4: it over to social like we're building out our social
• 23:29
  Speaker 4: team we are literally like we did america amended which
• 23:33
  Speaker 4: was a show that we went to six different cities
• 23:35
  Speaker 4: and talked about the constitutional amendment we did what's popular
• 23:38
  Speaker 4: um which is like a banger i'd say that but
• 23:41
  Speaker 4: i'm like i had no idea that it was gonna
• 23:43
  Speaker 4: like shape the conversation yes around interviews it was either
• 23:47
  Speaker 4: abdul or yeah it's like almost a million views It
• 23:49
  Speaker 4: had it's at five million.
• 23:51
  Speaker 2: OK, well, like the clip. Yeah, it's gone viral.
• 23:54
  Speaker 4: And like even because of what happened in Michigan and
• 23:58
  Speaker 4: it was through the lens of black folks. And I
• 24:00
  Speaker 4: was just asking them, what are you doing for black people?
• 24:02
  Speaker 4: Like now we've dropped the clip again. So it's like
• 24:06
  Speaker 4: and we we came up with that in like a month.
• 24:08
  Speaker 4: And I was just like, I'm a rum.
• 24:09
  Speaker 2: I did now.
• 24:10
  Speaker 4: I'm not recommending this. But I was like, I'm going
• 24:13
  Speaker 4: to get these interviews. And so I literally was like
• 24:15
  Speaker 4: in four states in five days, transferred around. Like one
• 24:19
  Speaker 4: day I would be on my way here and I
• 24:21
  Speaker 4: would get a call and be like, can you be
• 24:22
  Speaker 4: in San Antonio tomorrow?
• 24:23
  Speaker 2: I'm like, yeah.
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: But that's the hustle of it, though.
• 24:26
  Speaker 2: Yes, I can.
• 24:26
  Speaker 3: I will sleep on November 4th. OK, that's the hustle
• 24:29
  Speaker 3: of it. Yes, that is the hustle. That is the
• 24:31
  Speaker 3: bustle of it. And I think that's why I like when,
• 24:34
  Speaker 3: you know, even with you being a CNN contributor and
• 24:37
  Speaker 3: contributing other spaces, but prioritizing what's important to you most.
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: Yes.
• 24:42
  Speaker 3: Courageous of you because, I mean, CNN is legacy media.
• 24:46
  Speaker 3: People know the brand, but you're building your own.
• 24:48
  Speaker 4: Yes.
• 24:48
  Speaker 2: You can do both. It's here, period.
• 24:50
  Speaker 4: Period.
• 24:51
  Speaker 3: Well, this has been another episode of The Latest with
• 24:53
  Speaker 3: Lauren LaRosa. I tell you guys, every single episode, y'all
• 24:56
  Speaker 3: could be anywhere with any old body, but you guys
• 24:58
  Speaker 3: choose to be right here with me. My lowriders, I
• 25:01
  Speaker 3: appreciate you guys. Ashley, thank you so much.
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: For joining me.
• 25:04
  Speaker 2: Yes. Yes, girl.
• 25:05
  Speaker 4: Yep.
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: And we will, so I'm going to try to, last
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: year I was tired.
• 25:08
  Speaker 3: I was running down into the ground. But I am
• 25:10
  Speaker 3: going to make it to the Root 100 celebration.
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: I really, really, really wanted to come. But when I
• 25:14
  Speaker 1: said I didn't have it in me, I didn't have it.
• 25:16
  Speaker 2: And that's okay.
• 25:17
  Speaker 4: That's okay.
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: I felt so bad. I remember calling your team. But
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: it's about to be a banger.
• 25:21
  Speaker 3: And being like, can I FaceTime? What can I do?
• 25:24
  Speaker 3: But I barely even have a voice. I forget where
• 25:26
  Speaker 3: I was coming from. It might have been the Ebony
• 25:28
  Speaker 3: Power 100, too.
• 25:29
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 25:30
  Speaker 3: And I was trying to do both back to back.
• 25:31
  Speaker 3: But we'll be there this year. And whenever I go anywhere,
• 25:33
  Speaker 3: I take the podcast listeners with me.
• 25:35
  Speaker 2: Okay.
• 25:36
  Speaker 1: So, guys, we're going to be at the Ebony Power.
• 25:37
  Speaker 2: I mean, I'm sorry.
• 25:38
  Speaker 3: We're going to be at the Root 100. Last year,
• 25:40
  Speaker 3: Breakfast Club was on the list. I don't know who's
• 25:42
  Speaker 3: on the list this year.
• 25:43
  Speaker 2: You'll know soon. We'll be rolling it out soon.
• 25:46
  Speaker 3: Make sure you guys visit TheRoot.com and follow Ashley everywhere.
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: Socials?
• 25:50
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 25:51
  Speaker 4: Socials, Ashley underscore R underscore Allison.
• 25:54
  Speaker 2: Or just type Ashley Allison and I'll pop up.
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: Yes, y'all.
• 25:57
  Speaker 2: I'll catch you in my next episode.