October 16, 2020
If you haven’t heard about Fatima yet, where have you been? The name for the model in the Government’s recent ‘Rethink. Reskill. Reboot’ campaign has become a symbol of the destruction of the creative industries due to Covid and the obstacles Black creatives face within the industry.
To catch everyone up here’s a quick rundown:
The Influencer: Fatima aka Desire’e
In a revelation that surprised no one, the image was, in fact, an uncredited stock image from Unsplash. The dancer is actually from Atlanta and called Desire'e whilst the photo was taken by Krys Alex. When asked how she felt about her work being used she responded:
"Some people questioned if I knew and if I approved the use of my work. If I'd have known that this was going to be used in the way it was, I would have never agreed to it” She also praises Desire'e Kelley as "a young, talented and beautiful aspiring dancer from Atlanta".
But don’t just take our word for it, Krys lays out the whole story and her feelings in the video below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbFVzKwxxjQ&ab_channel=FLIdP
Moved by this story, we wanted to highlight some of the amazing Black content creators we’ve had the privilege to discover, be entertained by, or work alongside over the past few Months here at Mc&T.
You ready? Let’s go….
https://youtu.be/STMZsfAhxwc
Who?: Oumi Janta
Instagram Handle: @oumi_janta
Why we love them:
Rolling into the ‘Super Influencer’ scene and into our hearts, Oumi Janta will be known to most as the ‘ridiculously cool girl in yellow shorts on rollerskates’. At first glance, it can look like she glided in from nowhere but she has actually been very active in the Berlin skating scene for some time. In fact, she had around 19k followers on Instagram before she went viral but now sits at a cool 901k followers at our last count. Oumi hasn’t let the recent fashion week and car collaborations get in the way of things she loves most; in fact, she shares free roller skating lessons on her account to inspire more people to join in with her biggest passion.
Who?: Influencer pay gap
Instagram Handle: @influencerpaygap
Why do we love them?
The Influencer pay gap’s goal is simple: to bring awareness and change to the huge disparity between the way BAME influencers are approached and treated in the marketing world. Offering a safe space for professional influencers, agency workers and PR pros to share their insights and data anonymously, the channel has grown massively since it’s birth in early 2020. Sitting now at 45k followers, and growing everyday, this juggernaut of an account isn’t just calling for change but actively making it happen. Not just by calling out the inequality, it also offers a unique opportunity for people within these professional spaces to learn and understand their privilege and bias from these honest and open submissions.
Who?: Swiss, Founder of Black Pound Day
Instagram Handle: @Swissworld_
Why we love them:
Swiss is a highly acclaimed Musician and Author with two solo studio albums and is a member of The So Solid Crew. And, yes, we have that song in our heads now too...it’s an absolute banger. Alongside his passion for music, Swiss is the founder of Black Pound Day, which was set up to support the growth and garner awareness of the UK Black Economy and to underpin long-term financial growth and infrastructure, empowering and motivating the Black community. Launched on 27th June 2020, Black Pound Day encourages everyone to spend money with local and online UK Black-Owned businesses. Nice.His most recent accolade includes hosting a panel event at BOXPARK for Black History Month alongside our next influencer….
Who?: Kelechi Okafor, Creative Entrepreneur and Equality Speaker
Instagram Handle:@Kelechi
Why we love her:
Kelechi Okafor studied at the BRIT School of Performing Arts specialising in Musical Theatre and English Literature. Kelechi went on to university to gain a 2:1 BA in Drama and Theatre Studies with Law. Kelechi has built a career as a formidable personal trainer, dance innovator, pole dance teacher and successful dance studio owner. In 2018 Kelechi won Fitness Queen of the Year at the Precious Lifestyle Awards, followed by two Screen Nation awards in 2019 for Best Podcast and Best Social Media Personality.Kelechi has multifaceted knowledge of inequality, anti-racism, and diversity, ‘’cancel culture’’ and other contemporary topics and offers a high-energy, thought-provoking and motivational approach that encourages people to adopt and consider new concepts and attitudes. Kelechi is well known across social media with over 56k Instagram followers, 750k podcast downloads and 79k Twitter followers including many verified and celebrity retweeters and fans. Yasss!
Who?: Chanté Jay, Social & Political Commentator
Instagram Handle: @Chante Jay
Why we love her:
Chanté is a freelance writer, digital content producer and host of Reform The Funk’s Talk and Play & Channel 4’s How Not To Be Racist. After completing her degree at the University of Bristol in 2018, she edited and curated Bristol’s first-ever BAME Powerlist. The BAME Powerlist had over 500 nominations and 100 award recipients. She frequently writes for platforms including Complex, The Guardian, The I Paper, Noisey, VICE, Munchies, Gal-dem, Crack Magazine, Soho House and more. In 2018, she wrote her first-ever cover story for Wonderland Magazine interviewing Beyoncé’s very own Chloe and Halle. She is also writing her first book A Quick Ting On: The Black British Power Movement.
Now, that is a fabulous list! It doesn’t just stop here though, we want to hear about more amazing influencers and the amazing work that they are doing to create real, purposeful change within the World, and we aren’t just talking about those with huge followings. Let us know on our socials channels or pop us an email through email hello@mcandt.co.uk
