Loveus was conceptualized in 2015 in response to harmful stereotypes of Black women in mainstream news media following the death of Sandra Bland. Many news outlets spoke openly negative about her interactions with law enforcement and used her interactions with law enforcement to reinforce established negative stereotypes of Black women being angry, aggressive, loud, etc.

These narratives forced me, as a Black man, to reflect on my own role—and the role many Black men play—in shaping how Black women are treated and perceived. I came to understand that, knowingly or not, I had contributed to those patterns. Black women often carry the same burdens as Black men in the world, and then they have to deal with us and often times, survive us.

Across music, film, and media, negative portrayals of Black women have been consistently reinforced—teaching generations to devalue, disrespect, and misunderstand them. They influenced us to be womanizers—aka loverboys/players—while totally disregarding the fact that a large portion of Black males were actively being raised by single Black women and nurtured by families full of Black women.

This does not an attempt to absolve Black men from our decisions and actions. 

This maturation did not occur overnight, but it had begun.

I began designing with intention. I wanted to celebrate the delicate strength, beauty, and spirit of Black women without sexualizing them. I wanted to capture their simplistic, natural beauty. I wanted to take the things that Eurocentric beauty standards said were ugly about Black women and make them beautiful—their hair. So I started designing around that concept.

What started as a focused mission has grown into something greater. Today, Loveus is dedicated to uplifting, empowering, and bringing together underserved and marginalized communities everywhere.