During the summer of 2020, Crystal Kendrick (’97) brought a national initiative to Cincinnati that empowered and supported nearly 400 Black-owned businesses: #Blackout. Kendrick, president of The Voice of Your Customer and publisher of The Voice of Black Cincinnati, was passionate about her plan to support Black-owned businesses.

“At least 51 percent of our local businesses are owned by one or more African Americans,” she says. “Promoting local, Black-owned businesses addresses wealth inequality and provides opportunities for those businesses as well as the communities they serve.”

Isaiah Kelly (’20), founder of Smoove Creations, spent his summer creating a custom “Black Lives Matter” shoe to raise awareness about racial injustice in our country.

“I believe that it's everyone's responsibility to use their privilege to create change. We decided to use our voice and our craft to spread the message of racial reconciliation through footwear,” Kelly says. Proceeds benefit the NAACP, Project Zero Campaign and the bail fund in Louisville, Kentucky, for those arrested while protesting the death of Breonna Taylor. 

You may know Aaron LaVigne (’05) for his role in the touring show of “Jesus Christ Superstar,” but you may not know that he uses his platform to fight against racism. Lavigne hosted conversations about racial inequality and social injustice on his Instagram account.

“I have been using my voice and platform through my job to fight for social justice,” he says. “The best way for me to use my voice is to offer up honest, inclusive and socially minded content on social media.” 

Jackie Johnson, vice president of Operational Risk Management Information Security at Synchrony, and member of the College of Informatics Advisory Board, recently became a member of the College of Informatics Diversity Task Force. The task force focuses on four main areas: faculty and staff recruitment and retention, student recruitment, student retention, and curriculum and pedagogy.

“I was impressed by the willingness of the Informatics faculty and staff to tackle the diversity opportunities, and I wanted to help influence and make a difference” Johnson says. “I believe NKU should be an advocate for social justice by increasing awareness with students, faculty and staff on the importance of fair and just economic, political and social rights.”