THE 50,000 · COMMUNITY ACTIVATION TOUR · 2026
▸ LCV · LIVE
$
HOSTING BRIEF 01 / 08
USPTO 1820–1960 · 50,247 VERIFIED PATENTS · 5.4× MULTIPLIER
THE
50,000
BLACK INVENTIONS
THAT BUILT AMERICA
LOST COMMERCIAL VALUE · LIVE
$
+$649,315 / SEC · 7% COMPOUND INTEREST · COOK ET AL.
HOSTING PARTNERSHIP BRIEF · 2026
Community
Activation
— Tour

A 12-city traveling activation bringing the BLK:INV Terminal — the first live system-of-record for Black American innovation — into museums, universities, libraries, membership houses, professional services groups, and corporate venues across 2026. One thesis: culture is the asset class.

▸ Format
2-hour program
▸ LCV · Live
$
▸ Tour Window
Jul – Dec 2026
▸ Cost to Host
$0 venue fee
§01 — The Thesis

Why this program exists.

▸ THE LINE THAT ORGANIZES EVERYTHING

For 250 years, Black American invention, design, performance, language, and cultural production has built modern industries — from the electrical grid and refrigeration networks to the dominant grammar of global popular media — without a system of record that registers its origin, prices its value, or returns capital to its makers.

That gap is structural. It is not a story problem. It is an infrastructure problem. MADE CX exists to build the infrastructure. The BLK:INV Terminal is the working artifact: a live, public ledger demonstrating what becomes possible when culture is registered, valued, and licensed as a recognized asset class.

This tour is how we put it in the room — across museums, universities, libraries, houses, professional services groups, and corporate venues — through the year that America turns 250.

Pull Quote · 2026

America 250 marks the anniversary.The 50,000 Black inventions that built America are the record.The Terminal is how we finally make them count.

▸ MADE CX · Exhibition Thesis · 2026
SLIDE 02 · THESIS
§02 — The Artifact

What the Terminal demonstrates in the room.

▸ DATA SCALE · LIVE DEMO

The BLK:INV Terminal is a live, queryable interface backed by a 250-year dataset (1619–2025) of Black American intellectual property. Every host event includes a live walkthrough — three exemplar lookups requested in real time from the audience.

Records Indexed
~1.99M
Historical Black American innovation patent records, recovered and structured.
Lost Commercial Value · Live
$
Cook et al. · 7% compound · accruing in real time.
Time Window
250 yrs
1619–2025. Anchored to the America 250 anniversary.
Live Conversion
20 min
Every event closes with a guided live registration sprint on Made.cx.
SLIDE 03 · TERMINAL
§03 — The Tour at a Glance

One year. Three phases.

▸ EXHIBITION · COMMUNITY · CONFERENCES

The 2026 program runs in three coordinated phases. The Terminal Museum Exhibition opens the year publicly; the Community Activation Tour takes the demonstration to twelve cities; the Conferences track brings the same demonstration to global stages where capital decisions get made.

PHASE 01
Terminal Museum Exhibition
Summer 2026 · Anchor
The public debut of the BLK:INV Terminal — timed to the America 250 anniversary. The institutional opener that anchors every downstream activation.
  • Anchor Press Window
  • America 250 Timing
  • Institutional Visibility
PHASE 02
Community Activation Tour
Jul – Dec 2026 · 12 Cities
A 12-city traveling activation. One Terminal Demo per city, hosted by a partnering institution. Optimized for institutional LOIs and on-site Made.cx registration.
  • One Host City Per Stop
  • 2-Hour Evening Format
  • $0 Venue Fee
PHASE 03
Conferences
2026–2027 · Global Stages
The Terminal travels to conferences where capital and culture decisions are made — bringing the demonstration into rooms institutional partners already attend.
  • AfroTech
  • CultureCon
  • TED
  • World Economic Forum
SLIDE 04 · TIMELINE
§04 — The Activation

What a hosting evening looks like.

▸ 2 HOURS · ONE ROOM · MEASURABLE CLOSE
▸ The Format
BLK:INV Terminal Demo
Two hours. A live walkthrough of the Terminal. An infrastructure briefing on cultural property as a recognized asset class. A structured partnership conversation. A measurable close.
Audience
  • Institutional principals, deans, directors, board members
  • Members, alumni, fellows, fellows-of-fellows
  • Mixed creator, practitioner, and capital audience
  • 50–100 attendees (capacity-flexible)
Optimized For
  • Letters of Intent for licensing or research access
  • Curriculum and public programming partnerships
  • Pilot agreements with capital institutions
▸ Fits your venue if you are a
Museum · University · Library · Membership club · Foundation · Bank · Civic institution · Corporate venue · Professional services group
Run-of-Show · 2-Hour Evening Program
▸ STANDARD
0:00 — 0:20
Reception
Light reception. Partners and creators arrive. Terminal interactive station live in the room.
0:20 — 0:30
Institutional Open
Host executive opens the room. Script provided one week ahead.
0:30 — 1:00
Terminal Walkthrough
Live demo — three exemplar lookups requested directly from the audience.
1:00 — 1:25
Infrastructure Thesis
CPRS, BCID, Cultural Use License — why MADE CX is the public ledger for cultural commerce.
1:25 — 1:45
Case Studies
Two landmark inventor records examined — how filing connects to LCV connects to licensing precedent.
1:45 — 1:55
Live Conversion
Members register on Made.cx; institutional reps complete a one-page LOI on iPad.
1:55 — 2:00
Q&A · Close
Open Q&A. Distribution of follow-up packet. 1:1s locked for next 72 hours.
SLIDE 05 · ACTIVATION
§05 — The Partnership

Scoped, low-friction, equitable.

▸ TERMS AT A GLANCE
What You Provide
The room and the audience.
  • A venue that fits 50–100 attendees
  • Standard AV — projector, microphone, sound
  • An invite list from your member or alumni network
  • One executive to open the room (~2 min; script provided)
  • Light F&B (or co-funded with sponsor)
What MADE CX Brings
Programming, collateral, conversion.
  • Tommy Johnson (Founder & CEO) as presenter
  • The full BLK:INV Terminal demo, with offline fallback
  • Production, AV technician, and local videographer
  • Co-branded event capture — photo, recap reel
  • Pre- and post-event member nurture sequence
  • Press outreach: Forbes, REVOLT, Culture Type, AFROPUNK
What You Gain
High-value programming, zero cost.
  • A two-hour program at no venue fee
  • Permanent recognition as a 2026 Community Tour partner
  • Co-branded press, photo, and recap content
  • Members receive Founding Creator status on Made.cx
  • First-look access to MADE CX exhibition pipeline
  • A defensible position on cultural property infrastructure
SLIDE 06 · PARTNERSHIP
§06 — The Touring Corridor

12 cities across North America.

▸ JUL – DEC 2026
▸ ANCHOR
Terminal Museum Exhibition opens Summer 2026 — timed to America 250. Community Tour follows July through December.
Hover over any state to see Black inventor counts · Color intensity reflects density relative to total patents 1870–1940
Priority Markets
01
New York City
02
Los Angeles
03
Atlanta
04
Washington, DC
Supporting Markets
05
Detroit
06
Chicago
07
Houston
08
New Orleans
09
Oakland
10
Baltimore
11
Jackson, MS
12
Martha's Vineyard
0 120+
Deep blue = few or no Black inventors identified Green = moderate presence (5–30) Amber = significant hub (30–50) Red/Pink = major center (50+)
The Industrial North (NY, PA, OH, IL, MA) dominates Black patenting. Washington D.C. punches far above its size due to Howard University and the federal patent office. Jim Crow laws, racial violence, and exclusion from resources suppressed Southern innovation.
SLIDE 07 · CITIES
§07 — Next Steps

A 15-minute call. A locked date. A program.

▸ THE PATH FROM HERE
The Ask

If your venue fits — or if you're not sure which fits — we'd value 15 minutes to walk you through it.

▸ Book a 15-Minute Intro
Tommy Johnson · Founder & CEO, MADE CX
made.cx · made.cx/the-50000-brief
01
Intro Call
15 minutes to confirm format match, venue capacity, and audience profile.
02
Scoped Proposal
A scoped one-pager and proposed date window within 48 hours of the call.
03
Locked Program
Date locked, host script delivered T-7 days, and we run the program in your room.
SLIDE 08 · NEXT STEPS