Today we’d like to introduce you to Saundrea Sampson.
Hi Saundrea, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Saundrea Sampson, Owner and CEO of Embodied Apparel. Embodied Apparel is a recently launched social advocacy brand that expresses the passions of the Black community while also allowing customers to give back to programs, foundations, and scholarships created by African American pioneers.
When you purchase from Embodied Apparel, you support Turning Leaf, a non-profit that combines counseling, transitional employment and job placement to offer a proven path to success after incarceration. Embodied Apparel truly believes in first-hand civic engagement from the creation of the garments to the proceeds donated.
The foundation of the brand rests on resilience, endowment, civic engagement, expressiveness and embodying the role of a revolutionary.
- Resilience – Open doors to encourage self-love and Black joy while living Black in America.
- Endowment – To financially support programs, scholarships, and foundations created by pioneers that have laid the groundwork for African Americans today.
- Civic engagement – Providing opportunities to actively address issues and aspire to change for those in need.
- Expressive – Allowing freedom to voice passion and power for movements that strengthen the Black community.
- Revolutionary – Truly living out the responsibilities of activism: socially, emotionally and financially.
The very first Embodied Apparel endowment was made in honor of Malcolm X on his birthday on May 19th to The Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial Education Center for $250. The Shabazz Center is an action-oriented community organization committed to growing social movements that empower and prepare people for leadership in civil society.
Stay tuned for the next endowment! Get embodied and shop at embodiedapparel.com to support a civically engaged brand! Follow Embodied Apparel on Instagram @embodiedapparel and Facebook @shopembodiedapparel!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Entrepreneurship definitely isn’t easy – but God has been with me every step of the way. The key to getting to a smooth road and dealing with struggles along the way is being accepting that you will always need to adapt and have plans B-Z set in place. Once you become open to having a bumpy ride to success, it is easier to manage and move forward!
On a brighter note, the love and engagement that Embodied Apparel has received has been tremendous. My goal as the owner of Embodied Apparel, is to uplift and inspire as many people as I can to intentionally take community activism one step further by donating and supporting civically engaged organizations as well as brands and businesses created by people of color. Once more and more of us can include this in our lifestyle — we can be one step closer to seeing the change we want to see in the world.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Embodied Apparel pays homage to Black pioneer activists that have laid the groundwork for many of us today through endowments. Each pioneer is celebrated on their birthday and given a donation to a project, foundation, scholarship, or memorial fund made in their honor.
Embodied Apparel is passionate about providing quality statement apparel and opportunities for first-hand social and civic engagement. What sets Embodied Apparel apart from others is that this brand is more than an apparel line or t-shirt brand… It is a social advocacy brand. Embodied Apparel is committed to being an asset to societal change through consistent endowments and providing support to grassroots organizations. Embodied Apparel is truly intentional about selecting the organizations that receive donations, individuals who help with creative works, and other partnerships. You can learn more about the honorees on Embodied Apparel’s Instagram!
I want people to know that this brand is committed to excellence, endowments, resilience, civic engagement and inspiring others to embody the role of a revolutionary. Embodied Apparel is here to serve and inspire others to give back and make a difference one t-shirt at a time.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
When deciding which individuals to select for the endowments, I ran across a playlist that I saved three years ago that was full of activists’ speeches. I randomly selected seven women activists to listen to and their birthdays ALL fell in chronological order. The EXACT same thing happened when I listened to the seven activists who were men – ALL the birthdays fell in chronological order. That was one of the first clear confirmations from God to let me know this is exactly what I am called to do in this season.
Pricing:
- Use Your Voice T-shirt – $25
- Embodied T-shirt – $25
- Our Freedom Can’t Wait T-shirt– $25
- Foundations T-shirt – $25
- I Am A Black Revolutionary Woman T-shirt – $25
- When You Attack One Black Man – $25
Contact Info:
- Email: info@embodiedapparel.com
- Website: embodiedapparel.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/embodiedapparel
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shopembodiedapparel
Image Credits
Eric Jordan
