Today I join the ranks of @Adweek's Young Influentials #classof2020

Less praise and more promise.

Promise me you won’t see this recognition and not honor the pain, struggle and sadness my family, my culture and myself have gone through for this type of *moment*. //1

Promise me you’ll see a man who wasn’t given ANYTHING when born or while being raised in the wild of America

Promise me you’ll recognize and honor the 15 years of being a bootstrapped, creative-entrepreneur and never having the experience at a big agency or production house. //2

Promise me you’ll honor the other small shops hustling 5-ways, who have also hired dozens of creatives across the globe, managing millions of dollars of business but have never won a Webby, Lion, Pencil or even a damn credit line. //3

Promise me you’ll see Black girls and boys and become a platform for their voices and lives. Promise me you’ll build them up and never tear them down //4

Promise me you’ll see Black women and men, and meet them as humans, dignified and respectful and support their leveling up by any means possible. Both personally and professionally. //5

Promise me you’ll see this recognition as a minor moment that we can use as fuel to further codify our actions in changing how systemic racism is being addressed and reversed in our industry and our society. //6

Because, I promise to keep being the best damn son to the many Black women who raised me and the best partner to my life partner. //7

I promise to push even harder to identify and work with the right accomplices to build out systems for @allyshipaction action, until we have new industry standards and systems for workforce diversity. //8

I promise to continue to refine my leadership abilities and creative talent to design the most imaginative and unfiltered content through @palettegrp for organizations that dare to be raw with us. //9

I hope our work moves you to see the honesty and truth in every culture and life experience as we do our best to respect it and work with the right humans to craft it. //10

Thank you @adweek. Less praise. More promise.

- Signed a fatherless foster kid still buried in college debt... #MyGYouCanDoItToo #LessPraiseMorePromise #AllyshipAndaction #PaletteGroup #Wtfrn #2020 #WhatATime #HeyMomma //11

Just out here making my mum proud... //12