Black History Month

NEGRO MOTHER by Langston Hughes

Children, I come back today
To tell you a story of the long dark way
That I had to climb, that I had to know
In order that the race might live and grow.
Look at my face -- dark as the night --
Yet shining like the sun with love's true light.
I am the dark girl who crossed the red sea
Carrying in my body the seed of the free.
I am the woman who worked in the field
Bringing the cotton and the corn to yield.
I am the one who labored as a slave,
Beaten and mistreated for the work that I gave --
Children sold away from me, I'm husband sold, too.
No safety , no love, no respect was I due.

Three hundred years in the deepest South:
But God put a song and a prayer in my mouth .
God put a dream like steel in my soul.
Now, through my children, I'm reaching the goal.
Now, through my children, young and free,
I realized the blessing deed to me.
I couldn't read then. I couldn't write.
I had nothing, back there in the night.
Sometimes, the valley was filled with tears,
But I kept trudging on through the lonely years.
Sometimes, the road was hot with the sun,
But I had to keep on till my work was done:
I had to keep on! No stopping for me --
I was the seed of the coming Free.
I nourished the dream that nothing could smother
Deep in my breast -- the Negro mother.
I had only hope then , but now through you,
Dark ones of today, my dreams must come true:
All you dark children in the world out there,
Remember my sweat, my pain, my despair.
Remember my years, heavy with sorrow --
And make of those years a torch for tomorrow.
Make of my pass a road to the light
Out of the darkness, the ignorance, the night.
Lift high my banner out of the dust.
Stand like free men supporting my trust.
Believe in the right, let none push you back.
Remember the whip and the slaver's track.
Remember how the strong in struggle and strife
Still bar you the way, and deny you life --
But march ever forward, breaking down bars.
Look ever upward at the sun and the stars.
Oh, my dark children, may my dreams and my prayers
Impel you forever up the great stairs --
For I will be with you till no white brother
Dares keep down the children of the Negro Mother.

Back to Black

natural brown hair color

My natural hair color is a dusty brown looking color and before locks I would rinse my hair jet black all the time so I decided to go back to BLACK!!! .....AND I LOVE IT!!! I decided it was best to use a rinse instead of permanent color because it isn't damaging. Color rinses are pretty much just a deep conditioner. Clairol is my preferred brand. They are an African American line called Textures & Tones that is a permanent color so I use their semi-permanent line Natural Instincts which is a collection of antioxidant-rich, amonia-free subtle hair color.

After

Morning Routine

So I wanted to share with you all what I do with my locks now that they are mature everyday. My hair is getting a bit big for my bonnet so I generally put my hair in a ponytail at the top of my head and sleep on a satin pillow case that gets the job done. In the morning while taking a shower I keep that pony in so my hair is off my neck. When I'm ready to style my hair I mist it with my concoction; sisterlocks moisture treatment, tea tree oil, lavender oil and an infused oil mix that contains oils of olive, almond, jojoba, morning dew, rosemary, lemon balm, nettle and wheat germ. I put all of this in a spray bottle with water and shake it up real good. After I finger comb or put it up I finish off with Carol's Daughter Macadamia Weightless Shine Mist.

The 5 stages of locs

Check out the 5 stages of locks, this post is from Loc Rocker, click the link to check out her blog

Loc Rocker: The 5 stages of locs

1. Coils — Coils resemble tightly coiled springs that look like baby spirals and can be as small as a watch spring or fluid and loose as fusilli. Hair can be as short or as long as one likes. The key factor here is that your hair is able to form and hold a coil, but the hair within the coil has not yet begun to intertwine or mesh.

2. Sprouts and Buds — Known as Sprouting or Budding is that miraculous moment when the magic has begun. First, you shampoo your hair and notice that all of a sudden, the coils don't all wash out like they used to. You may notice that some of your coils have little knots of hair in them, about the size of a small pea. This knot is more or less the nucleus of each lock; the hairs in your coils have begun to intertwine and interlace. Individual coils may seem puffy and lose their tightly coiled shape; this is part of the process and shouldn't be disturbed. What is important here is to keep the original scalp partings, to allow the spinning process to become established for each individual lock. Don't redivide your budding locks, twist them to death, or get to patting them down, trying to make your hair look "nice," because you'll just end up with a badly packed, busted-out do.

3. Teen or Locking Stage — This is when the buds and sprouts truly begin to look like locks and few, if any, locks shampoo out or come out during sleep. The peas you saw and felt in the budding stage have expanded, and the hair has spun into a network of intertwining strands that extend throughout the length of individual locks. The locks may be soft and pliable or feel loosely meshed, according to your hair's texture. This is the growing stage of lock development, and it extends into the lock's mature stage. Shampooing doesn't loosen these locks. They have dropped, which means they have developed enough to hang down versus defying gravity. This is when you start to relax and feel more confident about locking.

4. Mature Stage — Each individual lock is firmly meshed or tightly interwoven. Some loosely coiled hair textures may retain a small curl or coil at the end of the locks, but most will probably be closed at the ends. You will begin to see consistent growth because each lock has intertwined and contracted into a cylindrical shape. Think of each individual lock as a hair strand in itself. The new growth is contained in the loose hair at the base or root of each individual lock, and regular grooming encourages it to spin into an intertwined coil that will be integrated with the lock.

5. Beyond Maturity — Think of this stage as akin to the shedding stage of hair growth. After many years, depending on the care you have lavished on your locks, some locks may begin to thin and break off at the ends. For the most part, this deterioration can be minimized and controlled by monitoring the ends of your locks for signs of age and getting regular trims.

Hello New York

St. Pete Sisterlocks Book Signing

Hey Blog Fam,

I haven't been to New York in over 10 years so I was ecstatic about going for Halloween! My girl stays in Brooklyn but we mostly hung out in Manhattan and Harlem. For Halloween they have an amazing parade in the middle of Manhattan. After the parade we went to few bars. Here are few pics of my costume.

While visiting the Carol's Daughter store in Harlem I picked up their newest product, Macadamia Weightless Shine Mist. This mist is great, it adds shine without weighing my hair down, helps to lightly moisturize with Macadamia and Safflower Oils, made without parabens, petroleum, mineral oils, artificial color and alcohol so it won't dry hair out. I use this

every morning before I head out....it also has an amazing smell!

Also try to new Sugar-Dipped Vanilla Mist

My clients...

I would just like to say I have some beautiful clients, they all have been a blessing to my life in one way or another. They are strong, inspiring, confident, resilient women. Below are some pictures of Felicia, a close family friend who came all the way from Detroit for me to do her Sisterlocks.

Life as a Full TIme Grad Student

So far I'm in my second semester at USF for a masters of public health. The weather is so great here it almost makes it impossible to be stressed by school. Currently, I am working as a volunteer research assistant. Along with a small group of students I have been trained to recruit and interview women living with HIV. The aim of the study is to gather information regarding how best to adapt Healthy Relationships, an evidence-based group intervention to help WLH build healthy and safe relationships, for online dissemination via video-conferencing technology. The proposed adaptations, Healthy Relationships-WEB, will reach more women in need of HIV programs. Participating in this field experience has not only made me further appreciate the human diversity of women living with HIV, but has reaffirmed my belief that public health alone does not have the tools to meet the needs of these women. My experiences with undergraduate research, graduate research, and grassroots work have provided valuable exposure to the multi-faceted field of anthropology and public health. But my long-term goal is to become a leader in the field health, with a specific focus in maternal and child health.

USF has an awesome dual degree program for MA/MPH with the department of anthropology and January 2010 I submitted an application for the medical anthropology program. I should be hearing something any day if I got accepted or not. Although I want this second degree really bad, God know what is best and either way I will be ok!

Pictures of My Work

I love doing sisterlocks and make it a point to treat every client as if it was my own hair being done. With that, clients receive nothing but the best service when I install their sisterlocks. Don't believe me....check it out for yourself... :)

My Edges

Ever since I was a young girl after having my first perm (at 9yrs old) my edges have always been short, broken and damaged. With sisterlocks this is the longest my edges have EVER grown!