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Jyotique Eady
March is the month when we finally move past the reset phase and actually make things happen. So let's do this. If you've been dreaming about starting your own business, Shopify makes it easy. Already running a business? Trust me, Shopify can handle it all and it grows with you. That's why I move my stores over there. When we decided to put browngirlgrinding.com on Shopify and sell our merch and update you guys on the news, it was so easy. I never doubted that the website would work because of how easy it was to set up. No matter how big or small your business is, Shopify helps you keep the momentum going this month, and that's what March is all about. It's time for you to invest in your own business, not someone else's for a change. Head on over to shopify.com ben and see what it feels like to be the one in control of your future.
Public Podcast Sponsor
Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public, you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index. With AI starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC Advisory services by Public Advisors llc, SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available@public.com disclosures you're listening to
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Bethenny Frankel
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Krista Renee Hazlett
Calling all my sweeties to the forefront. I'm your host, Krista Renee Hazlett, and this is the Keep It Positive Sweetie show. Welcome to Keep It Positive Sweetie, a place where we heal, grow and learn together. Today's guest is a strategist, advocate and movement builder, Jyoteca Eady. Jyoteca is someone many people know for her impact, but today's conversation goes deeper. From navigating grief and personal healing to finding power in heavy moments, this is a chance to hear how she moves forward through challenge, leadership, and purpose. Kipps family, please give a very warm welcome to my sister, Jyoteca Eady.
Jyotique Eady
Hi. Hi, sis.
Krista Renee Hazlett
How are you?
Jyotique Eady
I feel good. I'm happy to be here.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Well, you look good. You came in here radiating, you know,
Jyotique Eady
I think we got a memo. Like I got the memo for the brown and the creams today, though. It just feels good. It's 2026. They said what, the year of the horse?
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yeah, the year of the horse. That's what I'm hearing.
Jyotique Eady
Let's go.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Let's go. We are not playing.
Jyotique Eady
I love that because 2025 was.
Krista Renee Hazlett
We made it, though.
Jyotique Eady
We made it.
Krista Renee Hazlett
It was very. Yeah, it was tumultuous, but we made it.
Jyotique Eady
We made it.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yes, we did. So, Jatayga, I met you first. I believe it was Essence Festival. That was the first time we actually met. Trell had come on and I'm talking about sang your praises. He's like, you gotta meet Jataka. You gotta meet her. And we got to finally meet at Essence Festival at his all white black excellence brunch. And from there, your name proceeded itself. So I knew who you were, but I had never gotten to meet you. And it was just you. Everything that we hear about Jotaka Eady, you are that. And then you blessed US in Washington, D.C. for our Kipps Live show poured into us like no other. And I just want to say thank you just for being you, but also coming into our world and sharing a piece of you with us. Seriously.
Jyotique Eady
Well, thank you. And I love Trell. He is, you know, Trell is my South Carolina.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yes.
Jyotique Eady
Brother. So. And just doing amazing things, like, I think about the Black excellence brunch, what it's done for the culture, and then really to be here with you, like, so I'm grateful to be here with you. Love, love, love your journey and, you know, the DC like, you know, like the dc. The DC Hustle, baby.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Because that's what it is, the DC Hustle.
Jyotique Eady
But to just see just the space and just the beauty of what you bring, the impact. So I'm just glad to be here.
Krista Renee Hazlett
I appreciate that. Thank you. So I want to know, before the titles, before the world knew who you were. Take us back to who you were before you knew advocacy was your calling on that journey. Because I know it's been a journey.
Jyotique Eady
It's been a journey. So, interestingly, you know, I'm from rural South Carolina, so I'm from a town with population 1400 people.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Wait, that's less than me. I thought I was from a small town. Yeah. Are you serious?
Jyotique Eady
Johnsonville, South Carolina.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Wow.
Jyotique Eady
I think it's 1491, something like that. Like, it changes from time to time, but I'm from a little small town. I grew up on a dirt road. My family still lives on that dirt road. And I think. Really? What? Like, who? I. I always was the kid growing up. My mom would tell me stories about being me, being the kid that would talk to anybody in the grocery store. And I used to say, I want to be a noya. I couldn't even say lawyer, so I used to say, I want to be a noyer. And really, I think probably watching Claire Huxtable was a big influence for me growing up. Like, she. And so that gave me this idea, I want to be a lawyer. I always wanted to help people, but I always wanted to talk to people. So I was that kid that got. Talks too much. Talks too much. But I also was the advocate for other kids in school. So always growing up in, like, you know, a small rural town, I was that kid that was very talkative. And I was also that kid that your grandmama made you get your Easter speech together. Interestingly, I got my confidence for speaking and being in front of people, doing Easter speeches in church. And so I would get an extra long Easter speech and I'll never forget my grandma. And I was good at memorizing. So I would wait till the last minute and my grandmamma would be like, I think her and her sister would compete which grandchild was gonna do the best. My cousin Tara would sing, and it was like, you gotta get up there and do a good job. So I would go do my easy speech. I would memorize it, but I would get up and it was like I would perform. And so as I grew up, people would wait. I would get to do my Easter speech last. They like, they know you got to do something with your Easter speech. And. But it gave me confidence and it gave me a sense of, like, I could just get up here and speak. And I just remember, you know, older black women, right? Like the Miss Bernie Roos, the Miss Annie Lou's, you know, the Miss Louvinias that's sitting there. Go ahead, baby. Go ahead, baby. Do it, baby. And that just did something for me. So, like, you know, fast forward 20 something years later when I'm speaking at the UN, I'm nervous, but I had that confidence to be there because I revert back to what that felt like. And so that was like the kid growing up, but I was also that kid in student government. I grew up in the church. A very strong faith, spiritual. Just tradition for me. Like, I grew. Yeah, I grew up in the church. I know. Like, for me, like, I'm nothing without God. And so that all together made me this kid that just believed that I wanted to create something better in the world. And really what did it for me was when I was probably around 8 or 9, the local plant in my town, the workers went on strike and Reverend Jesse Jackson.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Wow.
Jyotique Eady
Came to Johnsonville, South Carolina.
Krista Renee Hazlett
That's huge.
Jyotique Eady
Yes. Can you imagine? 1400 people. I'll never forget, he marched from Wellman Industries to the high school football field. And I remember seeing Reverend Jesse Jackson. I'll never forget it. I was standing on the other side of the fence and I was like, oh, my God. Like, this is. This is it. This is what I want to do. And I was so inspired. From that moment on, I wanted to be an advocate. And I would fight little fights in student government. Like I was in middle school. Like, the mirrors in the bathroom were plastic. And I was like, we need real mirrors. I'm going to fight for real mirrors in the bathroom. But that was kind of the start.
Krista Renee Hazlett
That is amazing. And I love hearing stories like that because a lot of times when you are born into a small country town, we don't have a lot of the outlets that most kids in the city have. So to be able to have a Jesse Jackson come to your town, you know, to show you this is what real advocacy looks for, like, and what standing up for the right thing looks like, I'm sure that was very pivotal.
Jyotique Eady
Yeah, it was something. You know what's interesting, you think about, like, what we had. What we had. I mean, like, this is like, you know, we had the big satellite dishes because we didn't have, like. We only had, like, three channels. Right. We barely had NBC because it was really in Charleston, which is, like, two hours away. So I guess we didn't get signals. So you had, like, you know, channel 13, channel 15. Anybody who's watching this, I know there's some. You know, I know y' all are here from South Carolina, y'.
Krista Renee Hazlett
All.
Jyotique Eady
If y' all from, like, where. I'm from Florence county, you know, then the channel 13 and channel 15, and then Fox came, like, a couple of years later. Wow. But we had, like, three channels, and then, like, you were lucky to, you know, get a satellite and, like. And then we didn't have.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yeah. You know, like, the star of the town.
Jyotique Eady
I'm well known for, like, you know, coming out of Johnsonville because it's interesting because anytime I've ever done an interview or any magazine ever, like, writes about me, I'm very, very, like, conscious, and I'm very, like, deliberate about them printing that. I am from Johnsonville, South Carolina, because to me, I'm like. I'm so proud of, like, being from this small town. And I think it's important, like, you say, like, we. People that come from small towns, we. I grew up in, like, a place where in the school system, you know, guidance counselors. It leads you to believe that you can do any and everything, like, in these small towns across the country, like, they don't tell particularly us.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yeah.
Jyotique Eady
You know, and so it's important, I think, for people to see that you can. Especially if you're like, that kid, that young girl that's on a dirt road that's, you know, living in these small towns. You're not in a big city, you don't have access to some of the programs and some of the activities, and you don't have that to see that. Like, yes, you can come from a small town. You can do. You can go anywhere, you can travel, you can be anything that you want. And I just think it's really important. It is for me to be a representation of that.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Well, you are an outstanding representation of that. You said before that advocacy isn't a career choice, it's a responsibility. When did that responsibility show itself to you in a way that you couldn't ignore anymore?
Jyotique Eady
I think it probably was in my high school days. For me, I became very interested in learning about the death penalty. So also, Johnsonville, South Carolina, is also home to this very infamous multiple murderer, Donald Pee Wee Gaskin. So my small town had this man who had committed a lot of murders and was on death row. When I was in seventh grade, he had come up for execution. And I'll never forget, my seventh grade teacher asked us to argue in class our position. Now, this was the girl who, like, did the power Easter speeches, right? So I was ready, and I was like, donald Pee Wee Gaskin should be executed. You know, I was at. I was like, I win the debate. I'm on the winning side. We had to write a paper on the opposing viewpoint that you took in class.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Oh, wow.
Jyotique Eady
So I go and I'm doing this research, and I start to learn about the death penalty. So I learned about George stinney, who was 14 years old, the youngest person ever executed in the United States, who grew up in Clarendon County, South Carolina, which is probably like 45 minutes from where my little small town is. And I'm reading the history. Then I started digging into Furman v. Georgia, which was the landmark U.S. supreme Court case. And I was like, whoa, the death penalty has been racist. And they were executing people who committed crimes. At the age of 16 and 17. I became very opposed to the death penalty. So I started, like, a little student group in my middle school and high school. If you go back to my yearbook, interestingly, my friends would write, good luck trying to abolish the death penalty. That was the thing that they would say in my yearbook, because I was so.
Bethenny Frankel
So.
Jyotique Eady
But that was, for me, that's what I got. And then I saw Reverend Jesse Jackson as a younger person. I was on fire. And it was like, I'm gonna go, I'm gonna be a criminal defense lawyer, and I'm going to go work on death pellet cases.
Krista Renee Hazlett
And you did that. I ended up abolishing the juvenile death penalty.
Jyotique Eady
I ended up being a part of the movement to abolish the juvenile death penalty, like, in 2005. So for me, like, that advocacy was like that thing that I couldn't unsee because I realized that, like, we had been fed this information about a criminal justice system. When really, when you looked at the history of the death penalty, why the death penalty. Like, we went from slave codes to, you know, the death penalty. And, like, who largely got the death penalty, largely black and brown men and women in the United States, that the. Just the unfairness, the bias of the system. System, yeah. And so that was just something that was just a calling for me. And so when I was in. I think I was in maybe the 10th grade, my high school teacher recommended me to go to the National Youth Leadership form of Law and Constitution in D.C. and it cost $3,000 to go. And it was $3,000 my mom and daddy didn't have. And so the town of Johnsonville, all of the good people of Johnsonville, many black women in my church, they raised the money, sold cakes at dinners, and put me on an airplane that many of them, and some of them have never even been on still today, and sent me to Washington, D.C. and there I met the executive director, Steve Hawkins, of the National Colisha Bosha Death penalty. I'm like 16 years old, and I'm like, I want to do. I want to come work and abolish the death penalty. And he offered me an internship, like he said, when you finish high school. And I begged my mom and dad and to let me go to D.C. and when I graduated high school, I would have stayed with a distant cousin, my cousin Mildred, in D.C. and did an internship. And that literally was what put me on the trajectory that has taken me to where I'm at today.
Krista Renee Hazlett
My goodness, that is fascinating. And we share similar stories in me going from Martin, Tennessee to D.C. what was that like? Going from a very small town. I'm interested to hear your take on it. To the city known as Washington, D.C. because I know for me it was a big jump. And I was like, whoa, yes. Different.
Jyotique Eady
Yes. So I went. So it was a bit helpful because I went to the University of South Carolina. And so that when I went to usc, got it. It's. It was, you know, large campus. I was very active at USC and in student government and student activism there. But when I went to D.C. it was. So Columbia was like, kind of city. Yeah, but that was big city to me. But D.C. it was like, what is this? And then I had never been around or in a city with so many black folks that were like, just doing the thing. And not that Johnsonville didn't have dynamic, amazing, excellent black folks, but, like, just seeing black people running things, you know, leading mayors, all of that. Like, I had never seen that, honestly. Like, I had never even seen or been around other just populations of the diaspora of black people.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Right.
Jyotique Eady
So that was like my first time, like experiencing Ethiopian food or like, and it's just like one of those things because like Jacksonville, there is not an Ethiopian restaurant in Jazzlynville. So like for the first time I'm eating Ethiopian food or being open to other, the other cultures is being in D.C. and so I, and I love D.C. because I always saw D.C. as the place where you could go create. Create change.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Absolutely. For sure.
Jyotique Eady
And like, that's where change is. I mean, over time and over the years with my career, I started to learn that like, nah, like you could create change in other spaces. But I used to think that like, if you go to do change, change work, you need to be doing movement work. You need to be like in a non profit or you need to be in the government. That's the only way you could do change. And that's evolved for me. But that was like my experience and it was just like in D.C. to me still, D.C. is still my home. I split my time between D.C. and LA. But D.C. for me still there's something. Even though, like the heaviness of a Trump administration in Washington D.C. is very heavy and like what's happening right now, particularly how black women and black people are infected.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Let's talk about that.
Jyotique Eady
Yeah, it's still something special to me about dc. Yeah.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yeah. I don't know the exact number and you may be able to help me on this. Of black women that lost their jobs last year.
Jyotique Eady
Over 300,000, 300 grief and shout out to Valisha Butterfield.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yes, we love you, Valisha.
Jyotique Eady
Yes, we love you, Felicia. For the global state of women.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yes.
Jyotique Eady
And the fun for black women to have some relief. And so it's a hard time and it's particularly painful, like when you know people.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yes.
Jyotique Eady
And not just one person, but, you know, multiple people.
Krista Renee Hazlett
People. Yeah.
Jyotique Eady
Who have been out of work for over a year. And it's all because of a deliberate, aggressive, poignant attack on black women, on black people, on our livelihood, on our lives, on our education, on our culture. And so in this moment, I just think that it's a reality check for a lot of people because I think some people didn't take it as seriously and now are realizing that this, this is real.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yeah, this is real. I remember a friend of mine saying, when everything, the pendulum started swinging in our favor, he said, be careful, he said, because just as it swings, it's going to go back in the other direction very drastically. And what could you give us as a community? Advice on how to handle this as the pendulum is not in our favor.
Jyotique Eady
I think in this moment I'm gonna go back to where we started this podcast in prayer.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yes.
Jyotique Eady
Is being grounded and recognizing that we are always gonna be okay because God has us. And I think that's where it starts. It's just having a level of peace. Yes. And understanding. As hard it is, as hard as it is. And I get to speak to my own self about that. That there is something greater that is holding us.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yes.
Jyotique Eady
So I think that's the first place. And the second is that we cannot as a people in this moment be silent.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yes.
Jyotique Eady
It's not an option. And we have to be united and together, support each other and support our own in this moment. And so I think that as this pendulum, because it's not just people that had a federal job, it's people who consult or law firms or it's an attack on the entire culture and entire system. And I think that's the part that is very real and is the part that is the most dangerous. And so you see now attacks on studios. And so what does that mean about content and studios and ensuring that there's diversity not on the camera, but behind the camera and all of the. All of that. So the attacks now on that, the attacks on universities and funding. NIH just announced that they are no longer going to have diversity, equity and inclusion grants, that they don't need that anymore. Think about research and help. So the greater impact, think about all the jobs that are associated with that. So I think sometimes when we think about what has happened in terms of these massive, you know, jobs that have disappeared, that we think, oh, it's just someone that was working in a federal government office that maybe we didn't need them. Right. You know, maybe, yeah, we do need them.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yeah.
Jyotique Eady
But it's also, you know, all of the surrounding jobs and industries that are also impact music, concerts, all those things. Because there's not the support for all of that. And I think it's just a moment like for us to recognize that we are not in normal times.
Krista Renee Hazlett
We are not.
Jyotique Eady
And because we are not in normal times, we cannot do our resistance. Can't look like business as usual.
Krista Renee Hazlett
That is so true. That's good. Thank you for sharing.
Public Podcast Sponsor
That support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public, you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index. With AI, it all starts with your prompt from renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year. You can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors llc. SEC Registered Advisors. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available@public.com disclosures let's talk about modern home shopping.
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Jyotique Eady
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Krista Renee Hazlett
Lenovo, You have been known for also movement building. And people see the movements when it's visible, but they don't see it when it's fragile and behind the scenes and in its incubator phase. I wanted to ask you, can you walk us through what it really takes to move a movement in the way that you have from working with Kamala Harris or even with abolishing the juvenile death penalty? What does it take to really build those movements from the ground up?
Jyotique Eady
I think the first thing is authentic relationships. Because when I go back and I think about how we were able to abolish a juvenile death penalty in 2005, like no one thought that that could happen, right? And it was a lot of hard work. And I remember, you know, I was like, I think I was 25 when that Supreme Court case that I was the chief organizer for the national cool of death penalty on that case. And I remember having to go to South Dakota, Wyoming, New Hampshire, and the work that we did in the United nations to really get that case into a place where the Supreme Court would vote, which is a 5 to 4 vote. Justice Kennedy was the swing vote, a very pivotal vote. But what it took was coalition and authentic relationships. And it takes strategy. But I think sometimes people think that the strategy leads, but really it's the, it's the authentic relationship first. And once you have that, then you can employ a strategy with those authentic relationships that then can move the movement. And I think also movement is about collective, collective leadership for sure. And it is about collective power. And I think when I think about the work around like Win with Black Women, that has really been. And the power behind Win with Black Women is the collective nature of women with black women. Because the notion for women with black women is that we all have power, that you don't need institutional power. You don't need positional power to have power. No matter who you are, where you sit, you have some type of power that can be a contribution to the collective place that we are moving together as a people. So if you can just think of us as we're all on this journey together. We're all on, like, the big. The big highway together. We're in our individual cars, but we're moving. As long as we're moving in the same direction, we're moving forward. Not everybody's gonna drive the same color car, have the same car. We're not all going to drive at the same speed. But if we're moving in the same direction with the goal of getting to the destination, that's how we can have, I think, strong, positive movements.
Krista Renee Hazlett
I love that. I love that. Now, we talked about your holy yes and your sacred no. When do you know when it's time to say yes to something? I'm sure you get a lot of calls, like, of things to take on. When do you know what to say yes to and what to say no to? And how do you discern, like, what projects you'll take on?
Jyotique Eady
Yeah. And the notion of the sacred no and the holy yes. You know, Oprah Winfrey and Ayanla Van Zant's podcast. Look, we were just sitting here. I love it. I love it. But we were talking about. And I heard that, and it was just so profound to me because I've struggled with being able to say no. I'm one of those people that my whole life, it was always hard to say no because I've always wanted to be accommodating. And I think this last year for me been. Oh, yeah. Interestingly, it's like it's been the roughest, hardest year of my life.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yeah.
Jyotique Eady
And it's interesting because I think most people have seen or saw all the awards, all of the things. The Image Award, the this, the that, the this, the that.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yeah.
Jyotique Eady
But I have been on a grief journey, and it was so hard to be in deep grief, to deal with a multitude of challenges, but also be thrusted into this light where people are expecting you to smile. And inside, you're really just crumbling. You're crumbling on the inside.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yeah.
Jyotique Eady
And, you know, my mother, like, the loss of my mother and the way my mother died, it was so sudden. It was like an unknown condition that never was. Could be diagnosed. And she was fine in July and died Dec. 4. And while the election was going on, I was. Most people didn't realize that I was spending most of my time in the medical. My mother was in medical ICU on a ventilator for two months. And when she ultimately passed, it was very hard. Like, so it's like my mother dies December 4th. We lost the election in November. This administration comes in in January. The country starts to move in this direction. And so you're where. It's just heavy. And I realized last year that I had to learn how to say no more. A yes to myself. And so that's when I think for really the first time forever in my life, I was forced to slow down because I just. There were days I just couldn't. I just couldn't. And I'm still learning how to say no, but has been a work in progress. But, you know, life sometimes. And God will. God will sit you down.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Tell me about it.
Jyotique Eady
He'll sit you down sometimes.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yeah.
Jyotique Eady
He'll sit you down. Yeah.
Krista Renee Hazlett
A lot of people don't take the. They don't understand that. Also, like, as you're being thrust into the light, life still happens. And so many people don't know what we're dealing with behind the scene. And the way you push through would have never known. And I didn't know that until you shared it on the live show. And I was just like, wow. Like, the fact that you can. That's a lot. I know what you put into the election, you know, and then to go through that loss and then to turn around and lose your mother. I know that was hard.
Bethenny Frankel
Yeah.
Jyotique Eady
Yeah. And it's one of those things where I was just thinking. I was like, man, I was thinking about people I'm grateful for, and I was thinking about. And I know it's the craziest thing to think about. And I was like, the dynamic dope women that have done my makeup before I have gone on to get anything right. A speech or an award or whatever, because they've had to redo my makeup so many times because I'm literally crying before I have to walk out. I miss my mom so much.
Krista Renee Hazlett
She's not here for these things. And so it's been.
Jyotique Eady
It's like, I know her spirit is here.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yeah.
Jyotique Eady
But you miss her. And so, like, you go through life
Krista Renee Hazlett
and this person who has poured everything into you. Yeah.
Jyotique Eady
To make you who you are, and finally you're there. You're there, or you're somewhat there, and she's not physically there. And it's.
Krista Renee Hazlett
I got some tissue for you.
Jyotique Eady
Yeah, it's. It's. It has an impact on you.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yeah,
Jyotique Eady
yeah, yeah. So. Yeah. So it's been really a journey.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yeah.
Jyotique Eady
And I've learned so much about grief and how grief will. You just have to just go through it.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yes.
Jyotique Eady
It will hit you at any moment. You know, I could be in the grocery store and I would see Welch's grape juice because when my mom was getting sick, she liked Welch's grape juice. And I just. It was just impact me because I just think about, you know, my mother, if I could say her name. Lenora. Abraham Eady. My best friend, my biggest supporter. My mom and my dad both. But my mom was this person, that gentle, kind soul. And she taught me everything. She was always there. My. The person I talk to every day. And, you know, we. It was so harsh. I learned also, like, when my mom, through her sickness, the horror of the health care system, because my mom, you know, it was July. My mother was fine, laughing, talking, and then all of a sudden she was like feeling a little off. And she goes to the doctor and the doctor tells her, you know, that she has anxiety and depression. And I'm like, this seems a little off, you know, but maybe. And so they prescribe her medicine. I'm like, something. My spirit kept saying, something's not right. All of a sudden, my mother started having, like, the onset of like, advanced dementia. And everything I read, every doctor friend that I spoke to is like, dementia doesn't onset like this. It's not this fast.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Right.
Jyotique Eady
And so by August, my mom was. Could barely talk, could not. I'll never forget there was this moment when I. And I would fly back home and I would go see a neurologist, and they're like, oh, it's pseudo pseudo dementia. Like, what is pseudo dementia? You know, was. You know, it's not really real. It'll reverse. And so. And I'm like, something's not right. And I never forget. I went home and I was in my room and I'm on emails. And the crazy part is life is lifing, but the world is still moving. So in the midst of this election, I'm taking calls and doing strategy. And I'm sitting there and my mom walks my room door. She has on Sunday clothes. And I go, and it's, mom, what you doing? It's a Thursday. And she was like, I'm going to church. We're going to church. And she's out of her mind, but just as childlike and sweet and innocent, dressed to the nines. And I remember I just looked at her and I said, mama, I said, but it's Thursday. And she looked at me and it was as if, like, she felt like. She felt like, oh, no. And she said, it's Thursday. And I said, yeah. I said, come sit beside me. And I remember I said it was this moment where I just said, but we can pretend like it's Sunday, you know? And that was that moment where I realized, like. And I had thought, still at that moment, like, my mom's just gonna have be in this state and I'm gonna be able to. And at that moment, it was like, oh, I can figure this out. We can live with this. We could. We could get the best doctors, the best treatment. Yeah. We fast forward to September and we. My mother has to go to the emergency room. They run a scan. My mother has a 4 centimeter mass on her brain.
Krista Renee Hazlett
What?
Jyotique Eady
Yes.
Krista Renee Hazlett
And that's what was causing the.
Jyotique Eady
And that was what was causing. And then from there.
Krista Renee Hazlett
But nobody was like, we should do that. They didn't think, let's run a scan before.
Jyotique Eady
They ran a scan in August, and it wasn't there. There was nothing there. What? And so this is. So this happened so fast. And then from September 24th to December 4th, we went through first being told my mother had a rare infection to. No, it's not an infection. She has a rare form of brain cancer. No, it's not brain cancer to. We don't know what this is. And so when my mother died, I literally had to fight the hospital system because they tried to say that my mother died from kidney failure. It was like, no, no, my mother didn't die from kidney failure. Her kidneys failed because she's been on a ventilator. She's been in this hospital hospital in a coma for two months.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yeah.
Jyotique Eady
But I learned that the hospital system. I just remember having to stay at the hospital because of rounds, like the way the rounds work. If you don't. If you're not there when the doctor comes, you don't get to talk to the doctor for the day. So I would stake out at the hospital, I could never leave to fight. And then it's always like, but did you do this? Did you do this test? And what I learned is, like, I had all this privilege, all this access. I could call friends that are all these expert doctors, all of this access. And I had the ability and the economic ability to basically relocate myself to Charleston, South Carolina, where she was. And I thought, if this is this hard for me, you can imagine what is it like for people who. Who don't have my access, who don't have just my abilities. And it Just breaks my heart what people are dealing with on a day to day basis in a healthcare system. And now with the administration that we have, it's even worse. Hospitals are shutting down the one place or the one hospital that could actually serve. And so it just really, for me was a lesson. It was heartbreaking, but it also for me was more of a resolve to be a voice and an advocate to tell the story of my mother.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yes.
Jyotique Eady
About misdiagnosis. Because black women, our pain, whether or not it's our, it's the fibroids in our bodies or it's, you know, whatever it is our pain or when we go to doctors, it's not, it's not viewed the same. It's like, oh, you just got this. Like my mother was misdiagnosed and just pushed aside. And I still was fighting. We still couldn't save her. And so imagine the countless other people who have to go through that and are losing loved ones because the healthcare system is not listening particularly to black people and black women.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Right. Goodness. Yeah. That's. I hear so many times where people are misdiagnosed and even sometimes like the medication, given the wrong medication to begin with. And it's like that wasn't even what they needed. My mother, she has worked in the healthcare system since I can remember and I could see the toll that it would take on her just as a person who had to see that every single day. And I can't. Yeah. I couldn't imagine, especially with our resources and reach, what other people are going to.
Jyotique Eady
Through.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yeah. Thank you for sharing that.
Jyotique Eady
Yeah. But I hope my story just can just. It will move the needle.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yes.
Jyotique Eady
And that's for me, it's like I. It's hard to talk about, but it's important because it's to shed a light. Absolutely. It's like we've got to, we've got to talk about how we're treated.
Krista Renee Hazlett
We do.
Jyotique Eady
In the hospital system. We've got to talk about just how it works and how it doesn't work for everyday people who are just struggling to just keep their loved ones healthy and alive and in our lives.
Krista Renee Hazlett
My goodness. Last season on Sisters, we touched on the disparaging inconsistencies of white women who have birth. Childhood. Childhood birth deaths and then, I mean, child labor birth deaths. And then black women who have children die during labor and even women who died during labor. And the, the numbers two to three times crazy.
Jyotique Eady
Likely.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yes.
Jyotique Eady
To die giving birth. And the statistics for black women against the world.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yes.
Jyotique Eady
It's alarming.
Krista Renee Hazlett
It is.
Jyotique Eady
It's alarming to hear the stories, the painful stories of black women, like just the recent stories of black women who had to give birth in a car or not sit in a hospital as a nurse is not paying attention to her pain while she's in labor. That's very real.
Krista Renee Hazlett
It is.
Jyotique Eady
And we have to do something about it. We've got to talk about it and not just talk about it. There's powerful legislation in Congress, black women in Congress that are leading on this conversation. Legislation, you know, that has been championed by black women in Congress. For us to talk about this. And I think the more we talk about it and the more we take action on it, the better we are as a people and particularly the safer we are as black women.
Krista Renee Hazlett
For sure. Yeah. Well, I know with you being behind it and putting your voice in front of it, I know that the movement will go on and people will hear. And I, I support you wholeheartedly because I've seen it, even with some friends of mine recently who have gone through that and even as a woman who hasn't had children. That is one of the fears, you know, that's always been a fear of mine is. I don't know why, but a fear of mine was always that I'm going to die during child labor because of that, you know, so to see it happening more and then hitting closer to home. Yeah. However I can support and be a voice. I will. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you for sharing that
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Krista Renee Hazlett
You have been called and this is one of my favorite shows. You've been called the Olivia Pope of Silicon Valley, you are the fixer, the strategist and the power broker. When people started calling you that, did you feel like, was it like, okay, yeah, I'm that girl? Or was it pressure? Did you feel pride? Or were you like, okay, this is a bigger response. Responsibility than I thought.
Jyotique Eady
It was all of the above. I think when I think about it, it was like all of the above. Like, I think. I think it was like Forbes of Fortune that had vote, that it actually first started on a podcast. And they were like, she's Olivia Pope in Silicon Valley. Right. And it's interesting how that came. Cause, you know, we always watching Scandal,
Krista Renee Hazlett
Honey, like, Thursday nights, had my wine,
Jyotique Eady
honey, Scandal wasn't there. I would throw Scandal parties. You know, everybody's like watching Scandal parties, seeing what Lovey writing about it. You know, Roland Martin, what he got to say about it.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yeah.
Jyotique Eady
So it was so what. It's interesting. When I went into tech, it was. I was. Did the work around the death penalty.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yes.
Jyotique Eady
Was excited about the abolition of juvenile death penalty. And then I was like, okay, I don't want to just be the death penalty strategist. I want to just be a strategist. So I went into doing progressive policy advocacy work. Then I did Obama, Obama campaign, first campaign. And then after that election, people were like, are you gonna go in the White House? Everybody was going in the White House. And I went to the naacp. My friend who I met doing anti death planning work, Ben Jealous, and became the president and CEO of the naacp. So I went as a senior advisor and right hand. And so I had been at the NAACP for seven years. Wow. And then I got a call from some investor friends in Silicon Valley who said, we think you should come into Silicon Valley. And I remember I was like, my doing my movement work at the naacp and I was happy. I'm like, I'm great. I couldn't even say, I'll never forget my friend Albert Sanders. We went to when they first started talking to me about Silicon Valley and they reached out and they were like, hey, we think you should come. And in this industry. And I was like, I don't know how to code. So this is like 2013. So nobody's talking about Silicon Valley or tech in D.C. no. And I remember I was like, I don't know how to code. It's a bunch of white boys and hoodies. I'm not really a hoodie girl. Like, this is not for me like that. I don't know anything about tech. So I really had this Imposter syndrome, that I didn't belong in the industry. In fact, I had already, you know, worked on Roper Simmons, which was a landmark Supreme Court case. I had lobbied in the U.N. i had worked on voting rights laws at the NAACP. So all of this stuff that I had done, but I still didn't see a reflection of myself in the industry. And so I remembered when I first got the offer to go, and it was also. It was foreign. Like, no one, I think Soledad o' Brien had did this special on CNN about Silicon Valley, and that was probably maybe the first time I think I could say I had been really exposed. So when they first talked about, I was calling it silicone. And I'll never forget, I went to the dinner with my friend Albert Sanders, and he was, you know, it was like, you know, back in D.C. remember coast?
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yes.
Jyotique Eady
On K Street, we thought we was doing something. We'd go to lunch at Coast. Like, I'm going to a power lunch at Coast. I'll never forget, Albert worked in the Senate. So we're like, we. And I'm like, albert, they're talking to me about this, going, should I. I never forget, he leaned over. Albert goes, it's silicon, not silicone. Okay?
Krista Renee Hazlett
So if you go to.
Jyotique Eady
You gonna go there. It's Silicon Valley, not silicone.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Silicone.
Jyotique Eady
And so I'll never. I this moment. So it tells you how much I really kind of, like, knew about the industry, but I still felt like, okay, what is this thing? I don't really know about it. I don't think I can do it. And I remember talking to my friends and mentors like Tanya Lombard and Mignon Moore, and then Frieda Kapoor Klein, who. Amazing investor. And I'll never forget, she had this conversation. She was like, you could do good and do well. Because I also had this notion of you could only do good work if you were doing nonprofit civil rights in the government. That's the only. Like, that. That's. That's. That's true movement work.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yeah.
Jyotique Eady
If I go to Silicon Valley, which is business, then I'm selling out. And so I had had, like, that notion, like, this is in my 30s. So I'm still thinking, like, no, like, if I go do this, I'm, like, leaving the movement, right? When actually I, you know, the work that I do impact, where you could just take that to a different industry. And so when I went to Silicon Valley, I was. I came from the naacp. So I was never quiet about my advocacy. I was never quiet. I was the first Black employee in the company. I mostly was in financial technology and fintech, and so I was the first black employee, but I also came out of Washington. So I was this person that was, like, different and unique in Silicon Valley. And so the reason I got that, that nickname was because I was political. And so they're like, you're like Olivia Pope. Like, you could do strategy, but you also are very well connected. And what I realized is, like, I just had different connections. And so that's how it came about. And I remember, like, CEOs and tech leaders often would want to talk to me because they didn't understand Washington.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yes.
Jyotique Eady
And so I would get invited to dinner, lunches, CEOs of big companies that would say, like, help me understand investors. Help me understand, or, how should we be thinking about these candidates? And so I just kind of. And it was me just going and talking to people, and that's how I became the quote Silica, the Olivia Pope of Silicon Valley. And then when it got printed, and I was like, oh, this has a
Krista Renee Hazlett
nice ring to it.
Jyotique Eady
Okay. You know, like, infinite still. Then you also, like, you're like, oh, like, I. All of that, you know? So, like, it's still. It's like imposter syndrome, because it's like, okay, you know, Olivia Pope was like, boom, boom, boom. But then when you think about it, like, you know, I know so many Olivia Popes. Like, you know, like, so many dynamic. Like, so many of my colleagues, our friends, you know, from Angela Ride to, you know, I could just go on and on with just, like, all of these dope, dynamic women that are like Olivia Popes. Like, they're strategists. They're connectors. And the most important thing is they wear the white hat in terms of always focusing on impact. And so that was, for me, being in tech, it was like, not only was my goal when I finally went into Silicon Valley, because I was reluctant. It took me eight months. I'll never forget. I got an offer, and I didn't want to leave the NAACP because I was like, I don't know if I want to do this.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yeah.
Jyotique Eady
And I. I remember I went into the industry, and my goal was not only to help my company, but how can I make sure other people understand how to come into this industry? And that was the first time that I had learned about equity, that I had learned about, you know, all I just knew is to negotiate, you know, vacation and salary, not to understand equity or to understand valuations of companies. So I went from not being able to Pronounce Silicon Valley to being an investor, having an equity stake in multiple companies, having worked with a number of companies in Silicon Valley, advising companies in Silicon Valley still today. And it's been a blessing. And it was actually the scariest, one of the scariest jumps that I ever made. But it was the best jump.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Absolutely.
Jyotique Eady
That I made. And even when I made the jump, I had a bump in there. Like, my first job, eight months in, I got laid off.
Krista Renee Hazlett
What?
Jyotique Eady
I got laid off because in Silicon Valley, it's about fundraising and raising. You know, a company has to raise to continue. To continue.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Right.
Jyotique Eady
And the first company that I went to, they didn't raise the series C that they thought they were. And, you know, last one in, first one out. And I never forget the CEO called and said, I'm so sorry, you know, recruited you away from your job. Yeah.
Krista Renee Hazlett
So what y' all gonna do?
Jyotique Eady
Yeah. And it was a blessing. And I remember being so depressed after that because I was like, I left my good job at naacp. Now, granted, what I did go into, it was a whole different. You know, it's. You know, it was. It was great.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yeah.
Jyotique Eady
And so I still felt was the first time I didn't have a job. And I never forget, my mom had came to visit in D.C. i didn't have the courage to tell my mom that I had got a call the day before to tell me that I didn't have a job anymore. Like, what am I going to do? And I remember sitting in the dark in my house. And this was early days. Like, Facebook video was brand new.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Wow.
Jyotique Eady
And why Kenya Clanton had posted a Facebook video. And it was Oprah Winfrey speaking at Stanford University. And it's a very viral clip, but I remember seeing it, and it says, they go, is there anything else that you want to say? And Oprah goes, yes, there are no mistakes. There are no mistakes. That marriage, that job that didn't work out, just to paraphrase what she was saying, there are no mistakes. It is simply the universe moving you in the direction that you are divinely meant to journey.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yes.
Jyotique Eady
And your job is to understand the lesson. And that spoke to me. I felt like Oprah was talking to me directly. And I never forget that night. That night, I think I tweeted at Oprah. I was like, oprah, thank you for reminding me that, you know, black women, you are excellent. It was something like, one day, you'll. We'll meet. And it was just like, you know, I was just like, one day, I'll meet you. But I was just. But it took me out of. Because I shifted my mind. You know, I think it's about, like, the mind is so powerful.
Krista Renee Hazlett
It is.
Jyotique Eady
And how we condition our mind or how we think about our situation. Like I was thinking about. I was. I talk a lot to younger people, and I say, you are always going to have rocks thrown in your path.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yep.
Jyotique Eady
And the question is whether or not you see that rock as a. You see that as a blocking stone.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yeah.
Jyotique Eady
Is it a boulder or is it a stepping stone?
Krista Renee Hazlett
Right.
Jyotique Eady
But only you, like how you view it.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yeah.
Jyotique Eady
Will determine your next move. And your next move will determine, like, your journey. And so you can sit there and that rock can be a boulder, and it could be a blocker for you, or you could say, no, this is a stepping stone. I'm gonna learn. And this. And so when I heard her say that, I got out of my funk. And then soon after that, I went to another company, and that company had explosive growth. And everything in life has led me to where I. Where I'm at. And probably if that hadn't happened, I probably would maybe still be at that company. Maybe, like, maybe I've been an executive vice president or something, happy, you know, But I would not be where I am if that had not happened. And the power is in it for me. That lesson is that sometimes God might. What might feel like a denial. He's actually preparing you for what he has for you. And the most important thing is to recognize that sometimes God is protecting you or he's closing a door so that he can open another door. And for you to understand that when that is happening, to just have peace and to just have faith. And that's a lesson that I'm still on today. But to just have faith that God is opening this door and to recognize and know that the door is there.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yes.
Jyotique Eady
You might not see it, but the door is there. And it's waiting for you. It's waiting for you. And when God's perfect timing. When his perfect timing. Not yours.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Exactly.
Jyotique Eady
It will manifest for you. And so that was what it was for me. And so Silicon Valley, like I go back, I would make the decision 100 times. I learned so much. I grew so much. My mindset on understanding investing and generational wealth, all of that shifted. And also the understanding that you can. Because you think about the tech industry, the explosive nature of the tech industry. A lot of wealth is created there.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yes.
Jyotique Eady
And there's still a lot of work for us as black and brown folks, and particularly black Women and black people to have our rightful place in, in this industry. Because I was in my own way when I was being recruited. I was in my own way. I had to get out of my own way. And then when I had that stumbling block that I thought was a stumbling block, but really was a stepping stone, this industry has taught me so much. And I'm proud of all of the people who came to me and said, girl, I saw you go in, tell me what you did. And I literally would sit down with both sides to say, okay, this is how you need to negotiate your package. This is what you need to understand. Because, you know, as Mignon Moore often tells us, you gotta lift as you climb. You know, the whole notion, each one teach one. So for me, once I learned, it's like, how can I like, you know, for me, it was like, man, I'm trying to be the, you know, the underground railroad, the Silicon Valley. So a lot of people shifted out of government in D.C. into tech. And that's something that, like, I'm not, like, solely responsible for, but I feel very proud of so many people that came to me and said, I've been inspired and I'm going into tech. And they've gone on to be at major companies making major decisions, creating major impact across a number of tech companies.
Krista Renee Hazlett
That's incredible. Wow. You got me wanting to go in and check listen, because I know, like, yeah, I don't understand that world at all. But definitely interested in learning more.
Jyotique Eady
For sure. It's something that, particularly with AI now.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yes.
Jyotique Eady
And I think there's all kind of sides to AI, but there's such power. When you think about. You think about like a Uber, right? And one of my closest friends, she was the 70th employee at Uber. I think they had. They were only in 19 cities when she started. Amazing, brilliant investor Kimberly Marshall. And when she left, they were in 400 cities. And you think about like that technology. But I think when you think, you look at our backgrounds, right, we often think, oh, I don't know about that world. I don't know how to code. It's technical. When you think about a company like a Uber or an Airbnb, they need marketers, they need lawyers, they need strategists, they need government affairs, they need all of these skill set that are transferable from other industries that we have. And I think, you know, really demystifying tech and helping people understand not only the side of how you can work in tech, but also how you can invest in tech.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Invest. Yeah.
Jyotique Eady
And how Understanding deal flow, understanding how to support particularly black founders that have amazing tech companies but cannot get the funding because black women get less than 0.1% of venture funding for their companies. And then black businesses, black women, I think it's 1 to 2% in small business loans. So there's a struggle there, but there's opportunities to invest. And I think that is an opportunity for us as a people to engage more in that industry.
Krista Renee Hazlett
I love that. Speaking of black Women founders, the One Million Black Women Initiative with Goldman Sachs, that was phenomenal. $1 billion.
Jyotique Eady
Yes. Yes.
Krista Renee Hazlett
How? Like, how did you pull that off? That's crazy.
Jyotique Eady
So let me be very clear, Margaret Anandu, because I'm gonna say a whole lot of people name on this podcast, because I think that's what I believe in doing. Margaret Anandu, amazing, just investor leader, had been at Goldman Sachs, I think, for like 20 years. And she came up with this idea inside of Goldman Sachs how to really take investment dollars and bring and pull a billion dollars for direct investment that has direct impact that can be tied to impact to black women. And so she had. And Goldman Sachs had already developed this program. And my work with that program was helping to launch it. Along with my good friend and partner Joshua Dubois and Michelle Dubois at Values Partnerships, our firms came together to help launch it. And what was important to Margaret and to Goldman Sachs and the leaders there, and still leaders that are still there, like Sister Asahi there, was that this was something that was done with black women. And so we had the privilege to work with them to help guide the launch of that, to help guide how we had conversations with black women to help shape how that worked, was done. And I'm just so proud to have been a part of that. But Margaret Anandu, I say her name over and over and over again, was the Visionary. And went to the CEO of Goldman and said, let's do this. And David Solomon at the time was like, yes. Wow. And I think that speaks to the power of black women.
Krista Renee Hazlett
It does.
Jyotique Eady
Who have. Back to Oprah and the Van Zandt's conversation.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yes.
Jyotique Eady
Having that holy. Yes. You know, because Margaret had that holy. Yes. And she was. She was determined and built something, you know, quite incredible. And to be a part of, you know, helping launch that was something really like deeply powerful and impactful for me as a black woman, to just be a part of something so significant of
Krista Renee Hazlett
that magnitude, that's incredible. There's been other funds like the Fearless Fund that had initiatives for black women founders that received backlash. Did you guys hit any Roadblocks, or was it pretty smooth because she had been with Goldman Sachs for so many years?
Jyotique Eady
Yes, it was pretty smooth because. And it was before all of the attacks, but it was pretty smooth. And it was a great launch and the program invested, and, you know, it's just amazing. And these were large. A lot of things. These are large scale investments as well. So it was like, large scale investments and projects that had direct impact that would impact black women across the board.
Krista Renee Hazlett
That's so cool.
Jyotique Eady
You know, I think again, like, you know, when you look at. When you see, like in that moment, I think that was in 20. 20. 21. 2021. I get the years, like, you know, the COVID years, it starts to get right. It starts mixing up. But then you fast forward now and you see the tax on the Fearless Fund, you see the attacks on all of these funds that support black women, and you're just like, how are we going backwards? I mean, we know, like, it's a. It's a rhetorical question. We know why we're going and how we're going backwards, but, you know, you just sort of like, you know, as Marvin Gaye says, it makes you want to holler. You know, like, we just. We just keep getting pushed back. But the thing is, black women. Women, we're resilient.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yes.
Jyotique Eady
As you know, back to that, you know, I'm just keep talking about, like, that. That. That podcast, you know, y' all and Oprah. But, like, getting to that. That. Holy. Yes. You know, like, when we get that, I think that gives us a. A power that. That's. That's unstoppable.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Right? For sure. I love that. Jeff, thank you so much. I've totally enjoyed this conversation. Our theme of season 10 is unapologetic. What does unapologetic mean to you?
Jyotique Eady
I think unapologetic in this season, for me, it just meaning. It just. It means. That. Just means that I can recognize that I am going to. To be boldly my authentic self in my truth.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yes. Oh, my goodness. I literally had to play you this. I did a video while I was doing makeup today talking about the word for this season, and I literally said walking authentically in boldness. In your truth.
Jyotique Eady
It's an alignment. It's an alignment. And I think because it's a thing that I like, I have, like, the mantras. And so one for me is when I get up, I say evolve or repeat. Should say, you could evolve or repeat.
Public Podcast Sponsor
Yeah.
Krista Renee Hazlett
What do you.
Jyotique Eady
You got a choice?
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yes. Wow.
Jyotique Eady
And every day we're not gonna all evolve or not, but some days ago, repeat.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yeah.
Jyotique Eady
And that's okay. Yeah. Give yourself grace. But my prayer is that I evolve more than I repeat. And that's like, for me, like, when I wake up and a part of that evolution and when we evolve, it's about how, how, how can. Like, I'm like one of those people. Like, I am going to always cheer for my sister and my brother that's walking ahead of me.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yeah.
Jyotique Eady
Behind me, beside me.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yes.
Jyotique Eady
And the person that I am going to look into the mirror every single day. It is about evolution is not about trying to be better than anybody else. It is about being a better version of myself that allows me to find and to tap into God's purpose on my life so that I can live that, but do that authentically in my truth, being my authentic self, being who I am. That little black girl, that Lenora Abraham, Edie's daughter that grew up on that dirt road, that was nerdy, that got talks too much, that wants to help people, but is just gonna be that girl. And I could go all over the world. I could do all those things, but I am still that girl. And I think when I hold that and just tap into what I feel God has for me.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yeah.
Jyotique Eady
And God. I feel like God's calling on my life is just to. To do something and to push our people forward.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yeah.
Jyotique Eady
Then to me, that is being unapologetic.
Krista Renee Hazlett
I love it.
Jyotique Eady
Yeah.
Krista Renee Hazlett
So good. So good.
Jyotique Eady
I have been very open about us talking about our lows equally as. As much as our high.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yes.
Jyotique Eady
Because I think right now social media has us people on highlight reels and people lead. It's. People are led to believe that it's always good. It's not. It is not like. And so I talk about the low moments equally as I talk about my high moments. Because I believe deeply that really, I think, and it's been true for me, more people have connected when I talked
Krista Renee Hazlett
about my lowest moments, because what everybody's
Jyotique Eady
going through because other people going through it. And so when you talk about that, someone can say, I'm not alone, because most of the time somebody's sitting there, they're going through it, and they think that it's just them, and it's not. And I think it's important for all of us with platforms to talk about it, to talk about the low moments equally as the high, to talk about how we have tests, because without tests, we don't have a testimony.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Come on.
Jyotique Eady
And to talk about the testimony and how we've come through, but the fact that we had to go through to get and also that I think sometimes people see, you know, they see the awards, they see the lights, they see the red carpets, they see all of that, but they don't see the people. They don't see the tears or they don't see the work or they don't see the 20 years that got us there. Like it wasn't overnight. And I think social media, while it is a blessing in many ways, I believe that it's dangerous because it gets into people's psyche that people are often forced to compare themselves to edited videos and they are comparing their everyday life to an edited highlight reel that someone
Krista Renee Hazlett
created and cropped out.
Jyotique Eady
And cropped out. The low.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yeah.
Jyotique Eady
And I think we got to talk about the lows so that people can understand that they're not walking these journeys alone.
Krista Renee Hazlett
That's it. I love that. So true. So true.
Jyotique Eady
Yeah.
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Krista Renee Hazlett
Okay, so we have what is called positive outcomes where our audience members write into us and ask us a question. This one says hello Crystal first off, I want to say that I love your podcast and the light it shines on mental health and finding faith. For the past 25 years I've been dealing with CPTSD, chronic post traumatic Stress Disorder and depression stemming from deaths and other adverse childhood experiences. I started therapy during COVID 19 lockdown hoping to put an end to thoughts of self harm and to feel better. Suggestions of medication have been made, but I am very apprehensive about introducing that into my system. My question to you is what is your thoughts on taking medication for mental health? I worry about the side effects and have been trying to look for more natural, holistic alternatives. I've also started a slow return to faith traditional church and have received conflicting opinions on the subject there. I don't know what to do on this one. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. CIERRA M. First of all, Sierra, thank you so much for writing in Jyotique. I thought this would be a good one because you spoke about your mother and she was diagnosed with mental health disorder and they put her on meds and that wasn't even what it was.
Bethenny Frankel
Yeah.
Jyotique Eady
It was a misdiagnosis.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yeah. So what advice would you give her? Because you actually dealt with this firsthand.
Jyotique Eady
Yeah. First of all, Sierra, just saying to you my prayers and my thoughts are with you. But also I heard the part of going to faith and getting conflicting opinions. And the thing that I would say first is, for me, when I'm most quiet, I hear God. And so you're going to hear all kinds of opinions, but listen to that inner spirit, that inner voice. I believe that's God talking to us. So that's the first thing. But I believe that, you know, like my experience with my mom, I remember, like, it was like when my mom came and said, when they said, the doctor said what they said, I struggled with it because it was like, what is this like, you know, and my family has a history of mental health challenges. My great grandmother died in a mental health institution. And so. And, you know, back then it was like, they don't know what's wrong with her. I think, you know, now I think it was, you know, postpartum and, you know, complications postpartum of what was happening. But she was in and out, and I don't know much about her. And that's been like this thing to try to learn about her. But when my mom, like, you know, I was very. I had friends, very close friends who have had parents that have been diagnosed with mental health disorders. And so when they said that and they just so quick to do the meds, which was detrimental to my mom because it wasn't her diagnosis. My mother had a mass on her brain, not a mental health disorder. And so what I would say is that really finding the healthcare provider that you can trust, that really will dive deep into a diagnosis, but also what will help most. And I'll also say that I recently started to look into more natural, holistic, started learning about psilocybin treatment and reading more about psilocybin which is the treatment. Mushroom treatment, psychedelic mushroom treatment for healing. And I had a friend that shared that they had experienced that and shared that it was like four years of therapy as he was going through grief, very traumatic grief. So I would say being open to holistic, but really finding that therapist and that medical provider that you trust, that will give you the right mix of remedy. Because sometimes people think that you could just take a pill, and sometimes those medicines may make it worse, or. I'm not a doctor, so I never would give medical advice, but seeing all the. The things that. That, you know. But I don't. I. I'm not a person that says, don't take medicine, because I think if you. I have. I have lots of friends that have to take medicine, and it's needed and. But I just think making sure. Not really being ashamed of it. I think that's the bigger thing is like, destigmatizing mental health. Like, we have to destigmatize that sometimes you are not okay. I believe everybody at some point is not okay.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yes.
Jyotique Eady
So we have to destigmatize this notion that we're always okay. Destigmatize going to therapy, destigmatize if you need to take medication and destigmatize this notion that having a mental health diagnosis is the end or that something is, you know, innately wrong with you. Because we are made by God, and God does not make mistakes. And we are all. We are all made perfectly imperfect. And I think it's important for us to just accept. And I think as a society, when we destigmatize that we don't. We will not have, you know, this question of, you know, it's one thing to think about, do I want to put medicine in my body?
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yeah.
Jyotique Eady
Is it healthy? For me, it's another is what. How do I feel if people know I'm taking medicine, you know, I'm on meds, you know, and I think that's the part that we've gotta destigmatize.
Krista Renee Hazlett
No, for sure. That's so good. Thank you so much. For me, Sierra, I would echo what you said about being still in silence and hearing God's voice. I. For me, I journal. Working out is my therapy. I have a therapist. But also meditation in that sitting still and really hearing God's voice. But also with journaling, I'm getting out my thoughts. That's my outlet. When I don't have anybody just to physically sit down and talk to. I can also write down how I'm Feeling. And when it comes to church, and I've heard it so many times, like, I don't need therapy or I don't need help because I have Jesus or. And I feel like you will get conflicting messages when it comes to that. But I am a true believer that both go hand in hand.
Jyotique Eady
Both go hand because Jesus gave the doctors the expertise to be able to help you. And so that's the part, too. It's like, you know, God gave them. Like, you know, God. God gave them the. God gave them what they got to help you. And sometimes God is helping you through other people. He is.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yes.
Jyotique Eady
He's helping you through other people.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yeah. So thank you so much for writing in. Thank you so much. Your advice was spot on. And thank you for sharing your experience with that. Yes. Is there any way that we can support you or anything that the audience needs to be on the lookout for? Because we want to get behind you on everything you have going on?
Jyotique Eady
Well, I would first say when with black women, if you're a black woman. I know there's lots of black women out here watching.
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Yes.
Jyotique Eady
All of y' all out here. I love it. It's just being in D.C. was so amazing. My goodness. See so many sisters. Drive in, fly in, come in. You know, I love the community.
Krista Renee Hazlett
So beautiful.
Jyotique Eady
But I would say, you know, join us on a Sunday night. I would love for you to come on a Sunday night win with black women and talk about not only the podcast, but everything that you're doing. It's at winwithblackwomen.org on most Sunday nights. We're on zoom still. All of us are still getting on zooms. Thousands of us.
Krista Renee Hazlett
And it's really start like 44,000 was
Jyotique Eady
that we started in 2020 during the pandemic. And they were like, that was what it was like hundreds of us. And it was interesting. So even from 20 to 2024, there everybody Ms. Oprah gotten on the calls. I'll never forget Oprah was like, so you have these calls. I wanted to get on one. I'm like, girl, what I'll never forget, like this. We had like. It's like the first. People don't realize when would black women calls for the first four and a half years before the viral call was a regular zoom on my Zoom account that had like a thousand people could be on the zoom.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yeah.
Jyotique Eady
And so I never forget what type of. When Ms. Winfrey, when Oprah got on, it was like the zoom went from like 250. It went like the 9.99. And everybody was like. Cause, like, you know, over, like, get. You're like, you just sitting in a Zoom and Oprah in the box just with you. And she was just sitting there. She was just like, all the calls, it's been so over the years. We had black women that were running for office. Black women in entertainment. It was all of it. And so people knew about it. So if you knew, you knew. And so the crazy part was the night that we had the viral call. I'll never forget that day. I was crazy. I was in South Carolina because my mom first got sick. So I was in South Carolina because I just went to check on my mom because she wasn't feeling well. So it was July 24, and so the announcement comes out. We had already had a call set for Sunday. It was already set. And so the win with black women call was set. Jasmine Crockett. Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett was on the agenda. Donna Brazile. And so we were talking about Melanie Campbell. Shout out to Melanie Campbell. Because everybody was trying to push President Biden out. And black women were like, no, President Biden has been good to us until he's ready to go, then he'll go, right? And sister Melanie Campbell had penned an open letter. It was 8,000 black women had signed that letter. And we were standing firm.
Krista Renee Hazlett
Yes.
Jyotique Eady
And when he made his decision, when the announcement happened, I remember it was like about 2 o'. Clock. And so we were like, oh, we got the call tonight. So we shifted kind of the focus of the call. And I really thought that they would might be. We would have gone from a thousand to maybe 3,000 people on the call, you know, and we were just thinking, like, oh, it'd be maybe a thousand. We're gonna hit our max. And I never forget, I told, you know, one of the sisters that helped on the tech. I was like, let's keep it at 950. Let's only let nine, 50 people in. So we have, like a, you know, special guests that want to get in. We got enough space when I could get on my own Zoom. Then we switched the webinar. And in real time. The reason why we were able to grow in real time, it was the sister of black woman got on the phone while we were like, I don't know, so many people on that call. We were like, yeah, people are like, trying to get in. And I'll never forget that. I'll never forget. She picks up the phone and she calls her friend at Zoom. And in real time. Real time artist Hampshire Cohen calls her friend the COO of Zoom. In real time, 10:30 or something at night, they open up. The engineers come in, open up the zoom what in real time. And that's when they lifted the cap off and it went to 44,000. But by then there were 30,000 people at clubhouse. There were 10,000 my lines. She just put out a free conference call number and she said the next day she was like, it was 10,000 people on it. So there were, we count probably about 150,000 people were either on the Zoom or watching that zoom that night.
Krista Renee Hazlett
And so that was the power of the black woman.
Jyotique Eady
That's honey. The power of black woman. The power of the group chat, the group and the group who is in text, who's in the group chat and the group text. Because people would be like, how did that happen? It was like, child, that's black women talking to each other. That's how that call happened. It was black women, honey. Black women.
Krista Renee Hazlett
We will definitely be tapped in. I love that.
Jyotique Eady
Thank you.
Krista Renee Hazlett
No, thank you. So good.
Jyotique Eady
Oh, my goodness.
Krista Renee Hazlett
This is a powerful reminder that even in the hardest seasons, healing and purpose can coexist. Thank you guys so much for tuning into another episode of Keep it Positive, sweetie. Don't forget to subscribe and share this episode with someone who could use a little encouragement today. And as always, stay blessed, stay encouraged, and remember, keep it positive, sweetie. I'll see you guys next time.
Jyotique Eady
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Episode Title: Black Women and the Power of the Group Chat
Host: Crystal Renee Hayslett
Guest: Jyotica Eady
Date: March 1, 2026
This episode, hosted by Crystal Renee Hayslett, features an inspiring and deeply vulnerable conversation with strategist, advocate, and movement builder Jyotica Eady. The two explore the roots of Jyotica’s advocacy, her journey from a rural town in South Carolina to national influence, the pivotal role of group chats and community for Black women, coping with grief and loss, and how Black women’s collective power is shaping culture, politics, and business. The episode delves into themes of sisterhood, resilience, faith, and healing, highlighting both personal struggles and collective triumphs.
(05:27–12:21)
"I always wanted to help people, but I also wanted to talk to people." (06:13, Jyotica)
(12:21–16:49)
"Advocacy isn't a career choice, it's a responsibility." (12:21, Krista)
(16:49–19:15)
(19:20–23:32)
"We cannot as a people in this moment be silent. It's not an option." (21:25, Jyotica)
(26:49–29:46)
“It’s really about collective leadership... you don’t need positional power to have power.” (28:15, Jyotica)
(30:04–36:53)
“It was so hard to be in deep grief, to deal with a multitude of challenges, but also be thrusted into this light where people are expecting you to smile. And inside, you're crumbling.” (31:08, Jyotica)
“If this is this hard for me, what is it like for people who don’t have my access?” (39:14, Jyotica)
(42:50–44:16)
“The statistics for black women against the world—it's alarming.” (43:23, Jyotica)
(48:11–60:46)
“I went from not being able to pronounce Silicon Valley to being an investor, having an equity stake in multiple companies.” (55:21, Jyotica)
“You gotta lift as you climb... Each one teach one.” (61:15, Jyotica)
(62:40–67:39)
“Margaret Anandu... went to the CEO of Goldman and said, let's do this. And that speaks to the power of Black women.” (66:31, Jyotica)
(84:29–89:09)
“The power of the group chat... it was Black women, honey. Black women.” (88:53, Jyotica)
(68:55–73:47)
“My prayer is that I evolve more than I repeat... Evolution is about being a better version of myself.” (70:10, Jyotica)
“More people have connected when I talked about my lowest moments, because... other people are going through it.” (72:21, Jyotica)
(77:15–84:15)
“We are made by God, and God does not make mistakes. We are all made perfectly imperfect.” (82:54, Jyotica)
| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|-----------------------------| | 05:27 | Jyotica’s upbringing and advocacy roots | | 12:21 | Realizing advocacy as a calling | | 19:14 | Discussion: Loss of jobs for Black women | | 27:22 | On building movements: Relationships first | | 30:53 | Navigating grief and loss | | 42:50 | Black women’s healthcare crisis | | 48:11 | “Olivia Pope of Silicon Valley” | | 55:21 | Breaking into Silicon Valley, generational wealth| | 62:44 | Demystifying tech for Black women | | 66:40 | The One Million Black Women Initiative | | 84:29 | The power of “Win with Black Women” | | 68:55 | What it means to be unapologetic | | 77:15 | Listener Q&A: Faith, mental health, & medication|
This episode masterfully weaves together personal narrative, cultural critique, and actionable inspiration. Jyotica Eady’s testimony affirms that authentic community, faith, and fearless truth-telling form the bedrock of Black women’s power. Through the prism of heartbreak and triumph, she and Crystal Renee Hayslett model what it means to “keep it positive, sweetie”—honest, bold, and always with an open hand for the next sister.
"My prayer is that I evolve more than I repeat." (70:00, Jyotica Eady)
“Keep it honest, keep it healing, and always… keep it positive, sweetie.”