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nJoy! organizer Zeph France hands “Black Mizzou” shirts to customers on Friday at the MU Student Center in Columbia. France, a native of Kansas City, organized nJoy! to raise funds for Knowledge is Wealth, an organization which focuses on promoting campus inclusion, diversity and equity.
Zeph France sits inside the student-run space Black Mizzou Clothing at the MU Student Center on Mon, Oct. 3, in Columbia. The space sells Black Mizzou T-shirts, but also serves as a community hub for the student organization Knowledge is Wealth.
Photos on the wall show positive cultural icons at Black Mizzou Clothing in the MU Student Center on Mon, Oct 3, in Columbia. France’s goal for the space is to create a place where everyone can engage with African American heritage.
Zeph France discusses t-shirt sales at Black Mizzou Clothing at the MU Student Center on Mon, Oct 3, in Columbia. France, a senior studying management, wants to add a small library of books and records to enhance the community energy in the space.
Zeph France meets with Jermaine Hollywood, a core member of his organization, inside the Black Mizzou Clothing space at the MU Student Center on Mon, Oct 3, in Columbia. This space will be home to Black Mizzou Clothing until the end of Spring semester.
Zeph France performs with A'Sean inside of France's new pop-up shop, which promotes diversity at MU. The words 'Black Mizzou' stand on a shelf above them in all yellow capital letters as a large group of people enjoy the live music.
nJoy! organizer Zeph France performs original music for shoppers on Friday at the MU Student Center in Columbia. France’s performance followed the nJoy! event which celebrated the opening of his Black Mizzou Clothing brand.
nJoy! organizer Zeph France hands “Black Mizzou” shirts to customers on Friday at the MU Student Center in Columbia. France, a native of Kansas City, organized nJoy! to raise funds for Knowledge is Wealth, an organization which focuses on promoting campus inclusion, diversity and equity.
Shoppers crowd Black Mizzou’s nJoy! event to purchase original “Black Mizzou” shirts on Friday at the MU Student Center in Columbia. A line of shoppers filed into the store where multiple sizes of shirts sold out.
Zeph France sits inside the student-run space Black Mizzou Clothing at the MU Student Center on Mon, Oct. 3, in Columbia. The space sells Black Mizzou T-shirts, but also serves as a community hub for the student organization Knowledge is Wealth.
Photos on the wall show positive cultural icons at Black Mizzou Clothing in the MU Student Center on Mon, Oct 3, in Columbia. France’s goal for the space is to create a place where everyone can engage with African American heritage.
Zeph France discusses t-shirt sales at Black Mizzou Clothing at the MU Student Center on Mon, Oct 3, in Columbia. France, a senior studying management, wants to add a small library of books and records to enhance the community energy in the space.
Zeph France meets with Jermaine Hollywood, a core member of his organization, inside the Black Mizzou Clothing space at the MU Student Center on Mon, Oct 3, in Columbia. This space will be home to Black Mizzou Clothing until the end of Spring semester.
Zeph France is trying to close the gap he sees between resources and experience.
France is a founder of Knowledge is Wealth, a student organization aiming to promote diversity, equity and inclusion on campus. He recently opened a storefront in the MU Student Center called Black Mizzou Clothing, with some of the revenue supporting the new organization.
“Knowledge is Wealth is an organization that is meant to offer projects to the campus to lessen the gap that minorities feel between resources and experiences,” France said.
France explains that minority students looking to attend college sometimes have to make a decision between the experience they could receive at a historically Black college or university and the resources they could receive at a predominantly white institution.
France is a senior at MU studying business with a management emphasis. He is also the president of ZouSoul, a campus organization that hosts open-mic events with a live band for people to display various art forms, and is a music artist himself.
The Black Mizzou Clothing storefront is a product of a competition held by the Griggs Innovators Nexus in the MU Student Center, which allows students to operate their own retail business venture for the entirety of the school year.
“Zeph is just a persistent, passionate student entrepreneur who comes at things from a different angle,” said Greg Bier, executive director of entrepreneurship programs at MU. “He truly understands Black history and Black culture at Mizzou.”
While Black Mizzou Clothing and Knowledge is Wealth are France’s projects, he has collaborated with other students to bring his ideas into fruition.
“I think Black Mizzou is already powerful [and] has a strong sense of community, but we want to enlighten and kind of highlight when individuals are doing great things,” said Christian McDonald, MU senior and member of the Knowledge is Wealth team.
The product sold by the store are T-shirts labeled “Black Mizzou” and decorated with stars. They are priced at $25 and range from sizes small to extra large.
The sound of live music and bustling conversation extended out of Black Mizzou Clothing and through the line of people gathered in support of its grand opening on Sept. 16.
By the end of the event, Black Mizzou Clothing had nearly sold out of shirts and has since received more to sell.
“We’re not an HBCU, but a lot of us call it Black Mizzou, and so I feel like the Black Mizzou T-shirt kind of embodies what Black Mizzou has been like,” McDonald said.
The event itself was more than just a store opening or the launch of an organization. It also was a showcase for France’s new music project, titled “nJoy”.
“It’s a culmination of songs I made throughout my college experience here,” France said. “A lot of the different songs are about me finding myself.”
France performed some of his music live, with special guest Shun Ann, and with musical artist and friend, A’Sean.
“Zeph is one of my best friends; a lot of times we make music together,” A’Sean said. “We have a lot of plans for business and we have a lot of high aspirations.”
A’Sean noted how France’s passion for music translates into his business.
“It’s all he talks about, he could talk about it for hours,” A’Sean said. “When you find somebody that’s so invested and so passionate about something they curated and started, it’s a beautiful thing, man. It’s like finding a light in a dark place.”
Social Justice reporter, Fall 2022. Studying journalism and Chinese Studies. Reach me at snpwdt@umsystem.edu, or in the newsroom at 882-5700
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