Inside The 2025 BOMESI Summit’s Bold Vision For Diverse-Owned Media

Held in the heart of Detroit, a city synonymous with Black innovation and cultural legacy, the 2025 BOMESI Summit brought together media publishers, platforms, and the people shaping our future for a powerful purpose: growth rooted in legacy, ownership, and the continued evolution of diverse-owned media.

This year’s summit centered on “Unlocking the New Growth Market” with a clear call to action: Diverse-owned media companies must stop waiting for seats at someone else’s table and instead build their own.

In fireside chats, keynote speeches, and community conversations, the summit showcased not only what’s possible for diverse-owned media, but what’s already thriving.

Filmmaker, actor, and entrepreneur Nate Parker opened the summit with a conversation about the future of distribution, ownership, and Black representation in media. Reflecting on his Sundance-winning film The Birth of a Nation, Nate emphasized that success for one creator cannot be the ceiling for all.

“The trap as a creator is to buy into the idea of ‘one at a time’ when it comes to our successes,” he said. “When people ask me about what was it like to, win Sundance and shatter the record, I try to be as polite as possible and say it was great to be recognized for something. But the reality is, I was the exception to the rule, not the rule.”

Nate spotlighted fellow filmmaker Qasim Basir, who self-distributed his film To Live and Die and Live after traditional channels failed him.

“He is the exception to the rule,” Nate said. “He’s Detroit’s very own. I thought it fitting everywhere I go, I’m looking for creators who are architects, who are building on the road, not just commenting on the potholes. And he is one of them.”

Through his distribution platform, Mansa, co-founded with actor David Oyelowo, Nate is working to more accurately represent the Black experience in media.

“We’re not in a moment where there’s a lack of capacity, there’s just a lack of cultivation,” he said. “There’s a lack of clear direction as to how you go from idea to hearts and minds. It’s a lack of access to meaningful distribution, where the thing that you have created has the ability to be found by the people who are looking for it.”

He described Mansa not as a pawn shop for content, but as a sanctuary.

“We tell creators, ‘Your gold is safe with us,'” he said.

Carlos King, known as the “King of Reality TV,” brought humor and hard truths in a fireside chat about content ownership and the power of storytelling. From Love & Marriage: Huntsville to Belle Collective, Carlos’s Kingdom Reign Entertainment has reshaped the reality genre to reflect the full spectrum of Black life.

“I don’t just want to build a million-dollar company,” Carlos said. “I want my cast and crew to do the same for their households.”

For Carlos, representation is both purpose and strategy. One such example was casting Leticia Pearson, a plus-size woman, as the lead in “Belle Collective.”

“She never thought she’d be on anyone’s screen,” he said. “Now, she’s the face of the show. I want to create shows where other people can see themselves within the person on the screen.”

When it comes to ad dollars and brand support, Carlos offered simple advice: stop waiting for agencies to call you.

“Stop waiting for people to come to you with the check,” he said. “Start knocking on the doors. Make sure you connect with each other.”

He pointed to YouTube, TikTok, and direct-to-consumer models as the future.

TV icon and justice advocate Judge Greg Mathis delivered the summit’s keynote address, blending humor, history, and a sobering breakdown of industry inequities.

“I’m not necessarily yearning for diversity as much as I am for equity and inclusion,” he said. “You don’t have to associate with me if you don’t want to but you gotta be fair with me.”

In his keynote address, Greg reflected on how his own production company shifted the model by prioritizing ownership and storytelling rooted in the Black experience. From Mathis Family Matters to Trap Queens, his shows focus on redemption, entrepreneurship, and community.

He also broke down the economics behind media creation, noting that many Black creators receive only fees, not equity of ownership, which often amounts to a couple thousand dollars while a show generates millions.

His closing message was clear: it’s time to get into what he calls the “risk business.”

Throughout the summit, one idea echoed: the need for collaboration between diverse-owned media companies.

In a discussion about the current state of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives with Geraldine White, founder and CEO of Identity & Impact; Kelle Rozell, founder of the Black Dollar Index; Channing Martin, SVP, Chief Diversity & Social Impact Officer at IPG; and Alima Trapp, EVP and Head of Inclusive Marketing at Doner, panelists touched on the importance of understanding the true impact of Dei initiatives and the need for transparency and accountability.

Panelists also highlighted the need for brands to be authentic and transparent in their DEI efforts to build trust with consumers, and embrace the role of data in uncovering the true impact of DEI initiatives.

In a discussion on how reach LGBTQ consumers with authenticity beyond Pride Month with Emil Wilbekin, founder of Native Son; Alex Hughes, founder and CEO of Hughes Brand Group; and Giselle Phelps, CEO and founder of Grand Rising Talent, panelists highlighted the need to represent diverse individuals within the community, including those from different racial and socioeconomic backgrounds.

“When we’re looking at models or creators or influencers that you’re working with, make sure that it is fully representative of that entire community, because those individuals within that community, whether it’s Asian community, the black and brown community, the Latino community, are going to have an even stronger engagement with your audience,” Alex said.

In a media landscape where Black culture drives trends but rarely owns the platforms, BOMESI Summit 2025 reminded attendees that growth must be collective, not competitive.

“If it’s true that Black culture leads global culture, then we need better support systems for the people who are actually, with their blood and sweat, creating the economies around us without owning any of the economies around us,” Nate said.