“We just understand there are not a lot of opportunities in this community for jobs and there are not a lot of opportunities for young children and teenagers to see people that look like them succeeding in business. We wanted to bring that here,” Derrick Moore said to USA Today in his 2017 interview. Moore along with fellow Tennessee State University graduates, Clinton Gray and Emanuel Reed, launched their own Pizza Beeria in Nashville that same year. The restaurant was a huge hit locally, and took off to a point where they’ve already expanded before their second anniversary. The trio had a solid business plan, a knack for a good marketing strategy, and understood the importance of inclusion every step of the way.

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Few fashion designers can say they began their career by ripping up doll clothes. After sketching outfit ideas for most of her youth, Atlanta based designer Adorr Reynolds-Jessie started to sew at age thirteen by creating new designs for her first clients— her toy dolls. “I loved it so much that I would cut up old clothes of mine just to have more fabric options for my dolls,” she told Savannah College of Art and Design student magazine SCAN. “I knew then I was destined to design.”

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“What helped me through the tough times was projecting. Everybody was a hater in my mind and it had nothing to do with me. I didn't take any of the tough times personally because I had faith that I would be able to do something undeniable,” said Alim Smith, also known as “YESTERDAYNITE.” Smith is a 29-year-old Delaware artist with a unique perspective. He defines himself as an afro-surrealist, a term coined by activist Amiri Baraka for someone who possess, “skill at creating an entirely different world organically connected to this one ... the Black aesthetic in its actual contemporary and lived life.” He originally caught the attention of the internet through his portrayals of popular internet memes, but now much of his art focuses on black women, black culture, and iconic black figures.

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Moziah Bridges is a young, innovative, fashion-forward 11-year-old on his way to the top of the fashion industry. This young man has created a successful bow tie business that puts him in the same category as Ralph Lauren. Bridges started his reign as bow tie prince when, like many, he couldn’t find any bow ties that he fancied. “I really was a young, dapper man, and I couldn’t find any bow ties that I really liked,” he explained to Fox News about his start-up.

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Comfortable in her own skin. Her flaws are purposely revealed on camera for the world to see, and her presentation includes no obvious filters.

I instantly noticed natural black hair with no real formation; pretty dark skin with an occasional trace of acne here and there, no body briefer or any direct restraint to make this black woman appear to be smaller and “in tact.” Instead you get a raw, authentic Nigerian-American woman who looks like someone you may know personally. The self-image that she displays is awe-inspiring, and conveys a message that she has all creative control.

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