Black Beauty - Top Ten Eye-Openers

I've recently come to a surprising revelation: I have "good" hair. I never honestly realized this, perhaps in part due to my previous low self-esteem. But I have (practically) wash-and-wear hair the truth of which I have only recently become aware.

So, I've recently begun an exploration of natural hair care. I went to the "I Did it in the Name of Love" Conference this past weekend at Sanctuary of Praise in Orlando. Bishop Noel Jones was the main speaker, and his words were practical, beautiful, enlightening, inspiring, and all-around life-altering. God really used him to bless me. But anyway, the church also owns of one of Florida's top restaurants: Mama N'em's. It's on the same lot as the church, so it's easy to just walk there. Since my aunt and my mom can't do much walking, we drove there.

The wait was 30 minutes; so as we waited a few of us stepped in to a black hair care shop that was adjacent to the restaurant. It's called Highest Point Beauty Supply. I'd seen it before, but I'd always been there very late at night (once we start praising God in there, sometimes it's just hard to stop), and so the store was closed. But the bright "Open" sign was flashing its neon welcome, and we went inside. I was delighted when the beautiful woman behind the counter spoke. Her rich, British accent just tickled me inside. Each one of the was so friendly and genuinely helpful. They are Christians, and one of the store owners even talked me out of buying one product in favor of a less costly, better value product. She made me aware of a product

So, my recent investigations have been focused a lot on health and beauty topics. While on this topic, I came across some intersting information about Naomi Sims. I actually found a 1970's Time Magazine article about Black Beauty in which Naomi's plight for the loveliness of black women was discussed. After this, I found a list of the top tep most influential black super models.

1) Tyra Banks "The first black model on the cover of GQ Magazine, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue Magazine, and Victoria’s Secret Catalog.”

2) Naomi Campbell “The first black model on the cover of French Vogue Magazine, and is the highest paid black supermodel of all time.”

3) Tyson Beckford “The first black male model to receive supermodel status, and the highest paid male supermodel, of all time.”

4) Iman Abdulmajid “First Black model to appear on the cover of German Vogue, and was one of the top models of the late 1970’s.”

5) Alek Wek “One of the highest paid black supermodels of the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. She was named "Model of the Year" in 1997 by MTV. ”

6) Liya Kebede “She was the first black model for Estee Lauder, and was the first black model to rank number one on models. com official top 50 ranking.”

7) Beverly Peele “Was, one of the well known black supermodels of the 1990’s, and was called "Baby Naomi", because of her success.”

8) Veronica Webb “Veronica Webb was the first black model to sign a major cosmetic contract with Revlon in 1992.

9) Beverly Johnson “The first black model on the cover of U. S. Vogue Magazine, French Elle Magazine, and German Cosmopolitan Magazine.”

10) Naomi Sims “The first black model on the cover of Life Magazine and Fashion of the Times Magazine. Was the first working black supermodel in the late 1960’s.”

While models and other "visual" figures are not ordinarily considered during black history month, their history and its affects on the world are lasting. They have completely metamorphosized the self-perception of anyone of African ancestry. The faces we see everyday have an extrodinarily (almost frightening) affect on the way people see themselves. So, these people have played a great role in helping us to see ourselves clearly and making the world aware of numerous kinds of beauty.