Blackweek 2025: 36 Takeaways on Culture, Media, and Power

From Black Dollar Index Founder, Kelle Rozell:

This week I attended the 2nd annual Blackweek Forum and Festival in NYC — one part economic forum and one part cultural festival. There’s been a lot of chatter on social about the impact and utility of Black-led conferences and what I will say is that ANY conference is what you make it, but the really good ones strengthen your network, present new opportunities, and leave you with new information or a new understanding of things.

As someone who is a marketer by trade and entrenched in corporate equity data, talking about all things “the culture” is my type of carrying on — and Blackweek delivered not only on community building, but facilitating access to the future from a Black lens — the future of advertising, the future of tech and AI, the future of us.

Last year I presented 33 takeaways. As I congratulated one of Blackweek’s founders Joe Anthony (also the founder of Subculture) on an amazing second year and let him know my takeaways were coming, he jokingly said “34 this year.” No, Joe — 36. And here they are…

Joy-Ann Reid sat down with Chris Foster, the CEO Omnicom PR Group, to talk about “The Rise of Citizen Journalism.”

Independent creators are filling the credibility gap left by traditional media. Truth doesn’t need a major TV network — just integrity and context.

If corporations have the power, platform, and resources to shape public opinion, protect rights, or drive equity — then use it. Don’t shrink from the responsibility that comes with that capacity.

Not being tethered to a corporate media platform allows for deep dives and real conversations that would be censored otherwise.

In a time of AI, misinformation, and disinformation, many things feel true, but we have to [fact] check ourselves.

The Litmus Test: “Who am I willing to read an ad for?”

The incentives are mostly negative. Virality doesn’t build legacy; credibility does.

iHeartMedia’s Executive Vice President of Multicultural Sales Nicky Sparrow sat with Charlamagne tha God and Will Lucas of the Black Tech Green Money podcast.

Podcasts are full of coded messages that help us walk into the future.

Podcasts are “the last frontier” for free speech and one of the biggest opportunities to drive change.

Intention over influence. Authentic voices always win long-term. And if you want to start a podcast, have the 1st 10 episodes mapped out.

Anything built just for you isn’t big enough. — Charlamagne tha God

Whatever you’re doing, you’re either building technology or using it. Black people must claim the builder role.

The future is already here, it’s just not evenly distributed. — Will Lucas

AI is woven into so much of the tech we use daily. Tech companies have been gathering your data for YEARS, so while many of us may be skeptical, it’s important to be in the convo and embrace it.

Danisha Lomax, EVP, Head of Client Inclusivity & Impact, Digitas led an “Open Web” conversation with Xstereotype’s Larry Adams, Sundial Media Group CEO Kirk McDonald, and Cadent President Doug Rozen.

AI is changing discovery. The journey from “searching” to “asking” is already happening.

There’s been a 58% drop in the top 500 publisher’s volume. If there is an AI panel in you’re search results, you’re twice less likely to click on a link.

AI is disrupting publisher models, the tolerance of ads is down, and if you can’t monetize, you can’t create content. Traditional SEO no longer works — you need vectors.

42% of people are now untargetable due to privacy controls. Relationships will outperform retargeting. AI has presented a seismic shift for marketers — brands must center the consumer and focus on engagement. What used to be marketer led is now tech led.

Platforms are middlemen. Brands have a chance to reassert themselves up against tech platforms. Trust is key.

Tracy Sturdivant of The League and Tru Pettigrew presented The Power of Proximity: Driving Impact through Culture.

• Close: Small & Personal; Ex) Your immediate circles of family, friends, etc.

• Mass: Broad Broadcast Shared by (Almost) Everyone; Ex) Beyoncé

• Crowd: Participatory Networked collectively created, often online-first, and shaped by participation; Ex) The Black Lives Matter movement

• Deep: Niche Passionate Ex) Fantasy Football Leagues

The WNBA’s “Pay Us What You Owe Us” campaign is an example of how crowd deep culture is turned into economic power.

Author Jodie Patterson talked about The Black Family on Film with Filmmaker Mara Brock Akil.

Painting the complexity of our humanity is key, especially for Black people.

Alia Kemet (Shipt CMO) x Kenan Thompson (Actor & Comedian):

Writing is where the power is. Make sure you have ownership over anything you put out in the world.

If the check doesn’t match the inconvenience, pass on it. — Kenan Thompson

Nicky Sparrow x Pastor TD Jakes:

Business without business acumen is busyness.

The definition of life is to come to death without regret.

Urban One Upfronts presented their new Cultural ROI study:

79% of Americans feel that African Americans have influence…and that feeling is growing with younger generations.

Before we jump into the next thing, we have to resolve the issue with Target. (via Tamika Mallory in convo with Arturo Nuñez)

Julee Wilson (Beauty Editor-At-Large, Cosmopolitan Magazine) x Bethann Hardison (Fashion Industry Icon)

DEI was something that never belonged to me.

— Bethann Hardison

Everyone should have a second residency somewhere. - Bethann Hardison

Bethann emphasized the importance of being able to leave the country as needed and she recommends picking one of the “safest European countries.”

Channing Martin (Global Chief Diversity & Social Impact Officer, IPG), Josh Ott (Head of Revenue & Strategic Growth, The Shade Room, Julee Wilson, and Wendi Dunlap (EVP, Growth Analytics, Mediabrands) presented their new Cultural Capital study findings.

Similar to Urban One’s findings, 72% of general-market consumers are influenced by trends that start in Black culture.

82% of people surveyed want brands to talk with them, not at them.

Not the other way around. (via Kheri Holland Tillman, Primo Brands)

And Blackweek founder and Hero Collective CEO Joe Anthony drove it home with a great framing on “How to Predict the Future.” This was one of those convos I mentioned earlier that I’m sure everyone in the room walked away with a new understanding of generational and societal patterns, inspired by the book Generations: The History of America’s Future, 1584 to 2069.

It’s based on four “turnings” that take society from stability to collapse, wash, rinse, repeat. Those turnings are as follows:

• High: Strong Ruling Class (narratives of control)

• Awakening: Self Actualization (precipitated by an event or controversy)

• Unraveling: Planning/Rebellion (Innovators create new products and technologies to disrupt legacy products and institutions)

• Crisis: Massive Collapse/Transition/New Cycle Begins

Every crisis has a hero.

Millennials and Gen Z are the “Hero Generation,” creating new systems from the collapse of old ones.

But check this…

Hero Collective CEO Joe Anthony

• ​1776: Fight for Freedom → Double down on Slavery

• 1861: The North wins the Civil War → Capitalism Creates a Consolidation of power (Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, etc.)

• 1942: WWII defeated fascism → Cold War Surveillance and Segregation Systems (Military industrial complex created villains, so people rely on the military for safety)

• 2020: Pandemic, Economic freefall, mass protest, institutional distrust, & tech converge to force a global reckoning →

…Think Elon. Think Zuckerberg. Think Bezos.

We don’t know what the future holds, but we know the pattern. So now what?

Hero Collective CEO Joe Anthony

We’re the first generation to see the pattern in real time. The opportunity is to break it, not remix it. That requires us to reprogram ourselves. If we don’t break the cycle, we stand to usher in technopolitics, standardized surveillance, unregulated AI, and we trade identity for assimilation.

We’ve mastered influence; now we must master infrastructure.

The next wave of power won’t come from platforms — it’ll come from people who build, connect, and govern with purpose.

Question: If the future belongs to those who build, what are you building?

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(Curious about the Black Dollar Index? Learn more here: https://www.blackdollarindex.com/ 🖤💚)