[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"conference-blog-article-louis-carr-tech-creators-afrotech-conference":3},{"id":4,"author":5,"authors":19,"title":21,"subTitle":15,"excerpt":22,"slug":23,"body":24,"categories":25,"tags":31,"featuredMedia":44,"publishedAt":52,"publishedAtGMT":53,"updatedAt":54,"updatedAtGMT":55,"type":56,"listicle":57,"disableContentGate":58,"disableListicleNumbers":58,"canonicalUrl":15,"socialThumbnail":15,"readingTime":59,"customFields":60,"additional":61,"acf":62},276809,{"id":6,"avatar":7,"firstName":8,"lastName":9,"displayName":10,"email":11,"username":12,"normalizedUsername":13,"description":14,"htmlBio":15,"twitter":16,"facebook":15,"instagram":17,"registeredAt":18},119,"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.afrotech.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2021\u002F08\u002Fupdated-headshot-scaled.jpg","Samantha","Dorisca","Samantha Dorisca","samantha.dorisca@blavity.com","SamanthaDorisca","samanthadorisca","Samantha Dorisca is a Houston-based journalist and photographer whose mission is to impact communities through the gift of storytelling using the written word or visual media. She completed her B.A at The University of Texas at Austin and is pursuing a M.A at The University of Memphis. Her work can be found on platforms such as Houstonia Magazine, Girls' Life Magazine, and Blacque Magazine. Samantha mainly reports on tech, trends, and entrepreneurship.","","https:\u002F\u002Ftwitter.com\u002Fsammiedormedia","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.instagram.com\u002Fsammiedormedia\u002F","2021-08-16T13:14:58+00:00",[20],{"id":6,"avatar":7,"firstName":8,"lastName":9,"displayName":10,"email":11,"username":12,"normalizedUsername":13,"description":14,"htmlBio":15,"twitter":16,"facebook":15,"instagram":17,"registeredAt":18},"BET President Louis Carr Explains Its Strategy For Staying At The Forefront Of Technology And The Creator Economy At AFROTECH™ 2026","President Louis Carr is ensuring BET is remaining at the cutting-edge of technology and the creator economy.","louis-carr-tech-creators-afrotech-conference","\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fafrotech.com\u002Fbet-louis-carr-leading-through-creator-economy-era\">Louis Carr\u003C\u002Fa> is ensuring \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fafrotech.com\u002Fjason-lee-partners-with-bet\">BET\u003C\u002Fa> remains at the “cutting edge” of technology and the creator economy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">To those who know him well, Carr’s title doesn’t come to mind first, but rather, who he is at his core: a Black man from Chicago who is “authentically, unapologetically Black” year-round, with a deep appreciation for the Black community. This has informed his leadership as the current president of BET a role he assumed in December 2025. He has been with the company for 39 years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">“For the last four decades, a lot of people said that I have sold advertising. I don’t say that. I said I’ve educated corporations, white people and Black people, on the value of Black consumers,” Carr said at the 2026 \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fafrotech.com\u002Fmayors-from-the-african-american-mayors-association-are-coming-to-afrotech-2026\">AFROTECH™ Conference\u003C\u002Fa>. “We have this thing at BET where we say, what Black people do today, the world does tomorrow. And we believe that in our core. That’s what I said I’ve done for the last four decades is make people really feel and understand that whether they are creative, whether they are in technology, understand the impact and the influence that you are having.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cfigure id=\"attachment_276850\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-276850\" style=\"width: 750px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\">\u003Cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-276850 size-large\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.afrotech.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2026\u002F11\u002FAngelineAbrera_BetonBlackLouisCarrEra_ATC26_Halo-20233-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"750\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.afrotech.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2026\u002F11\u002FAngelineAbrera_BetonBlackLouisCarrEra_ATC26_Halo-20233-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.afrotech.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2026\u002F11\u002FAngelineAbrera_BetonBlackLouisCarrEra_ATC26_Halo-20233-scaled.jpg 320w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.afrotech.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2026\u002F11\u002FAngelineAbrera_BetonBlackLouisCarrEra_ATC26_Halo-20233-scaled.jpg 1200w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.afrotech.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2026\u002F11\u002FAngelineAbrera_BetonBlackLouisCarrEra_ATC26_Halo-20233-scaled.jpg 160w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.afrotech.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2026\u002F11\u002FAngelineAbrera_BetonBlackLouisCarrEra_ATC26_Halo-20233-scaled.jpg 768w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.afrotech.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2026\u002F11\u002FAngelineAbrera_BetonBlackLouisCarrEra_ATC26_Halo-20233-scaled.jpg 1536w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.afrotech.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2026\u002F11\u002FAngelineAbrera_BetonBlackLouisCarrEra_ATC26_Halo-20233-scaled.jpg 2048w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.afrotech.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2026\u002F11\u002FAngelineAbrera_BetonBlackLouisCarrEra_ATC26_Halo-20233-scaled.jpg 1568w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.afrotech.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2026\u002F11\u002FAngelineAbrera_BetonBlackLouisCarrEra_ATC26_Halo-20233-scaled.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \u002F>\u003Cfigcaption id=\"caption-attachment-276850\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">\u003Cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Photo Credit: Angeline Abrera \u002FHalo Creative Studios for AfroTech\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Ffigcaption>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\n\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">Speaking about his personal legacy at BET, both individually and on behalf of the brand, Carr said it will center on \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fafrotech.com\u002Fchasity-monroe-named-ceo-of-the-mane-choice\">community\u003C\u002Fa>, culture and connection. Specifically, he said that vision will come through social platforms, live events, social impact initiatives and linear television, including the Soul Train Awards, which will be taped in Chicago this year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">Excellence and remaining at “the cutting edge” remain the gold standard. Carr also shared how BET is leveraging AI and the measures it is taking to ensure Black \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fafrotech.com\u002Fsensori-co-founders-raise-nearly-1m-in-oversubscribed-pre-seed-round\">creators\u003C\u002Fa> and communities remain at the forefront of the evolving landscape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">“We’re not looking at AI as something to sort of put anybody out of work. We don’t want to do that. We want to use AI to enhance the things that we’re already doing,” he explained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Chr \u002F>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cem>Carr spoke Tuesday in the session “BET on Black: Louis Carr on Marketing In Every Era” at the AFROTECH™ Conference, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary in Houston. The conference runs through Friday, Nov. 6, and \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fafrotechconference.com\u002F\">tickets are still available\u003C\u002Fa> for the rest of the week.\u003C\u002Fem>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Chr \u002F>\n\u003Cblockquote class=\"instagram-media\" style=\"background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.instagram.com\u002Freel\u002FDfSnVq7B-31\u002F?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding: 16px;\">\n\u003Cp> \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\">\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\">\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\">\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding: 19% 0;\">\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;\">\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding-top: 8px;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\"color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;\">View this post on Instagram\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\">\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\">\n\u003Cdiv>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\">\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\">\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\">\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"margin-left: 8px;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\">\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);\">\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"margin-left: auto;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\"width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\">\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\">\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\">\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\">\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\">\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cp> \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;\">\u003Ca style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.instagram.com\u002Freel\u002FDfSnVq7B-31\u002F?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">A post shared by AFROTECH™ Conference (@afrotech.conference)\u003C\u002Fa>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003C\u002Fblockquote>\n\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">Examples he shared included using an AI app to assist with seating arrangements for the BET Awards, a process he acknowledged can typically take days. The \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fafrotech.com\u002Falabama-hbcu-student-awarded-grand-prize-for-networking-platform\">technology\u003C\u002Fa> also helped the team with finding individuals who had died within the past year for a memorial segment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">“There were more people that we had just forgotten,” he mentioned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">AI was also used to identify the “top 25 creator influencers in the Black space.” Carr noted one prominent name was missing from the list: \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fafrotech.com\u002Fdruski-expands-business-portfolio-gopuff-equity-stake-deal\">Druski\u003C\u002Fa>, who would be selected to host the 2026 BET Awards, which became the highest-rated BET Awards telecast on BET since 2019, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.paramountpressexpress.com\u002Fbet\u002Fshows\u002Fbet-awards-2026\u002Freleases\u002F?view=113018-bet-awards-2026-grows-across-every-platform-with-first-time-host-druski-cementing-bet-as-the-epicenter-of-black-culture\">according to\u003C\u002Fa> a press release. The comedian has used social media to create skits and secured an exclusive multi-year \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fvariety.com\u002F2026\u002Ftv\u002Fnews\u002Fdruski-netflix-show-collect-and-praise-1236937068\u002F\">deal\u003C\u002Fa> with Netflix.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">“We know we wanted to bring people who normally don’t watch television to television. We knew we wanted an overall younger audience. We knew that we had to show up a lot differently than what we had in the past. You have to be courageous enough to take risks. And here was a young man who had tons of followers, who clearly was creative, and we wanted to give him a shot. And clearly it worked out,” Carr said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">Carr also noted this year’s awards were a case study for influencers, with an estimated 120 invited the night before the BET Awards for a special red-carpet event, which he said is normally private.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">“They could use their phones, their cameras to do whatever else, to capture content. Then the final thing is we did not air our pre-show on linear. We aired our pre-show on YouTube…it was a whole planned strategy around making the show younger, bringing people who normally don’t watch linear television to television, and that’s how we were able to be so successful,” Carr explained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">Carr’s embrace of the digital era also comes from personal experience. He said he had to adapt to social media firsthand when he launched his brand, Waymaker, a magazine, newsroom, live summit, podcast and community at the intersection of Black culture, business and purpose, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.waymakerjournal.com\u002F\">according to\u003C\u002Fa> its website.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\">“I didn’t have any money, so I really had to really embrace social media. There’s no secret to it…I hated social media,” he explained, then described his evolved mindset and left a note to the audience adding, “You’ve got to use your creativity and what you have at hand, and use your personality and your influence on the people around you. But don’t believe you don’t have any power because you do have power.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cfigure id=\"attachment_276851\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-276851\" style=\"width: 750px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\">\u003Cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-276851 size-large\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.afrotech.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2026\u002F11\u002FAngelineAbrera_BetonBlackLouisCarrEra_ATC26_Halo-13057-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"750\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.afrotech.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2026\u002F11\u002FAngelineAbrera_BetonBlackLouisCarrEra_ATC26_Halo-13057-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.afrotech.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2026\u002F11\u002FAngelineAbrera_BetonBlackLouisCarrEra_ATC26_Halo-13057-scaled.jpg 320w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.afrotech.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2026\u002F11\u002FAngelineAbrera_BetonBlackLouisCarrEra_ATC26_Halo-13057-scaled.jpg 1200w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.afrotech.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2026\u002F11\u002FAngelineAbrera_BetonBlackLouisCarrEra_ATC26_Halo-13057-scaled.jpg 160w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.afrotech.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2026\u002F11\u002FAngelineAbrera_BetonBlackLouisCarrEra_ATC26_Halo-13057-scaled.jpg 768w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.afrotech.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2026\u002F11\u002FAngelineAbrera_BetonBlackLouisCarrEra_ATC26_Halo-13057-scaled.jpg 1536w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.afrotech.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2026\u002F11\u002FAngelineAbrera_BetonBlackLouisCarrEra_ATC26_Halo-13057-scaled.jpg 2048w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.afrotech.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2026\u002F11\u002FAngelineAbrera_BetonBlackLouisCarrEra_ATC26_Halo-13057-scaled.jpg 1568w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.afrotech.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2026\u002F11\u002FAngelineAbrera_BetonBlackLouisCarrEra_ATC26_Halo-13057-scaled.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \u002F>\u003Cfigcaption id=\"caption-attachment-276851\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo Credit: Angeline Abrera \u002FHalo Creative Studios for AfroTech\u003C\u002Ffigcaption>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\n",[26],{"id":27,"name":28,"slug":29,"description":15,"image":30},15181,"Entertainment","entertainment",null,[32,36,40],{"id":33,"name":34,"slug":35,"description":15,"image":15},16112,"Afrotech 2026","afrotech-2026",{"id":37,"name":38,"slug":39,"description":15,"image":15},8304,"AfroTech Conference","afrotech-conference",{"id":41,"name":42,"slug":43,"description":15,"image":15},16103,"AfroTech Culture","afrotech-culture",{"url":45,"thumbnail":45,"credit":46,"title":47,"alt":15,"type":48,"width":49,"height":50,"mimeType":51},"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.afrotech.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2026\u002F11\u002FLouis-Carr.jpg","Angeline Abrera \u002FHalo Creative Studios for AfroTech","Louis Carr","image",160,90,"image\u002Fjpeg","2026-11-03T18:34:18-05:00","2026-11-03 23:34:18","2026-11-04T17:35:31-05:00","2026-11-04 22:35:31","default",[],false,4,{"disableConnatixPlayer":58},{"disableAd":58,"disableConnatixPlayer":58,"enabledComments":58,"headScript":30,"hidePhotoAttribution":58},{"reviewer_name":15}]