Healing through storytelling, on our own terms.
B&BITM develops and produces stories of everyday Black, Brown, and Indigenous folks. We dismiss stereotypes and embrace what's real—our joys, pain, passions, and everything in between. We reflect on the past, share life’s lessons, and let healing guide the creative process to create opportunities for audiences to see the humanity in one another.
Our 'Why.'
In 2022, media still under-represents the diversity of Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities with stereotypical characters from opposite ends of a spectrum, overlooking all who exist in the middle. We continue to see overplayed storylines around drugs and violence, or star athletes and musicians adopted as tokens in the mainstream. So much of our communities exist in the middle of that, but those stories are not represented. We're here to change that.
Community, not Customers.
In 2021, the top streaming and social media platforms attracted an average of over 470 million users or subscribers, and they brought in a total of almost $200 billion in revenue. According to Keep the Earth, television and movie representation stands at only 15.7% Black characters and 4.9% Hispanic/Latino characters, yet we are the biggest consumers of media. We're on a mission to change all of that by creating media with and for its viewers. Of the hundreds of millions who use social media and watch content via streaming platforms, we've focused on attracting customers that feel more like family - a family that aligns with our mission of offering alternatives to mainstream media that better represent our communities.
What We Do.
Our team of creatives develops and produces stories with everyday Black, Brown, and Indigenous folks through film, photography, and writing. Our projects celebrate all of who we are—exploring the extraordinary and ordinary lives we live within our communities. These stories invite folks into healing conversations and offer space to build meaningful relationships and understanding across communities.
To invest in the long-term impact of this work, we also offer creative services to help organizations take an actionable step towards appreciating diversity and setting an inclusive stage where teams feel they belong. We collaborate with businesses to provide a creative outlet for underrepresented folks to show up and communicate authentically at work.
We Pay BIPOC Creatives for Their Labor.
We are seeking funding to cover production costs for the rest of our first season of our docuseries and upcoming projects throughout 2022 that will highlight the contributions of BIPOC communities. In addition to improving representation of Black, Brown, and Indigenous people in media, we hope that these projects will show potential clients, particularly businesses looking to improve the experiences of employees from underrepresented or historically marginalized communities and identities.
As a BIPOC-led team, we are committed to paying the creatives we work with appropriate rates that align with the domain knowledge and experience they each bring to the project. We will be using this funding to support that goal, along with equipment and location rentals, distribution costs, festival fees, and marketing materials to expand our reach beyond our immediate network.
It Takes a Whole Village.
We have a powerful team behind the cause, and we're ready to get to work.
Visit our website here to learn more about our advisors and creative team!
Get Right in the Middle.
We can't bring Black & Brown into the middle without your partnership. Through our community, we have put together some great rewards for those who choose to contribute - check them out over to the right. We'll also be releasing new rewards throughout the campaign, so stay tuned by visiting our website to sign up for our newsletter and following us on social media.
From all of us at Black & Brown In The Middle, thank you for your support and belief in what we're doing. Every dollar, every share, and every bit of encouragement will help us to bring healing to our communities through storytelling. Thank you for joining this movement!
