The Black community deals with hardships constantly regarding discrimination, racism, sexism, and more. Often, these negative aspects of our lives overshadow our fantastic culture. Fortunately, hundreds of brands out there highlight Black culture to help uplift and educate our community.
Continue reading to learn about popular Black-owned brands that promote and celebrate Black culture.
Blackmerch
Blackmerch’s mission is to create Black pride apparel that represents and uplifts the community. Due to the amount of negativity surrounding the Black community, the brand looks to bring back positivity through its clothing. Deeming itself “a company made by us for us,” Blackmerch’s online shop provides various clothing options that depict common phrases used by the Black community. Blackmerch is an advocate of the Buy Black movement, which motivates Black people to buy products and services from Black-owned businesses, as it recycles money back to the community.
My Pride Apparel
My Pride Apparel is a Black woman-owned brand specializing in creating apparel that is appealing to the culture of Black women. The brand aims to create for “today’s socially conscious Black woman.” My Pride Apparel has a large inventory of t-shirts and sweatshirts that allow Black women who decide to don them to express their views without speaking a word.
Support Black Colleges
Support Black Colleges is the one-stop-shop for just about anything related to HBCUs. The shop supplies an extensive collection of t-shirts, hoodies, stoles, hats, and more that depict different HBCUs and the overall Black college culture. The goal of Support Black College is to encourage others to support the HBCUs across the country.
Melanin Is Life
Melanin Is Life strives to provide clothing that is not only stylish but is educational as well. After becoming exhausted from the constant mistreatment of Black people in America, the founders of Melanin Is Life created the brand to “promote the power of Black unity and the beauty of melanin.” The company currently has a Black History 365 Collection, which offers customers the option to purchase various types of t-shirts and hoodies depicting famous Black figures.
Historically Black Apparel
Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Historically Black Apparel aims to provide t-shirts that celebrate and uplift Black culture to their customers. The founder of Historically Black Apparel, Tony Smith, brought his vision of creating affordable Black culture clothing to life, with many shirts from the company being as low as $9.99.
Fly by Knight
Founded in 2016 in Brooklyn, New York, Fly By Knight is a brand that promotes and celebrates the culture of women of color. FLY is an acronym, which stands for “First Love Yourself,” which accompanies the brand’s mission. All designs for Fly By Knight, which include famous Black female icons, are created by Jamilah Knight, the founder.
Kultured Misfits
Kultured Misfits is a Black international lifestyle brand representing the “misfits” in the Black community. Founded in 2016 in Atlanta, the Kultured Misfits’ creator wanted clothing for those who didn’t fit the stereotypical “Black person” ideology. As stated by the brand on their website, they are “determined to cater to a unique group of people that defy labels, stereotypes, and the boring norms that have yet to include misfits.” According to Kulture Misfits, they are not only a clothing brand but a movement.
District of Clothing
Dionna Dorsey founded District of Clothing in 2014, a lifestyle brand that “encourages progression, inspires action, and supports self-love.” The brand aims to create clothing worn by those who aspire to turn their dreams into a reality. Customers can expect to find a collection of clothing donning inspirational messages at the District of Clothing’s website.
Lukafit
Lukafit is an athletic brand designed for curvy women of color. The brand’s mission is to uplift and support women of color throughout their journeys to achieve good health and wellness. Many of the leggings sold by Lukafit depict Black women engaging in different exercises, which is not a common thing to see on athletic clothing.
Know Definition
The founder of Know Definition created the brand to provide clothing that Black women could relate to fashionably. The brand is one of the few streetwear brands that are both made by and for Black women. The life and lifestyle brand reflects the experiences and beliefs of the owner, which she believes are shared with many other Black women as well.
