In speaking with Dr. Brandale Mills Cox, it’s clear that her work is rooted in intention and a deep commitment to truth-telling. Whether in the classroom or behind the scenes in public service, she continues to advocate for authentic representation and nuanced narratives. Her journey is not only a testament to the power of communication but to the responsibility that comes with having a voice and choosing to use it with purpose. We interviewed her recently to get more insights on Black media, Black love, and education. Enjoy!
So you've navigated roles across academia, public service, and as an author. How has your work in each of these spaces shaped your perspective?
That's a very good question. At the root of everything that I've done throughout my professional journey, I have always wanted to be a voice for the black community. So everything that I've done has had that common thread.
Public service, elevating our experiences, and telling our story in a way that's true and authentic to our lived experiences. That has kind of carried me throughout my professional journey, and hopefully it will continue to carry me.
I could research and talk about the experience of black folks for forever. That’s the thread throughout all of the different pivots in my career. I also think that everything I've done is interrelated. The communications, the research, all of those things tie in together. It all has that common thread.
The book you wrote centers around Black women as filmmakers and the depiction of Black Love, which are two things that we've seen talked about a lot. Why was it important for you to focus specifically on that intersection? And what impact do you hope it has?
That book is rooted in my dissertation work. When I was working on my dissertation at Howard University, I was in my second or third year and still hadn't come up with a topic. I was reading bell hooks' series about love, and it clicked that oftentimes when we see images of black love in the media, for one, it is not from the black perspective. Two, oftentimes it's from the male perspective. So, for me, I wanted to understand what black love looked like from the lens of a black woman. When a woman is directing and creating these narratives, what does that look like for us? How is it reflective of not only the black family and the black romantic relationship, but also black women?
That’s where that research is rooted. In terms of what I hope it will do. I think that ultimately, we need to see more diverse representations of black love in the media. Since I published that book, it was published in 2018, we are seeing more nuanced relationships and more complicated relationships. It’s also not the trauma relationships that we're so accustomed to seeing. These are real relationships, and they have their issues, but the husband doesn't have six baby mamas and has been married for 25 years.
We're seeing more representations that are reflective of the everyday experiences and challenges that come with being in a romantic relationship, but also the joys and the triumphs that come with that.
When you think about your work and then a film like Sinners, which depicts complex relationships, do you think Black love in film is moving in the right direction?
I just wrote a blog article on my website about Black Love in Sinners. The way that we see Black love depicted in that film, in both Smoke and Stack's relationships, for me was a form of resistance and a form of protection. It encompassed the foundation of how those two men were able to get to the juke joint and survive up until stuff went left that night.
In your role as a professor at Howard University, how do you integrate some of your real-life situations and real-world communication challenges, whether from the Census Bureau or the DA, into your everyday work?
I teach in the school of communications, primarily in the strategic communications lane. So everything that I'm teaching, I’m equipping my students to go out in the real world and function as PR professionals.
I might teach from a textbook, but I'm giving them real-life examples of things that I've experienced, challenges that I've had in the industry, and challenges that I know my peers and colleagues who are still in the industry are having.
I also like to bring in those professionals to have conversations with them because it's one thing for me, as the professor who's a little far removed from the industry, to be sharing this information with them. But things seem to connect when they have real-life practitioners come in. It just kind of reinforces everything that we've discussed in class. Bringing in those real-life experiences seals together all the abstract concepts we talk about.
Since the murder of George Floyd, a lot of people have been speaking about representation, diversity, and all of the other buzzwords. What do you think is the next critical step for authentic representation?
I think the next critical step is a combination of a lot of things. It's the combination of being intentional about who you are and hiring the voices that are in the room, making key decisions. It's being intentional about actually wanting to engage and connect with these communities in a real way.
It's also being intentional about knowing the audience that you're trying to reach. I talk a lot in the work that I do about the importance of doing research on your audience and creating ads that aren't reflective of tokenism rather and aren't stereotypical representations of diverse communities.
Put your money where your mouth is. All these organizations that were committed to black causes social justice issues, we haven't really seen the benefit of that.
It’s about being committed to those things and not just doing it in a performative way. It’s not something that can happen overnight, but definitely something that is necessary. Younger generations are becoming more and more diverse. So if you're an organization and you want people to spend money with you, you have to be able to appeal to them. You have to make sure that whatever your company values are, they align with the values of those younger generations.
Shifting gears to black owned media. In your opinion, what changed? What happened over the last few years that changed how much control or how much authority they had on black culture in general?
I think the landscape of media in general has changed. Younger generations don't watch cable. Yeah. They're streaming stuff from their computer. A lot of them don't even have televisions. The way that they take in information and consume information is completely different from my generation, as a millennial and older generation.
When we add on the layer of that black-owned legacy media, I think that for them, it's a disconnect. A lot of them don't really feel connected. A lot of them feel like the media hasn't been able to keep up with the shifting trends of the younger generations.
From my perspective as a researcher and a consumer of black media and a lover of black media, I see those brands really trying to figure out how to be innovative and how to rebrand themselves. I think eventually there'll be some alignment there, but the younger generation consumes media differently. They want quick information.
I think that Gen Z gets a lot of flak, but they have so many great ideas. If they just bring them into the room and bring them into the conversation, I think that the gap can lessen.
You're somebody who's recognized for your thought leadership and community impact. What’s driving your passion at this point?
For me, this is what God put me on this earth to do. I feel so much joy and fulfillment when I'm teaching at Howard. My students are brilliant. I learn from them just as much as I hope that they learn from me. Teaching isn't me just dumping information on them. It's a shared experience. It's a dialogue every day. That’s my approach to teaching, and I think that it’s truly a blessing to be able to get up and not be stressed about work and to love what I do. I know so many people who don't have that opportunity and just hate going to work every day.
I've always been an advocate, a proponent, and a cheerleader for black people and black culture. So this is the perfect job for me.
What would you tell someone who wants to pursue a degree and possibly an advanced degree in communications?
I would tell that person to absolutely kind of follow their heart. I think that it is that passion that will fuel you. It's that passion that will help you navigate through those challenging moments. I think that the skills that are taught in any communications program are transferable. So maybe you get your degree in communications, and you start working in the industry, and you decide that's not what you want to do. That’s fine.
You have all these great skills that you've mastered in pursuit of your degree. Public speaking and writing are applicable in any field and any industry that you do. These skills provide a solid foundation regardless of the industry that you might end up in.
I would also say do your research. There are so many positions that directly align with communication degrees. Maybe it's not specifically in public relations, but it's public affairs, public policy, or maybe some type of internal communications position.
I would certainly tell that person to kind of keep their options open to explore what it is that they want to do, and just continue to research and see what's available for them.