| Dear OZY Tribe, When I was growing up, Thanksgiving was a big, rollicking affair. My mom believed in an open-house policy. Card tables, coffee tables, folding chairs and even floor seating were strung together forming a snake around our small home to ensure that every relative, friend and neighbor had a place at the table. There wasn’t a Thanksgiving that went by where we didn’t have 10 or 12 people. Sometimes there were 50. We didn't always have a lot, but we did have good cheer. I’m wishing that for all of you ... but I’m aware not everyone has that experience. As we enter an interesting moment in history, the doors may not always be open, and Thanksgiving tables may not be quite as warm. In these tumultuous times, there will be more differences in opinion and outlook — and topics we avoid, lest we run the risk of starting a food fight. At OZY we wanted to create a space for these difficult conversations — where you can open your minds and even your hearts to opinions that might surprise you. Last month, Take On America with OZY was born. |
| The prime-time show is a series of conversations — not around a Thanksgiving table but in the same spirit. Across the country, these discussions involve 100 people from the same city and with the same skin color, gender or background, but with diverse opinions that defy stereotypes. I like to think of these shows as Thanksgivings for 100. And — through our partners PBS, YouTube and NowThis — for more than 14 million viewers so far. My mom, who passed away four years ago, would have loved them. In Baltimore, we brought together 100 Black men to talk about Colin Kaepernick, fatherhood, the economy and police violence. We traveled to Nashville, Tennessee, to gather 100 White women to debate the existence of White privilege, the church, guns and #MeToo. At the Riverside Church in New York City, we discussed with Latino families immigration, President Trump and colorism. And finally we gathered 100 Asian-American millennials in San Francisco to talk affirmative action, whitewashing and Silicon Valley as a force for good or bad. If, when you’re waiting for the turkey to go golden or are stuffed with stuffing, you want to watch something a little different this Thanksgiving, I humbly suggest Take On America. We could all benefit from understanding the diversity of viewpoints held by people across the U.S. and beyond — to listen, as a first step to bursting our bubbles. And you can join our discussion group here. In the new year, we may head to your community to hear your Take On America, featuring NRA members or 16-year-olds, Black women or White men or Muslim-Americans. If you have ideas for where we should go next, or which groups you’d love to hear from, write to me at carloswatson@ozy.com. And subscribe to our channel so you won’t miss any future episodes. |
