We had the good fortune of connecting with Aunteas Kerel, Dawon, Jerrell and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Aunteas, Let’s talk about principles and values – what matters to you most?
Representation. The whole reason Minoritea Report was created was to show a fuller spectrum of what it is to be oneself, in our case, black & queer men. Wherever we are in that moment, trying to showcase it as honestly as possible. Growing up in a world where black queer men weren’t as visible and if so, were siloed to one “thing” is something that we try to break down. We are not monolithic. We each represent portions of our “Communitea” and being visible in our truth is our goal while having a lot of laughs, tears, and powerful conversations along the way! Oh, and anything Beyonce is another value and principle that matters A LOT to us, lol!
Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
The brainchild of Kerel, Minoritea Report was born out of the sheer lack of showing a fuller representation of people and conversations that looked and sounded like us, “ Yo Aunteas” Kerel, Dawon, and Jerrell. Minoritea Report specializes in content aimed at the BIPOC Queer Communities. Rather that be in the topics discussed, guests had on, cultural references mentioned in an episode or the creative presence we have on social media, we aim to show what we and our communities are interested in. We also love interacting and getting our listeners knows as the “Communitea” involved in each episode. We have a segment called “Ask Yo Aunteas” that centers around personal questions the Communitea sends in. We then share our advice to provide as much guidance and help as possible. Representation and visibility is incredibly important to us and our Communitea. It’s also paramount for us to be as authentic as possible. We each wished we had a show we could’ve listened to and watched growing and Minoritea Report is and is further becoming the realization of those wishes. We’re extremely proud that the show has shown a fuller spectrum of our community. The number of DMs, comments, and emails we’ve received saying how much the show has resonated is something we don’t take lightly and are incredibly proud and humbled by. Also, it quite fun to belly laugh each Monday with two of your closest friends! We crack ourselves up and we hope (and have been told) this is felt! To see how much this show has grown in the last 3 years is wild and we’re just getting started!
The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are many friends, family, and public figures that have aided to who we are and are becoming. Folks like Mo Heart, Michelle Williams, and Jasmine Masters (to name a few) have taken time out of their busy lives to show our podcast much love on a larger scale and we are forever grateful. With that said, we’d really like to shoutout our “Communitea” (we love a tea pun)! The community that continues to be built around Minoritea Report Podcast has been incredible. For how unseen we may have felt at time in our lives, we truly feel seen by our listeners and we hope that they, too, feel seen and represented by us. So, SHOUTOUT, COMMUNITEA! WE SEE & LOVE YOU!
Website: MinoriteaReport.com
Instagram: @MinoriteaReport
Twitter: @MTeaReport
Facebook: Minoritea Report
Youtube: https://youtube.com/c/MinoriteaReport