Episode 09: Jordan Dinwiddie
I want people to know that someone who looks like me can make a Comic Book, win a Cannes Lion Award, have their own Newsletter, can Play Video Games, Love Books, be a good Daughter, a good Person and a good Friend. That's really what I care about. Oh, and can write ads for Nike. Capitalism is always the last thing on my mind.
Episode 08: Jelani Memory
Having a blended family and raising White kids and Black kids, they were already navigating race, culture, color, and especially the idea of racism… Everyone has a story but most folks don’t know how to tell it.
Episode 07: Zachary Stocks
When I first moved to Astoria, I remember the population was 10,000 people, and it was 0.01% Black. And I stopped and did a little math and thought, "Wait a minute, is that 10 people?" This is the oldest American town west of the Mississippi River. I think it's the greatest small town in America.
Episode 06: Easy McCoy
I know what I want to do, I know the desires I have and I will pursue those to the fullest every single day and live my life with no excuses.
Episode 05: Jacqueline Alexander
What I love most about being a woman is our flexibility. I've always felt that I could do anything. Before I knew it, I was doing everything.
We have people that are hungry, but yet we are a society that will throw away perfectly edible fruit.
Episode 04: Ian Williams
I've always been a person who understands that my life is a little bit different than everybody else’s. I had to understand the industry of coffee first in order to be able to influence it, change it, or be successful in it. And that was the best way that I knew I would be able to be in control of my own future.
Episode 03: Jocelyn Rice
I want to see more Black women designing outdoor apparel, like we just don't exist there. Having the opportunity to tell stories through clothing and something that my people are rooted in, just really transformed my life.
Episode 02: Ambush
Black music for our culture is representation. Especially after decades of it being co-opted and stolen from us. For us to have control over our music, is the pinnacle of representation.
The mission for me is to unite all the different people here in Portland that want to make their community better and stronger. And The Numberz is the best way for me to do that.
Episode 01: Bobbi Mackenzie
I knew that acting was something that I was built for at a very young age. When I would go see movies, I would learn those lines and recite them to my family. So I came to my parents and I was like, "This is something that I actually want to do." I've been on stage for a few years now, and I will never get tired of it. I feel like it's where I belong.
If you want something, you have to work hard and really strive for it. So, the reality of being Black, it really fuels me because I put in all this work to get here and I shouldn't have to feel any roadblocks or uncertainty.
I know that I'm talented and I can't keep thinking of myself as lesser than because I'm not White, or a Male, or something like that. I can do what you can do, if not better.