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https://www.blackenterprise.com/hbcu-athleisure-brand-lands-300k-deal-from-mark-cuban-on-shark-tank/
Tones of Melanin Founder Ashley Jones has brought her HBCU athleisure brand to Shark Tank and walked away with Mark Cuban’s co-sign and $300,000.
In exchange for 5% equity, Jones now has the means to start making an income from her brand, which has already raked in $3.3 million in revenue since its launch in 2017, according to AfroTech. The Norfolk State University alum told the Sharks that the money generated from the brand goes to the cost of production, marketing, and other business expenses. For Jones, the aim has been to push for diverse representation in the fashion industry and establish a viable HBCU presence in a collegiate fashion market involving bigger and well-known educational institutions such as Duke, Harvard, Yale, and others, according to Sportskeeda.
Though HBCU students have often found ways to promote their institutions through apparel, national attention, like the kind an appearance on Shark Tank provides, helps to inspire other students and alum looking to bring HBCUs more visibility.
“I think that everyone who attended an HBCU will benefit from my appearance on national television, which will show that we can thrive anywhere,” Jones said. “Never give up on yourself or your dreams, regardless of what anyone else says. Understanding what your purpose is along with your vision and that no one can ever discredit you because of where your degree may come from. HBCU graduates are thriving everywhere!” Tones of Melanin already holds 40 HBCU licenses, and the apparel can be found in major retailers like Dick’s Sporting Goods and Belk Stores, according to AfroTech.
Jones has big plans for the brand’s future and hopes that the investment from Cuban will be the first step. “In the future, I want to expand my company without using a third party by working more directly with HBCUs,” she said to AfroTech. “In addition, I want to expand our empowerment line so that we can engage with more members of our community. As we start to lean more toward philanthropic efforts, we are working on partnerships and collaborating with companies and individuals who are interested in supporting HBCU students.”
Her episode of Shark Tank can be viewed below:
The Star Wars galaxy could use more Padmé Amidala. That’s just a fact. Natalie Portman portrayed the character in the prequel trilogy. A queen, a senator, a contributor to the beginnings of the Rebellion—she left an indelible mark on the galaxy. And that’s not even taking her legendary children into account. Portman has never reprised her role, though she states in a recent video for GQ that she’s open to returning to Star Wars. She also shares the weird souvenir she took from the Star Wars galaxy.
Portman stole Anakin Skywalker’s Padawan braid (via Entertainment Weekly). Well, she swiped one of them. Of all the things on a Star Wars set, she took what was likely a clip-in braid. Padawans wore the braid as a symbol of their rank. And, to be fair, Portman spent a lot of time with the braid-donning Hayden Christensen But don’t think Portman is wearing the Padawan braid around to this day. She lost it, apparently.
Portman also briefly comments on the costume design in the prequel trilogy before saying she’d return to Star Wars. No one has asked her yet. I don’t know in what context Padmé coming back would make sense. However, will someone please get on that? Maybe some memory or flashback? We will take more Padmé. Just keep an eye on any hair attachments on set if Portman returns.
The post Natalie Portman Stole Anakin’s Padawan Braid from ATTACK OF THE CLONES appeared first on Nerdist.
Exploring a unique angle on an aspect of history is getting more and more difficult to do. This is especially difficult given that there is so much unvetted misinformation out in the world. Add to that, there are parts of the country in a regressive state eroding facts and erasing the complexity of US history. Despite that, Little Richard: I Am Everything finds a way. While we are knee-deep in the midst of another culture war, this documentary focuses on a few hot-button complexities. Namely, it looks at the intersections of race, gender, and culture. Using the complex history and impactful career of ‘The Living Flame’ himself, the ‘architect’ of Rock & Roll Little Richard, it explores the queer, Black roots of American pop music.
“Little” Richard Penniman is an onomatopoeia personified. A ‘bang!’ given life. In his own (accurate) opinion, he is the ‘Big Bang’ from which the Rock & Roll universe was born. I Am Everything goes above and beyond to make that distinct and clear. If you have never seen them navigate a stage or an interview, Little Richard is a force of queer, Black nature. The way he shifts from a polite, conservative, and contained curtness to an explosion of limbs in a violent rhythm. As if there is no neutrality to the joy or rage of his lived experience. Director Lisa Cortés draws a very honest picture and offers audiences a Richard more wholly seen than ever before.
I Am Everything accomplishes a lot in its one-hour and thirty-eight-minute runtime, truly. It attempts to bridge the gap in time from when Little Richard first pressed piano keys to the pantheon-filled phenomenon of modern Rock music. It works to define the undefined places in American history where otherness thrived, just outside of the view of the mainstream. It soothes the sore edges of a wound where the pain and degradation of Black life are met by the need to make art to survive it. It makes damn sure to tie Little Richard to every giant leap forward in the proliferation of Rock music. At its core, I Am Everything is a reminder that in the liminal nooks and crannies of society is where American cultural innovation comes from. Even if it overuses some elements that feel a little bit on the nose.
As a piece of film, I Am Everything is a documentary that hits all of the touchpoints one makes when making a documentary. What sets it apart is a layer of meta, the whole narrative is themed around giving credit where it’s due. The key subject matter centers around how long it took for one of the originators of the genre to get his props. Throughout the film, modern and contemporary musicians are featured singing Little Richard songs. In giving recognition to those newer artists in the way Little Richard would have wanted for themselves.
The visuals in I Am Everything are the stuff of Richard’s wardrobe. You can see glittery stardust floating in, on, and around moments that are tapping into some seminal moments in Richard’s life or the life of Rock music. A few montages of stellar bodies exploding juxtaposed with queer performers doing pole and drag. Musicians play pieces and interact with the stardust. It was a bit much and a little distracting, but it worked as a vehicle to anchor this idea that Little Richard – was everywhere and played a part in the meteoric rise of Rock music the world over. All in all, the documentary is a bit all over the place. But that is what it takes to put together the pieces of history and culture intentionally obscured. In the face of legislation aimed at removing people like Little Richard from the tapestry of American history, I Am Everything sits poised to remind the citizenry that queer Black people helped build this country from day one and deserve the dignity of being recognized.
You can find I Am Everything everywhere (all at once).
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The post The Big Bang of Rock & Roll: ‘Little Richard: I Am Everything’ Review appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.