Past, present and future HBCU women it is your time to shine.
Through a collaborative effort, Essence and Pepsi have created a platform to honor past, present and future HBCU women around the country and are using HBCU homecomings to do it. The “She Got Now” platform is taking place on multiple campuses, including Florida A&M University, Howard University, Hampton University and Norfolk State University. Events sponsored by Pepsi and Essence took place at each institution including an awards luncheon, a talent competition and a free concert hosted by Doug E. Fresh, Gia Peppers and Scottie Beam.
The platform came about from Derek Lewis, the president of the south division of PepsiCo North American beverages, and Richelieu Dennis, the owner of Essence Ventures.
“We got to the table talking about how we could celebrate homecomings and the things that are important to us from an HBCU lens,” Lewis said. Then we went back to this women’s platform that is very important for us and we wanted to use this stage to really go deeper with HBCUs and women.”
For Lewis, highlighting HBCUs is personal as well as Pepsi partnering with Essence, considering the legacy both companies have with creating a space for black people.
“I’m an HBCU alum, so that’s certainly why it’s personal. An HBCU represents a large part of my geography, the footprint I have, so it’s very natural for this to happen. Essence has a rich history in what they do, in the space they have managed for 50 years or so and we go back 80 years. We hired the first African-American intern back in 1940, so I feel like the partnership we have and Essence has is rich and we have a legacy of generations being very committed to this space.”
Along with exposing HBCUs with this initiative, the companies are also forming an internship program for HBCU students, named after PepsiCo’s first black intern, Allen McKellar Jr. The internship will kick off in the summer of 2020, which marks the 80th year of McKellar’s hiring. The application has yet to be opened, but there will be positions available for all fields including sales, marketing, supply chain, human resources, communications and more.
For now, HBCUs are being brought in the spotlight through this homecoming tour that started on October 4 and will end on November 2. At each institution, two HBCU women, an alumna and a current student, are honored at a luncheon for the work they have done in the black community. FAMU student, Robyn Seniors, was thrilled when she heard about the platform as well as being the first HBCU student to be recognized.
“It’s really nice to be the first HBCU and the first ever student to receive an award,” Seniors said. They’re trying to spotlight them [black women], like she doesn’t have next, she’s not waiting on anything, she’s got now. She’s doing things for her community, young black women and women in general, so I think that’s what’s really amazing about the award.”
Seniors became involved in community service from a young age and has done numerous service projects including forming a water drive for the residents of Flint, Michigan as a high school student and raising $30,000 for a cancer research center in her home town, Tallahassee, Florida when she was 18. When Seniors was a freshman in college, she became the youngest SGA vice president in FAMU history during her spring semester and went on to work with Andrew Gillum on his gubernatorial race. Seniors hopes that She Got Now will expand and applauds the formation of this program.
“It’s actually really great that two men started this and thought of this to honor and support black women in order to highlight them and give this as an example for younger black girls,” she said. “If you don’t ever see yourself in these spaces, you don’t ever think it’s possible and that’s why it’s so important for this younger generation of black girls to see.”
A large part of the tour is displaying HBCU talent at a time when people from all over participate in the festivities of homecoming. Students had the chance to be shown off to people in the entertainment industry, such as DJ Envy, Doug E. Fresh, DJ Millie, Scottie Beam and Gia Peppers. The Hampton Got Talent competition featured a variety of singers, rappers and spoken word artists who were able to perform in front of students, alumni and other spectators. The Breakfast Club host, DJ Envy believes that this showcase will help elevate Hampton homecomings in the future.
“Hampton hasn’t really had anything like this no the yard ever. So, the fact that Pepsi and Essence are coming together, putting on the stage and bringing artists [to] do things like the performances, I think will continue to take it [homecoming] to the next level and hopefully I’m part of it every year,” said Envy.
Other celebrities such as Tamia, Kash Doll and Rotimi performed throughout the duration of the tailgate. Doug E. Fresh viewed the varying artists from varying time periods as an opportunity to connect people of different age groups in a cultural setting.
“I like to bring the excitement, the entertainment, as well as culturally connect to multi-cultural groups and age groups. I may do something for the 30s, for the 40s, for the 50s, for the 20s, [so] I’m touching a little bit of everybody,” said Fresh.
Fresh became involved with the She Got Now tour after realizing he had a relationship with both Lewis and Dennis and fully supports HBCUs and the promotion of black women through this platform.
He added, “I think it’s a deeper merge between black men working together to make a major difference and using their resources to make a major impact and I’m glad to be a part of it. Women are on fire. Black women are on fire. I’m hoping and I believe that this is the beginning of something that’s going to continue to expand. I’m all in. I put my chips in and I bet on black.”
Lewis is confident in the future of She Got Now and has already set plans in motion to bring the initiative to other HBCU campuses.
“I think the possibilities are unlimited and that you’re going to see a significant step up even in year two, year three or year four. I believe our awareness, our brand building of this, our reach on this is going to be very, very strong. Call it 12 to 24 months and we’re going to be activating more campuses. We see the talent of the future. Investing back into HBCUs is personal for me and we’re very committed as a company. So, we put that professional and personal combination together, it’s unparalleled in my mind and really no one can match that. So that’s why I’m most excited about what we’re going to do, not only in the short term, but the long term as well,” Lewis said.
The last stop of the 2019 She Got Now tour will be at Norfolk State University on November 2. The platform as a whole offers an opportunity for HBCU women to no longer be overlooked and take their place in the spotlight. Black women are taking over and this initiative provides business, networking and social opportunities for black women of all ages while passing down a strong legacy to a younger generation of girls.