In the world of TV and film production diversity and inclusivity have been an ever-present problem that has plagued the landscape for those who happen to work in this sector. My journey of breaking into the film industry was very serendipitous and I’ve been fortunate to have entered into the door that I have in Atlanta, Georgia. But even still, bigger productions tend to lack diversity and representation below and above the line.
This leads me to how I met Phil Moore on the set of the series he created via Tastemade and Youtube titled “A New Green Book”. Where their team traveled to various cities throughout the United States that housed large concentrations of Black folks and the businesses they own and serve their local community with.
I had the opportunity to chat it up with Phil following the finale of the series about the origins of the show and what was the motivation behind curating content such as this. As I was blessed to be a part of the Atlanta leg of this production I was afforded the opportunity to experience Atlanta's Blackness in an immersive way. That was due to Phil's vision for the show, as the "Branded Development Lead" at Tastemade a position that he pretty much created and "fought for" was one of the determining factors for this show's genesis.
"What's your part in the revolution?"
In the wake of the riots of 2020 following George Floyd's death, the country faced many adversities. This, compounded by a national lockdown, gave time for many in the country to be very self-reflexive, Phil was one of those people. In a quest for solitude, Phil went back to Chicago and isolated himself for a week, which led him to the question "What's your part in the revolution?" The pandemic of 2020 and many of the events that surrounded it forced people from all aspects of life to adjust in many ways that looked different for many people. Phil chose to take up this mantle to invoke change in the subject matter of media and storytelling, particularly Black-centered stories with Black voices.
So the process began with Phil embarking on this journey with what felt like the weight of the world. His internal motivation called him to actively be a catalyst for change. To manage, Phil contacted the Head of People to gather all Black-identifying members of the organization to be participants in a meeting of the minds, allowing Phil to lean into his community for clarity.
"If I'm going to do this, this needs to come from more than just me."
Phil was faced with the seemingly daunting task of creating programming for an entity the size of Tastemade. So in the midst of everyone's new normal via the pandemic, a mass Zoom call was orchestrated in a gathering of Black-identifying employees, encompassing individuals from across the diaspora. In the meeting, Phil started to realize he didn't have to carry the burden, he didn’t have to do this all by himself. He walked away from that initial gathering of minds NOT with a clear vision of what they were going to do but, with the reward of knowing what they DIDN'T want to create.
"We didn't want this rooted in Black trauma porn, slavery, colonialism, police brutality, or any consumption of pain.”
Leaving his meeting feeling invigorated with promise for the future of creating something meaningful for his community, a question still remained for Phil, "What's the f*****g hook!?" This line of questioning took this visionary on a course of introspection, leading him to read Malcolm X's autobiography by Alex Haley. What stood out to him following his read was how freeing and eye-opening travel can be for a human being. This lens was magnified by the Black experience throughout America and what utility would be needed for Black Americans to safely do that, and the idea of "A New Green Book" was invoked, and he ran with it. This time of introspection also allowed Phil to bounce his new idea amongst others in his various friend groups and get a comprehensive understanding of how he should move forward, his thoughts were affirmed.
Historically "The Green Book" was a travel guide for Black Americans in the mid to late 30s designed to assist travelers to find safe businesses throughout the country to safely patronize and avoid racial discrimination from white business owners and in many cases danger and violence from traveling through sundown towns, (a town in which were all-white municipalities or neighborhoods in the United States that practiced a form of racial segregation by excluding non-whites via some combination of discriminatory local laws, intimidation or violence.) Created by author Victor Hugo Green, this traveler's guide was a valuable resource and tool that allowed Black citizens to be able to experience the country in which they lived more freely.
So this idea of a show that immerses you into these Black experiences of Black entrepreneurs across the country led to the next steps. The show's overview was then created and then episodic breakdowns were constructed. The show was then pitched to the higher-ups at Tastemade and the integrity and authenticity of the content that would be created was high on the priority list. Making sure this intellectual property was handled correctly and told through the right lens was Phil's ultimate plan and he was supported in moving the project forward. With the evolution of this idea coming into fruition it was picked up by the "Black Voices Fund" component of YouTube and the show was greenlit to begin production for a pilot featuring Terrell Grice, producer, singer-songwriter, and YouTuber best known as the host of the variety talk show The Terrell Show. The pilot garnered over 1.9 million views.
From there, the series was greenlit. Slated with five episodes in its first season, "A New Green Book" took viewers across the United States from New York City to Compton California. As previously stated I had the privilege to camera assist on the Atlanta episode, which featured TV personality and social media star Kendall Kyndall, a boisterous comedic talent who did a great job in highlighting some gems of the southern Black mecca of Atlanta. When asked about the experience of traveling across the country in its many forms, Phil shared with me that, "it was cathartic traveling to these different places and seeing each expression of community. We’re all different but all of us are adjusting to life after the pandemic. The need for community is at an all-time high and that difficult moment in our history let us know that."
I asked Phil what was next for him on his journey as a producer in the tv and film industry, "I want to continue to make what I have coined as (Solution Based Entertainment)." Since the finale, Phil was laid off, forcing him to venture out solo, creating personal freelance opportunities of producing and creating more content with his peers. I'm excited to see all of the wonderful things Phil cooks up for us and the beautiful images and stories that will be produced based on his wonderful ideas. As a fellow OutWest, Illinoisian, I'm proud to call this young man brother; the sky's the limit to the levels of success he will reach. Until next time...
So after taking the time to complete this post over the course of multiple weeks, I finally got to an endpoint with this story and shared the 1st draft with Phil for his thoughts. It dawned upon Phil that this project's purpose had come full circle, and needed to share the full truth. In a brief but powerful Facetime call, Phil revealed to me some more experiences that he had while shooting the Atlanta leg of the show. As stated before "A New Green Book" was highlighting Black businesses that fostered safe spaces for Black Americans to patronize and be themselves as they traveled. Well, ironically as fate would have it, Phil would come face to face with why this series was important for him to create and how close to home it hit.
While I was working with the camera team capturing b-roll around the city for the Atlanta episode, Phil had the opportunity to meet up with a close family member. This was an eye-opening and revealing encounter for him due to the fact his cousin has his hands in the culinary arts as a caterer and this show is at its nucleus, culinary. This is important because the theme of self-identification revealed itself to Phil following his conversation with his cousin, which led to Phil needing to decompress and analyze these realizations. In true Phil form, he does this by taking his notebook and jotting down his thoughts. Today he decided to do this at a Midtown Atlanta bar not far from his hotel on 10th Street.
"I'm just trying to find my space."
This journal session started like a regular night at the bar. As Phil attempted to make space for himself, he was approached by an already inebriated white man in town on business. “I’m not racist,” the white guy began to repeatedly tell Phil to which he replied, "It's all good, I'm just trying to find my space." The conversation continued with Phil explaining the synopsis of the show to which the guy asked "Do you think I think you're smart?" Annoyed at the belittling question, Phil replied "No" and this line of questioning was obviously incendiary and was meant to provoke Phil into conflict but Phil being the elevated man that he is immediately shut it down with that response.
Another white man sat down next to them, not realizing the atmosphere, he entered with high spirits. Nonetheless, the initial white man was still being irate and repeating the same inflammatory questioning which led to him calling Phil a "nigger" multiple times. This behavior was jarring in real time to Phil in this public atmosphere. All the while this is happening, the inebriated white man starts to attack the newcomer, calling him “white nigger" for speaking up, none of that helps and the two white gentlemen proceed to fight in the middle of the bar.
In the aftermath of the events, it was revealed to Phil that the offender was being belligerent, rude, racist, and sexist to his fellow colleagues and others for the duration of the trip. A higher-up executive of the group, a white South Afrikan, who was in the company of the others approached Phil to offer some reproach to the situation, but at this point, Phil didn’t “want to trust anyone, especially anyone white, especially anyone white from South Africa because I'm aware of what the Apartheid is still doing." All in all, the vibe was destroyed for Phil and he returned to his hotel room to write a little more. Waking up the next day was a struggle for Phil from the talk with his cousin to the irate, combative racist, to the savior of a white South Afrikan, ALL while producing a show for a major platform, there was a lot going through his mind.
"How can I carry this on my shoulders while also trying to create a safe space for it?"
"The paradoxical nature of this whole thing is, I'm out here creating this show about safe Black spaces and talking about how important it is with community and safety and talking about this Green Book that should help Black people avoid situations that I inadvertently had to experience. Seeing how this still needs to exist, that little nugget added a lot of weight. Honestly, it felt very similar to the debilitating paralysis I felt when creating the show. How can I carry this on my shoulders while also trying to create a safe space for it?"
As the production for the show went on and Phil had to continue to keep working at a high level, he had an opportunity to talk to his therapist who is also a Black queer man. The conclusion of that conversation led his therapist to inform Phil that "he wasn't taking the magnitude of the situation seriously." Phil had to admit to himself that he wasn't. All the while this is going on, the South Afrikan who intervened at the bar still was in communication with Phil about resolving the matter. But Phil wasn't trying to give any more energy to that situation. He was in town to do the opposite of that, to give life to the mission and people of this project, but he had to deal with it as his therapist said, and so he did.
"The act of living and waking up every day and continuing on and coming back to the community and walking in your purpose - that too can be your part in the revolution."
The Atlanta shoot was wrapped and New Orleans featuring Big Freedia was the final stop on this culturally rich journey. While there, Phil opened up to another Black producer on the show and let him know what occurred in Atlanta. The reaction he received was shock and demand for Phil to have reached out, and that was the type of support Phil was akin to. That affirmation and reassurance gave him the last push he needed to finish this production. A true reflection: all in all, wrapping the series for him helped him realize that it's not just about creating this show that’s the active contribution to the revolution, but the act of living and waking up every day and continuing on and coming back to the community and walking in your purpose - that too can be your part in the revolution.
Phil currently doesn't work for Tastemade any longer and is excited about the future and feels good about what's next. He's still in the film and tv production industry and looks forward to collaborating with his creative counterparts on various projects.
You can check out all five episodes of "A New Green Book" on Tastemade's YouTube Channel and make sure you check out Atlanta's episode for sure, you'll see a familiar name in the credits.