CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A new digital magazine in Charlotte is telling the stories of Black artists and creative entrepreneurs.
What You Need To Know
- The Block magazine was released on June 19th, which coincided with Juneteenth.
- The authors aim to uplift and propel voices, often unheard.
- The stories focus on Black artists, musicians, business owners and more.
Three months ago DeAnna Taylor and a few others started The Block magazine, which is completely online.
“We created this magazine to bring a voice to Black creatives, not just in Charlotte, but beyond,” Taylor says.
Due to COVID-19 they usually meet with other staff members via Zoom, but when they do meet in person, they gather at Dupp & Swat.
David Butler is one of the co-founders of Hue House, which helps provide resources and funding for Black creatives. The group came up with the idea for the magazine.
“Charlotte is ever-changing and growing, and we want to make sure that we have Black creatives at the forefront of that change,” Butler says.
In order to do that they brought in a team, which included photographers and writers.
“We try to focus on local businesses and local entrepreneurs,” The Block photographer, Joshua Hunt says. “I want to be a part of our community and the artist community of Charlotte to try and make an impact.”
The magazine already features dozens of articles. Writer Vivian Page says COVID-19 and civil unrest have been big topics.
“How that has affected people’s creative space, as well as how they are moving forward,” Page says.
Some of the stories are about empowerment and inspiration. One story online is about Charlotte Ballet’s academy director and her personal journey as a Black professional ballerina.
“In that story she talked about what is needed to make ballet a more inclusive art form,” Taylor says.
Whether a business, musician, an artist, or even a bartender, The Block magazine plans to cover it all.