2021
Weight of It All
Story by Armani Jackson | Photography by Jason Sutherland Hsu
Oh sweet America and its rich history for disassociating Black women with legacies that shifted and inspired the world.
The Gold Rush of tech has reshaped images of wealth beyond our wildest folk tales. While legacy and wealth seem synonymous, it’s extremely rare the two actually intersect, and they are usually sanitized by celebrity or confused with fame. The nuance in depiction, and ultimately the burden of both, carry the same weight.
Rachel Konte and Fredrika Newton, co-founders of the All Power to the People Project, are auditing this process and have arrived at a space of constant discovery. Advancing and building upon a legacy that has to keep its foundation and values intact. The burden of moving it along, and keeping everything in place at the same time.
As a brand, the All Power to The People Project creates products of quality that further the history and global impact of the Black Panther Party. 20% of its proceeds go to the Huey P. Newton Foundation, of which Newton, the widow of Huey P. Newton, and a former member of the Black Panther Party, is president. With products that cover style, function and messaging that liberate all oppressed people, this Black woman-owned brand is exactly what’s needed. Obviously assumptions and the legend folk tale attached to movements can oftentimes bear the weight of all your ancestors. Heavy is the heart that feels it all.
Intentionality of Legacy
It’s a beautiful Saturday morning in East Oakland, California — 9:05 am to be exact. Walking up to an amazing structure of a home, I glance at a group text thread to confirm the address. I am greeted by Konte, and, after walking through her beautiful yard, we arrive at a serene sitting area. Konte, who was once women’s design director for Levi Strauss & Co, is chief of brand at Red Bay Coffee.
Red Bay, established in 2014 by Konte’s husband, artist and entrepreneur Keba Konte, has completely shifted the concept of community space, establishing its operations in areas developers would, at one point, never have touched. Its open-plan, factory-style flagship provides a peak into the process. Its branding and messaging — “Beautiful coffee to the people” — feels different. The atmosphere of each of its shops has a vibe. The merch designs do not smack of an afterthought, but stand on their own. The activations and partnerships Red Bay, which prides itself as a vehicle for diversity and inclusion, has curated have helped re-establish value in the art community of Oakland. The intentionality of it all emerged in our long, morning conversation over one of the most strong, flavor some dark roast.
Newton arrives soon after Rachel and I are seated. My immediate impression is one of grace. Newton is a lifelong addiction nurse and she openly admits this venture is a new space. A space of embracing the weight of the Panthers, but also embracing the value of making the entity accessible to the youth of today. But it’s a task Newton feels her career and life’s work has prepared her for. The Huey P. Newton Foundation was established in 1993 and was a significant commitment for Newton between writing books, public appearances and under her leadership the creation and placement of a bronze statue of Huey, which is the first permanent public art installation of the Black Panthers in Oakland.
Rachel Konte
The thread of wealth between servicing the youth and keeping the legacy not only alive, but as a prominent platform, seems to be the backbeat of the All Power to the People project.
The day we meet, I am not there to inquire about the Panthers, but rather to hear about an inspiring story of collaboration, legacy and wealth building. Would inquiring about Newton’s late husband be rude or disingenuous? The question kept me up the night before, but all my anxiety disappears once we all started talking. Confirming my impression of grace. Staying true to the assignment would be even easier.
Newton has spent her life in service roles. Roles best played by allowing oneself to be guided by feeling. Konte, who was born and raised in Denmark, and has worked in various European countries, came to the United States when she was 30, and immediately began navigating corporate waters. Jumping straight from design school in 1991 to Levi’s in 1992, she arrived in the States without feeling as if her Blackness would somehow limit her. In fact, those feelings wouldn’t surface until spending time in the U.S. “Mentally it’s debilitating,” she says. What is it about Blackness here specifically in America and what is its relationship to wealth?, she asks.
Newton quickly answers that for us. The women behind the movements, those providing the structure, are hardly ever spoken of. Investing in the youth today means wealth and wellness for us all tomorrow. The Black Panther Party knew that all too well. But they didn’t stop there. They were visionary enough to have their own newspaper. They understood the value of narrative and owning your own media platform.
Newton walks us through the days of feeding the children in the morning, getting over to San Francisco to print the papers and then back to the East Bay to distribute them. “There was no social media,” she says, there was only doing. The Panthers valued wellness of the community and focused on that, taking a physical, tactile approach. Today, social media allows for legend, legacy and branding to be monetized in any kind of way. And the burden of legacy is something both Newton and Konte are mindful of. While much of what the Panthers fought for is still on the docket, accessibility to youth and evolution seems to be what’s fueling this partnership.
Fredrika Newton
The fashion industry has changed so much. There were once rules. Now the only rule is to break all the rules. As a designer, Konte is treading carefully and always considering a younger audience that is primed to don the drip of real history. A history if sanitized and never to be leveraged to generate wealth, where retaining the value is closely tethered to remaining authentic. Producing fashion and day to day functional essentials. Wearing or sporting a crewneck, slim fit that reads “love is power” holds exactly that and one is responsible for understanding what it means and where it comes from. It takes courage and devotion and mindfulness to not bastardize the movement, but rather bring it along so that the legacy can last another 50 years. The movement’s relevance in the present day is bittersweet, and means not much has changed, but what if the brand alignments and future collaborations can help unlock new wealth for the community as a whole? One that remains on par with those visionaries who sought to own their own platforms.
The power of the people is stronger than man’s technology. “Huey would always say that,” Newton says at the end of a dynamic conversation with two perfectly aligned collaborators, whose goal is to keep a brand alive forever. The project is working on forging partnerships with brands that have the right foundation and messaging, as well as with product capsules (limited edition pieces of the designer’s vision) that redefine, shape and shift the culture. And always, the driving incentive is to preserve, strengthen and provide a platform for the Black Panther Party’s legacy and generate resources that materialize their vision. U
All Power to the People Project - We exist to inspire and empower each generation by creating products that communicate the history and global impact of the Black Panther Party.
www.allpowertothepeopleproject.com | Instagram: @allpowerproject