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1. How our generation (Gen Z) has rewritten the rules of "protest" and "supporting a movement"

2. The safe spaces we created to turn our modern activism into the consumerism of black-owned businesses

3. A positive example of activism leading to consumerism. (Telfar) – tally up the best example + Black-owned businesses that have seen a huge influx due to BLM support.

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How has Gen z rewritten the rules of supporting a movement and why?

What "safe spaces were created to uplift black-owned businesses "support black-owned"

1 main example - Telfar's story and revenue increase, list other examples of success

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https://abcnews.go.com/US/buy-black-movement-helps-black-owned-businesses-amid/story?id=73797139

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‘Buy Black’ movement helps Black-owned businesses amid COVID-19: It’s ‘more than a trend’

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“It’s a movement and it’s one that’s going to continue for a long time,” said a trends expert.

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How the Telfar bag became the most popular black-owned accessory 

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How the Telfar bag became the most popular black-owned accessory 

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Robyn Mowatt Robyn Mowatt is a staff writer at Okayplayer where she...

How did the Telfar become the most popular accessory of 2020? And what's up with all the memes? Here's everything you need to know about the Telfar Shopping Bag.

The Telfar Shopping Bag has been thrust into the mainstream. Thanks to a rise of activism and social awareness due to protests happening around the country, Black businesses have been experiencing an uptick in sales. The Telfar bag has been one of the big winners in the Buy Black boom.

So how did this happen? And what do all the memes mean? Here's everything you need to know about the Telfar's Shopping Bag - the most popular item of 2020.

Who is Telfar Clemens?

Telfar Clemens is a queer, self-taught Black designer hailing from Queens, New York who created his eponymous fashion house in 2005. From the very beginning days of the brand, the collections were genderless and unisex. Clemens launched his eponymous, unisex label before androgynous clothing was the norm in the fashion market. In 2017, Clemens famously redesigned White Castle's uniforms. After this, he released a capsule collection that paid homage to the New York City neighborhoods the chain is found in. All proceeds from the capsule were used to bail minors out of Rikers Island. For a Dazed interview, he said, "After we did White Castle there was this whole trend about 'downmarket' collaborations, but I think that really misses the point." He added, "It's corny to talk about 'elevating' things - we want to make fashion horizontal."

Clemens has built a dedicated and cult-like following over the years. His previous New York Fashion Week shows were heavily attended, celebrated, and covered. I n 2018, Clemens won the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund award which thrust him further into the spotlight.

What is a Telfar bag?

Though the success for Telfar might appear to have happened overnight, it didn't. A previous bio on the official site told Clemons' journey:

" Become a queer, Liberian-American eighteen year old, travel back to 2004 and establish a 100% unisex fashion line in New York City." It also read, "Try to make clothes that do not exist on the market - just as you don't exist in the world."

In 2014, the year he introduced the bag at the Autumn/Winter 2014 runway show, Clemens told Dazed his aspiration was to be "Michael Kors, but on purpose." Telfar used the funds from his CFDA/Vogue Fashion award - $400,000 - to focus on the Shopping Bag. He improved it and re-released it in 2018 with a wider range of colors and sizes. In a Vogue profile on the relaunch, he shared, " It really represents us moving from an idea to a business. It represents everything we are about; like our clothes, it's completely unisex and every possible kind of person can wear it, but it's also extremely accessible and practical."

Who is wearing Telfar bags?

For years, creatives and queer Black people in New York City have been omnipresent supporters of Telfar. But now more notable names are starting to catch on. Solange, Selah Marley, Tinashe, A$AP Ferg, Kelsey Lu, and BbyMutha have worn the bag publicly over the years. It also has appeared on Moonlight actor Ashton Sanders who accompanied Clemens to the Met Gala in 2019. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the latest supporter to join the ranks as she was seen wearing a Shopping Bag in D.C.

AOC rocking an oxblood Telfar shopping bag on Capitol Hill deserves your immediate attention. pic.twitter.com/sM5DAqxObD

- Ξvan Ross Katz (@evanrosskatz) August 24, 2020

How much does a Telfar Bag cost?

The price point for a Telfar Bag ranges from $150 to $257. When compared to luxury brands from other designers, the Telfar is affordable. For example, Jacquemus' popular mini bag, the Le Chiquito , prices out at $500 while Saint Laurent's Toy Loulou Bag is currently priced at $1250.

Why is this a question when a black CFDA award winning designer, who's presented in Milan & Paris redefines the concept of luxury? Do you know how much the Jacquemus "mini" Chiquito alone runs for?🥴 https://t.co/Hv8mkViLLG

- Shelton Griffith (@flyrebel) August 17, 2020

Why is the Telfar Bag so popular?

Nearly a month ago, Telfar began creating memes out of fans' social media reactions to the sporadic Shopping Bag drops. The memes were funny and relatable, a few of them went viral on Twitter.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CCbWQKAlDud/

What followed this were questions of whether the bag was actually a luxury item and whether or not the pricing was affordable. Some expressed their excitement over a Black brand receiving support even amid the elitism that is present within the fashion world. This discussion led into the next moments for Clemens which were set off by fans' reactions yet again.

There's a lot to be said for Telfar choosing IG as it's primary means of brand comms - There was def the "IG boutique" stigma out there strong in 2018 ESPECIALLY for luxury

He def gave the small luxury/mid-level girls a blueprint with that

- Shelby Ivey Christie (@bronze_bombSHEL) August 17, 2020

https://www.instagram.com/p/CEEmXqkgHV0/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

What is the Telfar Bag Security Program?

The brand's answer to the site crashing on July 23 was to create the Telfar Bag Security Program which will provide an opportunity for fashion lovers to support and secure a piece safely.

The Telfar Bag Security Program was a one-day, 24-hour online event that took place on August 19 where shoppers were able to pre-order any bag in any color of their choosing. Guaranteed delivery for these pre-orders will be between December 15 and January 15, 2021.

Where can you purchase the Telfar Shopping Bag now?

The cult favorite handbag is currently sold out. But, Telfar will be releasing drops throughout the rest of the year and the foreseeable future on their . (In fact, there's another drop official website happening on August 26th.) Previous stockists of the Shopping Bag include SSENSE , and Slam Jam, Ooga Booga .

What sizes is the Telfar Shopping Bag available in?

As stated on Telfar's official website, the piece will be available during separate drops in the coming weeks or months in small, medium and large. If you're into mini-bags, the small is the perfect size for you. But, if you're looking for an everyday bag, you should look to the medium as it can carry quite a few essentials like an iPad Air and daily knick-knacks the small can't quite fit. The large is the perfect carry-on for flights and is also an ideal office carry-all.

What colors is the Telfar Shopping Bag available in?

At the moment, Telfar's website displays the following colorways: black, white, tan, oxblood, dark olive, navy, yellow, cream, grey, pool blue, bubblegum pink, orange, red, silver, gold, cobalt, copper and a green/white flag color.

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How the Telfar Shopping Bag Became the Most Popular Black-Owned Accessory on the Internet

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How did the Telfar become the most popular accessory of 2020? And what's up with all the memes? Here's everything you need to know about the Telfar Shopping Bag. The Telfar Shopping Bag has been thrust into the mainstream.

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How Kai Collective blew up via black owned business support 

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How Kai Collective blew up via black owned business support 

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https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexandrasternlicht/2021/04/07/meet-the-nigerian-founder-building-a-clothing-empire-for-independent-women/?sh=4f959f553320

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"The way women feel when they wear my clothes is really what keeps me going," says Kai Collective founder Fisayo Longe.
Forbes

F isayo Longe wants to be very rich, and not from an inheritance or marriage, but on her own. The pursuit of financial freedom is what keeps Nigeria-raised entrepreneur logging 70-hour workweeks at her women's clothing brand, Kai Collective.

"The clothes are really a love letter to women who grew up the way I grew up, which was very much going through life in a standard way: coming up in school, getting married and deferring to a man," says Longe, the face of the 2021 Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe Art & Culture list. "I wanted to build something that would show Nigerian women that we can actually prioritize making money, not just relying on a man."

Since founding the Africa-inspired, direct-to-consumer e-commerce company in 2016, Longe hasn't taken a cent of outside funding and owns 100% of the business. She's focused her efforts on growing Kai through community, going so far as to survey top customers and incorporate their feedback into every strategic decision, from color palette to cut. Her strategy appears to be paying off: From 2019 to 2020, revenue grew 535% to $550,000.

"Our clothes make women feel good, but I don't think we would be successful if it wasn't for our community building and our very clear message that priorities and uplifts women," says Longe.

Though the majority of her customer base is made up of Black women between the ages of 24 and 30 living in the U.S., U.K., Australia and Nigeria, Longe's models represent a diversity of ages, body types, ethnicities and races. With every article of clothing, she aims to simultaneously celebrate and subvert Nigerian culture, and while many of her bestselling pieces-including the floor-dusting, curve-hugging Gaia dress, designed by Adebusola Adetona, CEO of Nigeria-based Grapes Pattern Bank-may look expensive, they cost less than $230. And each dress is cut from the same cloth, making them unique, not to mention sustainable.

Longe (center) and Kai Collective models wearing the brand's Gaia dresses.
Fisayo Longe

"Growing up, we women were taught to be kind, sweet and quiet," Longe says, who is usually based in London but temporarily in Tulum to oversee the photoshoot for Kai's first-ever swim collection. "For me, it's about embracing femininity in all forms."

Longe's journey has been anything but traditional. At 15, she moved from Lagos to London to study law. After being rejected by all of the programs to which she applied, she accepted an accounting internship at KPMG, where she spent her days performing audits for major tech, media and telecom businesses. The work was dull, but her paycheck was incentive enough to sign on for the company's School Leavers program, through which her Durham University education was fully funded in exchange for her continued employment at the firm.

After three years, though, she quit to focus on school, only to be expelled in her final year after failing her economics final three times.

It was 2017, and the 26 year old had no degree or money to her name. She did, however, have the beginnings of a fashion business, one that she'd started in school in the hope of making more money than she did at KMPG. Her mother loaned her $11,000-a sum she gratefully accepted-to scale her startup. As soon as the funds hit her bank account, she launched Kai's manufacturing operation in August 2016.

Without fashion industry connections, Longe relied upon her 47,000 Instagram followers (she now has over 122,000) to get the word out. In January 2020, her social media marketing finally paid off: A photo of Longe outfitted in a Kai dress at a BAFTA party went viral.

Just as Kai was finally taking off, Covid-19 started to spread across China. Longe, who had been manufacturing in Guangzhou, was forced to take most of her operations to Turkey. By the time she'd signed a contract with a new manufacturer, it was April, the height of the #BuyBlack movement. From May to June, her revenue grew more than 440% to $50,000 thanks, in part, to attention from the likes of Beyoncé and Vogue, as well as other influencers, who posted about Kai in directories of Black-owned businesses.

"I genuinely and organically liked Kai Collective's stuff," says makeup artist Jackie Aina, who has about 3.6 million YouTube followers, and helped hype Kai Collective last summer. "When I found out it was Nigerian-owned, it was even more sentimental to me."

Once international travel restrictions are lifted, Longe plans to move to the U.S. to be closer to the majority of her customers. She's been approached by ASOS, but turned down the wholesale opportunity to avoid associations with fast fashion. Wholesale is on the horizon, though, as she plans to launch product lines in swim and sleepwear. Despite the challenges she's faced, she isn't worried about the future of her company. "Growing up Black, you're told about how much harder you need to work," she says. "So I have an incredible work ethic."

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Meet The Nigerian Founder Building A Clothing Empire For Independent Women

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F isayo Longe wants to be very rich, and not from an inheritance or marriage, but on her own. The pursuit of financial freedom is what keeps Nigeria-raised entrepreneur logging 70-hour workweeks at her women's clothing brand, Kai Collective.

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https://www.heuritech.com/articles/fashion-solutions/trends-on-social-media/#:~:text=Social%20media%20has%20led%20consumers,for%20commercial%20and%20creative%20success.

- “Social media has led consumers to adopt and move on from fashion trends quicker than before, and to appease their customers, brands must keep up with the forecasts.

Trend forecasting using social media analysis allows fashion brands to unlock their potential for commercial and creative success.”

Buy Black Movement
https://abcnews.go.com/US/buy-black-movement-helps-black-owned-businesses-amid/story?id=73797139

- In 2020 following the death of George Floyd a global space was built online - specifically on social media to make a positive impact and uplift the black community by fueling a push to support black-owned businesses.

- The "buy black" movement has streamlined into other online movements such as "Black Pound Day", "BlackBusinessBoom" and BlackOwnedEverything".

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The gatekeepers of the fashion industry used to be editors, experienced designers and powerful retailers. Ten years ago, magazines were still considered the bible for fashion inspiration and new seasonal must-haves. So much has changed since the launch of Instagram in 2010.

Today, more than 100 million images are shared daily on Instagram, with nearly 1 billion monthly users. Can you imagine the power of these images? As a matter of fact, they influence three quarters of purchases and are often driven by brands themselves which collaborate with celebrities and their entourage.For example, Gucci's latest lookbook stars a number of big-name celebrities including Harry Styles and Billie Eilish: it's no surprise the brand rang in at number 3 on Lyst's hottest brands of Q2 2020. And with Instagram, purchasing is just a click away since brands tag their e-shops directly in pictures.

Instagram isn't the only social media platform inspiring change in the fashion industry, though: Weibo, Pinterest, TikTok, and YouTube play big roles as well, as millennials and Gen Z-ers have become both influencers and influencees. The industry as a whole has shifted from an exclusive to an inclusive form of fashion: consumers now express their opinions daily through social media. These new voices have entered the fashion game, most notably due to consumer behavior on Instagram.

Looking through the lens social media to better understand consumers

Given social media's major influence on how people shop, brands can no longer ignore the game-changing impact that these new consumer voices have on both their image and their business if they want to stay ahead.

Millennials & Gen Zers are leading fashion, Courtesy of Sahori

Millennials expect brands to constantly renew themselves with capsule collections, exclusive collaborations and innovative and exciting products. This puts a never-ending pressure on brands to reduce their time-to-market to just a few weeks: Missguided, a French women's clothing brand, has achieved an impressive time-to-market of just 1 week. This competitive advantage puts brands in a stronger position to react quickly to emerging trends considering that with social media, the propagation speed of trends is increasingly accelerating.

Nowadays, some micro trends take just a few months to be adopted by the population vs 1 - 2 years before social media. Not only do brands have to react very quickly to adjust their design and stock, but they also have to learn to anticipate, or they will miss the next big trend.

Furthermore, social media has amplified and accelerated the spread of a viral buzz and made it hard for brands to anticipate the lifecycle of a product. Nobody expected the Telfar Shopping Bag to break the internet like it did - even appearing on Oprah's 2020 Wish List - but it remains sold out on the brand's website still. On the other hand, we see other trends burst onto the Instagram fashion scene and vanish overnight.

Telfar Shopping Bag, Photo by Justin French

At this rate, brands are becoming engaged in an endless race to create more and more - more products, more content, more market share, etc. However, this race damages profitability and threatens the environment.

The solution is: SMARTER vs FASTER.

Being ahead of your consumer's preferences in order to launch strong products aligned with your brand's DNA, but also anticipating demand in order to reach the right balance between novelty and continuity, trendy and iconic products.

The great news is that if well used, Instagram is a gold mine of insights allowing brands to be ahead of their market and their consumer preferences.

Social media has a powerful predictive capacity

If fashion professionals used to look at what consumers were wearing on the streets to get a sense of the market, "street style" has now taken on an even greater significance online with thousands of consumers wearing products just a click away.

This means much more consumer data to analyze and back one's intuitions with. Instagram reflects desirability, the adoption of fashion trends and how they spread from edgy trends to commercial successes. We can see niche trends emerging from fashion-forward people, and closely follow their propagation (or not) to the mass market.

Designers have always looked at what's happening today to design for tomorrow. Social media has just changed the way they do it, giving them a window onto the world. Trend forecasting based on social media images is the best approach to keeping up with the times, especially given the rate at which consumer desires change and they way they express these changes on social media.

Not only do they have their human eye as they have always had, but now technology can save designers precious time to concentrate on what they do best: creating.

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Harness the power of social media to anticipate fashion trends

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The gatekeepers of the fashion industry used to be editors, experienced designers and powerful retailers. Ten years ago, magazines were still considered the bible for fashion inspiration and new seasonal must-haves. So much has changed since the launch of Instagram in 2010.

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How The Buy Black movement became an economic protest

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How The Buy Black movement became an economic protest

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https://andscape.com/features/buy-black-movement-gains-international-attention/

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The notion of circulating black wealth within the black community is nothing new. It's simply black capitalism - a way to build wealth in the black community by encouraging black people to spend their money with black entrepreneurs and businesses. It was encouraged by leaders such as Booker T. Washington and Marcus Garvey. Garvey believed economic success was the quickest and most effective way to independence. He even purchased ads in local newspapers during the early 1900s to encourage the practice.

Because of higher than the norm poverty and unemployment levels among African-American and many high-profile police-shootings of black men, several new-age activists are resurfacing the notion to push the movement forward as a form of economic protest. The advocacy action has gained the attention of French news outlet . The media outlet recently covered WeBuyBlack.com founder Sharif Abdul-Malik and the Buy Black movement spreading across the United States.

The call to action comes at a time when the spending power in the black community is increasing faster than in any other minority group, but is not being spent within the community.

In a digital age, WeBuyBlack.com helps advance the concept by meeting the need for an online marketplace for black-owned businesses to showcase and sell their products to a global community. Entrepreneurs use the WeBuyBlack website to sell their products. Thousands of shoppers support entrepreneurs to effect social change and buy their products.

France 24 spoke with rapper and activist Killer Mike, author Boyce Watkins, True Laundry Detergent creator Ali Muhammad, and Abdul-Malik.

"It just proves that what we are doing has a major impact," Abdul-Malik said of the international news coverage.

"Other communities have a history of supporting each other and using their own small businesses to stimulate their own economic growth," Abdul-Malik said. "In the black community, a dollar only circulates for six hours. Compare that to some Asian communities, where the same dollar can circulate for up to a month. When you look at it that way, it's no wonder why we're not getting ahead like we should."

Abdul-Malik created the online platform that sells everything from toilet paper to skin lotion, all produced by black-owned companies. The 24-year-old change maker says his work will have a similar impact on future generations of African-Americans.

"I really think it's a natural complement to the Black Lives Matter movement. At WeBuyBlack, we like to say Black Dollars Matter, because when we can learn to use our resources strategically, we can make a bigger impact at home and out in the world."

Consumers have had issues finding and purchasing items from black-owned companies and according to a recent story on NPR one consumer concluded that, "black people just do not control enough resources at fundamental levels and in fundamental industries for me to make those types of [buying] decisions. That was one of the issues that I had with Buy Black, is that it really, really stressed the buying part and the consumerism part, and not the owning and producing part."

The movement to #BuyBlack and #BankBlack has been advancing with the help of celebrities and it continues to pick up steam.

Kelley Evans is a digital producer at Andscape. She is a food passionista, helicopter mom and an unapologetic Southerner who spends every night with the cast of The Young and the Restless by way of her couch.

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Buy Black movement gains international attention

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The notion of circulating black wealth within the black community is nothing new. It's simply black capitalism - a way to build wealth in the black community by encouraging black people to spend their money with black entrepreneurs and businesses. It was encouraged by leaders such as Booker T.

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Chapter breakdown provided in email

- Secondary research
Stuart Hall - Professor
The colour of money (only for 7 days!!)

- Primary Research
Stuart Haul (Invia, John Islip st)

- Scout for engaging Reference images

- Detailed paragraph breakdown

-

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Research in August/ September

To avoid being overwhelmed with my other unit tasks and work experience throughout my third year

I'm aware the time goes very quickly so i'd like to get all of my research done as early as possible to schedule out my weekly tasks to suit

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1. Brief unravelling of racism and how it's caused social injustice throughout the decades

2. Overview of black activism in the past (Black panthers etc) + maybe include their fashion choices.

3. How Black Lives Matter was born and the ways in which it succeeded.

3. George Floyd's death in 2020 during the pandemic and the protests this caused worldwide

4. How this series of events was different....?

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- Modern activism through consumerism - explanation

- BLM movement being pushed through social media and celebrity culture.

- How it's transformed Loudbrand studios (Kylie Jenner dress)

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Celebrity activism - "I take responsibility"

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Celebrity activism - "I take responsibility"

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Hollywood is perhaps one of the last places to look for inspiration-practical, emotional, or otherwise-in times of crisis. Still, our gilded class's response to the societal shitstorm that has dominated our minds and screens for the last four months has felt notably unfastened. In April, the comedian and talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres made headlines when she joked that life while quarantined in her ten-thousand-square-foot Beverly Hills mansion felt like "being in jail." The same week, the Times reported on the four hundred inmates being held at Rikers Island for minor parole violations, despite a worsening pandemic. The inmates included Raymond Rivera, a fifty-five-year-old man who, after having his case delayed several months, contracted in jail and died the day after state officials lifted the warrant against him. As public sentiment has turned from coronavirus-induced fear to sadness and anger following the tragic killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, the celebrity response has ranged from milquetoast to head-scratching.

In a video shared to Instagram on June 2nd, the movie heartthrob turned Silicon Valley financier Ashton Kutcher choked back tears as he recounted a pre-bedtime conversation that he had with his two young children. He explained how his son wanted to be read to first, but Kutcher told him that his sister would go first because "for some boys, girls don't get to go at all." The story was meant to serve as a poignant and instructive allegory for the scores of Instagram users who had commented "All Lives Matter" under a recent post of his where he had opined "BLM." Around the same time, Virgil Abloh, the artistic director of menswear for Louis Vuitton and the founder and C.E.O. of Off-White, was being memed into a fine dust after posting a screenshot of his paltry fifty-dollar donation to a bail fund started by the Miami art collective (F)empower. And, on Thursday, a two-minute video for an initiative bluntly titled "I Take Responsibility" joined the ever-growing canon of the unsought celebrity P.S.A. The video features a coalition of white actors and entertainers asserting their culpability in perpetuating anti-black racism. Filmed in a sombre black-and-white and scored with saccharine piano, the spot shows Sarah Paulson, Stanley Tucci, Kesha, and others vowing no longer to "turn a blind eye" or "allow racist, hurtful words . . . to be uttered in my presence" and "to stand against hate." The Web site for the initiative allows visitors to decide which vice they feel most guilty of ("Saying racism doesn't exist," "not being inclusive," etc.) and to "make it better today" by pledging to do things like "donate to families affected [by racism]" before directing them to various organizations and petitions. Elsewhere, many celebrities simply invoked proverbial, and often literal, "prayer hands" emoji (🙏)-a de-facto "get well soon" to society and all its ills.

The missed notes have been particularly grating in the pop-music world, where many stars have built careers and amassed huge profits working within black musical traditions and selling their work to black audiences. As black communities are being disproportionately decimated by the coronavirus and black people continue to die at the hands of law enforcement, there are some who feel that figures like Drake should use their gigantic platforms to do more than, say, offer a fan the chance to fly on his private jet. (On June 1st, Drake was challenged by his fellow Toronto artist Mustafah the Poet to match a four-hundred-dollar donation to a black bail-fund network. The rapper reportedly replied, "Say less, brother," and posted a donation receipt for a hundred thousand dollars.)

A similar desire to push industry leaders toward more decisive action in combatting anti-black racism is likely how #TheShowMustBePaused was first conceived. Led by Jamila Thomas and Brianna Agyemang-two black women who have worked in executive roles at major record labels-the initiative was meant to be an industry-wide day of observance for "the long-standing racism and inequality that exists from the boardroom to the boulevard." According to the stated mission on the project's Web site, the women hoped that this day of reflection would be a positive first step in the effort to "hold accountable the industry at large . . . including major corporations and their partners who benefit from the efforts, struggles and successes of Black people." On Tuesday, June 2nd, scores of artists posted black squares on their Instagram feeds, often alongside the hashtag #BlackoutTuesday. Nearly all the major music labels observed the blackout, and explained, with varying levels of specificity, what a continued commitment to this mission would look like at their respective companies. The trend was quickly picked up by many people outside the industry, too. And, somewhat ironically, the flood of black-square posts ended up saturating the #blacklivesmatter tag on Instagram, displacing resources and information that some organizers had been compiling for years. By Wednesday, it was back to business as usual on many artists' feeds-after all, there were deluxe-edition albums to promote.

The current cultural moment is one whose urgency feels particularly ill-suited to the sort of vapid pageantry that typically constitutes the "socially conscious" arm of a celebrity's public-relations repertoire. Given all the vested corporate interests that celebrities have, and the timeworn tradition of rewarding famous people for the appearance of political integrity more than its actual presence, it's wishful to expect every musician with more than a million followers to be schooled in the perils of systemic racial inequality, much less to be equipped to speak publicly about it. In fact, it would probably be in our collective best interest that not all of them did. Still, one hopes that, among the faction of the highly followed and highly influential who were jumping to post black squares and vague sentence fragments, there are some who could use their visibility to do more. The increased pressure on artists to monetize their personal brands and the subsequent professionalization of social media have turned these solipsistic Internet spaces into de-facto storefronts for mini corporations. Sadly, it seems that many of the famous names behind these accounts have also adopted the sort of risk-averse, politically opaque rhetoric favored by Fortune 500 companies-opting for tepid platitudes and lazy hashtag activism in lieu of more resolute (and potentially alienating) public displays.

The tiptoeing of the entertainment industry's biggest names has been made all the more conspicuous by the activity of their less popular peers. Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, and now in the wake of the George Floyd murder and other police-related violence, smaller and independent artists have used their reach to compile and disseminate resources like recommended viewing and reading lists ( flawed as they may be), to amplify the work of organizers, and to publicize bail funds to donate to in support of the many protesters who have been arrested in cities across the country, and they have gone to protests themselves. Corpus Family Mutual Aid Fund, the initiative started by the New York creative collective affiliated with the Queens hardcore band Show Me the Body, has amassed more than twenty-two thousand dollars in just over a month, with the bulk of proceeds going to members of the New York City D.I.Y. music scene who have been financially affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Of course, not all of the ultra-famous have blown hot air. Various high-profile figures have disrupted their seemingly endless promotion cycles and retrofitted their social channels to speak pointedly about the current moment. One such figure is "Star Wars" 's John Boyega. Despite apparent pushback from some of his fans, the British actor, who is of Nigerian descent, has been very outspoken in disparaging racism and brutal policing and has voiced support for protests around the world. On June 3rd, a video of an impassioned Boyega addressing the crowd at a large Black Lives Matter demonstration in London circulated widely online. Elsewhere, figures such as the Chicago rapper Noname, whose popular online book club has highlighted titles by Frantz Fanon, Paulo Freire, and Octavia Butler, have continued to use their platforms to galvanize their following and espouse their unequivocal beliefs. Some celebrities who in the past had been perhaps overzealous in exploiting their soapbox (ahem, Kanye) even seem to have stepped back and taken a more measured approach this time around.

What shouldn't be overlooked is the work that plain old non-celebrity people have been doing. Within the past few weeks, funds for, among other causes, pretrial bail for trans people being held in New York City jails, George Floyd's young daughter Gianna, and Ramsey Orta-the man who filmed the murder of his friend Eric Garner in 2014 and was released from prison this year-have been flooded with contributions. Bail-fund organizers in particular have seen an unprecedented spike in support in recent weeks. Many people have been posting receipts of their donations and challenging friends in their network to match them.

What these examples show is not that every single celebrity has to commit to leading the revolution but what can happen if these platforms were treated less like public-relations buildouts and more like the powerful communication channels and resource vectors that they are. Ideological fluffiness on the part of people with huge online followings can be at its best a wasted opportunity and at its worst deleterious to more substantive activism happening on social media. A #blacklivesmatter post on Jennifer Lopez's Instagram page reaches an audience larger than those of most regional television stations. And although reposting an aerial video of a street mural is nice, it lacks the efficacy of a bail-fund link to free those arrested while marching across it.

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"I Take Responsibility" and the Limits of Celebrity Activism

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Hollywood is perhaps one of the last places to look for inspiration-practical, emotional, or otherwise-in times of crisis. Still, our gilded class's response to the societal shitstorm that has dominated our minds and screens for the last four months has felt notably unfastened.

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Kylie Jenner criticised for leaving black-owned dress untagged

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Kylie Jenner criticised for leaving black-owned dress untagged

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Kylie Jenner Criticised For Leaving Black-Owned Business Untagged (But The Brand's Entire Collection Still Sold Out)

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Kylie Jenner faced criticism when she didn't tag LoudBrand Studios on Instagram. That didn't stop the brand's collection selling out. Read more on Grazia.

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The Kylie Jenner effect is an unstoppable and relenting force.

The 22-year-old has such level of clout that she can wipe $1billion from Snap Inc's market value as quickly as she can blithely post a string of pictures to her Instagram account, in turn propelling a burgeoning brand to the dizzying heights of viral success.

Last Monday, Jedidiah Duyile was indeed one of the beneficiaries of the Kardashian Klout. The youngest member of the Kardashian-Jenner family posted photographs to her Instagram account in which she sported a nude-toned, body-conscious dress, which was from Duyile's East London brand, Loudbrand Studios. Needless to say, the frock swiftly sold out.

Jenner didn't tag Loudbrand when she first posted the photos, prompting fans to call her out for failing to shout out the Black-owned business. The reality star was quick to dismiss any suggestion of a lack of support, tweeting: "Why would I ever refuse to tag a brand and block comments... I think this brand is amazing and I wanted to show support and will continue to do so." Jenner conceded by encouraging her fans to check out Loudbrand Studios.

"Everything has really blown up," Duyile tells the Standard. "I didn't know she was going to wear it, so on Monday I was at work and a friend texted me and said 'Is Kylie wearing your dress?' I looked and saw that she was and I honestly could not stop shaking."

In the space of 48 hours Loudbrand Studios' Instagram following escalated from a modest 2,000 to just shy of 50,000. That's an increase of 2,400%.

Duyile drew inspiration from her Nigerian-Ghanian heritage when designing the now-viral dress. "I really looked to where my parents are from and wanted to create something with the rich colours that come from those countries: the reds, the browns, the oranges."

After attending a host of courses at the London College of Fashion in her early teens - several in fashion design and others in jewellery design - Duyile realised that she wanted to pursue a career in the fashion industry but wasn't sure which facet most suited her.

What followed was a degree in fashion journalism (which solidified her belief that she didn't have an interest in the field) and her first foray into fashion design: an upcycling jeans business she ran via a now-defunct Instagram account called Jeans By.

"People would DM the page and say 'hey, I've got some really baggy jeans' and I'd take the jeans and paint them, cut them, basically totally re-vamp them," she explains.

Indeed, upcycling, recycling and the general notion of sustainability are at the core of Loudbrand Studios.

Eschewing the circular style of making collections in bulk, Jed has opted for a made-to-order model in a bid to swerve accumulating a surplus of deadstock material. The two seasons which the fashion industry works towards - spring/summer and autumn/winter - have been swapped out in favour of "one or two things every month, whenever I'm feeling inspired or creative."

"I am big on recycling - I don't feel like you should throw things away. I want to recycle things as much as I can for as long as I can."

Loudbrand operates as a team of three, with Duyile heading up design and creative direction, one of her good friends - who was keen to be a part of Loudbrand Studios - leading on social media and marketing and another offering to lead strategy for the brand.

"We kind of all fell into the roles, it was never properly decided, it was all really organic and they're my friends and just wanted to help me out," she says.

Since Monday though, she quips, there's been a swift establishment of a firmer strategy and she's employed the use of her four siblings to help lead on the differing demands of the business. One sister is in charge of responding to e-mails, another answering phone calls and others helping Duyile hand sew orders. "We haven't outsourced anything yet, it's all very much in-house," she laughs.

Her inspiration for starting Loudbrand, which was conceived in 2016, was noting a gap in the market for comfortable and bold clothes which are made sustainably.

"I am aware that, as women, we all come in different shapes and sizes and I wanted to create something that would be comfortable for all women - no matter your size," she says.

Now that a star has been born, Duyile has a figure in her sights which may even eclipse the star power of Jenner. "To see Beyoncé wearing my stuff would be absolutely epic."

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Loudbrand Studios: Kylie Jenner's new favourite London fashion label

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The Kylie Jenner effect is an unstoppable and relenting force. The 22-year-old has such level of clout that she can wipe $1billion from Snap Inc's market value as quickly as she can blithely post a string of pictures to her Instagram account, in turn propelling a burgeoning brand to the dizzying heights of viral success.

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- Black Tuesday Controversy (negative aspects)

- Fake support from big brands in order to benefit their companies (jacquemus/ other brands taking advantage of the movement e.g)

-  Brands strategically giving themselves the right image to lead to more consumerism

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Vogue Article (from Proquest) - Can fashion be political? 

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Vogue Article (from Proquest) - Can fashion be political? 

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Pages 1-2 (October 2020) Maya Singer

As 2020 underwent a radical transformation, Maya Singer looked at how the fashion industry reckoned with momentous and much-needed change.

"Fashion functions as a mirror to our times, so it is inherently political. What's radical today is the way social consciousness is informing fashion; Designers worldwide whether indie start-ups or internationally famed Maisons are incorporating politics at every level of their brands from the fantasies spun on the runway down to the nuts and bolts of how collections are produced. These designers aren't just making clothes - alongside activists and organisers they're making change - that's a selling point" - Andrew Bolton via Vogue

Points
- Brands' involvement in politics to help increase their selling point.

- Despite this involvement - their teams remain lack POC and true transparency of inclusivity.

- How can they truly represent and be alys without hiring black people within their teams?

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BLM history and activism origins

George Floyd 2020 incident and protests

Safe spaces created by us for upliftment

Consumerism

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Book: Why I'm no longer talking to white people about race 

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Book: Why I'm no longer talking to white people about race 

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Ebookcentral.Proquest

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Research (Using sources provided)

1. Reading lists on Aula: (Consumerism, Fashion promotion)

2. Library catalogue (Issues of Vogue,

3. Theconversation.com (well-researched written articles by academics)

4. Kanopy (Netflix for educational info)

5. Academic resources (books) - Stuard haul

How to use it

- ‘Direct quotes’ and analyse it

- Make a point, back it up with the quote and explain why it backs up my point

- Paraphrasing - saying what someone has
said in my own words, referencing it after point (can include a phrase between points)

Anything beyond 5 words of someone else’s work is plagiarism and would have to be quoted

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George Floyd's articles                                                Wide-ranging magazine-type format, full of well-researched and written articles (often by academics)  

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George Floyd's articles                                                Wide-ranging magazine-type format, full of well-researched and written articles (often by academics)  

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Colonial police organisations used similar arguments to uphold their power as were heard in the trial of George Floyd 's murderer.

Going to a protest may increase your risk of COVID-19. But calling out the structural racism that takes black lives and affects health outcomes for people of colour is also vital.

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Colonial police organisations used similar arguments to uphold their power as were heard in the trial of George Floyd 's murderer. Going to a protest may increase your risk of COVID-19. But calling out the structural racism that takes black lives and affects health outcomes for people of colour is also vital.

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Slavery Abolition Act, (1833), in British history, act of Parliament that abolished slavery in most British colonies, freeing more than 800,000 enslaved Africans in the Caribbean and South Africa as well as a small number in Canada. It received Royal Assent on August 28, 1833, and took effect on August 1, 1834.

Slavery Abolition Act George Munday/age fotostock

Background

Several factors led to the Act's passage. Britain's economy was in flux at the time, and, as a new system of international commerce emerged, its slaveholding Caribbean colonies-which were largely focused on sugar production-could no longer compete with larger plantation economies such as those of Cuba and Brazil. Merchants began to demand an end to the monopolies on the British market held by the Caribbean colonies and pushed instead for free trade. The persistent struggles of enslaved Africans and a growing fear of slave uprisings among plantation owners were another major factor.

Legal challenges to slavery in British North America

British abolitionists had actively opposed the transatlantic trade in African people since the 1770s. (Several abolitionist petitions were organized in 1833 alone, which collectively garnered the support of 1.3 million signatories.) Such antislavery views spread to Upper Canada, influencing the passage there of the 1793 Act to Limit Slavery, the first such legislation in the British colonies.

In the eastern colonies of Lower Canada (what is now Québec), Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, however, abolitionist attempts had been unsuccessful. In 1793, for instance, Pierre-Louis Panet introduced a bill to the National Assembly to abolish enslavement in Lower Canada, but the bill languished over several sessions and never came to a vote.

Instead, individual legal challenges first raised in the late 1700s undermined the institution of enslavement in these areas. One important case arose in February 1798, when an enslaved woman named Charlotte was arrested in Montréal and refused to return to her mistress. She was brought before James Monk, a justice of the King's Bench with abolitionist sympathies, who released her on a technicality. According to British law, enslaved persons could be detained only in houses of corrections, not common jails, and no houses of correction existed in Montréal. Charlotte and another enslaved woman named Judith were accordingly freed that winter. Monk stated in his ruling that he would apply this interpretation of the law to subsequent cases. Another significant 1798 case came before the courts in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, when a local military officer, Frederick William Hecht, sought to establish his title to an enslaved woman named Rachel Bross. After a lengthy trial, the jury rejected Hecht's claim, ruling instead that Bross was a free servant.

Rulings in such cases did not always favour emancipation, however. Only two years after the trials of Charlotte and Bross, an enslaved woman named Nancy petitioned for her freedom in the New Brunswick courts. Fourteen years earlier, Nancy had run away with her son and three others, but they were caught and returned to her owner, a farmer and Loyalist settler named Caleb Jones. The challenge filed by her attorneys was that slavery was a socially accepted custom but was not officially recognized in New Brunswick. The judges' decision was split, and Nancy remained enslaved.

Impact of the Act

The Slavery Abolition Act did not explicitly refer to British North America. Its aim was rather to dismantle the large-scale plantation slavery that existed in Britain's tropical colonies, where the enslaved population was usually larger than that of the white colonists. Enslaved Africans in British North America were relatively isolated and far smaller in number.

As an imperial statute, the Slavery Abolition Act liberated less than 50 enslaved Africans in British North America. For most enslaved people in British North America, however, the Act resulted only in partial liberation, as it only emancipated children under the age of six, while others were to be retained by their former owners for four to six years as apprentices. The British government made available £20,000,000 to pay for damages suffered by owners of registered slaves, but none of the money was sent to slaveholders in British North America. Those who had been enslaved did not receive any compensation either.

The Act also made Canada a free territory for enslaved American blacks. Thousands of fugitive slaves and free blacks subsequently arrived on Canadian soil between 1834 and the early 1860s.
Natasha L. Henry
The original version of this entry was published by The Canadian Encyclopedia.

Parliament, (from Old French: parlement; Latin: parliamentum) the original legislative assembly of England, Scotland, or Ireland and successively of Great Britain and the United Kingdom; legislatures in some countries that were once British colonies are also known as parliaments....

South Africa, the southernmost country on the African continent, renowned for its varied topography, great natural beauty, and cultural diversity, all of which have made the country a favoured destination for travelers since the legal ending of apartheid (Afrikaans: "apartness," or racial separation) in 1994. South...

Canada, second largest country in the world in area (after Russia), occupying roughly the northern two-fifths of the continent of North America. Despite Canada's great size, it is one of the world's most sparsely populated countries. This fact,...

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Slavery Abolition Act | History & Impact

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Info Print Cite Feedback Share Slavery Abolition Act, (1833), in British history, act of Parliament that abolished slavery in most British colonies, freeing more than 800,000 enslaved Africans in the Caribbean and South Africa as well as a small number in Canada. It received Royal Assent on August 28, 1833, and took effect on August 1, 1834.

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Life after Slavery for african americans 

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Life after Slavery for african americans 

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Life after slavery for African Americans (article) | Khan Academy

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If you're seeing this message, it means we're having trouble loading external resources on our website.

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Activist DeRay McKesson has commented that the movement "encompasses all who publicly declare that black lives matter and devote their time and energy accordingly."
Freelon, Deen; McIlwain, Charlton D.; Clark, Meredith D. (February 29, 2016). "Beyond the Hashtags" (PDF). Center for Media and Social Impact. p. 9. Retrieved December 18, 2016.

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Black Codes and Jim Crow

The first steps toward official segregation came in the form of " Black Codes." These were laws passed throughout the South starting around 1865, that dictated most aspects of Black peoples' lives, including where they could work and live. The codes also ensured Black people's availability for cheap labor after slavery was abolished.

Segregation soon became official policy enforced by a series of Southern laws. Through so-called Jim Crow laws (named after a derogatory term for Blacks), legislators segregated everything from schools to residential areas to public parks to theaters to pools to cemeteries, asylums, jails and residential homes. There were separate waiting rooms for whites people and Black people in professional offices and, in 1915, Oklahoma became the first state to even segregate public phone booths.

Colleges were segregated and separate Black institutions like Howard University in Washington, D.C. and Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee were created to compensate. Virginia's Hampton Institute was established in 1869 as a school for Black youth, but with white instructors teaching skills to relegate Black people in service positions to whites.

The Supreme Court and Segregation

In 1875 the outgoing Republican-controlled House and Senate passed a civil rights bill outlawing discrimination in schools, churches and public transportation. But the bill was barely enforced and was overturned by the Supreme Court in 1883.

In 1896, the Supreme Court ruled in Plessy v. Ferguson that segregation was constitutional. The ruling established the idea of "separate but equal." The case involved a mixed-race man who was forced to sit in the Black-designated train car under Louisiana's Separate Car Act.

Housing Segregation

As part of the segregation movement, some cities instituted zoning laws that prohibited Black families from moving into white-dominant blocks. In 1917, as part of Buchanan v. Warley, the Supreme Court found such zoning to be unconstitutional because it interfered with property rights of owners.

Using loopholes in that ruling in the 1920s, Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover created a federal zoning committee to persuade local boards to pass rules preventing lower-income families from moving into middle-income neighborhoods, an effort that targeted Black families. Richmond, Virginia, decreed that people were barred from residency on any block where they could not legally marry the majority of residents. This invoked Virginia's anti-mixed race marriage law and was not technically in violation with the Supreme Court decision.

Segregation During the Great Migration

During the Great Migration, a period between 1916 and 1970, six million African Americans left the South. Huge numbers moved northeast and reported discrimination and segregation similar to what they had experienced in the South.

As late as the 1940s, it was still possible to find "Whites Only" signs on businesses in the North. Segregated schools and neighborhoods existed, and even after World War II, Black activists reported hostile reactions when Black people attempted to move into white neighborhoods.

Segregation and the Public Works Administration

The Public Works Administration's efforts to build housing for people displaced during the Great Depression focused on homes for white families in white communities. Only a small portion of houses was built for Black families, and those were limited to segregated Black communities.

In some cities, previously integrated communities were torn down by the PWA and replaced by segregated projects. The reason given for the policy was that Black families would bring down property values.

Red-Lining

Starting in the 1930s, the Federal Home Loan Bank Board and the Home Owners' Loan Corporation conspired to create maps with marked areas considered bad risks for mortgages in a practice known as "red-lining." The areas marked in red as "hazardous" typically outlined Black neighborhoods. This kind of mapping concentrated poverty as (mostly Black) residents in red-lined neighborhoods had no access or only very expensive access to loans.

The practice did not begin to end until the 1970s. Then, in 2008, a system of "reverse red-lining," which extended credit on unfair terms with subprime loans, created a higher rate of foreclosure in Black neighborhoods during the housing crisis.

Housing Segregation

In 1948, the Supreme Court ruled that a Black family had the right to move into their newly-purchased home in a quiet neighborhood in St. Louis, despite a covenant dating back to 1911 that precluded the use of the property in the area by "any person not of the Caucasian race." In Shelley v. Kramer, attorneys from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), led by Thurgood Marshall, argued that allowing such white-only real estate covenants were not only morally wrong, but strategically misguided in a time when the country was trying to promote a unified, anti-Soviet agenda under President Harry Truman. Civil rights activists saw the landmark case as an example of how to start to undo trappings of segregation at the federal level.

But while the Supreme Court ruled that white-only covenants were not enforceable, the real estate playing field was hardly leveled. The Housing Act of 1949 was proposed by Truman to solve a housing shortage caused by soldiers returned from World War II. The act subsidized housing for whites only, even stipulating that Black families could not purchase the houses even on resale. The program effectively resulted in the government funding white flight from cities.

One of the most notorious of the white-only communities created by the Housing Act was Levittown, New York, built in 1949 and followed by other Levittowns in different locations.

Segregation in Schools

Segregation of children in public schools was struck down by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional in 1954 with Brown v. Board of Education. The case was originally filed in Topeka, Kansas after seven-year-old Linda Brown was rejected from the all-white schools there.

A follow-up opinion handed decision-making to local courts, which allowed some districts to defy school desegregation. This led to a showdown in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower deployed federal troops to ensure nine Black students entered high school after Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus had called in the National Guard to block them.

When Rosa Parks was arrested in 1955 after refusing to give up her bus seat to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama, the civil rights movement began in earnest. Through the efforts of organizers like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the resulting protests, the Civil Rights Act was signed in 1964, outlawing discrimination, though desegregation was a slow process, especially in schools.

Boston Busing Crisis

One of the worst incidents of anti-integration happened in 1974. Violence broke out in Boston when, in order to solve the city's school segregation problems, courts mandated a busing system that carried Black students from predominantly Roxbury to South Boston schools, and vice versa.

The state had passed the Elimination of Racial Balance law in 1965, but it had been held up in court by Irish Catholic opposition. Police protected the Black students as several days of violence broke out between police and Southie residents. White crowds greeted the buses with insults, and further violence erupted between Southie residents and retaliating Roxbury crowds. State troopers were called in until the violence subsided after a few weeks.

Segregation in the 21st Century

Segregation persists in the 21st Century. Studies show that while the public overwhelmingly supports integrated schools, only a third of Americans want federal government intervention to enforce it.

The term "apartheid schools" describes still-existing, largely segregated schools, where white students make up 0 to 10 percent of the student body. The phenomenon reflects residential segregation in cities and communities across the country, which is not created by overtly racial laws, but by local ordinances that target minorities disproportionately.

Sources

Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi, published by Bodley Head.
The Case for Reparations by Ta-Nehisi Coates, The .
Dismantling Desegregation by Gary Orfield and Susan E. Eaton by the New Press.

Fact Check

We strive for accuracy and fairness. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate.

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Segregation in the United States - Meaning, Facts. & Legacy

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After the United States abolished slavery, Black Americans continued to be marginalized through Jim Crow laws and diminished access to facilities, housing, education-and opportunities.

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1. Forms of racism leading to discrimination

2.  How the black community have used activism to stand up for ourselves (BLM)

3.  How I will explore activism leading to intentional consumerism in fashion

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What's holding Black entrepreneurs back? 

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What's holding Black entrepreneurs back? 

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“Brought over as slaves, they continue to suffer from a wide array of disadvantages wrought by systematic racial oppression. As such, blacks generally lack the resources that the most entrepreneurially accomplished groups have used to achieve business success.” - MSU sociologist Steven Gold

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It's not a lack of initiative that's keeping African-Americans from starting their own businesses, but instead a centuries-old racial disadvantage that's not experienced by other minority groups, a Michigan State University scholar argues in a new paper.

Only 5 percent of blacks are self-employed, compared with 11 percent of whites, and black-owned companies tend to be smaller, have fewer employees and make less money than white-owned businesses.

Some researchers and politicians have blamed blacks' low levels of entrepreneurship on a poor work ethic and a lack of interest in and ability for business. But what these theories fail to recognize is that the creation of small business requires resources that blacks, unlike immigrant minority groups, generally lack, said MSU sociologist Steven Gold.

"Immigrants - who benefit from skills, investment capital, family labor, imported goods and wage differentials brought from the country of origin -- have higher rates of self-employment than native-born minorities," Gold said. "To a large extent, the most entrepreneurially successful immigrants from countries such as Korea, Vietnam, Cuba, China and Iran came from property-owning upper classes and entered the United States with human capital and money to invest. So it's no surprise they've been successful in small business."

"Black Americans' entrepreneurial experiences contrast dramatically with these groups," Gold added. "Brought over as slaves, they continue to suffer from a wide array of disadvantages wrought by systematic racial oppression. As such, blacks generally lack the resources that the most entrepreneurially accomplished groups have used to achieve business success."

Modern disadvantages experienced by blacks include racial segregation, low levels of earnings, lack of wealth, poor education, lack of experience in a family business, employer discrimination and difficulty in getting a loan, Gold said.

In April 2000, a congressional study found that "Most banks largely ignored African-American neighborhoods, even those with above-average incomes," forcing many blacks to depend on expensive and abusive lenders, he said.

In addition, while the average white family's wealth in 2009 was $113,000, the average black family's wealth was a fraction of that, $5,700.

"These liabilities make it harder for blacks than other groups to obtain loans, lines of credits and other financial services which are crucial to running a business," Gold said.

His paper appears online in the academic journal Ethnic and Racial Studies.

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What's holding black entrepreneurs back?

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It's not a lack of initiative that's keeping African-Americans from starting their own businesses, but instead a centuries-old racial disadvantage that's not experienced by other minority groups, a Michigan State University scholar argues in a new paper.

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"When most people think about racism, they probably think of racial slurs, hate crimes, or other overtly racist actions. There are, however, other less obvious yet ultimately even more destructive forms of racism". - Paula A. Braveman

"Institutional racism is sometimes used as a synonym for systemic or structural racism, as it captures the involvement of institutional systems and structures in race-based discrimination and oppression"

These structures "operate unconsciously or unintentionally, but nevertheless effectively, to produce and sustain racial discrimination"

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"Affirmative action and “diversity, equity, inclusion” efforts aim to address centuries of exclusion of people of color from employment, job promotion, and admission to schools and universities. Affirmative action involves fairly considering qualified candidates who previously would have been rejected on the basis of their racial or ethnic group—for example, by considering the obstacles faced by candidates when assessing their strengths and potential to succeed. In response to challenges to affirmative action initiatives, which sometimes have been accused of discriminating against White or Asian people, many institutions have reframed their efforts under the banner of diversity, equity, and inclusion."

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"Fashion has established itself in ways that enable white supremacy, from the parameters of beauty and style being based on white European standards, to the tokenism of ethnic ambiguity, to the dismissal of Black culture’s contributions to aesthetics" - Naomi Barling (16th March, 2021)

"Sharing the reasoning and sources behind creative work, where there is no intent to steal, but rather show a true representation of an inspiration, enables us to explore the topic of cultural exchange in a more truthful way."

" I look forward with hope to a true transformation of the whole value chain, and a future that integrates and values people of all backgrounds, their ideas, and their stories without cultural or economic exploitation."

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If we want to fight racism in the fashion industry, we need diversity at every level.

The inhumane treatment of Black and Brown people globally is centuries old and systemic. As recent videos of police killings are creating universal outrage, remember racism doesn't just exist in these clips alone. It is deeply entrenched in all parts of our culture, including the fashion industry, where progress is painfully slow.

Fashion has established itself in ways that enable white supremacy, from the parameters of beauty and style being based on white European standards, to the tokenism of ethnic ambiguity, to the dismissal of Black culture's contributions to aesthetics. But perhaps more egregious are the anti-Black hiring practices and endemic workplace biases that persist.

The industry allows very few people of color in gatekeeping, leadership, and decision-making roles, and its slow responses to racial injustice have been spotlighted in the weeks since the killing of George Floyd. The response is underwhelming at best, all too often consisting of repurposed content, spineless messaging, and virtue signalling. People of color in the fashion business know firsthand that these symbols of support are not always an honest reflection of their personal experiences. The fashion industry seems to be riding the wave of other people's indignation.

What took so long? These past few weeks I've seesawed between sadness, rage, irritation, and fear.

My mother is British and my father is British-Irish-Nigerian. I have fair skin and straight hair, although I do not have European features. In a system that celebrates and upholds Eurocentric beauty standards, I recognize that I sometimes benefit from white privilege, but my African features cause some confusion for those who could (and should) behave better.

Fashion occupies a unique place in the zeitgeist. It is able to shift mindsets, create new norms, and include or exclude whole groups of people from its vision of beauty. We need more Black and Brown people at every level of the industry. If the perspectives are only coming from one culture or viewpoint, how can we be inclusive? The concept of chicness and refinement for years has been defined by a historical echo-chamber of similarity in not just skin color, but also class.

Racism is an omnipresent wider social problem, but the fashion industry is riddled with unique structural problems that make it exceptionally ill-equipped to confront exclusivity, representation, and racism. For example, take interning or entry-level jobs, where most positions are unpaid or underpaid. This often means that the only people who can afford to take these jobs - in expensive cities like London, Paris, and New York - are subsidized or independently wealthy. This financial barrier alone excludes many talented people.

It is no secret that Black culture (in all its diversity) inspires culture at large; appropriating this and passing it off as your own genius artistic idea has been happening for years. Designers and creative types have always sought inspiration from beyond their own cultural heritage. Sadly, the outcomes can often be misguided and offensive. So, while not everyone means to offend, misunderstanding can prevail. Sharing the reasoning and sources behind creative work, where there is no intent to steal, but rather show a true representation of an inspiration, enables us to explore the topic of cultural exchange in a more truthful way.

It is vital to mediate the delicate balance between cultural exchange and cultural appropriation, and this will only begin to happen when there's genuine diversity in the fashion space.

There is a long unacknowledged history of racism in British culture, from slavery to Windrush, all swept under the rug because it makes people uncomfortable. The context of all our conversations going forward should be one of social reform where Black and Brown people get to experience true representation and opportunity, while acknowledging their histories, cultures, and realities.

If the normalization of different identities ends up being no more than surface-level change, we will continue to believe that a post-racial world is already here.

Companies need to consciously examine themselves, look at the structure and culture of their business, deal with bad practice, take complaints of discrimination seriously (not just when the internet puts them on blast), put people before profit, and change pay structures to make the industry more penetrable. Difference is negotiable, but not if we continue to ignore the problem. Only when a new model is present where Black and Brown people are represented in the hallways of power and decision will their significant and ongoing contribution to the fabrics of the fashion industry be truly honored. Then, we can start to do the hard and necessary work to disassemble and reinvent fashion's racist system in our collective and more egalitarian image.

So with that I will say, I remain on the fence about whether all this social hype is just another fad. But I look forward with hope to a true transformation of the whole value chain, and a future that integrates and values people of all backgrounds, their ideas, and their stories without cultural or economic exploitation.
Photos via @africanstylearchive

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The inhumane treatment of Black and Brown people globally is centuries old and systemic. As recent videos of police killings are creating universal outrage, remember racism doesn't just exist in these clips alone. It is deeply entrenched in all parts of our culture, including the fashion industry, where progress is painfully slow.

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Black Panthers methods of activism: Free Breakfast program

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Black Panthers methods of activism: Free Breakfast program

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National Museum of African American History and Culture

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The Black Panther Party: Challenging Police and Promoting Social Change

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Founded in 1966 in Oakland, California, the Black Panther Party for Self Defense was the era’s most influential militant black power organization. Its members confronted politicians, challenged the police, and protected black citizens.

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From Kendrick Lamar's performance at the 58th Grammys to Beyoncé's "Formation" video, we've seen a resurgence of the ideas championed by the Black Panther Party in popular culture. The timing isn't coincidental, given the rise of what many have described as a second wave of activism surrounding the disparities faced by communities of color in the United States.

Now, on the heels of Beyoncé invoking the Panthers' legacy at Super Bowl 50, comes Stanley Nelson Jr's documentary: Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution, currently streaming on PBS. Nelson showcases the pivotal role the Panthers played in leading many revolutionary social movements of the '60s and '70s.

Not only did they influence the rise of anti-capitalist and anti-war movements, they also called for social awareness and gender equality, among other things. However, the Panthers were not only heavily influential in the political sphere, they also impacted the art and culture of the era, and the revolutionary vibrations of their powerful rhetoric were felt well into the '90s, and beyond.

Many of us will be familiar with the visual cliche of '70s permed DJs, complete with oversized aviators and exaggerated lapels. This image is so intrinsically connected with '70s culture we rarely question its actual origins. What caused people from every conceivable background to adopt afros, for instance? (Even if it meant getting a chemical perm to achieve the look.) Why did people suddenly want to cover half of their faces with dark sunglasses?

To understand this, one has to realize that the culture of the '70s, from fashion to music, was intimately tied to the radical social movements of the time. There was an incredible amount of student backlash against the disastrous Vietnam War, which brought with it a rise in anti-capitalist sentiments and increased sympathy for causes like the Civil Rights movement and women's rights movements. Essentially, the status quo was no longer acceptable to the nation's youth.

So what is the relationship between the social movements of the '60s and '70s and sartorial hallmarks often associated with them?

One of the many connecting links is the Black Panther Party. As a black liberation and black power movement, the Panthers espoused, among other things, an ideology that embraced and celebrated non-Eurocentric standards of beauty. "Black is beautiful" became a rallying cry as the Panthers actively resisted the Europeanization of beauty standards and encouraged their supporters to wear their hair in natural styles and love the skin they were in.

Getty Images / Jean-Pierre Laffont/Michael Ochs Archives

Youth in America, in turn, adopted the Panthers' conventions of beauty and fashion, and so these style conventions, born of a desire to find power in an authentic identity became an inspiration to the mainstream.

The SDS (Students for a Democratic Society) - who were the poster children for the social movements of the '60s and '70s in mainstream America - widely regarded the Black Panther Party as one of their inspirations. They were on the frontline of the revolution: it was the Panthers who suffered the brunt of reactionary police brutality to the newfound consciousness of America's youth.

It was also the Panthers who were vehemently demonized by the establishment and forced away from their families and communities in order to safely continue their activism. The SDS, being paragons of the new left, recognized this, and to their credit did not allow the Black Panthers' message to go unspoken. It was in this way those who were aligned with the counterculture of the late '60s and '70s began to advocate, dress, and present themselves as the Panthers would.

Yet due to their revolutionary positioning, the Panthers soon became targets of an institution that was fearful of the changes they demanded. Part of the reason they covered their faces with black shades was to ensure they and their families would not be identified and harmed. They also wore black leather as a uniform to present themselves as a movement of solidarity, a unified block that could not be shaken or intimidated.

Completing the uniform were the iconic black berets, worn to juxtapose the military's green berets, further symbolizing their position as soldiers on the frontline. Yes, there were functional and political reasons for the way the Panthers dressed, but style was also part of the equation. They were cool by all standard definitions; an intellectual center of the new left, and uncompromising in their resistance to the oppression of the established order.

The reach of the Panthers' influence did not end in the '70s nor did it stop at fashion; it was much, much, more powerful. At its core the Black Panther Party for Self Defense, brought forth by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale, was a movement that mobilized people of color against the government-condoned brutality and social inequity ravaging their communities. Sadly, many of the issues the Panthers combatted were a direct result of deep-seeded institutionalized racism, which, on the West Coast, in many ways acted as a surrogate for the oppressive Jim Crow laws of the South.

Though mobilized, resistant and strong, the underhanded tactics of the FBI dealt several near-fatal blows to the Panthers. At one point the party all but scattered and the frustrations felt by the communities that Newton and Seale had sought to defend felt their outlet slipping away. However, there can only be so much pressure behind a levee before it breaks.

In one instance, this frustration culminated with a group of young men from the very same region the Panther party had its roots. These men brought their outrage and pain into America's living rooms; they called themselves N.W.A and they screamed, "Fuck tha Police!" from the forgotten neighborhoods of Southern California.

Getty Images / SHAWN THEW/AFP

The Panther's unbreakable spirit of resistance was not lost on N.W.A, their chosen attire clearly echoed that of the Panthers. Now, black hoodies and toques with Compton hats replaced black berets, while the black shades remained, along with a leather-gloved fist raised defiantly in the air. For all of the ways the Panthers inspired N.W.A. it seemed that it was iconic moments like the Panthers bearing arms in the Sacramento legislative assembly that influenced N.W.A's musical output the most.

Meanwhile, groups like Public Enemy and KRS-One made their mark on the East Coast, keeping alive the legacy of the Panthers with music that espoused the party's core values. Public Enemy, for instance, revived the Panthers unifying message with anthems such as "Fight the Power" and "Power to the People." Additionally, songs like "Fear of a Black Planet" and "9-11 is a Joke" echoed the pro-black and resistance-oriented messages associated with Panther rhetoric.

KRS-One, who at first embraced a more gritty style, rebranded himself as "The Teacha" after the fatal shooting of his longtime friend and producer Scott La Rock, after which his music became more reminiscent of the socially conscious perspective of the Panthers. Both KRS-One and members of Public Enemy openly credited their politics to the Black Panther Party while also exemplifying the Panthers' sense of fashion and imitating their style right down to the headwear.

The influence of N.W.A, Public Enemy and KRS-One on culture is undeniable. Their body of work in many ways influenced the development of particular sub-genres within hip-hop. Groups like A Tribe Called Quest, The Roots, and Brand Nubian continued in an arguably more "conscious" tradition, while Ruthless and Death Row Records continued the grittier sonic traditions that came to be associated with West Coast gangsta rap.

Although accepting gender disparity was far from the Panthers' official position, today, many still believe there was inherently tension between a state of social awareness entailing female empowerment and the hyper-masculine image of the politicized black male often associated with the Panther party.

Getty Images / Thearon W. Henderson

It's a strange assumption considering that at the height of the movement women actually held the majority of Panther membership and were as active in leadership roles as men. That being said, this highly-politicized female body actively aligned itself with movements advocating for both Civil Rights and gender equality. The image of the revolutionary male solely characterizing the Panther party is largely an invention of history and not an actual fact.

So in some ways, the splintering of hip-hop into different distinctive sub-genres has connections to the varying mythologies surrounding the Panther party. Though Panthers themselves, in their heyday, were able to recognize the importance of equality across the board - be it gender parity, socioeconomic equality, or Civil Rights - certain Panther-influenced trends in hip-hop were sometimes less successful.

One emcee that is often celebrated for his ability to embody several of the mythologies associated with the Panther party is Tupac Shakur. Perhaps his success came from the fact that their influence ran deeper and was much more personal to him than it had been to some of his predecessors. Afeni Shakur, Tupac's mother, was a prominent member and organizer in the Black Panther Party. Assata Shakur, a woman whom Tupac referred to as his auntie, was another prominent member of the party. Assata in particular would later become known for her eventual forced flight to Cuba due to a violent encounter with law enforcement that was compounded by a string of other accusations.

Considering this history it's little wonder that female empowerment was an issue dear to Tupac. And the influence of the Panthers, specifically his mother and aunt, is evident in a musical narrative that promotes everything from revolutionary ideas and near-militant resistance to the sacredness of the black woman.

As with the Black Panther Party itself, both the hyper-masculine archetype and the message of female empowerment simultaneously flowed through his music. Many would argue that his work is full of contradictions, which present themselves in the contrast between songs such as "Brenda's Got a Baby" or "Mamas Just a Little Girl," and titles like "Wonda Why They Call U Bitch" and "Skandalouz."

Still, it can be said that he managed to accomplish what previous traditions in hip-hop were less successful in doing. That being reconciling ideas of hyper-masculinity and patriarchal values with an awareness of the power and capability of women, much like the Panthers themselves succeeded in doing. Tupac essentially merged socially conscious messages with "hardcore" rap and brought about a paradigm that allowed even the most hardened listeners to express an affinity with issues they may not have felt directly affected them.

Yet Tupac isn't the only artist who succeeded in capturing the world's ever-present dualities. In the '90s a group known as Rage Against the Machine emerged. Driven by Tom Morello's unorthodox production and Zach De La Rocha's firebrand politicism, they too unified seemingly dichotomous ideas. The influence of the Black Panthers on Rage is blatant; their lyrics even directly reference the party on several occasions.

Although they are not recognized by all as being part of the hip-hop pantheon, Rage indeed carried on the tradition of Public Enemy and KRS-One while simultaneously paying homage to N.W.A. and the tradition of gangsta rap. They've even covered "Fuck tha Police" and regularly perform their version of the song in front of live audiences. Other notable artists such as Immortal Technique and Brother Ali also invoked the Black Panthers into the 2000s, but the mainstream did not see a true reoccurrence of the party's ideas until later.

Today artists like Kendrick Lamar have transcended the label of "urban artists" and become influencers and challengers of culture as a whole. Kendrick, like Tupac, has the uncanny ability to fuse the fiery resistance-based rhetoric of the Black Panthers with their forward-facing awareness of social issues.

Alongside Beyoncé's seemingly newfound politicism and that of countless other artists and creatives who are taking a stand as activists and advocates, the seeds planted by the Panthers a half-century ago are coming to fruition once again. But make no mistake, there is nothing new about their influence. What we're seeing now is merely the continuation of a well-known and longstanding tradition, and we welcome its resurgence with open arms.

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Black Panthers: Their Influence on Fashion | Highsnobiety

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From Kendrick Lamar's performance at the 58th Grammys to Beyoncé's "Formation" video, we've seen a resurgence of the ideas championed by the Black Panther Party in popular culture. The timing isn't coincidental, given the rise of what many have described as a second wave of activism surrounding the disparities faced by communities of color in the United States.

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Brands
More than half of Gen Zers spend four or more hours on social media every single day, per a new Morning Consult survey

Born between 1997 and 2012, Gen Z is the first generation that's totally digitally native. Four out of five of their favorite brands are technology companies. They're abandoning traditional corporate jobs in favor of content creation , and they've even devised a new vocabulary inspired by algorithmic guidelines.

A new Morning Consult survey of Americans between the ages of 13 and 25 highlights the extent to which young people use one facet of the internet in particular: social media.

Fifty-four percent of Gen Zers said they spend at least four hours daily on social media, and almost 2 in 5 (38%) spend even more time than that. Nearly 9 in 10 (88%) said they use Alphabet Inc.'s YouTube, making it the generation's most-used social platform by a wide margin. Meta Platform Inc.'s Instagram ranked second, used by roughly three-fourths (76%) of Gen Zers.

More Than Half of Gen Zers Spend Four or More Hours per Day on Social Media

Respondents were asked how many hours they spend on social media per day, as well as how much time they spend interacting with other people via the following activities per week:

Survey conducted Nov. 2-8, 2022, among a representative sample of 1,000 U.S. Gen Zers between the ages of 13 and 25, with an unweighted margin of error of +/-3 percentage points. A separate survey was conducted Nov. 2-4, 2022, among a representative sample of 2,210 U.S. adults, with an unweighted margin of error of +/-2 percentage points.

Mobile devices dominate Gen Z social interactions

Gen Zers reported using social media for four or more hours a day (54%) at a rate almost double that of all U.S. adults (28%).

Meanwhile, 1 in 5 U.S. adults indicated they use social media for less than 1 hour per day, five times more than the share of Gen Z respondents who said the same (4%).

Nearly all members of Gen Z (94%) said they interact with peers through text messages each week. Phone calls (89%) and social media (88%) followed closely behind as the next most frequently used methods of socializing.

Gen Zers said they spend more time interacting with their peers per week, on average, via video games (65%) than at school (64%) or work (51%).

YouTube Stands Out as Gen Z's Most-Used Platform

The shares of Gen Zers between the ages of 13 and 25 who said they use the following social media platforms:

Survey conducted Nov. 2-8, 2022, among a representative sample of 1,000 U.S. Gen Zers between the ages of 13 and 25, with an unweighted margin of error of +/-3 percentage points.

Instagram sits firmly in second, while TikTok and Snapchat tie for third

YouTube is used by 88% of Gen Zers, significantly more than any other platform. The video-sharing app topped Morning Consult's report of Gen Z's Favorite Brands of 2022 .

Instagram (76%), TikTok (68%) and Snapchat (67%) are all used by at least two-thirds of Gen Z respondents, followed by Facebook (49%) and Twitter (47%). TikTok's usage by Gen Zers is up 21 percentage points from a 2020 Morning Consult survey .

There was a significant gap in the reported usage of every tested platform between male and female Gen Zers, with the former being more likely to use text-based apps (Discord, Twitter, Reddit) and the latter reporting greater usage of photo-centric ones (Instagram, Snapchat, BeReal).

At least half of Gen Zers said they "shared something positive about a brand" on six out of 10 tested platforms within the past year, indicating that the use of social media to discuss experiences with companies is widespread among the cohort.

Even more online?

While Gen Z didn't have a choice in being thrust into a digital world, they've proactively embraced many aspects of internet culture - including online gaming and advanced technologies like the metaverse - at much higher rates than older generations.

Brands across every sector are taking note.

YouTube and ByteDance Ltd.'s TikTok both celebrated the outsized role that gamers have played in their respective communities through global live-streaming events earlier this year. Nike Inc. recently launched ".Swoosh," its first virtual sneaker trading platform . And even luxury retailers are getting into the Gen Z way of life: Many continue to announce partnerships with younger-skewing gaming platforms like Roblox and Fortnite, where activations range from designing in-app clothing lines to organizing meet-and-greets with digital avatars of their celebrity brand ambassadors.

As more Gen Zers age into adulthood, marketers will follow the coveted consumer bloc wherever they go next - which will likely be even more online than they already are.
The Nov. 2-8, 2022, survey was conducted among a representative sample of 1,000 U.S. Gen Zers between the ages of 13 and 25, with an unweighted margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. A separate Nov. 2-4, 2022, survey was conducted among a representative sample of 2,210 U.S. adults, with an unweighted margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

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Brands Born between 1997 and 2012, Gen Z is the first generation that's totally digitally native. Four out of five of their favorite brands are technology companies. They're abandoning traditional corporate jobs in favor of content creation , and they've even devised a new vocabulary inspired by algorithmic guidelines.

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Ebay launches hub for black owned fashion brands!!

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Ebay launches hub for black owned fashion brands!!

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"One in five Gen Z consumers want to purchase from a business that supports people from underrepresented groups, an Ebay report found. “We are seeing from a buyer point-of-view, they are coming to the platform wanting to shop with their values front and centre,” says Chris Gale, head of social impact at Ebay. He adds that there is a clear need to make it easier for socially conscious buyers to shop from Black-owned businesses."

"The launch follows a series of collaborations between Ebay and Black Girl Fest (BGF), a festival and platform designed for Black women, girls and non-binary people. In April, the companies launched an academy to nurture entrepreneurs with one-to-one training for 12 to 14 weeks, as well as mentoring to help upskill their e-commerce. Once graduated, brands can then sell via the Black in Bloom hub. “Once they’ve got those skills the hub is really a way for us, Ebay, to drive traffic towards those businesses,” says Gale."

"The report found that one in 10 Ebay consumers say they don’t buy from Black-owned businesses because they don’t know where to find them. Seventy-six per cent of Black adults are more likely to consider starting a side hustle, compared to less than 28 per cent from other communities, the report shows.

“We commissioned this research because we want to shine a light on the depth of inequity Black entrepreneurs, and most notably Black women, face as they look to grow their businesses,” says Murray Lambell, Ebay UK’s general manager. “We believe we have a role to play in helping to overcome some of these challenges by helping founders to start and scale their business.”"

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Ebay launches “hub” for Black-owned fashion, beauty brands

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The section of the marketplace for Black female entrepreneurs, called Black in Bloom, is part of wider efforts to boost diversity on the site and internally.

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In light of the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police officer Derek Chauvin, social media has seen an outpouring of support for the Black Lives Matter movement. Taking to Instagram, Twitter, and more, people around the world have shared messages of solidarity, learning resources, and links to charitable organisations, while calling for an end to the police brutality and systemic racism black people face every day.

Also showing support for the movement, and in some cases the protests sparked by Floyd's death this weekend, were various members of the fashion industry - with the likes of Nike, Marc Jacobs, Gucci, and Savage x Fenty all sharing posts. Telfar, meanwhile, simply shared a poignant photo of a burning NYPD van.

Along with a photo of his LA boutique, which was raided during protests this weekend, Jacobs wrote "A life cannot be replaced. Black Lives Matter", while Nike posted a moving video which was widely shared - including, surprisingly, by adidas, which retweeted the post. A small number put their money where their mouths are and pledged actual donations - but seemingly, unless the buildings burning are 13th century cathedrals, many don't want to know.

Being much more vocal about what's happening around the world this weekend were smaller, emerging brands and young designers. London-based creative A Sai Ta of ASAI announcing all profits from his latest Rihanna-approved dress will be donated to Black Lives Matter (as well as two other charities).

He also called out the fashion industry's silence on what's currently happening - a sentiment echoed by the likes of Duckie Thot and Aaron Philip. Elsewhere, the likes of Puppets and Puppets, Ninamounah, and Vaquera all posted info and links to donation points.

Notably, plenty of labels have remained shockingly quiet in the last few days - here, we've compiled a list of the brands showing support, speaking out, and, most importantly, coughing up funds, which we'll be adding to regularly in the coming days. Here's hoping it grows exponentially.

PUBLICLY DONATED

ASAI

Rising designer ASAI announced he will donate all profits from his latest Hot Wok Dress to Black Lives Matter (as well as Solace Women's Aid and The Voice of Domestic Workers), with a percentage of all future sales also going to BLM. He also used his platform to call out the industry's silence, writing: "The fashion industry has exploited black bodies under the term diversity but stay silent when the time is now to protect the bodies and the skin (your) runways, front covers, editorials love so much. I see you." The designer has also shared numerous resources on his IG stories.

ECKHAUS LATTA

Eckhaus Latta announced it would match all donations to The Bail Project on June 1, calling for followers to DM screenshots of their donation receipts.

SAVAGE X FENTY

Referring to the moment Rihanna called on non-black people who think of themselves as allies to 'pull up' for their black friends and peers back in February, the label wrote: "There's nothing else we can say that wasn't already perfectly said by our founder, Rihanna," on its IG. Instead, it's putting its money where its mouth is and donating funds to support Black Lives Matter New York and The Bail Project, which provides free bail assistance to those in need of it. "Now is not the time to stay silent or stand by," it added.

FENTY

Rihanna's label announced it would be closing for business to honour #BlackoutTuesday and stand in solidarity with the black community. "This is not a day off. This is a day to reflect and find ways to make real change. This is a day to #PullUp," it wrote in an IG post. Fenty also revealed it would be making donations to two organisations: Color of Change and Movement for Black Lives.

PALACE

The London skate brand has pledged $1 million to BLM-related causes, with initial funds going to The Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust and Black Lives Matter itself. "We stand firmly with all protesters seeking justice against police brutality and racism," the label wrote on its Instagram, adding "This ain't some bandwagon shit tbh it just took a hot minute to figure out if I could drum up a mill by the end of the year and work out what we're going to do long-term."

COLLINA STRADA

After announcing 50 per cent of its profits would be donated to various bailout funds across the weekend (before changing this to 100 per cent for the rest of the week), Collina Strada also used Instagram to share various links to charitable causes, educational resources, and tips on how to protest safely.

GANNI

Copenhagen-based label Ganni has pledged 100,000 euros which will be split between Black Lives Matter, grassroots civil rights organisation NAACP, and legal aid non-profit initiative ACLU. Having recently come under fire for a distinct lack of diversity within 'the Ganni sisterhood' on an last week, the label also committed to commissioning black creatives to create work for its platforms, and called for those thinking about purchasing something from its online store this week to 'consider donating to an anti-racism organisations instead'.

MARQUES ALMEIDA

The brand announced it would donate 20 per cent of sales to Black Lives Matter in this post.

NIKE

The sportswear label, working with Converse, which it also owns, has pledged $40 million to support the Black community, and committed to investing in "organisations that put social justice, education, and addressing racial inequality in America at the centre of their work." In addition to this, Michael Jordan and the Jordan label have pledged $100 million across the course of the next ten years to a series of similar causes.

MEDEA SISTERS

The cult label announced it would be donating 100 per cent of profits from a special sale to The Bail Project until Sunday, June 9.

TOTAL LUXURY SPA

The cult LA clothing brand has committed to matching donations of $50 (up to $10,000) for three vital Black creative and community spaces at the heart of the city.

JW ANDERSON

Having faced backlash for an earlier tone-deaf post, London-based designer has pledged an undisclosed personal donation to the UK Black Pride organisation. "I want to make it clear that I stand in solidarity with everyone demonstrating against racism and police brutality around the world," Anderson wrote in a post, adding more on his committment to continue learning on the matter. Loewe, the brand Anderson is creative director of, also posted its support of the movement.

FEAR OF GOD, NOAH, DENIM TEARS, PYER MOSS ETC

A number of cult labels including Pyer Moss, Noah, Awake, Just Don, and more came together to release a t-shirt bearing George Floyd's initials, announcing that 100 per cent of proceeds would be given to his family.

BRAIN DEAD

"Increase the peace defund the police!!!!" Brain Dead announced on its Instagram as it debuted a t-shirt bearing the same message. All proceeds are set to be donated to the People's City Council.

TRAPSTAR

Trapstar has dropped a t-shirt and announced all proceeds will go to Black Lives Matter, The Stephen Lawrence Trust, and a fund benefiting the family of Belly Mujinga. The London-based label also pledged a donation of $5000 to BLM.

KERING

Kering, which owns Balenciaga, Saint Laurent, Gucci, and Bottega Veneta is donating an undisclosed amount of money to the NAACP.

ALEXANDER MCQUEEN

The label took to Instagram to show solidarity with the BLM movementm, and announced it would be making a donation to the NAACP.

OTTOLINGER

The Berlin-based brand announced 100 per cent of profits from now until Friday, June 5 will be donated to the Black Visions Collective.

MARTA JAKUBOWSKI

London-based designer Jakubowski is selling made-to-order cut-out tops, with all profits also going to the Black Visions Collective.

WARBY PARKER

US based glasses label Warby Parker announced a $1 million donation to organisations and initiatives combating systemic racism. "We see you, we stand with you," it told its 'black community members, employees, customers, colleagues, and friends' on Instagram. Followers are calling for the brand to clarify exactly which initiatives will benefit from the funds.

CHRISTOPHER KANE

Christopher Kane has announced the "first step in an ongoing effort to action our solidarity" with the Black Lives Matter movement, announcing it will be donating money to Black Minds Matter and The Stephen Lawrence Trust. "We are also committed to educating ourselves and pushing for policy change while supporting young Black creatives within the fashion community."

HELMUT LANG

The label posted a series of links to resources and announced an undisclosed amount is set to be donated to the ACLU.

GUCCI

The label posted a message of solidarity over the weekend, before following it up with news of donations going to @NAACP, @campaignzero, and @yourrightscamp. The label will also halt all Gucci operations in the US to allow employees a day of mourning, honour those lost, and consider the ways in which they can be part of the solution.

SHARED RESOURCES

MARC JACOBS

After protesters broke into his Rodeo Drive store, the designer shared a photo of its defaced plaque. With 'Marc Jacobs' struck through and replaced with George Floyd and Sandra Bland's names, the designer wrote 'A life cannot be replaced. Black Lives Matter' in an accompanying caption. Since Floyd's death, Jacobs has also been posting learning resources, links to charitable causes, and messages of solidarity on both his IG grid and his stories.

JACQUEMUS

Having posted Black Lives Matter images, as well as a viral video of young gospel artist Keedron Bryant singing, Simon Porte Jacquemus posted a series of links to education resources in his and funds in his Instastories.

AREA

The NY label shared a list of learning resources and materials across its Instagram.

SOCIAL MEDIA SHOW OF SUPPORT

JEAN PAUL GAULTIER

ALEXANDER MCQUEEN

LOUIS VUITTON

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Here are the brands who have posted in support of Black Lives Matter

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In light of the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police officer Derek Chauvin, social media has seen an outpouring of support for the Black Lives Matter movement. Taking to Instagram, Twitter, and more, people around the world have shared messages of solidarity, learning resources, and links to charitable organisations, while calling for an end to the police brutality and systemic racism black people face every day.

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rihanna calls on allies to 'pull up' during powerful speech at 2020 naacp image awards - cnn

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Rihanna calls on friends and allies to 'pull up' during powerful speech at 2020 NAACP Image Awards

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Rihanna received thunderous applause following her stirring speech at the 2020 NAACP Image Awards.

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YouTuber Jackie Aina has called out clothing brands for staying silent about issues facing the black community, seemingly alluding to the recent death of George Floyd and others that have sparked mass outrage.

Aina specifically tagged brands Fashion Nova, Pretty Little Thing, and Revolve in a video posted to her Instagram story on Thursday.

According to the YouTuber, she cited these specific companies as examples because she says they often use black culture to market their products.

When this was first published on Friday, no brand mentioned in Aina's post responded publicly on social media, though the YouTuber says she's spoken with representatives for Fashion Nova and Pretty Little Thing.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Jackie Aina is calling on fashion brands to use their platforms in support of the black community.

On Thursday, the beauty YouTuber posted an Instagram story about how numerous clothing companies have stayed silent about issues facing the black community, seemingly alluding to the recent deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor that have sparked mass outrage and protests.

In her video, Aina specifically tagged online retailers Fashion Nova, Pretty Little Thing, and Revolve.

"Hey guys, I wanted to call attention to something that I've noticed, and look, I'm going to be very honest," Aina said at the start of her video. "You don't know what you don't know, right? So if I don't see something, then I'm gonna be left with assumptions."

Jackie Aina said she wanted to draw attention to brands like Fashion Nova because she says they often use black culture to market their products

"As we know, there are a lot of brands who love capitalizing on black culture, black music, black aesthetic, but are dead silent when it comes to talking about black issues and black struggles in our community," Aina said.

"So just as much as y'all love hanging out with Ty Dolla $ign, and Saweetie, and Blac Chyna, can y'all at least say something when people are being brutally murdered by cops? Donate to the families affected by this stuff?" she continued.

She went on to say that brands should use their public platforms to support the black community, rather than post funny memes and advertisements during this time.

"Do more," Aina said. "Don't just be present when it's time to be lit on the 'gram."

Aina continued to make clear that she tagged Fashion Nova, Pretty Little Thing, and Revolve in her post specifically because she's noticed a "particular aesthetic that they like," and "a particular vibe that they push on their socials."

"I know that like, black people dying isn't aesthetically pleasing for the feed," Aina said. "I understand that. But I do feel like it's the least that you can do. You can't just take, pick and choose the parts of our culture and not embrace all of it."

She added: "Guys, I understand sometimes philanthropy does not have to be announced, but right now more than ever, considering how much influence these brands specifically have, it's very important that you say and do something. Like it's the least you can do."

The YouTuber later said on Twitter that some brands she mentioned have not yet responded to her video

On Thursday night, a fan of the YouTuber wrote a tweet about Aina's Instagram video to thank her for speaking up. Aina later responded to the Twitter user, and said some of the brands mentioned in her video did not respond.

She also included a screenshot that showed how Pretty Little Thing viewed her Instagram story, but did not initially reply.

-Naira Banks (@jackieaina) May 28, 2020

-Naira Banks (@jackieaina) May 29, 2020

Aina did, however, say that she spoke with representatives for Fashion Nova.

"Fashion Nova reached out and I wrapped a call a few hours ago with their CEO," Aina wrote on Twitter. "Post call, I followed up with an extensive course of action and plan to have a follow up call with them tomorrow. Thank you to everyone who contributed suggestions earlier today."

"I cannot fix everything I really can't, but we can't deny that the brands I mentioned today are HUGELY influential," she continued. "That's why I chose to speak about them today. now I'm waiting to see if they will put their money where their mouths are. This is important to me."

-Naira Banks (@jackieaina) May 29, 2020

One day later, Aina said in a tweet that she had spoken with the CEO of Pretty Little Thing, and seemed hopeful that the brand would make "some progress" by the next day.

-Naira Banks (@jackieaina) May 30, 2020

Shortly after, the brand posted a photo of two hands clasped together, but quickly deleted the image once people criticized the dark colors used to create one hand in the illustration.

-Kevín (@KevOnStage) May 29, 2020

Pretty Little Thing has since posted a new image on Instagram that encourages viewers to take action.

In an email sent to Insider on Monday, a representative for the brand said "everyone at PrettyLittleThing has been shocked and deeply saddened by the tragic loss of George Floyd," as are "millions across the globe."

"We are proud of our ability to use our platform to raise awareness of important issues and we do not shy away from tackling difficult matters," the representative said. "We do however want to recognise Jackie Aina for using her voice to ensure that we used ours."

"We are very sorry for any offence we caused with the original image we used, this was clearly not our intention and we sincerely apologise," the representative continued. "We continuously look for ways to support our wonderfully diverse community and our donations are just the first step to ensure all cultures, races and body shapes are represented throughout our social media channels and campaigns."

At the time of publication on Friday, no brand mentioned in Aina's post responded publicly on social media. This post was updated on Monday to include Pretty Little Thing's statement above. Representatives for Fashion Nova and Revolve did not respond to Insider's requests for comment.

Aina's posts were likely inspired by the recent death of George Floyd

Early last week, a video began circulating that showed a white police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, a black man, for approximately eight minutes. During the clip, the 46-year-old can be seen pleading for his life, and heard saying he wasn't able to breathe before he eventually stopped moving. A crowd, including other police officers, were present at the scene.

Floyd died later that night after being taken to a hospital, and the four officers involved were fired. Protests have since broken out in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where the incident occurred, as people are demanding that the officers be arrested and charged.

In recent months, similar incidents resulting in the deaths of black people caught national attention and have left many in disbelief.

In March, Breonna Taylor, 26, was killed in her home in Louisville, Kentucky, after she was shot by police during a narcotics bust; her family say the police had the wrong address.

And in February, Ahmaud Arbery, 25, died after being shot by two white men while he was on a run in Georgia, though it took more than two months for the men who killed him to be arrested.

Representatives for Jackie Aina did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

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Beauty YouTuber Jackie Aina is calling on clothing brands like Fashion Nova to stop being 'dead silent' about issues facing the black community

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YouTuber Jackie Aina has called out clothing brands for staying silent about issues facing the black community, seemingly alluding to the recent death of George Floyd and others that have sparked mass outrage. Aina specifically tagged brands Fashion Nova, Pretty Little Thing, and Revolve in a video posted to her Instagram story on Thursday.

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Book source - from BLM to black liberation (Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, 2016)

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Book source - from BLM to black liberation (Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, 2016)

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Book source - from BLM to black liberation (Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, 2016) cont'd 

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Book source - from BLM to black liberation (Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, 2016) cont'd 

# data[].attributes.headline
Book Source - Woke Capitalism (Carl Rhodes 2022) 

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Book Source - Woke Capitalism (Carl Rhodes 2022) 

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Selfridges and Jacquemus have teamed up. The result is Gen-Z retail heaven

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Jacquemus has taken over Selfridges' creative retail space The Corner Shop with a branded activation called Le Bleu.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/28/opinion/corporate-america-activism.html

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Opinion | The Rise of Woke Capital (Published 2018)

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How culture war became a tool of corporate self-interest.

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Topic breakdown:
Black activism
Black Panther Party
Breakfast program??
Their fashion choices/ consumption?

Fashion consumption by Gen Z
Gen Z's social media habits
Gen Z's Activism habits

How did the Black Lives Matter Movement begin?
The main cause of the rise of the movement in 2020
2020 tragedy overview
Protests and methods

Social media usage during this activism
its impact?
Safe online Spaces
Upliftment of Black-owned brands
#BuyBlack movements online
#Black pound day
Economic Protests

Fashion labels and designers' involvement..

# data[].attributes.body
Fashions involvement in the BLM movement?

Brands contributions etc
Donations and statements

Public pressures for them to do more

Involvement of POC in their teams and companies
The need for employment within their companies - specifically black people in the fashion industry

Fake support - BLM used as a marketing strategy

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Summer took up more of my time and energy than expected so i feel a bit behind on my research, my aim at the end of this month/ september is to get a few books from the library as soon as it reopens and get started on research to ensure I have some Scholarly sources and not just majority of online sources

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Found "So you want to talk about race" online via Proquest and have been able to loan it for 5 days so my plan is to skim read for the chapters i can find useful and then analyse them- use the information in there as best I can because i really enjoy this style of writing and find it really easy to digest the information - I think partly I was procrastinating my research for this dissertation because I don't enjoy reading that much but i think that i have found a reading style I quite enjoy!

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I have manages to slowly but surely gather sources, but now work is going to start back quite heavily so I will see how much I can do with the time i'm given

Overall aim is to continue ticking off my research topics list

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My part time job has been overwhelming but I have gather more sources and will aim to be prepared for my first sessions back - aiming to talk through my ideas and rationalise how to structure it because i have no idea how to structure out all of my information

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Unexpectedly I have been out of the country for the past 10 days so haven't been able to go into my first few Dissertation in person sessions, but my plan now that i've attended my first one is to start writing my introduction as my tutor told me it'll help to give me more of an understanding of what i'm writing for the rest.

The body of work and word count is very overwhelming so i'm trying not to feel to anxious about it and just take it one chapter at a time

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This has been my most productive moth so far, feeling a lot less anxious about everything

my chapter plan is sorted

My introduction needs some work but I was sent a helpful chapter planning work document that has helped me to break it all down

Now my aim is to continue and strengthen my research sources and start writing my chapters for the summative deadlines

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My main course work has taken a big chunk of my time, more time than expected

I'm finally starting to see some progress within my first chapter, its coming together and the sources I found have proven to be quite helpful in making my points clear especially regarding the origins of black activism in the 1900s

My tutor recommended during our session that I include less detail in chapter one of the origins/ beginning of slavery as I went into too much focus which will confuse the reader

It has helped that within each chapter i turn it into three paragraphs and break thos e paragraphs into clear points so that i'm sticking to my lead question while saying exactly what i need to and not going off topic.

That feedback was super useful!

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Approaching the summative I feel more confident in what I'm writing and the points being made, breaking my chapters down into paragraphs then clear points has given me a clear vision of what I need to do and what research is missing

It was recommended to me that I research Stuart Hall - I have but if i'm being honest I find his work and work surrounding him very confusing and a little difficult to read. As much as i need to make this Dissertation academic based, his style of writing and research has made it very difficult for me to understand and im not sure i can use any of it

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New month and the last push before the year comes to an end.

the deadline for my FMP research is on the 16th which is honestly my main focus at the moment as its really imperitive that I complete that to the best of my ability.

So this dissertation won't be my lead focus for the next two weeks and I will have to take a break as I personally struggle to put 100% into both things at the same time.

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Its been two days after my FMP deadline and i managed to complete it all thankfully!

Before Christmas madness I want to at least get chapter 1 out of the way so i csn focus on the other three that are vital for completing this properly.

My aim is also to stay on top of my bibliography so it's not left until the last minute and i don't feel panicked towards the end

Once i can get Chapter 1 finished and structured, it won't distract me too much from christmas break and i can resume in the new year

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The start of the new year and tahnkfully I don't have too many shifts booked at work so i can focus each day to completing this.

I set myself a goal of 300/500 words a day so that way i'm not overwhelmed and am making enough progress towards my word count.

This dissertations research has made it alot easier for me to read things and digest information, I'm finding the process a lot less overwhelming

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Approaching the deadline and on this document i've added so many sources, boooks and articles that i've collected over the past couple weeks

I have also been reading the handbook which is extremely helpful along with the example dissertations so that I have an idea of the different styles of structure and how to reference efficiently.