Rolling Out

Ric Mathis has built a career telling other people's stories. With more than 20 years in photojournalism and film production, the Atlanta-based filmmaker and author has directed campaigns for global brands, screened documentaries across three continents, and earned a Doctorate in entertainment and media studies. He is the founder of West End Filmmakers and has long been recognized as one of the leading voices in independent Black cinema. But nothing in his career could have prepared him for the story he would eventually have to tell about himself. After surviving a Widowmaker heart attack, one of the most fatal cardiac events a person can experience, Dr. Mathis did what any true storyteller would do, he picked up the camera. The result is Heartbeat, a docuseries that blends his personal survival with a broader, urgent conversation about cardiovascular disease in the Black community. The film features voices including motivational speaker Les Brown and spans cast members from age 7 to 81. It opened to a packed room in Atlanta, complete with a Proclamation from Fulton County Commissioner Marvin Arrington Jr. https://lnkd.in/desiUvHY Ric Mathis #RicMathis #HeartbeatDocuseries #BlackHealthMatters #WestEndFilmmakers #AtlantaCinema

There are performances you attend, and then there are performances that attend to you — that reach into something deep and rearrange it. On Friday, Feb. 13, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater delivered the latter to a packed and electric Fox Theatre in Atlanta, reminding every soul in that historic hall why live dance remains one of humanity's most powerful forms of expression. Now entering an exciting new era under the leadership of Artistic Director Alicia Graf Mack — herself a former AILEY star and the first Black woman to hold the company's top post — the 2026 Atlanta engagement opened with unmistakable intention. Graf Mack's artistic vision is already evident: this is a company leaning boldly into both its legacy and its future simultaneously. https://lnkd.in/dZw65WCe Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Alicia Graf Mack #AlvinAiley #AliciaGrafMack #FoxTheatreAtlanta #BlackExcellence #LiveDance

Toyin Ibrahim Adekeye has spent years traveling the world with a camera and a question, what connects people of African descent across continents, generations, and histories shaped by slavery? For the Los Angeles-based filmmaker and founder of Motherland Productions, the answer runs deeper than most people realize. His documentary Bigger Than Africa follows Yoruba culture from the West African "ports of no return" to Brazil, the Caribbean, and North America, mapping a living tradition that was never fully broken. After a successful run on Netflix and screenings at the United Nations, the film is now airing on PBS stations nationwide for Black History Month. Your documentary explores the enduring influence of Yoruba culture. What inspired you to tell this particular story? Most of the stories we see talk about our differences as people of African descent. I was born and raised in Nigeria, but I've lived in the States for over 20 years, so I understand both cultures. I see a lot of similarities and commonalities, and as a filmmaker, I feel it's worth highlighting and showing on both ends. https://lnkd.in/dg8xuYCX Toyin Ibrahim Adekeye #BiggerThanAfrica #YorubaCulture #ToyinIbrahimAdekeye #BlackHistoryMonth #AfricanDiaspora

Brothers Brandon and James Littleton are proof that the best businesses start at home. What began as an idea scribbled on a sticky note during the height of COVID has grown into Bag Lady's Fry Joint, a Nashville restaurant rooted in family, neighborhood culture and hand cut fries inspired by their grandmothers' brown paper bag method. James, the boots on the ground operator who once drove trucks for Pepsi, and Brandon, a former Wall Street finance professional with an MBA who founded Row Twenty One hospitality group, combined their talents to build something neither could have built alone. Now part of Fiverr's Future Collective Accelerator program, the brothers are turning their beloved neighborhood fry joint into a franchise ready brand. How did the idea for Bag Lady's Fry Joint come about and what made you decide to go into business as brothers? James Littleton: It started at the top of COVID. I had moved in with my parents because things were all shaky at that time. I was just throwing darts at the wall trying to figure out what I was going to do. I was driving trucks for Pepsi at the time and trying to find a transition out of that. Bag Lady's started as an idea on a sticky note on the wall, and then we created it into a food truck. https://lnkd.in/dG_vpx5m Bag Lady's Fry Joint #BagLadysFryJoint #BlackOwnedBusiness #BrotherEntrepreneurs #NashvilleEats #FutureCollective

Aishia Strickland is a licensed cosmetologist and founder of Black Girl Curls, a platform dedicated to helping women worldwide build healthier relationships with their natural hair. What began as blogging in 2011 has evolved into a trusted resource that blends technique, culture and confidence. Through her work, Strickland empowers women to show up fully in the world on their own terms. What inspired you to go natural in 2011? It wasn't necessarily when it wasn't cool, it was just that people were navigating something new. As for me, I decided to stop relaxing my hair because, at that point, I felt like I had done everything. I had cut my hair short like Rihanna when she had the really short haircut. I joined her in that little short hair revolution for about two years. After a year of wearing it short, I was like, you know what, maybe I'll just go natural. So, I decided to stop relaxing my hair. I remember coming to work, and one of my coworkers came in and was like, "Your hair", No words. I knew exactly what he was saying, but I, too, was not 100%. So, that day after work, I went back to the store, grabbed a relaxer, and continued to relax my hair for one more year. https://lnkd.in/dRqTcXDT Aishia Strickland Aishia Strickland Black Girl Curls #AishiaStrickland #BlackGirlCurls #NaturalHairJourney #BlackHairCare #EmbraceYourCurls

For the fourth consecutive year, many of Detroit’s Black-owned and operated arts and cultural spaces are being featured in Sacred Spaces – a city-wide self-guided tour highlighting and cross-promoting exhibitions, programs, and venues throughout Black History Month. What makes this project remarkable is that Detroit nurtures so many black-owned art spaces -  each serving up and supporting creative commerce all year long. This year, Sacred Spaces spotlights twenty-seven venues across the city, ranging from commercial galleries to multi-use and artist-led spaces, as well as museums and salons. Inarguably, there is no other place in the world that holds this much space for Black art, 365 days per year. Sacred Spaces harnesses Black History Month as a vehicle to illuminate and, ultimately, strengthen Black businesses – who suffer disproportionately in building and maintaining enterprise in the face of unequal resources, rising costs, and changing demographics across the city. The project provides an exciting and accessible entry point into the arts for natives and visitors to the Motor City, brings color and vitality during winter's harshest month, and hopes to draw widespread attention to the fact that Detroit, Michigan is home to a lush garden of thriving and diverse Black voices and visions in the arts. Organizers hope to bring this unique local feature to international attention while celebrating Detroit as an arts incubator and destination for the world. https://lnkd.in/dpgMaXm3 Sacred Spaces Geno Harris #SacredSpacesDetroit #BlackOwnedArt #DetroitArts #BlackHistoryMonth #SupportBlackBusinesses

Dianna Williams is the founder of Dancing Dolls and Dollhouse Dance Factory, as well as the star and executive producer of The Dolls on Brandon TV. A powerhouse in the Majorette world, Williams has spent years developing young Black dancers, teaching them sisterhood, accountability and excellence. With The Dolls now in its second season, Williams is redefining what success looks like both on screen and off. What inspired you to create Dancing Dolls and Dollhouse Dance Factory? The team is called the Dancing Dolls; "Dancing Dolls for Life" is just a phrase we use. The Dancing Dolls was created to give African American girls an opportunity to participate in a dance style popular in the Deep South called Majorette, which has been around since the early 1950s.   During the time our organization was founded, there was a high rates of runaways and teenage pregnancies, and a lack of activities for young girls in my city. It was important to me that they had the opportunity to participate in a sport that felt like a sisterhood—something they could learn from, grow from, develop and utilize later on in life. https://lnkd.in/dtKfArDq #DiannaWilliams #DancingDolls #MajoretteDance #BlackGirlExcellence #TheDolls

Keely Anderson has always been a storyteller. Long before she became a published author under the wing of urban fiction pioneer Wahida Clark, she was a 7th grade history teacher who spent years quietly nurturing a gift she didn't yet fully trust. Now, with the release of Heart of a Thug 2, the highly anticipated sequel in the Thug Universe spin-off series, Anderson is stepping fully into her voice and the readers are responding. Her writing is raw, emotionally driven, and rooted in real life. She explores trauma, healing, survival, and redemption through characters who don't just fall in love but fight through it. Did you always know writing was something you wanted to do? I've always enjoyed telling stories. In school, they don't give you the opportunities to tell stories like this. You just have those narrative pieces where it's like, what did you do for the summer? Never stories like this. But when I went to college, I had stopped reading urban fiction because I was focused on my educational books. I'm a history major and I'm a teacher, so it was more so academic books. https://lnkd.in/d8sbTvRN #HeartOfAThug2 #KeelyAnderson #UrbanFiction #BlackWomenWriters #ThugUniverse

Chanel Nicole Scott did not set out to build an empire. She set out to find a room where people could tell the truth about love. As the creator and host of CheMinistry, streaming on Fox Soul and In the Black Network, Scott has spent a decade turning uncomfortable conversations about relationships into appointment television. Now, with the Kicks & Conversations anniversary experience set for February 21 at a private mansion in Atlanta's Buckhead neighborhood, the Jersey-raised host is marking 10 years with the same currency she has always traded in: radical honesty. Cheministry started from personal pain. What was the moment you decided to turn that pain into a platform, and what did that first step look like? CheMinistry was inspired by my inability to sustain a healthy relationship. I had seen it done in church, where people would share transparently, and I thought, what would it be to have this conversation outside those walls? When I moved to Atlanta, my cousin owned the Dream Cafe on Peter Street. One night I watched her and my cousin debating relationships and said, we need to do a platform. She offered her cafe. I wanted to name it Chemistry. She said, God said if you're gonna name it Chemistry, you gotta be CheMinistry. Chemistry and ministry meaning meeting the needs of the people. That's how it came about. https://lnkd.in/d4-YnJSA #CheMinistry #KicksAndConversations #RadicalHonesty #BlackLoveConversations #RelationshipTalk

Andrea Furtick is building an empire, the Atlanta founder of AGC Toys Inc. and creator of Afro Goddess Warriors turned a hand-painted tarot deck into $750,000 in sales, then scaled it into a transmedia universe spanning Walmart shelves, mobile games and animated musicals. Her secret? A team of two and a global network of Fiverr freelancers proving you don't need venture capital to build like Disney. What was the inspiration behind founding AGC Toys and creating Afro Goddess Warriors? It's actually a very riveting backstory. I have always wanted to be an author and an artist. Do you remember when you were 4 years old and you did that, what do you want to be when you grow up? I got up and I said I want to be an artist, because I was fancy. Fast forward to about 12th grade, I had a bunch of scholarships. However, I wanted to do something different. I went to the Savannah College of Art and Design, where I honed my skills as an artist, and I started with a project actually called the Afro Goddess Tarot Archonics, which was a tarot deck that I hand-painted, that ended up selling $750,000 from my living room floor before we were able to license that project out to U.S. Games. The characters that you see in Afro Goddess Warriors are actually the characters from that painted deck. https://lnkd.in/gBpKqVFR Andrea Furtick Afro Goddess Warrior Collection #AndreaFurtick #AfroGoddessWarriors #AGCToys #BlackWomenInBusiness #CreativeEntrepreneur