SEATTLE, Wash. — The studio of visual artist Aramis Hamer is a technicolor universe, where the longer you stare into her muse's eyes, the louder their wordless stories become.

"I definitely draw inspiration from Black girl magic, like pretty much my identity and my experience of being a black woman," she said.

These stories are joyful, powerful, and uninhibited.

"I wanted to create a space for these women so that they felt safe to do that because we also live in a world, especially Black women, where we're not given the space to be confident and powerful and strong because the world is just trying to dim that light," she said.

Art is a powerful medium for any message, and for Black artists, it's been a way to document history and what's needed to go into the future to change it.

"Art inspires us, empowers us to go out and change what needs to be changed," said LaNesha DeBardelaben, the president and CEO of Seattle's Northwest African American Museum (NAAM).

NAAM is exploring the role of resistance—as it is the theme of this year's Black History Month—in the story of Black people in this country. DeBardelaben says there would be no story without it.

"Resistance, to me, is a role call of all of the African Americans everyday folks who chose a different way, a way. One that worked for their humanity and for the humanity of others," she said.

From abolitionists to civil rights icons, resistance through history is how we got to where we are today, but as DeBardelaben tells us, the need for it has not ended with the passing of time.

"There's so many people that are hurting, and resistance is an avenue to bring healing and to bring change to those spaces, those communities, those hearts that need it. And I believe that's all of us," she said.

For Hamer, the word resistance represents the number of people needed to overcome inequities and work that needs to extend way past Black History Month.

"I think what's dangerous about Black History Month is that people can feel like they've checked off a box," she expressed. "At the end of the day, we're all humans, having our own experiences."

As we all embark on journeys this month, LaNesha and Aramis encourage us to seek out art, museums, books, or any medium that can open us up to different perspectives and learn from each other how we can make our country work better for us all.

"Just stay open. Examine your previous beliefs and question them too. It's like, where did this come from? Why do I feel this way?" said Hamer. "When you peel those layers back, your beliefs can crumble."

DENVER, Colo — Preserving jazz history is preserving Black history.

"I'm sitting here at Dazzle, which is the premier jazz club in the entire Rocky Mountain region,” said Purnell Steen, a pianist and jazz expert.

Steen comes from a long line of musicians.

“My cousin has been deemed to be the greatest living singer. I'm speaking of five-time Grammy Award winner Dianne Reeves," Steen said. "And my cousin, Charles Burrell, who is 101 years old, by the way, is also the last living musician who played for Billie Holiday.”

Steen says jazz grew because of the African American diaspora from the south.

“Jazz came out of the African American church when the various nations of Africans came to this hemisphere," Steen said. "Many of them came from disparate countries and spoke different languages. The only commonality, the only nexus they had was through the melodies, and these melodies became the roots of what became known as the Negro spirituals. So like 'Wade in the water, wade in the water, children', that's an old Negro spiritual.”

He says the sacred music became the rudiments of early jazz. Between the 1920s and 1950s, the Five Points neighborhood in Denver became known as the jazz capital of the western U.S.

“He was always writing on something, actually writing on paper towels. He had his little dog with him and said ‘Oh, man, this is the best damn music I've heard. Oh play, keep playing’. I mean, his language was spicy, to say the least. And he said that this is the 'Harlem of the West'. It was Jack Kerouac, the author.”

Steen says he’s trying to preserve its history and the music even more so after seeing so many jazz clubs close down during the pandemic.

“It's been tough," said Matt Ruff, who is a part-owner and general manager of Dazzle. "You know, we've had a lot of jazz venues that have closed. The Jazz Standard in New York is one of the big ones. Locally, Live at Jacks and the Old Chapultepec both have shuttered their doors, all because of COVID. Music is food for the soul. I know that that's a very that's a cliché statement, but it's very true. And the arts in general are things that people use to get over difficult times and through difficult times."

He says Dazzle was able to keep its doors open thanks to a supportive community and virtual performances.

“Allowing musicians the ability to perform in front of an audience, at least in front of a virtual audience, and also to receive tips and get paid for things like that as well,” Ruff said.

Ruff hopes as the pandemic calms that more clubs open up again. However, Steen is concerned part of the decline of jazz has been due to musicians becoming esoteric.

“They want to be able to walk out and say, "It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing', you know, instead of listening to toots, bells, squeaks and stuff that actually I don't understand.”

That has made him even more determined to preserve the significance and cross-cultural lines that the music blends.

“The foundation of jazz is the Blues," Steen said. "So I want to keep this part of the African footprints and the legacy of music. I want to preserve it as much as possible.”

He says the founders of Jazz have put their stamp on places around the world. They just have to make sure the winds don’t blow it away.

“And you've got to do something," Steen said. "You've got to tap your foot, snap your fingers, bob your head, shake your body. And hopefully we can preserve that.”
 

Brick by brick, Deryl McKissack is building on a legacy. If you've ever taken in the magnitude of memorials, you've seen her handiwork.

"In a project like this, you know, there are a thousand moving parts," McKissack said.

For her, it's in the blood. She's part of a long line of architects, builders and dreamers.

"My family goes back to my great-great-grandfather who was a slave and came to this country in 1790. And he was a builder as a slave. And he passed a trade of building down to my great-grandfather," McKissack continued.

He would pass it down to his sons, who would become the first Black licensed architects in the southeast and officially start the family business in 1905. But it didn't end there. McKissack's father also took on the family legacy and her mother continued the work after his illness.  

"I started at six in the family business with my father. He would take us to work with him on Saturdays. I'm a twin and my mother needed a break," McKissack said. "And so he would take us on Saturdays and prop up on the drawing boards — because we didn't have computers back then — and he would have us draw."

In 1990, armed with a degree in civil engineering and $1000, McKissack launched her own firm.

"I had a lot to prove," she said. "I was one person. I was Black. I was female in a male-dominated industry. Why would anybody want to work with me?"

But somebody did eventually, after she picked up the phone and reached out to 150 potential clients.

"I don't need a handout," McKissack said. "If you give me an opportunity, I'm not going to let you down. And I built on that. My first client was Georgetown. I started with a $5,000 fee project and within six months I signed a million dollars worth of work with them."

From there, the repertoire grew from the U.S. Treasury restoration to modernizing D.C. area schools, to the design of Ghana's Cape Coast museum and project management on several U.S. airports.

"This particular job, you know, there was work on a taxiway in the apron all around the concourse. There was a lot of different activities here in the concourse."

But it was the appointment as architect of record for the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial that solidified McKissack's own stamp on history.

"I think about my ancestors and what they went through, the atrocities they went through — Jim Crow laws and you name it, slavery and all of that — for me to be sitting here today and even be sitting there then would just bring tears to my eyes because there had never been a time when a Black firm had designed something on a national mall."

Today her firm handles more than $15 billion in projects. But it wasn't a crystal stair. She says she faced misogyny and racism along the way.

"I've been discriminated against by Black men as well as White men," McKissacks said. "You want to say, you know, 'It's just a white male world and da da da da da.' But that's not true when you're a woman coming into this. And it's microaggressions in the sense that you can see them huddling together. You're left out."

A joint report from two architectural organizations found 2% of the nation's architects identify as African American. The barriers of obtaining licensure include the cost and a lack of support from their employer.

McKissack says she has come up with a plan to diversify the industry, enlisting some of the biggest firms in the country.

"Board members need to be Black in those companies so that there is a true understanding at the top of how policy makes Black people feel uncomfortable or how things are said and written," McKissack said. "So there are microaggressions, and then there's Black companies that need to be sustained."

Because like the McKissacks before her, she's laying a foundation she hopes lasts for generations to come.

"I believe that everybody is unique," she said. "They come here with a special purpose. And when they find that purpose, nothing can stop them. And as long as they're working and walking in that purpose, nothing can stop them."

Newsy is the nation’s only free 24/7 national news network. You can find Newsy using your TV’s digital antenna or stream for free. See all the ways you can watch Newsy here: https://bit.ly/Newsy1

Sunday marks the start of Kwanzaa and one woman is turning to education to celebrate the special tradition.

It's a seven-day, non-religious holiday observed in the United States. Kwanzaa is meant to honor African Americans' ancestral roots.

"It’s so important to convey this tradition because it’s ancient. It’s not new, it’s old, and it brings us together," Doris Fields, who celebrates Kwanzaa, said.

The tradition often involves symbolic items like a candle holder (Kinara), unity cup (Kikombe cha Umoja), placemat (Mkeka), crops (Mazao), corn (Muhindi) and gifts (Zawadi).

Fields has celebrated the holiday for over 35 years, from paying homage to ancestors to sharing hopes for the new year.

"Usually there are people in their 90s [who attend], and they have so much wisdom," Fields said. "They have so much to offer to us."

While Fields' annual events may look smaller due to the coronavirus pandemic, she said she doesn't stop the opportunity to teach.

On Sunday, her home was a haven for a small group of friends, eager to learn more about the tradition.

"There were people here who had not had Kwanzaa with us before, so it's very nice to be able to share our thoughts," Fields said.

The holiday involves seven principles, represented by candles: unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith.

"I’ve been celebrating Kwanzaa with my family. probably for the last like 10 or 15 years," Markella Clinton, who also celebrates Kwanzaa, said. "It’s something I look forward to every year. It’s a great family excuse. It’s a great community motivator as well because you don’t just have to be family to be able to come and enjoy."

According to UCHealth, a not-for-profit health care system, Kwanzaa is the fastest-growing holiday in the world.

As popularity increases, Clinton said it's important to ask important questions.

"Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to look for information," Clinton said. "Educate yourself, because it’s not a religious holiday. It’s about community engagement and having faith in yourself and having faith in your community."

The celebration lasts until Jan. 1.

February is all about celebrating black history, and throughout the month we'll be honoring influential African Americans whose stories you might not yet know. Some are pioneers in their field, some helped spark the civil rights movement, and all have contributed incredible things to not only black history, but to the history of the United States as a whole.Discover the story of how Bessie Coleman became the first African American woman to earn her pilot license by watching the video above.

Safety looks different for everyone. And in communities of color, there’s often a mistrust of the health care system.

“We don’t really trust. We’ve been used as guinea pigs for a really long time,” Rose Marie Allen said.

With so much concern about COVID-19, there’s now a stronger effort to make sure everyone has equal access to vaccinations, especially in predominantly Black neighborhoods.

“To have this in Five Points, where a lot of the African American community is, is huge,” Jessica Newsome said.

This vaccination event is part of the Colorado Vaccine Equity Task Force, which exists to ensure all groups are informed about their options and have the opportunity to get vaccination shots for free.

“This is what success looks like,” said Maisha Fields, Advisor to Colorado Governor Jared Polis.

Fields is also a registered nurse and says getting people of color vaccinated is all about location and trust.

“If we’re going to be intentional about making sure that everyone has equal access to the vaccine, we’re going to have to go to those communities and we’re going to have to go to places that are trusted in those communities to make sure that they are vaccinated,” she said.

Places like Brother Jeff’s Cultural Center.

“This is about, if you want the vaccine, you should have access to it,” JeFF Fard said.

Fard runs the center and says he’s allowing it to be used as a vaccination site so citizens who are often overlooked or underserved have access.

“You see the demand. You see folks taking advantage of the opportunity and it makes all the difference in the world,” he said. “And a matter of fact, it could mean the difference between life and death.”

There are statistics that show African Americans are being disproportionately affected by COVID-19, so vaccination clinics held at places like cultural centers could save even more lives.

Many of the people who showed up at Brother Jeff’s Cultural Center say they’re much more comfortable getting vaccinated by someone who looks like them.

“They appointed me to a Black nurse, and I felt comfortable immediately because I know that she understands me and my body,” Allen said. “And more than anything she understood my fears.”

Fears that could be eased, one shot at a time.

CINCINNATI — This story was reported in partnership with The Herald.

About this time last year, Donny Harper opened his new Go(o)d Company Apparel store on Vine Street in Over-the-Rhine.

Before he could schedule an official grand opening, COVID-19 hit.

“This is a location that I’ve been, like, praying for,” said Harper, who launched his clothing brand in 2014 and had a shop on Race Street before moving to his new location. “We opened the doors at the beginning of March and, you know, the pandemic was stirring. And in the middle of March, they said, ‘Shut it down. We’re shutting down everything.’ And so it was super disappointing and disheartening.”

His store stayed closed until July 1, 2020, but that didn’t stop Harper.

He ramped up marketing on social media, focused his efforts on building online sales and designed face masks and other new products to sell, he said. He also took advantage of the help available to him. He got a Paycheck Protection Program loan, a Facebook loan and a PUSH Grant, designed specifically to help the region’s minority entrepreneurs persevere.

“Those funds really helped to sustain our business and help us continue to thrive and get more merchandise,” he said. “And to continue to market our brand to the public to let people know that we were still – we were still breathing.”

Lucy May | WCPO

Weathering the turmoil of the coronavirus pandemic has been especially difficult for African American entrepreneurs like Harper. Nearly a year into the COVID-19 economic crisis, WCPO 9 and the Cincinnati Herald teamed up to report on how the region’s Black-owned businesses are faring.

Black-owned businesses have an economic impact of $1.44 billion in Greater Cincinnati, according to a January 2021 study by the University of Cincinnati Economic Center. The 800 businesses included in the study support more than 8,600 jobs with earnings of more than $542 million, and they generate millions of dollars in tax revenue, the analysis found.

That makes the health of Black-owned businesses important to everyone, and the past year has threatened many of them, said Eric Kearney, the president and CEO of the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky African American Chamber of Commerce.

“The pandemic has really had a devastating effect on Black-owned businesses and on our members,” Kearney said. “Some national surveys say that 40% of African American-owned businesses went under during this pandemic. Our statistics say that it’s about 30% in the Cincinnati marketplace.”

RELATED: Black-owned businesses feeling weight of difficult 2020

That amounts to as many as 300 local businesses that have closed permanently, Kearney said.

“Typically they’re smaller businesses, but they’re still just as important,” he said. “They still feed a family.”

‘You have to overcome those moments’

In Bond Hill, Davis Cookie Collection is feeding more than the Davis family.

The cookie business opened its first brick-and-mortar location on Reading Road last year after months of delays caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Lucy May | WCPO

Contractors working on the storefront experienced delays getting the materials they needed, and the electrician working on the project had trouble getting the supplies he needed, too, said Christina Davis, the company’s owner and CEO.

“What could have been a short turnaround time for us to get open took a long time,” she said. “We looked at this place in November 2018. We signed our lease in August 2019, and we didn’t get to open until Oct. 10 of 2020.”

Those delays forced Davis to get more creative than ever.

She lost important in-person marketing opportunities, such as the weekly pop-up location she used to operate at Jungle Jim’s. But Davis developed new business strategies that have helped her company grow.

“We really had to re-evaluate and pivot our business in a different direction,” she said. “Now we’re really targeting corporations where we can sell them individualized bags of cookies that they’ve been ordering for their employees. We’ve been shipping nationwide. A lot of different companies -- P&G to name one of them -- they order a lot of cookies for their employees.”

Davis also thought of new ways to make her shop stand apart once it did open, developing her “create a dozen” concept. Customers pick from a variety of toppings that get mixed into cookie dough and baked while they wait. The shop also sells ice cream and allows customers to customize ice cream sandwiches by selecting their own cookie and ice cream combination.

RELATED: Cookie shop opens with sweet new concept

“I do a lot of marketing research. Like, most times I’m up really late at night researching on how we can pivot our business, what we can innovate,” she said. “When the pandemic first happened and all the businesses were shut down, as well as ourselves, that was my moment to become creative. I spent a lot of downtime just thinking, OK, what are we going to do once we open?”

While Davis never feared her business would close permanently, she said, it wasn’t always easy to keep going.

“I remember one day I broke down. I was like, ‘We’re not going to get to open.’ But then our faith kicked in, and we knew everything would work out,” she said. “You have to overcome those moments to be able to see what’s on the other side.”

Lucy May | WCPO

Ultimately, the challenges made the business stronger, said Miles Davis, Christina Davis’ husband and the company’s co-owner and chief operating officer.

“I think in life period any time you go through stuff, and you make it through it, you always come out stronger,” he said. “We’ve learned, we’ve gained experience and we’re immediately trying to hand it to other people so that they don’t have to go through as much as we did.”

‘Super excited’ about the future

A survey by the African American Chamber found that the chamber’s members tend to need help in four crucial areas:

• Members needed a better relationship with their bankers, beyond knowing the teller. They needed a strong connection to get assistance with the government loans that have been available during the pandemic.
• They also needed a solid relationship with an accountant who could quickly provide financial statements required for government loan applications.
• Many members also lacked a strong relationship with a lawyer who could advocate for them and ensure their records were in order.
• And members also had a general need for more capital to operate their businesses.

“Typically our businesses are undercapitalized,” Kearney said. “That’s true of most small businesses, but it’s particularly true with African American-owned businesses, and so we took steps to address each of those concerns.”

Chamber staff offer counseling and technical support to help business owners navigate the various programs and loans available to them, he said. The chamber teamed up with the Greater Cincinnati Microenterprise Initiative and MORTAR to offer PUSH grants last year to help businesses stay afloat.

In February, the Urban League of Greater Southwestern Ohio and the city of Cincinnati announced a similar grant program called the “Resiliency Fund” to help small Black- and brown-owned businesses devastated by the COVID-19 economic crisis.

Kearney said he hopes some of the businesses that had to close will be able to reopen.

WCPO

“I really believe when people get vaccinated and the weather gets warmer, the economy will really rebound,” he said.

Even so, technology remains a challenge for some chamber members who were not ready for online sales and services when most in-person business halted, he said.

Harper said being able to sell his products online made all the difference for Go(o)d Company Apparel when his store had to close last March.

“But our store is our core,” he added. “This is where people can come and hear the story about Go(o)d Company, why we exist, why we started the brand.”

The name Go(o)d Company expresses the importance of being a good person to be around – and the importance of surrounding yourself with good people, Harper said. And the parentheses around the second “o” in the name have a special meaning, too.

“For me, I believe that keeping good company is important, but keeping God company is even more important,” Harper said. “When you take that ‘o’ out, we’re saying keep God company as well.”

Lucy May | WCPO

Harper’s faith – in God and in the community that supports his business – helped see him through the worst of the COVID-19 economic crisis, he said.

Now he’s looking forward to a better 2021.

“I’m super excited for what’s ahead,” Harper said. “At the end of the day, we have to wear clothing, right? We have to wear something. So that gives me hope. The message of my brand is my hope, is that people will continue to wear something that they can relate to, that represents who they are and that pushes a positive message.”

Donny Harper said he wanted to highlight businesses that have been his “good company”: BrownsKorner for health and fitness; MidWest Promo Source for promotional items; Pivot Commercial Services for commercial and residential cleaning; Robert Smith for real estate needs; and Happy’s Pizza for late-night snacks.

Information about the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky African American Chamber of Commerce and the services it offers is available online.

More information about how to apply for grants through the new “Resiliency Fund” is available online, too.

Nailah Edwards did an in-depth video interview with a dozen local business owners for the Cincinnati Herald. You can watch that interview online.

Lucy May writes about the people, places and issues that define our region – to celebrate what makes the Tri-State great and shine a spotlight on issues we need to address. She has been reporting on women- and minority-owned businesses in Greater Cincinnati for more than 20 years. To reach Lucy, email lucy.may@wcpo.com. Follow her on Twitter @LucyMayCincy.

March is all about celebrating womanhood, and throughout the month we'll be honoring influential women in history whose inspirational stories helped pave the way for female empowerment and progress. These advocates and pioneers have contributed incredible things to not only women's history, but to the history of the United States as a whole, and are an inspiration to young girls everywhere.Discover the life and accomplishments of Ida B. Wells, an African American woman born a slave who used her talents in journalism and activism to stand up for the rights of women and African Americans.

Video above: North Carolina student says she was forced to cut her braidsIt was her last home softball game of the season, and Nicole Pyles, a sophomore at Durham Hillside High School in North Carolina, had just hit a double. Her hair, braided with beads and tied in a bun at the bottom of her neck, was the last thing on her mind.It quickly, however, became a focal point of the April 19 game. First, a coach on the opposing team claimed they couldn't see her jersey number, Pyles said. Pyles, 16, said she tucked the braids into her sports bra and continued playing. But then, later that same inning, it came up again.A coach on the opposing team pointed out the beads to the umpire, Pyles said. Beads in hair, according to the rulebook, weren't permitted. So despite playing four prior games with the beads, the umpire gave Pyles a choice: Either take the beads out, or don't play."I asked why is this now an issue ... and he said it's a rule, there's nothing he can do," Pyles told CNN.So Pyles' said her teammates gathered around, attempting to take the beads out of the hair. Because they were wound so tightly, they had to cut some of the hair out in order to remove all the beads, Pyles said."I felt dehumanized," Pyles said.Now, Pyles' family is attempting to get the rule changed."Everyone's hiding behind the rules of the game," Julius Pyles, Pyles' father, told CNN. "If there was a rule, it should've been applied in the beginning, (not in) their last game."Rule is 'culturally biased and inappropriate,' school district saysPyles' experience is a familiar one.In one of the most famous examples, a Black high school wrestler in New Jersey was forced to cut his dreadlocks off in order to compete in a tournament, after being told his hair wasn't in compliance with league regulations.In 2020, another Black high school student was told that if he didn't cut his dreadlocks to comply with the district's dress code, he wouldn't be able to walk at graduation. And there have been similar incidents all across the country.Julius Pyles says he has reached out to multiple people with Durham Public Schools and the North Carolina High School Athletic Association. Though DPS has publicly supported Pyles, the NCHSAA has not. "Durham Public Schools supports our students' right to free expression and opposes unreasonable or biased restrictions on Black women's hairstyles," the district said in a statement Wednesday, regarding the April game. "We believe the blanket ban on hair beads is culturally biased and problematic. We support our student, Nicole Pyles, and believe this rule should be amended."The district went on to encourage the NCHSAA and the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), of which NCHSAA is a member and thus dictating rules across North Carolina high school sports, to review the policy, calling it "culturally biased and inappropriate."Rule may be addressed next month, national organization saysBut Commissioner Que Tucker, of the NCHSAA, stated that the rule is "not new.""When the violation was noticed by an umpire, the proper determination of illegal equipment was verified as supported by NFHS Rule," she said in a statement to CNN. "Further, according to NFHS Softball Rule 3-5-1, prior to the start of a contest, it is the responsibility of each coach to verify to the plate umpire that all his or her players are legally equipped, and that players and equipment are in compliance with all NFHS rules."Tucker called the experience "truly unfortunate," but said the coach's duty is to ensure players are aware of the rules before playing.The rule regarding beads in hair was first enacted in 2012, according to Karissa Niehoff, executive director of the NFHS. It was instituted to "minimize the risk of injury" to athletes during competition, the organization said.Though the NFHS did not say if the rule would be amended, Niehoff did say the NFHS Softball Rules Committee will "address hair beads and other adornments at its annual meeting next month."The rule as it stands, though, is discriminatory, Julius Pyles said."It's 2021, and now my child is being a part of something that should be dead and gone. I didn't serve this country to then be discriminated against," said Julius Pyles, a veteran.