Fireside Chat With Tamron Hall
The Experience
From set back to come back… what a fitting title for this event. Ms. Hall’s life has been filled with many obstacles. Growing up in Luling, Texas in the 70’s was her first one. The world was just getting used to accepting women and their capabilities. So, choosing a career path that put her on the same stage and level as powerful white men shook the world a bit. Being a journalist and a news anchor immediately proved itself to be a difficult challenge. She had stepped into a world where women were the minority and therefore continually pitted against each other for that one spot. Everyday she felt the pressures of needing to prove herself which then resulted in the feeling of never being good enough. It created an insecurity in her that any day she could lose her job to next best and that any mistake could cost her everything that she had worked for. One day that actually happened; she had walked into her office only to be notified that she was let go and they no longer needed her services. Ms. Hall stressed that this was the hardest point in her life and that for the first time she was unemployed, with no solutions to the problem at hand. Overtime, God began to show himself in her life and somehow through unemployment, through the life shattering death of her sister, through it all she has come to smile in front of millions today. She is now happily married to her husband Steve Greener, they now have a beautiful little boy named Moses and she continues to empower people. She knows that through it all her story hasn’t broken her down but, it has exposed her to a pressure that has turned her into a diamond. She now shines bright on her own television show, “The Tamron Hall Show”. I am happy to have had this opportunity to capture photos of her. If you are looking to understand her back story a little bit more, feel free to purchase her book “Possession Obsession: What We Cherish and Why” and also to watch American Drama series “Being Mary Jane” which, fun fact, was based off of Tamron Hall’s life!
THE INTERVIEW
Tamron Hall is an American broadcast journalist and television talk show host. Ms. Hall was formerly a national news correspondent for NBC News, day-side anchor for MSNBC, host of the program MSNBC Live with Tamron Hall, and a co-host of Today’s Take, the third hour of Today. She currently hosts Deadline: Crime on Investigation Discovery channel. In the summer of 2016, Investigation Discovery premiered a new special, Guns on Campus: Tamron Hall Investigates, which commemorated the 50th anniversary of the tower shooting at the University of Texas at Austin. In September 2019, Hall debuted a self-titled syndicated talk show. I’ve watched her show this entire year but, it was amazing getting to see her in person and hearing her story. I don’t personally know her but, I am proud of her and everything she has accomplished this year!
It was also a pleasure running into Janine Rubenstein as well. Janine is an editor, writer and on-air correspondent for breaking news, entertainment, human interest and style content at leading national magazines and digital news sites. I love the way that Janine handled this interview. It was like watching aunt “Tamron Hall” and cousin “Janine Rubenstein” have a discussion about life at the cookout. There was real laughter, real tears and actual love and generosity expressed on the stage due to Janine’s questions and timing. She allowed Ms. Hall to feel comfortable and at home, which made for a great discussion among the two of them. Since this day, I’ve run into Janine a couple of times and she’s kept that bubbly personality you see in these images. It’s been a pleasure capturing these lovely moments.
This is the most beautiful photo I’ve taken this year. Not because of the angle or the beauty of the people in it but, more so because of the amount of black people in this shot. For so long, black people have fought for spaces where they could come together and just build generational wealth. This images captures the success of that fighting. So, it gives me joy to see people like me enjoying a discussion about creating avenues for the next generation that will follow!
NetworkING
COMMUNITY BUILDING
"When you've worked hard, and done well, and walked through that doorway of opportunity, you do not slam it shut behind you. You reach back and you give other folks the same chances that helped you succeed."
- Michelle Obama
BEAT MEREDITH
Thank you TheCCnyc and BEAT Meredith for having me. I enjoyed capturing these amazing shots and working with the amazing people at PEOPLE Magazine. Until next time!
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