Image via Jason Panda

By: Justin Darden, Associate Sports Producer

It was National HIV Testing Day in College Park, Georgia, and ’02 Morehouse graduate Jason Panda. Panda, CEO and founder B condoms, was in attendance alongside Darwin Thompson, Morehouse class of ‘08 and Gilead Sciences. Together they sponsored a local free HIV testing event. 

B Condoms was founded in 2011 by Panda and has since grown into one of the three best sellers in the condom industry in the United States. Founded in Atlanta, Georgia, Panda has expanded B Condoms through its partnership with Walmart, from 64 Atlanta stores to 235 stores throughout Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, South, and Southeast Regions according to Panda’s Instagram. Most importantly, the aspiration behind Panda starting B Condoms is what makes this black-owned company thrive. 

“I felt that there was a need to create a brand that represented our culture,” Panda said. “But also to have a level of community impact where we could work together with all communities within the black space and figure out how we can go and fight and decrease these differentiators or whatever they know within our communities.”

In the B condoms impact section on their website, it mentions their belief in bringing together the black community and having those discussions within the black community. Panda and his company have engaged with HBCU students in over 10 states throughout the U.S., including Morehouse. 

As an HBCU graduate, Panda talked about how getting an education at Morehouse helped him thrive in his career after college. Being from Boston, Massachusetts, Panda saw a lack of black professionals in his area, and coming to Atlanta changed everything for him. 

“When I came to Atlanta and when I went to Morehouse, it normalized black excellence and not only black excellence but black male excellence,” Panda said. “All of a sudden, you don’t need to be, you know, Paul Robeson. You don’t need to be the super—just super black good to be able to do extraordinary things.”

Doing the extraordinary is how Panda, an ex-lawyer turned businessman, took on the role of protecting the culture through an industry that lacks black ownership and representation. 

Even with the third biggest condom company in the states behind Trojan and Lifestyles, Panda has its own goals. Panda wants to keep growing the company, giving back to the community, and bring along everyone he’s close with from friends to family on his journey. 

To learn more about National HIV Testing Day click here.

Copy Edited: Auzzy Byrdsell, Editor in Chief