If you were watching the Actors Awards aka the SAG Awards last night and you saw that incredible moment Viola Davis announced Michael B. Jordan as Best Actor but wondered what she said in the beginning, this post is for you.

This is my regular appeal that we value the arts just like we value emerging tech skills because storytelling is rooted in the story of our lives - it is the one thing that allows us a connection to each other through differences and similarities. If we continue to be in a world that views the arts like reading, peformance, music, dance, or visual as a “nice to have” we are losing the very medium that has allowed many people tell their unique stories. As technology advances rapidly and leaders jump to the shiniest new thing, humanity will be increasing more valuable.

This is why I center storytelling in my work as a Fractional TA leader, an Inclusion consultant in my workshops, in any kind of operational audits I do. While feelings aren’t facts, data tells a story. This is why we have The Interview Arc and soon to launch our storytelling for established and emerging leaders.

And what Viola said was “You are shining, Herold Loomis - Michael B. Jordan!” This is a joyous reference to the legendary play “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” by the legendary August Wilson. It is part of his Pittsburgh cycle of ten plays telling the story of Black people in that region over a century. This is the second in the series that tells lives of free and formerly enslaved Black people in the North and talkes about the racism and discrimination. The shiny man, in Wilson’s world, is a beacon to redemption. This is a rough explanation from a playwright (me) trying to break down genius level writing in one post but it’s important. All of our stories are.

Let me blow your mind even further and show you the the amazing Delroy Lindo, costar of Michael B. Jordan in “Sinners”, who made his debut in “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” in 1988, in the Tony Awards:

He shares the stage with the amazing Ed Hall and Mel Winkler.

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