The hole that is Kanye West’s career and financial standing is getting deeper. This time, by way of two African-American men who have found a way to put a stop to Kanye selling his new line of “White Lives Matter” shirts in the U. S.
As y’all already know, Ye has caused an enormous storm of controversy as of late, partially due to the launch of his ‘WLM’ shirts– which included a photo of Pope John Paul II on the front, and the the ‘WLM’ phrase on the back.
Welp, fast forward to now…and Ramses Ja and Quinton Ward — hosts of the racial justice radio show, “Civic Cipher,” became the proud owners of the “White Lives Matter” trademark for use of the phrase on any apparel being sold in the United States. In late October 2022, the hosts took over ownership of the trademark from an anonymous buyer who’d originally copped the trademark on the same day Kanye debuted his Yeezy ‘WLM’ shirts during Paris Fashion Week.
“Civic Cipher” hosts, Ja and Ward, confessed that taking ownership of the ‘WLM’ phrase was a tough decision for them, but they agreed to do so “once it was clear that someone stood to gain significant profit from it, because as you’ve seen, even though he (West) says some really hurtful, divisive and sometimes crazy things, he has a bit of a zealot following and every time he releases something, it sells out,” Ward told CNN.
The hosts said the ‘WLM’ phrase has stuck around within this nation’s culture longer than they would have liked, and are hoping that no one will be using the term within the next month are so. They also consider owning the ‘WLM’ trademark as a “responsibility” to ensure it doesn’t end up in the wrong hands. So they’re aiming to make sure no one can profit off the phrase, at least when it comes to spreading the controversial message via clothing.
The ‘WLM’ phrase is oftentimes used by White supremacists groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan; and is described as a racist response to the Black Lives Matter movement– a social outcry for Black people to finally receive racial equality in America. The Anti-Defamation League has also categorized the ‘WLM’ phrase as “hate speech.”
Ward and Ja shared details on exactly how their impactful WLM ownership came to be:
Via CNN– The trademark was first filed last month, data from the US Patent and Trademark Office shows. …
The person who initially secured the trademark transferred its ownership to Ja and Ward’s company Civic Cipher LLC weeks later, according to data from the US Patent and Trademark Office. …Civic Cipher told CNN, the original owner of the trademark is a listener of their show and wishes to remain anonymous.
Ja told CNN that ownership of the trademark means having the exclusive right to sell clothing with that term. When the listener found out the rapper-producer “re-popularized” the term, “I think that maneuver was primarily to ensure that other people would not profit from it.”
Ja and Ward don’t know why the listener initially bought the rights to the phrase but they speculate that when the term went viral again, the listener “no longer felt that they were the right person to champion those efforts.”
For several years now, Kanye has been out here cuttin’ up with his divisive remarks that greatly impact African Americans. For example, in 2018 he publicly stated that slavery was “a choice”; and in 2015 he said racism is “a dated concept.”
Listen…we can go on and on about Ye’s racial antics regarding Black people, but y’all get the point. Anywho…now that Kanye has also recently offended Jewish people with some of his latest racially insensitive comments, he’s currently dealing with a mound of tension and exclusion – both professionally and personally – it seems. After Adidas dropped him, he’s lost his spot on Forbes Billionaires list; and his ex/mother of his children, Kim Kardashian, apparently ain’t too fond him these days either.
Hopefully, Kanye will just take some time off to recompose himself, and gain better understanding of the many racial issues of he seems to be severely out of touch.
