T Brand Studio, the branded content arm of The New York Times Advertising Department, has launched the “Soul of Us, a creative platform that will allow partner brands to reach and represent Black communities in the U.S. 

Centered on stories told by and for Black Americans, the “Soul of Us” homepage—topped by an “advertisement” banner that notes the Times’ editorial staff had no hand in its creation—says that the project “is dedicated to ensuring accurate representation and diversified storytelling in advertising.”

“To know what makes a Black life matter, you have to see what a Black life really is,” says Vida Cornelious, VP of creative at New York Times Advertising.

“‘Soul of Us’ became a response to an internal brief asking what can we do to be a part of this conversation,” says Cornelious, saying both T Brand and the wider Times advertising team have put great effort into navigating the past “racially charged year.” She adds that she hopes the project can help “close the cultural empathy gap” in America.

Launched this week in partnership with #TakeTheLead, a diversity initiative from Starz focused on women and racial minorities, the first “Soul of Us” installment is a three-part series highlighting stories of Black leadership.

Every component of the project is created with a Black team of writers, editors, photographers and graphic designers—its contributor masthead listing names including former Essence editor-in-chief Angela Burt-Murray and mixed media artist Destiny Belgrave.

“Quite a few” brands beyond Starz’s #TakeTheLead have expressed their desire to be a part of “Soul of Us,” said Cornelious, who declined to name any of the other interested parties. She did confirm that the T Brand-led project is “in conversation with leaders in great verticals,” including those from the beauty and finance sectors.

While the Starz-sponsored installments take the form of written stories with illustrations, Cornelious says that “formats that we tell their stories in are really contingent on the stories we’re telling,” with some potential partners expressing interest in creating audio and video content as well.

With enough installments—which Cornelious refers to as “chapters”—T Brand is leaving the door open to expanding the “Soul of Us” project to other mediums. “Our hope would be to continue this dialogue. It gives us a really solid platform to brand out to a docu-series at some point or a book at some point,” she says.

The “Soul of Us” homepage will serve as both the hub for branded content as well as a portal where newcomer brands can sponsor New York Times Advertising-backed narratives that spotlight Black communities.