Redefining Success as a Black Woman Raised in the LDS Church with Rachel Weaver
“The purpose of The Black Menaces' videos is never to make people feel like they can't change. The point is to show that you can change.”
G: Hi Rachel! Can you start by introducing yourself?
Hi, I’m Rachel. I'm from Chicago and I went to Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah for college, which is affiliated with the LDS church. I studied sociology and loved it, but I decided that academia wasn't for me- I wanted to get a job. So in my junior year I felt like I kind of had to scramble and learn a bunch of skills that I was not prepared for, but I did it. And now I work in diversity and inclusion at an advertising agency out of New York, which I will eventually be moving to later in the year. And then my friends and I started a TikTok last year which blew up.
G: How do you currently feel about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? Do you presently identify as a Mormon?
My family joined the church when I was almost nine years old through the missionaries. We have a missionary program where people go out and share about the church. That's the purpose is to get people to join. So much of my expectation of life was also attached to the LDS church, so I'm also letting go of it if I choose to continue on the path that I'm on. It's very scary because it feels very much like a formula and letting go of what you viewed as success has been a part of this journey too.
H: With the creation and success of The Black Menaces, how do you provide entertainment value while also not making this a gotcha type of thing?
I think the way we saw it was the content we wanted to produce was really just letting people speak for themselves. And something that we always kept front of mind is the purpose of our videos is never to make people feel like they can't change. The point is to show that you can change.
For example, if you're watching a video and you realize “Oh, I kind of think like that person” and now you're seeing it back out loud you're like “Maybe I need to evaluate why I think that way.” Or even people who realize they don't know certain Black history facts like what the Emancipation Proclamation was. That's not to make you feel bad about yourself. Like, that sucks and we're just gonna kind of look at you but it's to highlight like “Dang, what can I do to do better?”
This is so much of the reality of our every day that we're like, “This isn't that bad,” but to someone in an environment that's not like Utah or like BYU, it’s so jarring to them and is a form of entertainment. In our eyes, we're just trying to show the truth and I guess the truth is funny.
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G: What’s something that you've recently become passionate about?
I joke that I'm just gonna throw all this social justice to the side and go to hair school.
I love Black hair and it's something I'm very passionate about. I really lowkey think about doing it all the time, like starting a salon. Even though there's a lot, there's not enough. There will never be enough!
I want to work on Black women continuing to have love and care for the way their hair grows out of their head. I think about doing that a lot, but I don't know how I would do that with my nine-to-five.
G: Can you give us a book recommendation for our subscribers?
I'm listening to this book by Oprah Winfrey and this psychologist. It's called What Happened to You? It's so freaking good.
🎧 Listen to Rachel’s interview on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
💻 Follow Rachel on Instagram and TikTok.
Listen to As You Are on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.
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