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“I’ve been natural my whole life except for the time when I relaxed my edges and my edges have never been the same. I lived in Phoenix, AZ until I moved to Washington, DC for medical school when I was 24 years old. Having grown up around a majority of non-black people, I was kind of ashamed of my hair because people would always try to touch it and would...
“I decided to take time off before pursuing my undergraduate education. At the time, going natural and cutting my hair was me saying ‘no, I’m taking my power back’ because I was always looking for answers outside of myself. Loc’ing my hair has helped be more patient. I can visually see how strong and healthy my hair is as it grows and I mature. I’m excited to attend Howard University...
Shanel James will represent the United States at the 2017 Miss International beauty pageant to be held in Japan in November. Let’s show her some love! “I’ve been involved with the pageant world for about ten years. I went to a high school in Maryland that has a lot of former Miss Maryland USA contestants which exposed me to the pageant process. I’ve done multiple photo shoots which is amazing...
“I’ve been natural for a decade and quite a few of the women in my family have natural hair. I’ve cut my hair various lengths throughout the years. The only thing that’s changed is that it’s not as thick as it used to be because I’ve gotten older, but I’m glad! If my hair still had the same thickness then my arms would probably fall off from washing it.”
Patricia is another friend of mine. The kind of friend who you can talk to for hours about everything under the sun that’s related to being a black woman, race in America, politics, Afro-Latin culture and travel. We originally met while in a MBA prep program for women. She’s now pursing a higher degree in Italy! I’m sending her hugs and strength from afar. Thank you for sharing with me,...
Tarica June is a DC native, Howard educated Lawyer and hip hop artist. I first learned about Tarica when her song ‘But Anyway,’ chronicling the changing DC landscape due to gentrification went viral online last year. I had the opportunity to meet her after she performed at the most recent Creative Mornings DC gathering and thank her for taking time to share a bit of her story with me. “We’ve...
“I went natural in 2010 because I had headaches that I thought were related to chemical relaxers. At the time, I cut my hair super short. I have a hard time wearing my hair like this at work because I work in a relatively conservative environment. I only recently started receiving more support when another black woman was promoted into a senior position. I’ve applied for promotions, but have yet to receive one. One woman at work regularly asks me if I will cut a certain piece of my hair, but I always say no.
My boyfriend has locs that touch the ground, so he’s always been supportive of how I choose to wear my hair. I wish that he was here with me now, so that you could see us together.”
“I have come to realize that it’s much deeper than that…” This quote is from a woman who I met and interviewed on the street for Blooming Queens. She made the statement when referring to the mindset shift that occurred during her transition to natural hair. She let me know that gone were the days when she only focused on having super long hair because she entered a new phase...
“I decided to wear my hair natural for financial reasons. It was just easier to maintain. At the time, my daughter motivated me the most to transition to natural. It took a little while for my spouse to support the change, however. Now he’s okay with it.”
“Growing up in Indiana, people could be vehemently mean if you were different. Especially people within my own community. I’ve been natural for most of my life with the exception of one year. A memory that has stuck with me throughout life involved someone in middle school telling me that I would look less black if I straightened my hair. I decided to never let hearing things like that impact how I feel about myself or dictate how I wore my hair, however.”