Historically, in order for Black intellectual products to be viable to mainstream society, there needed to be a white institution to stamp the validity of the intellectual product. Even artistic concepts that pertain specifically to Black people have often required white people, and their institutions, to sanction them as legitimate.
LBS’ autonomous intellectual innovations are products created by members of the organization aligned with our particular framework and beliefs. These innovations include music and spoken word projects, critical texts and poetry books, paraphernalia and more.
Through our private trainings, public talks, published books and music, curated art, and retail merchandise we are able to share, and when possible monetize, our work allowing for a uniquely independent perspective on issues impacting our community that we hope gains more traction in the academic and cultural mainstream.
The value of our autonomous intellectual innovations lies in its function as an accessory of learning and entertainment that helps to concretize a lot of the hyper-intellectual aspects of our work into a common and more digestible format.
Our innovations offer a sustainable financial contribution to our on-going work and way for Black families and communities who may not have the time and energy to labor with us in the work, to invest and mutually benefit from products that educate and entertain.