Black History Month Centennial: Urban One, Target, and Walmart's New Initiatives Amplifying Black Voices
Urban One’s "REPRESENT" campaign shifts focus to modern storytelling and Gen Z, complementing Target and Walmart's new limited-edition capsule collections featuring Black-owned brands and creatives.
As Black History Month celebrates its centennial, big brands are starting to unveil their rollout plans to commemorate the historic occasion. From media to retail, companies are launching initiatives that lean into amplifying Black voices via storytelling, education, special programming and capsule collections.
Television networks like Urban One recently announced their newest initative REPRESENT: The Next 100 Years of Black History Month, a new, unified initiative to connect culture, community, and brands through one powerful storytelling framework.
When it comes to honoring a century of Black History Month. Urban One’s approach aims to reconstruct how audiences view the season that honors the past and present achievements of African Americans. By launching a single, cross-platform theme, Urban One is offering brands a clear and authentic way to engage Black audiences with consistency, purpose, and scale.
“Black History Month has reached a powerful 100-year milestone,” said Cathy Hughes, founder and chairwoman of Urban One. “REPRESENT is not simply a campaign; it is a movement. It honors where we’ve been, celebrates where we are, and points boldly toward where we are going.”
For advertisers, the value lives in alignment. Instead of fragmented sponsorships or one-off placements, REPRESENT gives brands a unified space to show up across platforms with a single, culturally resonant message.
According to Jeff Meza, EVP and head of branded entertainment and integrated marketing at Urban One, the unified theme simplifies how brands participate. REPRESENT, he explained, creates “a clear, consistent way to show up across Urban One with purpose and impact,” while supporting storytelling that looks toward the future.
At its core, REPRESENT treats Black history as living history as opposed as something frozen in time. The campaign honors trailblazers who shaped history while lifting up voices defining today and tomorrow. Through original content, music, editorial features, and community-driven programming, Urban One’s platforms work together to reflect the full spectrum of the Black experience.
A major focus of this year’s initiative is Gen Z and recognizing the generation’s creativity and cultural influence. The multimedia company is highlighting how history is preserved, shared, and reimagined by younger voices. Popular digital series Black Joy Blazers returns to spotlight individuals who embody resilience, joy, and empowerment. Meanwhile, Black History Hidden Gems dives into stories of often-overlooked figures whose contributions deserve greater recognition.
Additionally, REPRESENT will take over the small screen with BHM-themed content spots and special programming. This includes brand new episodes of the critically acclaimed docuseries Uncensored featuring Anthony Anderson and Blair Underwood that will air alongside a special presentation of Luther: Never Too Much. Radio listeners can expect on-air vignettes, community-centered conversations, and discussions with both cultural leaders and emerging creators.
While media-based companies focus on narrative or platform-based content, retailers such as Walmart and Target are creating synergy with Black-owned brands and creatives. In conjunction with February, both stores will stock limited edition merchandise and apparel.
Also, returning for its sixth year is the HBCU Design Challenge. In a mission to “nurture emerging talent, Target issued an open call to students attending historical black colleges and universities to submit work that showcases their culture and creativity for a chance to have their designs produced, distributed and sold by the merchandiser.
The collaboration comes from the Racial Equity Action and Change, or REACH, initiative that aimed to invest 2 billion dollars into Black businesses by 2025. This includes integrating more than 500 Black-owned products into their inventory. As of 2022, there are more than 100 products sold by the retailer.
“At Target, our partnerships with Black designers and founders are about more than product — they’re about amplifying voices, investing in creativity and building opportunities that last,” the retailer said on its corporate website.
Not very far behind, Walmart will release their annual apparel line, which will consist of t-shirts, baseball jerseys and hoodies that feature various historical Black figures such as civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, poet Maya Angelou and boxing legend Muhammad Ali.
Last year, the retail giant partnered with African American designer Anwar Carrots to debut Homegrown, his line of affordable streetwear. The collection, which was inspired by Carrots’ personal family, quickly sold out at the 8,000 participating locations.
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