On Thursday, March 6, the African American Cultural Center (AACC) hosted the Crown Exchange, an event celebrating Black beauty. The goal of this event was for people to donate used or new beauty products and exchange them for other products.
Keira Moore, a third-year Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Textile and Apparel, Technology and Management, and graduate assistant in the AACC, organized this event. The Nubian Message sat down with Moore to discuss the organization of the event.
The Nubian Message: What made you put on this sort of event?
Keira Moore: I don’t think I’ve ever seen an event quite like this… I did a research project about two to three years ago focusing on perceived authenticity with DEI and big-box retail brands. I was interviewing a young woman and she brought up how her and her roommate would always swap products, and it triggered a kind of like creative light bulb in my head. And I was like, “Oh my gosh, I should do something like this.” I hosted my very first swap in Knoxville, Tennessee… and I held it at a Black-owned library called ‘The Bottom,’ and lots of black people dropped off essential items… it was clothes, beauty products and books. I wanted to do it again this year, where it’s really focused on the students.
TNM: How would you describe this event?
KM: I would describe this event as a very collective, solidarity and culturally affirming event that is student-centered and driven by the community, specifically the Black community here. So, I believe that this event provided a space for our students to engage in a cultural exchange, and also just a general exchange, so they could have free things, because it’s hard out here. Things are expensive, and we were all in college once…I know that getting beauty products is quite expensive, so I know that the students really loved it. They thought it was a dope event. And I’m looking forward to the center hosting similar things moving forward.
TNM: Why do you think it is important to have events like these?
KM: I think it’s important to have events like this in particular because I believe that students kind of get wrapped up in, especially being at a predominantly white university, they get wrapped up in finding ways to express themselves and being able to embody all parts of their culture and identity. So it’s important for this event to happen, in this space, because this is a celebratory space for Blackness, Black identity, Black beauty and really anything black. So I believe that the students should be encouraged to embrace those parts of their identity, and if it isn’t us as leaders, faculty and staff, to support these students in those endeavors of reclamation in terms of their identities — then who else?
TNM: What impact do you think this event will bring?
KM: I hope that this event will be something that students will talk about, and they’ll be able to share like, “Oh my gosh, I got this product from the beauty stuff. I actually got it for free,” and this will be a conversation piece for a lot of students in the center. And also…I want to say that this event is centered in a theory called collective memory, and I think that this will kind of be a memorable experience for folks to talk about, and maybe they will want to continue to do this outside of the university. Maybe they’ll pass this down generationally, and also understand the importance of a circular economy and debunk over consumption…that’s something I’m really passionate about, and trying to see a sustainable future for us as Black consumers and Black folks in general.
TNM: Would you call the event successful?
KM: Yes, it was super successful. I had so many people donate things. Honestly, I was concerned at first. I didn’t think I was going to get much. But shout out to the African American faculty and staff organization. I reached out to them, and the outpour of support I had from faculty and staff members here at North Carolina State was overwhelming, almost, and so we had so many cool products. Everybody was able to get something that they loved, that they were excited about something new to try and once again, all for the free 99 so I’m really grateful for the support, and also grateful that people want to invest in our students.
TNM: Would you do more events like this in the future?
KM: Yes, I would. I would love to host a clothing swap as well, on or off campus. I believe, once again, circular economy is extremely important. So finding ways to not get rid of pieces that you don’t like anymore, because somebody’s trash could be somebody else’s treasure. So promoting ways to ethically consume is very meaningful, and I think that it’s a way to like transverse the current economic stance that we are in as society…I believe that Black people are at the center of everything. So for us to really, you know, shake some tables sustainability, would set it off.
