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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...
*This is Blooming Queens first featured post! Featured posts indicate that we know someone personally or contacted an individual to request an interview after meeting them in person. More often than not, we’re interviewing women who we meet on the street, but we’d be remiss to not acknowledge the women who we personally know are great representations of Blooming Queens. This woman, in particular serves as a reminder to Carla to always own her voice in the workplace and not be afraid to be bold.
“Figuring out my curls took a while, but I mainly wore my hair curly instead of straight while in college. I realized that some men would only talk to me when my hair was straight, so I knew that wearing my hair curly sent a message about the person I wanted to attract which was someone who would appreciate my hair in it’s natural state just as much as when it was straightened.
I wear my hair down in all of it’s curly fabulousness. In IT, people like it because I have big hair and I’m typically one of a few women in my department. I never felt like I had to change my hair, however. At my current organization, people think that my hair looks beautiful.”
“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.”
“I first wanted to go natural because I wanted my hair to be super long and thick. I realized that my hair would’t be that way if I continued using relaxers, however. I’ve been natural for five or six years and have come to realize that it’s much deeper than that….I’ve changed the way that I eat since I’ve been natural because I’m more cognizant about what and how much I eat. I also pay more attention to the products that I use on my hair and skin.”