Culture is Capital: What the BOMESI Summit 2026 Taught Me About Building in the Black Media Era
One Summit. Three Outcomes. All Infrastructure.
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By Deneen L. Garrett | Creator & Host, Women of Color: An Intimate Conversation
I showed up to the BOMESI Summit 2026 as credentialed press. In Detroit. My hometown. And walked away full of knowledge — and ready for more. 🖤
Culture is Capital. Build Infrastructure.
That wasn’t just a theme. It was a mandate. And, exactly what I needed.
For two days, I sat in rooms with 300+ Black media owners, brand leaders, and investors at the Cambria Hotel in downtown Detroit. The conversations were real. The energy was undeniable. And the clarity was the kind you only get when the right people are finally in the right room together.
Here’s what happened.
“Navigation is a Dialogue” — On Power
Rashad Robinson and DeVon Christopher Johnson didn’t come to inspire. They came to activate.
“Navigation is a dialogue.”
Build power. Raise the floor on what’s acceptable. Keep pushing higher. Not someday. Now.
In a room full of Black media owners, this landed differently. Power isn’t given. It’s built — deliberately, consistently, and in community.
The Data Doesn’t Lie — On Podcasting
80% of Americans 12+ have listened to or watched a podcast
58% consumed one last month
The creator economy is projected to hit $480B by 2027
Podcasting is no longer a niche behavior. It’s a multi-format media channel — and a trusted path into communities that brands can’t reach any other way.
Robin Kinnie — the same woman whose LinkedIn post made sure I didn’t miss this summit — was on the podcasting panel reminding us why we do this: impact. She launched Engineers of Detroit, a new business, to build a real talent pipeline for the podcasting industry. That’s not just vision. That’s infrastructure.
Her word to every podcaster in the room:
“You don’t make excuses, you make adjustments. Get clear and consistent.”
Write that down.
Winners Create Systems — On Infrastructure
Jamil Crews — Open for Business — anchored the entire summit in three words: “Winners create systems.” A theme that echoed across every panel, every conversation, every room.
A podcast is not a single episode. It’s a content chain.
Short-form clip → discovery
Full video → depth
Audio → habit
Newsletter → ownership
Live event → revenue
Creators have content. What most are missing is the back office — production systems, sales infrastructure, distribution strategy, measurement. The opportunity: build what’s missing.
And what are brands actually buying when they invest in podcasts? Not downloads.
Trust. Niche reach. Cultural relevance. Proof.
That’s exactly what Women of Color: An Intimate Conversation delivers — Top 20 Women’s Empowerment Podcast · YouTube U.S. Top 1% · 65K+ monthly reach. The data in that room confirmed what six years of building already showed me.
The money is moving beyond pre-roll ads into branded content, live experiences, membership, licensing, and data. Infrastructure unlocks bundled value — not just inventory.
That’s the whole game. Build your back office.
Get Paid to Be Yourself — On Building
Amber M. Lewis — Detroit’s own — gets paid to be herself. Full stop.
Her framework: build systems, put the right people around you, let them handle what you don’t want to do — and do it well. S Y S T E M S.
“I eat every day.”
Translation: she ain’t pressed. 😂🖤
Marie Denee said it in one line: “I knew there was a problem. Here’s the solution.”
No permission. As we say on WOC Live, you don’t need it. No waiting. Just clarity and the courage to build.
And 18 years in this game? Every single flower, Sis. 🌸🌺🌼🪷💐🌷
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From Traffic to Influence — On AI
Albert Thompson of Transient Identity delivered the reset we didn’t know we needed. Value!
We’ve moved from generating traffic to generating influence.
LLMs don’t reward authority domains. They reward trusted partnerships and citations. AI engines want micro-niche content. They need 100+ pages — not one post.
His warning — and it should stop every publisher cold:
“Plan as if Google goes to zero. If it doesn’t, everything above zero is upside. If it declines — everything is catastrophic.”
Build your owned audience. Build for the AI era. Now.
Also, the magic is happening in the vendor spaces. Go beyond the panels.
Lesley Pinckney made it plain: “AI allows you to outsource repetition.” Not your voice. Not your vision. The repetition. Again — systems.
A Liberation Theology for Media Owners — On Ownership
Jemele Hill in a fireside with Ashlee B. did what we do in The D — spit truth.
“No longer at the mercy of legacy media.”
“Everything I choose to do — I choose.”
“Put your face on it.” Embrace this aspect from Creators.
Three lines. A liberation theology especially for journalists and creators.
This is what it sounds like when a woman owns her power completely. No hedging. No waiting for permission. Full ownership — of platform, of narrative, of decision.
The Funding Exists — On Independent & Diverse-Owned Journalism
The panel on Independent & Diverse-Owned Journalism didn’t just talk about the problem. They handed us the playbook:
— Map the players who fund in your space
— Tell a compelling story
— If you’re too small, find a fiduciary
— Lean into relationships
— Be persistent
The funding exists. The question is whether you’re positioned to receive it.
Keep Playing — On Closing
Nichole Barnes Marshall ended Day 1 with a CTA and a reminder.
“Keep playing. We come out of valleys. Every single time.”
Speak Sis, speak!
That’s not motivation. That’s testimony. And in a room full of Black media builders who know exactly what the valleys feel like — it landed like a word.
The People — Because Culture is Capital and So Are People
The BOMESI team — thank you for building this convening and bringing it home to Detroit.
Quincy L. Lewis. Folasade Ogunmokun. Nicki B. Robin Kinnie. And everyone in between — the room is everything.
A special 🫶🏽 to Angela and Marie for embracing me. I walked in as press. I left with sisters. I look forward to learning from and with these women.
To Robin Kinnie — thank you for making sure I didn’t miss what was right under my nose. Community is the whole thing.
And to Detroit — for always being the room worth being in. 🖤
One Summit. Three Outcomes.
I didn’t just leave with notes. I left with next steps.
Press Coverage — A full BOMESI content suite published across LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and Threads. The room deserved to be documented.
Platform Infrastructure — A conversation with Marie Denee sparked a deeper look at what owned infrastructure could mean for the Dream Lifestyle™️ Collective. That conversation is still unfolding.
Streaming Expansion — A connection made at BOMESI opened a door worth walking through for Women of Color: An Intimate Conversation. More on that soon.
One summit. Three outcomes. All infrastructure.
That’s what happens when you show up in the room. 🖤
Show Up in 2027
Now I’m speaking directly to every builder, creator, and media owner reading this:
BOMESI is FUBU — For Us, By Us — in the realest sense.
This is not a room you observe. It’s a room you belong in.
Relationships are made here. Information runs rampant. Opportunities appear.
Get involved at bomesi.org. Follow the work. Support the mission.
And decide today — show up in 2027.
You don’t want to miss what’s being built. And neither do I.
About the Author
Deneen L. Garrett is a Cultural Alchemist; Speaker, Writer, Podcaster. WOC Live is the live extension of Women of Color: An Intimate Conversation — a Top 20 Women’s Empowerment Podcast · YouTube U.S. Top 1% · Global Top 8.5% · Top 5% of podcasts worldwide · 65K+ monthly reach. She covered the BOMESI Summit 2026 as credentialed press in her hometown Detroit.
Follow Deneen: deneenlgarrett.com