Ebony Rocks

I do love it when magazines get all creative and produce numerous covers for a special issue. There is something really exciting and celebratory about seeing different covers of your favourite mag; it is a bit like putting pieces of a jigsaw puzzle together. So when I saw that picture of Mary J Blige channelling Diana Ross in her Mahogany mode, I was pretty smitten and then I found out via Harlem Loves that there are a whole bunch of covers featuring current African American stars as past African American stars from iconic issues and you can say I was pretty psyched. We have Nia Long as Dorothy Dandridge, Usher as Sammy Davies Jnr, Taraji P Henson as Diahann Carroll, Regina King as Eartha Kitt, Jurnee Smollet as Lena Horne, Yolanda Adams as Mahalia Jackson, John Legend as Duke Ellington, Lamman Rucker as Richard Roundtree, Blair Underwood as Sidney Poitier, Omar Epps as Muhammed Ali and Samuel L. Jackson as Martin Luther King. The covers are all really vibrant and eye catching. What a better way to celebrate the publication's 65th anniversary. This combined with the super duper double December issue of Essence which features the whole cast of For Coloured Girls means that the US Black magazines are stepping up their game and long may it continue.

You can find these special covers inside the November issue of Ebony which is the 'special collectors edition. 

Why I Love Being a Black Woman

In the 90s I used to buy back to back issues of Essence and devour every issues but after a few years I stopped buying the magazine as I felt that it stopped speaking to me. Essence to me was cardboard thin and full of uninspiring topics so I chose to spend my hard earned cash on magazines such as Elle and Grazia. Then last week on Twitter I came across an exciting campaign that Essence is running called ‘Why I Love Being a Beautiful Woman’ Featuring women such as as Kelly Rowland, Ledisi, Chrisette Michele, Wendy Raquel Robinson, Tichina Arnold, Tia Mowrya, Tamera Mowry, Lisa Wu-Hartwell and Tamala Arnold. Ledisi has even penned a song about the project called Real Women which conveys the feeling, inspiration and reality behind it. The ethos of the campaign champions the ideology of being a strong, confident Black women. All the wonderful attributes of being Black, female and beautiful are harnessed here. In fact Black is Beautiful is the theme of the July Issue of Essence which features Jada Pinkett-Smith as the cover star and where she talks about her issues regarding her body image (read Clutch magazine's take on this here) and how she felt insecure about her tiny frame. I have not seen the issue as yet we poor folks in the UK don’t get the US issues till a bit later than the US but I cannot wait to get my mitts on it.

When Black Became Beautiful - Part Three

Out of Africa

Era - 1975 to 2004 Commentators - Mikki Taylor, Marcia Ann Gillespie, Susan L. Taylor, Naomi Campbell and Iman

1975 witnessed the explosion of Iman onto the America fashion scene and boy did she cause an uproar. Some African Americans opposed her fanfare stating that African American women could never be perceived as beautiful and in order to find an example of Black beauty it had to be brought in from elsewhere. Hence the controversial and I think unfair acidic comment from Marcia Ann Gillespie, Editor in Chief at Essence who described Iman as looking like she was dipped in chocolate. Total ignorance I say as all she had to do was nip over to countries like Sudan and Ethiopia and she would have seen men and women with features just like Iman. However, this decade and the one after saw a series of breakthrough by Black men and women on both sides of the Atlantic. 1983 saw Vanessa Williams making history and to become the first lady to be crowned Miss America. We saw groundbreaking ads from Benetton that featured people of all ages from all nationalities and skin colours. I used to detest these ads because I thought they were cheesy but when I look back at it, these adverts were actually very pivotal in the way commercials are created these days. I mean where would Gap be of it was not for Benetton? So from embracing natural Black beauty the 80s moved onto embracing unconventional looking Blacks such as Mr T, Whoopi Goldberg and Grace Jones.

The 90s was when Naomi Campbell exploded onto the scene, Veronica Webb became the first black supermodel to win an exclusive contract for a major cosmetics company and Ford models signed their first Black model. Tyra Banks was seen on the cover of the coveted swimwear issue of Sport Illustrated. Fast forward to the late 90s with hip hop now in the mainstream it was also leading the way in beauty ideals. Enter Tyson Beckford who was an instant hit after landing a cover with Source magazine. He landed a contract with Ralph Lauren and helped to change the traditional rules of advertising. If Naomi was one of the supermodel of the 80s then Alex Wek represented the breed of the 90s. A lot of fuss was made over her ‘traditional’ African features and she appeared on glossy magazines all around the world. She never made the cover of Brit Vogue though, why? Because according to Alexandra Shulman, Ms Wek was too simply too skinny. O.K.

Since the 50s the paradigm has shifted and editors of magazines like Vogue no longer dictate the ideals of beauty because it is now directed by pop culture. Now we have had an all Black Italian Vogue and the magazine has repeated the all Black theme but this time have used Black Barbie dolls instead of models. I absolutely LOVED When Black Became Beautiful, I missed it when it was aired the first time but I managed to get a copy from my local library. It was so wonderful to see an in depth look at the way Black men and women have been represented in fashion, film, TV, magazines, music and sport. How we have transcended from being one dimensional, broken through the barriers and now we are in a place where all shades all of the spectrum are being represented. Tyra Banks sums it up beautifully.

“Right now you have Ashanti, Mary J. Blige and Beyonce and it is great because they can all co-exist.”

When Black Became Beautiful was produced by Tim Pritchard Productions. Click here to read the production notes on the documentary.

You can listen to Chantal Benjamin, a consultant on the programme and The Guardian journo, Hannah Pool discussing the show on Woman's Hour here.

PS: While we are on the subject of beauty, I am part of a group of wonderful women who are organisng an event called You're Beautiful, Woman which celebrates Black beauty in all forms. There will be talks, presentations, pampering sessions and workshops. It takes place on Saturday 15th August at Highgate Newtown Community Centre in North London from 10.00am to 6.00pm. Tickets are £5. Please come down to suppport. For more details please go to our website here.

When Black Became Beautiful - Part Two

Cornroes, Afros and Anything Goes

Era - 1960s and 1970s
Commentators - Pat Cleveland, Cicely Tyson, Marcia Ann Gillespie and Susan L. Taylor and Beverly Johnson.

Now this is when Black really became beautiful. Fashion was suddenly very youth orientated which was a complete contrast to the severe look of the 50s. In the 60s Donyale Luna became the first Black fashion icon and made the cover of Harper's Bazaar as well as becoming the first African American to grace the cover of Brit Vogue. This era would be known as where politics and civil rights merged with fashion and beauty. Sick of being treated like second hand citizens this is where young African Americans decided to stand up and shout out. This lead to the birth of the Black Panthers and the rhetoric, Black and Proud. A Miss Natural Standard of Beauty pageant took place where the aim was to celebrate the beauty of African American features. The contest had a no make and no straight hair policy and was very well received. Cicely Tyson took the natural look onto another level – onto East Side/West Side a popular national TV show where she rocked an afro. The Afro became an expression of Black pride. 1968 saw the creation of Essence, a magazine that put Black women first and celebrated their beauty and presence. This period saw the Afro move from being a political statement to a fashion one. Hence Marsha Hunt being featured in Brit Vogue wearing nothing but her Afro. Finally all forms of Black beauty were established and being represented. Also the catwalk finally caught up as well and in 1974 Beverly Johnson became the first Black model to appear on the cover of American Vogue.

Click here for Part Three.

Grab a Cup of Cocoa Diaries

Entertainment editor by day, blogger by night and a devoted mum and partner, Keysha Davis is certainly juggling a lot of balls. Her blog, The Cocoa Diaries offers the perfect blend of entertainment and pop culture from a Black British perspective. Set up over a year ago, this delightful blog covers entertainment, fashion, beauty, community, film & music. Basically if it's hip and happening you will find it in The Cocoa Diaries.

What made you start blogging?

I was inspired by the work of others. I’ve been an avid reader of blogs for a few years now, and decided to take the plunge and start one of my own.

Describe the concept behind The Cocoa Diaries?

When I first started out there were tonnes of blogs dedicated to entertainment and popular culture, but very few focused specifically on Black British culture. So I decided that that would be my niche. The ethos of The Cocoa Diaries is a celebration of Black British people and culture. It just so happens to coincide with a time when Black artists in the UK are doing particularly well. New artists like VV Brown, Laura Izibor and Shingai from The Noisettes are rightfully receiving lots of plaudits and media attention. And then you have the likes of Dizzee Rascal, who has just secured the No.1 spot and has the fastest selling single this year. That’s a huge accomplishment. Particularly when you consider that he started off as an underground artist. I want to be there to capture all these moments.

How do you think bloggers have made an impact on the media?

Blogs have impacted the media immensely. The speed at which bloggers can get information out to the general public means they have one up on traditional media. Alongside blogging, I am also a magazine journalist and I often use blogs as a port of call, especially when writing entertainment type articles. I do believe the two can co-exist though. I love the honest, subjective nature of blogging, but I also couldn’t survive without well researched, objective journalism.

What do you do when you are not working on your blog?

Running around like a headless chicken, pretty much. I work full time and have a four year old son so I’m one busy, harried and tired lady (who drinks far too much Red Bull). Aside from work stuff, I like to spend time with my fiancé and child - we’re quite a football mad household so there’s often plenty of screaming and shouting at the TV when Arsenal are playing. I also like to read novels, although I really don’t get enough time to do so. And then there’s netball. I’m part of a team and we play in a league, so I spend a couple nights of the week training and competing in matches.

Describe a typical day.

By day I am the entertainment editor for Pride magazine. I spend my day editing pages, writing articles, conducting phone interviews, and fielding calls that range from disgruntled readers who haven’t received their subscription in the post, to young girls who want to become a model. We are a very small team so it’s a very fast paced environment that can get quite crazy and stressful. By night I switch into mummy mode. That means cooking, bathing and bed time story, before usually dozing off myself (laughs).

What are your favourite glossy magazines?

To be honest I don’t read glossies as much as I used to as I‘m always on the Internet. I subscribe to Glamour and I buy Grazia and Look occasionally when I fancy a quick read on the train. I occasionally pick up Essence if I like the person on front of the cover, and that’s about it.

Name five blogs that you read religiously.

Madnews, Aliyasking, Harlem Loves, Waltzing Matilda and The Musings of Ondo Lady of course.

How do you see The Cocoa Diaries evolving over the next two years?

I’d like to see it evolve into a lifestyle online magazine . So essentially that means more frequent posts, interviews and features. My main issue is time, or lack thereof, so I am hoping to work with an editorial intern over the next few months to get more content out there. Ultimately I’d like to see The Cocoa Diaries recognised as a formidable brand. In my opinion traditional Black British media outlets still don’t fully recognise the benefits of online publishing, so it’s definitely something I‘d like to fully explore.

Beautylicious

Three ladies by the name of Kelly, Michelle and Beyonce are to blame for the use of the word Bootylicious. Yes that's right, the trio once known as Destiny's Child popularised the term with the release of their catchy single in 2002, which I must admit still sounds pretty damm good. Taking the lead from this innovation is a cute book called Beautylicious (exclamation mark) The Black Girl's Guide to the Fabulous Life. I came across this book last year while browsing through amazon.com, I was feeling pretty low at the time and needed something to boost my self esteem so I decided to buy it. It turned out to be a great investment; Beautyicious which is written by Jenyne M. Raines, a former beauty associate at Essence magazine (lifestyle magazine for African American women) is packed with tips on how to look and feel like a million dollars. Raines' mantra on beautylicious is that it is manifesto for going through life with a little swagger, a dash of sauciness and a lot of grace. Using women such as Lena Horne, Diahann Carroll and Pam Grier as role models, the book is divided into 10 sections that cover fashion tips, perk me up treats, beauty basics as well as smart entertaining and dating rules. The guide is full of elegant illustrations of gorgeous sisters and comes in a wonderful pink package. This book is beautylicious in everyway and dares you to be a diva in the best possible way.