CNN’s Ashley Allison talks new venture and the need to protect Kamala Harris
For Ashley Allison, community is everything. The CNN political analyst and former Obama alum had Black and brown communities in mind when she conceptualized her new media company, Watering Hole Media.
Much like the collaborative work it took alongside thousands of campaign staff and volunteers to elect America’s first Black president, Barack Obama — knocking on countless doors and talking to neighbors — her new venture targeting Black, brown and Indigenous people seeks to bring everyone together for a common good.
“Watering Hole is the place where everyone can come and be nourished and still go back to their communities and thrive,” Allison tells theGrio of her endeavor that is 15 years in the making.
The political pundit initially launched Watering Hole as a news and opinion blog when President Obama entered office in 2009. However, due to law school and a lack of entrepreneurial experience at the time, the venture didn’t totally take off. But after filming a live August 2023 segment on CNN about the Montgomery Riverboat Brawl, Allison decided to revisit her desire to create a media company for marginalized voices.
During the Alabama incident last summer, a group of white men physically attacked a Black boat crew worker who informed them that their pontoon was improperly docked. A group of Black men jumped in to defend the worker, resulting in a viral melee that reignited a national conversation about the dark history of racism in the South.
The CNN panelist with Allison described the Montgomery brawl as a case of vigilantism. However, Allison understood the incident was far more pointed and cultural – as any scroll through Black Twitter at the time showed.
“This is not about vigilantism. This is about protecting,” Allison explained to her colleague while sharing reactions from Black people on social media platforms. “The conversation on CNN that night was different because people used the microphones they had through social media.”
Now, Allison is bringing conversations happening on the timelines and amplifying them with Watering Hole Media. The company offers curated digital content led by people who better reflect the diverse voices of Black, brown and Indigenous communities.
“We wanted to build something that was rooted in community, so people felt comfortable taking it back to their community,” said Allison, who worked for the Obama 2012 presidential campaign, Obama White House and Biden-Harris 2020 campaign.
“You don’t take stuff back to your community that you don’t think is rich, that you don’t think has integrity, that you don’t think is helpful,” she added. Allison said it’s about “getting the information, and then taking that information and … talking to your neighbors.”
To date, Watering Hole Media has launched three shows, each curated for a distinct audience.
“Wait a Minute,” hosted by Allison, political strategist Alencia Johnson, and comedian and actress Joyelle Nicole Johnson, offers a living-room-style conversation from a Black woman’s point of view.
“Tap In” brings together a panel of Black men gathered around a poker game table. They discuss topics related to politics and social issues, like mental health, which is not often discussed among African-American men.
“Everything’s Fine,” a show geared toward Gen Z, brings together multicultural voices, including attorney and activist Preston Mitchum, journalists Sylvia Obell and Josie Duffy Rice and communications specialist Annie Wu Henry.
“We built our shows around certain audience types and people and what their practices are,” said Allison, who said she and her team relied on research to determine “audience segmentation to really make sure that we were creating content that would resonate with people.”
It was important to create a space where contributors felt comfortable to speak their minds and “push back” with each other when necessary.
Pushing back is also something Allison is known to do from to time to time on-air at CNN.
“When people say some things on television, sometimes they say it like it’s a fact, and it isn’t always a fact,” she said. “I’m like, ‘Wait a minute. That’s what you think. Let me tell you what I think. And, like, my 15 friends over here think.”
Allison understands the privilege she holds to have a seat at CNN as a Black woman but made clear she doesn’t speak for all Black people.
“I think I am one representation of Black people on air, and I hold that responsibility of being a part of a representation, but not like the representative,” she explained.
While she may not speak for every Black person, she has used her voice to defend Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, against racist and misogynistic attacks from her political opponents.
Since emerging as a presidential candidate, Harris’ opponent, former President Donald Trump, and his Republican allies have called her a “DEI hire,” “dumb” and even questioned the legitimacy of her identity as a Black woman.
Allison told theGrio that she believes it is the collective community’s obligation to “protect” Harris, not just from racist or misogynistic attacks but also from unfair double standards.
“I think it’s the responsibility of media. I think it’s the responsibility of elected officials. I think it’s the responsibility of anybody who wants to consider themselves a leader, to not allow bad behavior, bad faith attacks, as well as just like an unequal standard to be applied to her,” said Allison.
“Telling somebody to go to hell” and wanting to lead the country is “inappropriate,” she said. “We shouldn’t tolerate it.”
Allison said she is “leaning all the way” into having a Black woman at the top of the presidential ticket.
“We are long overdue as a country to have a female president,” she declared. “I’m like pinching myself every day that this is happening.”