🥹🥹Sweaty Eyeballs and Afros ✊🏾✊🏾

Heeey!

How’ve you been? I’ve been great and feeling cherished lately, all because of Mother’s Day. Hang on, hang on, hear me out for a second …

Even though it’s one of those “Hallmark Cards” holidays, it hit very differently this year. Maybe because my children were so heavily invested in making it a special day for me…It was truly the first time that it’s ever been such a HUGE deal in my household with nostalgic elements thrown in by way of food reminiscent of my childhood and prepared by my very own first-born. My mind is still blown by the fact that he’s old enough to organize and prepare a meal now. Nevertheless, considering what a thankless job motherhood is, I have to say that the gratitude on display gave me a case of sweaty eyeballs this past weekend 🥹…

I was also interested to learn that the American woman who birthed the whole idea of a Mother’s Day national holiday in the USA in 1908, Anna Jarvis, was so disgusted by how commercialized the day became after it was established, that she spent the final half of her life trying to remove it from the calendar. So, there you go, and you’re not alone if you’re feeling conflicted about Mother’s Day.

So, moving right along, what’s up with the ‘Milisuthando’ film poster image? Well, I’m glad you asked. It’s my cause for excitement this week because I’m going to a screening of the film in my city, Seattle. Read more about this critically acclaimed personal essay documentary later in the newsletter.

Ok, time to get into the otherbusiness of this week’s edition. Here’s what’s coming up:

-Latest Episodes

-Companion Listening

-Afros are going nowhere

-A Taste of Home - ‘Milisuthando"‘

One more thing before we get into it: A quick reminder to bring your friends along for a ride with the squad. And if this edition was shared with you, don’t miss the next one. Do de ting 👇🏾

LATEST EPISODES

BLACK BEAUTY COLLECTIVE

ICYMI There are two episodes available for listening on the podcast feed.🎉 Black Beauty Collective is the story of how founder, Leslie Roberson, decided to create a boutique space for black-owned beauty products. She was fed up at having to trek across town to find a beauty supply store, and as if to rub salt into the wound, none of the stores she visited were particularly inviting or focused on the customer experience. TBH it’s very rare that I’ve been in an “inviting” beauty supply store that stocks hair and skincare for black clientele, let alone indie beauty brands. So,I plan on visiting Leslie’s store in Chicago when I’m in town. She also has plans to open three more locations in the USA. You can hear more about all of that on the podcast.

INTENTIONALLY SELFISH

🎧….“Intentionally Selfish”, is an interview with Naketa Thigpen from the Thigpro Balance and Relationship Management Institute. With so much noise in the personal development and self-help space, it really is getting harder to cut through the noise and get what you need. Naketa is the real deal and is a qualified Clinical Social Worker. She works with clients who are dedicated to serving their own communities (required for enrollment in her programs) and they can be “power couples” or “potent individuals”. Find out more on how the metaphysical and practical combine in Naketa’s practice in this multi-layered and beautiful story.

COMPANION EPISODE: “ACCIDENTALLY BEAUTIFUL”

One of my favorite entrepreneurial stories is one from South Africa about a woman whose idea was inspired by an adventure while attending a wedding in Cape Town. The story goes, that the bridal party was looking for a hair stylist and they couldn’t find anybody online, so a member of the group decided to do something about it. That member was Mathebe Molise, founder of Beauty On Tapp. She immediately decided to launch a listing platform where you could find hair stylists and make up artist wherever you were in South Africa. Later she pivoted the business and turned it into an online beauty and personal care marketplace. South African online shoppers could finally access their local and international favorites. Today, thanks to momentum built during the Covid lockdown, there’s been no stopping Beauty On Tapp. Sales went through the roof as South African shoppers got more comfortable with online shopping. In 2022 Mathebe and her team launched their in-house brand, Pastry Skincare and this year, they opened their first bricks and mortar store in a prestigious shopping center in Gauteng province. Learn more about how Mathebe’s ten year plus overnight success.

THE AFROS ARE STAYING

Over the next few episode, Shades and Layers will be featuring stories about indie hair care brands, because it’s a conversation that refuses to go away and I want to continue to amplify the voices that are making a difference in this space, until nobody is made to feel out of place for the way their hair grows out of their head.

The New York Times has an archive of modern stories dating back to the 1960s when the US military banned afros. There’s even as soldier who was jailed and expelled from the army for not obeying the rules of the army and refusing to cut his afro. And more recently, comedian Trevor Noah had his afro pick confiscated at an airport because the security officers didn’t know what it was. A South African school principal landed themselves in hot water for asking children to cut their afro hair. For me, this particular story highlighted the deep anti-blackness we have internalized. The pupils involved, belong to the Shembe religion, which has its roots firmly in both African religion and tradition, as well as Christianity. Their parents argued for them to keep their afros and remain in school on grounds of religious freedom and the local school authority acted swiftly to get the letter retracted. The question is: would the same principal have asked a Sikh child to cut their hair and stop wearing their turban?

Further to this, my social media timeline sometimes has notices about a class action lawsuit targeting hair straightener manufacturers, after a link was found between the use of these chemical and cancer in black women. And how many of us escaped the tyrrany of having to straighten our as young girls? I will save this rant for another day. For now, I will share some food for thought with you in this article from the Harvard Business Review, on how Hair Discrimination affects black women in the workplace. It’s not a problem unique to the USA.

So, even though the creator space is now filling up with other so-called trends, the hair conversation is still vital and we should continue to highlight it and call out the bull dust. The fact is, we also don’t know nearly enough about our own hair, there isn’t nearly enough available out there to help us out of a jam in our socially disconnected DIY culture. Heck, I’m on a wait list that will open mid-June for someone to style my natural hair, without extensions or hair straighteners. So, I can only hope the upcoming episodes will fill in some missing knowledge gaps for you and that the stories will touch you and make a difference in your life.

FINAL WORD….A TASTE OF HOME

Speaking of discrimination, here’s a film you need to look out for in your indie circuit. ‘Milisuthando’ is a personal essay documentary by award-winning South African writer, filmmaker and cultural worker, Milisuthando Bongela. This eight year long project got its debut last winter at the Sundance film festival, to much critical acclaim and has been on tour around the world since. I’m so excited because MIlisuthando herself will be in Seattle this weekend to present it at the Seattle International Film Festival. Milisuthando worked at my former company, Black Rage Productions before moving on to become an award-winning writer. It will be good to get a taste of home, but also see my country through the eyes of a member of the last generation to be born in Apartheid South Africa. Watch out for it in your city or suggest it to your local international film fest.

WHAT ARE YOU UP TO?

So, what are you up to this weekend? What are you reading, what are you watching? Send me an email: [email protected] or find me on Instagram.

And one more recommendation…if you can, do yourself a favor and watch this PBS film called Boss: The Black Experience In Business and let me know if there’s an equivalent or similar film out of the African continent or in the rest of the diaspora.

That’s it from me! Until next time, please do take good care!

Cheers,

Kutloano

(your host with the most)