Night on the Town: Mosaic Lounge

Night on the Town: Mosaic Lounge at Power Plant Live! Baltimore.  'Twas a good night.

Curly Fro - Wash and Go

Major Flat Twist All Around

Naturalista In Me

Sample Outfits (When It was Warm)

Summer Flat-Twist Updo (Natural Hair)

"Nothing Even Matters" Cover by Rudy Currence

For your enjoyment.

Original song: "Nothing Even Matters" - Lauryn Hill feat. D'Angelo

Ruby Bridges - Brave for Education

Ruby Bridges Painting by Norman Rockwell

Ruby bridges was such a brave little girl. I don't know if I would have been able to do this. It must have been terrifying, but education is so worth it. Don't forget about what the people before you have work so hard to put in place. That's why it's important not to take for granted the privilege to learn, sit anywhere you please on the bus, or simply coexist with people who are different from you. There is a lot of history for me to learn about. I shall no longer use the excuse that I am not very interested in history. How will be know where we're going if we do not know where we came from? Good question right? But really think about it. It holds much truth. In order to not make the same mistake twice, we've got to remember what went wrong before. I give thanks to those before me. In this modern society, we have many struggles of our own regarding civil rights of a different form. Let's get it together.

Embrace Your Body

Today, I decided to message the owner of a blog that I follow on my Tumblr called CurvesInColor.  What prompted me to message him was the realization that I had a change in perspective in how I view the beauty of people, the human body, in different forms (sizes, shapes, colors, ethnicities, etc.).  It's just very interesting how so society perceived nudity to be so wrong, when in reality we were born this way.  It's all about perspective and how it is placed in context.  Here is the message I sent and the response I received tonight.  The response was so heartwarming.

My Message to Curves in Color:

Hi, I just wanted to express that I appreciate the way that you present women of all shapes, sizes, and colors in their truest & most candid forms. It definitely takes a lot of courage to post things that most would view or interpret as obscene. That's where the problem lies. Honestly, it's all about perspective. To be honest, when I first saw your blog, I was a bit startled, because 1) I hadn't really seen images like yours so frequently, 2) I didn't know where you were coming from or what you were trying to portray, 3) and I had a few insecurities of my own that hadn't yet been addressed. After taking some time to look within and examine the root issue, I realized that what's considered "acceptable" is determined by how I view things. The world is not filled completely with negative people who degrade others. I'm just very happy that I can see past what looks unacceptable to others and admire the true essence of beauty as you have presented in your blog. Thank you for providing an outlet for inspiration and admiration of women who look like me.

Response from Curves in Color:

First and foremost I’m moved and humbled by your kind words Maleshia. I also appreciate and want to thank you for supporting the blog. I started this blog because when I joined Tumblr I didn’t see images of real black women or women of color period. I didn’t see stretch marks, textured afro’s, big thighs, and eccentric and eclectic style that I know and love about women of color. I’m from Texas, but I live in Brooklyn and I wanted to create a space that promoted and celebrated all things that’s considered negative by the mainstream. I post raw and real images of women that I believe to be beautiful. I catch a lot of heat for doing so, but people forget that it’s natural and GOD like to be naked in our skins. That’s why we are all born nude. Somewhere on this planet there is a girl with dark skin that she dislikes, somewhere there is a woman with wide hips, somewhere out there is a very skinny young lady with curly hair. Somewhere is a woman that’s a size 22, the point of this blog is to act as a stage of beauty for dark skin, thick hips, big lips and everything in between. So that if any of those lovely women may pass this blog, they will know that they are celebrated to the highest power by individuals that love their beautiful dark skin, thick hips, big lips and everything in between.
— curvesincolor

Check out the blog for yourself and tell me what you think.