The Collaboration
Known for unifying culture and community through individual expression, Cruvie Clothing Co. is expanding its reach into empowerment merchandising through a collaboration between Southern University student-athlete (tennis), Mackenzi Stewart.
The Collection
Know Your Truth? is empowerment apparel designed to educate and inform the masses about key concepts, events, people, etc. that were conveniently and intentionally left out of our history books. KYT? steps in where the K-12 educational system never picked up, providing basic, fundamental facts and truths about pivotal people, places and ideas in our society.
Know Your Truth?
Our flagship signature tee that poses a simple question to the masses. Based on all the lies we’ve been spoon-fed in the K-12 educational system, this question is valid and deserves to be answered with knowledge.
Black Wall Street
Move on they say…forget about the past and live in the present. Well…ummm, we’ve tried that several times, and the destruction of Black Wall Street proves that no matter what we do, until we condemn White Supremacy in this country, Black folks won’t be able to live peacefully. To learn about one of our nation’s worst acts of domestic terrorism, click the learn more link:
The Lost Cause Theory
The foolishness that perpetuated the lies our country was built on. The Lost Cause Theory is the forever chokehold the Confederacy, and those who uphold it, maneuvered on our consciousness through textbooks, statues, holidays etc. To learn more about how losers and racists arrested our development, click the learn more link:
G.I. Bill
Don’t ever believe that America doesn’t understand restorative justice. One of the most perfect examples of a bootstrap (you know the one everyone keeps telling us to pull ourselves up by), the G.I. Bill (officially the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944) is one of the most significant transfers of wealth from the government to American soldiers. Not all soldiers, however, enjoyed the full benefits of this welfare plan (hint: the melanin kissed ones had a different experience). Click the learn more link for more info.
Juneteenth: June 19, 1865
June 19, 1865 is the true Black American Independence Day. On July 4, 1776 when White folks was running and rejoicing through the streets about the independence they had won from Great Britain by way of the Revolutionary War (with the help of Black enslaved Americans no less), Black folks were still enslaved and had nothing to rejoice about. Click the learn more link for more info.
Origin Stories Matter
When speaking about the plight of Black people in America, folks rarely start at the beginning. From housing, to economics, to eduction, to policing, there are reasons behind how these systems have been corrupted by racism. These reasons can be summed up in two words – people and policy. The next time you’re in a debate or discussion about race, start from the origin of whatever topic you’re discussing. As an aspiring education reformist, click the learn more link for insight on one of my favorite origin stories.
About Mackenzi Stewart
Fueled by her parents’ passion for racial and social justice, Mackenzi has been on the front lines of social impact since the age of six when her parents launched the family’s non-profit organization, L.E.A.D., Inc. (Launch. Expose. Advise. Direct.). LEAD is a sport for social good organization that empowers at-risk and proven-risk Black boys to overcome crime, poverty and racism. Through volunteering, designing and organizing programming, community affairs work and various administrative duties that include donor management and event planning/execution, Mackenzi developed her own conviction and discovered her calling in the social justice landscape: promoting and designing culturally responsive educational ecosystems. Know Your Truth? Empowerment Apparel is an idea that came from her own quest for more knowledge about Africans and The African Diaspora.