Our Team
Julius Tillery | Founder
Julius is a native of the Roanoke Valley, North Carolina, and a 5th generation cotton farmer. He founded BlackCotton in 2016 to honor his roots and promote Black-grown cotton. He leads the BlackCotton team from the headquarter in Garysburg, NC, and oversees all matters related to the business and its opportunities.
Julius is the North Carolina State Coordinator for the Black Family Land Trust. His career has focused on working as an advocate and resource provider in the North Carolina agriculture and environmental sectors since 2009. Julius currently serves on Southern SARE’s Administrative Council and the North Carolina Forestry Advisory Council. You can find Julius anywhere between his farm working on producing crops, on another farmer’s farm helping consult with new enterprise development, or any meeting that is focused on improving the lives of farmers and farming communities across the US. Julius is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in Economics and minor in Entrepreneurship.
Jamaal Garner | Operations Manager
Jamaal is a native of the Roanoke Valley, North Carolina. He is a retired US marine, known in our community for his athleticism, fitness and wellness lifestyle, and for being a strong father figure. At BlackCotton, Jamaal is instrumental in the development of products, logistics, and headquarter operations.