By: Funny Or Die
CALL & RESPONSE: Black Tech & Innovation

Today ‘s discussion will cover Black Tech & Innovation. With special guests Baratunde Thurston (Writer, Activist, Comedian, and Commentator), Van Lathan (Reporter & Podcast Host “Higher Learning ‘ on The Ringer), and Morgan DeBaun (CEO & Founder Blavity Inc.). Hosted by Baron Vaughn and Open Mike Eagle.
SHOW NOTES
- Los Angeles Unified School District voted down getting rid of police in schools (Baron Vaughn and Open Mike Eagle)
- Today would have been Tamir Rice ‘s 18th birthday (Baron Vaughn and Open Mike Eagle)
- Baron Vaughn and Open Mike Eagle discuss the issues with two-party political system
- Baratunde Thurston talks about growing up in a Black family with a computer and how access to a computer made him a huge teach resource in the Black community, gave him more access to information, but didn ‘t help his dating life
- The current need for us to apply technology to things that affect Black livelihood (public transportation, healthcare, etc) (Baratunde Thurston)
- How protestors used a database to find out individual police offers complaints & announced those violations at a protest
- How COVID-19 is forcing people to use social media for information vs. aesthetics & how the pandemic has brought us to the collective realization that work/life balance is impossible unless we innovate (Baratunde Thurston)
- How Baratunde Thurston ‘s sister, Belinda Thurston, runs Just B Yoga, a donation-based Yoga Studio in Michigan that has made yoga affordable, accessible, and more body positive
- Why calling out “Karen ‘ and #LivingWhileBlack videos are a sign of progress (Baratunde Thurston)
- Baratunde Thurston ‘s new podcast, “We ‘re Having A Moment ‘ which focuses and documenting how COVID and George Floyd ‘s murder is impacting and changing America
- The censorship and misinformation within American History, how cell phone videos are unbiasedly documenting present-day injustices
- The power of the people vs. our current democracy (Baratunde Thurston)
- Van Lathn opens up about how quarantine initially drove him to a nervous breakdown & how not starting his day with technology, talking walks, and making a point to consume positive content helped him
- Why Van Lathan examines praises “The Wire ‘ in his podcast “The Red Pill ‘ for its honest examination of systems, gangster capitalism, exploitation of the poor & the dwindling of the middle class
- The problems Van Lathan encountered while working at TMZ
- How defunding the police would free up taxpayer money to better our communities (Van Lathan)
- CEO & Fonder of Blavity Inc. Morgan DeBaun explains how the company is leveraging the power capitalism to empower the Black community and Black initiatives
- How forming “the Black lunch table ‘ as school made Morgan DeBaun feel more grounded and connected to other Black classmates and how that echos in how Blavity Inc. is connecting, empowering & enriching the Black community
- How Morgan DeBaun ‘s experience in Silicon Valley motivated the origins of Blavity (“Black Gravity ‘) and , the importance of carving out space for Black ownership in the tech industry
- The AfroTech Conference & how it is connecting Black people in the tech industry (Morgan DeBaun ‘s)
- The future of Blavity and how young the advice that she passes down to younger people (Morgan DeBaun)
- How business scale is possible without folding to corporate greed and changing the company ‘s initiative (Morgan DeBaun)
GUEST RECOMMENDATIONS
- #Unplug: Baratunde Thurston Left The Internet For 25 Days, And You Should, Too (Article)
- Just B Yoga (donation based online yoga studio by Belinda Thurston)
- How To Deconstruct Racism, One Headline At A Time (TedTalk with Baratunde Thurston)
- How the ‘Karen Meme ‘ Confronts the Violent History of White Womanhood (Article)
- Living While Black: Here are all the routine activities for which police were called on African-Americans this year
- We ‘re Having A Moment ‘(Podcast by Baratunde Thurston)
- The Aunt Jemima brand, acknowledging its racist past, will be retired (Article)
- The Red Pill (Podcast by Van Lathan)
- ‘The Wire ‘: Way Down in the Hole – The Ringer (Podcast)
- Higher Learning with Van Lathan and Rachel Lindsay The Ringer
- The Wire (Television Series)
- America ‘s Top 50 Women in Tech; Morgan DeBaun (Forbes)
- Blavity Inc
- AfroTech Conference
- Afrofuturism
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE EPISODE
Baratunde Thurston explains why #Karen and #LivingWhileBlack videos are a sign of progress
Why Van Lathan examines “The Wire ‘ in his podcast and the problems he saw while working at TMZ
Morgan DeBaun explains why scale is possible without corporate greed
TODAY ‘S GUESTS
Baratunde Thurston ‘ Writer, Activist, Comedian & Commentator
Instagram: @baratunde
Twitter: @baratunde
Facebook: @baratunde

Van Lathan ‘ Reporter & Podcast Host “Higher Learning ‘ on The Ringer
Instagram: @vanlathan
Twitter: @VanLathan

Morgan DeBaun ‘ CEO & Founder Blavity Inc.
Instagram: @morgandebaun
Twitter: @MorganDeBaun

ABOUT THE SHOW
Call & Response is a new show designed to respond to the changes and activism of our time. Each day, Baron and Mike will invite their favorite Black creators ‘ activists, comedians, musicians, actors, visual artists, and more ‘ to riff on current events, discuss the present momentum, and speak about their work and struggles.