Black Newscasters Are Shifting The Norm By Rocking Natural Hairstyles On-Air
Ladies....Black hair and corporate America, let's talk about it. We know this subject all too well, often with just a simple look.
Immediately, I think back to a conversation I had with a guy friend. He's an attorney with a love for only black women, and he loves everything that uniquely makes up the black woman, namely cornrows or box braids. He would often go to his multi-million dollar office, and look out to his multi-million dollar view, and actually try to count the black women at his law firm who would rock either style--ultimately just to be discouraged when realizing that euro-capitalism dictated that decision for us. Needless to say, he never found any.
I would often say, "We can't wear braids!"--which in hindsight, disgusted me for subscribing to these ideologies. My attorney friend asked, "Well, why not?"
And, while fumbling over my own words in an effort to explain, it dawned on me, "Yeah, why not?!"
This newfound liberation has been translating across many industries for the past few years, (even forcing new laws to pass) with many going viral by those who work in media—an industry where black women are often minimized. And thankfully, newscasters are collectively showing off their best representation of the versatility of our hair, even catapulting the hashtag #NaturalHairOnAir (which we love to see).
Like, Samaria Terry, who uploaded this picture to Instagram, complete with a caption we all knew too well:
Terry, a weekend sports anchor in Memphis, captioned the photo, "Mustered up the courage to rock braids on air!" With it, she sent the world wide web in a frenzy. Mainly because we understood, without her having to say much at all.
Or Lena Pringle, who boldly went short, and had the last laugh:
Pringle, of Jacksonville, FL, has sported a short, natural hairstyle since 2018, but this is the shortest she has ever gone. She decided to try out the chic style to boost her mood.
Or Tashara Parker, who got America together when they came for her buns:
Parker, of Dallas, TX, has always unapologetically worn natural styles, and will get you together if you have any problems with it.
There's Candace Coleman, who proudly sports her sisterlocks:
Candace Coleman, of Jackson, MS, took her first work headshots with her new, natural style, complete with a beat face, and a money-manifesting green dress.
And Demetria Obilor, who has happily made the non-tolerant uncomfortable for years:
Demetria Obilor of Dallas, TX, who, when she was a newscaster (Tashara Parker is now in her place) brought her blacknesssss to. the. set, m'kay?! She's openly who she is in her skin, and hair, and she doesn't care that you don't like it. We stan.
More and more Black news anchors are pushing for hair diversity and rejecting the old rules of broadcast journalism by wearing their hair on their own terms. Here's to normalizing our hair, as is, and not giving af who doesn't like it.
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Featured image by Demetria Oblilor, Lena Pringle, Samaria Terry/Instagram
Charmin Michelle is a southern native and creative spirit who works as a content marketer and events manager in Chicago. She enjoys traveling, #SummertimeChi, and the journey of mastering womanhood. Connect with her on Instagram @charminmichelle.
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Sabrina Dhowre Elba Admits To Not Initially Knowing Who Idris Elba Was When They Met
Model and entrepreneur Sabrina Elba recently recalled the intimate moments surrounding the fateful day she first encountered her husband, Idris Elba.
The couple, who have been together since 2017, met at a jazz bar in Vancouver when Idris was working on his film Mountain Between Us. Years later, in April 2019, following a whirlwind romance, Sabrina and Idris would tie the knot in Morocco.
Since then, the pair's love story has become "couple goals" among many for various reasons. The list includes the numerous times Sabrina and Idris have showcased their love on social media. Another factor contributing to the duo's likability is that Sabrina and Idris have displayed over the years that being with the right partner can elevate one's career or passion in life.
Sabrina and Idris have collaborated professionally in several businesses, including their Coupledom podcast and skincare brand S'Able Labs. In a June interview on Jemele Hill's Unbothered podcast, the 34-year-old opened up about the events leading up to when she met Idris and how she initially didn't know who he was.
Sabrina on Meeting Idris
Sabrina, who was living in Vancouver at the time, said that the same night Idris was in town, she went out to a jazz bar for an event called Slow Jam Sunday for a friend’s birthday.
Around that time, the model was getting over a breakup and claimed she wasn't interested in a relationship because of how badly her previous one ended. In a past interview, Idris revealed that he, too, just went through a breakup before meeting Sabrina.
"This is so funny. I [had] just gotten out of a really bad relationship, so I was not this person. I was like 'men are trash. They suck.' I'm literally ready to switch it on up or something because I was so over it," she said. "I come to this party with a night off at work that I prebooked because I was working literally every weekend. But it was my girlfriend's birthday party, so I was there kind of by chance."
Sabrina also revealed that, coincidently, the night she took off for her friend's birthday celebration was the same night Idris had the day off and was convinced by his stunt double to attend Slow Jam Sunday.
"Slow Jam Sundays is an amazing night in Vancouver. It's the one night I would probably go to, but you wouldn't see me out often because I was a weekend worker. I was working at restaurants and service industry, your weekends are taken up," she stated.
"Idris was filming this film in Vancouver and had one night off in Vancouver because most of it was filmed sort of up north in the mountains. His stunt double convinced him to go to Slow Jam Sundays. By chance, we were both there."
Further into the interview, Sabrina disclosed that her friend was interested in Idris at first and went to flirt with him. However, the Daddy's Little Girls star dismissed the friend's advances because Sabrina had caught his eye.
When Sabrina's friend informed her about what happened, she admitted that although she tried to put up a front for her friend's sake, the S'Able Labs CEO was happy because she thought he was also attractive. Following the discussion, Sabrina and her friend went to the section where Idris was, and the couple realized how much they had in common, from the music choices to their background.
"So I go over, and we have like one of those conversations that you just feel like you've known this person for ten years because we're singing the same songs. When a song comes on that I love, he's like, 'I love this song.' I'm like, 'what?' Like I just had this like cultural connection. He's African. I'm like,' Where are you from?'" she said.
Sabrina On Not Knowing Who Idris Was After Meeting Him
As the topic shifted to Idris' celebrity status, Sabrina explained that she didn't know who he was until after it was brought to her attention by a few people she met outside of the bar.
"When I went outside, I realized because there's a group of people there, they're like, 'Oh, you're talking to Idris Elba,'" she stated.
When asked about how well-known the actor was when they met, Sabrina shared that Idris was widely famous in America but not so much in Canada and that the one film she saw him in was the 2009 thriller Obsessed.
Sabrina would add that even after being told who Idris was, she couldn't recollect where she knew him from until her friends mentioned the movie.
"Well, so the film that I had seen was Obsessed... I feel Idris Elba now he gets recognized so much. In that moment, unless you were kind of in that zeitgeist, he was definitely a lot more popular in America," she said. "I don't think I would've known it even when they said that was him. I was trying to remember, like, my friends were like, 'yeah, he's from Obsessed.' We're like, 'Oh, yeah.'"
After figuring out who Idris was, Sabrina shared that when she re-entered the venue, she doubted a relationship would form between them given his occupation, the short timeline he would be there to shoot his movie, and the constant temptation that could flock around him due to his status. But despite Sabrina's uncertainty, they would exchange numbers before she left.
"So I went back inside, we started chatting some more, and he was like, 'Let me take your number.' I was like, 'Alright,' and then I left," she stated.
The model explained the reason why she left the event was that her friend, whose birthday she was celebrating, wanted to check out other spots. When the night was coming to an end, Sabrina hailed a taxi to go home when she received a phone call from Idris. The entrepreneur revealed that the Takers star stopped her from entering the cab and urged her to get in the car he was driving, and they spent the whole night talking until 8 a.m.
"I got in his car, and we spoke till like 8 a.m. easy. It was probably like 2 [a.m.] at that time. We just had the most intense, amazing conversation," she said. "It was the first time I ever connected with someone to the point where I was like, I went home the next day called my friends, I was like, 'I think I found my soulmate.'"
Sabrina revealed that from that fateful night, she and Idris became inseparable. The couple would be long-distance for a brief stint of their union until they acknowledged how difficult it was to maintain that type of relationship. Sabrina ultimately decided to move in with Idris although she was skeptical at first, she claimed it was one of the best decisions she's made because she found her "soulmate."
Sabrina Elba's First Night with Idris Elba Sounds Like a Romance Movie
Model and philanthropist Sabrina Elba joins Jemele to discuss her marriage to actor Idris Elba, and their heartwarming, love at first sight origin story.SUBS...Let’s make things inbox official! Sign up for the xoNecole newsletter for daily love, wellness, career, and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.
Feature image by Dave Benett/Getty Images for Space NK
