As a Black girl growing up in the 2000s, media has always been stitched into the fabric of my life. I watched Black TV shows on UPN religiously, flipped through the stacks of ESSENCE magazines my mom collected since the ’90s, memorized the countdown on 106 & Park, and listened to Tom Joyner on the radio every morning. Media taught me how to laugh, how to express myself, what was cool, and what mattered.
Even as formats shifted, from fake coding my Myspace profile to holding my favorite songs in my hand on an iPod, media remained my heartbeat. But when I got to Spelman College as a first-generation student studying music, something was missing. UPN was long gone. Music videos were slowly dying out. There were definitely no magazine collections piled up in my dorm room. I realized I no longer had media that reflected me, a 20-something Black woman trying to figure out how to build the creative life of her dreams.
So my sophomore year, I cracked open my laptop, logged into WordPress, and started writing. That blog, called SheUnplugged, became the place I needed to see myself. And eventually, the place other women would need too.
Building GROWN
When I first started building GROWN, I wasn’t trying to build a media company. My first blog post was literally titled “Why College Kids Hate Coming Home For Christmas Break.” My vision was incredibly self-centered, but real. I would go on to review Beyoncé’s Formation music video, share how I created workouts in my dorm room, and my own idea of fall fashion, which at the time was nothing but knee high boots and infinity scarves.
But then my father planted a seed in my ear: why not invite other young Black women to write too? “There aren’t many platforms out there for Black women your age,” I remember him saying. That idea turned my little blog into a platform where women around the world shared raw, uncensored, reflections on love, growth, and figuring it out.
But five years later, I knew in my gut the name SheUnplugged wasn’t it. It didn’t flow off the tongue like Vogue or ESSENCE or Jet. I wanted one word, one syllable that said it all. I knew something had to change.
So in 2019, GROWN Magazine was born. Under our new name, we completely exploded. Our following finally found us, and I grew even deeper in love with making sure the unpolished voices like mine mattered.
Shortly after during the pandemic, I registered us as GROWN Media LLC. I had no clue what building a media company meant, but I knew I wanted to be ready. And now, GROWN Media is finally coming together to show that Black media hasn’t died. It’s evolved. It’s grown.
Why We’re Expanding
As a brand inspired by many Black legacy media companies, the reality is that a large gap still exists in how we approach reaching audiences of color. We’re living in a time where mainstream media often misses the point. Rage-bait content drives clicks, celebrity gossip overshadows everyday realities, and the richness of our culture gets flattened.
In a matter of months, we’ve seen cultural media outlets like VIBE and Teen Vogue get dissolved and hundreds of primarily BIPOC writers get laid off, while our current political administration makes it clear almost daily that DEI is no longer a priority. We’ve seen more than 300,000 Black women leave the workforce and the Black unemployment rate continue to rise—while the fight to tell our stories in our own way rages on.
So how do we solve this?
The reality is we need agile, tapped-in media brands that aren’t just controlling the culture from above, but are actually on the ground capturing the real stories that matter. We can’t just talk about the culture; we have to grow with it and provide solutions. We need media that reflects us in all of our fullness: messy, brilliant, questioning, laughing, thriving, and still becoming.
As GROWN Magazine, we’ll keep building this safe space for Black women to grow, connect, and carve out space for our own identities. But excitingly, GROWN Media is expanding into a full ecosystem.
We’re launching GROWN Studios, our creative agency helping brands create culture-first content and campaigns that actually connect. We’re building a portfolio of publications that each serve a distinct corner of our community, starting with GARDEN Magazine, launching late this year to spotlight rising Black music artists, followed by a publication in late 2026 to celebrate female athletes and professionals who are changing the game for women in sports.
Beyond editorial, we’re expanding our event series across our publications to bring our community together more often, provide more direct resources, and scale our in-person experiences.
As we begin to prepare for our biggest chapter yet, we’ve brought together an Advisory Board of experienced professionals across editorial, PR, marketing, content, finance, and events production to guide our next steps.
Meet the Board
NI’JAI / A. JAY JOHNSON
Content Strategy Advisor
Editorial Photographer, Cultural Strategy Director, Cashmere Agency | Founder, Paper Therapy
Ni’jai (also known as A.Jay, he/they) is an anti-disciplinary creative whose work spans culture strategy, editorial photography, and wellness. They have helped push brands like Pepsi, D’USSÉ, Grey Goose, Hulu, Max, St. Jude, A24, Sony Music, and Amazon Music, while building spaces like Paper Therapy and My Cousins’ Studio that center intentionality, imagination, and community care.
KO BRAGG
Editorial Strategy Advisor
Writer, Editor & Professor of Practice in Journalism, Tulane University
Ko Bragg is writer and editor focused on the historical evolution of the American South. She’s a Professor of Practice of Journalism at Tulane University. She’s also the managing editor of The Margin, the only newsroom exclusively focused on environmental justice in the U.S. Her work appears in The Atlantic, The 19th, Frontline, Harper’s Bazaar, Scalawag, and more. Ko holds degrees from Spelman College, Columbia Journalism School, and Sciences Po Ecole de Journalisme.
ALEXIS DULAN
Financial Planning & Fundraising Advisor
Investor
Alexis Dulan is an investor focusing on early-stage founders shaping the future of commerce, creator economy, and consumer brands. She has built a co-investor network to bring more capital into the ecosystem and is equally committed to mentorship, working with All Raise, Techstars, HBCUvc, and the HBCU Founders Initiative. A graduate of Spelman College, Alexis draws on earlier consulting and operating experience at Accenture, Slack, and early-stage startups to guide founders at the intersection of innovation and growth.
TYLER DAWODU
Marketing & Branding Advisor
Senior Manager, Sirius XM
Tyler Dawodu is a marketing leader at SiriusXM with over a decade of experience building campaigns for brands like HelloFresh, WeWork, Lyft, Bloomberg Industry Group, and the American Diabetes Association. She’s passionate about creating space for Black women in marketing, speaking at BaddieCon 2025, #MKTRHUB25 (Black Women Marketers’ Conference), Black is Tech ’22, and was honored as a featured speaker at MEFeater’s 100 Women to Watch. As DC Chair of SiriusXM Women, she’s committed to championing equity and creating pathways for the next generation.
ALEXIS JAYA HUTCHINSON
Event Production Advisor
Special Projects Assistant, Black Farmer Fund
Alexis Jaya Hutchinson is Special Projects Assistant at Black Farmer Fund and the Coordinator at Black Trustee Alliance for Art Museums. She holds 7+ years in event management and PR, previously working at Planned Parenthood Federation of America and With Intelligence. She holds a BA in English Literature from Washington University in St. Louis and an MFA in Writing from Columbia University. She currently teaches writing at Long Island University Brooklyn, and operates a Brooklyn-based literary organization which centers literature by Black women through curated events and recirculates books in Black communities.
AIMEE J. SANDERS
PR & Brand Partnerships Advisor
Executive Communications Leader, Autodesk
Aimee J. Sanders is a strategic communications leader with over a decade of experience shaping narratives for some of the world’s most recognized brands across media, entertainment, and technology. Known for crafting stories that connect purpose to performance, she has led executive and brand communications for companies at the forefront of culture and innovation. Aimee is passionate about using storytelling to elevate diverse voices and inspire meaningful change.
How to Support Us
The truth is, GROWN has never just been mine. It has always been powered by community, by people who believe that Black media deserves not just preservation, but investment.
As we step into this exciting chapter, we’re actively seeking investment to fully bring this vision to life. Over the next two years, GROWN Media will:
- Establish GROWN Studios with retainer brand clients who are ready to invest in culture.
- Expand our event series across our publications to create both intimate and large-scale spaces for rising creatives, artists, and founders.
- Build out the GROWN Media network to elevate in-house and emerging publications with viral potential.
- Scale our editorial and video storytelling into a social-first content engine.
- Expand our team to hire writers, editors, production team members, and creative professionals that have been displaced.
We’re soon to launch our fundraising campaign and welcome conversations with angel investors, venture partners, and brands looking to authentically invest in Black media. Learn more about investment opportunities, brand partnerships, and how to support our growth at bygrownmedia.com.
Supporting us means ensuring that Black media doesn’t die, but continues to thrive as the heart of culture. We invite you to join us in this mission. Thank you for always supporting and growing with us.
