Converge’s New Show Clap Back Culture Responds to Current Events and the Community

In a time when the news is a 24-hour cycle shaped by memes, retweets, and political polarization, it’s more important than ever that we have analysis from two people who know about journalism, politics, pop-culture, and how it all impacts the Black community. 

That’s where Converge’s newest show, Clap Back Culture—featuring the commentary from journalists Mike Davis of South Seattle Emerald and Julia Jessie of Converge Media—comes in. Together, every Thursday night at 7 p.m. PST/10 p.m. EST, Davis and Jessie unpack whatever’s trending that week in the world of current events—in a way that’s specially designed to be educational, relatable, and entertaining to the Black community.

“We try not to be the typical media that kind of perpetuates the same narrative over and over. If you watch previous episodes we do a lot of comparison reports and make people think and we try to evoke emotion from people,” said Jessie. “We try to make the audience think a little bit more past the headline. So, it's important to me to glean information for the community, educate them, and compare things so that people have a better understanding of what's happening.” 

What’s more, Davis and Jessie are both seasoned journalists with an understanding of the inner workings of the media, and they both are Black. This gives them the ability to relate to and digest news events and to analyze that news specifically for their community. As they both say, they’re more concerned with serving the people and reporting what matters to them, than participating in the mainstream media rat race.

“We pretty much take social cues and Clap Back is all about following headlines, politics, topics and really anything newsworthy that affects or penetrates Black culture so we just try to stay abreast of what's important to be discussed,” said Jessie.

Davis agrees, adding that their actual connection to the community is what makes Clap Back Culture so powerful.

“A lot of what we do is based on interest and based on just connections with people in community and building community and people always like pitch stuff and like, these are the topics you see on Clap Back Culture are primarily the topics you're going to hear at the barbershop or see on Twitter or hear in passing. We're bringing those conversations from there into the studio,” said Davis.

In fact, Davis actually had a really inspiring moment last week that showed him that this authenticity is helping vital information reach the people who are often left out of the conversation due to the print-centric nature of news.

“One of the homies was at the house, and he's like, he asked me something random about cabinets, and I'm like, ‘bro what are you talking about? Cabinets?’ But he was asking me about Joe Biden's cabinet and what it meant,” said Davis. “This is my homie that I've known since I was a kid, he knows that I write but doesn't really read my writing, but he watches the show. That's the accessibility piece. You don't have to be a reader to engage with this. You don't have to be any of that. I'm like, damn, I've known him all his life and this is the first time he's taken that type of interest in politics. That was major.”

In addition to the accessibility of their show, the respectful, friendly dynamic between Davis and Jessie—as well as their occasional heated argument—gives Clap Back Culture amusing and engrossing energy.

“The audience really enjoys the fact that I and Mike have a difference of opinion. I think that's what makes the show unique in a sense is that we typically don't agree with each other on everything,” said Jessie. “Mike is the quintessential Black man, he's super raw, but he's real and he's honest and I think it's dope that we have that perspective for the audience.”

And Jessie, Davis adds, works for a politician. “She knows her shit. So it really does keep us balanced with the passion and the knowledge and it helps us play off each other,” he said.

Putting their journalistic experience and friendship aside, Davis and Jessie’s passion for their work show in how much they care about the excellence of Clap Back Culture. Both of them spend their weeks doing ample research, fielding story ideas and bouncing ideas off each other because they take pride in releasing something that is high caliber and relevant.

“Sometimes they say you're called to do things and I definitely feel like I've had to push myself out of my comfort zone. There are topics we talk about that are emotional and thought-provoking and a lot of the topics hit home. So there's always a challenge in making sure that you did it right. That you are able to give a perspective that's unbiased and real,” said Jessie. “It's a challenge. It's a lot of homework. It's a lot of research we have to do. The reward and the reason I keep doing it is that I just think it's important.”

In the next few months, Clap Back Culture will continue to follow COVID-19 and Biden’s first 100 days closely—and they’ll also be keeping their ears to the ground for stories that the community wants to learn more about.

To keep up with Clap Back Culture, follow them on Instagram @clapbackculture. To submit story ideas, email info@whereweconverge.com. Watch past episodes here.