The UB Interview: B. Monét and Jon-Thomas Royston Talk ‘Black Girls’

Comcast NBCUniversal teamed up with Never Whisper Justice to premiere “Black Girls,” a documentary that illustrates the inspiring stories of multiple Black women, who transcend beyond their adversities to become advocates in their communities.

Now available exclusively on Comcast’s Black Experience on Xfinity channel, on X1, Xumo, and Flex. Launched in 2021, Black Experience on Xfinity features the ultimate in Black storytelling from Black programming partners and film studios and has released a variety of original documentaries like “Black Girls” to showcase Black talent and content creators.

Experience on Xfinity Channel is the first-of-its-kind, curated destination of Black content, endorsed by the African American Film Critics Association.

“Black Girls,” a Never Whisper Justice story, is an exploration of intergenerational healing that traces the spectrum of advocacy among Black women from a variety of angles. The documentary follows the stories of Allyson Felix, the most decorated athlete in Olympic history; Vanessa Rochelle-Lewis, a performer, facilitator, educator, writer, and activist for body positivity; Olympia Auset, Founder of SÜPRMARKT and advocate for solving America’s food desert crisis; Marley Dias, author and creator of #1000BlackGirlBooks, which promotes literacy among Black girls; Jacqueline Alexander Sykes, a visual artist and director of St. Elmo Village, a sacred community for artists, activists, and creators interested in providing workshops to advance creative disciplines and address human concerns; and Alex Elle, a New York Times bestselling author and mother of three who emphatically democratizes personal healing as legacy work within her lineage.

“Black Girls” was directed by award-winning filmmaker B. Monét, who often poses thought-provoking questions about identity, society, race and culture in her work.

Meet Jon-Thomas (J.T.) Royston, the visionary behind Never Whisper Justice—an avant-garde, Black-owned creative agency at the forefront of fusing impactful storytelling with real-world change. As the Co-Founder & CEO, he leads a team of educators, artists, activists and creatives dedicated to delivering every storyboard with a purpose. Using feature length
documentary films as a vehicle thus far for promoting racial equity initiatives, breaking barriers around healthcare and championing diversity in STEM, J.T. sees narrative as an essential cornerstone to broaden collective healing.

Born a son to an Army veteran and pastor in San Antonio, Texas, he spent his early life exposed to many diverse cultural landscapes like Germany, Hawaii and Southern California. The challenge of constant relocation cultivated in him a deep passion for storytelling because no matter where he traveled, home felt much like the relationships he formed through sharing stories.

In 2015 he joined a boutique marketing firm in LA, where his affinity for story took a new shape by using data to design campaigns for tech, communications and healthcare industries. Honing his skills for data-centric engagement meant, numbers tell a story too. A belief that became the foundation for Never Whisper Justice when he founded it in 2018. After their first film Black Boys (2020) premiered on NBC Peacock, won many independent awards and built a fiscal model with an impressive list of collaborators including Procter & Gamble, Merck, Juniper Networks, Walmart, and the Federal Office of Head Start—this numbers game measures the importance of resonance over reach and centers the scope of impact as a ROI.

Never one to rest on laurels, he is currently steering the ship on the production of Black Girls (2024), the eagerly anticipated companion film. His vision for success extends beyond the screen, J.T. believes utilizing media is a powerful tool for positive outcomes everywhere. As J.T. Royston and Never Whisper Justice continue to change the narratives they tell, they invite collaborators to join them in reshaping stories that matter

B. Monét is a distinguished writer and director who obtained her B.A. in English from Spelman College and an MFA in Film and Television with a concentration in writing and directing from New York University. She is a native of Maryland and her films are known for their thought-provoking questions about identity, society, race, and culture. Her commitment to showcasing underrepresented people in film, media, and television is evident in her works.

She’s received several awards, including the runner-up position in the First Time Female Filmmakers Contest with Women and Hollywood, the 2017 Horizon Award through Cassian Elwes, Christine
Vachon, and Lynette Howell-Taylor at the Sundance Film Festival, and the Adrienne Shelly Foundation grant. She also participated in Film Independent’s residency program Project Involve as a directing fellow.

B. Monét is one of the winners of the #NewView Film Competition with Glamour and Girlgaze, which celebrates the voices of female filmmakers, and one of the filmmakers in the Tisch Other Showcase, which focuses on diverse artists whose voices are underrepresented in the television industry. Notably, B. Monét directed the award-winning short film Q.U.E.E.N., which premiered on Magic Johnson’s channel ASPiRE and has been screened at over a dozen festivals, including Cannes Short Film Corner.

She also directed a branded short film entitled “She’s Revolutionary” on the #MeToo founder Tarana Burke for Levi’s and Girlgaze, and has worked with several high-profile personalities such as Reese Witherspoon, Janet Jackson, Rosario Dawson, Chika, Rapsody, and Shangela for brands such as Crate and Barrel, Estee Lauder, Uber, OkayAfrica, OkayPlayer, and Hyundai. B. Monét’s feature film script Q.U.E.E.N. won the 2018 Best Graduate Feature Screenplay, and she is the recipient of the Will & Jada Smith Family Foundation grant at Fusion Film Festival, a finalist in the Women in Film Mini Upfronts Program, and a Sundance Women’s Financing Intensive Project Fellow.

In July 2019, she was selected as one of the filmmakers in the New York Stage and Film Filmmakers’ Workshop at Vassar College for Q.U.E.E.N. She was also selected as one of the participants in the Artist Academy with the New York Film Festival and Lincoln Center. B. Monét’s most recent accomplishment is being chosen as one of the winners for the Queen Collective in partnership with Queen Latifah, Tribeca, and P&G. Her short film Ballet After Dark is exclusively streaming on BET. Additionally, she is currently reimagining a short film version of A Star Is Born with Warner Brothers for their 100th Anniversary.

Aries from UB, caught up with the talented duo for the “Black Girls” documentary Jon-Thomas Royston & B. Monét.

Jon-Thomas shares why these stories are important, while B. Monét dishes on how she approached the project to direct.

They tell everyone why they should tune in, what’s next for them and more!