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Behind the Film and Designer Spotlight: BLACK IS KING
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FLAME Editor-in-Chief Karis Battle
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Karis Battle Jamila Muschette - Muschette Photography Jason Prince - Media by Prince Seth London - Seth London Photography Whitney Hunt - Oscar Blandi Salon Cia Gross - Cosmetic Artistry by Cia Tia Anderson - Tea with Tia Erica Clark - I Support BOBs Mercedes Gutierrez - SlayME Bridgette L Hylton - Bridgette Writes Karolyn Martin
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MY MELANIN IS NOT A CRIME
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UNLEASHING YOUR INNER GEM
MELANIE MARTY THE POPSTAR REVEALS WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO COME OUT TO HER PARENTS
PRECIOUS GIRL
Photographer Jason Prince
EDITOR'S NOTE
Between a global pandemic that's killing thousands of people across the world, being in the middle of a racial war and losing too many of our black brothers and sisters to police brutality and injustices, in addition to having our "normal" everyday life stripped away from us like none of us have ever experienced before in our lifetime- it's been a year right?! With the murders of the Brianna Taylor‘s and the George Floyd's we have committed to bending over backward trying to DEMAND people understand that Black Lives Matter, yesterday, today and tomorrow and although we shouldn't have to, we will continue to scream it out until it's understood, appreciated and respected. Thankfully, through it all, we always still seem to find ways to amplify our voices and allow our truth to be told, seen and heard. And it's now become even more evident, especially to our younger generation, how important our voices really are if we allow them to magnify and how much of an impact we can have inside our own communities and out. The Black communities in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, and Arizona helped to secure the Presidential election and the races in Georgia, with strong Black leaders like Stacey Abrams who committed to pushing the Black vote in order to make these necessary changes that we all need. Our communities helped to lead us to now have our First Black Female Vice President, Madam Kamala Harris, and Georgia's First Black Senator, Rev. Raphael Warnock. Which only reaffirms how important the Black voice really is and how we can change history when we are present, stand strong and come together. This February/March issue, released during Black History month, is not to solely speak about our continuous fight for over 400 years, but instead to continue to amplify our voices, our beauty, our brands, our businesses, and our lives as a whole. All and all now is still the time for celebration and unity within our community and with our allies. So no matter what, whether you're the "skinny black girl descended from slaves..." like Inaugural poet, Amanda Gorman, or a Trayvon Martin, praying you're not racially profiled while walking from the store- remember that your Black skin is not a crime, but instead should give you more reason to feel powerful and seen. Never make yourselves invisible or shrink to make others comfortable. Even through our adversity, even through a pandemic, even through our injustices, even through racism- we will embrace our melanin and show up and show out. We will never be silenced. We have been and will always be a resilient tribe of beautiful shades of melanin that deserve to be celebrated, no matter what. I hope you enjoy reading this issue and this celebration of our Blackness. Never to be lessened or ignored by anyone.
KARIS BATTLE Editor-in-Chief WWW.ILOVEFLAME.COM
ris ~xo Ka
Photographer Seth London Stylist Karis Battle Model Tabitha Wolf FLAME MAGAZINE | 6
BEHIND THE FILM If you are reading this then we assume you have already watched Beyoncé’s film Black Is King. If you haven’t seen it, then stop where you are and go watch it. Tea With Tia - IG, Facebook: @teawithtia | www.teawithtia.org
Photo: Parkwood Entertainment
Parkwood Entertainment/Disney+ What is it? Well in case you have been living under a rock, Black Is King is the highly anticipated and absolutely stunning visual album that Beyoncé debuted on Disney+. The visual album features Jay Z, Blue Ivy, Kelly Rowland, and a number of other star cameos. It was written, directed, and executive produced by Beyoncé herself. The film is 90 minutes long. The film shows stylish music videos of songs from The Lion King: The Gift album and goes through Simba’s journey (based on the recent Lion King remake, but with humans instead of animals). In order to fully understand this film, you must keep in mind that the film has several meanings. Black Is King excels as a celebration of Blackness in its many forms: Black women, Black men, Black children, Black motherhood, Black fatherhood, Black pasts, Black presents, and Black futures. Now, for those of you who did watch it let's really dig into this wonderful masterpiece. I am going to break down the film Black Is King the best way I can. Follow along as I break down each scene and how it reimaged The Lion King and celebrating WWW.ILOVEFLAME.COM
black culture. This is how Black Is King reimagines The Lion King. The film starts off with a male stating ” I feel like I’m not a king yet like I got potential for it but I’m not there yet. I know I got the capabilities but sometimes I don’t know how to navigate”. According to Disney+, Black Is King “reimagines the lessons of The Lion King for today’s young kings and queens in search of their own crowns.” Beyoncé starts out in an all-white dress carrying a baby (Simba/ young black king) while singing Bigger. During the opening scene, the young king begins to grow, and she marks his face just as Rafiki did in The Lion King. It is a ritual that marks the young as a prince. Bigger” takes its themes from the introduction by James Earl Jones. He speaks as The King of the Pride Lands, reflecting on the universal connection found within the circle of life. Beyoncé follows the intro track with a heartfelt message encouraging the listener to see themselves as a key piece of a larger whole. The next scene transitions into the young king (Simba) speaking with his father
(Mufasa). In the background ‘The Stars (Mufasa Interlude) is playing. Mufasa tells Simba that the stars will always guide him. This ties back into the beginning where the guy says he doesn’t know how to navigate.This was the perfect segway for the next song, Find Your Way Back. Are you still reading? (I sound like Netflix, lol just checking). Moving along in the film the young boy arrives at a place that represents Scar’s den. The Scar interlude plays in the background. Beyoncé can be heard saying “lead or be lead astray”. Upon entering the building there is a man with a snake around his neck (portraying Scar). The man asks the young boy “who are you” (this symbolizes finding yourself and your way back). This scene transitions into Don’t Jealous Me. This song was a perfect match for obvious reasons, right? Scar was very jealous of Mufasa and Simba. As the young king continues on his journey he is met by a large group of men on motorcycles. Playing in the background you hear the voices of Nala and Simba talking about danger. FLAME MAGAZINE | 8
BLACK IS KING EXCELS AS A CELEBRATION OF BLACKNESS IN ITS MANY FORMS.
In this scene, the young king’s dad was run over by motorcycles (portraying the death of Mufasa). “No true king ever dies” Beyoncé can be heard saying. The next scene opens with an all-white funeral. In African culture, white is the color chosen for funerals. As the film continues to navigate, the film goes into Mood 4 Eva, which is supposed to represent Hakuna Matata which means “no worries”. Do you get it yet? A thorough break down of this film does not do it much justice. You must go witness everything for yourself. Now that we have made the Lion King references known let’s talk about all the cultural knowledge shown. It’s a cultural thing! Body painting is a colorful art used by various African cultures to celebrate, protect, and mourn. Specific colors are used to indicate certain periods in a person’s life such as puberty, courting, and marriage. The “adumu” (“jumping dance”) is a Maasai warrior rite of passage to welcome young men to the next stage of their lives. This was shown as the young King grew up. In Africa, red ochre is used for protection from the sun and a barrier. In East Africa, women carry loads up to 70 % of their body weight balanced on top of their heads. They will carry food, water, supplies, and more. African masks are used to represent the spirit of ancestors or to control the good and evil forces in the community. During her video for Already, Beyoncé can be seen with cow horns. Uneducated people will call it devil worshipping. Good thing I am here to educate you on the meaning of the horns. Hathor is an ancient Egyptian goddess, considered the primeval goddess from whom all others were derived. She is usually depicted as a woman with the head of a cow, ears of a cow, or simply in cow form.
Hathor is closely associated with the primeval divine cow Mehet-Weret, a sky goddess whose name means “Great Flood” and who was thought to bring the inundation of the Nile River which fertilized the land. Nile is also a song on The Gift featuring Kendrick Lamar. The filming was international including New York, Los Angeles, South Africa, West Africa, London, and Belgium and included a ton of international talent as well. Beyoncé spoke about how Black Is King has been a “labor of love.” “It was originally filmed as a companion piece to ‘The Lion King: The Gift’ soundtrack and meant to celebrate the breadth and beauty of Black ancestry. I could never have imagined that a year later, all the hard work that went into this production would serve a greater purpose,” she went on. “The events of 2020 have made the film’s vision and message even more relevant, as people across the world embark on a historic journey,” she continued. “I believe that when Black people tell our own stories, we can shift the axis of the world and tell our REAL history of generational wealth and richness of soul that are not told in our history books.” There was way too much to cover for one article. The best way to experience this film is to watch it yourself. The film is available only on Disney +. So, if you didn’t stay up until 3 a.m. EST to watch it the second it debuted, definitely go and take a look as soon as you can.
Beyoncé’s Fashion styled by Zerina Akers black is king
Written by KARIS BATTLE Photos by PARKWOOD ENTERTAINMENT/DISNEY+ (unless otherwise specified) Not only did Black is King tell a realistic story of The Lion King, accompanied with songs from the soundtrack, The Lion King: The Gift, but the looks also told stories and were statements all on their own. The project was costumed designed by Beyoncé’s longtime stylist, Zerina Akers and her team who definitely pulled out all of the stops for this one! Read more to find out details about each look!
Melissa Simon Hartman
Balmain
Balmain 11 |
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Burberry
Burberry
Burberry
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Adama Paris
Selam Fessahaye
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Area
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5:31Jerome
5:31Jerome
Venox Latex (body suit) Alon Livne (coat) WWW.ILOVEFLAME.COM
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A-Morir (sunglasses)
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AdKujta & Meri (dress) Poppy Lissiman x Puppets (sunglasses)
Valentino (leopard print jumpsuit and gloves)
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Tongoro
Ducki Confetti
Tongoro
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Mary Katrantzou
Ashi Studio
Solace London (swimsuits) A Morir (sunglasses)
ERDEM (floral dress)
Molly Goddard (dress) A-Morir (earrings) 19 |
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Alejandro (gown) Marta Jakuboski x Jo Miller (hat) Lorraine Schwartz (necklace)
Alessandra Rich
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Laurel Dewitt Accessories (halo, choker and cuffs) D Bleu Dazzled (catsuit and skirt) Area (arm ties, necklace, and headpiece) A-Morir (sunglasses and earrings)
Francesca Tolot (body paint) Laurel Dewitt (neck piece, body chain)
Michaela Stark Chanel (necklace/earrings) Photos: (top/right: Instagram/@D.Bleu.Dazzled bottom/right: Instagram/@amorirstudio 21 |
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Vrettos Vrettakos (dress) Tsakiris Mallas (boots) Laurel Dewitt (necklace)
Mugler
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Mugler
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Loza Maléombho
Mugler
Marine Serre 23 |
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Lace by Tanaya (dress) Chanel (earrings)
Deviant La Vie x Alani Taylor (dress) A-Morir (sunglasses)
Alon Livne
Wendy Nichol
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BEHIND THE BRAND Meet Designer, Tameekah "Murph" Murphy of Alani Taylor Designs and cocreator of Deviant Lie and The Zenneth Collection. Her designs have been seen on Beyonce, Cardi B, Serena Williams and more! Learn more about how she became a designer and how one of her designs ended up in Black is King. Instagram: @alanitaylorco @alanitaylorst | www.alanitaylor.com Photos: Alani Taylor
Why Timeekah Murphy designs I just design. I just love what I do and I'm not out here for, of course I want people to respect the craft and everything like that, but I'm not doing it for recognition. I'm doing it to make people feel good, to make people when they walk out the house, you just turn into a whole different person. The Zenith Experience I don't know if y'all know who Ray is Sam- I got to put her on. This is like the next generation fashion designer right here. So she just showcased on last Friday at the Zenith experience and everybody was going crazy over her clothes. when I created the Zenith for people like her, like creative designers that think outside the box. So when we showcase to you guys, [you] can say they brought a show, there were true artists who have that creative mind and she's one of them, a rare breed for real.
Zenith Collection with Brittany Duet So I met Brittany [Duet], well, at the time before we met, I had met Brittany five years ago. I was still designing, I started in 2010 while I was in the military and one of my friends introduced us again in 2017. I had just got to LA and Brittany, when I met her, she had these ideas that she wanted to get out and she hadn't met anybody that kind of, I guess you could say interview that really understood what she was trying to do or knew how to bring it out. So originally what people don't know about the story is Deviant wasn't created. When Brittany started, it was Deviant I don't think we had Deviant yet or maybe she did, but it was latex. So she wanted to start a latex line and then one day fast forward a little bit she started playing with these ropes. So she started playing with ropes and created like this little skimpy, like barely anything there and people on her live was like, yo, that looks cool. But it was nothing, nothing compared to what you see today. So she called me over and I saw it and I was like, yo, that's what we need to do. We need to figure out how to make this into art because this is different. No one's doing it and even if they did, it's not popping like how this is. So that's when we transitioned from latex to her agreeing I'm going to focus on doing ropes. So for about three months, everyday nonstop, we started creating, creating, creating, trying to figure out how we can get the garment off? How could it be wearable? So I would make corsets from scratch for the back of it and then it became something. And I think at the end of 2017 I told Brittany, you need to be in a fashion show.
Ashanti in Zenith Collection Photo: Instagram/@Ashanti
"I just design. I just love what I do. I want people to respect the craft and everything like that, but I'm not doing it for recognition. I'm doing it to make people feel good." So I bring her on with Society Fashion Week. Everybody loved it. So we were like the duo that will open and close for each other at fashion shows. So we would open with Alani Taylor and close with Deviant especially because it was more a sex appeal than anything and that's like to keep the crowd going. So we did that. We partnered for two years on that. Deviant became a thing. FLAME MAGAZINE | 26
The first collaboration with Beyonce One day Brittany got an email from Zerina Akers and she was like, "Hey I have my client Beyoncé that I need you to do something for." So she called me and she was like, "Are you ready to die?" And I'm like, "No, I'm not." but she was like we have to design for Beyoncé and I went crazy. Like, no, no! This was Lion King. Spirit and Bigger video. So it was exciting until the work time came and the deadlines. So at first [Zerina] said, I need 20 pieces but then she was like, okay, I need 10 pieces for dancers and one piece for Beyonce in four days and everything we were doing was handmade. There's no sewing on a machine. I had to hand sew every single piece. I had to hand sew the rings on the back of it to do the whole corset part. Brittany was gluing, creating. So we did that.
"We have to design for Beyoncé and I went crazy. Like, no, no!" The experience with Cardi B Kollin [Carter] called for Cardi B and was like Hey! So we're driving to her hotel and I'm like "we're going to go see Cardi B!" And I'm not even star-struck at all, but it had nothing to do with being starstruck. It had to do with fashion getting me here. You know what I'm saying? Fashion got me in this door. It got me this opportunity and I wasn't into fashion growing up. I knew nothing about it. So that alone I'm like, yo, I'm really about to go see Cardi B for fashion. So I went to Cardi's hotel and I had to sew the rest of the pieces onto her to make sure it fits perfectly. That was an experience within itself cause Cardi is Cardi and I love her for it. 27 |
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Beyoncé in Zenith Collection Photo by Parkwood Entertainment/Disney+
Cardi B in Zenith Collection Photos by Alani Taylor/BET (left/right) WWW.ILOVEFLAME.COM
Alani Taylor x Deviant La Vie So we did the Zenith experience. So what we wanted to do, because I was getting lost in Deviant. I had my own brand already coming up. Upcoming designers, everybody looked at me as and I had styled different people, but I kind of walked away from Alani Taylor. I started losing myself because once I see greatness, I want to be a part of your story. So even if that takes me sacrificing my greatness to help you with yours, because I know that I'm great and anything that I touch is going to be gold. I knew that I could afford to step away from mine and still come back and be great. So I gave all my time to Deviant, but also I started getting frustrated that I wasn't getting the respect that I deserve. People started thinking that I was her help, I was her assistant, that all the work was done by her and
it started making me look at her a certain way and we eventually, we was just like, you know what, we can't do this. But going backwards last year before I walked away, what we tried to do was the Zenith collection, which is both brands together. We tried to bring the ropes and the dresses cause I sew, she doesn't. We tried to bring it together and introduce ourselves to the fashion industry. This is Brittany Duet of Deviant, my name is Murph of Alani Taylor and we wanted to show you how two creatives can come together and create magic. That didn't work. It didn't work. After the Zenith collection was released, all you saw was Deviant, Deviant, Deviant and I started realizing that people didn't want the Black face a part of the greatness and people only wanted to see Brittany Duet and I couldn't take that because I'm like, I stopped working for my daughter to work for this and I was just like if I can build what I built for Deviant, I can do that for myself. And I was just like, I got to go and then this happened.
Not getting credit Fashion Bomb Daily, they [had] it all wrong. [They] had Deviant La Vie as a Black owned business right now and hasn't changed it yet. I'm tired of fighting for it. I'm just like, you know what there's no more collaboration between Alani Taylor and Deviant. So everything now is whatever lane I create for myself. If I fail, I only have myself to blame. I can't look at Deviant anymore and be like, "you know what? This is your fault." And then part of that responsibility needs to be taken and I guess that's why we went on [IG] live cause I really wanted Brittany to own up too you know, "I could have done better."
"I know that I'm great and anything that I touch is going to be gold." So we were like the duo that will open and close for each other at fashion shows. So we would open with Alani Taylor and close with Deviant especially because it was more a sex appeal than anything and that's like to keep the crowd going. So we did that. We partnered for two years on that. Deviant became a thing.
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But no, man, I can't even explain how I felt. I really can't. I just knew my voice was gone in two minutes. And when I wake up now, it did something to me like as a person to know, like, yes, I created history with Deviant, but now the conversation of Alani Taylor and Beyonce are in the same category, in the same sentence and that's what I've been fighting for.
Beyoncé - Black is King So then last year Zerina called again and was like, Hey! I knew a year ago that Beyoncé was going to wear the dress. I didn't know it was going to look the way it looked on a TV screen. So that's how I got here. Initial reaction upon seeing design in Black is King Oh my God, I lost my voice within two minutes. I went crazy. It was me, my stylist, one of my models and one of my assistants here and we were up, we were not about to miss it. When it came on, again I didn't know, I just know because Beyonce bought the dress from me. Like when they came and picked it up, they were like, she wants to keep the white dress. She wants to buy it or whatever and they sent everything else from the collection back. So you're talking about waiting 365 days to see what Beyoncé was going to do. So all year after she picked it up, they were like, yeah. So they told one of the assistants that came, he was like, yes, she's doing 12 videos or whatever and we never knew if it was coming the same year that she brought it or now, a year later. And so in my career at the time, I was just like, man, this would be the perfect time for Beyoncé to drop that dress. All year I was saying it. I believe in God. I'm only here because of God. So I know how God works. I know how the universe works. Then when I was wanting it, I wasn't ready. I wasn't ready mentally. I wasn't ready spiritually. I didn't have the team that I'm supposed to have now then. So man, I went crazy. And I had just [seen], you know how it shows the little piece of them carrying her and then it goes away. I was like it's no that's all I'm going to get. I said, please that's not it. That's not it. But when I saw it, we rewinded it. I screamed again, everybody screamed. Like we have the video of the model and a stylist recording it and yeah man.
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Beyoncé in Zenith Collection Photos by Parkwood Ent/Disney+
Inspiration behind the white dress Nothing and that's the crazy part about it. Like, nothing was inspirational. We had colors that we wanted to stick with and we wanted to make sure we did an all white piece. I think it came from me making a hat. I put the hat on that mannequin and I was like, yo, like, this is crazy. So then we started coming up with [something]. So it would be sometimes Brittany would create a rope piece and then the idea of everything else would come behind that rope because you can't make the garment before the rope is made, because I now have to sew that rope into that garment. So we had the white piece, we had a blue piece that was crazy insane. Although she needed to make what was in her head first and then once she was done, she could go to sleep and then I had to come and say, how can I make this fire? So that rope piece would just be sitting on a mannequin and now I got to work all of that. So I knew I wanted [the dress] to be a twopart thing with the Beyoncé piece. So I created the skirt of course, put that on and then we knew if it was going to be for anybody, I needed to put something to cover their bra area and all that and that's when the whole Marilyn Monroe started coming through with the gloves and everything. So it never came from anything. It was just literally two creatives coming together and doing everything from scratch. Again, I don't draw, I don't create patterns, everything that I do when I make it's in my head. So I'm just going to make it.
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Telling her daughter All I could think about was like, and I woke my daughter up because I just wanted her to see, like Alani you don't understand right now but that belongs to you. You know what I'm saying? This is an icon that you will learn about and understand that's going to be written in history and she has your name on her back right now. But she was like, "Yeah, mom." Like, she didn't understand. So I'm like, I just wish you do right now. So when Beyoncé comes on TV now and I'm playing Beyoncé all day now, especially 27 minutes and 36 seconds when that just came out. So when she sees Beyoncé on TV, now she's like, that's my cousin. I don't know who told you that, but whatever you want. The price going up I'm having a hard time with that. I'm so having a hard time with the prices going up thing, because I know where I came from. To the people like yourself, to the people who have been there when I was doing street wear only, I catered to them. This is why I do it. I love the fact that celebrities wear my clothes, but they're not my target at all. Failing not being an option Not all at all, not at all. The Military taught me that. I can't fail, I can't fail. When the mission is given, I'm going to complete it. Like it's no other way. I'm not just fighting for my name, I'm fighting for my daughter's name. You will not take that away from her. So I'll probably fight way harder for her than I would for myself. So they got trouble when it comes to her name. Making garments without patterns No, I don't make patterns for my pants at all. I don't make patterns for anything because ever since I got my brain injury I register things differently. So if I made that pattern, I'm going to lose it anyway cause I'm not going to remember. So I had to teach myself how to start, trying to keep certain things in my head, repetition, repetition.
So, because I was making these all day every day, I literally just, if I have your measurements, the pattern is made from my eye and yeah and that's it. So she knew that in order for me to do something, you either got to draw it and let me see the whole thing and I will say how that pattern is supposed to be and just cut it or I had to make it and we fixed whatever errors need to be fixed while the garment's made. But yeah, we never touched patterns or anything like that. A talent I didn't know I have. Like I said, me getting hurt was a gift and a curse because it taught me different ways to like kind of maneuver through life.
"I'm not just fighting for my name, I'm fighting for my daughter's name." How brain injury changed her life I got to keep bringing it up cause my brain injury changed my life. So a lot of things that I do and where I am, it has to do with that because who I am now with a brain injury, wasn't who I was before. Again, he literally, like I got to write everything you have ever been through as a kid out of your life because if I don't, I can't get you where you need to go. When I had gotten hurt, when I woke up I was in a coma. When I woke up, I couldn't remember nothing. So I had to create all new memories and I knew that growing up, I was molested from the time I was 2 to 16 years old. So I got the brain injury in 2013 and I woke up, of course, I still had to heal and I had these crazy visions and can only remember bad things that were happening. But I'm so serious when I say I am who I am today because I had to create myself all over again cause I guess He's like, yeah, you were messed up. Like you went through a lot. And if I had to carry that with me, I probably would've been dead because as a kid, I was told, I tried to commit suicide tons of times starting at seven years old. FLAME MAGAZINE | 30
So when I say, I don't know how I got here, one it's because what I remember, I didn't know how to dress for nothing. I didn't know nothing about clothes. I didn't grow up with money. I didn't have a mother. I didn't have a father. It was just my brothers, my cousins, my grandmother, my uncles. Everybody with standard mindsets and they said from birth, you was always that kid that like, we would go steal candy from the candy store because one, we didn't have money to buy it and my brothers and them would be eating their candy and I'm on a corner selling it back to people to make the money back. So I always knew I was different then my family and they will even say it too. But still, when I wake up, I don't know how I got here, with the patterns, the creations. But I just go with the universe, man.
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Adding womenswear to the brand I'm tired of y'all attacking me. Okay. I'm in love with menswear. My design started from how I dress and I knew that that was unisex. So you can take anything that I created and a woman if she had that fashion sense she can make it bomb. But I knew that it was easier for a man to dress in Alani Taylor than a woman. So a lot of my garments that I create women that don't have that fashion sense can't really see themselves in it if it doesn't have a woman's physique to it. So I really did get tired of y'all coming at me and saying when are you going to do stuff strictly for women. And anything that I do, if I can't give my all to it, I don't want to do it. Like they say, plus size, I would love to do it but I don't think that I'm at that point where I can give plus size women what they deserve as a designer. So when I get there, they'll have it. Right now I've mastered women's clothing cause I was scared of it coming up, that's why I didn't do it and now I know how to create women's garments and still keep Alani Taylor to be a part of the aesthetic. So that's where I'm at. I'm excited about it. I can't wait for people to see what we create. It's going to be dope. WWW.ILOVEFLAME.COM
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HEAVY ON THE SUPPORT BLACKOWNED BUSINESSES AND EXTRA HEAVY ON BLACK LIVES MATTER
Can you believe it’s February and the officers who murdered Breonna Taylor still have not been arrested and convicted? Can you believe we are still facing racial injustice after centuries? Even though timelines have went back to normal, hashtags are no longer trending, protests and conversations are dying down, I’m still screaming the same chant; Support Black-Owned Businesses and Black Lives Matter. Last August we celebrated the 14th Annual National Black Business Month. A month that highlights Black Entrepreneurs, the importance of African-American Businesses in the Black Community and policy issues affecting African-American Entrepreneurship. This was definitely a highlight for I Support Bobs as the whole month aligned with our sole mission of influencing Black Entrepreneurship while uplifting and empowering BlackOwned Businesses. Below I’ve curated a list of Black-Owned Businesses for you to support. Let’s redirect police funding back into the Black Community. Let’s recycle Black Dollars. And at this point, Lets rebuild Black Wall Street.
ERICA D CLARK iheartblackownedbusinesses@gmail.com www.iheartbobs.com IG, Twitter and FB - @isupportbobs
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Stormae www.stormnesbit.com Founder – Stormy Mae Nesbit Instagram - @_stormae Stormae specializes in branding, graphic design and digital illustration. And also offer a variety of
Xavier Perry Art www.Xavierperryart.com
services to help you express your vision and refresh your visual identity.
Founder – Xavier Perry Instagram - @XavierPerryArt A freelance Artist who thoroughly enjoys creating playful illustrations, graphic design and occasional videography/editing. Also, known for the infamous LOVE BOMB murals seen across Atlanta.
Hippy Potter’s Potterverse www.hippypotter.bigcartel.com Founder - Thaddeus Coates Instagram - @hippypotter Thaddeus is a creative that focuses on creating afro futuristic artwork for customers while redefining social stereotypes through vibrant images.
Reyna Noriega www.reynanoriega.com Founder - Reyna Noriega Instagram - @reynanoriega_ Reyna Noriega is a visual artist, author, and educator. Reyna Noriega seeks to represent the beauty and vibrance of women and fill the world with fine art of said women, so that they can feel represented in those spaces.
AyapaperCo www.ayapaer.co Founder - SaVonne Anderson Instagram – @ayapaper.co A stationery brand that creates greeting cards
Trixxsta Designs www.trixxstadesigns.com Founder – Dani Designa Instagram - @Trixxstadesigns A design & custom apparel company specializing in logo design, illustrations, and customer apparel.
and gifts to celebrate the people and moments that matter most.
Butter'D Bodycare www.butterdbodycare.com Founder - Brittany Bygrave Instagram - @butterdbodycare A skincare line that provides an empowering, convenient and conscious skincare experience for women with natural products.
People of Color Beauty www.peopleofcolorbeauty.com Founder - Jacqueline Carrington Instagram - @peopleofcolorbeauty A non-Toxic, vegan and cruelty-free nail Polish company for people of color and those who live in color.
Tree Fairfax www.treefairfax.com Founder - Tricia "Tree" Hash Instagram - @treefairfax Hash, a self-taught creative based in Roanoke, Virginia. Her love of leather began with trips to thrift stores, where she would buy vintage leather skirts and jackets.
Nostalja Natural Hair & Skin Care www.mynostalja.com Founder - Antonio (Tony) McCraven, Jr. Instagram - @Nostalja_ A hair and skin care company providing premium all natural, vegan, non-toxic skin care products specifically formulated to support melanin in skin yet works for all skin types.
The Folklore www.thefolklore.com Founder - Amira Rasool Instagram - @thefolklore
Nails By Canishiea www.nailsbycanishiea.com Founder - Canishiea J. Sams Instagram – @nailsbycanishiea Licensed Nail Artist providing luxury press on nails, cuticle oil and nail care. Known as the Gel specialist featured in Nail Pro Magazine 30 under 30.
Terra-Tory Skincare www.terra-tory.com Founder - Kimberly Waldropt Instagram - @terratory Terra Tory is 100% natural, handmade
An online concept store delivering Africa & the
hypoallergenic, Palm Oil Free, Coconut Oil-Free and
diaspora’s top contemporary designer brands.
Cruelty-Free skincare.
Feelmore Adult www.feelmore510.com Founder – Nenna Joiner Instagram - @feelmoreadult Sex Toy Store
Smile Natural Products www.feelsgoodtosmile.com Founder - Brian Mays Instagram - @smilenaturalproducts Smile Naturals curated a collection of oral and skincare products designed to help you feel healthier and smile brighter. Located in California.
Moon Jug Water www.moonjug.com Founder - Key and Paula Moon
Bradford Botanical & Co. Founder - Ryann Bradford Instagram - @bradfordbotanicalco A finely curated pop-up boutique selling plants, art, and other unique curiosities.
Instagram - @moonjugwater Pure living water full of whole compounds and minerals which comes from our family 15 acres of land. Beneath our natural protected soil sits a majestic organic aquifer which produces pure premium alkali water ready for consumption. Located in Atlanta, GA.
Nice Scent Candle Company LLC www.nicescent.co Founder - Shanice Wilson Instagram - @nicescentcandleco Handmade, hand poured, and handcrafted luxury scents inspired by Atlanta culture. Believing that Atlanta influences the world we wanted the world to experience that via our scented candles.
Love Sylvie www.lovesylvie.co Founder – Zalyia Grillet Instagram - @lovesylvie.co Love, Sylvie is a digital boutique crafted with bespoke floral arrangements, hand-picked gifts and beautiful stationery specifically curated for the “intentional” human.
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Big C Waffles www.BigCWaffles.com Founder – Big C Instagram - @bigcwaffles Big C Waffles specializes in gourmet waffles located in North Carolina.
The Urban Oyster www.theurbanoyster.com
Chef/Owner – Jasmine Norton Instagram - @theurbanoyster An oyster bar that represents a movement for those who prefer quality food in a relaxed atmosphere. The first female and blackowned oyster bar in Maryland.
Shmore Boards www.shmoreboards.com Founder - Shanice Instagram - @shmoreboards Luxury Cheese and Dessert grazes in the form of boards, boxes and tables located in Atlanta, GA.
Adjourn Tea House www.adjournteahouse.com Founder - LaTonia Cokely Instagram - @Adjournteahouse Adjourn Teahouse is an artisanal loose leaf tea company and wellness brand that offers luxury, hand blended teas with ingredients sustainably sourced from around the world. Each blend is unique to Adjourn's brand identity and purpose of helping customers
Boss Blend Coffee Company www.bossblendcoffee.com Founder - Kalisha Carmichael Instagram - @Bossblendcoffeeco A Black Woman Owned Coffee Company for the entrepreneurs, 9 – 5ers and 5-9ers. Located in New
adjourn, or pause, intentionally.
Jersey.
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CullenaryArts www.cullenaryarts.com Founder - Cullen Johnson Instagram - @cullenaryarts Cullen is a photographer and saxophonist that captures memories through portrait, lifestyle and fashion photography while also using his musical gift and playing at church, weddings, and other events.
Lavish Impressions Events, LLC. www.lavishimpressionsevents.com Founder - Miyoshi Greene Instagram – @lavish_impressions Lavish Impressions Events is a sophisticated & Chic planning agency based in North Carolina serving in state & out of state clients. Located in North Carolina.
Natural Boss Branding www.naturalboss.com Founder – Kiara Nelson Instagram - @naturalbossbranding Natural Boss Branding assists female, service-based solopreneurs brand their business to reflect their high-quality expertise, ultimately allowing them to show up as their 100% authentic self.
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Juice Heads ATL www.juiceheadsat.com Founders - James and Larissa Cato Instagram - @JuiceheadsATL 100% Organic Juice Bar Located in Atlanta, GA that focuses on health by providing organic fruit and vegetables, high-integrity great tasting ingredients.
The Beet Box Juice www.thebeetbox.co Founder - Alon Otis Instagram - @thebeetboxjuice The Beet Box is a cold-pressed juice company located in Atlanta, GA.
Self-Love Be The Goat www.selflovebtg.com Founder – Nico Instagram - @selflove_btg A social enterprise focused on giving back to humanity while highlighting our stories, our passions and our businesses. We also collaborate with local businesses providing services that benefit the mind, body, and soul.
Transcendent Therapy, LLC www.loveistranscendent.com Founder – Moe A. Brown and Tiffany Grant Brown Instagram - @loveistranscendent Offers counseling that engages the mind, body, and
FlowwJ0 www.flowwj0.com Founder/Yoga Instructor - Jo Murdock Instagram - @flowwj0 A yoga teaching bringing all of the elements of
spirit by combining meditation, holistic healing
yoga to communities that have been historically
practices and spiritual wisdom. Offering individual,
withheld from it and underrepresented within it.
couples and relational therapy that exceeds normal expectations. Located in GA.
Dr. O.J.’s Organic Juice www.drojjuice.com Founder - Akeem Streater-Bey Instagram - @dr.oj_juice A Cold-Pressed Organic Juice Company based in Charlotte, NC founded by Akeem Streater-Bey after realizing a need and want to provide healthy drinking options within the community.
Produce Milk www.producemilk.com Founder - Jornae Instagram - @producemilk An Almond Milk Pop up shop inspiring people to choose a healthier lifestyle.
Photographer Jason Prince
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BLACK OWNED BEAUTY BRANDS CURATED BY MERCEDES GUTIERREZ Instagram - @slaywithcedes Lashes: @___slayyyme___
1
The Crayon Case WWW.THECRAYONCASE.COM
The Crayon Case @thecrayoncase / via Instagram.com
2
Juvias Place WWW.JUVIASPLACE.COM
Juvias Place @juviasplace / via Instagram.com
3
Beauty Bakerie
Beauty Bakerie @beautybakerie / via Instagram.com
4 Fenty
WWW.FENTYBEAUTY.COM
WWW.BEAUTYBAKERIE.COM
Fenty Beauty / via fentybeauty.com
5
The Lip Bar WWW.THELIPBAR.COM
The Lip Bar @thelipbar / via Instagram.com
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Fernormenal Beauty INSTAGRAM @FERNORMENALBEAUTY Fernormenal Beauty @fernormenalbeauty via Instagram.com
Flawsee Cosmetics @flawseecosmetics / via Instagram.com
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Flawsee Cosmetics WWW.FLAWSEECO.COM
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Pat McGrath WWW.PATMCGRATH.COM
Pat McGrath./ via patmcgrath.com
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Coloured Raine WWW.COLOUREDRAINE.COM
Coloured Raine @colouredraine / via Instagram.com
Playing In Makeup by Yolondo / via Instagram.com
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Playing In Makeup By Yolondo WWW.PLAYINGINMAKEUPBYYOLONDO.COM
Photographer Jamila Muschette Stylist/Creative Director Karis Battle Model Faneca Banks Hair Whitney Hunt Makeup Cia Goss
Instagram: @BridgetteWrites
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and Venus de Milos of the world, don’t look like. us, not yet. In the history of film and print publication, as Black women’s beauty, began to be considered and the first Black movie stars emerged, the earliest Black women heralded as beautiful were mixedrace or light-skinned with Whiter features. You can point to Dorothy Dandridge and Lena Horn or others who share features similar in type to the talented Halle Berry, who ironically was also the first Black woman to win a Best Actress Oscar, but not to an early Lupita Nyong’o or Viola Davis. You may recall the name of the incomparable Hattie McDaniel, the first woman to receive a Best Supporting Actress Oscar, but not because she was upheld as a great beauty, but rather as an immense talent although she was also a strikingly beautiful woman. While this exclusionary treatment has been lessened and representation and diversity in film and print in regards to beauty has increased, the problem persists and this is backed up by statistical evidence.
Society has conditioned you, and this includes if you are a Black women, to believe that Black women are less beautiful than other women or not beautiful at all. Have you ever heard the expression, “pretty for a Black girl?” or heard a Black woman asked, “You’re beautiful! What are you mixed with?” and considered the deeper assumptions on which these verbalizations are premised? Whether you are aware of this conditioning or not, you have likely to some degree internalized these messages as they relate to your own person or to others. You have been taught that there is a racial hierarchy of beauty that aligns with the accepted and fallacious racial supremacy hierarchy that is at the root of all racism. You have been fed messages that assert that thin, White blond women with blue eyes are at the top of this beauty hierarchy, nonmixed race fat black women are at the bottom, and that women of every other race, size, and mixture fall in line in terms of proximity to Whiteness and thinness, and it is implied almost any time the issue of beauty is raised. If you want to dismantle racism, it’s time to not just unlearn that, but to affirmatively challenge it the way
Black women always have tried to do and are doing with increasing efficacy of late. Beauty as a metric generally is hypothetically an extremely subjective one and yet it still holds a significant amount of power over how our world is structured in fairly predictable ways that align with the accepted hierarchy. As much as we may resist the suggestion and seek to consciously dismantle this reality, socially, human beings tie a significant amount of worth to perceived beauty. Even when we say that we value hard work, education, and scholarship, in reality, by nearly every metric, people who are deemed beautiful receive better treatment in society and have better outcomes. When we corroborate the lie that Black women are not beautiful, we exclude Black women from or default an entire race of people to the periphery of what is deemed to be beautiful, and as a result impose an extensive often overlooked form of systemic oppression that results from that exclusion. Being seen as less attractive has real and significant social, opportunity and financial effects The art in museums, the Mona Lisas
There are of course deviations and variations in individual preferences, but even those exist on the spectrum of white proximity and are fairly standardized. Sometimes these micro-preferences elevate women of color to a higher status, but usually, this elevation is premised on “exotic features,” that are generally associated with having mixed-race ancestry. Too often when Black female beauty is highlighted, it is attributed to racial admixture. To step phenotypically away from Blackness as it relates to beauty is to be seen as more desirable in almost every instance. Because of this underlying spectrum, Black biracial women are often represented as non-mixed race Black in film and media because they are considered more beautiful by society at large which further marginalizes nonmixed race Black beauty. Sometimes this micro-fascination with mixed-race women of all races rises to the level of fetishization. This is why bleaching creams sell so prolifically throughout the global south even where the majority of people aren’t necessarily genetically Black or White, like in India and other South Asian nations. Because of the pervasive nature of White Supremacy, every society on earth has adopted the notion that Black is less beautiful and White and White proximity are more beautiful.
Regardless of what the media would have you believe, Black is beautiful. The discrimination against Black women that arises from this false hierarchy is usually premised on four things: our hair, our skin, our facial features with particular focus on our nose and lips, and our body types. On an even deeper level, we are taught that our ways of being in the world aren’t beautiful either including the ways that we talk and behave, our independence, and our assertiveness— and this is used to justify our relative rates of marriage and single motherhood. We struggle constantly against the narrative that we are angry, or too loud, or too challenging for being born in Black bodies and that this is ugly and we are therefore are undeserving of romantic love of marriage. We get it from all sides, from other women Black and not Black, and Black men and non-Black men alike including of late from 50 Cent and Lil Wayne. If when reading this you are considering whether I’ve just described our entire persons, you would be correct. Anti-Black beauty discrimination isn’t regulated to one feature, it is targeted against the entire being of Black women and this is precisely why it is so oppressive and dangerous. We are told or reminded in innumerable ways explicitly and often time through our omission from the conversation around beauty altogether, that our facial structure is undesirable and that our natural hair and hairstyles are unpresentable presumably because they deviate too far from Eurocentric norms, that our skin is too dark, and that our buttocks are too big. We are told that less tightly curled hair is more beautiful than nappy hair and that straight hair is more beautiful than less tightly curled hair. We are formally told that to be presentable at work our hair must be straightened or not be locked or styled in ways that are perceived to be too Afro-centric. We learn to hate and fear the word, “nappy,” itself and have just begun to truly challenge the idea that our hair is inherently bad because it isn’t straight or curled a certain way. This messaging somehow reaches us wherever we are in the world, even in the most remote places and even when we don’t grow up around non-Black people. Toni Morrison’s seminal work, The Bluest Eye, illustrates this issue more effectively than any essay I might write could. It is a literal miracle that so many Black girls have not wholly internalized these messages even though they are aware of them, and have made it to womanhood with such selfconfidence and love given the way our beings are handled and discussed so adversely, sometimes by our own people. In another departure, sometimes body types associated with Blackness are celebrated, but usually only in a way that relates to sex. Attention is drawn to body types that are associated with Blackness, that favor wider hips, larger thighs and buttocks, and more voluptuous figures, or the hyperbolized versions of them that are popular now on social media is predominantly sexual and exists as a subset of beauty that hasn’t infiltrated the mainstream fashion and beauty industry, except perhaps for outliers like Beyoncé and Jennifer Lopez. Fat Black women are too often excluded from the conversation on beauty altogether, although that too has begun to change. When a non-Black individual’s preferences deviate from the hierarchy, society names it in a cautionary way. If a White person prefers Black partners, they are racistly accused of having “jungle fever,” and visa versa. This derogatory term is meant to shame the designee and to ensure that the hierarchy of beauty as it exists remains in place by shaming and ostracizing deviants in order to prevent them from overthrowing the hierarchy in favor of another one that does not bolster White supremacy. None of these micro-preferences truly challenge the underlying premise, they just reflect deviations, even if they are frequently criticized, that, because they themselves perpetuate the idea that a spectrum of beauty exists by standing in contrast to it, affirm the larger hierarchy. And the demoralizing reality of how beauty is structured in our world doesn’t always end at our doorsteps. At home, we often are tasked with challenging our loved ones and fighting internal hierarchies within the Black community that are centered on Whiteness and proximity to Whiteness to protect ourselves and our daughters and sons from the impulses that say that lighter is better, that lighter colored straight hair or
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relaxed curls are better, that more White appearing noses and facial features like lighter eyes are better, that exotic is better, and from internalizing and adopting this toxic anti-self thinking. In our own communities, from the time we are small Black girls are sometimes admonished to stay out of the sun. We are encouraged or feel compelled to chemically or otherwise straighten our hair despite known health risks or to wear elaborate hairstyles including weaves, wigs, and extensions meant to make our hair mimic less Black hair. Sometimes our own mothers do it for us. We are taught to contour our noses using makeup. For Afro-Latinas, where this thinking hasn’t been unlearned, there are persistent reminders to “mejorar la raza,” or better the race, that hangover every dating choice or marriage prospect. The weave industry exists in part because Black women have been taught to hate our natural hair and even our permed or texturized hair and to force it chemically or in other ways to look more like White and other non-Black people’s hair. Without discounting the fact that many Black women have naturally long hair, we’ve been taught that long hair is the most beautiful and that short hair is less beautiful which works against those of us who have tightly coiled hair that while it may be long, doesn’t show it or who just have short Black hair when we attempt to challenge the premise that long hair isn’t inherently more beautiful, which of course it isn’t. From time to time the beauty industry itself dabbles in challenging this idea, but it is usually only for a season and doesn’t seem to translate to Black women. Twiggy’s short hair created a cultural storm for this exact reason as a trend as I’m sure the styles of the 20s did also. Lately, there does seem to be a slight movement toward androgyny within the beauty industry which includes a preference for shorter pixie cuts. Still, the default preference for long hair that has historically been the predominant preference persists to the detriment of Black women. When I straighten my hair, which I usually do about once a year, I’m told more often by non-Black people how beautiful I am. I think this in part because when my hair is straight, I adhere more closely to these stated standards of beauty which in every other community on earth includes a strong preference for straight hair. I’ve been natural for nearly 15 years now, but this constant affirmation of the “beauty” of my straight hair is actually why I stopped wearing my hair straight as frequently as I used to. I hated knowing that my doing so was reinforcing these standards. The Black community has made great strides in unlearning this lie about our hair in the last 60 years, and very rapidly in the last 15–20 as the natural hair movement is so much more than a fashion trend. I’m grateful to an ex-boyfriend who questioned me about why I wore my hair straight at all and especially for special occasions whose line of questioning progressed my thinking. When we pick up a magazine, Black women must fight thoughts that erupt from the pages that don’t light us properly, or apply our makeup appropriately or don’t think we're fashionable or elegant or beautiful enough to even grace their covers or their pages in any meaningful way. To the extent that the magazine industry is premised on aspiration, the message has been clear. Black women and Black beauty have not historically been seen as aspirational. And if and when Black women do land the covers, it’s still news when Black photographers photograph Black subjects or when a makeup line releases basic powders that accurately reflect our skin tones, a fairly recent trend thanks in large part to Black women like Pat McGrath and Rihanna via her Fenty Beauty line. That consistent exclusion and misportrayal creates a subconscious awareness of how little value society places on Black beauty and Black artistry. Even when we reach the glossy covers, through negligence or ignorance on the part of magazine teams and editorial boards, we aren’t always presented in ways that affirm us or our beauty. Black women continue to rely on one another to create space for who we are within the diverse spectrum of Black femininity and beauty so that we can feel safe in our bodies and norms of being. As Black people become increasingly empowered and able to produce our own content, the narrative around what is beautiful has shifted. We rely less on mainstream magazines and media for affirmation than we historically have because these are no longer the exclusive source of beauty imagery. To feel seen, Black women, have
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BEAUTY ISN’T A SET THING AND WHAT WE PERCEIVE TO BE BEAUTIFUL CAN CHANGE IF WE HAVE THE APPROPRIATE INTERACTION WITH IT
always and continue to create our own safe spaces where Black beauty and women are celebrated, usually by other Black women and this is true from the time of the publication of the first magazines directed by Black women. More recently, we have begun to use social media as a means of resistance to the idea that we are unattractive by default. The Black hair salon has also always been and continues to be our safe haven, even when our natural hair wasn’t on the menu and many now have Instagram pages showcasing our hair and style in all its variations. Black people launch hair and makeup brands and make video tutorials on YouTube about how to style our hair and how to do our makeup. We comb each other's hair at home with love and dedication and sometimes complaint. We see each other’s beauty and sometimes acknowledge it simply by saying, “I see you,” or “Yes, Queen.” If you want to unlearn this lie about Black beauty, and haven’t done so before now, start now by looking more often at images of Black women, especially created or taken by Black artists, by actively seeking them out. Beauty isn’t a set thing and what we perceive to be beautiful can change if we have the appropriate interaction with it. Whether you are Black or not, the more you look at any group of people, the more you will be able to distinguish the differences that exist amongst that group, and the more you will be able to see the beauty and the beautiful diversity that exists there. Buy Black magazines. Follow Black women on social media. Consume Black art. Really look at Black women. If you do this, you will begin to unlearn the lie about Black beauty through sustained exposure to it. In an ideal world, we would place no tangible value on outward beauty. We would focus instead on the things we say we truly value. Until we are able to create such a world, we must work constantly to be vigilant against the internalization of these messages around Black beauty, in our self-talk, in how we style our bodies and beings, in our buying choices, and in raising our children.
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