Community engagement, advocacy, and social change are lifelong passions for Alexa and Johnnie Turnage. They share how a chance meeting on a flight to Detroit led to a friendship that blossomed into marriage. The Turnages’ Black Tech Saturdays has evolved into a national effort. In this interview, they discuss how this initiative aligns with their shared passion for using technology to unite communities around social change. They also delve into how their family roots have inspired them to build and develop community, and highlight how Johnnie’s mom was ahead of her time in website development and coding. Tune in to “Detroit is Different” with Alexa and Johnnie Turnage, founders of Black Tech Saturdays, for more insights.
Black Tech Saturdays is rooted in Community for Alexa and Johnnie Turnage
What began as a journey engaging hip-hop audiences, has grown into a career as a marketing consultant. As business people have seen my work, I was propositioned many times to provide graphic design, photography, videography, event planning, website development, and social media campaigning. These initial business contracts inspired me to build Creative Differences Marketing. I’ve balanced my entrepreneurial experience with formal education from Walsh College of Business and Accountancy. My degree in Marketing serves me well in understanding many of the formal, universal, and theoretical marketing approaches used in corporate environments.Formulating this business model has been anchored by the success of my BLOG ‘Detroit is Different.’ I create all content for Detroit is Different. This serves as a prototype of the ways I can design events, websites, graphics, music, podcasts, social media campaigns, and e-mail campaigns. ‘Detroit is Different’ focuses on the people and places of Detroit that add to the culture. Through these people and places, themes are driven. These themes will partner with, sponsor, and advertise for businesses and organizations using this innovative multilevel marketing approach.