MILWAUKEE — A new line of t-shirts with messages supporting racial equality at Kohl’s are the creations of a Milwaukee native and small business owner.  

Last October, Rachaad Howard opened up his print shop, Cream City Print Lounge in West Allis. Less than a year later, starting Monday in select locations, Kohl’s department stores now carry an array of his custom printed T-shirts with powerful messages.  

When the lounge first opened, his apparel, tote bags, and canvases had original designs representing pride for Milwaukee. But after a few slow months in sales during the COVID-19 pandemic, Howard said the death of George Floyd inspired new tees with strong messages that could not be ignored. 

“I’m pretty excited, it’s still kind of surreal to me,” said Howard. “This is one of the biggest projects I’ve ever done.”

In no time, apparel with messages like “Justice, Respect and Change” were flying off of his store shelves. Howard is currently printing close to 1,000 t-shirts per week, up from 30 a week.

“Shirts are the biggest form of expression,” said Howard. “You can’t silence a t-shirt, you can get silence on social media but you can’t get silenced on a shirt.”

Kohl’s Director of Public Corporate Relations issued a statement to Spectrum News 1 regarding their decision to include Howard’s line:

“The company recently created a new Diversity and Inclusion framework, which addresses three pillars: Our People, Our Customers, and Our Community. With regard to the pillar around Our Customers, we strive to celebrate our differences and help more customers see themselves reflected in our brands. Along this journey, we're working to offer culturally-relevant products, designs and storytelling that are meaningful to diverse customers. 

We partnered with locally-owned Cream City Print Lounge to bring a limited-time assortment of t-shirts to select Kohl’s stores and Kohls.com at the end of September. This is one example of t-shirt assortments Kohl’s has introduced to support the many customers and communities we serve, including an assortment of Pride graphic tees for customers to show their support of the LGBTQ+ community, and a collection celebrating Hispanic Heritage."