Social Impact Tech: Ayana Baraka of ‘Greenwood Avenue’ On How Their Technology Will Make An Important Positive Impact
An Interview With Jilea Hemmings
Immersive tech as an educational tool will allow students to engage with history in a whole new way. Reading a text book can be a very passive experience. Content like “Greenwood Avenue,” used to supplement the text, allows for a true understanding of history because it engages several of your senses and captures your undivided attention. “Greenwood Avenue” will hopefully stimulate curiosity and an interested to research other parts of history.
In recent years, Big Tech has gotten a bad rep. But of course many tech companies are doing important work making monumental positive changes to society, health, and the environment. To highlight these, we started a new interview series about “Technology Making An Important Positive Social Impact”. We are interviewing leaders of tech companies who are creating or have created a tech product that is helping to make a positive change in people’s lives or the environment. As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Ayana Baraka.
Ayana Baraka is an award-winning Director of Photography and virtual reality content creator whose work has appeared on BET, HBO and Al Jazeera. Baraka was named a ‘person on the rise’ in Hollywood by producer Mel Jones. She’s a winner of the 2016 award for Best Cinematography at the Victoria TX Independent Film Festival, a 2019 recipient of the Digital Diversity Network’s Culture Catalyst award, and a 2021 champion of the Venture Noire Pitch N’ Pint competition. Baraka is the Content Creator for “Greenwood Avenue: A Virtual Reality Experience,” an immersive experience about Black Wall Street and the Race Massacre of 1921. Baraka’s foray into immersive storytelling came while attending USC’s School of Cinematic Arts for her MFA in Cinematic Art, Film, and Television. Today, she is the owner of Edamame Films, a production company that produces movies, commercials, and educational virtual reality content.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory and how you grew up?
I was a strong-willed child. At the age of seven, I remember gathering all of my elementary school friends together to start a cheer squad. I scheduled cheer practice after school and set up a performance at the local senior citizens center. We were paid in popsicles.
Originally from a small town in New Jersey, I was heavily influenced by my grandma and my parents. They instilled in me a persistence of learning and a love for storytelling. I spent many days at the library and many evenings with family and friends listening to a diversity of experiences, and I’ve always been fascinated by what motivates people. Even as a child, I knew I’d be a professional storyteller. I felt I had something to say, that no one else was saying.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
During my last year of grad school, my grandmother passed away. I was devastated and angry with myself for being a filmmaker and not recording my grandmother’s stories. Gone are her recipes, remedies, and history.
I was in a space of wanting to preserve history when I started to research Black Wall Street and the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921. My research led me to an unforgettable opportunity, to meet one of the last known survivors of the Tulsa Race Massacre, Dr. Olivia J. Hooker. She was an extraordinary person who went on to fight for reparations, become a professor, and be honored by (then) President, Barack Obama, for being the first African American women in the U.S. Coast Guard.
Meeting Dr. Hooker after the passing of my grandmother is what lead me to creating “Greenwood Avenue: A Virtual Reality Experience.”
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
My sister, Suzen Baraka, is an Emmy award winning poet, a lawyer, and an actress. She inspires me to be my best self. She taught me that where there is weakness there is also strength and the ability to get better. My husband, Patrick Parker, is someone who keeps me grounded and has advised me on how to turn my art into a profitable business.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
The greatest advice I ever received came from Danai Gurira. While filming an interview for “Behind the Curtain: Eclipsed,” which documented the ‘herstoric’ Broadway production of “Eclipsed,” Danai said, “go where you’re loved.” I have definitely experienced racism and sexism as a woman of color in a technical and very male dominated part of the entertainment industry. Over my ten years working in the camera department and as a newbie in immersive, I’ve been told it’s not a woman’s place — once even, having a male colleague throw my breakfast on the ground. Despite it all, I knew it wasn’t me who needed to change — it was the industry.
I turned towards the future, becoming more technically savvy. After qualifying to join the prestigious camera guild, I instead went to USC’s School of Cinematic Art for my MFA, joining the Mixed Reality Studio, a Siggraph winning team for creating photo-real animation in virtual reality. I went on to become a 2018 YouTube VR Creator Fellow, 2018 Oculus Connect Fellow, and a 2019 Black Public Media 360+ Incubator Fellow.
Remembering Danai’s advice, I did not feed into the idea that I didn’t belong, instead finding my voice as a filmmaker and finding my audience.
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
The three most instrumental character traits for a successful business leader are curiosity, flexibility, and grace. Curiosity will lead you to exploration, new experiences, and ultimately learning. I’m a huge proponent for planning; however, it’s important to be in the moment and change directions as needed. Give yourself grace if you make a mistake, need a break, or if you’re not perfect all of the time. It’ll all be okay.
Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion about the tech tools that you are helping to create that can make a positive social impact on our society. To begin, what problems are you aiming to solve?
One thing I love is history. Everything that we are experiencing today is a result of what has happened in the past. Although we cannot control things that happened before we were born, we do have autonomy over how to move forward in this world. I want us to be armed with knowledge and to perspicaciously ask the right questions.
When I was taught history as a teen, it was taught to me in a foreign, abstract way. The past seemed so distant and I was not making connections to the effects of the past on present society and culture.
“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So, you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.” –Steve Jobs
The 1921 Race Massacre was one of the largest acts of domestic terrorism in our history and it is not a part of standardized education. Our engagement strategy was to use “Greenwood Avenue” as a tool to teach Black history so that we can understand who we are as Americans. Our hope was that it would start conversations around recognizing and connecting the dots to racist systems of oppression. Let’s have conversations around identifying and unpacking racism in a meaningful way.
How do you think your technology can address this?
“Greenwood Avenue: A Virtual Reality Experience” is a coming of age story about young adults, geared for young adults. Research tells us that individuals ages 14 through 24 are more inclined to try an immersive educational tool like “Greenwood Avenue.”
“Greenwood Avenue” has reached young adults where they are: their mobile devices. Over 92% of young adults own cell phones. A third of those with cell phones own smartphones. VR no longer requires extremely fast and extremely expensive machines to run — making it more accessible across gender, race, age, and economics. Black and Latino young adults own smartphones at the same rate as White young adults. The same is not true of devices like computers, tablets and high-speed home internet. “Greenwood Avenue” was made for mobile VR which means “Greenwood Avenue” can be uploaded to familiar websites like YouTube, which has a VR platform; and VR screenings at schools, churches, libraries, and community centers can be done simply.
Can you tell us the backstory about what inspired you to originally feel passionate about this cause?
As an American woman, I am enamored with our diverse and storied history, but there are parts of American history that are not included in books. I believe and trust that folks want to know the truth about our history and want to do better for our future.
The Greenwood Community and the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre was something I did not learn in school but as soon as I became aware of this history, I sought more information and wanted to share this information with others.
How do you think this might change the world?
Immersive tech as an educational tool will allow students to engage with history in a whole new way. Reading a text book can be a very passive experience. Content like “Greenwood Avenue,” used to supplement the text, allows for a true understanding of history because it engages several of your senses and captures your undivided attention. “Greenwood Avenue” will hopefully stimulate curiosity and an interested to research other parts of history.
There’s a Ghanaian term, “sankofa,” which means we must go back in order to move forward.
Keeping “Black Mirror” and the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?
The drawback is that like traditional media, immersive can be used to misinform.
Here is the main question for our discussion. Based on your experience and success, can you please share “Five things you need to know to successfully create technology that can make a positive social impact”? (Please share a story or an example, for each.)
Here are the five things you need to know to successfully create technology that can make a positive social impact:
- Create a personal mission statement that connects with your purpose so that you can act with intention. You need a blueprint that you can always refer to. This is your why. Your personal mission statement will help you make choices.
- Chase down your curiosities. Get used to asking yourself “what if?” Get used to asking questions and taking every opportunity to listen and learn. If you do this you will open yourself up to different perspectives and opportunities.
- Find your people. These are both your collaborators and your audience. If you think social impact is something you can create within your organization, think again. You need to build relationships with your community and other organizations. Change starts with the people. And know that you do not need to do it all yourself. You’re a piece in a larger puzzle.
- Do the opposite with confidence. It will be uncomfortable to go against the grain but find comfort in knowing that you’re leading a change. You’re innovative and literally manifesting something that has never existed before.
- Break the tech. Don’t let the tech box you in with its rules for what will or will not work. The tech should enhance your work, not limit it. If it is, you can deconstruct it and build something that works with what you’re trying to do.
If you could tell other young people one thing about why they should consider making a positive impact on our environment or society, like you, what would you tell them?
Start today, learn, and keep going.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
Jay Z. He has turned his art into a business and has provided the blueprint for others to do the same.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Please follow me on social media @iseeflicks and feel free to contact me through my website, http://www.ayanabaraka.com.
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational, and we wish you continued success in your important work.
About the Interviewer: Jilea Hemmings is a staunch believer in the power of entrepreneurship. A successful career revamping Fortune 500 companies was not enough for her entrepreneurial spirit, so Jilea began focusing her passion in startups. She has successfully built 6 startups to date. Her passion for entrepreneurship continues to flourish with the development of Stretchy Hair Care, focusing on relieving the pain associated with detangling and styling natural black hair. For far too long, people with tender heads have suffered in pain. Until now.
Social Impact Tech: Ayana Baraka of ‘Greenwood Avenue’ On How Their Technology Will Make An… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.