Black Archives

What Black Archives does

Black Archives is a multimedia archival platform founded in 2015 by Renata Cherlise and headquartered in metro Atlanta, Georgia, operating as a privately held LLC (Black Archives LLC) with a remote team distributed across the United States. The company curates and produces visual content celebrating the Black experience, drawing on archival materials from institutional partners including the U.S. National Archives, LSU Libraries Special Collections, Kent State University Libraries, the Chester County Historical Society & Museum, and the University of Pittsburgh, alongside a partnership with Getty Images established in 2021. Its core offerings span archival production and consulting services for film and television, creative and curatorial direction for brand campaigns, an e-commerce print shop (the BA Shop), editorial publications (including 'The Impulse to Collect'), and original documentary and book projects. Black Archives operates as a single integrated platform rather than a modular software product, with competitive positioning centered on its curated content library, founder-led editorial voice, and ability to contextualize Black historical imagery across media formats.

The revenue model is project-based and diversified across five streams: archival production and consulting (HBO Max's 'Seen & Heard: The History of Black Television' in 2025, Hulu's 'The Hair Tales'), creative and curatorial direction for brand activations (adidas Originals' 52nd Annual Bayou Classic campaign), direct-to-consumer print sales via the BA Shop, royalty participation from a Penguin Random House book published in 2023, and social amplification plus archival installation services. Pricing for services is quote-based and project-specific; consumer pricing is not publicly disclosed. Notable strategic partnerships include the 2021 Getty Images curation agreement, a 2024 limited-edition 'How We Roll' LEGO collaboration with Most Incredible Studios, an ongoing documentary ('Black Hercules') that premiered at Tribeca Film Festival 2024, and a 'Welcome Home' visual storytelling series with Chucha Studios.

Black Archives serves four primary customer segments: media and entertainment companies requiring authentic Black historical imagery for documentaries and series; consumer brands seeking cultural activation tied to HBCU and Black community narratives; museums and cultural institutions (MoMA, Library of Congress, U.S. National Archives) engaging in editorial and curatorial collaborations; and general public consumers purchasing prints or books. The company is bootstrapped with no disclosed funding rounds, parent company, or institutional investors, and its go-to-market motion is event-driven and project-based rather than subscription or SaaS-led.

Name

Black Archives

Legal name

Black Archives LLC

Website

https://blackarchives.co

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Black Archives is a founder-led multimedia archival platform that curates Black historical visual content and provides archival production, consulting, and creative direction for media companies, consumer brands, museums, and cultural institutions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural Archival Production Services

NAICS

Libraries and Archives (519210), Libraries and Archives (51921), Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (5192)

SIC

Services-Photofinishing Laboratories (7384), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Rights, Access Control & Clearance for Archives (Permissions, Audit, Policy) (MPAHAGAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Digital Archives, Libraries & Institutional Access Platforms (MPAJAMAJ), Archival Preservation & Conservation (Handling, Storage, Environmental Controls) (MPADAMAF), Libraries, Archives & Special Collections (BPAGAHAF)

Keywords

• Archival production services
• Multimedia archival platform
• Cultural consulting services
• Photographic archival curation
• Documentary production services

Headquarters

HQ city

Atlanta Metro Area

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Archival Production & Consulting Services: Creative archival production for documentary projects including HBO Max's Seen & Heard: The History of Black Television (2025) and Hulu's The Hair Tales.
2. Creative & Curatorial Direction: Providing creative and curatorial direction for brand campaigns, events, and original programming including adidas Originals Bayou Classic activation.
3. Print Sales: Sale of archival prints through the BA Shop e-commerce platform.
4. Book Publication: Published book Black Archives through Penguin Random House documenting photographic celebration of Black life.
5. Social Amplification Services: Social media amplification and archival installation/exhibition services for clients and partners.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Black Archives is a multimedia archival platform that curates, produces, and licenses visual content celebrating Black history and culture. The company provides end-to-end archival production and consulting services for film, television, advertising, and publishing projects, including archival research, image sourcing, licensing coordination, and creative and curatorial direction. It also operates a direct-to-consumer print shop, publishes editorial and book content, produces original documentary programming, and executes brand activations and exhibitions for enterprise clients.

Product overview

Black Archives is a multimedia archival platform founded in 2015 by Renata Cherlise, based in metro Atlanta with a remote team. The company operates as a single unified offering — a multimedia archival platform — rather than a modular software product. Its portfolio spans archival production and consulting services (for film, TV, advertising, and publishing), editorial publications (The Impulse to Collect), documentary film projects (Black Hercules, Seen & Heard for HBO Max), a retail store (The BA Shop), collaborative merchandise (How We Roll with Most Incredible Studios), and campaign documentation (Bayou Classic for adidas Originals). The Featured Archival Collections section curates materials from partner institutions including the U.S. National Archives, LSU Libraries, Kent State University, and others. All offerings serve a unified mission: providing dynamic visual accessibility to a Black past, present, and future through archival curation and storytelling.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Archival Production & Consulting Services End-to-end archival production and consulting services for film, television, advertising, and publishing projects. Includes archival research, image sourcing, licensing coordination, creative and curatorial direction, social amplification, archival installation and exhibitions, activations and experiences, and other forms of original programming.
• The BA Shop

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and major.

• Getty ImagescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021In 2021, Black Archives entered into a partnership with Getty Images to curate moments from their collection highlighting the Black experience. This partnership enables access to Getty's extensive archive for creating curated collections showcasing Black history and culture.
• Most Incredible StudiosflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerMost Incredible Studios and Black Archives collaborated on 'How We Roll,' a first-of-its-kind collaboration merging LEGO bricks with the rich legacy of Black roller-skating culture. The limited-edition set brings to life the vibrancy held within skating rinks that have long been cultural hubs for self-expression, creativity, and community.
• Chucha StudioscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerChucha Studios and Black Archives partnered on 'Welcome Home,' a visual storytelling series dedicated to amplifying the voices of Black immigrants. The collaboration explores themes of resilience, strength, and community, featuring George Carty (Uncle George), a Trinidadian immigrant who built his life and community in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn.
• adidas OriginalsmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerBlack Archives documented the 52nd Annual Bayou Classic for adidas Originals, going behind the scenes to explore Grambling State University. The activation included the World Famed Tiger Marching Band led by Dr. Nikole Roebuck (first woman in the role) and featured archival material from 1989 Bayou Classic.
• HBO MaxcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerBlack Archives provided archival production for HBO Max's 'Seen & Heard: The History of Black Television' (2025), bringing historical context to the documentary series about Black television history.
• HulucoreGTM or Marketing PartnerBlack Archives contributed to Hulu's documentary series 'The Hair Tales,' exploring Black women's hair experiences through storytelling and archival imagery.
• Kent State University LibrariescoreOthersPhotographs by Lafayette Tolliver (circa 1968-1971) from Kent State University Libraries Special Collections and Archives are featured in Black Archives' curated collections.
• LSU LibrariescoreOthersThomas H. and Joan W. Gandy collection from LSU Libraries Special Collections is featured in Black Archives' archival offerings.
• U.S. National ArchivescoreOthersThe Harmon Foundation Collection: Kenneth Space Photographs of the Activities of Southern Black Americans (1936-1937) via the U.S. National Archives is featured in Black Archives' collections.
• Chester County Historical Society & MuseumcoreOthersHenry Orion Nichols Collection from Chester County Historical Society & Museum is featured in Black Archives' archival collections.
• University of Pittsburgh ArchivecoreOthersPitt Panther Party Crew archive (1982-1989) from University of Pittsburgh featuring photographer James 'Butch' Goodwin is featured in Black Archives' collections.
• Penguin Random HousecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBlack Archives book published through Penguin Random House, documenting a photographic celebration of Black life in the 20th century.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Library of Congress: U.S. national library and archival institution. Comparable as a source institution for Black Archives' curated collections and as a credibility partner via its official Conversation with Renata Cherlise, though it operates as a public institution rather than a commercial platform.
• Penguin Random House: Major trade book publisher and Black Archives' book distribution partner (2023 'Black Archives' book). Comparable as an adjacent ecosystem participant that validates the commercial potential of Black visual storytelling but operates at vastly larger scale across many categories.
• Condé Nast: Global media publisher (Vogue, The New Yorker, etc.) and a frequent editorial feature partner of Black Archives (Vogue UK). Comparable as a large media platform that both competes for Black cultural storytelling talent and serves as a distribution/earned-media channel.

Broad incumbents

• Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture: NYPL research center dedicated to preserving Black history through collections, exhibitions, and public programming. Comparable to Black Archives as a Black-focused archival institution, but operates at much larger scale and primarily as a public research library rather than a commercial platform.
• Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture: Federal museum collecting, exhibiting, and interpreting African American material culture. Comparable to Black Archives as an authoritative Black-history collecting institution and a source of materials that flow into Black Archives' curated collections (e.g., via the U.S. National Archives).

Direct peers

• Aperture Foundation: Nonprofit photography publisher producing books, exhibitions, and editorial content centered on cultural and social documentary photography. Comparable to Black Archives because both publish photography books, mount exhibitions, and position themselves as cultural curators of historically underrepresented photographic work.
• Getty Images: Global commercial image archive and licensing platform with a dedicated editorial and historical collection. Directly comparable because Getty Images is both a current strategic partner of Black Archives (since 2021) and a competing source for licensable historical and culturally specific imagery used by media and brand clients.
• Bridgeman Images: Specialist cultural and historical image licensing platform serving museums, publishers, and brands. Comparable to Black Archives because both monetize curated historical imagery through licensing, editorial content, and cultural-institution partnerships rather than commodity stock photography.
• Magnum Photos: Photographer-owned agency representing and licensing documentary photography, including cultural and historical work. Comparable to Black Archives because it operates at the intersection of curated photographic archives, editorial storytelling, and licensing to cultural/brand clients.

Emerging players

• Storyblocks: Subscription-based stock media platform with editorial and historical footage/imagery. Comparable to Black Archives as a competing channel for brand and creator sourcing of historical and culturally specific imagery, though it operates at much larger scale and via a SaaS model rather than curation.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/blackarchives.co
• Instagraminstagram.com/blackarchives.co
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/blackarchivesco

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Black Archives