Systemic racism and racial inequities are very challenging topics that can stir strong passions.

Equity Project Alliance is confronting these issues in the Pensacola area with an ambitious mission.

They aim to create conversations and transform thinking to bring unity and equity for everyone.

We'll learn about their origins, strategies and impact, and this edition of in Studio Equity Project Alliance.

The data clearly shows there are many inequities and disadvantages facing African-American residents in the Pensacola area.

The Equity Project Alliance is aiming to change that.

Since 2022, they have been fostering conversations to raise awareness, transform thinking, and create more unity and equity for everyone.

From impactful events to sharing enlightening data.

They are making an impact on this show will meet five of the people working to make it all happen.

In our first segment, we're joined by the executive director and a founding member of the Equity Project Alliance, Dr. Lou Sharon Wiley, and another of the founding members, Bill Wiens.

I thank you both very much for joining us here today.

So we'll start with kind of talking background a little bit.

So growing up.

What were the influences that influenced your feeling on race relations in this area?

And I'll start with you.

Well, I have to say that growing up, I really didn't think a lot about race relations, especially as a youngster.

However, as I came of age in the late sixties, early seventies, it was a very traumatic time in America.

There were a lot of races and marches and fights between races, and that is what helped to shape my thoughts about growing up in America in a in a society that where everybody was not treated equally.

And you grew up in the Georgia.

I did.

I grew up in south Georgia, Valdosta, Georgia, to be specific.

My community was all black.

My school was all black.

So when you grow up that way where there isn't a lot of interaction across all races, you really don't understand the impact of what's happening.

And it was in retrospect, and I guess the biggest thing for me was never having new books from I Met my Parents, but of course, the books that we will read at home.

But schoolbooks, we never had new ones.

They always came from the other school and that also helped shape my thinking.

Bill, how about you and your upbringing and how that kind of shape your view of race relations?

Sure.

Well, I grew up in places like both in Alabama and Montgomery, Georgia.

My family had radio stations, community based radio stations throughout those markets.

And that was back then.

You had a voice in the community.

You were the voice of the community, and you had certain responsibilities.

I watched my grandmother.

She was Jimmy Carter.

Rest in peace.

She was Jimmy's gubernatorial speechwriter.

Further, she helped him when Jimmy beat George Wallace in the presidential primaries.

And they did that by bringing together community members across religion, across race, around the table to break bread with one another, to learn from one another, to understand one another's origin story.

And, you know, as a result, you know, you had a community of communities of interest that were coming together that would not normally cross paths.

And through that, they were able to win the governorship and then ultimately the presidency.

So I had examples in my life of those times of bringing folks around the table.

I didn't I didn't understand the challenges that we had back then.

I mean, you know, George Wallace days, there was real segregation in the South, right?

And so that moved the needle.

And and we're doing those same things today with Equity Project Alliance.

All right.

So this this project, the Equity Project Allies, was started by Julia MacQueen.

That's well known in the area He's the founder and and and runs Innisfree Hotels.

That's right.

So what was his influence?

What was the impetus for him getting this started?

Well, to be honest with you, it really was the murder of George Floyd.

And I think when America saw that I say collective America, I think it was shocking.

And across the nation, programs began.

People instituted things in their communities, grassroots efforts to say we can do better America.

And so Julian wrote a letter to the Pensacola News Journal, and he challenged business owners to join him in making Pensacola better.

And so that was the impetus for how the Equity Project Alliance began.

So you were working form that industry at the time, that type of culture there.

So what did you think of the idea at first and about you getting involved with it?

Well, I was first of all, I love it when people walk the walk.

It's one thing to be someone who simply says things, but when you see someone who does something, I was impressed.

I wanted to be a part of it.

And I was asked to join and I was glad to do so because it meant that we could join other people in the community to truly become a standard bearer for not only the Pensacola area, but hopefully the state of Florida and nationally.

We can do this.

Pensacola, that's our new mantra.

Well, thank.

You.

Bill, you were brought in as one of the founding members.

So why did you decide to jump in?

Well, interestingly, when Julian wrote that piece, it went it was in the News Journal and it was called Sun of the South.

And just before he published that or put it in the paper, I had written a letter to my company to all of our employees.

We have offices in San Francisco, New York, Chicago, all over the United States.

And there was a need to have a conversation about who we are and what our our core values were and how we saw these things.

And so Julian and I had a giggle.

I'll show you mine if if if I show you yours.

And but with that came a realization that we were business leaders and we wanted to come together and do something to have an impact on our own backyard.

What was fascinating was when we first came together, we were business leaders.

We can solve this problem.

You know, let's stand up this, let's do that.

But we didn't understand the real depth of the challenges, you know, in our community.

And for those that had, you know, walked in those shoes.

So we spent a lot of time with one another telling stories and getting naked with one another, getting very transparent with one another.

And through that we we've come to a wonderful place where we've got great friendships and wonderful trust with one another.

And that's where you can build lasting change.

Yeah, there were 15 founding members in that first year.

Year and a half were just these discussions that you guys had.

So what were really the revelations, the nature of those discussions?

I'm actually really didn't know about each other.

And I think the things that we assumed about people that may or may not have been true and I think getting burned a rebel with the job to say honestly, this is how I feel when and then term times it got heated and that was okay because we knew that in the messiness and intensity of those conversations, because we were committed, we could get to a better place.

And so we were honest, we were open, we were burning well, and we discussed that and discussable.

That we did.

Not intensity.

And it was during COVID.

Wow.

Right.

So we were absolutely committed and know, frankly, our our the work that we did together, we learned so much about one another, made great friends.

And you're right, we didn't have to agree with one another.

But it was through those conversations, we found what we had in common.

And out of that came a shared purpose and a common mission.

Okay.

So EPA shares a lot of data.

You know, you kind of back up the point you're trying to make.

There's a 30 plus page report, Achieving an Equitable Escambia.

So what really stands out when you when you look at this data?

Oh, my gosh, there are so many things that stand out.

And as you started the introduction for this program, you talked about the inequities in the community.

We look at everything from the graduation rate for students, the readiness to enter, to enter school, even.

What's the income like?

What's the suspension rate?

What is housing?

What is the cost of housing?

How large a chunk of it is?

Is that your income?

So it's just so broad.

Looking at health access, health inequities.

So it's a totality of what's going on in the community.

So for us to actually say that there's one thing that stands out is that there are many things that need to be addressed.

The neat thing about that data walk is how many people want to partner with us and join us in our desire with like minded people to make it better for all political.

Yeah, you mentioned the data walk.

You had that last year dinner of change.

A lot of people in the community getting together, so.

Wow, How special was that night or what kind of came out of that night?

I think it was what was most special about that night was, you know, were folks coming together that had never met one another.

They've never gone to that side of town or this side of town or had that opportunity to know one another's names.

And they walked together looking at the boards with the data on them about education, about health care, about access to transportation and housing and so forth.

And those conversations began.

And and with that, we gave everyone stickers and they were able to then share what they found to be most important and what was common to that, that they and why.

I think that was the first step in a series of steps, because, you know, what gets measured gets improved.

We've seen that with the Student Community Institute and with Pensacola, young professionals all that they've done to measure our community where we are, because then you can begin to see what's improving.

And, you know, it's inches become miles.

And I think within that, those meetings, my goodness, there were relationships or phone numbers traded.

There were folks that came to two lunches and dinners with one another afterwards and long term relationships.

So it's good stuff.

Yeah, I know you're planning to continue those on.

Cheers.

You have one coming up in April of 2025.

As we talk here, a lot of other public events you guys have put on the Henry Box Brown play you brought to Pensacola, which was the story, a true story of a slave that basically bailed himself out of out of bondage.

Other other night, you had similar themes.

Civil rights activist Bob Zellner come to town for a night.

You had Elizabeth Eckford from Little Rock Nine at the time as well.

So what what has been the attendance like, the reaction to these and what's been most special with these events?

Well, first of all, you see this broad smile on their face because each of our programs always sell out.

That's the bottom line.

People are interested.

And that is so amazing that we are here in Pensacola, Florida, having these conversations.

And people want to join in.

It has been impactful that we are willing to talk about things that people don't generally talk about, but people are leaning in.

Yeah.

So what do you what's the biggest accomplishment so far of this?

Oh, gosh.

It's the relationships made ultimately through those relationships and building trust.

You can you can take on anything.

And Pensacola is hungry for these conversations, as evidenced by every single event that we have.

We sell out quickly and oftentimes most often it's a free event.

But the event right closes out as fast as we open it up.

And so it shows it shows a hunger for this conversation because everyone wants to leave it better than we found it and and make things better for everyone in the community.

If we raise everyone's level, we're just better as a as a community.

So let's say you want to get involved, wish you can come to the events, but there are other ways people can get involved.

And yes, it's the Equity Project Alliance website.

If you reach out to LA Sharon and Equity Project Alliance dot com, I respond to anyone and everyone who emailed to me.

And finally, you know, long term, what does success look like and if we're looking five years from now, ten years from now, if this project is a success, what does that look like?

For me, it'll be two.

One will be that is self-sustaining.

And what that means is that people from the community say this is important enough that I want to get funding to make sure that this continues and that we see change in the community for the better for everyone.

All right.

Well, we'll leave it on that great note.

So thank you guys so much for joining me and for everything you do.

Thank you.

Thank you for having us.

I very welcome.

There are a lot of other people in on making the Equity Product Alliance a success.

We'll hear from three key contributors who bring diverse backgrounds and perspectives to the effort.

That's coming up.

There is an active group of people invested in advancing the Mission of Equity Product Alliance.

Joining us for this segment are three of their current board members, Ryan Wyre, who is also the president of the Gulf Coast Minority Chamber of Commerce.

Ruthie Noel, executive director of Achieve, Escambia.

And Shakira Payne, senior human Resources generalist for Emerald Coast Utilities Authority for us.

Thank you all so much for joining us here today.

So let's start by talking about background.

You know, what in your upbringing has kind of shaped your view of of race relations.

And Shakira, I'll start with you.

Sure.

So for me, you know, growing up in high school, I was always the only black person in most of my classes.

So coming up and, you know, having to deal with that and seeing the differences and then getting out of you know, graduating high school and seeing the world, it was like a total different shock for me.

You know, I was, like I said, always the only black person in class and had friends, of course.

But you never had to deal with the racial issues or anything of that nature.

So as I got out of high school and going about my way and coming across a few things, it was a very big eye opener for me.

Right.

Yeah.

I was born black and Catholic, so at times we really seem like a segregated even more.

But it's just part of our natural living and growing up, being, being, having to assimilate and do some things and saying on your own and others, but just race relations as part of the things we've always had to deal with everything.

Sure.

So I grew up in a really small coastal beach community.

There was not a lot of diversity, certainly of ethnicity or race.

But I also as far as race relations go, I grew up thinking that that was history, that that was something we learned about that had already happened and we had succeeded where it was over, it was done with.

And so leaving that small town and coming out into the real world, and especially I was a student of psychology.

So learning really from a very objective standpoint that that was just not the case and that the, you know, the fight for equal rights continues on was was a big learning curve.

So I would say I didn't grow up with tense or race relations or tense or really anything to think about because there weren't a whole lot of other people that to have tension with.

But that learning, you know, out in the real world that this is we have a long way to go.

Yes.

Yeah.

And you've all jumped in with the EPA to try and make a difference.

So why did you decide to jump in with this organization to do that?

For me, just as I said, you know, growing up here and seeing the differences here, I'm going off to college and coming back, seeing that there are changes that are needed there.

There's a lot that we still have to go through.

Just thinking back, you know, at that time, the civil rights movement was not that long ago and we're still dealing with a lot of racial issues and things of that nature right now.

So for me, being able to come home to make that difference, to find ways to help make that difference was, you know what?

I was looking for the okay.

I got it.

I also had the great privilege of participating in the Racial Equity Institute, which was a formalized learning process about implicit bias.

And I believe that the Equity Project Alliance is the way that we're going to create relationships, create this ecosystem of knowing each other and understanding each other, so that for me, the EPA is is the the strategy like we have.

We understand this problem and now what are we going to do about it?

And this the Equity Project Alliance is where that comes alive.

LeBron, you were one of the founding members, so why did you jump in and what were your takeaways, you know, that found a group met, you know, for like a year plus having discussions.

So what were your takeaways from that?

It's really simple for me.

Julian called me one day.

I said, Hey, Brian, and pull together six or seven people together to talk about race relations.

Do you want to come to the meeting?

I said, Yes, count me in.

So we jumped in together.

We got together and we just spent a whole year just talking, building relationships and bonding.

There were times when we started off the session by saying, What's going on in your life right now?

And literally two or three times I literally burst into tears crying, telling about stories or about things I was being challenged with.

We broke down all those barriers between white and black and rich and not as wealthy, and it just really embraced the feeling and thought about having the chance to share things with people and talk about tough topics that people often just pushed to the side.

They don't want to talk about them.

We took on tough topics directly, and we did it in a loving and supportive manner, and that what just pulled me into the whole program.

Ruth You mentioned your work as Chief Escambia.

So tell us a little more about what you do there, the inequities that you see and how maybe EPA is helping to address those.

Absolutely.

It's such a really beautiful symbiotic relationship between the organizations.

So Chivas Gamble is a nonprofit that organizes our collective efforts to improve outcomes for children in Escambia County, specifically education outcomes.

And so that's the data that I live in.

In the day to day is the cradle to careers.

So really 0 to 18 year olds.

What are we seeing in our local data that are the the problems, the opportunities, the successes?

And when we're drilling down that data to the to the, you know, the demographic level, that's where the Equity Project Alliance comes from the perspective of, again, creating the ecosystems, the social capital that is required to overcome some of those barriers.

So I'm looking at the education outcomes for all students, not anyone in particular, but just across our entire county.

And and I know that when we slice and dice that data, that's where we start to see the differences.

And that where that rising tide can raise all boats.

But some of those boats are on fire and we have to recognize that.

Well, you you've worked in human resources for many years.

So over the years, have you seen the issues of race and the status of race in the workplace?

Has that changed over the years in your experience?

In a sense, we I will say, you know, conversations are being had, just kind of seeing things from where we're at now, from where we used to be.

There are changes.

However, we still have to deal with the unsolicited biases, just thinking about, you know, people that are being promoted into positions.

Those are being hired looking at people's backgrounds, where they're coming from, those issues that we're having as far as thinking on those and putting, you know, race in the picture, that still is causing problems.

So while we still have a lot to deal with, we have a long way to go.

The conversations are being had and they are the hard conversations to have.

We just have to keep going and fighting with it.

Bryan, for you at the minority chamber, what are some of the barriers you see for minority business folks and how is EPA trying to address those?

When I first started researching, I was actually shocked by the data that I saw in place.

Things like banks, they approved 50% of non-minority loans.

They approve 60% of Hispanic loans, they approve 29% of black loans that apply for them as a first perspective.

And the data goes on and on and on about how black businesses, minority businesses really struggle with getting capital, getting loans, getting commitments to help out their businesses.

So the data was just staggering to me.

So our chamber helped exist to help out and break down what Seminoles barriers down and provide businesses avenues to work with the city, the county and state.

There's a lot of events that EPA has done and didn't have changed those kind of things.

So I'll ask each of you what's been the biggest impact so far?

You know, whether you've seen an impact, it's impacted you.

What's what's jumped out to you so far?

As a for me, you know, just knowing how new this Equity Project Alliance is, seeing many people wanting to come out and asking when is the next event?

That tells me people want the change.

They want to do something.

They want to see how can we be a part of this change.

So that's been, you know, really big for me.

With the other.

Oh, gosh.

Well, I will say I attended a lot of those dinners before joining the board.

And as just as a come and listen, it was very impactful, I think, for me.

The story slam is it was magical to see people sharing their experiences and their experiences together was really impactful.

Where you do that, it kind of starts to come to life and you think again, like, I grew up thinking this was history.

This is this is not history.

This is actively unfolding.

And within the lifetimes of the people who are still living these experiences now.

And I just think there's a lot of power in that that they are willing to share and open to share those stories.

And the story.

SLAM is one of the newer things that they're doing.

They did one late, late in 2024 and now starting it up again in 2025 so that people can come out and share their stories.

And they should.

Probably free about.

One of the biggest things is table discussion.

As part of our data walks, we have these discussions, but we have topics on the table and you get a group, great group of people in different categories, different backgrounds, and they talk about a topic and the discussion.

You hear the aha moments, the connection people make at those tables, and no one carried on afterwards.

It's just for feeling like seeing people in the community like, Oh, we talked about this together.

We share time together to talk about topic that was really challenging for us to address.

How about next steps as we go forward, as we look to, Hey, what's what's going to be the measure of success for this?

What's important to you as you move forward with this organization and try to advance this mission?

I mean, is keep going.

We cannot stop.

We have started something that is big.

And I don't think we realize even how big this can be.

And we have to keep going with that.

And I agree.

And, you know, as a metrics person, I would say this might be one of the few times this might be one of the few times where the numbers are not the power.

Here.

It is the connections, it is the relationships, the trust that comes out of these.

Like Brian said, when you have a real conversation and you get past the social niceties and you really dig deep to understand someone else's perspective and and and be willing to share yours too.

Yeah.

As long as we don't stop and we stay true to that, then I don't see I don't see a way we can fail.

I think we're just going to keep getting better.

So I think starting it up as a founder, we experience ability for a year, year and a half, just talking and getting a chance to know each other.

And now we move into the phase of being a real nonprofit board of directors, bringing on new board of directors into the organization and having it grow and expand.

So I see the future of us really making our our impact as a nonprofit and not just talking about things or building relationships, but truly serving the community as a nonprofit organization.

And then quickly, as this experience changed your thinking, I mean, you talked about how it's impacted.

Do is any any like a big thing that's changed your thinking of going from going through this?

For me, it has changed because I've told Dr. Wiley, I get excited when it's time for a meeting.

Just knowing what we have going on and hearing the different things we have, the different projects going about, the different events we have going on, that makes me excited to know that I'm in the right place.

It's time for us to make a change, and I'm here to help.

I would say yes, this is where I've been able to to participate and not just read about these things, learn about these things, study about these things, but to actually come in and lock arms and engage and and really get activated in in moving our community forward one really one relationship at a time.

And Bryan.

I think it changed me in the fact that all these things were feeling on the inside.

Were there certain ways we thought about different race relations and different our own all groups, but now we're able to express them more openly.

We have a little share and be.

And I think that's why when that first year and a half of different members were either cry or tell stories that really were painful is because now we can let those things out and holding them and you're never going to be able to succeed with that.

But that's great stuff.

Thank you all so much for everything you're doing and sharing your time today.

Thank you so much.

Appreciate it.

All right.

Thanks also to our earlier guest, Dr. Sharon Wiley, in between.

I hope you all have been inspired by the mission and work of Equity.

Project Alliance is something we can all take some ownership in to improve racial relations and create more equity and understanding for everyone.

Thanks for watching.