We had the good fortune of connecting with Kamirria Wallace and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kamirria, how does your business help the community?
Black & Scholared® is a social impact apparel brand that reinvests profits into supporting the HBCU community. Through the sale of our licensed collegiate apparel, we give back 12%-15% of every purchase made by our customers to HBCU institutions. We’ve recently launched our Black & Scholared Fund where we donate 5% of our quarterly sales to help students with tuition and living expenses. We also provide free college prep and resource guides to students with the mission of encouraging higher education within the Black community.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Black & Scholared® is a community and social impact apparel brand “with the Black grad in mind.” We help Black students and alumni who want to proudly celebrate and represent their favorite HBCU school or alma mater by providing unique and fashion forward apparel that is designed and distributed by a Black-owned company.

We specialize in licensed custom collegiate apparel. Our collections boast bold messages of inspiration and encouragement that resonate with college students and HBCU graduates who understand the unique HBCU campus life. Through the sale of our licensed collegiate apparel, we donate to HBCUs to provide scholarships and academic resources to students in an effort to promote, support and encourage higher education within the Black community.

As a proud graduate of Howard University, I understand the importance of HBCUs, preserving the rich heritage and also highlighting our achievements. I started by creating Howard gear for my daughters with a heat press and Cricut machine and was blessed to turn my home-based business into a brand. Two years later, the team is now growing and I no longer operate out of my home, but it took patience, plenty of “try-it-outs”, along with a rebrand. Along the way, I’ve learned the value of creating connections with your community, remaining persistent and that all problems are solvable.

This year with Black & Scholared, I look forward to expanding our licensed school collections, developing retail partnerships and increasing our social impact efforts.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
While in ATL, you HAVE to go for the lemon pepper wings. Plus all of the great down south cooking. Shout out to the girls raised in the South.

Now that I’m based in the DMV area, it’s always a good time for a weekend brunch in DC, followed by a day party. Make sure to support the local, black-owned businesses!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
As a mother and full-time entrepreneur, I couldn’t do it without the support from my family. My two young daughters (ages 4 and 6) are the inspiration behind building the brand as I aim to build HBCU endowments and encourage our scholars to celebrate academic success and aspire to be great leaders. I also have to give a huge shoutout to my African-American business advisor, Cynthia Nevels, who’s with the Goldman Sachs One Million Black Women: Black in Business program that I recently graduated from this summer. I’m grateful to have a support system that pushes me to be greater.

Website: www.BlackandScholared.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/BlackandScholared

Facebook: www.facebook.com/BlackandScholared

Other: Hello@BlackandScholared.com

Image Credits
Amber Iris Photo Sheronda Seawright Photography

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutAtlanta is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.