Empowerment and unity: Southeast student launches new pieces for clothing line

The killing of Michael Brown, an African-American teenager, by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, not only started a wave of peaceful protests and socially conscious groups, but it is also is what Nyara Williams, a senior at Southeast Missouri State University, said inspired her clothing line, Black.Clothing.

"I Iive in St. Louis, so with that being St. Louis, it was like I wanted to have my hand in the movement and everything, but I didn't know exactly how I could go about it," Williams said. "I wasn't a protester type -- like, my mom definitely didn't want me out there with them. So I was like, 'How can I contribute?' And this is my way of contributing to the black community."

According to Williams, Black.Clothing is an extension of her brand BLACK, which is simply the word "black" with a peace sign emoji in place of the "A."

"BLACK is here for individuals of color to express themselves and bring awareness by educating the importance of self-realization, empowerment and overall unity for the greater good," she said.

While some clothing lines may be similar to Williams' in regards to content, she said what makes her clothing stand out is the message behind it.

"Not just that they're buying a T-shirt, they're supporting the message behind it and trying to get people to be more aware of self-confidence and self-love, spreading positivity -- that's all what I'm about and what my brand is about," Williams said.

Although the target audience for her clothing is African-American, she said that's not to exclude anyone; it's to uplift those belonging to that demographic.

"It's kind of like along the lines of FUBU, you know 'For Us By Us' kind of thing," Williams said. "It's something specifically for us that we can appreciate altogether and get us to unify first before it branches out to anybody else."

She started her business with a goal in mind: to travel and speak to the younger generation.

"Eventually, I want to be able to travel and speak to youth; that's what my main thing is. I believe you should start young and start teaching kids young, 'cause a lot of people don't know maybe what's going on in the world or feel confident about themselves," Williams said.

Having a storefront someday in St. Louis is a potential goal she has for her clothing line.

"I do want a storefront, and the first place I think I want it in is in St. Louis, 'cause that's where it all started," Williams said. "And I think that's where it should definitely take place first, and then maybe eventually branch out and have stores in other cities."

Williams, who leads a busy life not only as a business owner, but also as a full-time college student and a member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc., said she is open to hearing ideas from others for her clothing line.

"I take any suggestions or anything that I can because I'm a humble being. So if anybody wants to help, I'm not opposed to it at all," she said.

Currently, she has a team of friends who help her.

Because price is a concern for college students, Williams said she is keeping affordability in mind.

"I'm trying to get it as cheap as possible, but I know especially with college students, we need a little leeway -- a discount or something," she said.

Williams said the price for her clothing ranges from $20 to $35.

On Oct. 14, she released two new pieces called Negus and Nigist.

Negus translates to "king" and Nigist translates to "queen" in Amharic, the official language of Ethiopia.

Williams said her inspiration for the new pieces was trying to stray people from using the N-word.

"So I was like, 'What kind of way can I get people to get away from that word (the N-word)?' So I came across negus and nigist and kind of looked it up, and I actually saw that it was an antonym for the N-word," she said.

For more information about how to buy items fromWilliams' line, visit SoutheastArrow.com.