The Marcus Graham Project to present “Green Period” project this Saturday

Whenever I walked by their space on the first floor of the Southside on Lamar, and looked into their open office, it seemed as if the men inside working were trying to unlock the secrets of the human genome.

There were paragraphs written in dry erase marker on the windows, a green screen with flash set up, and 5 or 6 young Black men were always gathered around a table, heads down and feverishly working on their laptops. One day I had to just stopped in to see exactly what could be keeping these guys so busy.

It turns out the young men were part of The Marcus Graham Project’s Summer Bootcamp Program. The Marcus Graham Project (MGP) is looking to build the next generation of ethnically diverse leadership in advertising, media, marketing, and entertainment. So my first question was a simple one: Who is Marcus Graham?

“Marcus Graham was the character Eddie Murphy played in the movie Boomerang,” said Phred Brown, a 22 year old college student in Texas for the first time from Michigan. The role is considered a breakthrough depiction of an African-American male as an advertising executive.

Bootcampers use outside light to save energy

Twenty-eight year old Lincoln Stephens is in charge of the project and is prepping the group for their GREEN. (green period) presentation this Saturday August 15th. The bootcampers have been asked to design a marketing strategy for their client Broccoli City that captures the sustainable living movement in a pop up retail concept called “GOx”. There will be live music, a mini green expo, and appearances by community officials.

It’s been nothing for the 8 young men involved in the project to work through the night grabbing a nap in the same space that they are building their retail concept. But the project is completed with Saturday’s presentation -which will also feature an interactive video spot called Go News. Visit The Marcus Graham Project website for more information about Green Period at Southside on Lamar this Saturday August 15th from 11a.m. to 6 p.m.