A fashion movement that brought a consciousness of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU's) to the hip-hop generation in the early 1990s is making a come back, and the man who started it is bringing it back via Kickstarter. African American College Alliance co-founder Chris Latimer is spearheading a Kickstarter campaign to revive the brand on the 25th anniversary of it's creation. The campaign, which kicked off on March 5th, has been successful in approaching it's goal to raise $100,000 to fund AACA's 25th Anniversary production. "Shark Tank" host Daymond John's recent $5000 pledge helped the nearly 600 contributions that preceded it to push the total amount to over $80,000 to date. But with one day left before the campaign's deadline, Latimer is set on making it happen without a corporate middleman. He made it clear in the Kickstarter promo that the AACA movement "will only be as strong as the people behind it."
"Our backers will be enlisted on our VIP list, granting you early access to content and deals before anyone else," Latimer states. "This list will never be added to once the Kickstarter is over, making you a part of AACA's Anniversary Founding Family."
The crowdfunding model AACA is being revived through is akin to the nature of the brand, as one that is grassroots supported; 100% Black owned and operated, according to Latimer. It is a direction he explains will allow the African American College Alliance to preserve it's artistic freedom and control it's own destiny. Such a dynamic is fundamental to what the AACA has represented since it's inception in 1991, when Latimer and his team began pressing up hoodies, sweatsuits, hats and t-shirts baring the names of Black colleges. As a graduate of Howard University himself, Latimer's vision is to inspire his peers and the youth that came after him to explore the possibility of higher education taking root when the attire suddenly established itself as the wardrobe of choice for actors on "A Different World," the popular television show about life at a Black university. It wasn't long before the brand became a statement in the hip-hop world, and with the influence of some of music's biggest artists it spread to the streets. By the end of 1992 sales had reached 6 million.
"[It] became the icon that reflected the time. Artists rocked AACA sweatshirts and sweatsuits on stage, in photoshoots, and in their videos," Latimer recalls. "Hip-hop heads searched frantically for them at their favorite stores. It didn't matter where you were from, because your AACA hoodie said what we needed to know about where you were at."
Latimer believes the African American College Alliance to have been a key factor behind what he cites as one of the biggest spikes in Black college attendance between the years 1991 and 1993; numbers he hopes to see grow again with the support of people who believe in the same vision.
Source: kickstarter.com
