Talent may get you in the door, but knowledge keeps you in those rooms. Over the last decade, online educational platforms like MasterClass have helped democratize highly desirable skills by offering access to celebrity experts who most people wouldn’t even be able to meet, let alone learn from. But what good are filmmaking tips from Martin Scorsese if no one teaches you how to talk to movie studio execs and investors to turn your vision into a reality? For Black and brown people, who have historically struggled to get films and businesses financed and supported, skills are only part of the equation. They need to know how to play the game of business.
On Black Friday 2021, Young Money Entertainment COO Cortez Bryant, actor Jesse Williams, and entrepreneur Cortney Woodruff launched Assemble to fix that problem. Assemble is aimed at providing BIPOC communities with access to instruction from Black success stories in professional fields they may have never considered. While some may see the microphone as their way into the music industry, Assemble allows BIPOC students to learn about music management from Bryant, the man behind the careers of Nicki Minaj, Drake, and Lil Wayne. Instead of limiting their Hollywood aspirations to appearing on the big screen, BIPOC students can learn celebrity makeup skills from Sir John, whose clients include Beyoncé, Naomi Campbell, and Zendaya. Assemble aims to address problems with exposure to opportunities in a way that Masterclass doesn’t.
