Come on queeeen! As African American women and women of African heritage, we must BIG UP OURSELVES. In case you don’t know what that means, watch this video to find out more and what our beautifully underrated qualities are.
Underrated quality #1:
The rich diversity of our skin tones
- I’m always amazed by the beautiful depth and range of our melanin. All melanin is beautiful!
- We have a natural glow and radiance of our dark skin that makes us magnetic. Think about it: when you enter a room, do you find yourself being drawn to the others who look like you? Well, that’s why!
- It’s crucially important to embrace all skin tones, since historically we were taught to celebrate lighter tones only. I am accutely aware of colourism having been raised in the Caribbean where lighter skin tones were highlighted in media. You may even have experienced it on your own family, with lighter hued family members made the “favorites”.
- Personally, it took my mother’s encouragement of my beauty and the representation of African skin on the walls of my home before I started “biggin up mehself”. I encourage you to appreciate your melanin skin!
Underrated quality #2:
Our distinctive hair textures and styles
- Listen. We have hair that defies gravity! Doesn’t this alone make us magical? We should celebrate this!
- I didn’t know what to do with my hair growing up (perhaps like you)? To make my hair “acceptable”, involved Sundays in the kitchen to have my hair pressed or cornrowed. As I got older, my mom allowed me to “relax” or perm my hair. I thought that was the only way to be accepted.
- Then got tired of it in January 2005. I purchased my box of Dark and Lovely and never used it. I was tired of the smell of the chemical, the scalp burns and the process of having to go through this every month.
- From there, I let my hair grow out and then transitioned into locs for the next 10 years. Then I chopped it all off – and here I am today, fully natural and rocking a wash and go, sometimes twisted, sometimes braided lewk 🙂
- The sheer versatility of our natural hair textures of curls, coils, and kinks always makes me smile and leaves me awed. Our hair is infinitely creative with more popular natural hairstyles such as afros, braids, twists, and locs.
- I encourage you to love your hair. Get to know your hair and embrace it as it is!
Now over to you:
- What do you love about African American women? Comment and tell me below!
- And finally, if you want more videos like this, plus travel hacks and more, then get in touch and sign up for my FREE training: 3 Keys To Living a Life of MORE. Click here to do that (it’s FREE!)
Huggin’ you up…
Esha
About Esha: Esha Herbert-Davis is the Carnivalista in Chief of the Carnivalista Lifestyle. While traveling to see 5 out of 7 continents, she has unlocked her self love and teaches others to do the same. She’s passionate about loving yourself through amazing travel. To learn more, visit her website: click here.