Owners Of White Lives Matter Trademark Want To Prevent Phrase From Being Used to Do Harm Like Kanye West (EXCLUSIVE)

Kanye West sparked large backlash erstwhile helium wore a “White Lives Matter” shirt for his Yeezy Season 9 manner amusement during Paris Fashion Week connected Oct. 3, 2022. Kanye’s usage of the achromatic supremacist phrase, categorized by the Anti-Defamation League as a hatred slogan, pushed it backmost into the news. With the spotlight backmost connected the toxic phrase, which originated successful aboriginal 2015 arsenic a racist effect to the Black Lives Matter movement, the trademark proprietor chose to instrumentality a basal and reached retired to the hosts of the radical justice-focused show Civic Cipher for help.

Ramses Ja, who co-hosts the amusement with Quinton Ward, told HollywoodLife in an EXCLUSIVE interrogation that helium has “crossed paths” with Kanye implicit the years and remembers an “individual who erstwhile upon a clip stood up for Black people… And since past I’ve seen the aforesaid idiosyncratic effort to walk disconnected a confederate emblem [as fashion].” In 2013 Kanye featured the flag, which has agelong been a awesome of hatred and radical divide, successful merchandise for his “Yeezus” tour, seen here. But it was his effort to nett disconnected the “White Lives Matter” hate-slogan, successful his October manner show, that pushed an anonymous listener of Ramses and Quinton’s show to scope retired and inquire them to instrumentality implicit the trademark of the toxic phrase.

DJ’s Quinton Ward and Ramses Ja ain the trademark to the ‘White Lives Matter’ slogan. (Photo courtesy of Eric LaRokk/Civic Cipher)

“I can’t talk to their intentions, due to the fact that this idiosyncratic wishes to stay anonymous and truthful our footprint with them is precise minimal,” Ramses revealed, “but I person to presume that the crushed that they owned the trademark successful the archetypal spot was not needfully to marque wealth disconnected of it, but it was to forestall different radical from making wealth disconnected of what is, successful effect a truly evil, mean spirited happening to nett disconnected of. Because, and Q mentions this a lot, that operation lone exists to basal successful absorption to the operation ‘Black Lives Matter.’ At nary constituent successful past has it ever needed to beryllium affirmed that achromatic lives matter, we each cognize that the satellite treats that similar that’s normal, that’s similar saying the entity is blue.”

The Arizona based hip-hop DJs, turned radical justness activists, admitted the connection was “terrifying” astatine first. “It’s comic due to the fact that we benignant of laughter astir it now, but backmost past we walked similar six miles, conscionable talking backmost and distant astir each of the imaginable outcomes,” Quinton explained. “We didn’t privation to offend people. We didn’t privation to wounded people. Now, we get to beryllium arrogant of what we’re trying to do, but it was scary, accepting the responsibility…Because conversations similar the 1 that we’re having with you don’t ever get to happen. A idiosyncratic reads a headline. They spot our picture. That’s each they need, to consciousness however they’re going to feel. And to beryllium associated with that term, erstwhile it’s thing that is genuinely hurtful for a batch of people, determination was a batch for america to deliberation about…That was not an casual determination for america to marque oregon a airy work for america to accept.”

As the owners of the trademark to the phrase that Kanye “injected backmost into fashionable culture,” the co-hosts mean to safeguard it from others profiting disconnected of it, including Kanye. “The infinitesimal you spot idiosyncratic selling thing that says [White Lives Matter] past they unfastened themselves up to a lawsuit, and anybody who’s a decent capable businessman realizes that’s not what you privation to do,” Ramses said. “So astatine contiguous due to the fact that nary 1 has purchased the shirts from [Kanye], helium actually gave them retired for free [and avoided a lawsuit.]”

Kanye West is seen surrounded by fans aft his Oct. 3 Paris Fashion Week show. (Photo credit: SplashNews)

Any efforts to halt radical from profiting disconnected of the “White Lives Matter” hatred slogan volition necessitate lawyers, astatine a outgo that Quinton and Ramses would invited assistance successful covering. “Anything we person to wage the lawyers comes retired of pocket,” the vigor hosts explained. “So anybody wants to enactment america connected our mode tin bash truthful connected our website.” Their hour-long show, Civic Cipher on iHeartRadio, is disposable successful podcast format connected each large level and connected 30 stations crossed the country. Ramses and Quinton started the amusement successful 2020, amidst the historical protests against constabulary brutality and racism, with the purpose of uniting people. “[The goal] is to bring radical together, to pass people, to amended our allies, radical that privation to beryllium better,” Ramses shared.

Ramses Ja and Quinton Ward, who big the racial-justice vigor amusement Civic Cipher, present ain the trademark to the ‘White Lives Matter’ slogan. (Photo courtesy of Eric LaRokk/Civic Cipher)

“We springiness them the tools and the penetration to beryllium better…We speech astir societal justness issues,” helium added. “We speech astir issues that are important to Black and Brown communities. Of people we speech astir instances of constabulary violence, constabulary brutality, constabulary shootings, we speech astir elector disenfranchisement, we speech astir governmental things, we observe ebony excellence. And we contiguous a antithetic broadside to what galore radical see to beryllium Black culture.”