Role modeling honesty ❣️ Kibi Anderson, Red Table Talk

“If there's drama in your life, you don't want to talk about it. It’s hush, hush. But that's not the way you heal. It's been detrimental to our communities. So when people–especially a lot of black women—saw that representation on camera it just touched them in a way that just exploded.” - Kibi Anderson

Many of us may know “Red Table Talk” as the TV show that Jada Smith, her daughter Willow, and mother Adrienne host. 

What you may not know is that Red Table Talk sparked thriving grassroots communities of viewers. Women in cities around the world started their own “Red Table Talks”—literally dressing their own tables with red tablecloths and gathering with strangers to experience the honest conversations that the Smiths role model on the show for themselves. 

Kibi Anderson is an award-winning Emmy producer and the former president of Red Table Talk. She was first a fan, drawn in by the raw conversations. We talk with her about the grassroots community that formed around the show and how she used her business savvy and inherent passion for community building to supercharge their efforts.

Highlights, inspiration, & key learnings:

• Can’t fake the funk. Kibi’s shares how she grew up in community.
• Role modeling difficult conversations. How Red Table Talk maintains the integrity of initial conversation.
• Supporting an existing community. How Kibi and her team acknowledged, supported, and supercharged the leaders of their community.
• Building with. Experimenting on then launching new tools and content with your community members.
• Celebrating. Bringing “OG” members close to the RTT team and creating private, special content for their most passionate members.
• Hurdles. The challenges of not owning a channel (Facebook) and thus not being able to communicate seamlessly with the community.

👋🏻Say hi to Kibi Anderson and learn more about Red Table Talk.

📄NEW! See the full transcript and leave thoughts, learnings, and insights in the comments plus respond to others. 

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