Brandon Asim Jones is a 2008 graduate of Howard. He remembers only buying one thing from the bookstore during school due to high prices, so he started making clothes for himself.
He always got compliments for the shirts he made, so he began selling them to friends and ultimately started his business, Black is Gold, in 2019, which eventually branched out to Vintage Howard U. People loved his shirts because they were representative of how Howard’s merchandise used to look before rebranding.
Jones saw an opportunity when Harris was announced as Biden’s vice presidential pick in 2020.
“I thought, ‘Wow, this is going to be a thing. We need something to represent her, and what better way than associating her with Howard and her time here. Her graduation picture, which reflects her journey, HBCUs and solidifying her Blackness,’” Jones said.
Black business owners across the country have taken the opportunity and capitalized on the demand. Throughout this election season, both presidential candidates have created clothing merchandise.
In August, the Harris campaign’s camouflage “Harris-Walz” hats sold out in 30 minutes and earned over $1.8 million in profit. Former President Donald Trump’s merchandise, including “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) hats and flags, outsold Harris’ campaign merchandise on Amazon this election season, according to Omnisend.
Jones said it is crucial for Black people and others who relate to Harris to create these products because if they don’t, larger brands will.
“If I don’t create merch, if I don’t create a space to represent us, the other side is going to do it. It’ll be on Amazon, in Target. These places will be capitalizing on her image and not her interests and values,” Jones said.
Tessa Scott, owner of PureEssencebyTessa on Etsy, started out making tote bags and pouches with Afrocentric fabric that has patterns of tribal print and people of color. As a local government employee, she wanted to find a creative outlet during COVID-19. After losing her 21-year-old daughter, Essence, in 2023, she used the business to help her handle her grief.
“I wanted to do something to honor her and honor her memory while trying to find a creative outlet to grieve,” Scott said.
With the buzz from the election, Scott thought of making Harris-themed tote bags after hearing one of her iconic lines in the media.
“She said something like, ‘If you have something to say, say it to my face,’ and I thought, ‘That would be cute on a T-shirt or something. Why couldn’t I start making some Kamala-themed bags?’” Scott said.
Scott started with designing one bag to see how it would fare and later began selling them in Sacramento and the Bay Area.
“I was a little bit anxious about it, but they were a big hit,” she said.
Scott is selling tote bags and cosmetic bags with Harris’s photo printed all over as well as three variations of bags with “KAMALA” patched on in pink and green. These are the official colors of Harris’ sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
Scott said she’s seen the impact Harris had not only on the Black community but on others who support her as well.
“My items are pretty specific to Black culture, but people have been visiting my booths at events. So my customer base [is] mostly black women. But once I started selling these Kamala bags, everybody has been coming to my booth, and surprisingly, all but one of my Kamala-themed bags have sold to white men,” Scott said.
Scott said she’s received mostly positive feedback on the merchandise.
“Even if they don’t buy, people want to stop by and chat or give me a thumbs-up and keep going,” Scott said.
This shop has an assortment of crewnecks, hoodies and t-shirts of Harris’s graduation photo with the Howard logo. There are pieces with a collage of photos from when she was a child to her adulthood with the slogan, “I’m With Her” and designs with her name in a collegiate font.
Kayla James, owner of PresKH2024 on Etsy, started her shop to celebrate Harris’s accomplishment as president-elect.
With a background in fashion merchandising and retail management, she was familiar with the retail business and wanted to dip into the entrepreneurial side of it.
Her designs are printed graphic t-shirts in the colors pink and green with slogans including, “They Not Like Us,” “We’re Not Going Back” and “#freedom.”
“The first African American VP elect, possibly president, is an amazing thing. And I definitely wanted to be part of it. You know, she has Jamaican heritage, so do I. It really resonates with me,” James said.
For online brands, especially on Etsy, James isn’t surprised by the slower business at times because many people make similar products and create competition. As a creative outlet, she is thankful for what her business offers her.
“I’m dealing more with computers and numbers. I didn’t really have a chance to be as creative as I’d like in my 9-to-5, but the urge and the itch are still there, so having this outlet was the perfect way to get it all out,” she said.
She also agreed that people wearing merchandise in support of a candidate plays an important role in promoting them.
“You have people who put up signs in front of their house, you have people who put bumper stickers on their cars and now you have someone walking around with a piece of attire showcasing a candidate’s name,” James said.
These businesses want to continue growing, but they are facing the challenges of low demand for these products after the election. Nevertheless, they all see Harris as a history maker and want to continue to sell Harris products.
“I don’t expect this height to last much further past November. No matter who wins, it’ll be a spike. People will rock what they rock and then we’ll be back to our regular scheduled program. Then you create for the next big spike. You always look ahead to see the next big trend and you create for that,” Jones said.
Copy edited by Anijah Franklin
