02/04/2026
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐น๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐๐ถ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ต ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ผ ๐บ๐ฒ?
For years, I treated it like any other month โ honoring it in theory, but not really connecting it to my own lived experience. This year, I asked myself a deeper question: ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฆ๐ด ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ค๐ฌ ๐๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ๐บ ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ด ๐ข ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ค๐ฌ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ ๐๐ฎ๐ข๐จ๐ฆ & ๐๐ข๐ด๐ฉ๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด๐ถ๐ญ๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐ต?
When you work in image, you quickly realize something: the way African Americans are perceived in this country is still shaped by narratives we didnโt create. From slavery to now, our image has often been defined for us โ and too often, defined negatively. Yet throughout history, our clothing, our style, and our creativity have been acts of resistance and declaration. Fashion has always been one of the ways weโve said, โ๐๐ฆ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐บ.โ
Iโm not a historian, but I understand the power of how we show up. Image is not superficial โ itโs psychological, cultural, and deeply personal. And for African Americans, it has always been a tool of visibility, dignity, and self definition.
Growing up in a military family, my father used to say, โThereโs only one color in the Army โ green.โ That mindset helped him survive and collaborate, but it also made it harder for me to understand my own Blackness. Over time, I realized what he was really teaching me: we all have a role in shaping the world we want to live in. We all contribute to the collective image of who we are.
This month, Iโm reflecting on how I contribute โ through my work, my presence, and my voice. And I invite you to reflect too:
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐บ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ท๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด? ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ฒ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ต๐ผ๐ป๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ผ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐?
Marianne Williamson once wrote, โ๐๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐ง๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ ๐ช๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ. ๐๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐ง๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ ๐ช๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ง๐ถ๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐บ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆโฆ ๐๐ต ๐ช๐ด ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ญ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต, ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ณ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ด๐ต ๐ง๐ณ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ถ๐ด.โ
Black History Month reminds me that our light has always been part of our legacy โ and our image is one of the ways we let it shine.
๐ฆ๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐บ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ต, ๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐๐๐น๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ณ๐น๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐๐น. ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐น๐น ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ. ๐๐ป๐ฑ ๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ถ๐บ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฏ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ผ ๐๐น๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ต๐ถ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป.
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