Melanin Rising Apparel builds community by celebrating Black creatives
Naomi Gracechild’s accidental venture is based on art as a force for social change
Melanin Rising Apparel founder Naomi Gracechild is a multidisciplinary artist and social-justice activist.
READ BELL HOOKS: Those are the words that Vancouver multidisciplinary artist and social-justice advocate Naomi Gracechild printed onto a T-shirt for a public-speaking appearance in 2019. The founder of Euphony Works, an anti-racism and anti-oppression consultancy, chose the phrase as a conversation starter.
The thinking was that if everyone were to read the works of bell hooks—the American author, activist, feminist, and scholar born Gloria Jean Watkins—the world would be a better place. If people got the shirt’s reference, they could start talking about the writer’s influential work, which is rooted in self-love. And if they didn’t, maybe they’d ask who bell hooks was.
People who saw Gracechild wearing the shirt began asking another question: Where could they get one?
And so Melanin Rising Apparel was born. Gracechild’s “accidental venture” is more than a maker of items like Ts and travel mugs. An extension of her activism and her own artistic pursuits at the intersection of art, fashion, and social justice, it’s a community that celebrates Black creatives.
“I’m a strong believer in art as a medium of public education, which is what Melanin Rising is all about,” Gracechild tells Stir. “The purpose is to daylight the contributions of Black creatives and to honour creativity as a force to effect social change—to daylight the Black folks that have been leading that change, past and present, and to empower people to do that in the future.
“Melanin Rising is more about relationships than retail,” she says. “It’s part of a larger movement getting people talking to one another—using art as a medium to draw people in rather than bombard them with information—and understand that as Black creatives we’re part of a larger family.”
Roger Collins is co-owner of Calabash Bistro. Photo by Naomi Gracechild
Gracechild, who’s currently working on a series of portraits of Black women and who does weekly live painting sessions at Ollie Quinn Canada (an optical boutique on Commercial Drive), has expanded the online shop’s initial line of T-shirts to include other apparel, accessories, and personal-care products for babies, kids, and adults. The products bear inspirational quotes, names of revolutionary writers and other Black creatives (Maya Angelou, Oscar Peterson, Toni Morrison, Layla F Saad, and John Lewis among them), or designs by Black artists. Featured on the website wearing some of the pieces are members of the local Black community, such as Roger Collins, co-owner of Calabash Bistro; singer Morningstar Tricky; multidisciplinary artist Tonye Aganaba; and painter-animator Anthony Joseph of ADO Works. (In addition to the online shop, Melanin Rising can be found at Big Cranium Design Inc.in Nelson, B.C.; at Calgary’s National Music Centre and at The Biscuit Eater Cafe and Books in Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia.)
Morningstar Tricky is a Vancouver-based singer. Photo by Naomi Gracechild
In highlighting Black creatives, Gracechild stresses that “creativity” doesn’t necessarily mean “art”. Rather,
she sees creativity as a universal and unifying characteristic, a birthright, a place where innovation and imagination intersect.
“In order to know where we’re going, we need to understand where we’re coming from, and the wisdom offered by Black creatives has been sidelined,” she says. “I want to bring that into the forefront. And although the messages I’m highlighting are centred around Black human beings who have offered this wisdom, it’s also about rousing allyship. Not only Black people can wear this stuff.”
There’s a difference between cultural appropriation and appreciation, Gracechild says. She created Melanin Rising, a social venture, for people of the African diaspora and those who love them and who are actively working to dismantle racism. That means going beyond platitudes surrounding diversity and inclusion to actively contribute to healing and justice.
“It’s not about being trendy, and I’m not inviting performative allyship, either,” Gracechild says. “This is an extension of my life philosophy and how I move through the world, my values. I see creativity as sacred and powerful force for change.”
painter-animator Anthony Joseph. Photo by Naomi Gracechild
Multidisciplinary artist Tonye Aganaba. Photo by Naomi Gracechild
Naomi Gracechild is currently painting a series of portraits of influential Black women. Photo by Tristan Greyeyes
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