Episode 7: Native Son
Ever wondered how life experiences shaped the creation of a powerful platform advocating for black queer men?
In this episode of the More Elephant podcast, we are in conversation with Emil Wilbekin, journalist, human rights activist, and founder of Native Son, a platform and non-profit organization advocating for black queer men.
We explore Emil's journey and discuss the pivotal moments that led to the creation of Native Son, highlighting the importance of representation of black queer men, the power of corporate partnership to elevate the narrative, and the need to continue to focus on intersectionality in our understanding, respect, and support of various communities.
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Show Notes
Emil Wilbekin is the Founder of Native Son, a platform created to inspire and empower Black gay and queer men.
Emil is a multimedia maverick who contributes to The New York Times T Magazine, Vogue, The Cut, Architectural Digest, Time, Essence, Ebony, and Town & Country. He is the Co-Producer and Co-Writer on the documentary The Remix: Hip Hip X Fashion (Netflix). He is also an Associate Professor of Journalism at the Fashion Institute of Technology.
Emil has served as Chief Content Officer at Afropunk, Editor-at-Large at Essence, Managing Editor of Essence.com, Editor-in-Chief of Giant and Giantmag.com, Style Guru at Complex Media, VP of Brand Development at Marc Eckō Enterprises, Editorial Director/Vice President of Vibe Ventures and Editor-in-Chief of Vibe Magazine. Under his leadership, Vibe won the National Magazine Award for General Excellence in 2002.
He holds a B.S. in Mass Media Arts from Hampton University, and an M.S. in Journalism from Columbia University.
Talking points in this Episode:
We chart Emil’s life journey, from his upbringing to the pivotal experiences surrounding his identity as a gay man that fuelled his belief and confidence to create the Native Son platform.
We discuss the power of and need for greater representation and how the Native Son platform addresses, particularly through programming and initiatives like the Native Son Awards.
We discuss the significance of respecting and acknowledging diverse experiences within the black queer community, shedding light on the importance of inclusive advocacy.
…and much more.
More About Native Son:
Website: nativeson.us
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Transcript
[00:00:00] More Elephant Intro
[00:00:37] Jason Rudman: Welcome to the latest More Elephant podcast. And this is one in a series of conversations where I want to step away from The chapter or series orientation of the conversations I'm having, whether that be about representation or the changing nature of work or the environment or sustainability.
And I want to shine a light on nonprofit work that I think is in not only incredibly impactful, but I think more people in the world need to hear about to spur ideas, to get involved, and ultimately change the nature of the life that we live. I am honored already and indebted that I'm able to welcome Emil Wilbekin to the More Elephant podcast.
When you look Emil up and you see the words that are used to describe him, he's a journalist, a human rights activist. He is a professor, Professor Wilbekin. He's also a cultural critic and media expert. And, my knowledge of Emil goes all the way back to when I was living in New York City. And he was the editor-in-chief of Vibe magazine.
I had shared with Emil that I still have six key issues stored away somewhere. And they've got to be a meal, what 15, 20 years old. And we're talking, you know, we're talking Biggie and Little Kim on the cover and Mary J. Blige on the cover, just amazing moments in my life that vibe managed to capture. So.
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