Meet Tristian Thompson of Blackhistoryiseverywhere

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tristian Thompson.

Tristian, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Growing up on the Westside of Atlanta, never knowing of a dad and mom not being present in my life 100%. My grandmother and aunt stepped up and raised me. Enduring harsh conditions, systematic racism, and no role models I had no idea what life would bring. Though my grandmother was not educated only finishing, I believe middle school she was still able to make sure education was first for me. I have always taken education seriously and never wanted to disappoint my grandmother even at times when I sacrificed my manhood by letting certain confrontations slide due to not wanting to get in any trouble that would cause her to miss work or have to leave work early and cause loss of wages. The hard work ethics she instilled in me led me to start working early as 8th-grade summer in an “earn while you learn program” and I have been working every since.

Fast forward to graduating high school and only attending college due to Douglass high school preparing me for college, I was able to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in management information systems. This was a proud moment for myself as well as my family being one of the first to attend and graduate college. The smile I put on my grandmother’s face was priceless as she has always filled the role of mom and dad as well as being my grandmother and best friend. My aunt also being a positive role model and always being there for me made me feel even more accomplished to make her smile. As I began to grow, I became more interested in my family history and for some reason, I read the autobiography of Malcolm X and this change my life forever. It gave me a sense of pride I never had before in being black, made me want to travel the world, and learn more about my own family history and the history of black people across the world. Once I started to do more research and travel the world, I began to understand black people history did not began with slavery and black history was everywhere which made me start the brand/movement black history is everywhere.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
While I have never given up, it has not been a smooth road. From having a mom fighting her own addictions and being raised by my grandmother and mainly women and no male role models to look up, I managed to still stand strong and continue on in life to be better than what I seen in my community. From being broke, broken and homeless I am also thankful for the group of friends I had during college as they looked out when I was homeless and had nowhere to stay at school while I only had enough money for school thanks to the mayor of Atlanta at the time Shirley Franklin. I even had to take a semester or a year off from school to work and become more financial stable to have somewhere to live and go to school as well. I’m thankful for everyone who has helped along the way and I’m appreciative that I’ve always had people in my corner even though at times I have felt alone as sometimes I do now as I lost my grandmother 06-16-2016. This is the biggest struggle I have dealt with in my entire life and I honestly thought in the moment when I heard the news, I had no reason to be alive anymore. After dealing with grieving for so long, I was able to stand strong and realize we all have a purpose in life and my purpose is to provide information to anyone willing to listen and learn while I also listen and learn from others as well.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
Black history is everywhere. It’s in the appliances we use, the ideas we execute, the culture we absorb, and within the spaces we exist. Black history is everywhere was created to illustrate how black culture and contributions have impacted and shaped the time and place that we call the present. By hashtagging #bhie or #blackhistoryiseverywhere we create a collection of black history as it happened and as it’s happening and essentially a safe space for black history… Everywhere. As black history is everywhere we want the brand to be everywhere black history is. Black history is everywhere (period) was created with the goal and focus of preserving black culture and sharing black history.

All of the content/products presented on our platform are aimed at inspiring self-sufficiency, instilling a spirit of kinship amongst black people worldwide, and constantly reminding ourselves that we come from a lineage/heritage that has accomplished/created/innovated/persevered more than any other group that has existed. This is about our business, we specialize in most importantly providing history of black people across the world, but as of right now mainly in the Americas. We are proud to provide information on black history and we plan to start providing information on diet, financial literacy as well as other informative information that lacks in poverty-stricken areas. What sets us apart from others is we are more than an apparel company and we plan to instill a sense of pride in black people across the world as black history is everywhere.

What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I was somewhat quiet and shy to some extent. The generation I grew up in luckily it was cool to be intelligent, witty, and independent. My family nicknamed me professor for as long as I can remember because I’ve always been into education and learning. Being from the hood though I could not escape doing mischievous things that would land me in juvenile or worse, but for some reason, I never got in any trouble and never had to experience any run ins with the law directly at a young age. Although I avoided confrontation during school hours or when police were near, I engaged in many fights, doing anything deemed “knew better”, as well as sometimes being disrespectful to adults. Overall I was not a saint and engaged in many things that would have shortened my life span or life of being free.

Pricing:

• Special code will be created for this interview: VOYAGE

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.blackhistoryiseverywhere.com
• Email: blackhistoryiseverywhere@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackhistoryiseverywhereperiod/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blackhistoryiseverywhere
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ibeenblack
• Other: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/blackhistoryiseverywhereperiod

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