We were lucky to catch up with Greyson Taylor recently and have shared our conversation below.

Greyson, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you come up with the idea for your business?

African American Reconstruction (AAR) was founded with the idea of developing an action-based organization that would advance the African-American community through public policy, the removal of barriers, the empowerment of future generations, and the promotion of equity. The execution of George Floyd in broad daylight served as the catalyst for our establishment. Together, we were able to transform the event’s anguish into passion. Rather than acting rashly, we searched for genuine, strategic change. The pillars of AAR, which are empowering generations, civic engagement, and community development, were established after additional planning and brainstorming. We knew that AAR would make the impact that we envisioned because we were well-connected with our community and shared the collective mindset that if we don’t do it no one else will. We also made it a goal to be reachable and transparent to the people that we served and make additional problems that they faced our problems too.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, I graduated high school from Brophy College Preparatory, earned my B.A. in Sports Business from Arizona State University, and am currently an MBA student and track and field athlete at Grand Canyon University. I was born into civic engagement and leadership, as my mom, Honorable Leah Landrum Taylor, is a former Senator and House of Representatives for the Great State of Arizona. Growing up in an environment that consisted of civic engagement naturally instilled a sense of passion for serving and giving back to my community which segued perfectly into my founding of African American Reconstruction. Within our first 2 months, we created the handbooks for the African American Agenda and we hosted our first event which was the 2020 Black Candidates Forum where we invited every African American candidate in Arizona to speak to the public about policies and plans they would implement if elected. Before the 2020 General Election, we also hosted a forum for all presidential, Arizona congressional, senate, district, and local offices to discuss our African-American Agenda and Handbooks. After the election, we shifted our focus to empowering generations and community development. We have hosted two three-day teen conferences where we had several powerful keynote speakers and workshops that discussed a variety of topics such as finding the winner within, financial history, faith, black history, mental health, power in purpose, and many others. Another annual marquee event that we host is our Empowering Generations 5K Run and Festival which is our big community event that provides black businesses an opportunity to showcase their products and a healthy and fun family-friendly environment. Every year we partner with Jack and Jill of America’s Phoenix Chapter to help provide Christmas presents to grandparents raising grandchildren. We also partner with the Arizona African American Commission each year for the youth legislative day at the Arizona State Capitol. Personally, the most rewarding feeling is watching our planning come to fruition and hearing feedback about our impact from the people that we serve. I am extremely proud of the work my team has been able to do within our 3 years.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

We built our audience on social media by getting our individual friends to follow and share all of our posts to increase engagement from more people. All of our events were posted and followed a timeline that included the flyer, hype videos, and recaps from the day of. Reels and collaboration posts were the most efficient way for us to grow our following and we designed them to have short segments that summarize our activities to keep the audience engaged. Understanding your target audience, picking the best platforms, and upholding consistent branding are the first steps in developing a strong social media presence. To build trust and deep connections with your followers, share high-quality content frequently, interact with them, use appropriate hashtags, work with others, evaluate performance, and always put honesty first.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

Our first year was completely funded out of our own individual pockets. This worked well during the first year because most of our events and meetings were online due to the heightened rate of infections during the COVID-19 pandemic. As we began to exit the pandemic stages, we realized the importance of getting corporate sponsors and donations to continue hosting events and carrying out our initiatives. Our merchandise and 5K sales and sponsorships from the City of Phoenix, District 4, Councilwoman Laura Pastor’s office, U-Haul, Commission of African American Affairs, and George Gervin Preparatory Academy really sparked our funding and helped us accomplish many of the goals and plans we have made.

Contact Info:

• Website: aareconstruction.org
• Instagram: @africanamericanreconstruction @greysontaylorr
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/greysontaylor/ and https://www.linkedin.com/company/african-american-reconstruction/

Image Credits
Edward Cole Hunter Franklin Hayden Cilley