Founders series: A real racist would probably report us

Jacques Bastien believes that it is different this time. Often enough, it is in the United States, to come to cases of police violence against Black protests against racial discrimination without that, ultimately, much has changed. What happens after the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis, according to evaluation of the 30-year-old New York entrepreneur, but a new quality. He doesn't just mean all the demonstrations in America and elsewhere.

Roland Lindner

economic correspondent in New York.

he says He can feel it, this time much stronger compassion of White and also more willingness to listen: "This is a big change. In the past, people have not accepted that there is a Problem.“ Why this is so, is not himself quite clear. He conjectures that it might be related to the dramatic Video, which has laid the brutality of the police in dealing with Floyd open.

And perhaps, too, the Corona of a crisis have increased the willingness to engage. Bastien thinks that maybe the hostility of the American President Donald Trump against protesters on the day of the protest movement used rather than harmed, and your additional supporters into the arms of driven even.

"You can't change all of the heart of the night"

in his company Bastien can feel a change, because according to him, it has been in the past few weeks, significantly more inquiries from potential customers. He leads the Marketing Agency Shade, the so-called "Influencers", i.e. popular users on platforms like Youtube or Instagram, with the marketing of your Internetruhms helps. What makes it special, is the fact that they focused exclusively on black Influencer.

it works in principle as a modeling Agency, and represents, according to His words, about 80 Influencers, including bloggers, chefs and actors. She has worked with clients such as the payment service Square, or of the clothing chain Forever 21. Shade is one of several agencies under the umbrella of the Bastien based Marketing Holding Boogie Brands, and the common denominator is to give Black in the marketing of products, a stronger presence. There are also a consulting company that wants to help companies understand "black culture", and a photo Agency that distributes images with black people. Overall, Bastien employs around twenty staff.

imbalance in the Influencer-business

The idea for the Shade came to the businessman, as he weight in the Influencer-noticed a huge imbalance business. He heard of black Influencers, the not were it used to be for the collaboration with company paid, but, for example, with T-Shirts were being fobbed off, if you applied in the social networks of certain brands. For white Influencer, it was completely normal for such services, solicit money, and to get also.