Several businesses and education leaders came together to do something for disadvantaged youth.
This was the simple notion for action that came from a conversation during a haircut. The result was a daylong stream of happy and hopeful children, from many cultural backgrounds, with happy and thankful parents in tow.
Fades of Gray barbershop owner Julian Gray, together with his longtime client Kevin Bennett, principal of The F.A.I.R. School in Minneapolis, devised a simple event to give away free haircuts to youth headed back to school. In order to challenge his group of barbers, and have the greatest impact, Gray set a difficult goal of 100 haircuts during the one-day event.
Free backpacks donated by Ameriprise Financial, filled with wooden hair brushes, snacks and coupons were given to each child after their haircut. 
Fresh from their haircut, children glowed as they took their tickets to claim a free backpack with additional goods and gift cards donated by Fades of Gray, F.A.I.R. School – Downtown, Target, Osseo Public Schools director of Educational Equity, Tony Hudson and Will Walker of Walker Law Offices. Excitedly, some children immediately put on their backpack as they made their way back to mom, dad, or guardian, with new wooden brushes in hand.
“We all know how good it feels to get a haircut. For the kids it’s something simple to set them up so they can learn better. It’s just a way to support them and help them be successful,” said Gray.
Event sponsor Hudson commented on his appreciation taking part in the initiative, saying, “My kids go to F.A.I.R., so I’ve got a good relationship with Kevin. We’re two brothers that try to support each other with our work. And it’s powerful that everybody else here is like that too. Once you have that, it’s just about showing up. Sometimes you just have to keep it simple.”
“We want to let the kids know that we’re Black men who care about you and understand your experience. Just to give the kids a simple pat on the back and say thank you to them, for adding value to the community by showing up and doing their best in school,” said Bennett.
Reflecting, and pointing around the room, Bennett continued, “Most of us can say we grew up in the church and the barbershop. But a couple of boys who came in early this morning were getting their first haircut in a barbershop. It makes an impact on them just by bringing them in to take part in a positive male experience. And it allows us to pay it forward.”
Posts published in “Hair & Beauty”
Academy Award winner and Lancôme Beauty Ambassador Lupita Nyong’o stopped by “Sesame Street” to talk to Elmo about the importance and beauty of skin.
“Elmo’s skin just happens to be very ticklish. Lupita’s skin happens to be a beautiful brown color. Skin can come in all different shades and colors. Isn’t skin just the best? However, ticklish or smooth or black or brown or white or tan, be sure to love the skin you are in.”
See video below:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIC2hHECZ6Y&w=560&h=315]
article via newsone.com
Not much seems unusual about Judian Brown and Kadeian Brown’s storefront in a tidy plaza off Church Avenue in Flatbush, Brooklyn, a neighborhood where every block seems to have its own African hair-braiding salon.
Posters of African-American women with long, sleek hair fill the window. Round jars of shea butter belly up to slender boxes of hair dye on the shelves. Wigs perch on mannequin heads.
What makes Black Girls Divine Beauty Supply and Salon’s visitors do a double-take is the skin color of the proprietors. “I go, ‘Look at all the faces on the boxes,’ ” said Judian Brown, recalling other shopkeepers’ and customers’ surprise when they realize she is not an employee, but the owner. “Who should be owning these stores?”
The Brown sisters’ is one small shop in a multibillion-dollar industry, centered on something that is both a point of pride and a political flash point for black women: their hair. But the Browns are among only a few hundred black owners of the roughly 10,000 stores that sell hair products like relaxers, curl creams, wigs and hair weaves to black women, not just in New York but across the country. The vast majority have Korean-American owners, a phenomenon dating back to the 1970s that has stoked tensions between black consumers and Korean businesspeople over what some black people see as one ethnic group profiting from, yet shutting out, another.
A growing awareness of this imbalance has spurred more black people to hang out their own shingles. The people producing the products have changed, too: As “going natural” — abandoning artificially smoothed hair in favor of naturally textured curls and braids — has become more popular and the Internet has expanded, black entrepreneurs, most of them women, are claiming a bigger share of the shelves in women’s medicine cabinets.
“We’re aware of where our dollars are going, we’re aware of the power of our dollars, we’re aware of the cultural significance of the way that we choose to wear our hair,” said Patrice Grell Yursik, the founder of Afrobella, a popular natural-hair blog. “There’s been a lot of taking back the power, and a lot of that is from the Internet.”
Before Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Carolina Panthers running back DeAngelo Williams dyed his trademark dreadlocks pink and painted his toenails pink in honor of his late mother, Sandra Hill, who lost her battle with breast cancer in May.
Williams has been at the forefront of the NFL’s breast cancer awareness campaign and is credited with persuading the league to allow players to wear pink in October for breast cancer awareness month.
Williams hasn’t done interviews since his mother’s death, other than a first-person article in May for Peter King’s “Monday Morning Quarterback” website.
I
n the piece, Williams discussed with great passion what his mother meant to him and how his four aunts also died of cancer. He talked about his mother’s smile, how she always was there for others fighting the cancer.
“Breast cancer, whether I like it or not, is part of my family’s story,” wrote Williams. “That’s why I am so passionate about raising awareness, because I have seen firsthand how it can impact others.”
Williams helped Carolina overcome the absence of injured quarterback Cam Newton on Sunday, rushing for a team-high 72 yards in the Panthers’ 20-14 victory.
article by Adam Scheffer via espn.go.com
ESPN.com Panthers reporter David Newton contributed to this report.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel released a statement that “conservative” hairstyles popular among black female soldiers will be acceptable according to military grooming standards, Army Times reports.
Last March, the Department of Defense issued new regulations that many African-American servicemen and women claimed were racially biased, especially against black women, who would be forced to use heat or chemical straighteners to achieve an acceptable hairstyle. A number of black women wrote to the Congressional Black Caucus urging them to put pressure on the Department of Defense to change the regulations — and three months later, that is what Chuck Hagel has done.
In a letter to the Congressional Black Caucus notifying them of the changes, Hagel wrote that “[e]ach service reviewed its hairstyle policies to ensure standards are fair and respectful while also meeting military requirements. These reviews were informed by a panel of military personnel of mixed demographics reflective of our diverse force. Additionally, each Service reviewed its hairstyle policies to ensure standards are fair and respectful while also meeting our military requirements.”
The review concluded that the terms “matted and unkempt” when used in reference to African-American hair were “offensive” and eliminated them from the guidelines. The Air Force also determined that the word “dreadlocks” was offensive, and changed the prohibited hairstyle to “locs” in official grooming literature.
Congressional Black Caucus chair Representative Marcia Fudge (D-OH) responded to Hagel’s decision to expand the range of acceptable hairstyles for black female soldiers by saying that “[t]hese changes recognize that traditional hairstyles worn by women of color are often necessary to meet our unique needs, and acknowledges that these hairstyles do not result in or reflect less professionalism or commitment to the high standards required to serve within our Armed Forces.”
“Secretary Hagel and the Department of Defense not only show they are responsive to the individuals who serve within our military, but that he and his leadership respect them as well,” she continued. “The Congressional Black Caucus commends Secretary Hagel for his leadership in addressing this issue.”
article by Scott Kaufman via rawstory.com
ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) – Donovan Smith is 11 years old and has an amazing talent for soap making. He is starting his own business, and he is trying to help people in the process, donating to the same organization that helped him and his mother find a home.
Donuts, ice cream and hamburgers—treats that look so good you could just take a bite out of them. “Someone actually licked one,” said 11-year-old Donovan Smith. That someone quickly regretted it. The treats are actually Donovan’s soap creations.
He makes soap with Aloe Vera and goat’s milk for his bath product business, Toil and Trouble. Donovan chooses the molds, the colors and the fragrances. “Darth Vader smells kind of like cologne. I tried to make it smell what Darth Vader would smell like,” he said.
Once Darth Vader smells just right, he sells him and the rest of the gang at the Rail Yards Market in Albequerque each Sunday. He is the youngest vendor there. He said his Yoda soap is one of the best sellers. It takes about an hour to make twelve of them.
Twenty percent of the sales from his pie-shaped soaps will go to Supportive Housing Coalition of New Mexico, an organization Donovan and his mother, Casey, said helped get them back on their feet three years ago when they struggled with homelessness themselves.
“He was still going to school every day. I was having meltdowns during the day because I could not see this getting any better at all,” Casey said.
Casey is a former Navy cryptologist, still dealing with PTSD and a leg injury as a result of her time in the military. She said she couldn’t find a job during the recession, hearing she was overqualified. Now, with the support of local groups, she has a job, an apartment and a hobby, helping her son with his budding business of soaps.
“They’re fun and the fact that they have the potential to help someone else makes it even better,” Casey said.
To see video of this story, click here.
article by Lysee Mitri via krqe.com
Lupita Nyong’o is stunning — and her new ad for Lancôme proves this yet again. The beauty brand’s first ad featuring their newest spokesperson released this week, and Nyong’o looks radiant with her glowing, chocolate-colored complexion.
The Oscar-winning actress became endorsed by the beauty brand in April — and her first ad highlights Lancôme’s Teint Idole Ultra 24H foundation, a smooth blemish-free product which is “available in 28 shades for all skintones.”
The foundation is being touted as one of the brand’s more diverse products, which provides “endless perfection” for women of almost every complexion.
And with the current Vogue magazine cover girl promoting their product, Lancôme seems to be sending a message of appreciation for diversity and consumers of color.
article by Lilly Workneh via thegrio.com
Lupita Nyong’o is having a banner year. Almost a month after winning the Academy Award, Nyong’o has landed a big-time beauty endorsement deal with Lancôme and is now the new face of the cosmetics line. The deal marks a milestone moment that acknowledges Nyong’o as the beauty brand’s first black ambassador.
“I am truly honored to join the Maison Lancôme, a brand with such a prestigious history and that I have always loved,” the 31-year-old said in a statement. “I am particularly proud to represent its unique vision for women and the idea that beauty should not be dictated, but should instead be an expression of a woman’s freedom to be herself.”
The Hollywood “It” girl now joins a roster of other big celebrities who have signed on as a Lancome brand ambassador, such as Kate Winslet, Julia Roberts and Penelope Cruz.
But perhaps the more significant league of women Nyong’o now joins is the small but growing group of black women whose beauty has also attracted the lure of billion-dollar cosmetic companies.
Halle Berry was one of the most notable women to first land a lucrative beauty endorsement in 2004 – a deal she made shortly after winning the Oscar that year. Beyoncé, Queen Latifah, Janelle Monae, Rihanna, Kerry Washington and Gabrielle Union are just a few other names of beautiful black women who have signed on to similar deals.
These women represent a growing number of African-American females whose allure has advocated for these brands’ premiere products. Nyong’o is now one of these few yet celebrated women. She has been praised for her delectable taste in fashion and stunning looks which reflect a unique combination often not seen nor praised enough in mainstream America.
article by Lilly Workneh via thegrio.com
Lupita Nyong’o was awarded Best Breakthrough Performance for her work in 12 Years a Slave at yesterday’s ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon. Just like at the Critics Choice Awards, her acceptance speech was sad and inspiring and beautiful — all at the same time. Here it is, in full:
I wrote down this speech that I had no time to practice so this will be the practicing session. Thank you Alfre, for such an amazing, amazing introduction and celebration of my work. And thank you very much for inviting me to be a part of such an extraordinary community. I am surrounded by people who have inspired me, women in particular whose presence on screen made me feel a little more seen and heard and understood. That it is ESSENCE that holds this event celebrating our professional gains of the year is significant, a beauty magazine that recognizes the beauty that we not just possess but also produce.
I want to take this opportunity to talk about beauty, black beauty, dark beauty. I received a letter from a girl and I’d like to share just a small part of it with you: “Dear Lupita,” it reads, “I think you’re really lucky to be this black but yet this successful in Hollywood overnight. I was just about to buy Dencia’s Whitenicious cream to lighten my skin when you appeared on the world map and saved me.”
My heart bled a little when I read those words, I could never have guessed that my first job out of school would be so powerful in and of itself and that it would propel me to be such an image of hope in the same way that the women of The Color Purple were to me.
I remember a time when I too felt unbeautiful. I put on the TV and only saw pale skin, I got teased and taunted about my night-shaded skin. And my one prayer to God, the miracle worker, was that I would wake up lighter-skinned. The morning would come and I would be so excited about seeing my new skin that I would refuse to look down at myself until I was in front of a mirror because I wanted to see my fair face first. And every day I experienced the same disappointment of being just as dark as I was the day before. I tried to negotiate with God, I told him I would stop stealing sugar cubes at night if he gave me what I wanted, I would listen to my mother’s every word and never lose my school sweater again if he just made me a little lighter. But I guess God was unimpressed with my bargaining chips because He never listened.
And when I was a teenager my self-hate grew worse, as you can imagine happens with adolescence. My mother reminded me often that she thought that I was beautiful but that was no conservation, she’s my mother, of course she’s supposed to think I am beautiful. And then … Alek Wek. A celebrated model, she was dark as night, she was on all of the runways and in every magazine and everyone was talking about how beautiful she was. Even Oprah called her beautiful and that made it a fact. I couldn’t believe that people were embracing a woman who looked so much like me, as beautiful. My complexion had always been an obstacle to overcome and all of a sudden Oprah was telling me it wasn’t. It was perplexing and I wanted to reject it because I had begun to enjoy the seduction of inadequacy. But a flower couldn’t help but bloom inside of me, when I saw Alek I inadvertently saw a reflection of myself that I could not deny. Now, I had a spring in my step because I felt more seen, more appreciated by the far away gatekeepers of beauty. But around me, the preference for my skin prevailed, to the courters that I thought mattered I was still unbeautiful. And my mother again would say to me you can’t eat beauty, it doesn’t feed you and these words plagued and bothered me; I didn’t really understand them until finally I realized that beauty was not a thing that I could acquire or consume, it was something that I just had to be.
And what my mother meant when she said you can’t eat beauty was that you can’t rely on how you look to sustain you. What is fundamentally beautiful is compassion for yourself and for those around you. That kind of beauty enflames the heart and enchants the soul. It is what got Patsey in so much trouble with her master, but it is also what has kept her story alive to this day. We remember the beauty of her spirit even after the beauty of her body has faded away.
And so I hope that my presence on your screens and in the magazines may lead you, young girl, on a similar journey. That you will feel the validation of your external beauty but also get to the deeper business of being beautiful inside.
There is no shade to that beauty.
To see video of this speech, click here.
article by Lindsey Weber via vulture.com
One of the very valid criticisms women had for Bill Duke’s film Dark Girls, was the fact that it seemed to focus almost exclusively on the ways in which being a dark complected woman or girl was such a hardship. While the film touched on a very necessary conversation, it didn’t tell the full story. There was very little celebration of the beauty of dark skinned women.
Professor, scholar and producer, Dr. Yaba Blay, is working to fill in the gaps with a new website called “Pretty Period.” You’ve heard people offer up the backhanded compliment “pretty for a dark skinned girl”? Well Blay with the help of photographer Ann Marie Blake want you to know these dark skinned women are pretty period. She hopes the site will “visually demonstrate the sheer abundance of dark-skinned beauty. We are indeed everywhere. We stand as the rule, not the exception.”
On the About page for the site, Blay said,
“As an academic, I could have simply written about it (which I did) or discussed it in my classrooms (which I do), but after doing this work for what feels like my entire life, I’m at a point where I would much rather create than to critique.
Enter ‘Pretty. Period,’ a (soon to be) transmedia project created as a visual missive in reaction to the oh-so-popular, yet oh-so-offensive “compliment” – “You’re pretty for a dark-skinned girl.” Our collective response is, “No, we’re pretty. PERIOD.”
Showcasing girls and women of brown-to-dark complexions in the truth of their beauty, ‘Pretty. Period’ emerges as a visual tribute to brown skin, a visional testament to Black beauty, and a vision board for healing – both ours and yours.”
The site, which is broken off into several sections, includes information about the creators and collaborators, photos submitted by women who identify as brown or dark complected and official project photographs.
There is also a section called “Journal” where you’ll find very few critical pieces. Blay says this is because while there is much to say on the topic of dark skinned beauty, she wants to focus on the period part of the site’s name. There’s no need for an explanation or defense of the beauty of these women. It just is.
Check out some of the pictures here on the following pages and then be sure to head over and explore the beauty of the Pretty Period site and even submit your own photos if you’re so inclined.
See more at: http://madamenoire.com/327492/pretty-period-new-website-highlights-beauty-dark-skinned-women/#sthash.HcLtciWc.dpuf