Because of her, we can!
A Maryland mom of 3 turns a 28-day photo project into an award-winning multimedia movement celebrating Black excellence all year long, The Today Show reports.
Eight years ago, Eunique Jones Gibson was a photographer and mother to two boys. One day, she noticed her son looked like Muhammed Ali and came up with the idea to take photos of children dressed as iconic Black figures in honor of Black History Month. The title of the project was called “Because Of Them We Can.”
“I wanted to essentially refresh Black history. At the time, I just had two little sons. And we were also at the one-year anniversary of Trayvon Martin’s murder. And I was trying to think, well, how can I inject my kids with, like, the self-esteem that they’ll need to be able to survive and thrive in this world?…[My son looked like Ali], but he never knew why Muhammad Ali said he was the greatest. He never knew why Muhammad Ali had to project the confidence before the world validated him. And so I thought, wow, what if I just put them in the shoes of these trailblazers? And then it just blew up,” Jones Gibson told reporters.
Photo Courtesy of Eunique Jones Gibson/Because Of Them We Can
She started with photos, Kerry Washington eventually tweeting her after seeing the picture of the little girl who was dressed like her. Jones Gibson then began creating videos giving even more credence to the importance of representation for young Black children. It was then that she knew her project was something bigger.
“It’s important because it impacts how you move throughout the world. It impacts how you engage with people every single day. If we make sure that their foundation is solid, and we make sure that they are rooted with knowledge and information, no one can take that from them,” said Jones Gibson.
Her 28-day project eventually turned into the award-winning multimedia movement you see today, including a Because Of Them We Can subscription box, the #CultureTags card game, and our very own media site, celebrating Black excellence year-round. The Today Show acknowledged Jones Gibson as a part of their “Changemakers” series for her outstanding work.
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“I’m proud to be Black [and] just wanting to inject that into other people just really started to grow in me. It’s about empowering these kids by understanding what’s already been done, what’s being done, and what can be done, and how they can play a role in shaping or reshaping the future… It’s about the unique opportunity that we all have to double down on who we are and to appreciate our unique differences,” Jones Gibson said.
Check out the entire Today Show interview below!
Thank you for all of your work Eunique! Because of you, we can…literally!
Photo Courtesy of Eunique Jones Gibson