As we kick off the final week of Black History Month, we wanted to shed some light on a project a few talented people are putting together.
Conceived as a hip-hop odyssey through Black History, “Our Heroes Rock!” is an animated series that shines a spotlight on history’s unsung Heroes of color through infectious music, stunning 3D animation and a family-friendly, sci-fi-flavored narrative designed to appeal to both parents and kids alike.
Created by Ettore Ewen (WWE Superstar “Big E”), award-winning artist and narrative designer Jonathan Davenport and award-winning sports and cultural historian Andreas Hale, “Our Heroes Rock!” has one simple goal, to create an educational vehicle that’s so visually and musically appealing that audiences would watch it regardless of the content.
Their aim is to place American Heroes such as Medgar Evers, Ida B. Wells and Nina Simone in the same historical echelon reserved for George Washington, Thomas Edison and Neil Armstrong.
A Kickstarter campaign has launched today in hopes that many likeminded individuals would help take part in making this project a reality.
A concept that originally began as wrestling gear designed by Jonathan Davenport for WWE Superstar Ettore “Big E” Ewen became much more ambitious when a conversation with Andreas Hale led to the idea to create an animated series that brings attention to some of the lesser-known stories in our history that will be empowering to young men and women of color.
Electrified by the concept of fusing animated storytelling with Hip Hop from some of the most prominent voices of the culture, we joined forces with the animation studio Something’s Awry and Grammy-nominated Hip Hop artist Rapsody to bring this vision to life in a way that we believe audiences young and old will enjoy.
Our aim is to crowdfund the pilot episode, which will focus on the story of Ruby Bridges, the first African-American child to integrate into an elementary school in the South on November 14, 1960, with Rapsody narrating Bridges’ phenomenal story through rhythm and rhyme.
More importantly, we are friends who share the same vision. As Black men who grew up having to actively seek out information on our historical figures, we understand the significance of sharing these stories with the youth in a way that is both fun and entertaining.
Black children need to know that they were more than slaves and contributed heavily to creating what America is today. These aren’t just Black heroes, these are OUR heroes.
And we are hoping that you see the value in telling these stories through animation, science fiction and Hip Hop. By creating this pilot episode, we hope to create an entire series on our unsung heroes.
Our Heroes Rock also has plans to expand and tell the stories of unsung heroes for all minority groups.
It’s not about making money, it’s about making something that deserves to exist.
