Ran’D Shine is on a mission. Not only is he a working magician performing in venues across the country and on shows like Penn & Teller: Fool Us, he’s president of the International Association of Black Magical Artists. In a profile on Palm Beach, FL news station WPTV, Shine spoke about his goal in bringing more awareness to the history of black American magicians.

“African American magicians…we are out there,” Shine told the network. “We are. You may not see us, but we are out there performing.”  

The Philadelphia native has spent his career performing for the likes of President Barack Obama, as well as lecturing on college campuses and military bases all over the world. The video report by WPTV is brief, but discusses how Shine hopes to keep the history of black American magicians-like America’s first black celebrity magician Richard Potter-alive. “Preserving that history so it could be passed down and it won’t be lost,” he told WPTV. “So 50, 100 years from now people will say ‘I know about this person, I read about this person’.” 

You can check out the full written and video report at WPTV.com. For more information about Ran’D Shine’s magic and his efforts in raising historical awareness, be sure to visit his official webpage. And if you want to see him perform some of his impressive card work, check out his Fool Us performance in the video below.