Quvenzhané Wallis Slays Hard Knock Life Performance On Dancing With The Stars

by: April D. Byrd

This performance of Hard-Knock life by Quvenzhané Wallis and company was fierce. If you didn't catch it on the show Dancing With The Stars here's the replay, or even if you did it's worth watching again...or several times. The awesome young star who we first came to love in Beasts Of The Southern Wild is back at it again.

Quvenzhané  is starring in the remake of the film "Annie" which is opening in theaters on December 19th.  I'm looking  forward to seeing her performance in the film even more now. Go girl!!

Watch Below:




Are we agreed this was the cutest thing ever?! and how much are we loving that the host was pronouncing her name right! Leave your thoughts/comments below, and Join in on the conversation on Trey Anthony's Facebook Fanpage.



-- April D. Byrd is the Creator and Editor-In-Chief of breathoflifedaily.com

Lupita Nyong’o talks Racism and being a "Natural Hair" Icon

by: April D. Byrd

I LOVE Lupita Nyong’o! Is there anywhere to buy a shirt with this statement? The Kenyan Actress and Film director, (who was actually born in Mexico) has been blowing up media everywhere.  American cinema was introduced to Lupita through her role as "Patsy" in the film 12 Years A Slave. Not surprisingly Lupita is being considered a natural hair icon because of her short, sophisticated cut. 


Lupita explained  hair as being "political" in an interview with Britain's Pride Magazine.

“I wasn’t really aware of being a natural hair icon. I don’t really read the news, so this is the first time I’m hearing that. I’m not surprised though; there is something about hair that has always been political."Someone has long hair and they cut it, it’s political, when someone grows their hair it’s political. So I don’t know how to answer that. I guess I’m just taking it in my stride."

Lupita also discussed issues of skin tone, and her relation to the experience of American slavery with Kevin Frazier of OMG! Insider. 

“It’s so flattering. I know I’m representing an underrepresented group of women. And being dark-skinned and having short, natural hair, I’m happy to be that for them."

Lupita is definitely a good representation of  all women. With her intellect, talent, fashion sense, and humility, she rightfully has media swarming over her like bees over honey. We get to witness Lupita's elegance in her interview on Fame and Fashion. (video below)

Is Lupita a natural hair icon? and What do you think of her statements about Hair being political? Comment and join in on the discussion at Trey Anthony's Fan Page.

Rapper Nicki Minaj Rocks Natural Hair

-April D. Byrd


Hip- Hop femcee Nicki Minaj who rigorously refers and expresses herself as a "Barbie", posted photos to Instagram of herself sporting a more natural look.  The rapper who we see mainly wearing a rainbow of wig colors chose to go with a more dark color which most naturally reflects her own. 

(credit: Instagram)

Speculators say she chose the transformation in honor of returning to a more classic, gritty sound for her work. Nicki's new Au Natural look, looks good on her. Hopefully it will be the beginning of more natural confidence and authentic love for the star. Whether it does or doesn't promote more self-love to her fans, being real is still a good look. No matter how "Black Swan-ish" she looks with the make-up, kudos to her for making the switch!

(credit: Instagram)

What are your thoughts on Nicki's "New Do"?

Why We Love Da Kink In Vanessa's Hair

Are you kidding me! A child chooses to wear her hair natural and faces being kicked out of school?!
The story of 12-year-old Vanessa Vandyke facing expulsion for her natural hairstyle has gone viral and made national headlines. Attention was brought to Vanessa's hair when she reported to the school that she was being teased because of it. 

It was originally reported that Vanessa was told she had a week to decide whether to cut her natural hair or leave Faith Christian Academy in Orlando, Fla. Now the school is saying they would just like her to style it differently with claims that is doesn't meet the guidelines of the school handbook. Sabrina Vandyke, Vanessa's mom said she will fight for her daughter's freedom and originality. Most recently the school said Vanessa Will NOT be expelled because of her hair. Singer Elle Varner also wrote a poem "Hair Care" dedicated to Vanessa.

A few months ago 7-year-old Tiana Parker from Oklahoma faced the same issue. Journalist Melissa Harris-Perry had some powerful words of encouragement:

"to all the little brown girls who rock their hair in all its many styles, you are perfect just the way you are and don't be confused, it's whats in your head, that's way more important than whats on your head."

Vanessa loving and embracing her natural beauty is wonderful. Support, Support, Support! Please share the link as well. Kudos to her! Continue to stand firm in your uniqueness.

Check out the video below:

We All Have "Good Hair"!

I saw this picture on an Instagram profile, and absolutely loved it! How many times have we heard people explain that they have "good hair because..." often following that with a list of every cultural mix possible - white, Indian, Spanish, Asian, etc. We've heard that all many many times before as these are often the womyn who are ascribed with having the "good hair" that we are taught to covet. These womyn do have gorgeous hair but it's always refreshing to see black hair being celebrated for all it's kinkiness as well.

The little girl's hair in the picture isn't long and flowing but coiled into two big afro puffs. And, she is saying I'm beautiful and my hair is beautiful. In the black community and in society, being mixed is celebrated. I've heard many people (of all colours) say that they want to have a mixed baby so that their child can have nice hair and eyes. But what about the little girl who is just black? And, why should it even be phrased or internalized as "just black"?

This is why we must continue to celebrate our natural, permed, afro'd, dreadloc'd and whatever other kind of hair you choose to have. And show our little girls that being "just black" is beautiful.

You Want to Participate in a Kinky Love Revolution? 2 Easy Steps!

Family, we are starting a Kinky Love revolution!

Something kinky's coming to Atlanta! The award-winning production 'da Kink in my hair by trey anthony will run Sept. 6-8 at the Cobb Energy Center, and you do not want to miss this show!( Featuring Grammy award winning Melanie Fiona and actress Terri J Vaughn from the Steve Harvey Show)

To help us spread some black girl love and have packed houses for 'da Kink in Atlanta!

1) Please watch and copy and paste this link bit.ly/dakinkinlove to your facebook page.

2) And or retweet on twitter at 
     http://clicktotweet.com/fHm8t

 Ticket sales kick off June 11th.  

The revolution starts with self love! 

Much love 

trey.

Hide Your Locs! Hair-Theft in South Africa Targets People with Natural Hair Locs

I guess the process of growing and maintaining locs is too difficult for some people because according to South African reports, there have been many cases of people being a target of hair robbery. There is a high-demand for locs on the black market because of a new styling technique called "crocheting", which is a weaving technique that uses human hair pieces as extensions for locs. Apparently the demand for this style is greater than the supply because hair thieves are rampant in Johannesburg, South Africa. Dreads on the black market can run between 200 and 2000 rand dependent on length.

I have to say that as insane as this case is, it is interesting to see that a natural hair style is such a coveted commodity. In North America, a region that often values length and straight hair as beauty, we usually see womyn who may be ready to steal for some high quality Indian Remy hair. But, it's interesting that in this area of South Africa, dreads are so popular that people are ready to lie, cheat and steal to rock this trend. The process to grow your locs to be exactly the way you like them is one that needs plenty of patience and TLC so I would be devastated if anyone even touched my hair.

Were you all surprised to hear about this hair stealing trend as well?

Embrace 'Da Kink: A Womyn's Inspiring Natural Hair Journey to Self-Love

Beauty is embracing EVERY aspect of who we are naturally, no matter how different we may appear - Kayla Enigma

I saw this over at Black Girl Long Hair and had to share with you all. The womyn above, Kayla Enigma, created an incredibly creative and motivational post-it note style video on Youtube detailing her hair journey back to her natural roots. What was most inspiring about her video was not that she is a beautiful womyn or that she achieved an amazing 'fro of curls, but that she documented her journey to discovering exactly who she truly is in the process.

As black womyn we have all been through the same battle, trying countless hairstyles and endlessly searching for solutions to "tame" our hair. From the scalding burn of the hot comb, we begin relaxing our hair as young womyn, to the damage and hair loss. We've been through it and back to feel beautiful, to feel accepted.

I applaud this young lady for her creativity, for confronting her insecurities and for re-defining the word pretty to be something that suites her uniquely on her own terms.

Much love to all you ladies embracing 'da kink in your hair!

Check out the video below and meet me in the comments section to let me know your thoughts.

Happy Friday!

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder: Natural hair inspired art

As someone who's had an interest in natural hair for a long time now, it's been interesting to see all of the stories that have come out this past year. More and more black womyn have been embracing their natural hair and the result has been a mishmash of stories, both good and bad.

From airport afro pat downs, to Oprah and Michelle Obama embracing their natural curls to meteorologist Ronda Lee getting fired for defending her hair, there have been so much talk about natural hair in 2012! But one thing that has been missing (this year and always) is a simple appreciation of the beauty and versatility of our hair. The conversation always seems to get really politicized...how we choose to wear our hair is seen as a reflection of our beliefs and politics rather than just a personal choice that is ours and ours alone.

Well, one artist has decided to simply celebrate the beauty of black hair, and has released a series of photo prints that do just that. As we head into 2013 we can only hope that the day will come where we are free to be ourselves without having to worry about the implications of our hair style choice on our career, our travels or any other part of our life. Until then, check out Andrea Pippins work and keep rocking that do, whatever style it may be!

Motivation Monday: The secret to long hair (and any other success)

All of us black womyn have struggled with this problem at one time or another. We want to let our hair be natural and just do its own thing. But sometimes we also just really, really want long hair! Whether you rock a fro, locks, braids, twist outs or straight hair we all have those days when we look in the mirror and just wonder when this hair is ever going to GROW!!!

Well, finally a group of natural hair bloggers have gotten together to reveal the secret to long natural hair. But this is something that can be applied in other situations as well - you have to watch the video to get it so check it out below!

Meteorologist Rhonda Lee fired for defending her natural hair

Rhonda Lee

Years ago when I expressed to my family that I was going to loc my hair, my grandmother expressed great concern and outrage about it. Her exact words were, “It’s hard enough being black! Why would you want to do that! No one is going to hire you with hair like that! It's messy and looks unkempt and you will never get a good job." 

I dismissed my grandmother but her words rang in my ears and I guess to some extent I took heed to her warning and decided that if I was going to loc my hair then I would have the neatest locs in the world!  Thus, I have spent thousands of dollars maintaining the up keep of my locs. I religiously go to the hairdresser whenever I notice there is a hint of new growth. I twist and retwist each loc every spare second that I have and every partner that I have has been dragged into the routine of helping me re twist my hair for me when I don't have the time to run immediately to the hairdresser! And I secretly gloat when people stop me and tell me how "neat" my hair is and they don't even look like locs!  

So far I don't think having locs has prevented me from excelling in my career, yet I also know I work in the arts and us artsy types tend to be much more lenient and accepting of personal expression! But, I know things are a lot different for my corporate sistas, so I was surprised and yet not really surprised when I heard about meteorologist Rhonda Lee who lost her job at KTBS-TV for responding to a derogatory comment from a viewer about her natural hair.

Now just to set the record straight she was NOT fired because of her natural hair. She was fired because of a facebook post where she responded to a viewer, who posted the following message on KTBS-TV’s page:

 “the black lady that does the news is a very nice lady.the only thing is she needs to wear a wig or grow some more hair. im not sure if she is a cancer patient. but still its not something myself that i think looks good on tv. what about letting someone a male have waist long hair do the news.what about that (cq).”

She responded with the following:

“Hello Emmitt–I am the ‘black lady’ to which you are referring. I’m sorry you don’t like my ethnic hair. And no I don’t have cancer. I’m a non-smoking, 5’3, 121 lbs, 25 mile a week running, 37.5 year old woman, and I’m in perfectly healthy physical condition.

“I am very proud of my African-American ancestry which includes my hair. For your edification: traditionally our hair doesn’t grow downward. It grows upward. Many Black women use strong straightening agents in order to achieve a more European grade of hair and that is their choice. However in my case I don’t find it necessary. I’m very proud of who I am and the standard of beauty I display. Women come in all shapes, sizes, nationalities, and levels of beauty. Showing little girls that being comfortable in the skin and HAIR God gave me is my contribution to society. Little girls (and boys for that matter) need to see that what you look like isn’t a reason to not achieve their goals.

“Conforming to one standard isn’t what being American is about and I hope you can embrace that.

“Thank you for your comment and have a great weekend and thanks for watching.”

Do you think that she should have lost her job, do you think this is racist? And do you think black womyn who work in the media have a responsiblity to keep up "appearances"...... does that just come with the territority? Would love to hear your thoughts! 

I Am Not My Hair: Jada Pinkett Smith Pens A Letter to Those Who Criticize Willow's Cropped Hair Cut

I just love the Smith family - their talent, ambition, work ethic, the love that they have for each other and I love that the kids are allowed to go through a phase of just figuring out who they are without tough restrictions from their parents. Jada's parenting style has been criticized numerous times in the past as she has chosen to not dictate how her children should dress and style their hair. I debated a few issues in regards to her parenting style not too long ago, but one thing that I refuse to argue is people taking offense to Willow's shaved head.

We should be celebrating Willow for her apparent non-attachment to her locks. Her fearlessness when it comes to hair is inspiring because not too many children never mind womyn are brave enough to rock a shaved head while putting their face completely on display. As womyn, especially black womyn, we hide behind our hair. The longer and fuller our hair, the more beautiful and feminine we feel. Remember being young and finding ways to wrap a towel or sheet over your hair so that the length was cascading over your shoulders like hair? We would wear it all day as kids, flipping it over our shoulders mimicking the way we see women with long hair on tv do.This attachment to long hair and ideals of feminine beauty has gone on for generations, so it is amazing to see such a young girl reject it.

Instead of criticizing her, we should be promoting her actions. Not just for her but for other young girls and womyn to see that as cliche as it may sound and India Arie sang it best, I am not my hair. There has to be an absolute freedom in looking in the mirror and the first thing that you see is face, not hair. With short, cropped hair you can't hide from yourself. That bravery is what I appreciate in Willow and all of you short, cropped and pixie haired beauties.

Check out the letter that Jada posted on Facebook in response to people's criticism of Willow:

A letter to a friend…


This subject is old but I have never answered it in its entirety. And even with this post it will remain incomplete.

The question why I would LET Willow cut her hair. First the LET must be challenged. This is a world where women,girls are constantly reminded that they don’t belong to themselves; that their bodies are not their own, nor their power or self determination. I made a promise to endow my little girl with the power to always know that her body, spirit and her mind are HER domain. Willow cut her hair because her beauty, her value, her worth is not measured by the length of her hair. It’s also a statement that claims that even little girls have the RIGHT to own themselves and should not be a slave to even their mother’s deepest insecurities, hopes and desires. Even little girls should not be a slave to the preconceived ideas of what a culture believes a little girl should be.

More to come. Another day.

J

Well said Jada and I applaud you for this! I'm taking notes for if I have a little girl in the future. I want her to feel beautiful and strong regardless of what her hair looks like and what society uses to measure her worth.

What are your thoughts on Jada's letter and Willow's short hair? Would you allow your kids to sport a cropped 'do or is that a decision that should be made when they get a bit older? Meet me in the comment section, would love to hear your thoughts!

Happy Friday All!!

Rough & Tough With Your Afro-Puffs? Solange is The Latest Victim of the TSA Afro Pat Down

What's she hiding in there??

Airport security has become extra tight these days, because even a womyn's afro is seen as a potential threat to national security! There have been several cases reported recently of TSA agents giving womyn's lush and textured hair a quick pat down to make sure nothing of threat is hiding in it.

Recently, Solange Knowles experienced this same treatment at the airport when TSA asked to check her hair while traveling. She later tweeted:

Discrim-FRO-nation. My hair is not a storage drawer. Although, guess I couuld hide a joint up in here. *Blames "Romnesia" (my wigs name).

I honestly can't believe that security has gotten to this point that even our hair is getting the frisk at the airport. There are a number of black womyn who are calling discrimination on this matter  as they believe that if they were of another race or had long / flowy hair then they would not be victim to this kind of treatment.
I think that TSA should be doing what they can to keep us all safe and protect us from potential harm but I wonder if this is necessary and it is quite humiliating to get your hair palmed through at the metal detectors in front of everyone.

What do you all think, is this just another form of airport profiling, this time aimed at black womyn and their hair or do you feel that everyone should be subject to a pat down if suspected / necessary? Has this happened to you at the airport?? Meet me in the comment section and let me know what you think.

Have a great weekend!

Long Hair Don't Care? Melanie Fiona's Recent Comments Spark the Old "Good Hair" Debate Again

As MC Lyte rapped years ago, "Hot damn..here we go again!". Here we go with another conversation about the topic of "good hair". Hair has long been a touchy issue amongst womyn in the black community, a topic that is locked and loaded and carries plenty of pain and emotion at the mere mention of it. The weight of this issue leans on the feeling that to indicate "good hair" is more than just the physical look but involves the undertone that it brings with it - an immediate association with beauty, skin color and acceptance. The essential idea of being "better" than...

Melanie recently set fire to this already flaming issue when she was asked about her hair and attributed its length to her mixed race heritage. In an interview with Sophisticate's Black Hair Styles and Care Guide, Melanie was asked what the secret to her gorgeous long hair is. In response, Melanie claimed:

I was born with a full head of hair, and my mom wouldn’t let me cut it until I was 12! I’m mixed – my mom is Black and Portuguese and my dad is Indian so I have a good mix for growth.

With these simple words, the internet was abuzz as bloggers and readers drew their line in the sand in the discussion of whether or not black womyn should be offended by the idea that beautiful, long hair is attributed with being mixed. I personally don't think that you have to be mixed to have "good hair" or a head of thick, long hair that grows healthily. I see black womyn with beautiful hair of ALL textures and lengths everyday.

Melanie's comments and people's reactions to it just play into the age old belief in the community that if you are black, you are born into a life of hair struggle as it is difficult to grow it past a specific length, and that if you are mixed your genes give you a "pass" to fewer struggles with your hair. This is an issue that is not helped by the media, as the majority of black womyn that are represented on television are either of mixed race or wear weaves or wigs that don't show off their naturally beautiful hair. There aren't too many images that show black womyn's hair in all of it's long and flowy, short and cropped, permed, natural and kinky glory. I think that there is less of an issue with Melanie's comments and more of a problem with what we continually see of black womyn's hair. Because we see these same images repeatedly, it is easy to carry on the dated belief that long hair = beautiful, bonus points if you are mixed.

So,what side of the debate are you on when it comes to Melanie's comments? Is she speaking the unfortunate truth or are her comments completely out of line? Speak on it below.

The New Me by guest blogger Michelle Joseph

I wrote an article years ago entitled, “Happy To Be Nappy.” I spoke about how much I loved shedding my chemically relaxed hair and embracing the hair that God gave me.

I was very proud of my article, but I felt an unsettling, hypocritical feeling inside. I wrote about loving my natural, kinky, coily hair, but guess what.....no one ever saw it.

I constantly wore my chemical-free hair in braids, long twists and ponytails, but my hair was buried under a mountain of extensions. There is absolutely nothing wrong with wearing extensions mind you, but I felt that if I were proclaiming to be proud of my hair, why wasn’t I showing it to the world?

I wore extensions on and off for the past 10 years. It was incredibly easy to maintain, looked great and it was a minor luxury that I was able to afford.

In December 2011, I was laid off from my full-time job. Although I was no longer working, I continued to get my extension every 7 weeks. In late May 2012 I experienced some breakage and I decided that it was a good time to let my hair breathe and give my extensions a rest. It also would give me the chance to be myself and learn to accept my hair. Fortunately I wasn’t working, so I was free to do whatever I wanted with my mane.

The journey was not easy. I watched an innumerable amount of videos on styling natural hair and I read countless blogs on how to have healthy hair. I spent many a night writing down the products used by fellow naturals and then following it up by reading product reviews. After a couple of weeks, I felt ready and armed to attack my head of curls.

So in June 2012, I did it. I styled my own hair! As insignificant as is sounds, it was a huge achievement for me. I tried a few times in the past to tame my wild hair, but always gave up and ran back to my trusty bag of extensions. But this time was different. I washed and styled my hair and it looked great. It wasn’t perfect, but it looked good.

Even though I received compliments from my family, I was unbelievably nervous inside. I no longer had the security of hiding under my fake hair—I was exposed. Everyone was able to see all of me. I had a million questions swirling in my head—Would others treat me differently because my hair looked “different?” Would men find me attractive?” “Would I be able to find gainful employment with natural hair?” As much as I was sticking to my decision to remain natural, I was a little terrified.

So instead of running to the nearest beauty supply store and stocking up on my favourite “bag of hair”, I continued to practice taking care of my hair. Learning the proper methods to wash, comb and style my hair.

My signature look is the twistout and I love it. It looks different every single time I rock it, but it is hands down, my favourite look.

I’ve gone to barbeques, social events and dinner with my friends, and I received only the nicest feedback. I was told never to go back to my old style and to continue doing what I’m doing.

I have embraced my curls so much that I recently posted a pic of my new do on Facebook. I can’t tell you how scared I was putting “the new me” online. Within minutes I received a barrage of compliments.

I can finally say, that I am truly happy to be natural!


Michelle Joseph is a free spirited writer living in Toronto, Canada. She currently publishes The Happygrrls Blog (www.happygrrls.blogspot.com) which features entries on just about anything that makes her smile. She is currently working on a new blog- Discovering Michelle, which will feature articles on all the super cool people that she meets. Stay tuned!

Natural Hair Mannequin

I saw this photo floating around on Facebook and it made me smile:

Apparently a Macy's Department Store in Palm Springs, CA has a mannequin with natural hair on display in their store.  This is the first major department store that I've seen to rock fashion on a natural Black girl.  I LOVE IT!!  Not only is she gorgeous, but her hair is amazing!

According to wikipedia, the African-American population of Palm Springs is 4.4% (2010 stats) and yet they still chose to place a natural mannequin in their window.  That needs to be applauded!

Now I wish that some of the other stores in major cities will do the same; especially where the percentage of Black womyn is higher!

This inspired me to look for more natural hair mannequins but I was only able to find this one:

Loving the short haired look!

(not sure where this mannequin is located - pic from Twitter )

People come in all shapes, sizes, and hairdos.....glad we're starting to see that reflected in pop culture!

I'm keeping my eye out for a dread mannequin next! ;)

If you have pics of more mannequins, please share them in the comments!