The Official My Black Is Beautiful

From the color of my skin, to the texture of my hair
to the length of my strands, to the breadth of my smile

To the stride of my gait, to the span of my arms, to the depth of my bosom
to the curve of my hips, to the glow of my skin....
My black is beautiful

It cannot be denied. It will not be contained.
And only I will define it.

For when I look in my mirror, my very soul cries out,
My black is beautiful

And so today, I speak it loud, unabashedly, I declare it anew.
My black is beautiful

Whether celebrated, imitated, exploited or denigrated
Whether natural from inside or skillfully applied
My black is beautiful

To my daughters, my sisters, my nieces, my cousins, my colleagues and my friends,
I speak for us all when I say again,

My black is beautiful

-Saundra Heath


I have always believed black women are beautiful in their own right, they are intelligent, eloquent, hard working, loving, progressive, diligent, caring and the list goes on and on. I experienced it first hand with my mother who possesses all the traits that I mentioned. I started developing an interest in this subject matter after listening to my mother's and sister's conversations, the picture wasn't pretty. After a while I started engaging them in their conversations, and the interest spilled over to conversations I would have with black women that I came across.

A recent Essence/P&G poll reported that 71% of back women feel that they are portrayed worse than women of other races.It goes on that many young girls are at risk of allowing the negative images of black women in media to define their standard of beauty. Not to overlook at the fact that negative body image programming has and is still affecting millions of
black women, and in the process affecting their full enjoyment of life, their productivity, as well as the states of those who love them i.e family and friends.

Black women must take back their image, as succinctly put by Najoh Tita-Reid, the brain behind Proctor and Gamble's "My black is beautiful "campaign.

The goal of this movement is to ignite a conversation by, for and about black women to bring about positive change in the way black women are reflected in popular culture. It encourages African American women to define and promote a beauty standard that is an authentic reflection of their spirit.

When you decide to engage in this conversations, you will freely express and share your own personal journey, and then take action as stipulated in the guide being followed on this thread.
I will post the questions on this thread, they are meant to stimulate insightful private reflection and rich conversations in this thread..

Ground Rules:

1.REMEMBER TO SPEAK ONLY FOR YOURSELF ABOUT YOUR BELIEFS, RESPONSES AND FEELINGS.


2.WE ARE HERE TO LEARN, AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER INTO FULLNESS

3. RESPECT AND RECEIVE OTHERS� OPINIONS AND WAYS, EVEN IF YOU DISAGREE. EVERYONE IS FREE TO SHARE THEIR UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE.


4 HONOR THE DIFFERENT WAYS THE ALMIGHTY WORKS IN INDIVIDUALS.


5.RESPECT THE PRIVACY OF ALL PARTICIPANTS.

6.NO HAZARDOUS WASTE MATERIAL I.E HATEFUL, DISRESPECTFUL IN NATURE.

With that said, the first question is:
" What is your first memory of feeling beautiful?"

Thanks,
Eric Odera,

Eric Odera is the owner of www.ericodera.com, and the publisher of the �How To Unlock Your Fitness Blessings" a FREE course, that speaks to the heart, stomach and pulse of the African American female who is battling with body image issues. It is laced with powerful solutions for building YOUR unique lean, strong and beautiful body as well as building YOUR self esteem, improving self confidence and ability to realize your God given destiny in relationships and career/business. Get your FREE copy of the �How to Unlock Your Fitness