To my community of Black women who constantly pour into me: if I am the flower, you all are the water
VOL. 79 - THURSDAY, MARCH 31
Whew Chile, #NoteddTribe! We’ve been saying this all week as a result of watching the moment that altered everything that was supposed to be highlighted and taken away as groundbreaking history at the 94th Academy Awards.
Our title references actress Chanté Adams’ moving speech during Essence’s Black Women In Hollywood Awards Luncheon. Adams, along with actresses Aunjanue Ellis, Nia Long, and Quinta Brunson, were recognized for their on-screen and off-screen achievements in Hollywood and celebrated for expanding and transforming the art of storytelling. These women and their incredible accomplishments should be remembered from Oscars weekend.
Actress Ariana DeBose made history as the first Afro Latina and openly queer actor of color to win an Oscar for best actress in a supporting role as Anita in West Side Story. This historic win should be remembered from the 94th Academy Awards.
The Roots drummer, music historian, and filmmaker Questlove won the best documentary feature award for Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised). His historic win for an incredible film should be remembered from the 94th Academy Awards.
Movie and television producer Will Packer made history during Oscars weekend by employing the first all-Black production team in Oscars history. The executive producers, two of the co-hosts, the trophy presenters (shoutout to HBCUs), and that’s just to name a few, were all Blickity Black Black Black Blackity Black. Still, there’s less of a chance this will be remembered from the 94th Academy Awards.
Only four Black men have won the award for best actor in a leading role. The fifth Black man won at this year’s Academy Awards, playing the role of a real-life Black man who made his sole purpose in life to make sure the world knew the magnificent talent of his two Black daughters. This honor won’t likely be remembered from the 94th Academy Awards either.
But we refuse to let these moments, amongst a host of others, fail to be recognized.
#StayNotedd.
#NoteddNews
We’ve got quite a bit in store for you in April as we focus on all aspects of our well-being. We’re also starting to plan for May and are looking for Black women and women of color dermatologists and estheticians to highlight and feature throughout the month.
If there are dermatologists and estheticians within the community or recommendations that could be shared with us, we’d love for you to share them our way here. We thank you for your assistance in advance!
Earlier this week, our founder Lauren’s story of taking a leap of faith and deciding to take our company to the next level was featured in Sunday Forever, a curated newsletter geared towards empowering readers to have a lifetime of wonderful Sunday’s.
You can read the full story, along with even more inspiring stories from other amazing women like us who are facing dilemmas, choosing ourselves, and understanding our worthiness in a world that doesn’t always see us that way. Check out the full round-up of stories below, and please subscribe to Sunday Forever. The incredible writer, Abeni, deserves all of the flowers for creating a masterpiece that genuinely makes our Sundays even better.
More than a century later, and after 200+ attempts to pass similar anti-lynching bills, the Emmett Till Antilynching Act was officially signed into law earlier, making lynching a federal hate crime.
There is alleged concern that Black statewide candidates, particularly Black women candidates, are not as electable as white and other candidates of color. Axios recently reported that Democratic donors and advocates expressed that going all-in or fully supporting Black candidates haven’t yielded results or expected outcomes. The work of political organizers and nonprofit groups like She the People are spearheading these conversations and shifting the narrative of the electability of Black and women of color candidates. Learn more about the Black women candidates we know who are shattering ceilings now or soon-to-be in this upcoming midterms and how you can support these organizations and 2022 candidates.
Congratulations to Judge Patricia Guerrero, who was recently confirmed to serve on the California Supreme Court, becoming the first Latina justice.
As we continue to witness white women missing syndrome, Black true crime podcasters are creating and leading podcast platforms to ensure that Black victims are never forgotten. Refinery29 created this list of podcasts that highlight forgotten victims of color that we recommend checking out.
Who else binge-watched Bridgerton last weekend? 🙋🏾♀️ What is particularly striking this season is how racial representation is reflected even more this season. Golda Rosheuvel and Adjoa Andoh shared how this season is “putting [Black] history back into history” in a recent interview with Essence.
Given the number of natural disasters that have occurred thus far, here are a couple of resources to help you stock up your home and cars with the right essentials.
We loved reading the incredible story of Rada Griffin on Black America Web. She’s a NASA software engineer who also is the first Black winemaker in Alabama with her line of wine: Anissa Wakefield Wines. Read more about Griffin’s experience as a full-time employee with a booming side hustle here.
It saddens us that the belief that “children can be whatever they want to be” is deemed “inappropriate” by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who recently signed the controversial “Parental Rights in Education” bill into law earlier this week. Also known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill will take effect as a law on July 1, which says “public school teachers may not instruct on sexual orientation or gender identity in grades kindergarten through third grade.” Parents can also sue districts if they violate this policy. We will continue to follow this policy and the conversations around it.
We all witnessed the powerful moment of Leila Jackson beaming as she watched her mom, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, on day one of the Supreme Court confirmation hearings last week. It was photographer Sarahbeth Maney who captured this beautiful moment. She shares her perspective on documenting this history and why seeing her photo affecting so many online has been special to her.
Last weekend, we hosted our affirmation building and intentional journaling workshop, co-led by our founder Lauren and mindset coach Teyonna Ridgeway.
ICYMI: Lauren shared five ways to start intentionally journaling, from finding the best form of journaling to sharing journal prompts worth giving a try - no matter what stage you are in your journaling journey. Teyonna shared five steps to build your very own affirmations. She walked through the structure of an affirmation and provided a list of best practices and examples of active and positive words that make building affirmations simple and easy.
You can now access the workshop replay if you weren’t able to join us or if you’d like to reference what was discussed when you need a refresher.
There’s one more spot for anyone interested in participating in Teyonna’s free mindset coaching sessions. She’s currently offering a free trial to anyone who is interested. All you have to do is create your affirmation, share it with us at WeAreNotedd@gmail.com, and we’ll share your affirmation and contact information with Teyonna for you two to connect.
For those who were able to join us or watch the replay, we’d love for you to take this brief survey to ensure that we continue to provide the service and support you need here at Notedd related to topics like the ones we covered yesterday.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
When’s a better time to start decluttering your digital space than now? Essence shares five tips to say goodbye to the old and embrace the new.
They also highlight how our phones have become more than just a way to reach out and connect with people; it also serves as storage and a collection of our lives. Some of what we’ve stored could be stalling us from moving forward (hint hint: those screenshots) or blocking us from being present in real life.
Tell us, which tip are you planning to implement this Spring?
How’s your vibe lately? We love using the feelings wheel to share our feelings honestly, rather than simply stating “good” or “well” when someone asks us the good ole “how are you doing?” question. While it’s easy to say those two words, it’s not the whole truth, right?
We recently uncovered a new tool that we’re looking forward to incorporating into our routine called the 5-step vibe check. This process helps you check in with yourself, make your feelings visible through words and colors, and validate all emotions rather than suppressing the ones that don’t seem socially acceptable.
We are closing out what has felt like a crazy first quarter, but we did it! We made it! Now let’s take some time to show ourselves some love and gratitude. This weekend, take some time to meditate with author and breathwork coach Alex Elle. You can either watch the above meditation or listen to the audio version here.
STAY INFORMED | STAY CONNECTED | STAY NOTEDD
Interested in being a Tribe Talk speaker? Have any content ideas? Are you launching a product or service? Have any major accomplishments to share with the group? Reach out to us and we'll add it to our next issue.
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