DENIM DAYS PANEL 2019: DENIM & THE AFRICAN DIASPORA • A LEGACY UNTOLD

At the Denim Days Festival, the panelists had the opportunity to offer a unique point of view of the history of fashion, sustainability and Black Indigenous People of Color’s contributions to the industry in the Denim Space.

Denim Days was formed by The Kingpins Show, a niche community of denim leaders, denim makers & denim suppliers. Premium & artisanal denim brands like Levis, 3×1, G-star, Adriano Goldschmied have led the conversation and authored the narrative of denim innovation & invention from an almost exclusive white male perspective.

Denim Days Panel on Saturday, June 8th,
12pm the Metropolitan Pavilion, NYC

The Topic: Denim & The African Diaspora – A Legacy Untold

Moderator: Whitney McGuire

Panelists: Kimberly Jenkins, Jonathan Square, Miko Underwood

The conversation highlights the history of denim as it relates to the critical contributions of the enslaved Black Indigenous People of Color in shaping America’s cultural identity to indigo, inclusion & sustainability *

*The goal is to educate & inform the community on:
The origins of denim, starting with its hue, indigo, a hidden commodity of the Slave trade & systematic oppression. Africans were sought particularly for their agricultural skills in rice, sugar, cotton & advanced skills in textiles including the cultivation of indigo. The blue gold initiated the forced migration of African & Black Indigenous peoples to develop indigo farms throughout the Caribbean & Americas.

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