If Kanye West ever decided to sell his “White Lives Matter” T-shirts in the United States, there might be two Black radio DJs in Arizona who could act as a possible hurdle.
Last month, hosts of the weekly racial justice radio programme Civic Cipher, Ramses Ja and Quinton Ward, were given legal ownership of the phrase’s trademark for usage on clothes.
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The hosts admitted that it was a difficult decision to take ownership of the “White Lives Matter” trademark, but they did 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 occasionally crazy things, he has a bit of a zealot following and every time he releases something, it sells out,” as per CNN.
The best-case scenario, according to him, is that no one will be using the term in the upcoming months since it has more staying power than they had anticipated.
The hosts believe that one of their “responsibilities” as trademark owners is to prevent the brand from falling into the wrong hands.
They were concerned that someone may make money off the phrase, which the Anti-Defamation League has labelled a “hate slogan.” The statement is referred to as a racist response to the Black Lives Matter movement and is utilised by White nationalist organisations like the Ku Klux Klan.
Data from the US Patent and Trademark Office reveals that the trademark was initially filed last month, the same day Kanye West wore a shirt with a picture of Pope John Paul II on the front and the phrase “White Lives Matter” printed on the reverse. During a surprise catwalk show staged during Paris Fashion Week, he donned the shirt.
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According to information from the US Patent and Trademark Office, the person who initially registered the trademark transferred it to Ja and Ward’s business Civic Cipher LLC a few weeks later. The original owner has been contacted by CNN for comment.
According to Civic Cipher, the trademark’s original owner is a listener who requests anonymity.
Ja and Ward speculate that the listener “no longer thought that they were the ideal person to support those efforts” when the term became popular once more. They don’t know why the listener initially purchased the rights to the phrase.
Ye, who has legally changed his name from Kanye West, has made numerous offensive claims over the years that have enraged many people in the Black community, including his conviction that racism is an outdated idea and that slavery was a “choice.”
Additionally, his term on the Forbes Billionaires List came to an end as a result of his recent anti-Semitic remarks, which led businesses with which he had affiliations to sever ties with him.
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According to Ja, the Black community is “beyond rapping and singing,” and the show goes above and beyond what a listener would generally hear on a hip-hop radio station.
“We deal with police violence, housing inequity, environmental racism, maternal health outcomes – all of these things disproportionately affect Black and brown communities.”
West wore a shirt with the statement earlier this month while attending Paris Fashion Week with conservative broadcaster Candace Owens. Along with his loud anti-Semitic comments, the phrase cost him brand relationships with firms such as Adidas and Balenciaga. Boxes of the shirts were then distributed to homeless residents on Los Angeles’ Skid Row.
