The Black is Legendary event will see 60 Black content creators and players unite for an Apex tournament to be hosted on the Twitch homepage. We spoke to the the organiser Makeup about putting the event together.
Later today at 5pm EST, 60 Black players and content creators will compete in an Apex event called Black is Legendary. The event will be hosted on the frontpage of Twitch and is notably taking place during Black History month.
Black is Legendary is being organised by content creator Marissa "Makeup" H, who took it upon herself to organise multiple Apex events in the past, each focused on spotlighting the black community.
We reached out to Makeup to learn more about Black is Legendary, which is being backed by esports organisation Gen.G and Grinding Coffee Co, a PoC LGBTQIA+ owned coffee shop.
- Black is Legendary - 5pm EST start time
- Map: World's Edge
- Stream: Makeup's Twitch channel
Makeup: "I didn’t know of many Black individuals that were participating (in the ALGS), so I wanted to make that change for myself."
Black is Legendary organiser Makeup first got into Apex for Season 3 and was instantly drawn to the ALGS.
"I was extremely intrigued by the competitive scene at the time, but I didn’t know of many Black individuals that were participating, so I wanted to make that change for myself. As a full-time college student who was also helping to build up her college’s interdisciplinary esports program, it sort of fell into place that I wanted to represent the game in a way."
"I really wanted to see if I could get myself into the comp scene by first trying out ranked and then starting out competing at smaller scale tournaments. Time passed me pretty quickly, and by December of 2020, I still hadn’t competed in a tournament. At that point, I decided to take a risk and create my own tournament because I knew I wasn’t the only Black person in the Apex Community that wanted to experience it. "
Makeup's first tournament was a kill race with 14 Black individuals as captains back in 2020, but she didn't stop there.
"Since then, I’ve had two additional tournaments (one which was another kill race for Black Women and Femmes in February 2021 and a private lobby charity tournament in August 2021) and it’s been a blast."
"It was always a goal of mine to have one of my tournaments showcased on the big screen that is the front page, especially during a month as significant as Black History Month!" said Makeup to Esports.gg.
"Last year at this time, I hosted a Black Women and Femmes Kill Race Tournament, and I knew that the following year I wanted my events to be on a bigger scale. The fact that I’ve been able to achieve that with the help of Gen. G and the support of people throughout the community is so amazing. It really feels like a dream come true."
"The fact that I’ve been able to achieve that with the help of Gen.G and the support of people throughout the community is so amazing. It really feels like a dream come true."
Assembling the 60 creators and players for Black is Legendary
We asked Makeup on the level of outreach it took to assemble 60 black content creators and players for the Black is Legendary event.
"Being a Black content creator on Twitch, it’s fairly easy to find other people in the community who also play Apex, especially if you’re active in general online communities," said Makeup.
" When I create a roster of people I want to invite for this event, it’s always a combination of “Have I seen your content before?” “Do you have a good standing in the community?” or maybe I just stumbled across their page and I really like their passion and drive for the game and its community," said Makeup.
"This time around, I gathered a list of ~80 content creators and players that I either knew of, heard of from mutuals, or have vouched for themselves or their friends when I ask around online."
"The Black community of Apex Legends players is so expansive, but I think our main issue is that we haven’t had an outlet for us to congregate and play with/against each other in a safe space, and I’m extremely happy to provide that."
"It’s always a bit of a coin toss reaching out to people because I know that I’m a “smaller” content creator in the perspective of followers, and I was just starting out in streaming (~ 2 years into it) so some people are less prone to respond since I haven’t built that rapport yet. "
"Fortunately, I’ve had so many people support this journey, and with that more people get to become exposed to the events and want to learn more. It’s almost like a circle that gets bigger and bigger," said Makeup.
"The Black community of Apex Legends players is so expansive, but I think our main issue is that we haven’t had an outlet for us to congregate and play with/against each other in a safe space, and I’m extremely happy to provide that," she added.
Black is Legendary starts at 5pm EST and will be hosting frontpage of Twitch until 7pm EST. After which you can catch the rest of the tournament on Makeup's Twitch channel. The event will be casted by Makeup and Beewhyan, who is a former caster on the ALGS Circuit.
The prizepool for Black is Legendary is $3,000, but there will also be in-chat giveaways and a special guest panel.