Black Girl Magic was born as a way to celebrate the beauty, power and resilience of Black women. Now it’s transformed into a mantra for every generation.
This Black History Month, we’re exploring stories that hero the beauty of blackness and the bravery of natural leaders. We are inspired by the Black women who use their voices on our platforms to redefine the future. Here are the stories of two of them.
Supporting Black Artists
As the youngest photographer to ever shoot the cover of British Vogue, 21-year-old Kennedi Carter has already made Black History — and continues to shape it every day. Kennedi defines Black Girl Magic through her portraits as she aims to reinvent notions of creativity and confidence in the realm of Blackness.
The work she shares on Instagram gives a slice-of-life insight into her family and her home in Durham, North Carolina. She is continually finding new ways to shed light on the often overlooked beauties of the Black experience.
This self-portrait was captured by Kennedi last year as her father cut her hair, while barbershops were closed during quarantine. For Kennedi, it’s a reminder to be more gentle with herself, emotionally and in her portraits.
“I draw inspiration from love, whether it be familiar or romantic, sexuality and sensuality, family and friendship — and all of those things within this vein of Blackness in the South.”
Supporting Black Youth
As the CEO and founder of Healthy Roots Dolls, Yelitsa Jean-Charles is writing Black History by bringing curl power to the toy aisle and inspiring the next generation to embrace their Black Girl Magic every day.
“In undergrad, I did research about the impact that toys have on children’s self-esteem,” says Yelitsa. She saw a gap in the market, and that’s when the idea for Healthy Roots Dolls was born. “I wanted to create a line of dolls that focused on teaching girls to love their natural hair with different skin tones, facial features and hair textures.”
The first prototype, Zoey, was about more than just painting a doll brown. Zoey teaches young children how to love their curls through the process of play. Now on her Facebook page, Yelitsa shares the joy that Healthy Roots Dolls has sparked across her community daily.
We honor these movements and continue to highlight Black women who are leading the way to a just future. Discover more on Black Girl Magic at about.fb.com/community.
