Blacks Factor Afrocentric Playing Cards began in 1988 as the brainchild of its founders Russell Smith and James Foster,Jr. Primarily a mail order company in the beginning, and before ecommerce existed, Black Factor later went on the road to all the Black Expos and similar events for a few years, making direct contact with the customers. Later Blacks Factor went to mass retail with a stint at Target, Thrift Drugs (now Eckerd), and Brooks Drugstores. Blacks Factor changed its retail focus from mass retailers to Afrocentric bookstores, gift shops and museums in the late 1990s throughout the early 2000s. We achieved an agreement in principle to supply the Motor City Casino in Detroit, whereupon we redesigned our decks from the traditional bridge-sized deck to a casino quality poker deck. Unfortunately that deal fell through, but we continued to sell our new resized decks thereafter until reaching a hiatus. We were awakened to out continued popularity in 2021 when the visionary designer Virgil Abloh worked with us to produce a limited edition to be used as part of his invitation package for his 2021 brand launch. We were so encouraged by that event that we decided to relaunch our cards, and soon hope to introduce more products. Thanks for those of you who remember us and

 

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