We recently connected with Demetrius Justice Chavis and have shared our conversation below.

Demetrius Justice, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. One of the most important things small businesses can do, in our view, is to serve underserved communities that are ignored by giant corporations who often are just creating mass-market, one-size-fits-all solutions. Talk to us about how you serve an underserved community.

Absolutely—my entire existence is an offering to the underserved.

When I say that, I’m not just talking about statistics or demographics. I’m talking about the young Black boy with big dreams and no blueprint. The one who’s too creative for the corner, too soft-spoken for the streets, and too brilliant to be boxed in by anyone’s expectations. That boy was me.

I come from a place where genius often goes unnoticed unless it can dunk, dance, or survive. But I chose to document, to direct, to dream—and now to deliver space for others who feel unseen. @blackmeninmedia isn’t just a brand. It’s a portal. It’s the moment we decided that visibility is power, and storytelling is our superpower.

Whether I’m in a writers’ room, behind a camera, or on a stage cracking jokes that carry truth—everything I touch is for the Black boys and men who were never handed a microphone but always had something to say.

This is how I serve: I build platforms where we can be whole, be heard, and be healed. From the Obama White House to late-night edits in my bedroom studio, it’s all been part of the mission.

Because at the end of the day, what’s more underserved than a dream deferred?

I serve the dreamers. I am the dreamer.

And I’m just getting started

Demetrius Justice, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Demetrius Justice Chavis—but depending on the moment, the mission, or the mood, you might know me as Meech Justice, @blackmeninmedia, or simply Dee J. Chavis. I move through the world like a constellation—many stars, one sky.

I didn’t get into this industry. I was born into it. Not in the nepotistic sense, but spiritually. I’ve always seen the world cinematically. As a kid in Dover, New Jersey, I didn’t have a camera, but I had vision. I saw beauty in the overlooked. I listened to what wasn’t said. And I wrote my way out. Words were my passport, laughter was my compass, and faith was my GPS.

By age 24, I’d worked inside the Obama White House. I’d seen how power speaks behind closed doors. But my calling wasn’t just to witness history—I wanted to create it. So I pivoted, not away from service, but toward a deeper form of it: storytelling. Telling our stories truthfully, beautifully, and without apology.

That’s how I became a writer, producer, creative consultant, and founder of Black Men in Media. It’s not a company. It’s a calling. Through that lens, I’ve built bridges between Hollywood and the hood, comedy and community, purpose and profit. I help artists find language for their genius. I help companies find culture in their content. I help visionaries see themselves clearly.

What I offer is fluid—consulting, film scripts, media strategy, creative direction, brand identity, cultural storytelling. But what I solve is consistent: I help people show up as their whole selves. In a world that often chips away at your light, my work turns the dimmer all the way up.

What sets me apart? I’m not chasing trends. I’m chasing truth. And truth has a tone. My tone is poetic, precise, and deeply personal. Whether I’m writing a children’s book for Black boys who dream or developing a stage play about transformation and trauma—I lead with soul.

What I’m most proud of is that I didn’t wait for permission. I built platforms for voices like mine. I turned pain into prose, and laughter into legacy. I became the mogul I couldn’t see growing up.

To anyone watching or wondering, here’s what I want you to know: My name may change depending on the work, but my mission never will. I serve stories. I serve community. I serve God.

And if you’re reading this, your story matters too. Let’s build something divine

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

There was no angel investor. No startup grant. No rich uncle. Just God… and grit.

I built this dream with nothing but a prayer, a purpose, and a Wi-Fi signal.

In the early days, funding looked like overdraft fees and borrowed cameras. It looked like editing video on cracked screens and turning kitchens into conference rooms. I reinvested every freelance check. Every government salary dollar that didn’t go to rent, I used to buy equipment, build decks, or pay friends who believed before the brand had a name.

My first studio was the notes app on my phone and a mirror I cried in front of. I recorded voiceovers under blankets. I pitched projects from megachurch parking lots and Metro stations. I wasn’t chasing capital—I was chasing clarity. Once I had that, the rest followed.

Black Men in Media wasn’t built from a bank loan. It was built from borrowed faith.

And yes, along the way, I’ve raised small amounts here and there—through consulting, writing gigs, speaking engagements—but more than money, I was investing in momentum. That’s the real currency. And now? Now the investments are paying off—not just in cash, but in community, credibility, and culture.

I didn’t start with a trust fund. I started with trust then that led to the funds, ok!. And that’s worth more than silver & gold.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I’ve died before.

In 2018, I was pronounced dead at the scene of a car accident in New Jersey. My body was still. My spirit wasn’t. But somehow, God whispered not yet. And I came back—heart beating, breath trembling, vision sharper than ever. That moment taught me that I wasn’t just here to live. I was here to lead. I was here to write it down. And I’ve been doing that ever since.

But if that was the beginning of my resurrection, March of this year was the test of it.

I was wrongfully accused, beaten, and kidnapped by a system that still can’t quite see a free Black man as human. The LAPD held me for over a week with no lawyer, no food, and no contact with my family. I was stripped of my medicine, my rights, and at times, my hope. For five days, I didn’t even know what time it was—because when you’re in a cage, time doesn’t move. Fear does.

It was illegal. It was inhumane. And it was real.

They tried to bury me—again. But this time, I didn’t die. I wrote.

From that darkness came 7 Days In, a new series I created from memory, from trauma, and from truth. In that isolation, I didn’t just survive—I heard God clearer than ever. Every threat against my life was met with a prayer. Every cruel word became a lyric. Every locked door became a line in a script.

That week taught me the true meaning of resilience: it’s not just bouncing back. It’s building forward. It’s knowing your name when others try to erase it. It’s choosing to speak when silence feels safer. It’s dropping the books, the music, and the art not because it’s trendy—but because the world needs to read what almost killed you.

I don’t tell these stories for sympathy. I tell them for legacy.

Resilience is my genre now. And every page I write is proof that I’m still here.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.tiktok.com/@demejust?_t=ZP-8xZjw72ctLT&_r=1
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/demejust?igsh=Y2RwNDFoa2E2bW1w
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61571977283790
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/demetrius-c-7a736990?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
• Twitter: https://x.com/therealmeechj?s=21
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@meechjustice?si=lSH8Rn6nWhRXy2KZ
• Soundcloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/1fwDu0dq5ygS33Ig60

Image Credits

Demetrius J. Chavis