In this feature article for Shaping Freedom, Lisane Basquiat breaks down the three patterns behind Autumn Rowe's journey from the South Bronx to a Grammy win. Autumn is a Grammy Award-winning songwriter and producer who has written for Dua Lipa, Diana Ross, and Jon Batiste. She spent ten years between a shoe store and late-night studios before the world caught up to what she was building.

4:00 PM

In this feature article for Shaping Freedom, Lisane Basquiat breaks down the three patterns behind Taylor Cassidy's journey from a classroom that didn't see her to a platform that reaches millions. Taylor is the creator of Fast Black History, a series that teaches Black history in under 60 seconds, and the author of Black History Is Your History. She's been named to Forbes' 30 Under 30, Teen Vogue's 21 Under 21, and the Time 100 list of influential creators. It started with a 15-second video about Percy Julian, filmed on her bedroom floor. Three patterns surfaced: why confidence is something you build before you walk into the room, why everything you need to start is already in your possession, and why imagination is the infrastructure most people treat as optional.

Malcolm Regisford grew up an athlete playing baseball, basketball, and football. But basketball was the one he kept coming back to. Over time, the game stopped being something Malcolm did and became who he was. The plan was clear: Division I first, then the pros. It would take years of work, but he was clear about the direction. Before long, the plan and his identity were the same. Malcolm didn’t just play basketball. He was a ballplayer.

Then came the injury. The surgery. The slow dissolution of his role, his status on the roster, his relationship with his coaches. All of it happening at once, with no clear way through. The map was gone. And without it, Malcolm had to figure out who he actually was.

Alphonzo "Phonz" Terrell didn't set out to build a social media platform. He was paying attention to something most people overlook: who drives the most cultural value online and who pays the highest price for showing up. The answer to both is the same. Marginalized communities. The people who make these platforms worth visiting, and then pay the highest price for being there.

Then Elon bought Twitter. Phonz got laid off. He tweeted that it was time to build something new, called his friend Tavares Brown, and got to work.

Soon after, Phonz launched Spill. He's since been named to CNN's Risk Takers list and Fast Company's most innovative companies in social media.