All Black Everything magazine, ABE for short, will support, promote and profile Black-owned business in the Kansas City area

Knowing the struggles facing Black-owned businesses, entrepreneur Trish Mitchell of Kansas City is launching All Black Everything, a digital and print magazine, to shine a positive light and to support local Black-owned businesses.

In a time when many Black-owned businesses are struggling, Mitchell, who has a background in finance and works part-time for a local bank, decided the time is now to step up and help fellow Black business owners and entrepreneurs by publishing a new magazine which will profile Black businesses, as well as spotlight local artists, singers and talent. She says the magazine, called ABE for short, will celebrate and promote everything Black-owned.

Working from her dining room table, Mitchell, has conducted a variety of interviews, most over Zoom, and written short profiles of artists, hair stylists, nail technicians, singers, a police officer and others whose photographs roll by on her computer screen. Mitchell, who has self-funded the magazine, writes of the Black-owned businesses, but she also writes of their contributions to the community.

“These are real people with real businesses and real stories who are making a real difference in the African-American community,” Mitchell said.

As the founder and the creative director, Mitchell also plans to include articles addressing topics importance to the Black community, such as the need to get a COVID-19 vaccine and issues surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement. The first edition will feature an article on George Floyd and she has plans to publish the names of other victims of police brutality to keep the victims at the forefront.

“We want to make sure these people are not just hashtags,” Mitchell said. “We want to make sure these people are not forgotten.”

The 50+ page magazine will make its inaugural debut digitally on January 15 at www.allblackeverythingmagazine.com. Mitchell plans charge a flat fee of $4.99 for the digital edition and $10.99 for the print edition, which will publish a week later on Jan. 21. The magazines, print or digital, will be available to order on the website.

Mitchell, 50, a mother of four and grandmother of three, owns and operates two online companies, Go Baby Active Wear, https://gobabygoactivewear.com an online shop for children’s active wear and Ish Eyewear, https://isheyewear.com an online retailer for fashion eyeglasses. She can also be found working as a life-coach and writing and producing theater productions.

“Being an African-American entrepreneur, we suffer at the hands of underdevelopment, under-investment and race and socioeconomic issues,” Mitchell said. “Then we’ve added a global pandemic to the mix, so that has exacerbated some of the issues we face as entrepreneurs.”

Mitchell set out to create a publication that she hopes will be an asset and a resource to the community and especially to local Black-owned businesses.

“African-American business owners don’t have the same opportunity as their counterparts and so we are hard-pressed to be featured in mainstream magazines,” Mitchell said. “You rarely see African-American business owners, artists and talent displayed, so I wanted to create something exclusive to the African-American community, to give us a voice and shine a light on what our businesses are and some of the amazing things they are doing in our community.”

Interior designer and entrepreneur Angelo Wright Jr., 34, of Lenexa, who after a job loss found himself homeless, is featured on the cover of the first edition of ABE magazine. Wright, who along with his life partner, Darrell Johnson, own and operate Dscover Ur Dzine, LLC., an interior design business and online home accessories store https://dscoverurdzine.com.

“On the emotions, it’s unreal,” said Wright of being on the cover. “I’m this guy who was once homeless and is now on the front of this Black-owned magazine and I get the opportunity to share my story and background and inspire other people,” said Wright Jr. “It’s unrealistic to know that I was once sleeping in my car a few years ago to now running a full company and having clientele who are celebrities,” he said. “It’s a blessing.”

Wright, who grew up in Blue Springs, still works a full-time job as a training manager for a collection agency. He runs the interior design business in the evenings with Johnson from their home in Lenexa. In addition, Wright Jr., also a graphic designer, has also added the title of assistant editor at All Black Everything to aid Mitchell in her mission to support and publicize Black-owned businesses.

As she flips through the pages of the first edition of her magazine, Mitchell said she feels like she is doing something positive inside and outside of her community.

“This magazine brings a great deal of pride to me because I feel like its really going to make a difference and I look forward to taking this magazine nationwide and having it available across state lines,” Mitchell said.