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*Black Butterfly Beautiful is a subscription box created by 17-year-old Journi Prewitt to empower, uplift, and encourage young people of color to embrace who they are.
These monthly boxes are curated based on subscriber age, gender and the month’s theme featuring books and other accessories from black-owned brands to help address underrepresentation, uncover black history, and provide inspiration.
You can review past subscription boxes here.
“The February box focuses on the movie Black Panther,” Prewitt tells EUR/Electronic Urban Report. “Moreso on who created” the comic characters “and what they represent for us as Black people,” she added.
“Most of the people included in the boxes, I was raised knowing. Like, Assata Shakur and Angela Davis. So most of the people that I include in the boxes are people that my mom taught me about, and most of the books in the boxes are books that I have read growing up or, or that I’m reading to this day.”
Check out the rest of our Q&A with Ms. Journi below.
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Talk about your inspiration behind the business.
Journi: My inspiration came from the children around me. For the past four summers, I worked at a summer camp and we would make them read for an hour a day. And they really didn’t like reading that much. They actually threw fits about reading. So when my little brother came to stay with us he showed the same dislike for reading. I thought to create something to help encourage reading but I also wanted to include something that my mom has instilled in me and that’s knowing about my history and my culture. So that’s how the box came about.
Not only do you get a book each month that’s written by an African American author, the main characters are African American but you also learn about people in history that have done tremendous things but they aren’t like, mainstream.
What’s the process of curating the boxes?
Journi: We start by picking a theme for the month. And once we pick the theme, then we find the books. And sometimes the books are head-on about the theme other times the book is centered around the theme and then we go by picking different things that go in the box, like hair products and hair accessories, to go along with the theme. So we basically pick the theme then the book has to go along with the theme and the accessories in the box that month go along with the theme as well. My friends and my mom, we come together 3 or 4 times during box week, as I like to call it, and we package the boxes and we ship the boxes.
What are some of the themes that are important to you which you highlight each month in the box?
Journi: Well, I want to talk to you about my favorite box in general, which was the box “Beautiful in Every Shade.” This box meant a lot to not only me but to other girls around me because I was bullied growing up for being dark skin and for being natural. And I’ve seen on social media, but also in school around me, girls bullied for the same thing. So, with “Beautiful in Every Shade” the books and the accessories talk about how no matter your skin color you’re beautiful and you can do these amazing things. That box meant a lot to me because if I had that when I was in elementary school I think I would have loved myself a lot more and I would have known more about myself.
Another box that meant a lot to me was “Once Upon A Time.” That box was featured around being a princess. This box meant a lot to me because when you’re a little girl growing up and everyone’s telling you “You’re a princess and you’re going to grow up to be a queen,” but you never really know what really are they saying. How am I going to grow up to be a queen? I’m not married into a royal family. But if I would’ve gotten this box I would’ve been like, “Yes. I’m a princess.” It’s telling me I’m a princess and I can do great things because I have these abilities to do these things.
Have you considered presenting your business on “Shark Tank?”
Journi: We thought about going on “Shark Tank” but we’re working on getting all of the paperwork we know they will ask for. We want to make sure we have all that in order prior to us going on “Shark Tank.”
Why is this service vital for young women of color?
Journi: I think my business is vital for girls of color because it helps with self-esteem and really knowing your past. I actually got a review not long ago on my box saying that one of the little girls, like, she told me something she learned from getting one of my boxes. Another reason that I think it’s vital is because it helps girls and even boys see that there’s someone a little bit older than them that’s doing something that’s not acting or being an athlete. That they’re making a change as well by simply believing in themselves.
Describe the fulfillment you get from offering this service to young girls and having such a resonating impact.
Journi: I think the fulfillment of the changes that I’m making in the girl’s life is enough for me. Because it’s always been my goal to give back to the community that’s around me and give back to the community that gave to me. So, getting those reviews and seeing that I’m actually making a change in girls’ lives, I think that’s enough fulfillment for me. It makes my day when I hear one of the little girls telling me how excited they were to get their box or how the book that month changed how they felt about a certain thing.
You’re inspiring the youth as well as learning about and sharing these fascinating but unknown facts about black history. So talk about your own personal growth since launching this business.
Journi: One thing I’ve learned about myself is my passion for kids. I’ve always known that I love kids and I love being around kids. Seeing kids happy and seeing that they can go somewhere in life, that makes my day, and that’s one thing that I’ve learned. But another thing that I’ve learned was that I don’t have to be in the shadows. I can be at the front-face of things and I’m making a change. If I believe in myself and my mom believes in myself, I can actually do really great things. And even though we’re taught growing up that all you need to do is believe in yourself, it’s just better to actually be able to live through seeing that believing in yourself actually gets you very far.
Do you use social media trends for your curating efforts?
Journi: For most of the boxes, I wouldn’t say it’s trends on social media but it’s like, what’s going on in the world right now. For instance, January’s box was “Lights, Camera, Hollywood” because of the Grammy’s. We focus on what’s going on in the world around us because everyone doesn’t have social media so everyone doesn’t follow the social media trends. So it’s better for us to include stuff that people are talking about. For instance, July, which was our second month and we focused on Black Lives Matter and the women in the Black Panthers movement because it was the one year anniversary for when Black Lives Matter started. So we really focus on what’s going on that month that means something to African American people to develop what our theme is.
What’s been most surprising about this journey of being a young entrepreneur?
Journi: The thing that surprised me the most was going from 12 boxes to 200 boxes in six months. I expected to reach 200 during our 1-year. But now I expect us to reach 500 during our 1-year. So it’s really surprising to me to be able to jump from 12 to 200 in six months.
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