all she does is complain this is why I complain in my opinion black beauty influences are unsung heroes of the diversity equity inclusion movement so let’s talk about it my sister is a contemporary dancer and amazing contemporary dancer and as a kid I watched her do really cool things like commercials and really big dance showcases because of her talent and more than once I’d watch her come home distraught because a makeup artist or hair stylist said they could not do her hair or they could not do her makeup because of her blackness this is a real trauma for black performers and black influencers and creators and The Hollywood Reporter even has a story about this called we’ve all cried in our trailers and this shows the trauma that occurs when someone is told their skin is too dark or their hair is too textured to receive beauty treatment and it’s not just a humiliation that can occur from having a poor hairstyle or a poor makeup job for example I think about Kat Graham and her treatment on Vampire Diaries and how so many black women called out how there was something not right about how she was presented versus other characters and you’ll see this next clip how emotional cat is to be working now with black hair stylist and black makeup artist who respect her and value her as a human being one of the clips that has gone viral and millions of people have seen is Kat Graham sitting in your chair I get emotional thinking about it because she was being seen by you what was that exchange like in the moment I wanna cry right now when I walked in she literally jumped out of her chair and like welcome me like I was like a queen it just reinforced the importance of what we all do but it’s not just a mortification it’s also the damage that can occur to someone skin or hair Empire Diaries redborn um a lace front for many years so the glue and the clips and the pulling and the braids were hard on my hair Someone’s skin or hair can be damaged from poor knowledge for example Taraji P Henson talks about how her roots were damaged by a poor stylist on a set and so we can see real trauma occur for black folks again within the creative industry ultimately this is why I’m a huge fan of black beauty influencers like Gloria and the phenomenal work that they do a few months ago Gloria went viral for calling out euphoria for creating a foundation for dark skin that was essentially just black face paint and recently she also called out Hailey Bieber’s brand Rhode for creating a non inclusive blush and what’s beautiful is Rhode responded by creating a more inclusive blush this is why I complain you see how beautifully flushed I am without looking ashy oh and you thought we were done there’s another one this is why you advocate for yourself you see what happens whenever you’re not complacent and that’s what we call redemption she and other black beauty influencers are doing the work of humanizing black skin within the beauty industry and they’re making sure that no black creators black influencers black actors or musicians feel lonely and isolated within a makeup chair they need inclusion everywhere including within the beauty industry and thank you so much for watching my name is Ciara I’m a DEI consultant and a theologian so follow me for more content like this