Former LaForce Publicist Launches Agency for Influencers of ColorErnest James, whose held stints at LaForce and APA, saw an open space for an agency that helps black and brown influencers build more meaningful relationships with brands.

[Collection]Earlier this year, Valerie Eguavoen, a plus-size blogger and activist, came across an Instagram story from Revolve, the multibrand e-commerce site, that featured a cadre of influencers who were in Hawaii partaking in a trip sponsored by hair-care brand Ouai. Eguavoen, whose Instagram handle is @onacurve, noticed the lack of diversity among the influencers and decided to address it on her own platform. Aimee Song, one of the influencers who was on the trip, responded to Eguavoen via Instagram stating: “Sometimes I wonder if it’s just that there aren’t many ‘known’ influencers that are POC [people of color] or if it’s merely that the POC don’t get the same opportunities as white people.” Eguavoen responded with a list of black and Latin influencers whom she felt could have easily worked within Revolve’s aesthetic. Eguavoen, whose message was amplified by Diet Prada, shed light on an issue that’s prevalent within influencer marketing but rarely spoken about publicly. Ernest James is very familiar with brand and influencer interactions — he helped foster these partnerships while working at LaForce and the Agency for Performing Arts PR. According to James, oftentimes brands didn’t purposely choose to not work with women of color, but it wasn’t something they thought about

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