Hearst Magazines is launching Celebrate Black: A Virtual Style Summit

Hearst Magazines is launching Celebrate Black: A Virtual Style Summit, a free, three-day lunchtime (ET) streaming series that the publishing giant says is designed to “amplify the voices of Black entrepreneurs, brands and creators in fashion, beauty, design and entertainment.” The event, which starts Tuesday at noon E.T., is an outgrowth of Hearst’s employee resource group Hearst Black Culture (HBC), and was created in collaboration with Hearst Labs, the company’s incubator for women-led startups. (Register here; takes less than a minute.) Among those taking the virtual stage: Haitian-American fashion designer Victor Glemaud; Sarah Mensah, VP and general manager for North America, Nike; Jarvis Sam, VP of global inclusion and diversity, Nike; Christina Tegbe, founder of beauty brand 54 Thrones; actors Jordan Alexander and Serayah; Reham Fagiri, co-founder and CEO, AptDeco; and Shibishah Johnson, brand strategist, Credo Beauty. (See the full list here.) Subscribe to Ad Age now for the latest industry news and analysis. Executives from across Hearst Magazines—including Harper’s Bazaar, Elle and Oprah Daily—are moderating the discussions. Celebrate Black marks the first time Hearst Magazines is launching a major public-facing event in partnership with one of its employee resource groups. Tommy Atkins, senior marketing manager at Hearst Magazines and co-founder of Hearst Black Culture, notes that since its founding in 2019, the group has hosted a series of internal panels and fireside chats “that brought together Black celebrities, creators and entrepreneurs for intimate conversations about their lives, their careers and the landscape of social justice in America today.” The success of those events, Atkins says, inspired his vision to create a public event “that specifically examined the influence of Black culture in style, design and entertainment.” Atkins and his team presented the idea to Todd Haskell, senior VP and CMO at Hearst Magazines, and Kate Lewis, chief content officer, “who lent their support for what turned into a three-day series,” complete with a track on entrepreneurism created with Hearst Labs. HBC has more than 200 active members across Hearst, and that network served as a talent magnet for Celebrate Black’s participants both within and outside of the company. Haskell notes that Hearst has been doing a lot of virtual “thought leadership events over the past 18 months, so we had a successful template for building awareness of these types of programs in the advertising and brand community. But working with HBC, we’re extending promotion of Celebrate Black to influential organizations like Harlem Fashion Row and Black in Fashion Council, the T. Howard Foundation, journalism and fashion programs at HBCUs [historically Black colleges and universities], and more.” Arianna Davis, senior director of editorial and strategy at Oprah Daily, who is leading a conversation with Nike’s Mensah titled “Cultivating Your Calling,” says that “It’s such an honor to witness how far HBC has come”—from what she calls “a safe space for Hearst’s Black employees” to a major producer of event content. “I hope with this series of events that we’ll be able to inspire and uplift our own,” she says, “while reminding the rest of the world: We’re here, and we’ve been here.” The event is also about looking forward, adds Nikki Ogunnaike, digital director at Harper’s Bazaar, who is leading the conversation with Glemaud. “We’re hoping to shine a light on the next generation of fashion and beauty thought leaders who are shaping the industry as we know it,” she says. “We’ll also highlight key issues that Black people often deal with in the workforce and provide tangible solutions and takeaways for business leaders.” In the end, Atkins says, “My greatest hope for this event is to curate inspiring conversations that move the needle forward on diversity, equity and inclusion” while also “celebrating the Black professionals driving innovation in the style industry.” More details about the event here; register here. High-quality journalism isn’t always free. Subscribe to Ad Age now for award-winning news and insight.

Hearst Magazines is launching Celebrate Black: A Virtual Style Summit

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