This dynamic talk explores Black fashion as a site of resistance, expression, history, wealth building and cultural power. This conversation brings together designers, artists, and cultural leaders who are redefining the fashion industry through Black-led creativity and innovation.

Location:

ThirdSpace Reading Room - 1464 E. 105th St. Cleveland, OH 44108

Ronald Williams

Dr. Ronald C. Williams has been a faculty member at Coppin State University since 1996 and served as interim dean of the College of Business from 2013 to 2017, during which the college earned specialized accreditation and national recognition. He pioneered partnerships between public HBCUs and makerspaces, notably founding a certificate program in Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management in collaboration with Open Works Baltimore. His leadership has resulted in multiple student awards for innovation and entrepreneurship, and he actively contributes to national dialogues on equity, inclusion, and economic development through conferences, panels, and research. With a Ph.D. from George Washington University and degrees from Johns Hopkins and the University of Tampa, Dr. Williams’s work focuses on ingepreneurship, manufacturing equity, and urban revitalization through innovation ecosystems.

Darnell Jamal- Lisby

Darnell-Jamal Lisby became the fashion curator at the Cleveland Museum of Art in 2021, where he creates fashion-focused projects that align with the museum’s broad art collection. With expertise in global fashion history since the 1300s, he emphasizes the intersection of Black identity and fashion from the 1800s to today through exhibitions like The New Black Vanguard, Egyptomania, and Korean Couture. He holds degrees from the Fashion Institute of Technology and has previously worked at notable institutions like Cooper Hewitt and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In addition to curatorial work, Lisby has taught graduate-level fashion history and published widely in both scholarly and popular media.

Program Supporters: ThirdSpace Action Lab, Cleveland Freedom Dreams Coalition, The George Gund Foundation