Atlanta creator, entrepreneur on Target collaboration and celebrating Black joy as a catalyst for change

Atlanta-based Black Men Smile creator, Carlton Mackey, holds a pair of freshly opened gray joggers in the new “Black Joy is Revolutionary” collection. (Matthew Pearson/WABE)

The Ke’nekt Cooperative is a mutual aid workspace in Atlanta’s West End neighborhood.

On March 14, hours before Ke’nekt hosted an event with the ACLU of Georgia, Carlton Mackey entered the workspace with a box in hand. He was there to deliver items from his clothing brand’s new collection.

His brand, Black Men Smile, is a small Atlanta-based lifestyle clothing line committed to promoting positive depictions of Black men and amplifying the celebration of Black joy.