L to R: Moderator Daiquiri Ryan, Angel Vera, Ethan Curtis, Kay-Lani, and Professor Lateef Mtima. NHMC is proud to have partnered with Creative Control to feature successful artists, entrepreneurs, and creators in the Latino community. Creative Control is a traveling special project in partnership with The Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and Google. NHMC Policy Counsel, Daiquiri Ryan, moderated a panel, Handling Your Business, at Creative Control's Conference in Orlando, Florida on November 14, 2018. The discussion focused on how internet access and understanding intellectual property rights has been a source of empowerment for the panelists. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEwBq9q6BMQ[/embed]
The Handling Your Business panel highlighted how the internet and tech access stimulate economic and social growth in communities of color. Panelists included Kay-Lani of Viva Glam Kay, Ethan Curtis of Plush Recording Studio, Angel Vera of Rapatone, and Professor Lateef Mtima of the Institute for Intellectual Property and Social Justice. Each panelist brought a unique perspective on how tech innovation has stimulated growth on their personal and professional platforms or that of their clients.
Daiquiri guided the panelists through how protecting their intellectual property-- something rare for Latino creatives-- has gotten them where they are today and allowed them to foster economic growth in their communities through the monetization of their own content. Kay-Lani emphasized how taking advantage of pro bono legal sessions, like those offered by Creative Control, helped her protect her beauty and lifestyle brand that she worked so hard to build on YouTube and Instagram. The panelists also agreed that the internet can be a powerful tool to break down gatekeepers and diversify media. This is one of many reasons why net neutrality is so important for our community. Without those protections, Latinos are vulnerable to discrimination and susceptible to being silenced online. As the panelists explained, expanding access and protecting that access is essential to the continuation of rising artists and entrepreneurs. Those artists are at the forefront of meaningful storytelling of Latinos by Latinos.
