Costumers of Color is a new, small 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. With myself, Gigi Coulson, as executive director/president and three board members, it’s easy for us to act quickly, experiment, and change course when we see immediate needs. We are so grateful for your support in our mission of promoting the inclusion of BIPOC in costuming. Here is an update on the state of our nonprofit. Read the annual report here.
Our mission is to create scholarship opportunities, historical costuming events, and educational group travel activities where Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) feel welcomed, included, and accepted.
Our vision is an inclusive costuming community that is actively anti-racist and challenges historical and contemporary injustices, including anti-Blackness, individual and systemic racism, and the entrenched historical trauma of BIPOC.
In working toward this vision, we intend to benefit the public and enrich the costuming community by expanding the knowledge and opportunities available for diverse and accurate historical exploration.
2) Costuming, and 3) Travel.
Right now, just 9 months after our founding, the $500 Hattie S. Edwards Scholarship is funded at $1000. We have booked the venue, musicians, and dance caller for our Chevalier Event in October 2024 where we will be educated about Joseph Bologne and other BIPOC of the 18th-century while costuming, dancing to the music of the time, and playing historical games. We have three trips in 2024 scheduled and fully booked to take BIPOC and anti-racists to Italy to learn #inclusivehistory there and participate in #inclusivecostuming in Venice and Florence.
With the help of our donors, event ticket buyers, and travelers, we are accomplishing our mission.
If you’d like to contribute towards BIPOC meals during the annual educational costuming trip, the Hattie Edwards scholarship fund, or to help cover ticket costs for BIPOC to our annual historical costuming event donate today:
