#CelebrateBlack

(Black PR Wire) With 2020 marking the first time in its history that the country is moving toward a national recognition and celebration of Juneteenth as a holiday, media executive, author, and Columbia University lecturer Kai D. Wright is launching an annual Juneteenth Image Capsule and Blacklist 100, a unique digital initiative to ensure that every year will be an opportunity to celebrate Black culture and Blackness. The campaign will highlight an emerging visual artist who is sparking thought and conversation with their work as well each year release a digital book, "The Blacklist," that contains 100 Black culture-makers & thought-leaders. In this inaugural year, Wright honors the memory of his mentor, the late culture innovator and music executive Andre Harrell. With Harrell as inspiration for this inaugural year, Wright encourages the public to share positive, uplifting images of Black history and culture as part of the campaign.

The Andre Effect

In his compelling Op-Ed, Wright uses his experiences with Andre Harrell as a mentor to explore the impact of Black Culture and the importance of providing a platform for the next generation of culture makers.

Excerpt: Op-Ed for "A Celebration of Blackness on Juneteenth: A reflection on how to move 'the culture'  forward"

If it wasn't for Mary J Blige being "ghetto fabulous," a phrase coined by Andre, then there wouldn't be "classy, bougie, ratchet" Megan thee Stallion. Andre's thumbprint on Black culture is extensive and continues to reverberate today. He understood that culture comes from communities - and the unified struggle among Black Americans deserved a platform to be shared, recognized, and celebrated.

In this social age, Black culture consistently breaks the internet and is the predominant export of American culture abroad -- music, sports, entertainment, fashion, food, and beyond. Consider the past year, Black culture drove some of the biggest moments in American culture from the Renegade dance sweeping TikTok to #verzuz & #clubquarantine on Instagram Live garnering millions of streams to all things Black Twitter such as the chicken sandwich wars. Andre believed in the power of community, and social media has become a town square for culture-moving storytelling... one image, tweet, and post at a time...

Andre Harrell's impact on the lives of executives and music artists, specifically, ripples throughout industries. He was a uniter, a champion of Black thought, and a catalyst for culture. He'll forever be remembered; and thus, let's make new traditions to honor him. 

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