As of early October, two Black men by the names of Quinton Ward and Ramses Ja officially became the legal possessors of the newly trademarked term, “White Lives Matter.” In doing so, the young entrepreneurs who currently co-host the weekly racial justice radio show, Civic Cipher, have prevented popular fashion designer Kanye West from any future distribution of “White Lives Matter” clothing items. Ward and Ja reportedly trademarked the term after they recognized Kanye swiftly increasing sales numbers.
Ward elaborated more on his and his partner’s decision during an exclusive interview with CNN. “Once it was clear that someone stood to gain significant profit from it, because as you have 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.” The duo debuted their first episode of Civic Cipher back in 2020 to form an area for the Black community to vocalize their thoughts on how society has affected their lives; racism, categorized poverty, police brutality, and plenty more.
Yeezy was first seen wearing a “White Lives Matter” t-shirt earlier last month before shedding light on the specific reasons behind his decision: “I do certain things from a feeling,” Ye stated. “I just channel the energy, it just feels right. It’s using a gut instinct, a connection with God, and just brilliance… God is preparing us for the real battles, and we are in a battle with the media.” He continued, “The majority of the media has a God-less agenda, and the jokes are not working. This whole, like, ‘Oh, Ye’s crazy,’ and all these things, they do not work.”