Every year we talk about Black History Month, what it means, should we still celebrate it, how do we celebrate it…the debate goes on. This year, instead of just talking about it — I got the chance to BE about it.

For Black History Month I was invited to speak at the University of Notre Dame by an amazing student group called Shades of Ebony. These girls were so inspired, so brilliant, so genuine…being around them made me yearn for academic life and that kind of environment of constant mental stimulation. Erdina Francillon, the current president of Shades, is the opposite of me in college. She is motivated, ambitious, organized, and amazing. I can’t wait to see what she does after she graduates!

Shades of Ebony planned a special event for Black History Month, titled BeaUtiful. The idea was to discuss and celebrate black beauty. The event was thrown by and for the members of Shades, and the intention was to also reach out to young girls from the community of South Bend, Indiana — girls from local high schools and even a few middle school girls came out despite the intense cold and deep snow, to participate in the event. My friends at Carol’s Daughter and Dr. Miracles very generously donated gift items for the girls who participated.

BeaUtiful was intended as a multifaceted event. Outreach to the girls of the community, a chance to speak and consider some of their own self-esteem and self-worth issues, and a chance to inspire (and in turn, be inspired by) each other.

I was brought there as a special guest speaker, along with amazing artist Dawn Okoro. Dawn’s art is incredible just on the computer screen. In real life? Oh WOW. I just want to decorate my whole living space with her work. Click here to buy prints!

We were both asked to deliver speeches about what inspired us to do what we do, and what beauty means to us. I shared my background, my ideas about the beauty icons who have inspired me, and my suggestions for living a life that’s filled with beauty.

It was an incredible experience for a few reasons. First, I was just honored to be invited to such a prestigious institute of learning. And second, this was a big first for me. Please be gentle. This is the first public speaking I’ve ever done.

As you can hear from the response, they liked me. They really liked me! The feeling of that applause at the end…I can’t quite put it into words. It was a very, very proud moment. Could this be the beginning of a new chapter, where I do more public speaking appearances? I hope so. I feel so much less fearful than I did in the past.
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In the midst of achievement and success, sometimes you’ll also encounter jealousy, anger, and competitive energy from unlikely sources. That’s what I’m dealing with now, bellas. That kind of negativity can be disquieting to the spirit.

On days when it gets to me, I tend to do as my mom suggests and shroud myself in prayer, or to reread the Desiderata — the poem that basically outlines the way I try to live my life. Or — as I told fellow blogger Game Well and Truly Over for his 2010 Music Project — I listen to a song that makes me feel protected.

Yesterday I found solace in the poetry of Maya Angelou. And this is probably a poem we’ve all read before, but it helped me out in a time of trouble this week. So I hope it does the same for you.
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I can be astoundingly picky when it comes to photographs of myself. I. Love. This. Photo. It was taken by amazing photographer Dan Chen, for an upcoming project that I am SUPER excited about (but can’t share with y’all just yet, but I can’t wait to tell you about!)

BTW, I mentioned this fabulous top when I mentioned my Silhouettes blogger boutique — do you like it? If you do, click here to buy it, and click here to check out my blogger boutique!

Today I am honored and excited to share an interview I did with Renae of In Her Shoes. We touched on everything from the best advice my mother ever gave me, to an average day in my life, to my thoughts on life in Chicago. Click here to read it. And if you’re not savvy to In Her Shoes yet, click here to read this amazing, inspiring blog. And click here to follow Renae on Twitter! She is a GREAT person I am delighted to know.

Thank you SO much for the opportunity, Renae! I hope you like my interview, bellas!

Wow. It’s kind of crazy to sit back and reflect on how much my life has changed since August 2006.

Back when I started Afrobella, there weren’t nearly as many other natural hair blogs or websites on the scene, and there weren’t that many sites that specifically sought to celebrate the natural beauty of women of color.
Please feel free to step in and correct me for any oversight. Back then I remember regularly reading Motown Girl, Nappturality, and perhaps Going Natural was around at that time too. Beauty bloggers I remember regarding as my peers were The Makeup Girl, All About The Pretty, 55 Secret Street, and the Organic Beauty Expert.

YMIB started around the same time that I did, and I know she’ll agree it’s been an amazing journey indeed.

Since I started this here blog, it’s evolved into much more than just an outlet for personal expression, and much more than just the online version of the print magazine I wanted to read but couldn’t find anywhere. Afrobella has changed my life completely.

Initially this was an outlet from the box my job had penned me into, a platform to share the ideas that my former editor in chief wasn’t trying to hear. Flash forward to 2009, I’ve quit that job and left those restrictions behind. Now I’m trying my damndest to make this the thing that I do full time. I moved from Miami to Chicago, and have found a new outlook on life. So far, so great!

When I look back on my earliest blog posts, I see how far I’ve come and how much I’ve changed. There are things I regret, series of posts I started passionately then lost steam on, and experiences I’ve learned from. Through it all, my mission remains the same — to shine a positive light on the lives and the beauty of women of color, to inform and uplift those of us who find ourselves outside of what the mainstream magazine industry chooses to continually feature. My mission is to encourage more and more women of color to love ourselves as we are. I’m gonna keep on keepin’ on!

This morning I woke up to amazing news — I’m a finalist for the Best Culture category in the 2009 Black Weblog Awards. I’m psyched to be nominated alongside so many of the friends I’ve made in the blogosphere, and it’s a true honor to have made the list. What a wonderful validation. Click here to vote!

To celebrate this anniversary, I’m getting back to Afrobella basics. This month is entirely devoted to celebrating black beauty in our glorious variety. Like I always say, all shades of beautiful. And like the other thing I always say, the best is yet to come!

Thank you all for reading and supporting my blog. It means the world to me!

This August, I’ll celebrate my third bloggerversary, and believe me when I say it’s gonna be a special month. When I started Afrobella in 2006, I wouldn’t have even dreamed it would find the kind of reception and regard it’s managed to find. I am truly so blessed, and so grateful to all of you who read my blog.

Recently Konector, a site that ranks the online impact factors and audience profiles of blogs around the world, ranked the top 50 Beauty Blogs. The complete ranked list hasn’t been released yet, but I’m so proud to report that Afrobella is number 7 on the list, and “has set itself up as the beauty site for African Americans.”

Can you see me, smiling from ear to ear?

I am so thrilled, and I plan to continue doing the best that I can — celebrating you and you and you and you, women all shades of beautiful.

In other happy happy news, I was recently named #12 on ChicagoNow’s Top 25 Twitter Users in Chicago list. And I just got here!

Needless to say, that’s tremendously encouraging news for this recent transplant. Every day in every way, Chicago proves to me that I made the right move at the right time. SO happy to be here, and SO happy to be on the list. Thank you, ChicagoNow!

Whew, that’s enough good news for one post. Stay tuned for more wonderful things this month — August is going to be beyond fabulous for Afrobella readers, TRUST!

Consider this your daily reminder, courtesy of an old school Sesame Street clip!

I grew up a Sesame Street junkie, and this song was always one of my favorites. The empowering message resonated with me at an early age — “just look around you, it’s easy to see. There’s NOTHING we women can’t be!”

This year, Sesame Street celebrates 40 years of excellence, and according to that Newsweek article in the previous link, it’s ranked #15 in popularity of the children’s shows on air. That’s terrible news and I blame Elmo. Just kidding (I’m a Grover stan, for the record)!

It’s true, the Sesame Street nowadays isn’t quite the show I grew up on. But it’s still awesome and the messages of inclusion, equality, and respect remain. And for classic Sesame Street fans of my generation, all isn’t lost. You can get
Sesame Street – Old School, Vol. 1 (1969-1974) and Sesame Street: Vol. 2 – Old School (1974-1979). Your kids will LOVE it. And so will you!