Entrepreneur Rhett Lindsey has created a news and social platform so unique that even Beyonce's parents were eager to be involved. According to the website, The Diverse Perspective is "a place where culture and content meets conversation from diverse viewpoints."
"I have known Richard Lawson and Tina Knowles Lawson for about a year-and-a-half now," said Lindsey. "I've done nonprofit work with them and another type of sector that involves helping out with the kids that they mentor from the inner cities in Los Angeles. I reached out to Richard about my platform, The Diverse Perspective, and he loved the idea of it. Tina also loved the idea of it."
Their open dialogue led to various discussions on how to unapologetically present positive change within the social narrative in the areas of culture, fashion, community, family, parenting, lifestyles, entertainment and social issues. Their first endeavor as a team was to create a Tedx-like talk.
Lindsey recalled, "I told [Richard and Tina] how I wanted to have an open forum [Q&A] to not only present the platform publicly for people to attend, but also to dive deeper into some of our key articles that were written by a couple of our contributing writers, gaining real-time feedback from the audience on their perspectives on those certain topics and articles that would be discussed. Once we came to a mutual understanding on the types of questions being asked and the format of the event, Richard moderated the conversation."
Following their first event, Lindsey, Lawson and Knowles ascertained that a biannual gathering seemed feasible—and that the event's content will largely depend on the popular articles published on Rhett's platform. Lindsey said the team hoped to roll out the programming in 2020-21. In the meantime, they took the opportunity to present their niche concept at the Forbes Under 30 Summit where Lindsey said they successfully connected with potential angel investors.
An app is next on the docket and is being developed "from top to bottom" by a "big lead designer at Tinder," according to Lindsey. There is a beta version available in the meantime, although it's password protected. Lindsey hopes The Diverse Perspective becomes a household name.
"In my creative writing experiences on established platforms, I felt very limited in my voice and my truth," Lindsey said. "I would try to write an article on Buzzfeed, I would publish it and in maybe less than 24 hours, it would be taken down without notice, without explanation."
Lindsey, who's bisexual, said the articles would sometimes be about dating in LGBTQ+ society and that he felt his "authenticity and viewpoint were hindered and that someone had control over it. So I was inspired to create The Diverse Perspective due to my own experiences as a creative writer. I wanted to create a place where writers could offer their viewpoints and write freely and unapologetically when it came to their voice and their truth—and could share it with the world."
Lindsey said the app would accept submissions from various mediums, such as photography, art, video—even poetry.
"We want to open up that landscape where people can get their truth across to the world in whatever format that might be," he said. "I feel that art influences life and we're always learning. Teaching is never-ending. It can be as little as teaching someone how to tie their shoe or as big as teaching someone how to learn how to do code on mobile development. We're always learning."
Learning sometimes means seeing things a different way.
"We need to pull back the curtain of judgment and pull back the curtain of hate," Lindsey said. "We need to pull back the curtain of insecurities. Everyone's capable of being an artist, but we have these defined ideas of what it means to be an artist, what it means to be a writer. And I want everyone to feel like they are equal and that they are capable of contributing positively to the world with their perspectives."
Learn more about Rhett Lindsey and The Diverse Perspective by visiting the website: www.thediverseperspective.com .
