Category: Lifestyle

The 2019 edition of the annual Curlfest was widely attended by several black people from in and around New York. They trooped to the Randall’s Island Park to celebrate the festival which is geared towards empowering women of various shades, shapes and sizes.

The festival, which was founded in 2014, drew attendees from around the world who are proud to celebrate their hair. The attendees took photos, purchased hair products and enjoyed another fantastic networking opportunity.

This edition was also an opportunity to celebrate after Califonia and New York recently signed a bill that banned race-based hairstyles discrimination which is a goal organisers have been hoping to achieve for years.

See photos below:

A certain healing energy was palpable at this year’s CurlFest in Randall’s Island Park. The gathering was part festival, part picnic, and full-on celebration of natural hair in the New York sun. Ankle-grazing braids and lavender-dyed coils swayed to the sounds of hip-hop, house, and Afrobeats, along with the Brooklyn United Music and Arts Program’s drumline. Afros nodded at inspirational reminders overheard at the Empowerment Stage: “move fearlessly when unpacking the trauma of colorism.” It was the sixth iteration of CurlFest and its largest yet, a place for women and men and children to unite and honor their own magic. In tents across the field, crowds enjoyed free samples of Oribe’s Curl Gelée and Deep Treatment Masques, others talked curly hair tips with DevaCurl, while Shine n’ Jam held a braiding station for those wanting cornrows.

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“Our vision is to spread the message that natural hair is beautiful, too,” said the event’s co-founder, Tracey Coleman, on the scorching July morning of CurlFest 2019. “Whether your hair is long, short, curly, wavy, kinky or whatever you choose to call it, this is for women around the world who don’t feel celebrated enough.” Coleman and her longtime friends Charisse Higgins, Melody Henderson, Simone Mair, and Gia Lowe began their journey to CurlFest in 2010, when they all went natural and turned to one another for support and advice. Eventually they become the Curly Girl Collective, and began planning events to spread the message of self-love. Their first CurlFest took place at Prospect Park in 2014— “the only natural beauty festival in the world that was created by five black women for black women,” Mair noted—to uplift other women on similar paths. “We want people to walk away from today with a silencing of their self-doubt and an amplification of their affirmations and healing,” Lowe said. This year’s CurlFest included an extra day of celebrations on Sunday, when guests were invited to attend an ’80s themed roller skating party, “Roller Set,” at LeFrak Center.

When it comes to summer curls, these queens have a few mantras they live by: “water is my hair’s best friend in the summer,” Mair shares. “We’ve been taught for so long to avoid it, but with natural hair, you can really embrace the health benefits it has for your hair, especially when it’s hot.”

“Don’t be afraid to embrace the humidity either,” Coleman adds. “The summer is the perfect time to learn how to let your hair be free and to get really get comfortable with embracing what you can’t control about it.”

“At CurlFest I felt like I could fully celebrate the rich culture and heritage embodied by our kinks and curls,” attendee Shari Cheverez said. “It’s a safe space.” Here, portraits from a day that proved the power of coming together.

I struggled with the title of this article. I considered the polarity of the words I intended to use and thought that maybe just this once, the situation called for a disclaimer. But the more I allowed the piece to manifest, the more I felt the title needed to be as raw as the reality. Not for the sake of luring readers with consciousness camouflaged as controversy, but because I’m no longer in the business of coddling people from their truth, especially Black men.

The truth is that Black women have lived in a perpetual state of fear and fantasy with Black men for a very long time. Black women have long carried an unyielding, sometimes unexplainable, loyalty to Black men even when that loyalty has cost us our lives. And although Black women have all but verbally committed to being a refuge for Black men’s ruins, for the sake of our survival we can no longer afford to do so.

Women like Sadie Roberts-Joseph, activist, educator and community organizer who dedicated her life to serving the African-American community through the veins of her second home, Baton Rouge, LA, come to mind. Ms. Sadie championed for her community, starting a nonprofit organization, Community Against Drugs and Violence (CADAV), to further the reach of her youth advocacy. Her most impactful contribution, the Baton Rouge Odell S. Williams Now & Then Museum of African-American History, the first and only museum dedicated to the preservation of African and African-American history in the city.

When police identified the body of the beloved community leader stuffed into the trunk of her vehicle and abandoned just three miles from her home, the community jumped at the assumption that Ms. Sadie was targeted for her fight against white supremacy and systemic injustice. It made sense that the people she’d targeted with her activism would make her the target of their violence. It didn’t make sense that she would fall victim to the very people she’d risked her life to serve.

According to a study by the Violence Policy Center, 9 out of 10 Black women murdered by men are murdered by men they know. In instances where the relationship could be determined, 91% of Black female homicide victims knew their killers, Ms. Sadie being no exception to that statement. Black female homicide victims were also most often killed during the course of an argument or disagreement. Like Mary Unique Spears, 27-year old mother of three who was shot and killed outside of a funeral reception in Detroit after arguing with a man who became enraged at her refusing his advances.

Black women are killed by Black men at a rate 3x higher than that of white women killed by white men. And while white men appear to be the standard Black men measure their behavior against, like when conversations about R. Kelly turn into pity parties about how white men get to be pedophiles with impunity, this particular comparison seems to never make the docket. Not only do Black women find themselves being killed by men they know, but most often by men they’ve extended themselves to, by men who’ve come to them after exhausting all other resources, having the expectation that these women will meet their needs in some empathetic way. Men like Ronn Jermaine Bell, 38-year-old convicted child rapist who served a seven-year sentence in connection to the aggravated rape of an 8-year-old girl. As a registered sex offender with restrictions on where he could live, work and socialize, Bell relied on the existential goodness of people to overlook his crime and recognize his humanness. Had it not been for Ms. Sadie allowing Bell to rent an apartment in one of her properties, Bell would’ve likely struggled to secure housing while branded by his scarlet letter. But Ms. Sadie chose compassion, if only that same luxury had been afforded her.

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What Ms. Sadie and many Black women fail to realize is that you cannot help people who are committed to hurting, whether that’s hurting other people or hurting themselves. Black women are socialized to see mistreatment from others as an obstacle, not an omen. We’re raised seeing our brothers and cousins coddled through their dysfunction while we receive tips on how best to cope with it later.

We create generations of Black women who feel obligated to repair broken Black men, so much so that many see self-preservation as abandonment or disloyalty. So much so that we will continue to implore one another to “hold a Black man down,” even if that means we’re held down in the process, just so we can brag on our unwavering, unrequited support. Support that has garnered us nothing in return.

Jacquelyn Smith, a 54-year old electrical engineer, supported her 52-year old husband of four years, Keith Smith, despite his string of armed robberies that cost him 12 years of freedom and earned him a felony conviction. She supported Smith and his adult daughter financially according to family, providing him with a very lavish lifestyle. And on December 1st, 2018, when Keith Smith stabbed his wife to death in the front seat of her vehicle, he would point to that very same generosity as the cause of her death, misleading the public to believe Smith was killed while giving money to panhandlers. Despite Smith’s giving nature, she aligned herself with a man who only knew how to take from her, eventually costing her her life.

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Black women can no longer afford to rescue wounded Black men. Yes, some of us eventually pay with our lives but these interactions have cost us so much more in the interim. We’re not just rescuing our intendeds, we’re rescuing our brothers, our fathers, our downtrodden male friends. We’re who they call when they need a place to crash, we’re who they call when they need a couple of dollars until payday, we’re who they call when the people they abandon us for turn their backs, we’re who they call when the rest of humanity is refusing to recognize the value of their lives, we’re always who Black men call when they’ve been wounded. Why is it that Black women are everyone’s first pick for savior but worthy to no one of being saved?

We’re just as disenfranchised as our male counterparts, serving a parallel sentence in this country of our kidnapping. Why aren’t we worthy of the support that is demanded of us? If this is the trajectory we’re going to continue to head down, one where we knowingly risk our lives for bragging rights and close call survival stories, ignoring the red flags and warning signs while cutting ourselves trying to piece together other people’s shards, I want off the ride. Black women, at some point, we have to choose life, our own. And regardless of the social backlash that comes with saying “My survival is more important than your rehabilitation,” it needs to be said, repeatedly, because it’s true.

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Prior to the arrest of Ronn Jermaine Bell, Black men responded to the death of Ms. Sadie Roberts-Joseph with rage. There was talk of protests and retribution, anything to see the assumed white supremacist responsible for her death brought to justice.

But when Baton Rouge Police announced they had arrested Bell, an African-American man, for suspicion of the murder of Ms. Sadie Roberts-Joseph, Black men responded with dismissal and denial. They went from being fully behind law enforcement to questioning their motives. They diverted energy and attention to baseless conspiracies, arguing that she was killed by the United States government to keep her from opening her museum, a museum she opened almost 20 years ago.

It wasn’t that fiction was more believable than fact, it was that acknowledging the facts surrounding Ms. Sadie’s death would require a level of accountability that coddled men do not possess. And men who lack accountability lack the capacity for change. With that said, if we do not disrupt the pattern on our end, discontinue the buffet of unconditional support and sacrifice, we cannot expect people who are intentional on emptying us to suddenly decide they’ve had their fill. Black women are worth protecting, worth preserving and certainly worth saving. Who better equipped to save us than ourselves?

Kimonos may not be a big fashion inclusion for most Africans but the ingenuity of Serge Mouangue, a Cameroonian designer with a global career in design, art direction and luxury textile design, is one that seems to be birthing a new interest for the popular, traditional Japanese clothing.

Created with the blend of carefully selected local African print fabrics and with the support from Japanese kimono designer, Kururi, the WAFRICA Kimono collections are bridging a cultural gap between Japan and the popular West African prints.

Born Cameroonian, raised and educated in France, employed in Australia and pivoted in Japan, Mouangue knows all too well that a singular identity is ill-fitting, hence his decision to explore the idea of blending the rich African print culture with the unique yet traditional Japanese kimono.

He describes his WAFRICA creations as the “encapsulation of both West African and Japanese ancient aesthetics of sophistication, mutual respect for animism and respect for the elders” into what he calls a Third Aesthetic.

Mouangue’s work, which heavily feature African designs on the traditional Japanese garment, are fine examples of an artistic fusion of cultures done right and proving further his belief that the West African-inspired kimonos are more than wearable art – they are physical representations of the meeting of cultures and the potential of cultures to evolve.

Through his designs, Mouangue challenges the tendency of traditions to close themselves off to new lived experiences and new modes of existence.

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“Wafrica is about hope and embracing the possibilities made available when the unique treasures brought by each of us are juxtaposed to form a new and enlightened international consciousness.”

While the designs retained the robe’s traditional shape,  the fabric used in the creations are sourced primarily from Senegal and Nigeria, according to Nigerian site Konbini.

Mouangue stated that their creation is not an attempt to make a fashion statement nor create a profitable business and commercial venture, but to start a conversation about cultural identities using Africa’s striking motifs and colorful patterns.

Kimonos have been traditionally used in Japan as everyday wear until it was replaced by Western clothes in the 1930s and is associated with politeness and good manners. The garment is now only worn during important festivals or formal occasions.

The Rastafari Council of Ghana is accusing the Ghana Police Service of actions targeted against a peaceful demonstration to oppose the criminalization of marijuana in Ghana.

The Council had originally scheduled today, Wednesday, 26 June 2019, to hold protest for the legalisation of cannabis after a failed attempt in April this year.

Countries like Canada, Uruguay and some parts of the US have legalised the possession and use of recreational cannabis, sparking a controversy about the importance of the substance.

Whilst some have explained the economic benefits of the narcotic drug, others have raised concerns about its health implications.

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The move by the Council to get government to consider its legalisation was halted by police.

Counsel for the group, George Tetteh Wayo, is accusing the police service of not following due process in getting the demonstration cancelled.

“I just had a call from my clients (Rastafari Council) that the police called them this morning and said there is a motion that they have filed which is coming off today (Wednesday),” he said.

He said the motion the police gave his clients “had no date and it was written there that the registrar will fix a date. It is irregular, I have never seen such a motion before”.

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Five-year-old Jare Ijalana from Lagos, Nigeria who was extolled recently as “the most beautiful girl in the world” after photos of her hit the internet is on her way to stardom.

The dark beauty, who became an internet sensation since she was first captured in 2018 by a Nigerian photographer, has now broken into the international modelling scene.

Described as “the new Barbie,” “absolutely stunning” and “doll-like”, Jare has recently been pictured with the international luxury brand, Princess Ford, a haute couture for kids.

In a few photos shared on her Instagram page, Jare looked as innocent and stunning as ever in her luxurious clothes from the international brand.

The photos also highlighted her astounding attributes – piercing bright eyes, smooth chocolate skin, and mature pose.

Jare shot to fame in 2018 when her image went viral after it was shared on Instagram by Mofe Bamuyiwa, the Nigerian photographer. It gained 16,000 likes within a short time of it being posted and now has over 56,000 likes.

Bamuyiwa expressed, “I could have made her smile and make her laugh out loud but I put her in their natural moments for us to see through their eyes!”

The attention garnered by Jare inspired her mother to create an Instagram page named “The J3 Sisters.” Jare’s two sisters have since been praised as well for their prominent features.

“All I want is for everyone to see Jare’s powerful potential. … I want the photo to speak to her when she has reached her adulthood,” Bamuyiwa said in 2018.

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Since her photos were first captured, international photographers have been making attempts to grab the opportunity to capture the dark beauty, according to Nigerian media.

Her photos from Princess Ford have received commendation from people who believe that the young beauty would have a fantastic career in the fashion and beauty industry.