We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Rebecca Azor a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Rebecca, thanks for joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
I’m 32 years old, so while there is so much life to be lived, I know I have lived many lives and taken many risk. But one particular risk I took was getting into politics. You see, I had just graduated with my graduates degree and had plans to get back into lifestyle and fashion/entertainment journalism. I applied to so many different positions, and NO ONE was calling back. Or I was constantly reading rejection emails, and we know those can definitely make you feel defeated. But, one day I received an email for a journalist position, I was so excited. I went to the interview, afraid. Especially because I wore my hair big that week and also had colorful long nails (my signature). But, when I got there the interviewers were so receptive. And that meant a lot to me. As a black woman we have a hard time being accepted with our hair in its natural state, and with color on our nails. It’s considered “unprofessional”. Anyway, they interviewed me and they started to ask me questions about politics and I asked why? They said they wanted a black woman for the anchor of a political show. I instantly told them I am not into politics. And then they asked me questions about police brutality, the current President (2016) and I had everything to say about that. They responded and stated you are exactly what we need, a black millennial voice. I was so afraid to take on this job in politics, especially with the huge platform this company had. As reluctant as I was, I did it. The first few stories were extremely cringy, I may admit, but as I started to find my voice, I started to build an audience. Sometimes garnering millions of views. Positive and negative comments but I learned to ignore them. I was even able to speak for Haiti which means a lot to me since I am Haitian. I surprised myself by taking that leap, and because of that I can say I am a known voice the space of political journalism today with my own show called “Like it Or Not”.
Rebecca, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Rebecca Azor, I am a multimedia journalist with a current focus in black culture, politics, immigration and women’s issues. I am proud graduate of Florida A&M University, the number 1 HBCU in the nation (ask about us). This is where I received my undergraduates degree in journalism. I also received a Master’s at Full Sail University in New Media journalism. I got into my industry because after so many no’s and internships and working events for free, including scrubbing toilets while working as a social media coordinator, a media company took a chance on me. It just happened to be in politics. I speak a lot about issues that effect the black community in America. I like to tell stories from the black perspective. A long time in media, we have been told to keep quiet and the black perspective was rarely shown in stories. And when they were, they were always negative. So, from that first opportunity that allowed me to share my voice, I have since been able to build a platform that allows others like black creatives, musicians, professionals and political leaders to share their own voices. I am also very proud that I have been able to share Haiti with the my viewers from all around the world. A Haiti that is different from the negative narrative that has been given about the country. And that means a lot to me as a Haitian-American.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
A lesson that I had to unlearn was that I had to look a certain type of way to fit the journalist mold. My hair had to be straight and my nails a simple color for me to be taken seriously in journalism. I was told this from a professor that I had to work harder in the industry because I was Haitian and dark skinned so that meant looking the part as much a possible. Blazers, straight hair, nude nails. With the growth of digital journalism, I have been able to be myself. Wearing my nails bright and long, freeing my natural hair and rocking different outfits on major platforms like The Hill.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
There was a time I spoke up against a major black activist with a huge platform. Millions of followers. I once worked for him and seen how he wasn’t genuine and I spoke up about it. If you know anything about people with power and Influence online, that is something that you don’t do. I watched him sick his millions of followers on a student for questioning his motives. And when I seen how he was running the company I was working with, and how it was giving very much “scam” , I wanted out. When I seen that he had done this with so many other people and organizations, I knew I had to speak up and when I did, he tried to blacklist me. It was a stressful time. I wanted to give up in that moment, and I did for about a year. More of a mental break. That led to get back into what I love so much and that IS SPEAKING UP. I could not let him break me down. I’m Haitian. We always bounce back.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Theesongstress
- Twitter: RebeccaAzor
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMCioqY4zblWt7Uw0E0VTGA