As a highly-trained retail executive, director of an Adidas-scale design unit and all product development, associated with 1000 stores, my observations about Kanye West’s business savvy are that West isn’t the least bit concerned about his contractual obligations, design deliverables, production schedules and ironclad must-dos.

Simply stated, not only did Kanye West fly too close to the sun and — like Icarus of Greek mythology, fell to earth. He also crashed his entire financial empire with him. West lit a global torch of progressive anger with his White Lives Matter t-shirts, but the dude didn’t even have a pending trademark application when he did it. This may be the dumbest act of business incompetence we’ve seen in recent memory.

A Really Good Story with Epic Strategy

Many of us are determined to start publishing good stories about black, brown, yellow, red, white, Jews, Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and everybody else living together in America. And this is a GREAT story!

If Arizona’s hosts of the racial justice show Civic Cipher can get pro bono legal backup — or a fund that AOC will gladly promote and support that pays their legal bills — Kanye West can’t roll into the USA with apparel using the “White Lives Matter” trademark.

Civic Cipher is a nationwide show that started in 2020 to create a space for Black and brown people to have courageous conversations.

West will give them the finger and do what he wants while ranting on Parler that Ja and Ward stole his designs. But facts matter, and Kanye West would be violating their trademark.

Taking ownership of the trademark for the phrase, “White Lives Matter,” was a difficult decision for the hosts, they said, but they agreed to do it “once it was clear that someone stood to gain significant profit from it, because as you’ve seen, even though he (West) says some really hurtful, divisive and sometimes crazy things, he has a bit of a zealot following and every time he releases something, it sells out,” Ward told CNN.

The trademark was filed the day Kanye West dropped his WLM clothes in Paris. The original owner of the trademark is a listener of their show. The original filer was so disturbed over the implications of Kanye West’s marketing of the divisive and race-baiting merchandise that he moved immediately on a filing. That individual wishes to remain anonymous.

Civic Cipher Owns the White Lives Matter Trademark

West is not inclined to break down production processes in any orderly manner, according to countless reports from people who have worked with him in non-music-related retail projects. His process is totally chaotic, as Kanye sees himself as a marketing genius and God is driving the car anyway, so West can behave as he pleases — no matter how much his corporate partners suffer when he fails to deliver.

Whoever raced the initial trademark application into the federal system saw a clear and present danger about what Kanye was doing and that he could make a fortune selling White Lives Matter clothes to the MAGA crowd.

Civic Cipher also understood the potential hate that could be unleashed by Kanye with White Lives Matter clothes, when the listener appoached them to engage in conversation about the friend of the show transferring the trademark’s pending status to them.

You can assume that Kanye will fight the application, which is why a legal strategy is required. Still, the fact that Kanye didn’t get a trademark application started with a brand concept he knew would make headlines is F-level business competency and especially for a man who runs his mouth as much as Trump when praising his business genius.

Kanye struggles to deal with stupid little people who worry about matters like trademark applications when one is about to make public a very controversial design strategy.

Civic Cipher Is a Real Asset to Our Dialogue

Ramses Ja and Quinton Ward consider owning the trademark a “responsibility” that includes making sure it doesn’t end up in the wrong hands, writes CNN. The guys speak to the responsibility of any money being made off of White Lives Matter being donated to the larger causes of humanity and only featured on products that don’t promote racial divisiveness.

Civic Cipher is on Apple Podcasts. Here’s some content. Here is their blog. And lastly, here are the guys Ramses Ja and Quinton Ward talking about their show Civic Cipher, but they do touch on owning the “White Lives Matter” trademark and Kanye West. I’ll be watching. ~ Anne

Note: I just learned by listening that Civic Cipher also owns the trademark to All Lives Matter. They do speak about their trademark attorney, but I still say they will need a fund. Also, this interview touches on their perspectives on everything I’ve been writing about. They do touch on Kanye’s “free thinking” tendency and the danger associated with him. If this topic is important to you, check out this YouTube video.

You can trust that AOC doesn’t play the first 5 minutes of a video and stop there. I am deep into one of the most thoughtful and stimulating convos I’ve heard in a very long time. My favorite word ‘nuance’ is sprinkled thoughout this video.

Over an hour in with 6 minutes to go, I just learned that we can listen to Ramses Ja on BIN Black Information Network. So here you go. I’m so glad that I followed this Civic Cipher story about the alternative to Kanye West’s reality.

America is blessed that the trademark for White Lives Matter ended up in the hands of such thoughtful, articulate men. The road ahead is going to be hell in America. But these guys keep me focused on the goal that has defined my life. They have definitely picked up a new listener — a white sister in the movement— to quote them. ~ Anne