Manuel and Geiszel Godoy are a husband-and-wife team determined to change the narrative in the way people learn about African history. The narrative about people of color in this country has too often been slanted toward the experience of slavery, without acknowledgement of the rich cultural heritage that was forcibly taken away by enslavement and colonization.
Black Sands Entertainment, founded in 2016, produces comic books, novels, children’s books and animation that is based on African mythology, features black heroes, diverse storytelling, and highlights traditional family values for people of color. The company also advises and encourages independent artists and writers who can publish through Black Sands.
Manuel spent six years in the US Armed Services, and then earned a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from Queens College. He is the award-winning author of Black Sands, the Seven Kingdoms. Geiszel is also an Army veteran and she studied Fashion Design at the Art Institute of San Diego, and Fashion Business Management at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Prior to her work at Black Sands, she worked at various fashion companies, including Calvin Klein. She is also an award-winning author, producing Mori’s Family Adventures, Brazilian Cultural Exchange, and World Traveling Coloring Book. She has also done research and development of history lesson plans for us in US school systems.
Black Sands has benefited from very successful fundraising campaigns on Kickstarter and WeFunder, raising more than $1 million in capital from 3,000 investors.
In May of 2021, Black Sands launched the Black Sands Publishing app. According to an article by Calvin Reid in Publishers Weekly, the app launched with about 20,000 downloads. The app offers access to digital comic series from Black Sands, along with 16 independent publishers and artists.
The material published by Black Sands is designed to appeal to all ages. Geiszel explains why: “The family unit is untapped in today’s society because everyone wants to entertain either the child or the parent. Why can’t we do both and educate them as well?”
