Happy Black Girl Day

Happy Black Girl Day!!! For those of you that don't know what HBGD is, it was started by The Beautiful Struggler as a way for us to celebrate the Black woman as opposed to degrading, diminishing, and belitting. To do my part, I will be highligting various Black women in all walks of life to highlight us as beautiful, happy, successful people. Today's post will highlight my favorite Natural Sistas!


- Jill Scott- This woman's style is AMAZING! I love her hair, her clothes, her aura-she just seems like a very natural, earthy, happy woman. (And it doesn't hurt that I get a lot of "You look like Jill Scott"s!! :) In all seriousness, she's great, and I look to her for inspiration.


- Chrisette Michelle- I love her new haircut, and for awhile was tempted to get my hair that short (I have re-considered that decision). She's another black woman who exudes confidence, charisma, and a fierce style.


- Corinne Bailey Rae- I love her ringlets. (And have attempted to create my own on more than one occasion!) She always looks so fresh and youthful. It's hard not to love her hair.


- Lauryn Hill- No matter how she rocks it, she looks great!


- Erykah Badu- Regardless of what you think of some of her actions, Ms. Badu's style has always been in a class of its own, including her tresses!

I love how we, as Black women, come in all hues, shapes, sizes, personalities, and so does our hair! If our hair isn't together, we don't feel together. So, who's your natural girl inspiration? Feel free to share and name people that I completely forgot about!! Until next time, stay nappturally beautiful

Celebrating Black Love and Natural Hair

I know you all are just as shocked as I am-more than 2 posts from me for the month of April!! LOL! As April is my favorite month of the year (I get to celebrate my birthday and the weather truly turns to Springtime), I've let my excitement pour over into my blog. So, I came across this article on Clutch Magazine (LOVE this website!) and had to share with my followers. I'm sure you all are aware of the media hoopla surrounding single black women. Well, one blogger, Leila Nolliste, decided to do a "backlash" to the plight that seems to surround black women. She encouraged her followers to not only submit pictures of them with their husband or fiancee', but she also wanted to see their NATURAL hair!!! As someone who is beyond tired of hearing about the single black woman in mass media, I'm so encouraged by the this post. It lets me, and other women like me, know that love is out there...and it's real. We just have to be patient. Click here to read the article. Until next time, stay nappturally beautiful....

Encourage Yourself...and Each Other

In the Black community, the "crabs in a barrel" concept is nothing foreign to us...unfortunately. The practice of tearing each other down to bring ourselves up has been a part of our culture for centuries. It is so easy to talk about someone else in hopes of bringing up your own self esteem. This concept even goes to our hair. While living in Florida, I received a few "looks" (akin to "Why is she wearing her hair like that?") from other black people after I went natural and had my 'fro; it took my own father to get used to my new look, not to mention my 7 year old cousin that lives in South Carolina who said "I don't like your hair like that" when she saw me when I went home for a visit. After my move to DC, where there are many more women who are natural, I felt more comfortable in my choice. Now, my mother raised me to not let what people say or what they think about me to affect me. She always told me to hold my head high and to believe in myself. Wouldn't it be amazing if all women taught their daughters, nieces, sisters, and friends to believe in themselves no matter what? We need to teach our girls to believe that they are beautiful, no matter how short their hair, how much money they make, or where they live. I'm sure that most of us have experienced some form of childhood torture, directed at us or not, ranging from "You're too black", "Your hair is nappy", or "You're stupid", among others. I think that if girls were taught at a young age that they were beautiful and worthy, they would feel comfortable being their natural selves. Now, don't get me wrong-I'm not saying that if all Black women felt beautiful they would be natural. I'm just saying that if we were encouraged as little girls we would feel beautiful no matter what.
I know I was kinda all over the place with this post, but as someone who has worked with middle school and high school aged girls for years, I felt like this was something important to discuss. So, I challenge all of you to encourage that young girl you see at church, where you volunteer, or even that girl that lives in your neighborhood. If she hears it enough, she may start believing it...