Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Achol Bab. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Achol, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

The start of @darkp0wer_, dates back to college days, Darkp0wer stands for proper media representation of dark-skin black women free of stereotypes. Growing up watching t.v and not seeing people who look like me represented, I assumed it was a norm. The older I got the more I realized that this should not be normalized and that dark skin women deserve proper representation.

After doing some assignments in college that highlighted issues with media representation, there was a fire in me. I automatically new that I needed to dive deeper.

A professor had contacted me in my final year of college to join her capstone course where I spent a year in research, examining the stereotypical roles dark-skinned women are given on television as well as the preference for light over dark skin in marketing ads.

After graduation I wanted to incorporate media representation into my career as it is strong passion. In May 2020 I followed the good old quote “just start”. I wanted to be a part of the back end of media productions to help guide the proper representation free of stereotypes. However, as a recent graduate with an ambitious mind I knew that starting something to fulfill my passion was a good start.

As a communication grad who had work experience in social media, and a passion there as well. I knew that I would start with Instagram so I took out a note pad and wrote names and Darkp0wer was the the one I felt matched the most. So I knew I needed a call to action and to connect with an audience that also shares that same passion for representation.

I started off by posting quotes and dark skin black women all around world. I then proceeded to invite others to be featured simply by tagging our page. After a year darkp0wer was being tagged by black women all around the world. It was truly moving to see how many people share the passion for representation.

As my communication career was progressing on the side, I had a social media assistant (Camille Persaud-Hearns) join me to help with the content creation for darkp0wer.

Today Darkp0wer is operated by two women of colour who share the same passion for the proper representation of dark-skin women in the media and we’re also joined by many around the world who continue to support us by tagging us, liking, and sharing our posts.

Achol, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Achol Bab, and I was born and raised where I currently live Ontario Canada. My nationality is South Sudanese. My family has immigrated to Ontario in 1996 from Egypt. Growing up I enjoyed creating presentations and presenting but I never knew my passion would be in media until I was in high school. In grade 12,I realized I enjoyed media and was fascinated by how much it shapes our society.

When I started Darkp0wer I always knew and still believe that it would turn out to be more than just a brand with a social media page. We are maintaining consistency and posting/sharing daily. The goal for Darkp0wer is connect with people who want to be a part of the change in media representation, and to continue to create and share content that reflects what we stand for.

Darkp0wer is a space where you’re guaranteed to see representation, and know that the brand it working towards proper representation.

The best support we’ve received is from the people around the world who continue to tag us in their post on Instagram.

I am positive that in the near future the representation of dark skin black women will see noticeable shift as there are many people working towards the same goal.

How did you build your audience on social media?

At Darkp0wer we built our audience by interacting with people who represented what our brand stands for, and maintained consistency. On social media, we used relevant hashtags to our brand and used a simple call to action. Overtime, this allowed us to build relationships with some of our audience members on social media.

For those just starting out, my best advice is to get keep your audience engaged by staying consistent. There is always room for trial and error and there is always someone who will relate to your message/want your product, or service but if you’re not consistent it becomes hard to build trust, and meaningful relationships with your audience.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Starting Darkp0wer from scratch did have its challenges. Starting something on your own and teaching yourself everything is never easy but it is possible. I remember in the early stages some people suggested I change the name or even some of the ideas. The more recognition Darkp0wer received lead me to truly believe as long as you work towards your passion anything is possible.

The important part for me was always trusting my vision and capabilities through challenging times.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darkp0wer_/?hl=en