Black Latina Movement Founder Crystal Roman: Embracing Identity and Storytelling

In this episode of Sista Brunch, host Fanshen Cox welcomes Crystal Roman, founder and CEO of Black Latina Movement, a theater and film production company based in New York City.

Crystal shares her journey, from growing up in New York and experiencing identity challenges, to founding her own company and creating impactful narratives.

They discuss the importance of diverse storytelling, financial planning in the arts, and the significance of community support. The conversation also touches on creative and technical decisions, like the shift from shooting in 1080p to 4K.

Throughout the episode, Crystal offers insights into the business side of production and the personal resilience required to succeed in the entertainment industry. Listeners gain valuable advice on budgeting, fundraising, and the power of authentic representation.

00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome

01:29 Crystal Roman's Background and Identity

04:35 Challenges and Realizations in Acting

07:14 Creating Black Latina Movement1

5:45 Financial Insights for Productions

25:51 Technical Aspects and Final Thoughts

Transcript:

SBS6_CrystalRoman_Video2

Fanshen Cox: [00:00:00] Welcome back to another episode of Sista Brunch. I am your host, Fanshen Cox. And today our guest is the founder and CEO of Black Latina Movement. It is a vibrant grassroots theater and film production company based in New York City. It's so nice to have someone here who's in New York. I think we don't get enough of that.

So I am so happy to welcome you to Sista Brunch, Crystal Roman. 

Crystal Roman: Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. 

Fanshen Cox: Slash Crystal Roman slash Crystal Roman. Yes. I'm like, I felt a little pressure 'cause it's black Latino movement and I wanna get it right. No, 

Crystal Roman: I mean, you know, Latinos, Caribbeans will say Crystal.

Roman Americans will say Crystal Rome. It's just, for me, it's, it's fine. I'm, I'm not particular with that. I, they're both who I am. Right. They're both my identity. Yeah. 

Fanshen Cox: Beautiful, beautiful. 

Crystal Roman: I'm really appreciative for being here. Thank you. 

Fanshen Cox: We are so glad I love that this connection. I mean, we happen to be [00:01:00] Recording season six right now and then we I think we connected on IG maybe yeah, and I was like, yes we we love a kind of an identity group that we have not had on enough and I'm very excited about where things can go with like Afro Latinidad.

I feel like that is as I can preach into the choir, I'm sure a story that we don't get to hear enough about. Right. So I was so excited to have you on. So the way we, in fact, the way we always start this show is to ask the guests to tell us about how you ended up where you are right now as a. CEO and a founder, but what was the journey?

You can go back to like your ancestors or you can go back to the day you were born. You can go back to high school, college, wherever you want to start. What was your journey? 

Crystal Roman: You know, identity is always an issue or funny issue or it can be right. Growing up in New York city, I always [00:02:00] forget how privileged we are in New York and talk about this all the time because We have such a melting pot that I don't realize that other places in the world and even our country don't have some of these things that are so easily attainable to us.

So, you know, living in New York, I grew up in Harlem you know, there were all types of black people, right? There was a diaspora there whether it's West Africans, Caribbeans, North and, you know, Central and South Americans. And so I didn't really think I was It's super different, but New York, as diverse as it is, it also does have its little, you know, pockets of segregation where you have certain groups off to themselves.

And so my parents decided to move us to Staten Island, which is, you know, largely Italian borough from the five boroughs. And so it was a complete culture shock. 

I always say like, I didn't know I was 

Fanshen Cox: that. 

Crystal Roman: That was at like 10. 

Fanshen Cox: Oh, wow. So you had Harlem. Okay. 

Crystal Roman: Yeah. And like, it was the backdrop [00:03:00] of my life.

Right. So like when you see old school pictures of Harlem with like the original way of how it looks before it got gentrified, like that was home. And so to go to Staten Island, which was a culture shock for me because I had not been around that many. People that were white and just had different backgrounds too because they have Asians and and so for me I always say I didn't know I was black until I left Harlem Because then there was this understanding of having to explain who you were and why you look this way and like teachers would question If my mom was my mom or she was the nanny and things that I didn't have to really Think about until I got there.

And so like in, in, in our show, that is like you know, our signature show that we've had for 16 years since the onset of the company, we're really started the company. There's a piece where, you know, the woman who's the actress, but it's a part of my story talks about. feeling this pressure of being ostracized because the world just doesn't [00:04:00] understand who you are and you know who you are.

And so it was, and, and, and in the show they talk about losing that sense of innocence, right? I was super innocent. I didn't know what it was that I was light skinned and my mom's like Oprah's complexion. I didn't know that colorism or any of that really existed at, you know, 10, right? You're a kid. But my innocence was completely, you know, stripped away at that point.

And I was like, Oh, the world sees my mother very different than what they see me. And so this journey started, right? You know, I go to high school and you go to college and you have these moments where like, you have these big moments where your brain is kind of like, right? Like, it's like you're taught so many things and you know, now we're having these conversations.

But you think about when I was in high school, this is like almost. You know, 20 years ago, it's like Columbus day was Columbus day, right? 

Fanshen Cox: Right. Right. Yes Yes, and I grew up in a progressive area and still I think like we actually had that day off and it was you know Right. Yeah. Yes. Yes. 

Crystal Roman: So [00:05:00] some of these concepts now are really new and I'm happy that we're getting to this place But you have to think about some of us, you know, some of the older Millennials We didn't really have this mobility that we have now, which is beautiful.

I love what the, what the younger millennials are doing and having this mobility to like, just move things faster. We really struggled. And so for me, you know, going to, you know, college and then going into leaving college and then going into the world of acting and then realizing like, this is a real problem.

That is like, it had this little foreshadowing moment throughout my life of just this weird tension of people wanting you to pick something. Like, well why can't you just be this to make it easier for me to understand who you are? And so it's like, you know, when you're acting and you read a casting call, it's like, well, this is what the casting is saying.

And in your mind, when my mind, right, when I, when I was, when I started acting, I was fresh out of high school. So [00:06:00] I was in college and it was like a hobby of mine and I'm still really young. Right. So I'm like 18 years old and I'm like, Oh, it says a black woman. I could do that, you know, or it says Latina and not really getting that.

The way that I perceive myself was not the way that the world perceived me and having to digest that pill and saying like, 

oh, you see me the way I see all the way that my family sees me or the way that my friends see me. And so having almost like another identity crisis of saying. What do I do? Do I like just fold into this mold and say, okay, you know, you see me this way, so I'll be this way or do I kind of just stand my ground and say, no, this is ridiculous.

And I can't just. You know, 'cause you do feel like a piece of you is dying because you have to make this choice for something. And I can only imagine, like there's a lot of actors, you know, that I know have had to make choice. The choice to say, I look more Latin, I'm gonna go for the Latin roles and just not really play any black roles.

Or I look more black and so I'm [00:07:00] gonna just let the Latin roles go. I can only imagine how that feels. Mm. For me it was just one of those like knee jerk reactions where I was like, you know what? I'm gonna do my own thing. And kind of just started writing and producing and directing. And, you know, at that time we didn't have some of the shows we see now, whether it's like Gordita Chronicles or Insecure or Scandal.

Like a lot of these really important shows, we didn't have that then. So it was really limited. And so like when I would do castings, it was like nobody would show up because people just really weren't comfortable with saying like, Oh, they're looking for a black woman that doesn't necessarily have a description because it wasn't about the description It was more so like can you act and play this role?

And obviously there's certain roles that you need to have a description just for if it's a historical piece or you know Age or whatever, but for the most part like i'd never put like Your hair has to be relaxed, or this way, or that way, or long, or short, or straight. You need to be small, or big, or [00:08:00] Because to me, it's art, and art is interpreted the way that the viewer wants it to be interpreted.

Not like, pushing it down somebody's throat, like, well this is what Cause it's also a form of brainwashing. When you tell a person, and they're visually watching something and say This is what this black woman looks like. Oh, this is what this like, then we just assume that's what they look like and who they are.

And so I didn't, I wanted to kind of get out of that brainwashing of like, this is what we say it is, or more so of like, no. We're gonna tell you what that looks like, and so

Fanshen Cox: I love it. Okay. Yeah. Oh, I, I, I just, while we're still on the journey piece, where is your mother from? Like what, what is your Latina, 

Crystal Roman: so, my mom is like a big, my mom is like a big mix.

So my mom is. Her dad is her dad is, well, both her parents are American born here. They're both first generation American. My mom's parents. So my grandparents, my grandfather is Jamaican and also Moroccan. [00:09:00] 

Fanshen Cox: My dad's Jamaican. Yay. 

Crystal Roman: And Moroccan descent. And and my grandmother is an Afro Puerto Rican.

So dark skin, both her parents are Afro Puerto Ricans, dark skin. And so and so, you know. people fall in love, and we have similarities in a lot of the things. And I think that's another thing too. Sometimes it's like, how could that be? And it's like, okay, do you not know the food? Do you not know the music?

Do you not see? Like, but we know it in our community, right? So it's not a thing where it's so foreign and wh vast and wide. It's like, no, there's a lot of similarities in a lot of our countries because we all come. From one place and so I think it was I think that was also hard for people to really get like how did that mixture?

Come about yeah 

Fanshen Cox: Hi, this is Fanshen Cox and you are listening to the Sista Brunch Podcast. Did you know that you can support us if you love what you're hearing and you want to hear more? You can [00:10:00] support us by following us and interacting with us on Instagram at Sista Brunch Podcast. You can leave us a review on Apple or Spotify.

You can also watch the full episodes and you really should because these guests. Oh my goodness. They're gorgeous and beautiful and handsome and all the things. So you can do that at youtube. com slash TruJuLo media. That's T R U J U L O media. You can also watch highlights on Tik TOK at TruJuLo media.

Okay. Okay. All right. Great. I, I, because I wanted to have that context too, because I, you know, I. You named some shows and it's so exciting. We've got insecure. We've got like one day that is at a time. Unfortunately, neither one on on air anymore, but but these opportunities to broaden what we think about particular groups of people.

Same with being Jamaican. I'm like, I can't wait till more. Jamaicans are having [00:11:00] mainstream projects, right? Where on one hand it's like, this is what it means to be Jamaican. And at the same time, we're also just human beings, right? Right. Like we want to, we want to present that duality, triality, quadrille, whatever.

Crystal Roman: And you're American, right? So you could. You know, a lot of the code switching too is not hard for us. So you could be, you know, speaking Patois and then speak English and then do this. And then, you know, and for some people it's like mind blowing. And it's like, no, it's, it's, it's the fluidity of our identities that is so easy for us.

But for others, it's just so hard that they're like, no, you have to just do this because this is too much. And it's like, I can't water down my being and who I am. This is who we are. We are beautiful beings. Created by an amazing god. Why would we have to then if we if he wanted us all to look the same? He would have just made us all one color Clearly there was beauty to variety and that you see that throughout everything right plants Flowers food.

Yes. So for [00:12:00] me, it was like no, I want to be able to live in my world 

Fanshen Cox: And what was the, what was the connector with storytelling? Like how did you, you said that you were kind of doing acting as a hobby. When did you start to realize, because you've, you've connected what, what I think a lot of actors sometimes don't do is they think, Oh, we've got to tell these outside stories, right?

I've got to become these other things. And yes, that's part of acting is being able to become some, someone and something different. But also you were like. You can perform and you can tell impactful stories that are about your identity. So what, was there a moment, was there some kind of catalyst that, that pushed you to do that?

Crystal Roman: I got tired of playing like these, like just real stereotypical roles. And while these characters are real characters in our communities, they're not the only ones. And everything was feeling very linear. So I just kind of wrote, Black Latina at the Play was [00:13:00] literally like a one woman show, and it was just like five monologues that one person could play, and then it evolved into an ensemble piece of five women, and then there was music and dance, and so we kept adding on to it throughout the years, and then after that I kind of just wanted to make, you know, create roles and stories that were, anyone could appreciate.

It didn't have to be identity pieces like black Latina to play, but, you know, breaking these rules of like what women of color could play. So like, even in our series, Cecilia, the celibate, it's a romantic comedy. It's funny. She's trying to find love in New York. But she's celibate, and why can't black and brown women, you know, understand and appreciate their bodies in a different way?

Like, yes, you know, we see the promiscuous women, which that's fine too. If you wanna hook up and you wanna jump in someone's DMs, that's fine too. But I feel like we were always given, like, hyper sexual roles. And, like, these real intellectual, you know, high value roles were only given to certain [00:14:00] women. And it's like, hold on a second, we have a lot of Sistas Who are taking roles of, you know, taking vows of celibacy or just saying, I'm taking a break.

I just, I don't, I still want to connect with someone and I still want to, you know, date. But I'm gonna, you know, just reserve my body for me. And I could still have a fruitful relationship. And even for our black and brown men, right? Like, there are a lot of intellectual black and brown men who will say, It's cool.

We don't have to sleep with each other at the end of the day Like this was great and we could have a fruitful relationship, too and so Breaking those like those rules that we were put into of like this is the way it looks and this So we might get a lot of 

Fanshen Cox: like yeah, I love it. 

Crystal Roman: Yeah, so I just wanted to continue to push that narrative and create different shows and plays that were allowing us to really just spread our wings and feel comfortable and say, I don't have to only see a certain group of people playing these roles.

I can actually see myself and they could be written for a woman of color [00:15:00] and not just others. 

Fanshen Cox: I love it. So, so, so you've got black Latina movement and you've got Cecilia, the celibate and those are two, those are two theater pieces and 

Crystal Roman: No, so Cecilia is a web series. 

Fanshen Cox: Oh, that's a web series. Okay. Yes, it's a web series 

Crystal Roman: and then Written originally as 

Fanshen Cox: a, okay. Yeah, go ahead. 

Crystal Roman: No, it was, it was always, it was always it was, it was originally a short film and then we broke it up into episodes. And it, you know, it won awards and it was in the, it was in the festival circuit. It did really well. But it's a series and Black Ithina the Play is a play. 

Fanshen Cox: Okay. And so we have a segment on financials mainly because we feel like we don't talk about this enough and we get imposter syndrome around and we feel a lack of confidence around asking for what we should ask for.

And especially as a CEO, as a founder. So many things. One is, can you talk about the budget for black Latina movement? So [00:16:00] a budget for a live theater? theater piece. And even if it changed, like what, what kinds of things change the budget and then for your web series, the budget for that. And then what it costs to become a founder of a theater and film production company.

That's great. 

Crystal Roman: So we just went off Broadway in May we were off Broadway with our show called of mothers and men. Works her nine monologues about women going through their relationships with their mothers or themselves as mothers and Men in their lives be it good or bad So some of the women one woman was had a horrible relationship with her mom But then she but on another woman had a great relationship another woman Is going through an image she has an amazing man Loves the man that she's with and another woman is left at the altar so we see this antagonist protagonist kind of characters and so Paying the actors what they're worth having an all black and brown cast having all black and brown crew Oh, well, we had [00:17:00] one man one white man, but okay

So, you know I pride myself in and maintaining us In front and behind the camera or stage. And so that production was about 000. Making sure we had everything we need from publicity to marketing to promotion to everything playbills. And how long was the run? 

Fanshen Cox: The run was a week. It was six shows.

Nice. Nice. Okay. Yeah. Love it. Love it. And how do you raise that money? How did you? 

Crystal Roman: Yeah. So for me, one of the things I do is that we also do workshops and we tour with black Latina to play. And then I also conduct workshops at universities throughout the country. So for me, I will just reinvest. some of the funding that I've had from other my other projects and just feed it back.

And then obviously my own personal money. If we do get sponsors, that's always great, obviously, because it, it cushions the brunt of the weight of it. And then ticket [00:18:00] sales, you always have to make sure that financially you're calculating the sales of the tickets in a way where the price that you're offering is, you know, enough to cover.

So you have to kind of make. A plan for yourself and say we have to sell X amount of tickets in order to make either break even and get out of the red and be in the black and so that's really important when you're building that strategy and you should always give yourself a nice amount of time to pivot to right if ticket sales are not going well, you also have to have a cushion you know, Miscellaneous funds where you could say, all right, I'm going to put more money into marketing and promotion, be it, you know, IG ads, Facebook ads, or whatever that may look like.

So it's always important to, I would always say budget up. So if you originally start, you, you write down your budgets and all your line items and you're at say 25, 000, I would always say kicking another 5, 000 and say, just in case for incidents, 

Fanshen Cox: right. Have that contingency. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. Okay. And then how about shifting to Cecilia the [00:19:00] celibate?

So what's the, what does it look like? Is it a different kind of budget for a web series? 

Crystal Roman: It cost us about 15, 000, which was pretty reasonable. I mean we also did a lot of begging. 

Fanshen Cox: Exactly. This how many episodes for how many episodes? 

Crystal Roman: That was, well, it was 40 minutes. So we were able to cut it down to three episodes.

But because she went on a lot of dates, we were in a lot of restaurants in New York. So a lot of it was like, hey, please, can you let us just shoot here for a little bit and keeping crew tight. You know, that's another thing, too. Things cost, and I think sometimes people don't understand that, you know, being an actor myself and then going into being production, I get it now, it's like, if call time is call time, you have to be there because it may cost, right, if you tell somebody, let me use your establishment for an hour and please, and they're like, okay, you can use it, but over this time, we're gonna have to charge you, it's like, You need to be there at this time.

So, you know, understanding those things too, when you do ask for favors and then what does that look like? Right? So if you're getting something for [00:20:00] free, you have to make sure that you honor your part of it. Like we're going to give you a free promo. We're going to tag you in IgE. We're going to tag you in Facebook.

So a lot of that community building is important too, because it can definitely cushion some of the expenses that you're attacking on. 

Fanshen Cox: Yeah, absolutely. Oh my goodness. So we get a lesson. This is lovely. And then Being a founder. How about how what what what's that cost ballpark or what? Yeah, what what have you had to pay for to start your own company?

Crystal Roman: To start my own company, it's always important to have a mentor or a lawyer, an entertainment lawyer that can help you go through the different waves, what kind of business, if it's going to be an LLC, a C Corp, an S Corp, getting yourself familiar with those things having a CPA, understanding if you have to file quarterly, Or through the, you know, or yearly I think those things are really important because you, you know, when you start your business, what is your business going to cost you?

How much is that going to cost you depending on the type of business that you're setting up? [00:21:00] What is your operating expenses? Everything that you have, you kind of want to shift from your personal to your business. So if you have. You know, all types of subscriptions, whether you have a subscription to Vimeo, you have a subscription to Maryland, like constant contact, all of those things.

You need to kind of start thinking about that and saying, maybe I'm going to put a hundred dollars, you know, you first, I'm going to put a hundred dollars into the business account and make sure that those things are covered and then go from there, creating budgets for yourself and saying, this is what I need.

If you're going to do a photo shoot, what does that look like for your business? Whether you're going to have business cards. And I think it's really important to strategize and give yourself. Even like a good six months when you've determined that you want to start a business to say I need to sit down and give myself a three to six month plan to say, I need to achieve this and how do I make this work and make it make sense, opening up a business account, having that once you start having, you know, positive on in your business account, even if you are taking from your personal, they'll start to then offer you business credit cards and business loans.

I've had a SBA [00:22:00] loan before, which was great because that helps. I've also had grants. That's, that's tremendously important. 

Fanshen Cox: So understanding you do your own grant writing, do you get help with that or that's, I do get help. Yeah. You get help. Okay. Okay. So that could be part of your budget is budgeting for that writer that I think a lot of people don't know that because it's a lot when you're running your own company and you've producing things.

It's a lot, you know, we, and, and, and we women, and we women of color and we black women, it's like, it can add up all the things that we have to do. So it is perfectly okay to hire somebody to do that lift, especially when it comes to fundraising. Right. I love that. Yeah. 

Crystal Roman: We want to like do it all. And it's nice because it's good to understand, but at some point you have to outsource because you're burning the candle on both ends.

You know, because a lot of times many people in the arts don't understand the business of [00:23:00] things. And so it's like, those are two different things. I mean, I was fortunate that when I did go to college, I do have a degree. My bachelor's is in business. And so a lot of times people, but I do get people don't understand that.

So they're so passionate about the art. And it's like, even with my team, like there are days that I'll say, this is an administration day. This day is just to do business things, like I can't deal with writing, you know, the writer's room or this or that. We need to just go into the admin, administration of things.

And I think that's important because folks are, love it so much and it's great. But when you're monetizing your passion, you have to understand what that means. 

Fanshen Cox: Hey, Sistas and siblings, we hope that you are loving our guest Crystal Roman as much as we do. I mean, she's a powerhouse. Does she not look at her creating our own production company is so beautiful to see.

We hope that you share this. This episode with friends or family. If you are hearing something for the [00:24:00] first time, you're learning something. Do us a favor and click that share button, encourage your friends, family, colleagues, et cetera, to listen to these stories by these incredible guests. And support them as well.

You can also always subscribe to our YouTube channel at TruJuLo media youtube.com/truo Media and review us on Apple or Spotify. And when you go to review us on Apple or Spotify, go ahead and in your review, tell us what you love. Did you, what did you love about the episode? Tell us what you have for brunch.

What would you tell your younger self tell us in your review. So let's dive right back into this conversation with. Founder and CEO of Black Latina Movement, Crystal Roman. 

Oh, go ahead. I love it. I love it. Okay. Let's go. This is, this is so good. I think we, we don't talk business enough on the podcast because it's a creative podcast.

And and a lot of the women or guests that we have are also, you know, they, [00:25:00] they are working. Thank the good goddess. It's everybody right because because the entertainment industry is really shifting right now. So that's all great. At the same time, having those business skills matters, right? Like you should know all of it, even if you're not necessarily going to be, you should know enough.

To be able to hire somebody and know whether they're doing their job that you're paying for, right? So you got to understand those financials. I love it. Okay, let's do our segment. Let's talk tech. So what is a technical term, concept, piece of equipment, anything at all that you use that if somebody who's not, who doesn't do what you do would not know what it is?

Crystal Roman: It's so funny. So Cecilia the Celibate, we shot it in 2019 and so it won a bunch of awards and it was great And it was in the festival circuit. And so we haven't released it to the public yet So I was talking to my DP which is a director of photography So the director of photography [00:26:00] is completely different from a director two different things.

Your director is directing The actors, the director of photography at DP directs the shot, what the shot looks like. It's a full shot, three quarter, ant's view, high up crane, whatever. And so, originally was shot in 1080p, which is the quality of what the camera was at that time. And so we were just having a conversation.

He's like, you sure you don't want to shoot it in 4k? So sometimes people don't know the difference of like 1080p, it's a 4k, and it's just the quality of the camera over time, obviously from 2019 to now so much has changed and they've had they had 4k then but most people now It kind of was a mixture of like you could shoot in 1080 and you could shoot in 4k Now everyone's only shooting in 4k.

So we were having a discussion of like releasing cecilia to You know, to everyone to watch and saying, you know what? We could just, we should just release it. And so he was like, you sure you don't want to shoot it? And I was like, well, do you have 15, 000? 

Fanshen Cox: You mean to shoot it again? You mean to like shoot it again in [00:27:00] 4k?

Got you. 

Crystal Roman: Right. And so we were saying we were like, you know what? Let's just have a, let's, let's just have a viewing session. And so we got a bunch of friends together and we were like, what did you think about the quality? And, you know, some people were like, it's great. Like. You should release it, you know, 10 80 is still a good quality.

And so that was like a tech conversation that we recently had last Thursday. Yeah. 

Fanshen Cox: Love it. Love it. Okay. Thank you. Perfect. All right. So. It's always so hard for me because every time we meet a new guest, I'm just like, I want you in my life. I could do this for an hour all to say we are planting seeds here and, and more to come.

And, and to your point about building community, right? Especially as we broaden the stories that we get to tell about ourselves. And about people that look like us or communities that you know, those perspectives that we have so all to say you will be back But we will get to our signature Sista brunch question Which is that you and [00:28:00] young crystal are sitting down to a Sista brunch What are you both eating?

What are you both? drinking and What do you tell her? 

Crystal Roman: They're probably both drinking a mimosa, but like the flavor of mimosa, so like guava, or tamarindo, or passion fruit mimosa. Yes, yes! You know what brunch it's so hard cuz I'm out list. I'm like old school traditional So and I always see the menu and there's like 50 million things and I'm like, but I always go It's always gonna be chicken and waffles or shrimps and grits.

I can never like you you can't my you can't stray away from it 

Fanshen Cox: That's well. So first of all, this is so funny because I feel like I, I used to live in New York, so I'm from the East coast. I grew up in Boston and then I went to school in New York for a while and I didn't hear as much about chicken and waffles till I moved to [00:29:00] LA and in LA, you know, there's a, there's so many, but I don't know why I, then again, I'm just realizing it is it Sylvia's in Harlem?

Yeah. Yeah. Okay. They do serve chicken and waffles. I'm like, I think that's where I had them in New York, but otherwise they didn't. I didn't remember that now the grits thing. I love it. I swear. If we do a poll of all of our episodes, that is without question, the most most answer. So you said shrimp and grits, right?

So you don't do sugar grits. 

Crystal Roman: No, cheese. No sugar in my grits. Cheese. It's like either or, people will either go with the, with the, with the sugar or the cheese. I'm a cheese girl. 

Fanshen Cox: Daysha Broadway, another guest this season, is all in. She said don't judge her, but she is sugar grits. 

Crystal Roman: I know, I know, it's such a thing!

Yeah, it's nothing wrong. 

Fanshen Cox: This is what we're saying is that this is all, these are all the things that we [00:30:00] are. We're not essentialist. You know, we like that. We all like the same base, which is the greatest way. Yes. Yes. I love it. Okay. And what do you tell your younger self? 

Crystal Roman: I'll tell her that it will get hard.

It's not going to be easy. And there's always going to be pitfalls. There's always going to be naysayers. There's going to be a lot of moments where you just want to give up. But I think there's beauty in the pain and finding, you know, how pain can resonate with you. And yes, pain makes you stronger, but pain also builds character.

Pain is sometimes in order to move to the next level, you got to get uncomfortable to get comfortable. And I've learned that. So much in my personal and my professional life. Just really saying I gotta get out of this box. How do I get to the next level? What is the next level look like? And so I would just tell her like.

Don't run away from the uncomfort. [00:31:00] That discomfort is important and it's good for you. And you can't listen You also gotta drown out the noise because there's a lot of distractions and a lot of times where I didn't make certain decisions that I should have made because I was Consumed with Oh, what do you think?

Well, what do you think what being more confident in my decision making and saying I know what I need to do And so it's gonna get rough girl, but I'll see you in a couple more years and you'll be happy

Fanshen Cox: Crystal, I'm so glad we met. I'm so glad this just happened. The timing was perfect for this season. The episode will be out for Black History Month in celebration of Black History, Black Futures. And we're so proud and excited to have a Black Latina representative on the podcast. Who is both that and And all of the other things that you do.

Thank you for the lessons that you've dropped for us. And we look forward to building community with you and collaborating and finding [00:32:00] some things. I feel like there's going to be a lot there. Thank you so much for coming on Sista Brunch. 

Crystal Roman: Thank you so much for having me. 

Fanshen Cox: Thank you so much for joining us for another episode of the Sista Brunch Podcast.

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Sistah Brunch is brought to you [00:33:00] by Trujillo Productions and was created by Anya Adams, Christabel Nsia-bwodi, and me, Fanshen Cox. Our producer for season six is Tasha Rogers. Sistah Brunch is recorded on the unceded territory of the Tongva and the Chumash people, at least that's where I'm recording it, here in Los Angeles, California.

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