LeToya Luckett Had To Forgive Her Father Before Finding True Love
Fellas, how y'all feeling? Ladies, y'all alright?
I don't know who needs to hear this, but it's time to break some generational curses when it comes to inherited pain. A woman's first love is her father and that relationship can set the tone for the rest of the male-female relationships she develops in her life, which can be a blessing… and a curse.
Guys are encouraged to be the type of men that they would want their daughters to date, but if a few men could keep it all the way 1000, if your baby girl brought you home a YOU, it would be sorry to this man. You would have to see him to the door. It's about time that we confront the fact that how we behave in romantic relationships has a direct correlation with how our children both perceive and receive love and LeToya Luckett knows this firsthand.
In a recent episode of OWN's Black Love Doc, the singer opened up about how she had to learn to forgive her father before she could heal and ultimately find the love of her life. LeToya, who is now a happily married mother-of-one, opened up about how infidelity and her first real heartbreak led her to have an uncomfortable conversation with her father. She explained:
LeToya Leaned on Her Father After Her First Heartbreak | Black Love | Oprah Winfrey Networkyoutu.be
"When I did get my heartbroken, I went up to his job and I said, 'I need to have a conversation with you' because this was the first time that I been cheated on and I knew he had done that to my mom."
LeToya explained that while there were no right answers to her questions, she needed answers nonetheless, even if the truth was hard to hear. She continued:
"So in my mind, I wanted to know, what a man thinks or what a person has to think to be able to do that to somebody else. So I'm going to talk to the person who introduced this to me into my life. So he took off work. And I said, 'Explain cheating to me. Explain how I'm supposed to get over this heartbreak. Explain to me why this person had to lie to me this whole time and was able to look me in my face. I wanna know.' And I think having that conversation with my father gave me healing."
LeToya, who welcomed her first child into the world in February of this year, said that she gained a greater understanding of her father that day, and not just as a dad, but as a man:
"I saw him not as just the parent hero, I saw him as a real person with flaws."
LeToya's somewhat uncomfortable conversation is a potent reminder that history will always repeat itself if we don't really understand and learn from it the first time it shows up in our lives.
To watch the full clip, click here!
Featured image by Instagram/@letoyaluckett.
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Taylor "Pretty" Honore is a spiritually centered and equally provocative rapper from Baton Rouge, Louisiana with a love for people and storytelling. You can probably find me planting herbs in your local community garden, blasting "Back That Thang Up" from my mini speaker. Let's get to know each other: @prettyhonore.
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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Sheila Rashid's Androgynous Approach To Unisex Clothing Is A Lesson In Embracing Individuality
The ItGirl 100 List is a celebration of 100 Black women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table.
For Sheila Rashid, it all started with some free-hand drawings and a few strokes of paint.
The Chicago-based clothing designer and creative director of Sheila Rashid Brand recalls using her spare time in high school to hand paint designs on t-shirts and distressed hoodies, distributing them to classmates as walking billboards for her art.
Rashid sought to pursue fashion design at Columbia College in Chicago but eventually took the self-taught route to build upon her knack for crafting one-of-a-kind, androgynous pieces.
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Thanks to the mentorship of local designers taking her under their wings, Rashid was able to gain valuable experience in putting together collections and creating patterns; equipping her with them with the necessary skills to pursue her own collections.
After two years of living in New York, Rashid returned home to the Chi and uncovered the unique flair she could offer the city. “I moved to New York after that because I wanted to be in the fashion capital world,” she tells xoNecole. “That's when I really got a leg up. I found myself when I moved back to Chicago after moving to New York.”
For the Midwest native, inspiration comes from her time around creative peers and the city’s notorious winters — known to be a main character in many Chicagoans stories. “It's a different perspective and mindset when I'm making stuff because of the weather here,” she explains. “When we get summer, it’s ‘Summertime Chi’ — it's amazing. It's beautiful. Still, I find myself always making clothes that cater to the winter.”
"I moved to New York after that because I wanted to be in the fashion capital world. That's when I really got a leg up. I found myself when I moved back to Chicago after moving to New York.”
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Many designers have a signature aesthetic or theme in their creations. In Rashid’s design story, dancing between the lines of femininity and masculinity is how she’s been able to distinguish herself within the industry. Her androgynous clothing has garnered the eye of celebrities like Zendaya, Chance the Rapper, WNBA star Sydney Colson, and more — showing her range and approach to designs with inclusivity in mind.
“I think I do reflect my own style,” she says. “When I do make pieces, I'm very tomboyish, androgynous. My work is unisex because I feel like everybody can wear it. I cater to everybody and that's how I try to approach my clothes.” From denim to overalls, and color-drenched outerwear, Rashid has mastered the structure of statement pieces that tell a story.
“Each collection, I never know what's going to be the thing I'm going to focus on. I try to reflect my own style and have fun with the storytelling,” she shares. “I look at it more like it's my art in this small way of expressing myself, so it's not that calculated.”
"My work is unisex because I feel like everybody can wear it. I cater to everybody and that's how I try to approach my clothes."
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Still, if you were able to add up all the moments within Rashid’s 20-year career in design, one theme that has multiplied her into becoming an “ItGirl” is her confidence to take up space within the fashion industry as a queer, Black woman. “Being an ItGirl is about being yourself, loving what you do, finding your niche, and mastering that,” she says.
No matter where you are on your ItGirl journey, Rashid says to always remain persistent and never hesitate to share your art with the world. “Don’t give up. Even if it's something small, finish it and don't be afraid to put it out,” she says, “It's about tackling your own fear of feeling like you have to please everybody, but just please yourself, and that's good enough.”
To learn more about the ItGirl 100 List, view the full list here.
Featured image Courtesy